Jean Lucs Bistro

There are times when you just don’t know what you want to eat or what to do. It’s as if you’re trying to find something that is not in the menu of any restaurant. Or maybe it’s just something you do not realize that is there that you want, until you try it. While walking around you may notice people selling street foods. Street food seem to be available almost everywhere that and able to fill your appetite. It’s also so affordable that there will still be much left for spending somewhere else. We are so used to our lifestyles that eating street food and strolling around the park can be so relieving and enjoyable. It’s walking around without any worries and just hanging around. You can also hang around with some friends or even with someone special giving you time to talk to each other and just enjoy the scenery.

The Pawpaw Fruit is delicious and nutritious and looks like fat, short bananas. Their tropical taste blends perfectly with their custardy texture and fragrant aroma. Pawpaw is very high in vitamin C, antioxidants, food energy and is much higher in minerals compared to peaches, grapes and apples. A good source of linoleic and linolenic acids and mainly has unsaturated fatty acids. It has a much higher content of amino acids in a good balance and also higher in carbohydrate, protein and fiber.

Paw paw trees are small, tropical~looking and is capable of rapid growth, under ideal conditions.  The paw paw tree is also rich in acetogenins which are found throughout the tree. The twigs contain the most concentrated amount of acetogenins, especially when they are harvested during the time when they are most biologically active. Acetogenins are active compounds that affect the production of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) in the mitochondria (the powerhouse) of the cell. ATP is our cells’, and hence our body’s, major source of energy. Acetogenins modulate the production of ATP.

The current recession seems to be more of an excuse for wine lovers to indulge more.  There’s just something about wines that’s irresistible especially for wine lovers. Perhaps it’s the elegance and luxury of getting to know wine over time, or maybe the joy that the varietals and vineyards bring about and the discovery of new wines that one would want to add to his/her cellar.  Wine lovers definitely would want to drink the best wines in their lives and it’s not a surpise if each has a favorite wine of the month. What surprises me is when everytime I encounter a different wine that I haven’t known. Every wine discovery, it seems, is as broad and as full of possibilities as does life.

Christmas season is just around the corner and this time will not be complete unless you have some Christmas cookies in the oven. These cookies have become a part of this festive event-for kids and adult alike- that we should consider not just making ordinary but primer ones. Or what about giving out gifts like home-made cookies? That will surely be a sweet treat for your family, friends, and loved ones. Christmas, always is full of surprises that brings out lots of joy and bliss. I sure will make great cookies this Christmas. They would be perfect for a tea party afterwards too, wouldn’t they?

Just spent some time at a birthday party with some kids. The children were so excited to see the gifts and prizes that they were going to get at that day. They loved the chocolates wrapped in special candybar wrappers. We chose some personalized kids candy bars that had a picture of a clown since there was a clown performing at that time. Some of the personalized kids candy bars had the name of the little girls who were spending their birthday. They just loved those special personalized candy bars they received.

We are planning to get some more of these candy bars for a distant cousin who is getting married next month. We are going to add some special edible wedding favors on the food tables to complete the design. We might also give her some bridal shower candy bars to celebrate her upcoming wedding. She just loves chocolates. She would probably keep the wrappers in a safe place.

Have you ever eaten food cooked by Slow Cookers?  This electrical cooking appliance makes home-made meals cooked for several hours allowing the good taste of food to slowly come out.  The food is kept fresh inside the Slow Cookers until the time it is served. Imagine a juicy and mouthwatering meal by the time you reach home after a long and tiring day at work.  Or probably bask yourself with some hot stew to soothe the senses.  It really feels better to just relax and stuff yourself with freshly cooked food by the time you get home.  It eliminates the hassle of food preparation and cooking and lets you just indulge with a moist and tender meal anytime.

The Slow Cookers allow you to prepare food for dinner even before you go out for work or go out of the house.  This tool is helpful for people who are so busy specially those who work day time. Most of the time, it feels so tiring to cook food in the evening that we tend to just buy from a fastfood  or eat out at a restaurant.  It would be nice if you can just eat a delightful meal presto which restaurants readily offer.  But of course, we are sometimes bound to some budget constraints.  Maybe the next best thing to do is prepare the food in the morning and allow the Slow Cookers to cook your food during the day.  This way, you relieve yourself from worrying what to eat and just spoil yourself with a heart warming dish.

Everybody has a sweet tooth, I guess.  Do you know of someone who doesn’t like chocolates or candies?  Probably some people outgrew them after a while, but sweets have, in one way or another ruled most of us, specially in our younger years. Sweets will always be synonymous to being in heaven.

When we talk about sweets, it brings back good, old, childhood memories. We also associate sweets with giving them to someone very special to us, like a boyfriend or a girlfriend. These sweets come in different shapes, sizes, and colors you can think of and all the flavors that make you want to have a taste of until your tongue becomes numb. 

Early last year, my friend brought handmade Hope and Greenwood sweets from the UK. Their chocolate and lollies are probably the most scrumptious sweets there are. They come in various forms and designs. My niece and my nephews went crazy over the confectioneries and finished two bags in just a few minutes.  I even went back to her place to ask for a few more sweets because I myself was hooked on them, but  to my dismay found that there was none left. My friend is in the UK right now and will be coming home next week.  She said that she would bring home more sweets so that she and I could also have the pleasure of eating them. Makes me smile when I imagine myself actually chomping them. I think I’ll go nuts.

The drive thru stores are very convenient.  There are a lot of drive thru stores around the Metro enabling you to eat inside your car or bring some food home or to the office without leaving your car and walking inside the store.  There is even a drive thru store for donuts.  People who have cars and are in a hurry can conveniently pass through the drive thru counter and continue to where they are going.

The drive thru stores have the same menu as the main stores do.  I guess their target are people who do not have much time or have busy schedules.  You are also able to order chicken with rice or other rice meals so people will be able to bring food at home or maybe allow someone in the back seat to eat.  I have become so used to passing through the drive thru stores that I have been able to eat on my way home.  Beats being hungry in traffic which is so heavy nowadays.

Another day went by and as always, I eat at a fast food.  Force of habit I guess.  What is it that makes you choose them?  I remember that there was a time long ago that I craved for one of the food chains.  I always went to one of their stores because I liked the taste and also the affordable price.  Fast food chains still have lower prices than that of restaurants in the malls.  It’s still the preferred choice against “Fine Dining” for those who have limited budget and also for those who are always “on the go.”

What is it that made me want those types of food anyway?  I remember when I started eating their products that they were not that tasty compared to other types of food.  But now I still eat them and my feet automatically takes me to one of their stores when my tummy feels hungry.  This makes me think that I just became so used to the food there that my taste for food has changed a bit.  But of course, “Fine Dining” is still preferable to fast food.

There have been improvements on the taste of their food since the first time I’ve eaten them.  If there wasn’t, would anyone still like them?  Thinking back, the other reason that I liked them is because they were different.  I guess we are all used to homemade cooking that eating out in a restaurant or a fast food chain is preferable from time to time.  Once you like them though, you’ll be finding yourself eating at another branch of the same store in a different mall or area.  I guess accessibility is also a big factor in our decision in choosing where to eat.

At around past 9 Saturday evening, me and a friend arrived in Malate. We were a bit tired to look for a nice restaurant, so we picked a restaurant at random and ended up at Giligan’s.

It’s a pretty cozy place just right for a dinner after a day’s work of nailing our eyes on the computer screen to respond to technical (some of them-nah-few of them dummy) e-mail inquiries. The menu mostly is all meat and cholesterol-heavy yet delectable to the eyes and nose. We ordered lechon kawali with kangkong and bagoong. It was delicious. In every bite, though, I felt the fats building up my in my arteries. Probably that’s why this is also a hang out for ‘inuman’-because you feel the need to drink beer to wash away the accummulated lard after every meal (though I’m not a beer drinker myself).

Giligan’s in Malate has a charming Mediterranean feel. The place is a 2-storey restaurant modeled into a ship with waiters dressed up like pirates (I suddenly felt the urge of sneaking for Capt. Jack Sparrow look-alikes but to my dismay did not find a single soul). The atmosphere is cool and the price is just right.

With our tummies full, we reeled back to go home and get prepared for the waiting e-mail que for tommorrow.