What To Eat in 8 Cities - all in a day

I kind of like being here in BKK with Momsie and Popsie. It's my chance to pretend I'm their only child, harhar!

The three of us went to Terminal 21 yesterday - for a photo shoot, what else? Oh yeah, and to have some late lunch too.

Terminal 21 has a food court on the San Francisco Pier area (5th level). It sells most Thai street foods in a sterile mall environment.

kway chap (sp?) - roasted pork, offal, boiled egg, and sheet noodles in pork broth

 

oyster orsuan - tiny oysters cooked in what feels like gawgaw mung bean sprouts and egg

 

I forgot what this is called but it is essentially boiled and fried pork skin - think unpuffed, soft, and tender chicharon

One word: meh.

Mas madumi, mas masarap. That's not to say street food is dirty (really, now?) but I do think the flavors are more alive and robust when you eat it in the grottier places. There's more culture in it, too.

The saviors of this meal went unphotographed: the slushies. Momsie had a berry-banana blend, Popsie had two(!) glasses of ma muang (mango) shake, while I had a guava-grape tomato-strawberry-carrot and God Knows What Else shake. It was gooooooood!

Tomorrow is another day of hitting the streets with my baht in one hand, and a camera in the other.

My Noshing Buddies

Jeni and I aren't the only noshers in the family. My sisters (plus me = Three Little Pigs) are my partners in (food) crime!

My not-so-twin sisters with their carbon-copy frozen yogurt treats

Here's their favorite dessert: frozen yogurt with a double helping of new york cheesecake and a smattering of crushed grahams.

A calorie bomb perhaps, but it'd be a delicious way to go. I prefer it plain, though.

I miss you, Little Pigs!

Memories of Bangkok - Brain Freeze!

Its not only on the street that good food is found in Bangkok. While I usually steer clear of food chains (I am guilty of succumbing to Burger King once, though), I can't help but wander into shops within the malls.

Gelate's display case

Especially when they sell ice cream! Or in this case... gelato!

Gelate is (was) in Central World, in one of the upper floors. On my first visit, I took my two sisters where we pigged out on Ferrero Rocher, passionfruit (my favorite), and kiwi.

a trio of gelate: Ferrero Rocher, kiwi, passionfruit

They were awesome - creamy and tasted of what their flavors called them! Think of it this way: if you smooshed up Ferrero, kiwi and passionfruit (separately, of course) and then froze them up... you'd get these three scoops of heaven. The Ferrero was chocolatey and hazelnut-ty in a VERY good way. The cleansing, sweet and acidic taste of the passionfruit vacuumed up your palate in preparation for the shy kiwi flavor. Both fruit flavors has their own little seeds (not-so-little in the case of the passionfruit) that I loved crunching down on. This was win-win-win!

Raspberry and vanilla gelate

Being the pigs that we were (my two sisters and I are not called The Three Little Pigs for nothing!), Sissy and I made a return trip a few days later to assault our taste buds some more. This time, we had raspberry and vanilla. The latter was pure perfection: creamy, smooth and flecked with vanilla dots. The raspberry was good too: fruity-sweet, lip-puckering tart and cleansing.

My only quibble: too many seeds. These were not the crunch-able type either. So Sissy and I would scoop up some of the gelato, work it around our mouth - smooshing it against the roof our mouths with the tongue - then unceremoniously spit the seeds out on some tissue. Tsk tsk...

You think that was the end of it? Heck no! The Two Little Pigs (the littlest one opted to stay home and miss out... harhar!) spotted Ete at Silom Central. Ete, the lady at the counter informed me, is French for summer. Makes sense! Hot weather = cold gelato. Bring it on!

We had wanted to try their cookie dough ice cream but they ran out. So we settled on some Rookie Rocky (kind of like Rocky Road meets Cookies n Cream) and Mint Chocolate. I remember the Rookie Rocky more - due mostly to its high chocolate content and the marshmallows. The mint chocolate tasted of Vicks vaporub on chocolate but it's a minor quibble. I know I'm being unfair comparing Ete to Gelate... but I liked Gelate more.

Mint chocolate chip and Rookie Rocky (road)

On my last day for that BKK trip, Sissy and I returned to Ete to have: Banofi (the banana component too artificial, the coffee flavor alive - like my morning cup of joe frozen up and scooped), Mocha Crunch (think a Stabucks Mocha Frappucino with sweet-salty caramel shards - delicious!), Nutella (mix a cup of cream with a jar of Nutella, stir and freeze - a masterpiece), and Green Tea (slightly astringent, cool, smooth - the way green tea ought to be). I never wanted to leave and I wanted to kick myself for not discovering it earlier! Plus, I kept missing the cookie dough.

Top: Banofi and Mocha Crunch
Bottom: matcha (green tea) and Nutella

But on my next visit to BKK, I finally tried the cookie dough! What can I say... spectacular! I daresay it was much better than Sebastian's! Heehee...

I also had countless DQ blizzards. I couldn't help it. It's WAY cheaper there than here in Manila. 1 pint in BKK = a 12 ouncer here in Manila. Can you blame me for indulging?

The last ice cream find is Swensen's. From my POV, methinks it's a local brand. Thais are big patrons of their local brands and every Swensen's branch I've been to (five of them) have been packed! I don't doubt the reason: the ice cream is fantanstic! We bought 1 quart each of Midnight Brownies and Rum Raisin. I know I gushed about these in my other blog... but good God! They were amazing!

Swensen's: rum raisin and midnight brownies

So on my next visit, I made sure to grab a two-scoop cone: berry yoghurt and midnight brownies. Win-win!

Memories of Bangkok - Street Food

Whenever I am at extreme emotions, my first thought is "I need a vacation". The first place on my mind? Bangkok.

My first plate of authentic pad thai/phat thai

No mystery there. I love the food. I love the city. I love the trains (but I love Seoul's more), I love the A/C buses, I love the street food, I love the shopping, I love seeing my Dad, I love the malls... did I say I love the food?

These days, I find myself looking back at all the great chow I came across and stuffed in my gaping maw while I was in that beautiful city. Most of the time, I could not resist cracking open my picture files and salivating at all the food pics. Yes, I am masochistic that way.

A feast of kai yang (roasted chicken), som tam (papaya salad) and kao niew (sticky rice)

So... a stroll down food memory lane. This is going to get quite lengthy so I'll stop myself when I see you, dear reader, struggling to keep your eyes open. Yes?

I have professed my love for somtam in other posts on this blog (and elsewhere in cyberspace)... and no surprises. It was part of my first meal in BKK on my first visit. Who can resist the symphony of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy? Certainly not me, as I ate every bit of papaya on the plate. I even used up all the dressing, soaked into the plate of greens (raw cabbage, basil, and raw young string beans or yard-long beans - a revelation!) then into my belly. Yaawwrrrrr!

Left: som tam; right: plate of Thai basil, raw cabbage, raw water spinach/kangkong/morning glory

I love all things chewy, so it's no surprise that I stuff myself with kao niew every chance I get. It's stickier than the stickiest sticky rice I have ever tried here in the Philippines. Stuffed in a woven basket, this resilient bunch of grains are warm and fluffy - practically begging to be picked between fingers, rolled into a (big, in my case) ball, dipped in somtam dressing, and stuffed in my mouth. I was always happy to oblige.

kai yang and kao niew

Another dish that captured by heart is kwai chap (not so sure of the romanization but it sounded that way) - thick ribbons of rice flour noodles (methinks) blanched in a rich broth. Tossed in a bowl with slices of pork liver, fried firm tofu, a boiled egg, slivers of what I think is porcine kidney, chunks of pork blood, and God knows what else - it's then doused liberally in very meaty broth (pork and MSG, my pedestrian palate, says) and served with a metal spoon. No chopsticks here but I don't mind. Slurping (not too much of the broth, though. Too much MSG = migraine) is the only way to go... and then chased by a bottle of black sesame soymilk (13 baht at any friendly neighborhood 7-11 or Family Mart). Boo yeah!

Left: kway chap vendor on Convent; right: a bowl of special kway chap

On the street, one will find a plethora of eats. I never got a picture of the gai thot (fried chicken) guy but I did capture Khun Chao, our resident roti man, in action. He opens shop at around 6PM in front of my dad's old Condo on Phi Phat 2. At around 9pm, he moves on to Silom corner Convent.

He works his magic like so: 1) He grabs a ball of pre-measured dough, 2) flattens it on the table, 3) raises it and whacks it on his greased metal work surface until it is paper thin and wider than a serving platter, 4) sets it afloat in hot oil, 5) cracks an egg in the middle (by request, which I always do) 6) allows the dough to get all crispy and brown on the bottom, 7) folds the dough into a neat square, 8) cuts it into 8, and 9) liberally douses the whole creation with granulated white sugar (nit noy, kha - only a little, please) and condensed milk. Yowzah!

Left: takoh cakes and other sweets; right: all this, for twenty baht

Other stuff on the street are: 1) takoh cakes (20 baht for 8 pieces! Manila restos are ripping us off!), 2) deep fried dough things (I dunno their name), and 3) kamote flour balls fried in very hot oil. My non-love affair with kamote is well-known but this is one form of kamote I will eat!

Left: my sisters buying deep-fried dough-y snacks; right: deep fried kamote-flour balls

Oh, woe is me! I need a vacation... who wants to come with me?!?

Bangkok Eats: The BKK Food Trip

Popsie works in my favorite Asian city (so far): Bangkok, Thailand. He lives smack dab in the middle of the CBD (central business district - think Makati or Libis or Ortigas).

I love it here! What's not to love about living in a condo on the top floor with breathtaking views of the city, food all around and around the clock, fresh fruit and vegetables for a few baht (THB 1 to Php1.3 threabouts), wonderful shopping, a few minutes walk from the nearest BTS (similar to our LRT/MRT. In BKK, the MRT is the subway), and did I say the food is great?

My favorite Thai food is not pad thai, kai thot, or tom kha gai. It's that salad of grated unripe papaya, carrots, long beans (sitaw) dressed with nam pla (fish sauce aka patis), lime juice, sugar, a bit of water, grated lemongrass, sliced kaffir lime leaves and dried shrimps. The one food that haunts my dreams and one I ate everyday during my recent visit to the city.

Enter the som tam. Oh, and did I mention this usually costs just 30 baht? I told you food is GOOD here!

Clockwise from top: (1)plain som tam from Som Tam Convent (Day 1), (2)som tam from the kai yang place on Phi Phat 2, (3) on my last day, a plain one also from Som Tam Convent, (4) Another one from Som Tam Convent ,this one with salted duck eggs for Day 3,

I love the harmony of flavors as they crash into each other on my tongue. All at once it's salty, sweet, sour, spicy - even when I request "mai sai prik, kha!" (Please do not put chili). It's inevitable that some of the chili from the last batch will make its way into my serving.

I kid you not when I say I ate for four days straight, sometimes more than once a day.

Of course it's not the only thing I ate. I had the freshest and juiciest rambutan I have ever had in my life. Their "hairs" still green, their skin a vibrant red... all to the tune of 30 baht (about 40 Php) per kilo. I also stuffed my face with the sweetest, most luscious mangosteens this side of Asia, an absolute steal at 35 baht per kilo (around 50 Php). Try getting THAT here in Manila. Popsie has several suki in the talat (market) so he can pretty much count on a discount when he goes to the market Saturday or Sunday mornings.

There is also a sweet-salty-sour-spicy pork rib soup that we enjoy at Som Tam Convent (Convent road runs perpendicular to Silom). I like this with the sliced pork liver with mint. The liver barely cooked, the mint complimenting the creaminess of the "meat"... all paired with kao niew - sticky rice stuffed in a woven basket. This is best eaten with bare hands - roll into a ball a and dip into the sauce of either the pork liver or the som tam. Pop in mouth and enjoy!

som tam, pork belly with mint, pork liver with mint, sour spare rib soup

I got my sweet tooth from Momsie so it comes as no surprise that we sugar coma-ed with each other - with my scoop of berry yoghurt and midnight chocolate from Swensen's and my mom's favorite: McDonald's vanilla twist dipped in chocolate.

More sweets: there are vendors that sell very thin crepes to be filled with fairy floss. Et voila! Tuck in!

Buy two bags of crepes and a pack of fairy floss, place on plate, fill crepes with floss, roll up and eat!

I will need to go back again before the year is over. My July stay was only four days (so hard to go on leave), whereas I was there for three weeks over Christmas/New Year 2009. I want to take Jeni there... maybe in time for Song Kran.

Happy Eating!

In the (Army) Navy...

One day I needed to go to the bank to take care of business. Afterwards came the most important business of them all: what to eat?

Army Navy is a resto (eating place) that has its roots in Tagaytay City - the other summer capital of the Philippines. I have long been planning a road trip to savor the huge burgers and the brilliant burritos but have been too busy (aren't we all?) to make it a reality.

Luck, however, is on my side as a branch opened up near La Salle Taft and another at the Ayala Westgate. It is the latter branch where I satisfied my hunger.

Here they serve the famed "Bully Boy", which is three quarter-pound pure beef patties in a black-and-tan sesame seed-studded bun. Yes, 3/4 of a pound of beef - and that's just the patties!

I came, however, for the burritos. Which were HUGE! My hand could barely close around one. I poured on the salsa (mushed up but good) and the yoghurt sauce, bit into the edge and chewed.

Not bad. The tortilla tasted fresh - warm with the right amount of resistance and chew. The steak strips were abundant, as were the greens. The garlick-y kick of the yoghurt sauce followed by the fire of the salsa was awesome. The Spanish rice and beans rounded it all out.

I guess that's my major quibble: too much rice!

To wash it all down: a thick chocolate milkshake. Chocolate ice cream, milk and a bit of ice - blended to smooth perfection. It was thick enough that my straw could stand in it but not too think that I could suck it through a straw. I appreciate (Wendy's) Frostee-like thickness but not when I actually want a drink!

All in all, it was quite a pleasant experience and I would definitely come back for the steak sandwich (which Leo had) - I forgot its fancy name but it looked delish. I had a bad case of order envy that day.

On a side note, Leo got a Bully Boy to go. My gassss, I know I am not up to it yet but I know someday I will get the chance to conquer that bully!

Happy Eating!

Blast From The Past: The Kimchi-fication of Kasseopeia (part 1)

A flashback from my Seoul trip in late 2008. I realized I never really posted a food-oriented entry on my Seoul trip so I think I'll start doing that now while I still have no new food-ventures (*sigh*) to blab about.

So on on one chilly Friday night (it was the start of winter), we had some pork sizzling on a metal grill fired up by glowing coals. It was beautiful! The smokiness of the pork, the sweet-spicy tang of the dipping sauce, the bite of the Korean shiso (an acquired taste, I admit) and the crunch of the oh-so-fresh lettuce (hydroponic?).

To accompany that, we were served this salad. It was frisee-like leaves tossed with what I suppose is the stuff that makes kimchi HOT. Regardless, I loved it and was quite happy none of the other Pinoys fancied it. More for me to shove into my gaping maw!

Here's the pork, sizzling away on a hot bed of coals...

The next day, we went on a touristy jaunt and ended up in a tradional Korean dumpling and noodle shop. JinSoo ordered for us and what we had was a soup of knife-cut buckwheat noodles with oysters.

Good Lord in heaven... the brininess of the tiny oysters as they popped in my mouth... the pillowy chewiness of the noodles... the thickness of the almost-bland broth. It was soooooo good! I ate three HUGE bowls of it. It is as good as my photo of it is bad (1.2MP phone cam in bad lighting). This got me ready to walk around Seoul in -4C weather. Hoo yeah!

The serving "scoop" is actually a hollowed out dried gourd. Beautiful, eh?

More Korean food adventures in another post. This one just about made my mouth water enough to warrant a flash-flood alert.

Too Much Food at A-venetto (MOA)

Jen and I aren't really into eating in moderation (especially me). So it's no surprise that when we go resto-hopping, this is the usual scene: she hands me the menu, I order, the food arrives, we stare bug-eyed, we eat, we eat some more, our eyes bug out, we give up, we pay and have the leftovers wrapped up for midnight snacking.

Same scene unfolded over at A-venetto's Pizzeria located near the (huge) stage/auditorium-esque structure of Mall of Asia.

I have fond memories of A-venetto. Back in high school, I used to hang out at their Visayas Avenue branch with my chatmates from the dalnet,#up channel (yeah, mIRC is so yesterday but it was a great place to meet friends! Some of them are still my dearest friends, but I digress). In college, I hung out with my PT berks and with my M.A.-mates a few years later.

But now that I live nearer this behemoth of a mall, it is this branch that I frequent.

Enough chatter, let's eat!

The anchovy pizza. Lots and lots of pizza!

The anchovy pizza is everything I want in a pizza. It has enough cheese for that satisfying hint of creaminess but not enough to be cloying (I am not as fond of cheese as Jen is); the saltiness of the anchovies all but melted into the rich tomato base and the crispy-chewy crust. The garlic is not visible on this pizza (in the olden days, I used to see the teeny tiny pieces of garlic underneath all the toppings) but I get enough of the caramelized sweetness. With more than a few sprinkles of dried chilli flakes, two slices of this monster was no match for my gut! Bring it on!

While I was busy snarfing my second slice of pizza, the poultry arrived. Rather it was the basket of buffalo chicken wings.

Six pieces = four for Jeni and two for me. No leftovers with this one!

This was just ok. Nothing spectacular. While it lacked the salty-spicy-sour-sweet-party-in-my-mouth appeal of some of my favorite buffy wings (try the one from Brooklyn Pizza. Delish!), Jen devoured four pieces in a flash. Being the consummate chicken-lover (she'll grow wings soon, I swear!), she needed no encouragement! I, however, held out for the next dish...

Oil + garlic + seafood = one mighty good pasta dish!

Shrimp + squid + olive oil + a bit of cream + pesto + a kick of garlic = two plates of yum-o pasta. Though the noodles were not as al dente as I'd like them to be, the sauce was its saving grace. It was light enough not to overpower the delicate flavor of the seafood but heavy enough to coat the massive portion of noodles without getting lost in taste-ation. The cream gave each bite a pleasant mouthfeel while the basil and olive oil kept it from being too... cloying. Y-U-M.

We also had a blah tossed salad, but what the hey! The greens balanced out the not-so-imaginary fat in the other dishes. That aside, Jen and I waddled out of the resto with our midnight snack. Off we went for dessert.

Two weeks after this pig-out, we brought Jen's parents and two brothers to the same place. A week later, we brought my two sisters to the same place and ordered the same exact stuff but with two extra orders of chicken... I still got the tossed salad. Old habits die hard.