One of Mamu's friends who's from Vigan gave us some goodies from her recent trip home.
Chichacorn is a snack made from a special variety of corn then popped making it very crunchy. It comes in a variety of flavors like garlic, spicy, adobo, barbecue and cheese. I prefer the classic garlic. Believe me, once you start popping, you just can't stop. It's that addictive! Perfect with a glass of ice cold coke.
Ilocos Royal Bibingka is a sticky rice cake native to Ilocos Sur. This type of bibingka is different from the simbang gabi staple which is more cake-y or breadlike. Royal Bibingka is stickier, more like the consistency of sapin-sapin or kalamay. This goes so well with coffee or hot chocolate.
I saved the best for last. Vigan longanisa is something I always ask as pasalubong whenever I hear of someone planning a trip to Vigan. These local sausages are flavored using Ilocos' native and very potent garlic and Sukang Iloko, a local dark vinegar made from sugar cane. Because of the presence of Vigan longanisa in our house, I've been having garlic rice these past few days. The cholesterol laden kind, fried in the rendered longanisa fat. Dip the longanisa in Sukang Iloko with chilies, throw in a sunny side up, over easy, please. Haay...life is good. Walang diet-diet.
My latest discovery during my last trip to Manaoag is Patupat, a native Ilocano delicacy made of glutinous rice and coconut milk cooked in sugarcane juice then hung out to drip. This rice cake is quite popular during summer or whenever it's harvest season for sugar cane. I also saw a few patupat vendors at the Mangaldan Public Market.
The most challenging part of eating this kakanin is removing the sticky center from the Bottega Veneta like wrap made from either banana, coconut or palm leaves.
The intricate wrapper reveals a light brown, slightly yellowish rice cake. At first bite, the texture of patupat is reminds me of suman sa lihiya only a bit drier and harder, which I think is the result of the dripping process. It's also like bibingkang malagkit though not as sweet, more along the lines of caramel-ly muscovado type sweetness. Am I making sense here?
Though, I don't count patupat as a favorite, I'm sure glad of this "discovery". It's something that I'll definitely keep on the lookout for every time I journey up north.
We had visitors from Guimaras over the weekend. One of their pasalubong is Barquiron de Casoy, an Ilonggo delicacy of mini barquillos filled with pulvoron.
Maybe it's the combination of the wafer thin barquillos and the powdery sweetness of the pulvoron that make these little babies are so addicting.
Case in point...
A little over an hour after opening
In the words of a famous TV commercial, "Once you pop, you just can't stop."
I grew up thinking that pochero was nilaga in tomato sauce with saging na saba and kamote (lately we mixed in chorizo de bilbao and ganbanzos), not bad but we prefer nilaga.
But in Cebu, at Abuhan Uno in particular, pochero (with the addition of bamboo shoots) is bulalo, long cooked beef shank in that flavorful and comforting broth. What makes bulalo better than nilaga is the utak, that marrow lodged in the shank is pure bliss. It'a always fun to watch people trying to extract that creamy goodness. So simple yet so sinful. Best served with steaming rice, toyo, calamansi and lots of sili. Haaayyy...
I'm just not sure if pochero is the (beef) part or the name of the dish because I saw a Sizzling Pochero in the menu. The waiter explained that this is pochero with a special sauce served on a sizzling plate. Sure sounds like sizzling bulalo to me which we didn't order. I think the bulalo/pochero is enough cholesterol overload for one meal.
Bulalo...errr pochero, however you call it, in the words of Alton Brown is definitely good eats.
I'm not really a fan of lechon, while I love feasting on its crisp golden amber skin (who doesn't?!), I find the laman a bit bland to my liking. Truth be told, I look forward to the paksiw two or three days after everyone has had their fill of this fiesta/special occasion guest of honor.
But all that changed in Cebu.
Having watched Anthony Bourdain's declaration of Cebu's lechon as the best roasted pig ever, I wanted to see or rather, taste for myself if this is indeed true. Nevermind, that the one Anthony Bourdain had was, in all probability made especially for him. I'm sure any lechon in Cebu would somehow bear a semblance, albeit ever so slightly, to the Bourdain lechon.
We told our driver to bring us wherever we can find Cebu lechon ( a very turista and first timer request, I know). He brought us to CnT, one of the more popular lechon chains in Cebu.
CnT is a turo-turo type establishment. You know the drill, get a try, fall in line, look at their offerings (yes they have dishes other than lechon), point at the one you like, put in in your tray then pay to the cashier.
The long queue at the counter area
This is it! Lechon galore!
True to its reputation, Cebu lechon is more malasa than it's Manila counterpart. The skin is also crispier and the layers of fat is considerably thinner, I don't eat taba, if you must know.
Crispy balat
Tasty laman
I made the mistake of asking for sarsa, only to be greeted by a rather sheepish smile, "Ma'am, di po uso yun dito." He then showed me how do sarsa the Cebu way, toyo and suka. I was hesitant to try this because I prefer my lechon drowning in Mang Tomas. Hmmm...bagay nga. I think this simple sawsawan works because the lechon is tasty enough to begin with.
Here's some of the dishes we ordered to somehow balance our lechon binge.
Chopsuey
Kinilaw
This is something that I truly enjoyed, fresh, sour,spicy and gingery, the way kinilaw should taste like. I forget the name of the fish they used but this is something that made CnT's kinilaw a cut above the rest. It's spongy and the texture is something a cross between a squid and a shrimp. It does not even look like a fish.
I think to say we enjoyed the food is an understatement.
Guess what? I hand carried some CnT lechon back to Manila for Mamu to enjoy. After a few days, I had the best lechon paksiw ever!
We headed to Kanin Club at the U.P. Ayala Technohub for the official family dinner a.k.a. my brother's last night in the country.
Apologies for the bad picture.
We had no reservations because we assumed that there wouldn't be a lot of diners on a weekday. Lo and behold, the restaurant was jampacked and we had to wait a good ten minutes or so. No biggie, in fact we took this a s a good sign, fully booked resto is equal to good food.
Kanin Club serves the usual Filipino fare, what makes them different is their rice offerings from the Kanin All You Can (bottomless plain rice) to garlic rice to aligue rice to the intriguing Sinangag na Sinigang. But my family was not feeling adventurous that night so I was outvoted. They opted for Aligue Rice instead.
Kanin Club's version looked and tasted like java rice with a sprinkling of fried garlic. Nothing artery clogging here. Or maybe this is the healthier version. But it went pretty well with the other dishes that we ordered.
The Laing is truly a gabi and ginataan goodness galore. I would've preferred it to have more kick but other than that this is winner.
We had this debate between Crispy Dinuguan and Crispy Binagoongan. But my sister has this aversion to dinuguan so the Crispy Binagoongan won by default.
Crispy fried liempo with binagoongan sauce. I personally believe that you can never go wrong with liempo. I'm now starting to realize that liempo will be the death of me. I love it adobo, sinigang, grilled, lechon kawali, practically anything. Anyway, Crispy Binagoongan is liempo goodness with a twist, crispy and just the right saltiness with a hint of sweetness. Yummy!
We also ordered Lumpiang Sariwa which was huge but just tasted so-so. The sauce could certainly use more garlic.
We also had Callos which arrived halfway through our meal. I think a better name for this dish is Tough Tripe Drowning in Tomato Sauce and Diced Vegetables. But that name would be too long. Total disappointment and I forgot to take a picture.
Let me just say, the staff here is very courteous and accommodating. While waiting for our table we requested for a more "wheelchair friendly" location because Papi is in a wheelchair. They accommodated this request and we were seated near the door to so that we didn't have to maneuver as much.
There will definitely be a return visit to Kanin Club. I can't wait try their Crispy Dinuguan and Sinangag na Sinigang.
Next on our Filipino food itinerary is Abe's, one of my favorite Filipino restaurants.
For starters we had Sinigang na Bangus Belly sa Bayabas. Another version of sinigang with guava as the souring agent. I don't eat bangus belly (or any fish belly for that matter) so I just asked for the soup which was a little thicker than the usual sinigang. Mamu's version of this is always sour (something which I never enjoyed), so the sweetish guava flavor came as an unexpected surprise. I would enjoy this soup anytime sans bangus belly. But alas, I forgot to take a picture.
Hands down, my favorite is Kare-Kare ala Bistro Remedios.
Oxtail...fork tender, sauce...nothing but peanut goodness, veggies...cooked just right, bagoong...the perfect salty complement. For this dish alone, I don't mind going back again and again and again. Seriously, I'm in love with Abe's Kare-Kare!
Knockout Knuckle really knocked us out.
Tender pata fried to a crisp topped with crunchy garlic bits. Need I say more? This is one of the many reasons why I *heart* pork.
Binukadkad na Plapla is sight to behold. We all pulled out our camera to take a shot.
Fried plapla served on a bed of mustasa leaves with buro, fermented rice, on the side. A treat for the fish lover, something I'm not. But I liked this, except for binukadkad part this is quality straightforward fried fish.
As usual, Abe's never disappoints. Great food and great value for money each and every time.
My brother came home for a ten day vacation from the States. When asked what he wanted to to eat, his split second reply is "Definitely Filipino!"
The first of what it turned out to be a series of Filipino Food Overload is dinner at Crisostomo's at Eastwood Mall.
Their menu is varied and most of the dishes are named after characters of Rizal's two obras, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. It's not that I'm not familiar with the characters, it's just that some of the names don't describe the dishes at all, for instance we wanted sisig but there were two, Sisig Linares and Sisig Isagani. Sure there are pictures, but it makes everything more confusing as these are really small. The waiters are a big help though.
Calamares Tales
Crispy breading and juicy squid perfectly complemented by the garlic mayo. I just wish they had bigger servings.
Mang Pablo (try to guess what this dish is)
Crispy beef tapa, one of Crisostomo's bestsellers. These are really good. Think of bacon perfectly fried to a crisp with the sweet salty flavor of tapa. Perfect with garlic rice.
Sisig Linares
Crisostomo's version of Pork Sisig came on a requisite sizzling plate and was heavily topped with chicharon. At first I enjoyed the play of texture going on, the gelatinous feel of the sisig against the crunchy chicharon, but the mayonnaise was just a tad too heavy. My brother enjoy this but I can honestly say that I've had better. FYI, Sisig Isagani is Chicken Sisig.
Kare-kareng Kura
The oxtail was tender and the veggies cooked just right but the sauce was just a little too sweet for me. The bagoong which is also sweet did not help balance out the flavors.
Salome's Secret
Grilled squid stuffed with tomatoes and onion. The simplicity of this dish is pure yumm-o! The squid is just tender and juicy, and yes, I know I sound like a hotdog commercial.
Taba ng Talangka Rice
Another winner! Garlicky and rich. Ohhh so good but so bad.
I didn't want to go through the menu another time so for dessert we ordered what the owner, Chef Florabel Co is famous for, Frozen Brazo de Mercedes.
I'm not really into Brazo de Mercedes, I usually just dig in the yellow yema part and leave the rest behind. But I enjoyed this version. Sinfully rich and creamy. This is one Brazo I dont mind having again...and again...and again.
It was a nice dinner but a tad overpriced if you ask me.
I celebrated my birthday over the weekend with three dinners, one at home and two at Trinoma.
The Eve
Since I’m such a dinuguan “snob”, I usually don’t eat this elsewhere, even in restaurants, Mamu decided to cook dinuguan for me. Her version is made with liempo and usually with mustasa (mustard greens).
I never really got the puto and dinuguan thing, for me dinuguan is best partnered with rice with a dipping sauce of calamansi and salt
I know dinuguan doesn’t picture well and descriptions don’t help either, but Mamu’s dinuguan is really the best, a bit sour but that’s the only way I know how dinuguan tastes like.
Dinner Number 1
Mamu was meeting my brother’s friend the following day so we just decided to forego dinner till then. Instead of going out, we ordered dinner from Lu Yong, a popular Chinese panciteria at San Mateo.
We had Hoto Tay Soup, Pansit Pinagulong (because Mamu believes that birthdays should be celebrated with some kind of noodle dish) and of course, Mamu’s Dinuguan.
The Hoto Tay was a bit bland and kind of watered down. But as Mamu pointed out, for the price (110.00) we really can’t complain.
Pansit Pinagulong, Lu Yong's specialty is your typical pansit, but instead of bihon or canton, they make use of lomi and it’s topped with lechon kawali. The Pinagulong still tastes great although I noticed a slight improvement, it’s not as oily as I remember.
Dinner Number 2
After meeting Ron (my brother’s friend from West Virginia), Mamu and I headed to Abe in Trinoma because my heart skips a beat everytime Abe’s Kare-Kare is mentioned.
We ordered Kare-Kare (of course), SinutengBabyPusit and Ensaladang Mangga’t Bagoong. Yum, yum, yum!
The Mangga’t Bagoong is, as always, perfect. Sour green mangoes with Abe’s sweetish, salty bagoong. Writing about this now still makes me drool.
The Sinuteng Baby Pusit is something that we ordered for the first time. As the menu described, the baby squid is cooked in olive oil and seasonings. The baby squid was very tender, seasoned just right, although I would’ve preferred it to be a bit spicier.
And finally the Kare-Kare, the star of the show was served. I noticed some changes. First, the vegetable and oxtail was served in the same container, last time I was here, it was in separate containers and second, there was more sauce (no complaints here) but it was a bit thinner than I remember.
I was a bit apprehensive with these changes, but as soon as I tasted the first bite, my fear was laid to rest. It tasted the same as I remember. The oxtail was tender, the litid just barely melts in your mouth, the vegetable was not overcooked at all after seating in all that sauce and the sauce was just peanutty (I know this is not a word) and perfect. I enjoyed this Kare-Kare more because I didn’t have to request for extra peanut sauce. I really love and adore this Kare-Kare, in fact, I even told Mamu that if I could, I would have this every day but I'm pretty sure after a week my arteries would be completely clogged.
Dining at Abe (which I consider as one of best Filipino restaurants) is always a great experience, the waiters are all attentive and ever so patient with all our questions. But while waiting for our order to arrive we were approached by someone from RCBC. She was offering their credit card and went on to explain about its benefits, particularly if you’re a regular diner at all LJC Restaurants. We politely told her that we were not interested but she still went on with her spiel. This time around, our “no” was a bit firm. She got the hint and walked away. The girl was courteous enough but the experience was a bit annoying.
For dessert, we went to Café Breton. This was Mamu’s first time at Café Breton so I decided to try something new with her (I usually have the La Pinay). She told me to choose for both of us, I ordered Original Sin. This sinful concoction of caramelized apple in a crepe topped with caramel sauce, caramel ice cream and whipped cream.
Thsi dessert tasted like a deconstructed apple pie. I really like the caramel ice cream, it tasted like burnt caramel (the pleasant type, similar to the caramel in a leche flan) and it went well with everything.
Dinner Number 3
The following day, Daphne, my highschool BFF and Kathy, my friend since Grade 5, wanted to meet up for dinner. We decided on Trinoma (again). I’m the celebrant so they let me decide where to have dinner. I wanted Japanese so we settled on Oki Oki Japanese Restaurant.
Both Kathy and Daphne were late (an understatement) so when our order arrived we immediately attacked everything on sight. I forgot to take pictures when I remebered to do so the food was almost completely gone.
Anyway, we enjoyed the Crazy Maki, a Tofu dish (I forgot the name), Fish Tempura and Crab Omelet Ramen.
The Crazy Maki is is a crunchy and enveloped with bread crumbs, stuffed with kani and Japanese mayonnaise and topped with more kani. I think this was the best dish of the night (notice that we had but one piece left when I remembered to take a picture). Even Daphne who is not into maki enjoyed this. I will definitely come back for this alone.
Daphne and I (Kathy doesn’t eat tofu) both enjoyed the Tofu dish which was surrounded by a brown broth with a lot of mushrooms. It was light and refreshing.
The Crab Omelet Ramen came in a very big bowl. The serving was huge. The noodles reminded me of instant noodles but upon first bite, you immediately know that there’s nothing instant about this. It was cooked just right (al dente). The soup was right on and I really liked the crab omelet. Even if Mamu doesn't like Japanese food I know she would enjoy this. I can't wait to bring her here.
I’m not really into fish but the Fish tempura made of asojos is light and crunchy and had no fishy after taste at all.
It was really a very good dinner. We enjoyed the food (almost completely annihilated even when both of my friends claim that they're on a diet) as much as we enjoyed talking and laughing about the good old days.
Dessert was at Conti’s courtesy of Daphne (thanks Daph). Both Kathy and I wanted the Strawberry Shortcake and Daphne ordered the Sugar-free Apple Pie.
The Strawberry Shortcake was just okay, nothing to rave about. I had mine with a cup Chocolate Ga (native Batangas chocolate).
Daphne enjoyed her ApplePie and when I requested a bite, it was really good. I especially like the crust and the struesel topping.
Dinner Number 4 was supposed to be with Rivka and Henry. The plan was for me to bring these two southerners to the north (a.k.a SM City North EDSA) but due to the inclement weather we had to postpone everything.
With three dinners and another one that has yet to be another birthday has come to pass.
