Philippine Picnic Foods: Picnic Recipes

Bored on a sunny weather on weekends or on your spare time? Escape the stress brought by work and unwind outdoor. Picnic is one of the best things to do when you want to have a good time with your friends or families. Aside from having a good time, food is always the ultimate highlight of this getaway. It never went excluded on the plan especially when you want the experience to be pleasant as possible. Foods can make or break your venture. Mostly people would spend a huge time in preparing the foods. Finger foods, sandwiches, barbecues and salads are the usual picnic recipes. Nevertheless, choosing picnic recipes must be given the full concentration and must be dealt with care.

There are foods that are usually set for picnics and these foods are considered as the traditional picnic foods. But that doesnt keep anybody in preparing their own choice of foods. Though there are some points that must be considered. First is food safety. Since it would take time before you eat the packed foods, you have to make sure that the food will not get spoiled easily. Weather also plays an important part in keeping your picnic foods safety. Bacteria love to expand their population in a moist place. The best picnic recipes are those that dont get spoiled easily, effortless to store and to prepare, and most especially, luscious.
Here are some of the best picnic recipes in the Philippines.

Puto cheese


This recipe is the same with the regular puto or rice cake. Puto cheese only uses flour instead of ground rice, and so the texture is smoother. The name Puto Cheese is taken from the cheese that is added as a topping. Filipinos usually paired puto cheese with a hot chocolate or coffee during breakfast.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cake-flour
1/2 cup all purpose-flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup white sugar (divided)
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1! /3 cup w ater
2 pcs egg yolks
2 pcs egg whites
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
cheese (sliced into small strips)

Directions:
Sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Do this thrice then set aside for a while. Beat the egg yolks until its color would turn lemon yellow. Then slowly add cup of sugar while beating constantly.

Fold in the flour mixture, alternately with milk and water, to the beaten egg yolks. Add vanilla to the mixture and mix thoroughly. Continue beating the yolks until soft peaks are formed. Add the remaining cup sugar and go on beating the mixture until stiff. Fold in the egg batter. Mix well and pour mixture into a puto molder about full.

Put the slices of cheese on the top then cover with clean cheese cloth. Steam for 25-30 minutes. You will determine if the puto cheese is already cooked when you insert a tester at the center and comes out clean. Let it cool for a few minutes before removing from the puto molds to retain its shape.

Chicken Adobo


This recipe is just one of the many varieties of adobo. This is a good choice for those who love chicken. Chicken adobo can be served both on ordinary days and on occasions such as picnics.


Ingredients:
1 kilo dressed chicken (cut into serving slices)
3 medium-sized potatoes, quartered (optional)
1 onion (diced)
6 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 head of garlic (peeled and crushed)
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
1/8 cup vinegar

Instructions:
Slice the chicken and place it on a large pan. Pour vinegar on it and add peppercorns, garlic and bay leaf. Cook until it boils. Then slowly turn the pieces of chicken over. Leave it uncovered until all the vinegar has been absorbed. Stir the chicken slowly until its fat comes out. Fry the chicken until it turns golden brown. Take out the exce! ss oil a nd add potatoes and soy sauce.

Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Every once in a while, check the liquid. If you noticed that the chicken seems dried up before fully cooked, add about cup of water. At the end, the chicken adobo should be quite dry.

These two picnic recipes are just a couple of many recipes you could choose from. There are no limitations on the number of recipes you could bring on your picnic. Some ingredients of the two recipes can be modified with regards to your preference. You can skip some ingredients or better find an alternative. The most important thing is to always take into consideration the number of servings you would make and surely it will satisfy you.

Enjoy these simple yet luscious meals on your picnic.

La Bodega, Bangsar

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Ive always believed that my work life should be kept separate from my personal life, and because of that Ive rarely spoken about my work on the blog. My friends lead glamorous lives, but mine is office-bound, approximately 12 to 14 hours a day, including some weekends. As a result of more stringent enforcements from authorities and regulatory bodies, my work has become twice as taxing this year. But deep down, in some perverse way, I do like what I do. What it means, however, is that when I sit down to blog, I get distracted by spreadsheets and work emails, and I get so frustrated by the intrusion that I push everything aside.

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Life goes on, though, and its heartening to see so many food bloggers out there who are enthusiastically reviewing all the new restaurants in town, and I read the blogs, salivating and checking my schedule for my next available time slot to visit. While local food still whets my appetite, and theres nothing like a plate of Penang chee cheong fun to lift the spirits, Ive also been eating quite a bit in Singapore and have had the pleasure of dining at ! db Bistr o Moderne (a contemporary French-American restaurant by Daniel Boulud) and Mario Batalis Pizzeria Mozza. The memory of the smell of freshly baked madeleines at db Bistro Moderne, golden brown, eggy, fluffy and warm, is like a happy drug that inundates the senses. But as far as euphoria goes, I think I may have found the ultimate macaron down south in a tiny shop called Jewel at Orchard Central. The salted egg yolk macaron with black palm salt is heaven.

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I still love KL, though. If I want banana leaf rice with crab rasam, I know exactly where to find it. Every other week or so, my friends and I hit La Bodega Lounge at Telawi 2 for food and drinks after work. I like the place because it feels like home. I like the comfortable armchairs and I like the fact that its dim enough indoors to hide the fact that my clothes havent been ironed. Board games and books are available, and once, I observed a couple of really cute guys playing chess. Be still my beating heart. I have a weakness for men playing chess. I also like the fact that my friend, Bari, manages the place and he always gives me my favourite sofa.

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Ive been eating at La Bodega for several years now, sporadically, and no, I have not always been enthusiastic about it. I used to find the food generic, but Id eat there anyway because all my friends ate there. And then one day, Bari said, Hey LL, Ive got some new items on the menu and Id like you to try them. And he fed me and my friends till we could eat no more, then he fed us some more. Understandably, he fed us quite a bit of the good stuff, like the award winning signature cheese burger made with homemade beef patties and melted cheddar cheese. The Pollo Picante (diced chicken and dried chillies in olive oil) is a regular order for me. Once all the meat is eaten, I love to dip bread in the spicy, flavourful oil and slurp it all up, fat be damned. There were several other tapas items, perfect to be shared with friends over sangria or wine, and frankly, despite being still generic, I couldnt quite fault any of them. A couple of dishes from the regular menu which I thought was quite good the seafood soup, a tomato based broth chock-a-block full with shellfish and prawns, a hearty dish that absolutely should not be shared, and Pizza Quattro Stagioni, four quarters of different pizza toppings; chicken pepperoni, beef pepperoni, mushrooms and olives. I also enjoyed the Spaghetti Fruti De Mare (alio oglio style seafood pasta) which was cooked to perfection, the thin strands of pasta cooked al dente and the dish bold with the flavours from the seafood.

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I was more interested in the new dishes presented that night from the Lounge Fusion Kitchen. These were experimental at the time of trying, and I presume they are now on the regular menu. All the dishes were a departure from the usual La Bodega (Spanish) signature style, and to be honest, a little confusing. Imagine tiger prawns served in a ponzu sauce and topped with enoki mushrooms. Or duck rolls with caramelised onions in a crisp wrap, Chinese style. Tempura fish fingers. Sesame soft shell crabs. All absolutely delicious and faultless. But I cant quite decide if it fits in with the overall appearance, ambience and theme that La Bodega stands for.

Anyhow, time will tell. To me, La Bodega Lounge will always be that warm inviting place with good drinks, music, food and company. A great formula, for sure.

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La Bodega Lounge
Jalan Telawi 2
Bangsar

Tel: 03-2287 3808


Ikea Restaurant & Cafe

Ikea, besides being a great shopping place for home furniture their cafe also attract the huge crowd especially during weekends. I always eagerly want to go back for the infamous Swedish Meat Balls after my 1st tried but it's really a put-off when I saw the crowd >.<

On one lovely Sunday, hubby suggest to have early lunch at Ikea, there was no reason I can say "NO" right? ^__^ We reached Ikea Restaurant & Cafe at 11.00am & the place already half occupied. We joined the queue to get our food order. (Self-service ordering)


Coffee (RM 2.12)
Hubby's coffee fix of the day :) Unlimited refills.


Vegetarian Pasta (RM 5.30)
The tomato base sauce was tangy yet appetizing with chunks of tomatoes but penne was too soggy.




Swedish Meat Balls (RM 10.60 - 10pcs)
A must try in Ikea Cafe unless you can't take beef (The meat balls were made from beef)!!! Come with generous portion of thick fries & served with gravy & Lingonberry sauce which tastes similar the strawberry jam. The meat balls might look dry but it's moist inside & taste fabulous with the accompanied gra! vy.
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Fried Chicken Wing (RM 4.03 - 2pcs)
I think this was new item in the menu. Well marinated, crispy skin & succulent meat, a good snack indeed!


Muffin (RM 1.05) & Egg Tart (RM 1.27)
Muffin was fluffy but a bit dry & the egg tart was mediocre.

Relax from shopping for a while, come here for a really tasty & affordable meal & snack.














Ikea Restaurant & Cafe

No.2 Jalan PJU 7/2
Mutiara Damansara
47800 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Tel: 03- 7726 7777


Business Hour:
Mon - Thurs: 9am ~ 9.30pm
Fri - Sun, Eve & Public Holidays:
9am ~ 10.30pm






Ipoh Hor Fun @ Chan Thoong Kee , Imbi Road

Another good Ipoh Hor Fun in Kuala Lumpur, it is located in Imbi area and I found out that the operator in Taman Tun Dr Ismail was formerly a staff from here. Now that we know a bit of who's who in this Ipoh Hor Fun business in KL.

A delicious Ipoh Hor Fun indeed and the lady boss asked me to try their poached chicken. We shall come for the chicken.

The ingredients on the noodle is not as generous as to the one at Taman Tun Dr ! Ismail.< /span>

Thong Sui is available here and in fact there are lots of other interesting foods sold here.

Restoran Chan Thoong Kee
11, jalan Barat
Off Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur
tel: 03-2142-2779
GPS : 3.145284,101.715256

roasted peppers with capers and mozzarella

with mozzarella

Most of the time, I dont choose the recipes I share here, they choose me. Ill be bumming around, reading my epics, keeping to myself when suddenly the urge for rhubarb muffins will come upon me, and I will have no choice but to address it, or remain distracted until I break down and, you know, address it. Other times, the market controls me, as will happen when you live in a climate that deprives you of field-fresh produce for over half the year, leaving you to go completely berserk and overdo it in the months that youre graced with it, bringing home buckets when you only have enough stomachs in your family to require a small armload. But with a 20 months of parenting under my belt, Im long overdue to introduce a new reason to cook: my toddler; hes got cravings too.

red, orange and yellow bells
roasted and blistered

It started one night at Motorino when he was in the middle of another of his hunger strikes conscientious dissenting a! gainst h is mamas cooking phases where hes just not that hungry and we ordered both the roasted pepper salad and appetizer meatballs in hopes to quietly tempt him into eradicating crankiness through the consumption of life-sustaining calories enjoying good food. And lordy, he went nuts for the peppers. Slurp, slurp, slurp, it was hard to believe that just hours before hed overturned his lunch in disgust. A week later, we returned (Im currently fixated on a certain pizza, you see) and the peppers elicited the same reaction. And so it only made sense that I would recreate the dish at home.

peeling, not so pretty

... Read the rest of roasted peppers with capers and mozzarella on smittenkitchen.com

smitten kitchen 2006-2011. |permalink to roasted peppers with capers and mozzarella | 13 comments to date | see more: Italian, Peppers, Photo, Salad, Summer, Vegetarian


Best of Peranakan Cuisine at Terazza Brasserie, Grand Dorsett Subang

Best of Peranakan Cuisine at Terazza Brasserie, Grand Dorsett Subang

This month of June, you can get your fix of Pie Tee, Pineapple Prawn Curry and Cendol at Terazza Brasserie, Grand Dorsett Subang! Oh, did I mention its a buffet? Which means theres much more than that!

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Terazza Brasserie itself is a very pleasant place to dine, with warm lighting, cozy chairs and a spread of food that will satisfy you at any time of the day.

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Mohammad Faizal, Chef de Cuisine at Terazza Brasserie, has been cooking up a storm there for the last 3 years. He constantly challenges himself to learn to cook new cuisines, and learnt about Nyonya cuisine from his previous superior, a born and bred Malaccan.

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Chef Faizal explains that Nyonya Cuisine is influenced by Malay and Indian cooking, but the difference is the use of wet ingredients like lemongrass and galangal, versus dry powders.

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Oh, and its a lot less spicy too.

Dilly and I started off with the Nyonya Kerabu Mangga (Mango Salad), which was deliciously tangy.

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The difference between this version and lets say, a Thai Mango Salad, is the abundant use of Belachan (shrimp paste). The shredded mango slices were tossed in a slightly spice lime dressing,! littere d with dried prawns, chillies and onions.

Popiah station

The Pie Tee (Top Hat) was filled to the brim with minced shrimp, and the cup itself was handmade.

Pie Tee 1

Chef Faizal says getting the batter just right is an art and takes a lot of practice, especially the accuracy in measuring and deepfrying.

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The Popiah (Spring Roll) was generously stuffed with shredded sweet turnip, beansprouts, carrots and some cabbage, served with a sweet and spicy homemade chilli.

We moved on to the mains, and sampled pretty much all the Nyonya dishes on offer. Remember, these are served in addition to regular items on the buffet like soups, salads, western dishes, sushi rolls and a selection of desserts.

Buffet

The Nyonya Assam Fish was similar to the Malay Assam Pedas, but milder and with Kaffir Lime leaves for added fragrance.

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The mackerel was fresh and tasty while the sour gravy complemented the fragrant Nyonya Fried Rice.

Fried Rice

A famous Peranakan dish is the Pongteh Ayam, a tasty made with! Tau Chu (preserved soy bean).

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Now, everybody makes it differently, and here Chef Faizal actually includes candlenuts, galangal, shallots and lemongrass along with the Tau Chu to make the paste. The chicken is braised and allowed to release all its natural juices into the gravy. I found it a little on the oily side, and the Tau Chu flavour overpowered everything else.

The Pineapple Prawn was my favourite Nyonya dish.

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The prawns themselves were nothing to shout about, as the danger always is with buffets that the prolonged heat overcooks most things. So yes, the prawns were overcooked, but the rich, coconut gravy with all the flavours of lemongrass, ginger and galangal more than made up for it.

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If you love squid like I do, then the Nyonya Sotong will surely satisfy. The squid ink is used to add flavour and also tint the spicy sauce a dark colour.

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There was also a giant Grilled Red Snapper, with a Assam sauce on the side.

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Dilly tried this, and wasnt too impressed with the fish. Eventhough it was fresh, it tasted like it had been sitting out for awhile, which was a shame because looking at it alone was so impressive.

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We also tried a couple of other dishes from the buffet selection, like the Beef Rendang, which I had second helpings off.

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The beef was incredibly tender, and the sauce cooked down to the texture of moist, desiccated coconut. The Chili Crab was also very good, the sauce thick and sticky, the crabmeat sweet and moist.

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Finally, we finished off the evening with a classic Nyonya Cendol, with red beans, gula Melaka and coconut milk.

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My happy plate

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Wash all that down with a healthy drink from the Soursop promotion and what you get are two very satisfied ladies!

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Remember, the promotion is only running for the month of June, so get yourselves downthere and get your fill of Peranakan cuisine!

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Thanks Stephanie for the kind invitation, the team at Terazza Brasserie for you excellent service, and Chef Faizal for the yummy food. Oh, and Dilly for being my dinner date!

CONTACT

GRAND DORSETT SUBANG HOTEL

Jalan SS12/1, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

www.granddorsett.com/kualalumpur

Tel: (60) (3) 5031 6060 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (60) (3) 5031 6060 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: (60) (3) 5031 8686
Email: kl.reservations@granddorsett.com

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