Burger King Veggie Burger

Yes, vegetarians can go with their friends to Burger King and not feel left out while everyone is eating Whoppers.  I wish other fast food restaurants can take a page out of Burger King's book and serve veggie burgers on their menu.  Burger King's Veggie Burger is a burger that has lettuce, tomatoes, onions, ketchup on top of a veggie patty.  The veggie patty is so juicy and reminds me of GardenBurger's veggie burger patties.  After doing a little research, I found that the patty is made out of soy, mushrooms, water chestnuts, onions, carrots, green and red bell peppers, and black olives. (Yuuuuum.)  It's also a burger that's about the same size as a Whopper so it fits in with the rest of BK's popular burgers.  The last thing I like about Burger King's Veggie Burger is the way they cook it.  Instead of cooking the veggie burger patty with the rest of the regular burger patties, BK actually cooks it separately by microwaving it.  I love having things my way.          

Pad Ki Mow and Red Curry

Before I start posting about where I tasted delicious Thai food, I would just like to apologize for the decrease in posts this month.  This month has been somewhat of a whirlwind for me and I really don't like to blog unless I'm  sure I have a couple of hours of uninterrupted quiet time.  By the looks of it, I'll be finding those hours in the early hours of the day.
Anyways, here I am and ready to blog.  The picture above is a Thai dish called pad ki mow and, according to the restaurant's menu, means "spicy noodle with basil."  The restaurant I'm referring to is Khaohom Thai and it's a pretty new place that opened just last year.  They're located on Marine Corps Drive in Hagatna across Alupang Beach Tower.  It's a hard place to miss since its building is painted mustard yellow (one of my favorite colors) with a red roof.  What I love about Thai food is the fact that it's definitely vegetarian-friendly.  All the Thai restaurants I've been to on Guam have vegetarian versions of most of their dishes.  Perfect for someone like me since I get tired of salads every now and then.  Khaohom Thai's pad ki mow was tasty with not too much spice in it and saucy without being oily.  The vegetables in it were broccoli, carrots, and lettuce and none were overcooked.

It's hard to go to a Thai restaurant and not order some form of curry.  This day, I decided to have their red curry with just vegetables.  I like my curry spicy and so this one was pretty hot.  There wasn't much variety in the vegetables but there definitely was a generous serving of it.  There were bamboo shoots, broccoli, lettuce, and bell peppers.  I was happy to find the curry wasn't oily at all either.  I drowned my bowl of rice with soup and ate every single grain.
Serving sizes for both dishes were large enough so that 2 people can split them.  Both dishes are available at any Thai restaurant on Guam, but I think Khaohom Thai's version are the least oiliest.          

Mmmm...Firecracker Sauce

Last night I ate dinner at Table 35 for my nephew's 17th birthday and decided to order their vegetable wraps from their new menu. Before I go into how delicious those wraps were, I just want to mention how time is flying by before my very eyes. I swear it was just yesterday that my nephew was in elementary running around like a little tazmanian devil! Time is so sneaky like that.

I ordered the vegetable wraps because I wanted something light since earlier during the day, I had stuffed myself with not so few dinner rolls, olive dip, and enchiladas. I also liked the fact that it came with 3 sauces because a girl needs options you know?

When I was served the vegetable wraps, I knew I wouldn't want to share this with anyone. There was an awesome medley of vegetables in the bowl which I'm going to attempt to list - bok choy, celery, carrots, shitake mushrooms, spinach, and nuts all cooked together with some sort of soy based sauce. As if that wasn't enough to win me over, each of the three sauces the dish came with complimented the vegetables. The three sauces were sweet chili sauce, peanut sauce, and something they call "firecracker" sauce. The firecracker sauce (bottom sauce in the picture) was, I think, the best one out of the trio. I couldn't tell what was in it except it was tangy and spicy but not over-powerly hot. I think I just found my favorite dish at Table 35.

In my haste to post this, I forgot to mention where Table 35 was! It's on 665 South Marine Drive right next to First Hawaiian Bank in Tamuning.    

International Vegetarian Food Fair

Yesterday, my boyfriend and I made the drive down south to check out the International Vegetarian Food Fair, which was being held at the Guam Adventist Academy.  It was our first time going to this fair, but it turns this was the fair's 5th run.  I'm really glad we decided to go because there was so much good food.  There were booths showcasing Chamorro, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, American, French, Mexican, and Israeli dishes.  We arrived around 1pm and so unfortunately, we weren't able to try all the dishes, but the food we did get a chance to try was pretty good and filling I might add.  It's funny to say but we actually started out with sampling some delicious baklava dessert.  Then we made our rounds and tried chik'n adobo, cooked spinach, chalakilis, flour tortillas, stir fry noodles with vegetables, papaya salad, spanakopita and a fruit smoothie.  The turnout was pretty good I think and the fair itself was organized.  Food was fairly priced and some of the portions were pretty huge!  I actually scored the stir fry noodles with vegetables and papaya salad for just $2 so the fair didn't hurt our wallet at all but probably stretched our stomachs a bit.  I hope this fair is held again in the future, and once I know I'll definitely post the dates.  Here are the pics I took from the fair:

Carmen's Cha Cha Cha!

I love going to Carmen's Restaurant, which is located across the Hagatna Cathedral.  Their menu is so awesome for vegetarians and their prices are pretty affordable too.  It's a shame I don't go there often since I live far from it, but every time I do there, I'm not disappointed.  They always start you off with tortilla chips and two types of salsa right when you sit down.  I don't eat anything deep fried so I don't eat the chips, but the salsas are so good they're perfectly fine to eat sans chips.

Beans are a great source of protein, and Carmen's does a great job of cookin' some beans.  I ordered a bowl on the side to eat with my grilled vegetables taco.  Their taco is served in a warm flour tortilla filled with grilled cucumbers, red and yellow bell peppers, and onions.  The tortilla is so good I can and have eaten it by itself.  (Actually, I wish I had some right now.)  What I ate may not seem like a lot, but when I left the restaurant, my stomach was satisfyingly full.    

  
 

Vegetable Okonomiyaki (Japanese Vegetable Pizza)

To celebrate my mom's birthday, my family and I went to Benii Restaurant, which is a Japanese restaurant located at the Star Building across from St. John's School.  I go there often since I have a weakness for Japanese food and it's close to my work.  My normal order consists of edamame, a side salad, and miso soup, but since it was my mom's birthday, I ordered something different.  It took me awhile to decide what to get since they have many options to choose from, but I finally went with the Vegetable Okonomiyaki, which is the Japanese version of vegetable pizza.
If you've never tried okonomiyaki, it's a thick and delicious grilled pancake that can have pretty much anything mixed with its batter.  I'm not sure what vegetables are in Benii's version of okonomiyaki, but I think there's carrots, mushrooms and scallions.  They're pretty generous with the vegetable servings, but they were also very generous with the Japanese mayonnaise on top of the pizza.  So, although this dish is vegetarian, it's not vegan.  Benii served this dish on a hot plate and each bite of the pizza was nice and warm.  The slices were so thick and huge that I couldn't eat more than 2 slices!  I packed the rest of the pizza and had it for lunch the following day since I'm one of those people who don't mind eating left-overs.

Greek Pita w/ Vinaigrette Dressing

I needed to go to the Tamuning Post Office yesterday to pick up what I hoped were my new pairs of Badgley Mischka sandals.  Unfortunately, I was a little too excited to pick up my package and thought the Post Office would have been open at 11am.  Instead, they were still closed and I had to wait an agonizing hour before I could hold my lovely little babies.  My boyfriend and I decided to eat lunch some where close by while we waited for the Post Office to open.
We ended up eating at Nuts & Grains, which has a lay-out similar to Simply Food where its both a grocery store and restaurant.  It's located behind Oka Payless at OP Plaza in Tamuning.  I ordered their Greek Pita, which has lettuce, tomato, cucumber, yellow pepper, feta cheese and olives combined together in a whole wheat pita pocket.  It's also served with a side of vinaigrette dressing.  I thought this pita tasted pretty delicious since it had a generous serving of olives and feta cheese.  Even though I was drowning my pita with the dressing, nothing spilled since everything fit nicely in the pita pocket.  I'm so glad they gave me two pitas because one definitely wasn't enough.
    

Soy Chorizo - Black Bean Tofu Bowl

Thanks to Pika's Cafe, I'll never again miss King's chorizo fried rice.  They've created this delicious dish by placing cooked soy chorizo, tofu, and black beans over a bed of hot rice and topping it all with a spicy puréed salsa.  They also serve it with a side of finadene, if you request it.  My ritual is to mix everything together and then commence to eating everything until there are no survivors.  This is actually one of my favorite vegetarian dishes available on Guam and I actually go to Pika's at least once a week to order it.  I would have taken more pictures of it, but honestly, I just couldn't deny my stomach any longer.

NOTE: I don't think Pika's Cafe has a website or Facebook page yet, so if you're wondering where they're located, they are at 881 North Marine Corps Drive Ste 114 in Tamuning.  The Guam-version directions are: They are located at the Star Building right across from St. John's School.

Vegan Fajitas

Before my attempt to be a vegan, I loved going to Margaritas and ordering the cheesiest appetizer and the cheesiest main course I could find.  Normally, there would be nothing left for a to-go box.  Now that I'm trying to cut dairy, I can still make my trips to Margaritas and still enjoy a really good meal thanks to the vegetarian and vegan items on their menu.

When I went there for lunch a couple of days ago, I wanted to try their vegan fajitas.  Instead of meat, you'll get sautéed  broccoli, red onions, and bell peppers with 4 freshly grilled flour tortillas.  The sautéed vegetables alone were so flavorful and thoroughly cooked.  I appreciated them cooking the red onions long enough to remove its raw taste.    

On top of the cooked vegetables, the dish comes with lettuce, guacamole, salsa, black olives, and jalapeños.  I also ordered a side of beans which I placed in my fajitas, along with everything else I mentioned here.  Needless to say, my fajitas were fat and stuffed, but they were so worth it.  I don't think it's necessary to order the side of beans in order for the dish to taste good, but I was hungrier than usual that day.  I'm definitely going to be ordering this dish again.    

Sometimes Missing the Turn is a Good Thing

While on the road at night, my boyfriend and I had agreed to eat dinner before heading to Kmart.  I, however, was craving a veggie pizza while my boyfriend was singing more to the tune of Subway.  Since I was more inclined to eat an affordable dinner, I agreed to go with his suggestion.  

We must have been having a very deep discussion (probably about food) while driving because he completely missed the turn to go to Subway.  I then suggested we go to Kmart and take our chances with Little Caesars because they might have veggie pizzas available.  Although he agreed, I think we were both thinking how unlikely that would be.  

So, imagine our surprise when we saw this delicious looking warm sub sandwich comprising of olives, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, tomato sauce and (as if that wasn't already tasty enough) covered in cheese?  It was the perfect combination of our cravings!  I highly recommend ordering a side of tomato sauce to dip the sandwich in.  It just makes the sandwich even warmer and saucier.

Although this sandwich was vegetarian, I'm pretty sure it wasn't healthy because of all the cheese and bread.  I do think it's a great thing to eat if a junk-food-for-dinner craving hits and if it's eaten only once in a while.

Veggie Mini Burgers

Every time I go Ruby Tuesday, I always order their veggie mini burgers, minus the butter on the bread and the barbecue sauce.  I have to admit, the burgers are mighty cute-looking, and who can pass up such a deal when you learn it also comes with the salad bar?  I used to order this with a side of fries, but since I gave up fried foods back in October, I requested to have a side of steamed broccoli.  There were no regrets.
The mini burger's patty is a mixture of rice, black beans, and vegetables and is placed on top of swiss cheese, crunchy lettuce, and a fat slice of pickle and tomato.  This burger is pretty juicy thanks to the tomatoes and eating can get quite messy since the patty can fall apart.  Personally, I categorize messy burgers under the "Delicious" category, so I always enjoy these veggie burgers with a side of extra napkins.

Santa Fe Salad & Baked Sweet Potato

You'll be surprised to find out that one of my favorite salads is served at a steakhouse.  Lonestar Steakhouse to be exact.  It sounds strange at first, but their Santa Fe salad earns a spot on my salad list because it has three of my favorite salad components: corn, avocado, and romaine lettuce.  It also has black beans, Monterey Jack cheese, and corn tortilla chips, but I normally exclude the chips.  Everything is tossed with Santa Fe dressing, but you can change the dressing to your preference.  Even when I can't finish my entire plate, I make sure I eat all the corn and avocado.

On this particular day at Lonestar, I was craving carbs and decided to indulge myself with a baked sweet potato.  I requested them to put the butter on the side, which I ended up giving to my coworker.  I sweetened the potato by sprinkling it with a packet of Splenda.  Who said desserts can't come in tuber form?                 

Mango Kerabu Salad & Sayur Lodeh

Last night, I attended a dinner at Singapura to celebrate my friend's birthday.  Although I was feeling congested throughout the night, I'm glad I went since I was able to catch up with everyone and meet my friend's little bundle of joy.  The icing on the cake was the chance to try out Singapura's vegetarian menu.

I started my meal with the Mango Kerabu salad, which has sliced mango, cucumbers, red onion, and a mix of green and red chillies.  I was happy to see that the dressing was clear-based since it allowed the salad to really show off its colorfulness.  I would recommend this dish to anyone looking for a salad that's light on calories, tart and tangy with a hint of spiciness, and easy on the eyes.
I poked around the Internet looking for more information on kerabu, and it looks as though there are many different types of this vegetable mix, similar to how there's so many different types of curry.  Most sites I did visit recommend using it as a topping (minus the lettuce) over rice, so I plan on trying this out in the future.

My main course of the night was Sayur Lodeh, which is Singapura's vegetarian take on Malay-style coconut curry.  The vegetables in this dish were cabbage, eggplant, potatoes, and carrots.  Its taste really differentiates itself from Thai and Indian curries I tasted in the past, but I can't quite put my finger on what's the x flavor factor.  However, don't think this is a mild tasting stew.  It lives up to its curry family name and is full of flavor thanks to tumeric and other spices.
There are other items on Singapura's vegetarian menu, but unfortunately, I don't have the stomach size to try them all in one night which is a perfectly legitimate reason to go back there in the near future.