Shoot First Eat Later

Lunch at Restaurant Eve

La brought me to Old Town, Alexandria to try one of the most lauded restaurants in the Virginia/DC area, Restaurant Eve.

The restaurant was located in a historic warehouse that the owners converted into a quaint restaurant.

To get to the restaurant’s front door you have to pass through this dark hallway.

The restaurant had several dining areas namely, “The Chef’s Tasting Room” and “The Bistro.” The first offered an expensive degustation menu while the latter featured upscale food choices.

We had lunch at The Lounge where the had the famous Lickity Split menu.

The Lickity Split Lounge lunch menu gave diners the option to choose from any two items in the menu for a grand total of $14.98. You can have a cocktail and a sandwich, soup and salad, salad and desseert. Any combination you want.

Since the co-owner and chef, Cathal Armstrong is Irish the restaurant used Kerry Gold Irish butter. My friend told me that Kerry Gold butter is richer, creamier and much better than regular American butter. One taste and I agreed with him wholeheartedly. The butter had just the right touch of salt and lots and lots of flavor.

My cousin La chose the soup and salad of the day which was highly recommended by our server. The cubanelle pepper soup was very flavorful and used a lot of Indian spices.

cubanelle pepper soup

The salad of the day was fresh greens with sliced fennel and perfectly pan fried fish which was crisp on the outside and tender and flaky on the inside.

I chose two main courses which in my opinion was the best bang fro my buck. Thankfully the creamy risotto was just the right size. The risotto was made with chanterelle purée and Parmesan cheese.

creamy risotto

The rice was perfectly al dente and the taste made me weep. I could taste the smoky saltiness of the cheese, the earthy flavors of the mushroom and the lasting flavor of rich butter. Magnificent!

My second course was the Irish BLT sandwich.

Irish BLT sandwich

The Irish bacon was not your typical thin, crisp and fatty bacon. This bacon was made from pork loin and it was thick and slightly salty. It had a velvety texture that reminded me of liver. Together with the tomato relish and arugula mesclun it made for one terrific sandwich.

My only complaint was the bread. It was hard and fried in butter. It was too greasy with all the mayonnaise in the filling. I transferred all the filling to the plain French bread and that’s when the flavor of the bacon revealed itself. The original oily bread was too distracting for the filling.

me and La

After lunch we took a walk around Old Town, Alexandria and admired the architecture.

The Tasting Room menu

The Bistro menu

The Bistro’s desserts and cheese

The Lickity Split menu was really a great deal. One day I hope to try the food at The Bistro and maybe, just maybe the 5 course degustation menu at The Tasting Room.

Restaurant Eve
110 South Pitt Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
telephone:(703) 763-7025

Lunch at Kanin Club

My friend Ariel from San Francisco is in town and we brought him to Kanin Club yesterday for some Filipino food.

Several of my friends already told me how good the food was so I was eager to try it. I’m glad they opened a branch at Ayala Triangle Garden in Makati.

Rochelle arrived around 11:30 and the restaurant was already full. They don’t accept reservations so be sure to go there early or after 1:00 pm to avoid the working crowd who filled up the restaurant.

Hmm a long table empty? I suspect this was reserved.

Ariel, Rochelle, Chris and Pat

We started our meal with a refreshing and tart green mango salad. I wasn’t able to try it but everyone assured me it was good.

Thai green mango salad P172

I’ve never, ever eaten dinuguan in my life. The idea of eating a pig’s stomach, intestines, ears, heart and snout cooked in pork blood with vinegar made me squeamish. But since everyone raved about Kanin Club’s crispy dinuguan I closed my eyes and tried a piece.

Wow oh wow! It was fabulous. Super crispy chicharon (pork rind) coated with a salty, sour sauce. Is this what I’ve missed all my life? My friends assured me regular dinuguan didn’t taste like this. Well I’m happy that this was my first taste of dinuguan.

Every time I got a piece of dinuguan it felt was like Russian roulette. I was afraid I’d get a piece of pork innard but luckily all 3 pieces I ate was either chicharon or fried pork. I would have eaten more but my luck might run out. (I just read the menu after writing this. It says this dish contained pork only. I wish I knew that at lunch. I would have eaten more!)

crispy diniguan P261

Ariel declared the adobo tasted like his mother’s recipe. That was high praise from an adobo lover. The adobo combo had pork, chicken and liver pieces. The meat was tender and simmered in the sauce for a long time. The thick sauce had a very good balance of salty and sour.

adobo combo P209

My favorite dish was the seafood kare kare. I could have finished the whole order by myself. The sauce had a slight peanut flavor and lots of coconut milk. The sauce was sooooooo good that it didn’t need bagoong at all. The seafood was comprised of shrimp, squid and mussels. Please you must order this dish. Well unless you don’t like coconut milk which I love.

seafood kare kare P298

This was our least liked dish. It wasn’t bad at all but quite ordinary. The pork was too fatty. The sauce lacked a more distinct bagoong flavor. It was just a thin, slightly sweet, salty sauce. It needed more ooomph.

crispy pork binagoongan P231

Blanched kang kong leaves with adobo sauce. Simply executed but quite delicious.

adobong kang kong P97

Both the tinapa and aligue rice were good and complemented the dishes we ordered. These two orders of flavored rice plus 1 1/2 bowls of white rice were just enough for the 6 of us.

tinapa rice P149

aligue rice P149

I ordered the turon KC but they ran out so we had to make do with the saba con hielo. Deb loved it! The banana slices were firm, sweet and perfect with the evaporated milk and crushed ice.

saba con hielo P90

The sticky rice was chewy and undercooked. Too bad since the flavor was quite nice and not too sweet. The mango was very sour though.

mango w/ sticky rice P149

Finally there’s a new Filipino restaurant that I really like. The prices are reasonable, the serving size just right for sharing, the acoustics could be improved but overall I give Kanin Club a two thumbs up!

Note: After we left the restaurant the bus bombing incident happened and I got stuck in traffic. Had to pass Roxas Blvd. to go home after bringing Ariel back to Marriott in Resort World.

Kanin Club’s menu

Kanin Club
Ayala Triangle Gardens
Paseo de Roxas, Makati City
telephone: 621-6109

Paseo de Sta. Rosa, Laguna
telephone: (049)544-0332

Westgate, Alabang
telephone: 771-1400

UP-Technohub,QC
telephone: 332-5978

Cafe Ilang-Ilang at The Manila Hotel

I never knew there was a new buffet place at the Manila Hotel until I saw Jin’s post.

So yesterday 12 of us trooped to the Manila Hotel armed with 6 copies of 50% off coupons from 6 Sunday issues of The Manila Bulletin. Smart move huh?

Warning there are lots of pictures on this post. It may take time to load. Be patient and you will be rewarded. My problem with buffets is I take too much pictures and I can’t bear not posting all of them. Well almost all of them. From 268 pictures I’m posting only 61.

I can’t remember the last time I went to the Manila Hotel. I think the president at that time was Fidel Ramos.

The lobby was as grand as ever.

Just outside the entrance of Cafe Ilang-Ilang were these two life sized people that I didn’t even notice when I first entered. It was later on when they attracted attention that I realized they were real people.

The restaurant had several seating options. From comfy couches to elevated tables (middle picture) which were my favorite.

We sat in a beautiful private room called the wine and cheese room. I was so tempted to bring home the sausages and cheese stored in the chillers in the room.

cheese selection

bread, bread, bread

Japanese station

sushi

patés

chicken terrine

salad bar

fresh seafood

tabasco

Italian station

spaghetti and pizza

The pool area was accessible at the back of Cafe Ilang-Ilang.

Pool area

In the middle of lunch we were treated to a local dance.

Chinese food selections

noodle soup station

dim sum

The shrimp was replaced with spicy fried squid which was so good and tender.

shrimp & fish fillet

pancit canton & beef fried rice

Peking duck

Next to the Chinese food is the Filipino food selection.

Filipino salads

The rice was a miss. Too soft, mushy and no flavor at all.

arroz a la cassola amb marisco (sic) &
kalderetang kambing (goat stew)

I tried the rice in squid ink and it was totally flavorless. The chicken empanada was just ok but the pork tapa was very, very good. If you eat that you will need a whole cup of rice. It was salty but very flavorful.

Zamboanga rice, chicken mushroom empanada,
tapang baboy ramo (sic)

pinalangoy na sulib sa dahon ng malungay &
rellenong bangus

lechon

Middle Eastern fare

hummus & fatoush

raita & vegetable samosas

paneer butter masala, dahl, vegetable rangeela kebab

roti, naan, fish amitsari, chicken tikka masala

smoked salmon on scrambled eggs on potatoes

chicken shawarma

sausage rolls & sausage fajitas

vegetable fritata

Strange looking container located in between the Middle Easter food and the breakfast food contained precious taho.

taho

The breakfast selections are available on Sundays only.

breakfast station

Grill station. Oysters can be grilled by request.

grilled seafood

hungarian sausage, smoked pork loin &
Argentinean beef churrasco

grilled veggies

Korean station. The chef in the middle is Korean. For me the food here was the best. The bulgogi and chap chae were yummy. The kalbi was a bit tough and dry but the taste was good.

The dessert station was very impressive but most of the desserts had a lot of improvement needed.

crepes

The display was beautiful but the small desserts were really, really bad.

The only thing I liked was the bibingka. They didn’t make a new one when it was finished. So better get this first.

bibingka or rice cake with salted eggs and cheese

The gelato was a big hit with everyone.

You can order any kind of coffee you want- latte, cappucino or just espresso. The guy in charge of making coffee told me the huge espresso machine cost P1.6 million. I googled it and it was worth $15,000. So I guess the real price is somewhere in between. It did make really good coffee.

Faema Emblema

I’m not really a big fan of buffets because I easily get overwhelmed and believe it or not I get full fast. That’s why buffets aren’t a good deal for me.

Here’s what I ate. I really, really loved the paté maison. It was so rich and creamy. I really wanted a crisp cracker like a lavash for my cheese and paté but they only had soda crackers and bread.

cheese and paté plate

The hummus was a bit dry. The roti was too thick for my taste.

hummus with roti and naan

My downfall was the chicken shawarma. After I ate this I was full. I did enjoy it very much though. I ate half of it and just the chicken filling for the remainder. I loved the taste of the marinated chicken and the garlic sauce.

chicken shawarma

The only thing I ate on this plate was the beef bulgogi, kalbi, fried squid and pork tapa. Both rice, sweet potato tempura and tokwa’t baboy were not worthy of their calories and precious space in my stomach.

my main plate

My real main course was the dessert. I had bites of the regular and ube ensaymadas. Not bad but a little dense and bread-y. The bibingka was dry on the outside but really dense and gooey with the texture of sticky mochi. I loved it.

I had 5 small scoops of gelato – tiramisu, walnut, mocha & mixed berries. They were all good but the best was the tiramisu gelato.

The slice of cake of the top right hand of the picture which I thought was cheesecake was horrible, tasteless gelatin like layers with a chocolate cake base that didn’t taste like chocolate at all.

Below that is another chocolate cake that had zero taste or flavor. They really have to improve their desserts. No wonder everyone just got gelato.

my desserts

The best double shot cappuccino from a hotel buffet. Ever.

double shot espresso cappuccino

The kids on our table went gaga over the steak. Christine had 12 slices!

Argentinian beef churrasco

I tried my seatmate’s quattro formagio pizza. The topping was great specially the blue cheese but I found the crust a bit too thick and doughy.

pizza

free balloons too!

Did the pictures make you drool? I leave it to you to judge if this is the best buffet in town. For me my favorite is still Inagiku.

Buffet price: (now you know why we bought a lot of newspapers)
Weekday – P1,372++
Weekend – P 1,647++

kids below 12 half price

Cafe Ilang-Ilang
Manila Hotel
One Rizal Park, Manila
Philippines
telephone:(632)527-0011

Lucy’s 1st Birthday Party

Yesterday I attended the 1st birthday party of my cousin Polly’s adorable daughter, Lucy.

Polly and her hubby Al along with both their parents came home from different parts of the US to celebrate this important occasion in Manila.

The party was held in Greenmeadow’s clubhouse. It was my first time to go there and I was very impressed with the building. It was quite nice and modern.

As expected in any kid’s birthday party in Manila there has to be some fun food. They rented a ‘dirty’ ice cream cart and a fish ball stand.

The nice and simple decor of balloons were provided by Party Perks.

The food was catered by Verleo Catering.

pancit canton

fried veggie lumpia

chicken pastel

ox tongue steak

beef salpicao

prawns

stuffed alimasag

bangus or milkfish

lechon provided by the family

maja blanca

buko pandan salad

My favorites were the super creamy and chunky chicken pastel and the fried lumpia filled with beansprouts and carrots. The beef salpicao was also yummy, tender and garlicky. The bangus was ok too. Sad to say the lengua or ox tongue was tasteless and very disappointing. The stuffed alimasag looked good but it was bland and had a fishy taste. So most of us in the table didn’t eat it.

Everyone enjoyed the ‘dirty’ ice cream. I got the ube and cheese flavors only. There was chocolate too.

Here are some pictures of Polly, Al and family from both sides.

Polly, Lucy and Al with the pastor who prayed for Lucy

Isn’t Lucy a cutie?

I caught the beginning of the kid’s show. That was one talented parrot! Here the parrot lifted the bucket.

In this picture the parrot took the ball and dropped it in the basket. I didn’t know what happened next because I ate and ran. Happy Birthday Lucy!!!

Greenmeadows Clubhouse
Wobler St., Greenmeadows Village
Quezon City
telephone: 637-3311

Verleo Catering
telephone: 365-3315; 367-5082

Party Perks
2634a A. Mabini Street
Corner P. Burgos St.
San Juan, Metro Manila
telephone: 724-9314; 726-6695

Grilled Burgers

I know it’s snowing in most parts of the US and it’s raining in Manila but maybe these burgers that we grilled last August in Virginia will remind you of summer and make you happy. I know it made us full and happy.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you will know I’m very picky with my burgers. I want my burger to be made with all beef and no extenders.

Ever since I tried the burger recipe of Martha Stewart it’s been my favorite way of making them. These simple burgers are one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten.

We bought 80/20 hamburger beef from Wegman’s. Nothing fancy.

La cooked them on her gas grill.

I topped the almost cooked burgers with provolone cheese.

You’ve seen the pictures of the leftover buns every time I eat burgers right?

Like this

and this? It’s not because I’m conscious of carbs. It’s because I want to savor the taste of the burger and not the bread which is usually too thick. At most I’d eat the bottom heel of the bun only.

Well I’ve found the perfect burger buns! I just love Pepperidge Farms Deli Flats.

The whole roll is just as thick as half a regular burger bun. It toasts to a crisp too which reminds me of a slightly thicker pita bread. It’s just perfect for burgers. I wish we had this in Manila. Yoohoo calling French Baker, please make this for me.

The burgers were so, so juicy and beefy just like mini steaks!!

We threw in a spinach salad for balance.

And my favorite yellow Rainier cherries which I had almost everyday last summer.

The Perfect Burger from Martha Stewart
Serves 4

1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck (80 percent lean)
Vegetable oil, for grates
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 hamburger buns, split and lightly grilled or toasted
Lettuce, tomato, or other toppings, as desired

Directions:

Evenly divide meat into 4 portions. With a light touch, gently form each one into a ball, then shape into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. With thumb, make a 1/4-inch-deep indentation in the center of each (this prevents burgers from getting rounded tops during grilling). Transfer to a plate; cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 1 day.
Heat grill to high (it should be difficult to hold your hand above the grates). Moisten a folded paper towel with vegetable oil; grasp with tongs, and quickly wipe over the grates.
Generously season patties on both sides with salt and pepper. Place patties on grill; cover, and cook to desired doneness, 2 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Serve burgers on buns with desired toppings.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: The Perfect Burger – Martha Stewart Recipes

Brunch at Birch and Barley

I chose the restaurant where we ate for Sunday brunch. I was quite nervous since none of my companions have tried this restaurant and they work in DC!

A small article in a DC magazine caught my eye. It mentioned Birch and Barley’s terrific brunch menu. Based on that and few online reviews I convinced my cousins and their friends to bring me there on a warm Sunday in August for brunch.

Churchkey is the bar above the restaurant.

Churchkey bar is famous for having 50 kinds of draft beer and 500 plus brands of bottled beer from all over the world.

gnocchi formed by hand one at a time

Our group sat in two tables. One table was for La and hubby and kids. I’m glad I sat in the table of fantastic eaters.

Carmela, Teret and Sharon

I’m not too happy about these pictures since the lighting was a challenge and I brought the wrong lens. But trust me the food tasted much better than they look.

I took this quick shot of Erin’s french toast from the other table. I didn’t get to try it but Erin assured me it was fabulous.

whiskey-vanilla French toast $14

I couldn’t decide what to order. I wanted to try so many things on the menu. Thankfully my table mates agreed to order all different entrees so we could try each others’ food.

I told myself I will not eat another burger since I must have eaten more than five burgers on my 7 week US trip. But the article I read specifically mentioned the Brat Burger as the signature dish so that’s what I had.

The burger was very good! It was bursting with flavor and together with the sauerkraut and emmenthaler cheese all I needed was a cold, cold beer and I’d have a typical German meal.

Brät Burger $16
beer braised sauerkraut, emmenthaler, arugula

Sha had the soft shell crab sandwich. It was a bit salty for me but when eaten with the ciabatta it was fine.

Pan Fried Jumbo Soft Shell Crab $14
remoulade, mache, toasted ciabatta, fries

If I didn’t order the Brat Burger I would have ordered the corned beef hash. Teret let me try it and I loved it. The beef was so tender and chunky yet not too salty. It was a far cry from any corned beef I’ve ever eaten.

House-Brined Corned Beef Hash $15
fried duck eggs, potato, parsley

I’ve always wondered why waffles and fried chicken were paired together. I would have liked this dish if they didn’t put maple syrup on the chicken too. It was a bit weird to eat sweet fried chicken. Carmela didn’t have any complaints though since she finished everything.

Fried Chicken & Waffles $14
belgian waffle, butter pecans, maple-chicken jus

I was already so full and I was shocked that Carmela wanted to order dessert. Boy am I so glad she did. I never eat doughnuts. It’s the last thing that would ever attract me. But the first bite of the toffee-bacon doughnut brought tears to my eyes. It was love at first bite.

As good as the toffee-bacon was I didn’t think anything could top it until I tried the lemon-poppy doughnut. It was a burst of lemony goodness. So light, airy and tart. It was everyone’s favorite.

The bittersweet chocolate doughnut was the most ordinary of the three but I still ate most of it. How can I resist the bittersweet glaze?

Freshly Fried Donuts
toffee-bacon, lemon-poppy glazed, bittersweet chocolate

Not too sweet, just sticky enough and filled with cream cheese. Died and gone to bread heaven. Gosh I think the pastries were even better than the food! Next time I go back I’m having coffee, doughnuts, sticky bun with a side of corned beef hash. Burp.

Warm Brioche Sticky Bun $4
brown sugar, pecans, cream cheese

I found this video on how to make the Brat Burger.

Here’s the recipe too!
Birch & Barley Brat Burger with Beer-Braised Sauerkraut
Chef Kyle Bailey of Birch & Barley and ChurchKey – Washington, DC
Adapted by StarChefs.com
March 2010
Yield: 6 Servings

INGREDIENTS
Brat Burger:
8 ounces pork butt, cubed
¾ ounce kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup heavy cream, chilled
2½ pounds ground veal

Beer-Braised Sauerkraut:
3 ounces bacon, diced
½ medium onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces sauerkraut, drained
½ Granny Smith apple, grated
3 ounces white wine
½ cup chicken stock
6 ounces Ayinger Brau-Weisse or other German-style hefeweizen
Salt and pepper

To Assemble and Serve:
6 thick slices Emmentaler cheese
6 caraway and onion buns
Baby arugula

METHOD

For the Brat Burger:
Mix the pork, salt, pepper, ginger and nutmeg in bowl and let sit for 2 hours. Grind twice through a medium-size die into a chilled bowl. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix on medium for 2 to 3 minutes, or until homogeneous. While mixing, slowly add the cream and egg until incorporated; then mix in the veal. Form into 8-ounce patties.

For the Beer-Braised Sauerkraut:
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Render the bacon in a deep oven-proof pan. Add onions and sweat until translucent. Add the sauerkraut and cook until heated through. Add the apple and cook until heated through. Deglaze

To Assemble and Serve:
Grill the brat burgers to medium well (it contains pork and veal so anything less will yield an odd texture). Top with cheese and let it melt. Slice and grill the buns. Put arugula on the bottom bun, top with the burger, and top with sauerkraut.

Birch and Barley
1337 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20005
telephone: (202) 567-2576

Crowded House at Wolf Trap

One of my favorite things to do in Virginia is to watch a concert at Wolf Trap’s lawn section.

The first time La brought me to Wolf Trap a few years ago we watched the musical Rent. Last July I got to watch one of my favorite Aussie bands from the 80’s, Crowded House. I never thought I would ever get to watch them live since they disbanded for a while in the 90s.

(image from www.wolftrap.org)

This is the Filene Center at Wolf Trap. Tickets near the stage cost around $40 but we always choose to sit in the lawn area for $25.

Sitting in the lawn area guarantees you won’t see anything on stage since there is no big screen. So why do we want to sit on the grass?

When you sit in the lawn area you have to option to bring your own chairs, towels, inflatable beds or whatever suits your fancy.You can also rent padded green chairs for $10 each. We did that this time because we forgot to bring our lawn chairs.

front act, Lawrence Arabia

The main reason why we sit in the lawn area is for the picnic we bring. Yes you can bring whatever food you want! As long as you clean up after.

We brought a bottle of white wine and some snacks. Isn’t that a great way to watch a concert?

Our meager but yummy food – crackers, cheese, chicken meatballs & flank steak. We also brought a small pie from Trader Joe’s for dessert.

La and me

This is how far my camera’s zoom would go. At least we got to enjoy the wonderful music of Crowded House.

La was surprised that the crowd knew the words to almost all of the hit songs and not just the popular ones like Don’t Dream It’s Over, Something So Strong, Weather With You and Private Universe.

Here’s a video of Crowded House taken the same night at Wolf Trap.

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

1551 Trap Road

Vienna, 22182

United States

Bingsoo at Le Matin De Paris

After dinner at Honey Pig, Sharon said we were going to have bingsoo for dessert? Bing what? I couldn’t wait to find out what she was talking about.

When we got there I was surprised to see the name, Le Matin De Paris. It was a French bakery owned by Koreans.

It looked like your regular coffee shop until you look at the menu board closely and see the words “Special Bingsoo.”

They had a wide array of French pastries, bread, cookies and cakes.

tuil cookies – almond, peanut, coconut, sesame

roll cakes in several flavors

home butter?

chestnut, walnut, apple & blueberry rolls

Korean pastries were also available.

chestnut or cheese manju, red or white bean doughnuts,
gusu cake

corn bread

whole wheat, black rice, black bean, butter & raisin breads

and lots of cakes

We ordered 3 kinds of bingsoo to share. Bingsoo is like a Korean sundae made with a base of shaved ice with rice cakes, cornflakes, fruit, red beans and topped with frozen yogurt or ice cream.

I’ve never seen this in Manila or Hong Kong. I hope we get it here soon. I’m sure it will be a big hit.

I loved the combination of flavors and textures. Crunchy cereal, chewy rice cake, finely shaved ice and ice cream. It’s like halo halo with a twist.

espresso bingsoo $7.49
rice cakes, condensed milk, double espresso shot, coffee ice cream

I also liked the bingsoo topped with tart frozen yogurt. The contrast of tart yogurt with the sweet fillings was even better.

fruit bingsoo $7.49
fresh fruit, tropical fruit, rice cake, condensed milk & frozen yogurt

Paris’s bingsoo $7.99
fresh fruit, tropical fruit, rice cake, red beans, condensed milk & frozen yogurt

Next time I go back I’m definitely ordering the green tea bingsoo and buying the tuil cookies.

Le Matin de Paris
7326-A Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003
telephone: (703) 914-0088

Honey Pig Gooldaegee Korean Grill

Every time I go to Virginia my cousin Sharon brings me to a Korean restaurant. This time we went to Honey Pig, a popular restaurant in Annadale that’s open for 24 hours.

I read from the other reviews that the place always has lines. We were lucky to find a table for our big group right away.

The place was covered with corrugated metal walls and huge steel exhausts hang from the ceiling. Very youthful and industrial looking.

There wasn’t much variety of free appetizers unlike in the other Korean restaurants I’ve eaten in. I did love the potato salad and the lettuce & onion salad w/ soy vinaigrette served in stainless steel bowls.

The pajeon was terrific! It was chewy and crunchy at the same time. They really cooked it to a crisp just the way I like it.

pajeon

The pork was tender but unseasoned so you had to dip it in sauce.

thinly sliced pork $12.99

Their specialty, which I haven’t seen done anywhere, was grilled kimchi.

grilled kimchi

The flavor of the marinated beef ribs was delicious but the quality of the beef wasn’t that good. Honey Pig is more well known for their cheap prices than for the quality of their meats. But I wasn’t complaining. Bring on the food!

bulgogi $12.99

The servers were expert at knowing when the meat was done and just came to the grill to cut up the beef with giant scissors.

We ordered a bowl of udon noodle soup for the kids. It was simple and not bad at all.

udon

Thanks to John for letting me SIT in his Porsche. Hopefully next time you will let me drive it. Please?

If you’re looking for cheap and hearty Korean barbecue then Honey Pig is for you. If fine quality meats and ambiance is what you’re after go somewhere else.

Honey Pig Gooldaegee Korean Grill
7220-C Columbia Pike
Annandale, VA
(703) 256-5229

Casillero Del Diablo wines at Tosca

Last October 20, 2010 my HS classmate, Evelyn invited me and a few wine lover friends to a dinner at Tosca at the Dusit Hotel to celebrate Casillero del Diablo wines.

moi, Rochelle, Evelyn, Janet and Deb

Casillerio del Diablo, one of the most well know brands of premium wines from Chile is distributed in the Philippines by Fly Ace Corporation. For that night they asked Chef Stephanie Zubiri to prepare a special menu to showcase different wines.

I must confess I don’t know much about wines except the color. The body, aroma, acidity and all that escapes me. All I know is if I like it or not. I was hoping they would explain why each wine was served with each course but alas it didn’t happen.

The first wine served with our scallop ceviche was a Chardonnay which was light and fruity.

Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay 2008

The scallops ceviche was very bland. I did enjoy the corn and the vibrant chili lime dressing.

scallop ceviche w/ bean & corn salad in
chili & lime dressing

This was the first time for me to try a Carmenere and I loved it! It was very smooth and fruity. It’s now one of my favorites.

Casillero del Diablo Carmenere 2008

The Carmenere was served with the al dente mushroom ravioli. I couldn’t really taste the chocolate shavings and the demiglace was too overpowering for the pasta.

parmesan & portobello mushroom ravioli in
demiglace w/ dark chocolate shavings

sorbet

Casillero del Diablo Shiraz 2008

My favorite was the deconstructed empanada. A big, round piece of super crisp and flaky crust almost covered the entire plate.

Underneath the crust was the most, tender and flavorful pieces of beef. I cut up the crust and dipped it in the rich, scrumptious gravy.

deconstructed gourmet empanada

Unfortunately the panna cotta was very stiff. There was too much gelatin used and it tasted almost rubbery. I didn’t care for the cardamom flavor either. What I did like was the fruits, honey and nuts on the plate. I wanted to lick the plate clean.

cardamom, pistachio & honey panna cotta

We were given Malongo espresso made from coffee pods. I was pleasantly surprised at the full bodied, smooth coffee that was strong yet not acidic. Too bad the price of the machines or pods wasn’t in my budget.

Malongo espresso

Thanks again Evelyn and Lucio Cochanco Jr. of Fly Ace Corporation for inviting us for dinner.

Casillero del Diablo wines are available in supermarkets and wine stores in Manila. Trust me and try the Carmenere. For about P500 a bottle you won’t go wrong.

Casillero del Diablo is distributed in the Philippines by:

FLY ACE CORPORATION MAIN OFFICE
607 Elcano St., Binondo, Manila, Philippines
Tel. No.: (632) 244-4247
Fax No.: (632) 243-3147 / 247-3236
E-mail: info@flyacecorp.com

FLY ACE CORPORATION MARKETING OFFICE
Unit G- 17 Chinatown Steel Tower
531 Asuncion St., Binondo, Manila, Philippines
Tel No.: (632) 245-5126 to 28
Fax No.: (632) 245-5129
E-mail: marketing@flyacecorp.com

Tosca

Dusit Thani Manila Hotel
Edsa cor. Pasay Rd.
Ayala Center Makati City
telephone: (632) 867-3333