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One of my good friends was coming over from Dubai for a very quick visit. She asked me to set up a get together/mini-reunion with our ex-Saudia colleagues. She didn’t really care where we would eat.. but her only condition was that it should have PORK! hahaha
Dubai has its own share of Filipino food, but my friend misses good old Filipino pork dishes. After discussing with the rest of the group, we decided Kanin Club (Kanin = Rice) would do the trick and satisfy her craving… so did it?!?!
TOP:
Sinangag na Sinigang. This is my FAVORITE!! I can eat the rice alone and be happy. It already had a sinigang flavor despite it being dry (i.e. with no sinigang broth), which was perfect! It was topped with crispy kangkong and thin slices of PORK belly
MIDDLE:
Crispy Liempo (PORK belly). It was thinly sliced belly strips, which reminded me so much of bacon (minus the salty bacon flavor)
Crispy Dinuguaan. I’ve never eaten dinuguaan before, and I still didn’t want to try it even if it is a best seller at Kanin Club. Dinuguaan’s main ingredients are pig’s blood and pig’s innards (not my cup of tea).
BOTTOM:
Crispy Pork Binagoongan - it wasn’t too salty and the bagoong was not overpowering.
Fully Loaded Fried Rice - this my least favorite among all dishes. Nothing special, but it still did have PORK in it ;D
So yes, I think our friend left full and satisfied after eating so much pork! Us, her friends, on the other hand, left with higher cholesterol levels hahaha
Simple Joy — eating fried galunggong paired with salted red eggs and tomatoes :)
P.S. I tried to research the english name of this fish, but sorry could not find one
My favorite bibingka (Filipino rice cake) from Via Mare. For me, their bibingka (and puto bungbong) has remained consistent over the years. I especially like it topped with keso de bola….YUMMY!!
Crispy pork binagoonganfrom Romulo. This was really really really good! I think it helped that the bagoong was served on the side, so you could just add it as you wish :)
…The continuation of our Bacolod food trip…
Next on our list: the search for the best Chicken Inasal, which is one of the most, if not THE most popular Bacolod dish.
In a nutshell, Inasal is a kind of barbecued chicken. In the last few years, it has gained a lot of popularity in Metro Manila with the advent of a fast food chain “specializing” on such a recipe (and its marketing scheme of unlimited rice). However, the chicken they serve there is no where near the original chicken Inasal.
Our group decided to go to Manokan (chicken) Country. A strip of outdoor Inasal stalls/restaurants. There was definitely no airconditioning here, and maybe not the most sanitary place to eat at.. but hey, they served THE BEST inasal ever!
We went to Aida’s (only to find out that Aida’s has a branch in Makati! haha). Superb! The chicken was juicy and not dry at all. And it was very flavorful.
In my opinion, inasal is best eaten with garlic rice (with the orange oil generously poured over it), dipped lightly in a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, calamansi and chili and of course with a bottle of ice-cold beer (coke zero would do too! haha). Drool!
Bacolod was the ultimate food trip for JodiesDaddy and I. As it was our first time there, we made sure we knew the right places to go to to have the best:
- La Paz Batchoy
- Chicken Inasal
- Seafood
- Dessert
First stop: La Paz Batchoy.
The place that came highly recommended in most food blogs as well as friends’ suggestions, was 21 restaurant.
We were expecting the restaurant to be a whole in a wall type of restaurant with electric fans instead of air-conditioning; roughing it out instead of “fine” dining. But we were wrong! 21 was a very homey and stylish restaurant. And not only did they serve great La Paz Batchoy, their other dishes were very good as well!
Too bad I was not able to take a photo of the inasal chicken lollipops. Our friends were saying it was really good too!
If you get the chance to go to Bacolod, 21 Restaurant is located at:
21st Lacson Street, Bacolod City
Kansi Bulalo from Pat Pat’s Kansi.
This is the Ilonggo version of a Filipino classic, Bulalo. Some say that Kansi tastes different from the bulalo we know from Batangas. But I honestly can’t tell the difference, except that in Pat Pat’s, you have to order the Bulalo Laman (the meat) separate from the bone. Oh, one thing I miss in this kind of bulalo are the vegetables ;) My favorite part of it though, is the marrow! YUMMY!
Comfort food = Sinigang.
Sinigang is one of the more popular Filipino dishes, and one of my all-time favorites! For me, what makes this dish special is its broth. In fact, I can eat this with just the vegetables (usually water spinach, string beans, eggplant, taro and okra) even without any pork, shrimp or fish. I am after the sourness of the soup base and I like my sinigang a little bit spicy with a slightly thicker broth from the taro (but I don’t eat the taro! haha). Best eaten on top of steamed rice :) Hungry yet?!
**SIDE STORY: I normally only eat sinigang when I know JodiesDaddy is not going to be around. He’s from Mindanao, and according to him, the Bisaya’s don’t have sinigang. So, he’s really not a fan**
JodiesDaddy loves batchoy. I don’t mind eating it, but it isn’t something I crave for. I honestly think it’s because of the liver that is mixed into the soup (I get annoyed when the liver is cut into tiny pieces which makes it nearly impossible to segregate — can you sense how much I dislike liver haha). If only I didn’t have to battle the liver pieces… tsk tsk tsk (sometimes, if I am lucky, I can ask for the liver to be removed).
This is from Deco’s in Alphaland.
A very Filipino dinner for us tonight. YUMMY!
You can’t really go wrong with:
Inihaw na Liempo (grilled pork)
Adobong kangkong (water spinach cooked the Pinoy adobo way),
Rice (this is brown rice… yes, JodiesDaddy and I are trying to be healthy haha)
Turon for dessert (inside this dessert spring roll is banana and jackfruit. It is deep fried with a coating of brown sugar).
