[732] This is the End...

... Of the month of July in 2016! More than half a year has passed by.

Yesterday, 30th of July 2016, I decided to try to re-create a recipe for Black Sambo. It's apparently a jelly-like dessert that looks like a two-tiered cake. The lower part is a dark brown / black jelly and the upper part is the creamy jelly.

I got the idea for this because this was served as a dessert one time in the office and I was not able to try it out. I checked the internet for a recipe and decided to try and re-create it at home.

Before anything else, it was a decent success. It tastes good, I guess. I've never tried the real deal so I have no point of comparison. However I did make one really critical mistake. I didn't wait long enough for the lower part to set before pouring in the upper part. I got too excited to finish it. So basically it still looks two-tiered but there are places where it looks marbled.

It is an interesting effect but I don't think that's how black sambo is supposed to look. Some photos below.

Out.

Some ingredients (I had already cooked the black part here)

Black part done and waiting to set (Next time I will let this set for three hours)

My first attempt at black sambo (still tastes good)

235/365 - Gino's Brick Oven Pizza

Mushroom Pizza

Spaghetti Bolognese

My wife and I had dinner at Gino's Brick Oven Pizza near her office tonight. Here's my quick review.

We ordered the mushroom pizza and the spaghetti bolognese. Both were pretty tasty, but I enjoyed the pasta more than the pizza. Maybe because the pizza had white sauce?

The pizza was a bit bland and salty at the same time. Bland because I couldn't taste too many flavors, and salty because of the cheese I guess. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it maybe needed something else to add to the flavor. It's definitely better than the oily stuff we usually have delivered at home. And I'm excited to try other flavors because they make their own dough and the crust was definitely one of the highlights of the pizza.

The bolognese, wow. That's all I can say. They make their own pasta, and the pasta was thick, firm, and very filling. I'd go so far as to say that the pasta we had was very hearty. Let's not forget that it was also very delicious.

The pleasant surprise we had during dinner was when this nice lady beside our table told us to try the buratta she ordered. Apparently she was a regular there, and she always orders the buratta. She was very nice and let my wife and I try her buratta. We couldn't say no, and I liked the creaminess and the slight saltiness of it.

She also had us try her fresh squeezed calamansi juice. It was also very good, not too sour and just the right hint of sweetness.

Finally my wife ordered chocolate chicharon to-go. It is what it says, chocolate covered chicharon. A very interesting dessert. First you taste the sweetness of the chocolate, then the saltiness of the chicharon comes in. It makes for a very interesting taste combination.

Other thoughts regarding Gino's Brick Oven Pizza? Well, price was worth it. It's not cheap, but it's not that expensive either. Considering the taste and how filling the food was, it was definitely worth it.

Would my wife and I go back there again? Yes, yes we would. We'll order our own buratta next time, and we'll definitely try the other pizza and pasta offerings.

Out.

219, 220/365 - Food!!!

Pulled-Pork Sandwich and Carne Asada Wrap from Brasas.

Tartiflette I made myself.

It was a food trip weekend.

Saturday night my mom bought take out from Brasas for Maica and I. They went to a birthday party for her officemate's daughter and got us food after the party. Maica had to stay home since no one was left and I came home from work so we couldn't go. Fortunately the food my Mom got was good. Although I prefer the pulled-pork sandwich more than the carne asada wrap.

Sunday night I cooked some tartiflette for dinner. I first tasted tartiflette when my folks brought me to Paris last 2009. I've cooked it twice, and to be honest I'd say this second one was better than the first one I cooked. Of course, they were cooked one or two years apart so I really can't say I remember how well the first one tasted anyway.

Out.