Lunch at Dapô at Tisa

We recently had lunch at a quaint restaurant called Dapô at Tisa in Fairview.  It was my first time to eat there and also pleasantly surprised that there are dining places along Regalado St.  From the outside, the place looks like an old house converted into a restaurant and re-designed with adobe looking bricks.

The design inside is simple and without frills.  There was just this huge TV showing an NBA game with the sound blaring.  Except for that minor detail, I find the place cozy for a group lunch like the one we had.

We ordered a set meal which included meat, seafood, fish and vegetables.  The meal also came with rice, pansit guisado and a pitcher of red iced tea.

I liked what we got for starters,  sizzling tofu.  It has that creamy, melt-in-the-mouth feel but just a little spicy for my taste.  

The fried pancit canton has a lot of ingredients.  The sauce was also very tasty.

I also like this Sigarilyas in gata which is topped by chicharon.

The stuffed grilled pusit (squid) was also very good.

 All the food have generous servings and have reasonable prices.  The service was also very good and the staff was very friendly.  I want to go back and try the other selections on their menu.

Sunday Lunch at Qubiertos

We finally went to lunch at Qubiertos.  We always pass by this quaint diner along D. Tuazon we go on a trip and wonder what they offer because their parking lot is always full.  Each time we do, we promise to try eating there the next time we go out for lunch.  We finally did recently, and we think it's worth it.

The place looked like an old house that has been repurposed as a diner.  Upon entering the front door, you will set foot on what could be the living room of the house.  From here, you can see the kitchen which looked like those from homes built in the 1960s or maybe the 1970s. Anyway, the customer gets the feeling of having lunch at home with the family.  All that's missing was music in the background playing from the old stereo.

We did not order anything fancy.  We tried the ensaladang labanos at pipino or radish and cucumber in vinegar with chili ginger.  It's the only one in our food that we really didn't enjoy much because it was way too spicy and sour for our taste.

ensaladang labanos at pipino

For our main dish, we had the Ginataang Sugpo at Tilapia, or prawns and tilapia cooked in coconut milk.  The gata or coconut milk was sweet and contrasted with the taste of the fish and the prawns. It's terrific, and I personally liked it.

Ginataang Sugpo at Tilapia

To make our meal complete, we also got some lechon kawali or deep-fried pork loin with liver sauce dip. While I like this dish, the one prepared by Qubiertos is not so different from those in other restaurants.  For the rice to go with all our dishes, we chose the Qubiertos rice which was stir fried and topped with egg and chicken strips.  It's already a meal in itself!

Overall, we enjoyed the food we ordered. The prices were really affordable, and we were even surprised at how much the total cost was.  The staff was also attentive although since it was a hot day when we went there, the place was rather warm even with their air-conditioners working full time.  We want to go back and try the other items on the menu soon.

Here's the address of the branch where we had our lunch: Qubiertos Grill & Restaurant (D. Tuazon Branch) - 69 D. Tuazon St., Brgy. Lourdes, Quezon City.  It's very close to Quezon Avenue.

Sinful Kare-Kare Bagnet at Pino Restaurant

We recently had lunch at Pino Street at Maginhawa St., the famed food haven of Quezon City. We chose Pino from other eateries in the area because I read about their best seller, the Kare Kare Bagnet.

I love kare kare. It's a special dish for our family.  For the uninitiated, it is a traditional Filipino stew in thick peanut sauce.  It contains vegetables like eggplant, string beans, among others.  We usually use ox tripe but some people prefer ox tail, beef, pork leg, even mixed seafoods.  To give it an extra kick, we use bagoong alamang.

Bagnet  is an Ilocano delicacy made from pork loin that is deep fried until the skin and outside layer of meat become crispy while the inside remains juicy.

The picture at left is the first thing that you will see upon entering Pino.  It is actually a line drawing that filled an entire wall.  We decided to sit under it.  The place is rather small with just around 10 tables for three to four persons.  It wasn't full when we got there but I immediately noticed that there were only three persons serving the tables and it looked like the orders were taking some time.

From the picture in the menu, the Kare Kare Bagnet looked like trouble for someone watching his diet.  Two of us, including me, chose the Kare Kare Bagnet while the other two decided to try the seafood kare kare.  Maybe they got scared of what they saw in the picture,  It took almost thirty minutes before our orders arrived.

The Kare Kare Bagnet did not disappoint.  It consisted of three slices of bagnet with vegetables on the side and the sauce in the bottom. The set meal also comes with a cup of steamed rice and a glass of ice tea.

It tasted good, even the bagoong that came with it complemented the taste of the food.

But it is so fat! I could only finish one slice of the bagnet and I already felt heady.  If you have problems with your blood pressure like I do, I advise that you be careful with this one.  In a word it is sinful - gloriously sinful.

At its price point, the meal is a good buy. But don't over indulge or you might get more than you wished for.

My Lesson on the Difference Between Advertising and Reality from Bonchon Chicken Philippines

While looking for a place to have merienda at Robinson's Magnolia this weekend, my friend and I passed by the BonChon Chicken outlet and saw a poster of one of their offerings. The item was named Bulgogi Noodle Soup, and the picture resembled something like the one below:

from bonchon Philippines Facebook page

I like many of BonChon's offerings.  Aside from the chicken, I also order their calamari, chapchae, and their fish and fries.  I haven't tried this soup; I convinced my friend to have merienda at the store and order the item.

The Bulgogi Noodle Soup comes in two sizes.: large and solo.  We ordered one large and one solo (for me).  The truth is, I wasn't expecting the order to look like the picture, neither did I expect to get these:

solo size

large size

My initial reaction was, "Is this what we ordered?".  It looked like something scooped out of a clogged kitchen sink instead of a pot.  The soup looked so greasy, and all those floating sesame seeds and other stuff gave it the appearance of what we call "pinaghugasan ng plato" (water where one washed used plates). 

At first, I didn't want to touch the soup, but then I wanted to do this blog, I decided to taste it.  The soup was both salty and sweet at the same time and, yes, very oily.  You have to dig deep to get the vegetables, beef, and noodles.  The vegetables were overcooked, and the glass noodles were a bit soggy.  The beef was just right.  Overall this noodle soup was not really satisfying, but it was not as bad as it looked.  

I have nothing against companies making their product look good in their advertisement. I only wish BonChon didn't make their promotional material so detached from what their product actually looked like, or maybe they could have made their Bulgogi Noodle Soup looked better.  I know it is a fast-food chain, and their products are inexpensive, but that doesn't mean they should not think about presentation. 

Lesson learned.  Next time I will be more cautious.

Lunch at Buffalo's Wings N Things

I went to Fairview Terraces today with my office mates to have lunch. We went around for some 15 minutes to look for a good place to eat and I found one called Buffalo's Wings and Things. Although the space was relatively small, it's cozy enough and since it's a weekday, there were no other customers but us.

 Their specialty is, what else, buffalo wings and ribs.  But I wasn't in the mood for some heavy lunch today so I ordered one of their set meal called "No Bones Fun." It's their take on the classic battered chicken tenders. 

The set meal comes with dirty rice, basically fried rice topped with salsa, and a can of soda (Pepsi products only). I went for Pepsi Max.  You can choose the sauce depending on how spicy you want it. I chose "Basil N Garlic" because our very helpful server said that that it is not very spicy and it tastes good.  My office mates both asked for the classic buffalo wings but I didn't get the sauce they each chose.

No Bones Fun

We didn't wait long for our orders to come. Our first impression was the serving was really generous.  I expected around 4 to 5 pieces only but the serving had more than that.  I love the sauce! It's tasty alright and not very spicy.  Just the right amount of heat that made me want to have more.  

By the way, the set meal is only PhP189 plus 10% service charge.  Actually, it is a steal for the size and quality of the meal.  The service was fast and the staff were very helpful. I had a good experience so I'd like to go back and try their regular offerings.

Buffalo's Wings N' Things is at the 2nd Floor of Ayala Fairview Terraces 

Marciano's Bakery Cafe

We went out for lunch recently to a just-opened mall near our office.  The mall named Fairview Terraces has not been discovered by the regular mall crowd yet so it's still quite comfortable to go around.

Our choice was Marciano's Bakery Cafe. Their specialty are pizza and pasta but they also have rice meals which are reasonably priced.  The place is clean and orderly, not too big but spacious enough.  Another thing that attracted us to the place is that there were no customers yet.  We've been warned by an co-worker who recently dined there that the pasta is a bit salty.  I always considered pasta and pizza as snacks so I went for the meal with rice.

Our orders took some time to arrive but we reasoned that perhaps all their meals are freshly cooked and take some time to finish.

I had the Citrus Pork Belly/ It came with garlic rice and some vegetables.  The pork was sweet but not too much to make it taste like a candy.  The citrus flavor did wonders to neutralize the sweetness.  The meat was tender and had the right amount of juiciness.   In short I enjoyed my meal.

Citrus Pork Belly

My office mate went for the Baby Back Ribs, which came with mashed potato and a piece of broiled corn on the cob.  According to her, the meat was really tender and easily fell off the bone. In terms of taste, however she preferred the back ribs at Chocolate Kiss in UP.  I've tried that one too and I can say that those were really good ribs. In fact, we've been there several times ordering the same item.  She didn't have any problem with the size of the serving too.

Baby Back Ribs

I want to go there again and try the other items they offer.  I also want to try their cheesecakes and other baked stuff which all look yummy.

Viajeng Cusinang Matua - A Capampangan Food Trip Pt. 3

This is the third and final part of my account of our Viajeng Cusinang Matua trip to the old kitchens of Pampanga.

Our next stop was the Prado Farm in Lubao.  It's owned by the Gutierrez Family who are into arts and eco-management.  The first thing that you will see when you get there is the main gate made out of old LPG cylinders.  We went around the farm first before we had our afternoon merienda.

Everywhere you go inside the compound, you'll see things even buildings made from recycled materials.  Even the art installations around the farm were fashioned from old things

The farm has a chapel which also made from recycled materials.  It can be rented out for a wedding and could accomodate about 300 guests.

They also have an Ifugao House where guests may have a bonfire at night. It also looked like an amphitheater where anyone can do some performance.

Guests can also dip in the salt water pool.  We were told that the salinity of the water is monitored constantly and they add salt when it goes down.

We had our merienda at their main building, beside a lily pond.  They have a fountain coming straight from the roof of the building, giving the impression of rain on a warm summer afternoon.

Our merienda included another version of pisto topped with longganiza, pan de sal and kesong puti made from goat's milk, as well as tsokolate baterol with pinipig paired with crunchy fried suman.

We moved on to our final stop of our trip, the Gosioco Ancestral House in Sta. Rita.  It was a really old house made of wood with only the lower part or silong made of concrete.  It reminded me of the old house my father's family used to own in Paco, Manila.

The house was full of old stuff and what attracted my attention were the frames of cut out religious figures that were like 3D pictures.  Atching May who now lives in the house told me that the frames were made by the grandmother and grandaunts of her grandmother.  So those must be at least a hundred years old.

We ate outside, in the backyard beside an old kamalig where they used to keep their harvested rice.  Our dinner included food that were traditionally served to the guests of the Gosioco family.  Atching May explained that the recipes were handed down through generations.  

My favorite was the Asadong Matua, pork asado eaten with native atchara, which I also really liked.

Then there's the vegetable dish which I didn't get the name.  It's sautéed squash and patola. 

We were also given their own recipe of pocherong tilapia which was a traditional Gosioco family dish.

Another Gosioco Family recipe was the Native Chicken boiled and cooked in a soup with tanglad or lemongrass.  Atching May told us that it's like tinola, except that this one was dry and yes, has lemongrass in it instead of ginger.

For our drinks, we had a wonderful and refreshing buko sherbet.  It's actually fresh buko juice but I think it was mixed with some pandan leaves extract.  It was a great way to end a meal and a day long food trip of traditional Pampanga cuisine.

Viajeng Cusinang Matua - A Capampangan Food Trip Pt 2

This is the second part of my account of our Viajeng Cusinang Matua tour which brought us to the old kitchens of Pampanga.  You may read the first part here.

From Mexico, we went to Arayat for mid morning merienda.  We went to an eatery called Kabigting's which is known for its version of everybody's favorite summer snack - the halohalo.

The place was rather small and could fit about three to four tables.  The owner was there and told us that we should have gone to their branch in a mall in another city.  But of course Tracey, our guide wanted to show us where the business started.

What made their halohalo different were its ingredients.  The usual halohalo has a lot of contents like sweetened bananas, camote, beans, etc.  Their version has only three ingredients: pastillas made from carabao milk, the halayang white beans and sweet corn.  These were then combined with the usual ice and fresh milk.

Once you have mixed the concoction, the entire thing thickens, thanks to the pastillas.  The result was a really thick, sweet cold treat perfect for the heat that morning.  I just wish the staff were a lot friendlier because everyone seemed to be unhappy while we were there.  They just passed us by with out even a glance.  Finally a male staff member offered us drinking water to wash down the stuff we've just consumed.

From here, we did some pasalubong shopping.  I now think that it was placed on our schedule to give our tummies a break before we set out for our lunch.  The halohalo was quite heavy thanks to the pastillas and beans.

Lunch was at Everybody's Cafe in San Fernando City.  The restaurant was built in the 1950s and the structure sure looked like a 1950s building.  It was called Everybody's Cafe because at the time, just about anybody would go there to eat, including the American servicemen who were stationed at the Clark Air Base.  The cafe has turned into a landmark and a place to get authentic Capampangan cuisine.

They're well known for their stuffed betute or frogs.  Unfortunately, it is off season for frogs when we went there so we didn't get to taste the frogs.  Too bad because I was so looking forward to trying this exotic dish,  I've tried deep fried frog legs before though.

Their other specialty is the camaro salad.  It's main ingredient is cricket but unlike in other eateries, the legs and wings of the insects were removed by the staff during their free time.  What's left were the soft parts of the torso which was dried to crunchiness  I didn't get to take a picture of the dish because it was gone in an instant.  I have to admit that it was quite tasty and refreshing.  Unfortunately, the cricket population in the province has been dwindling due to the industrial development there.  

We also ordered their other specialty, the morcon baked with chorizos and quezo de bola.  It's so creamy with the melt in your mouth feel.  It should be eaten with it's own drippings which you have to mix with your rice.  But it looks like an embutido, though.

So what is a meal of Capampangan cuisine without the all-time favorite dish? Yup, I am referring to sisig!  We were told however that Everybody's  Cafe serves pork sisig the native way or not the sizzling sisig we all know.  It turns out that sisig is a method of cooking, not the name of the dish much like nilaga or paksiw.  So you have a sisig chicken, fish, etc.  The sizzling sisig is an innovation and it was a big hit, especially for beer drinkers.  The sisig we had looked like and tasted like another favorite, the tokwa't baboy but this one does not have the tokwa/tofu.

After having lunch, we were met by the owner of the business.  Actually Poch Jarolan is already the third generation owner and he showed us a mural inside the conference room.  The painting depicts major events in the history of the Philippines.  According to Poch, it was his father who commissioned a local painter to do the job in 1967.  It was repainted in 1979.  

The original painter happened to be someone who also make billboards for movies before there was the technology to print them.  So many of the historical figures in the mural bore resemblance to movie stars in the period.  We had fun identifying who looked like whom.  Try it for yourself from the pictures below.

We bid Everybody's Cafe goodbye and proceeded to our next stop in Lubao, which was some 45 minutes away.  We took the travel time to relax and snooze.