Shoot First Eat Later

Putong Ube

I was in Greenhills tiangge yesterday looking for something. Whenever I’m there my feet automatically wander to the food section. The first thing I always buy is a small box of putong ube. Unluckily for me they were sold out of putong ube.

Puto is steamed rice cake. Ube is purple yam. Putong ube is the yummiest puto ever! When I take a bite I think of ube ice cream then ube cake. Putong ube tastes just like it but without all the fat and calories. The box says it’s made with real ube and doesn’t contain preservatives and artificial flavoring. For those who have never tasted puto think of it as eating a dense, soft cupcake.

their new packaging (click to see larger image)

What they had left was this big box of ube, pandan, cheese and muscovado flavored putos.

They also have muscovado and cheese single flavors. The cheese is also good but I want ube!!!

So I went back today and here it is in all it’s purple glory. Whatever we can’t finish we just stick in the freezer and steam it anytime we want an ube fix. Michelle informed me that she just came out with a sugar free version. Too bad it wasn’t in Greenhills yet.

Michelle’s Putong Ube

24 Libertad St. Mandaluyong City, Philippines

telephone: 531-2539 or 0917-UBE PUTO

OUTLETS:

Tiendesitas, Julia Vargas Ortigas Corner C5
V-mall, Greenhills
2nd Level Market Market Mall, Taguig City
Granada (Gilmore), Quezon City
Katipunan Rd. White Plains, Quezon City
SM Mall of Asia
SM The Block North Edsa

Pork Floss or Mahu

Pork floss or Rousong (肉鬆) is a dried Chinese meat product that can be fluffy or crunchy depending on the manufacturer. Some variations include the addition of seaweed, sesame seeds as well as chicken and fish floss.

Pork floss is commonly eaten as a topping for congee, tofu, and soy milk. It is also used as filling or topping for bread and pastries.

In the Philippines, we call it mahu (fookien term). Before only the Chinese in the Philippines are familiar with mahu. But when Bread Talk, a Singaporean bakery opened in Manila and introduced the pork floss bun mahu was introduced to the mainstream Filipino market. And did they love it. Whenever I pass by Bread Talk I see lines of people with pork floss bun on their trays.

Bread Talk’s pork floss bun

Recently Deb gave me a bag of mahu with nori (seaweed) that she bought in Xiamen. It was the crispiest mahu I’ve ever eaten. Mahu is usually stringy and chewy.

pork floss with nori (seaweed)

Since I don’t like eating congee I thought of the other ways I can use mahu.
1. Spread some mayonnaise on hot toasted pandesal and fill with mahu
2. Mahu on rice
3. Get a slice of white bread and spread with mayonnaise. Top with mahu and roll. I’m sure the kids will love this.

4. Mahu sandwich – bread, tuna filling and mahu
5. Mahu breakfast sandwich – bread, fried egg, mahu and sliced cheese
6. Scrambled eggs topped with mahu
7. Egg salad sandwich with mahu (thanks Janet!)

Dinner at Mann Hann

Swisher called for another meeting and when I was asked where’s a good place to eat I immediately suggested Mann Hann. I heard they moved to a brand spankin’ new building and I wanted to see it.

Mann Hann has been around since 1995. They started with one small restaurant and now they have several branches in malls. I think having their own free standing restaurant adjacent to their office is a feather in the cap in their long, successful stint in the restaurant scene.

I think the secret to their success is their consistently good Chinese comfort food. There’s nothing extraordinary in their menu. But most of their dishes are what the Chinese in Manila look for when they want a good, simple home cooked meal. Dishes that they grew up eating and want to share with the new generation.

From outside you would think this is a car dealership or a high end art gallery. There’s still no sign outside the restaurant but everyone knows what’s inside. The restaurant is located in a small residential street in San Juan, not exactly a prime location for a big restaurant. But if you build it they will come. And come they did.

Swisher partners

high ceiling and excellent lighting

2nd floor available for big parties

don’t know what this area is for

nice long tables that can seat up to 10

beef hofan P195

steamed dumplings P110

sate chami P195

The oyster cake is one of their most popular dishes. In the Philippines we eat this with ketchup. I realized this was not the norm when we ordered this in Hong Kong and they didn’t even have ketchup in the restaurant. I had to go to the nearest fast food outlet and ask for some ketchup packets to take back to the restaurant.

oyster cake P190

Kiampung is sticky rice with meat. You could say it’s Chinese paella? Try it instead of fried rice the next time you go to Mann Hann.

kiampung P75/bowl

The squid was crunchy and spicy and served with Chinese bagoong.

spicy squid P215

garlic kangkong P135

Their dessert specialty is homemade sherbet. It’s very smooth and creamy and has sago (tapioca balls), buko gulaman (coconut jelly) and crispy pinipig (toasted rice) on top. The picture below is half an order. You can ask them to split an order for you. I think half is just enough.

buko (coconut) sherbet P80

buko sherbet all mixed up

Their menu is back to back Mann Hann and Mannang (Filipino food). When we were there the Filipino food wasn’t available yet.

(click on pic to enlarge menu)

Mann Hann (main branch)
233 J. Abad Santos St.
Brgy. Little Baguio
San Juan City
telephone: 726-3706, 725-8515

Dinner at AzuThai

We had dinner at Azuthai restaurant at the exact date and time when earth hour was observed. Earth hour is a worldwide movement that called for shutting down your lights at home, work, the mall for an hour on March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm local time. The lights in the restaurant were turned down that’s why it was challenging to get good pictures.

It’s been a while since I’ve eaten in a restaurant where I left really happy and satisfied. In Azuthai everything was good. Only a couple of dishes were too spicy for me. But then I have a low threshold for hot food. The next day I told my other friends about how good Azuthai was.

There were supposed to be 7 of us for dinner but only 4 showed up. Deb must have forgotten how many we are because she still ordered enough for 7. The waitress kept asking if there were still others coming. We did a good job of polishing off the food though. We did have leftovers of the bagoong rice and phad thai.

the kitchen was the only place where the lights were fully on

dining area with minimal lights

Thankfully the area where we sat had more lights on. These photos were shot at an iso of 1600 as suggested by Elisa. I think they came out all right. Thanks for the tip!

Som Tam P275
spicy papaya salad

veggies that came with the salad

This is the best pomelo salad I’ve ever eaten!

Yam Som O P295
pomelo salad

Tod Man Goong P325
shrimp cakes

This soup is just to die for. Next time I want a whole order just for me. It reminds me of laksa soup. The fresh mushrooms, tomatoes and chicken strips were a perfect complement to the rich and flavorful soup.

Tom Ka Gai P345
chicken soup with galangal, keffir lime leaves and coconut milk

The lamb in this dish must have been cooked for hours. It was melt in your mouth tender and the curry was only mildly spiced. This dish is perfect with white rice.

Massaman Gaeh P395
lamb curry with shallots, potatoes and peanuts

Khao Kapi P325
bagoong fried rice

rice all mixed up

Pad Thai P325

noodles all mixed up

The kale veggies was sooooooooo hot and spicy! The crispy pork was more to my taste.

Pahk Kahna Moo Krop P465
stir fried kale with crispy pork

Both desserts were refreshing and a perfect end to a spicy meal. A good thing they did was to freeze coconut milk and used that to top the dessert. This avoided the dilution from water if they used ice. We also ordered Mango with sticky rice but I forgot to take a picture of it.

Tap Tim Krob P125
water chestnuts w/ coconut milk

Ramie P125 (Thai halo-halo)

Azuthai
G/F Milky Way Building
900 A. Arnaiz Avenue corner
Paseo de Roxas, Makati City
telephonee: 817-6252 or 813-0671

Orange Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies

What an unfortunate timing for this post! The US FDA just came out with a warning against eating pistachios which may contain salmonella. Anyway, just keep this recipe in mind when they finally declare pistachios safe again.

When I saw this recipe from Ezra Pound Cake’s site I knew I had to try it. I’ve never tasted pistachio in cookies and I love the words orange and chocolate in one product. I couldn’t find shelled pistachios so I had to remove each and every pistachio from the shell. I indicated the changes I would make the next time I made this.

Orange Pistachio Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pack unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs (i used 3 large eggs)
2 teaspoons almond extract (i would use vanilla next time)
Grated zest of 2 large oranges (would increase to 2 T)
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (semi sweet)
1 1/2 cups shelled pistachios, salted or unsalted, left whole

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, with the rack in the center position. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone pan liners or parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Place the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well after each addition. Mix in the almond extract and orange zest and finally the flour mixture.

When the flour mixture is totally incorporated, mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons on the prepared sheets, placing the portions 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until they just begin to brown around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. The centers should remain pale. (If you like flat, crisp, chewy cookies, slam the cookie sheets down on a work surface halfway through the baking time. If you like softer cookies, skip that step.) Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Bake the remaining cookies in the same way.

Note: These make great freeze-and-serve cookies. Form the dough into 2 logs 10 inches long and about 2 inches wide. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and again in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake: Use a sharp knife to cut the still frozen dough into 3/4-inch slices. Place the slices 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and allow them to defrost for 15 minutes before baking them according to the directions above.

These are truly yummy cookies! Pistachios and chocolate chips are a good combination. The orange zest gives it another dimension. I didn’t taste the almond extract though. So next time you make a batch of chocolate chip cookies throw in some pistachios.

Dinner at Café Ysabel

We recently had a stockholder’s meeting for our company, Swisher. My partners and I are the Philippine franchise holder. We held the dinner/meeting at Café Ysabel. I hadn’t been to Café Ysabel in maybe 15 years and I don’t have good memories of it. So I was eager to try the food again after all these years.

cozy interiors

partners hard at work

hot bread with an olive oil, balsamic vinegar dip

I was disappointed with the paella. The rice was hard and dry and not much of it. I wish they used a bigger container for more rice. The toppings were overwhelming. They were good though.

paella sulipena P448

The beef belly was very good and tender. It was so good I only got to eat a little. My partners swiped it all when I wasn’t looking.

U.S. braised beef belly P418

Penne Giannina was just ok. Nothing spectacular about it. I appreciated the al dente pasta though.

penne giannina P338
seafood, saffron creme, tomato and chorizo

This was my favorite dish. I know I didn’t like truffles from my previous encounters with it but somehow in this dish it’s fantastic. The truffle taste was subtle yet it blended well with the wild mushrooms and the cream. I want to go back just to eat this again. I’m glad I came back. I can’t wait to try the other dishes in their extensive menu. Now I know why Café Ysabel is still around after 25 years. That’s a mean feat in the fickle Philippine restaurant market.

Willy’s fettucine P328
wild mushrooms, truffle scented cream and parmesan

Jeff & Jasmine souffle glace duet P198
frozen raspberry and chocolate souffle, argellanas, chocolate sauce

Swisher Philippines

105 Sgt. Catolos St., Cubao, Quezon City

mobile: +63-09228-SWISHR

office: +63-2-7269978

fax: +63-2-4121955

Café Ysabel

455 P. Guevarra Street, San Juan Metro Manila

telephone: 726-9326, 725-5089

Lunch at Gumbo

Last week I had lunch with my college friends at Gumbo located at SM Megamall’s new Atrium. As the picture below says they offer a taste of New Orleans.

hot bread with roasted garlic and oil

onion rings

The baby back ribs weren’t fall of the bone tender. The sauce was good but it didn’t penetrate the meat. The rice was good and spicy. I’d rather not comment on the mashed potatoes. Needless to say it was the only thing left on the plate.

petite baby back ribs

The fish was just ok. The french fries were very good. Cajun seasoning was sprinkled on top making it hot and spicy. My friend Tes loved the mustard dip which she polished off.

fish and chips

For me the pizza was the best thing we ordered. The crust was thin and crunchy. It was dusted with cornmeal and that’s what gave it the texture. The smoke salmon had a not so pleasant fishy taste but the rest of the ingredients and the crust saved the pizza.

smoked salmon pizza

Riz, the birthday girl was given this headgear to wear while the waiters sang happy birthday to her. They also gave her a vanilla ice cream sundae.

singing waiters

Gumbo
2/F SM Megamall Atrium
telephone: 635-9571

Oishi Gourmet Picks Potato Chips

After the bestseller Marty’s Cracklin, Oishi comes out with another sure hit. Oishi Gourmet Picks potato chips in 3 flavors – Wasabi & Nori, Natural Sea Salt and Kimchi. No wonder Oishi is no. 1 in China, they are very innovative with new products and flavors that will suit all palates. The packaging is also world class. Based on an article in the Inquirer – “Not many Filipinos know that Oishi is the leading snack brand in the world’s largest consumer market, China, where Oishi is outselling Lay’s, the world’s leading snack brand.“

I first tried the Wasabi & Nori flavor. It’s my favorite among the 3 flavors. The nori or seaweed flavor is very distinct while the wasabi flavor is very subtle. According to my source who works for Oishi, they only use premium Japanese nori and not nori from China. No wonder the flavor pops out. I’ve tried Kalbee seaweed potato chips from Japan and i can say this offering from Oishi beats it by a block.

wasabi & nori potato chips

The natural sea salt flavor tastes just like Lay’s potato chips only better. Hmm am I biased because Oishi is a Filipino company? You bet I am! It also costs half of what Lay’s costs so I’d rather buy Oishi. These chips aren’t very salty but there’s enough salt to bring out the flavor of the potatoes. The sea salt used is real sea salt. The owners of Oishi told the R & D department to use only the best ingredients to flavor this new line of potato chips.

natural sea salt potato chips

I’ve never tried kimchi so I can’t tell if this flavor is true to the original. But I can tell you these chips are good! There’s a slight sweet, tangy, spicy flavor but not too hot. So whatever flavor you choose you will be surprised and delighted on how good these potato chips are. So run to the nearest supermarket (in Manila) and grab a bag or 3.

kimchi potato chips

Cake2Go

In Manila almost anything can be delivered. Burgers, pizza, fried chicken, Chinese food, Filipino food, bottled water and laundry is delivered. Now even cakes are delivered. I’ve seen signs of Cake2Go delivery for a long time but I wouldn’t dare order a whole cake without trying it. So finally I went to the branch nearest to my place.

Their location is not exactly a prime spot for a cake store. It’s not in the mall nor is it anywhere near a shopping center. I had my doubts about their cakes so I bought a slice of dulce de leche cheesecake because they said it was the bestseller and a mini turtle pie to try.

I was pleasantly surprised – their cakes are good! The cheesecake is not very dense and not the gelatin type that I hate. I don’t taste the dulce de leche but I don’t mind since the cheesecake is not too sweet. It’s not the best cheesecake I’ve tried but it’s better than a lot I’ve tasted in Manila. A slice sells for P85 and a whole costs P595. That’s a very affordable price too.

dulce de leche cheesecake

The turtle pie is heavenly. The mousse is rich and chocolatey and not too sweet. The chocolate cookie base is thick and crunchy. I like this turtle pie even better than the famous Yulo turtle pie that costs double. This mini turtle pie costs P90.

mini turtle pie

(click on the pic for more cakes)

delivery motorcycle

I’m glad I discovered this. Now I have a new cake supplier for potlucks or gifts that tastes good and doesn’t cost and arm and a leg. My next target is the chocolate strawberry indulgence.

Cake2Go
8 Jade Garden Compound
Santolan Road,
Greenhills, San Juan
telephone: 414-2585

SOS again!

For those new to the site I have a store called Small Office Solutions where I sell packed lunch such as the ones below. If you would like to see more of what I sell just click this.

inihaw na liempo (grilled pork belly)

grilled pork belly

teriyaki green beans with ground pork

Korean beef stew

pork menudo

fried pork teriyaki

Small Office Solutions

Ground Floor Jollibee Plaza

F. Ortigas Jr. Road,

Ortigas Center, Pasig City

telephone: 638-3650