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Eathing Healthy

2 years into our marriage and I would have to say that the biggest change - other than Andrea - would be our eating habits. We eat so much more now compared to before we were married. It's sad I know but it's completely true.



In the Philippines this is taken as a sign that you're happy with your marriage. While I would admit that I am (I don't know if Ruy is, I better ask him), I don't think our eating habits have anything to do with happiness. We are just simple voracious eaters. We are not gourmets, we are gourmands.



We have talked about eating better, now that Andrea is growing the motivation to do this is even greater. We know we need to be role models for Andrea. Yes, she eats healthy food now but she will eventually want to eat whatever it is we're eating. This means we better start eating healthier food...and fast.



There are lots of sugar substitutes out there but a lot of them taste artificial. Salt substitutes on the other hand are a bit harder to come across here in the Philippines. I watched a show in Discovery Channel explaining that while the tongue has a lot of sugar receptors - which explains the fact that there are soooo many sugar alternatives out there - meanwhile, there is only one salt receptor resulting in a very limited number of alternatives for salt.

The good news: we saw a website which offers yummy looking salt alternatives. The bad news: it's not available locally. Waaah.

I guess eating healthily will have to wait (don't you just love excuses?)

Okonomiyaki

Walking down this dark alley one cannot help but be thrilled at the prospect of what awaits you on the other side. The alley is hidden and can easily be missed if you don't know what to look for. There's something sexy about going somewhere hidden, it's as if you're in on a secret that a lot of people don't know.

The secret is Kagura and its heavenly Okonomiyaki.



Kagura is a small resto within the Little Tokyo area and is the only resto there specializing in Okonomiyaki.



What is Okonomiyaki you may ask? Wikipedia defines it as:

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, Okonomiyaki?) is a Japanese dish consisting of a pan-fried batter cake and various ingredients. Okonomi means "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki means "grilled" or "cooked" (cf. yakitori and yakisoba); thus, the name of this dish means "cook what you like". In Japan, okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas, but is widely available throughout the country. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region.

The resto is tiny, it could fit 25 people at most. There are 3 tables for groups and the rest of the diners have to sit by the bar where they can be treated to the sight of the owner showing his culinary skills.







While it's true that we went there for the Okonomiyaki, man cannot survive on Okonomiyaki alone =) specially not men like Ruy and I myself who are voracious eaters. We decided to try some of their recommendations.




Cold Udon Noodle with Mentsoya Sauce Php230 - Cold. This is my only recollection of this dish. It's like eating rice puffs or rice crispies but instead of using cold milk, you used cold broth. It's a strange dish but I found myself eating it again and again throughout the night. I think the flavor grew on me.



Okonomiyaki with Pork, Shrimp, Squid, Egg and Cheeze Php 350 - I cannot write this without drooling. How can something so simple be so good? How can soomething which is practically just an omelette be AWESOME?
I don't know what these Japanese guys do to these ingredients but the resulting dish is just fantastic. The dish is rich and flavorful with a great combination of textures. While the dish looks tiny it's surprisingly filling.




Saute Squid with Butter Php 188 - This dish celebrates the flavor of the squid. It doesn't try to mask the flavor, there's no doubt that the squid is the star of the dish. Simple. Satisfying. Good.




Kikumasamune Php 200 - Ruy has had sake before so this wasn't new to him when we ordered it. It was new to me however and I was a bit skeptical. Drinking hot alcohol just seems wrong to me.
I'm glad I trusted Ruy. The sake brought me joy...and it brought Ruy amusement seeing me semi drunk while saying SA-KE over and over again throughout the night

Somebody Spank Us

Yes, Ruy and I have been very bad bloggers. We lost the charger of our camera which means we missed out on all our food adventures.

So what have we been up to?

- Liv's obsession with catfish salad.
- Our anniversary. Ruy wanted to eat somewhere fancy but I wanted Jatujak (hello catfish salad)
- Chef Tony's Popcorn
- Ruy's Tomato Cream soup made using our new pressure cooker (bought on sale, woohoo)
- Ruy's Pork Liempo cooked using the Turbo, with a yummy sauce made with pork drippings and hoisin.
- Ruy's 3-week long craving for Sliders.
- Hau, the new Chinese Resto in SM Marikina (they have yummy sisig made from Lechon Macau)

So many more adventures we weren't able to capture =( The good news is...we have a new charger so we're ready to document our future adventures. YEY