Restaurant Review
30 Jul 2008

Pepperonis

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I’ve been wanting to try Pepperonis restaurant in Saigon for a while. This Hong Kong-based “Italian” chain sells a wide range of pizza and pasta, but they’re known in particular for their cheap lunch and dinner buffets. As recently as two years ago, you could gain access to an endless supply of pastas and salads for a mere 28,000 VND. While this price has since increased (along with the cost of everything else in Vietnam), the 42,000 VND lunch buffet is still quite a deal.

On a recent visit to Hanoi, I happened to walk past a Pepperonis branch on the way to my hotel from the airport shuttle stop. Although I typically resolve to eat nothing but novel northern Vietnamese delicacies when I visit the capital, on this day I was in the mood for something different. I had followed up a longish run in the morning with a meager breakfast, and after skipping out on the disgusting sandwich on my Vietnam Airlines flight, I was unusually hungry. In these situations, there’s something about stuffing yourself with Italian pasta that just hits the spot—Vietnamese food can’t quite match it. Besides, I couldn’t see myself dragging The Gastronomer to an all-you-can-eat luncheon of questionable quality during our final two weeks in Saigon. It seemed appropriate to go at it alone.

It was 12:55 PM when I stepped inside. The advertised lunch buffet hours were 11:30-1:30, so there was no time to dawdle. I chose a seat upstairs by the window (might as well give my camera a fighting chance), grabbed a plate, and headed back downstairs to the buffet. It wasn’t the most impressive spread I’ve seen… just one table of entrees in metal cafeteria-style tins, and one table of salads with slightly more appealing presentation. The selection was also a bit strange—I had been hoping for a choice of several pasta shapes and a nice range of sauces, but I was instead presented with a mismatched hodgepodge of Vietnamese and Western food.

I threw caution to the wind and started filling my plate with a little bit of everything. The end result didn’t look so hot, but I was ready to eat. I started with some glass noodles from the salad table. These definitely came from the Vietnamese end of the spectrum. Dressed with a sweet, nuoc mam-based sauce, they were tasty, if not exactly what I had come for. I grabbed some corn on the cob, which was terrible—cold and slathered with way too much butter. I struggled to finish two small sections.

Things began looking up with a carrot and daikon salad. A classic Vietnamese goi with peanuts and herbs, it looked like do chua but wasn’t sour. I also sampled an excellent baked pasta—a bit like lasagna but with made with spaghetti and lacking runny cheese. This one confused me at first, but I eventually identified it as the baked Bolognese from the menu. It was really satisfying—different than anything I had eaten in months.

I rounded off plate #1 with some stir-fried vegetables on rice. They were solid, with lots of onions (not too raw) and a hint of lemongrass, but it was a super-weird thing to eat after the baked Bolognese. The words, “What am I doing?” came to mind.

Nevertheless, I was still hungry, and it was nearly 1:15. I went back for plate #2. I came back with more goi (ironically probably my favorite dish of them all), some penne with white sauce, a section of veggie lasagna, and chicken curry with rice. The penne was a huge disappointment. Since it was the closest thing to my original vision for the meal available, I filled up a full half-plate with it, but the sauce was bland and tasted too much like pure cream with a hint of mushrooms. The veggie lasagna turned out to actually be potatoes au gratin, or perhaps some other creamy dish with potatoes, onions, and herbs. It was decent, but it didn’t leave me yearning for more.

The chicken curry was probably pretty good, but this time the shock of the transition from creamy pastas to Vietnamese food was too much. I was getting full, and I just wasn’t in the mood anymore. This had to be one of the strangest meals I’d ever eaten.

It was almost 1:30, so I went back for one more helping of my favorites—the carrot and daikon salad and the baked Bolognese. I finished off the meal with some papaya chunks from the dwindling fruit salad. I had eaten too fast, but I felt alright. I had found a few winners among the selection of mediocre offerings, and I had satisfied my curiosity about Pepperonis. It’s not so different from one of the cheap pizza/hoagie/pasta joints in Pennsylvania (albeit with a bizarre Vietnamese twist), or perhaps the Swarthmore dining hall on a good day. Clearly somebody likes it—according to their business card, there are 5(!) locations in Hanoi. Guess it wasn’t such a coincidence that I ran into one.

Restaurant Review
29 Jul 2008

Abè @ Serendra Mall

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After a 2.5 hour bus ride, we finally arrived at the bus station in Puerto Princessa. In a hurry to catch a flight back to Manila, we immediately hopped on a tricycle and zoomed to the airport. We landed in Manila in the early evening and since our flight back to Saigon wasn’t for a couple of hours, we grabbed a cab and headed to Abè for dinner.

Abè, like all of Manila’s dining gems, is located inside a mall. Since we didn’t have a reservation and all of the tables inside were taken, we dined alfresco. Abè (pronounced AH-Beh) specializes in Kapampangan recipes from the province of Pampanga. The area is famous for creating some of the tastiest meals and desserts in the country.

Dinner started off with a green mango and bagoon salad (95 PP). The unripe mangoes were crisp and sour and topped with a deeply flavorful salted shrimp paste that reminded all of us of our dear friend, mam tom. I think I was the only one who really appreciated the combination of tart fruit with a savory fermented sauce.

I arrived in the Philippines only knowledgeable about two Pinoy dishes—lumpia and pancit. During my weeklong stay in the country, I had my fair share of pancit, but not a lone lumpia. I made up for lost time at Abè. The restaurant served both fresh and fried ones, so we ordered one of each. The fried ones (129 PP) tasted no different from Chinese eggrolls, especially with the red wine vinegar sauce. The stuffing included carrots, cabbages and not a trace of meat.

The fresh lumpia (129 PP) was stuffed with pork and woodear mushrooms, wrapped in a pancake and topped with crushed peanuts and hoisin sauce. The dish’s composition and presentation reminded me of the classic Chinese take-out dish moo shu pork.

Another dish that we couldn’t leave the Philippines without trying was kare kare (475 PP)—a peanuty stew made with oxtail. The peanut sauce veered toward bland, but it was paired with a fermented shrimp paste to add a bit of zing. The oxtail skin was incredibly decadent.

The Mutton Adobo with Popped Garlic (395 PP) was everyone’s favorite. The meat was tender as can be and the seasonings were simple and satisfying. We were a bit confused by the “popped garlic” bit, but with meat this good, we let it slide.

One last garlic rice (60 PP). I adore this stuff!

For dessert we shared a Halo Halo (120 PP), which means “mix mix” in Tagalog. It is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice, milk, boiled sweet beans and fruits, served cold in a tall glass or bowl. The halo halo was topped with a combination of leche flan, ube halaya and ice cream. Condensed milk was poured into the mixture upon serving.

The leche flan was the best part!

Well-fed and smiley.

On our way to Abè for dinner, I spied a cute little bakery called Cupcakes by Sonja. I made a mental note to return after our meal because I’m a total sucker for cupcakes even though they’re disgustingly trendy.

Nina picked up a handful of delights for The Boyfriend as a peace offering for ditching him for a week, while I scooped up a simple yellow cake number with chocolate frosting. The cake was dry and the chocolate frosting’s texture was granular. Unimpressed, I took two bites and gave my leftovers to our cabbie. The loveliest cupcakes in all of the land are at Magnolia Bakery in New York City.

And that wraps up our tour of the Philippines!

—
Abè
G/F Selendra, Retailer Area Bonifacio
Global City, Taguig City
Phone: (632) 856-0526
Website: www.ljcrestaurants.com.ph

Palawan
28 Jul 2008

The Whole Sabang

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The following morning, The Astronomer and I boarded a bus/jeepney hybrid called the “D’Christ” to the small beach town of Sabang, which is located 2.5 hours away. Nina and Cathy stayed in Puerto Princessa and island hopped.

 

We sat in the back of the bus. The ride was bumpy, but incredibly scenic—mountains, ocean, rain forest! Hands down the best bus ride ever.

This guy carried our luggage from the edge of town where the bus dropped us off to our cottage at Michi’s.

A view of the gorgeous and peaceful surroundings from our cottage. By the way, we totally roughed it—there was no hot water the entire time and electricity only from 6 to 10 PM. I’m more of a “hotel girl,” but am glad we were eco-friendly tourists. After we dropped off our bags, we had lunch at nearby Mary’s. Michi’s used to have a restaurant, but it burned down. Wah wah.

 

The curry vegetables (pumpkin, eggplant, green beans) weren’t too spicy, which The Astronomer appreciated. I appreciated that the vegetables weren’t soggy and that they were drenched in coconut milk.

 

The adobo squid was neither as vinegary as we had hoped nor as tender as the squid in Phu Quoc, but pleasant nevertheless. The Astronomer ate most of the potatoes or tatties (as they say in Scotaland).

Garlic rice! Ain’t a meal without it.

 

A view of the ocean from our dining gazebo. Ah, paradise. The rest of the day was spent swimming, reading and napping. We also got in a great run. The views in Sabang are outrageously exquisite. The next day was more of the same goodness.

 

We hit up Mary’s once more for breakfast. I indulged in a fabulous fruit salad that was served in half a young coconut and included papaya, mangoes and bananas.

 

The Astronomer and I had pancakes too. I love eating pancakes while traveling. These were huge, fluffy and the most “authentic” ones that we have eaten in Southeast Asia.

 

Reading a bootleg copy of “A Cook’s Tour” that Nina lent me. I liked the book much more the second time around because I had visited so many of the countries that Bourdain penned about.

In between dips. The turquoise waters in Sabang are the clearest we’ve encountered in the region and so so warm.

The Astronomer and his feet.

 

For lunch we paid Mary another visit. We had garlic rice and curry vegetables again, but instead of squid adobo we opted for the sweet and sour fish. As always, the food was solid and the view was unbeatable.

 

After lunch, our friends arrived in Sabang! Twenty-four hours without Miss Adventure was twenty-three too many. For dinner, we went to a random restaurant down the shore.

 

The chicken adobo was really great. Much more vinegary than the squid, but not overwhelmingly so. Drumettes are my favorite part of the chicken.

 

For the crunchy, deep-fried portion of the meal, our resident crunchy/deep-fried expert chose the calamari. The batter was surprisingly light and not the least bit greasy. Good call, Nina.

 

Curry vegetables that actually contain curry. Imageine that!

 

The next morning, The Astronomer and I grabbed a quick pancake breakfast at the Tribal Restaurant before heading off on a hike through the rain forest. Instead of maple syrup or honey, the restaurant served the pancakes with sweetened condensed milk. Mmm!

 

The 5K hike started near our cottage. Cathy came along too, but Nina opted to lounge on the beach after it was discovered that the bridge leading to the the trail was damaged and wadding through water was the only alternative. I told Nina that for someone nicknamed Miss Adventure, her sense of adventure was a bit lacking. But at the end of the day, she had the last laugh because the hike was mentally defeating.

Shrooms! I wish that I had had a truffle sniffing dog with me. It would have made the hike more delicious.

 

Shhh. There’s a crab under there.

 

Daddy long legs, but more sinister.

 

Giant ants on the forest floor.

 

A rocky upthrust in the middle of the rain forest.

After two and a half hours of hiking, we finally made it to the subterranean river.

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 kilometers north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. The National Park is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the northern coast of the island. It is bordered by St Paul Bay to the north and the Babuyan River to the east. The City Government of Puerto Princesa has managed the National Park since 1992. It is also known as St. Paul’s Subterranean River National Park, or St. Paul Underground River. The entrance to the Subterranean River is located a short hike from little town of Sabang.

It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers. The lower portion of the river is subject to tidal influences. Until the 2007 discovery of an underground river in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Puerto Princesa’s underground river is reputed to be the world’s longest.

The area also represents a significant habitat for biodiversity conservation. The site contains a full mountain-to-the-sea ecosystem and has some of the most important forests in Asia.

It was inscribed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site on December 4, 1999.

Heading into the cave! I didn’t take any photos inside because I really wanted to enjoy the scenery and not worry about getting the perfect shot.

After our tour of the underground river, we took a boat back to Mary’s for a late lunch/early dinner.

 

Cathy had the spaghetti. Asian spaghetti is a little sweeter than classic marinara sauce. Not my cup of tea, but it was definitely hers.

 

The Astronomer opted for the pancit.

 

I had the Filipino breakfast which included a fried egg, corned beef and garlic rice. It was awesome!

 

The next day we left Sabang. One last shot of the beautiful beach.

The bus to Puerto Princessa.

 

Nina squatting and munching on some Pinoy chips while waiting for the bus to leave.

 

Street food! Prior to our departure, I saw a vendor serving up something cold and asked for one.

 

It’s called a “scrambal” and consisted of crushed ice, melted vanilla ice cream, a sprinkling of peanuts and crushed Oreos. Not too shabby, but not too great.

The Astronomer had a plate of pancit before take off.

Nina in the bus’ rearview mirror.

 

The Astronomer and I brought two pancakes for the road. Our three-day stay in Sabang was kick-ass.