eatership

MJC IN NEWARK, NJ

2008-04-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Finally, after many postponements, we met for dinner at Iberia, a popular rodizio restaurant in Newark. Yes, BG. Newark. But not the Polly Lat side. Your side. You see Newark - while largely black - also plays host to a huge Iberian-Latino community, hence the proliferation of restaurants serving food that our palates are familiar with. The rodizio in Iberia is excellent, gut-busting, and costs 1/3 of Plataforma's fare. We also had the seafood paella (the menu said it was a 2-person serving but we couldn't even finish half of it).

The restaurant hosts Lions meetings, hence the thumbs-down picture.

Tonight was really fun, especially for Bong, who hasn’t had direct MJC contact for 4 years. Steve Baltao was supposed to join us but had family duties to deal with. Ginger looked blooming in her 4th month of pregnancy. Bong looks and is the same, give or take a few white hairs and a new pair of reading glasses. Rami gave Philip and Bong a recap of MJC in the years that they were away. Philip and Bong told of stories where their MJC experience served them in good stead. Philip is now the Assistant General Manager of a Marriott Hotel in NJ, and Bong is with a dental clinic in Queens. And I am still unemployed.

Miss Manila!!!

YAT'S INTERNATIONAL WINE CLUB – May 29, 2007 (first visit)

2007-06-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

In the 90s, there was a Brit chef by the name of Philip Golding who became a celebrity of sorts in Manila: he cooked well, was photogenic and recognizable as the onscreen model for a brand of pasta, if memory serves. I thought he had disappeared, because last I heard he was chef-patron of the now defunct Azzuro in Glorietta (now occupied by Banana Leaf), and it was a surprise when my friend invited me to Clark today to send off her niece and boyfriend at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport and for a long lunch at Yat’s, helmed by the very same Chef Philip Golding.

Chef Philip came to Manila because he had a Filipina wife whom he met in London. By his account, the future Mrs. Golding fell for him – literally – when she slipped on the kitchen floor of the restaurant where he was working. He invited the winsome Cebuana to dinner to make up for his gaffe and 11 years later, they have made a life for themselves and their two boys in the Clark Economic Zone, with their base of operations at the YAT'S INTERNATIONAL WINE CLUB in the Mimosa Compound.

Yat’s is serious about its wine, proof of which is its wine cellar that holds a veritable king’s ransom in wines, ranging from a very, very rare and very, very expensive bottle of a 1900 Premier Grand Cru Chateau Margaux obtained by Yat’s at an auction. It is not for sale, but in case you’re interested, the bottle carries a tag price of P1,062,800. Yes. You got them zeroes right. The wine steward offered the bottle for me to hold. Like I dared; if I break it I’d have to liquidate all my assets and I’d still be only halfway paying for that bottle. If you’re working on a tight budget, you could settle for the 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc: a steal at P600,000. Or a bottle of Heidsick champagne salvaged from a ship that sank in the Baltic Sea in 1906. This will set you back by about P400,000. All of these rare wines are kept in a humidity and temperature controlled room, and the more affordable selection in a separate room. The house wine is a fine Farnese which goes for P200 a glass. Guess which wine I got to sample at lunch today? And oh, have you heard of vintage beer? Yat’s carries a selection of fine triple-fermented beer and today I got a taste of UN FIN DU MONDE from Montreal. I never tasted beer this good: the top note is apricot with an equally fruit-like nose, and a refined finish I never thought possible in a beer. It comes corked, presented and chilled like a champagne bottle, and appears to complement most food choices.

Chef Philip’s philosophy is to serve people who love their wine, with fine food to complement their fine wine choices. And boy, is the food fine. Our group included a friend who is a food writer, therefore our group was accorded preferential treatment. We sat at the main dining room but were later asked to take a table at the members-only Burgundy Room. Each of Yat’s dining rooms has a different menu, but Chef Philip told us that he and his highly efficient and friendly staff would be more than happy to accommodate any diner’s culinary whim – so long as they have the ingredients in stock. Or they could serve you “dampa” style. Bring your own foie gras, alligator meat, or any special ingredient and you can ask Yat’s to cook it for you.

The service is a story unto itself: our party of 5 was served by 3 waiters, one of whom wore cotton gloves throughout the service. Last I saw highly formal service in Manila was at the Rotisserie of the now-defunct Manila Hilton in 1982 when I was taking my practicum as part of my HRA curriculum.

The menu is pretty interesting, and prices are understandably on the steep side (think of P3,000/per plate if you are to get a soup or appetizer, a glass of wine, an entrée and dessert), considering the high quality of food and service that Yat’s provides each guest. The grill items are especially good (the wagyu tenderloin is to die for – literally – it’s fat marbling is unbelievable). I had an espresso of plum tomatoes and my fellow diners who had the broccoli cream and capsicum and coconut cream soups declared them delicious. Our starter of chilled lobster infused with a sardine sauce was a surprising delight, literally an amuse bouche. This was followed by a delectable and creamy mango sorbet, preceding my porterhouse and veal osso buco combo, which was served with pan fried baby potatoes, a remarkable mushroom risotto resonant with cream and butter notes, and sautéed fresh garden vegetables. The serving size was hefty, and so was my appetite. The presentation left a little to be desired for a fine dining restaurant, as did the quality of the bread served (I am very particular with my bread, and in my opinion Prince Albert and Le Souffle serve the best bread in town, but that’s another story), but this quibble was silenced by the excellent over-all food quality, and totally forgotten by the time I finished off my plate of warm chocolate espresso pudding with a buttercream crust served with homemade vanilla ice cream.

Yat’s serves exotic stuff, like kangaroo and alligator meat. Not very popular choices but appropriate for the serious foodie. Go and take the trek to Clark. It is worth the trip of about 70 minutes each way, or plan a side trip if flying through Clark or going to Baguio. And if Chef Philip is around, he will probably sit down with you and regale you with an extra that is off-menu: his impassioned stories of gastronomy, what’s going on in the local and international hotel and restaurant industry and future plans to make Clark the foodie hub of the Philippines. I look forward to the opening of The London Pub, also in Mimosa, featuring English fare like bangers and mash, prepared “right proper.”

Yat’s is open for lunch daily and closes at 11 p.m., and major credit cards are accepted. Reservations are not necessary, unless you plan to book the entire place. It is a fine dining restaurant (remember, the waiters wear gloves) so don’t expect to be welcomed if you are in shorts, sandals or wife-beaters.

HONG TAI YANG RESTAURANT – first and last visit: April 30, 2007

2007-04-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

For the 3rd consecutive week, my Monday Talk Holes Club will try yet another hotpot/shabu-shabu restaurant. Cheaper daw than King One, per our Chairman, CJ Tan. He was in China and couldn’t join us, so, off we went to Macapagal Avenue, again at the Mall of Hobbies.

Hong Tai Yang (which means Red Sun – rather Japanese in imagery for a Chinese restaurant) is set to the very back of the Mall. You can’t miss it: there are many signs that will lead you towards the right direction.

It boasts of all-you-can-eat hotpot food “WITH 100 FRESH INGREDIENTS!!!” for a mere P395. No free drinks, but it does have a free halo-halo/fruit platter/ice cream station which King One does not have. This is a huge place, accommodating up 10 150 diners at any given time. The décor is tacky and perfunctory: marble slabs looking like so many tombs in rows, with holes in the middle to accommodate gas-operated hot pot stations. The nice thing about Hong Tai though is that each diner gets to have his own hotpot (again, no Sichuan broth!) and unlike King One, also has an additional flat grill plate. There are indeed 100 ingredients to choose from: meats (not of the best quality though), fish, shellfish, shrimp, crab (there is also a chafing dish of stewed crab), dimsum (made mostly of flour and lard), veggies (no golden mushroom), eggs, variety meats, corn and bottomless rice. Drinks are not complimentary. The array is visually impressive but that’s just about it.

The 100 selections An 8-person table has 8 pots and 2 grills

Sadly, for all its variety and seemingly reasonable price, Hong Tai did not impress us. Goria Maris is expensive but you feel sulit. Lau Chan, on the other side of the scale, is cheap but good. King One is a really good bargain offering true bang for the buck. Hong Tai was just, well, cheap. Some of the shrimp had an off odor, as did the crab. The meat, despite being paper thin, was tough because it had no marbling. The “butter” that was given to us for the grill was actually just colored vegetable shortening. And not a good one at that. The staff was eager to please though, and the bathrooms clean, and parking free, but none in my group saw himself going back there or recommending the place to friends and family. One even made the dire prediction that the red sun would cease to be in 6 months. Sayang. It’s the first restaurant pa naman that I’m blogging about na may pictures.

HONG TAI YANG RESTAURANT – first and last visit: April 30, 2007

2007-04-30T20:44:00.001-07:00

For the 3rd consecutive week, my Monday Talk Holes Club will try yet another hotpot/shabu-shabu restaurant. Cheaper daw than King One, per our Chairman, CJ Tan. He was in China and couldn’t join us, so, off we went to Macapagal Avenue, again at the Mall of Hobbies.

Hong Tai Yang (which means Red Sun – rather Japanese in imagery for a Chinese restaurant) is set to the very back of the Mall. You can’t miss it: there are many signs that will lead you towards the right direction.

It boasts of all-you-can-eat hotpot food “WITH 100 FRESH INGREDIENTS!!!” for a mere P395. No free drinks, but it does have a free halo-halo/fruit platter/ice cream station which King One does not have. This is a huge place, accommodating up 10 150 diners at any given time. The décor is tacky and perfunctory: marble slabs looking like so many tombs in rows, with holes in the middle to accommodate gas-operated hot pot stations. The nice thing about Hong Tai though is that each diner gets to have his own hotpot (again, no Sichuan broth!) and unlike King One, also has an additional flat grill plate. There are indeed 100 ingredients to choose from: meats (not of the best quality though), fish, shellfish, shrimp, crab (there is also a chafing dish of stewed crab), dimsum (made mostly of flour and lard), veggies (no golden mushroom), eggs, variety meats, corn and bottomless rice. Drinks are not complimentary. The array is visually impressive but that’s just about it.

Sadly, for all its variety and seemingly reasonable price, Hong Tai did not impress us. Goria Maris is expensive but you feel sulit. Lau Chan, on the other side of the scale, is cheap but good. King One is a really good bargain offering true bang for the buck. Hong Tai was just, well, cheap. Some of the shrimp had an off odor, as did the crab. The meat, despite being paper thin, was tough because it had no marbling. The “butter” that was given to us for the grill was actually just colored vegetable shortening. And not a good one at that. The staff was eager to please though, and the bathrooms clean, and parking free, but none in my group saw himself going back there or recommending the place to friends and family. One even made the dire prediction that the red sun would cease to be in 6 months. Sayang. It’s the first restaurant pa naman that I’m blogging about na may pictures.

GLORIA MARIS HOTPOT RESTAURANT – first visit: late 2005, latest visit April 23, 2007

2007-04-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Ahem. I’ll make yabang here. The first time I tried the Gloria Maris Hotpot Restaurant was with Mother Lily, the matriarch of the Philippine movie industry. We were in discussion of the script for WHITE LADY (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0757953/) and she decided to meet at the newly-opened restaurant, instead of in her house. My writing partner remarked that Mother must like us because she never conducts showbiz meetings in restaurants, always in her residence. This was over and above the fact that our first meeting with her was at the Shang Palace, where she fed us plate upon plate of the house specialties. Which she did again at Gloria Maris.

Gloria Maris Seafood Restaurant is among the best Chinese restaurants in town, simply on the strength of its excellent service, outstanding food quality and – all things considered – reasonable prices. Also, to celebrate in Gloria Maris bears with it the patina of “being-in-ness.” It is highly popular among Fil-Chi as the preferred venue for engagement parties, birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms and other small family celebrations. The Greenhills restaurant has 3 sections: the seafood restaurant which has a main dining hall, private function rooms and a huge ballroom on the second level, the eatery section where one can partake of fantastic Chinese dishes at really reasonable prices (their jumbo siopao, which can feed 2 hungry cargadores and is my all-time favorite comfot food, is priced at less than P80). Their noodle dishes are especially good, as are their cold cuts. The third section of course is their hotpot restaurant, which I believe is the first in Manila to serve the humble fare in a Modern Asian setting and using only non-heating microwave (?) cooking plates.

One can choose between sets or individual plates of uncooked ingredients and the usual choices of broth (sadly, no Sichuan). If you are only 2, then individual plates is the way to go. The smallest set is good for 4 (as far as the menu is concerned), but can actually feed about 6 men and is priced at a reasonable P1,200 for 5 sticks of fresh shrimp, some fish, squid, assorted seafood balls and a variety of vegetables (winter mushrooms!). There is also a meat plate with fatty beef, pork and chicken. The service is efficient and friendly (a waiter will come over to peel the shrimp for you) and the acoustics are good – even with so many people around, it’s never too noisy. If you have room for a sweet, order the fresh taho, served in a wooden tub with an accompaniment of syrup and sago. If you’re on a budget, skip ordering drinks. I think this is a rule of thumb in places where the food is cheap: the restaurant marks up their drinks (cf. Mandarin’s Paseo Uno, where a can of Coke will set you back P220, inclusive of taxes and service charge vs. it’s buffet price of P1,400).

Gloria Maris Hotpot is worth repeated visits. I have been there several times since Mother Lily’s treat, and have brought a balikbayan friend who raved over the food, and was there again last week. There is something truly convivial about gathering around a table with good friends and cooking your own food, making your own sauce and chomping the night away.

KING ONE – first visit: April 16, 2007

2007-04-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Candy Dizon YM’ed me one day: “I’m an addict.” Knowing how kikay she is, I knew it wasn’t an addiction to regulated substances that she was referring to. True enough, she gave me the link to her blog, http://www.adventuresofcandy.blogspot.com. You should check it out: it’s breezy, funny and, yes, kikay. She’s been very prolific and in a week’s time, came out with blogs and content that rivaled mine – which is about a century old already. It’s because of Candy that I have been motivated to push myself into writing 6 blogs a day – as has she.

So Candy, thanks, and here goes:

My Monday Talk Holes Club has been on a mission to sample all the shabu-shabu/cook-your-own restos in town. And why not? One of group’s favorite places is LAU CHAN (on M.H. del Pilar off cor. Malvar – same block as the Pan Pacific Hotel). The food is cheap (count on spending about P300/person), the selection diverse and the service friendly (we once got away with free fruit platters when we (mis)represented one of our buddies as Col. Kamantigue. Little did they know that the only drilling this colonel does is drilling cavities. He is after all, a dentist). However, LAU CHAN is strictly for those who fancy holes-in-the-wall because the place is drab, harshly-lit, very noisy and always packed with happy Chinese diners. I emphasize Chinese because you know what they say about Chinese restaurants: if it is packed with Pinoys, then the food is no good (cf. Chow King).

Having tried Lau Chan, we ventured to the unusually-named Mall of Hobbies on Macapagal Avenue, fronting the PNB Building. The Mall in itself is interesting. It is taking up on Tiendesitas’ lead by putting up a section for pets (I got my nephew’s shih tzu a nice “Burberry” collar and leash for only P150), with a lot of shops catering to multi-level marketing, a spa, and a Census sub-office. Also located in the same complex is a branch of the popular Julia Vargas ihaw-inom place, Jay-J’s. The Mall of Hobbies is truly worth a visit – and perhaps a re-naming. But I’m going off course.

Upon entering the mall (open parking is free and abundant), we immediately sae several large and bright sign announcing: “KING ONE!!!! Eat-All-You-Can!!! Drink-All-You-Can!!! Only P399++” Well. How could we resist! It’s located near the Census office and has very few seats and no reservations. The place is nicely decorated and features a bar in the middle where all the ingredients for the shabu-shabu are prepared in the open and placed on platters on a conveyor, much like how most cheap and on-the-quick Japanese restaurants serve their food. We were 6 that evening and were told by the friendly staff that besides the shabu-shabu, a group of 4 is given a free ala carte item. Wow! Truly a bargain! In fact, we were given a dish of King Dao Pork (good) and squid teriyaki (too much batter but hey! Why should I begrudge this freebie?). The drinks are Quickly style: brain-freeze fruit-flavored slurpees with sago in the bottom, served bottomless style. Iced tea is also complimetary, but sodas and all other beverages are not. The selection of meats, seafood and vegetables is excellent, fresh and varied. We had fatty beef, lamb (both sliced very very thin), sweetish suahe (small shrimp), crab’s claws, an assortment of mushroom (including my favorite winter mushrrom), leafy vegetables, broccoli, caulflower, ad infinitum. Sauces were also plentiful, with sate being the favorite. What sets King One apart from the other hotpot/shabu-shabu restaurants is that it has the usual chicken, seafood, vegetarian and sate stocks to choose from PLUS, the Sichuan broth. Very aromatic, very savory and just spicy enough for the more adventurous diner. Moreover, the cooking plate is the microwave (?) type that won’t burn fingers – a very important factor for family diners.

What King One is missing are private dining rooms or alcoves for big groups and families that want some privacy for their celebration. A minor quibble, but hopefully will be addressed when King One branches out to a bigger outlet.

On top of it all, King One has clean bathrooms. And oh, did I mention that the service is very efficient and friendly?

FOOD TRIVIA (from wikipedia.com):

Shabu-shabu is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling water or dashi (broth) made with kombu (kelp) and swishing it back and forth several times. (The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to "swish-swish".) Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or "goma" (sesame seed) sauce before eating with a bowl of steamed white rice.

Once the meat and vegetables have been eaten, leftover water from the pot is customarily combined with the remaining rice, and the resulting soup is usually eaten last.

The dish is supposed to have originated in the 13th century as a way for Genghis Khan to efficiently feed his soldiers. Mongol troops gathered around a large pot and cooked together. Thinly sliced meat was used for its short cooking time, which allowed the Mongolian army to conserve its limited supply of fuel.

ENOTECA GALILEO – latest visit: March 4, 2007

2007-03-05T01:14:00.000-08:00

“Everything happens for a reason” is among my favorite sayings. In 1999, I bought a condominium unit on Libertad St. in Mandaluyong City. This took a long time to finish and about 3 years ago, I was finally shown the apartment for inspection. It was an upsetting experience on many levels, mostly because the apartment did not turn out according to my expectations, and this after a two-year delay in its delivery. After the inspection, I got so hungry and saw this small shop at the back of the Reyes Gym on Libertad cor. Calbayog. It was odd seeing the sign ENOTECA GALILEO right beside a shop that sells UBE PUTO. I went inside and saw a charming bodega-type setup, with the walls of the small area lined with different Italian wines and goodies, and a deli chiller with all kinds of cheese and cured meat. There were tables, but the server informed me that they only had simple panini, savory grilled Italian sandwiches, cheese and cold cuts. ONLY???!!! Bring it on! And so began my discovery of the delights offered by Galileo.

On subsequent visits, we discovered that Galileo had expanded to include a bigger dining area and more items on the menu. The fare is simple but good and the prices attractive. Moreover, the ambience is just so conducive to great conversation. If booking a party for 10, ask for the innermost sala, where a repro of Botticelli’s Venus Rising From The Sea presides over the dining table.

What I miss is the Sunday brunch, which was introduced to me by my regular Sunday brunch buddy Jennifer Dee. For only P250, one got mortadella, pancetta, assorted cheese, a simple salad and assorted Panini, with bottomless cups of hot chocolate so thick it will blow the eh out of all the hot chocolate you have ever had.

On our latest outing, we went for the brunch but were informed that they no longer served it. Instead, they had their set lunch and dinner menu, also a steal at P400 which will give you a soup or a salad, a meat and cheese platter, pasta, coffee and a glass of wine. The soup was thin but the platter generous, and the pasta all interesting: choose from mushroom, 3-cheese and asparagus. And the hot chocolate is still available at P100 per cup. Sadly, no dessert, but the deli has some cakes which you can order for service.

The deli in itself is impressive, with fresh buffalo mozzarella and parmigiano regiano shipped in weekly, along with other cheese varieties and cured meats. If you’re into Italian food, Galileo is the shop for you.

The service is friendly and prompt, but there is only one, albeit clean, restroom. Our sala’s aircon was busted when we were there but we had so much fun that it didn’t seem to matter. Parking may be difficult during weekdays and getting there may be confusing for those who do not know the twists and turns of EDSA and Mandaluyong’s interior roads.

GALILEO in Mandaluyong is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. but is closed on Mondays. They take Visa and Mastercard. Call 5320482 for reservations. GALILEO recently opened a bigger branch on Pasong Tamo in the La Fuerza Building.

SOMS – 2 previous visits, last visit on February 28, 2007

2007-03-02T00:56:00.000-08:00

My friend Chari Arespacochaga loves SOMS. What’s not to love? When it was still just a hole in the wall near Rockwell, it attracted a loyal following, despite the fact that at peak hours you’d either have to dine al fresco – and by al fresco we mean subjected to vehicular fumes and the elements while sitting at a makeshift dining area propped against a perimeter fence – or take food out. SOMS serves Thai food at a very low price. It became so popular that it was able to open a branch in more hospitable environs not a kilometer away from its old home. Located in the corner of Reposo (Nicanor Garcia) and Milagros Street in Makati, the new SOMS features the same no-nonsense Thai food served in a far bigger space. The food is ok (don’t order any beef dish – the meat is invariably tough), the prices cheap and the servings generous. Their typical curry (pork, beef, chicken or shrimp in red, green or yellow varieties) costs P89 (with enough sauce to serve four but meat enough for just one), plain rice is P10 and a C2 is P30. Order a regular Coke, which comes in the hard-to-find and charming 200ml size.

My first visit to SOMS was a birthday dinner treat and the convivial company afforded me the luxury of enjoying its fare whole-heartedly. My second was an early lunch where I ordered the tom yum and bagoong rice. After being made to wait for 10 minutes, I was told that they were not yet ready to serve the tom yum. I ordered the green beef curry. Tough decision. On my third visit, I ordered the tom yum and phad Thai, which had too little sahog and at P125 a plate, there should be more sahog.

Thai food purists will balk at the sweetish flavor in most of SOMS dishes, rendering the curry an almost panghimagas character. Remove the meat, replace with sago, temper the salt, add crushed ice and voilà: guinomis!

Lamentably, the dining room reeks of cheap pomade and even cheaper cleanser. The decor is fantastically eccentric to the point of irritation and the men’s room was iffy (the urinals had moth balls to “freshen” the air and the wash bowl featured a soap dish in which a sorry-looking bar of Safeguard was swimming in used water). The air-conditioning is weakly provided by yellowing wall units and there are only 2 parking slots out front. The lunch crowd is advised to bring a chauffeur or commute by cab or jeep or trike. At night, cars may be parked on the side streets or even on Reposo.

SOMS’ fast and friendly service is its only redeeming asset. Manila is short on really good Thai restaurants and I wish SOMS were one of them. Sadly, it is not.

SCHWARZWALDER - February 26, 2007

2007-02-26T01:25:00.000-08:00

"Schwarzwalder" is German for "black forests." The history of this restaurant is fuzzy but I remember (I think) it was at the back of the old Ayala Museum in Greenbelt of the 80s and was owned by the former GM of the Hyatt Manila, Mr. Jentes. When the old Ayala Museum was torn down, Schwarzwalder moved to the Atrium on Makati Avenue, where it continued to serve good old German meals like crispy pata (with a German accent and sauerkraut of course, but with optional rice for the Pinoy market) and sausages galore. There is a new Schwarzwalder in Greenbelt 2, where it occupies half of the space of the original Gloria Maris Greenbelt.

It follows the modern yet subdued decor (no reference to any black forests though) and familiar dishes prepared in the same way. This is not to say that the food is boring, but that Schwarzwalder has managed to maintain its quality through the years. As my friend Dickie Tan commented, he would rather pay top price for good food than go to a restaurant that scrimps on quality to maintain its pricing. True, most Schwarzwalder entrees are expensive for the average diner (around P500++) but the servings are fit for a Teutonic lumberjack. Its knockout knuckles are true to its name, giving the diner a one-two punch in terms of serving size and cholesterol count. But the restaurant is not without far healthier options by way of salads but why go to a German restaurant when you're on a diet? Try the veal (its version of osso buco), which is tender to the bone with a savory sauce and their variety of sausages. The service is friendly and prompt (we were three diners and we were all served at the same time without compromising food temperature and presentation). Parking is adequate all througout Greenbelt and reservations are not a must. When we ate, there was only one other table that was occupied. Which is a pity because Schwarzwalder truly does satisfy.

A "not-to-be-missed" item is the apfelstrudel (apple strudel).

FOOD TRIVIA 1

2007-02-26T01:23:00.000-08:00

“A la pobre” – Philippine contribution to the world of culinary terms. Loosely based on the term “au poivre” which literally means “peppered with pepper,” this term denotes food encrusted in pepper then grilled or pan-fried, most popularly used, as in “steak au poivre.” We have adapted this term to “a la pobre” which is not to say that food is cooked the way jologs cook their bangus or steak (HELLO!) but rather, food that is peppered with toasted garlic. Hooray for Pinoy ingenuity!

CONSPIRACY CAFÉ - October 30, 2006

2007-02-26T01:22:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about going out in Manila is that there is something for every one. As someone who’s eaten in all kinds of places, from dives to fancies, from holes-in-the-wall to established restaurants, I’m happy for the choices that Manila has to offer.

Recently, my friend the musician Rica Arambulo texted me that she was having a show in Conspiracy Café in Quezon City. On a Monday. So I suggested to Monday Club SecGen Knox Coeli that we try this place out. When I gave the address, I could hear him groan in his faux Chinese accent: madayo yannah! Surpisingly, nine of us went: Knox, Philip Lim, Lawrence See, Stephen Choa, Supremo CJ Tan, Johannson Cheng, Chris Ty, Edison Gong and myself.

Conspiracy Café is about 4 years old, fashioned out of an old house with high ceilings and decorated with empty green wine bottles and art work for sale by artists who are friends of the artists who own the place. Conspiracy has a laid-back ambience and anyone in shorts, sando and slippers will be as welcome as a congresswoman in her shift and scarf. It has a very homey air about it, and patrons appear to know each other and/or the owners. There is no sign to that effect but it seems like everyone checked their insecurities and hang-ups at the door.

Conspiracy is a great venue for musicians of such diverse colors, from Akafellas to Makiling Ensemble, from Rica to Cynthia Alexander. They even have poetry nights, open mike nights and LGTB evenings.

The food isn’t all that bad either. The Indian eggplant salad is a good and refreshing accompaniment to the crispy pata (thoughtfully pre-sliced from the bone) and the chicken curry is both savory and filling one serving can actually be split by two barakos). We also tried the liempo and bangus ala pobre*, which we all liked. Bar chow standards like sisig and 3kinds of fishball in 3 kinds of sawsawan were also devoured with gusto.

The price is fair (add P100/person if dining/drinking/watching in the music room), the men’s room clean, the music fantastic. If you like music, ask the waiter for their selection of CDs for sale that may not be available in Odyssey of M1. Credit cards are accepted. Minus points though for insufficient parking space.

Conspiracy Café, 59 Visayas Avenue, Quezon City. Call 4532170 for reservations and show schedule.

ABÉ - November 3, 2006

2007-02-26T01:20:00.000-08:00

When family or friends come visiting from the States, we always take them to go to the mall, visit other family and friends, host reunions for them and make them gorge on good ole’ Pinoy food. Tiendesitas and Market Market are good shopping destinations because each mall feature pasalubong from all over the Philippines. There is of course the added bonus of the availability of many food choices in both malls.

My brother-in-law recently visited and we were going to bring him to the Ortigas dampa but decided to try out the two-week old ABÉ in Serendra, which is just across Market Market, instead. My Kuya had read a feature about it and foodie friends had tried it on its second day of operations. Both feature and foodie feedback gave ABÉ raves. My friend said it was not a fussy restaurant that served good Pinoy food, describing the dining experience as akin to one would have at home, if one had a matriarch or cook who churned out excellent home-cooked meals.

ABÉ is one of the first few restaurants operating in Serendra. It is run by the LJC Group, which has had some hits (Café Adriatico – the café that started the Malate trend, and the now-defunct Bistro Burgos, which served the best kare-kare I’ve tasted) and a few misses (Café Havana – about whose alarming cockroach infestation I wrote in May 2005, and Bollywood – nice place, icky Bumbay food). ABÉ is named after owner Larry J. Cruz’ father, who was a diplomat who loved good food.

The restaurant itself looks like a hodge-podge of several restaurants: its furniture is an eclectic mix of old, new and funky (check out the 60s molded chairs). The dining room is brightly lit, features a pianist (reminiscent of Bistro Burgos) and alternately, piped in Pinoy fiesta music. The over-all earth tones of the dining room are complemented by the sepia photographs of Cruz gatherings bordering the ceiling. This halo-halo look is mirrored by the halo-halo menu, with some new items and a good number culled from old LJC menus. There is a good mix of Pinoy home-cooking, old Binondo favorites and recipes brought home by Abé from his foreign trips. Since we were a big group, we could afford to indulge: sisig (thankfully devoid of chicharon or utak or mayonnaise – culinary affectations of the gustatorily retarded), kinilaw (freshly prepared but lacking the ginger and lime familiar to my Bisaya taste buds), battered squid (delicately sweet), morcon (too salty for my taste and swimming in sauce), pata tim (EXCELENTE! But the accompanying cuapao could have been bigger and fluffier), knock out knuckles (Chieftain, while I swear by Honey’s, this one comes a close second), pastel de lengua (perfect crust encasing a perfect stew), chicken supreme (this must have been cooked in pork lard! It tasted just like what my Lola Inday used to prepare), and the Bistro Burgos kare-kare: ox tail perfection on a plate! My taste buds are still orgasmic from that dish…

Sadly, the dessert selection is sparse and uninspired: a mediocre leche flan, a generic-tasting ube jam with macapuno, both of which were somewhat redeemed by old-fashioned maja blanca topped with toasted pinipig. Still and all, the main meal was a real treat that got me making mental notes to try ABÉ again and again and again.

ABÉ is a perfect family dining place, not quite so for romantic dates. It was full to the last table last Friday, so you best be making reservations, especially if you’re a big group.

Surprisingly, for the quality of ABÉ’s fare, plus its premium location, prices are very affordable and servings are generous. The men’s room is immaculate, parking is plentiful and free (for now) and the fiesta music is appropriate and in fact fun, even if you hate listening to Bayanihan selections.

ABÉ, G/F Serendra, Global City, Taguig City. Call 8560526 for reservations.