Mad over Guiseppe!

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie... that's amore... Ooohhh... I just love Italian... especially when it comes to pizza and pasta. And while we're on the subject of pizza and pasta, guess where Marc took me for our anniversary dinner last Sept. 3??? Giuseppe!!! Yep, that same Giuseppe pizza restaurant that I've been itching to go to since Noel Flowers told me about it... what? 2 years ago? Oooohhhh... I just love the place! Their pizza is soooo fantastic! And it's reasonably priced too. You can get a 12" family-sized pizza for around Php360-420. And we're talking about real Italian pizza here... real tomatoes, mozzarella, Italian sausages... Parma ham... ooohhhh...

I had a hard time deciding what to eat! There were sooo many good stuff that I wanted to try! For pizza, we finally settled on Gregorio; the waiter suggested it was their specialty. It was gorgeous... simple... classy (not a hodge-podge of toppings thrown haphazardly together.) It looked like real home-made pizza. I love it! The tomato sauce... light and flavorful, the sweet mozzarella, the thin dough that's perfectly balanced between crisp and chewey... and ooohhh...long thin slices of prosciutto right on top!!! (that's Parma ham, by the way.) I love it! I love it! I love it!

And of course, the pasta. Since I'm more of the white-sauce pasta fanatic, we ordered Penne Martina, or penne in four cheeses (sauce). Penne Martina, and most of their pasta dishes, costs Php360.00 but it's a huge serving of pasta that's good enough for 2-3 persons. The four cheese sauce was thick and creamy; I love the burst of nutty flavor by the Parmesan cheese when I covered my penne with it... Marc though, thought it was weird to eat pasta with just simply pasta and sauce (he's used to the more meaty American spaghetti.) I laughed and said, "That's Italian, beveh. Less is more."

Jokingly, I took a slice of prosciutto from the pizza, cut it up into bits and tossed them in the penne. "Here. Now you've got meat on your pasta!"

Hahahahaha!!!

Oh, we did have some pizza and pasta left over. Guess what I did with the penne? I heated it up in the microwave, tossed some olives and bacon and a sprinkle of basil (i love basil!) and ta daaaahhhh!!! Mmmmmmm!!! Now that's what I call a leftover-makeover!!!! =)

A real beaut of a pizzeria tucked in Ma. Luisa North, Banilad...

Top to bottom glass windows give you a great view of the outside yet maintaining that feel of intimacy for a... ahem... special date. >=)

There in that big hot oven lies the heart of Giuseppe's pizza goodness!

Giuseppe's Gregorio Pizza... sigh! My camera just couldn't do it justice! ='(

A huge plate of Penne Martina... penne in Four Cheeses (sauce) sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Hehe... I accidentally gave the pasta a quick toss before I remembered to take a picture of it. Whooops!

Lotsa olives, loads of bacon and dashes of basil dressed up my leftover Giuseppe pasta!

Yum! Yum! Yum!!!!

Buon appetito everyone!!!! =)

Everything Shawarma at The Shawarma Place!

I remember the first time I ate shawarma at The Shawarma Place along Mabolo street; I couldn't stop gushing over it. Sure, you can probably get shawarma anytime in food carts inside the mall, but hey, if you truly want to get into the experience of eating shawarma, you absolutely have to try eating one at The Shawarma Place. Loads of chopped beef and veggies tightly wrapped with pita bread oozing with garlic sauce and barbecue sauce... ooohhhh... Think nothing different? Think again. Shawarma Place serves their shawarmas thick and full, not like the skinny, half-filled ones you get for 35 pesos. Ok, so their shawarma does cost 45 pesos apiece but you do get what you pay for... that means tons of beef in your sandwich. Don't you just sometimes hate how some shawarma stalls can be too skimpy on the beef???

Oh wait. It gets even better. You absolutely have to try their Sizzling Shawarma... it's an original-- and their specialty... and it's great for those who like shawarma without the pile of veggies. It's Shawarma served sizzling-sisig style... mmm...mmm... Try it; you'll crave for it. I swear. And I like the fact that they've totally jazzed up the whole concept of shawarma as just being a sandwich. This time you get to enjoy shawarma ala pica-pica. Get some beef, pile on a quarter of a pita bread, squeeze on loads and loads of sauces (unlimited garlic and sweet bbq on the house) tuck them all in (and as best as you can! Hehe!) then eat the whole thing up! Hehe, does get your hands covered in sauces but hey, that's what makes the whole thing fun! =) And the best part? A whole plate costs only 50 pesos. YEAH!!!

Oh, and sizzling shawarma over a drinking bout with friends? Perfect. =)

Beautiful, beautiful sizzling shawarma... mmm... mmm...

With the egg tossed and pita on the side. By the way, you can get the pita bread at 7 pesos apiece. They'll cut them up in quarters for you.

Yeah, that's right. Pile 'em all in and pile 'em high!!!

Drizzle 'em sauces... oooohhhhhhhh...

Man, all this food writing is making me hungry. Time to eat a little smackerel of something... hehehehe!!! =)