Rustic Mornings by Isabelo

Wake up every morning with a smile and a thought that something wonderful is about to happen. 

 

 

 

 

 

Crispy waffle with mango cubes

 

Asian salad

 

Cheese pizza

 

Parmigiano carbonara

 

Chocolate molten lava

 

Earl Grey hot tea

 

 

 

 

 

Today my morning sunshine came in many forms – hearty and delicious breakfast meals, Portia’s old family photos and mementos, quirky artworks and decors, lush and rustic setting, and wisdom that Jesus never fails those who believe and relentlessly pursue their dreams, but only with a giving heart.

 

Isabelo Garden Restaurant

#11 Isabelo Mendoza St.

San Roque, Marikina

Tel. No.: 510-6914, 0917-7005810

Patio Vera

A beautiful ancestral house turned into a cozy garden restaurant in an eclectic setting, serving family heirloom recipes. It was named after the owner's grandmother, a succesful shoemaker in Marikina way back in the 70s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

House salad

 

Salmon steak

 

Dinamita

 

Shrimp al pesto

 

Leche flan

 

 

 

 

 

Watch out for the high heel. It comes with every meal.

 

Patio Vera

#70 General F. Santos St.

Calumpang, Marikina

Tel. No.: 239-0615 

Breakfast the Kanto Style

I’ve read somewhere that “hurting back the people who hurt you makes you just like them.”

 

I guess the message it wants to convey is clear and simple: “Don’t follow the steps of Emily Thorne.” It may be easy to say for those who have not been hurt, but to those who were victimized by love or unceremoniously left for dead, there might be a good er bad reason why oftentimes they seek retribution. It’s tempting, like the luscious, mouth-watering three-layer pancakes with maple syrup, topped with strawberries and blueberries I tasted one Sunday afternoon in a most unlikely place in the city – a street side carinderia.

 

 

 

Mixed berry pancakes

 

Kanto eggs Benedict

 

Tuyo and kesong puti

 

Crispy pork belly

 

Deep fried oreo

 

After I got a mouthful of this viand, I realized there is something more to that quote. That while anger and pain could sometimes cloud my own good judgment, I also found out that my reaction often mirrors the way how people treat me. Unknowingly. And of course I don’t want that. I never want that.

 

So from now on, I would eat more kanto boy breakfast. Just imagine all the gourmet food costing not more than P90.00 my palate could taste, the garnishing my eyes would feast, and the beautiful things my arms might embrace if they weren’t wrapped so tightly in my battles.

 

Happy hearts day!

 

Kanto Freestyle Breakfast

#549 San Joquin St., Brgy. Plainview

Mandaluyong City

Tel. No.: 400-2268

Savoy Bistro

People say that you can’t live without love. But I’m certain water and oxygen are more important. At least that has been proven and tested by science.

 

Ah science… it reminds me of our investigatory project way back in high school – something about proving the effectiveness of golden kuhol as fertilizer in the yield of tomatoes. What’s interesting about the project during that time was golden kuhols were considered as farm pests and a threat to rice production.

 

Well isn’t it amusing that after all these years, I was able to meet again the little creatures, but this time on my plate, swimming in butter, garlic and olive oil. They look so adorable, smell so good and definitely not some kind of pest that I used to know.

 

 

 

 

Complimentary appetizer

 

Savoie salad
 

Baked escargot bourguignon

 

Pepper steak Madagascar

 

Walnut chocolate cluster cake

 

 

 

 

Experience continental classic cooking “Haute Cuisine”, now being served in the heart of Makati.

 

Savoy Bistro

East Asian Art Gallery, Kalayaan Ave.

Luzon St., Makati City

Tel. No.: 896-5667

Mother’s Garden, Baguio

“But some emotions don’t make a lot of noise. It’s hard to hear pride. Caring is real faint – like a heartbeat. And pure love – why, some days it’s so quiet, you don’t even know it’s there.”

- Emma Bombeck

 

I wish every mother has a garden as wonderful as Mother’s Garden.  It is a nature lover’s haven where you could find not only fresh organic food, but also peace and solitude.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mother’s garden salad

 

Chicken cordon blue

 

Thuringen bratwurst

 

Vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries

 

 

 

 

 

It’s always therapeutic to laugh with flowers or feed hungry animals. It brings out the happy kid in you. It momentarily takes away the constant worry and fear you have in facing your predicaments or fighting your inner battles. It reminds you that a mother’s love is like a garden, always natural and in full bloom.

 

PS.

Belated happy birthday Ma.

 

Mother's Garden

#6 Upper Fairview Rd.

Quezon Hill, baguio City