Alain in the foreground in blue with a bunch of happy gourmands
Since Alain was in town, Gai herded the troop to indulged in a lechon degustation at Pepetia's Kitchen.
Note that this is my second lechon degustation in a week's time. The first was last Saturday at Aleth's with Greek Chef Anthony (with Kat and Jemgie). Yes, I know gluttony is a sin but it's hard to resist an invite to a lechon degustation.
Anyway, Hayop na Degustation is Dedet's new 12-course - 10 new dishes and two lechon de leches. We were the second batch to try her creative and yummy concoctions.
The meal started with a welcome drink called Pepita's Magic Potion which is cotton candy served in a cocktail glass with a shot of lambanog infused with dayop juice.
Bettina enjoying her Magic Potion
The second dish was pork rind tendon chips with her special sinigang na gabi dip.
Tendon chips with dip
The third was my favorite which Dedet dubbed as "hiplog," short for hipon (shrimp) and itlog (egg). The egg is actually salted red egg sauce.
Hiplog
The fourth was another favorite, a bone marrow with oxtail marmalade and a special salt which is mixed with chicharon.
Bone marrow
The fifth course was called salad surprise. She served micro greens with flowers and on the side, homemade cashew butter, yogurt cheese and a watermelon salt. The salt was the surprise because it pops in your mouth. She used pop rock candy which I used to love when I was a kid.
Salad Surprise
The sixth was called Sipit sarap a crab's claw cooked in deadly taba ng talanga, the orange-colored crab roe.
Sipit sarap
The seventh she called Lucky You, the noodles with garlic and basil oil. (No photo taken). Dedet said that this dish has no 'Hu Wow' moment but it will prepare the guests to the next dish which is another favorite. The eight dish was called Lambada, spicy lamb cooked in tomato sauce.
Lambada
The night was her Cheers Palate cleanser tamarind sorbet.
cheers palate cleanser
And finally, what I was waiting for - her Lechon de leches! She has several stuffings to choose from - the Pinoy has four stuffing choics - sisig rice, salted red eggs with garlic and anchovy, binagoongan rice, laing rice and bicol express rice For the french, it's stuffed with truffle rice. We chose the Lechon na Maalat (salty Lechon) which is stuffed with rice, salted egg, garlic and anchovies.
Lechon na Maalat
And for the second lechon, we ordered the Mailena de Leche, stuffed with spanish chorizo and taba ng talangka rice.
Mailena de Leche
Her cholesterol sweeper is oatmeal in white chocolate.
cholesterol sweeper
And the last item was the pinoy dessert, cassava brulee.
It was love at first sight so to speak. The first time we tasted the khyan dhi pope thote (eggplant) salad was in "Padomar", an old Governor's mansion converted into a restaurant in Myanamar's old captial in Yangon.
The manager, who graciously offered to serve us, recommended this dish served with the soy sauce and lime soaked with fresh garlic and chopped green chilis. He stressed that their eggplant salad is unlike any other in the whole of Mynamar. Theirs is grilled over charcoal and mixed with dried shrimps, chopped nuts, garlic, fresh coriander sesame seed and topped with shallots and green onions. And so it began, our search for the best roasted eggplant salad in Myanmar.
The Moon's specials listed on a board
It was Good Friday when we arrived in Bagan (1.5 hours flight from Yangon). Being Catholics, we decided to forego meat. For lunch, our guide Mr. Shwe brought us to his favorite vegetarian restaurant in Old Bagan called "The Moon Vegetarian Restaurant Be Kind to Animals", next to Tarabar Gate. This should not be confused with "Full Moon" located in the touristy strip in Nyang Shwe. The place is located in an open space garden (expect dirt floor), with hanging plants, wooden chairs and tables covered with red and white checkered table cloth.
The meals are freshly prepared and they have the special of the day listed on the board. I must say that The Moon's eggplant salad is the best! The smoky smell wafted as it was served on the table. Here the eggplant was roasted then mashed and served with warm roasted nuts, crispy garlic, sesame seeds, onions and shallots, tomatoes, topped with sesame and pumpkin seeds.
The Moon, the best roasted eggplant salad ever!
Black Bamboo in Bagan
For dinner, we opted to try hot air balloon's pilot Lee Hooper's recommendation in Lonely Planet - "Black Bamboo", an open garden right off the main road in Nyang Shwe. The place is run by a French lady and her Burmese husband. Unfortunately, the eggplant salad and sad to note that all the other salads are so-and-so. They are more known for their steaks but they serve the best rum raisin ice cream that I've ever tasted!
In Lake Inle (flight is an hour to Heho and another hour's drive to the Lake), we stopped by Green Chili on Hospital Road. It's in a home converted into a restaurant. The dishes are similar to Thai food. Their eggplant salad had more coriander and ginger. But their tea leaf salad was divine.
Green Chili's in Lake Inle
Off to Nga Phe Chaung in Lake Inle (another hour by boat)
In Lake Inle we ventured down to Sagar, a two hour trip by boat down south from our hotel in Nga Phe Chaung. The place is quite remote and hardly reached by tourists. It was plagued with civil wars among the ethnic groups and opened up fairly recently. We spotted several tomato orchards in the floating garden that during lunch, we decided to try something from the lake - this is the tomato salad which is again the best I've ever tasted.
After all this food tasting in three cities in Myanmar, I am now a bonafide fan of Myanmar cuisine. I'm still looking for a restaurant here in Manila that serves Myanmar dishes. Meantime to satisfy my craving, I found this online from hsaba.com.
Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants
2 small shallots, thinly sliced and soaked in cold water
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tabelspoons peanut oil
Garnishes
1 teaspoon dried shrimps, pounded into floss
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon roasted peanuts, chopped
small handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tabelspoon fish sauce
Eggplant, Tea Leaf, Penworth at the Strand Hotel in Yangon
*mine: add finely sliced chilies and 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
Method
Place the eggplants whole on a flat baking sheet lined with foil. Pierce the eggplants with a knife to stop them
from burtising during cooking. Place under a hot grill for 15-25 minutes turning them occasionally. Be sure to let the skin color and char. While the eggplants ar egrilling, make the crispy garlic and oil. heat the oil in a small scause pan and fry the garlic until golden and aromatic. Remove with a slotted spoon and cool. Drain the shallots and squeez them in your hands to remove any water. Pop them in a bowl.
When the eggplants are ready, cool a little until they can be handled. Cut them in half and scoop out the flesh into the bow. Mix in 1 tabelsppon of the frying oil and the garnishes. Taste and adjust the seasoning so there is a balance of salt and sourness. Serve while the salad is still warm.
Serves two and takes at least 25 minutes to prepare.
When my sister Chato learned that rocker Kitchie Nadal had a gig in Bacolod, she immediately booked a flight. Kitchie is managed by another sister (Roca) and sometimes lets my 14-year old nephew (Chato's son) play a song or two with the band. So, for the gig in Bacolod, Chato got the green light to, so to speak, tag along. It's actually a good idea to go and let the kids take the time off their PS2 and PS3s, wii games, war craft etc and explore the provinces. On Dec 29, we - Chato and her three kids, Tita Flor, ninang Gigi and I - flew out of Manila and arrived in the new airport of Negros in Silay, about 15-20 mins from Bacolod City. We managed to book a van a day before we left (c/o Boy Javellana 0928 412-9835). Since we only had three-days, we immediately drove north to Victorias to see the "Church of the Angry Christ" inside the Victoras Milling Corporation (VMC) compound. The mural was painted in 1949 by abstract expressionist Alfonso Osorio, the son of the founder of what was then the largest integrated sugar mill refinery in the world. Lunch was seafood at Barangay Balaring off the main road in Silay. There were several restaurants to choose from but we opted to go to where there were more people inside and that's Tama Plaza where we enjoyed fresh oysters, squid, marlin, tilapia in gata (coconut sauce), prawns, calamares, pork chop and even sisig! From the seafood plaza, we headed to see the heritage houses. There are about 31 houses that have been turned into museums and/or pension homes. Balay Negrense was the only one opened (Jalandoni and Hofilena were closed). Built in 1897, the Balay is the restored residence of Victor F. Gaston and is an airy version of the 'balay na bato' architecture. On the way to Bacolod, we stopped to try the local bibingka (rice cake). It looks more like a star-shaped puto which they serve topped with star margarine and sugar. (Note P5 in Silay vs P24 in Bacolod). We finally arrived in Bacolod City and checked in the newly rennovated L'fisher Hotel on Lacson St.. The rooms were clean, spacious and fitted with cable TV which the kids enjoyed. Chato and I stepped out to visit black artist Charlie Co's Orange Gallery who had a show "Art of Giving" (contact: Carmela 0920 541-0898). We went up to the bodega and was fascinated by the horse sculpture of Totc Co which was made out of scrap metal. Carmela took us to Charlie's home to see more of his work. We got two of his 2-ft "angels" and later got Jay-r Delleva's painting from the show. We headed back to the hotel to get everyone ready for dinner at Pendy's and dessert at La Calcea (best seller is the white chocolate cheese cake which we brought home and hands-down fav is the chocolate square cake). The next day was Kitchie's concert at the town of La Castellana, 2-hours drive east from Bacolod. Since the show was at 9pm, we checked out more sites. The first was the ruins in Talisay. The driver took us through a narrow dirt and hence, rough road. It was serendipitous since we witnessed a group of Sacada farmers tilling the land. Iris recently learned about the plight of the Sacada farmers in school. They are mostly transient laborers of about 8-10 who come during harvest season and earn P150-300 per ton. A truckload is about 12-15 tons. At the end of the 3-km dirt road is the 'ruins'. It is actually a burnt down mansion with the structure still intact. Sugar baron Mariano Ledesma Lacson built the mansion for his Portuguese bride Maria Braga from Macau in the 1920’s. The US Armed Forces of the Far East (USAFE) burned the house down to deter the Japanese from using it as headquarters during World War II. The grand mansion of italian architecture , its sprawling garden with a four-tiered fountain boasts all the opulence of the sugar era. Lunch was at Bacolod Deli to try the famous chicken inasal (barbeque). Chicken house is another favorite of the locals but we opted to go to Deli, which is located next to the handicraft store so we can shop. A few meters down is Green mart known for its organic piyayas and organic coffee. After a hearty lunch, we headed to "Bong bong's" piyaya factory (tel # 034 434-2626). There is no set tour. We went inside the store and asked permission to see the factory. They let us in as long as we don't take photos. One of the plant assistant managers, took us around to see where they make piyayas, barquillos, butterscotch, etc. By 6pm, we drove to La Castellana, a rural town situated at the base of Mt. Kanlaon. There is no hotel in town so Kitchie, Roca and the band were hosted by hacendero and breeder Elik Devino (tel # 034 485-0121). He has an aviary in his home on Gomez St. called Ellinj Aviary which showcases exotic birds about 80 species including the rare black palm cockatoo (right photo), macaus, blue Indian peacocks, golden pheasants, lady Amherst pheasants, silver, reeves, ring neck and melanistic pheasants, Chinese 'silkies' chickens, diamond doves, Nicobar pigeons, eclectus and sunconure parrots, Indian ring neck, plum-headed and red-rumped parakeets, rainbow and chattering lories, cockatiel, African lovebirds, zebra and society finches); turtles (first time to see a long-neck, alligator, pig-nose and white turtle); snakes and the rare spotted deer. We stepped out to have dinner at the Municipal Hall hosted by Mayor Alberto Nicor, Jr. and his wife (second from left). The town was celebrating its 91st foundation day and annually, they hold a Bailes de Luces parade (before the festival on Jan 5) and "battle of the bands". Kitchie was the culminating number, the show's highlight. The mayor said that the townspeople specifically requested for her. We had to wait until the rain subsided which was around midnight. When we got to the plaza, the townspeople were still there waiting for Kitchie. The audience was ecstatic as Kitchie sang popular hits Ligaya, telenovela songs Kapalaran (GMA's I Love New York), Majika (GMA), Iniibig kita (ABS-CBN's Rounin), Same Ground, Make a Diifference (song for a DepEd project), Isang Araw (for a Bejing athlete send off used by solar sports), multi-platinum Wag na Wag Mong Sasabihin, Grace and Wide Awake (from Love Letter album), bulong and ended with Isang Mundo (2nd metro pop). My nephew Clark played' Bulong' and a woman went up to him to take his photo. She said that 'this will inspire my son to play too.' He actually saved Jack since his guitar string snapped. The show ended around 2am and we were back in Bacolod by 3am. watch video clips:
With the global warming coming true to form, there's no longer a wet season here in the Philippines. It should be pouring by now but the weather is hot and sunny and good to take a road trip up North and experience the best of Pampanga, the gastronomical delights of the province. We headed off to “Abe’s Farm” in Pampanga. It is located at the foot of Mt. Arayat, a 3,000-ft inactive volcano. Some friends dared to climb the mountain under the sweltering heat and left Manila at 5am. Its a good way to work up an apetite though and dip in the hot springs. While moi, decided to drive with Clang late in the afternoon to make it in time for dinner. The farm is a private resthouse of Larry Cruz, famously known as “LJC” of the LJC restaurant chain. According to Evita (Quiambao), this is the first time he opened his farm to ‘non-friends’. He named the farm after his bon vivant and gastronome father Emilio Aguilar "Abe" Cruz (1915-1991). The dinner was set up in the lower garden, surrounded by three ifugao houses. The blue and green colors reminded me of Provence. Must be from the father's influence since he was also the first pinoy francophile, being the UNSESCO ambassador based in Paris back in the 1970s. I was expecting something more exotic and exciting dishes like betute (frog), kamaru (mole crickets) or burong talangka (crablets). We were served instead the usual fare – for starters, sisig (Pampanga after all is where Sisig was born!), crispy shrimps and fermented shrimp buro wrapped in mustard leaves.; then fiddlehead fern pako salad, crispy pata, a yummy chicken dish (everybody’s favorite), seafood kare kare and a stewed vegetabled dish; for desert, we had maja blanca, suman in sweet condensed milk and fresh fruits. The cost is P1750 per person for the meal (plus tip). Drinks were water and buko juice. Glen brought the red and white wine. Another must-EAT reco in Pampanga is Claude Tayag’s Bale Dutung in Angeles City. I’ve been there twice and I assure you its worth the trip. Claude is truly a renaissance man - he is an artist/scupltor, writer and with his resto, he has proven that he can also cook! The place is actually his private home, gallery and studio located inside a subdivision. His wife Mary Ann manages the place and is in charge of setting up lunches and retailing “Claude 9” products –bottled products such as buro, taba ng talangka (crab fat), hot sauce, etc.. Lunch costs P1800 per head and is served buffet style (minimum of 12 persons). The dining area is filled with Claude’s sculptural furniture. His menu is more nouvelle cuisine. For appetizers, a platter of Kapampangan sushi, taba ng talangka (crab fat), fried catfish with fermented rice and shrimps, pindang balaw-balaw (carabeef meet);. The main course is quite a spread : sari-saring pruts (seasonal fruits in a light Thai dressing), sorbets sa dayap and champagne (sherbet), pako salad, lumpiang ubod, seafood kare-kare, 4-way lechon (i.e. crispy skin, fried lechon with soft tortilla, inihaw, sinigang; chiken wrapped in banana leaf and inasal pugo quail egg with mushrooms; and for desert his signature dish called ‘paradiso’ (macapuno, ube and kamote balls with cream of carabao’s milk). Free flowing water, soft drinks, buko juice, beer and wine. Both places need prior reservations. Book in advance! Contact Merle (LJC) at 0917 899-7731 and Mary Ann (Claude) at (045) 888-5163. Happy road trip!!
Goa was a good break - sun, saltwater, beach and skin exposure! We're all clad up in Mysore so its great to be in tank tops in this sweltering heat. Our travel agent booked us at a very touristy place though up North called Calangute. We should've listened to Gai who warned us that Goa is huge and recommended Palolem beach!
The province is divided into three areas - the North, Central and South. It would take more than a week to explore the beaches. Since Goa was a Portugues colony and half the population are Catholics, we opted to visit the churhces (also we're temple-fatigued already). Interesting to note that the body of St. Francis de Asisi is in the Basilica in Old Goa.
Most of the Yogis at Mysore go to either Purple Valley (South) or to Vagator (North). In Vagator, they stay at a vegan resort called "Beam me Up". We went there for dinner last Fri night and enjoyed quattro formagi pizza. Actually, our trip to Goa was a culinary delight since we took a break and indulged mostly in non-Indian fare.
Now we're back in Mysore. We have a WEEK left. My knee is acting up again. Maybe for being crammed up in the car in Goa and the 3-hour transfer to the airport (travel time to Mysore to Bangalore). Most of the yoga students here refer to aches and pains as 'openings'. Even the 'experts' experience pain and do some kind of therapy. It seems like there is a thriving therapeutic or healing business here - from intuitive healer (Francis), rolfer (Ken), traditional thai massage (Enzo), chiropractor, accupuncture (Sean), ayurveda (dr Kumar), wholistic (dr Jag). Dr. Jag is half the year in Mysore and the other half in Brunei. Fellow Philippine-yogini Joelle Goudsmit is currently apprenticing with him.
