Too Much Food at A-venetto (MOA)

Jen and I aren't really into eating in moderation (especially me). So it's no surprise that when we go resto-hopping, this is the usual scene: she hands me the menu, I order, the food arrives, we stare bug-eyed, we eat, we eat some more, our eyes bug out, we give up, we pay and have the leftovers wrapped up for midnight snacking.

Same scene unfolded over at A-venetto's Pizzeria located near the (huge) stage/auditorium-esque structure of Mall of Asia.

I have fond memories of A-venetto. Back in high school, I used to hang out at their Visayas Avenue branch with my chatmates from the dalnet,#up channel (yeah, mIRC is so yesterday but it was a great place to meet friends! Some of them are still my dearest friends, but I digress). In college, I hung out with my PT berks and with my M.A.-mates a few years later.

But now that I live nearer this behemoth of a mall, it is this branch that I frequent.

Enough chatter, let's eat!

The anchovy pizza. Lots and lots of pizza!

The anchovy pizza is everything I want in a pizza. It has enough cheese for that satisfying hint of creaminess but not enough to be cloying (I am not as fond of cheese as Jen is); the saltiness of the anchovies all but melted into the rich tomato base and the crispy-chewy crust. The garlic is not visible on this pizza (in the olden days, I used to see the teeny tiny pieces of garlic underneath all the toppings) but I get enough of the caramelized sweetness. With more than a few sprinkles of dried chilli flakes, two slices of this monster was no match for my gut! Bring it on!

While I was busy snarfing my second slice of pizza, the poultry arrived. Rather it was the basket of buffalo chicken wings.

Six pieces = four for Jeni and two for me. No leftovers with this one!

This was just ok. Nothing spectacular. While it lacked the salty-spicy-sour-sweet-party-in-my-mouth appeal of some of my favorite buffy wings (try the one from Brooklyn Pizza. Delish!), Jen devoured four pieces in a flash. Being the consummate chicken-lover (she'll grow wings soon, I swear!), she needed no encouragement! I, however, held out for the next dish...

Oil + garlic + seafood = one mighty good pasta dish!

Shrimp + squid + olive oil + a bit of cream + pesto + a kick of garlic = two plates of yum-o pasta. Though the noodles were not as al dente as I'd like them to be, the sauce was its saving grace. It was light enough not to overpower the delicate flavor of the seafood but heavy enough to coat the massive portion of noodles without getting lost in taste-ation. The cream gave each bite a pleasant mouthfeel while the basil and olive oil kept it from being too... cloying. Y-U-M.

We also had a blah tossed salad, but what the hey! The greens balanced out the not-so-imaginary fat in the other dishes. That aside, Jen and I waddled out of the resto with our midnight snack. Off we went for dessert.

Two weeks after this pig-out, we brought Jen's parents and two brothers to the same place. A week later, we brought my two sisters to the same place and ordered the same exact stuff but with two extra orders of chicken... I still got the tossed salad. Old habits die hard.

Upper Class Coffee, Anyone?

Jen: "Babe, kanina nagpuntang UCC sina Bing. Sabi nila mahal daw dun." (Babe, Bing and company went to UCC earlier. They said it's expensive there.)

Moi: (reading a book) "Yup... medyo mahal dun especially if you're more used to the likes of Starbucks, CBTL and SBC. O bakit daw mahal?" (Yup... it's a little bit expensive especially if you're more used to the likes of Starbucks, CBTL, and SBC. So, according to them, why is it expensive?)
Jen: "Kasi Upper Class Coffee dun." (because that's Upper Class Coffee)
Moi: (speechless)

Ok, that may or may not be relevant to the latest eating experience I inflicted upon Jen. But she does have a point. There was a concert at MOA that night and the veranda restaurants had to be "booked". As I understood it, patrons need to pay a certain amount and present the OR to their chosen establishment. Kinda like a deposit... just so the dining place would be sure you'd order something and not just order iced tea and ogle the boy band singing on stage.

UCC wasn't taking reservations. Maybe they didn't need to as we were 24 hours to early for the Hearts Day rush. When we got there, we were the only people in the shop (four outdoor tables were occupied).

Jen and I had intended to have dinner and desserts at UCC but on the way, she had wanted to check out ZooYork and I Team Manila. Down the hall was the Chicago Popcorn Shop. This is where my appetite was ruined (in a delish way) and my digression begins.

I first read about CPS (it's acronym day today!) on DCF (another acronym!) and I vowed I would visit the shop and indulge my "carmel" cravings (next to chocolate, caramel is my fave flavor). A few weeks later I did.

I had been looking forward to this... and I thought it was a good idea. Jen loves cheese and I am the hugest sucker for caramel. Though it ruined my appetite, I'm still glad I got these treats!

Gosh, these look so good!

Even the tin can looks good enough to eat!

Jen loves the stuff too!

So, after we noshed and chomped on the salty-sweet popcorn (it was divine - thought Jen still prefers Chef Tony's) we succeeded in wiping out half of the stuff without trying very hard. SO we only had enough tummy room for dinner. Which was not as nice as I wanted it to be.

Jen and I got curry. I got seafood. She got the beef plate. It looks nice on the plate.

But not on the palate. The curry flavor was weak, almost non-existent. It was also watery and a bit salty. Even the broccoli on Jen's plate was overcooked. Redemption came in the form of: al dente rice grains and crisp battered fish (on my plate).

Mine


Jen's

The crowning glory: Sumiyaki coffee. Still as good as I remember it to be.

Jen doesn't like it. But I love it: thick, dark, slightly bitter, strong and addictive. A pinch of crystal sugar won't hurt either.

The only part of the meal Jen liked. Hahahaha!

After dinner, we wandered aimlessly around the mall. I came upon the Korean grocery store on the corner at the second floor (next to Subway) and found green Pepero! I also found Melona, my staple ice cream bar during my stay in Seoul (it was winter so all ice cream products were selling at 40% off) and Chilsung Cider.

Like I said, walang kwentang title. So much for upper class coffee.

Foam-egranate

Last weekend, all of us (sans Terence, who had a huge hang-over and felt like he was ran over by a truck) went to Non Dae Mun - the Divisoria of South Korea!

After walking around in -1C weather with wind (bbrrrrr), we were headed back to the warm sanctuary called "subway station" when I spotted a lady selling these familiar things. Selling price was 3 pieces for 10,000 KRW (about 8USD) or 3,500 a piece. I convinced her to part with one in exchange for 3,000 KRW (around 2.50 USD). So, this piece of purple-red wonder became mine.

Heart on a plate

After three days, I spotted it sitting on top of my microwave oven. The outside was quite soft - like a papaya a day away from ripeness. It was time to operate.

Cut in half!

Butchering a pomegranate is not one of my talents. In my entire life, this will only be my third time to have a close encounter with this... seedy fruit (the first two being courtesy of Jeni). The ones I had seen were pale pink to pinkish-red and the insides were a soft pink... like crystals. So imagine my shock when I sliced this open and blood sprayed across my kitchen counter.

Bloody murder!

Now, when Jeni ate this she would quarter the fruit and pick at the seeds. When she got impatient, she'd scrape the pink bits off with her teeth.

However, Marketman had a post on these things. His daughter brought home a pom from China and when it was his turn to butcher it, he whacked the bejeezus out of the thing with the back of a spoon. Masunurin akong bata so I took my spoon (Koreans use huge but beautifully shaped spoons that weigh a ton) and started taking my aggression out on the helpless pomegranate.

Beaten to a pulp...literally

The seemingly tiny fruit (about the size of a softball), yileded about 2 to 2.25 cups of beautiful red caviar. Not bad for something that became my punching bag. It felt good...after a hard day at work, it was definitely what the doctor ordered.

Caviar, anyone?

Eating it, however, took some effort from me. It was not the sort of thing I'd eat. It was slightly sweet, tart to the point of producing a slight pain in my throat (like swallowing a sip of citrus juice the wrong way), and strangely watery.

Aaaaggghhhh...

But the mouthfeel was amazing! Placing a spoonful between my molars and crunching down felt...explosive. First, my teeth go through flesh that yielded with a sligh snap. Then I ground down against gritty and amazingly stiff seeds that pop in my mouth - reminds me of why I like to eat sesame seeds.

So was it worth 3,000 KRW? I won't buy it again... but I'd eat it if it were free! I take it back, I'd buy it again and sneak it back into Manila for Jeni. The look on her face when she sees this will be priceless!