Shoot First Eat Later

What I ate and bought at Mercato Centrale

Yesterday I finally went to Mercato Centrale at The Fort. It was my first time to go to an outdoor market. Can you believe I haven’t been to Salcedo, Legaspi or Greenhills markets yet?

Mercato is just behind Serendra condominiums. We got there around 9:30 and there were lots of people already.There was sufficient paid parking around the tents.

We went in through the outdoor grill area.

What I ate.

The first thing we did when we got there was to head straight to Bale Dutung’s stall before the line gets long. While in the queue Rochelle’s son bought taclings from the stall across. Taclings were mini tacos in egg trays. You have to pop the whole thing in your mouth so you can eat the ground beef, tomatoes and sour cream at the same time. Not bad at all.

Mr. & Mrs. Taclings

Without a doubt the stall of Claude Tayag’s Bale Dutung was the most popular in Mercato. When we got the there the line was about 5 people deep. Around 10:30 there were only 3 people in line. At 11:30 the line went around the corner. I pity the stalls that were blocked by the people in line.

Bale Dutung Pan de Bagnet P150

This reminded me of the porchetta sandwich in San Francisco’s Ferry Terminal. The skin was as crisp as it looked.

I took a bite of Rochelle’s Pan de Bagnet and found it just ok. The meat was tender and I liked the vinaigrette.

Bale Dutung Lechon Tortilla P150

I tried a bit of the crispy lechon flakes and found it dry and lacking in taste. I wanted to change my order to the pan de bagnet but the server told me to try it. I took a chance and went ahead with it since all the people in front of me bought that too.

This was supposed to have lots of cilantro but since I hate cilantro with a passion so I told them to skip it.

I groaned when I took the first bite. The crispy lechon flakes soaked up the oriental sauce, vinaigrette and kimchi. There was an explosion of all sorts of flavors from sweet, sour and spicy. It was simply amazing! One of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. Now I understand the long lines. I want to go back to eat this.

Warren bought an oyster cake from Cheryl’s Cuisine for all of us to share.

I don’t like oyster cake and never eat it but I tried this oyster cake. Oh my. It was so good! There was lots of fresh oysters, it wasn’t too slimy and it was cooked to a crisp. I also loved the sweet spicy sauce that came with it. I’m now an oyster cake fan. I bought an additional two orders to take home.

oyster cake P140

I also bought a pigeon which I ate for dinner. It wasn’t as soft as the owner promised but it wasn’t bad at all. I also bought their kiampung which was made with Japanese rice and didn’t have msg. Yummy!

pigeon P300

For dessert I had a scoop of earl grey tea from Merry Moo. It had a really strong tea flavor and it wasn’t as sweet as regular ice cream.

P60/scoop P230/pint

What I bought.

I love savory pies and since I saw Lori’s review on Tina’s pies I immediately bought some to try.

I bought the cheese steak, chicken and bacon and beef and San Miguel beer. The pies cost from P200-P230 each. I was disappointed she didn’t have the lamb and the salmon and prawns were out of stock. The pies are currently stored in the freezer until I’m ready to eat them.

I also bought a small biko or bibingka malagkit from Q’s Kitchen. It’s the best! Soft and sweet.

Rochelle and Chris went gaga over the oatmeal, sultana and pinipig crispy cookies.

Warren and I got sales talked into buying the bignay tea made from branches, twig and bark of the bignay tree. It was supposed to cure high blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, diabetes, acne, uti, asthma, erectile dysfunction and many other diseases medical science has yet to find cures for.

What the guy said that convinced us to buy was, “it can reduce your belly size.” Then he looked at me and said, “but it won’t reduce the size of the arms and legs.” I wish I had a bignay branch or tree to hit him with.

bignay tea P100

sweet pineapple from Ormoc Farms P55

So here’s my purchases from Mercato Centrale.

What I would like to try next time.

Rodrigo’s roast beef belly with wickedly good mashed potatoes

macarons

kyoto macha milk tea from Tea.ology

Interesting but no thanks.

Offbeat Kitchen’s Krispy Kreme glazed donut burger and
Ensaymada chorizo burger

I got a kick out of the big ass fan that provided a cool and quiet breeze in the outdoor dining area.

There were so many, many other food stalls selling paella, barbecue, fried chicken, sausages, tapa and lots of cake stalls. But after the super yummy lechon tortilla, oyster cake and countless free samples I was too full to try anything else. I definitely have to go back and try other food. But then I want to eat the lechon tortilla again. What a conundrum!

Mercato Centrale
corner of 9th Ave. and 30th St., Bonifacio Global City

Bale Dutung
Villa Gloria Subdivision, Angeles City, Pampanga
telephone: 668-4038, 502-4527
cellphone: 0917-5359198

Merry Moo Artisan Ice Cream
Kelvin Ngo 0917-5289590
merrymoo@ymail.com

Cheryl’s Cuisine
Franklin and Belen So
telephone: 255-2628, 514-8699
cellphone: 0916-6291627

Savoury Pies by Tina Raines
cellphone: 0917-8310925 / 0918-6367952
savourypies@gmail.com

Aro Baro Churo’s Bignay Tea
Fred Lee
telephone: 775-9352
cellphone: 0922-8920331

Chinese New Year at Choi Palace Seafood & Shark’s Fin Restaurant

A couple of days ago our family on my father’s side celebrated Chinese New Year. My cousin Bobby chose to have our dinner at Choi Palace in Eastwood Mall.

It was my first time to eat at the sister restaurant of my favorite Chinese restaurant in Manila, Choi Garden. I wondered if the food would be as good.

Instead of passing through Eastwood Mall our driver dropped as off at the lobby of the Richmonde Hotel and we took the elevator up to the 3rd floor to Choi Palace. This was the easiest and most convenient way to reach the restaurant if you have a driver.

Richmonde Hotel

As expected the restaurant was fully booked. They even had a second seating.

We entered through the back of the restaurant.

This was at the front of the restaurant if you passed through Eastwood Mall.

The last time I came to Eastwood was to watch Chris Daughtry’s concert in 2008. There wasn’t an Eastwood Mall then. I was amazed at how nice the landscape was.

The lights changed colors every few seconds.

Their table setting was very un-Chinese looking. Nice!

The lechon macau was lean, crisp and yummy. The jelly fish tasted even better than at Choi Garden. I wouldn’t say the same for the char siu or roast pork asado.

lechon cold cuts

birthday misua

For me this is the best tofu dish. The tofu tasted more like flavored egg custard than plain, bland tofu. Even at Choi Garden this was my favorite dish. Well one of my many favorites.

polon tofu w/ sea cucumber & black mushroom

steamed lapu lapu w/ soy sauce

The nice thing about Bobby ordering was all the new dishes I got to try. Whenever we eat at Choi Garden we tend to order the same food.

Their take on cereal prawns was quite satisfactory. The cereal topping wasn’t greasy. It was crisp and tasty.

baked cereal prawns

baked crab w/ salted egg yolk

On the other hand the skin of the Peking duck was very greasy. They didn’t scrape the fat out unlike at Peking Garden.

Peking duck

When we order Peking duck 2 ways we usually order fried duck bones for the second way so we can maximize the meat for wrapping. When I tasted the dish below I thought it was beef in black pepper sauce. I love, love, love it! I later learnt that it was duck meat. The meat was lean, tender and spicy from lots of pepper. This was my most favorite dish that night. I will be sure to order it at Choi Garden next time.

I took home the left overs and ate it for lunch and dinner for 3 consecutive days. It was fantastic with plain rice. Thanks Bobby for ordering this!

shredded duck meat w/ black pepper sauce

The black chicken soup was another first for me. The broth was rich and very flavorful. I had two bowls of soup.

shell meat black chicken soup

They put the black chicken from the soup on the table should anyone want to eat it.

black chicken

masachi

hot taro soup

Mango pudding in big chunks. Where have you been all my life? Delish!!!

mango pudding jelly

It was a very nice dinner. The food was definitely at par with Choi Garden. The service was good considering how full the place was. We never had to wait long for any dish. They also gave us a bottle of wine for free.

Another plus was a roving photographer who took our picture and gave us a copy as a souvenir. Since he gave us only one copy I did took a picture of the picture so I will have my own copy. Smart huh? I should have taken pictures of everyone’s pictures. Duh.

cousins Kevin, moi, Deborah, Bobby and wife Carol and daughter Caitlin

set menu

Choi Palace

3rd floor, Eastwood Mall

Libis, Quezon City

telephone: 706-7807 to 09

Choco-Late’ de Batirol

Ever since my trip in Hong Kong last December where it was very cold I’ve been a little obsessed with finding good hot chocolate. Maybe it’s because of the cold weather or I’m just a chocoholic.

When Florence’s hubby Peter called her to buy him a bottle of chocolate powder from Choco-Late’ de Batirol in Camp John Hay some of us went along to have a taste of their hot chocolate.

Choco-Late’ de Batirol moved to it’s present location at the Igorot Garden. I found it very quaint and lovely.

As soon as we entered the gregarious owner, Jojo Castro, toured us around and explained the process of making cocoa from beans and other nifty trivia. They were actually selling these huge cocoa pods which contain beans that you can plant in your own garden. (I hope I got that right.)

cocoa pods

I guess he was used to photographers because he set up this display in mere seconds. These are the cocoa beans found inside the cocoa pods above.

All my friends ordered the traditional blend of hot chocolate. The server brought the chocolate out in a batirol, mixing vessel, and used the molinillo, wooden whisk, to give it a brisk whirl before pouring it into the mugs.

I ordered Cointreau hot chocolate. I loved the fragrant orange aroma together with the gritty, slightly thick hot chocolate. It didn’t really add any alcoholic taste unlike the one I had in Hong Kong.

The hot chocolate was definitely better than the one in Baguio Country Club but I wanted something smoother, thicker, richer and more bitter.

Cointreau hot chocolate P90

We also shared some merienda dishes. The suman sa lihia was void of sugar and tasteless. It needed to be dipped in sugar.

suman sa lihia P50

The turon was your typical street side turon. Nothing special.

turon de langka P70

Peter’s chocolate powder turned out to be chocolate paste. Jojo had very detailed instructions on how to prepare a cup of hot chocolate with the thick paste. A bottle cost P450 and yields 30 cups.

In the end we didn’t buy it since it was a bit over our budget and most of us found the hot chocolate too gritty with lots of unmelted chocolate bits at the bottom of the mug.

chocolate paste for hot chocolate P450

Choco-Late’ de Batirol
Igorot Garden, Camp John Hay,
Baguio City 2600 Philippines
(074) 446-7006

Good Shepherd and Everything Nice

Anyone who goes to Baguio has to go to Good Shepherd convent to buy all sorts of yummy goodies created by the nuns.

It was Jennie’s driver’s first time to go to Baguio so she brought her Garmin gps which she uses in Canada and the USA. I was surprised that it worked perfectly in Baguio. Without it we would have wasted so much time.

This was as close to SM as I got. I really wanted to go too!

Even though it wasn’t tourist season there were a lot of buyers. The line went pretty fast though.

Jennie had a lot of friends and relatives to buy for. They sure love peanut brittle!

Jennie’s haul

Elisa’s stash

I had to buy ube jam, a bottle of mango jam and alfajor cookies which a reader of my blog suggested I buy. I’ve never tried it before and I took a risk buying several jars as presents for family and office co-workers.

my goodies

The Alfajor or dulce de leche cookies (recipe) were a good buy! The shortbread cookies were soft and crumbly and the caramel filling wasn’t sweet or sticky. It had a faint citrus flavor from the lemon rind. I wish they’d amp up the lemon rind or even kalamasi juice for more flavor. I bet that would taste great with the caramel. The cookies were good as is but tasted even better when refrigerated.

Alfajor cookies P95

Elisa showed us this refreshment stand just beside the counter where you buy the Good Shepherd goodies.

It was cool and refreshing but tasted just like calamansi juice. I hardly tasted any strawberry flavor.

calamansi & lemon juice w/ strawberry syrup

After shopping we went to Camp John Hay’s Mile Hi Center to try Everything Nice’s cassava cake which I read from various blogs was very good and a must buy when in Baguio.

Unfortunately we also decided to try their other cakes. Big mistake. The strawberry shortcake was obviously several days old and was as hard and dry as cardboard. When we complained they took it back without comment. They knew it was old and still served it. Bad, bad move.

strawberry shortcake

The cheesecake was marginally better. It was also a bit drier than what you would expect from a cheesecake. We tried to return it too but they indignantly replied, “it’s newly baked!” So we had to just eat what we could.

cheesecake

We all shared a slice of cassava cake before deciding if we will buy a whole box each. It was definitely so much superior to the two previous cakes. Our only comment was it was too smooth. Most of us liked our cassava cake chunkier and with shredded cassava. So we didn’t buy anymore.

cassava cake

We went to The Manor Hotel to buy some bread and pastries and take a LOT of pictures. I’m just showing the 3 out of 20 without people.

Good Shepherd Convent
15 Gibraltar Road, 2600 Baguio City
Telefax (074) 424 11 09 – Convent
Telefax (074) 442 3865 – Center

Everything Nice
Mile Hi Center Sheridan Dr.
Camp John Hay
Baguio City

Mama’s Table by Chef Vicky Tinio Clemente

As the only food blogger in the group I was tasked with planning all our meals in Baguio. I remembered seeing Mama’s Table featured in Heart-2-Heart’s blog so I forwarded the link to my friends and they all agreed to try it.

I really wanted to go to Chef Vicky’s house while there was still light outside so I can take pictures of the beautiful scenery around her house. But with 7 women and 2 1/2 bathrooms it took time to get ready.

Even though we all saw the pictures in Rica’s blog we were still amazed with the house. It looked really dramatic at night.

I call this picture a “hallmark card”.

Chef Vicky explained to us the contents of the bread & spreads artfully displayed on a solid piece of wood. There were an assortment of bread like foccacia, ciabatta, wheat bread, French bread which she sourced from The Manor and Baguio Country Club.

bread & spreads

There were 4 kinds of dips and spreads. All were very good but there was one that was everyone’s favorite.

semi-cured tomatoes

I liked the blue cheese mousse on wheat bread with a piece of walnut and a cranberry on top. Amazing flavors and textures.

blue cheese, basil & brandy mousse

organic chicken liver paté

The hot and cheesy artichoke spread was the last to come out but first to be wiped out. It was so creamy and absolutely delicious! If you eat here be sure to request this.

artichoke farm spread

Chef Vicky used to work in a legal firm and a bank until she had a mid-life epiphany and decided to follow her dream and studied culinary arts at the age of 50. She used to live in Toronto and just moved to Baguio a year ago. Thank you for opening your house and kitchen to us, Chef!

Chef Vicky said she lost 30 lbs when she started cooking for guests in her house. Hmmm maybe I should start a cooking career too?

me and Chef Vicky

When I made my reservation I was told we could bring our own wines. Deb brought a bottle each of red and white wines. We had the shiraz with our appetizers.

Kevin Arnold shiraz

I took a peek in the kitchen and observed the staff preparing our food.

The eggs in the shell were being baked in a bain marie.

Mama’s Table degustation menu

We had the Yalumba riesling with our dinner.

Yalumba riesling

Our degustation meal consisted of 8 courses and cost P1,350 plus 10% service charge. Other than asking if anyone in our group had food allergies Chef Vicky planned the menu according to what she found in the market. I didn’t ask nor did she offer to tell me what was on the menu. I wanted to be surprised.

You will notice that the plates for each course is different. Chef Vicky used the fine china her mother and grandmother collected through the years.

I don’t like eggs. When I eat the rare egg it has to be fried with the yolk really runny. I didn’t know what to expect when the half egg shell was placed in front of me.

Amuse Bouche – baked eggs, onions &
gruyere in egg cups w/ anchovy toast

Chef Vicky instructed us on how to eat this. First take the toast and use it to scoop some egg. Next use a spoon to get the onion, mushroom and egg mixture.

Wow if all eggs tasted like this I will eat it everyday! The eggs were soft, runny, buttery and so fragrant. Add the fragrant veggies and it was sublime.

The base of the corn chowder was made from boiling duck and ham bones. The soup was sweet, salty, smokey and creamy.

Soup – corn chowder w/ crispy bacon & Parmesan cheese

Intermezzo 1 – prawn fritter w/ mango mayo

My favorite dish next to dessert and the egg was the salmon. I’ve eaten my share of bland, rubbery salmon so I wasn’t too excited when the salmon was served. The salmon was simply dipped in flour, pan fried and finished in the oven. Sounds simple right? The fish was cooked with perfect timing and it was moist and succulent.

What made it even more outstanding was the brown butter, lemon juice & parsley sauce and the sprinkling of dried lemon zest, fried capers and crunchy baked croutons. We’ve never tried fried capers before and it was a revelation. Fried capers were less salty and the texture was fantastic!

Seafood – salmon grenoblaise

I was expecting a sorbet in between the main courses but we got a meatball instead. Good choice! We were advised to eat this in one go. Salty meatball, tangy pickled cucumber and sweet and tart lingonberry preserves. Another excellent melange of flavors and textures.

Intermezzo 2 – Swedish meatball w/ pickled cucumber & lingonberry preserves

With this course I realized that I’m not much of a steak eater. If I do eat steak I prefer it to be grilled to medium. I did eat half of the tenderloin. Despite it’s red color it didn’t really taste raw. This was the only dish I didn’t finish.

Across me, Deb declared it the best steak ever. And she didn’t finish her salmon. We should have switched plates.

Meat – tenderloin w/ Bearnaise sauce

Chef Vicky explained that in France the salad is served at the end of the meal. The acids from the dressing was supposed to help you digest your food.

I was already too full at this point but I ate the strawberries marinated in sweet reduction of balsamic vinegar with the blue cheese. I called it my first dessert or my fruit and cheese course.

Digestif – marinated strawberries & blue cheese on watercress & arugula

I was too full to eat greens but I’m never too full to eat dessert specially when it involves chocolate.

Dessert – chocolate beignet w/ chantilly cream

Take a piece of ganache made from Callebaut chocolate, wrap it with a crepe, dip it in batter and fry it. That’s what we have here dear readers. My only complaint was not enough chocolate. I suggested to the chef that she should have a pitcher of chocolate sauce served with it. But that was just me. Everybody else was perfectly happy the way it was served. But then I was the only chocoholic in the group.

What a fantastic discovery! It was definitely the highlight of my trip to Baguio. Who would have thought I would find a 5 star degustation meal that rivaled the chi-chi hotels in Hong Kong? Thanks again for the fabulous meal Chef Vicky!

Mama’s Table by Chef Vicky Tinio Clemente
888a Ambuklao Rd. Baguio City
telephone: (074) 442-1794
cellphone no. : 0915-6438775
email: VickyClemente@Yahoo.ca
mamastableph@yahoo.com

cost: P1,500 (+10%sc) pax (as of March 2012)

Directions:
Go to Wright Park Circle where Pacdal church is. Go around rotunda until after the police station. Turn right on Pacdal Rd. which becomes Ambuklao Rd. There are two 888s. It is not the 1st one. Keep going up. When u pass APTS you’re near na. Red house on right side before km post 254 with sign 888a VTC.

It’s my blog’s 2nd year anniversary!

It’s true what they say, time flies when you’re having fun. What started out as a vehicle to show friends and relatives across the world some food pictures I took in Hong Kong has grown into a full pledged food blog. I never thought it would last for two years!

In 2010 I featured restaurant reviews and some travel pictures from Hong Kong, Taipei, San Francisco, Virginia, Washington DC and New York. Although my entries from my US trip last July 2010 isn’t complete, with a few more restaurants from Virginia and Los Angeles to go, I have already begun posting about my recent trip to Baguio.

I know it can be confusing at times since I have a tendency to jump from one country to another with my posts but it keeps things interesting. Don’t you think so? It’s also due to my short attention span and excitement to post new things.

I’m very happy that visitors on my site has increased by a substantial number from last year. However they got to my site whether it’s by searching for a recipe or a certain restaurant I thank everyone who’s visited my site.

last year’s stats

What can you expect from Shoot First, Eat Later in 2011?

This year my travels will take me to Singapore and maybe Bangkok. That’s all I know for now. But wherever I go I’ll definitely devote a lot more reviews of restaurants in Manila.

Hopefully I will be able to feature more recipes too. I promise to cook and bake more this year. Maybe healthier recipes since I’m always trying to diet. It’s so hard to diet when you have a food blog.

Design wise I hope to have a new header on my blog this year. Paging Rochelle! As always I hope to improve on my pictures too.

Here’s to many more years of blogging. Cheers!

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Baguio Country Club

We stayed in Baguio Country Club on our recent trip to Baguio City. It was my first time to stay there since I wasn’t a member.

The only times I’ve been to BCC (Baguio Country Club) was to buy their raisin bread.

This is the view of the golf course from the dining area.

We got two adjoining rooms for 7 of us. We also got two extra beds. I must say their extra bed was one of the most comfortable I’ve ever slept on.

We had a living room in between the two bedrooms. We spent most of our downtime lounging around here.

executive suite

We actually had dinner and drinks on this table. Oh the memories 😀

The 2nd bedroom connected to the living room.

executive suite

Inside the spacious room safe was our most valuable possessions, not jewelry or money, our iPads!

famous BCC bakery

We had the breakfast buffet for the mornings that we were there. Amazingly they had different food on both days. The pictures here were for day 1 only.

eggs and omelet station

Look at the almost fat free, super crispy bacon. Yummm!!!!

crispy bacon, hash browns

beef tapa

My favorite were the small, garlicky sausages that had just the right amount of fat. Perfect with garlic rice and fried egg.

hamonado, derecado longganisa, sausage

tinapa, daing na bangus

Your choice of carbs! There was even beef congee complete with condiments.

bread pudding, waffles, pancakes & garlic rice

cereals

all kinds of bread including BCC’s famous raisin bread

salad bar

fresh fruit

fruit juices

When it comes to breakfast my choice is garlic rice which I have only once in blue moon. Really! Garlic rice, beef tapa, 3 kinds of sausage and bacon. All meat baby! Everything was yummy except for the hamonado longganisa which was too sweet and the sausage which was too soft.

Their hot chocolate was just satisfactory for me. It wasn’t as thick or rich as I wanted.

hot chocolate

The breakfast buffet cost P395 and for me it was a great deal with the wide array of food available. The second day there was tocino, dried squid, corned beef hash, chicken congee, baked ham, rosti potatoes and so much more. You can have breakfast here everyday and not get tired of the food.

Baguio Country Club
Country Club Road, Baguio City
telephone: (63-74) 619-2050 to 64

Manila Office
Ramon Magsaysay Center,
Roxas Boulevard corner Dr. J. Quintos Sr. Street,
Malate Manila
telephone: (632) 400-8387 to 89

Lunch at Cafe By The Ruins

I haven’t been to Baguio in more than 5 years. The last time I went to Baguio was to attend a wedding. When my friends asked me if I wanted to go to Baguio for a couple of days I immediately said yes and started to research on the new places to eat at.

One of the places I always ate at when I went to Baguio was Cafe By The Ruins. I always liked the charm of the place as well as the organic and healthy food they served.

The place still looked the same but with some improvements.

Pat and I had the cardamon and cinnamon scented iced coffee. Nice and strong just the way I liked it.

iced ruins coffee P100

We liked the heavy cast iron pot used to serve the really strong and potent ginger tea or salabat. We all ended up buying a bottle of their powdered and unsweetened ginger tea mix after Deb and Elisa raved about their drink.

cast iron tea pot

The dense kamote or sweet potato bread was a crowd pleaser. I liked the fish roe spread but everyone else thought it had a fishy taste. I thought it went well with the bread.

kamote bread w/ fish roe spread P80

The fruit salad wasn’t anything special. I found the ricotta cheese bland. A drizzle of honey on top of the ricotta would have added more flavor.

ricotta & fruit salad P250

I really liked their upland dressing which had the perfect balance of sour from the lemon juice and saltiness and character from the fish sauce. The fried carabao cheese was a nice addition to the salad.

kesong puti salad P210

forest stream soup

Deb and Florence were the only ones happy with their meal. They said the shrimp curry was light and very flavorful.

shrimp & mango curry plate P200

Pat and Elisa gave me a piece of the bagnet’s skin and it almost broke my tooth’s filling. I think the pork was over fried. The meat and skin were both very hard.

Baguio bagnet & padas bagoong P265

They did like the veggie soup that came with their pork dish.

I love food cooked with coconut that’s why I ordered the Palawan chicken served with mountain rice. The sauce was thick and yummy but unfortunately the chicken breast I requested was hard and rubbery except for the inner most part of the breast, also known as the chicken tender, which remained soft.

Palawan chicken P225

It wasn’t the best way to start our eating trip in Baguio but we were happy enough for the hot meal and the cool weather.

full menu

Cafe By The Ruins
23 Chuntug Street
Baguio City, Philippines, 2600
telephone: (+6374) 442-4010
Hours: 7:00am – 9:00pm

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