It finally happened! I finally got my butt off to Pen-pen to try the crispy liempo–but wait, I really went there to try the pasta buffet.

So I thought it would be much harder to find, that is–the store, but thank you good directions and signages we managed to find Pen-pen.

So a quick rundown on the P250 Pasta All You Can Buffet, and my reactions.

Sauces:
- Meatballs – On its own it was just okay, but there’s little snippets of “suggestions” on how to eat the pasta/sauce that they call Karl’s way. I have no idea who Karl is but he knows his shit. I tried this sauce with Basil Oil and cheese as per his suggestion, and by far, it’s my favorite.
- Vegetarian – This actually tasted like Pinakbet, we’re talking pasta sauce with okra. It worked, I put some Kalamansi and I was good with it.
- Tinapa – This is also part of my top 4. Solid taste. Although not much tinapa essence, tasted very tomato-ish, but I liked it.
- Aligue – If I didn’t have to watch my weight, i’d have gorged on this one. Who can freakin’ go wrong with Aligue on their pasta?? Plus the upside was the aligue was very good, not slimy or too rich (owwwwsss.) adding a touch of calamansi, and it’s great!
- Carbonara – It had ground something, maybe it was pork. I’m actually not 100% sure on this, but isn’t carbonara supposed to be only with ham/bacon? Hmm, but it actually tasted good for a cream sauce, of which I’m not a big fan of.
- Bolognese – Normal, but still good.

You had 3 choices for pasta– penne, fettucine and spaghetti. I tasted all of the three, but I really just stuck with the penne, which actually was finished earlier than all the pastas and had to be refilled. I wish they’d have some tri-colored pasta or something, I would actually pay more for wheatbased or healthier pastas, and it could also be a draw to the more health-inclined diners out there.

The verdict is that if I would be in the same area, I would prolly eat in PENPEN just for the meatballs-basil oil experience again… oh and for this…

CRISPY LIEMPO
This was good. We had it with a nice vinegar and I could imagine myself gorging this into my mouth with handfuls of rice (okay.. bad visuals! haha!), yummy!!!

Also, my friend Doy who ate with me, had their fruity punch/iced tea concoction which he majorly loved. You can also have it bottomless and that just makes it more awesome!

PenPen Restaurant is found at Sgt Castor St, located at Morato. And the Pasta buffet happens every Tuesday!

Photo: The Prange, Pimlico

Welcome to Bon Vivant’s summary of the restaurant reviews from the weekend’s national newspapers. Enjoy!

Giles Coren, The Times

Giles warns you to ‘steer clear’ of Babbo in Mayfair, which ‘looks nice’ but they serve ‘competent food at ridiculous prices’ with ‘sickening’ service.

The menu is ‘carpet-chompingly expensive’, including a ‘dry melanzane parmigiana cut into a cylinder with a pastry shaper like some MasterChef horror of the Loyd Grossman era’, ‘good’ risotto, ‘good’ pasta and a ‘very good’ cup of coffee.

2.67 out of 10.

Matthew Norman, The Guardian

Matthew has ‘a gargantuan and excellent Szechuan meal’ at Ba Shu before crossing the road to review its sister restaurant, Ba Shan, where the kitchen ‘responded heroically’ and the waiters were ‘charming by any standards, let alone by those of Chinatown’.

Pot-sticker dumplings were ‘plump, juicy parcels of porcine goodness’, dry wok prawns ‘came all crunchy in their shells and suffused with freshly crushed spices’, and diced rabbit in a pile of chillies was ‘a nostalgic delight’. No rating given.

Jay Rayner, The Observer

Jay visits Glamorous, a Chinese restaurant in Manchester, and finds ‘confused waiters’ and ‘forlorn food’.

Char sui buns were ‘soft and light’ but ‘hardly exemplary’, strands of squid ‘had at least been greaselessly deep-fried’ and seafood in a scallop and prawn dumpling ‘had a pleasing bite, but the sticky rice-flour casing was far too thick and gelatinous’. No rating given.

Tracey MacLeod, The Independent

Tracey has a twenty-four hour ‘gastro-tour’ of Glasgow, starting with ‘seafood specialist’, Crabshakk, which has ‘crisp but friendly service and decent prices’.

Crab cakes were ‘generously stuffed with white crabmeat spiked with chilli and parsley’ and ‘benefited from the simple treatment’. Breaded and fried plaice was ‘meltingly fresh’ but the truffle oil in the accompanying mayonnaise ‘was rather too dominant’.

For dinner, Tracey visited Dining Room in a ‘gorgeously luxe basement room, with more than a touch of Deco swagger’ but where ‘the food didn’t quite fulfil the promise of a menu which reads beautifully’.

The sashimi was ‘impeccable’ and a truffled Jerusalem artichoke soup ‘shone’, a pickled onion and fig tart and confit duck salad ‘didn’t work at all’ and desserts ‘showed the heights the kitchen is capable of reaching’.

Crabshakk: 3 stars out of 5 for the food; 4 stars out of 5 for the ambience and service.

Dining Room: 2 stars out of 5 for the food; 3 stars out of 5 for the ambience; 4 stars out of 5 for the service.

Lisa Markwell, The Independent on Sunday

Lisa visits ‘crowd-pleasing’ ‘mini-chain’ Leon for ‘plain-speaking, good-tasting food’.

The chicken was ‘succulent’, the meatballs were ‘just the right side of spicy’ and the chilli was enjoyed ‘in silent satisfaction’. 14 out of 20.

Zoe Williams, The Telegraph

Zoe visits ‘fashion favourite’ Mildreds, a vegetarian restaurant in Soho, but ‘won’t be going back’ ‘any time soon’.

Halloumi ‘had ideas way above its station’, gyoza dumplings were ‘chalky and chewy’, the veggie burger ‘wasn’t bad value’, ‘the bap was flimsy and supermarketish’ but the chips were ‘absolutely brilliant’, and mock duck was ‘exactly as disgusting’ ‘as it sounds’. The puddings ‘were a little better’, including a chocolate truffle with passion fruit jelly that ‘was fine’ with ‘delicious’ jelly. 4 out of 10.

Jasper Gerard, The Telegraph

Jasper visits Dinings in Marylebone, which offers sushi and Japanese tapas with ‘uncompromising quality’ and ‘faultless’ freshness.

Scallop tartar tacos were ‘particularly delicious’, the soft-shell crab spring roll was ‘particularly delectable’ with a ‘wonderfully soft yet crunchy texture’, the spicy tuna wasabi rolls were ‘impressive’ and the lobster tempura was ‘pleasant enough’ but a ‘mild disappointment’. 8 out of 10.

David Sexton, The Evening Standard

David visits The Orange, an ‘absolute stronghold of Knightsbridge and Belgravia’ where the food is ‘not your common or garden comfort food’.

Smoked haddock, leek and potato cake ‘was just two wholly unchallenging, if rather dry, fishcakes’ and a green salad ‘was perfectly fresh and as inoffensive as they come’. A Lemon Sole special was ‘well-baked’, a braised rabbit and green olive ragout was ‘tender and well-flavoured’, and a “wood-fired pizza” of chicken, pancetta, sage and pecorino ‘was bland, even twee’. 2 stars out of 5.

Andrew Neather, The Evening Standard

Andrew visits Franco Manca, which is ‘as good as pizza gets’. The crust was ‘thin’, ‘crispy on the edges and at the very bottom’ and ‘soft in the middle’. The tomato sauce was ‘hard to fault’ and the toppings were ‘sparse but joyous’. 4 stars out of 5.

Felix is probably one of the coziest resto in Greenbelt 5…

Last Sunday, we dined at Felix…and it was worth it…yes…the price is a bit on the high end of the spectrum…but you’re gonna get want you pay for…and sometimes that’s what really matters, right?

the girls

We had been talking about going to katima for a while, so decided to convene the ‘cheap and cheerful’ supper club for a ‘not so cheap’ but very cheerful dinner on Friday night.

This restaurant has a winning formula; a combination of more formal and reserved eating areas, and a less formal bar and outside space, which is  consistently busy. What a nice vibe!

starting off outside

We started in the courtyard, enthusiastically tucking into the home-made prawn crackers and drinking a very enjoyable Mulderbosch Rose.

I love dim sum, so was very pleased to see a whole page worth of options in a very extensive menu.

the extensive dim sum menu

I ate the crispy duck with pancakes which was delicious. The curry was lovely as well as the steamed fish, served on a wire tray with intense lemon grass and Thai flavours.

crispy duck @ katima

The service outside was exceptional, inside not quite as good, but overall it was a night filled with laughs, many more bottles of the rose and  culminated in the upstairs bar for some shared chocolate spring rolls.

chocolate spring rolls for dessert

I can’t wait to go back.

bonding @ katima

My grandmother’s birthday brunch with the family was a success. All five of our stomachs left TAPS full. (While some individuals left a little tipsy.)

Here’s a breakdown of what I put on my plate: 50% raw oysters, 10% fried calamari, 5% seafood ceviche, 10% tilapia, 5% macaroni & cheese, 10% beignets, and 10% sparkling wine. It would have been 80% oysters if I didn’t have to “share” with the rest of the restaurant. (I could have taken more than three at a time but I felt guilty.)

There was a lot more of these beignets (bane-yay) before I got to them.

We don't brush our teeth with a bottle of jack, but we do drink in the afternoon.

My souvenir beads. And I didn't even have to lift my shirt.

We are definitely coming back after Lent. There was a chocolate fountain of youth I didn’t get a chance to try.

The Duck appertizer was good presentation – flavour was not there though and it was not easy to share.

I had the Penne Pasta – which was good. I was craving the pasta.

The best presentation was Eric’s Aha Tuna.

There was lots of athletic BP’s in the group section we were seated in.

I recently visited a naturopath to address of a few personal issues (of which I’ll spare you the details) and after my second visit, I walked out of Dr. Ravinder Gill’s office with a “Personal Health Plan”.   Sounds simple right?   Wrong.  This “plan” consisted of taking homeopathic and other supplements at different times, on different days, in different quantities.   For someone who loses their keys every week, this will be a challenge.  

She also presented me with my Elimination Diet.  WHA?!   These are 2 words a foodie NEVER wants to hear.  Especially when that foodie has a food blog.   I must have had “Is this for real?” written across my forehead, because Dr. Gill immediately asked “Are you sure you’re ready to do this?”.   I thought to myself – I’m a wine drinking, carb-craving Italian, with one hell of a sweet tooth.  But health comes first, so my response was “Of course I am”.    

ELIMINATION DIET

For the next THREE WEEKS I must omit the foods below to help us identify any food sensitivities.  

• NO dairy
• NO wheat / gluten
• NO sugar – including fruit!
• NO alcohol

 I’m well aware of the health benefits from avoiding the above….it just hurts cuz they taste SO good.    I had hoped wine, given its health perks, would be OK.  But it wasn’t my lucky day.   So for the next 21 days I’ll be documenting my journey right here.  Two reasons for this: 

1. I’m held accountable for sticking to it.
2. You will be introduced to some of the healthiest restaurants & recipes.  I’ll do all the searching:)

A few deep breaths and a hundred dollars later, here I am….the first day of my challenge.   

DAY 1 of the Elimination Diet 

Keith (who’s joining me for the first week) and I decided we deserved a little indulgence before we dive into this diet.   It doesn’t get much better than this…

Piece of Dufflet's cherry cheesecake

 Aside from indulging in Dufflet Pastries delectable cheesecake this afternoon, we ventured to Kensington Market and popped into one of the few Vegan restaurants I had previously discovered.    

The Urban Herbivore

The Location:  Kensington Market – 64 Oxford Street, Toronto (corner of Augusta, south of College)

The Menu:  It’s everything a vegan could want.  Salad bowls, rice bowls,  sandwiches, curry bowls and soups.  You can customize the first three to your liking by picking (A) your leaf / grain / bread (B) your “meat” replacement - tofu, tempeh, veggies, etc (C) six toppings (D) dressing.  Seeds and nuts are a bonus:)  

Our Order:   Keith had the salad bowl, I had the rice bowl (rice is gluten free and may be my staple for the next 3 weeks).   We choose things like roasted veggies, asparagus, tempeh, artichokes, tomatoes.  The dressings, carrot sesame ginger and lemon tahini, were fab-u-lous.  It looked so good we dug in right away, and only after a few bites did we realize we forgot to take a photo.  

The Scene:  It’s very much designed to serve the those looking for a quick bite, with the only sitting space at high-top bars along the windows.  No tables available. We were in a rush, so this worked for us. 

The Damage:  It’s been a year since I’d been here and it’s clear that it’s gained popularity – the prices have jumped from $7 to $8.50 for all salads, sandwiches and bowls.  The extra $1.50 did not deter. 

Why you should go if:  

• If you’re Vegan – no dairy, no meat served here.
• You need something quick without the guilt of fast food
• You like to customize your dishes, picking from a variety of veggies and dressings

Day #1 was pretty easy.  Oh wait, I had a slice of cheesecake…not off to a good start :-S