Of family affairs and good food

Denlim's Kitchen

Denlim's Kitchen is the "IT" restaurant in Pampanga since early 2015.  What's neat about this place is that it's not even a real restaurant, just a part of a house wherein they put up a massive chunk of table with Den Lim (owner) cooks in front of his guests.

Reservations here take a while.  So if you plan on having dinner here in December, I suggest you better make a reservation as early as, last May?! 

My sister set up our reservation, i think 3 months in advance.  Her boyfriend was coming in December, and she wants the family to have a formal meal before we send him off to San Francisco again.  (This is my long-overdue post regarding our dinner)

I already mentioned in my previous blogs that I don't easily get amaze by high-priced food...especially if it's Filipino cuisine... Just coz I know how to cook it, therefore I have high expectations about it.  "mahal" doesn't necessarily equate to good food to me.

Our menu for the night:

Bread and Spread

The bread... I think it was ciabatta and cheese pimiento.  Each guest gets one bread, fair enough.
Because I don't think i'll stop eating them and end up spoiling my appetite for the rest of the meal. The spread, argh!!!i'm a sucker for cheese pimiento...Den told us that it's your typical cheese pimiento dip, I'm like in my head "I dont think so!"...

Mussels in white wine and garlic oil

Some people would shy away from eating mussels at night.  However, my family, especially my sister, loves mussels.  These mussels are plump... They tasted fresh, like fresh out of the ocean.  The white wine reduction combined with the garlic oil, just perfect.

Pasta Aglo Olio

I'm a certified chef, if I haven't mentioned that in my previous blogs, well, i'm saying it now.  Some dishes, the less the ingredients are, the more I'm afraid of cooking them.  Take this Aglo Olio pasta, each chef can tell you that they have their own version of this dish.  It's simple to make, with what, around five ingredients only?!...But I tell you, not all have perfected this dish.  It's a matter of a perfect blend of the olive oil and garlic.  This one, one of the best Aglo Olio i've had in recent years.

Oriental Cashew Salad

This is definitely my favorite!!! It's so refreshing.  The picture do not give justice to it.  As they say, in food, your eyes eat first before your mouth.  You get satisfied aesthetically, with all the vibrant colors from the vegetables; then you bite into it and its like you're eating a garden.  The bell peppers, lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, peanuts and cashew...I can just go on and on...

Classic Chicken Roast

If you want your guests to enjoy their meal, always have chicken.  Chicken is like a staple in every meal we have as a family.  Whether it's fried, roasted, b-b-q, that's how much we love our chicken.  So, my sister decided to order the classic roasted chicken.  It tasted sweet.  I had to make a double, triple bite into it because I thought it was BBQed, but it's roasted. I assumed there's some aged balsamic vinegar involved in marinating this dish.

Shrimp Scampi

This I had to order rice. Hehehe!!!We were all trying to control ordering rice because there's just so much food in the table, we thought, skipping rice will lessen the guilt.  But I just couldn't help it.  This dish deserved rice.  Well-cooked shrimps sauteed in garlic, a little bit of butter and olive oil, and a splash of white wine, reduced to perfection.  #ricepamore!!!

Broiled Salmon and asparagus in dill cream

My least favorite dish of the night.  Maybe because I'm already nearing my limit or just because I like my salmon plain.  I couldn't fault the caramelization, but it was too sweet for my liking.  The dill cream was too overpowering.  I couldn't really taste the dill, the cream was just too much.

Pugon Liempo Wrap

OMG!!!This is the bomb!!! The star of the night! The queen of the dessert!!!It was ssssooo good!During my days at the kitchen, I always look forward whenever we use the "pugon" (oven) because food tastes better. The crackling on that liempo was to die for.

The combination of the liempo, with the bitterness of the ampalaya and the buro (fermented rice) was just too heavenly for words.  The ampalaya and buro cuts down the umay factor from the fat of the liempo.  We were all quiet when this was served.  Bring in the rice cooker please!!!

No dessert at Denlim's Kitchen, so you're allowed to bring your own.  The food is pricey, that I can tell you.  However, if you plan on splurging once in awhile, consider Denlim's Kitchen. Don't think of it as putting a premium on what you eat, but it's the experience of having good company over some good food is worth that dent in your wallet.

Healthy eating for a change

The Wholesome Table

It has been awhile since we ate at The Wholesome Table.  We were invited during its soft opening at Estancia Mall in Pasig City.  This was like ages ago.  Hehehe!I just decided to write a review about it now, since I started food blogging.

One thing that I first noticed about this restaurant is the feel of it.  It was so homey, very chic-country.  It's as if the moment you enter the establishment, everything seemed "healthy."

I have no idea what the restaurant was all about.  All they said was that it caters to healthy eating.

We ordered most of its best-sellers.  We're 4 in the table and we ordered food that could feed atleast 8 persons.

We had crispy calamari, carrot-pumpkin soup, greek-salad, Buddha bowl, Gambaretti arrabiatta, Pork chops, Chicken parmegiana, and for dessert, Tiramisu and creme brulee.

Crispy Calamari

I'm a sucker for crispy calamari.  I don't like it when they're saggy or overly coated with flour.  The one they served us at The Wholesome Table were actually piping hot.  I remember vividly because as soon as we're done squeezing some lemon on those tiny little suckers, I almost burned my tongue as a try munching on them.

But because my tongue has high tolerance of stuff like that, that little burnt did not hamper me from enjoying the rest of the calamari.

Carrot-pumpkin soup

When they served this at our table, I had it returned to the kitchen.  It was not hot at all.  If they specified it in the menu that it will be served room-temp, i would've understood, but since it was not, I had to send it back.  The redeeming factor of the soup, was its creaminess.  It looked heavy, but really, it's not.  It was properly seasoned and the carrot and pumpkin mixed perfectly.

Buddha bowl

This is definitely worth going back to The Wholesome Table.  The thai coconut curry sauce was a welcome approach, as it complement the brown rice underneath of the goodness on top of it.  The pea sprouts, peanut brittle (yep, they're crunchy sweet) balances the sweet, savory of the dish. Make sure to squeeze the lime before you mix everything. It makes a load of difference.

Pork chops

My friend was quiet when her dish was served. We thought she was just admiring the glaze of the balsamic vinegar over her chops, turned out the inside of the chops were not properly cooked.  It was still bleeding. (a NO-NO for pork and chicken dishes)  So again, we had to send it back.  Good thing the servers were nice and accommodating.  I guess because it was their soft opening, most things were still "forgivable."

Greek salad

Who doesn't love Feta Cheese?! With fresh greens, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, and grilled chicken is a meal in itself.

Gambearetti Arrabiatta 

I honestly don't remember the taste of this.  All i know was that it wasn't swimming in sauce, which I prefer since it's tomato based.  The pasta was also aldente, as per my friend's description when I asked how her food was.  It looked appetizing and the bacon, oh well, there's bacon involved...it must be good.

OMG!This was something we didn't expect to taste good but hands down, one of our favorites from the food in our table.  I'm not sure if i can actually give justice to the fries with just mere words; but they're really good.  They were served hot too. (plus points)

The Chicken was perfectly cooked.  And the sauce, there was no rice on our table so I couldn't scoop it up and enjoy it to the fullest.

Tiramisu

Don't be fooled or get yucky when they serve this dish to you.  Looks definitely can be deceiving and this one, with the shavings of chocolate and the hint of coffee on the lady fingers---Am I even in a healthy restaurant? Coz I wouldn't mind eating 2 or 3 servings of their Tiramisu.

Creme Brulee

They could do better with this dish.  I had expectations for this dish coz I really thought that since it's healthy eating, they could have done something else...or put a twist to it.  I haven't been back to The Wholesome Table, so maybe the already tweaked some of their dishes, and hopefully they did something with this one.

I wasn't sure why I dont have a picture of my drink...but i remember ordering Be Pure... hehehe!I know it doesn't fit me, but it was refreshing.  I actually liked it. I'm a little bit wary of detox juices coz my friends have serious issues with them, hehehe... but with the drink i ordered, it didn't taste like i was drinking fruits and vegetables.