Foodgasm episode 12: Dimsum Break — a.k.a. Happy Birthday Chippy!

Overdue post.

Finally found the time (and kasipagan) to post where my family ate to celebrate my younger sister’s 20th birthday. Oops. I think I was not supposed to say the age… but she does not look 20! 😉

Anywaaay, I’ve been hopping around Filipino food blogs for the past two weeks to look for hole-in-the-wall kainan or restos I haven’t heard of.  I stumbled upon The Pickiest Eater‘s post on Dimsum Break, which is the first Luzon branch of Ding Qua Qua / Harbor City. A few people know that I spent three years of my childhood life in Cebu. Even if I was not able to master the language of Cebuanos, I still feel I’m a Cebuana at heart.

One thing that will always remind me of Cebu is the famed steamed rice from Harbor City. My tatay went back to Cebu a few months ago and I begged him to take home even just one order of steamed rice since it’s been years since I last ate one. And yes, he really bought just one order for me. Haha! So, imagine my excitement and happiness when I read that Harbor City opened up a branch in SM North EDSA. XD

Dimsum Break’s menu

What’s different in Dimsum Break is they do not have people pushing around carts where you can choose the food that you want to eat. (That’s how they roll in Harbor City… or at least when I was still a kid) Instead, they have a counter where you can choose different dimsums on display. They also have a menu where you can choose noodles/soups, siopao, desserts, and beverages.

Steamed Rice (PhP68)

I introduce to you, my readers, the steamed (fried) rice! One bowl of it is enough to fill your stomach. My sister and I can’t help but say that it’s already expensive since back then, this dish costs PhP25 only. But that was back in 1999 pa eh! It has pork, shrimp, and peas together with Dimsum Break’s special sauce. 😉

Fried Wanton (Php65)

My sister ordered this and I was so happy since this dimsum is full of shrimp. The “blooming flower” appearance of this dimsum gives the effct that it’s huuuuuge though it’s really enough to take away your hunger. 🙂

Crab balls (PhP65)

Shrimp balls (PhP65)

I actually can’t remember how these two dishes were called but the names I gave them are enough to help you determine the main ingredient of the dimsum. *wink wink* Both are really delicious but I like the crab dimsum more. I’m not a fan of super oily foods so if you’re like me, you will definitely love the fried dimsum the restaurant offers.

Lomi (PhP80)

So far, this is the best lomi I’ve ever eaten. There is a generous serving of meat and vegetables plus the bowl is big enough to share with another person. It’s not too salty for my taste and the soup was really hot when they served it.

Bacon Siomai (PhP65)

Dun dun dun dun! Hail Dimsum Break for combining two of my favorite foods in the world — bacon and siomai. Duh! I was quite nervous how this dish would fare since the bacon is steamed, not fried. As far as I can remember, this dish was not yet present during my family’s stay in Cebu. Anyway, one bite of bacon siomai erased the doubts I had on it. Absolutely D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. I will definitely place this in my to-order mental list whenever I eat at Dimsum Break.

After eating, we went around the mall since we ate so much. Good thing we did because we accidentally spotted a Hello Kitty exhibit at The Block. ヘ(^_^ヘ)(ノ^_^)ノ Here are some pictures I took with the family.

Tatay, mama, Chippy

The biggest fan of Hello Kitty meets Papa Kitty and Mama Kitty. How I wish I could take them home. ♥

Sanrio character cakes courtesy of BreadTalk

Happy birthday to my one and only younger sister, Chippy! 😀

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Dimsum Break: 3/F SM North EDSA Annex, Quezon City

Foodgasm episode 9: Chili’s (Power Plant Mall)

The first Gift Gate warehouse sale happened yesterday at the NBC Tent (Bonifacio Global City). Products were up to 80% off and they were not limited to Sanrio characters only. Items with characters from Disney, Bandai, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Pokemon, etc. were also available during the warehouse sale. The event started at 10AM but we arrived there at 1PM. I thought that I would be able to buy some stuff for myself but to my disappointment, all of the good stuff were gone. 😥 Most of the items left were either too shabby for my taste or fitted for kids only. So, my little niece was very lucky since all the items we bought were hers. 🙂

We were surprised to find out a veeeeery looooong line for the cashier. After almost an hour in the line, the management decided to open cashiers for people with ten items or less. About time they thought of that! Still, it took us three hours before we were able to pay for our stuff.

All that waiting and standing left me, my cousin, and my little sister very hungry. We were thinking where we could grab merienda and the final decision was to eat in Chili’s. We headed to Power Plant Mall, which was where the nearest Chili’s was located. Since we got there at around 7PM, we opted to have dinner there instead of snacks. My tummy was really excited since it would be my first time to eat there. 😉

Table patterns

For our appetizer, we had Bottomless Tostada Chips. Their tostada chips were not only warm and crispy but also a little bit salty. This beats tostada chips from other restaurants / food chains, which are bland. Two dips came along with these chips — their homemade salsa and cheesy dip. The salsa was quite spicy and I’m not really a fan of spicy food. But, it was really good so I kept on dipping my chips in it. The homemade salsa is the only dip that is bottomless so if you want to have another round of cheesy dip, you’ll have to pay for it.

Bottomless Tostada Chips with homemade salsa and cheesy dip (PhP330)

The next dish that was served was the Fire Grilled Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Quesadilla. I went nuts over this to the point that I forgot to take a picture of it before we messed it up. 😆 The tortilla was toasted perfectly and even if I placed pico de gallo, salsa-ranch dressing, and sour cream over it, the quesadilla still tasted superb. It was actually more delicious, for me.

Fire Grilled Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Quesadilla (PhP430)

A piece of quesadilla

Pico de gallo!

My cousin also suggested that we order Grilled Shrimp Alfredo Pasta. And so, my little sister and I agreed to order it. The sauce was creamy and I was glad that they were generous in the amount of sauce they put. There were diced tomatoes, Parmesan, and green onions on top which gave the dish more color and flavor.

Grilled Shrimp Alfredo Pasta (PhP525)

Shriiiimps!

My messy plate *bow*

We were contemplating if we would order dessert but we were too full already so we decided not to order anymore. We just bought ice cream in the supermarket then ate it on our way home.

It was indeed a tiring day but I had a lot of fun, especially during dinner. Gluttonous girl. 😆

Before I end this post, I would like to share this photograph I took in Power Plant Mall. I saw this old lady who was playing the piano. She was reading notes while playing the said instrument and mind you,  the notes were not musical ones. They were literally notes, as in phrases and sentences. I was quite far from her so I was not able to see what was really written in that little notebook. I did not notice that I was already tapping my foot to her music while listening in a corner. I wish that more people will learn to appreciate music even if it’s just for a few seconds. Kudos to this madame and I hope that she will continue to play and create wonderful music.

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Chili’s (Power Plant Mall): P1 Unit 36 Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City