Samgyeopsal

(repost from buffetworthy.wordpress.com june 23, 2008)

After shift, I was hungry for Korean food, so I decided to try Bo Ja Jib, a Korean restaurant along Kalayaan Avenue in Quezon City. I ordered my usual ramyeon and tried their Samgyeopsal. It's a popular Korean dish served with thin slices of pork belly flavored in garlic, salt, sesame oil and cooked on a grill much like your regular barbecue. Usually Korean restaurants have table grill for this purpose but I was lazy so I asked them to have mine grilled.

To eat, get a slice of pork and place it inside a lettuce leaf (or any other leafy vegetable which comes with the order for that matter), add some boiled rice and ssamjang (a paste made from a mixture of korean chili paste and bean paste). They also added raw garlic which you can eat as it is or dip it in the ssamjang.

This Korean Restaurant also served banchan (side dishes) which comes free with the order. They served (from top left) radish kimchi, the regular kimchi, sauteed eggplant, spicy fried tofu and macaroni salad.

Here's the full order which cost me about 355 PHP (75 pesos for the ramyeon and 280 pesos for the samgyeopsal):

spicy hot ramyeon

(repost from buffetworthy.wordpress.com june 2, 2008)

I am a Bicolano and we're known to love spicy food. I never liked spicy food when I was still in the province. Tatay cooks Bicol express and would always have crushed siling labuyo in vinegar in every meal as a sauce for everything. I only began to like eating spicy food during my stay in a Korean Mission Center in Quezon City during my college days. Koreans would always have kimchi, breakfast, luch or dinner (sometimes even during mirienda!).

Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings, most commonly referring to the spicy baechu variety. Kimchi is the most common Korean banchan, or side dish, eaten with rice along with other banchan dishes. Kimchi is also a common ingredient and cooked with other ingredients to make dishes such as kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) and kimchi fried rice (kimchi bokkeumbap). (from wikipedia)

Aside from Kimchi, I also adore ramyeon (Korean version of Japanese ramen) because of its spice of course, jajangmyeon (wheat noodles in thick black bean paste with diced meat and veggies, boiled eggs and spring onion), kimchi jjigae (kimchi soup with pork and vegetables) and kimbap(like the Japanese sushi).

Yesterday, I was craving for ramyeon so I went to Garden Maru Korean Restaurant in Holy Spirit, Quezon City (in front of Ever Commonwealth). Your marker would be the multicolored flags and their banner of course. I ordered ramyeon (100 pesos) and kimpap (100 pesos). Kimchi comes free with the meal.

Here's the kimbap (the rice was a little bit dry)

and here's the spicy hot ramyeon with egg topped with leek and carrot strips:

After the meal, apple slices and a glass of cinnamon drink, were served free to wash away the spice and the smell of kimchi!

merienda all you can at Nena's

(repost from buffetworthy.wordpress.com may 29, 2008)

I love eating kakanin. One of my fondest childhood memories was waking up to the sound of a kakanin peddler selling kutsinta. I love the feel of eating fresh kutsinta and puto in the morning with fresh coconut meat gratings.

This love for kakanin was the reason why I love eating at Nena's Special Bibingka and Restaurant. For only 75 pesos (tax included, no leftover price) per person, I get to indulge on the following (thanks to Ivan about town for the Philippine street food dictionary):

1. kutsinta - steamed boiled rice with lye and brown sugar; has a gelatinous consistency. Their kutsinta has just the right consistency and it's not too sweet.
2. puto - stemead rice cake. This is great with their dinuguan.
   
3. maja blanca
   
4. ube cake
5. nilupak - mashed banana with brown sugar and served with butter or margarine
6. cassava cake
7. bukayo ricecake
8. sapin - sapin - layered glutinous rice and coconut milk cake usually topped with grated coconut and latik [residue from coconut oil extraction]; different flavor per layer such as ube (purple yam), macapuno (young coconut), kutsinta and langka (jackfruit)
9. biko - glutinous rice cake with grated coconut topping
10. kalamay - glutinous rice cake
11. suman - glutinous rice snack steamed in banana or coconut leaves
12. and of course their special bibingka - glutinous rice flour pancakes grilled with charcoal above and below in a special clay pot

Aside from these, they also have pancit, lumpiang sariwa (fresh spring rolls), tokwa't baboy and okoy regulary. Some dishes which are not offered all time are dinuguan (pork meat and intestines cook in pork's blood and coconut milk), La Paz Batchoy (miki noodle soup garnished with pork innards, chicken breast, vegetables and topped with a raw egg), Goto (rice porridge or congee cooked with beef tripe) and Lomi (noodle soup made with thick fresh egg noodles).

My favorites are kutsinta, puto at dinuguan, La Paz batchoy, and the nilupak.

Aside from the food, what I like about eating at Nena's is the place. It has a very relaxed atmosphere and you can enjoy your food. The place is located near Araneta Center Cubao, Quezon City beside Puregold Cubao. You won't miss it since they have their eat-all-you-can banner unrolled at 2 pm but the merienda buffet is open from 3pm to 6pm.

Crispylicious, Juicylicious

(repost from buffetworthy.wordpress.com may 17, 2008)

After a tough week of PST (Product Specific Training for non call center peeps), I was in need of a comfort food. Without giving it

much thought, I went to the nearest Jollibee branch. I was dying to have my usual comfort food, Jollibee chickenjoy. The best fast food fried chicken for me so far because it's really juicylicious and crisplicious, true to its claim in the famous TV commercial. The skin is to die for. It's fried to crispy perfection and it's tasty too. The meat is soft and perfect when dipped in the gravy that comes with the chickenjoy meal. Include pineapple juice or your preferred softdrink and presto, you get one perfect meal. Get the 2-piece chickenjoy value meal because I assure you that one is never enough.

Just a little definition from wikipedia.org:

Comfort food is typically inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare. Many people turn to comfort food for familiarity, emotional security, or special reward. The reasons a dish becomes a comfort food are diverse but often include pleasant associations of childhood. Small children often seem to latch on to a specific food or drink (in a way similar to a security blanket and will repeatedly request it in high stress situations. Adults eat comfort food for a sense of continuity.

How about you what's your comfor food? Care to share?

*Disclaimer: I'm not being paid by Jollibee to post this entry. Thank you very much.

Got milk(tea)?

(repost from buffetworthy.wordpress.com may 11, 2008)

What happens when you mix tea and evaporated milk, add gulaman crystals and chill the mixture with (lots!) of ice cubes? Why you'll get a bitter-sweet-creamy-refreshing beverage called Nai Cha. Just a little bit of history:

Hong Kong-style milk tea originates from British colonial rule over Hong Kong. The British practice of afternoon tea, where black tea with milk and sugar is served, became popular in Hong Kong. "Milk tea" is similar to the type of tea drunk in Britain, except that evaporated milk or condensed milk is used instead of ordinary milk. It is called "milk tea" (nai cha) to distinguish it from Chinese "tea" (cha). (from WIkipedia.org)

The best Nai Cha that I tasted so far was from Chowking at 45 pesos for a large glass. Their's always a great treat whichever Chowking branch I order. They have NEVER let my taste buds down. But hey I'm always on the hunt for the best tea or best milk tea for that matter. So if you think otherwise, I'm open to suggestions.

Siomai overload

(repost from buffetworthy.wordpress.com october 5, 2008)

Last friday, I rushed to work to get my training allowance and meet my wavemates. We then decided to eat at Dimsum n Dumplings Shopwise as everyone's hungry. I went for the ALL YOU CAN EAT SIOMAI for 139 PHP. The siomai was good, however I'm not a siomai expert so don't take my word for it. I love dipping it in chili paste - soy sauce - calamansi extract combination and fortunately for me Dimsum n Dumplings also has unlimited supply of each. The Yang Chow rice tasted bland and dry though as always. This is the reason why I did not choose the ALL YOU CAN EAT SIOMAI & YANG CHOW RICE for 179 PHP.

I had 2 refills aside from the 4 siomai with my first order. I ended up being cranky during the training (sorry Eve and my wavemates) as my body longed for a comfortable bed after that siomai overload.

The Dimsum n Dumplings place in Shopwise Cubao is small, about 14 seats are available inside the shop and 8 seats outside. So better consider if your eating with your whole team or with the extended family.

And so it begins again...

My family, friends and co-workers can attest to how much I love to eat. I would always be the one to go back to the buffet table several times or ask for a refill (of my bottomless iced tea). So there's should be no mystery why I'm blogging about my passion. Expect me to post about my favorite eats and eat-all-you-can restaurants. I'll try to throw in some camera phone photos (yes I don't have a digital camera yet), too. Be merciful though, I'm just a newbie blogger :) 

(I started this blog here then moved it to wordpress.com. I'm trying blogspot again. Let's see if it works the second time.)