The Mystery of Bread

I never did like whole wheat bread served in supermarkets, felt I was eating in the category of tofu chips or faux meat. White bread always ruled any of our household’s bread basket. I love soft white bread, warm, slathered with rich whipped butter.

Though I couldn’t really ramble adamantly against whole wheat or bread for that (culturally rice was our pre-dominant comfort food) matter, as I didn’t really understand it nor its processes.

In the passionate talk of Peter Reinhart about break making, I saw bread (especially whole wheat) in a whole new light.

Visit the TED talk here: Peter Reinhart’s talk

Lessons on Being Refreshingly Unexpected

Mt. Maculot summit

Mt. Maculot summit sunset

Sometimes the most refreshing and delicious situations in life is finding something unexpected and savoring it. Often, it’s as simple as freshly grated Halo-Halo on top of a mountain summit.

Photos are properties of Foodie Business

Dining for One: Agave Mexican Cantina – Shangri-la Plaza

Tortilla Soup

After my weekend shopping trip, I decided to try a new restaurant in Shangri-la Plaza and I think it would be unfair for me to attack this restaurant head-on, as this was my first time to eat here. Thus, any discussions about this post would simply be based on assuming first impressions.

So, disclaimers aside, I tried the Mexican restaurant, Agave Mexican Cantina in Shangri-la Plaza Mall (at the outdoor food strip). Manila has delicious Spanish-fare, but going Mexican, you get creations from Mexicali, Tia Marias or El Polo Loco, which are not entirely up to par with judging palates. But I marched in and a 2-piece Persian-like outfit for the door manager welcomed me in. I was actually late for lunch (around 3pm), thus there was no one in sight, except for the staff.

The decor is a simple dark wooden interior with a clear glass window (to see or be seen) and a small bar at the side. Beyond that was the service stairs. The seats were quite comfortable and the waitress handed me the menu. Seeing the menu, it had combo meals (combination of tacos, enchiladas and chile rellenos), large plates for family serving, and traditional Mexican dishes. I would vouch for the combos or the large plates as I feel these are the dishes that normally get served. The great thing about this establishment is the choices of salsas in terms of acidity and heat component from the spiciest roasted tomatoes to salsa verdes.

The first dish I ordered was a Tortilla Soup with grated cheese, chicken chunks and garnished with a cube of avocado (photo above). Though nothing different, say from, Italian Minestrone, the deep red tomato soup didn’t go overboard to taste like tomato sauce. It’s white cubed chicken breast pieces were still moist and the avocado and cheese lended a sweet and creamy comforting introduction to the dish. But I wish they introduced more avocados. Also, the crunchy chips of tortilla provided a nice textural counterpoint to the clean-tasting soup. Yet, the dish lacked depth and spiciness that I was looking for.

Cheese Enchilada with Shrimp Chile Relleno

The entree I ordered was a combination of Cheese Enchilada with Shrimp Chile Relleno, served with a Roasted Tomato salsa, mexican rice and refried black beans. The Cheese Enchilada had a delicious combination of tartness (from the tomatoes), sweetness (from the onions) and salty-creaminess from the cream and cheese. The jalapeno on top was just a garnish. The roasted tomato salsa was indeed spicy, but had an earthy and warm tones, complementary more to the crunchy and deliciously surprising Shrimp Chile Rellenos. The rice was sticky and vastly needs improvement, while the refried beans was served cold, but lacked depth of flavor. But the rellenos – I could eat constantly! They had a warm creamy and cheesy center with crunchy cubes of shrimp.

Mango Mojito

Lastly, the meal was rewarded with a Mango Mojito. Though the acidity from the lime, mint and alcohol overpowered the mangoes, the coolness of the mint and the acidity of the limes cuts through the fat of the entree easily and provides a refreshing close.

In entiriety, Agave Mexican Cantina is one the best Mexican restaurants in Manila I had eaten for quite some time. Apart from its simple ambience, its dishes are different from the normal enchiladas or tacos. Though Agave serves these dishes, they provide richer and delicious flavors to its Mexican counterparts.

Photos are properties of Foodie Business

Agave Mexican Cantina

1st floor, Shangri-la Plaza Mall

Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City

Dining for One: Chef’s Bistro

Chef’s Bistro is a quaint hole-in-a-wall operation with pleasantly homely interiors, a fusion of cuisine, but heavy on the comfort food aspect. Their bestsellers are delicious crisp salads with citrus vinaigrette, warm pumpkin soup and plated meals. Similar to Katre, quite hidden in Tomas Morato, Chef’s Bistro does not boast the popularity nor the food that the other boldly delivers.

A one floor restaurant that exhibits white ceilings, large glass windows (not much of a view though – just neighborhood gates), dark wooden tables and long comfortable benches. During lunch service, I had to be aware of the bored waiters who only had me for their customer. Though I love the privacy and service attention, having no diners during lunch, even if it is in Tomas Morato (known for its nightlife), shows me that the crowd in this area hasn’t clicked with this restaurant and I have empathy with the problematic lunch expense the owners of this restaurant might have.

After ordering my Salmon Fillet (with Pistacio Beurre Blanc, Buttered Vegetables and Herbed Mashed Potatoes at P288.00) and Bistro Iced Tea, the waiter serves me my water. Now the result of idleness comes into play. I slowly sip my water waiting for my food to arrive, when the waiter serves me my iced tea. To my surprise, he gets my water (after me just holding it and still was half full), serves me my tea, and walks halfway to the kitchen with my water! The other waiter seeing the grave mistake returns my water, but turned me skeptical, if I ever wanted to drink from it again.

My salmon fillet arrives with the salmon on top of the mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables. The chef played with the design of the sauces as line wisps were created. The plating (to my opinion) was wrong. The highlight of the fillet was the skin and it should be served skin side up, and then the vegetables and lastly the mashed potatoes. It came to me with fish meat side-up, mashed and then veggies. Also, the Chef shouldn’t have played with my sauce!

The salmon, though properly seasoned and moist, had a soggy skin. Crackling salmon skin is always my highlight of great prepared salmon. The mashed potato was like starchy cake. Very starchy, not creamy. It had specs of dried herbs (rosemary and thyme). In combination it had a bad mouthfeel. I loved the sauces though, delicious nutiness of the pistacio complementing the fish and butter. The restaurant branded iced tea was nothing special – just orange juice and iced tea.

Next time I visit Chef’s Bistro – I’m sticking to the salads.

Chef’s Bistro

94 Scout Gandia Tomas Morato

(Behind Citibank Morato)

Quezon City

414-4515

Dining for One: Katre

Katre Mediterreanean Restaurant offers flavorful and healthy dishes combining tastes of bitter, sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Located in a hidden corner along Tomas Morato, this two-floor restaurant evokes a minimalist setting. Entering Katre, with its numerous framed newspaper clippings at the walls, white and starched linen tablecloths, and wooden blinds makes the restaurant slightly more formal than the casual dining atmosphere that the websites indicate it to be.

Lunch diners are middle-aged, corporate groups, chatting with their collegues or busy answering their phones. Indeed I saw the chef, but he was more concerned roaming his chic establishment with previous old-time customers. Diners were commonly eating the famed Adobo Flakes with Bagoong Rice or the Hearts of Romaine appetizer.

I had already eaten dinner here once, but the lunch staff, wearing black tees and white aprons around their waist, were, as I observed, far too many with the number of customers. But service was polite and outstanding.

I dined first on Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup (P160), served with tortilla crisp, tomato brunoise, parmesean and parsley. This was probably button, shitaake, and portobello mushrooms, sauteed and blended with cream. The tortilla crisp turned soggy, but I found the aciditiy of the diced tomatoes in the soup a welcome accompaniment to the creaminess of the dish. Though brunoise is a technique used as garnish, specially for consomme, I did not see the tomatoes when it was first served. The hidden tomatoes was used as palate play. The parsley framed a slight herbal and fresh taste, while the parmesean contributed to this already umami-flavored dish.

For my main course, I ordered a Grilled Tuna Served with Ceviche and Jalapeno in a Weck Bun (P250.00). It took the service close to 30 minutes to serve my sandwich. Expecting something different with my prolonged sandwich, it came with a Grilled Tuna and Lettuce served in a football shaped bun sprinkled with black sesame seeds. The dish was accompanied with Wasabi-mayo, Beet Puree, Pickled Jalapeno, Tomato Brunoise, and Fried Onions. The atmosphere of the restaurant did not call for me to chow down a giant bun having 4 inches of height. I would have preferred, if the chef served it tartine style (open-faced) instead. Since, I had a problem slicing the crispy armored shell of the bun with a knife. The tuna though perfectly seasoned, did not look appetizing, as I investigated the insides of the sandwich, further. No char-marks. Just grey colored meat. I enjoyed the palate play from the spiciness of the wasabi and jalapeno, the tart acidity from the tomatoes and the sweetness from the beet puree. The chef should remove or improve the onions as its soggy exterior proved anything remotely edible.

Ended my meal, though not completely satisfied with the outcome, with outstanding front of the house service, will try Katre one more time, but this time sticking to the common dishes served.

Katre Mediterreanean Restaurant

103 Dr. Lascano St., Brgy. Laging Handa

Quezon City, Metro Manila

(02) 373-4705

Remarks on Mark Bittman on TED

I’ve been a fan on viewing videos created in TED, which is an invite only convention of 1,000 remarkable people in the field of technology, entertainment and design.

Above: Mark Bittman talks on TED

Though I agree with Mark that indeed man can live on vegetables alone. There are some people, like me, who is totally programmed to drool and crave for pork cracklings and melt-in-your-mouth steak.

Alas, the age-old adage of the real pursuit of food happiness is to eat everything in moderation indeed is true. Americans eat thrice or more than what Asians eat and are consistently happy. Remember the documentary Supersize Me?

Another key is to use and treat ingredients with respect. Respect their seasons, their habitat, their limitations and their flavors. I have always cringed at artificially concocted products and I think – forever will.

Lastly, be picky and enjoy the food. Stuffing oneself with whatever food that comes their way gets to be a bad habit. This definetely includes fast food. Though it is somewhat elitist to be choosy, I think it trains your palate to choose flavors that suits you and increases your standards for better fare (Have you noticed why organic veggies taste better than commercially pesticide ridden ones and why a home-made burger patty tastes better than the ones at McDonalds?)

Enjoy quality fare. Respect the ingredients. Moderation. We and the cows would all live happier.

Reinventing the Mass

Mass (Picture from farm4.static.flickr.com)

This has nothing to do with food. But I had a realization when it comes to forms of worship, especially for the Catholic church. It occurred to me that an hour of mass or even 15-minutes for the daily rosary turns into a ritualistic tradition that gets boring. It was a Purple Cow after revising the age-old Latin procedure, but now – it’s so ordinary, so predictable. If the Church wants to grab the attention of its future consumers, the youth, it needs to reinvent itself.

Have you ever wondered why after watching a very good movie for 2 hours, it doesn’t bother you? Same with eating with friends in a great restaurant with delicious food for 3-5 hours. Or even playing video games for 24 hours straight.

Why can’t our minds stay still in mass for an hour, participate, and go out and buzzing about it after?

If the Church wants to motivate people, especially the kids (not just with the kid’s parents forcing it on them), they need to deliver something different. A great sermon perhaps? A visiting artist singing opera? A change with the mass practice? El Shaddai is doing it. Some Christian chuch groups are doing it. Kids nowadays have less time on their hands and providing the same old-show they already know on an annual scale provides the same old response – boredom and apathy.

Entertaining at Home: Baguio and Andok’s

Had to cook for 25 hungry people during our visit to Baguio and seeing the weather wasn’t cooperating with us, we all agreed to dine in our quaint cottage near the Club. I prepared a couple of side dishes that were perfect accompaniments to the prepared roasted products procured from a nearby grill chain.

Yup, that’s actually Andok’s Lechon Manok.

As far as I know and can taste, there isn’t nothing wrong with Andok’s Rotisserie Chicken and is a far cry in terms of flavor and health concerns compared to regular fast food chain chicken. Baguio had the perfect atmosphere for roast foodstuff and I couldn’t let 25 hungry folks wait for their dinner, now would I? The chicken above was served with oven-roasted Parmesan and Paprika Potato Wedges and drizzled with the liver sauce that accompanies the chicken.

Above: Pork BBQ skewers with Buttered Asparagus and Carrots

Entertaining at home is easy. Procure some delicious foodstuffs some could be your main course or even your side dishes, serve in a nice platter, then plate with your own food creation and garnish. Garnishes can range from a sprig of rosemary, ribbons of parsley, or even lemon wedges. Above is Andok’s BBQ skewers which was paired with my Buttered Asparagus (which was in season with the Baguio weather), Carrots and onions that were sauteed in bacon fat and butter that ended up rich and crisp lending a sweetness to the entire dish.

Lastly, entertaining isn’t complete with drinks and a plus is liquor. Have a list of generic cocktails you could prepare in a flash. We prepared Rum with Cola, Mojitos, and Orange-Vodka cocktails. You could also do virgin versions (no alcohol) to your favorite cocktail creations for people who want to stay sane during the party.

Grab a couple of friends and have a party at home and enjoy!

Photos courtesy of Ms. Anna Dimerin

P.S. Andok’s didn’t sponsor this post, but was awfully lucky to be along the Baguio road we were driving.

Review: The Verandah at the Baguio Country Club

Baguio, the nippy, tourist-friendly, mountain attraction of the Philippines, where strawberry-themed everything is all a flutter accompanied by whipping pine trees and hilly golf courses. To cut things short (not exactly Anthony Bourdain here), was excitedly invited to visit during the weekend and ended sampling the local produce of what this city in the skies had to offer. We started our lunch in the famed 100-year old Baguio Country Club. The place had a fantastic scenic view of the golf course, but in terms of the food – simple no-fuss Filipino comfort food. Below is a duo of astonishing dishes that I would gladly go back for.

I had been craving for a good Lechon Kawali (literally means pork in a pan) and Baguio Country Club offered a perfect fried pork-stuff that literally made me want more. The very crispy crackling of its skin, the almost ethereal and almost liquid gelatin of its fat underneath and the crispy, but tender pork meat was a perfect combination with a soy-lime dipping sauce (or even without it). After getting my fair share, I was placed in a state of inner peace.

The meal was served with Sinigang na Baboy (Pork with vegetables simmered in a sour tamarind broth) that had a good sour-note and crisp vegetables, Fried Chicken which was a downer as it was crisp but very dry, Bulalo (Beef Shank with vegetables simmered in broth) had a comforting but very light approach to its broth, Chopsuey (Stir-fried assorted local vegetables) which were crisp and deliciously showcased how this mountain region’s climate provided the best snap peas and broccoli in the country, but again – pork reigns supreme!

The meal ended with a Meringue cake with Buttercream and Almonds, served with a fresh strawberry, whipped cream and a mango coulis garnished with a chocolate butterfly. The cake was the main attraction and the wisps of the temporary pleasure coming from the melt-in-your-mouth goodness of the meringue provided a good sweet counterpoint to the somewhat sour note from the mango sauce.

Overall, the meal was fairly comforting given the nippy weather. The vegetables evoked a certain freshness where only at Baguio you could get and the pork made me deliriously happy. Baguio Country Club gets 3 stars out of 5.

The Verandah at the Baguio Country Club

http://www.baguiocountryclub.com.ph/

Daily 6:00 AM to 11:00PM.

Photo courtesy of Ms. Anna Dimerin

Google Adwords

Google Adwords has this new upgrade with searching keywords. You can get actual search volume of keywords that can help you with your blog. Like I know that 1M Filipinos search for “blog”, 40,500 search for “chocolate” and 74,000 search for “marketing”.

Who knows? It might actually just work and brought you to my blog.