Welcome to --- The House of Ru-Ru

Jen would always ask me what Ruy and I had to eat over the weekend and for the past couple of weeks I've been raving about Ruy's cooking. Yes, Ruy is the appointed King of our kitchen. (it's debatable who actually appointed him as such). This being the case, Jen christened our house as the House of Ru-ru.


When Ruy cooks, he gets immersed in the moment...there's a monk-like focus to his demeanor and just between us he gets a tad cranky when things don't go his way. He is also not satisfied with anything that's just fried (yes, even if it is that liempo one post down). He wants things imaginative and different and matching. Meaning, if he's eating something fried, he needs soup and an interesting rice concoction with it.


One day, I thought of contributing something to the House of Ru-ru's gastric delights. I have just learned about the ready made chicken pandan found in SM groceries so I dragged Ruy to the grocery and for the first time ever I went to the meat and poultry section (i usually stop at the hotdog and bacon section) and purchased my first ever raw chicken.

Each chicken pandan piece costs 10 pesos which is quite a steal specially when you compare the costs to restaurants. Upon seeing this, Ruy's brain started trying to find the perfect rice dish to match it. I was initially thinking of Bagoong Rice (Ruy's bagoong is to die for!!) but Ruy had something better in mind.


Ruy initially wanted to try to make pineapple rice but while he was trying to research the recipe for this rice, came upon this recipe. It was a gutsy move for him to even attempt it but he decided to go for it.



It has to be pointed out here that Ruy goes all out when cooking. Yes, to the point of annoying me sometimes. Take this recipe for example...we had to go to 3 shops before finding the basmati rice. We went to Rustan's Katipunan, Rustan's Temple Drive and finally Santi's.

The basmati rice was cooked in coconut milk. We didn't have time to get this off the market so we (notice how I'm using the pronoun WE as if I had something to do with the recipe other than go to the grocery) had to settle for the next best thing...instant coconut milk. This was surprisingly almost as good as the real thing.
Ruy opted to use pineapple juice instead of water which added another layer of flavor to the already flavorful recipe. The resulting dish is not for the weak hearted...it can be very intimidating.
The recipe for the rice was surprisingly easy to follow. It's just a matter of putting everything together in a pan and waiting. I guess this didn't prove to be challenging enough for Ruru...errr Ruy I mean so he decided to make his life more difficult by making his own crystallized ginger.

It has to be explained that Ruy was a one-man-show during this entire process...he was taking photos while cooking. This proved to be disastrous so he ended up having to re-do the ginger.

So with the crystallized ginger finely chopped and the almonds sliced...the Thai Rice came to life.

I loved the rice so much I barely ate the chicken. What-a-meal!!

Speaking of Lechon

Speaking of lechon, Saturday found me craving for O Kitchen's Binagoongang Lechon Kawali (without the bagoong so I guess that makes it lechon kawali).
I just had to be particular about the "version" as I was craving for the kind of lechon kawali with crisp skin and rather chewy but not suffocatingly squishy fat and juicy inside-crisp outside meat loaded with just the perfect amount of spices and salt to enhance the flavor.. The kind Liv and I enjoyed in O Kitchen.

Of course being the dreamer that I am, I envisioned myself recreating this dish with stunning success.

And so I TRIED.

I started by boiling liempo in salt and spices. I kept it a little longer than I felt I needed to in order to soften the meat and the fat more. I was working on the theory that softening it more would allow me to take it out of the oil as soon as the skin became crunchy enough, keeping it from drying up and ensuring the tenderness of the meat.
After boiling I plucked the liempo out of the pot and let it cool down.



Then I deep-fried it and used my ninja skills to avoid getting hurt by fat explosions.

Chopped into moderate serving sizes, I believe my lechon kawali approximated the lechon kawali of my vision at least in appearance. After taking a moment to appreciate it and give myself a pat on the back, it was time to compare the most important aspect. The taste.

The result: The skin was crisp and the fat was just the way I wanted it. The meat was a bit overcooked but not dried up at all (thankfully). I have to agree with Liv however that my creation could have used a little more salt (a common mistake for me as I'm just terrified of overdosing my food with sodium). I'll try to fix that next time.

Some people like their lechon Kawali with Datu Puti (vinegar) for the crunchy and sour sensation of eating chicharon (pork cracklings) while some like it with Mang Tomas (liver sauce) for a sweet and rich flavor to compliment the crispy fried skin.

Saturday's lunch was with Me,Liv and Mang Tomas.

Greenwich Lechon Pizza - A Pinoy Celebration in a Box

When I saw the words "Lechon and Pizza" in one sentence I just had to back pedal and make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. I thought to myself, that if what I saw wasn't a mistake of vision from hunger, that would probably be one of the craziest ideas man has ever thought of. Looking closer, and reading closely, I saw with disbelief that indeed it was true.

I then marched in to buy one.

I will be brief with this post and be honest. I never liked any Greenwich pizza since the re-invention of the pizza chain and the scrapping of the Pizza Square (one of my childhood favorites). Until this pizza that is.

Following the Sisig Pizza which I appreciated for its boldness and innovation in using the Pampanga specialty as a main pizza ingredient (but didn't enjoy too much). This Lechon pizza takes it a notch higher by using probably one of the most well known and loved filipino dishes of all time, the lechon kawali, and throwing in an entire Filipino fiesta celebration inside a box of pizza.

Roasted garlic and spices permeating, I eagerly opened the box and had my nose delighting in the scent of a feast.

Biting in, Filipino hospitality welcomes you with a red carpet or should I say banig (straw mat) of textures coming from tender lechon and crisp roasted garlic. This is followed by the sweet harana (serenade) of pickled bell peppers (atcharra) and onion leeks while the light, fluffy and crumby dough exalts our native pan de sal by providing the perfect bedding.

As they say in American Idol, there is nothing like singing a popular song and making it your own. With this pizza, greenwich takes cooking innovation to a new level using Filipino ideas and ingredients successfully into the concept of pizza and owns it.

While this pizza might not be the best out there, it's a celebration of Filipino ingenuity and I think the creativity should be applauded.

Kitchen Adventure- Crisp, Creamy, Sweet, Spicy

To me, there are few highs that could surpass the joy of visualizing something you want to create and actually being able to pull it off. In my case a week ago, it came in the way of two dishes.

Let me make it clear before proceeding that I'm no cooking expert. Rather, I'm probably more of a persistent eater or a stomach entertainer. I'm just someone who's willing to cook to be able to eat what I want and who likes sharing the fruit of my efforts with others (of course given that my efforts produce satisfactory results).

These cooking projects of mine usually start of with a flash of insight or a vision inspired by food that I read about, see on a cooking website, other blogs or food recalled from a previous meal. This is followed by intense scheming and visualizing of the flavors and ingredients necessary and some research. Now like I said, I'm not one to cook just for myself so before I proceed any further with my inspiration, I ask Liv what she thinks about the dish which I'm thinking of cooking. If she likes it then it's worth the effort. I then go scurrying to the grocery for ingredients.

This project started on a Saturday evening with me thinking of what we'll be having for Sunday's lunch. Drifting into sensations and textures stored inside my memory bank, I started brainstroming till my food library churned out the result in the way of a craving. I got two hits. Crisp and creamy and sweet-spicy. Unfortunately these hints were still quite vague and so I had to visualize these textures and tastes as actual dishes. I mulled over the parameters for a while until a stroke of inpiration and pure guts hit me. For this craving I was to venture into dishes which were quite complicated and ambitious --- for my skills.

Chicken Kiev With Mushroom Sauce

and

Shrimp and Cheese Stuffed Chili

Thankfully I got Liv to help me out (after a measure of persuasion) to extend her invaluable assistance with the preparation of the shrimps.

Chicken Kiev:

I basically got the main idea and procedure after a little research which led me to the Food Network, and being the adventurous (stubborn) person that I am, I altered it some to add some things and customize it according to my preferences.

Knowing I'd be hard-pressed to finish everything by lunch time on Sunday if I started everything that same day, I decided to prepare the chicken filling the night before:


Kiev Cream Stuffing:



Ingredients: 1 whole butter, 2 healthy stalks of chives, 1 spoon of tarragon, salt and pepper (I would have put parsley but I couldn't find any in the groceries and wet market at that time due to some problem with the Baguio crops I was told.

Procedure: Mix them all together and roll into a tube (like japanese maki) using plastic wrap. I stored it in the chiller overnight to solidify.


The following day, I started by preparing my mushroom sauce. This wasn't in the recipe but I felt that this would be nice to put on the chicken.

Ruy's Makeshift Kiev Sauce

Ingredients: 1 instant mushroom soup, 1 pack all purpose cream, 1/2 cup grated quick melting cheese, 1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms, some soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Procedure: cook mushroom soup and dunk everything in. Boil till satisfied with thickness (I know my cooking instructions are a bit on the "go figure side" but that's just what I did myself and failed to time anything! I promise to try next time. I just got so intense cooking that at times, I was working almost purely on instinct).

Finishing the things which needed separate preparation, I then went to work on what to me was the trickiest, most difficult part.

Prepping the chicken: This task was made tougher by the fact that the chicken breasts we had de-boned in the palengke wasn't perfectly done. There were still a few bones lodged inside the flesh which I needed to remove without damaging the chicken and the breast wasn't evenly cut resulting in very oddly shaped chicken pieces to work with. That being said, I had to work with what I had so work I did.

I spread plastic wrap on top of a clean table, put the chicken breast on top and another layer of plastic wrap over the chicken. The plastic needs to be able to slide freely off the chicken so that it deflects some of the force when you start pounding on the chicken. Yup, I pounded (I did it starting from the center working outward) until I thought it was the ideal 1/8 inch thick or when I felt that the chicken flesh was about to break. The goal is to be able to spread it thin and wide to wrap the goodies you'll be putting inside.

Other Stuffing and frying ingredients:
1/4 kg bacon (fried), spinach, flour, some eggs beaten in water, Japanese breading

The bacon.

And some nice leafy spinach (as Liv requested).

Rolling the stuffing in: I spread out my chicken breasts (somehow that didn't sound quite right), put three beautiful spinach leaves side by side (horrizontally) with a little overlapping, 2 Bacons strips (Vertically), then the hardened filling I made the night before sliced into small tubes and a spoon of bread crumbs. Carefully tuck the edges of the chicken in and roll it up. Secure with a toothpick or some string I guess.

Frying: Cover the rolled up chicken in flour, dip in egg beaten in 1 spoon of water, dunk in japanese breading then fry.


And it's good to eat.

This is what the inside looked like. I was really happy that I was able to keep the filling neatly in place in the middle and I was able to stuff it pretty well that the taste and texture of the middle came out.



Shrimp Stuffed Pepper

Pineapple Sweet and Sour Dip Ingredients:
I can sweetened pineapple juice (singles)
1 cup sugar
4 cloves garlic. Minced.
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 spoons ketchup
1 spoon veg oil
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Mix flour, sugar, pineapple juice, soy sauce until free of lumps
Fry garlic for 5 mins in oil. Put in Ketchup and fry 2 more minutes
Pour in mixture and stir until thickened. Boil a few more minutes then season with salt and pepper.


Stuffed Pepper Ingredients:
Beautiful green peppers
Shrimps
Quickmelting cheese
Lumpia Wrapper
Flour




Procedure:
Slit peppers vertically in the middle
Remove seeds taking care not to tear the pepper open
Grate quickmelting cheese
Stuff generously inside pepper leaving a little space to squeeze in shrimps.

Roll inside lumpia wrapper
Roll in flour and fry.

And there you have it. =)

It was really good. This recipe was inspired by the Food delivery guy at Liv's office who'd sell peppers stuffed with meat filling.

If there's one tip I could give amateurs like myself from this cooking experience, it's that if you have a hard time thinning the chicken breasts (or if you ruin it like I did some of mine), place the breast on top of a lumpia wrapper and stuff as you would a perfectly flattened chicken breast, then roll up tightly like sushi with the lumpia wrapper. It works!


Just main courses for now as I'm not yet skilled enough to whip up appetizers and desserts.

I know my instructions can be a bit vague as I usually get so immersed in my cooking that I forget to take note of certain details (like measurements!) and end up cooking by instinct. I'm trying to fix that as I'm going for consistency from now on.=)

I love excitement when I eat and I'm willing to take the extra time to look for and prepare things to enhance my eating experience like side veggies of kamatis and bagoong or just sawsawan with finely chopped chili. Cooking is just taking it a little further and I love it when I end up achieving things I never thought I could do and cook food I always thought I had to go to restaurants for to eat.

Of course it inspires me most to have people to share them with.=)

Hizon's - Za's Cafe

This is classic favorite of my family. We go to this resto to celebrate occassions which are important to us like my sister's baptism or Ruy's pamamamnhikan. When there are no occassions to celebrate, we just try to make one up just to have an excuse to eat here.




I first took Ruy to this place when we were already dating pretty seriously. It was a big deal to me, it was like welcoming someone into my home. I've had memories after memories in this place. The waiters know my family, my sister crawled across the tables when she was a baby. And for the first time, I was back there with Ruy and Andrea, my own family.



Low-key and unassuming. This restaurant is too easy to miss when you're cruising along Bocobo St. in Malate. Looking at the exterior one would not imagine being able to find treasures inside.

We were immediately greeted by Edgar one of the wonderful waiters of Hizon's. Edgar has always been the one to assist us although most of the waiters were more than willing to give us what we need. I've always adored how the waiters in Hizon knew what they were selling. They were like the old-time waiters. They know their products, they were polite and they were nice.


We were seated and given the menu. I was surprised to see that after over a decade, they have now changed their menus. When I say they have changed their menus I am talking about both the appearance as well as the content of the menu. I suppose they changed the appearance to accomodate the change in price. The content of the menu is now a streamlined version of their old menu. It seems they have decided to focus on their house specialty and their best sellers.






We were given our iced teas. Ruy and I usually try to be a bit more imaginative when it comes to ordering our drinks but not in Hizons. We adore their tea which is not the instant kind. It's made from black tea with calamansi and sugar syrup. I adore it and my mistake is that I always drown myself in iced tea before the food comes leaving me with little space for the food. And we all know we need serious space for food.











As soon as we sat down, we were given butter and our bread basket. The bread they serve is their famous raisin loaf which sells for 85 pesos a loaf. Each bread basket has around half a loaf of raisin bread but they're very generous about giving you extra if you want some more.



For this meal Ruy and I had: Surf and Turf, Grilled Porkchops with Apple Sauce and Camaron Rebosado. Each plate comes with it's serving of mashed potatoes and vegetables.









Grilled Porkchops with Apple Sauce. This is a very simple dish and the name pretty much sums up what it is. You get 2 huge cuts of pork chop grilled, yet remaining very tender. The pork has a certain flavor which tells me it's marinated. The marinade is light and doesn't overwhelm the apple sauce. I've had these chops both with and without the apple sauce and they were good both ways.










Camaron Rebosado. This is an all-time favorite with our family. Their Camaron has a tempura-like breading which makes it a bit crunchy and crisp. It's best eaten warm drizzled with the sauce. I have to warn you that the sauce might be considered too sweet by other people but for someone who eats dessert before, during and after a meal...I LOVE IT!





Surf and Turf looked measly when I saw the plate, but I guess it must have been heavy on the stomach as Ruy wasn't able to help out much with the other dishes. The steak was cooked just right and remained tender despite being well done. The prawn was sized well enough to accomodate my husbands appetite.



We had absolutely no space for dessert so we ended up buying things from their bakeshop to take home.




Once we arrived home I attacked the Lemon Pie. Now, I knew from the start that I would be eating around 70% of this HUGE cake as Ruy doesn't like sour things and he doesn't like cakes as much as he likes shakes and ice creams. I actually imagined (or is it hoped?) that he would take one spoonful and then give it all to me. Imagine my surprise when he actually had several and proclaimed that it's actually good "for a lemon pie"...trust me that's a good compliment. =)




What I usually hate about Lemon Pies in general is how the meringue is overly sweet while the filling tastes too much like candy. I've also tasted several where the filling is too starchy. Luckily this particular pie didn't fall into that trap. Despite loving it soo much and taking around 4 hours to finish one slice (that's with the help of Ruy already) I initially thought it was overpriced at 180 pesos. Then I realized that huge slice is the same size as two regular slices of cake put together. I therefore conclude that it's well worth the 180 pesos we paid for it.


The food remains good, the service wonderful and the price reasonable--I have every reason in the world to come back. What I am looking forward to the most is being able to create memories with my my own family, Ruy and Andrea, which is somehow connected to the memories I have created with my Mother, My Aunt, my sister, my stepdad, etc.


(P.S. I would have wanted to talk about the variety of bread and cakes offered in Hizon's bakeshop but it would make this post too long. I'll write another post about it in the future. =))

Smorty-fied

As Liv and I are always on the lookout for ways to increase our food budget we are so excited about Smorty. Smorty is a site which offers advertising solutions which benefit both the advertiser and the blogger. The advertiser gets to advertise on blogs while the blogger earns money.


It's so simple yet so brilliant. What could be better than getting paid to blog? We are already blogging regularly so why not make money of it?



What makes Smorty a great platform is their regular payment period. They pay weekly (generally every Friday) so all you need to do is: 1. Post the opp, 2. Wait for the 5 day approval period, 3. Get paid immediately the Friday nearest the approval date. It's that simple, no more waiting for 1 month just to see if you've been approved then waiting a few more days to see if you have been paid. If you have been observing the steady decrease of the dollar versus the peso, you would know that the sooner you get your hands on the dollar the better.

I have already mentioned our plans of using the money we'll be earning on the further expansion of our waist bands so remember, an ad today...a foie gras tomorrow!

Isabela Eating Places- 48 Steak House

Home again at last! it's been a long week and after the long vacation, the demands of work are once again calling and the the usual stresses slowly sinking back in.

Oh well it was a very productive week at work with a new food discovery to boot!

Yup, that's where I came from.

But what's important is what I discovered there.

HOUSE 48!!!

Tucked inside a quaint little village away from the noise and bustle of the main roads of Santiago City, lies a haven for the hungry and carnivorous.

A steak and pasta place that disguises itself as a house is further camouflaged by similar looking row of houses in Santiago Isabela's Baptista Village, I learned about House 48 from a colleague who lives there and who was very glad to accompany me in trying the place out.





We got there pretty early but with me being pressed for time, dinner at 5pm seemed like a great idea. Sitting down in a nice and cozy dining area we asked for the menu and got started. With House 48 being known for its steak, I ordered myself a porterhouse which I chose over the other steak cuts upon the kind waiter's recommendation.



And so our delightful dinner began.



Starting of with a lovely tomato soup that had me chasing after the rich flavor of tomato and spices with a sprinkling of mysterious crumbs that were just delicious.





Paired with slices of pleasingly chewy french bread and butter.



Want meat?


This cut was huge even for me. I have to admit that I was surprised that P400 got me such a huge slab. I barely finished it.

It was cooked a bit too well for the medium well that I wanted but I don't mind.=) The meat was very tender although the flavor of course wasn't as rich and beefy as the much pricier imported steaks in Manila but given all the other positive factors, I wasn't disappointed at all. The meat was soft and quite tasty while the mushroom gravy and their home made steak sauce were good.



Dessert was a choice between vanilla and durian ice cream. Guess what I had?=)

House 48 gives a dining experience that is homey with a very country feel. It makes embraces you like a very welcome visitor and offers food that comforts after a tiring day served by people who are very accomodating and knowledgeable. Definitely one of the best places to eat in if ever your in the area.. =)

House 48 can be found in No. 48 Daisy St. Baptista Village Santiago City, Isabela.

Okay, now I've got to start cooking for dinner!

Craving for Ice Cream

One sleepy November 1 afternoon , I found myself craving for a serious ice cream merienda. Problem was, I didn't just want the regular ice cream from the grocery. I wanted ice cream with the works. I wanted chocolate drizzle, I wanted marshmallows. In short, I wanted it pimped out.

I told Liv about my predicament and being the trouper that she is, immediately said yes and only asked that we take Andrea with us. Of course.

All that's left was figuring out where to go.

Not being in any mood for much driving, I had to get the ice cream somewhere close. The place needed to have something for Liv other than ice cream (most probably in the way of good cake) as Liv's so not an ice cream person. Come to think of it, it wouldn't hurt if they also had real food to prep our taste buds for the anticipated sweet indulgence. Oh, and since we were taking Andrea, I also had to consider her need for space to crawl on and do a measure of walking practice. Lastly, it shouldn't be too damn expensive for merienda.

With all these factors to consider, there was one place my brain could come up with that probably addressed all our issues.

Hot Rocks.

It's somewhat weird now that I think about it (ending up in a steak joint for merienda). But that's what happened and it totally worked.

The staple pitcher of iced tea: We always get this I think more for the pretty and refreshing color more than anything else.

Food:

Having decided that it would be a sin or a waste of energy at least to go to Hot Rocks without getting a steak, I got a Hot Rocks Prime Rib.
It's been quite a while since I had steak here and as I saw it coming out of the grilling area I must say I missed it. The steak was expertly done by the"taga ihaw". Better than usual even, because being the only ones eating there at that time, he had the opportunity to focus all his talent into our lone prime rib steak.

The result: Beautiful.
It had the smoky outer flavor that sinks into juicy prime rib flesh as you bite into it. Of course you don't expect a huge slab for P140 (or thereabouts) but for merienda it was just right.
We didn't eat the rice that came with it and I forgot to tell the waiter I wanted a side dish of veggies (bummer). Oh well, I was just getting started.

Liv wanted something lighter and more merienda-ish so we got a pizza. Tomato Basil Pizza that is. Another beauty. Super light and garden fresh in flavor. The crust was very thin it was barely there. The downside is, if you've got a pretty big appetite, this P100 pizza will barely pop your belly button.

Andrea also had fun moving from table to table in between courses.

As a fitting finale to our impromptu merienda, I ordered what initially prompted our Novenber 1 merienda adventure.

A scoops of Ice cream on top of blocks of chewy brownies drizzled generously with chocolate syrup (only P90+!)... There's just nothing like being able to realize a vision set by your hungry mind.

They also serve amazing cakes which Liv's just crazy over but due to our heavy "appetizers", she just opted to have a couple of spoons of my ice cream while I cleaned up the rest. Damn, I thought I'd get to try my ice cream with her cake too...

3 Things I Can't Let Go of.

I was tagged by Jen:

NAME 3 THINGS YOU CAN'T LET GO OF:

Can I make this a hundred? Haha. Liv knows so well I have issues with letting go of things.

If I have to choose just three then it would be



1. My computer. Work or play, it just saves the day!=)

2.Aircon. I just need to get into my perfect hibernating temperature before I sleep. More importantly, I hate sweating in my sleep.

3. My books! As much as Liv would love to get rid of them, I just have to put my foot down on the matter. I love re-reading my books so they definitely have to stay. Also, I want Andrea to have access to them when she grows up. If she develops an interest in reading then she'll just love me for letting her have a wealth of material to get lost in.

When you're done answering, add your name to the list:
Jen
Ruy

Supernatural Sour Cream

During the long weekend we were left with lots of time to watch DVDs. And, being Halloween, it was "Supernatural" marathon for us. Wooohooo! Fun!

I just had a blast playing with Andrea, and snuggling while watching Supernatural with Liv who's such a scaredy cat she hides everytime she smells something scary coming up (it was like watching a horror movie with a malfunctioning "Scary Sensor" that alerts you with soft whimpering and a lot of fidgeting even when the scene is set in broad daylight). It was quite funny.=)

In an attempt to make the experience "funner". I made something that thankfully worked and definitely made getting scared more fun.



Sour Cream and Chives and Mr. Chips

Ingredients:

Nestle Sour Cream
Chives (chopped into smithereens)
Grated Cheese
A dash of pepper

Mix them all together.

Eat with Mr. Chips. =)

Paris Hotel Disaster

Let me talk to you about the hotel we ended up staying at in Paris. It was nothing like what I expected. It reminded me of a hotel Ruy and I stayed in while in Laoag a while back. Seriously, can you imagine staying in a Laoag-like hotel when you're in Paris?

The elevators were so small...only one person can comfortably fit inside.

Yes that's me being uncomfortable. My luggage and myself were not able to fit inside. I had to ride the elevator on my own, then wait for my luggage as my friend loads it into the elevator. It was an experience I tell you. An experience I laugh at now but I'd rather not go through again. I can't really blame the person who reserved the hotels for us as she's never been to Paris and doesn't know much about the area and the prices.

A website with a lot of info on Hotel Reservations would have been so helpful to her. This website I found is like a one-stop shop to help you make sure your travel remains hassle free. It has info on Flights, Hotels, Cars, and Vacation Packages. It even offers a complete city guide which can help people in planning their itineraries for their vacation. Now that I've seen this site, I can't imagine ever travelling without consulting this site as it makes everything easier and hassle free.

I really think people should start getting into the habit of reserving online from reputable sites. You wouldn't want to go through what we did. It's always so much harder changing accomodations once you're already there. Plus, it ends up becoming more expensive. You'd be better off using that money buying more foie gras...or raclette...or fondue...or croques monsieur...oh wow excuse me while I wipe my drool.