Cucumber and Tomato Salad - Home Cooked

Whenever I didn't like anything served on the table, this dish has always been a life saver for me (and the cook, and my mom... I think I may be a tad spoiled).

It's very simple. Traditionally -- at least in our home, it's just cucumber sliced with vinegar. But for this time, I had some fresh tomatoes too good to pass up. So, you slice up the cucumber into thin slices or thick, it depends on you. I personally love them paper thin. Put them in a bowl. Slice or in this case, I cubed the tomatoes and put them together with the sliced cucumbers in a bowl. Put the mixed ingredients into the refrigerator to cool. Just before you serve the dish, pour vinegar over it and sprinkle a dash of salt to taste or not, up to you. And that's it. Like I said, simple.

This is what I served with the salad. A nice cup of steaming white rice and sweet corn on the cob. The corn was also fresh so I couldn't resist adding it to the meal. Is it a weird combination? :-)

Family Favorites @ Mann Hann

Back when I lived in Manila, a favorite place to eat was always Mann Hann. It served -- and continues to serve great and affordable Chinese food. So, when my Mom and I found ourselves back in Manila for a couple of days, the first stop had to be Mann Hann. We ordered our favorite and fail-safe dishes: yang chow fried rice, salt and pepper cuttlefish and oyster misua. I don't have a photo of the oyster misua because it came a little later after the above photo was taken and really, once this kind of good food is served, no one can put down their fork and spoon to take another photo. ;-)

Another thing I miss, Lipa Fresh Buko Juice. For some reason, you can't find this in Cebu. And it's even sometimes difficult to find in Manila as well. Somebody deliver a crate full of this, please? :-)

Seafood Risotto @ UCC Coffee Café Terrace

I meant to post about this months ago. I had this when I flew back to Cebu back in  August. After my niece's pedia appointment, my sister's family and I stopped at the UCC Coffee Café Terrace at Ayala Center Cebu for lunch.

As usual, when I spot a risotto dish on the menu there's no other choice for me. Unfortunately, this Seafood Risotto dish was a disappointment. The serving size was good, number of ingredients perfect, but it just felt like a rice dish smothered in tomato sauce. It didn't taste like risotto at all -- at least to my opinion. Maybe they used the wrong rice? It was not cooked enough? I don't know. If you don't think of it as risotto and you like your meals "saucy", then it's a good enough dish. Flavour-wise it wasn't bad.

I've been to the UCC Coffee Café Terrace a few times now. My dad loves their coffee and their crepes are good. For their main courses, I believe their hamburger steak is pretty good. They're a bit expensive for the Cebu market but it is a great place to hang out with your family, quiet and cozy.

UCC Coffee Café Terrace
The Terraces, Ayala Center
Cebu City, Philippines
Tel No. (032) 417-1344