Mad for Garlic
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 11, 2013
I heard about Mad for Garlic from a church friend who have been raving about it over and over. Due to that, I had this thought that one day, I will try out their food to validate the good review.
I live near the area. Whenever I pass by the restaurant, it would reminded me that I need to set some time to finally devour the garlicky food that Mad For Garlic serves. So when friends asked me where to eat for dinner, I suggested we all try out Mad for Garlic. To my surprise, everyone haven’t tried it! We were all first-timers!
There are two things I noticed when we entered the restaurant: wines and garlic! Usually, restaurants have one section where they showcase their wine selection. This is different for Mad for Garlic as they used most of their decorative space for Wine bottles! It actually looked very slick!
The garlic lamps displayed on brick walls showed personality to the place. It sets the expectation that Mad for Garlic is all about garlic. I was getting excited but I wondered how the restaurant came about.
Wondering if the garlic they used on their lamps are real? They aren’t 😛
Upon research, I found out that Mad for Garlic is actually a popular food chain in Korea. Mad for Garlic doesn’t serve Korean food though. The cuisine they serve here was inspired by the many travels of the owner to Italy. However, there will always be that Korean touch and we can taste it with the spices that Mad for Garlic used.
We asked the waiter for recommendations as we only knew two dishes that are popular in Mad for Garlic. Being good children (haha!), we followed the advice.
- Dracula Killer (Php 195)
Soft Garlic Bread Served with Garlic cooked in Olive Oil and Anchovies.
This must be the most delicious garlic bread I have ever tasted in my life so far! Thanks to the yummy garlic spread! The garlic was so soft that you can spread it around the toasted bread to eat together. The spices were just spot on! This is a must-order! Don’t miss ordering this at Mad for Garlic!
- Garlic Snowing Pizza (Family – Php 545, Personal – Php 325)
Mad for Garlic Special Sauce topped with Shrimp, Pineapple, and Fried Sliced Garlic.
My friend who was raving about Mad for Garlic caught up with us. Guess what? He even ordered this pizza for take out! I guess it was that good, huh? For me, the garlic snowing pizza was just okay. What I especially liked about the order is that they grate the Grana Padano cheese right in front of us. This made quite a difference with the overall experience in eating the pizza.
- Old Ham & Sausage Pizza (Family – Php 495, Personal – Php 295)
Creamy Pizza topped with sausage, ham, bacon, and black pepper in Mad for Garlic Special Sauce.
Among the 2 pizza dishes that we ordered, I liked this the most. I guess I’m just a super meat lover, haha! Oh, another thing that I really enjoyed with Mad for Garlic pizza is their dough. It’s thin just the way I like it!
- Grilled Chicken and Mushroom (Regular – Php 450, Single – Php 275)
Risotto cooked with Spinach and Three kinds of mushroom topped with grilled chicken.
This is what I call a perfect harmony between two distinct dishes: grilled chicken and mushroom risotto. The flavours were just perfect, al dente! I think I would want to devour this all by myself next time.
- Dancing Salsa Rice with Steak (Family – Php 395, Single – Php 245)
Garlic Rice served with Wine-Marinated beef, topped with Fresh Bean Sprout and Fried Egg.
We got this dish for free. Apparently, Mad for Garlic provides a free garlic dish card for paying customers that we can use for our next visit. The card is good for one month. I think this is a good bonus for us even though they don’t really need to convince us to come back 🙂 The food speaks for itself.
- Arrabbiata (Regular – Php 475, Single – Php 285)
Three kinds of Chilis with Bacon slices in Homemade Tomato Sauce.
Last but definitely not the least is the Arrabbiata. This tomato-based pasta was made with different kinds of chilis and slices of bacon. There’s no argument that any dish with bacon taste good. Enough said.
Mad for Garlic definitely didn’t disappoint! Oh boy, would you believe we finished all the dishes that we ordered in less than an hour? And take note, no leftovers! We were all super satisfied and happy with the food that we ate.
I have to commend Mad for Garlic for their innovative style in preparing the dishes with garlic. I don’t think it’s as simple as putting garlic in all their dishes. Especially with the dracula killer, I felt that the chefs did their research. They may have mastered the art of preparing garlic in so different ways!
I will be back for sure!
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Mad for Garlic – Italian Wine Bistro
W Global Center, 30th St cor 9th Ave., Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Philippines
+63-2-808-9517
Strengthening my Spiritual Journey
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 11, 2013
I have been a Christian for over a year now. However, if you ask me any verses from the Bible, I can’t even mention a single one. I haven’t even read one-fourth of the whole book. I feel ashamed. I did try to read once in a while but I never really followed through.
In the past week, while I was nursing myself at my home, I reflected on a lot of things. I realised I need to realign my priorities and fix them. What is really important to me? Is it my career? my health? my family? my gadgets? my blog? my spiritual journey? my friends?
It dawned on me. It’s not really about me or anyone but about our God, our Lord..
While it has been over a year, I’m still a baby Christian. I love the Lord, I believe in Him, I have faith in Him but I don’t do much to know Him more and to include Him in my daily life.
So today, I started to read His word through the Bible. It has always been a struggle for me to understand the stories inside the book. I feel that the words used in the Bible are just too deep & hard for laymen to understand. If I push myself to just read it, I think I won’t be able to absorb anything. The only way for me to be effective in this journey is to read through a life study of the Bible. The church I’m in has excellent resources available online.
I went to http://www.ministrybooks.org/reading/index.cfm and signed myself up for a scheduled daily read. It will take me almost 6 years to finish but hey, spending time with the Lord is the most fulfilling thing in the whole wide world!
There are a bunch of chapters in every Life study Book. I started with Life Study of Genesis today and I intend to continue this study. I hope and pray that I will be able to sustain it this time. Please pray for me!
The Life study books are also available via iSilo, Kindle or iBooks. Since I’m always online, I opted to use the free resource available in the ministry website 🙂
I started the day so well that I was able to enjoy the rest of my Sunday! I’m loving this habit already.
P.S. Thanks sioti Mark for the wonderful doodle!
Recipe: Red Iced Tea
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 4, 2013
I’ve always loved Tokyo Tokyo’s Red Iced Tea. Whenever I eat there, apart from ordering their bento box, I get myself their well-known red iced tea. There are times that I would go to Tokyo Tokyo just to get myself an iced tea for take out. I never thought that I would be able to replicate it at the comfort of my home. While I’m not sure if that’s how the restaurant made it, but this recipe closely resembles the taste of Tokyo Tokyo’s Red Iced tea.
Now, how did I discover this? Thanks to Kate of A Mother’s Home Journal. I was browsing through the net to find myself some recipes and stumbled upon her red iced tea recipe. I made it today. I must say that it was a good artificial juice drink! Read More
Recipe: Ground Pork and Tofu Stir Fry
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 24, 2013
I continue to find recipes online that use ground pork as an ingredient. Yesterday, I chose to cook Fifteen Spatulas‘ version of Ground Pork and Tofu stir fry. The instructions were easy to follow so I was able to replicate it quickly. I learned through the post that the main sauces in this dish are apparently chill sauce and hoisin sauce. I bought the hoisin sauce for a month now but was still clueless on where to use it. So I was thrilled to see that it’s one of the ingredients I had to use for the Ground Pork and Tofu Stir Fry. Read More
A Merry Merry Christmas from Seattle’s Best
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On October 23, 2013
If you follow me via Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, you might have noticed my posts yesterday about sampling new drinks from Seattle’s Best and being able to see firsthand their 2014 Dream Journal. I was lucky to be one of the first few bloggers who were invited for a preview of Seattle’s Best christmas offerings!
So here I am sharing what I learned from the event. It was truly an enjoyable experience considering we didn’t have a slightest idea on what was in store for us.
We went to their dela rosa branch where we were greeted by Seattle’s Best friendly managers. They were obviously excited about what they were sharing with us. It’s funny how they were trying to be composed yet it was pretty obvious how eager they were! haha!
Look at that big smile Eric gave us! You see, he was only on his first slide! I said to myself, this must be good. He started with sharing what the upcoming holiday drinks are. As Eric showed the slide about one drink, we saw a server bringing the drink to us. And boy, we were all in awe! I thought candy decorations are only fit for cupcakes but apparently, it also works for coffee!
Apart from the holiday drinks, Eric showed us mockup photos of Seattle’s Best Coffee shops with the christmas decorations. Lastly, he explained the different features of the most awaited Seattle’s Best 2014 Dream Journal. We got ourselves a planner to bring home! Whee!
Ready to know what kind of treats Seattle’s Best has in store for us? Here! 🙂
Seattle’s Best 2013 Holiday Drinks
The holiday drinks are composed of four different flavored coffee based on Seattle’s Best famous White chocolate mocha and classic mocha. What I love about them is the decoration and the distinct taste & flavour of each drink. Never have I imagined that I would see gingerbread man on my coffee! It works and I just love it! How can coffee be so cute?!?! <3
- Gingerbest
SBC’s white chocolate mocha infused with gingerbread syrup, garnished with whipped cream, topped with Christmas tree candy sprinkles and gingerbread candy man.
- Roasted Hazelnut
SBC’s classic mocha harmoniously mixed with roasted hazelnut and coffee syrups topped with a cloud of whipped cream, crushed hazelnuts and snowflakes candies.
- Eggnog Frost
SBC’s white chocolate mocha perfectly combined with eggnog and cinnamon vanilla flavors topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with silver candy beads.
- Cookies & Mint
SBC’s classic mocha with a tempting mix of Oreo cookies and mint syrup covered with whipped cream and crushed Oreo cookies. An SBC all-time Christmas favorite.
If I have to rank the 4 drinks, I would say Eggnog Frost is my first choice, Gingerbest is second, Roasted Hazelnut as third and Cookies & Mint as fourth. It’s pretty obvious that I would choose Eggnog Frost and Gingerbest because I super love Seattle’s Best white chocolate mocha. In fact, it has been my staple order whenever I visit Seattle’s Best! hehe 🙂
Once you tried any of Seattle’s Best 2013 holiday drinks, let me know which one you like!
The Seattle’s Best 2014 Dream Journal
As we enjoy this year’s christmas drinks, it’s time to get ourselves and/or our friends a Christmas gift. In normal coffee shop fashion, Seattle’s Best is offering its 2014 Dream Journal!
The Dream Journal comes in four colours: charcoal gray, brown, peach, and purple!
While listening to Eric present about their 2013 Christmas Plans for Seattle’s Best, I can’t help but notice their attention to detail.
Just look at the many features of Seattle’s Best 2014 Dream journal: monthly calendar, a music CD compilation (love this! <3), coaster, cute metal bookmark, notepads, stickers, and Php 3,000 worth of freebies!
There are indeed a lot of features about the Seattle’s Best 2014 Dream journal but the best one is that every redemption of this beautiful item will help the children of World Vision! After all, we celebrate the holidays by giving! 🙂
So how do we get one?
- Accumulate 18 stickers by purchasing 8 holiday drinks and 10 regular Seattle’s Best drinks from October 24, 2013 to January 15, 2014.
- Once complete, present your SBC Dream Card to the cashier to redeem the 2014 Dream Journal. You can do this from October 24, 2013 to March 16, 2014.
One day more to go and we can all start collecting stickers!
Indeed, it’s a merry, merry christmas from Seattle’s Best Coffee!
Get ready for some nice holiday decorations on all their branches starting tomorrow! We saw a bit of preview during the event earlier and I must say, entering a Seattle’s Best branch will remind us of our childhood Christmas. Think of alphabet toy blocks, drummer boy and choo choo trains! It’s like entering Santa’s workshop! So make sure to visit any branch of Seattle’s Best during this holiday season and you’ll feel the joy of Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!
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Seattle’s Best Christmas Treats
October 24, 2013 to January 15, 2014
http://www.seattlesbest.com.ph