icy treats.

it is no wonder that ice-based treats are popular in the philippines--the average yearly temperature is 26.5°C (79.7°F), and 85% humidity is not uncommon. whether you are in the city or in the provinces, for the most part (unless you're lucky to live high in the mountains), you take a shower in the morning and step out immediately feeling like you need to take another shower. you are pretty well aware that you live in the tropics.

the most popular of the ice-based treats is probably halo-halo (literally "mix-mix"), a non-specific but fairly colourful mix of preserved fruits and beans, milk , and ice served in a tall glass. the name comes not only from the array of ingredients, but also from the idea that you mix everything together so you get a milky, sludgy, icy drink. (a note about the milk in halo-halo: evaporated milk is typically used because it is rich without being too creamy, and can be used sparingly; also, when it is mixed with the ice it dilutes to a regular milk consistency and flavour.) it is often served as merienda, but equally as popular as a dessert. or, a dessert at merienda :)

i've just come to learn about guinomis, another icy confection, which i'm told is a popular lenten repast, probably because it has less ingredients than halo-halo, and is also dairy-free. why, why, whyyyyy hadn't i known this before?! the creamy white expanse you see is from coconut milk, which covers a combination of nata de coco (a fermented but non-alcoholic coconut water gel), sago or tapioca pearls, pinipig (toasted rice flakes--the older sibling of duman), and a palm sugar syrup. the whole thing is served in a tall glass as well, covered by a tiny mountain of shaved ice. i absolutely love the non-dairyness of this; the coconut milk is creamy, but not über-thick with actual cream. it is not overloaded with too many flavours so you can really taste the caramel of the palm sugar syrup and the toasty rice flavour of the pinipig, which permeates the liquid. the nata de coco and sago/tapioca provide a nice, chewy texture against the flurry of quick melting ice flakes.

in fact, the ice that is used in these desserts is quite important--the finer the better. it is much finer than crushed ice, or even snow cone ice; japanese kakigori, malaysian/singaporean ice kachang, the southeast asian cendol and hawaiian shave ice have the same consistency. there are machines that can produce this fine ice, but for my money, i usually turn to a hand-held ice shaver. it works like a wood plane--the bottom has a long blade that is run across the surface of a block of ice; the resulting ice shavings are collected within, like a tiny bank of snow.

it usually takes about two of these little caches for one serving of halo-halo or guinomis, which really takes no time at all, once you get a rhythm going. it also seems to be more satisfying than just pressing a button or swirling around a handle on a machine; perhaps it's that little extra effort that makes it all the more sweeter. this particular type of shaver is still quite popular in the philippines, and is still made there; we've had ours for thirty years now, and it hasn't failed yet. if you are stateside and looking for one, this mainland company sells a similar one.

also quite fashionable these days is a specialty of our family province of pampanga: white halo-halo. it is basically the same as regular halo-halo , only it contains monochromatic ingredients. the most famous example of this is from a restaurant in the town of guagua called razón's; they use only leche flan (a baked milky custard), and saba bananas boiled in a palm sugar syrup. another popular variation has little milky candies in it--pastillas de leche or yemas--and not much else. i prefer the razón's version, which i make at home, with the addition of (colour-free) nata de coco or kaong (sugared date palm nuts) for a little texture.

winter wonderland in a glass.



technorati tagged! philippines filipino dessert merienda

it's saturday so it must be salcedo.

i am nothing if not predictable about my routine in manila. i usually take the friday flight right after work in guam, and arrive in makati just before most of the restaurant kitchens close. saturdays start early with a couple errands, and then off to the market at salcedo village.

predictable, but considering the variety of food and produce available, not exactly boring. and not particularly expensive either--the current rate of exchange is about 49 pesos to the US$1, so i can usually get a great meal and enough fruit for the weekend for about US$5. la-la-love a (relative) bargain, baby.

i was looking at photos from produce markets at tableau vivante and she who eats, and thinking that i'll never get such gorgeous artichokes nor delicate tulips here, but then again, i don't think frost damage is ever really a concern for the local crops, either.

and it never fails, i always find something new. spices 'n flavours run a stall there, with a small but fairly intensive selection of their merchandise. i picked up a small tumbleweed of dried oregano, and a packet of kasubha (Carthamus dentatus Blanco), which is similar to saffron but not (used much the same way, though); it was there i noticed a steel bowl filled with these almost coal-like fruit fossils labelled "black lemons."

preserved lemon, certainly, and a little interrogation of the shopgirl revealed it is from india, but no recipes were offered. has anyone ever used black lemon? does anyone out there know how? anyone? anyone?

bueller?


tagged! manila makati philippines salcedo produce market

techie toys for cooks

one of my new favourite things is delicious library, a database for your books, music, dvds, and games brought to you by the fine swiss cheese plants at delicious monster. each item of your library is easily added by typing in the title or barcode, or even better, by pointing a handheld scanner or firewire digital video camera to the item's barcode; information from all of amazon's international databases (us, uk, germany, france, canada and japan) is accessed and downloaded. you can display your library as a database or as these nifty shelves, which can be browsed, searched, or sorted. i've just started, but i've already got a better grasp of my cookbook collection, which in the real world is strewn across various rooms, flats, even continents. and huzzah! book covers are also downloaded, so i have my entire fiction collection at my fingertips (which as many of you know, is organized in a most unorthodox manner).

unfortunately for many people, delicious library is optimized for macs; for the mac user, it is christmas in a (window)box: you can use your built in iSite for scanning, there is a lending library synchronized with your address book and iCal, there's a widget for easy access to your database, which can also be stored on your iPod. iImpressed. it's a solid US$40 investment.

**

appetites.us is one of the first food blogs i'd ever read, and continues to be a favourite; for a food blog it has remarkably few photos, but remains evocative and appealing--chalk that up to robert peyton's excellent writing skills. it was also a prime source of information about new orleans during the katrina crisis, and continues to enlighten me on what life is like for a typical citizen in the aftermath. a recent post mentioned a new (beta) website, rouxbe, which features detailed instructional videos by real chefs cooking real recipes. it, alas, does not provide this as a free service, but from the free preview you can see the videos are attractive, thorough, and most importantly, all about the food. if all that dreck on the food network bugs you as much as it bugs me, this could be for you. no mucking about.

however, if the US$49/year ($99 lifetime) membership is too steep--yet you still managed to blow $299 on a video iPod--epicurious.com offers free video podcasts of various cooking and entertaining techniques (no, not how to not spill a drink on someone--think napkin folding). these one to two minute segments look not unlike rouxbe's videos, but deal with the basics: how to sharpen a knife, how to julienne, how to poach an egg, la la. there are currently 36 free episodes (search "epicurious food and drink" in the iTunes directory), 14 of which i've seen and digested. i honestly was always vexed by how to dice celery in a uniform manner until recently. now i can rest easy at night, knowing The Truth About Mirepoix. you can, too.

**

and finally, not a techie toy, not even a toy. just toyed: a gummy bear rug. you know you want it.


tagged! software podcasts videos library fun with gelatinous substances

3 for '007: pt. 3, los angeles: yai.

part three, we're west coasting it in la-la land. after all that talk about authentic and non-authetic thai food over at people's palace, i'm pretty sure that my favourite los angeles' joint is authentic. yai thai cuisine is a no-nonsense, no-frills spot in an odd little strip mall, just off the 101 freeway, but it has garnered high praise from chef jet tila, who recently named it as los angeles' top thai restaurant on kcrw's good food program (excellent show, btw, available as a free podcast); more importantly, simon, kirk, yoony, and dylan all like it, and judging from their blogs we've got similar tastes.

bamboo shoot salad, gai sapp nok


duck noodles


black egg pow

my original review of yai can be found here on my la blog, but of course, it helps to have mo' photos, mo' descriptions.




like the previous review said, the place is nothing to look at, but it has always been clean and well-lit everytime i've visited. the staff is very helpful and quite friendly. prices range from dead cheap to reasonable. the menu is extensive, and there is also a noticeboard with other specials; the only thing they ever seem to run out of is certain canned drinks. the food can be absolutely fiery here, so when they ask you if you'd like it mild, medium, or spicy, truly question your tolerance before responding. some items may seem rather mundane in description, but once it arrives, it manages to transcend a plain name. the jungle curry, however, is as exotic as the name sounds--it is in fact the first jungle curry i've had that looks like it was literally made in a jungle--wild eggplant crowd with a handful of long beans, bamboo shoots and various leaves, as if someone had just foraged for the meal. it is equally as adventurous tasting--there are unfamiliar oils and a bitterness in the ingredients that aren't as pungent in cultivated vegetables.



many of the noodle dishes can be ordered wet or dry (with soup or dry-fried); i honestly don't remember which dish this is, but it had an assortment of fish cake and seafood in it, along with some very nice barbecued pork loin and pork meatballs. the broth is light and slightly salty, but not overwhelming, with an almost florally pork essence to it.



quite possibly my favourite thing on the menu (competing neck and neck with the black egg pow)--and chef jia's too--is the puffed catfish with green apple relish. a whole (farmed, alas) catfish is split, deboned, and fried in a batter that is completely ungreasy, light as a feather but as crunchy as your favourite potato chip. the tender catfish meat is incendiary heat hot straight from the oil, but sweet, mild, and meltingly soft. that combined with a relish of matchsticked granny smith green apples, sliced red onion, cilantro, chili pepper dressed in just a drop of lime juice and fish sauce is the absolute business, i tell you, the bomb. yes, so good i will use overplayed, outmoded (sub)urban slang.

**

so there you go. three for three. hope to see you here. or there. or there.


yai
5757 hollywood boulevard (x-street taft)
hollywood 90028.
323.466.0153.


tagged! los angeles restaurant dining thai

3 for '007: pt. 2, manila: people's palace.

part 2 of my favourites lands us in makati, manila, which is the central business and commercial district for the philippines. i don't know, i feel like i'm going to get a bit of flak for picking this particular thai restaurant as a favourite as makati has many good restaurants, some that probably deserve more attention; also, according to a recent texting conversation i had, people's palace was featured in several society magazines this month to glowing reviews. i know people have strong opinions about this place: it's pricy, it's trendy, the interiors and service staff seem cold, the food's not authentic. i agree that it is expensive, and it's probably trendy, but having spent my formative restaurant patronizing years in los angeles, i don't find the decor nor the staff to be glacial--perhaps a little cool. not a bad thing in my book at all; i prefer discreet service and they seem to know when to ignore me and more importantly when not. the decor may be all clean lines and white walls, but i find the space calming and the shade of white quite warm. i'm not a connoisseur of thai cuisine, so i don't know if it is authentic; it rather reminds me of the gentrified, westernized thai food one finds in the westside of los angeles--certainly pretty and most times well-cooked, but rather muted in flavour. however pretty the food is at people's palace, i feel that while the stronger flavours are muted, the food does not seem to be missing any key tastes. in fact, as some of the dishes lose heat and pungency, they gain subtlety so other ingredients can fully be appreciated. i find that the consistency, freshness and quality of the food and service overcome my desire to seek more "authentic" flavours.

the menu is one of the smallest i've seen for a thai restaurant, but there is a relatively extensive and interesting drinks list: there are several iced and hot teas and tisanes, herbal and fruit tonics, smoothies, alcoholic cocktails, and some non-alco, non-caffeinated options like the gorgeously bejewelled-toned morning glory flower drink, or the iced lemongrass and ginger drink. 'morning glory' is another name for kang kong, water convulvus or water spinach, but i'm not sure i really know what the flower of one looks like--i certainly don't know how it tastes. however, the morning glory flower drink looks and tastes much like hisbiscus tea, only with a deeper purpley amethyst shade and a milder, less acidic flavour. the lemongrass ginger drink is refreshing on a hot day, more herby than lemony, slightly floral and only tinged with ginger (for a bolder take on this, order it hot--it comes as a concentrated syrup of lemongrass and spicy ginger to stir into a cup of scalding hot water).

the thing i never miss out on on the menu is one of the thai pomelo salads, which are a mix of sweetish pomelo fruit, lots of greeny herbs, peanuts, garlic, and some sort of complementing savoury ingredient. my favourite is the prawn, pomelo, and coconut salad which features barely cooked through prawns (perhaps marinated in lime juice?), freshly shredded buko coconut meat (neither too young nor old), an abundance of pomelo and cilantro. the dressing seems to little more than citrus juice and fermented fish sauce used quite sparingly, so the sweet milkiness of the prawns and coconut strips is still evident amongst the medicinal greens, toasted peanuts, and mild sweet-tartiness of the grapefruit-like pomelo.

fried things are handled well here--everything from the prawn rolls with sweet chili sauce to the rice flour and sesame seed battered bananas are crispy and greaseless. there are also the lightly battered lapu-lapu (snapper) filets which are surprisingly tender and delicate, also lacking any greasiness, and served with basil leaves and a red curry sauce touched with a bit of coconut milk. if i do have a complaint, it's that there isn't any whole fish on the menu, but that would go against the genteel nature of the menu.

crispy catfish salad, pad thai


seafood in red curry, pineapple fried rice

a good gauge for me to decide if i like a thai restaurant is how it prepares its pad thai, a stir-fried rice noodle dish. people's palace's version passes the test. i despise the version that is commonplace in many restaurants, which seems to be coated in an oily, sweet chili sauce and colours the noodles a garish orange-red; their version is the kind i prefer, without the unnatural colour, and filled with egg, chicken, and prawns, then topped with a snowy mountain of bean sprout, with crushed peanuts and cilantro on the side. the noodles are stir-fried expertly, as they silky and al dente, and there only remains a trace of oil to keep the individual ingredients separate, and not make the whole thing a mushy, clumpy mess. the curries are good, too, with generous portions of meat and vegetable against a good not-too-soupy ratio of curry and splash of cooling coconut milk. i am a person who usually only orders fried rice if it's pretty much the entree, and not as an accompanying starch; the pineapple seafood fried rice is something you can definitely order without anything else as it is filled with a bounty of squid, prawns, pineapple, peas, onions and tomatoes--just a very nice, natural mix of sweet and sour flavours in a surprisingly light, fluffy rice base, served with fresh lime, and a soy sauce, fish sauce, and hot chili pepper sauce. easily addictive.

nowhere does people's palace showcase its fusion techniques more than in its desserts; although there are typical fried bananas available (with a coconut milk ice cream) and also a sticky rice dessert, the stars to me are the ones that use eastern ingredients in standard western desserts. the panna cotta with cardamom and apricots infused in a ginger syrup is a greedily gorgeous combo of almost cheese-like richness in the quivering cream with a hint of incense, complemented by the plumped, boldly flavoured fruit; it feels like it was a treasure brought back to the orient from italy in a velvet-lined, jewel-encrusted box.

for those too full to contemplate the panna cotta, the house-made lemongrass ice cream with coconut biscuits and fresh fruit is a marked contrast to its opulent yet compact sister; there are two generous scoops of a velvety smooth and lightly scented ice cream, with tuile-thin coconut biscuits and a porcupine half ripe manila mango. so much more in quantity, yet somehow a much lighter dessert.

i do love the space that people's palace occupies--it's all whites, beiges, and dark woods, with punctuations of orange from the servers' distinctive form-fitting t-shirts (certainly stylish in the space, but i wonder if they get odd looks on the bus), high, high ceilings, and warm accent lighting--if there's a compact fluorescent in the lot, they disguise it well. it's both calm and buzzy, if you can imagine that. it also has a distinct added bonus of having a fantastic outdoor space for dining and lounging in the cool of night, gardenside in its prime greenbelt location. an oasis within an oasis, maybe.


people's palace
gardenside greenbelt 3, ayala center, makati, manila.
632.729.4375.


part 1 of 3 for '007

part 3 of 3 for '007



tagged! manila makati philippines dining restaurants thai

3 for '007: pt.1, guam: jojo's adobo.

i'm not a fan of "best of" lists, as i think "best" is a subjective term with indeterminate variables, disguised as an objective study; i much prefer finding out people's favourites, as you already know that there are personal biases involved. i'd spent a lot of time in guam, manila and los angeles last year, and am likely to spend more time in all three place in this year. i've had great meals everywhere, but have three favourites from 2006 that i hope some of you might try in 2007. they may not make anyone's "best" list, but they are definitely different, and what attracts me to them is the overall tastiness of the food, genial and prompt service, and the consistency of both. that's gotta count for something, right?

currently my favourite restaurant in guam isn't a restaurant per se, but really just a food stall at the chamorro village. jojo's adobo is a small kitchen with a small menu that serves big lunches five days a week, and dinner at the wednesday night markets. the kitchen is manned by owner jojo santo tomas, and "big" mike rozanski; the food is a pretty accurate representation of what guamanian home cooking is all about: a mix of well-prepared chamorro, filipino, and american food, served in generous portions. i've tried everything on the permanent menu, quite a few of the daily specials, and so far i've found that all of the offerings are fresh, hearty, fairly priced, and very tasty. it's like what your mom would make, especially if your mom was a big local dude.



there are three items on the permanent menu: peping's adobo (from jojo's father's recipe for a popular filipino stew), chinese chicken salad, and the aloha pigwich. the adobo is made with sage-rubbed pork, simmered in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and caramelized onions, then served on a bed of white rice. this particular adobo is quite savoury and not particularly piquant from the vinegar--there's just a smooth, slight acidity in with the sweet onions, milky tender pork, and mellowed garlic.

the chinese chicken salad is made with finely shredded nappa cabbage, red cabbage, green onions, and marinated chicken breast, and served with a gingery vinaigrette, slivered almonds, and fried rice paper wrapper crunchies. it, too, is quite tender as i believe the younger cabbage leaves are used, and make a fine vehicle for the asian-inspired dressing. the pigwich is filled with a generous amount of kalua-style shredded pork, smoky and sweet, and served on a freshly baked french roll with sautéed cabbage and onions on the side.

some of the daily specials include a pan-fried tofu in an asian green sauce made with ginger, garlic, green onions, and cilantro, and an adobo made with korean-style kalbi beef shortribs. both are quite generous in portions and in flavour, even though you could technically classify the tofu as the 'healthier' and 'lighter' option as it is vegan, and very clean in its flavours (although lighter might be debatable as i think you get a full block o' tofu). the shortrib adobo is a serious stick-to-your-ribs affair that can take you an afternoon to get through as you suck the tender meat and rich gravy off the soft bones that fill the bowl. would this be healthier as you probably won't eat for a couple meals afterwards? perhaps not. one of the most popular items seems to be the "green fish": a tilapia fillet pan-fried in one of two green sauces: the asian-inspired one like the sauce used with the pan-fried tofu, or an italian-inspired basil pesto. there is also a "green steak" available, cooked the same way only with slices of tender sirloin steak.

although the menu is small, everything is quite tasty, the prices are relatively low, and there is enough variety in the daily specials that you can visit every week without getting bored. both jojo and mike are friendly guys, and jojo will email you every sunday with a list of the specials for the week. there is a definite relaxed attitude about the place, but they are quite serious about the food; they try very hard to get your meal out to you in the a reasonable amount of time, without sacrificing flavour or quality. stop by if you have a chance.



jojo's adobo
chamorro village, next to the main pavilion and shrimp shack.
671.477.DOBO.


part 2 of 3 of '007

part 3 of 3 for '007



tagged! guam restaurants guam dining chamorro chamoru guam

new year's noshing.

just a quick word on the new year's nosh. last year was all about osechi, but i couldn't work up the energy for it, and as kirk noted, the shops seemed to have a pitiful pre-made selection this time around. so i picked up some particularly interesting looking kamaboko, a japanese processed fish cake, mainly because they looked so festive. when i was growing up, the most interesting kamaboko was white with a pink border, but as you can see from the photo above, they've gotten more creative: the pink bordered one has a flying bird depicted on it, the white one has a terrapin and some seaweed, i think. not only are the designs all fancy, but the flavours have changed, too: the yellow spiral one is an interesting cross of kamaboko and tamago baked egg cake, and the rectangular one has stripes of salmon flake and a basil infused filling.




i also couldn't resist the selection of sashimi which was particularly fresh. the hamachi was exceptional, as were the super-sweet scallops.



it wasn't all japanese food, but it was almost exclusively seafood--baked salmon with a homemade mayonnaise, grilled sea bugs, a random tuna sandwich (don't ask)--and this simple but decadent prawn cocktail of a sort: four kilos of the super-large variety of tiger prawns steamed and shelled, and served with a salad of tomato, cilantro, onion, and cucumber. sweet, only slightly acidic, herby, and cool, all at once. not a bad way to start the new year, really.

tagged! new+year kamaboko seafood celebration

duman and tsokolate.

the holidays are mostly over, but i've still got a healthy cache of duman in my freezer. duman is a seasonal rice product that is a specialty of the province of pampanga, where my family is from. the harvesting season coincides with the beginning of the christmas holiday season, which is why these rice "flakes" are often considered a special holiday food; it is also quite laborious to produce, and therefore expensive, which adds to its specialness. cousin karen has the most extensive posts on duman (some of which are also the best food blog posts ever written, imo), so i leave it to her, and leave it to you to check them out.

there are several ways to enjoy duman, but probably the most popular is to sprinkle some into a cup of thick hot chocolate, tsokolate, made with the local filipino chocolate, tablea--a mix of crushed native cacao beans and peanuts which form a thick paste, and are sold in solidified tablet or ball form. the chocolate drink is made with milk--if you are lucky, carabao milk (evaporated milk is a popular substitute)--brought to a boil and the tablea is melted and whisked into the hot liquid until thick and frothy (i will save that for another post).



the past few weeks i have indulged all too frequently in a version of this duman with tsokolate, made with tablea, but with a half-milk, half-water mix, and an decadent square or two of valrhona carre jivara thrown in. the carre jivara is their milk chocolate blend, which works well with the cruder, bitter local chocolate, and lends just enough milkiness for me, and a little vanilla note. i like it very thick, so a little goes a long way; also, when you sprinkle the duman over the chocolate, it takes quite awhile to sink to the bottom, where they swell up like turgid torpedoes, creating an earthy, velvet sludge of slightly nutty, slightly chewy rice enrobed in deep, dark chocolate. like an insanely luxurious chocolate rice pudding, or champorado. ah, but what is holiday food about besides indulgence anyway?

tagged! hot+chocolate philippines filipino culture cocoa rice sweet+indulgence