Food trip // Goldilocks

I am Filipino. 

Let me be one of the few people to say that Filipinos are Asian and not Pacific-Islanders. 

You may or may not agree with me but it's true. Unfortunately, this post is not about that. 

I will discuss that later on.

Today, I will talk about a famous restaurant here in California, not so much back in sweet, ol' Philippines called 

Goldilocks 

[[^^ You know the drill, click the linky for more infy ^^]]

Back in the Philippines, Goldilocks is famously known for a local bakeshop where you can usually get your last-minute birthday cakes. [[Yup! I know Dad, you forgot my bday again (ʃƪ ˘ ³˘) ]]

Any cow, here in Cerritos lies the famous restaurant.

From fairy tale to famous Filipino bakery grail

I was never really a fan of Goldilocks 5 years back but I am a sucker for sweets so I gave it another shot.

In the Philippines, there are numerous house garages turned to small cafeterias. For someone who was born and raised there, you get that nostalgic feeling whenever you encounter a place where it reminds you of home and that is exactly the atmosphere that Goldilocks gives you when you first enter the restaurant.

Once inside, you are then greeted by a host that will escort you to your table. Around you, you'll see copious 'kababayans' (fellow Filipino) eating with their family. This place really gives off the sense of home.

Filipinos, filipinos everywhere!

Goldilocks' icon is nonetheless the famous fairy tale character herself, as shown below. Kind of creepy but you get used to it.

I don't know how they did it; how they owned such a famous character but they did.
And for that I salute you.

A waiter then approaches you in your table and gives you the menu. A mid-size menu full of  the restaurant's specialties.

For a native, you will see very familiar words in the menu, delicacies served in a normal Filipino household such as Pancit (Noodles), Sinigang (Sour soup), Nilaga (Stew) and even Lechon Kawali (Deep fried Pork belly)

The menu has english descriptions for non-native speakers. Very convenient!

Just a brain blast moment; I didn't know that Filipino's have soul food. Very interesting. 

Crispy Dinuguan - Crispy Pork Blood Stew for your soul, anyone?

Once done ordering, the waiter then distributes the tableware suited for what you ordered.

I think this setting is really dashing.

Unfortunately, I was too hungry to even take a picture of what we got. It's simply Fried Rice but of course, Filipino-style which means it's sweet and just right for my palette.

For desserts, my friend got an Avocado Chiller which looks definitely refreshing

She has her own blog and her own review of the place.

Check her out HERE

Avocado Chiller - Avocados, silky evaporated milk, tapioca with shaved ice all over.

And as for myself, I got the traditional Halo-Halo which means Mix.
Very tantalizing to the eyes and very refreshing to the tummy.

Halo-Halo - (Mix) consists of a shaved ice and evaporated milk MIXed with a variety of sweet beans, plantains, nata de coco, dash of pounded crushed young rice (pinipig) and a scoopful of flan and/or purple yam ice cream or purple yam itself.

Top view of this majestic masterpiece before it is then pulverized to mix  thoroughly for  fun.

Last but will never be the least, if there's one thing that Goldilocks never got rid of; its the bakery.

Still the top leading bakery in the Filipino community, showcases of assorted cakes and sweets lined up on the glass cases waiting to be taken home.

For pricing, it's not that bad. Brazo de Mercedes (Rolled Meringue cake with Custard Filling) - a famous, Spanish-named  roll has taken its toll in my child-like heart. This roll has been my cake since I can remember.
≧(´▽｀)≦

Of course, there are the grand cakes suited for every birthday need!

I like this one, very simple yet sophisticated.

Price: ★★★☆☆

• For something you can simply make at home, the price is good for reminiscing old times.

Food Rating: ★★★☆☆

• Knocked out 2 stars because again, you can try and make your own recipes for these dishes. This place is meant for those who wants to reminisce home or those Filipinos who wanted their Non-native  friends to have their own Pinoy experience.

Overall Service/Experience: ★★★★☆

• For someone who cannot cook that well, I love this place as it reminds me of home. 

Would I come back?

• In a heartbeat. Goldilocks has a special place in every Filipino's heart, especially mine.

Thanks for tuning in! 

о(ж＞▽＜)ｙ ☆

Food Trip // Thai Original BBQ

Good evening Ladies and Gents...

It's time for another Food Trip!

Now to all of you living in California, you know how culturally-diverse our little state is; you have food cuisines ranging from Chinese, Soul, American (new), Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai, Greek and Mediterranean. The food choices are endless.

For today, Bugsy's mom felt like treating us outside so we headed to a Thai restaurant a few blocks away from their place. It lies in the heart of Culver City. I believe that if you're a Foodie like I am, you're already familiar of this place.

.The Thai Original BBQ Restaurant.

[[ ^^ click their website, I dare you not to drool  ^^ ]]

[[ Photo Credit to YELP ]]

I forgot to take an exterior photo of the restaurant so thanks to Yelp but any photos down below are originally mine. I promise!

Any moo, when you enter the place, you feel that rustic feeling of being in well, an Asian restaurant. You then are greeted by a waitress/waiter who will assist you to a table available (sometimes, if you're a early, you can choose your own seat!)

This is the view from our table, it wasn't that crowded that day since we went after lunch service.

Most customers prefer having their food as take-out, I don't know why but we're all different so whatever.

The menu was pretty simple and easy to follow. For our starters, we started off Bugsy's Mama's favorite; The Spicy Shrimp Soup.

Just look at the steam it's producing, I cannot wait to have another one.

The Spicy Shrimp Soup
combination of Spicy and Sour soup packed with juicy Shrimp, scrumptious mushrooms, leafy greens and tomatoes.

It didn't take us long to finish the soup, but luckily the service was fast enough our entrees started coming. We just ordered two (2) of them since the restaurant gives some pretty big servings.

To start of we got the ever so famous, Pad See Ew that I'm definitely positive my Thai readers love ( I hope...) and their lunch special, the S-2 BBQ Pork Spare Rib Dinner.

Starting off with the Pad See Ew; this dish is one of Bugsy's must when going to a Thai restaurant. The combination of sweet and savory is all I could come up with whenever I needed to describe this dish. 

It is served stir-fried with the accustomed green, crisp broccolis,  delectable cuts of beef (our choice) and what is Pad See Ew without the rice noodles.  

As I've said before, the serving can feed up to 2 people, so this dish is a definite must when going to a Thai restaurant !

You can see how vivid and colorful this dish was, I am a witness that this dish is yummy and fresh

And finally, last but never ever the least, the S-2  or how the restaurant describes it; the 

BBQ Pork Spare Rib Dinner.

This dish comes with plenty serving of succulent shrimp rice enough for again, 2 people, a set of savory spare ribs grilled to perfection and of course, their sweet sauce in which I-am-not-familiar-of-that-is-why-I-am-so-obsessed-with-it.

I'm not a Shakespeare when describing food but I can assure you that this mouth-watering dish can most certainly satisfy your palette, IF you're into or craving Thai cuisine.

The orange is optional. its garnish and edible at the same time ^-^

Price:  ★★★☆☆

• I give it three stars, just because as a broke adult, the price is not your typical Mcdonald's. It's a nice on-occasion event though. Very rewarding.

Food Rating: ★★★★☆

Overall Experience:  ★★★★☆

• We're all happy campers.

This is what I get when I asked him to take a photo us his Mom and I.
Silly Bugs~

Happy Campers!




Thanks for tuning in!
(〜￣▽￣)〜

Food Trip // Mongolian BBQ

Ever since I moved to the East side of California, I never thought that I could ever find an affordable all-you-can eat place. Coming from the Central part of Los Angeles, you can find numerous amounts of places to eat. Luckily, on my third month here at Pasadena, I was taken by a friend to Mongolian BBQ (sadly, they don't have an official website, so yelp is the next best thing XP ) The only time I've ever had Mongolian BBQ is at a mall with Bugs. He is obsessed with the thing, so when I told him that I found a place not even 5-minutes away from where I live, he was ecstatic.

The place looks like any other rustic restaurant that can be found around my area

Once inside, you will be seated in one of the booths or chairs located at the place, if it's not that crowded (which has to be either way too early in the morning or way too late after dinner time), you can have the freedom to choose your seat.

The line then starts with the frozen meat section where you can find a lot of meat to choose from. You literally can choose what goes in your food, which is amazing~

Turn to the corner or just simply follow where the line is going, you'll see a section of vegetables ranging from carrots to pineapples, even to bamboo shoots.

Don't forget the noodles!

Last but never the least, put some sauce on your wonderful creation. Yum~

Take your bowl to the window located at the far end of the line,  a chef will then separate your noodles from the others

 

Twirl it!

VOILA!~

You're done!!!

Bon Appetit~

Seems like Bugs' enjoying himself X))

He actually went back to get more 3x!!
Remember this place is all-you-can-eat!

Would I go back?

• Most definitely YES, c'mon $10 for something that gives you the liberty to actually know what you want in your food especially the ability for you to see how they cook it? I mean yeah, it is frozen meat but for the price, it really is a gem of a place!

Overall, I'm not much of a food critic but I absolutely love going to new places where I can try something new. Remember this place is an all-you-can eat, therefore, they will serve a lot of extras to make you full right away; so take it easy and enjoy the view while you're at it! :) 

Such an eccentric car, I swear >.<

 Thank you for tuning in!
Have a safe and have 4th of July everyone!
(ﾉ> ◇ <)ﾉ♪