Restaurant Review
26 Jul 2008

Flying to Palawan & Dinner at Kinabuchs

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For the remainder of our stay in the Philippines, we wanted nothing more than to while our days away swimming in clear turquoise waters and lounging on white sand beaches. We hopped another bargain basement / bare bones flight aboard Cebu Pacific to Palawan to make our dreams of paradise come true.

Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Southern Tagalog region. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City and it is the largest province in terms of land area. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro to Borneo in the southwest. It lies between the South China Sea in the northwest and Sulu Sea in the southeast. The province is named after its largest island, Palawan Island.

Palawan, the only Philippine island cited, is rated by National Geographic Traveler magazine as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia region in 2007, and the 13th best island in the world

We landed in Puerto Princessa late in the afternoon and were greeted by a bright-ass Jeepney. Sadly, our hotel picked us up in a mini-van, so we didn’t get to hop on board the Dolce Vita.

After we arrived at our hotel, The Astronomer and I went on our first decent run in days. The hotel staffers told us there was a beach nearby—Pristine Beach—so we decided to check it out and get in some good mileage. Maybe we saw Pristine on an off day, but it didn’t look so hot. Check out Nina’s shot.

Next, we walked to Kinabuchs Grill & Bar for dinner.

The special at Kinabuch is crispy pata—deep fried pork leg!!! The deep-frying leaves the skin crispy (hence, its name), the meat tender and the collagen oozy. We all agreed that the pork was fabulous, but could have used a sweet sauce like the one served with lechon. Nina snapped an especially unflattering picture of me gorging on some trotters. I’m a caveman!

An eggplant dish that’s less photogenic than Indian food. I’m usually able to recall what’s in a dish by looking at its picture, but this time it’s just not coming to me. Believe me when I say that this eggplant number tasted 1,000 times better than it looked (the restaurant was dimly lit). The Astronomer, a loather of eggplant, ate it up.

For the carbohydrate portion of our meal, we opted for the Pancit Canton even though we weren’t even close to tired of garlic rice. The noodles were really good and tasted like they were heavily influenced by the Chinese. However, I think the slices of white bread atop the noodles are a 100% Pinoy touch.

Our other protein was sizzling squid! They tasted a bit spicy and a lot delicious. The world needs more sizzling platters.

On our walk back to the hotel, we stopped by a bakery to sample some local sweets.

We all shared a slice of white cake frosted with dulce de leche and sprinkled with peanuts. I requested a corner piece to maximize the ratio of cake to frosting. The cake was more than a touch dry, so I stuck to eating the sugary frosting.

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Kinabuchs Grill & Bar
348 Rizal Avenue
Puerto Princessa City

Manila
25 Jul 2008

Vegetation Profile: Mangoes

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One of the four major fruit crops grown in the Philippines is mango (Mangifera Indica). It has been considered as the national fruit of the country due to its several uses and rising importance and high potential both in the local and world market. Mangoes are eaten as raw, cooked, frozen, preserved or dried. Ripe mangoes are used for confectioneries, ice cream, sherbet, and bakery products while unripe mangoes (usually the Indian variety) are a good source of juice. The demand for processed mango is increasing, as seen in the proliferation of mango products in supermarkets and groceries.

There are several mango varieties grown in the country but Carabao mango, known in the international market as the “Manila Super Mango,” is the most popular. Piko and Indian varieties rank next to Carabao variety in terms of production volume and popularity.

The Philippine mango industry continuously to be one of the backbone industries of the country’s agriculture sector. The sector contributes an average of P14.9 Billion per year to agriculture GVA. It ranks 3rd as the most important fruit in the country in terms of volume of production and area after banana and pineapple.

Ranking only 7th among major mango producing countries in the world in terms of production volume, contributing 3% to the 27.7 Million metric tons world production. The Philippines is the 6th largest exporter of fresh mangoes after Mexico, India, Brazil, Netherlands and Peru.

With mango season wrapping up in Saigon, I was stoked to find an abundance of perfectly ripe Filipino mangoes while in Manila. Nina says that this variety is the most common in Canada. I thought it might get a little messy eating mangoes without a knife and plate in my hotel room, but that certainly wasn’t the case! They peeled so easily, but were mad juicy so I had to eat them over the sink to avoid soiling the carpets.

Filipino mangoes are divine—sweet, juicy, a bit firm. Ripe mangoes really are heavenly! Sigh… Can’t wait to taste India’s famous Alphonso mangoes to see how they match up.

Manila
24 Jul 2008

Salcedo Community Market

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On our final morning in Manila, The Astronomer and I visited the Salcedo Community Market, while Nina checked out a historical part of the city called Intramuros and Cathy visited a pimped-out Chinese cemetery.

Here’s a bit about the market from an article written by Robyn Eckhardt:

When it comes to the cuisines of southeast Asia, the Philippines is better known for balut (half-hatched duck eggs) and the local fast-food franchise Jollibee than any major gourmet experience. But spend a Saturday morning at Salcedo Community Market in Manila’s business district and you’ll be wondering why the cuisine of this archipelago nation has been overlooked for so long.

Close to 140 stalls set up each week in a shaded carpark, ready to take its customers – bejeweled socialites, shopping list-toting housewives, families, ex-pats and nearby call-center workers just off the night shift – on a gastronomic tour of the Philippines. Whether you’re in search of rare seasonal produce or pre-prepared specialties from the provinces, a leisurely approach is recommended. Devote a few hours to grazing the market’s aisles, people-watching, and sharing sit-down fare at the market’s undercover communal tables.

It was too early in the morning for blackened fish, but they smelled excellent.

An array of Pinoy desserts. Due to the employment of similar ingredients including coconut, banana, rice flour, taro and sesame seeds, I thought that Pinoy treats tasted very similar to Vietnamese ones. I really liked the abundance of free samples at the market. I felt like I was at Costco.

The Astronomer was hooked on these mango cookies after one sample. Even though they cost a pretty peso, he splurged and bought a box. The taste and texture of these cookies were reminiscent of Fig Newtons, but more mango and not so much fig. Duh.

Organic produce! Man, this stand brought be back to the days when I used to live in Oakland, California and shopped at the farmer’s market under the overpass on Lakeshore. Manila, I am totally impressed.

The Astronomer and I tried a sample of the curry ice cream. It was definitely more sweet than spicy, and not addictive enough to procure an entire scoop. In my mind, only Capogiro can get away with flavors this funky.

I don’t know about you, but this reeks of fake wagyu to me. Turning precious wagyu into shawarma filling and dousing it with a creamy sauce is a travesty (and a big ‘ol waste). I think that the only proper way to eat waygu is unadorned and rare like at Alinea in Chicago.

After circling the market once to see what was available, The Astronomer and I started chowing down. The Astronomer’s first pick of the day was a tuna empanada. I personally would have gone for chorizo, but he rationed that the tuna would probably taste better cold.

I started the day with some Sweedish meatballs drenched in gravy. Clearly, I was in a strange mood. They were larger than golf balls and and meaty as heck, but not spectacular in any way.

Next, The Astronomer purchased a vegetable ukoy or fritter. It would have tasted loads better hot out of the fryer, but the soy and vinegar sauce saved it.

I indulged in some pritson next, which was comprised of roasted piglet and fresh cumber spears wrapped in a crepe-like pancake with hoisin sauce. Really, really good. I like how the Filipinos have no qualms about animal carcases. In fact, it was the sight of the whole animal that attracted me to this stand.

A huge jackfruit. I placed my Nalgene next to it to really get the sense of its enormity.

In bloom!

Next, The Astronomer and I shared some lechon baca—beef lechon. Once again, a whole animal carcass was present and it didn’t seem to faze anyone. I like that! After we placed our order, one of the people running the stand approached the roasting cow and cut us off a bit. Talk about fresh meat.

Mmm…carne! The meat was ridiculously tender. Slow roasting over charcoal does wonders.

And lastly, a little something sweet called piaya—round wheat flour flat breads filled with smoky muscovado sugar and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Great flaky texture and not too sweet. A delightful conclusion to our market excursion.