Davao's World Famous Crocodile Ice Cream

Have you ever tried an exotic dessert? A few months ago during my Mindanao exploration, I was introduced to this world famous ice cream shop located in one of Davao's tourist attraction sites.

Sweet Spot Ice Cream is located just beside the entrance of Crocodile Farm in the city of Davao. Don't be fooled by it's pinkish - candy like facade, the store offers one of the most bizarre food items I've ever tasted, their Crocodile Ice Cream. 

Maguindanao Pastil

I'm currently traveling in Mindanao since last month. And while most of the locals in SOCCSKSARGEN region are Christians, I wanted to try what's like to taste a local Muslim dish. I come to know about pastil from social media sites, so when I got to see this green stall pasted with "Maguindanao Pastil" signboard, I immediately asked my relative to stop so I can buy and try one (or two).

Recipe: Cream Dory with Mushroom and Garlic Bits

If you've been reading my blog, you know by now that one of my favorite fish to cook is cream dory. If you're looking for this kind of fish in supermarkets, you may also look for frozen packs labeled Pangasius fillets. It's just the same. This particular recipe I'm going to share was born out of an experiment. I've been thinking of other cream dory recipes that's suited with some left over mushrooms sitting inside our ref. I thought of using the mushroom as a topping and added fried garlic to give that crunch that would supplement this soft, delicate fish. So here goes my experiment :)

Pinakbet (Mixed Stew)

This recipe is from Barrio Fiesta, Burjuman Centre, Dubai

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients
2tbsp cooking oil
10g onion, chopped
10g garlic, chopped
20ml shrimp paste
50g shrimps, cleaned
150g squash, peeled and cubed
50g bitter gourd, peeled and cubed
30g string beans, cut into 2.5cm pieces
30g aubergine, sliced
20g okra, cut into 2.5cm pieces
Salt and pepper
1 tsp annatto oil or chilli oil, for colour
1 tbsp sugar

How to Cook Pinakbet ala Barrio Fiesta

1. In a saucepan, heat oil and sauté onion, garlic and tomato. Add shrimp paste and shrimps. Stir fry for 1 minute.

2. Add squash and cook for a couple of minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cook until tender.

3. Season and finish with annatto or chilli oil and sugar. Serve hot

Confit Apple, Salmon Rillette and Horseradish Crumble

Recipe dish from The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina

(serves 1)
Prep time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

500 ml olive oil
50g fresh rosemary
1 green apple, cored and peeled
50 g flour
50g light brown sugar
50g butter
20g horseradish cream

For the salmon rillette:
200 g smoked salmon, finely chopped
30g red onion, finely diced
20g capers, chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
5g coriander, finely chopped
50g mascarpone cheese
15ml olive oil

To garnish:
Raspberries, red currants, shiso cress and a few pieces of smoked salmon

How to cook Confit Apple, Salmon Rillette and Horseradish Crumble
1. Heat oil and rosemary in a deep saucepan until the temperature of the oil reaches 80C. Place the apple in the oil and cover with baking paper. Cook until tender, about 1 hour. Drain and place apple on kitchen paper to cool.

2. Meanwhile, prehear oven to 180C. To make the crumble,  place flour, sugar, butter and horseradish cream in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer crumble mixture to a baking tray  lined with wax paper and bake at  until golden. Remove and allow to cool.

3. To make the rillette, mix all the ingredients together.

4. To serve, make a bed of the bakes crumble mixture in the centre of a plate. Place the apple on it. Spoon salmon rillette on the side and garnish.

UP's Pride: Tapsilog Meal from Rodic's Food Express

Rodic's Tapsilog

I remember watching a tv show featuring some famous foods found in UP Diliman campus. So when a cousin of mine who's very much familiar with the ins and outs of UP, went with me one afternoon to specifically enroll a fellow cousin of ours for her Bar exam review, she invited me for an early dinner at one of the campus famous eateries. We walked passed a hallway of small shops until we stopped at Rodic's Food Express.  

Recipe: Fruity Iced Tea

Here's a recipe I got from our handy dandy Del Monte Kitchenomics cookbook. It's an upgrade from an otherwise plain boring iced tea, served during my sister's simple birthday celebration.

Ingredients:

1 can (850g) Del Monte Fiesta Fruit Cocktail
3/4 cup iced tea powder (lemon flavor)
1 pc small red apple
1 cup warm water
3 and 1/2 cups of cold water

Preparation:
1. Pour Del Monte Fiesta Fruit Cocktail (including syrup) in an ice tray. Cover and freeze overnight.
2. In a pitcher, dissolve iced tea powder. Combine with cold water and set aside.
3. Dice the apple with its peel, then add to the iced tea. Pour into glasses with frozen fruit cocktail iced cubes.

Try this Fruity Iced Tea to serve for house guests or as an afternoon refreshment.

Hotel Recipe: Hammour Steak with Ratatouille and Pesto

Recipe from Le Royal Meridien Dubai

Serves 4
Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredients

4 hammour fillets, 200g each
20ml lemon juice
salt and pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
jar of coriander pesto, rosemary sprig, halved cherry tomatoes and red grapes to serve

For the crust, mix together:
100g breadcrumbs
2g chopped dill leaves
150g green apple, finely chopped
5g garlic, chopped
100g walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil

For the ratatouille:
2 tbsp olive oil
20g onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic, chopped
180g courgette, cubed
100g each, aubergine and red bell peppers, cubed
1g oregano

How to cook Hammour Steak with Ratatouille and Pesto
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Season hammour with lemon juice, salt and pepper. In a pan, heat olive oil, sear hammour and cook until half done. Coat the hammour generously with the crust mix and cook i oven for 8-10 minutes. Keep hammour warm.
2. For the ratatouille, heat olive oil in pan, saute onion and garlic. Add all the vegetables, saute and season with salt, pepper and oregano. Set aside.
3. To serve, spoon ratatouille on a plate, place hammour over it ad drizzle pesto on the side. Garnish with rosemary, cherry tomatoes, grapes and a drizzle of coriander pesto.

Sister's Simple Debut Celebration

This March, my youngest sister celebrated her much awaited 18th birthday. Like many young adult out there, she celebrated her special day with family and friends. And since our family is not that ultra rich to throw a glitzy over the top debut party, my sister contented with having a simple but memorable birthday. Here are just some of what's on the table that day. 

Baked Spaghetti, Red Ribbon's Black Forest Cake, Grilled Barbecue, Roasted Chicken, Pancit Malabon, Chicken Ala Kieve, Fruity Iced Tea, Mango Float, Pichi-pichi

Balut: The Feared Philippine Street Delicacy

Balut

To be described simply as eating a duck embryo is enough to make foreign visitors stomach churn. But not to Filipinos who make this hot treat a nightly street favorite. A few weeks ago, I have come face to face with balut which has been years (decade probably) since I tried it. I remember my 7 year old self, devouring this odd looking egg when I was a kid, I can consume one or two i one sitting and eat everything (yes everything!) I think as a 90s kid, without too much influence from tv, eating a balut on a Saturday night isn't a brave thing to do, because it was pretty a normal practice. Funny thing is, now in my late 20s, I'm not sure why I can no longer eat all of it's content, I might have unconsciously been affected with too much things I read online or watched on tv.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate balut. As odd as I think it is now, I still don't think I would ever walk away from this Pinoy streetfood. All I'm saying is, media (hello Fear Factor!) has its way of tricking my mind at least. 

Singapore's Hainanese Delights in the Philippines

Hainanese Chicken

For those seeking to try an authentic and affordable Singaporean cuisine, I suggest trying Hainanese Delights. This restaurant offers the best Hainanese dishes in town. 

Hainanese Delights started in 2011, so they're fairly new in the mainstream market but branches had been popping like mushrooms all over the metro. A testament that Singaporean dishes especially their signature Hainanese chicken appeals to the Filipino's sweet palate.  

Ensogo Deal: Deep Dark Chocolate Cake from Chocolat

Featured in Spot.ph's Top 10 Chocolate Cakes in Manila, Chocolat has surely won thousands of chocolate and cake lovers out there. So when Ensogo offered a 50% off deal on Chocolat's chocolate cake, it was surely tempting for my sweet tooth prompting me to immediately click the buy button. Bought the deal last year and it was just this week where I got to finally redeem Chocolat's 6 inch Round Classic Deep Dark Chocolate Cake.

To tell you honestly, their ad picture was enough to make me click that "buy" button which I planned to redeem at their SM Mall of Asia branch. Php305 value which I purchased for only Php150. The cake needs to be reserved 3 days prior to redemption. I have tried their red velvet cupcake before so I have high hopes for their signature chocolate cake.

As expected, Chocolat delivered to the voucher's promise. It was moist chocolate cake thickly draped with satiny fudge frosting. Simplicity has its classic way of proving that less is more.  

moist slice of their classic dark chocolate cake 

(photo from their Facebook page)

Thanks Ensogo and Chocolat for bringing us this tempting treat.

Check out other foodie promos at Ensogo. Click here to sign up

Sidetrip: Late Lunch at Mushroomburger

Mushrooms hold a special place in my heart as it paved way for a family business to grow, thus not only filling our tummies with good healthy beverages but also our wallets. Sure, I love the taste of our favorite coffees made from red mushroom but it was only late last year I got to taste a couple of local dishes inspired by mushroom. Meet MushroomBurger.

Burger rice meal

What's On Our Christmas Table?

us at the dinner table

Our 2012 Noche Buena celebration has been quite different from our past Christmas get-togethers. For one, we celebrated the night away from home and into the house of my aunt, currently struggling from the Big C. We all decided to give her some our time and spend this special holiday and bring more happiness into their home.

Aside from social support, the fun get-togethers around a bountiful table can surely make someone smile. As any traditional Filipino family, we spent the whole morning and afternoon preparing some of our trade food secrets to serve for the much awaited Noche Buena.

Sagada's Flavourful Pinikpikan

When traveling to Sagada, make sure to taste this province's interesting and controversial cuisine called Pinikpikan.

Pinikpikan is a popular specialty in the Cordillera region. What makes it unique is the way its chicken part is cooked. It is prepared by beating the live chicken with a stick before actually cooking it, sometimes calling the process 'killing me softy". The brutal process however, as they say gives that unique flavor to the dish.

We ordered a bowl of pinkpikan with etag or smoked pork from Cafe Bodega, Rock Inn's in-house restaurant. For Php220 and can be shared with 2-3 persons, it's a memorable foodie experience. My personal take? It tastes like a salty tinola with the smokey chunk of not-too-soft ham. That's how I would describe the taste.

Jonah's: Boracay's Best Local Fruit Shake

5 bottles of Jonah's Fruit Shakes

Banana Pineapple - Watermelon - Banana Mocha - Banana Choco Peanut - Papaya Pineapple

With prices ranging from Php95 to Php110, it may not come cheap but it's not over the top expensive either. In fact I find the price justifiable. We're in Boracay after all.

After a good island hopping adventure with my family, we needed some thirst quenching goodness so I told them we should check a local and tourist favorite, Jonah's Fruit Shake. It's a legend in Boracay when it comes to its bottle filled tropical fruit shakes.  We went to their branch near the main road and I asked for their best seller while everyone choose their fruit mixes. I was handed a Banana Choco Peanut and became an immediate fan.

Prior to the visit, we've tasted some fruit shakes already to complement our meals in Boracay. Lowest fruit shake price of a budget restaurant would range Php75 up and it's just one fruit filled with ice shaves. Jonah's version on the other hand has a lot of interesting fruit mixes and I was able to finish everything in the bottle, not even an ice shave left. On top of it, the flavors are really good, fit for an island paradise. Thus I find the price justifiable.

Undeniably the best fruit shake in Boracay.

Adobo Connection

Adobo dishes

I was able to try dining at the newly opened Adobo Connection in their SM Sta. Rosa Branch. I insisted mom to take our lunch there, just a week after they opened. They're finally here in Laguna at last!

Like most Filipinos, I am a self confessed adobo freak. For me it's a staple next to rice. I couldn't live without eating an adobo dish within a week. In fact, it's the very first traditional Filipino meal I learned to cook in High School. Since then, I experiemented a couple of ingredients that could complement the traditional taste.

Simple Line Milk Tea Craze

Simple Line

I am more of a coffee drinker than a milk tea fan. So when the 'milk tea craze' began in the Philippines, I wasn't hook, but my sister was. So when she toured me around her area - the busy university area of TM Kalaw, she insited to treat me to a drinking tea session. I gave in...

There's this newly opened milk tea house just in front of UST called Simple Line which just opened 3 months ago. I've always wondered why my sister became pretty much addicted to drinking this version of cold teas when we have packs of unopened assorted teas at home. 

I walked with her from the condo to this milk tea house. I let her order and she gave me this large cup of caramel milk tea, which she said was her favorite. I sip a bit and it was actually good. Their tea leaves come from Taiwan and one thing I like about this whole milk tea craze is the health benefit it could give to many young Filipinos. Since Filipinos in general are not tea drinker, milk tea companies offer these kind of flavourful teas to attract a younger target market. But for those who want to try making their own ice cold tea at home, why not try stirring a good homemade Malunggay Iced Tea.

Joey Pepperoni's Groupon Offer

Few days ago, I was finally able to redeem my second Groupon purchase. A Joey Pepperoni meal at 50% off. The voucher values at Php685 but lucky me only paid Php90 because I was given an exclusive Php250 credit voucher for my last product purchase. Im not really into group buying sites as I read a lot of negative feedbacks from online customers, plus I too, experience a whopping 3 months worth of waiting just to get my first purchase. But that Php250 credit was just too tempting to use, and I'm glad I did click that Buy Now! button :)

I guess restaurant offers are a lot easier to redeem than buying actual products and travel deals, cheap food offers like this is less risky in my opinion.

Recipe: Asian Fried Chicken

The recipe I'm sharing today was inspired from Chic Mom's Club Asian Fried Chicken recipe. I made some little changes though since I don't have some of the ingredients from the original recipe and the result was still as delicious. What I learned is that brown sugar, soy sauce and ginger makes a really flavourful sauce. So here goes my version:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp minced ginger
8 chicken breast
salt and pepper
cornstarch or flour (enough to coat the chicken)
cooking oil
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
dash of thyme

Procedure:
1. Wash and pat dry the chicken and season with salt and pepper.
2. Coat the chicken with cornstarch.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the chicken breasts. Set aside
4. In a sauce pot, boil the soy sauce, brown sugar and minced ginger for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning the sugar. Let it simmer.
5. Dip the chicken into the simmering sauce one at a time and put it back again on the frying pan and cook for another minute.
6. Place the chicken on a serving dish and pour over a little sauce and sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds and thyme.