Hot Pot at Choi Garden Restaurant

It was raining non-stop last Friday when Deb texted me if I wanted to have lunch with her. She wanted to eat hot pot so I suggested Choi Garden restaurant. Yes Choi again. Choi Garden is THE all in one Chinese restaurant that serves dimsum all day, ala carte, lauriat and hot pot.

To those who are not familiar with hot pot it’s the Chinese version of the Japanese shabu shabu. With hot pot, soup stock is used to cook your food instead of just plain water. It’s the healthy fondue.

This is a quick lesson on how to eat hot pot. Click on the menu to see all the choices you have.

Step 1. Choose your soup base. We chose the double soup in pot. One side is sate and the other side is clear soup. I like the sate soup because it adds a little kick to the flavor of whatever your cooking.


Hot Pot menu
(click to enlarge)

Step 2. Choose your meat, poultry, seafood, meatballs, fish/squid/lobster balls, wanton or dumplings, vegetables and noodles. The choices are endless. Click the picture below to see what we chose. Everything we ordered was good but you HAVE to order the house fish curd. More on that later.


food for two!?!
(click to enlarge)


sliced imported fat beef

Step 3. Make your sauce. Do you want it spicy hot? garlicky? Choose the ingredients you want. My favorite is the barbecue sauce which is grainy and not spicy. It’s not sweet like American barbecue sauce. It’s just plain good.

(click to enlarge)

This is how the Chinese style barbecue sauce looks like in the supermarket. I suggest you buy yourself a can and enjoy this sauce at home. You can use it on grilled meats, dumplings, wanton, siomai and much, much more .

Bull Dog Barbecue sauce


Deb’s sauce ingredients

You dip all your meat, fish balls, etc in the sauce before eating.

top it off with the soy based sauce

Step 4. Carefully put in the raw food into the soup. Wait for the soup to boil. When the balls, dumplings and wanton float to the top that means it’s cooked. For the beef just dunk it in the soup for a few seconds until the color changes. Be careful not to overcook it. Their beef is melt in your mouth tender.

The fish curd is only available at Choi. It’s my favorite. It tastes something in between soft fish ball and bean curd. Thus the name fish curd. You have to try it. It’s also available in their menu as fish curd stew. Check it out here.

fish curd


Deb is “steaming w/ happiness”


filled with all our food

Step 5. Use the slotted spoon and scoop out your food from the boiling soup. Put it all in your bowl. Take a deep breath, smile and eat!
After cooking all that food the remaining soup will be very, very flavorful and concentrated. So don’t forget to drink the soup. There is nothing better to eat during a wet, chilly day than hot pot.

Choi Garden Seafood and Shark’s Fin Restaurant
12 Annapolis St.
cor. Purdue St.
San Juan, Metro Manila
telephone: 727-6042

Dinelli Gourmet

I just discovered a new deli, restaurant and wine cellar in Makati’s Bonifacio Global City or what I still call The Fort. Dinelli Gourmet is not new. They opened their first branch in Timog, Quezon City last year. But since I hardly go to that area I never knew of Dinelli’s existence until they opened this branch in Makati.

It’s a treasure trove of Australian products. Since I got back recently from Western Australia I was excited to see all these products. The products sold at Dinelli aren’t the usual stuff you can find at Coles. Some are more high end items so not surprisingly the prices are high too.

They have a wide range of cheese, steaks, sausages and seafood.


cheese from around the world

chocolate panforte P570

These fruit paste for brie looked really interesting.

apricot & pistachio fruit paste P338


pear & hazelnut fruit paste P338



lamb, wagyu steak and fish


pate, ham and salami


sausages


durum semolina, grains & dried fruit


repacked nuts


unique spices


cookies


juice


tea


crackers & wafers


dessert pudding logs


chocolates & candies


pasta


wine


olives


olive oil


different oils &
infused olive oils


sauces

herbs & veggies


brands sold in Dinelli

This is their restaurant right beside the deli. I will write about it as soon as I’ve eaten there. The menu has a lot of interesting sandwiches, pasta and steaks with prices ranging from P200 to P2,800.

Dinelli Gourmet

Forbes Town Center,
Rizal Drive, Bonifacio Global City,
Taguig City

5 Timog Avenue, Quezon City
telephone: 666-3544; 376-6849

In search for the best Puto

Puto is steamed rice cake and it’s a very popular snack or dessert in the Philippines. You can eat it on its own or paired with savory or sweet dishes. There are many kinds of puto and these are just some the more popular ones.

This is the more traditional type of puto commonly found in places that sell pansit malabon. It’s a common thing to pair carbs with carbs in the Philippines. Puto becomes the perfect partner for pansit malabon.

This puto is very soft yet firm. It’s has just the right amount of sweetness. The cheese on top is nice and salty and provides a nice contrast in flavor.

from nanay’s pancit malabon P10

This is pansit malabon or rice noodles with shrimp gravy. My favorite is from Pansit Malabon Express. Imagine eating a rice cake with rice noodles. Way to go!

pancit malabon

Puto Calasiao is my favorite puto. It comes from Pangasinan a province not far from Manila. It’s bite-sized and made from semi-glutinous rice that is fermented in earthen jars. The texture is a bit sticky and chewy. It’s sold wrapped in banana leaves and stuffed in a paper bag. You can find it being sold along some sidewalks in Manila. I bought this in DEC Chinese deli.

puto calasiao P35

Try eating this puto with a dollop of Jif extra crunchy peanut butter. It’s outrageously good. Really!

puto with peanut butter

This is my second favorite puto. I bought this puto and the pancit malabon pictured above from Pancit ng Taga Malabon in Greenhills. It’s the only branch that sells this puto. I later found out this puto came from Rocha’s Delicious Puto & Kutsinta. It’s a cross between puto and kutsinta. It’s a bit chewy and has cheese on top. Once you try this you can’t stop yourself from eating piece after piece until it’s all gone.


P100 a pack

Don’t forget putong ube which I wrote about before.

This is kutsinta, a brown rice cake. What makes is different from puto is the addition of lye water. The texture and taste is totally different from puto. It’s very smooth and gelatinous. It’s usually eaten with grated coconut. I bought this kutsinta from a stall in Unimart.

Nanay’s Pancit Malabon
37 Gov. Pascual Ave, Concepcion, Malabon
telephone: 281-0449

Pancit Ng Taga Malabon
(behind Automatic Center)
Greenhills Shopping Center
telephone: 724-4980

DEC – Diao Eng Chay Chinese Deli
203 Wilson St., Greenhills
telephone:721-1105

Rocha’s Delicious Puto & Kutsinta
595 E. Mendoza St. Paliparan Subd.,
Sto. Nino, Marikina City
telephone: 941-1519

Michael Jackson’s unreleased song – A Place With No Name

The song — “A Place with No Name” — sounds similar to the song “A Horse with No Name” released by the group America back in 1971. We’re told several years ago America’s manager gave his group’s permission for Jackson to record the song, “A Place with No Name” — despite the similarity.

America’s current manager, Jim Morey, who was also Michael’s manager in the late 80’s and early 90’s, tells us, “The band was honored that Michael chose to do their song and they hope it becomes available for all Michael’s fans to hear.”

It’s unclear when Michael recorded the song.

from TMZ

Canelés from Heat at Edsa Shangri-La

We had lunch today at Heat the international coffee shop of Edsa Shangri-la hotel. I wasn’t feeling well so I didn’t eat much. I did eat a little roast beef and Yorkshire pudding which were excellent. Shockingly I didn’t even finish the little brownie and opera cake I got for dessert.

I saw this dark brown cake beside the churros and asked the chef what it was. She said it was a canelé. It didn’t look appetizing to me so I didn’t bother getting one. It’s a good thing my friend Elizabeth got one and made me try it. Wow it was so good! It was totally different from anything I’ve ever eaten. The texture reminded me of a rich, dense and moist bread pudding. It’s a good thing Sarah had her ever ready ziplock and I was able to bring a couple home to shoot first then definitely eat later.


Canelé

I did some research on the net and found out that canelé (or cannelés Bordelais) is a French pastry with a soft custard center and a dark caramelized crust. It originated from the Bordeaux region of France. It’s made from a crepe like batter and baked in special copper molds.

This is what it looks inside. I’ve never seen this in any bakeshop or buffet in Manila except at Heat. So if ever you eat at Heat be sure to try this delicious sweet cake.

You can find the a step-by-step illustrated recipe at fxcuisine.

Here’s another recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini:

Canelés
1/2 liter (2 cups) milk
30 g (3 tablespoons) salted butter, diced
1 vanilla pod, split, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
100 g (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
180 g (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons) sugar
3 eggs80 ml (1/3 cup) good-quality rum

Combine the milk, butter and vanilla in a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, combine the flour and sugar in a medium mixing-bowl. Break the eggs in another, smaller bowl, and beat gently. When the milk mixture starts to simmer, remove from heat, fish out the vanilla pod if using, and set it aside.

Pour the eggs all at once into the flour mixture (don’t stir yet), pour in the milk mixture, and whisk until well combined and a little frothy. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod with the dull side of a knife blade, and return the seeds and pod to the mixture. Add the rum and whisk well. Let cool to room temperature on the counter, then cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.

The next day (or the day after that, or the day after that), preheat the oven to 250° C (480° F). Butter the canelé molds if they are made of copper (unnecessary if you’re using silicon molds). Remove the batter from the fridge: it will have separated a bit, so whisk until well blended again. Pour into the prepared molds, filling them almost to the top. Put into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, then (without opening the oven door) lower the heat to 200° C (400° F) and bake for another 40 to 60 minutes (depending on your oven and how you like your canelés). The canelés are ready when the bottoms are a very dark brown, but not burnt. If you feel they are darkening too fast, cover the molds with a piece of parchment paper.

Unmold onto a cooling rack (wait for about ten minutes first if you’re using silicon molds or they will collapse a little) and let cool completely before eating. Yields about 20 medium canelés.

Heat
Edsa Shangri-La Hotel
Lobby Level
1 Garden Way, Ortigas Center
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila
telephone: 633-8888 loc 2740 or 2741

Oishi Sponge, Plunge and Pillows

These products from Oishi aren’t exactly new but they just came out in party size packs with resealable zip lock. I immediately bought all variants since I only sell big sized snacks in my store, Small Office Solutions. The day I started selling these products they literally flew off my shelves. The bestseller is Oishi Sponge Crunch.

How do I describe Oishi Sponge? Think of a cluster of rice crispies soaked in cheese sauce or a chocolate bath but still crunchy. It’s wet but crunchy. I know that doesn’t make sense but that’s what makes this product amazing and quite mind boggling. When you soak a crunchy biscotti in coffee it immediately becomes soggy. But with Oishi Sponge you can feel and taste the moistness yet it remains crunchy.

Both flavors are very good except I wish the cheese flavor would loose it’s sweetness. It’s a Filipino thing wherein all cheese flavored snacks are a bit sweet. I like my cheese snacks salty like Cheetos.


Oishi Sponge in cheese & chocolate flavors

The second bestseller is Oishi Choco Plunge which are simply chocolate covered cornflakes. Sounds ordinary but these are my downfall. The first time I opened a bag I kept munching and didn’t even notice I finished the whole bag.


Oishi Choco Plunge

Oishi Pillows are similar to Chex cereal but they have chocolate filling inside. They also come in cheese, ube and peanut butter (my favorite) flavors. But only the chocolate comes in party size. These have been around the longest so it didn’t cause much excitement in my store.

Oishi Pillows

This is how I display it in my store. I also have it on the shelves but I can’t keep up with the demand so I have to display them on the counter too. I don’t know why Oishi bothers to put a resealable zip lock on their packaging since the contents never last long anyway. I dare anyone to open a pack and not finish the whole bag in one sitting.

Check your local supermarkets for availability.

Sunday Lunch at The Century Seafood Restaurant

We liked the food the last time we ate at Century so we returned for Sunday lunch.


har gau or shrimp dumplings


chicken feet


siomai

All the dimsum were good but the fried shrimp and mango roll was outstanding. It was different from the usual dimsum fare.

fried shrimp & mango roll

We liked the Wagyu steak cooked the Chinese way. The steak was cut into cubes and stir fried with onions and green peppers. The steak had more flavor and remained very tender. Eating it this way is also good for portion control.

wagyu beef cubes w/ veggies

Century has a secret technique on preparing canned abalone. You won’t find abalone as soft as this anywhere. The abalone literally melts in your mouth. Sauteed lettuce is under the mound of sliced abalone.

braised abalone

sauteed pechay

This is our current favorite fried rice. It’s filled with dried scallops, dried shrimp and sliced asaparagus. It was really full flavored and not oily. You have to try this. It was so good we ended up ordering more for take home.

century fried rice

You can’t tell from the picture but this is ube mochi. The outer layer underneath the coconut is color purple and it has a slight ube (purple yam) flavor. And inside it is a peanut filling. It sounds like a strange combination but it was good.

ube mochi

The Century Seafood Restaurant
Ground Floor Century Park Hotel
Pablo Ocampo St. corner M. Adriatico St.
Malate, Manila
telephone: 524-1821 to 27

I Am Thankful


I am thankful:

For the wife
Who says it’s hot dogs tonight,
Because she is home with me,
And not out with someone else.

For the husband
Who is on the sofa
Being a couch potato,
Because he is home with me
And not out at the bars.

For the teenager
Who is complaining about doing dishes
Because it means she is at home, not on the streets..

For the taxes I pay
Because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party
Because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug
Because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work
Because it means I am out in the sunshine

For a lawn that needs mowing,
Windows that need cleaning,
And gutters that need fixing
Because it means I have a home .

For all the complaining
I hear about the government
Because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
Because it means I am capable of walking
And I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill
Because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key
Because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing
Because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles
at the end of the day
Because it means I have been capable
of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off
In the early morning hours
Because it means I am alive.

And finally, for too much e-mail
Because it means i have friends who are thinking of me.

A soldiers thoughts about Michael Jackson’s death …

I received this in my inbox today.

THIS WAS WRITTEN BY A SOLDIER IN IRAQ

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson . As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn’t the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood , and even Congress sees the need to hold a “moment of silence” for his passing?

Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he’s a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America .

Where is there moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying “good riddance,” and “Thank God for IEDs?” When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a “Pop Icon?”

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan .

They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them.

But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.
Feel free to pass this along if you want.

Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military;

“So that others may live…”

– Isaac