Thai Chicken Curry

And so I decided to cook today after depriving myself of some yummy treat last night I opted to cook my all time favourite dish "CHICKEN CURRY". I usually use the Indian paste but earlier I tried the Thai curry paste and I must say, I prefer the Indian taste over what I had earlier but nonetheless it was still good. 

I don't know why I love traditional cooking and spices from east asia but they really smell good though breath wise - they aren't. I think my Indian friend Veena also had an influence on why I heart dishes from India, she used to bring home cooked traditional meals at school when we were in college and it always smelled good and taste good thus :)

I'm not fond of jotting down the entire recipe because it's on the pouch for the curry paste but I added additional veggies on this like potato and carrots and some ginger and chilli (i love spicy stuff and this paste is just "mild" so) and onions. I kinda like sauteed the paste with onions, a little oil (a spoon), and coconut milk as per instruction on the pouch but how to cook it varies on each type of Asian Home Gourmet paste. Then I added all remaining ingredients and had it simmered. The important part is to not over cook your veggies - so since eggplants easily gets cooked - I put them last followed by the chillies. 

The finishing touches were just for fun, I placed coriander leaves and onions streaks just for fun. I always love doing nice presentations for food :D It's kind of overacting but hey! Since I'm eating it and serving it, might as well make it eye catching - tempting. :)

Happy cooking, if you decide to cook. Thai Curry paste is a little sour and sweet - the Indian Curry paste is stronger and thicker in a sense that I highly recommend it than the one I used here. Asian Home  Gourmet are readily available in all grocery stores in the Philippines - just go to the imported section and it's there. They also have other products for soups and rice spices.

BTW, the rice above is regular rice which I added a teaspoon of salted butter - thyme - black pepper and basil leaves. A little experiment on your dishes won't hurt as long as you don't overdo the portions. :)

Food: Saigon Edition

Currently Listening To: Marry Me by Train

Of all the Asian cities that I've visited - Saigon Vietnam will forever remain a favourite :) Not because I've learned so much about my self from experiences but because I love the street food and some restaurants from there. 

Food tripping is how I call it, I think in almost all my travels I try to taste something that's entirely spiced and prepared the traditional way but of course we all must take precautionary measures to avoid getting sick or poisoned at some impulse instances. 

Here are a few photos of the foods I've tasted during my recent trip to the city where I fell in and out of love - Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) Viet Nam :)

THAI EXPRESS: now this is entirely not a vietnamese diner but that of the traditional Thai spices but there are food like their Chicken Curry which was prepared the way vietnamese would. I wanted to taste all the food on the menu but heck I was the only one eating thus - I went for the food that I craved for that day. This is my third time to dine in this resto and I must say the taste of the food are good - I mean when they placed the "chilli" icon on the menu - they really mean it. Not so expensive and it's a good experience to try out thai cooking in another city which is not Thailand. Price ranged from 40,000vnd to 200,000vnd. Their Thai Red Iced Tea is a must and this shrimp toast is a personal favourite. They also offer salads for the health conscious and other thai cuisines that will suit anyone's cravings. They have a handful of locations but I'd say choose the one at the lower ground floor of Vincom Center District 1 because it's just inside the mall :) Open from 10a - 9p.

THE SUSHI BAR: another favourite because I love their Bento meals - I always chose to have the salmon instead of the other fish that it on the menu because their salmon is cooked in a really enticing way and their Bento is jam packed already, you'll surely leave with bloated stomach :D Sushi is also great and their sashimi too but didn't get a chance to try the sashimi set (i'm not a fan of raw meat). Anyhow, they also offer tons and tons of choices for sushi and sashimi and bento boxes and other noodle related meals. Price ranged from 35,000vnd to 230,000vnd and they also offer different kinds of beers - liquors :) Open from 10a - 2a and they also offer delivery services :)

BURGER KING: who would missed this place??? it's located on both floors right at the exit - entrance area at the Airport :D and if you get lucky - they offer buy one take one meals during night time. :D Price ranged from 40,000vnd to 120,000vnd. Open from 9a - 12mn. This joint is wholesomely for those who craves for something American and ready to go meals :D

PHO24: if you're visiting Saigon for the first time, surely you wouldn't miss this place all over the city and in almost all district. It's open 24 hours 7 days a week and yes! they serve the authentic Vietnamese famous PHO noodles which I will never grow tired of eating :D They have set meals which cost around 70,000vnd with drinks and some additional dish. They also have rice meals and sizes for your noodle consumption :) The Vegetable wrapped is a personal favourite since I don't eat pork :D Vietnamese, just like Filipinos - loves pork :D

RIO CAFE: this is the place where I was first brought when I first stepped foot in Saigon and I must admit, I am a fan of their rice meals specially the chicken set. Vietnamese has this way of cooking their chicken that just makes me want to eat an entire - yes! chicken. Rio cafe is like a chill out hub where you can meet with friends and do corporate meetings and have coffees - do the internet surfing stuff and relax. Price ranged 40,000vnd to 120,000vnd. 

STREET PHO near Ben Thanh Market is pricelessly good and cheap :) 20,000vnd for a bowl :D

"TAHO" as fondly called in the Philippines. This is the Vietnamese counterpart - it's very simple but tastes really good. 5,000vnd :)

MI XAO BU! Another street food favourite which is the Philippines Pancit canton counterpart but this one is prepared different - they used regular instant noodles then topped it with meat and veggies which are to die for. And it's not expensive. This one is priced at 20,000vnd on the street of Bui Vien :D

Now this one is an interesting soup which I forgot to asked the name but it had a lot of weird stuff meat in it but it taste really great and it's SPICY :D 10,000vnd for a bowl :)

Another great tasting soup - more like bird's nest back here at home but this one is crazy good - if I had rice when I had it - my life would be in cloud nine :D This one's at district 5 near a friend's house. And it cost 10,000vd for a bowl. In it are quail eggs and century eggs :D

On the street near Park Hyatt hotel - who doesn't know or should I say - there isn't a tourist in Saigon who would missed this for their life - Ca Phe Sua Da! Trust me! It's better than Starbucks - Coffee Bean and all other world wide known coffee shops. There's just something about the way they prepare it - too sticky and they aren't shy to give you their spoonful of coffee in every glass. And yes! this is readily available everywhere. On the side streets - parks - just almost everywhere. Prices ranged though - depending on which you're getting it. A MUST :D

BANANAQUE, Vietnamese style. While waiting for my bus ride - this caught my eyes because it was prepared entirely different from what I was used to - the coating that is but it's the same taste as the ones sold here :) 5,000vnd for one, not bad I should say and it's really good :)

Had this a day after my birthday... it's regular bread with tons of stuff in it :D 15,000vnd for one and it has every thing - choices for meat are ham - sardines and egg. of course I opted for eggs then all those veggies - cucumber - coriander - carrots and white squash and some chilli and it's freaking mouth watering :D And I tried this noodle thingy which was also good :D This is authentic street food 'cos they just had a small stall near the hotel I stayed - just outside the street :D

HUMONGOUS Chicken meal from a resto in Bui Vien! And like I've said earlier, the way they prepared their chicken in Saigon is crazy yummy :D This one cost around 80,000vnd.

Another Tapioca treat but this one came with Sagos and was served warm :)

OK OK OK! I suddenly felt tired and hungry writing about the foods I've tasted back there :D I've tried other stuff from the streets but I don't have photos of them. I have this favourite huge cracker favourite which goes good with beer - its has black sesame and it's a big round cracker. Ahhh :D 

I love eating and it doesn't matter where - who cooked it - how it was cooked as long as it smells and taste good - I'm up for the treat. There's this particular memorable favourite of a chicken meal set which was really cheap and was really good tasting somewhere in District 3. It was what I had on my birthday and it was also amazingly prepared - home styled cooked and the rice is just nuts yummy.

I'm not really a great fond of the Vietnamese way of cooking - I don't think I'd be able to prepare a dish from their country - all I know is that I like dining and pigging out from their street food choices and it's also because I was with great company when I had them - apart from the ones where I ate alone. 

There are other dishes that I hope to try if I get a chance to visit Saigon in a few years time. So 'til next good tripping. Missing you Saigon :)

Chicken Mexicali Ziti in White Sauce

I've been a fan of Sbarro's Baked Ziti in White Sauce for what seems like forever and finally I am proud to say I've created a semi almost like taste for the white sauce even better :)

But have to have the pasta in a twist. So I decided to create a different twist with the ziti by mixing it along with ingredients that are solely for regular pasta sauce but in a Mexican style with the young corns and tomatoes and all just to add more spice on it along with some pesto sauce which makes it really interesting.

I basically need to add more sauce for the remaining ziti I've cooked but good thing I know how to create the white sauce now :)

Chicken Carbonara

It taste good but I have to add more parmesan or regular cheese on the sauce next time. Lacked the salty taste and also have to add more all purpose cream on it but my different take and approach on it is good. Sauce has potatoes, shrimps and mushroom then I just sprinkled the boiled chicken bits on it :)

Seafoods Pasta

Initially planned of just having plain real tomato sauce with pesto on it but I decided to experiment and add some all purpose cream on it thus the whitish sauce then I added shrimps, sashimi crumbles and some berries :)

Stir Fried Noodles aka Pancit Canton (the famous panton of the Philippines)

Stir Fried Noodles aka Pancit Canton. In almost all important occasions (most specially birthday celebrations) in the Philippines, Pancit Canton is always present. According to folk tale tells, a pancit canton on the table during birthdays wishes the celebrant longer life and stuff. On my part, this dish is a favorite. I think that I've lived my entire life loving noodles. As a kid, as per my mother, I never ate anything but noodles (cooked in any form). Noodles everyday which forced them to be strict on my meals and to which led me to having this oversized killer body (NOT!). I was scolded and spanked by my parents so I'll leave the famous noodle craze. 

Anyhow, I'm not a good cook. I'm still learning and my dad cooks this dish delishly and I always wondered if I'd be able to do just that and the day has finally come, I should say. I'd say you can put a lot of twist to this dish and truth of the matter is, I still lack some ingredients to make it more tasty such as the little shrimps but nonetheless, a pancit canton will always be a pancit canton whether it lacks some ingredients or not because filipinos knows the taste by heart and I'd say, I've been tasted some dishes that are the same as this in other Asian countries but nothing beats to the way Filipinos prepare it.

Happy Meal everyone!:)

Beef Humba with Egg

One of the many famous dishes in the Philippines. It's supposed to be Pork but I opted for Beef since I don't eat Pork but same old taste as the one made of Pig's meat. And the egg, well, I really like boiled eggs with sauce and stuff :D That's me and I love it. I love the taste.:)

Tuna in Tomato Sauce with Broccoli

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

That almost got me. I thought Sherlock Holmes was dead but knowing his character, he always has ways and tricks to get back on track. Yeah! I love this movie, mainly because I love Robert Downey Jr :D

9 out of 10. The story was a bit dragging but still the same great stuff you'll expect over and over :)

The Zahir By Paulo Coelho

Currently Listening To: Colors by Tori Amos

I'm a believer of so many things. I believe in almost everything that exists and in both good and bad that is within each breathing organism that surrounds me. 

It has been a year since I bought this book and started reading. It has traveled into 4 cities in Asia but I just finished reading the entire plot today. 

It is not the typical Paulo Coelho book that I like, I basically bought this out of the need to collect all his literary piece. I find the book a bit dragging but the end part made me think. I was not meant to read it last year. I was meant to finish reading it at this exact moment.

I always believe that certain things happens for a reason, that everything has its sole purpose as to why it has to be like this and that and now I must admit, finishing this piece came out at the perfect moment.

Like the lead character I've been blinded by the zahir. I've lived by it's shadows for the passed years and I've struggled hard enough to maintain the balance within me to keep me afloat in most days when it just feels like shit in most part.

I think that when you're in love with a person, you don't require any answers to all the questions that you have in mind, you just let things be. You don't have to understand the choices that came along instead you have to accept and embrace the pain that goes with it. You acknowledge your weakness and the strength that will come out from all the decisions that you made and are about to make.

At the end of the book, it did not matter whether she got pregnant by another man nor how long she waited for him to come back, or how much he wanted answers for all the questions he had. It didn't matter because when they found each other, the contentment of finding each other was all the mattered. The acceptance for the past and the clear embracement of the present and the future is all the mattered.

I don't really know if I'm making any sense now but I feel a different high. Every Paulo Coelho collection is inspiring and unique in so many ways. You learn from each stories and you can relate at some instances though your experiences are randomly different from what was written.

The Ghost Rider: Spirit of The Vengeance

I've been following this flick for since the first movie came out and it always gets me off my feet when I see Johnny Blaze do his thing with the bike and stuff. I'm not a big fan of motorbikes films but this one is an exception because it has that marvel comics vibe which I totally love. 

9 out of 10