Go Loco and Mad for Garlic!

Garlic is one of the most common ingredients for condiments and seasonings because of its pungent flavor. A newly opened franchised-restaurant, Mad for Garlic, tries to maximize its uses to come up with wide array of clever and bizarre dishes that bid refreshing menu options for food lovers and daredevils alike.

Bulbs of garlic everywhere!

This Italian wine bistro in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig is originally from Korea. “Our Korean partner loved Italian food. She realized that people in Korea really loved garlic as well, which is a main ingredient in Italian cuisine. So with that in mind, she and her team created this wonderful concept of Mad for Garlic. One will find that Italian dishes served here not only stand out because of garlic, but because they are uniquely flavored,” says Global Restaurant Concepts Inc. President and CEO Archie Rodriguez.

Surprisingly, the two-story bistro smells nothing but the strong flavor of garlic. Also, the addiction for the omnipresent ingredient has rubbed off even to the minute details of its design. The garlic garlands in the corners and cute garlic bulb-shaped lamps add quirk accents to the cozy interior.

Their bestsellers include the Garlic Snowing Pizza, which is a thin crust made with special sauce and topped with shrimps, diced pineapples, and sliced garlic. It is big enough for a barkada of five. The pizza looks innocent but the concoction of mild and sweet flavors of garlic and pineapple gives a surprising and winning combination. Another unexpected bestseller is the Gorgonzola Pizza, which is a weird combination of honey and gorgonzola cheese. The weird fusion of pizza bread and honey is shocking but the taste of the seemingly incompatible hodgepodge of ingredients eventually grows on you.

The Garlic Sprinkle Gelato icecream

Even the dessert is not spared with garlic, the Garlic Sprinkle Gelato is vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, topped with garlic bits, and served with garlic cookie on top. The garlicky and pungent flavor comes as an aftertaste, which is strange, but the garlic bits and cookie can be removed, anyway. This ingenious fusion is recommended for food daredevils who crave for something clever and bizarre.

Other garlic-infused dishes include starters like the Dracula Killer, which is an entrée of soft, buttered garlic bread with cooked garlic cloves in olive oil and anchovies. Another dish that is heavy enough to be the main course is the Zuppa di Pesce, which is a special spicy soup with shrimps, scallops, and mussels served with of course, garlic bread sticks on the side.

For starters, try the Dracula Killer

Then there’s the array of pasta like the Crab and Lobster, which as the name implies, has generous servings of sea food meat in garlic cream sauce. Just imagine Spaghetti Carbonara with seafood and you’ll get the exact taste of the Crab and Lobster Pasta. Good thing, the slather of garlic cream sauce is neither too thick nor overwhelming. 

A candy or two comes handy at the end of this surprising and fulfilling meal experience.  

Mad for Garlic is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. from Friday to Saturday.

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Photography by Charie Villegas

Hi 2014

As we bid goodbye to 2013, it’s perhaps also time to finally let go of some things that make the year colorful and unique on its own. Here are some of the things I wish we won’t be seeing in the Year of the Horse:

Printed leggings: Those cheap printed fitted pants that come in kitschy designs, cuts, texture, and colors sold cheap in the market thus, making fashion victims fall for these prey. Not only do they hug every bulge of your body but they emphasis how big your thighs are. While they may look good for the lucky ones who can get away with anything, but then again not everyone has the physique of a model (read: thigh gap).

Besides the printed pants, can we please also ditch the:

studded stuff (pants, blouse, bag)

jeje caps

wedge sneakers

 thin, fine line eyebrows

“’Pag may time” (If there’s time):  Selfie-selfie pag may time, kain pag may time, tulog pag may time... Puhlease let’s not use this overused line again!

Selfie + quote combination: I cannot understand why some post selfies of themselves with a bathroom as their backdrop, but what I cannot fathom the more is they put inspiring quotes to go with their photo.

If you’re a constant Instagram user, you’ve probably seen IG users comment or like on someone’s post and mention that they are the first likers and commenters. What’s that all about?!

I doubt if we can totally let go of some of these fashion faux pas and practices but can we please use them sparingly.

2013 in Pictures

The few remaining days of 2013 calls for the remembrance of almost the year that was. But the past 360 days have been a roller coaster ride. There were ups, downs, and so-so. There were moments worth imprinting on paper and saving on journals, some were even worth forgetting. Thanks to Instagram (and journal-calendar), reliving the yesterdays become much easier. Here's my Instagram account (http://instagram.com/nickkydeguzman) by the way.

Perhaps, career-wise, my biggest achievement was the celebration of my first year as a Lifestyle Reporter for a daily newspaper. It wasn't easy, though. Thank God I made it. Although a Lifestyle Writer has relatively easier schedule than a News Writer, it doesn't mean that he/she has lesser responsibilities. Lifestyle reporters also has tons of deadlines and daily events. But of course, the soft news writers have perks (teehee) like local/overseas travels, hotel/restaurant accommodation, and fashion freebies.

Here are some of my Instagram entries I would like to share:

I visited Singapore twice this year! Here's to more travel next year!

Bohol and Cebu were struck by earthquake that left many of their World Heritage sites damaged or completely muddles. The picture is Bohol's majestic Baclayon Church, before the earthquake hit.

This is Mayor Romualdez' Patio Victoria Beach in Tacloban before the Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the province and left it like a War Zone. I really hope that the people of Leyte, Samar, Palawan and other hard-hit areas remain hopeful and positive.

To cap off my year, I finally... entered in a relationship. Haha!