Food Trippings » Filipino

Fiesta Kapampangan at Robinson’s Starmills

Karla Redor — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:09:52 +0000

Sisig

Fiesta Kapampangan offers the best of Pampanga food and pasalubong. Fiesta Kapampangan is a food court inside Robinson’s Starmills with an area for al fresco dining. What’s great about Fiesta Kapampangan is you do not have to go too far to sample some of Pampanga’s best.

Crispy Pata

I was able to experience the good food of Fiesta Kapampangan during the Robinson’s Starmills Shopping Tour. Of course, going to Pampanga will not be complete without a feast like this.

Chicharon

Some of the stalls there are Aling Lucing (try their sisig!), Kanan Kapampangan (really good Pancit Palabok), Cecilia’s (juicy Crispy Pata), and more. You’ll notice that most of the food we had aren’t good for people who are constantly avoiding cholesterol. Anyway, there are some foods there that are healthier.

Sizzling Tokwa’t Baboy

Sisig, Chicharon, Crispy Pata and Tokwa’t Baboy goes well with beer and it’s great that Fiesta Kapampangan serves one!

Pancit Palabok

If you would like to take home food for pasalubong, you may buy it from the stalls there as well. Edelyn’s have homemade nuts (greaseless peanuts and cashew) that are great for pasalubong. If you’re going to buy sweets and pastries for your family or friends, you can try out Emy’s Sweets and Pastries.

Chic-Boy: Chicken at Baboy

Karla Redor — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 08:04:34 +0000

Cebu Lechon Liempo (Whole), PhP 155 per order

The name of Chic-Boy is obviously a word-play of their specialties chicken and pork (the English translation of “baboy”). There are a number of take-out stores in Metro Manila (mostly located in Quezon City). It’s good that they’ve opened a full fast food restaurant along Jupiter St. in Makati City. Yes to 24 hours of access to their sumptuous and sinful Cebu Lechon Liempo.

It’s best to order the Cebu Lechon Liempo (whole) and not the one included in the Chibog Sulit Meals according to Juned who have noted the difference. The Cebu Lechon Liempo’s skin is crunchy. Its meat is full of flavor that it’s not really necessary to use the Lechon Sauce or dip it in the vinegar that’s served with it. I still prefer to dip it in the vinegar though.

Chicken Inasal (Petso), PhP 99 per meal (inclusive of bottomless house soup and Rice all you can)

Their Chicken Inasal (petso) is somewhat dry. It needs to be a bit juicier. 99 pesos for this meal, which is inclusive of house soup and Rice all you can) is not bad.

Cebu Lechon Manok (breast and wing) meal (bottomless soup and Rice all you can), PhP 97 per order

I’d recommend the Cebu Lechon Manok over their Chicken Inasal. Their Cebu Lechon Manok has more flavor and it’s not dry.

Chic-Boy Lechon Sauce

Anyway, I noticed they have a bottle of Chic-Boy Lechon Sauce on every table. Do you think they’re selling one? I think they should if they’re not.

Chic-Boy Fast food Restaurant
Jupiter St.,
Makati City

Puerto Princesa Food Trip Series #3: Kinabuchs

Sharlyne Ang — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:29:29 +0000

One of the food tripping places in Puerto Princesa that was recommended to us was Kinabuch. The reason it was named as such because it’s owned by a person name Butch. It’s Puerto Princesa’s Hard Rock Cafe which is a popular joint for foreigners and tourists, except that it’s open aired and no live band performance (only loud Hip-Hop and RnB music). It’s not just an ordinary drinking joint, their food is something you can look forward to.

We never knew that their servings were good for 2-3 people so we ordered 2 dishes main courses and 2 appetizers. We knew that were really hungry coming from the Honda Bay Island Hopping but we still struggled. Unfortunately, we can’t take it to our hotel because we don’t have a ref there.

Tamilok, 115 pesos per order

Almost everyone that we’ve asked, both local in Puerto Princesa and even our friends who have been here, recommended that we try the Tamilok. Tamilok is a mangrove worm although it’s not exactly a worm although it looks like one. They’re actually mangrove mollusks and is a popular Palawan delicacy. This is common in Palawan specifically in El Nido, Busuanga, Puerto Princesa, Coron Culion and Linapacan. Kinabuch is popular for serving this as an appetizer. Most likely you’re curious on how it tastes like, well, it tastes like oyster and it’s a bit slimy. You have to soak the Tamilok in a bowl of vinegar so that your palate will not taste the seafood-like taste of it. Just a bit of advice, do not eat the Tamilok if you’re hungry, you might have an upset stomach.

Tokwa’t Baboy, 115 pesos per order

We ordered another appetizer, Tokwa’t Baboy. I must say that this is the best Tokwa’t Baboy I’ve ever tasted. The tofu is tasty, it doesn’t taste like tofu alone. I think the tofu was fried with the oil where the pork was fried. The pork was marinated well thus, its taste remained in the oil. Most of the Tokwa’t Baboy that I’ve tasted before seemed to be cooked separately, thus their flavors become 2 different entities. This is perfect with beer!

Beef Salpicao, 185 pesos per order

Since it was dinner time, we ordered main dishes that we can pair with rice. One was Beef Salpicao and Gising – Gising. The Beef Salpicao was cooked just right. The beef was tender and that the marinade seeped into the beef very well so every bite was a delight.

Gising-Gising, 165 pesos per order

I love anything with coconut milk thus I ordered the Gising-Gising. It was good but I felt that it lacked salt.

Frozen Iced Tea

Prices of their dishes were from Php 150 – 250. Their dishes are good for 2 – 3 people so it’s very cheap. If it’s just the two of you, you can just get an appetizer and one main dish plus rice. As you can see above, we’re gluttons and didn’t realize that they have big servings. So moral lesson for us, do not get too excited. Hehe. We really enjoyed our dinner here in Kinabuch. It’s worth every cent.

Kinabuchs Bar and Grill

348 Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines (Near Kalui’s)

Greenwich’s Ultimate Hawaiian Overload

Karla Redor — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:27:16 +0000

I’m not a fan of Hawaiian pizzas. However, I love how Greenwich “leveled up” their Hawaiian pizza. The Ultimate Hawaiian Overload has more toppings, and more cheese!

And if you do not frequent Greenwich or haven’t tried Greenwich, here are some menu items that you probably thought that are not included.

Pizza Fries

Pizza Fries, solo price: 49 pesos, to share: 89 pesos

There are three flavors of pizza fries to choose from and these are: pepperoni, cheese and garlic. Each serving of pizza fries comes with a pizza sauce dip.

Orange Choco Truffle Cake

The Orange Choco Truffle Cake is one sinful dessert from Greenwich. I recommend this dessert to be shared by a couple or if you are going to eat it by yourself, don’t forget to grab some brewed coffee.

Chocolate cake

Albay Food Tripping #4: Bigg’s Diner

Karla Redor — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:56:52 +0000

Bigg’s Diner is one of the biggest food chains in Bicol. By just looking at Bigg’s diner’s interior design, one would easily conclude that it is a 50’s inspired diner.

The food being served at Bigg’s are mostly American dishes. However, we thought of trying the Pork Chop Rice Meal with Laing as a siding just to add some Bicol flavor to it.

The way the Pork Chop Rice Meal was served could have been improved though. I don’t think it’s necessary to use a sizzling plate for this meal. In fact, a simple porcelain plate is already good enough.

We also ordered a serving of Sizzling Tenderloin Tips. This is served with rice and buttered vegetables. I liked the Tenderloin tips better than the Pork Chop Rice Meal.

Perhaps the next time we go to Legazpi City and dine at Bigg’s, we’ll probably try out their pizzas.

Albay Food Tripping #3: Waway’s

Sharlyne Ang — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:17:30 +0000

Pinangat @ Php 60 per order

If you have been searching places to eat in Bicol, you may have encountered Waway’s. Before going to Bicol, we researched the must-try restaurants in Legazpi and Waway’s was a common suggestion among others who have been to Bicol.

Waway’s was called as such because it was named after their owner Aling Laura Cristobal and it’s been existing since 1967. Most Bicolanos and tourists love the place because of its very simplicity and it has also become an “institution” in Albay. Right now the Cristobal Family is continuing to serve the authentic dishes that their

The restaurant is big, contains probably 20 tables which can acccomodate 5-10 people in it. We came in at around 6:00 pm and quite early. We were the only customers at that time. It’s a carinderia/turo-turo style (turo in Filipino means to point – Turo-Turo is the method of ordering food in the Philippines wherein you have to point at the chosen entree or viand from the variety of pre-cooked/cooked dishes) which the servers will bring in to your table.

Bicol Express @ Php 60 per order

We ordered 3 of their popular dishes: Bicol Express, Pinangat and Halaan Soup.

Many say that they have the best Bicol Express in Bicol and so we tried their version. Bicol Express is a popular Bicolano dish wherein pork is cooked with coconut milk combined with lots of red and green chilies (they use siling labuyo, the smallest and spiciest of all chilies). By that description, you’ll really expect that it’s very spicy. My expectations weren’t wrong, theirs was really spicy!

The Pinangat, also called Laing, is a dish made of taro leaves, chili leaves and a little pork wrapped in gabi leaves. Their Pinangat was good too, it didn’t give me that itchy feeling in my throat. When you eat gabi leaves and it gave you that itchy feeling in your throat, it means that it wasn’t washed thoroughly.

Halaan Soup @ Php 120 per order

We loved the Halaan (sea shell) Soup. One of order of which is good for 2 – 3 people. Karla and I enjoyed eating the Halaan and the soup was very tasty as well. The Americans seated beside us were enjoying their Halaan Soup with a bottle of beer. Yum!

For these three dishes, plus 2 cups of rice and 2 cans of softdrinks, we only paid Php 330 for the 2 of us! Isn’t that cheap?! They also have grilled pork, fish and other Filipino dishes to choose from so it wouldn’t be so hard to find something you like.

Waway’s Restaurant is located in Peñaranda Street, Albay.

Pica-Pica Treats at Obsidian Bar and Grill

Sharlyne Ang — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:33:45 +0000

There’s a new bar and grill that recently opened in Ortigas Home Depot called Obsidian Bar and Grill. Aside from being a drinking venue and a place to watch local bands perform, they also boast their delicious pica-pica treats for everyone. Well, they weren’t wrong.

About 2 weeks ago, a friend of ours from Obsidian invited us to have a glimpse of their pica-picas before they formally open. We feasted on the dishes that are the must-orders when you come to their bar to watch great bands perform.

What I liked about their menu is that it’s simple and had all the pica-picas that must be ordered when you’re in a bar. Nothing really complicated. You might think that it’s just appetizers, they also have dishes that can be paired with rice. Well, we’re Filipinos and very flexible on what we want to pair with rice .

We first had Pork Barbeque which was a standard appetizer for Filipinos. It’s composed of 5 barbeques per order which only costs Php 100. It comes with a sauce which you can dip the pork barbeque into for more flavor but the barbeque can stand alone.

Spicy Chicken Wings @ Php 179

The Spicy Chicken Wings (or Buttered Chicken) is our most favorite dish in Obsidian. One order is composed of 8 chicken wings. The chickens were very tasty and you’ll not be satisfied with only just one. It’s like Buffalo Wings but the spiciness is tolerable. My suggestion to them is that they can also have some dips (blue cheese dip) for added flavor. But this dish can stand alone just like the barbeque above.

Bicol Express @ Php 169

I love Bicol Express, in fact, I love everything with coconut milk. This is one of the dishes that somewhat became weird for me because I am used to the Bicol Express having the taste of coconut milk. In here, I wasn’t able to taste the coconut milk. In fact, it tasted sweet, which was very unexpected. It was pretty ok as it is but it seems that it can’t be called Bicol Express.

Sisig @ Php 169

This is probably one of the best sisigs I have tasted ever in my life. It’s cooked Pampanga style – meaning it’s not well done. They didn’t use the instant sisigs that are being sold in the markets. Real pig’s ears were used combined with pig’s lungs. I’m not really fond of eating the pig’s insides but for this one, it wasn’t noticeable that’s why it’s ok to eat it as it is.

Crispy Pata @ Php 389

Obsidian’s Crispy Pata is one of the cheapest that in Manila. It’s served without the big bone anymore so that customers won’t have a hard time getting the meat out from the bone. I liked this one very much as it’s very tender and the meat is very tasty. It’s served with a sauce which my guess contains Worcestershire sauce, pepper, salt, sugar and soy sauce. The sauce tasted weird at that time because the Worcestershire sauce was too strong, I suggest that they lessen this. I think that the Crispy Pata can also stand alone as the meat itself is already tasty.

Binagoongan @ Php 169

Binagoongan or Pork Stewed with Shrimp Paste tasted ok. I hope that they add more Shrimp Paste to actually taste it.

Chicharong Bulaklak @ Php 169

The Chicharong Bulaklak was superb! This is a great appetizer to pair with an ice cold beer.

Chicken Adobo @ Php 169

Here’s another favorite of mine, the Chicken Adobo. The chicken was marinated long enough which resulted to a tastier chicken meat. This is a good dish to pair with rice!

Tapa @ 169

The Beef Tapa is another favorite of mine. The beef is very tender and again, very tasty. It’s not cooked well done, in fact it was cooked just. It tasted a bit sweet and salty.

Who says you can’t combine beer drinking and band watching with good food? Obsidian Bar and Grill showcases different appetizers which you can enjoy while hanging out with friends. They also added the usual street foods that we know such as fish balls and squid balls as well as fish dishes in their menu.

Obsidian Bar and Grill

Unit 149/150 Bldg C Ortigas Home Depot Complex
(near Pier 1)

House of Polvoron

Karla Redor — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:38:02 +0000

Polvoron is a Filipino dessert that is made up of toasted flour, powdered milk, sugar and melted butter. I like polvoron that is compact and that is not too sweet.

I love the polvoron from HOP. My favorite polvoron variant from HOP is the pinipig. Their other polvoron variants are: Classic, Pili, Cashew and Cookies and Cream. Even though the other variants are good, pinipig has been my all-time favorite.

A box (18 pieces) of each polvoron variant costs 100 pesos while a box of assorted polvoron (20 pieces) is being sold at 108 pesos. If you’re having a hard time choosing which polvoron variant you would try, I suggest that you get the assorted so that you could also try the other variants.

Pasta Buffet at PenPen Restaurant

Sharlyne Ang — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:07:55 +0000

Wow, I got excited about this! For only P 235 pesos, you’ll be able eat unlimited pasta at Penpen Restaurant! Can’t wait to try this!

PenPen Restaurant is located at 105-C Scout Castor, Brgy. Laging Handa, QC.

Asohos Strips with Soy Vinaigrette

Sharlyne Ang — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:44:47 +0000

Yummy Magazine has ventured into making simple cookbooks so I decided to try some of the recipes there. The recipe can be found in “Meals in Minutes”. In the book, they used Tilapia but since my mom and I weren’t able to get Tilapia from the nearby groceries, we just used filleted Asohos as an alternative. Asohos (Silago in English) is perfect when it’s fried and crispy. This fish is commonly cooked as Tempura. This recipe is also perfect for pulutan and very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

400 grams Asohos fillets
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2-3 cups oil

For the vinaigrette:

finely chopped garlic
finely chopped onions
soy sauce
vinegar
siling labuyo (bird’s eye chili)

Procedure:

Slice fish fillets in strips. Season with salt and pepper.
Coat with cornstarch
Fry in hot oil until crisp and golden brown.
Combine ingredients for the vinaigrette. Estimate the amount of ingredients to mix. It really depends on your preference. You can have equal parts of soy sauce and vinegar.