Home-cooked Chabacano dish: Bacalao

I am happy that mama cooked the Bacalao today. :) It has been a family tradition to cook the Bacalao during Good Friday ever since my lola was still with us. This is practiced as a substitute meal in lieu of meat since meat is not to be consumed during Good Friday.

Bacalao is a traditional Chabacano Lenten dish which is made of salted cod, cooked in tomato sauce; sauteed in garlic, onion and tomatoes in olive oil then seasoned with bay leaf, pepper, and bell peppers. It used to be salted cod but due to its expensive price tag and the scarcity of cod in tropical waters, the salted cod's local substitute is the salted 'labahita' which is I think is the tropical cousin of the codfish. As most of Caviteno families cook this dish, Good Friday is sometimes referred to as the 'Bacalao Festival'. :)

While the dish is being cooked, I talked to mama and ate annie and asked them how it is cooked. Well, the cooking portion looked simple but the cleaning portion is quite tedious and messy.

Before cooking, the salted cod or bacalao is soaked in water overnight to soften and cleanse the meat and dissolve the remaining 'lansa'. Then, the morning after, the bacalao is then taken out of the water and shredded-off from the fish bone.

Ma went to sautee in olive oil a mixture of garlic, onions and chopped tomatoes.

While sauteeing, Ma extracted a dyed water from the anatto(achuete) seeds. This will contribute to the reddish-orage hue of the dish.

The dyed water was then poured over the saute mix and she let it simmer. She said that it should be able to 'magmantika' or most of the water should be evaporated and just leave the dyed olive oil in the pan.

When it's done, she poured the bacalao meat in the pan and started mixing it.

Next came the bell peppers, potatoes and garbanzos.

Just mix it evenly and then it's ready to be served.

Our family opts to add the garbanzo but other households have their own versions using cabbage instead. Other families may have their version a little 'masabaw' while some dish are drier. The Chabacano Bacalao is similar to the Spanish dish Bacalao Vizcaina.This dish is like the adobo, since no two families have the same version of Bacalao.

I know that it's Lent and it's supposed to be a time of sacrifice and abstinence but I can't help to comeback for more serving of this dish since this is one of my favourite dish and it's only cooked during Lent. :)

I really enjoyed it with a cup of steamed rice plus a tall glass of ice-cold sago gulaman. :)

Happy Easter guys!

Bacalhau a Bras for Lent

We don't often see restaurants that serve Portuguese cuisine here in Metro Manila. So far, when I'm asked about Portuguese food, the image of Portuguese Sardines (sardines canned in olive oil and seasoned with chillies, bayleaf and pepper) comes to my mind. I really haven't tried a real Portuguese food.I also have the notion that Portuguese dishes are somewhat close to Spanish cooking since the two are neighbors.

Well, last weekend, I was glad to see Lisboa Portuguese Cuisine in the busy Legaspi Market. Browsing their menu, I was immediately struck with what I want to try. I want their Bacalhau dishes. Bacalhau is a type of salted, sundried codfish, similar to the Filipino daing. I was strucked with their Bacalhau dishes since, during the Lenten week, we Cavitenos also cook a local variety of Bacalhau which we call simply as the 'Bacalao'. However, our local dish is dyed reddish-orange due to the liberal use of the anatto seeds and our dish has its roots from the Spanish influence via the Fort San Felipe in the old Cavite city.

Lisboa offers three kinds of Bacalhau dishes: the Pasteis Bacalhau, which is the Bacalhau fish cakes; the Arroz de Bacalhau, which is the Bacalhau Risotto with garlic onions and tomatoes; and the Bacalhau A Bras, which is what I had. Striking a conversation with the owners, I was surprised to hear that there are many many ways to prepare and cook the Bacalhau. It seems that is delicacy is one of the staples of a Portuguese kitchen.

Bacalhau A Bras is a dish made from shredded Bacalhau, fried strips of potatoes and egg which are then sauteed in olive oil and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. It is served with a cup of rice as a siding.I find the Bacalhau A Bras a delicious dish. It has light flavor and not too oily and 'malansa'. It's really a great and filling Portuguese lunch.

Lisboa also offers other Portuguese delicacies like meat dishes such as Frango Pire-Pires, Carne De Porco Alentejana; seafoods such as Camaron Grelhado, Ameijoas Bulhao Pato; and desserts like the world-famous custard tart, Pasteis de Nata.

Finally, I got to have a real Portuguese food here in Manila. :)
Thanks a ton Mr. Mario and Ms. Arlyn of Lisboa! :)

Cheers!

Lisboa Portuguese Cuisine

Authentic Taste of Portuguese Cuisine

Salcedo Market / Legaspi Market

09175238205

Sincerity Restaurant: Fried Chicken Galore!

My family has been searching for this restaurant for several years already ever since my uncle read a mouth-watering article about their fried chicken in the Sunday's daily. As a gastronomic nomad, my mom asked me to go to Binondo to look and search for Sincerity for my uncle.

After countless driving in the main roads and one-way or two-way side streets, we finally found Sincerity Restaurant last week. This hole-in-a-wall place is tucked in the tight and busy Yuchengco St.. Parking can be a challenge here but don't fret since there is a small pay parking lot a few stores beside the rastaurant. It was also just in time that our friend Frannywanny also wrote a post about her experiences with Sincerity. I guess, that kept our appetite burn fiercer for their prized treat, their fried chicken. And then off we went to Sincerity after a tiring week passed by.

When we got here, the place was jampacked with diners. Children and adults all enjoyed the Chinese dishes that Sincerity's kitchen churned out. We waited to be seated upstairs since the place downstairs was already packed full. As we waited, we already ordered our lunch which consisted of the whole order Sincerity Fried Chicken, a bowl Duck Misua Soup, and 2 cups of Kiampong.

The Sincerity Fried Chicken that I had here tasted great. My hungry tastebuds somehow picks up a taste that there is a predominant Chinese spice that was used here, my inkling is that, it can be the 'Five-Spice' mix. I am used in eating fried chicken with several cups of rice since I am a 'rice monster' but the chicken was also good to be eaten even as just a finger food. I had a 'papak' galore!

The warm bowl of Duck Misua was served next. It's a Misua soup with a single duck leg on it. It was my first time to taste a misua soup flavored with duck meat since what we do at home is only Misua soup, flavored with dried, salted shrimp(hebi), tiny slices of pork and garnished with patola. The soup tasted well. My girlfriend, Kat tasted that it has a tiny hint of 'xibut' or 'sibut' which is what they call the traditional Chinese herb mix. This is something new for me.

Their Kiampong is a winner. A very delicious rice dish. Kiampong is a rice dish, cooked in a soy-based boil and garnished with chicken, nuts and spring onions. It is quite similar to Machang, only though the Machang is quite thicker and stickier. Kat and I told each other that we will also come back for it. I've only tasted a Kiampong from my Fil-Chinese friend in the office and as I say, Sincerity's Kiampong matched well with the taste of the Kiampong that my friend gave me. Perfect! Kat said that it was just like the home-cooked Kiampong that they had.

What made it more into a happy and filling meal is the easy price of the lunch fare.

The menu is very easy on the wallet. :)

I'd also like give special thanks to Frannywanny for her well-written Sincerity experiences. :)

Cheers!

Sincerity Restaurant

497 Yuchengco (Nueva) St.,

Binondo, Manila(02)241 9990 (02)241 9972

Philly lunch @ Elbert's Cheesesteak

Craving for a CheeseSteak sandiwich? I really miss those philly sandwiches that my mom and aunt made us when we had a loooooong drive for a weekend vacation. Memories of those philly sandwiches topped with onions, cheese and bellpeppers It's been quite sometime that my folks prepared this sandwich at our home. Then, two weeks ago, we saw Elbert's CheeseSteak Sandwiches in Powerplant Mall. This cheesesteak store is the 'brother' of the famous steakhouse in downtown Makati.

When my girlfriend and I visited this one for our lunch last week, the one that I ordered is the American Cheesesteak. It is their 'basic' cheesesteak which comes with a chunky portion of thinly-sliced steak on a bread bun and topped with caramelized onions and melted cheddar cheese. Oooh! I still fondly recall the savory smell and flavor of the sandwich! :D Very vivid memories since the steak will be cooked in an iron griddle right in front of you.

Well, I want to share this with you. At first I thought that the sandwich that I had was just small, 'bitin' and quite pricey (around 300+Php for just the sandwich) but when I finished it, I felt so full. The sandwich was such a filling meal. The steak tastes real good and it was a tender bite. The sandwich's roll was also fresh and soft. It's an option to add 80Php to make your meal into a sort of a 'value meal' by the addition of a glass of soda and their fries, which is also good. It's quite close to In-N-Out 's fries.

I just hope that they can offer an option of extra toppings if you want to spike up your sandwich like added cheese, more onions etc.

Well this cheesesteak store definitely made my long-time crave for cheesesteak waaaayyy satisfied. :)

We finished our meal with a smiling tummy and a happy..'burp'. :)

Cheers!

Elbert's Cheesesteak Sandwiches

Lower Basement Powerplant Mall,

Makati City

Explorin' Sichuan at Sze-Chuan House

Chinese food in Manila are heavily influence by Cantonese cooking by way of HongKong. These involves dimsum, roasting, braising, frying, slow-cooked hot pots, rich and flavorful sauces and
savory stews.

However, I also love to try other Chinese dishes like those of the Sze-chuan cuisine.

Sze-chuan or Sichuan cooking are known for their spicy dishes. Quite a robust flavor! They are very liberal in their use of chillies and pepper. Stir-frying is the most common form of cooking a Sze-chuan dish. Images of a sizzling wok with veggies and meat over a high-flame plays on my mind whenever I think of Sze-Chuan dishes.

If you want Sze-Chuan dishes, try to drop a visit to the Sze-Chuan House along Roxas Blvd. Yup, the name sounds very flat and ordinary, and not eye-catching for me. It has been there for
the longest time (since late 70s) but it did not attract my attention until recently. I always pass by this restaurant when I was still in college but it didn't caught my attention for the misconception that it's just an ordinary Chinese restaurant serving the typical Chinese dishes. But when we dropped this place a visit last weekend, we were surprised to see that their menu boasts different varieties of Sze-Chuan dishes along with other Chinese dishes.

Oh and I almost forgot, their ambiance also reminds me of those old Chinese restaurants (laminated woodworks, linen tables, incandescent lamps) that we used to visit when we were still young.

We ordered a serving of the KungPao Frog Legs and the Double-Cooked Pork for our lunch.

KungPao Frog legs is a traditional Sze-chuan dish made of stir-fried frog legs cooked with a sweet spicy sauce seasoned with sundried chillies, sliced leeks and garnished with peanuts. A few years back, I already tried the KungPao Chicken that's why we tried the frog legs variety. I am no big fan of frog legs due to the distinct unique flavor of its meat but the dish do taste good. It's not my favorite dish but I can go along with it. My girlfriend loved the dish that she ate a big portion of the frog legs.

The other trademark Sichuan dish of Double-cooked Pork was served next. The Double- Cooked Pork has a long history in Sichuan cooking. I like it better than the frog legs. The dish came in generous portion of pork bacon cuts (not the bacon cold cuts) seasoned with spices(predominantly chillies) and garnished with sliced bell peppers and onions. This stir-fried dish tasted great. They're a bit spicy and salty.

Their Yangchow rice is just ordinary, though it tasted more of like a 'Filipinized' Yangchow rice.

What lies next for us when we go back here are their Dandan Noodles and their rendition of the Mapo Doufu. Another trademark Sze-chuan dishes.

When you visit this place, try to look for the menu items with red exclamation marks as these are the traditional Sze-Chuan dishes. The more the exclamations get, the spicier and hotter it gets. :)

Cheers!

Sze-Chuan House

Aloha Hotel

2150 Roxas Blvd. cor. Quirino Ave.,

Malate, Manila

02 526-8088 ; 02 525-4192

Suzhou's Xiao Long Bao

We were craving for a dimsum meal last night and we headed straight to Binondo. We drove through the side streets and searched for Suzhou Dimsum.

Suzhou's specialty is the Xiao Long Bao. This is a dumpling filled with meat, kuchay, spices and a spoonful of hot broth.

Suzhou's version have a meatball that tastes with a hint of ginger inside the dumpling which is further enhanced by the flavor of the vinegar dip with julienned ginger. These are great! This is the second time that I tasted Xiao Long Bao and I'd say that this is better then the first one that I tried. I think this is the the perfect Xiao Long Bao for me. Suzhou also offers frozen Xiao Long Bao and other dimsum for take away.

Their Steamed Soy Beef and Tofu Seafood Soup are also great. I love the Tofu soup since it is not that too rich and heavy. It's midway between rich versus a clear broth. It is also infused with a lot of squid and shrimp. Light and warm! Perfect to savor down your palate along with an ice-cold bottle of Tsingtao beer.

Enjoy!

Suzhou Dimsum
Gandara St. (Padilla St.), Binondo, Manila

Warm delicious and quick chow from the heart of Binondo

Well, I can say that this post is a part of my 'Noodle Series'. Kidding aside, I have tried another version of Chinese noodles in Binondo. This is when I paid a visit to Masuki.

Masuki (originally Ma Mon Luk) is a Chinese eatery which specializes in noodle soups or 'mami'. We had a breakfast date here this week and I was introduced to their Asado Mami. The Asado Mami is a serving of noodles in chicken broth and topped with chopped spring onions and slices of pork asado. Now, this is the part which is different. Before you eat, you will be offered a small cup of asado sauce for you to use as a siding. You can use it as a dipping sauce for your asado slices or you can pour some of it to the soup broth. I chose the latter. I poured some asado sauce to the soup to give it a more balanced flavor. Their mami is different since the chewy noodles are white-ish and not yellowish.

Well that's it! A warm, delicious and filling Chinese noodle breakfast from Masuki! :)

Masuki Mami Restaurant

931 Benavides St.,

Binondo, Manila

244-07-45, 243-2674