The 2PM Makati Lunch

After a 2 hour wait at my doctor's clinic, my hubby and I vowed to reward ourselves with a real good late lunch (it was already 2 o'clock). Given that we were already in the Makati area, we both agreed to have it in our favorite place, Amici de De Bosco (friends of Don Bosco). With its typical cafeteria ambiance and informal charm, the food is enough reason to make you a regular.

Sango Tango
Driving by Amorsolo though, we passed Sango burgers and decided to check it out for ourselves. Just like that, we made a u-turn and went for it. I ordered the master cheeseburger while hubby ordered the chili dog. Surprisingly, the master cheeseburger was served with a generous amount of their version of the chili which wasn't hot at all. Twas more of a thick spag sauce to me than a chili. A grilled beef patty lies underneath with a slice of melted cheese hugging it. The bun was soft and typical, nothing great really, and with its Php116 cost, I'd say it was enough to fill you up but not necessarily make you rave about. I would have wanted the patty to be more flavorful.

Prior to ordering, hubby and I were looking at the menu board situated by the door and one of the staff immediately joined us and offered the specials, one of which is the chili dog, which is why hubby decided to order it. They claim that the hotdog is their own formulation. The hotdog was split lengthwise and grilled. Topped with jalapeno slices and the same chili they used with the burger I ordered, it was actually good. The hotdog's profile was similar to a breakfast sausage, with just the right saltiness, and it complemented well with the other sandwich components.

With our sodas finished, hubby and I decided to have coffee and dessert, still at our favorite place, Amici. While ordering though, we saw on the menu that they have a new pasta addition, vongole gambasetti. Denying the fact that we already had our fill of sandwiches, we decided to go for it and mind our bulging wastelines later. Of course, my visit wouldn't be complete without their coffee - just pure unadelterated Italian coffee, tiramisu and brazo de mercedes.

Amici Fever
So there, I am not really a fan of olive oil pasta, but hubby for some reason has been craving and wanting it for over a month now. But yeah, I won't deny it, we shared the dish (yup, still ate pasta) and it was absolutely worth the wait and calories. If you haven't been to Amici, you'd have to wait around 10 minutes for your pasta coz it is made "ala minute". Two large sized prawns, scallop on the half shell, clams, al dente spaghetti coated with a flavorful balance of white wine, seafood stock and olive oil topped with a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese served with a slice of baguette (crisp outside, soft inside) and smothered with pesto. All at Php180!

To cap off the meal, I just had to get my caffeine fix and their coffee is cheap (php40) and excellent. And the froth, hmm, it is just always there - never fails. I was telling hubby earlier that I was never a fan of brazo de mercedes, until I tried that of Amici. Now, I just need to grab a slice every time i visit. It is neither "egg-y" nor too sweet. The texture is just right, airy for the whites, rich for the custard. Oooh lala! The tiramisu has that delicate balance of coffee liquor and mascarpone. The best thing about it is that you never have to pay for good food at such high costs. Theirs is food at affordable prices.
I had to skip gelato this time though. Until the next visit.


Ah-Amici!

Hot cocoa and pandesal

I wrote this a few weeks ago and posted it in another site in honor of my grandpa who recently passed away. Reading and re-writing this post here just makes it easier for me now considering that we as a family still grieves and doing this somehow makes me feel that my dear grandpa is just here with me enveloping me with all the love and goodness he always had in his heart.

If you love food like I do, I bet there is something or someone who has influenced you, or driven you to have the passion for it. The most common thing I observed with co-foodies is that they associate this culinary passion with a former event which made such a big impression, a big impact on them that all these years, they have brought it with them - cherished, treasured.
People have asked me if I already knew during my younger years that I will be working with and around food. I've always answered yes - I've never seen myself working desk bound in an office setting. I've always wanted to be in the kitchen, discovering new flavors, testing crazy ideas and sharing gustatory pleasures. There were a few people with whom I can associate my interest with food. Ironically, most of these individuals are not really cooking professionally. They however, drove me to spike my interest and hone my talent which will eventually be the source of my livelihood.

Lolo Trudo (my grandpa) is one of them. When summertime comes, off I go to SAn Pablo city where Lolo Trudo and Lola Meding awaits. I was still in grade school at that time and the vacation was an event that I have always anticipated. Breakfast was Lolo's specialty. Given that Lola had to leave early to open their RTW market stall on a daily basis, it is Lolo who is tasked to ensure that his first apo (me?!) gets a hearty and sumptuous first meal of the day.

His fried rice is the best that I have ever tried. I have yet to find an establishment that could beat his sinangag. He starts with the perfect "bahaw" (left-over rice) and saute's this with either pork lard (from his adobo dish) or longanisa oil (the left-over oil he used for frying local sausage). With all the mixing and frying, the fried rice is infused with the right flavor, with the garlic browned and not burnt, and the rice grains generously coated with oil. Eating it with as plain as fried egg makes of a deliciously satifying meal. Better yet, his perfect fried rice would be served with Lola Meding's sinaing na tulingan. What more can you ask for?

I also remember that Lolo had his food idiosyncracies. Imagine having hot chocolate with cut-up pandesal, eaten warm with a spoon. Sometimes, the pandesal would be replaced with bits and pieces of suman sa ibus (sticky rice wrapped in coconut leaves) or what we sometimes call Antipolo suman, also soaked in hot choco. I believe that was his favorite breakfast because up until my adult years, I would see him having this for snacks.

What probably made our meals together more interesting are the stories he would generously share on how he and Lola met, or how they hid during the war, and how he loved to teach. I also recall how he loved to hum and sing the old OPM songs, and how he would proudly show me off his co-teachers and bring me to their school events and parties during the summer. I also recall us watching the procession during Holy week and how he would complain because he had to carry me almost the entire duration of the procession.

Our meals together were simple. Quite ordinary, in fact. But they were special. I would have wanted to have more of our summertime bonding, but given the demands of adult life, it became difficult. So the summertime bonding stopped and became limited to seasonal visits attributed to Christmas reunions and his birthdays.

I lost him last Sunday. We lost him. He died due to cardiac arrest. In his typical non-imposing way, he died quietly at home. I wasn't able to say goodbye. But in my heart, I know that one day, I will see him again. One day, I will share a cup of hot chocolate and pandesal with him amidst interesting stories of life and love.

I love you Lolo Trudo.

Vigan Empanada, Longanisa at Bagnet

Photos: Vigan Longanisa being air-dried; Filling assembly of Vigan Empanada; Bagnet in its 1st stage of frying

I haven't been on a culinary tour for quite a while, so when the opportunity came for me to join a group of foodies in a recent trip to Vigan, Ilocos Sur, I had no second thoughts at all.

Our schedules were hectic. We were off to see how the Ilocos Sur specialties were done. Longanisa, Bagnet, Empanada. We were on to learning more about these gustatory pleasures. In anticipation, I felt like a teenager going on a first date. Armed with an empty stomach anticipating all the food tastings, we went to our first stop - Vigan Longanisa making.

Vigan longanisa has a distinct garlic and vinegar flavor with its yellow-orange tinge from the use of annatto seeds. Given the artisan ways each of the makers use (it is mostly done by hand), there is no standard formulation, just the feel and taste of the "manangs" (elderly ladies) who make it. They use hog intestines for casing and is air dried prior to selling. A dozen sells for about Php120 and it is a welcome change from the usual sweet longanisa one is used to.

Bagnet (chunks of deep fried pork shoulder), I found is cooked the same way my former employer would make chicharon. Using low heat, the chunks of pork shoulder (kasim) is cooked in a vat full of oil until the skin is quite dry but still quite pale. The meat is then taken out of the oil and the "manong" (elderly male) would increase the heat for the oil to reach almost boiling. He then returns the meat chunks into the vat and cooks the bagnet for a few more minutes, until the skin gets blistered and the meat golden. It is then taken out of the vat and arranged on trays, left to air dry for a few more hours and then delivered to the marketplace.

During the mid afternoon, we went to one Vigan empanada maker and saw how each piece is made with such labor of love. A dough made of ground rice and water is rolled and filled with crumbled longanisa, eggyolk and grated papaya and deep fried in melted pork lard. Crisp and warm, each bite is savored best with Sukang Iloco complete with chopped chillies and garlic.

Surely, Ilocos sur boasts more than all these. Will share with you more of my food finds during this trip. Need to go on a break now. I'm hungry.