Kimukatsu: Not Your Ordinary Tonkatsu

Before Charlie left Brady for good, he treated the whole team (previous, even new teammates) one last Japanese lunch at Kimukatsu located in the east wing of Shangri-la Mall.

All 6 of us that came in that afternoon were treated and attended by the staff like royalty. Most probably because we were the only people at the time.

One of the interesting things I found out while choosing what food to get was the differently-colored menus for men and women. White for the women, black for the men.

According to Kimukatsu's menu, Kimukatsu's not your ordinary tonkatsu. It is made from 25 layers of mille-feuille katsu in seven flavors.

So the 6 of us chose different flavors of kimukatsus mainly Cheese, Garlic and Black Pepper. While waiting for our mains to arrive, we dug into our unlimited cabbages and miso soups.

I had the cheese kimukatsu and it was great! The chicken was perfectly tender with a generous serving of cheese on its layers.

The rice came in this wooden container. I wish we have good rice like this everyday!

We also tried the garlic and black pepper kimukatsu that the others ordered. Garlic is actually good as well! 

I would definitely recommend these flavours to anyone who wants to try out Kimukatsu. Plus, kudos to all the staff who made us feel so special that afternoon. We felt overwhelmed with all the attention given to us, hot they were too attentive with our every needs, but it was the good kind naman. :)

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Kimukatsu
Shangri-la Plaza Mall
5/F Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Shaw Blvd cor EDSA
Wack Wack, Mandaluyong
(02) 727-0333

Osaka Ohsho: Not the Best Gyoza I Ever Had

Finally got to try Osaka Ohsho in the spanking new Fashion Hall of SM Megamall with my friend Kimi, her (my god)daughter, Kai and her Aunt Sue.

I ordered the Gyoza Koshihikari set while she had the Black Vinegar Chicken set, chicken for the little one.

These ropes as decor.

Babygirl Kai Mykonos intent on practicing her chopstick skill.

The place was packed (it was Friday) after we have placed our order so I guess that

The Gyoza Koshihikari Set. Too bad the fruits were not unlimited like the rice.

I had such high expectation with Osaka Ohsho's gyoza especially after being hailed as the best gyoza in the world (by whom anyway?) but I don't think it was met. For me, there was nothing special with the gyoza. It even has this after taste that I honestly didn't like, whatever it was (I told you, I am a crappy food blogger). I am easy to please and not picky with my foods but these gyoza I just had do not count as the best I ever had.

I probably should try the cheese and the nori gyozas next time, maybe those will live up the hype.

30 Days Before I Hit 30

I will be transparent. I will allow my almost 30 self to be emo one last time so I can bury being emo along with 29.

You know how writing down whatever pent up emotions you have make everything a wee bit better? No? Blimey.

I am the most terrible writer in the world but I still do it anyway. A journal (or this platform) does the trick of keeping the demons at bay.

Lately I've been letting the demon comparison take away my joy. I keep on obsessing how this someone or that someone has so much, I could never catch up. Ugly thoughts, I know. And ashamed as I am whenever I snap out of it, the dirty thoughts won't go away. The sad part is - and I acknowledge that this is WRONG - I keep reverting, and in the process, blame it on the circumstance of how I came into this world.

I keep on counting all the things I am not accomplishing, the things I've been missing out on, the plans/dreams that never reached fruition. How most of the time I feel so alone in whatever mathematical equation the universe is putting me through.

That I forget I have a lot of things to be thankful for. Waking up each day, eating twice a day, having a job, water and electricity, not getting mugged whenever I get home from work. 8 years ago, all I wanted was to eat a decent meal at least once a day in order to live and face another day but mainly, strength to deal with another trigonometry and calculus problem sets. My needs were basic. How did I let myself become so worldly?

It might seem silly to want and desire a lot of things but that's the beauty (and heartbreak) of being human. We were cut out for this. It's just a matter of determining how to execute these wants and desires.

Your move.

You can work and tire yourself like a horse but still it wouldn't be enough. 

You can help steer someone else's life to make it better but you can only do so much, they gotta help themselves too. 

Some bastards get really lucky and it's not even their fault. You can't blame them for getting all the great stuff while a third of this world's population wring in various kinds of suffering.

As my favorite phrase puts it it is what it is.

I have to will myself to get out of this slump, otherwise I'm gonna be a miserable, old witch. I don't want to be a miserable, old witch. I'm too bouncy to be a witch!

It seems my well of positivism towards others run dry when it comes to myself. I think I'm being too hard on myself and have always had. I've been denied too much in this lifetime and here I go, continuously denying myself of the little things that could make me happy. The curse of my forefathers are not mine to bear.

Only I can help myself snap out of this. The universe wouldn't want a green and wretched girl under its wing. 

Frustrations and unrealized dreams will be the death of me but I suppose, in the end, these'll all be still up to me. There's no other equation. It sucks but it is what it is. 

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A la livejournal:

Mood: wistful

Background song: Time To Pretend - MGMT

Kettle and Their Seriously Big Portions

Another late post.

So the Cheese and I decided to try this "American" restaurant in the east wing of Shangri-la Mall best known for their buttermilk fried chicken.

Boy were we in for a surprise. I sincerely did not expect to be handed down a towering serving of Potato and Pork Strips. Had we known we would've summoned friends from their hibernation to help us out.

The Cheese vs Potato & Pork Strips

I ended up taking it home munching it til my gums bled. There were still some left to be shared to my colleagues the next day! Grabe, it was that much.

Pork and Potato Strips. Crunchy pork belly and fresh potato strips, fried herbs, red pepper aioli. PhP339.00

When our main dish, the Buttermilk Fried Chicken (boneless!), was served our jaws dropped again (okay a bit lang). These are 2 huge chickens served with 3 corn breads on the side.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken with honey glazed cornbread, country gravy, Cajun honey. PhP519.00

How we managed to finish those humongous chicken is beyond me. But we did it. And we loved it.

My only advice when planning to eat in Kettle: don't forget to bring family or friends to share those delicious foods! You won't regret it.

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Kettle
5/F Shangri-la Plaza Mall, East Wing, Shaw Blvd
Wack Wack, Mandaluyong
(02) 654-7077

Going Organic at Green Pastures

A couple of months ago I met a friend for lunch, and knowing he's a staunch vegetarian, I suggested we try this farm-to-table, organic restaurant at Shangri-La Mall's east wing called Green Pastures. 

The place was packed when we got there but a staff managed to find two seats for us quite quickly. When we were lead to our seats though, I knew it's not gonna be a quiet corner at all. It was an open area but the acoustics was really bad (in the whole floor?) we barely can hear ourselves over the buzz of conversations around us. Nevertheless, we didn't let this dampen our organic lunch experience.

Anyway, we immediately chose our orders. The nice thing about Green Pastures that I've learned from reading other blogs is their monthly change of menu. There's a high probability that you won't be able to order the same thing you had a month ago.

I ordered Squash Blossom.

Squash Blossom - homemade burrata cheese with creamy ricotta, grape tomatoes and basil

And this awesome, AWESOME smoothie called MGM Grand. MGM as in mango, ginger and malunggay! What's even awesome-r is this photo made it to their instagram account!

My friend Steve ordered the Vegetarian Burger That Doesn't Suck and based from his reaction, I guess it really did not suck :) I forgot what smoothie he ordered but remembered him liking it as well.

PS: The fries were absolutely divine!!

Vegetarian Burger That Doesn't Suck - 100% vegetarian burger made with organic chickpea, mushroom, leeks, celery and eggplant with homemade cheddar cheese.

Thanks for the organic lunch, bud! If vegetarian food are as good as these, I could totally do it. In about a month. I think. Because I can't quit meat!

Weird But Cute Pocky Design

I saw this weird-looking packaging of Pocky in Paseo de Santa Rosa the other day, one that totally screams I'm from Japan!

Tell me, what do you make out of it? Me, at first I saw a swine then upon closer look I thought it looked like a butt-cheek. Yes I know it's supposed to be a peach-flavored Pocky based from the design but it doesn't look like one to me lol.

Is this a limited edition? Oh Japan, how do I love thee.

Edited: Apparently, this weird looking guy named Kakuremomojiri is a character in the Kobito-Zukan (literally translated as dwarf encyclopedia), a very popular picture  book in Japan illustrated by Toshitaka Nabata. Since he is a peach, he lives in a peach orchard.