golden bounty

it's the first time that the decade(s?) old mango tree has given out a worthy crop--pure gold, really, it has earned its keep as the giving tree. we still don't know exactly what variety it is, but i can say that the fruit are very large (some are more than a pound each), fibrous, but very, very sweet and juicy. i'm not sure i care, really. and i was thinking of posting some recipes, but for now we are just eating them out of hand, sometimes straight off the tree--warm and fragrant, juices dripping down our forearms, sticky and sweet.

lost restaurants

when i was a kid, on special weekends we used to go to the cliff hotel in agaña heights to eat at the red carpet restaurant. i honestly don't remember much about it except that the hotel was indeed on a cliff so it had a spectacular island and ocean view, and living up to its name, it did have red carpet. i also remember two specific items from the menu. one was a clubhouse sandwich, which, as a kid, i thought was the deeeluxe-superduper-bee's-knees with its triple stack of toasted bread and fillings, cut into quarters and skewered with a frilly toothpick; running a very close second in superduperness was their french dip/steak sandwich that was little more than juicy slices of beef piled on top of a garlic-butter-slathered-and-toasted bun.

red carpet restaurant is gone; i can recreate the sandwiches, but without the restaurant experience, they just aren't the same, no matter how delicious. holland bakery had the best italian herbed hamburger you'd ever have in a warehouse, house of wong had the kind of filipino-ized americanized chinese food i adored--lurid orange sweet and sour pork, eggy fried rice, shrimp camarones wrapped in bacon, hototai soup, all served on melamine platters with stamped tin utensils. m's steak house in dededo had those red glowing heat lamps keeping warm loaves of homemade pumpernickel bread wrapped in a starched white fabric napkin, and pats of butter in a stone urn topped with ice chips to keep them cool. salzburg chalet would have lovely little thin squares of chocolate, wrapped in postcard scenes of europe, at the end of every meal. there was a smorgasbord/buffet in sinajana called the crow's nest (and at some point, the captain's table) that had a penchant for molded gelatins and aspic--lime gelatin and salmon mousse shaped like a leaping fish, lemon gelatin with ham salad loaves, red gelatin and fruit cocktail rings with a cottage cheese center. okay, maybe that wasn't so delicious, but the memories are still as evocative.

there are so many restaurants that have come and gone--some missed, some completely forgotten. guam diner found an old glimpses of guam article about restaurant options on guam in 1973 that's worth looking at if you are are old as methuselah (or, rather, as old as i am), and don't get me started on all the places in los angeles i miss.

so what about you? is there some place that no longer exists except in the fondness of your heart?

bistek

although the philippines and guam are generally considered asian or pacific/asian countries, you could definitely argue that with the acapulco-manila galleon trade of the 16th-19th centuries and early spanish rule, much of our respective cultures are more in keeping with latin america than most of southeast asia.

bistek--which means "beef steak"--is the filipino/chamoru equivalent of a beef dish called bistec commonly found throughout hispanic and latino countries. it is, in fact, the pacific cousin to bistec encebollado, or steak with onions. it is quite literally just that: grilled or pan-fried beef fillets marinated in a soy sauce and citrus marinade with just a hint of garlic, with rings of sautéed onions.

i'm not sure what the actual difference between the filipino and chamoru versions is, if there is one at all. the recipe i grew up with uses calamansi (or kalamansi if you like) juice as the souring agent. it also acts as a meat tenderizer, so it is not necessary to use the best cuts of beef for this--although i have generally seen sirloin and tenderloin (eye steak) used, this is a good way to use tougher cuts like flank and round. however, should you find yourself with a dozen defrosted rib eyes and new york strips because someone inadvertently unplugged the fridge overnight, don't hesitate to use them. in fact, don't hesitate to use them.

this is a fairly easy recipe, but it does require that you generally know how to cook a piece of meat. i can cook a tender cut of steak, but i'm flummoxed with a flank. my mother, however, can make the leanest cuts as soft as butter, so adapt this recipe accordingly. ideally you should end up with tender meat and meltingly soft onions in not-too-salty-not-too-sour meaty gravy. but you know what? if you eff it up, it's still going to be pretty good, so don't worry about it and try it again another time.



bistek

2-lbs of beef steaks of your choice, whatever you're comfortable with using
1 cup of soy sauce (important note: if all you have is kikkoman original brand or something as strong, use less--anywhere from 1/4th to 1/2 cup less because it is a little harsh for this recipe. i use aloha shoyu, which i find is sweeter and milder, but try a lower sodium brand or even tamari if you can't find an equivalent)
1/2-3/4th cup of calamansi juice, or any sour citrus juice--use more or less to your taste
2 large onions, cut into rings
2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
olive oil

marinate the meat in the soy sauce and calamansi juice for a minimum of four hours--overnight is better. depending on your cut of beef, two nights might be best, but that's sort of pushing it. fry or grill in a large, smokin' hot pan or skillet on high heat until medium rare to medium (it will continue to cook for a few minutes after taken from heat). remove from pan, set aside. lower the heat to medium high, add a couple tablespoonfuls of olive oil to the pan, then the garlic and onions. sautée until at least translucent--my family prefers them to be caramelized, which takes much longer but has a sweeter result. add beef and any meat juices back into pan; if it's relatively dry, add some of the marinade and/or water, turn heat down, simmer for a few minutes. serve with a bucket of rice or potatoes.