Don't miss out : OTKB's (Olive Tree Kitchen and Bar) ANNIVERSARY MENU

In this grand life of ours, most of it is nothing but temporary. I think that it is sad that my generation celebrate/created monthsaries all because we rarely get to celebrate anniversaries. Sad really. It applies to so many things like relationships, restaurants, friendships, fad, hobby, work, etc..

But let us put the side things aside and talk about the good stuff!

When one gets to celebrate an "anniversary", it is really something, a milestone perhaps. It takes guts and a strong sense of will to do something this long. Although not all would agree that a year is LONG, but trust me. In the 21st century, IT IS.

And I am nothing but proud of OLIVE TREE KITCHEN AND BAR!

Why??!!

Coz!

In a few days, OTKB will be turning 1!

Congratulations and Happy Anniversary!

Let us count why I love thee :

• They are the very first even I have ever EVER attended. Very grateful to everyone who made that possible. Especially to MY MASTER!
• They have the best salmon I've ever tasted. 
• They have hot and hunky chefs!!
• They are perfect for whatever occasion. Dinner date, Family date, Girl's night out, Boy's night out, Birth-dates (is that a thing? I'll make it a thing), Birthdays, or for just because's.
• They have killer desserts! Very hard to resist.
• Friendly and attentive staffs!
• & each time I go, I discover something new about them to LOVE!

So here's a preview :

Let us start of with the appetizers : I don't think this is part of the anniversary menu but I had to include it, I am like so in love with Shine's umami fries, that this fries did actually remind me of that but it was a little different. It had almost the similar dip but no nori, there was a side of fresh roasted garlic and it was a bomb! It was crazy good even after it had gone cold.

Just sharing :) But feel free to add this when you get there..

So the first thing we got to try out was their wait for it!!

These tine tiny things, never under estimate the size. It was a totally packed with crab cake. It was dressed with bufala mozzarella panna (and it was good, I have no idea why I only like mozzarella cheeses) with tomato carpaccio, purple basil flowers (totally edible btw) and calabrese hash and oil. It was sweet and very delightful to the palette.

Oh these little blobs are called PANNA COTTA.

PANNA COTTA

As some would know, I really can't drink. Not that I am not allowed to or anything. I just don't like the taste. I am more of a hot choco, cranberry juice or coke kind of girl. But I gave the fella a chance, but too strong for my liking.

It is made of house made limoncello liquer (which sounds very Italian for me! Which was its inspiration), pink peppercorn berries and pecorino romano shavings! And if you love to add a little twist to this very strong ladies drink, you can squeeze the lemon and eat the CHEESE!

CACIO E PEPE

 Next dish is the UOVO which means egg in Italian. Hey I have loved eating half cooked eggs all my life and I never knew that there is a "sossy" side to the egg. I am excited and scared, all at the same time.

It was a dish inspired from The Goose Station, which is also one of their's.

REALLY NOW!! Only OTKB can turn such an everyday ordinary thing into one hell of a big deal!

I kind of struggled to break this UOVO. It was too pretty for me. With all the colors and the things on the plate like the parmesan polenta, morel spuma (which is the foam on top), pan roasted wild mushrooms and pistachio citrus around it. It was a master piece!

I had to take a glorious photo of it. Had to spin it around a couple of times and little did I know! There was a heart hiding behind it. I wonder who placed that there! But seriously, it was a sweet surprise.

FOOD ART!

I do not know if it is just me or what, but when something is too pretty, it gives me a vibe that "it might not be that good". But what scares me even more is when my vibes are right.

So I looked left and right, everybody liked it!! and they all finished it, but how come I didn't?! Is there something wrong with me? No. I love a runny egg. I don't eat eggs that are fully cooked. So I must love this egg. But I think there was a little too much going on.

But 9 out of 10 liked it, so who am I to say what is what.

UOVO

This next dish scared me. OCTOPUS tentacles. I like it's relative Mr. Squid, but when the thing is too big (I mean both squid and octopus) it scares me (a lot!).

I think it is because of the ton of clips I saw on youtube where people eat this sort of dead/alive octopus on a stick, SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME. I mean I am still confused if I am an adventurous food lover, but when something is moving all I can say is : 

"don't freaking eat it!!!"

I was actually expecting that I would not like this dish at all! Although the ravioli did intrigue me. I was scared that the chorizo and potato mousseline, with whipped butter and red cabbage broth! Well the broth really was too good!

I do know know how these hunk of a chef's comes up with these things but all together they are great! If you do go to their Anniversary date/s. You should not eat the ravioli alone. Portion it and with each part put in a part of that octopus! OMGE, it was totally heaven and the sauce was the icing on top! Real good stuff.

AGNOLOTTI

Now let us proceed to the main course! 

Now I would like you to think of the best PIG you've had and remember it dearly and now.. Put it aside!!

I am not easily swayed. Seriously, there are a lot of good food for me. I might say that this and that is good. But this MAIALINO ALLO SPIEDO was the GOD of all pigs. I mean these are the things you don't recreate yourself. This pig was so lucky to fall into the dazzling hands of OTKB's chef. There are things that are left to the professionals and this is one of them.

I would like to say that pig's should bathe in milk more!! I know this sounds very cruel to vegetarians and vegans, but you are so missing out! Omg. I can't imagine me being a full on vegetarian. I mean it was just heaven, these things you never forget.

But the portion was so "damot", I wish I had more, like ye' big as the plate more.

THIS IS THE PLATE YOU WOULD NOT WANNA MISS OUT ON

The sucking pig alone was heaven. But if you like to add a little something more to it, the spiced baby carrots, bitter greens gnudi, raspberry vinaigrette and the very succulent pig's head au jus helps. The pig's head au jus was a little sweet which I loved, the raspberry vinaigrette was a little sour kind of yogurt-y good.

The preparation alone was a loud bang. Even before the event, I saw a photo of it in their facebook page. It got me totally hyped up. I was thinking of it the whole trip to the Fort.

The highlight of the night I'ld say.

MAIALINO ALLO SPIEDO

The last main course before dessert was the BISTECCA. 

It is made of Mulwarra tenderloin with Foie Gras shavings, sweet bread caponata, mosto cotto and some zucchini frites. 

It always have my tenderloins medium rare, but even if it was just rare, I loved it! It was really amazing. Man, I mean steak's don't always steal my fancy but OTKB is my weakness. It will always be.

BISTECCA

And for once I am totes happy that I get to stay for dessert. I have a sweet tooth. I crave for it like an addict craved for it's junk. Wish the slab it came with was white or any color but black for you to like drool over it, but it really doesn't matter. Because once you have your fork in. You'll wish you had a bigger portion and forget that the slab was black.

For all cake loves, sweet tooth, or dessert junkies. I do not know if you have tried a cake that is made with OLIVE OIL SPONGE, but it was so good. I mean if it was just me, I would never order such a thing, but I am glad that I was invited and it really widens my food preference. Thank you very much and I have never been happier. It also contains lemon liqueur ganache (which I love to say), pineapple mousse, compressed orange and fennel.

Dude for food and I had a little more than what we were served. It was THAT good folks!

OLIO D' OLIVA

So this ANNIVERSARY MENU is only good for 

SEPTEMBER 26, 27 and 28, 2014

which is P1,499/ person

It is seriously not that pricey for all for these.

Think of it this way : quality over quantity at any time of the day. 

Each dish is really prepared especially for you.

Coz' you need to call at least a day in advance.

Perfection is not made in a blink of an eye. We all know that!

Give them a holler at :

• Facebook : OTKB.bhs
• Telephone number : (02) 823 03 66
• G/F B3, 9th Ave. Bonifacio High Street, Fort Bonifacio

JIPANGYI : soft served ice cream in....... CORN!

By all means, when I get asked where I wanna go, still one of the last places I would choose to go to is SM SAN LAZARO. But I was there last night and it was crazy, I think I am starting to love the place. OMG, the transformation is really something. First Terranova, Red Table, now they are about to have UNIQLO, SCARSDALE and then this!!

Now what is Jipangyi? 

Okay, so they weren't facing the right way for them to be a "?". FAIL!

But according to their website it is :

The only soft serve ice cream store offering freshly made cones out of corn, which are a healthy alternative against sugar-loaded cones. With the various cone shapes of Jipangyi, ice cream can be enjoyed without any spills and mess. Jipangyi Seoul Ice Cream comes in various flavors and can also be eaten with different toppings.

I have tried the thing and I am actually quite confused if I like it or not. I think the corn was a little too thick and too little ice cream inside. Not that there is something wrong with it, IT IS ME. I love to have more ice cream and less corn please. Haha 

Btw, you gotta love how "LINES" attract people. That was what made me notice it really. I was like what the heck is that because they had this CANE like thingies hanging on the side and people are touching it and playing with it.

So we/I must obey the bandwagon and FOLLOW THAT LINE! So I did. OMGE, I just followed a line (not normal Kat, not normal).

It really wasn't a new concept to me because we already have the ice cream inside the barquillos, Which I was a fan of in UST, so everytime I pass by I made sure to grab one since it was I think P15 or P10. Super affordable. And this is also similar to that. Although the barquillos does go floppy after a few minutes.

And here comes Jipangyi offering something similar yet not so. They don't use the sugar encrusted cones that are available commercially, instead they use CORN. Corn is definitely an alternative to people who "like their cake and eat it too". I think my mom would dislike the idea of "NO CONES".

You can enjoy it with less (take note : LESS) guilt. It is still ice cream, that you have no escape. 

Call me maybe? NAHH!!

It is cool really. Loads of people walking around with J's on their hand. And trust me, the J was hard to melt. It wasn't like barquillos. It's just like sugar cones, very sturdy. Although I think I wouldn't recommend it to people with full on false teeth, haha I think it would be hard to eat it. Literally. And for people with braces. Coz I remember when I had mine, it keeps snapping off because of all the junkie food I eat. Hehe (sorry doc for giving you a hard time). But feel free still to give it a try.

I actually joked around with my best friend saying that the thing lacked just one more thing : CHEESE. It does remind me of cheetos and cheezy. My favorite corn snacks!

They have been open less than a week and the line is still there. They offer dessert for just P35.00 which is relatively cheap and affordable for all.

For an additional P5.00 you can also add toppings like M&M's, Almond coated with chocolate, Hershey's Kisses or gummy bears.

Which was fun! But word of advise. EAT THOSE TOPPINGS FIRST. Lol.

Why?!! Coz I was crazy excited and baffled as to how I was suppose to eat the thing. I ate from the bottom thinking that this was where the liquids would go to and forgot that I had my kisses on top. That thing fell down like it was on fire. Jeeesh. The 5 peso coin I will never get back. Story of my life. Haha but it was fun and it is something new to the Philippines.

Try it before all the J's run out. I wonder if they will have a K next time. Haha

Jipangyi is from HAPPY RECIPE FOOD ENTERPRISE and Co. who also owns buko maxx, waffle and co., flayvers. They take simple food to a whole new level. Awesome aren't they?

I saw in their facebook page that :

Jipangyi is actually what Koreans call a “walking stick” and how apt a name too for the corn stick snack many have traditionally enjoyed. 

Do you mean like this???

Ok so here is me goofing around like it is a "walking stick". I swear I didn't know until now that I am writing this post while doing some research. #LunaticOnTheLoose is the perfect hashtag for this. But hey! It is a different walking stick, walking ice cream stick. Oh please let it have its own legs!

It is perfect for kiddie parties! Imagine the clean up crews happiness to hear that there's no ice cream spills and mess to clean up! I think it would be cool for them to do children parties right?! Do I get an amen to the Mommies?! :)

Sorry for the redundant face. I just had so much fun with it! You should too! :)

Visit them in the ff branches : 

• SM SAN LAZARO, ground floor, near the supermarket
• Mall of Asia
• Alabang Town Center
• SM Manila
• SM Bicutan
• SM Davao
• SM Clark
• SM Pamapnga
• ......................expanding still!

WEBSITE : JIPANGYI

FACEBOOK : Jipanyi Seoul Cane Ice Cream Manila

SHINE Bakery and Cafe's savory buffet, dessert buffet and party trays is everything you need and more!

I'm sure that will be one hell of a party! :)

was the last thing I said about SHINE in my last post about them, but now let me tell you more!

For starters, I almost never win anything in my life that it is nothing new for me to lose. Not the luckiest person in the world either, I can't even win a single dime when gambling (by none, I mean no beginner's luck too!). Good thing though! But seriously, 1st, 2nd, 3rd price or place has left my brain since- forever.

They say that people have their moments and I had "that" moment when I least expected it.

What a fat grin I have! Hohoho

But before I proceed with this entry. Proud to show my photo op. with the ever so beautiful Chef Sunshine Pengson! Her baked goods are as sweet as her smile! But I'll tell you more about the sweets a little later. Thanks for the goodies btw!

As I stepped inside SHINE, I felt like the world was smiling despite the bad weather outside. It has been raining crazy these past few days, but not raining hard to be exact. So I am really puzzled as to why the whole metro is flooded. Even our house which is Ondoy and Yolanda proof had water rushing in from everywhere. Imagine everybody's surprise and panic!

But back to SHINE. I was really excited to go back there. My first time with big brother a.k.a. THE PICKIEST EATER, it was really good that it felt normal for me to be this excited on my way up.

Their UMAMI FRIES BTW still haunts me in my sleep. Anyone who dislike fries because of their bad rep. Forget about it! Let go of fear and let the pure love in! It might be a little costly for some thinking that "eeeh it's just potato". JUST ORDER IT and reevaluate!

THE UMAMI FRIESSSSSSSSS!