bucaio: restaurants

Showing posts with label restaurants. Show all posts

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Pancit En Su Tinta Choku

Bernie's

This pancit - stir-fried noodles - has been featured countless times in Philippine published media and television programs that I may not have anything more interesting to say about it.

For those who have come across this only now, this is pancit dyed and flavored with squid ink and soft slices of squid, then topped with fried garlic bits, crushed chicharon, spring onions, and sliced kamias as the souring agent instead of kalamansi. The name means stick noodles in squid ink, from the pidgin Spanish spoken in Cavite City by old-timers.

For those who have read about it and/or come across it on TV, I have news. Asiong's Carinderia, the Cavite City eatery which invented and first sold this dish, closed shop several years ago. A new carinderia, however, has opened its doors and serves almost the exact same menu as Asiong's, including pancit choku, which is referred to as pancit pusit in the menu board behind the display counter. The photo above is the pancit pusit at Bernie's Kitchenette, whose staff told me is owned by a chef friend of Sonny Lua, Asiong's proprietor. The same staff also told me that Sonny now lives in Silang, Cavite, and has set up a new Asiong's Carinderia there, but that the cook/s at Bernie's are the same as the one/s who used to cook for Asiong's.

The pancit pusit tasted the same as pancit choku, only that instead of kamias the souring agent used is shredded green mangoes. The carinderia had run out of green mangoes when we ordered, so we were given kalamansi, which I supplemented with the very nice spiced vinegar that's also being sold at the store.

The pancit came to mind because as the kids and I were on our annual Bisita Iglesia, an officemate called to ask where she could find the black pancit. I was struck by the term as it was then Black Saturday, more so that we had decided to wear black shirts this year on our pilgrimage. After our survey of six churches in the highlands of Cavite, we decided to push the color motif further and went to Bernie's, to eat black pancit. We deemed it appropriate Lent fare, without meat (we chose to ignore the chicharon which wasn't meat, per se), particularly now that my eldest child is of eligible age for fasting and abstinence.

Photo of Asiong's pancit choku, with chili garlic in oil, taken five years ago.

Related Post:
Home-Cooked Pancit Negra

Monday, March 03, 2014

Fishing Village at Island Cove

One of the water parks we had ignored since it opened was Island Cove. We became practically neighbors when we moved to Cavite City seven years ago, as it was just a thirty-minute drive from our residence. But its being located amidst Metro Manila’s sewer that is Manila Bay deterred us from enjoying its attractions.

It was the best place to go to, though, during the holidays when we could not get out of town. I had to spend an inordinate amount of time pep-talking the kids to stop the eeeeewwws and the eeeeewwws, but ultimately they relented upon threat of being left in the house with no food and no adult companion.

But by the end of our stay I could hear no more whining, only requests to extend our vacation, and minute-by-minute queries on when we were coming back.

The resort shows its age – it looks like it hasn’t been refurbished since opening day – but it adds to the rustic feel, which we generally prefer in our vacation choices. And the water attractions were ideal for my kids’ ages – the slides not too sky-scraping that they’re limited to adults, but lofty enough to make my two older children have the time of their lives and leave me cowering in fear. There is a kiddie wading pool for the six-year old with adequate enticing structures to hold the interest of even the kuya and the ate. And the zoo did not have animals cooped up in demeaning cages, but were rather free to roam in farm-sized corrals.

As to the food, well, we were captives in the resort as there were no restaurants near enough outside to go and have a meal. There were two dining options, Sangley Point, where we had our first meal and the complimentary breakfast, and Fishing Village, where we ate three meals. Prices were not scarily expensive, but still with a premium. Service was fine, though, so it was okay if taken in the spirit of being prepared to spend when on vacation.

Sangley Point offers international fare, while Fishing Village caters to the Filipino palate and offers native Cavite dishes. A major reason why we ate mostly at Fishing Village, apart from the fact that the kids liked the food right on our first meal, was because it was adjacent to the fishing area. There was that relaxing vibe, emphasized by the open-air dining pavilion, benches and wooden tables.

sungkaan

Food was good, by resort standards. Nothing mind-blowing, but familiar, homey fare. Enjoyable was the sungkaan, which was sixteen kinds of pica-pica (finger food) served in the saucer-like wooden contraption for the Filipino game sungka. It was more fit as pulutan, and there were a lot of fishballs and their ilk, which made it pricey for its Php380 tag, but the kids had a lot of fun picking out favorites.

lechon sa buho

We tried the lechon sa buho, trumpeted as an Island Cove specialty, but we didn’t find it any different from lechon kawali offered elsewhere. Tahong (mussels) must not be overlooked when eating in coastal Cavite, and those cooked in Fishing Village were plump, served in a sizzling plate. There was a dish called hiyas ng Kawit, which we failed to order and I forgot to ask what it was, but the name sounds interesting, so next time that’s the first thing I’m ordering.

The halo-halo is heavenly eaten on a hot afternoon while waiting for tilapia to bite your bait, relaxing in the shimmering of the waters beyond. Just don’t think what flows into those waters, and a day at Fishing Village is a day well-spent.

Island Cove Hotel and Leisure Park
Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite
WebsiteTel. No. (632) 8107878

Friday, February 21, 2014

Sagobe Cafe at Tanza Oasis

I had taken a long break from work starting a few days before Christmas until the New Year, and I couldn’t sleep thinking about all the places the family and I could go to for a long vacation. But the husband, who was home only on the eve and on the day of both Christmas and New Year and had to work in-between, forbade us to go out of town. So instead of a tan and the general feeling of well-being that comes from a long, relaxing vacation, what I got was an elongated maw which resulted from all the pouting I did.

I understood, of course, that transportation, hotel accommodations and all other travel logistics would be nightmarish during the holidays. Add to that the fact that I would be exposing the kids to unforeseen risks. I had been on travel the last five weeks prior to Christmas, and I experienced unprecedented difficulties, particularly as the holiday neared.

So as I spent the days pouting, I also tried to look for the silver lining. And found it in the many water parks and resorts that dot the coastal part of Cavite. We neglected these before, preferring those hundreds of kilometers away. But since we were house-chained, and these were just thirty minutes and a ride away, or an hour’s drive at the most, we went on a coastal Cavite resort binge.

One windy day towards New Year we were looking for a Mount Sea Resort other than the one in the municipality of Rosario, but we couldn’t find it and we ended up at Tanza Oasis resort, which sits alongside the murky and malodorous waters of Manila Bay. And I felt haughty, having proven that I was right, after all, in ignoring these resorts.

Fortunately there was a surprise silver lining in the form of the newly-opened restaurant that is the in-house dining option at the hotel. The menu is hodge-podge, but all the dishes we ordered were faultless, and can easily rival what’s offered at good restaurants in Manila in terms of quality and taste.

The beef and seafood balls soup was very tasty with the infused sesame oil and caramelized scallions. The beef was tough and could have benefited from an hour more of boiling – this is soup, after all – but we just discarded it and focused on the excellent lobster and crab balls and firm squid balls and the few pieces of baby bok choy. The soup was served scalding hot – which was perfect as it was cold that evening.

I don’t like eating rice grains that are durog, especially when they are used in fried rice. Broken rice grains emphasize their shortcoming when fried because then they cannot stick together like when they are steamed. This is the fault that I found in the yin-yang fried rice. However, the two sauces that thickly topped the fried rice more than amply covered the deficiency. The spinach sauce had plump fresh shrimps barely cooked, while the sweet-sour facet of the chicken sauce made it enjoyable to eat.

The salmon belly were fried perfectly, and the accompanying spiced vinegar dip served nicely to cut the richness of the fish’ belly fat. All in all we had a very good, rounded meal, and it was impressive for a first time in a new restaurant. Service was also good –there were only two tables occupied the time we dined as it was an odd hour, and there was only one server, but we were given ample service. So I will not be found cavorting in the waters of Tanza Oasis, but I will surely go out of my way to eat here again.

Tanza Oasis Hotel and Resort
Km. 41, A. Soriano HighwayBarangay Capipisa EastTanza, Cavite
Website

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Legend Hongkong Seafood Restaurant

Legend combination platter

To continue with my Chinese restaurants series, this one also occupies a stand-alone building, but shares it with the Pasay outlet of The Wensha Spa at the Boom na Boom grounds. It sits on a lower rung compared with Golden Bay, with its smaller dining space, and a not-so extensive menu – by which I mean most dishes are more or less familiar.

complimentary sesame peanut appetizer

But the marine aquaria contain premium items, too, though like other Chinese restaurants they are fixed on the walls and so serve as integrated adornment in the dining hall aesthetics. The spinach and seafood soup, which I never fail to try in any Chinese restaurant that offers it (see Ahfat, or Golden Bay), uses dried ingredients, and so is saltier. I think for some this would mean it is tastier, looking at the brighter side.

But Legend has its own strengths. For one, you can choose what goes into your combination appetizer platter. We chose suckling pig, soy chicken, asado pork, salt & pepper cuttlefish and crab salad, and all were very good. An order of fried rice was all that was needed, actually, and we were set for a meal. But of course I needed to have vegetables, and the broccoli flower with dry scallop and golden mushroom – one of their bestsellers – was the best I’ve ever had.

broccoli flower with dry scallop and golden mushroom

The wait staff were also more knowledgeable about the food they serve and so are more able to assist diners on their food choices. I have to note, though, that the last time I ate here I used my credit card to pay for our meal, and about two hours later the same credit card was used to pay for an online purchase that I did not make. The people at The Legend, or at least the one who processed my payment, was the first one to pop in my mind as the culprit because I rarely use the credit card for transactions that requires its actual presentation, as I reserve it for my auto-debit bills payments.

Legend steamed lapu-lapu

I had to call in to have the credit card invalidated, and it cost me a lot of inconvenience to re-enroll all my debit bills to the replacement card. So I did not go back to eat at The Legend after that incident, though I was not able to prove it was their people who fraudulently used details of my credit card. It’s a pity, because I like the food, but I haven’t gotten over what happened yet, and there are other new restaurants to try, anyway. In the future, if I do dine here again, I will be paying in cash, and will encourage other patrons to do the same.

sago with fruit puree (mango)

Legend HongKong Seafood Restaurant
Boom na Boom Compound
D.Macapagal Highway corner Gil Puyat Avenue
Pasay City
Tel. No. (632) 8333388, 8331188
Website

Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant

Lugang Cafe

Lutong Macau

Jasmine at New World Hotel

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Lugang Cafe

3-cup chicken

I have barely scratched the surface of Chinese cuisine and I am confronted by permutations of it. And permutations of it run wild all over the world, as active trade from before the 10^th century and migration from the mainland ensured the scattering of seeds of it on foreign soils, where they took root and grew according to the natural climate.

spinach with preserved egg in broth

So we have tales of pasta being the Italian version of Chinese noodles. Japanese and Korean cuisines, however distinct they may have become, trace their roots from the Chinese. In the other neighboring countries Chinese dishes have been integrated into local cuisines, but they have been adapted to local tastes that they have become their own unique dishes.

golden fried rice

What we know as Chinese in the Philippines are actually Filipinized versions, so that no matter how hard and long you look all over China you cannot find a pancit guisado like the one served at my favorite panciteria in Dagupan, or an asado siopao with a sliver of itlog na maalat, cat meat or not. Even arroz caldo, which isn’t a Spanish legacy, contrary to its name.

pan-fried pork dumplings

So we eat in this Chinese restaurant that has been drawing people to the Greenhills area for years. It had recently expanded in malls within my radius, so it was time I stopped ignoring it. A cursory glance at the menu confirmed it was Chinese, but the wait staff declared that I was actually in a Taiwanese restaurant.

Friends who have eaten there before never emphasized that fact. For of course how can you distinguish Taiwan from China? At least its cuisine? When I looked at the menu I noted certain distinct differences, the most notable of which is the spelling, but I’ve become so used to seeing many different names for one Chinese dish (and phrases, for that matter) that I thought it was just a regional thing.

stir-fried beef with mango slices

But the difference becomes evident when the food is served and we start eating. Ginger underlies the food, including the dipping sauces. It’s not pervasive, but it’s there. It is a spiciness that is not hot but cleanses and refreshes.

crab roe and pork xiao long bao

Xiao long bao is a big thing here, with several versions, including a chocolate one for dessert. The classic pork version is excellent with the gingery dipping sauce, but the crab and pork does not make a splash. The chocolate xlb does not contain broth, but the chocolate used is top notch, the amount each piece contains just right for each sticky wrapper.

chocolate xiao long bao

The spinach with preserved egg in broth imitates a dish I’ve had at HK Roasts, garnished with salted duck egg and century egg, while the 3-cup chicken is reminiscent of the basil chicken at Som’s, but here the chicken is tough and hard, which is unfortunate because the dish is very tasty. I’ve had beef with mango somewhere else, too, but I’m sure it wasn’t in a Taiwanese restaurant.

But then again it turns out Lugang Cafe is based in Shanghai and Beijing.

Popular dessert is mango in glutinous rice wrap with coconut flakes, which is a kind of mochi or steamed buchi. It was very pleasing, the mango ripe and flavor shining.

But if dining in a group it is nice to try the iced snacks – towers of finely crushed ice wrapped with all kinds of sweet things. The wait staff said the bestseller is the Bellagio Breeze, which has two kinds of beans, tapioca pearls, taro cubes and candied pineapple packed tight all around the mountain of ice with condensed milk doused over it. When served it looked impressive, and it was painful to watch as it was carved table-side, the mountain slowly disintegrating as each spoonful is transferred to the serving bowls.

It's not in the menu, but we saw at the SM Mall of Asia outlet a mountain of ice packed in mango bits, and that's what we want to order next time around.

This Cantonese cum Taiwanese restaurant has plush interiors, and food is priced accordingly. With dessert and drinks, a meal can run to more than Php500 per person, and that’s still scrimping a bit. But I love it that there are milk teas here, and you can have it hot (Cantonese milk tea), or iced with bubbles or coffee jelly.

Taiwanese stewed minced pork set

spicy beef and tendon noodles set

crispy chicken

Set meals are available, though, and they are a very good deal priced at a range of Php180 to Php250, complete with radish soup, a glass of iced tea and two pieces of the mango balls. We sampled the spicy beef noodles and the Taiwanese minced pork at the higher end of the spectrum and they didn’t disappoint.

Lugang Cafe
Locations
Website

Monday, February 10, 2014

Golden Bay Restaurant

For the first time in Philippine history, the Chinese new year was declared a non-working holiday. It wasn’t surprising, as the president of the republic is of Chinese ancestry, and much of the Philippine economy is controlled by Philippines-born Chinese, although it was rumored that Chinese businessmen themselves groaned about another non-productive day.

spinach beancurd seafood soup

We weren’t eager to go back to Binondo, though, opting to forgo the culinary delights of the country’s Chinatown. The holiday was a Friday and it meant a long weekend that was better spent out of town. But that didn’t mean we got to enjoy Chinese cuisine less. In truth, Chinese cuisine is an integral part of Filipino celebrations throughout the year. Because Chinese restaurants were here first, and because Chinese restaurants are cheapest.

fried rice with crab roe

But because it is Chinese new year, I will level up a bit. Because Chinese restaurants have exceedingly leveled up over the years. In the countryside we still find the ubiquitous panciterias, but in Metro Manila there are restaurants specializing in regional Chinese cuisine that could easily be one of the country’s priciest.

Take for example Golden Bay, probably so named because of its proximity to Manila Bay by the SM Mall of Asia. We had ignored this restaurant for years because it looked like only the richest Chinese businessmen in the country could afford to eat there.

hakaw dumpling

prawn salad pie

Japanese milk tarts

It is a two-storey restaurant in a stand-alone building that beckons for miles around, along the concourse that leads to the DFA consular office and the Paranaque outlet of S&R. Any dining outlet that owns the building it operates from is priced appropriately, according to our strategy books. Why bother to eat expensive Chinese when it abounds cheaply elsewhere?

birthday buns

And we weren’t wrong. Only premium seafood were gamboling in the aquarium area, which occupies space big enough to be a small private dining hall. I’ve seen fugu, Alaskan king crab, black grouper so huge it was scary. One dinner that we were there a middle-aged couple next to our table ordered as an appetizer a large tiger lobster served sashimi-style, packed in crushed ice.

birthday noodles

beancurd with seafood

The menu attests to the specialties, although a couple of friends say it is not quite as pricey compared to some really expensive Chinese joints. Set menus start at the most expensive of Lutong Macau’s. There are items like Buddha jumping over the wall, spinach in bean curd, stuffed crab claws, sea whelk soup – these weren’t even remotely expensive, but they caught my eye because they made me realize Chinese cuisine isn’t all about stir-fries and pancit and lumpia and dim sum and char siu. It is an art form, too, like the revered Japanese cuisine.

xiao long bao

But though I have Chinese ancestry – still immediate that my father’s family look Chinese, though I can never be mistaken for one – I am not about to make the jump. Yet. It will take a long time to undo decades of eating homey mami and siopao, which ingrained the thinking that Chinese is cheap and doesn’t need any deeper involvement and understanding. But as it is a part of my heritage I will try to work towards it, slowly.

In the meantime, we discovered Golden Bay because dim sum is offered at half price. Eating dim sum there is more than worth it, even without the discount. The dumplings and siomai are better than at Jasmine, though the xiao long bao is inferior to that at Lugang Café, or even at Lutong Macau.

complimentary appetizer

As I am wont to do, I have brought several groups of friends to Golden Bay, including the family every time the hankering for siomai strikes, so that I have tried most of the dim sum on offer. Somebody commented in my Iloilo siopao post that Golden Bay’s siopao is authentic Cantonese, but I find that the Pinoy version – asado siopao that is char siu caramelized in brown sugar – that spelled happy childhood memories is hard to beat for sentimental reasons and for the perfect melding of salty-caramel sweet pork in soft buns.

We have started trying some a la carte dishes, too, though we’ve still been limited to the familiar and time-tested favorites. The fried rice is priced almost the same as in my favorite haunts in Binondo, but the misua is in a class of its own, and which is mostly unavailable in Chinatown. The spinach and seafood soup is unparalleled, too, as everything is fresh, unlike in other restaurants where powdered vegetables and dried salty seafood are used.

Fookien misua

A la carte service is fairly reasonable, but dim sum takes time. There is one nagging shortcoming that I encounter every time we eat at Golden Bay – it is that the waiters are not knowledgeable about the food. As explained to me by a corporate officer of the restaurant chain Gloria Maris, this can prove fatal to a Chinese restaurant, as an expert waiter is responsible for ensuring that ordered dishes complement one another and will not encourage taste fatigue. It is curious, but all waiters assigned to us for all the times we ate at Golden Bay could not even say what is inside this dumpling with an unfamiliar name.

steamed tripe

But it is something that adds to the sense of adventure, we'll order anything we don't know or haven't tried yet, and see if it tastes good. Works towards discovery of Chinese cuisine, too, at least for the Cantonese portion.

The desserts in the dim sum menu are good, except for the egg tarts. The snow lady and the Japanese milk tarts are exceptional, and we always order them when they are available.

Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant
Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard
Pasay City
Website
Tel. No. (632) 5567525-27, 8040332

In Hong Kong
Lin Heung Kui
Tim Ho Wan

Related Posts
Legend HongKong Seafood Restaurant
Lugang Cafe
Chinese New Year Weekend 2012
Chinese New Year's Eve 2013
Ahfat Seafood Plaza
Lutong Macau
Jasmine's Unlimited Dim Sum
My Steamed Tikoy
Pangasinan Pancitan