Filipino Cuisine Archives - Page 4 of 5

Binulo Restaurant : A Foodie Haven in Pampanga

Pampanga is dubbed as the Culinary Capital of the Philippines. No doubt about it, they truly deserve the title for every time I hear “Pampanga,” two of their most popular fare always come to mind – pork sisig and, my ultimate favorite, pork tocino. But stopping over at Binulo Restaurant in Clark, Pampanga for dinner after our short stay in Baguio proved that Capampangan cuisine has more delectable food to offer.

Binulo Restaurant is a single-storey establishment, but yet it’s quite roomy, and the tables are adequately spaced, providing guests more room for movement. The name of the restaurant is actually taken after a cooking method of the native Aeta, which uses bamboo or “bulo” as the cooking vessel for their food.

The first thing that landed on our table was a basket of Pititian with Atchara (Php 185). It’s the Kapampangan (or Capampangan) version of chicharon or fried pork rinds (if you love Cebu’s chicharon from Carcar, you will definitely love this too!), and it is served with vinegar and green papaya relish or atsara.

Usually at home, chicharon and vinegar would be more than enough for me, but coupling it with papaya relish added an interestingly sweet and tangy note that made it harder for me to resist stuffing myself full, leaving almost no space for the rest of our meal. 😀

Continue reading Binulo Restaurant : A Foodie Haven in Pampanga

Malabon Kulinarya Festival 2012

Before I tell you what happened at the launch of the first ever Malabon Kulinarya Festival last Tuesday, we’d like to invite you first to the bazaar happening until tomorrow, May 18th, 8am to 5pm, at the parking lot of Malabon City Hall. It’s a 3-day event, but I only got to post today, so you only have until tomorrow to come to the bazaar. There’ll be 30 food and non-food establishments participating. So, if you like anything you see in this feature, you might want to visit the Food Bazaar and Tiangge.

On May 21st, which is the official Malabon Day celebration, there’ll be a cooking competition among senior citizens and cooking enthusiasts aged 18-35 years old at the Malabon Amphitheater. Pinoy Junior Master Chef finalist Miko Manzano will be there for a cooking demonstration too. His family originates from Malabon, which is most likely one of the reasons why he has such passion in cooking at a very young age of 12. Miko was also present at the launch of Malabon Kulinarya Festival 2012, which was held at Dampa sa Paseo restaurant.

The launch of Malabon Kulinarya Festival was aimed at showcasing the diversity of Malabon cuisine and our rich culinary tradition. We’re originally from Navotas and we moved to Malabon 6 years ago, but we can honestly say that the flavors that Malabon has to offer have played a big part in our love and passion for food. And we do hope that this project by the city government, headed by Acting City Mayor Lenlen Oreta and the Malabon Tourism Council, would indeed boost the tourism and economic activities here in Malabon.

The launch of the festival was graced by none other than Annie Pascual-Guerrero, the founder of Center for Culinary Arts, Manila. I was surprised to learn that she is from Malabon, and she couldn’t be any prouder. She told us stories about how growing up here in Malabon and being influenced by her mother developed her deep passion for cooking.

At the event, Ms. Annie Guerrero shared her recipes for Sumpia with Garlic Vinegar Dip and Adobong Pusit Malabon Style (we’ll share these recipes on our next post). She was assisted by Chef Mira Cruz (she’s also from Malabon) and Chef Melissa Sison (not in the photo) from CCA. They gave really helpful tips on cooking, which I know the audience appreciated.

I didn’t get to taste these dishes, but our nanay also prepares them at home and they have almost the same recipes, so I know they are delicious. My fellow bloggers who were there could attest to that. 🙂

If you ask me about the food in Malabon, I would tell you that we serve ultimate Pinoy comfort food. You might be all familiar with Pancit Malabon, Dolor’s Sapin-Sapin, and Arny-Dading’s Peachy-peachy (they have products at the event too, but I wasn’t able to take photos), but there are so much more food that we have to offer. Let me share some of them that were showcased at the launch of Malabon Kulinarya Festival 2012.

Continue reading Malabon Kulinarya Festival 2012

Lugaw with Tokwa’t Baboy : A Pinoy Favorite

Since last year, Ken and I usually go out three to six times a month to check out a new restaurant or food place. We haven’t blogged about most of them yet. We do have fun dining in different restaurants every time. I also enjoy researching for the next resto we’ll visit before we head out. However, every once in a while, we miss the usual food we eat at home. So, one early morning, Ken craved for lugaw, and he headed out to buy the whole family breakfast.

Pardon the photos on this post. Everyone’s hungry so I had to take photos quickly. 😀

Lugaw is porridge or congee, soft-boiled rice usually cooked with broth (chicken, fish or pork). But, there are some who sell lugaw cooked in plain water and they just add seasoning to it. You can top it with pepper, scallions, and crispy fried garlic (yum!). I sometimes put several drops of patis or fish sauce when it’s slightly bland to my taste.

Here in the Philippines, lugaw is usually served with side dishes like tokwa’t baboy (tofu and pork). The pork part is normally the pig’s tongue, which I love. They come with a sauce made with calamansi, soy sauce and slices of onion. I sometimes add some chili pepper with it to give it a little kick.

Some of you might be familiar with Arroz Caldo, also a congee / lugaw, but it’s much thicker and ginger is used to flavor it. There are large chicken parts in Arroz Caldo, which is usually the distinguishing addition between them and Goto, congee that is flavored with beef.

Anyway, Ken loves lugaw with sumpia, which is what we call a beansprout spring roll here. I prefer hard-boiled eggs in my congee, along with the tokwa’t baboy side dish. But, sumpia and the egg weren’t available when he went out to buy lugaw for the whole family. The photo below was taken a long time ago on my old digital camera.

Continue reading Lugaw with Tokwa’t Baboy : A Pinoy Favorite

Binatog : Craving Satisfied!

We happen to be lucky enough to live in a place where there’s still an abundance of legit street food. We have vendors roaming the streets selling all sorts of Filipino merienda like taho, balut, fishballs, mais con yelo, halo-halo, green mangoes with bagoong, and, of course, binatog.

Binatog is made of white corn kernels that have been soaked in salted water, boiled, drained, and then topped with grated coconut. You can choose if you want sugar with it or a little salt.

For the past weeks, I’ve been craving for it and I was already getting frustrated. The vendor who sells it on a bike passes our house too quickly that I haven’t had the chance to catch up to him. And, so, over a week ago, determined to finally satisfy my craving, I tasked my shop assistant and our helper to call the vendor when he passes by our house. Yeah, that’s how much I wanted it. 😀

Unlike the taho and balut vendors, the people who sell binatog on the streets don’t yell out “binatoooggg”. Or at least not here or at our old place in Navotas. Binatog vendors have this very distinct bell ring whenever they’re passing by. So, that afternoon, my ears were on alert. 😀

And then I heard that oh-so familiar bell ring. I literally yelled out from inside my room to tell our helper Ate Susan, who was currently ironing clothes at our living room, to go and call out the vendor. Well, she didn’t hear me, but good thing my assistant was on alert mode too. 😀

“FINALLY!”, I exclaimed at manong (sorry, “sa wakas!” was too dramatic 😀 ). I told him he should slow down next time, so we can all keep up with him. 😀 I bought binatog for everyone! Of course, following the tradition, I brought out our own bowls for him to fill up. The contents of the white bowl cost me a measly Php 20, and he was VERY generous with the grated coconut. I bought Php 50 worth of binatog from him that afternoon.

Continue reading Binatog : Craving Satisfied!

Straightforwardly Filipino : A Satisfying Lunch at Chef Tatung Garden Cafe

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.â€
-Harriet Van Horne

If you’re a regular follower of our blog, you may know now that I have exchanged a career in nursing for an unknown future in the culinary industry. I’ll be honest; there were times when I had doubts if I’ve made the right decision of switching careers, but I always find inspiration from people who have experienced the same things that I’ve been through and have become successful. One of them is Chef Myke “Tatungâ€ Sarthou of Tatung’s Garden Cafe, who decided to brush aside writing and production work to put on a chef’s garb and start a restaurant business.

Hidden along the residential community of Sikatuna Village in Quezon City, a home-turned-restaurant stands with a luscious menu offering a modern take on Filipino Cuisine.

It’s a rainy Saturday morning when we were invited for a lunch at Tatung’s Garden CafÃ©. The faÃ§ade gives little clue that there’s actually a restaurant inside.

Chef Tatung truly understands Filipino cuisine. He shared that Filipinos eat with flavors that are close to nature, and that our cooking is greatly influenced by our environment. That is the reason why in creating his dishes, he made sure that his food tastes like what they really are. A chicken dish should taste like it’s made of chicken. It’s as simple as that.

Continue reading Straightforwardly Filipino : A Satisfying Lunch at Chef Tatung Garden Cafe

Cabalen Eat All You Can Buffet at Trinoma

We love buffet style restaurants because we get to taste a wide variety of dishes while taking control of the ones that we want to have more of. And in our experience, most of the time, it was worth the price. So, weâ€™ll be featuring more eat all you can buffet-style food places here, like Cabalen restaurant.

One weekend in June, our family was out for a whole afternoon of food trips and we were scheduled to watch a flick around 3pm. So, we had a lot of time to spare for lunch. Iâ€™ve been wanting to eat at Cabalen for the longest time so we decided to head on there to try their eat-all-you-can buffet.

Cabalenâ€™s buffet in Trinoma features Filipino and Asian dishes. The price is Php 468 per adult, Php 270 for kids (4 feet and below). This buffet is available only at their branches in SM Clark, SM Mall of Asia Glorietta and SM Megamall. Their other branches only feature Filipino dishes.

Continue reading Cabalen Eat All You Can Buffet at Trinoma

C2 Classic Cuisine Restaurant Signature Series Featured Pinoy Favorites

Yesterday, I posted about the Unlimited Cakes and Coffee promo at Cravings Center Katipunan. I mentioned we were invited by C2 Classic Cuisine to try their Signature Series featuring Pinoy dishes that we all love, with their own spin to it. Upon seeing the options we have, Ken and I looked forward to a hearty meal.

The Signature Series sets below are no longer available since November, but you can order each dish separately from C2. Now, look at these choices and guess which set we chose.

Continue reading C2 Classic Cuisine Restaurant Signature Series Featured Pinoy Favorites

Lola Maria Restaurant at The Legend Villas

Back in August, I invited three of my blogger friends to dine with me at Lola Maria Restaurant at The Legend Villas at Pioneer Street in Mandaluyong City. I had four (4) vouchers I bought from Mega Deals (oh, donâ€™t you just love these group-buying sites!) that we decided to use. We agreed theyâ€™d be tagging along their families and Iâ€™ll be with Ken, like always. 🙂

It was easy to locate The Legend Villas. Lola Maria is right at the entrance so youâ€™d immediately see it. The outside of the restaurant reminds me of old Spanish homes. And when we entered, even the interior setup gives you a somewhat nostalgic feeling, like youâ€™re inside the house of a family of mestizos back in the days.

Continue reading Lola Maria Restaurant at The Legend Villas

Marios : 40 Years of Great Food and Memories

For most local restaurants in the Philippines, surviving 10 years in the business can already be considered an amazing achievement, which gives Mario’s restaurant all the reason to celebrate for lasting an astounding 40 years in the industry.

Mario’s: A History

Mario Benitez’ great passion for customer service married well with Nenuca’s perfect execution of her family’s long tradition of Spanish cuisine, which, together, gave birth to the establishment of the very first Mario’s Restaurant in 1971 along Session Road in Baguio.

Former location of the original Mario’s restaurant, where a branch of KFC now stands.

After the original venue got burned down, Mario’s transferred to a more open and spacious location.

It didn’t take long until the restaurant received great reviews from both locals and vacationers alike, some even encouraging the couple to branch out in the big city of Manila. Finally in 1974, the Benitez Family, confident that their fusion of Filipino and Spanish cuisine will have a special place in the hearts of the ManileÃ±os, opened the doors of their second branch situated along the bustling streets of Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

The faÃ§ade of Mario’s in Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Continue reading Marios : 40 Years of Great Food and Memories

The Search for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger is On!

A few months ago, Ken was part of the Sooo Pinoy food tour where they went around the Metro to have a taste of specialty dishes from different restaurants featuring Filipino cuisines and our all-time favorites. The goal of the Sooo Pinoy advocacy was to help deepen the appreciation and awareness of Filipinos towards our own food. They launched their Facebook community awhile back and now, theyâ€™re looking for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger with the purpose of promoting Filipino cuisine. I know you all would agree that the Pinoy flavor is something we should be proud of. 🙂

WIth that said, I invite our fellow foodie bloggers to take on this challenge. This will not just test your passion for our local cuisine, but also your blogging prowess.

There will be 3 rounds for this challenge to determine the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger. But, before I tell you about that, let me tell you first what you can win if you join:

Whatâ€™s at Stake?

A chance to rediscover the Philippines and experience the richness of Filipino cuisine

â€¢ 10 destinations
â€¢ 30 days
â€¢ 101 restaurants
â€¢ PhP 25,000 cash

Now, if the prizes didnâ€™t pique the interest of the foodie in you, I donâ€™t know what will. Imagine getting to travel around the Philippines and enjoying the food different restaurants here have to offer. Plus, you get Php 25,000 cash prize! 🙂

If youâ€™re excited to know how to join, let me just remind you that you only have until October 24, 2011 to submit your entry to make it to Round 1. Here are the mechanics:

ROUND 1
1. Post an article about Why Should You Be the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger. The
blog post must have a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 500 words, with at
least 3 food shots and a photo of you dining in the restaurant. These are just the
minimum – there is no limit as to how much you want to express creativity!

2. Take a screenshot of the blog entry and email it to Sooo_Pinoy@yahoo.com. The
email must also contain the blog post URL, the contestantâ€™s name and mobile number,
and the blog article itself (preferably in .doc or .docx format)

3. The blog post must not be altered or deleted until the end of the Search (until
December 15).

Key Dates for Round 1:

â€¢ October 5 to 24 â€“ Submission of entries (3 weeks)
â€¢ October 25 to November 5 â€“ Round 1 judging period (2 weeks)
â€¢ November 7 â€“ Announcement of shortlisted contestants and Round 2 Challenge.

If you make it to Round 2, youâ€™d get the next set of mechanics. Isnâ€™t this exciting?!?!

Ken and I are still figuring out if we could make it to the deadline. Weâ€™re both having a VERY hectic week, but this is something we would LOVE to experience. Oh well. *sigh*

If youâ€™re joining the search for the Ultimate Sooo Pinoy Blogger, let us know so we can check out your entry. 🙂