Food Photo # 708, 709 TGIF’s Bacon Cheeseburger

Food Photo # 668, 669 Banapple’s famous Banoffee Pie

Food Photo # 670-672 Banana Starry-Berry Custard Cake

Food Photo # 673, 674 Baked Creamy Cheesy Penne

Food Photo # 675-678 Fettuccine Magnifico

Food Photo # 679 Pasta Verde

Food Photo # 680, 681 Tuna Sandwich & Baked Fish Gratinee with Scalloped Potatoes

Food Photo # 682 Baked Fish Gratinee with Scalloped Potatoes

Food Photo # 683 Tuna Sandwich

Banapple (Ayala Ave., Makati)

Food Photo # 659-663 California Maki

Food Photo # 664, 665 Beef Gyudon

Food Photo # 666, 667 Kushikatsu

And while browsing my files, I found the following photos that made my craving even worse. Can you blame me? See for yourself.

Halo-Halo!!! This one’s from Mang Inasal, but I also love Razon’s version too.

Dulcinea’s Churros Con Chocolate : Not actually Filipino but one of those that surely completes an afternoon snack or merienda!

Taro Taro and Taro Ice from Quickly. With the advent of a huge variety of milk tea, Tina and I still love Quickly! Gabby likes it too of course! I’m not sure if a kiosk of Quickly exists somewhere here in Penang. Too lazy to google.

This should have been Puto’t Dinuguan but Mang Inasal’s upgraded version has it as Toasted Pandesal and Dinuguan. Sarap! Sedap!

Jollibee’s Spaghetti and Palabok Fiesta! Need I say more?

This was from Via Mare in Greenbelt Mall, Makati; but any ordinary suman and mangga is always a winner tandem for me!

Junkies, yeah!

Starbucks Coffee branches are available in most states of Malaysia including Penang. But call me biased, Caramel Macchiato and Banoffee Pie taste more delicious in Pinas. #homesicknesskicksin!

One of foodcourt favorite combo back home : World Chicken! My default choice is usually a plate of Pasta in Pesto sauce, Potato Salad and of course, Grilled Chicken Fillet with Ranch sauce! Sarap! Sedap!

Bibingka with lotsa butter, sugar & coconut shavings! Whether bibingka-tinda-sa-kanto- or that-little-high-end-Via Mare, a bibingka is always a bibingka! hahaha! #lostforsuperlatives!

And a lot more to mention!   Do we have the same cravings?

Food Photo # 655-657 Chocolate & Mango Macaron de Paris

Food Photo # 658 Mango Macaron de Paris

Alexandre

Food Photo # 648 Fresh Oranges

Food Photo # 649 Fresh Fruits

Food Photo # 650-654 Tofu Chips (Cheese, BBQ, Sour Cream)

Naked Juice Bar

Food Photo # 641-643 Crab Stick Donburi

Food Photo # 644 Red Iced Tea

Food Photo # 645-647 Fish Donburi

Food Photo # 632-634 Hut Patatas at Pizza Hut

Food Photo # 635, 636 Mojos at Shakey’s

Food Photo # 637-640 Hash Brown Burger at Jollibee

Food Photo # 606-609 Wintermelon Tea (Moon Leaf Tea)

Food Photo # 610-613 Milk Tea with Pearls at Teazzle

Food Photo # 614, 615 Nai Cha at Chow King

Food Photo # 616-625 Gong Cha Teas

Food Photo # 626-629 Serenitea’s Flavored Teas

Food Photo # 630, 631 Watermelon BubbaTeaLicious

Food Photo # 580-583 Chicken Piccata with Garlic Spaghetti at The Old Spaghetti House

Food Photo # 584-587 Oreo Froccino (Bo’s Coffee)

Food Photo # 588 Pancit Canton

Food Photo # 589-591 Beef Brisket

Food Photo # 592, 593 Sisig (Chocolate Spoon)

Food Photo # 594 Garlic Bread (Pizza Hut)

Food Photo # 595, 596 Spaghetti With Meatballs and Garlic Bread (Pizza Hut)

Food Photo # 597-599 Shabu-shabu (Robinsons Ermita)

Food Photo # 600-601 Vanilla Coffee Ice Blended (The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf)

Food Photo # 602, 603 Cajun Spiced Pork Chops (Flapjacks)

Food Photo # 604 Haagen Dasz Creme Brulee Ice Cream

Food Photo # 605 Cordon Bleu with Mashed Potato and Gravy, and Pasta (Chocolate Spoon)

Food Photo # 573-576 Lamb Koo

Food Photo # 577 Rice

Food Photo # 578, 579 Salad

Arya (Persian Restaurant)

Food Photo # 523-537 Bite Size Tacos with Tuna Filling (Taclings)

Food Photo # 538 Vigan Empanada

Food Photo # 539-551 Button Cakes (Red Velvet & Chocolate)

Food Photo # 552-558 Specialty Cakes

Food Photo # 559 Brownies

Food Photo # 560 Flavored Assam Milk Tea

Food Photo # 561, 562 Meat for Kebab

Food Photo # 563-565 Deep Dished Pizza

Food Photo # 566, 567 Smores

Food Photo # 568-572 Homemade Oreo Pancake

Weekends are a common time for family and friends to get together, just like anywhere in the world. When that happens, you can be assured of lots of good food to eat! Last Sunday was no exception.

Grilled Bangus Fish

Sun cooked on top and charcoal cooked on the bottom. Hey, this is the Philippines, so you know there is going to be fish.

Nice Grill Marks

Bangus, aka, Milkfish, is a staple in the Bacolod Area.

Bicol Express

Bicol Express is Super Hot! This particular Bicol Express was made with pork liver, heart, lungs and intestines, with many hot chili peppers and coconut milk. It will really get your motor running! Just make sure you have something cold to drink when eating Bicol Express.

Bopis

This Bopis was made with thinly sliced pork, hot chili peppers and coconut milk. A slight variation, as we switched up the recipes on purpose. Bopis is usually made with pork liver, heart, lungs and/or intestines but we decided to make this one lady friendly with the better cuts of meat and with less hot chili peppers, since there were more ladies around than men. We did the Bicol Express with what is normally used to make Bopis. We added sauteed garlic and onions to both dishes. It all worked out! Everyone ate a lot of both and everyone raved! The recipes were asked for, due to the slight variations on the original recipes.

Where's the Beef?

Joke only! I really enjoyed the native food. However, we don’t eat Bopis and Bicol Express everyday or even every week. We do eat a lot of fish and other seafood, a lot of chicken and pork without so much fat.

Philippine Cuisine is diverse and the very same dish can be prepared many different ways, as it differs from region to region and even from family to family in the same region. Check it out the first chance you have.

Going south of Bacolod in the area before Villadolid, there are many roadside vendors selling watermelon.

Squeezing the Melon

Yeah, he is at it again! One of my brothers in law is squeezing the watermelon at a roadside stand.

The nose knows!

My beautiful, adorable, charming wife has a better technique. She can smell the good watermelons and ferret out the best from among many to choose from.

Choose One?

There are many to choose from.

Watermelon is much more than just splitting them open, adding salt if you like and eating, as the juice runs down your hands.

With the right ingredients, watermelon will make a mean salsa. Add chopped watermelon, chopped bell peppers, kalamansi juice or lime juice, chopped green onions, sili peppers, chopped chili peppers or jalapenos, a dash of salt and now you got it! It is great with nachos, tortilla chips or corn chips.The cool watermelon is a nice balance with the hot peppers.

If you have a juicer, blender or a food processor, then you are in business. You can make many different kinds of watermelon drinks. You can have it plain or you can add other things to kick it up a few notches. Add coconut milk to have a wonderful watermelon shake. If you want a frozen treat, pour the watermelon shake into paper cups and put in the freezer. When about half frozen, add popsicle sticks and you will have a watermelon popsicle before too long. You can add mango juice and rum to watermelon juice to make a cocktail.

Adding watermelon to salads is always a nice treat. Just add chopped watermelon to your favorite salad.

Watermelon can be added to your favorite sandwich. Instead of tomato, add watermelon. You may be surprised!

The Wonderful Watermelon. It can bring a new love into your life.

Food Photo # 493, 494 Pichi-pichi

Food Photo # 495, 496 Pinoy Pasta (a recipe from Junior Master Chef)

Food Photo # 497, 498 Menudo

Food Photo #499-501 Homemade Cordon Bleu

Food Photo # 502-504 Homemade Pesto Pasta

Food Photo # 505-508 Pork Sisig

Food Photo # 509-511 Palabok

Food Photo # 512-514 Pork Steak with Mushroom

Food Photo # 515 Cordon Bleu

Food Photo # 516 Potato Salad

Food Photo # 517 Bistek Tagalog

Food Photo # 518 Sinigang na Bangus

Food Photo # 519 Laing

Food Photo # 520 Lechon Kawali with Kangkong

Food Photo # 521 Spicy Squid

Food Photo # 522 Chicharon-Eggplant

When steamed or boiled, the green shell mussels have a nice, natural red color.

Green Shell Mussels

These mussels were prepared by boiling them in salt water, taking off the top shell, garnishing them with fried slivers of garlic and grated cheese, and then baking until the cheese melted.

WoW! Now, we are talking. I really enjoyed these mussels, as always.

Mussels and Fries

I don’t  eat much rice on a daily basis, so my wife prepared fries instead. The ketchup with the fries is mixed with wasabi, to kick them up a notch. I also like wasabi as a dip with the mussels. My lovely wife studied Culinary Science in Singapore and she also knows the gadgets to use. She has a cutter to turn out the crinkle cut or waffle style potatoes when doing the French Fries. All this was done in our home, as you just can’t get food this good in a restaurant! My wife also taught me about cooking, although, I must say that I was not a novice before. I have improved!

Mussels are very healthy, so no need to be concerned. Mussels are grittier and chewier than oysters but they are still very good  for you and they make your tum, tum, tummy very happy!

Mussels are actually low in calories and low in fat but rich in protein. Believe It… Or Not? It is true, you can believe it!

Mussels are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Vitamins B, Vitamin C, folate, iron, manganese, potassium, zinc, phosphorus and selenium. Vitamin B-12, especially! Mussels are sounding better all the time.

There are many ways to prepare mussels and you can use them to create many dishes. For me, I like them on the half shell. If I am preparing mussels only for myself, I like to steam them in beer. Beer steamed mussels. Don’t worry, the alcohol in the beer is not in the mussels. Beer is not only for drinking but good to use in steaming seafood. Beer steamed crabs also rock!

Green Shell Mussels are available very cheaply in every area of the Philippines that I have ever visited or where I have lived. Mussels are really an incredible seafood! Great taste, healthy and packed full of nutrients.

Food Photo # 441-455 Med Chef Pastries

Food Photo # 456-464 Red Velvet Cake

 Food Photo # 421-424 Gayuma 69-ers: a surprise dish every Wednesday (our surprise was Chicken Adobo )

Food Photo # 425-429 I’m Wild For You (wild mushrooms in creamy white sauce)

Food Photo # 430 Melon Shake

Food Photo #431-435 Better than Sex (Chocolate Cake with Butterscotch Cream and Chocolate Syrup)

Food Photo # 436-440 Gayuma ni Maria Cakes (Twisted Pavlova, I love my Banana, Better than Sex, Trifle Fun)

]]> http://allaroundbacolod.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/food-in-the-philippines/ Mon, 16 Apr 2012 18:45:17 +0000 allaroundbacolod http://allaroundbacolod.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/food-in-the-philippines/ Philippine Cuisine is diverse and I could write a book about it based on my experience in the country. But, I am not going to do that here!

When I first visited the Philippines and lived here as an academic in 1986-1987, I had read and was told that the Philippine food was Chinese, Spanish and Malay influenced. There was a Shakey’s Pizza on Roxas Blvd that I enjoyed very much. It had pizza, spaghetti, draft San Miguel Beer and live rock bands at night. Not exactly Chinese, Spanish and Malay! 

Ma Mon Luk in Quezon City was my favorite Chinese Restaurant. The Aristocrat Restaurant on Roxas Blvd was one of my favorite Filipino restaurants in Manila back in those days. Back to the Future!

I moved to the Bacolod area 3 years ago and the Filipino food here is a little different from the fare in Manila but it is still food. Nowadays, we have Mexican, Thai, Korean, Middle Eastern, German, American style, Italian, Mediterranean and many other locally owned cuisine restaurants. We don’t have a Chili’s Bar and Grill or a Taco Bell or a Burger King. There is McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and KFC.

My wife and I enjoy preparing food at home but we still go out to restaurants several times a week. We thank all those Boyz from Bacolod Food Hunters for telling us about new places to go and eat when dining out. Way to go guys! Two thumbs Up!

I enjoy Japanese food but some of the Japanese restaurants leave a lot to be desired in our area, however, I have not tried them all.

This past week, I took a simple can of Century Tuna in oil and turned it into a nice delight!

I put the canned Century Tuna in the freezer for about 40 minutes to chill . In the mean time, I whipped up a Japanese style Mayonnaise. I used the non-sweet mayonnaise, about two tablespoons. I added one half tablespoon of wasabi paste from the tube, one tablespoon of soy sauce and one half tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. I mixed all together and put in the ref for about 30 minutes to chill. Japanese Mayonnaise.

I don’t really like boiled eggs in tuna salad but you can do that if you like. I opened the can of chilled Century Tuna and drained it especially well in a strainer, as I don’t want oil or much liquid in the tuna when making the tuna salad since it really becomes watery. The less oil left in the tuna, the better!

Tuna Bowl

I like to do things right and be authentic as possible.

One portion of tuna

Japanese Mayonnaise

Waiting to be mixed! The Japanese Mayonnaise and the tuna. I had this last night and munched on Skyflake saltine crackers, as I enjoyed eating the tuna salad. Will this work served over rice? You betcha! If you want to go that route. It will also work on a bed of lettuce and you can add mango slices, too. Now, that is a tropical delight right from the Philippines!

Food in the Philippines can be kicked up a few notches for creative flavor and your meal is only limited by your imagination.

Food Photo # 415 Chocolate Japanese Ice Cream

 Food Photo # 416-420 Cookie Dough Japanese Ice Cream

Homegrown Tomatoes

There are a few little green tomatoes and soon, they will become larger red tomatoes, ready for picking and eating!

Another tomato plant

These tomato plants are potted and growing at our home in Bacolod City. We have a farm but these tomatoes are city tomatoes!

I remember as a child, I would get a big ole ripe tomato from my dad’s garden, put some salt on it and eat it just like I would eat an apple. Now, that is good eating on a hot summer day, especially if you chill the tomato in the fridge first.

Living in the Bacolod area the past 3 years, I discovered it is more difficult to find the larger tomatoes in the public markets but they are available. For a price. Now, I am trying to grow my own tomatoes and it looks like I have a good start!

There are many things you can do with tomatoes. You can make your own salsa or make your own tomato relish. There are hundreds of ways to eat a tomato and you are only limited by your imagination. I like a BLT, Bacon/Lettuce/Tomato, sandwich on toasted bread with lots of mayonnaise. Sometimes, I eat just a tomato sandwich with lots of mayonnaise.

Sliced tomatoes are good at breakfast and go with most anything. We sometimes forget that tomatoes are actually fruit.

I enjoy fried green tomatoes very much. This is the way I do fried green tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes on the thinner side but not too thin, so about 1/2 inch thick. Beat one or two eggs for dipping the tomato slices, depending on how many you need to dip. You can add a little milk to the egg if you wish but it is not required. Put flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper on one plate for dredging the tomato slices and put cornmeal on another plate for dredging the tomato slices. In order, dredge the tomato slices in flour to coat, dip in the egg mixture and then dredge the tomatoes in the cornmeal. Now, you are ready to fry the tomatoes in cooking oil over medium heat. Don’t overcrowd the skillet or wok, which you are using, and the tomatoes should not touch each other when frying. When the tomatoes are brown, flip over and brown the other side. Drain on paper towels before eating. Fried green tomatoes are best eaten while hot.

As you can see, I am already thinking about what I will do with my homegrown tomatoes. You can buy tomatoes in many places but you just can’t buy your own homegrown tomatoes.

Food Photo # 404-409 Kaya Toast

Food Photo # 410, 411 Iced Coffee

Food Photo # 412 Kaya & French Toast

Food Photo # 413, 414 French Toast

Toast Box, Robinsons Ermita

Food Photo # 399-404 Chicken Burrito

Army Navy, Vito Cruz 

 Food Photo # 361-368 Red Velvet Cupcakes

Food Photo # 369-373 Chocolate Lollipops

Food Photo # 374-380 Brownies

Food Photo # 381-386 Chocolates & Heart-Shaped Candies

Food Photo # 387-390 Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream

Food Photo # 391-393 Chocolate Cakes

Food Photo # 394-398 Theobroma Chocolates