Westlake Coffee Shop's Eggs Benedict

I always pass by this place and from the outside, Westlake Coffee Shop seems so retro that I never bothered to go inside and try their faire. Today was a breakfast day and I was pleasantly surprised!

The place was clean--although it had dated pink patterned carpets and even older booths and counter seats. It was like walking into a 1940's diner! The menu and prices were reasonable. They had the usual American breakfast items as well as staple burgers and sandwiches. I believe they are open only for breakfast and lunch.

I ordered their eggs benedict. It's been a while since I had this and always want to try it out on a regular weekday. Most breakfast places only serve benedicts as their weekend specials. The hollandaise sauce was just right. It seemed like it was freshly made. It was runny and didn't taste like it was pre-heated at all. The eggs were poached well, but the muffin seemed like it could have been toasted a bit more and the Canadian bacon was thinner than what I would have liked. But for a mere $10, it was an okay deal.

What I liked about this place was it's homey feel. Each table had beautiful orchid plants on them and the flowers were a-plenty. I was tempted to ask the owner how she made them bloom like that!

Overall, Westlake Coffee Shop is an okay neighborhood place. I really should be patronizing the local business owners more often because most of the time, I'm pleasantly surprised and walk away with a good full stomach.

Twice Cooked Pork

I literally cooked this pork twice! I always thought that the name of the dish was a give away, but when I looked at the recipe--you do to cook it twice! This recipe is a winner, especially for left-overs for lunch the following day. Details below without clear measurements:

Bonless pork: I just love pork belly and its fatty lining, so I used some pork belly with some pork shoulder and pork butt for some more tenderness and fat in the meat. Boil pork with water enough to cover the pork, some sherry (1 Tbsp), green onions (about two stalks), and a ginger (about 1 inch) until the pork is tender (about 30~45 minutes). It's best to do this the day before, because once boiled and tender, place in the fridge until the pork is cold. When ready to cook, slice into thin 1/4 inch slices.

When ready to cook, prepare the sauce. Mix 4 tsps Hoisin sause, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp white sugar. Add some crushed red pepper flakes for heat. Add sparingly according to your taste and preferred heat level. Set aside.

Slice green and red peppers (one each). Slice in 1/1/2-inch thickness some green onions as well. Pre-fry both peppers and onions in a wok with hot cooking oil. Remove peppers and onions from oil. Grate 2 tsps ginger and toss in the same oil. Add some minced garlic. Stir both ginger and garlic in wok. Add pork slices in the wok. Stir fry until pork is coated with oil, ginger, and garlic. Add the sauce and continue stirring until the pork is well coated with sauce. Add the peppers and green onions in last when ready to serve.

Serve hot over rice. Enjoy!

Affogato!

The first time I had affogato was at Il Fornaio restaurant in Burlingame. I remember it was a stormy, winter day and I had met one of my oldest friends, Vanessa, for lunch.

I love ice cream and here was this dessert: ice cream dunked in espresso! Wow! The taste remained with me and a long, long time ago, I would make it with my mom at home for a nice, out-of-the-ordinary treat. Well tonight, I made some again. Here's how to make some on your own:

Place a scoop of plain vanilla ice cream or gelato in a dish. Pour warm (not hot because it will melt the ice cream) espresso over the ice cream, just enough to cover it. Top with whipped cream and enjoy! Easy!

Remember to use plain ice cream; vanilla works best. This is nice to make when you're bored with your vanilla ice cream stash in the freezer. You really don't want to use rocky road and have pieces floating in this dessert. It's not meant to be like that! Also, I don't have espresso at home, so I just made half a cup of instant decaf coffee. The coffee turned out too warm, so I placed a couple of ice cubes in it to cool it down. I barely used half of my half cup of instant coffee for this serving.

Affogato is an Italian dessert. What better way to enjoy plain vanilla? Plain, no more!

Grand Slam Breakfast...at Home!

Now that my sister is on winter break from teaching, she has found some time once again to whip up breakfasts that surely make a great start to our days... When she was pregnant and with even more time on her hands a couple of years ago, we looked forward to different concoctions daily. Now that her free time is a rarity, we enjoy these breakfasts once again!

Today, she cooked us some french toasts and made some cinnamon/sugar mixture to sprinkle on top. I took the french toasts a bit further and heated up sausage patties and had an egg over easy....

Not quite the heart attack special, but it sure is a grand slam breakfast, home-made! Why go anywhere else? Take that, Dennys!

Spanish-style Ambiance at Patio Filipino - a restaurant review

It's Valentine's Day and with another family reason to go out and celebrate, the family was at Patio Filipino in San Bruno for lunch. I remember when the place was just half its size not too long ago. It was cramped! The restaurant has expanded a year ago and the place remains clean, now well-decorated with artificial (not cheap-looking) plants and even spruced up with updated wall decor of a Spanish flamenco dancer. They also have outside seating, but in foggy Northern California, I have barely seen anyone out there for their meals!

While their menu boasts of some Spanish-inspired Filipino dishes, we always go for the more traditional, hard-to-make-at-home dishes like the lechon kawali pictured below. Yes, it's not at all good for the cholesterol, but an indulgence once in a while won't hurt (I think, hope). To get pork belly fat like this, the restaurant must have a butcher who can send them these "choice" cuts. This lechon was crispy, almost grease-less, and dipped in the sauce...delish!

My sister really wanted the kangkong with crispy tofu as it was on the menu, but alas, kangkong was once again "out of season," so this version is made from spinach. What impressed us all is that the tofu was nice, light, and crisp--a nice contrast to the sauteed spinach in soy sauce. The tiny pork bits are sliced up chorizos, so the dish was sweet and tangy at the same time.

This tilapia fish is actually tilapia filets and you can't see it well from this picture, because the fish has been pieced together. Clever presentation! The fish was just seasoned with salt and pepper--lots of pepper and deep fried until crispy, then pieced together like a puzzle before garnishing with tomatoes and green onions. It's a simple dish, really, but the piecing together of it makes it unique.

Of course, we also ordered crispy calamari for starters and the sauce was unique to locals here, but not-so-unique if you've had "sandwich spread" from back home, because that's just what it was! I believe the dipping sauce is Kraft Sandwich Spread--you know, the one that's slightly pink mayonnaise-looking spread with pickle relish? I didn't have the opportunity for a picture because it was eaten up so quickly! The calamari was great--again, light, crispy, and well, maybe not enough... LOL! Did you notice we ordered a lot of "crispy" items? :)

For dessert, we ordered one (yes, one, for six of us) leche flan and it was your usual leche flan. Nothing fancy about it. It was a bit thick in its consistency, but this is usually the case when we order flan from restaurants anyway, so no surprises there. There are other dessert items like ice cream served in a buko shell and banana/langka turon with ice cream, but we were all full to our throats that we found no space to shove any more food!

In summary, we love Patio Filipino, the prices are reasonable, the place is clean, food is good--what else can you ask for?

My Leche Flan Recipe

Making Filipino-style leche flan (custard) has always been a challenge for me. I have never found the "right" recipe that's smooth, light, and with just the right sweetness. A spur of the moment decision today led me to make my improvised leche flan pictured above. It actually turned out pretty good--and I'm quite proud of myself. I didn't use condensed milk because I feel that makes the custard too sweet and "thick." At last, I have found that recipe which is smooth, light, and tastes delightful. Here's the recipe for you to try for yourself:

To make the caramel syrup that will line the bottom of your pan:

1/4 c brown sugar

1/3 c water

Over low heat, allow the brown sugar to caramelize and reduce. Let it boil for a while, but making sure the syrup does not boil over the pan you're cooking it in. When the syrup becomes thick and slightly sticky, pour into a round or square pan that you will use to bake your flan in. Let the caramel settle before pouring the flan mixture below (about 30 minutes in the fridge). If you don't let the caramel syrup cool and settle, you will end up with a bad mixture of syrup and flan that will have to start all over again.

To make the custard (flan):

8 egg yolks (save the 3 egg whites in a separate dish)

1 c white sugar (I didn't use all because I didn't want the flan to be too sweet)

1 can evaporated milk

First, beat the egg yolks in a bowl by stirring counter-clockwise. Make sure to stir only this one direction for the entire recipe. I don't know if it matters, but I did it anyway. Add the milk. Continue stirring counter-clockwise. Then, add the sugar. Set aside.

Next, with the egg whites in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until fluffy, but not stiff. When plenty of bubbles have formed, add this mixture in with the egg yolk mixture--again making sure to stir counter-clockwise only.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

You are now ready to ladle this mixture on to the hardened caramel syrup. Check to make sure the caramel is set. Ladle the mixture over the caramel. To bake, place this pan filled with your flan mixture into another pan that is half-filled with water. Bake for about 45 minutes. Poke a knife through the custard to make sure that the flan is cooked through.

Finally, let cool and then serve by turning the flan upside down (so the caramel ends up on top) onto a serving dish. Enjoy!

(I was too excited to try this out that I didn't even let it cool through and placed it on a serving dish about 10 minutes from taking it out of the oven. The form still kept its shape--amazing!)

Chocolate Cake Goodness - in a Cup!

Day two of this chocolate cupcake in my lunch bag today. It's all courtesy of a trip to Valerio's Bakery by my big sis, Binky two days ago. Valerio's actually calls themselves a "tropical" bakeshop. Not quite sure why it's "tropical" but maybe because they sell baked goodies from the homeland? In any case, I have never been to the store recently (last, some 17 years ago) and my sister frequents the place a lot and always comes home with a bag full of goodies. They have two locations here in Daly City--one at St. Francis Place by Southgate Avenue and the other on King Plaza drive by Skyline Blvd.

First time I tried this cupcake yesterday and I was in chocolate heaven. Mind you, I have never really been into sweets before having my baby (excuses, excuses) except for ice cream (I heart ice cream), but this cupcake, well, takes the cake! It's soft, moist, and just the right size. I ate the one yesterday in less than two minutes. Today's--I'm saving for after I publish this entry. My sis also tells me that this cake is also sold loaf-style, but you'd have to slice up your own servings--too much of a hassle, if you ask me.

In an attempt to have more of these "bad cakes," I jokingly told my family members that it was awful, bland, crumbly, and a waste of time. Of course, I had my fingers crossed during all those things.

I can't classify this chocolate cupcake as "tropical" and maybe that's the secret--in this tropical bakeshop, their chocolate cupcake is divine!