Chinese bakery goodies

I was in Cebu last week and was at Breadtalk.

Chicken a la King!

One of the few dishes that I love that I remember from college, that I could only have when I had family visiting (because it was too expensive for even my bloated student budget), was chicken a la king.  I first had a taste of this creamy chicken dish at the French Baker in SM North EDSA.  In the 9 semesters that I spent at UP, I believe I've only had this dish about 3 times. 

 

 This is a creamed chicken dish with carrots, celery, bell peppers, chicken chunks and spices over a pastry shell, and served with a side of a garden salad and carrots and corn.  The French Baker used to only serve this with the carrots and corn, and frankly, the side salad didn't amount to much gastronomically for me. 

I still remember how I love this dish - how the multi-dimensional cream sauce played with my palate, and with my trips to Manila the past month, I have been able to indulge myself and have this wonderful dish again. 

turkey leg!

One of my indulgences when I lived in the United States were theme parks.  There wasn't a year when I didn't travel to Florida and go visit Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, Disneyworld, Sea World and the water parks.  Almost always, I would only have enough moolah on the budget to spend for admission to the parks, and some money for food.  Being on a tight budget had me spending on sensible food, and not on whims.

Well, a totally different thing happened last year. My cousin (in NY) and I went on vacation with family in Central Florida (Kissimmee, Orlando area), and we went to Tampa for a couple of days.  Our family treated us to free admission tickets to Busch Gardens, and for the first time, I was able to buy something to eat out of curiousity!  We got turkey legs!  It's not like chicken legs that are soft and easily eaten.  These are huge drumsticks of meat, with a lot of connective tissue that sometimes gets in between your teeth.  I wouldn't say I hated it, but I wouldn't say I liked it either (Althought the photo doesn't look like I didn't care for it much.)  I guess turkey leg is a bit of an acquired taste.

Italian food in White Plains, NY

When my Florida family visited over the New Year (2009), they stayed at the Ritz Carlton in White Plains, NY.  I commuted to them a couple of times, and the good thing about visiting family is the great food that you get to have.

One of my staples is fried calamari.  For a non-fish eater, I am surprised at myself for loving fried calamari.  My first encounter with calamari was at Carmine's in the Upper West Side, and I have to say, it was love at first bite.  :-)

The Zanaro version of fried calamari came with marinara sauce and a chipotle mayo dip, and half a lemon on the side.  Squid when cooked wrong will be leathery.  This calamari was perfect, the right amount of crunch and seasoning.  It didn't have a fishy taste either.  All in all, a good calamari in my book.

I had the Veal Parmigiana for my entree.  The meat was tender as veal should be.  The pasta on the side was well cooked.  The Sunday sauce it came with was red-wine based, and had the right amount of tang and flavor.

 Zanaro's is located at 1 Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains, NY.