Recipe & Tips: Flavorful Boiled Crab (Crab Boil)

My husband LOVES crabs. According to him, he can eat crabs everyday and never get sick of it... haven't tried serving him crabs daily though. Haha :-) When you ask my husband how he wants his crabs for dinner, he'll say he just likes them boiled. It might sound so basic to just drop the crabs in a pot of boiling water and it's done... but I have a few tips you guys (especially those new to cooking) might want to try the next time you cook boiled crabs or make a "Crab Boil" as crab fanatics call it. 

Not So Heavenly-Tasting Food @ Angeles Fried Chicken

Location: #1992 Marlim Avenue,
Diamond Subdivision, Balibago, Angeles City,
Pamapanga, Philippines
Telephone: (63) - 45 - 3224448
Website: http://angelesfriedchicken.blogspot.com/
----------------------------------------------------

Their tag-line says "The Oldest Running Restaurant in Angeles City where Chicken Tastes Heavenly!!!""... Sadly, I would have to DISAGREE. 

On our latest trip to Subic Bay, we decided to make a stopover at Angeles for lunch. It has been 2-3 years already since we last ate at Angeles Fried Chicken.I can't really remember anything about the food... except that the restaurant kept popping up on my search results for places to eat in Angeles City Pampanga. Ok, so we thought of having lunch there, especially since their online menu seemed promising.

 Heavenly? Ummm... not quite..

My apologies in advance to the die-hard fans of Angeles Fried Chicken... I am just writing our family's personal experience. If you love it there, I respect your opinion... Hope you also respect mine. :-)

Mongolian Buffet & More @ O' Mai Khan - Baguio City

Location: # 12 Otek Street
corner Jose Rizal Park
Baguio City, Philippines
Telephone: (63) -74 - 4425885
----------------------------------

Wowie introduced me to Mongolian Eat-All-You-Can Bowls back when we were still dating... and I can't seem to get enough of it. To this day, I continuously scour a town or place for a restaurant offering Mongolian Buffet... Whether we're at Boracay, Subic, or just about anywhere... I always have to get my fill of Mongolian Rice Bowls.

That's why I was extremely pleased that the "summer capital" of the Philippines had one... O' Mai Khan! After doing a bit of research online, and having read several good reviews about the place, I definitely had to give it a try.

Sambo Kojin - A Scrumptiously Satisfying Smokeless Grill Spot!

Location: 201 EDSA

Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

Philippines

Telephone: (63) - 2 - 7264520
Hours: Daily 11:00 am - 2:00 pm / 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Price Per Person: 
Monday to Friday Lunch - Php 495.00
Dinners and Weekend Lunches Php 595.00
Children’s Rate: Php 295.00
---------------------------------------------------------

Looking for a new Eat-All-You-Can Smokeless Grill restaurant to try out? The put Sambo Kojin Yakinuku Smokeless Grill next on your list of fun smokeless grill spots in the metro! If you love YakiMix, I believe you'll have a great time at Sambo Kojin too :-) In case you didn't know, Sambo Kokin is also from the Dad's-Saisaki-Kamayan-Somethin' Fishy family... so "satisfaction guaranteed" if I may say :-)

We already had several dinners at their Eastwood Branch (but wasn't able to take photos, since we were always late, thus... overly hungry whenever we finally get seated)... so we thought of checking out their EDSA branch, right above Dad's.

Fun Place... But Don't Be Late! @ YakiMix Smokeless Grill

Location: 2nd Floor, Forum Building
270 Tomas Morato Avenue
Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone: (63) -2 - 3328073 
Hours: Daily
11:00 am - 2:00 pm / 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Price per Person: 
Php 499.00 - Mon to Sat Lunch
Php 599.00 - Dinner, Sunday, & Holidays
+ Php 65.00 for bottomless drinks
------------------------------------

I was trying to decide on whether to mention the good points or bad points first. I chose to start with their bad POINT since there's only 1 to mention. :-)  I know you've heard a lot about YakiMix and are excited to try it out, that's probably why you're reading this entry right? Hehehe :-) Anyway, my FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL: Be sure to get to there EARLY is you want to get seated at once, especially on weekends, holidays, or special occasions like Valentine's Day, Mother's & Father's Day, and Easter.

Dad's Ultimate Buffet - West Avenue, Quezon City

Location: West Avenue,
Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone: (63) - 2 - 4136360

Website: http://www.kamayansaisakidads.com/
Hours:
Daily / 11:00 am - 2:00 pm /
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Price per Person: 
Php 665.00
(Php 565.00 for Monday-Thursday Lunch)
-------------------------------------------

I should really try to remember to ALWAYS have a trusty digital camera in my bag, lest I end up with more crappy photos like the ones I have here... hahaha :-)

Tempura and Sukiyaki

Anyway... back to good ol' Dad's Ultimate Buffet...

Well, what else can I say... Dad's has always been there for everyone wanting to pig-out on a buffet. It's relatively affordable for a crossover buffet offering more than 200 dishes at Php 665.00 (and Php 565.00 for Monday-Thursday Lunch). Not bad right? You get to eat all the Tempura, Saisaki Steak, Lechon, Pasta, Roast Beef, Lengua, and Dessert you want and more for less than Php 700.00 per person.

Zuppa - Eastwood Libis, Quezon City

Location: 3rd Level CyberMall Building Eastwood,
Libis, Quezon City Philippines
Telephone: 63-(2)-6873171
Hours:
M-T-W-Th-F / 12:00 mn - 12:00 mn
Sat - Sun / 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------

I started eating here when I was working at Eastwood. Zuppa was a welcome change from the usual Jolibee, Mcdonald's, or KFC for lunch.

Most of their food are priced below 100.00 pesos; not bad, especially for their gourmet rice dishes.

My favorite is the Madras Curry priced at 95.00 pesos. You can request to have the cook make the dish not spicy, spicy, or extra spicy (like how I always have it)... Mmm-mmm! The size of their servings are just right for one, but definitely not enough for sharing.

The Cheesecake Factory - Los Angeles, California

Location: 189 The Grove Drive, K-90,
Los Angeles, California USA 90036

Telephone: (323) 634-0511

Website: http://www.cheesecakefactory.com/
Hours:
M-T-W-Th / 11:30 am - 11:30 pm
F-Sat / 11:30 am - 12:30 mn
Sun / 10:00 am - 11:00 pm

----------------------------------------------

Mmmm... Cheesecake Factory... yum yum!!!

The day before my flight back home, our family friend took us at The Cheesecake Factory at The Grove in Los Angeles for lunch. At first, I was like... ok, this is probably like the Cheesecake Etc we have in the Philippines... but boy, was i wrong!

We got there at around 12:30 pm... I was so hungry as I didn't have any breakfast... so I wasn't really able to take pictures of our lunch 'coz I started eating as soon as the food arrived. Hehe =) Well, despite the fact that the place was packed and the service was not really snappy (since it was a Sunday).... the food was scrumptious! No wonder Tyra Banks loves this place!

There were a lot of choices for food; from appetizers, salads, soups, and sandwiches, to steaks, seafood, pasta, and dessert, everything sounded delicious.

Since I really couldn't make up my mind on what to order, I decided to have the Beer Battered Fish and Chips (described as: Icelandic Cod Hand Battered and Fried Crisp. Served with Cole Slaw, French Fries and Tartar Sauce). My mom on the other hand, just had the Caesar Salad with Chicken and our friend ordered the Grilled Pork Chops (Marinated Center-Cut Chops Served with Housemade Apple Sauce,Mashed Potatoes and Fresh Spinach).

Mongolian Buffet @ Cafe Sweet Inspirations - Katipunan

Location: 311 Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights

Quezon City, Philippines 1108

Telephone: 63-(2)-4334200

Telefax: 63-(2-)9282557

Website: http://www.cafesweet.com/

Sample Menu: http://www.cafesweet.com/menu1.htm
Hours: Daily / 6:00 am - 11:00 pm

------------------------------------------------------------

If you're looking for a good old Mongolian Eat-All-You-Can Restaurant, then Cafe Sweet Inspirations is the place to go!

Their Mongolian Rice Bowls are just the way my hubby and I like it... Mmmm... PERFECT =)

My 3rd Bowl...

that's why it's not full to the brim anymore... hahaha :-)