Random Detox » Foods

Cash & Carry Makati – Premium Cuts of Beef

Flisha — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:37:58 +0000

Let me start by saying that I love Cash & Carry! It’s a mall in Makati, about ten minutes walk away from my apartment. As a mall, it’s nice enough. A little bit of everything but not particularly outstanding (except for the mezzanine mecca of cheap imported goods but that is another post). As a grocery, though, wow, it’s amazing!

So far I’ve grocery-shopped in Rustan’s, Shopwise, Robinson’s, SM and Landmark. But Cash & Carry definitely takes the cake. It has the MOST number of aisles I’ve seen in a grocery, and a GREAT selection of items, with a lot of imported goods that you can’t find in other supermarkets, and the prices aren’t bad either!!

My most favorite item to buy in Cash & Carry Makati is – BEEF!!! Yes. Cash & Carry has several freezers devoted to premium meats – beef, lamb, salmon, turkey, game hen, and did I mention, beef?!? Not just the regular cuts, but prime marbled ones!!! And at such affordable prices!

Ok – maybe not exactly prime – I’m not sure if these steaks are graded. But they’re definitely at least choice or select cuts. The point is, they taste great. And that’s prime in my book! Hahah!

When I first discovered it, I was mighty tempted to buy it but I was afraid (I’d ruin it) because I had never tried to cook steak before. However, I have had it in restaurants and it was love at first taste. Except, steaks are mighty expensive, usually a meal costs upwards of Php1000! The steak I was looking at in Cash & Carry looked just as big as the one I ate at a restaurant recently, and it cost less than Php200!!! How about that?!? So that cinched it for me. I mean, if I ruined it, at least I could do it again.

Just to show you why I drooled so much, here are the cuts of meat that I bought just this week.

Look at all that fat!! OMGGG I can’t wait to pan-fry these cuts, yum!!! And look at that, 300 grams and it’s only Php148 – wow, huh??? Look at how much 300 grams will cost you around steakhouses in Manila (in Batangus grill, 230 grams cost Php480, I ate there and the steak wasn’t even marbled at all).

Here is another one.

Ahhhh! That center marbling looks DELICIOUS! These are rib-eyes, my favorite part. I also like sirloin however Cash & Carry slices them too thin, so it’s not as juicy. I haven’t tried the porterhouse and t-bone cuts but I’m definitely going to. I tried the New York cut but found it tougher, so I didn’t like it.

This one is already open ‘coz I already ate the other half. Hihihi! It was wonderfully flavorful. Let me tell you, don’t ever buy steak that isn’t marbled. The fat provides the flavor, so if you buy steak that’s not streaked with loads of fat, it’s like you’re just buying any other beef part. Why pay a premium if you won’t get marbling, just get some fresh meat off the deli counter, they’re much cheaper and will taste the same.

But let’s not talk about healthy, ok? I know very well this is SINFUL! Hahaha!!! But life is too short to deprive myself of the finer tastes. Besides, since these premium cuts cost a lot more than pork or chicken, I don’t have it too often. Maybe just once a week. Or else I will soon be broke and probably living back under my parents’ roof. Yikes!!!

Do you want to see the cooked meat? Of course!!! Here they are!

That above is sirloin. Just seared lightly. Still a bit bloody. This is Gim’s steak, I think. He likes it medium rare. I prefer mine well-done.

Ok this one is a new york cut on the left, and a rib-eye on the right. That’s mine. The rib-eye looks great, huh?!? These are past steaks, since the raw ones I showed above are still stored in my freezer. I just popped them out for some pics, haha. But they won’t be consumed today. I’m saving them for the weekend when Gim comes home.

If you’re wondering how we cook them, it’s very simple. Bathe them in salt, don’t be shy, as in literally cover them in salt front and back and leave on for about 10 minutes. The salt will draw any water out, because you want your steak to be as dry as possible, to be as juicy as possible. After salting, rinse them to get rid of any salt (you don’t want to gag on an oversalted piece of meat!!) and then pat dry with paper towels. No more need to season with salt since some of the salt you put on earlier will have made it inside the meat. Just add pepper. And other herbs/rubs, whatever flavoring you like. I prefer just a light smattering of powdered pepper. Heat your pan, and when REALLY hot, put in your steak to sear with a bit of oil or butter, then flip and sear the other side, and serve! The cooking part is really fast, usually 2 to 3 minutes is enough to cook your steak well-done.

There. Well I hope I’ve inspired you to cook steak right at home! People in the Philippines don’t cook a lot of steak. In fact I had never had it in my life until I came to Manila. And it took me about 3 or 4 years until I discovered how easy it is to cook steak. Even easier than pork or chicken because there’s no need to marinade. It’s just that people don’t generally know that steak can be bought cheaply. I certainly didn’t until I saw the steaks in Cash & Carry.

Cooking at home is so much more satisfying than going to a restaurant. And so much cheaper, too!

Now I’m looking forward to the weekend!!!

Tags: Cash & Carry, Featured, Foods, Shopping

Eating in Makati with Gim

Flisha — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:40:44 +0000

I need an overview of social security disability after this.

Here is a sampling of the food that Gim and I ate when he visited last month, right after taking and passing the board exams. We definitely splurged on food!

They say that you are disabled if you can’t do your job anymore, because of a medical condition, and this disability will extend to at least a year or more.

Can I say that I have been disabled by eating too much?? Eating too much = babuyasis syndrome (the feeling of being a pig and wanting to sleep after eating) = I-don’t-want-to-work-anymore-I-just-want-to-eat-all-the-time syndrome. And yes I believe this medical condition will last me until death do we part.

Let’s go to the pics!

Eating at Bonchon! Yummiest chicken in Makati!

Dinner at Hana, Little Tokyo! Yummiest california maki in Makati! And yummy other kinds of Japanese food too. See how we almost finished dinner before I remembered to take photos?? Haha. Oh and this was mostly finished by me because Gim needed to take a call – his cousin was consulting him on what medicine to take for her colds.

Next up is Spaghetti Factory! We ate some oysters, yummy!!! I ordered pork ribs. And had a plateful of spaghetti for share! Yummmy! And we also had a banana split for dessert. Yumness!

Tags: Foods, Japan, Manila

Chef Jessie, Rockwell

Flisha — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:26:48 +0000

This is so months ago, but I wanted to dump our photos so here we go.

Thanks to Deal Grocer, I got two coupons for a brunch buffet at Chef Jessie’s in Rockwell Makati, and ate so much it almost disabled me (hello SSDI?). It was touted as a French-Mediterranean spread so I was super excited. And at only P700 per person thanks to the 50% off coupon, it was a great deal.

We got served some fruit juice mixed with vodka, I think. I took a sip and hated it. Gim took a sip and loved it. But none of us drank it, because Gim was on his self-imposed alcohol break due to the pending medical boards. Actually he kept shooting me nasty looks since I wouldn’t drink it, hahah. He wanted me to drink for the both of us, since it was a shame to leave the cocktails untouched when he was itching to dump them down his throat. But everyone who knows me knows I can’t stand the taste of alcohol, so I shot the nasty looks right back at him. LOL.

Unfortunately I didn’t take a photo of the spread, just a few photos of our plates and me and Gim. But I mostly enjoyed the bacon, as you can see from my photos. Hahaha. Though I have no idea how that is French or Mediterranean?? There was also some slices of meat, but a bit too raw for my taste. Gim enjoyed kept coming back those, though. I loved the beef chunks roasted in garlic. Best dish of the meal!

There were lots of eggs. Poached, bedeviled, omellettes. Some caviar too. And some fruits. But you know what was lacking? Pastries!! I really thought there would be cakes and baguettes and all sorts of breads. Like you’d expect from a French buffet. But unfortunately, their idea of French pastry was chocolate cupcakes. Meh.

My final say on this spread would be that it was a fail on a choice of foods. But it if weren’t labeled French-Mediterranean, I would’ve found no fault.

Here come the photos!

More random shots below.

Tags: Foods, Rockwell, The Yuppy Life

Manila Summer

Gim — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 05:31:42 +0000

Summer is (literally) just around the corner, and I’m absolutely raring to go on trips and more trips! I just got back home (Makati) with my ever beautiful Flisha (meow-meow), and we’ve spent all night busy planning our vacays to Pagudpud, Vigan, Pampanga, Batangas and Naga- basically landtripping! Guess what we’re soo excited to do (aside from the sights and sounds of provincial Luzon)?

The food!

Pancit Batil-Patong

I just cannot wait to try out Tuguegarao’s Pancit Butil Patong, Vigan’s Longganiza, and Laoag’s Bagnet! It’s going to be a sad deal for our waistlines (at this point, I think it’d be best to break out that adapexin-p) but at least a really warm happy deal for our hearts. And this I think is the most important thing- to have fun doing what you want to do with the person you love the most.

Sapin-Sapin

Tags: Foods

Yakiniku!

Flisha — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:07:12 +0000

At the rate I was indulging in food and snacks in Japan, I maybe would have needed to take a look at http://www.wholesaleinsurance.net in case I ever dropped dead due to too much umami!

Let me just share this most favorite Japanese of mine. It’s called Yakiniku! Niku = meat, Yaki = grilled. This is grilled beef and it tastes WONDERFUL, especially in samui (cold) weather!

Doesn’t it look so good?? It’s a set, with a bit of greens, a cup of warm broth, a bowl of rice, and a plateful of meat! On the left is my griller, and soon after I got the plate, I got to grilling!

There’s a bit of beef there, and some chicken, and some liver. I didn’t like the liver that much, so I grilled it until all I could taste was the charcoal haha. But the other meat, I hastily removed them from the grill once done lest they burn. Onto my rice and into my mouth! The sauce was a mix of teriyaki and sesame, it was great!

The Japanese are such generous people. There were so many times that they just gave me (and company) free food! The first time we went into a yakiniku restaurant, the griller on our table wouldn’t turn on. The waitress went and checked, the gas wasn’t on. Five minutes later, she had it going. None of us really noticed or cared. We got our yakiniku and ate happily away. At the end of our dinner, we were given ice cream desserts! The waitress apologized for the earlier gaff. Wow! Great customer service.

And during this yakiniku meal of mine, I was all alone in the restaurant by the way, since my sister went shopping for anime stuff and I didn’t wanna go with her. The Japanese guy on the table next to me suddenly struck up a bit of conversation (stilted because I don’t know much Japanese!) then decided out of nowhere to give me another plateful of meat right as I was finishing my meal. I was so surprised!! And I was so full already! I really wanted to say no, but he insisted even after I declined, and it would have been very rude to decline any more after that, so I accepted. Hehe. Besides, I love yakiniku! So I happily ate his gift to me. Hehehe!

Maybe I looked cute that day. Hahah!

Ohh, I want to go back again! Maybe Gim will sponsor my third round!

Tags: Foods, Japan

Crepes and Cream, SM Megamall

Flisha — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 13:27:40 +0000

Eating desserts are definitely counterproductive when undertaking weight loss diets, which is probably why I am gaining weight instead of losing it, haha.

I had won some gift certificates to Crepes and Cream via an online contest, so it was a good excuse to eat some sweets (“The GCs will be expiring soon, sayang…”).

The thing with GC’s is that you need to use them all up at once, because you’re not getting any change if your order amount is less than the GC amount. So Gim and I ordered the priciest crepes on the menu. Gim got the Mini Banana Bonkers (Php179) and I got the Hazelnut Banana Chocolate (Php109). Whereupon Gim decided the Mini Banana Bonkers were a bit too much so we switched. I was alright either way. Chocolate and ice cream and crepes!! How can you go wrong??

The above photo of Gim is the Banana Chocolate, by the way. Here below is the Banana Bonkers. Plus the four cans of coke we bought just to finish the GC. Hahaha. We didn’t drink the Coke, we saved them and brought them home to drink for the next few days.

I don’t think the cashiers were used to receiving GCs. It took us quite a while to get our orders, with them making calls to their head office to verify our GC’s I think. Hmp. Bad, slow service. And the cashier thought I had only one GC, when I had been waving the two of them right in front of her face while she ignored me. She initially asked me to pay for the extra, and when I told her I had another GC, she didn’t want to accept it since she had already “punched the order”, whatever that means. I just lifted my eyebrow and told her I’m not paying cash, so she better fix it. In the end, she was able to, so it annoyed me that she would tell me she couldn’t accept my GC when she could. She just didn’t want the extra effort to correct her error.

Here is the Crepes and Creme menu!

And the rest of the pics are me and Gim camwhoring!

Oh, the crepes were wonderful, by the way! I would go there again!

Tags: Crepes and Cream, Foods

Dinner at Hana, Little Tokyo

Flisha — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 13:04:33 +0000

Even if I found diets that work, I don’t think it would do me any good. When I’m with Gim, we can’t help but GORGE ourselves!

Case in point. When Gim came over the week before his exams, for “good luck”, we had dinner out every night, you’d think it was already the aftermath. I don’t know if it actually helped him relax, but I just can’t help but bring him out everywhere since I hardly do anything when I’m by myself here in Manila.

One of our favorite places to go is Little Tokyo, a small cluster of Japanese restaurants in Makati, that’s literally a (forceful) stone’s throw away from my place. We like to go to Hana (it means “flower” in Japanese). The food is good, the owner is Japanese and the meals are not that expensive.

Here is Gim standing in the walkway leading to Hana.

Then of course me!

Here’s the interior. It’s a small enclosure, with about four tables, a room at the end where you can dine while squatting on the floor (which I hate and would never try again because I did that once in Japan and I could hardly walk afterwards, my legs had turned numb), a bar, and you can peek through to the kitchen to see the chef preparing your food. You can also dine al fresco, but this night was a bit humid so we were seeking airconditioning.

Here is what we ordered.

They make the best California maki. This is the last piece. I love that their maki is really big and succulent, my mouth is watering right now! We started eating right upon receiving the food, and I only remembered to take a picture right before we finished it! Haha. I should try to remember my friend Heidee’s photography rule: Camera first, then fork! Hahah, but what to do, I always forget!

This is eel. I wanted to try eating eel, just once. It was good! The meat was tender, it had the consistency of fish meat but chewier, if that makes any sense. Not as chewy as pork or chicken though. And the taste was more chicken-y rather than fish-y. But there were some parts that definitely tasted like fish. Overall, it was a good experience.

Gim ordered the tried and tested katsudon, which is friend pork mixed with egg. This is a really good dish, and so far the best katsudon I’ve tasted here in Manila is from Hana. I was very jealous that it was Gim’s turn to order it. Our rule is never to order two of the same meal in a sitting so I had to order something else, hehe. But that didn’t stop me from stealing some of his dinner!!

What a fun and filling night!

Tags: Foods, Japan, Little Tokyo

Pepper Lunch Philippines

Flisha — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 08:36:49 +0000

I know not of diet pills that work fast, but God knows it doesn’t help to look back on days of good food and playtimes with Gim!

It has been more than a year that Pepper Lunch came to the Philippines, but last November was the first time that I took Gim there. It was his birthday month, so he came and visited me. It was the first time in around three years, I think, that I was able to be with him on his birthday. I know, I know! Bad girlfriend!! (The pains of long-distance relationships.) But I definitely made it up to him this time around – I brought him around Manila and took up the bill most of the time, ok!! (He is probably too busy studying for the 2011 Philippine Physician Licensure Exams so he won’t have time to read this and kill me. But once he is a wage-earning doctor, he gets no more freebies from me!)

This is Gim at Pepper Lunch, while we are waiting for our order. So excited!

I got my Beef Teriyaki order first! Gim is inspecting it. He’s like, “Why is it raw?!?”

And I’m like, cook it cook it quick! Here I am turning over my meat on the sizzling plate so it will cook because I don’t like eating raw food. And it’s hot, smoke everywhere, so fan the heat away, fan!

He finally gets his order, Mixed Seafood, I think. We start eating. Yum!

All Done! No more???

You can find Pepper Lunch in the following locations:

The Power Plant Mall, Makati
Concours Level, Rockwell Center
Tel: +63 2 895 3164
Fax: +63 2 895 6185
Hours: 11am – 10pm

Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Ortigas
Garden Court Level
Tel: +63 2 634 3231
Fax: +63 2 631 6410
Hours: 10am – 11pm

Alabang Town Center, Alabang
2nd floor Corte de Las Palmas
Tel : +63 2 856 7062
Hours: 11am – 9pm

Greenbelt 5, Makati
2nd floor – Phase 1
Tel : 482 4319
Hours 11am – 9pm

Tags: Foods, Pepper Lunch

My New Year’s Eve

Flisha — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:36:37 +0000

…was spent with Gim and my family, and super lots of food!

Before I start overdosing on leucine and going on my starvation diet, let me happily reminisce all the food I ate during the New Year!

The spread!

This was all cooked by my mom, me and Gim during the afternoon! My mom made her famous paella, super full of shrimp and clam goodness! Gim made the crispy pata, very yummy though it wasn’t that crispy in the inside because it was a rainy day! We weren’t able to completely dry the meat, and even resorted to a hair dryer at the latter part. Hahaha! Gim also made the potato salad, and it was sooo delicious! And me? I made the carbonara! Hehehe! It was very creamy and tasted bacon-y.

This is me when I look ravenous!! Look at that glint in my eye. I’m scary…

Here is Gim, tired but happy!

And at the end of the night, I got Gim to give me some trensas! (Braids.) Haha. He did a very bad job at it, but you gotta hand it to him for trying. I ♥ him so much, hahaha!

We were so tired after cooking the entire afternoon that we ended up sleeping after we ate!!! Which is to say… we missed actually ushering in the New Year. Does it mean Gim and I will be sleeping together in 2011? Hmmmm!!! (Definitely not opposed to the idea, hahah!)

Tags: Foods, Holidays

Saging Rebosao

Flisha — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 17:24:21 +0000

I had some saging rebosao for my late night dessert tonight. It wasn’t as complicated as I thought it would be. I thought you needed to put the bananas under hand dryers for the sugar to crystallize or something. My mom’s made them for years but I never really bothered to look at how she cooked them, I just ate them, hahaha!

But tonight when I got my craving, my boyfriend offered to cook them for me, and I watched while he cooked so I would know how to make them. Theoretically.

Saging rebosao, or saging rebosado as some people also call them, is caramelized bananas. Super easy to make. Just buy some unripe bananas (if you buy the soft ones they’ll be overly tender and sometimes fall apart during cooking) and peel them. Slice in half vertically. Deep-fry them in hot oil for about 5 minutes, just enough until they’re golden. Take them out and clean the pan. Put a cup of water, and about a cup of sugar too. Stir continuously until the concoction is thick, sticky and syrupy (definitely don’t stop cooking if still watery). Like if you took a spoonful of the mixture, and dropped it back onto the pot, it would fall slowly. If syrupy already, drop the fried bananas into the mix and turn off the fire. Coat the bananas in the mixture repeatedly. Since the syrup will make them stick together, ensure to unstick them with a fork and keep mixing. Until you see the sugar start to crystallize, and when all the sugars are crystallized, you can stop mixing, and start serving!

They’re super yummy, and you can find this delicious dessert only in Zamboanga. I kept looking in Manila, and never saw anything like it. So I’m loading up on them while I’m still home.

Unfortunately I ate them all already, and I forgot to take a picture. Next time, I will surely upload some.

Tags: Foods, Zamboanga

Ice Coffee Recipe

Flisha — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 12:03:26 +0000

To make a quick single serving of ice coffee, you can follow this recipe. (Just adjust it for more servings.)

1/4 cup instant coffee
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water
4 cups cold milk
Sweetened whip cream

First add the coffee and the sugar to the hot water. Mix until the ice coffee is blended. Then add the cold milk and stir again. For better results, do this in a blender so you get the foamy kind of ice coffee. When you’re done, add a dollop of sweetened whip cream on top. Serve.

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Post tags: coffee recipe, Iced Coffee, instant coffee

Tags: coffee recipe, Foods, Iced Coffee, instant coffee

Curacha in Alavar Sauce

Flisha — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:17:00 +0000

Gim and I had a spectacular lunch today. Curacha cooked in coconut milk and Alavar sauce. Divine!

Curacha is a type of crab commonly found in the waters of Zamboanga. As such it’s available in the city markets round the clock. I would love to eat it as regularly as I eat lechon (roasted pork, goes very well with a Sunday) but unfortunately my cook is a bit allergic to crustaceans. He gets hives all over, and hyperacidic, when he eats too much crab or shrimp. So I have to wait several weeks in between curacha fests.

Today happened to be my lucky day. I slept in the whole morning and when I woke up, Chef Gim had already gone to the market, bought three large curachas and whipped up my favorite Guinataang Curacha in Alavar sauce! Yummy! So good it deserves to be on the menu of a five-star New York City hotel.

Alavar is a famous seafood restaurant in Zamboanga City, and they sell Alavar sauce, which is a secret concoction of aligue and spices. Whatever they put it in it, it’s sinfully delicious and makes every seafood dish doubly tasty.

In Chavacano, Curacha means “cockroach”, but the similarity between the two creatures ends in their furry-looking legs. Curacha is a wonderfully tasty crustacean. It is meatier and much cleaner than the mud crab, though ironically with a slightly earthier taste, and it’s meat a little less smooth but just as juicy. However the difference in taste is very subtle and I am sure most people would not be able to differentiate the two without checking their shells. I’m not yet sure which I favor more, the mud crab or the curacha, so I prefer to have them both in one dish!

Jump inside to see more photos of today’s lunch, and Chef Gim’s simple Guinataang Curacha in Alavar Sauce recipe below.

How to Make Guinataang Curacha (or Crab) in Alavar Sauce

Ingredients:
1 kilo curacha or crab
1/2 kilo grated coconut
1/2 kilo Alavar sauce
1 bulb of garlic
1/2 thumb of ginger
4 pinches of salt
4 pinches of monosodium glutamate (Ajinomoto)
1 1/2 cup of water

Wash curacha or crab. Place in cooking pot. Set aside.

Place grated coconut in a mixing bowl. Pour water and mix. With your hands, squeeze all milk from the coconut. Set aside.

Mince garlic and ginger into tiny pieces. Set aside.

Sprinkle the salt, Ajinomoto, garlic and ginger all over the curacha or crab.

Pour coconut milk all over the curacha or crab.

Turn stove on high heat until the coconut milk comes to a boil. Then drop the alavar sauce into the pot and lower the knob to medium heat. When the coconut oil starts to surface (happens after around 20-30 minutes), turn off the stove.

Serve.

P.S. If you don’t have Alavar sauce, go right ahead and do the recipe without it. It will just be Guinataang Curacha, then.

Tags: Foods, Photography, Zamboanga, Zamboanga

Gorging on Christmas Treats

Flisha — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Ever since I got home to Zamboanga, food has been pouring into my mouth nonstop!

We’ve been getting lots of Christmas treats from friends and family, like fruitcake and brownies and ham, and since my mom and sister aren’t really eaters (I’m worried my sis is becoming anorexic but she won’t eat much even though we force her to eat every mealtime, while my mom is always concerned about her own health and waistline), I get to cram all the goodies down my throat! Hehehe.

To all my mom’s friends: If you’re giving her food for Christmas, you now know who really eats it. Hahaha.

I may have to look into that Leptovox sometime!

Tags: Foods, Holidays, Zamboanga

Big Bites Burger

Flisha — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:31:00 +0000

This is a guest post from my boyfriend Gim. Here to talk about his favorite pastime: good eats. – Flisha

I looove burgers. I especially like the meaty, juicy ones. Not the paper-thin slices that they serve at the school canteen or at the 3M burger stand beside the plaza in Dapitan; although these paltry snacks would sometimes do if I were really desperate for something to eat. The former ’cause it’s dirt cheap and the latter ’cause it’s the only fastfood joint open 24/7 in Dapitan.

No, these are not the burgers I prefer. According to a friend of mine, they’re made of cheapie-patties. A nearly transparent circle of meat that’s put in between bread just so you could call it a burger.

No, the ones I like are the ones that make you go “mmmmm!” with every bite. Like the burgers in Big Joe’s in Dipolog. Or more recently, the ones in Big Bite Burger House located beside the Catribo Complex here in Zamboanga City.

We (Flisha and I) visited the place yesterday on a tip from a classmate. And true enough, the burgers were scrumptious! I got the cheeseroom burger while she got the rodeo burger. (Sorry for the blurred pics! I was too excited to focus.)

Although the patties themselves were not as thick as I wanted them to be (but considerably thicker than the average burger patty), it was as juicy as can be with just a hint of smoke and charcoal, a result no doubt of the charcoal grill used in cooking the patties.

This isn’t how they normally cook their patty. They usually do it on an electric griller. But for an additional five pesos ($0.10), they prepare your patty in an honest to goodness charcoal grill. The mushroom and cheese in my burger as well as the fried onion ring in hers made for a delicious filling. So the next time you get that burger craving, be sure to pop in at Big Bite’s Burger.

Come to think of it, I wonder if using the charcoal grill is actually energy efficient?

Big Bites Burger can be found beside Catribo Complex along Governor Alvarez St, Zamboanga City.

Tags: Dapitan, Dipolog, Foods, Zamboanga, Zamboanga

Best Restaurant in Dipolog

Flisha — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:00:00 +0000

It’s Grandma’s Best, hands down.

In fact, I think it’s the best restaurant in Zamboanga del Norte, and after tasting their Squid Aligue Spaghetti, I’m tempted to say it’s the best restaurant in all of Philippines. Except that I haven’t visited all of Philippines yet.

Grandma’s Best is hidden in a residential part of Dipolog, which makes it a bit hard to find, as coming from Dapitan, Gim and I had to navigate through many roads just to find the elusive little canteen of a restaurant.

There is nothing to boast about the facade of Grandma’s Best, as it looks like an ordinary carenderia. The tables are simple rectangular plastic tables covered with cheaplooking cloth, the chairs are uncomfortable monoblock plastic white chairs, the walls are unadorned except for a few paintings here and there.

Service is nothing special. The waitresses look like that spinster aunt of yours who’s looking after your house while you’re gone (in her pink shirt and jeans). Water is available, but you have to get it yourself in the water dispenser at the back of the room.

But I’m not dissing this wonderful little restaurant. I’m simply amazed that a restaurant that looks so ordinary that it can easily be mistaken for a canteen (unless you happen to glance at the fridge that contains all of their rich-looking desserts) can serve such wonderfully fantastically delicious and divine dishes.

Grandma’s Best dishes I’ve tried and I swear are to die for:

Squid Aligue Spaghetti (Php80)

This scrumptious dish is soooo rich you’ll want to come back everyday to Grandma’s Best for a retaste. It’s filled with squid rings and pasta mixed in a rich and creamy sauce of sinful aligue (crab fat), topped with loads of cheese and freshly cut spring onion. It’s a disservice to call this dish “spaghetti” because it resembles nothing like spaghetti, but more like pasta for the gods, it is that rich.

Lengua (Php120)

I have always loved lengua (literally means tongue, but as a dish it means tongue of cow), and when I saw this dish in the menu, I ordered it right away. The dish I was served did not disappoint me in any way (except that it was served in a rectangular plastic container, but ah who cares if the food tastes great, huh?). The lengua was very soft, and swimming in a bowl of richly creamy mushroom sauce, and bursting with the dark, deep taste of beef. It’s definitely one of my favorites.

Beef Stroganoff (Php100)

You can take this with rice, or with pasta. Gim ordered this dish, and he chose pasta. I had only a few bites of this but I can say with all my heart I wish we had ordered two of these so I could have eaten a whole dish on my own! It may look like squid aligue spaghetti, but tastes nothing like it. It’s soft, tender beef mixed with creamy pasta topped with spring onions.

Apple Pie (Php60)

This dessert is definitely one of the best I have ever experienced. My mom bakes the best apple pies I’ve ever tasted, and I was shocked to find out this pie we had just bought was even better! The best part about this pie is the delightfully crumbly upper crust, which tastes faintly of cinammon and confectionary sugar, and the underside covered with lovely apple sauce. Inside of the cake are apple slices which taste heavenly. The normally strong taste of apple is subdued and the apple slices are soft and tender, just the way I like it. The whole minipie is topped with cheese, and the serving is good for two. This dessert is a must-try if you’re ever going to eat at Grandma’s Best.

Lastly, I also recommend their Roast Beef (Php110), however I don’t have pictures of that since I ate it the first time around, when I wasn’t bringing a camera. (It tastes a lot like lengua.)

More pictures of the above dishes:

Grandma’s Best dishes I’m looking forward to sampling in the very very near future:

Cheese Lumpia (Php55)
Chili con Carne (Php75)
Garlic Mushroom (Php65)
Seafood BBQ (Php120)
Seafood Supreme (Php125)
Thai Fried Rice (Php100)
Pistachio Cake Slice (Php55)
Trouffle Supreme Whole (Php380)

Tags: Dapitan, Dipolog, Foods, Photography, Zamboanga

Halo-Halo on a Hot Day

Flisha — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 12:19:00 +0000

Here in the Philippines, we have a sweet treat called Halo-halo. Halo in Filipino means “mix”. Halo-halo is a mix of ingredients such as beans, flan, fruits, sugar, milk and ice, then topped with ice cream, oatmeal and sometimes a cherry.

It’s a favorite Filipino dessert, and the best halo-halos are the ones made by hand by your parents on a hot Sunday afternoon when you were a child. Save that, there are always the food stalls and restaurants.

Here in Dapitan, the best halo-halo is served in Jana’s Place on Josephine Bracken street (named after Jose Rizal’s lady friend).

Gim and I ate this treat a few days ago, when it was stuffy warm all over Dapitan. It sure refreshed us for a good ten minutes.

P.S. When I went to Japan, they had a similar dessert. They called it Haro-haro. LOL!

Tags: Dapitan, Foods, Japan, Photography

ManPuku Bento in Ayala Mall, Cebu

Flisha — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:19:00 +0000

I’m a fan of Japanese food. Save for the raw stuff like sushi and sashimi, I eat it all. All the ~yakis like okonomiyaki (fried vegetables) and takoyaki (fried octopus). I love the ~dons too like the gyudon and the katsudon, mmm!

I have yet to visit a Japanese restaurant in the Philippines that authentically captures the taste of real Japanese food. (Most dishes are flavored to suit the Filipino palate, that is to say, sweetened.)

Still I never fail to try to visit any new Japanese restaurant I see. While travelling in Cebu, I happened upon this Manpuku Bento food stall in a mall foodcourt. So of course I had to try it.

As expected, the dishes didn’t quite taste like the ones in Japan, but still I enjoyed them.

I ordered the Pork Katsudon, since I was thinking it’s hard to go wrong with anything fried.

Gim meanwhile ordered some noodles (I made him do it, because I wanted to try some but they weren’t that good).

He got some sushi, too. California maki and salmon. He loved them, but me, eww, no not so much. I’ll stick to the cooked stuff, thank you very much.

They look pretty though.

He and I will be travelling to Cebu again in November. We both got free tickets from Cebu Pacific’s last 0-fare promo. To get the zero fare, we had to eschew our baggage rights and travel insurance rights as well.

I’m fine with not lugging around any baggage. We’ll be staying only two nights in Cebu anyways. But I’m kinda regretting we didn’t get any insurance. I know nothing’s gonna happen during the flight, but the worrywart in me insists we have some protection JUST IN CASE.

I searched the web for some sort of add-on insurance and chanced upon this travel medical insurance. I’m not sure it’s what I’m looking for, since it caters to travel abroad not domestic travel. But it’s a bookmark I’m keeping anyways just in case I need some protection for a future overseas trip (it covers medical insurance and terrorism insurance, among others).

Anyways, I am sure looking forward to another trip to Cebu. Our last visit there lasted only a day and we only got to do some malling in Ayala and SM Cebu. Maybe this time we’ll get to do some sightseeing instead of just face-stuffing. ;-P

Tags: Cebu Pacific, Foods, Japan, Photography, Travelogue

Sunday Kamayan, Dapitan’s Best Kept Secret

Flisha — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 10:31:00 +0000

On a Sunday in Dapitan, there’s no better place to eat lunch than Kamayan ni Manay’s (literal translation: Eat-with-your-bare-hands at Manay‘s, Manay being a general term for an older lady).

Every Sunday, Kamayan holds an all-you-can-eat buffet lunch that costs only P250 ($6) per person. This includes a lunch of lechon (roasted pork), chicken, crab, shrimps, talaba (oysters), vegetables, fruits and salads. Dessert is fruits and ice cream (yummy!). Oh and don’t forget the bottomless iced tea. It’s a fiesta fit for a king. In my opinion, no other all-you-can-eat buffet can ever top this sumptous feast from Kamayan (and believe me, I’ve tried a lot of other Sunday eat-all-you-can’s!).

For a restaurant in a pretty small town, Kamayan is packed during Sundays! The buffet lunch starts at 10:30 AM but by 10:00 AM, there’s already a line of people outside waiting to get in. It’s that good.

Without further ado, here come the pictures!

My first plate. I got a lot of fried stuff. Fried shrimps, fried talaba, fried chicken. Some salad (I thought maybe the healthy would cancel out the unhealthy). And lots of lechon! I was lechon-starved when I came to Dapitan. (In Zamboanga, Sunday usually equals to a lunch of lechon. And I hadn’t had that in months because I was exiled in Manila!)

My second plate. I realized the crab was really, really, really good! So I got a whole lot of it. The crabs were small but boy they were bursting with meat. Gim and I surmised they must have come from a farm, because each and every crab we ate was really fat and tasty. It was so much fun eating them, unlike the time we ate crab in Dakak and felt like we were mining for gold in a gold-starved cave! I also got a lot of chopsuey and, erm, took a lot of quail eggs (too bad for the later guests, hehehe!).

Doesn’t the crab look divine?

This crab reminds me of a ninja. A very tasty ninja.

Bottomless lemon iced tea, yum! And the waiters were very prompt! They filled our glasses even when we didn’t ask. Not like other places (especially in Manila) that offer bottomless iced tea and then hide their waiters afterwards, or look at you like you’re being very greedy for consuming more than two glasses of their supposedly limitless drink.

Even our trash looked good, haha. We had two piles of this after. Full of crab and oysters. Loved the crab so very much. I got around six halves or so. I shared them with Gim, I swear! Hahaha. I didn’t like the raw oysters that much, though… I don’t like anything raw. The fried shrimps tasted more of flour than shrimp, so did the fried oysters. But who cares?? There was a lot of crab!!! Hehehehe.

More trash. And still a lot of crab behind the trash, hahaha. I really enjoyed the crab. Did I mention that already? Hahaha. I went there for the lechon, and the lechon was great. But the crab was better. Haha.

Awww, and we’re done eating. I ate so much crab I couldn’t finish my chopsuey. Too bad because I happen to love chopsuey. I ate all the quail eggs, though. Heheh. And do you notice that in every picture, the glass of iced tea is always full? See? What did I tell you about the great service? I must have downed 4 or 5 glasses of that stuff.

I wish I could have taken more pictures, especially of the individual courses. But I was too excited to try all the food. And to cram as much crab down my throat before it ran out. Hehe. I am such a glutton. I don’t have any pictures here, by the way, because Gim ate with his bare hands!!! Well, it was Kamayan. And I did benefit from it because he was able to crack the crab and give me the meat. But that also meant he couldn’t handle the camera. Poor me.

I, meanwhile, hate using my bare hands to eat. Even in a Kamayan restaurant (a lot of restaurants in the Philippines are Kamayan‘s, I guess because it’s cheaper to just use banana leaves instead of washing utensils, haha). Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy feasting with my bare hands. Food tastes much better that way, I’ve noticed, hahaha. My mom used to feed me and my sisters like that before. And sometimes I can get Gim to feed me like that, too, when I’m feeling babyish. Haha. I just would rather keep my hands clean so I can use my camera, get my wallet, wipe my face, etc. Hehe.

Gim got really tired after eating, as you can see in the pictures. Hehe. Our tummies were full to bursting. He’s getting the baboy (pig) syndrome here. It’s where he feels lazy and sleepy after eating a huge meal, just like a pig. Haha.

And here’s him asking me, “And how are you?” And I answer, “I’m fine, thank you Gim!!!” I’m thanking him because he introduced me to this Kamayan place. But we didn’t know about the Sunday all-you-can-eat buffet until we bumped into one of his doctors (teachers) one Sunday around noontime and he told us we were too late for the buffet. We were very disappointed that day, because we saw all the empty food trays, haha. That’s when we decided to go there again, much much earlier, during my last Sunday (before I would come back to Manila).

Here’s how the place looks. Very simple. Very native-looking. Wooden chairs and tables. Flower arrangements, roses and ferns, on each table.

No airconditioning, just electric fans. And big pretty balls of light above.

And look it’s our bill! For everything we ate, just… 500 pesos! Yay! Hehehe. See, food is really cheap in Dapitan. That’s why I love going there. And then whenever I go back I’m significantly heavier. Hehehe.

Okay, I’d like to insert some pictures of our food that Sunday we went there and didn’t get to try the buffet since it was already past twelve. (The buffet ends at 1PM formally, but after 11AM, the must-try trays like the crab and lechon are already gone. So it’s important to go early.)

So anyway, for that particular Sunday, we ordered sizzling squid (my all-time favorite, and it was the best I’d ever tasted), spring rolls (turned out to be just a reworded fried lumpia, and we thought it was going to be something new hahaha) and pork ribs (mmm, just okay, not as good as I’d hoped). Lots of garlic rice, yum. I like garlic rice better than fried rice. I’m a glutton for anything garlic, I swear. Oh and a mango shake for me. It was really, really tasty, that mango shake.

Here’s a closer look at the lumpia and ribs. I like my lumpia fresh rather than fried, but these rolls weren’t bad. They were pretty good, really. Filled with vegetables and shrimps, I think. But the ribs seemed a bit out of place in our meal, so I didn’t enjoy them much. I mostly left them for Gimmi.

I focused on the heavenly squid. Yum. These were grilled very lightly, just the way I like them. And cleaned very well, too. No ink whatsoever. (Some places serve it with the ink, you have to tell them not to. It’s a delicacy, I guess.) What made this squid so much better than the others I had tasted was the garlic. Lots of garlic all over my squid, wow! And lots of tomatoes and onions filling the hollow, yum! Definitely must try this if you’re at Kamayan.

A closer view of the squid. Looks good, huh? It was very very good. I loved the tentacles, too. I’m not sure which part of the squid I love best, the tentacles or the body. Hmm, I love them both the same! (But I don’t like the head.)

The mango shake tasted very fresh and milky, and definitely not watery. Also one of the best mango shakes I’d ever tasted. It tasted like a homemade mango shake, that’s how I would describe it. ‘Coz when you’re at home making a shake yourself, you place a lot of milk and mango, right? You don’t scrimp on the ingredients. Well, that’s how it tasted. Loved it!

And while waiting for our food, what did Gim and I do? Well, what we love to…

Take pictures of ourselves! Hahahaha! Oh by the way, if you want to go to Kamayan ni Manay‘s, it’s right beside Gloria de Dapitan. Happy eating!

Tags: Dapitan, Foods, Manila, Travelogue, Zamboanga

Lunches at Big Joe’s

Flisha — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:10:00 +0000

The first time Gim and I ate at Big Joe’s in Dipolog City, we only snuck in for a quick snack of siomai before embarking on the bus that would take us to Dapitan pier where we were to take the ferry bound for Cebu. We ordered milkshakes for take out, and enjoyed them thoroughly on the bus.

That was 2007. The ambiance of Big Joe’s stuck with me though, so I was determined to eat a meal there this time round. And eat we did, many many times.

Big Joe’s menu lists a lot of shakes. They have a bar (not the one pictured) solely for the shakes, but they’re a bit pricey. Around P80 or $2 on the average per shake I would say. I love shakes but not with meals because shakes make me thirsty, and so do meals.

I love iced tea with my meals. I didn’t use to, I used to think iced tea tasted like flavored water, which I abhor. But Gim was able to change my mind later on after diluting me with iced tea after iced tea, hahaha. I grew to like the concoction, but only certain brands like Nestea and Lipton. (Other versions like red tea at Tokyo Tokyo, I hate!)

We ordered two jumbo iced teas in Big Joe’s and it became our staple drink whenever we went there. It didn’t cost much, only P36 or less than a dollar, equal to or even cheaper than the cost of an iced tea glass in a Manila restaurant, yet Big Joe’s Jumbo Iced Tea is around 3 times bigger.

My first meal in Big Joe’s was Pork Steak. It cost me only P150 or $3. The serving was so big I was overwhelmed. The waitress told us it weighed around 250-300 grams. Wow.

It tasted soooo good. Succulent pork. Very soft and juicy inside and nicely seared on the outside. (I’m salivating right now, remembering, hahaha!)

Gim ordered the menu special, sizzling steak served in tomato sauce and mushrooms. It looked very nice, tasted okay, but I did not really like it all that much.

Gim was very hungry that day and his meat arrived first. We took a few bites of his meat but had to wait quite a bit before mine arrived.

Here we are doing nothing but taking pictures while we wait! I am not on the photos… I was the photographer! Hehehehe. Gimmi loves his photo opps.

He’s happy at first… and then my food arrives… and look at his face!!! Priceless!!! Hehehehehe!

He blanched when he saw my meal. Hehehehehe. Not out of disgust — but out of pure envy!! He was actually very moody the whole time we ate! Hehehe. Wolfed down his food while glaring at mine (I think he was wishing he was chewing my pork steak hehehehe!).

Here’s how he really feels about his food:

“Meh.” Hehehehe! Why??? Because my food looks like this:

And it tastes exactly the way it looks! Delicious! Heaven! Hehehehe! (I am so carnivorous.)

I had to later appease Gim by grudgingly giving him around 1/4 of my steak. I know, I know, it was so big and there was lots to share but I was soooo real-food-starved that I forgot until later on when I had eated half of my steak already and Gimmi was already smoldering at me while I ate hehehehe. (In Manila, I eat only fast food, cold cuts and canned goods. I only get to eat in good restaurants when my mom comes over to foot the bill, so I hope you understand the state of starvation I was in.)

After lunch, we ordered siomai, our favorite after-lunch snack. Very yum but still nothing beats the siomai in Zamboanga City (grrr, I forget the name of the restaurant, I am sooo forgetful!).

And after that he’s happy again. Look! Oh and there I am.

Before leaving we tried to get the waitress to take a nice shot of us both. TRIED is the operative term. But, er, it seems she had never held a camera before in her life. She kind of stood, in a tilted, crooked way, and then said, “Ma’am, is it okay if I cannot fit your whole body in the shot?“

I was puzzled but nodded away, thinking she would just get me from the shoulders up. I didn’t realize she meant this:

Ah, eh… Pinugot mo naman ulo ko, miss!!! One more take, heh. *weak smile* I try to motion to her that maybe she should step back from the table a bit, just a wee bit, so she could take us both. Here’s the result:

Much better. Heh. Except Gim says he cannot paint the expression on my face. Whatevs. He doesn’t know to paint, anyways!

We went back to Big Joe’s three more times after. (That’s one visit for every week that I stayed in Dapitan hehehe!) The second time I ordered lengua estofado, which was very very tasty, loved it. Gim belligerently ordered the pork steak, and this time I was the envious one hehehe.

The last two times we both ordered pork steak, hahaha. Trust me, it was that good. On our last visit, Gim wanted a rarer taste from his steak so he asked for medium rare and got it. I tasted it and it was good, a lot juicier. But I still liked my steak well done better. Didn’t take a pic of his steak, mine looked healthier. Hahaha.

Here are pictures from our third visit. We ordered steamed chicken rice this time, instead of siomai. It was very, very good. Tasted garlicky and gingery, much like arroz caldo. We liked it so much we ordered it again on our last visit.

The steak (his and hers):

The steamed rice:

Our sumptious meal.

My Gim looking fattened and happy. Hehehehehe.

I can’t recommend Big Joe’s enough. The food is great, service is fast (for a restaurant). If you pass by Dipolog City, you have got to try it. It’s a wifi zone, too, so you can bring your laptop over and surf (and plug in!) for free.

Tags: Cebu, Dipolog, Foods, Manila, p1, Zamboanga

Steak At Big Joe’s

Flisha — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 07:33:00 +0000

I have finally found a way to upload my peechoors! Turns out boyfriend Gim brought a Canon cable to Dapitan (where we are right now). Yeah!

Gim and I, we’re very different. I’m a programmer and I love everything computer. He’s a doctor and loves everything blood and flesh and gory. I read in Reader’s Digest a joke that goes:

Motorcycle Technician: I take apart parts and put them back together. It’s basically the same thing you do! How come I’m paid pittance and you get millions?
Doctor: Try doing it while the engine’s running.

No, it’s not that funny. Eeeneeways. Even though Gim and I have different passions in life, the one thing we both have in common is our great love for food (and you can see it in our faces, in more than one way!).

One place we really like in Dipolog (Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines) is a restaurant called Big Joe’s. The rates are very reasonable but the food is divine. Our first day there Gim ordered Joe’s Special Sizzling Steak ($2), which is beef steak and mushroom covered in sweet sauce. A tasty meal, and very photogenic too, hahaha.

See for yourself.

Gim was very happy when he got his meal. However, he was very dismayed when he saw what I ordered. I got Pork Steak ($3) and my tastebuds watered when I saw the meat (all 150 grams of it). See.

Good, huh?!? Gim was so jealous that I was forced to give him 25% of my food. Hahahaha. And then the next we visited Big Joe’s, he made sure he ordered Pork Steak. I went with Lengua Mechado (tongue of beef, mmm). But I’ll share the pics next time!

Tags: Dipolog, Foods, Photography, Zamboanga