Dim sum is said to be originally Cantonese. Cooks from the province of Guangdong are run-after for their traditional Cantonese cooking. At King Chef, 3-5PM is the best time to enjoy cha (tea) and a filling of your most favorite dim sum fare. Why? Dim sum is half off! On normal hours, every little bamboo basket would be anything but cheap.

The King Chef at Lucky Chinatown is huge, the feel very Chinese, the contemporary interior design reminiscent of big tea houses abroad.

The menu is extensive. Beyond the dim sum we had, I was most happy with the steamed rice and topping. The juices of Chinese sausage combined with chicken and notes of herbs and subtle spices enveloped the fragrant, very warm long grain rice. So ambrosial (especially when it’s the first meal of the day)! In fact, I wanted to sample all the other steamed  rice variations  (however, not included in the dim sum promo). Imagine rice cooked in salmon juices!

Their fatter pot stickers like kuchay (chives) and hakaw  (shrimp) were essentially ticklish, the seasonings were light yet so finely balanced.

However, I didn’t quite like their version of the radish cake. Perhaps ‘coz I’m so used to the unscorched type with lots of hebi (hibi/hibe/dried shrimps).

I think King Chef has other branches like the one on Banawe St. in Quezon City.

It’s past 3PM… am missing Manila!

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

If all you have is a day to spend in the Dagupan-Calasiao area, I have two sure winners for you. First, the Panaderia Antonio by the Seens. The establishment is from the same couple that created the growing Plato Wraps franchise. It’s not your typical bakery, though bread is the star of this cozy, “maaliwalas” spot in sweltering Calasiao. You can just sit and order a refreshing glass of fruit shake or milk tea and take pleasure in the aroma of hot bread diffusing in the air, and then if a waitress hands you the menu, you just might go for a total pig out.

In addition to pick-me-up beverages and snacks, Panaderia Antonio serves contemporary and traditional breakfast and all-day meals such as pancakes, steaks, pastas, pizzas, sandwich meals, and the essense of Dagupan — bangus. Also appetizers such as sisig and chicharon chicken skin.

Bought a whole lot of bread to bring home, but it is the butter cupcakes (in the photo above) that sent me to nirvana. It’s a dense type of butter cake with a slightly crusty top.

For lunch or dinner, only Dagupeña Restaurant. I have already featured it in the blog (here) and I will never tire out of their Fisherman’s Soup with gay marrungay. I could eat only that.

Of course, the crispy pata, crispy fried hito with Pangasinense buro, Thai-style crabs, char-grilled teriyaki bangus, Dagupeña pinakbet and dinuguan were all excellent.

Desserts at Dagupeña are unique, like the mango crepe has two different sauces and the sans rival is an ice cream concoction with caramelized cashews on the side.

The De Venecia Road is the island in a sea of bangus (milkfish) ponds. Don’t forget to buy Calasiao puto. And if you need another alternative restaurant, just look for Matutina’s, also a good place to enjoy the bounties of the sea.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

An unexpected short trip with the hubby to Manila afforded me time for new food adventure. Not brand-new, though never been blogged here, is a revisit to my favorite Spanish restaurant along J. Nakpil in Malate. It was an unforgettable than long crab dinner with friends several years back that haunts me from time to time. We had too many crabs that night that I vowed never to order them again at Casa Armas. So for lunch on a roomy Saturday, my sister-in law and I were on the same mind. Instead of  squid-inked paella negra, which is the last thing you’d want to order in the daytime, we got a half paella marinara, gambas ajillo and a tabla Casa Armas special with all the mouthwatering, delish Spanish cold cuts.

The Spanish colonizers left an indelible mark in Filipino cooking. The pronounced affluent flavors are occasionally recreated in our lengua estofada, lechon de leche, arroz a la Valenciana, salpicao, bacalao a la vizcaina to name a few.

Casa Armas offers authentic Spanish cooking, with Señor Jesus Armas at the helm.

- Honest-to-goodness gambas ajillo is simplicity in shrimps and loads of garlic in olive oil and spices.

- Authentic paella derives its color from saffron.

- Separate photos of Imelda Marcos and Bongbong Marcos are among the old  framed photographs of celebrities adorning the walls.

Throughout all the 17 years Casa Armas has been satisfying customers for authentic Spanish food cravings, the same dishes retain those homey, indulgent flavors of Spain we’ve grown to love.

The staff — Rose, Mary Ann and Jocelyn — having savoir-faire, were all warm, apparently enjoying making certain diners have a pleasurable dining experience.

Casa Armas Tapas Bar Y Restaurante,  573 J. Nakpil St. cor. Bocobo St., Malate, Manila. Tel. Nos.: 523 0181 •  536 1839 • 523 5763

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

Going to the Manila Hotel for ice cream only is an oddity, but not anymore when the ice cream is flavored with salted duck egg.

At the Mabuhay Palace Chinese restaurant, I finally reveled in the ice cream of my dreams! Saltish morsels of firm yolk colliding with toasty bits of black sesame seeds in a lush base, reminiscent of the curious flavors of moon cake and toasted sesame seed cookies. At first bite though, what came to mind was a Chinese version of cookies and cream with a cheese twist. A happy surprise!

The serving is tiny I could have easily finished another shot. The frozen dessert is a creation of Sous Chef Josephine Yu Tanganco-Candelaria.

I was slightly distracted by Shirley’s green malunggay ice cream with chewy bits of banana chips, oozing with unexpected Pinoy flavors. Sweetish like avocado ice cream, though a little more restrained

- Crispy wonton chips

By the Mabuhay Palace door is a week long celebration of the 15th Philippine Eagle Week, with photos of  the rarefied eagles at the Philippine Eagle Center, a Philippine eagle cake by cake artist Penk Ching and collectible dolls dressed in Filipiniana by fashion designer Renee Salud on display.

- Checking out the Cafe Ilang-Ilang buffet.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

Even a part-time Binondo resident can get lost in the centuries-old labyrinth of a plethora of establishments in Chinatown. The food adventure story starts when I ask the hubby to take me to Wai Ying. I was happy I didn’t have to traipse solo through narrow esteros later in the day when he says he’s been there with foodie Johnny. From the end of Yuchengco (formerly Nueva) Street, we walked to the corner of Dasmariñas Street. My eyes roll in amusement — the signage reads Ying Ying.

Because he says food is good, I decided to forego my Wai Ying ambition. Didn’t you notice? We passed by metered parking in Chinatown. Instead of coins, you put in prepaid cards available at the moment from Manila traffic aides.

I can’t complain, food is great at Ying Ying! The throng of eaters at 7 AM say it all. Biting the greaseless taro puff’s dainty flaky pastry and into the creamy taro layer and ultimately the centermost blob of flavorful minced meat, amplified with bold Hoisin flavors in the dipping sauce is a breath of fresh air.

Reny gets his dumpling soup. I get carried away and order Valenciana roll. Intrigued is the better word. I was expecting something like a round machang. Nevertheless, the sticky rice-centered pao is fine as well.

Later in the day, in Benavidez St., (try to look into the photo right above) he seems to walk in the direction of Wai Ying.

Meanwhile, I take photos of the little Wai Ying Roasting store. He tells me he’s bought roast goose a couple of times from the store. He was standing in front of a restaurant right next to the meat store. I don’t know how it happened in a jiff — we got ourselves seated in that eatery, ordered cha hohon, took photos inside, scribbled down notes. He hears me say Wai Ying and then he says matter-of-factly, “We are not in Wai Ying.” You’re right! I enjoy the beef hohon!

We were at Lan Zhou La Mien. Lamien is a kind of hand-pulled noodles, their specialty.

It’s my first encounter with stir-fried noodles in lots of tomatoes. The flat rice noodles were nice to the bite. I’m saving another day for the spaghetti-like tomato noodle.

The Wai Ying I’ve been searching for happens to be at the other side of the Wai Ying Roasting, about 2 stores away. It was glutted, so maybe next time.

A happy weekend, everyone!

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

Saramsan Ylocano Restaurant on Rizal Street closes, Saramsam Nuevo in Balay da Blas opens; and we’re all loving the place! Such a tastefully  decorated 2-story affair. global eclectic like what my new friend Giselle describes it. All the brainchild of owner Sammy Blas, who has got that design gene. Saramsam Nuevo is in the new wing of Balay da Blas. It took Sam a year to complete the restaurant.

There are new additions to the old menu that we love like the refreshing pasta primavera with zucchini. Heavenly with indigenous bugguong!  The fresh take on poque-poque, meant to be mixed with herby Dijon mustard and rolled in lettuce leaf, is dang good! As usual, the assorted pizzetas are saliva-inducing.

To be among his enviable vintage collection through the years is not in any way eerie. The subtle lighting and let-me-sink-in music add an air of contemporary sophistication.  It’s my current favorite chill place in Laoag,

Let your taste buds come alive with pinakbet pizzeta with Ilocano bugguong and chili oil.

The inkalti (Ilocano fondue) that Saramsam repopularized,

Chanced upon this group from the Phiilippine Business Bank in Laoag.

So please tell your friends the wonderful news! Saramsam Nuevo is now in Balay da Blas. It is one among the features in FoodPrints, debuting on the Lifestyle Network on September 7, 8:30 PM.

Saramsam Nuevo #10 Giron St. Brgy. 7-B Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

Though we live in the center of proliferating chain restaurants, we don’t eat out quite often. At home, our dining table is a cultural mash-up. Thanks to Lynne who prepares great Chinese food along with traditional Ilocano food like imbaliktad, dinakdakan, pinakbet and dinardaraan. Last night, friends picked us up to dine at Hap Chan, 2 blocks west of the building where we live. I enjoyed more on this second din-din. The first time was on the restaurant’s opening week. It was full and everyone got kinda claustrophobic. Not to mention a scary few seconds earthquake was felt in the Ilocano Heroes Hall turned Ilocano Heroes mall. So anyway, polonchai soup was served first. Polonchai is Chinese spinach and Hap Chan’s version of the green soup is light and nice. The addition of threads of artificial crab and noodles is creative.

I didn’t like much the ordinary kind of noodles in the seafood noodles. But Hap Chan bounced back with the simplicity of brocolli with profuse fried garlic. I never imagined the two to be an exquisite combination. The salt and pepper squid was nicely fried and the seasoning was not overpowering, allowing  the appreciable squid flavor.

Tropical mangoes in hot prawn salad is something new. It worked! Altogether, it was a fine dinner.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

I can be seriously udong when it comes to the latest Manila eats. So when Wooden Spoon chef and co-owner Sandy Daza invited the FoodPrints team to try out his latest at the Power Plant Mall, I was secretly giving Pen a hand signal. We were there early, so we got seated right away. Went over the menu and surprisingly the price points are not eye-popping.

The crab pancit arrives first. Chef Sandy says it’s one of the dishes her mom, the late Nora Daza, used to cook at home. Then the unusual red and century egg salad waits in front of us. With the first bite, I suddenly forget about everything else. Chef Sandy divulges there’s a sweet and salty Chinese candy powder in it.

Following 5 days of binging in Batangas, the unexpected food fiesta on our way home was killing me. I got so bitin with the spoonful of pinangat at the Lipa Night Market, so Wooden Spoon’s stuffed pechay gave me the satisfaction. The Ilocano in me ignored the dinakdakan and dinardaran with lechon kawali. I seized the adobo flakes and tinapa rice. The sago cake and reina blanca were rather light. Not because Sandy Daza is a friend, but truly, it was comfort eating at its best! Come back at me if  I’m wrong.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

Bon Appetea is not just another tea place in Ilocos. It is a tea bar with a dizzying array of tea drinks and Belgian waffle sandwiches to choose from. My first drink from the bar was a Rainforest Passion. Indeed tropical like it’s name. Had I talked to the owner, San Nicolense Wynie Butay, earlier, I would have shifted my thoughts on Bon Appetea’s bestselling Nirvana or his favorite Buddha’s Tears. It was really difficult deciding. Tea junkies will be happy with the monster cups!

The place has a young vibe. It is right beside the Tribeca coffee shop in the 365 Mall, in an area which is becoming a happening place outside of Laoag. A series of activities are in store at the formal opening today, October 19.

The friendly owner, Wynie Butay (who happens to be a nurse by profession), checks on us.

I recognized the famous photographer in Ilocos, Mr. Cholo Arellano. Though we share a mutual love for photography. it was my first time to see and talk to him. Of course, he is the pro and I’m just amateurish.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

It pays to listen to Manileño foodie friends. From Binondo, I didn’t have to travel so far for cronuts croughnuts (croissant-donut hybrids). For a blogger with short attention span, the initial lust has worn off, but heightened back seconds before my first croughnut at Dolcelatte on Quezon Avenue. Incidentally, Dolcelatte was also the most appropriate place for a sudden meetup interview with De La Salle studes Rizze Cajigal and and Jules Sabater. They went earlier, so I was last to eat. I insisted on sharing my Earl Grey Tea Latte croughnut with them.

It was a blissful first. It’s the shape of a doughnut, but is more a crispy-flaky pastry with a nice chewiness in the center. My second, a mango yogurt, was not as fantastic. It was kind of mushy in the middle, maybe because of the weight of the syrupy mango filling.

Croughnuts are difficult to make and there’s a limit for each customer, so you can have just about one piece of each flavor at a time. At Dolcelatte, a piece costs 110 pesos. There are more than 17 flavors with ear-pleasing names. The cashier says, fresh pastry arrives in batches, about 100 boxes fly out of the shelves fast.

At the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York, where the food portmanteau originated in May this year, the 5 dollar a piece cronut is worth 40 dollars on the black market. The cronut phenomenon has spawned a  thousand copycats worldwide.

Dolcelatte is a gourmet restaurant as well. Since the success of their croughnuts, they have developed savory croughnut sandwiches like Smoked Pulled Pork, Salmon Cream Cheese and Breakfast Croughnut with turkey and sunny side-up egg (mnnn, tickling).

My foie gras with cranberry preserve was pretty. Fancy melt in the mouth, but not too greasy.

“We learned something today,” Jules uttered. We all loved the place.

Because croughnuts have a short shelf life, Reny and I ate the rest of the assortment on our way home to Ilocos. The chocolate caramel with Baby Ruth-like morsels was decadent. For the sweet tooth. I found the Turkish Delight too rich and heavy. I saved the Oreo Milkshake and one more for home. They were still fine, but lost half of the croughnut crispiness.

The first and best, Earl Grey Tea Latte, is still fresh on my mind.

Warning: Wear a bib while eating croughnuts.

DOLCELATTE Café and Gourmet Restaurant and Bakeshop1616 Quezon Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City (632) 425-0313 to 16 loc 109/110  Mon-Fri: 9 AM to 10 PM Sat and Sun: 10:30 AM to 8 PM

Mom and dad are in town from Los Angeles. To refresh their taste buds as well as their memory of local delights, brought them to Herencia Cafe in Paoay and La Moda Panciteria in downtown Laoag. There’s really no place like home, I always hear that from balikbakans anywhere.

Pinakbet pizza.

Brandon’s fish kilawin and Alexa’s carbonara pasta. My dad got cooled with Filipino strawberry ice cream and my mom colorful halo-halo.

Mom and daughter.

Bought Ilocos burger with longaniza and sunny side-up egg at the snow cone stand outside. Decidedly good without being fancy!

Look! Crispy bagbagis (fried pork intestines) and lechon de carajay at La Moda Pancteria. We went heavy with meatball soup, camaron rebosado, fried calamares and pancit guisado. Mom was pleased with the homestyle cooking. Happy they can still enjoy a little of everything.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

I know the country is in a state of grief, but we had to be in the mountains of Baguio for Brandon’s entrance examination to a Manila university over the weekend. He’s done 2 exams now and he still has to tackle one next week. He chose to take this particular exam rather than entering a mountain bike competition in Nuvali. The dad has paid the biking race registration fee earlier, but doesn’t mind losing the money for his son’s priority. Yes, we let the children make their choices.

Let’s get on with the main story. I discovered Chaya through a friend. I googled the exact address earlier, so it wasn’t really difficult locating the Japanese restaurant, though you could easily mistake it for a house because it is partly concealed and  past the busy area of  Legarda Road.

Chaya is cozy. The typical diners are tourists and Korean students. The menu consists of modern Japanese dishes. We ordered a medley of light seafood and vegetable dishes. I found salmon calpacho that resembles Italian carpaccio. It was a lovely way to set the palate in motion, but to be honest, the sushi was fairish. I was expecting something grand since the owner, I believe, is Japanese. The ebi (shrimp) heads scared Alexa. The Chaya salad, a bed of greens with an assortment of sweet and tangy local fruits such as passionfruit and strawberries, was the best of the bunch. They gave us free delicious green tea ice cream set off with sweetened red beans.

Service is good and friendly.

The dad’s hot udon soup.

Cold green tea garnished with local sweetener known in Ilocos as balicucha.

Chaya 72 Legarda Road, Baguio City Tel: (074) 424 4726 CP No.: 0916-439 4141

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2013

Cibo opened at the Lucky Chinatown Mall and the thought of squid ink pasta runs circles in my mind no matter if space was sick. I had to walk around the mall for one hour, go fetch my sis-in-law at the apartment and walk back to the mall and it was a nostalgic reunion with squid ink pasta.

The cruelest food to eat ever! So unforgiving, you can’t say cheese and you have to act dumb until you reach a wash room! But it was so damn good! Cibo’s linguine al nero di seppia  still ecstasizes up to this day!

My sis-in-law had a light pollo tramezzini. We delighted in the palate tickling spinaci zola in between mouthfuls of the entrées.

Service didn’t disappoint. I had a major accident at the first Glorietta branch when Cibo was relatively new. Because the place was spilling over, the waiter tripped and my blouse was stained, but they gave us the best dessert as a consolation. All for the love of good food, I was kind.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2014

I took the late night bus to Baguio to join the two men following the Norwesterniana speaking engagement. The temperature was freezing! At 5 AM, I needed something to wake me up. Good Taste was out of the way. I walked around the Central Bus Terminal, and noticed young Koreans swarming up at a goto kiosk. Like some stalker, I ordered what they were having. The lugaw was strangely very yellow. If the color is from margarine or chicken cubes, I’m not sure, but it was really delicious, especially with the extra heaping of fried garlic. I think I need to find ways of enjoying chewy tripe, other than in paksiw and callos.

It took long to wake up the 2 men. We had the whole Sunday morning for a food adventure. My photos were actually rearranged. We had cold cakes first thing in the morning, then walked to the market to buy Tantamco’s ube jam, and then we drove to Good Shepherd to get Alexa her chocolate crinkles before heading to the Ketchup Food Communuty across the Wright Park.

Ketchup Food Community is a cluster of restaurants with varying specialties.  The place is very charming. Noticed more Baguio locals than tourists, maybe because it was a Sunday and it’s a stone’s throw from the St. Joseph Church. The resident restaurants are Canto, Happy Tummy, Rancho Norte, Green Pepper and Rumah Sate. We chose to have just Indonesian sate barbecue at Rumah Sate.

The laksa and mie goreng looked fabulous, but no one would share the humungous servings, and prawns were out of stock, so I just ordered three different kinds of skewered beef — sate padang in hot and spicy yellow sauce, sate ampat sasak  in spicy coconut cream and sweet and spicy sate manis and some iced lime tea. If you don’t like herbs and spices, this might not be the place for you. We did like the BBQ especially the one with curry. Prices are tourist friendly, kinda in the middle.  I’m  definitely going back to this place to try the other specialties like mie goreng and the fried fish with interesting sauce I saw on the other table.

Happy Tummy is a Thai food place I’ve heard about from foodie friends. I also want to go there when I go back to the mountain city  in April.

Visco’s Restaurant and Cake Shop is on Session Rd near Don Henrico’s. I’ve had their strawberry shortcake last year, but didn’t get to feature it ‘coz I left my cam in the hotel room and we were supposedly just going to check out the night market. Anyways, we went back to take photos of their bestselling strawberry shortcake, which is receiving so much attention as of late. I discovered though that strawberry tart is the better strawberry pastry. We ended up sharing two slices of the pie.

Visco’s strawberry shortcake is on the sweet side. The frosting is flavored as well as the sponge. My standard for strawberry shortcake is by Louise’s Trattoria, one of my favorite restos in LA. It’s really justa plain creamy cake with strawberries.

This is the insane strawberry tart! It’s not exceedingly sweet. The thin layer of bittersweet chocolate brings out the best in the sourish strawberries. Looove the cream filling! I don’t want to say much, ‘coz, sometimes, you know, taste is subjective. If you’ll notice, I rarely rave about food in my features.

Puto bumbong in Ganza’s. It’s a Filipino delicacy that’s popular on Christmas time.

Tantamco’s is our favorite ube jam. It’s such a hassle going to the market sometimes because of the parking problem, so Good Shepherd’s is another option.

At Good Shepherd Convent, there’s this adobo roll at the kiosk that the mister loves a lot. They have really good brewed coffee here. I had the Kalinga musang (civet cat) brew with smooth, intense flavor.

He says it is the ampao-ness of the bread that he likes.

We reached the Philippine Military Academy trying to locate Palagana’s Bakery, famous for hotel quality raisin bread. One student was almost late for class picture. It reminds me of the sad fate of cadet Cudia.

We brought home a loaf of the raisin bread. Only 100 pesos. Try their awesome cinnamon roll!

Palagana’s Bakery is on 99 Loakan Road, Scout Barrio (right across the police outpost near the Camp John Jay entrance, or it it exit? It’s just a small bakery and the raisin bread is not even among the display.

Mnnn, long Johns! Until my next Baguio food adventure this summer!

The Part 1 of this Baguio’s homegrown eats (here).

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2014

The heart of the southern district of Iloco Sur is the thriving city of Candon, also known as “The Tobacco Capital of The Philippines.” You’d still find several old houses like the ones in Vigan, though not as many. A huge house on Castro St. (parallel to the National Highway) was transformed into a cool cafe by Chef Owen Abaya. Named Cafe Bossa, it must be about a decade old. Over the years, there’s more space and the menu has developed, with Ilocano dishes like pinakbet and sapsapuriket highlighted, along with contemporary favorites such as Korean beef stew and pastas. In its early years, I was always drawn to this appetizing pasta with Ilocos longaniza.

In our case, it takes perfect timing or luck to get to Candon at mealtime. When traveling, ordinarily, hunger strikes in Vigan or in San Fernando, La Union.

We tried an eclectic medley of al a jillo-style Ilocano lomo-lomo, crispy binagoongan, lemon porkchop with bacalao rice and  pasta puttanesca.

Native lomo-lomo (porkloin and liver soup) was reconstructed into a rich, semi-thick broth, with lots of garlic, a hint of olive oil and one whole egg. The tenderest pork, overflowing with flavors just turned into my potential comfort food.

The pasta puttanesca was simple and light in contrast with the spicy binagoongan and porkchop and rice spiced with salted dried cod, a rather curious combination, but nevertheless everything just blended in.

The banoffee pie came last. Layers upon layers of varying sweetness. Too sweet at first bite, but it grows on you. The best part was the meringue top and the thick pressed cookie crust.

Picked a few bottles of bottled Bacalao and spicy tuyo which I’m trying with pasta today.

Brandon still remembers the joint.

My baldoza tile photo collection is growing:)

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2014

I can’t bow out of food blogging just yet. As they say, live a little. My foodie best friend Alma took me for lunch at Smokin’ Pig in a refreshingly green and muted area in Quezon City. The rib joint is at the back part of an arcade called Capitol GreenStreet. It overlooks Marikina and other neighboring cities. So fine, the kind weather complimented outdoor BBQ food.

Chef Jo-An Raagas (in photo below) runs the 3-month old joint that specializes in American down-home Southern comfort food. The full menu consists of slow-smoked meat, served wet with barbeque sauce or dry-rubbed with the signature rub finished on the grill, sandwiches, salads and a lot more food for the soul.

Just look at those beautifully cooked baby back ribs. Utterly fall off the bone! Between the wet ribs slathered in BBQ sauce and the dry-rubbed ribs, I died straightaway from the crusty, herby ribs. I prefer my meat without abundant sauce. Btw, I like crusty steaks too, so it must be me.

Sampled some fixin’s and dirty rice. The creamed spinach, mac ‘n cheese and coleslaw were all nice, but it was the creamed spinach that stood out.

The Smokin’ Pig meat platter was suggested by Chef Jo-An. It’s a medley of melt in your mouth beef brisket that tasted so much like bone marrow (yum!), grilled chicken, two kinds of sausages and fries. One of the sausages was savory with just the right amount of piquant spices, reminding  me of Spanish chorizo.

Though everything was indeed good, the grilled beef belly was all a different level! If you love marbled beef, you can’t go wrong with this — there’s a lot of sweet, melty fat layers, omg!

Julia arrived just in time for the lunch. We all loved the (pretty huge serving of) almond almond. The cake was warm, so in the photo you will notice the melting ice cream.

Service was nice. Better to make reservations early ‘coz I heard the legendary rib joint has reached far and wide.

Besties. Thanks, dear!

Smokin’ Pig Unit 1G & 1H, Upper G/F,Capitol GreenStreet, Capitol Hills Drive, Old Balara 1662 Quezon City, Philippines Tel. No.:  & 029043148 CP No.: 0939 592 8118

Photographed by Julia, Alma and Blauearth
© Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2014

Passed by the University of Santo Tomas on my way home to the apartment and made an impulse swing to P. Noval for the celebrated Mang Tootz Food House banana-rhuma. Here’s another traditional Filipino snack made more fascinating with the addition of innovative twists.

Mang Tootz Vergara’s combined culinary experience and stint as a bartender at the old Silahis Hotel Playboy Club helped him concoct his signature banana-rhuma, a kind of mini banana turon bongga-fied (amplified) with ingredients such as Tanduay White Premium Rhum, sesame seeds, cinnamon powder and Milk Boy (the skimmed milk powder for ice crumble).

Judging by the 180 bottles of rhum he consumes every week, we can tell that his turo-turo restaurant is well-loved by students because he doesn’t cheat on quality. One piece of banana-rhuma costs only 3 pesos and 50 centavos and viands are tagged fairly.

This place might not be new to my Ilocano readers since I know a lot of Ilocanos live in Sampaloc or are usually in the area where several Ilocos-bound buses are stationed. In fact, I am so familiar with the neighborhood since my family maintained an apartment two blocks away from Mang Tootz’s when we were younger. However, this is my first time to go back to the UST area and it was quite with a bit of nostalgia.

A zesty little piece of the banana-rhuma and getting to know the very friendly Mang Tootz and his accommodating dentist wife, Ms. Luchi, were worth the segue.

Photographed by Alma and Blauearth
© Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2014

I thank God for blessing me with friends who find time to eat with me.

This date with Christy and Cathy was totally spontaneous. I didn’t know Christy’s office was right beside this Chinese restaurant where FoodPrints was. She was on her way home and did that one second glance through the restaurant’s glass door at the time I was also staring at the door. Cathy, the third element in the friendship, joined in the next day. Reoccupying each other, you wouldn’t even notice it was past a decade of partial hibernation. Cathy gave Christy and me friendship bracelets made of solid stainless steel.

Hatch 22 was Christy’s choice, so there we were hatching a new facet. Meant to be. Isn’t that a beautiful story?

Hatch 22, a tres chic spot at the Power Plant Mall, is an all-day breakfast place/bakery/craft cocktail bar, the golden chick of man of the hour, “The Fat Kid Inside” Erwan Heussaff, sister Solenn, Chef Pete Ayson and three more friends.

A bestseller according to the staff, NYOB (not your ordinary Benedict) is a 2-piece sandwich of a meal consisting of homey bread, slow cooked (French-style sous vide) eggs, Italian ham, sauteed spinach and hollandaise sauce. A symphonious blending of everything I want in a breakfast! Iimagine the collision of the flavors of “malasado” egg and salted ham… clearly a winner that night!

Next, here’s a nice, filling salad for the health-conscious. It’s made with cooked organic pseudocereal quinoa grains, topped with beets, citrus and grilled beef (chicken is the other option) and drizzled with a zesty balsamic dressing.

We got fish instead of chicken, but I think it wasn’t a very nice idea. The sole meunière in lemon and butter sauce was supposed to be what else but sole, but at first bite, I sensed a cream dory in it. It is what it tasted like. I liked cream dory before, but I discovered that however you cook cream dory, there’s this overwhelming taste that has grown so tiring on the palate.

I would have wanted to try the talked about inventive cocktails if I were not working the next day.

Hmmn, yes, and the bakery. Everything was 50 percent off ‘coz it was near closing time. Guess what we found besides elevated panaderia Spanish bread?

Hello sos! A swank lahi! Naimas! Check out what a lahi is here.

Lastly, service was totally pleasant.

Hatch 22 Cafe and Bakery G/F Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive corner Estrella Street, Rockwell Center, Makati City CP No.:(0915)109 7711 Open 7 AM to 10PM

Photographed by Christy and Blauearth
© Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2014

If you liked my last post, here’s another homegrown food house you may want to visit.  Mr. T and Mrs. Y is only on its third day of operation. It is one of the stores around the St. William’s Cathedral compound, down the “hilera” on F. R. Castro Avenue. Pares, goto, and typical Pinoy comfort food are the mainstays. It can get stuffy inside, but I guess it’s part of the appeal of uncontrived specialty eateries such as this one.

It’s seems there’s a pares house in every block of jeepney street in Manila, but before stopping at this spot in downtown Laoag, I was so clueless about what a pares is like. I’m happy exploring offbeat and utilitarian food. Pares (meaning pair or combination) is a meal consisting of soup, rice and beef cooked in star anise. The taste calls to mind the unmistakable sweetish and aromatic flavors of Chinese beef mami. My friend Connie and I also shared a budget meal with crab omelette and menudo. I paid less than 150 pesos for the dinner.

Hope you are having a good weekend, everyone.

Photographed by Blauearth © Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2014

Not only Pinoy showbiz fans will be entertained at the newly-opened flavored fried chicken house, Rated SPJ, in Mojon, Malolos, Bulacan, only several minutes drive from the metro. Hahaha, star na star!

SPJ, derived from the surnames of its owners, Registered Nurse Raymond San Pedro and TV Producer Jaypril Jaring, is a spoof for Philippine Movie and Television’s viewership classification “Rated SPG” or Strong Parental Guidance.

Rated SPJ prides itself for six homemade fried chicken flavors. An all star casting of Buffalo Action Star, Sweet and Spicy Bold Star, Honey Teen Star, Garlic Matinee Idol, Barbecue Star for All Seasons, and Super Mega Grandslam Spicy Star.

In supporting roles are burgers and wraps.

Two house specials are named after its owners. The Variety Show line has two dishes – JAPSILOG that has generous servings of tapa, longganisa, tocino, embutido and Hungarian sausage, plus egg and fried rice, all in at P99. And GOURMOND consisting of kwek-kwek, chicken balls, squid balls, kikiam, chicken skin and the Malolos-famous street food “provent”,  everything and surely clean at P69.

And then, of course, the film festival of drinks and desserts.

Hot drinks are grouped in an FPJ movie, “Walang Matigas na Tinapay sa Mainit na Kape. The cold ones are altogether in a 1982 film, “Pusong Uhaw”. Frappes and desserts might be deliciously deadly, for they’re tagged ”Coffee, Shakes, Rattle and Roll” and “Patayin sa Tamis si Barbara” respectively.

Rated SPJ is fully air-conditioned. Check out the “Now Showing”, “Coming Soon” and “Promos” boards for updates and the “Wall of Fans” board. where you can post your reviews.

Pang box-office hit, don’t you think?

RATED SPJ FLAVORED FRIED CHICKEN CAFÉ 121 A. Mabini St., Mojon, City of Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines, 3000 (From NLEX, take Tabang Exit, Go straight to Malolos. Turn right at Malolos crossing, right under the flyover. Drive straight to Brgy. Mojon, watch out for 7-11 Menzyland Subdivision, Rated SPJ comes before that. Jaypril Jaring 0917 388 7242 Raymond San Pedro 0906 791 2986

© Blauearth™ All Rights Reserved 2009-2014