My IT friend and The Village Chef

I have a number of pending activities and happenings to post but today I'll write about something that's fresh as it just happened a few hours ago.

I had a great time with my high school and college friends and dormmates.  Aileen, my IT friend whose two-week vacation ends today will be flying back to Singapore in a few hours.  I was out-of-town and busy for the past two weeks,  so it's only last night that our date materialized.

Aileen and I met with our other friend, her roommate actually in college, Arceli, the historian turned lawyer turned Village Chef.  Isn't that amazing? Yes, she's the chef of a restaurant in Marisol "village", hence the Village Chef. LOL.  I don't know if that is where the name came from, I just put that up, so don't take it seriously.

It's my first time to visit this restaurant and I must say everything is "eccellente".  It's not that I am biased because the chef is my friend but the dishes that we've tasted are all delicious and the ambiance is really great, a very cozy one.

The main entrance. Photo credit: The Village Chef's Facebook account. Heheh! My friend and I were excited to see the chef so we entered the restaurant immediately.

The Menu's cover.

Homemade Iced Tea, a refreshing one.  P50

Four Cheese Pizza, P320 (12 inches).  A must-try dish. I sooooooo love it!  I am not a fanatic of thin crust as I always get disappointed on thin crusts I have tasted before so when I order pizza it's always the thick one. There's one exception though, I am addicted to "panizza".  And the crust of this pizza is close to that so I am loving VC's thin crust now which  has changed my view of the thin crust.

Arugula! This herb has now been a  common name for those foodies who love Italian food. It's a nice touch to top it to the pizza as it gives a twist to its flavor.

Cannelloni, P170 or P180. For those not familiar with it, here's what Wiki has to say - "Cannelloni (Italian: large reeds) are rectangular pasta sheets that are rolled into a cylindricalshape encompassing a filling. After a pasta sheet has been boiled, it is typically filled with asavory stuffing which may include ricotta cheese, spinach, and various meats. It is then covered with a sauce, typically a classic tomato or béchamel sauce"

I love this too!  For those meat lover, this is for you.  The pasta was fresh and cooked al dente.  Cheese is also generously included in the dish which makes it more delicioso.

Photo credit: The Village Chef's FB account.  Panna Cotta, P80.  I got excited to try their Panna Cotta as this is one of my favorite desserts so I forgot to take a picture of it. LOL.  It was HEAVEN when I tasted it!  Its creaminess melted in my mouth!  The mango and cream topping added more flavor and contrast to the dessert.  I now know where to find the best panna cotta in town.  HEAVENLY!

Okay, after the dessert, we got a tour of the VC's kitchen.  Me and Aileen posing with the VC's chef, Arceli.

Outside the kitchen and into the garden.  The 3 of us.  Darn! I can see the burnt I got from the North and the fats.  Calling more sunblock and diet (ooops not that)  exercise. Heheh!

Aileen, who never grow old, modelling a pot arugula .  She still looks like the baby-face, sweet high school friend that I had back then.

The Village Chef has a beautifully landscaped garden and a green house where different types of herbs grow.  They also sell most of them which includes Arugula, Rosemary, Thyme, Tarragon, Oregano and Mint. Prices range from P60 to P150.   Here in the picture is the Italian Oregano which was added to our pizza.

Arceli also studied in The Blue Elephant in Bangkok, so some plants and herbs that are used in Thai cuisine grow in her garden.  Kaffir Lime is one of them.

After our tour in the kitchen and garden, we were served the Tarragon tea.  This is new to me and I like it so much! I can't wait to grow my tarragon and have this tea every morning.  Very calming!

Thanks, Aileen for the dinner treat. It was nice seeing you again after more than a year.  Thanks Arceli for the free desserts.  I super love your panna cotta. You bet I'll go back to your restaurant and bring my friends and family soon.

The Village Chef

406 Broadway Street, Marisol Subdivision

Angeles City, Philippines, 2009

0923-374-8752

Fri - Sun:

6:00 pm - 11:00 pm

New York Supreme - the new Italian Restaurant in town!

After my date with Grace, I went straight to meet my other friends to try a newly opened restaurant - New York Supreme.

I first heard of New York Supreme from my Culinary teacher, Emelita Galang.  She sent me a text promoting this restaurant last month.   Then, a few days after, my friend, Nikki told me of  a good restaurant serving pizza near AUF.   Lastly, three days ago, while talking about food, another friend, Aids was talking of the same restaurant.  She had tried their pasta and version of pannizza and it's funny how she described it which will make you wanna go there right there and then.  I knew I need to check this new restaurant so together with Aids, my other friend, Pao scheduled a date to check it out.  That was the other night.

When Mrs. Galang sent the text, I was wondering if New York Supreme is one of  the Galang's family businesses.   So when I saw her weeks before, I asked her.  She told me it's not theirs but of an old student and just wanted to promote it.  She was very satisfied with all the food she ate there that is why she got excited and sent text messages to most of her students who love to eat and that includes me. LOL. 

She told me of the story of New York Supreme.  If my memory serves me right, she disclosed it is owned by one of the sons/daughters (I can't recall which is which) of the Kit family (owner of Mar's restaurant and Mar's garden) in Angeles City.   The son/daughter lived in the US for years and discovered a small restaurant serving the best pizza they have ever tasted in their area.  Thinking of bringing that pizza here in the Philippines, the son/daughter befriended the Italian owner/chef who actually makes the pizza himself.  At first, there was resistance.  The Italian was a snob but due to the persistence, they were able to know the weakness of the Italian.  They discovered that the Italian loves Chinese food.  Being an owner of a Chinese restaurant here in the Philippines, they started cooking and giving the Italian Chinese food which he liked immediately.  So, in the end the Kit family got what they wanted - getting the recipe for the pizza and learning how to cook the rest of the Italian food.  Mrs. Galang also mentioned that the ingredients they use on all their products are imported.  They want to give the best taste.  It's not saying that we have inferior products but the owners of New York Supreme would want to make their dishes as authentic as possible and substituting ingredients may sacrifice the taste.

I know what they are talking about so I can understand them.  And our date validated this after tasting all the dishes served to us.  Here's the experience. :D

Mommy Eds, Mommy Pao (though I don't call her that. LOL) and Mommy Aids.  Yes, I was with three mommies. I am the only single person though I wish I am a mom now too. Hahah! Out of topic.  That story calls for another loooooonger post but I don't I'll do it. ;-)



Puttanesca. When I arrived in the resto, my friends already ordered so I just skimmed the menu and ordered another pasta dish.  I was not able to take note of the exact names of the dish.  That's not that important though as I am more particular with the taste and I was starting to be hungry just seeing them.

We all tried this dish that was served first and what can I say? Superb! I am not a fan of Puttanesca but this will pass my rating. The pesto bread is also worth noting for. It was awesome! 



The most exciting dish - panizza! If you live in Angeles City and you love Italian food, you will not miss C' Italian's panizza.  That's the only restaurant I know that serves this dish.  Yellow Cab has their version, the Dear Darla but it would not match that of C's.  Until New York Supreme's version,  I can actually say C's has found its competitor! 



Pesto sauce.  We didn't order a bread but we were served pesto sauce.  It was a side dish of the panizza that added a different twist to its taste.  I believe the sauce was freshly made.



The filling to use in the panizza - Alfalfa and Aragula. The alfalfa looks like bean sprouts while the aragula like mustard leaves, huh? Panizza is not a panizza without these two vegetables.  I wish I can grow these two so I can incorporate them on my salad. 



For Aids.  She wanted me to take another picture of this.  :)



Chicken Parmigiana. Penne pasta was used and the dish was  topped with  chicken breast and plenty of mozzarella cheese.  We wondered if the chicken was partly pre-fried before it was topped as part of it was browned.  I was thinking though the reason for the browning was because it was broiled.  Still, we are wonder. LOL.  Nonetheless, the dish is another must-try particularly for those who love chicken and mozzarella.  You'll never get disappointed!



My order - Lasagna.  Don't say this is boring.  I am an adventurous eater and would try different dishes that I would not know of.  But that night, I wanted to give their lasagna a try.  I love the dish! The pasta was freshly made, not the store-bought ones. The meat was just right, not too much and overpowering the whole dish.  The mozzarella cheese, oh well!  The picture says it all.



We had a pitcher of red tea  and it was more than enough for the four us as we had around three rounds of full glasses of tea.  Overall, the restaurant is indeed great.  I will definitely go back here who knows how many times.  On the next visit, I will try their pizza and maybe order another panizza. 

Kudos to the owners of New York Supreme!  We need more restaurants like this that offer quality food at affordable prices.