Comfort food without the regret at Kettle, Edsa Shangri-la Mall

September 25, 2014September 25, 2014 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

I have to admit, I was skeptical about Kettle. When I read about the joint, I kept reading about their fried chicken, and was like, “really, fried chicken? I could get a bucket of Chickenjoy for one order at that place.” However, when a few friends and I went there to have a light lunch, I was fortunately proved wrong.

Here is their famous buttermilk chicken (P519):

The serving is good for 2-3 people, and served with gravy, honey, and corn bread. It was great. The skin crispy, the meat juicy, the serving large, and the gravy + honey combo made weird sense. We were four people sharing this and a couple things more, and I think I ate more than my supposed share. (I apologize to the people at lunch.) I can definitely see myself hungry enough to eat a serving all to myself.

We had the chicken with extra sides of coleslaw (P59) and roasted garlic mashed potato (P89). The mashed potato is my return item of the two, and I can’t imagine eating the chicken without it. It was subtle and comforting and I kept dousing it with honey. Not my finest hour, but hey, for the love of carbs.

We had the corned beef hash (P519) as my friend who had been to the place before had recommended it.

It was not your everyday corned beef, with chunks of beef and hunks of potatoes, but going back, I would rather get two orders of chicken, I do like my crispy skin and mashed potatoes.

The thing I liked about Kettle, even if they weren’t touting diet, healthy food, it wasn’t heavy. It may just be because we were sharing, but I didn’t feel like oil was clogging my veins and it was hard to work, thus the no regret part.

Verdict: Prepare around P700 a head if you want your own dish and a drink, but if you’re not starving, P500 is good. Nothing is avant garde, which i think is the point. So if you want unfussy food that people of all ages would like, head to Kettle.

You can find them at:

Level 5 East Wing, Shangrila Plaza Mall,
EDSA corner Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City
Telephone: +632 654-7077
Operating Hours:Â Everyday 11:00 AM – 09:00 PM

Jodythinks

Damn you, Art Garfunkel

September 18, 2014 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

I have heard this song before and it’s always been the background of heartbreaking scenes to movies and television shows. After binge watching Nip Tuck tonight, this was the song they chose to end it on. I have to admit, it got absurd and weird toward the end, the show, but hearing this song reeled me back in to the finale. The simplicity of the piano. The straightforward message of the lyrics.

Come on, how can you not shed a tear over “IÂ love you and that’s all I know”? It’s heartbreaking. The other lines point toward pain and suffering and just getting through, but the one constant is that the person loves the other.

Now that’s love. It isn’t really perfect. You hurt each other, even if you try your hardest not to. You make plans, they don’t always work out. It hurts. It sucks sometimes. However, the thing about love, from what I’ve experienced, is that you choose the other person, every day. That decision, and the reasoning behind it, is love.

So listen to Art Garfunkel today young’uns. And get haunted too. I know I’ll be listening to this tonight.

What song has haunted you since you heard it?

Jodythinks · Love/Life

Of failed attempts at being active and wearing yourself down

September 15, 2014 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

My knee pads. They’re a new must to a new me.

The knee pads in the photo are fairly new. They’re a new staple to the me that I’ve been this year, since being told I have osteoarthritis. Basically, I wore down my knees to almost non-existent cartilage protection, and started limping. MRI, diagnosis, options, and voila! Age and dirty jokes abound when I had to start wearing these, but they are honestly a godsend. I really like walking around, and with these, i can actually do that without wincing after 30 minutes. Which isn’t really surprising as two doctors told me that I wore my right knee down to the bone.

It’s disappointing, really, as I used to spend hours just leisurely walking, or did futsal for fun, and did boxing and muay thai for a while. With this condition, I have had to change perspectives and find alternative ways to get active again, and actually help myself with this thing, as excess weight only exacerbates the issue.

So what’s the solution to this bit of a conundrum? I don’t know yet. If anyone would like to let me tag along in their low joint impact activities, please, let me know. I am open to most anything, and I think having a friend to work out with helps a lot with keeping yourself motivated.

So what’s keeping you active?

food · Jodythinks · Restaurant reviews

Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza: Thank you carabaos

September 1, 2014September 1, 2014 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

I’ve read, and heard about Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza for a while. It’s been in Katipunan for a quite some time, and friends of friends have recommended it for a good dinner, and I see it at least twice a week and always think to myself “I really have to get to this joint.” My family has attempted to go once, but due to weird circumstances, we had to leave, and quickly.

So when my friend K asked to eat at UP Town Center, I steered her towards Gino’s, which is several hundred meters away. I am glad I did.

I really went there for this:

The Burrata Caprese (P355) it was a ball of fresh buffalo milk mozzarella sitting on pesto, surrounded by cherry tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and strips of fresh basil. Cheese and tomatoes. We were three sharing this, which is enough, but if you’re anything like me, you could have had this to yourself. K actually saved some to top her already cheesy pizza slice with. A girl after my own heart.

We had two pizzas, the first was the Sausage pizza, since we had a meat pizza lover with us:

According to the menu, it was homemade sausage, kesong puti, red onion and basil. The sausage was ultra rich, and I bit into parts that were just fat, so it was kind of jarring sometimes. I am not really a meat pizza person, but I could see that the boyfriend liked it, drizzling generously with both the hot sauce and the chili honey (yes, honey with sili, it weirdly worked).

I loved their Mushroom pizza (P350):

Which had cream, mozzarella, mushrooms, garlic and blue cheese. The mushrooms were the star of the show, with a kick of blue cheese perfectly toned down with the mozzarella. The garlic was a great supporting actor that added enough flavor to not make this simple pizza boring. I think i ate half that pie.

These 12 inch pies fed three hungry people well. We ordered an iced tea pitcher as well (P170), and we were too full to look at the donuts at the display. Since Gino’s shares the space with Cello’s there is an option to other from one or the other. The crack pie wasn’t on the menu so I forgot to ask about it. Did they discontinue the pie? I’ve been curious about it too.

Verdict: New favorite pizza joint. Set aside around P300 per person. Definitely get the burrata caprese! I loved that they used kesong puti in a lot of their offerings, and from the menu, i found out that they use milk from the Philippine Carabao Institute, so thank you carabaos for the yummy, yummy cheese.

Gino’s in QC is here:

2F 341 Katipunan Ave. Loyola Heights QC (above mercury drug)
1108 Quezon City, Philippines

Mon – Thu: 10:30 am – 10:00 pm
Fri – Sat: 10:30 am – 11:00 pm
Sun: 10:30 am – 10:00 pm

Phone 225 7462
Email ginosbrickovenpizza@gmail.com
Now who wants to go back with me?