And just recently, I got an invite from Hukad Trinoma branch to join them for a special dinner as they introduced their ambassador- Gerald Anderson.
Gerald Anderson reiterates his love for good 'ol Filipino comfort food and these he found at Hukad. And he really enjoyed the food at Hukad and he even brought along his whole family that night. For those who are asking, "hukad" is a Visayan word for ladle. So when people say hukad, it is synonymous with "to eat" or "let's eat," or maybe, "feast."
And you don't need to be a Visayan to enjoy the food at Hukad because I promise you, everything is delicious.
So here's what we ate:
For starters, we had the Pomelo Salad (refer to first photo). This is a very refreshing salad of pomelo and turnip strips. The flavors was balanced by the crispy dried pusit and the secret vinaigrette. This is perfect for the crispy pata. ;)
Ngohiong. For the uninitiated, "ngohiong" tastes weird because of the five-spice powder. But believe me, once you get past the weirdness, you'll be craving for this. It is similar to lumpia except for its tastes which is somewhat close to that of kikiam. Ngohiong is one of the food that I always look forward to when I go to Cebu.
Adobong Talong. It looks quite appetizing especially and really aromatic. Alas, eggplant doesn't agree with me so I wasn't able to taste this. But my table-mates did say its good.
Chicken Halang-Halang. This is a spicy dish with coconut milk that is like "ginataang manok. The difference here is that it has lemongrass and that brings out an explosion of flavors with every bite. More rice please!
Crispy Pata. I'm not really sure where crispy pata originated but crispy pata is crispy pata. And this crispy pata is really crispy (outside) with tender meat. I do love my crispy pata with vinegar and soy sauce but I remember that they serve this with atchara especially in the Visayan region. But really, this crispy pata from Hukad doesn't need any "sawsawan" or dipping sauce because it is good as it is.
And for those who loves rice, you'll be happy to know that Hukad serves unli-rice so that one can really savor the dining experience. Topping that is the fact that prices at Hukad are very reasonable.
Looking forward to my next visit at Hukad to have my fill of "ngohiong" and other dishes.
Hukad
Ground Floor, North Wing
Trinoma Mall, Quezon City