Doniz Korean Restaurant

Fat Girl's Recipe : Fish Tacos

My mother hired a tutor for my brother, which means another excuse to make a mirienda for the tutor.. Since there were a lot of vegetables that are almost near to spoil, I figured why not make a home made fish tacos. There was also a frozen pack of cream dory fillets. 


FISH TACOS

Ingredients:
Cream Dory Fillets, cut into finger-shape
Taco Shells
Tomato, deseeded and shredded 
Red Onions, shredded
Cabbage, shredded
Cheese, shredded
Batter:
2 c All Purpose Floor
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp. Ashuete Powder


For the White Sauce - i just used the Ceasar Dressing that can be bought in Supermarkets and just squeezed a half or Lemon Juice.


Procedure:
1. Mix the Batter, then coat the fillets then deep fry.
2. Just mixed the white sauce with all the vegetables.
3. Assemble; a) Taco Shells b) Fish c)Mixed Vegetables in White Sauce d) Cheese.
4. Wrap the Tacos in foil then Grill each side for 20 seconds. 
5. Then Ready to serve.





Eat HAPPY Everyone!!
Kwaizz miya miya!!




Yours Truly,
Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

My father's Birthday!

I was about 6 years old and I was living in a small apartment which was provided for us when we we’re still living in Libya. I remember the smallest kitchen ever, we had the smallest oven, refrigerator, toaster and etc. And my Dad taught me how to bake cookies in our tiny oven. I was very little (literally..)then my mom would be the one doing the mixture, then me and my dad would prepare all kinds of shapes of cookie cutters, star shape, square, triangle, heart.. It was very cute.. While mom is doing the mixture, Me and my dad would draw and he would teach me how to stoke crayons and be well on it. Maybe that’s why I want colors when it comes to my dishes.

            Now that I am turning 24, It brings back memories, I dreamed about it. Today is my father’s birthday.. And I am mixed with different feelings. My dad is unfortunately in Libya where his boss wants them to inspect and fix everything that’s happening to their company’s projects.

            But even if we are very far apart we make sure that we communicate from time to time. And since it’s my father’s birthday, we decided to go to TriNoma and celebrate it with Italianni’s Restaurant.

            Not only because it was Christmas it was also the weekends and there were a lot of people shopping, roaming around and eating and enjoying. Since I knew where the restaurants were, I decided to take them to Italianni’s. When we got there, there were no tables that were available and clean, so the receptionist said to sit down and wait. She was pretty and neat but she wasn’t that accommodating, she just waited for the tables to be cleaned and have us seated right away. The usual introduction of our server, soup of the day and “Thank You Ma’am Sir, Enjoy your Meals”, not smiling she was on an off mood (I suppose).blah blah blah.

            See this is what I hate the most, I write things about Restaurants and the service they provide, since it’s a class a type of restaurant I expect a worthy service for a worthy price. Is that too much to ask? I was trained to speak my mind and treat every guests equally and fairly. I mature in the teachings of my professor with the saying “THE CUSTOMERS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT!”. We offer good food and best service we can possibly can because CUSTOMERS pay us for it! It’s our Job! 

Continuation…

            So as we sat on our comfortable chairs and as soon as the receptionist handed the menus.. I put it down and looked around. Italianni’s is one of the most marvelous restaurants I’ve ever been. It’s incredible structure and architecture is to die for. Displays of so many pictures of old Italian families, pots and trays that are made of wood and Italian words that are painted to the walls.  The whole set up had an Italian field and atmosphere to it. You can relax with your family and enjoy. 

Our server was not of help at all… He doesn’t smile nor laugh nor greets us whole-heartedly. He was just there standing, looking like he can’t wait for his shift to end. He looked tired and very inappropriate. His clothes were dirty and so as his apron. I asked him what are their specialties, and he wasn’t able to answer right away. So I became the server on our table. Asked each and everyone what they like and try to tell them what’s on every dish, good thing on the menu there’s an individual description. Ha! (admit it guys we sometimes are lazy to read that but come to think of it, why read if the server knows what’s in it! Anyways as soon as we each have what meal to have, I wrote it down and gave it to our server who wasn’t much of a help.

            It was my first time to come to Italianni’s TriNoma branch usually I dine in at Robinson’s Manila or at Gateway.. Plus my family is a big fan of pizzas and pastas. So it’s obvious we had to pick Italianni’s.

On our tables:

Appetizer :    Basket of Bread (Foccacia Bread)dipped in a olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. This serves as a “while you wait appetizer”  and it is free.

                        Insalata Milano P495.00 – This salad has Salami Milano, romaine, black olives, tomatoes, grabanzos, parmesan cheese and it’s dressing Italian vinaigrette. The saltiness of the salami and cheese mixed with the Italian vinaigrette blends very well. It’s a great combination of flavors. Just an advise, order water just to numb the taste of the salad, so that you can still feel and taste the flavors of your main course.

Main Course : Beef TenderloinP995.00 – I was really upset with this dish. We wanted the tenderloin to be cooked medium rare and well done. I don’t know how they define Medium rare in their kitchen, what they served us was really off. It was Rare. Yes it was seared but it had 75% red through the centre. Medium rare is seared but it should be 50% red on the center.  The one they gave us had a gel-like texture, more likely eating a raw meat! Yuck!  Fortunately, the well- done steaks were 100% brown but still tender. I can taste the black pepper corn sauce and my brother likes the mashed potatoes and there was a side dish which is mixed vegetables that was topped with cream based sauce with cheese.

                     Grilled Pork Chops  (2 chops)P695.00- Now here’s a good main dish, I like the tenderness of the chops and its pepper-crust with black peppercorn sauce. Ofcourse the usual served with seasonal vegetables, crispy fried spinach and garlic rice. Very pinoy I might add. This was my mom's choice.. Again Mothers knows best.

            Grilled Pepper Fish Fillet P575.00 - Grilled Cream Dory fillet seasoned with black pepper and served with either mashed potatoes or pasta coated with olive oil then on the side you have there the tomato cream sauce with mixed vegetables. A very healthy yet tasty meal. My godmother ordered one.

            And as for me.... I had the Parmesan Crusted Fish Fillet (Regular) P595.00 - Cream Dory coated with Parmesan Cheese and Breadcrumbs, served with their amazing and delicious caper cream sauce, mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables. Two thumbs and definitely a recommendation. A must-try dish.

            As you can see me and my family loves dining out especially during special occasions. All their dishes were a little pricy, and their service was really bad. As soon as we were done with our meal, my sisters were complaining about their service, how raw the meat was. It was painfully disappointing.  The place was good (no! the best set up!)Food? (it was ok…)SERVICE? VERY BAD!

            Thanks everyone for reading.. Have a nice day…

Eat HAPPY Everyone!!

Kwaizz miya miya!!

Yours Truly,

Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

Welcome aboard...

Fish & Co. Seafood in a Pan started in the Philippines last September 27, 2005. It opened at Greenbelt 3 and on October 26 at Shangri-La Mall Edsa with its two more hit branches in Mall of Asia and Trinoma in less than two years. Last April 5, 2009 Fish & Co. made a grand splash at Alabang Town Center.

"Dig in to the unique menu of fish and seafood that are literally from seven seas. The food is good and fresh, as expected and it's so fresh, the food is served straight up in a pan! Fish & Co. took this cue from the Mediterranean fishermen who caught seafood fresh and cook them immediately in the pan and made it their own. Favorites are Mussels in lemon butter sauce, Fried Calamari, Seafood Platter and the best Fish & Chips in town, and a specialty menu of their own home creation drinks and desserts." – Fish & Co. Website

I love Fish & Co. Moa. I love the Fisherians.. I experience the world of fine dine in because of them. They trained me very well and they opened my eyes in the real world of hospitality industry. It didn’t just involve books and notes but the real thing. How we start from peeling off the skins of carrots and Chayote to grilling and frying then comes to plating the dishes. What a progress it was…

I missed everyone; I missed the servers and most specially the ones that are assigned at the pack of the house. I missed you guys! Every morning we do a pre-shift or a meeting to discuss what are the latest news about the restaurants, how are they doing when it comes to sales and etc. After the meeting we do the Pledge. Fish and Co. has this pledge on how we should treat our customers and how we should be to give excellent service. It might be a surprise but each morning we pledge it reminds us of how we are and how we’re not.

It starts at 9 in the morning; we prepare every thing we need for the whole day. We make sure that we have enough backups for the whole day. I was assigned in the pantry and sometimes in the pasta area. If I’m lucky I sometimes go and hang at the grilling station. People there are amazing. They’re like a family to me.

In all of my blogs, I usually judge the looks of the dining area but never really seeing what at the back or in the kitchen area. Based on experience, Fish and Co. cleans the kitchen every start of the shift and after shifts. They make sure to sanitize before cooking. Clean is Healthy! Once a week they have pest control which makes it more a reliable restaurant.

The servers are dressed in navy blue which matches the theme of the restaurant. They have their own guards. They have a receptionist, outside tables for the smoking area and their own restrooms. Before they have a menu on the wall but this time they have under the sea wall paper, which kind of puts you on a more colorful atmosphere.

The place is still clean as I’ve started my On the Job Training. Everything was very appealing and very attractive. Fish & Co. accepts reservation for bulk orders, they even have their catering services, they accept cash and credit cards. They also have premier shows or sports broadcast for a fair amount.

Fish & Co. Specialties are; 1) Seafood Platter P800++ which has their freshest clams and mussles, cream dory, calamari, shrimp and their delicious seafood rice. 2) Fish & Chips P400++, they have different kinds of fish & chips they have the regular ones and they also have the ones that has stuffing in them then they are fried to perfection. And their flavored fries! 3) Seafood Curry P650.00  is also a best seller, the spicy coconut sauce and the curry and the seafood that goes along with it! You have to try this dish!

this photo was taken last year, here's my godmother trying to reach something and with her is the seafood platter. 

For their wines, they have a few selections but they really don’t have the permanent ones, but mostly you should expect a couple of varieties of white wine since they serve more seafood. They also have cocktails and mocktails that are to die for.

                Personally I tried their Seafood curry and Seafood Platter and it really tasted amazing! The pork chops with basilico toppings. One of a kind! Two thumbs on those dishes.

The place was full, so I and my very loving boyfriend decided to sit outside. The receptionist, Danica was able to give us the menu, what was the soup of the day and she was very friendly. After a while, our server which happens to be a supervisor as well named Mr. Paul Camay, took our orders. He was able to improvised us with recommendations and etc. He was very friendly as well, knowing it was close to 10pm, he was dressed up properly and no stains! Good Job on that!

For our drinks, I had the raspberry fizz . And he had bottomless Coke.

We had an appetizer which is Fried Calamari P435.00 – you have an option, if you want it grilled or fried.. I like the fried calamari; they put some sort of spice which makes the dish more appetizing and encouraging in a way. I like it!

I had the Prawn Fettuccine P595.00 – one of my favorites. It’s with a home-made sauce- chopped chili in creamy garlic sauce with mushroom. The ones that I had in the past, the pasta is al dente and it was fine but the one that I just had was a bit over cooked and the sauce started to curdle a little. But it really didn’t matter since the taste was really good and the mushroom had a certain kick to the dish, prawns were very delicious.

My boyfriend chose Breaded Chicken Piggyback  P435.00 – It has the piggyback because it has toppings. The Chicken breast Fillet is topped with shrimp, marinara sauce and mozzarella au gratin. This is actually a new dish. I’d be honest, we really didn’t like the dish that much, there’s too much going on. And the pasta was very chewy and it was kind of dry for my taste. “Makunat” The chicken was cooked perfectly, the sauce was tasty and the mozzarella, who wouldn’t want some cheese. We didn’t finish the dish, we just took to go and left the spaghetti.

     I had to sty a bit longer, so we ordered a couple of alcoholic beverages. My boyfriend was simple, so he just ordered a few bottles of beer San Miguel Super Dry – P90.00 each. As I mention, there were a lot to choose from so I asked Bernard, if he would be kind enough to help me pick one drink that is great. And he was really nice and he had a serious eyes but he was cool. He recommended the Passionade P175.00. It’s a mixed of Passion Fruit and Vodka. I will say it is a very good drink! It was very refreshing and it really didn’t taste vodka at all.  You can order probably 3 more and you won’t be drunk. It came out with a regular glass.  

                And for my family from the back of the house thank you for giving me a free dessert! A Hot Fudge Chocolate Cake P190.00 – it’s a very moist chocolate fudge, served with vanilla ice cream and glazed more chocolate syrup. This is also one of the many dishes that I prepared with them. I missed it. *sigh* Thank You guys!

I’ve waited for such a long time to blog about Fish and Co Moa branch. Thanks to my boyfriend who went with me. I love you so much! I enjoyed every minute of it. And to the manager Ms. Maricel Gannaban, thank you so much for remembering me.

I remembered crying when me and my schoolmates who joined the team as well was about to end our OJT, I was crying really hard and felt I was about to lose something in my life so dear. I missed the people in Fish and Co. I missed every thing.

I love you guys! You’ll always have a special place in my life. Thank You.

Eat HAPPY Everyone!!

Kwaizz miya miya!!

Yours Truly,

Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl

Fish & Co. Seafood in a Pan

Grd Floor, South Wing, Entertainment Center, SM Mall of Asia Pasay

556-0683

 http://www.fish-co.com.ph

NEXT STOP!

my friends told me to post the next restaurant/ establishment that i'll be visiting and i said that's a good/great idea. so people can expect me or probably join me for a while and see if we agree on something. hmm.. we'll see, so here it goes... 




i'm craving for seafood and I use to have my OJT in one of the bistro group restaurants, i think i mentioned this in my past blogs. where else can you find the best fish and chips in the philippines? and feel as if you're in a ship? 


I will be visiting FISH & CO. MOA on saturday October 22, 2011. I hope to see you guys there and hear those handsome servers say "Welcome Aboard!" 




LOVE YOU GUYS!!! 







Eat HAPPY Everyone!!
Kwaizz miya miya!!


Yours Truly,
Zielle a.k.a Fat Girl