Lunch at Gerry's Grill

My BFF Raxie came over here in Marilao again last Saturday (January 20) to spend time with me and Nathan. But because I don't want to hassle Mamoosh (since we've had late lunch already), I asked Raxie to just meet us at SM Marilao first so we could just eat lunch there.

Raxie arrived first so she called me and asked where I want to eat. She mentioned Max's which I instantly negated lol. Umay na ako sa Max's sa Vancouver haha! I suddenly remembered that I haven't eaten at Gerry's Grill in SM Marilao yet since it opened around two years ago so I suggested it. Oks daw. We both love sisig and calamares kaya ayos.

We waited for a couple of minutes before we were lead to a booth table. The receptionist was nice. Overly nice na nga eh haha.

Raxie didn't want to order a lot, kasi baka di raw namin maubos. Both of us are watching our diet kaya kelangang magigil sa pagkain.

We just ordered calamari for appetizer.

And pork sisig and inihaw na liempo as main dishes. Plus one cup of rice lang since I'll be eating Nathan's leftover pa kasi Jollibee chickenjoy ang lunch nya (na tinake-out ni Ninang Raxie for him).

Raxie ordered green mango shake din pala kasi init na init siya.

Nakakamiss din kumain sa Gerry's. But I might not dine there again in the near future haha. Ang liit na ng servings nila. Or baka nasanay lang din ako sa malalaking servings sa Canada? Haha, bitin ang food. Buti na lang nga may leftover pa na chicken si Nathan. Hindi na kami nagdagdag ng order kasi nga it will take a while, baka wala na rin ang momentum namin pagdating ng food.

This was our bill. I made the mistake of thinking na walang service charge kasi I looked on the lower left side -- VAT sales, 12% VAT, at Total lang ang nakita ko. I didn't know na may VAT din pala ang service charge? I gave the Php50 bill plus the coins as tip.

Tataasan ako ng kilay sa Canada (at lalo na sa America) kapag nalaman nila yan. Unacceptable haha. Kasi at least 12% DAW dapat. I guess Pinoys are just kuripot in giving tips kasi nga mahirap ang buhay dito. Kumbaga, niraraos lang din ng karamihan sa atin ang pagkain sa labas so masyadong malaki ang PHp95 pesos para ibigay lang (on top of the service charge). And no, hindi dahil balikbayan ako eh dapat generous ako haha. Kasi nga jobless naman ako sa Canada noh, humihingi lang din ako sa asawa ko.

The kuripot side of me was really nanghinayang. Naisip ko sana we ate somewhere else na lang, baka mas nasatisfy pa kami. Namamahalan na rin akong kumain sa mga restos dito sa Pinas, fast food gal lang talaga ako. Feeling ko kasi ordinary lutong-bahay lang naman ang food ng Gerry's.

By the way, I saw this stamped notice at the back of my receipt. Hindi ko mareconcile sa utak ko kung bakit kailangang issurender ang receipt in exchange of a free item. Hindi ba pwedeng ipakita na na lang? What will they do with the returned receipts? Hindi ide-declare?

#CessieEats 6

1. Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken. Ford and I rarely like the same food. Incompatible talaga kami. But this popcorn chicken of Yougo Chicken (Aberdeen Centre Foodcourt) is our mutual love. Lagi namin itong inoorder kasi ang sarap talaga, albeit medyo salty (kaya kailangan ng Diet coke).

2. Crispy Pata and Caldereta. After watching the Santa Claus Parade in downtown Vancouver last December 3, 2017, we went to Aling Ening Restaurant in Fraser Street to have late lunch. Aling Ening is a turo-turo restaurant. Wala ng gaanong food nung dumating kami kasi past 3pm na yata nun, wala na kami halos mapili. We ended up with one whole crispy pata (cooked na, ininit na lang) and caldereta. Masarap naman ang caldereta, sobrang konti nga lang. Ok din ang crispy pata kaso walang sauce na kasama. I just made my own by mixing soy sauce and vinegar. We paid $23.65 for these, including 2 cups of rice.

3. Taho. Halos katabi ng ng Aling Ening ang O! Taho so we bought na rin 2 liters of taho for take-home. We paid $12.

It's August pa since we last bought taho so talagang nasabik kami. Ang sarap! However, we realized na sobrang nakakataas pala ng sugar kaya dapat konting-konti lang per meal (na ang hirap gawin). My husband didn't eat the remaining taho that I left for him, natapon ko tuloy.

4. Fresh Slice Pizza. I know that I am not to eat pizza pero kapag wala na talaga akong makain for dinner at ayaw ko ng rice, I would end up buying a slice of all-meat pizza sa foodcourt ng Guildford Town Centre (the mall just across our place). I've tested my blood sugar level at hindi naman tumataas kapag one slice lang. Also, whenever I eat only this for dinner, bumababa ang weight ko kinabukasan haha.

5. Mother-and-Son's late Lunch. I was too lazy to cook lunch last Thursday (Dec. 7) so I brought Nathan to the foodcourt of Guildford. As usual, KFC fried chicken for him and 1 slice of pizza for me.

Too bad, sayang ito. My son only eats the chicken eh (ayaw niya ng fries ng KFC). Di ko naman makain kasi nga carbs ito. If only I could just order chicken, kaso meal yan eh.

6. Some greens, finally! We've been eating a lot of meat lately, di ko na talaga ma-take. I am getting old na talaga, di na ako ok sa puro karne. I only had pechay (bok choy) in the ref kaya I cooked nilagang pork neck bones. Tsk, karne pa rin.

7. La Meza Grill's Sisig. I have yet to find sisig here in BC that I like. Hindi ko masyadong type ang lasa nito eh, pero gusto naman ng asawa ko (sabi na eh, magkaiba kami ng gustong pagkain). Pero $9.95 lang ito (plus 5% tax and tip) kaya ok na rin na pamatid-craving.

#CessieEats 1

This is one of my favorite chocolates in the whole wide world. But too bad, wala akong nakikitang ganito sa Canada. Puro yung creamy milk chocolate with almonds lang. Nakakapagtaka lang talaga considering na made in USA naman ito.

I craved for mocha frappucino a couple of days ago kaya gumora ako sa Starbucks SM Marilao at past 9am (kahit na I have sore eyes and cold). Kilala pa ako nung isang barista doon (halos araw-araw ba naman akong bumibili dati).

Grabe, ang sarap talaga ng frapp sa Pinas! Ternuhan pa ng Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream (na wala rin sa Canada!). Wala na, wala na akong pag-asa talaga pumayat!

What I like most about my life here in Pinas -- I have a scooter and I can drive around at night (when Nathan's asleep) to find some food!

I've read about this McCormick Palabok in one of the mommy blogs here in Pinas. Eh syempre madali akong ma-sway kaya sinubukan ko. Medyo pricey siya at Php127+ per pack ha.

I honestly wanted "us" to work. I planned on bringing a lot sa Canada pagbalik ko kasi mahilig talaga kami sa palabok ng asawa ko. Kaso FAIL! Hindi masarap. Pero marami siya ha, good for 4 servings talaga.

Ahh! This sisig is heaven! Medyo pricey nga lang. Php100 for such a small serving. Presyong pang-resto na.

They actually have a restaurant here in Marilao (that I have yet to visit) but it's good that they put up a small stall across SM Marilao for take-out orders.

I'll try their other dishes too soon!

Just a few minutes ago, my cousins dropped by to bring me mocha frappucino. They went to the wake of Ate Merly (also our cousin), tapos nag-Starbucks sila. I wasn't able to go with them (and the rest of the family) because of TanTan. Gabi na rin kasi, baka makakuha pa ng sakit.

Salamat sa frapp!

Pork Sisig in Edmonton (to be updated)

Are you a pork sisig lover just like me? Sisig is my default order in Filipino restaurants (here and in Pinas) so I've decided to compile the different types of sisig dishes that I've tasted here in Edmonton.


Little Asia Noodle House

Max's Restaurant

Summerside Grill Restaurant

Cusina ni Mutya

Lola Emma's Filipino Cuisine

Panciteria de Manila -- the best sisig in Edmonton so far! (10/1/14)

Will update this post later! =)