Exploring SM City Annex

We're running low on dogfood and I just can't bear the thought of Rusky and Alpha going hungry so I asked Mamu to go with me to SM City. I usually don't mind grocery shopping alone but I wanted Mamu with me that day.

I wanted to accomplish three things on this errand: one: check out the new 13" Macbook Pro at Power Mac Center; two: the prospect of another longganisa/bagnet-free dinner, although we've had two leftover-free days; and three: another blog entry, this time with Mamu.

Mamu wanted to check out the newly opened stores at SM Annex, though we've been there before I gladly obliged because I wanted this outing to last till dinner.

Our first stop was Samurai at the SM Supermarket foodcourt (near the Annex) for Takoyaki Balls, which I've developed a liking for. Mamu was eyed me skeptically as I finished the whole serving in no time flat. She never liked these octopus stuffed (I highly doubt that Samurai uses real octopus) balls or anything Japanese for that matter.

We stopped by French Baker because we noticed that interior of their Annex branch has a more "Frenchy" feel to it. We also wanted to see the breads that Chef John Lu Koa made when he was featured on Cooking with the Masters.

On the second floor we went inside Bestsellers, a bookstore that specializes in bestsellers, duh! One of the sales ladies told me that this was a sister company of National Bookstore. I noticed that they are well stocked with Young Adult fiction and a whole corner is devoted to this section.

While browsing, I noticed this...

How hard is it the read Harry Potter? I would understand if it was a Faulkner or Joyce novel but Harry Potter?! Honestly!

I didn't get to see the new 13" Macbook Pro because it was sold. Oh well…maybe next time.

Johann (my brother) had been raving about Portuguese Chicken since his first trip to the US last year. When I told him (via Magic Jack) about Peri-Peri Charcoal, a Portuguese chicken place, he told us to try it out. Mamu doesn't like chicken so it took some convincing on my part but in the end she agreed.

Peri-Peri Chicken is available in three variants: Lemon Garlic, Mild and Hot. We both had the Combo C (one-fourth chicken, gravy, rice and one side dish). I chose the Lemon Garlic (which is the bestseller according to the lady on the cash register) and Peri Fries for me and the Mild with Cozido Chorizo for Mamu.

The chicken is tender, juicy and well cooked. Even Mamu enjoyed it. She told me it didn't have the chicken after taste that she doesn’t like. The fries were just okay, nothing to rave about. Mamu said it was "parang french fries sa bahay". The Cozido Chorizo, a stewed sausage of some sort, tasted great, a definite must have. I didn't like the gravy but I'm not much of a gravy person anyway (with exceptions), and it kinda bothered me that it was served beside the rice, it should've been in a separate container.

I loved their Peri-Peri hot sauce which has a fruity, peppery kick to it! I want come back just for the hot sauce. In fact, the fries tasted better dipped in the hot sauce.

All in all, it was a pretty good meal, the place was nice and cozy and it was pretty cheap too, made cheaper by Mamu's senior citizen card.

We couldn't decide on dessert, I wanted Sebastian's Butter Pecan (again) but Mamu wasn't in the mood for ice cream. So we ended up at the newly opened Krispy Kreme. We had Original Glaze, Lemon Cheesecake and New York Cheesecake. Again, Mamu flashed her senior citizen card and we got a 20% discount!

It was nice spending the afternoon with Mamu and the best part about the whole thing is another leftover-free dinner! I’m a happy camper.