#CessieLikes: GyuDon (Ajinomoto)

I love love love gyudon!

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If your are unfamiliar with this dish, here is a brief description.

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I think I first tasted gyudon at Yoshinoya. Too bad there's no Yoshinoya here. And there's no Japanese restaurant here (that I know) that serve gyudon that's why I am disappointed.

Then I saw this at T&T Supermarket last week. Natakam ako. I kinda hesitated because I found it a bit pricey ($4.78 plus 5% tax) for its size. Maliit lang kasi ang bowl, for sure nakakabitin.

But my craving for gyudon won. Sige na nga, binili ko na rin. It's made by Ajinomoto so it must be good, I told myself. Super sarap din kasi ng Yakitori nila na nabibili sa Costco eh.

THE VERDICT -- Masarap nga! Gyudon na gyudon talaga haha! Pero dahil nga maliit lang ang bowl, hindi sumapat sa malalaki kong mga bituka. I suggest na kung gusto mong mabusog, dagdagan na lang ng rice. Medyo masabaw kasi ito kaya ok din na haluan pa ng rice para hindi gaanong salty.

By the way, I followed the microwave instructions (4 minutes yata) pero medyo na-burnt na yung beef. I am not sure kung pwedeng less minutes kasi baka hindi naman maluto ang rice.

How I wish meron nito sa Costco kasi medyo mahal talaga sa T&T and Lucky Supermarket. Pero kung wala, sige tiis muna. Sana mag-sale para makapag-hoard ako.

Did I say expensive?

We went to Lucky Supermarket (one of the two biggest Asian supermarkets here in Edmonton) last night to buy some mauulam.

And to give you an idea of how expensive Asian/Filipino foods are here, take a look into our cart.

Not much, huh. At the bottom were just some vegetables and fruits.

This was our total bill:

Yep, almost Php8,500.00! Mind you, mostly pang-ulam lang yan ha (that will last for just a few days). We buy our other household necessities at Walmart.

Cliche as it may sound, we Filipinos may be earning dollars here but we also spend big time, especially on Filipino items that we need for survival.

After I recover from giving birth, I guess I really need to be mindful our grocery budget. That's what good housewives do, right? We couldn't go on like this, or else we won't have any savings at all.

Tawilis in Edmonton

We were at T&T Supermarket last Sunday and my eyes rolled in disbelief when I saw several packs of this...

Tawilis, is that really you???

I've been here in Edmonton for almost a year now and that was the first time I saw frozen tawilis in the supermarket.

You see, I am your typical promdi who grew up eating different types of fish. I love fish, yung mga non-sosyal fish daw sabi ng asawa ko like bangus, galunggong, dalagang-bukid, ayungin, hasa-hasa, tilapia, etc. I also love salmon and tuna but because I immigrated here, talagang yung mga Pinoy fish ang nami-miss ko. I even told my mother that when I go home next year, puro fresh fish ang ihanda niya for me. That is what we lack here in Edmonton eh, fresh seafoods. Lahat frozen.

Crispy fried tawilis is one of my favorites so talagang naatat ako nang makakita nito. I grabbed a pack and put it in our cart.

I was shocked though when I learned (after my husband has paid for it) that it costs $7.33 (or approximately Php300)! Waah, ang mahal naman pala! Around 20 pieces lang yun ha, kulang pa na kainin ko in one sitting. When I called my mother, ang sabi niya kabibili lang daw niya sa palengke nito... Php40 isang kilo! Asar-talo ako.

I mentally took note that this will probably be the last time na bibili ako nito, unless  i-sale ng 50% off haha! I just convinced myself that since I am pregnant, entitled akong kainin ang mga gusto kahit mahal (pampalubag-loob).

Hay, buhay-Canada! Filipinos here might be earning dollars pero sobrang taas din naman ng cost of living. Nasa disadvantage position ang mga Pinoy because of course, the food that we like to eat (i.e. Filipino products) are all "imported". Hence, doble o triple ang cost kumpara sa food ng Canadians.

Oh well, I guess kailangan na talagang mag-adjust soon. In order to save, we need to find cheaper, non-imported alternatives to some Filipino products that we like.

Hope in a cup cake

When Ford went back to the Philippines last May to attend his grandmother's burial, one of the requests I made to my Mamoosh to send me back here was pack of Lemon Square cheese cup cake. I am a sucker for cup cakes but unfortunately, wala dito nitong gusto ko. Yung Regent brand lang ang meron, yung custard cake with different flavors (na hindi ko naman type).

And then two weeks ago, I spotted these familiar yellow-packaged goodies at T&T Supermarket WEM. I was so thrilled that I couldn't help but utter: "Wow, may Lemon Square na sila dito! Yes! I'm so happy!" As usual, the hubby was dedma. He's not as passionate as me when it comes to Filipino products. He's been living in North America since 2001 and he has no attachment on these things. He will never understand my excitement.

It's actually not the cup cake per se that I am excited about. You see, every time a new Filipino product comes here, I am becoming more hopeful. Hopeful that in the next few years, all those items/foods that I love in Pinas will soon be readily available here. Iwas-homesick kasi yun. When you're living abroad, kung pwede lang that you bring every piece of "home"with you, right?

We are lucky because in this day and age of globalization, hindi na rin masyadong deprived ng familiar foods ang mga immigrants. But still, I would want to see Jollibee and Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs here in Edmonton. When that happens, I'd be at peace na haha!

I've been on a zero-sweet diet since August because of my gestational diabetes but I couldn't refuse this one. Grabe, ang sarap! After I give birth, kakain ako nito araw-araw! 

I wish many Filipinos here patronize these products so they can continue importing. =)

Craving for the real tender juicy hotdog

Migrating to another country entails a lot of sacrifices. Aside from being away from my family and friends, ang pinakamalaking adjustment ko na siguro ay sa food.

I am a very boring eater, I don't eat much variety. I always want to eat what's familiar. One of my favorites at home (i.e. in the Philippines) is Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs. Tsk, too bad bawal i-export ang mga meat products dito sa Canada. Kung meron lang sigurong TJ hotdogs dito, solved na solved na ako.

Yung dating taken-for-granted red hotdogs ko sa Pinas, miss na miss ko na talaga ngayon. Especially now that I am pregnant, grabe lalo ang pagkatakam ko.

We were at Lucky Supermarket last week and I grabbed a pack of this Pinoyfoods Tender Juicy Hotdog. I knew malayo sa lasang hinahanap ko (sa kulay pa lang iba na eh) but still, I gave it a try. Baka sakaling ma-satisfy ang cravings ko.

Pero syempre, BIGO ako. Imported sausage talaga ang lasa niya. Sana di na lang nila ginaya ang packaging ng Purefoods kasi medyo hopeful yung bumibili eh. Ganun ba talaga kahirap gayahin ang pulang hotdogs ng Pinas?

Anyway, after posting this hotdog thing in Instagram, my cousin Sarah from Illinois suggested that I look for Martin Purefoods Hotdogs. Haha, another so-called "purefoods hotdog." This one looks better though, pula na nga kasi talaga. And according to Cha, its taste is the 'nearest to the real thing.'

Photo taken from  http://www.philamfood.com/ (credits to the owner) 

The bad news is, I am sure we don't have it here in Edmonton. Kung meron nyan, matagal ko na sanang nakita. I always scout for Pinoy products in Asian supermarkets and Filipino stores eh.

My parents-in-law, who are based in California, are coming here soon to help us with the coming of Baby Chicklet. Ford said we could ask them to bring some of these hotdogs for us. Sana may makita sila. Since they will be coming from the US, they are allowed to bring some meat products here in Canada. 

Hay, pag-uwi ko sa Pinas kakain talaga ako ng TJ hotdogs every day. Promise yan!

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For a follow-up post, please click ---> There are No Purefoods Hotdogs in Canada

T&T Gourmet serves brown rice!

I started eating brown rice the moment I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It's one of the first steps in my attempt to change my eating habits.

Hence I was so happy upon seeing this yesterday at T&T! I went there to eat after my 'diabetes class' at the Misericordia Hospital.

'Wow, nagse-serve na pala sila ngayon ng brown rice! Ayos!", I told myself. You see,  I really began feeling guilty eating white rice since August 5. Ang tingin ko na talaga sa puting kanin ay asukal na hindi kalunok-lunok.

I noticed though that T&T's 'brown rice' is not pure. May halong white rice eh. Pero puwede na rin kahit papano.

Don't judge my ulam. I am more of a carbo-conscious at this point, not protein/fat OC-OC.

I really thought they just started serving rice recently (to coincide with my diet haha!) but I was wrong pala! I checked my previous blog on T&T Gourmet and saw the brown rice poster in one of the pictures. Kaloka, di ko lang pala napansin. Or di ko lang talaga siguro pinansin.

So I guess I would have to be more observant now in dining out. Dapat maging mas aware sa mga healthy offerings. =)

Veggie, why so expensive?

I was still in the Philippines when I saw a post in Facebook that Lucky Supermarket now offers veggie mix pack. I was so happy that I even showed in to my mother. Asian vegetables kasi are pricey here in Edmonton, plus they come in huge packs. This hinders me in cooking sinigang or kare-kare or even nilaga often, sobrang mahal kasi aabutin because of the vegetables. Ok sana kung malakas kaming kumain ng gulay ni Pod, kaso hindi (we're such bad kids!). Marami talagang masasayang. Vegetables also wither easily (probably because they were imported and not that super fresh) so storing them for long is not a good idea.

I really thought veggie packs is the solution but I was wrong. Sobrang mahal pa rin pala. Around Php500 na agad ang gulay pa lang ng kare-kare.

Same with sinigang.

I've never appreciated the freshness and "cheapness" of vegetables in the Philippines until I moved here. Though one may argue that people here earn dollars, the price of Asian vegetables (plus all the other ingredients that a complicated Filipino dish requires) I guess is still high by Canadian standards. Kaya mas malaki ang grocery expenditure ng Filipino immigrants kesa ordinary Canadians eh, kasi puro "imported" (from their home country) ang gusto nilang kainin syempre.

Oh well, tiis-tiis muna nga kami ngayon na walang kare-kare. Pag-uwi na nga lang sa Pinas kami magpapakasawa.

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NOTE: I thought it was best to just eat kare-kare in a Filipino restaurant but I was wrong (because of this and this experience).