Balikbayan Favorites

My cousins from Canada arrived recently and us, being Filipinos took that as a sign to organize a welcome fiesta over the weekend. 

It was fun to think about the dishes that we're having because my cousin's last visit to Manila was more than a decade ago. And even if she cooks Filipino food in Canada, it is still different when you eat it here in Manila. 

Pia Y Damaso Favorites

Pia Y Damaso is a restaurant with a quaint old-world feel right in the heart of Makati. The dishes are inspired from the pages of Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. I find it nice that there's a restaurant wherein you can reminisce about reading Rizal's famous novels aside from just talking about how good the food is.

EVENT: MarQuee Mall's Big Bite, October 18-20

Ten Reasons You Can't Miss MarQuee Mall's Big Bite

Every foodie will have to mark their calendars for "Big Bite! The Northern Food Festival" from October 18-20 at MarQuee Park, Angeles City, Pampanga. Get your gang ready, grab a date, bring the whole family along or have the office sign up for a road trip. Big Bite! is the glorious Filipino food celebration that promises to surpass all food fests before it. And here are the reasons why:

1. It's the largest Northern Food Festival ever.
2. It's a food fiesta of regional cuisines in one location.
3. It's at the Philippines' culinary center.
4. It's at MarQuee Mall.
5. Food legends will take the stage.

RECIPE: Vegetarian Sisig

I love sisig but I know I can't eat it every day. Besides, we've been more conscious of eating healthily for the past few months now (with a few occasion to indulge in sinful food pleasures) that our fridge is never without vegetables and fruits. Luckily, daughter prefers fish (and other seafood) so healthy eating is win-win.

Contrary to other people's belief that vegetarian food is tasteless, let me share with you a recipe that will prove otherwise. 

Ingredients:

ground vegemeat, 100g

minced gluten, 100g

olive oil

1 minced bell pepper (medium)

1 minced onion (medium)

1 minced garlic (small)

2-3 pcs bayleaf

ground black pepper

salt (preferably rock salt)

sugar

chili pepper (optional)

tabasco sauce (optional)

egg (optional)

Stir-fry vegemeat and gluten in olive oil for 5 minutes, then add garlic and bayleaf. Add onions and bell pepper once the garlic is cooked. Add salt, ground pepper and sugar according to taste. 

Bon appetit! 

Not-So-Chic

Pork Sisig


Balamban Liempo

Turon with caramel syrup

Chic-Boy

I've been meaning to eat in this resto for the longest time but most branches are out of the way. Then one day, we noticed a sign that says "Opening Soon!" We ended up dining at the resto one Sunday evening after our mall-stroll. I was thinking of ordering chicken but decided against it since I wanted to taste the balamban liempo which a lot of people seem to rave about. So what's the big deal? Is it as yummy as my homemade balamban liempo? Of course not. Really. I find Chic-Boy's very oily and not as flavorful. Also, the portion that was given to us was a bit burnt. Not crispy, but burnt. After the initial disappointment, my heart literally leapt for joy when I tasted the vinegar served with the liempo. Two thumbs up! The sisig was okay, though. But not that memorable. And the turon. Hmmmm ... I was expecting to be blown away but it turned out that I was driven away. It looked okay when it was served to us but when I tasted it, it was a reheated version of turon. Nuked!

So our Chic-Boy experience didn't turn out great. Maybe the stars were not in a lucky position when we ate there. However, you'd have to literally drag me back to eat there again.