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

mexican food, it is on the island, it is.

crikey. i have been sitting on this post (literally, not figuratively, kiddies) for almost two years now. you didn't even know this blog was that old--heck, i didn't until i noticed this dead draft sitting in my little bloggy blogpile.

updated 2007: heavily edited for being boring and irrevelent.

i actually do sort of like both of the places i'm attempting to review, and i feel almost bad that after the experience is over, i just don't have the energy to write about them. but i have nothing else to talk about so...i will stick to the issue of mexican food, which you can actually find on the island.

although, it's not really mexican food as i know it. at least it's not taco bell, which i don't really count as mexican. i lived in los angeles for quite awhile, and i don't think i saw much of this sort of mexican food when i was there. i was completely spoiled for choice--i could get lowly but tasty tacos made from tripe or tongue from randomly fabulous vans parked on the side of the road, or beautiful green corn tamales in the heart of hollywood, or even piquant cochinita pibil in a hip little joint by the beach. in fact, i could go from east to west of the city on a mexican culinary journey, and tasty treasures would come up in spades, no matter the neighbourhood--fish enchiladas in tomatilla sauce from boyle heights, scallop burritos from eagle rock, pupusas in hollywood, zucchini and mushroom tacos in the fairfax district, verde de espinazo in palms for goodness' sake....dang. i could have wept when i found out there were only two mexican restaurants here. i probably did.

eh. i got over it. there's nothing really wrong with them--carmen's cha cha cha and marty's mexican bar and grill--not really. i suppose you'll find the same variety almost anywhere, except um, mexico. it took me a long while to get to either carmen's or marty's, but when i did i was pleasantly surprised to find that neither sucks hard. or even sucks mediumly. there are little niggly things which make both suck softly in different ways, but i'm getting to that.

carmen's is located across the street from the cathedral, on the ground floor of an office building. (i used to take art classes in what is now the kitchen. whatevs.) it is brightly painted with large tables and booths throughout; i imagine that this is the sort of place large groups and families like to come to, to sample traditional mexican fare.

there are basically a few items on the menu--tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and quesadillas--but all can be modified to be vegetarian, or with grilled chicken or beef. for the most part, all the cooks are quite good with their grilling technique, so the chicken and beef is well cooked, charred slightly, with a smoky flavour and firm but yielding bite. there is always a generous portion of either meat, along with lettuce, tomato, salsa, and a spanish-type of rice and refried pinto beans. however, sometimes the meat can be overcooked and dry, and sometimes the (iceberg) lettuce and tomato are just weak and watery. i can't really complain, these items are shipped months in advance from another hemisphere. i am actually thrilled to have iceberg lettuce around. really.

when i come here, i tend to order two things: the carne asada plate, with grilled beef, and served with rice and refried beans, homemade flour tortillas, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. the meat comes in strips, unlike in the other dishes where they are cut down to unchokeable-sized nuggets, and at some point i remember you could ask for it to be cooked to your liking, but lately no one has asked. so usually you get it well-done. the rice is fluffy, not sticky, and although orange, not particularly flavoured; the refried beans are cooked in house. the homemade tortillas are very good, served warm and tucked in a napkin, as is the homemade salsa (even when the tomatoes aren't particularly good). you get a very stingy portion of both sour cream and guacamole with your dishes, although you can order more on the side. the guacamole isn't made fresh, its a commercial product; i've never actually tried it because i'm allergic to avocadoes, but some people seem to like it.

the other thing i order often is the burrito, which is a brick-sized monster of meat, beans, rice, salsa, sour cream and guacamole--basically everything in the carne asada plate--wrapped in a big flour tortilla. i don't know what it is, but mushing everything together seems to make it tastier, more interesting; you never know what you are going to get with each bite, as there is no way you'd fit the whole thing in your mouth. the only quibble is that the last time i was here (a couple of months ago), the meat was padded out with chunks of jicama; it was an interesting textural counterpoint, but i kind of felt it was just added filler to reduce the amount of meat (and therefore reduce costs), and not because it added anything to the dish. i'd prefer less meat and no chunks o' root vegetables, please.

the nice thing about carmen's is that although the menu is rather basic, you can actually call ahead and order some of carmen's specialty items--i haven't actually tried this, but i am interested in trying her mole, enchiladas verdes, and chile rellenos.

service here is brisk, and cordial. these are not a lively bunch, nor would i call them friendly, but they're not surly and i don't really care. portions are humungous, food comes out quickly, drinks are refilled often, and the atmosphere is such that you could eat here alone and not feel uncomfortable.

marty's, on the hand, is not really a place anyone goes to eat alone. in fact, i'm not sure the majority of their clientele goes there to eat. half the space it occupies is bar, half of that is a dance floor, and it's usually heaving at night. although, i have to say, i've never eaten here during the day, mainly because i don't have the time. and, despite its rather extensive menu, i've only eaten a few dishes from here. most of the menu consists of "southwestern" or "tex-mex" inspired foods--blackened this, salsa-covered that, serve it with guacamole and roberto es su tío.

i have to say, though, they really know their way around a taco. the fillings are basic, but the tortillas and veggies are always fresh, and the meat o'choice well cooked. most of the tacos are the hard corn shell, lots of veggies and meat variety, but i am particularly fond of the baja-style fish tacos made with deep-fried battered fish chunks (wahoo, i think, maybe marlin), and shredded cabbage inside a lightly fried corn tortilla. on more than few occasions the shell has been a little too oily, but the fish is always crispy on the outside, flake tender on the inside, and ungreasy. i also quite like the regular fish taco, which has grilled wahoo with all the accoutrement inside a soft flour shell. deeeelish.

so the main draw at marty's is definitely alcohol, but the side draw to that is the cha-cha staff. the waitresses are smokin' hot and tend to wear pelmets instead of skirts and daisy dukes they probably borrowed from their 6-year old nieces. i think there might be a health code violation. however, the leddies are super-friendly, super-helpful, and refill your drinks and chip basket cheerfully, if not often enough without prompting. the male waitstaff is equally as cheerful, and charmingly dorktastic.

portions are healthy, but you'll be able to walk out of there instead of rolling sideways. service can be quite slow, and the air conditioning system will blast you with cold air intermittently, yet still managing to leave you sweating at times. also, the cigarette smoke from partioned bar area still makes its way to the dining area, and it is heavy enough to have you smelling of stale stogies when you emerge from the restaurant. foodwise, however, i'd have to give the edge to marty's; it's just not my style. service is friendly, flirty, and it's definitely a place to enjoy with company, not on your own.

carmen's cha cha cha
192 F.C. archbishop flores st.,
across the street from the cathedral,
hagatña.
472.7823

marty's mexican bar and grill
fujita road, under the giant inflatable parrot,
tumon.
646.5533

lunch at firefly.

despite the previous rant, my cousin and i had a mild dilemma over where to go to lunch. mexican for cinco de mayo or japanese for kodomo no-hi? dilemma was solved when we drove by firefly bistro and the temptation of good and sometimes funky food in a somewhat chic yet somehow funky setting won out.



food today: a lightly spicy fried calamari, with a garlic mayonnaise, and the firefly house salad of mixed greens, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, bleu cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. the calamari was plentiful, lightly but perfectly fried without a trace of grease, and stayed crispy even though it did get cold before we finished it (hey, it was a big pile). i like the salad a lot, as there's a nice blend of sweet and sour with the raisins and vinaigrette, with a touch of meatiness in the pine nuts and mustiness of the bleu cheese. my cousin thinks it's a little overwhelming, and would rather have one or two of the ingredients omitted for a cleaner taste.



so, even though we bagged the themes, we did manage to find one item that actually seemed to be both latino and japanese, the honduran ceviche: raw yellowfin tuna marinated in a lime-ginger vinaigrette and coconut milk, and served with red corn tortilla chips. this was sean, the server's suggestion and it was excellent, despite how weird it may seem. the fresh, sweet, yellowfin tuna chunks were slightly "cooked" by the marinade, and the sweet, clean taste of the fish was enhanced by the coconut milk and the slightly salty, toasty tortilla chips.

the chef, veronica perez-calvo, also owns the bakery next door, cup and saucer, so firefly rather excels at desserts, but we were quite full, so i'll have to leave those for another time.

firefly bistro
martyr street, in the pink building
hågatña
671.477.2565.

wednesday night market at chamorro village

this is a little christmas present going out to all the guammy bears who can't make it home for the holidays....

wednesday nights at chamorro village, or, as we call it: "stickland". the market is a weekly village fête filled with people selling everything from appliances to ukeleles, clothes, toys, souvenirs, produce and orchids, listening to the bands who play in the main pavilion for the manamko who come for an evening of the cha-cha, or who watch the halaus of hula and chamorro native dancers who like to tease the haole boys who have discovered a taste of the island they don't advertise in the guidebooks. it's a place for everyone, young and old, families and friends, to visit and share food and hang out or wander about.



amongst the wooden carved dolphins, kimonos, t-shirts and fantabulous plastic toys and jewelry, you'll find the real reason people come here--which, if you've been here or if you've read this blog even once, you'll know--is the FOOD. everywhere, from one end of the market to the other, you'll see it: barbecue grills set up alongside marine drive, coolers filled with drinks, salads, and marinated meats being set out on the lawn, the canopies going up and the catering pans being lined up to be filled with red rice, kelaguen, pancit, crabs cooked in coconut milk, taro tips, mongo--oh man, this is going to warrant more than one post, i'll tell you that much.



so, the nickname "stickland" comes from the fact that the number one barbecued item at the market is meat on sticks. chicken on sticks, pork on sticks, flank steak on sticks. squid. unsticked. the marinades used here are all based around soy sauce and sugar, but beyond that, it's a secret with each of the vendors. and when guamanians mean barbecue, they mean it--none of this gas grilling business, nenes. you see the photo above? that's a 50-gallon oil drum cut vertically with legs welded on, and a metro shelving rack thrown on top as the actual grill. charcoal and sometimes tangantangan wood gets thrown in and whoosh, that is the source of the soul. we are talking serious stuff here. george foreman would be KO'd in the first round, first minute, first second of this culinary match up.




of course, i have my favourite barbecue stall (stall is rather a misnomer--i have a favourite canopy with a foldable table is more like it), which doesn't have a name, but you'll know it because it's right across from the GPD patrolled x-walk from skinner plaza on the clock tower side. it's the one with the line that goes all the way to lady who sells the shells. nina's in charge, and she's the one you want to go to (be nice to her and she'll give you a free stick of carioca, aka tinudok, or basically chi chi dango, which is coconut milk and sweet rice flour balls dipped in a sugar syrup). they have the best squid--fat, half-foot long (foot long with tentacles) specimens chargrilled to perfection, juicy and tender, and deftly sliced into rings in front of you and slid onto a plate with pancit, red rice and chicken kelaguen. mmm.


sneeze guard? we don't need no stinkin' sneeze guard!

of course, the barbecue is relatively healthy compared to some of the other options at the market. there's taro tips cooked in coconut milk, crabs cooked in coconut milk, beef cooked with chili pepper leaves and coconut milk....and pork belly galore. cooked every way imaginable. since i've got that filipino blood coursing through me, if i'm gonna eat huge chunks of fatty pork, i'm gonna go for the lechon kawali: chunks of pork shoulder or belly are salted, boiled, dried then deep fried so you get beautifully moist, seasoned meat with light, crunchy, rich crackling with every piece. normally this is served with a sauce of crushed garlic, vinegar and lots of black pepper, but here finadene will do just fine.




i usually go to pearl's for the kawali, as she has the plumpest, meatiest, crispiest chunks; an added bonus is that pearl's actually has a kiosk that is opened during the week, so you can get it anytime, but most importantly, the kitchen is right there so freshly cooked kawali and other specialties can come out piping hot. there's always a line for pearl's but the girls move fast here. one plates up red rice and cucumber sticks marinated in soy sauce and kimchi-style hot pepper, and the other helps you decide what choices you want for your entrees. pricing is simple: one choice $3, two choice $4, three choice $5. you'll see a lot of these assembly line places on guam, known as turo-turo in the philippines, but colloquially here as simply (and logically) "one choice-two choice".



my plate:kawali and tilapia sarciado, made with a whole fried tilapia, covered in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, green onions, and eggs. another $4 bargain at the market.



okay, so i didn't really have the room for it, but i did stop back at the halo halo grill to pick up that promised dessert. halo halo, made with various sugared fruits, sliced saba banana, vanilla or ube ice cream, mounds of shaved ice, and so much evaporated milk that you know there's enough when it starts spilling over.



burpies. not for the lactose intolerant. take your plate, find a place to sit (there's plenty of room at the main azotea, but ay, adai! that band in the corner is loud). enjoy your food al fresco with the warm ocean breezes coming in from the bay, do some people watching, meet some friends, and be a part of the island family.



felis pasgua, maligayang pasko, mele kalikimaka and happy holidays to you all!

lunch at halo halo grill.

update january 2007-restaurant closed since ever since


i hate eating at food courts. granted, the food courts in the malls here are slightly more interesting that the ones in the mainland, but i'm convinced a regular diet of mall food will kill my tastebuds and eventually, me. however, i have a limited amount of time to forage for grub at lunch these days, so i have to either plan out my meal (snort) or go somewhere fast.

lately, i've been going to i sengsong chamorro, or, the chamorro village. it's a government subsidized tourist trap basically, with shops and food stalls in a lovely setting by hågatña bay. yes, a mall. but not a particularly productive one (government entity, remember?). it's probably best known for the wednesday night market, but most of the stalls are open throughout the week.



last week, i visited the newly opened halo halo grill. halo halo (hah-loh hah-loh) is a tagalog word literally meaning "mix-mix", and is the name of a tasty ice and milk confection. halo halo grill is owned and run by bob branconnier, a veteran hotel chef/CIA (culinary institute not central intelligence--you never know on guam) alumn and his wife (? i assume) alice, and it has a small but interesting menu. cheap, too, as there is nothing on the menu over $4.



on my first visit, i had the most popular item on the menu: the adobo burrito. filipino-style adobo is cooked, and the meat--pork or chicken--is shredded and layered with lettuce and monterey jack cheese on a giant tortilla, wrapped burrito style, then grilled and served with homemade pico de gallo and tortilla chips. the burrito is so big that you can't properly close the styrofoam container in comes in. there's very little in the spicing of the meat (this one was pork) to suggest that it was adobo (not particularly garlicky nor vinegary), but it was flavourful and delicious all the same. combined with the lettuce and the cheese, the whole thing was very much like eating a california style carnitas (braised pork) burrito. very tasty and very filling. so much so that i didn't have enough room to try their signature dessert--of course, halo halo.



today i returned, and had the newest addition to the menu, the crab sandwich. for 4 buckaroonies, i wasn't expecting real crab, and whaddya know, i didn't get it. however, they don't stint on that krab stuff--it was a substantial patty of krabesque flakes coated in panko breadcrumbs, then deep fried and served on a butter-grilled bun with lettuce, tomato, and some nicely pika jalapeños. the sandwich (and i assume all the grilled sandwiches) are served with nicely spiced natural cut french fries--seriously, some of the best french fries i've had on this island of deep-fried diving. the crabless krabcake was good, it reminded me of those funky japanese fishcakes that look almost natural but aren't, but it didn't quite hold up to the memory of the adobo burrito. still, it was better and more substantial than the tasteless fish sandwiches at most fast food outlets. and yes, it was completely filling so i didn't get the halo halo today, either.

really, there isn't that much on the limited menu, but that's probably a good thing, because at this point, i like 20% of the menu. i'll be back to try the other 80%, including that halo halo.

halo halo grill
at the chamorro village
hågatña
477.4250.

lunch at jamaican grill.

jamaican grill entrance

today was sunny and breezy, so we decided to have lunch somewhere with a patio. you would think that would be common on island, but no; it's too damn hot most of the time, or raining. luckily, one of our favourite restaurants, jamaican grill has one.


the patio. notice convenient jumbo sized paper towel rolls


view from the patio

as you can guess, this little but extremely popular restaurant in the chamorro village specialises in jamaican style jerk-spiced grilled items. jerk spice is a spicy, pungent mix of chili pepper, onion, allspice and other spices that is used to flavour meats before grilling or roasting. jamaican grill features everything jerked, from burgers to prawns; the downside of this is that no matter what you order, it will pretty much taste the same. the upside is that their particular spice mix is really, really good, their products are fresh, and they are expert grillers, so everything comes out cooked perfectly.

today we ordered their most popular beverage, the reggae sunsplash, a pineapple, mango, guave juice mix:



we started off with the soup, a tomato vegetable chicken combination, that was loaded with tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, and had a very subtle spiciness:



i don't know why we ordered it, considering every meal also comes with a green salad, a chopped veggie salad or fruit bowl! i suppose the relaxed and casual atmosphere really whets the appetite.

we ordered combination plates of the two most popular items, the kingston barbecued jerk chicken, and boston beach ribs, which either come with chamorro-style red rice or a jamaican-style rice with adzuki beans:


combo with red rice


combo with jamaican rice

yes, i know, a festival of meat. but they do have seafood and vegetarian selections, including steamed fish (in white wine or coconut milk) from the fishermen's co-op next door, and a lovely vegetable curry. most entrees range from $6 to $10, and as you can see, the portions are substantial. i'm told they have some sort of dessert (a weird barbecued banana that's *not* a bananacue), but most people never get that far. they also do family and party-sized platters, and fundraising events.



jamaican grill
in the chamorro village, across from paseo stadium.
hågatña
472-2000

coffee at java junction.

okay, i admit it. i came in because of the tamara de lempicka-esque woman gazing dolefully at me in the parking lot. "oh, mmm." she seems to be saying. "could you come in here and fix my shoulder strap? i don't seem to have any arms." hon, you seem to be doing a good job of vogue-ing without them!



java junction is the latest coffeehouse at the agaña shopping center, and one of the most stylish ones on island. painted in deep jewel tones, and furnished with low, cushy, comfortable wicker furniture, it seems like a perfect place to wile away your time. it's quiet in here--the music is low, the parking lot buffers the sounds of the traffic, the friendly staff's banter doesn't seem to get much past murmur-level most times. i'd like to linger, but the clubby, evening vibe isn't conducive to a quick cuppa--i might be here all day. in fact, i can imagine myself sitting here at night with my friends, enjoying the easy vibe, maybe partaking in the "free wireless internet with coffee purchase" being offered this summer, hanging out on one of the two patios outside, after a meal at one of the many nearby restaurants. the only problem is...IT CLOSES AT 7pm!!!!



frizzlefragglefrickinfrack. okaaay. i'll just have a thai latte (espresso, milk, shot of condensed milk) to go. i'll skip the lovely looking pastries, sandwiches, and salads for another time.



java junction
agaña shopping center, next to tony roma's.
671 472 8880