food. food. food.

I remember my first 100 cupcakes project was with a little girl named Gianna for her 1st birthday back in 2011. The theme was “4th of July” as I remember because her birthday is actually July 4.

This time, they’re for a girl named Hanna Joyce who’s having her 7th birthday party; And her choice for a theme: Hawaiian.

For the cupcakes, they preferred the chocolate fudge cupcake which I think would fit a girl’s 7th birthday party.

I bet a lot of people would think that, “yes, hawaiian. There should be a lot of surfboards and waves” and all that stuff but I thought, this party highlights a little girl and I think it would be better if I focused on flowers and lots of colors.

When using lots of colors for frosting, I prefer to use butter cream mainly because it is versatile and it doesn’t melt that easily if you make it the right way.

I wanted it to be colorful, almost psychedelic so the cupcakes would almost resemble a tie-dye shirt.

Mixing and matching the right colors, using the right piping tips and just going crazy with your imagination; it never goes wrong.

I would like to thank Ms. Ayanne Garcia for being awesome and giving me this great opportunity to make these cupcakes.

And also, Happy 7th Birthday Hanna Joyce! :D

Since it was our last day of school yesterday, my friends and I decided to get some food.

This place was suggested by a good friend of mine, (which is also in fact a friend of the owner). She said their steak was great so we had to give it a try.

It was a new place along the street of Angeles City, Nepo Quadrangle.

I must say I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to order the steaks because they already ran out, well of course it was around 9 o’clock pm so I guess it was just fair.

I was in the mood for some pasta so I decided to go with their Shrimp and Mango Linguini.

and I must say, It was divine. Just lovely balance of flavors.

Well my friends decided to go with meat.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Grilled Pork Belly both served with mashed potatoes.

That pork belly was to die for, it was soft and tender and so flavorful.

And if I may suggest, they would wanna cut back a little of the spice in the cordon bleu, The pepper was just too overwhelming. But it was great.

If you live near Angeles City or if you live in Angeles City I suggest you go to this place, they have amazing food, great service, and very affordable prices. Very good for dinner dates.

I’m very lucky to have a family whose passion is cooking. I grew up seeing my mom, my grandma, my aunts cooking together whenever there are occasions. And for every occasion they serve these sweet specialties of theirs. It’s always been a tradition for Filipinos to serve these type of desserts whatever the occasion is. And for today’s feature, we have my aunts’ special kakanin. Take note, these desserts are homemade and made from natural quality ingredients.

Let’s start, shall we?

We Kapampangans call this “kapit” it’s made from fine ground rice, brown sugar, coconut cream, and aniseed. It’s very sticky and sweet, usually served with “latik”. it’s great for an afternoon snack too.

This is one of my favorites. The “Maja Blanca” or as we like to call it, “tibok tibok”. This one is sweet, silky and creamy. It’s made from coconut milk, milk, cornstarch and sometimes if you feel like it you can add corn kernels. it’s also served with “latik”, which is coconut milk that is cooked until the oil separates.

And who could forget about these things? “Puto Kutsinta” these things are chewy, and sweet. Usually served with shredded coconut. (yes there’s a lot of coconut love with these desserts)

There are lots more kapampangan desserts that I love like haleyang ube , sweet rice cake, etc.. These dishes are very unique and it always takes me back to my childhood. Hopefully next time I’ll be able to catch that haleyang ube before anyone else can.

I wouldn’t end this year without another baking session right? For this session I am with a new friend, (which whom I met from my wonderful cousins) (have to give them credit) Sam. She wanted to learn how to bake cupcakes and I had to grab the opportunity, I mean how seldom do people ask me to bake with them?

So we started with the basics: measuring, mixing etc. 

Click »Here« for the recipe.

We also had time for decorating. We used the typical butter icing which isn’t hard to do, plus it’s the best frosting for a classic chocolate cupcake

Had a super fun time and I got to meet a new friend, which I’m looking forward to bake with again. :)

Had an amazing time today in Manila, with some of my favorite people. We had a seafood fest for lunch and it was amazing. Here’s how it went down.

We purchased fresh seafood from the market across the street.

Took it to the restaurant and let them cook it (with our preferences of course).

(top right: Sinigang na talakitok (“trevally” as my sources tell me, which is in fact is google) sa miso, top left: Buttered Prawns, bottom right: Baked Oysters, bottom left: Stir-fried Kangkong)

Didn’t get to take a pic of the Grilled Stuffed Squid ‘cause I was so hungry, plus the real highlight for me here is the Sinigang. It has right balance of sour and salty and the fish has a super delicate texture that it kind of melts in your mouth when you eat it. I also like the baked oysters, I only had four unfortunately because everyone just dug in as soon as it was served. Not really a big fan of the buttered prawns ‘cause the sauce was too sweet and too buttery. But all in all it was a great meal with great company of course.

Sorry can’t post pics of human beings right now because I want food to be a highlight of this blog, as you can see from the title. Maybe next time. ;) oh and beeteedubs, Belated Merry Christmas to all!! I was sick so I didn’t have the strength to post something here. ♥