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Showing posts from 2009

I am your CDO Guide

This blog is about Cagayan de Oro food. Food that can be found, bought, dined, served, and eaten here in CDO. I will be your online CDO Guide when it comes to CDO Food. Being a CDO Guide , I will tell you a little bit about the food, where it can be bought/found/eaten. I will share to you how much it would cost and how tasty or bad it may be. Being born and raised here in Cagayan de Oro, I can say I can be one of the best CDO Guide there is. :D I am a very proud member of CDOBloggers, Inc. , a group who's aim is to help promote Cagayan de Oro and everything in it, on the internet.

Zaza's FREE Nestlé Chuckie Gift Pack

March of 2009, I don't know what exact date, but I was browsing to Ms. Rowena Wendy Lei of http://animetric.blogspot.com and I saw her post about Nestlé Chuckie's Freebie and I had to register to get the freebie cause Zaza loves Chuckie, and it's for free! The freebie was only for the first 200 to register to their site and I really thank Ms. Rowena for sharing this cause I made it to the first 200. hehe. May 14, 2009, I received an email that my Chuckie Burstastic package was on the way. May 22, 2009 we received Zaza's Nestlé Chuckie Gift Pack and we were so excited to open it. We were the first 200 to try their new flavors then. hehe. I personally loved the choco burst. Both Zaza and I didn't like much the peanut nor the cookie flavor. Double choco was the best! Specially when it's cold! Here's his free gift pack. Inside were the 3 new flavors and some flyers and promo items. :) I suggest you visit Animetric's blog for more promos and freebies. :) tha

Zaza & the Lechon head

5/17/09 - Joy ( miyahmayah ) was out for a meeting/party at church. Here in the Philippines - I'm not sure if it's also applicable to other parts of the world - during big parties.. left overs can be brought home by either close guests, or the host of the party for someone who didn't make it to the party, we call it BH (Bring Home) or sometimes called as Balot (wrapped). At Joy's meeting, they had alot of left overs, so joy got some for us at home. When she came home Zaza was already sleeping, so she reserved the surprise for the next day. 5/18/09 - Zaza woke up earlier than me so I didn't get to see the action. Mom showed Zaza his surprise - the Lechon head - Joy ( miyahmayah ) then took pictures of him with it. Eversince Zaza was born, he never had a lechon bought for him, even during his birthday, nor did we serve on special family occassions. There was once at my older sister pilarmarielim 's wedding with ewicgarcia but the lechon came chopped already. So

Alimango (Mud Crab) v2

Like I said on my previous blog post about Alimango... Crabs - specially Mud Crab is my ever favorite sea food. This one was bought at Carmen Market for 120 pesos only last 4/27/09. Zaza went with Mom at the market and when he came home he said "Surprise Nana, Love you" Mud Crabs have much thicker shells than the blue or orange shelled crabs that we call here Lambay - that seems to have more delicate meat than the Alimango's. Alimango's can be prepared steamed with lots of seasoning, cooked with chili and tomatoes, stir-fried with garlic and oil, or steamed with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and wine, etc. We use the latter way of cooking alimango. Here's a photo of cooked Alimango with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and wine: I just love crabs! :)

Rai Rai Ken, Limketkai Mall

was where we had our (Zaza and I) very first Japanese Restaurant experience , together. It happened last 4/4/09. The waiters/waitresses there were very accomodating and the food we ordered was good and they have large servings. I specially loved the Futo Maki. Zaza had Fish and Fries, I had Pork Bowl w/ Kakiage, and Mom had Beef Bowl w/ Kakiage. We also ordered Futo Maki for starters. Photos of our orders below: Rai Rai Ken's Fish and Fries Beef Bowl w/ Kakiage (small) - P109 Pork Bowl w/ Kakiage (small) - P99 Futo Maki - P205 Rai Rai Ken is located at the 2nd Level, South Concourse of Limketkai Mall.

Alimango (Mud Crab)

Seafoods are very abundant here in Mindanao and has been compared to be way cheaper than other areas of the Philippines. My favorite seafood is Alimango or Mud Crab ( Scylla serrata ). Cagayan de Oro Wet Market's prices of mud crabs range from 60-200 pesos depending on their size. In mall supermarkets it usually costs about 250-400 sometimes even more during special occasions like Christmas, New Year, even Graduation. Mud Crabs have much thicker shells than the blue or orange shelled crabs that we call here Lambay - that seems to have more delicate meat than the Alimango 's. Alimango's can be prepared steamed with lots of seasoning, cooked with chili and tomatoes, stir-fried with garlic and oil, or steamed with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and wine, etc. We use the latter way of cooking alimango. Here's a photo of cooked Alimango that costed 150 pesos and had about 3 big sized pieces cooked with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and wine. The best part is when its female, fat,

Sentro 1850 - Cagayan de Oro

Sentro 1850 is the Best Fine Dining Restaurant in Cagayan de Oro City. It's conveniently located at the center of the city (" sentro ") at building number 1850 along Don Apolinar Velez St. - thus their name. They serve a mix of Asian and Continental Cuisines that's mouth-watering and surely makes you come back and ask for more with prices that are easy on the pocket. A must try when you visit Cagayan de Oro - brace yourselves for a huge treat! December 17, 2002 was the start of the business and Part Owner/Chef Eric R. Yap , who's down-to-earth, friendly, and very accomodating, mostly does the cooking of their delectable cuisines. Sentro 1850 has an elegant interior and at the same time warm and homey atmosphere. They also have available function rooms for private parties and they also cater big events like weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries with very reasonable packages. You can contact them at these numbers +63-8822-731850 or +63-88-8541850 Here are a few of

Dinner at Bigby's Cafe - Cagayan de Oro

March 11, 2009 I worked the whole day at my boss' place. After work I felt so tired and was really hungry, picked up Zaza at Wonderland with Mom. Bigby's was calling out for me, so I texted my sister to come over and join us for a delicious dinner, which I didn't enjoy much - full story here . Here's what we ordered for dinner: I ordered my ever favorite dish at Bigby's - Chix Ahoy . It's a sizzling boneless chicken with garlicky flavor. It's served with plain rice, vegetable and corn as side dish. I got Zaza Lil' Bigby's Meal - Kiddie Combo 3 which is a bag full of chicken popcorn served with honey mustard sauce and he totally enjoyed it. Mom ordered Grilled Rodeo Chops - grilled marinated pork chops served with cranberry sauce or you can choose the pan gravy. My younger sister Joy ordered Mojo Chicken Q - boneless chicken smothered with sweet and tangy BBQ sauce served w/ adobo rice and salad. To know more about Bigby's, you can visit their

Our first Steve's BBQ experience at Cagayan de Oro Night Cafe

Cagayan de Oro's Night Cafe and Market happens every Friday and Saturday from 530pm - 2am in the heart of the City, Dvsoria. You'll find there live band to entertain you, native foods at low prices. They also have a low prices of clothes, shoes, pants and many more.. Last March 28, 2009, Zaza, Mom, and I were roaming around the Night Cafe looking for great deals, and we wanted to unwind and get out of the house cause we have stayed there for a week already. During our long walk, we came across a little booth selling shades. Zaza wanted to have one, so I bought him one for 50php. Here's a picture of him wearing it: You might be wondering why there's still a sticker. He didn't want me to remove that sticker. We were so tired of walking around that we decided to eat at Steve's BBQ. They sell grilled food or sometimes we call it "Ala carte". They have been known to have one of the bests BBQ here in our city and we haven't tried it yet - so we had dinne

Sea World Squid Rolls

Like any other cities here in the Philippines, Cagayan de Oro was also hit by Tempura/Fish Ball/Squid Ball/Squid Roll craze. The aroma of these when cooked is very much inviting. They have a long strip just outside Xavier University together with the new craze Kwek-Kwek and Chicken Skin. Even on the weekly night cafe's vendors are everywhere. We have tried and tasted alot of brands and this specific brand caught our taste buds. It doesn't have a weird aftertaste, nor does it taste bland. It's ingredients are perfect for us that everytime we cook this, we can't stop picking and putting it into our mouths. Here's how it looks like when it's cooked. If the picture was clearer you would usually see spring onions in it. So, it's not just all flour, they added some good stuff too. Here's Zaza taking a snack after doing some lots of coloring :) He too can't stop eating them when we serve this. 1 kilo pack costs 155-160php depends on where you buy them.

Kikilo (Spotted Scat)

Kikilo (Spotted Scat or Scatophagus argus ) is a freshwater fish that can also be found here in Cagayan de Oro city only after floods - yep you read right, after floods. They are flashed down to sea water from fresh water that's why they get caught during those times - as what my mom said and our laundry woman who's husband is a fisherman. But my mom told me they have cultured this fish in the city for continous supply like the Tilapia's . We know an old resident chinese in the city, who owns one of the oldest stores here too, who has their own farm for this fish. Mom usually cooks this Tausi style - with black beans or in soy sauce with lotsa ginger. It has white meat with very soft texture and delicious taste. Below are photos of it cooked in soy sauce. We didn't have any black beans on hand when this was sold to us by our fisherman neighbor, thus the soy sauce recipe. This only costed 50pesos (half kilo).

Tabas/Bilong-bilong/Chabita/Kadis (Moonfish) w/ Champorado

Tabas or Bilong-bilong or Chabita or Kadis - with English name Moonfish of the family Menidae is one of the available fishes here in Cagayan de Oro City and one of our favorites. It is colored silver and is usually cooked paksiw style in vinegar, ginger, and onions - but we love it deep fried cause you can eat every part of it. hehe. Here's some picture of it when cooked deep fried. And some pics of Mom's little assistant, Zaza , almost finishing them off, eating it together with Champorado / Tsamporado which is Sweet Chocolate Rice Porridge in English. Champorado is soft-boiled rice with cocoa powder or tablea (blocks of cocoa powder made from cacao beans) - Mom uses the latter cause she says it tastes much better. Tablea can also be used to make hot chocolate. Mom prefers the brand Maestrado Tablea from Mambajao, Camiguin - which is also available here in Cagayan de Oro City - because of it's "orig" taste. At the back of their packing is also steps

Kinason (Philippine Clams) & Galunggong (Mackerel Scad)

Kinason is what we call this kind of clam in the picture below. It is usually cooked as a soup with Malunggay and spices. But here, Mom mixed it with Okra , Kamote Tops/Leaves , Sili Leaves/Saluyot (Jute Leaves) , Kamatis (Tomatoes) , Luy-a (Ginger) , Sibuyas Dahon (Scallion/Spring Onions) , Tanglad (Lemon Grass) and some salt to taste. When this soup is cooked, it'll be a bit thick/slimy looking because of the okra and saluyot leaves cooked together. Galunggong or Mackerel Scad (Decapterus macarellus) can grow up to a foot in length and has a dark somewhat oily but tasty flesh. This fish is an extremely common fish in Philippine waters and markets. It is usually cooked fried or grilled. Below is a picture of how it looks like when it's fried. This is what we had today :) The clams only worth 20 pesos, the galunggong 50 pesos, all the vegetables 30 pesos. So for a total of 100 pesos, this could feed about 5 people for 2-3meals depending on their consumption :) We'v

Mamsuy's Chow Fan

Is what we're having today. :) Chow Fan (Chaa Peung) - Fried Rice in Chinese is cooked in different ways, this is one of them. Usually its much better/tastes better if left over rice is used with it. I don't know why, it just is. My Mom - Susan Lim - also known as MamSue or Mamsuy by her friends, cooks really good food but only cooks these kinda good food whenever she wants - whenever she feels like it. If I had her talent and if I could just clone myself, one would be cooking in my own restaurant, one would be doing my current job, and the other taking care of Zaza. So anyway, back to the Chow Fan. Mom made use of leftover rice from last night, scrambled eggs, spring onion, bell pepper, and some seasonings to add color and taste . I was up late lastnight working so I woke up a bit late, Zaza was already up and helped mom cook this. He woke me up and said it was time for us to eat breakfast, so I stood up and ate with him. Here's a photo of Mom's little helper, Zaza, r