CHASING GOOD EATS

Rosemary Chicken  from Agno street food stall

I've been busy lately and most of my schedule is taken up with guiding guests all around town. Normally, I would go home and get some sleep after a tour. Lately I've been bingeing.  As you can probably tell by this article's title, I do follow a couple of episodes of some TV chefs: Jett Tila and Alton Brown, etc. And so the title is my take on Chasing the Yum and Good Eats.

BACSILOG at Agno Street food stall

So back to my story, I may not always have the budget for expensive meals. But since I know I'm a pretty good cook, I know what's tasty and right for my budget. I've been hanging around the DLSU area since I live right next door. Student meals are always great and priced for the De La Salle community. That means, good food, generous portions at student allowance-affordable cost!

Dodalgi Sonagi at Cafe de Seoul

One favorite haunt is Cafe de Seoul, which I blogged about earlier on. The place is a fave among the DLSU students. It's wi-fi friendly (some tables installed with Samsung tablets), cheerfully decorated, brightly lit. Why wouldn't they want to hang out to study there? I was treated to a BACSILOG (bacon, sinangag at itlog) by a friend who got it in one of the stalls in Agno Street. He got himself a rosemary chicken and both meals were served in a paper bowl. Both meals cost P65.00 each. To accompany it, he got me a Dodalgi Sonagi ( a strawberry, kiwi and mint slush at P120.00) while he got a Green Tea Latte for himself (much the same price). I was hungry so I wolfed down the bacsilog which was slathered with a heavy cheesy cream. Ooohhh,,, so yummy. It was cheesecake (P120.00) for dessert. Great balance of sweetness. Not crumbly and the cherries on top was the perfect foil as it provided some amount of tartness to the white chocolate smiley garnish on top.

Cheesecake at Cafe de Seoul

Zark's burger is right across DLSU's Henry Sy building (yes, what was once a football field!) This is a simple restaurant that serves the humble burger... in all it's decadent, tasty, greasy splendor! You deserve to PIG OUT once in a while. And yeah, we did! We decided to order an item called The Ultimate Burger (P145.00) It was huge! We were so full we didn't get to try the Tombstone (P320.00) which is a 3-tiered burger patty on a bun strewn with all the fries and sidings you would want... and more! Any diner can take up the management's challenge to finish a Tombstone in 5 minutes. The winner of a clean plate gets bragging rights, a free t-shirt and his photo up on the resto's wall...

Ultimate burger from Zarks*

On another occasion, I managed to have lunch at WILDFLOUR at the corner of 4th and 36th at Bonifacio Global City. My friend and I lunched al-fresco at a little corner table. They serve a complementary appetizer of baguette and a pot of butter for each diner. There's salt on the side too. For days, Jerome's been dying to try the Croque Madam (P450.00) so he ordered it

Croque Madam at Wildflour

 while I had a Smoked Salmon on a croissant and a side salad of greens and citrus dressing (P410.00). 

Smoked Salmon from Wildflour

The Chai Tea he drank was P120.00 and my coke was P70.00. To cap off lunch the Choco Pot de Creme was a delightful dessert at P205.00 a pot. It tasted so good so I resolved to make my own version of it - and soon!

Choco Pot de Creme at Wildflour

* photo from Cafemobility.blogspot.com

Guiding for Mercy Relief

In all my years of guiding 'm fortunate to come across some people (or groups of people) who make my work a whole lot of fun. Just this week, Mabuhay Guides Jeff Velasco, Ronnie Gador and myself had a fun tour with MERCY RELIEF. 

In the midst of the hearings on the pork barrel scandal involving government officials and NGOs and with the recent death and destruction brought about by tropical storms in Subic, Zambales, it is refreshing to have guests who have come to Manila not just to act as pampered guests (although, we welcome that too,) but to VOLUNTEER their time, talent and services to depressed communities in Baseco Compound in Tondo Manila.

For those of you who've had enough of the pork barrel scandal, you will be pleased to note that this agency that brought these young professionals to Manila is as legitimate as it gets. Mercy Relief is the NGO's name. Mercifully (pardon the pun), the organization is based in Singapore and is run by yuppies who have optimized the use of their time in helping under-privileged depressed areas in the ASEAN region.

There were 34 volunteers who have come to Manila for the first time to live in the Baseco Compound and have a first hand experience on the plight of the urban poor here. The average age of the volunteers range from 20 - 25 years. Apparently, their stay will last for around 2 weeks and within that short span of time they would have rendered healthcare and devised a urban plan to make the area self- sufficient and income generating.

It didn't help that by the time they arrived in Manila, the weather had turned sour. Typhoon Odette had lingered on the east side and when it finally moved diagonally to the west, it still sucked up most of the rain brought the the southwesterly winds (habagat).

I was in constant touch with the Philippine coordinator of the project, Ms. Laarni Salanga until the morning of the tour. We were favored with milder weather and some sunshine for most of the day last Tuesday, 24 September, 2013. I didn't know if they had planned to push through or cancel at the last minute. Fortune smiled on everyone of us that day. 

All the ASEAN member nations were ably represented: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand. After three days of being holed up in the evacuation center at BASECO  due to the storm, the volunteers were glad to be out in the sunshine and have a glimpse of Manila's glorious past. They were toured around Intramuros at the usual sites of Fort Santiago, San Agustin Church and Museum and Casa Manila. and by the time the three groups finished the tour in Casa Manila, they were headed back for another series of lectures at BASECO. They asked the most intelligent questions on the Muslim situation in Zamboanga (a large part of the group is Muslim) and the influence of the Catholic religion on the citizens. WE didn't have enough time to entertain all the questions so we promised to keep in tour through Facebook. They had fun, and us... we gained young friends and a lot of inspiration from them!

Penafrancia at Market! Market!

Every third Saturday and Sunday of September a grand celebration honoring the Nstra. Sra. Virgen de Penafrancia takes place in Naga City in the Bicol region. Arguably the most attended Marian event in the country, it is attended by approximately 5 million devotees a year.

The Virgin of Penafrancia traces its history to San Martin Castanar, Spain where Simon Vela was directed by the Lady to go to Pena de Francia. Simon traveled far and wide and found the place after a journey of many long years. His search finally led him to the spot where the Lady appeared to him and was instructed to dig in the very same spot and there he will find treasure more important than the inherited wealth which he donated to the church as a young orphan boy.

In the Philippines, the veneration started when Miguel Robles de Covarrubias, a seminarian and son of a a Spanish official from Penafrancia, Spain fell ill and was miraculously cured after the family sought the intercession of Our Lady of Penafrancia whose picture he clutched in his heart. As a gesture of praise and thanks, he vowed that he will build a church by the Pasig river as her sanctuary. He was ordained priest in Nueva Caceres ( now Naga) and built a church there. This devotion grew and many years later the traslacion (transfer) of the holy image is celebrated yearly with a fluvial parade.

Matrket!Market! at the Bonifacio Global City had their own event to bring the revelry to Manila. 21 and 22 September was a red-letter day to celebrate the Penafrancia. No matter the rains, people came to witness the event and enjoyed the various activities that was peppered with entertainment numbers, a cooking demo of Bicol's famous LAING (taro leaves in a spicy coconut cream sauce), a culinary contest of Bicolano dishes (or the chef's own take on it), Filipino parlor games, a singing contest, and Filipino dances and a drum and bugle corps complete with flag twirlers.

The fun started at two in the afternoon and went on till dusk. Needless to say, the religious fervor of the Filipino was fully highlighted when people from all walks of life would intermittently come up to the image of the Virgin and touch her mantle with a fervent prayer in their hearts.

Thanks to C-squared (events oirganizer) led by Agnes Calumpong for inviting me to judge in the cooking contest of tasty dishes. Third Prize went to a spicy coconut cream based dish of Laing by a pretty young cook.

The Second Prize went to a male chef who made a relleno of the traditional Laing by stuffing the tarro leaves with minced meat and chorizo.

The Grand Prize went to a sweet home maker who concocted a dish of prawns in spicy coconut cream sauce. Yumm-o!

LOVELACE: A Review

Image from filmoriaco.uk

If you're a child of the seventies, chances are you may have heard of Linda Lovelace... Those of us who were growing up in that decade and who were deeply cocconed in a Catholic school upbringing have varied notions of who she is... the boys naturally, are not as pristine... Chances are, some of the "inquisitive boys" of the day were able to secure copies of her immortal film - DEEPTHROAT.

image from collider.com

Yes, forever immortalized for being able to accommodate the male genitalia orally, her one and only movie belies the pain and horror she faced as a battered wife and sex object for sale. That aspect of her persona was deftly hidden from a viewing public that was at once mystified by her talents and at the same time morally critical of her rise to notoriety. LOVELACE is a film that de-mystifies and de-glamorizes the Linda that viewers thought they knew.

Image from bitchmagazine.com

Now her story is immortalized in film and those who were quick to point an accusing finger at her and called her immoral will be pretty surprised at her descent into a private hell that was gilded by the trappings of seventies pornography. To her credit, Linda Lovelace "set the standards" for upgrading the quality of smut during her time. Her oral technique by then had become legendary, no thanks to a husband who beats her up for every infraction she incurs. But deep inside, she was a tormented soul...

Image from collider.com

Peter Saarsgard as Chuck Traynor was quite successful as the abusive husband and manager of Linda Lovelace. He was charmingly proper in front of her parents, caressingly romantic at the start of their relationship and then he turns brutal and insecure with her new-found success. He can't live without her despite the fact that he beats her up. He is convincing when he sells her off for tricks but at the same time, a little part of him dies when he sees her objectified. And yet he doesn't seem to flinch when six men gang-rape her after a done-deal.

Image from nydailynews.com

Amanda Seyfried in the title role was quite daring, to say the least. It would have been unimaginable to have been a stand-in for her role. Originally, it was offered to Lindsay Lohan who was perfunctorily replaced owing to her drug-related troubles and "unreasonable" delays on the set. I admired Seyfried on Mama Mia and adored her singing voice in Les Miz. This time, she goes beyond her comfort zone what with multiple breast exposures. Mercifully, they knew when to stop! The focus was not on nudity but on her deplorable situation. This was especially evident when she runs back to Momma for help and she is callously turned away by a mother who was so detached, the audience could feel the ice forming on her clenched jaw.

Image from dcfilmgirl.com

The film isn't outstanding... but it isn't half as bad as some US critics think. The production design was consistent and the dialogue had some seventies buzzwords/cliches that made it sound authentic. You dig it? Even the soundtrack was relatably 70's what with Gladys Knight and the Pips and some BeeGees thrown in.  The support cast was garbed in lots of jersey with Pucci prints. The actors in the supporting roles contributed much to the story's unfolding. Debbie Mazar as Marilyn Chambers looked every inch the aging porn diva who has to relinquish her light to a budding porn queen. Despite the mixed reviews, Amanda Seyfried, is gaining the buzz at winning the Oscar's best actress plum. Her eventual awakening into women's lib activist and happy mother and wife and her  reconnecting with her family towards the end of the movie was thouroughly acted even her ice-queen of a mother allows as much as a hug for a move to reconciliation. 

It was a nice movie... now if only it will play for more than a week... =)

Kadayawan: Makati Version (Part 2)

The second day of the Kadayawan festival at Market! Market! was allotted for another series of cooking competitons. This time the main ingredient for the contest was TUNA. Unlike the previous day's challenge, this one has a milder flavor and a more substantial protein content.

As opposed to durian, tuna seems rather bland... its flavor profile depends on the herbs and spices that the chef  includes in the mix. For the tuna culinary competition, there were eight contestants who took on the task of giving tuna dishes their own unique twist.

There were promising dishes that were creatively presented. Apart from the usual grilling and frying techniques, the panel of judges was looking into an unorthodox way of giving tuna a "new" taste. There is a right way and a wrong way of cooking tuna. The longer you cook it, the tougher it gets. On the other hand, if it is under-cooked then it has a fishy and slimy after-taste that lingers in the mouth.

Seared tuna with radish and sweet potatoes

Most of the contestants fried their dishes. Ergo, we, the judges had our work cut out for us. It was all a matter of technique in frying. The pan has to be really hot and the oil has to reach its smoking point. You'll know when the tuna is cooked. It's easier to turn it over in the pan when that happens. So a cook doesn't flip a tuna steak until one side has turned golden brown.

Tuna with spicy mango salsa

Searing it on the other hand takes only a few minutes. It doesn't even require cooking oil if one is using a wrought iron skillet. The proper way to sear is to make sure that the outer layer is thoroughly cooked and the inner flesh retains its pink color. Like a steak, it onget an even sly takes only five to seven minutes to sear  on each side.

Sweet and sour Tuna

The puzzling thing for us judges was that, most contestants picked up some wrong information from cooking shows that proliferate the local airwaves. One contestant when informed that her tuna did not absorb the flavors of the sweet and sour sauce was defensive when given a tip by Chef Lorraine to infuse some of the flavors of the sauce while the tuna was being prepared prior to cooking. She averred that  what she learned from a cooking show she watched was to drench the tuna steak in the sauce after the cooking. Her sweet and sour tuna ended up tasting like two different dishes: a sweet and sour sauce and a bland tuna steak! Needless to say she didn't win the top prize.

Tuna steak with coconut milk

Another contestant made a tuna dish in coconut milk. Her idea would have been perfect. Except that she didn't cook the coconut milk well enough so that the curdled coconut milk ended up a soggy, sour sauce that didn't meld with the leeks she put into it. Hers could have been the "different" stand-out dish.

The winning dish: Tuna fingers with durian aioli

The winning chef came up with a breaded tuna with a durian aioli sauce. Initially, the judges thought breading the tuna would make it chewy. However, he fried the tuna fillets until they were the perfect golden brown and the meat retained its moisture and freshness.

Kadayawan: Makati Version (part1)

I was busy with Giselle... and also a little tight with my liquidity... so a trip to Davao for the annual Kadayawan Festival was out of the question. I was blessed nonetheless, to do the next best thing. I got invited to be a part of the Kadayawan festivities at Market!Market! as judge for the culinary challenge.

It was a weekend event that featured two iconic ingredients that Davao is known for. The 17th of August was the competition to whip up delectable desserts with Durian as the main ingredient. There were 6 contestants who were given 30 minutes to whip up their desserts. I was just so excited to see what the contestants would come up with, I started snapping photos of the dishes they came up with.

There were three of us who served as judge. Myself, my dear friend Lorraine who is a chef and food stylist and Kathleen Tan who is Brand Manager for Dowell home appliances. All three of us noticed how well the dishes were plated. However, all three of us were unanimous in that above everything else in a cooking competition it's flavor that counts most.

Ist place: Durian crepe with durian infused syrup

Therefore,some of the more complicated platings did not merit a prize. We observed that some contestants had garnished their desserts with ingredients that were either unpalatable or had no bearing whatsoever with the dessert they concocted. So a simple crepe won the top prize.

2nd place: Durian bar with strawberry durian mocktail

At the end of the day, it was justified that even the most aesthetically pleasing manner in which to serve a dessert doesn't stand on its own if you can't eat everything on the plate.  So the durian bar with a strawberry and durian mocktail that looked really tempting only placed second because the rose petal was included purely for visual effect.

Third place: Durian bar crumble with dragon fruit and spun sugar and blueberry streak

Third place was a durian bar crumble with dragon fruit and spun sugar and blueberry streak which looked tempting except that the durian bar was mushy. It wasn't a bar at all but more of a pudding. It would have been nice to be able to lift it up and take a bite out of it if it had the texture of a granola bar.

Durian pudding with orange slivers

Some of the photos are entries which didn't quite make it. But I'm including them here for pure visual delight. The thing with durian is that is has a strong aroma and a distinct taste. It either grows on you or you can completely try to mask it. some flavors were pretty complementary to durian but sadly, some flavors just don't go well with it.

Durian tapioca with mint 

So for the not so lucky contestants, they have more time to experiment until next year...

Durian with raspberry syrup, orange marmalade and sugar tuille

Raffles and Fairmont: Trademarks of Oppulence

A few months ago, Ayala Land was host to the opening of two new spanking hotels. Both have been known for luxury and service beyond the ordinary... Raffles and Fairmont hotels have finally opened its doors as Manila's bespoke hotels.

The first one I visited was the Fairmont. Situated right beside the Landmark, it is one of the more modern hotels I have visited. Sparsely decorated... almost spartan in its interiors, the hotel breathes a minimalist design. Huge Vats decorate the front desk while vibrant tribal installation art line the foyer.

Fresh flowers adorn niches and a cascade of crystals offer an imposing site in the lobby that precedes the grand staircase. There's also a bowl of juicy red delicious apples on the vestibule, which from time to time, are snatched by the hotel's guests.

The coffee shop offers a wide array of cocktails for the weary traveler or for the thirsty visitor up for a tall drink at the end of the day. The bakeshop has an interesting array of cakes and pastries. And for the piece de resistance... macaroons! There's a whole assortment of them!!! And if foodies are to be believed, they're supposedly the best of them all...

On another occasion, i was able to pick up guests who were billeted at the Raffles Hotel. It is situated beside the Fairmont on a corner block along Palm  and Arnaiz avenues. The difference between the two is that the Raffles is geared towards expats who are expecting to stay longer than the average tourists.

Ergo, the Raffles is  designed more as residences rather than a hotel. A few settees are strewn about the lobby that has groupings of all sorts of mirrors and a crystal chandelier cascading down the center. It is where expats can feel the comforts of home away from home as they spend their days in Manila while on assignment. The hotel boasts of valet service 24/7. The lobby is clearly not a place to gather and chill out in unless you have a meeting with the guests at the coffee shop.

On my visit here, I chanced upon Rick Harrison of Pawnstars fame. Yes, he was in Manila for a spell with son Cory. I managed to shake hands with the celeb and even managed to infom him I watch his shows. He managed to smile and thank me for being a fan... and that was that!