Skydreamer Dines in Cebu: Pizzeria Michelangelo

Once in a while, you "discover" a place and fall in love with it. This happened to us with Pizzeria Michelangelo. Oh, I know a lot of Cebuanos have declared their love for this homey Italian place and this is definitely not a secret place, but its charm and warm good food seduced us and convinced us that this is our new go-to place.

We woke up late Saturday afternoon with hungry stomachs and huge appetites for food. Without changing into anything nicer, we went out in our house clothes - shorts, shirts and flip flops. We headed to Escario Central with no particular restaurant in mind. We figured that if we couldn't find a place to eat, there's always Mcdonald's nearby.

We first checked Cafe Sarree because I heard a lot of good things about this place, but right beside it was Pizzeria Michelangelo Ristorante Italiano. A quick glance at their simple menu, and specially their prices hooked us in.

Here are the dishes we ordered:

Gnochhi Al Tartufo - P320 - OUR FAVORITE!
(Black Italian Truffle Sauce, Cream, Cheese)

Robertino Pizza - P360 (15")
Tomato, Mozzarella, Farmer's Ham, Bacon Strips,
 Egg, Arugula, Parmesan Cheese

Alla Carbonese - P260
Bolognese + Carbonara

*Please take note that prices are subject to change. The prices also exclude a 10% service charge.

Gnocchi - We loved the black Italian truffle sauce, but didn't really like the gnocchi as it was too chewy for me.
Robertino - Sometimes, arugula tends to be a bit spicy, and I don't like that variety. The ones they used were perfectly nutty and did not have a hint of spiciness. Love!
Alla Carbonese - Pasta was al dente, and they used fresh parmesan. We thought it was a little bit too salty for our taste, though. But that's just us.

Oh, and one more thing, the servings were HUGE! Pasta servings are good for 2-3 Filipino people with normal appetites. The pizza is a whooping fifteen inches for a little over P300. How crazy is that?
If there's one thing I think they should invest on - a couple of high chairs for children. We weren't the only family with a kid there and the nannies had to keep on holding to the wee ones.

Here are some more random pictures:

The place - LOVE at first sight!

The food - LOVE at first bite!

Reasonable prices? Check
Awesome food? Yep
Great customer service? You bet!
Should you check it out? Go, now! xx

*Update*
My husband went back to buy gnocchi al tartufo and alla carbonese to go. The attendants were very friendly and gave him lots of extra focaccia. When I ate their gnocchi at home, I noticed that it was very soft and buttery and not as chewy as the first time we tried it - great job! :D

Skydreamer Eats: Insta-Breakfasts

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and we shouldn't skip it. It helps fuel and start you up whether you have a busy day ahead or if you're just planning to lounge the entire day.

Here are some of my breakfasts the past couple of weeks that I uploaded in Instagram:


First: Sauteed Asparagus
This one's easy to make, and a keeper. Just cut your asparagus to your desired length using your hands.
In a non-stick skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and add about 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic.
Add your asparagus, stir a bit for a minute.
Turn off the heat, and season with a bit of salt and pepper. You may add just a little bit of butter if you wish.
And, that's it!
Easy, ultra fast, and verrrrry healthy. My son loved this, and kept asking for more. :D

Sauteed Asparagus

Second: Herbed Corn on the Cob
I love corn on the cob - they are so easy, healthy, keeps you full longer, and only takes a few minutes to make. I cooked my sweet corn by boiling some water with a bit of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. Once the water was boiling, I added my corn and cooked them for 3-5 minutes.
While I was waiting for my corn to cook, I made my herbed butter. I got a big chunk of butter, and mixed it with dried tomato, basil and oregano. Now, the thing about herbed butters is that it's better when you use fresh herbs like parsley or basil leaves. I substituted it with the next best thing - dried, and it's still great!
I placed my herbed butter on top of my corn and ate them like there's no tomorrow. So, so good.

Corn on the Cob with herbed butter

Third: Eggs in a Basket 

I got this idea from Joan of Food Wanderings in Asia, one of my favorite bloggers. If you've never heard of eggs in a basket, it's called that because it's supposed to look like you cooked your egg in a basket. This picture does not do justice to the ones that Joan made, so head on over to her blog to see her culinary expertise in action.

First, I gathered what ingredients I had on the fridge. I had some ham, tomatoes, cheese, eggs and sliced bread. Perfect. She made hers using ramekin, but I didn't have one so I used a small plastic bowl instead, thus making it look like this. I placed a slice of bread at the bottom of the bowl, and chopped some ham, tomatoes and cheese. I placed that on top of the bread, and cracked open an egg and just laid it on top of everything. I cooked it on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds in the microwave, and voila! I instantly have the best breakfast ever!

Thanks Joan for the idea! :D

Eggs in a Basket

Fourth: Whole Wheat Pancakes

This one, I definitely cheated with. I just bought a whole wheat pancake mix at the store, and prepared the ingredients according to the instructions in the box. The only thing I did was add some chopped strawberries and chocolate chips while I cooked them. Done and done!

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Strawberries and Chocolate Chips

Fifth: Favorite Ham Sandwich

To make two, I cooked a couple of sweet hams in a non stick pan for about a minute, then placed one on top of my sliced bread. I spread a bit of garlic ranch dressing on top of the ham, added a couple slices of cheese (emmenthal/emmental would go great with this) and a few sliced tomatoes. You may eat them as they are, or add another sliced bread on top and heat in a sandwich maker. 

This is my kind of ham sandwich and if you don't like the dressing, you can totally skip that. Totally refreshing and delicious!

Ham Sandwich with garllic ranch dressing

If you try any of them, let me know! :D

Out and About at La Vie Parisienne

I posted about my favorite French macarons here.

Yesterday, I finally stepped inside La Vie Parisienne, a French bakery in Lahug, Cebu. For readers in Cebu, you might have passed this on your way to IT Park and it's right before you reach the Mormon temple. It was exactly how I imagined it would be - cozy, warm, and very homey.

When we got inside, their famous croissants were still baking so we headed to the general area of the bakery where we saw different French breads (and brioche, which I had been looking for to try out a new French toast recipe), cheeses, quiches, macarons, olive oils, beers and everything else.

breads, olive oils, jams, beers at La Vie Parisienne

french macarons

After checking out the place and deciding to wait for their croissant, we went inside their Wine Library. It was very impressive, but basing on the other bloggers' pictures, I actually thought it was bigger than what it actually is. 

We had fun checking out the wines, and their prices. They range from affordable (P200+) to expensive (P11000+). When you order your wine here, it has to be by the bottle. There are only two types/kinds of wines that can be ordered by glass, but since I'm not a wine connoisseur, I can't remember which.

wine library at la vie parisienne

A few minutes inside the wine cellar, baby boy got fussy. He doesn't like enclosed spaces too much, so we headed out into the sunshine. It was lovely and in the eyes of my child, it was perfect. He was all smiles and was in a really great mood.

outside where the air is fresh

loving the garden

I love it here, ma!

The attendants served our croissants and we ate them like there's no tomorrow. It was gone in a flash. My son could eat one big roll all by himself. Proud of you, babe!

warm, buttery, flaky croissant

Now that the buttery rolls were in our tummies, we headed to La Maison Pink House (which was just next door) to check out the place. There was a small fountain that looked like it came out of a French magazine. It was very magical, indeed.

La Maison Pink House

a fountain that captured my son's heart

After checking out the place and taking some pictures, we decided to head back to the bakery to buy more bread to go, and ended up buying one of their sandwiches. I first wanted to try their goat cheese and honey, but decided on deli sub which had mortdella. We ate them at the wine cellar.

Deli Sub - Mortadella, tomatoes, lettuce and butter on a baguette

happy with the selected sandwich

The sandwich was great and next time, I'll definitely order their sandwich with goat cheese, onion jam and honey.

simple menu of sandwiches and drinks at La Vie Parisienne

We had a great time there and we'll definitely be back! xx