An unplanned visit and an impromptu trip turns out to be an underlying reason for an exciting food trip.
A few days back, food buddy Aida was at the Asian General Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, when I received a text message asking if I could drop by our HR office and get PhilHealth forms for her pending laparoscopic operation. She also asked if I could drop the forms by her house but I instinctively decided to visit and accompany her at the hospital.
I was hungry and I was feeling tired from a toxic workday. After her consultation, she offered that we eat at the pantry located at the lower ground floor of hospital. I admitted that I was short of cash and I only had a few hundreds to get me through the week. She offered to pay for it...so I did not decline. Libre eh!
The pantry looked like a mid-class restaurant. It looked liked a food court but not quite much because there was only one concessionaire as I had observed.
She ordered lumpiang ubod while I chose to have spaghetti. Then, we saw the pasta area and we ordered another. We were choosing from a fettuccine or penne pasta and the pesto or alfredo sauce. We settled for the pesto in penne pasta.
Orders are made and we've settled on a table. Its eating time!!! We first tried the lumpiang ubod and I was surprised how good it tasted. Foobu Aida had said it before that the ubod was great and yes it was indeed. It was made of the tender young coconut wood with bits of vegetables. Its a highly recommended must-try food, plus its healthy.
Then we tried the spaghetti. She confessed that she liked her spaghettis sour while I prefer the sweet ones. Gladly, the spaghetti was served sweet with generous serving of ground meat and a few hotdog slices. She said that its only in the Philippines that spaghettis are served with hotdog. It didn't matter for me, but if its a testimony..then I'm a proud Filipino for that.
I can say that there are better spaghettis out there; for one, foobu Aida's version of spaghetti with meatballs and herbs are far better, and my wife's choice of sweet blend Del Monte ketchup and original blend spaghetti sauce also makes a better serving.
Then came the pesto. I didn't know pesto is green. According to wikipedia, "the name is the contracted past participle of pestâ ("to pound, to crush", from the same Latin root as the English word pestle), in reference to the sauce's crushed herbs and garlic."
In all due fairness, the pesto tasted good and its an enjoyable treat. The penne pasta added structure and form to the food, while the dominant green crashed herbs provide a texture that is pleasing to the eyes. The herby taste less that goaty feeling (kambing or goat because you have to eat leaves) and the strong flavor of basil made it a delectable treat.
Lastly, the dessert and its my choice of the blueberry cheesecake. I opted for the blueberry cheesecake because I have not tried one. On the rack were my favorites; chocolate cake and black forest but I chose this one.
Foobu Aida who bakes cakes shared that the based is just a diluted cream cheese and the bottom part are graham crackers while the blueberries can be bought in stores. So pretty much, making blueberry cheesecake is just stuffing the cream cheese on top of the graham crackers and topping it with the blueberries. Its that easy.
The sweet tooth me liked the cake, but not quite as much as I do with chocolate cakes.
Food can be found in many places and sometimes you can discover the best in places you never expect. This time, I discovered a good spot to try out lumpiang ubods and pesto pastas...and I found it in a hospital.
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