Doñas at Don Hen

I have been wanting to eat at Don Henrico's ever since they opened their first branch here in the Metro. I am such a sucker for Americanized Italian food (read: pizza and pasta) and I have always been wanting to try different appetizers they offer. As my friend and I have been planning to taste what Don Hen has to offer, we have finally got the chance to eat there last weekend. As badly as I want to try their ever famous Buffalo Wings, I cannot do so since my friend does not eat spicy food, so I settled for neutral flavors of our choices. First off, we started our meal with their Nachos Salad Ole which is a mountain of Nachos topped with tomato salsa, ground beef, grated cheese, iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, slices of black olives, onions, and corn kernels. Don Hen's Nachos Salad Ole is delish! Aside from the fact that it really is meant for sharing, the salad is really tasty and the nacho chips are very crunchy (read: fresh). They did not scrimp on toppings and thus eating it alone can really satisfy a small appetite.

Next in line is the Seafood Pesto Linguine in Cream Sauce. In the menu it described it as linguine pasta with a grand mixture of squid rings, shrimp, crabsticks simmered with pesto sauce, and served with a lemon wedge and garlic bread. It has been a wonderful time, what we had, since it has been a very long time before we saw each other again. So much fun that I forgot to scrutinize the food that we are eating. The pasta, as good as it was, did not really served honestly. Sure, I had chewed on squid rings, and shrimp but I do not remember biting into crabsticks, not even a sliver of it, nor do I remember seeing the familiar red and white indication that the meat is a crab's. It was not served, as you can see, with a lemon wedge either. Hey, I do not want to be such an ass here, but I appreciate food that are served the way it was written on the menu. I do not really care if you serve me a smaller serving or a slightly different version of what is written on the menu but opting out an ingredient or two when it is clearly written on the menu, then you kind of ward me off with that. I will not dwell on the lemon wedge although it is quite important since it can help lessen the "umay" factor from all those creams but the crabstick, well, that is a different story. Because it is a SEAFOOD pasta afterall not a shrimp-squid pasta. The good side though is that for the price, it is good enough.

Do not be fooled by this picture, it is big enough for two people

Overall, I would go back there maybe on my own, just to taste their Buffalo Wings. And maybe the Nacho Salad Ole also.

Good Morning "Ben"

Just got home from a date with my Grandmother and I am in bliss. Yeah, even a simple malling with her is such a great treat to me already. And I am so thankful about that. Anyway, I treat her to umm.. afternoon breakfast at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I have a coupon from a planner that I bought and I brought my Grandmother with me to treat her of the free Breakfast set from The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

I have always loved Sex and the City and the ending of this well-loved series made many people sad. As a viewer, I often wondered what it feels like to have brunch with your friends and when I say brunch, I mean the act of eating breakfast-lunch as well as the food that you eat during brunch. Most often than not, when you say you want to have brunch, it is almost equal as saying that you want to eat Eggs Benedict. I have always on the look out for this dish and I have been anticipating to taste it. Today, I finally got a taste of this very famous brunch food.

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has a very mean Eggs Benedict. Just writing about it makes my mouth water. Before we venture out for this very much anticipated brunch, I made a research on TCBTL's Eggs Benedict. The very first result that came up was a negative review of their version of Eggs Benedict. I happen to read a very famous food blogger's review of the said dish as well and the blogger also do not have praises for this dish and that made me worry. It was only at the third to fifth result that TCBTL got a very good review of their Eggs Benedict.

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's version of Eggs Benedict is excellent. This is the very first time that I have tasted Eggs Benedict so I have nothing to compare this with but I know what tastes good and what tastes blah. The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's Eggs Benedict is composed of a slice of Rosemary focaccia bread at the bottom, a slice of cheddar cheese next, then followed by a slice of Turkey ham, then the poached egg and drizzled very generously of Hollandaise sauce then finished off by a sprinkle of what I think are chives. An order of their Eggs Benedict also comes with I think the other half of Rosemary Focaccia bread split into another half, butter, strawberry jam, and a small serving of steamed fruits. Tucked in between all of these goodness are small packets of iodized salt and pepper. Their Breakfast sets are also served with an 8oz. of coffee or tea.

When I sliced into the Eggs Benedict, my knife did was not met by any resistance whether from the meat or the bread itself. Everything was firm but tender. The first forkful was good, and the second was already heaven. It is so creamy, and flavorful that I have not got the chance of using the small packets of salt and pepper. I just cannot forget the creaminess of the poached egg, and the Hollandaise sauce, although my poached egg was left into the pot about four seconds too long that when I cut into it, it was already far from being runny. The rosemary bits in the focaccia bread on the other hand gave the whole sandwich balance. The other half of the focaccia bread on the other hand was toasted and very fresh. I love the butter that they used. It is very creamy and fragrant and the Strawberry jam was not too sweet and together, all three made a perfect harmony. What ranked the lowest for me is the steamed what seem to me are apricots. The texture is quite rough opposite the creamy smooth Hollandaise sauce and poached egg. I love the steamed prune though.

Generally, I love the Eggs Benedict of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. If only I can have it weekly, I would be very willingly wake up early in the morning.