Food Review - North Park-Jetti

We were driving under heavy rains and trapped in traffic. We had just attended a forum on “A Call of Righteous Governance” and we were cold, tired, and hungry. Among those of us in the vehicle were my mother, her district superintendent, the Rev. John Manalo, and our former bishop, Bishop Solito Toquero. We are part of a group of three vehicles that agreed to rendezvous at North Park near SM Mall of Asia to have dinner before going home to Cavite.

There are actually two North Parks in along Macapagal Avenue: one at Caltex and the other at Jetti. We were going to the one beside Jetti. These restaurants are on the property of the gasoline station itself.
 

 I find it curious for restaurants to be beside gasoline stations. I usually associate establishments on gasoline stations with convenience stores. If I had a car (which I don’t), I’d go to the gasoline station for fuel, maybe grab a drink and a snack at the convenience store, and maybe use the rest room. I wouldn’t go to the gasoline station to eat at a restaurant.

But times are changing. For example, the convenience store of Petron on the along DaangHari (near my former church appointment) is very well appointed, amply supplied with imported goods (for people living in the posh villages nearby). I once ate at a Shakey’s at Phoenix Oil at along Molino Road: the gasoline station also had a Mini-Stop.

North Park is a Chinese food restaurant, but more upscale than, say, Chowking. We were greeted at the door by a crew member saying “Ni hao” (Hello). (I’m tempted to lecture about Mandarin now, but maybe not.)  At the table, we were given some hot tea, on the house.

The food comes in big servings, good for a small group. We had China Chicken (half chicken for Php 278), Yang Chow (Php 188), Special Toasted Noodles (Php 278) Sweet and Sour Lapu-lapu Fillet (Php 278).

Overall, the taste of the food was subtle, not overpowering. The China Chicken comes with a tasty sauce. The Yang Chow was very delicious with its combination of chopped vegetables and meat. The Toasted Noodles came stiff, but when it was mixed with the rich sauce that came with it, it softened. It had plenty of vegetables, seafood, and meat in it. I like the sauce of the Sweet and Sour Fillet: I kept putting it on my rice.

I’m quite surprised that now you can get fine food at a gasoline station. I wonder what’s next? Pulling up the gasoline station for a black-tie dinner?

Food review - Sisig Hooray!

It seems like I’m making up more time for “Eat” posts. Featuring now is my favorite sin indulgence: sisig from Sisig Hooray! And it’s so bad it’s good. Or so good, it’s bad.

According to the almighty Wikipedia, sisig had its origins in Angeles City, Pampanga; where the locals bought pig heads from commissaries at Clark Air Base because these were not used for the meals of US Air Force personnel stationed there. Lucia Cunanan, also known as “Aling Lucing” is credited for bringing sisig to the limelight when she began serving it on sizzling plates. It has since become a favorite accompaniment of alcoholic drinks (which Filipinos call “pulutan”).

The next stage of the evolution of sisig is the leap from the sizzling plate to the styrofoam box (more on this later). According to the company website, Sisig Hooray! is the brainchild of “foodie” Immanuel D. Balce when he opened his first branch at Ever Gotesco Ortigas. There have been many businesses who have been serving sisig with rice but served on a sizzling plate. But Sisig Hooray! is the first to serve it with rice and make it accessible to the masses. The rest, they say, is history.

I first encountered Sisig Hooray! at the Ever Gotesco in Monumento, Caloocan (now defunct, destroyed by fire). Conscious for my health, I first ordered a chicken sisig. (They have the usual pork sisig, plus bangus, squid, and steak variants.)

I was amazed by the characteristic way they prepare the dish. A male cook would chop the pork and the chicken meat with two flashy cleavers using a distinctive chop-chop rhythm. Another crew member (usually a girl) would place the pork or chicken meat into small plastic containers. Slices of onion, peppers, chicharon(!!!) and other ingredients, topped off by a special sauce (which I think is mayonnaise mixed with secret spices).The surprising thing is that the sisig mixture into a microwave oven, “cooked” for a few minutes, dumped into a styrofoam box, and served with a cup of rice.

This is why they call themselves as "The First and Original Freshly-Prepared Sisig".

The experience was so enlightening. The meat was cooked just right; it was moist from the secret sauce; the peppers and onions gave a terrific taste; and the chicharon gave a crunch to every bite. One cup of rice is not enough!

I got to know another Sisig Hooray! branch at Starmall Muntinlupa. I used to (repeat, used to) go there and get sisig every Sunday! (I have since repented of my wicked ways.) I would buy it from their kiosk, sit in one of those plastic chairs and tables at the foodcourt, and order extra rice from the other food stalls. (Most of the food stalls there serve halal meals, but eating halal rice doesn’t make a haram dish of sisig halal.) (The last time I was at Starmall, the Sisig Hooray kiosk has disappeared from the foodcourt.)

Sisig in a cardboard box: Eases some of the guilt. (Starmall Muntinlupa)

Sisig Hooray! used to serve their meals in styrofoam boxes—I call the substance “the work of the Devil”. At the time, Muntinlupa City was spearheading a charge against plastic bags and containers. So Sisig Hooray! (and other food establishments) began serving their meals on cardboard boxes (sometimes lined with aluminum, at other times wax paper). That eased the burden of guilt at bit.

Nothing to see here. Keep on reading... (SM City Manila)

I once had to bend over backwards to do a favor for a friend (it was more like my fault so the deed seemed more like penance) then this friend of mine treated me to—my surprise—at a Sisig Hooray! at SM City Manila! Instead of a kiosk, it is now occupying a stall in the foodcourt, alongside other mainstream food joints. I was also delightfully surprised that they also served sisig on regular ceramic plates!

Like a beacon beckoning me from afar. (SM Megamall)

My last brush with Sisig Hooray! was after I attended a seminar somewhere in Ortigas. I was looking for a place to eat at SM Megamall when I recognized a familiar orange sign signaling like a beacon. I haven’t had sisig for some time so I decided, why not? I ordered some pork sisig which was served to me in a cardboard box. As I enjoyed my meal, I thought, Just like old times.

Pork sisig + large ice tea = ENLIGHTENMENT!

With Sisig Hooray!, extra rice is not an option. It's a necessity!

Of course, I have to be cautious. I need to stay away from my favorite indulgence for long periods if I want to enjoy it (and life) longer.

* * *

For a blog review with the concern about the use of styrofoam boxes, see this entry from The Products Blog.

For a review of Sisig Hooray!’s branch at SM City Fairview, see this blog entry from Lette’s Haven.

For an article on tourism in Pampanga, including the origins of sisig and Angeles’ “Sisig Festival”, see this page from the Department of Tourism.

Cheap Thrills

It has been a long time since I have written an “Eat” blog entry. I’ve attempted to write some articles (like about some nacho chips served with tomatoes and onions, hot melted cheese, and ground beef), but those keep going to the backburner. 

Eating "Nacho King" nachos on the bus going home from Indang, Cavite.

Suddenly I found the time to write during a long weekend when the Islamic festival of Eid al’Fitr fell this year on a Friday. It seems fitting to write about food to mark the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Eid Mubarak! to my Muslim friends!

The first “cheap thrill” is the special goto with beef and tokwa’t baboy from Volet’s Gotohan. (For my non-Filipino readers, goto is rice porridge with beef while tokwa’t baboy is tofu with pork.) (Pork…ooops, haram.) Volet’s Gotohan is a small restaurant attached to Volet’s Resort, a popular resort here in Dasmariñas City, Cavite. Volet’s Gotohan has the distinction being open 24 hours and for being air-conditioned.

Here in the Philippines, goto is usually sold by street vendors on pushcarts. Other dishes serve include lugaw (plain rice porridge), mami (Chinese-style beef soup and noodles), and tokwa’t baboy. Lugaw or goto can be eaten with condiments that are available at the gotohan like vinegar, soy sauce, patis (fish sauce), hot Chinese chili oil, and calamansi (Philippine lime). When I was a college student, I used to patronize a gotohan where a bowl of goto and tokwa’t baboy would cost me around twenty-four pesos.

One time going home from school, I decided to celebrate a little for payday by availing myself of goto and tokwa’t baboy at Volet’s Gotohan. Volet’s Gotohan is off Aguinaldo Highway, on the right side of Volet’s Resort right across a Mang Inasal. The gotohan has glass walls and an orange interior. I ordered their special goto, tokwa’t baboy, and a can of Royal Tru-Orange.

Volet’s serving sizes are plus-sized. The goto arrived in a large bowl, with an a generous amount of beef tripe, spring onions, and even—gasp!—chicharon! Tokwa’t baboy is served in a dish with soy sauce and vinegar mixture, spring onions, and large slices of tofu and pork ears. Oh yes, it may be a tad expensive (the two dishes cost me around Php 110—still cheap considering that I have to shell out at least two hundred bucks a pop when I get a cup of tea and a doughnut from Starbucks) but I was happy and full.

The next “cheap thrill” is tapsilog from another 24-hour joint named Don Galo’s. While there is only one Volet’s Gotohan, Don Galo’s Tapsilog is nearly everywhere. The other branches are apparently franchises and each branch appears to be different from the others. Their signature color is green. My favorite Don Galo’s is the one near SM City Bacoor, also along Aguinaldo Highway. This particular branch is my favorite—I’ve eaten in it several times; including at five o’clock in the morning when I came from a junior-senior prom somewhere.

Their house specialty is the tapsilog, which is composed of tapa (beef jerky), sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (friend egg). They serve other -silogs but their tapsilog is the only thing I order. Recently I felt the need for comfort food so I dropped by and ordered a tapsilog, a bottle of soft drinks, and an additional cup of fried rice. Their jerky is very tasty and flavorful, though I prefer adding some vinegar on it and eat it with catsup. It is served with fried rice with garlic sprinkled on top and a fried egg over easy. The meal cost me ninety bucks.

This is all for now. A good meal needs not be expensive. You only have to know where to look.

Food Review - Mafe Ihaw-Ihaw

Back when I was a young seminarian, my cousin and I would use to have dinner at a honky-tonk barbecue stand under an overpass in front of a mall. When we would get bored with the food at the refectory, we would take a short jeepney ride from Union Theological Seminary, Cavite to Robinson's Place Dasmariñas to Mafe Ihaw-Ihaw.

A view from the ihaw-ihaw.

Mafe Ihaw-Ihaw is nothing more than a shack built under an overpass along Aguinaldo Highway. It has a corrugated tin roof (read: yero) supported by some two-by-two's. A long fluorescent lamp provides ample illumination. There used to a long table cover with linoleum where customers eat. A single long bench stands behind the table. There are a couple a plastic tables with several Tupperware containers where the barbecue is stored. The food is cooked on an open charcoal grill. The ihaw-ihaw is operated by Kuya Roel and his wife. It is named after their pretty daughter, who at that time was in high school.

For the uninitiated, barbecue in the Philippines is not just pork cubes (with an obligatory piece of fat at the end) skewered on a stick. We also use other "spare parts" like pork intestines (both big and small), ears, blood, and what-not. There are also chicken intestines, heads, gizzard, and blood. There's hardly anything Filipinos won't eat.

When we get there, my cousin and I would order several stick of barbecue. I would get pork barbecue; but also order pork intestines because of its intriguing taste and pig's ears because it's crunchy and tough at the same time. We would then partake of our feast with one or two (or more...) cups of rice. My style of eating is removing all of the meat on the sticks and soaking it in a bowl filled brown vinegar, chopped onions and sili labuyo (reputedly among the hottest peppers on the planet). We would eat our barbecue and rice with our fingers (read: nakakamay)--the traditional way Filipinos eat. Now, this is the true essence of "finger-lickin' good"! Finally, the meal is washed down with a bottle (or two) of soft drinks.

One time, Kuya Roel said while we were having dinner, "Pastor, mawawala po muna kami ng two weeks. Magbabakasyon muna kami sa Batangas. (We'll be gone for a couple of weeks. We're going to spend a vacation in Batangas)". I said, "Sure, sige. Pasalubong, ha? (Sure. Bring me back a souvenir, huh?)". When my cousin and I went back, Kuya Roel went to their home and retrieved his gift: a balisong (butterfly knife)! (Batangas is famous for its balisongs, also called "bente-nuebes"). The balisong was absolutely beautiful. The blade is forged from dark steel and very sharp. The handle is made of brass and--surprise!--deer antler! (I hardly use it: bringing it with me might attract dangerous situations.)

My cousin and I would sometimes bring our friends with us. Once, we brought along Zion and Keith, a couple of young people at the seminary and our sparring partners. (I don't ever recall if my cousin has ever brought along his girlfriend, now wife.)

* * *

One time I found myself standing across Robinson's Dasmariñas and a thought entered my head: Hey, why don't I give Kuya Roel a visit? There have been times when I would pass by their stand and we would wave hello to each other. Why don't I have dinner there now, just for good times' sake?

Kuya Roel grilling my order.

There was still the tin roof shack (not the same one in my seminary days--I think it has been demolished a few years back). It was not as bright as before--only a small white bulb provides dim lighting. Kuya Roel and I greeted each other warmly ans we catched up with each other. Their daughter is married and is now finishing nursing school. I said that I'm now an English instructor in a university here in Cavite. We also reminisced the past days when my cousin and I used to eat there.

My meal is ready!

Mafe Ihaw-Ihaw is not exactly for the squeamish type. But if you want an authentic experience with Filipino street food, places like Mafe Ihaw-Ihaw is for you.

* * *

While I was eating, I posted that I was eating at the barbecue stand in front of Robinson’s via Facebook mobile. A student of mine, who was apparently nearby (and also on Facebook mobile) read my post and also ate there shortly after I've left.

Kosher Tocino

Okay, here’s a shameless plug: Support Chevon Tocino. It’s good for your health and it tastes good. It’s for the thesis of a former student, Emilie Baldimo, a graduating Food Technology student. “Milay”, as I fondly call her, is a very diminutive girl: she barely reaches my shoulders. Open the dictionary to the word “diminutive” and her picture would be there. She was one of my first students when I began to teach in 2008; so we were both freshmen, so to speak. She was then an Accountancy student but divine providence led her to shift to Food Technology. We would remain in contact ever since that first semester when we had English 1.

Food Technology is a degree program that deals with food preparation. It is different from the more popular Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM), which I could say deals more with food preparation. (Okay, that’s a gross oversimplification.) It’s kind of like the difference of Computer Science and Information Technology. Computer Science deals with code-level programming: they are “behind the scenes”. Information Technology deals with the presentation side of computers, like website development. Another example is Civil Engineering and Architecture: the former deals mostly with the structures that hold a building up (again, behind the scenes); the latter mostly deals with the design of these structures. None of these degrees are more important than the other: because one needs another.

What is chevon? Chevon is goat meat. Back during the Norman Conquest of England, the British were under the rule of the French. So the British would raise the animals: goats, sheep, swine, & c. and that British would eat them: chevon, mutton, pork, & c. Thus, the English had the words for when the animals were alive; and the French had the words for when they are dead.(See a Wikipedia entry here.)

Going back: I found out about her project on social networking. So I contacted her and we met. She gave me a packet and gave me instructions on how to cook it. Milay told me that Chevon Tocino is actually a continuation of an earlier study. Besides making an improvement on the recipe, she wanted to find out how to package and sell these. (She claimed that she had to process nine kilos of goat meat.)

I told her that goat meat is “kosher”, that is, considered “clean” under Jewish dietary laws. (That’s “halal” to you, my Muslim friends.) Well, the goat had to be slaughtered by a sholchet or kosher butcher; to make sure that all the blood has been drained (eating blood is forbidden in the Torah) and that the animal has been slaughtered humanely. (But then, as a Christian and as a Gentile, Jewish dietary laws do not apply to me: Mark 7:19; Acts 10:9-15.)

So washed the meat in water and prepared a Teflon pan with water. When the water began to simmer, I tossed in the tocino. When all of the water has evaporated, I got this:

Chevon Tocino has a very strong and exquisite taste, with just the right amount of tang (from the pineapple juice). My older brother (who is not used to eating goat meat) said that the tocino tasted “weird” and “different”. Meanwhile, my grandmother remarked it tastes like beef. That night, I relished my cooking with gusto.

My only suggestion is that the cooking instruction should be printed on the package. And also there should be a caveat to people who are dealing with arthritis or gout: chevon, veal (calf meat), and others are rich in uric acid, so they better stay away from it. (See an article in Livestrong here.)

So there you have it. Support Chevon Tocino; and help a charming and bright girl finish college.