168 Bento Haul

Here are some of the things I was able to buy from 168 yesterday! This is the mall near Divisoria. I'll try to post the prices if I can remember them.

I actually bought the bento bags in Riverbanks in Marikina, but I saw the same outlet at 168. The name of the tag on the bag is Katrina's Secret. The bags are actually quite cheap, ranging from P35-70 each (about $1-$2, made with good material and with lining for added insulation.

For the bento box picture, from left to right - oshibori towels and container (P25 each), the little towels themselves can be bought for P80 for 1 dozen (not shown in pic)'; Hello Kitty spoon & fork container (P50), this is actually a toothbrush & toothpaste container, but it should work well as my spoon & fork container since I hate using the flat spoon & forks usually sold with bento boxes; Hello Kitty 2-tier bento (the long one on the upper part of the photo, P150-200); Hello Kitty 2-tier container (round oval), P130; Hello Kitty 4-in-1 oval containers, P150; and the Strawberry Shortcake looking 2-tier container, 2 for P100 (the other one is in use so is not in the photo)!

I'm not really a Hello Kitty fan, but those are the only ones I can find here in Manila inexpensively. There are actually several Hello Kitty stores in Divisoria and some tiangges (flea market sort of place) that only sell Hello Kitty stuff. Not original Sanrio items, of course...

When you go shopping at 168, make sure to ask around and canvass first. Prices for the same item can vary as much as P50 at different stalls.

Bihon, gyoza and tinapa mango sandwich

Another bento from last week:

Tinapa & mango sandwich, bihon with some sliced calamansi, speared quail eggs. Gyoza with some star carrots, sliced cucumber & tomatoes topped with cheese, sliced bananas and Reese's. Dragonfruit, century egg drizzled with some sugar & rice wine.

Chicken Teriyaki Bento

I haven't been able to update this blog for a while. I have been busy with life. But here' a quick bento that I prepared today for me and my sis. It could have been better with some star carrots, though. I used the chicken teriyaki recipe from here. Remember to let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before slicing. This helps to make the chicken more moist (the chicken juices are redistributed back to the meat). Some lychee and green peas for fruit & veggies. Chicken is placed on a bed of rice and a slice of bread.



The other bento container is filled with chicken misua (bottom tier), lychee, almond gelatin with fruits, and sliced chicken teriyaki on a bed of sliced cucumbers and green peas.

Pan-fried ham Bento

This was a relatively simple and quick bento of pan fried Christmas ham, rice, and peeled kiat-kiat. Haay, no veggies :( I didn't have time to prep some.

Enoki Mushrooms & Bacon + Soy-Butter Beef Bento

While I was at Il Terrazo buying Banoffee Pie (see Banapple's Banoffee Pie post), I decided to check out the Rustan's Supermarket at the basement. I saw some enoki mushrooms and decided to make Bacon-wrapped Enoki. I first tried this dish at Teriyaki Boy with the boyfriend, and it has since become one of our "must-orders" whenever we eat at Teriyaki Boy.

Here I just wrapped some enoki mushrooms with maple syrup-cured bacon and put them on a non-stick skillet (no oil) over medium heat. Roll the bacon to make sure all sides are cooked, cover the skillet just to make sure the inner roll of bacon also gets cooked. Lower heat and continue cooking until cooked through.

Since I was only able to make 6 bacon enokis, I also made some Soy-Butter Beef from Kaoko's blog. Why do I need the beef? Hmm.. 6 bacon enokis = 2 for my bento, 2 for boyfriend's bento, 1 sacrified for "taste & doneness test", 1 I gave my dad to try.

I sliced some cucumbers, tomatoes and a ponkan. The ponkan looks pretty, no? Peel ponkan, slice ponkan (cross-section). Cross-section, wow. I'm betraying my engineering background!

Lumpiang Shanghai Bento

Lumpiang Shanghai (Filipino-style spring rolls) with raisins is definitely one of my favorite things our maid cooks. In this bento I put some rice (shaped with an onigiri mold), put a slice of pickled ginger on top (heard it prolongs the time before food spoils, just like umeboshi - check out this post on food safety), added some vegetables, quail eggs, and slices of butter rum cake. Yes, they all tasted as good as they looked!

Home-made fish patties

Bento for 1/8/09

Breaded and pan-fried ground fish cakes. Super delicious! They were a little tough so I asked our maid to add some more water and maybe a little baking powder to the mixture before shaping, breading and frying them. Yes, our maid made them. She bought some fish from the wet market, and she told me that this was the fish they use to make fishballs. She scraped off the fish meat, added some flour, salt, pepper and sugar. They are actually quite good on their own, and very tasty! So much better than store-bought fish ball. I made a little curry mayo as dip.

With rolled lettuce, ham and cheese, tomatoes and peeled kiat-kiat (tiny, sweet oranges).

Egg Salad Sandwich and Rolled Lettuce, Ham & Cheese

For the past several days I had been itching to make egg salad sandwich after reading the Greedy Gourmet's post on it, which I found while surfing Coffee and Vanilla's Wholesome Lunchbox Round-ups. This was a bento for the boyfriend on 1/7/09.

• Egg salad sandwich, sliced into 2
• Half of a blackberry preserve sandwich
• Lettuce and ham rolled with a stick of Bega Cheese Stringers
• Reese's and Whoppers candies (hidden beneath the walnuts)
• Candied walnuts I made from walnuts left over from making fruitcake

I think it would have been more visually appealing to use brown bread (whole-wheat bread) instead of white bread for the egg sandwich. Unfortunately, we didn't have any wheat bread at the time.

Egg Salad Sandwich Filling

2 eggs, hard boiled, mashed with a fork
2-3 heaping tablespoons of Miracle Whip
1 Tbsp pickle relish
salt and pepper to taste
dash of chili powder
dash of nutmeg

Mix well! That's all!

To hardboil an egg

To hardboil an egg, place it in a pot of water, just enough to cover. Put on the heat and let it boil. If you want the yolk to be in the center, I've read that people suggest rolling the egg around the pot with a spoon. When the water begins to boil, let it boil for about 10 seconds then cover the pot with its lid. Turn off the heat. Leave it for 15 minutes. The eggs should be perfectly hardboiled after 15 minutes.

Please do not boil the egg to death. I have read some blogs and seen some instructional videos on youtube telling people to boil the egg for 18 minutes! Overcooked eggs have that gray color on the outside of the yolk and the whites are rubbery.

Japan Home Centre - Robinson's Place haul

Last Tuesday, my dad said he was going to get some groceries and I asked him where he was going. He usually goes to Robinson's Otis, claiming that it was more convenient than going to nearby SM Centerpoint. But me being me, I wanted to go to Japan Home Center. Upon checking their website, I saw that they had a branch at Robinson's Place Manila in Malate. I asked if we could go to Robinson's Place (RP) instead because there was something I wanted to check out there.

Upon reaching RP, I said I was going to the P88 store. My dad told me that there was a branch at Robinson's Otis and that there was no need to go all the way to RP, where parking was a hassle. Mental note: tag along to Robinson's Otis next time.

At RP's Japan Home Centre, I bought this yellow 2-tier bento, a smaller container with a cold pack for fruits, and a small insulated bag to put my bento in. By the way, the bag also came with its own cold pack.

Aside from bento supplies, my dad was also able to buy reading glasses for only P88, which I subsequently found at New Hatchin for only P85.

Luncheon Meat Sandwich

I had some leftover luncheon meat from our lunch and it got turned into a sandwich. Some rolled lettuce and quartered ripe tomatoes on the side.

I was finally able to use the oblong Christmas-themed paper cups I got from Chocolate Lover. They really are quite useful as sandwich holders. They keep the filling from spilling out from the bottom and sides of the sandwich, and keep hands from getting messy when eating the sandwiches.

SM Year-End Sale haul

This is an overdue post. I went to SM Megamall last week. They were having their year-end sale, promising up to 50% off on many items. I wasn't really expecting to find anything great, but! I was able to get these items at a bargain, so I felt pretty happy about it.

I got a star and a heart-shaped ice mold for only P30 each! They seem like the silicone stuff that's popular now. Anyway, I still can't think of anything to do with them except make ice, but I'm sure a great idea will come to me. If you have any suggestions, let me know!



I was also able to buy this cute bento box for only P50! Yes, it was on 50% off! It comes with this cute matching spoon (see pics above post).

I was also able to buy these purrty sandals for only P399.00, down from the original price of P1,199.00! Good thing they were in my size!

My First Bento - Longganisa & Egg

Since I am also going to work tonight, I thought I'd make myself a cute bento. It's my first bento, and I admit I don't have my bento making skills down pat yet. I did enjoy cutting out the fruits though! I made the bento from leftover rice, leftover sotanghon, leftover longganisa, you get the picture. But I was finally able to use my onigiri mold. Yey! To fill out the spaces and for added color, I slightly boiled one stick of green beans and quickly cooked a tamago (omelet).