pilinut's Profile
ISO Veal or Beef Brains
I'm afraid it will have to wait until I get back to my cookbooks several weeks from now. But I agree wholeheartedly that pasta fillings with brains mixed in can redefine the possibilities!
good filipino food in metro manila and tagayay
I was about to write pretty much the same thing as doctorj--word for word, except for Sentro, which I haven't been to for many years. Milky Way Cafe is my family's current favorite. It goes back decades, but has actually improved a lot in the past few years, under the second (or is it the third?) generation. And, yes, I'd recommend the exact same dishes, and add the lumpiang ubod, a fresh spring roll made with hearts off palm, and, for dessert, the avocado ice cream, buco-lychee sherbet, halo-halo, or guinomis, tapioca pearls and crisped rice (not rice crispies, but close), served with a scoop of brown sugar ice cream, shaved ice, and coconut cream.
My other favorite Filipino restaurant was mentioned by klyeoh, Fely J's, where my favorite dish is dilis rice, tiny, crisp fried silver fish and salted black beans served with rice. Fely J's also does an excellent crispy pata, served with a mildly spiced garlic topping. And I think that Fely J's has the edge when it comes to kare-kare, oxtail and tripe stew in a peanut and annato sauce. For dessert or merienda, Pia y Damaso next door has a delicious, if somewhat too sweet, goat's milk hot chocolate and a great brazo de mercedes.
The Saturday market in Salcedo Village is not huge but offers a great variety of foods. The Sunday market in nearby Legaspi Village is at least as enjoyable with more non-food items than Salcedo village.
And, having just spent a Sunday afternoon on Carlos Celdran's walking tour, I would rate it as something you absolutely must not miss! You'll understand Manila--and the Filipino psyche--much better, in addition to having a great time. Don't pass up his offer of Choc-nut--a frrightfully junky peanut and chocolate candy that almost every Filipino child has enjoyed. The halo-halo at the end of the tour is not particularly good, but at least is is refreshing.
I haven't been to it, but not far from where Celdran's tour ends, there is a new restaurant, 9 Spoons, I think it is called, at the top of the Bay Leaf Hotel. My sister and BIL had dinner there, after Celdran suggested it, and they enjoyed the meal and the view.
For Tagaytay, there's always Antonio's--beautiful place, but mostly "Continental" food. I haven't been to Tootsie's along the narrow highway in several years, but I remember having a pretty good meal there.
Have a great time in Manila and Tagaytay and please let us know how it went.
Tai Wu: Take Two
Yup, I'm afraid it was: I know what you mean by the Chiu Chow dumpling wrapper being appropriately thicker and more resistant (given the robust flavors and textures of the filling) than, say, a har gow wrapper, but Tai Wu's dumpling skins were way too thick and they seem to have been getting thicker. I'd say that the skins are at least twice the weight of the fillings. I noticed that I was not the only one at the table who left a small pile of half-eaten dumpling wrappers on the plate. The fillings themselves are pretty good, so it's a pity that they should be so crudely encased.
I should note that the siumai at Tai Wu are excellent--the best I've had this side of the Pacific--worth the trek from mid-Peninsula. It's the dumplings with semi-translucent skins that pull down the marks of an otherwise very good kitchen.
Or maybe it's deliberate: a dimsum chef once told us that he had to make his cheung fun much thicker than he would have liked because his clientele complained that the thin, silky wrappings he started out making did not fill their stomachs enough.
Manila Chinese Food
Gee, I've never heard of most of the places on that list! How did you hear about them? Most of them are, or were, probably in Chinatown.
I do remember going to Mamonluk in Cubao with my dad, who loved the place, around 30 years ago. They were famous for their siopao (char siu bao), among other things, but I thought the food was atrocious. Savory is still around and has a number of branches, but saving one visit over 25 years ago, when I had a decent fried chicken, I can't comment on the quality of the food. But I doubt that either place will make it to a chowhound's top 10 (or top 30) places to eat in Manila.
What have you heard about the others?
Dog meat in Manila
El jefe is right. It is illegal in Manila--and, I believe, in the rest of the Philippines, so you won't find it in a restaurant.
Most Filipinos today would be horrified at the thought of eating dog. Any place that would serve it is someplace that should probably be avoided for reasons to do with your own health: the standard of hygiene in underground eateries is pretty bad and e.coli, h.pylori, salmonella, and hepatitis should be considerations even if you don't care under what conditions the dogs were raised and slaughtered--or that some of them might be lost or stolen pets.
Bay Area specialties to give for Xmas?
My favorite "gift from California"--See's chocolates. I've taken them to half a dozen countries in three continents, and they've never failed to elicit delight and gratitude. (Maybe I should mention that I only give what I would eat myself, the ones with marshmallows, nuts, and caramels. The creams and truffles are far too sugary for me.)
Sao Paulo choices
BTW, any suggestions on what is good at Havanna? I've passed by a very nice-looking Havanna In the Jardim Paulista area. Their products are sold at a couple of stores, so I've been wondering whether their pannetone with dulce de leche and their chocolate-covered alfajores are worth carrrying back to San Francisco.
Sao Paulo choices
Thanks for the tip on the airport (Guarulhos, I hope). We'll be there for a few hours this weekend, and I was wondering where to have something to eat while waiting.
Dungeness crab prices for '11
Piazza's San Mateo also said they were local. And that's what was printed on their flyer, so I hope they were correct. We certainly waited long enough, especially since this was the first day they had them. The crab was good enough, though the meat was not as tightly packed as I had hoped, and there was a fair amount of water in the crab.
I always take crab home whole, having once long ago made the mistake of agreeing to "cracked and cleaned" crab, not realizing they were going to powerhose all the tomalley and flavor out of the poor waterlogged critter.
Dungeness crab prices for '11
Just bought 2 cooked ones from Piazza's in San Mateo: $5.99/lb The crabs were 1.7 - 1.8 lbs.
Cooking Classes in Sao Paulo?
If I can pull it off, I will be tagging along with my husband on a week-long trip to Sao Paulo in a couple of days. I've never been to South America, and this is a sudden and unexpected opportunity, so I haven't had time to do any research. (After a cursory glance at Googlemaps, Chowhound is my next reference--so you know my priorities.) I've read several recent threads, and made notes of places to eat, but I really would love to learn how to cook a few local specialties as well, particularly a good feijoada. Are there any classes for Anglophones?
Also, as I will be alone most of the time, can anyone recommend a guide, or a tour agency, preferably one that can emphasize the food culture of Brazil?
Manila Chinese Food
Wow, that is fascinating! I have at least a couple of ancestors who were part of that migration. Limahong, an infamous pirate (or settler, depending on your point of view) is supposed to have been one of them. I wonder how they lived, and what they ate, and whether anyone has written a history of how this Chinese diaspora has influenced and evolved in Southeast Asian cooking--and maybe even in Mexican and Spanish cooking. It's pretty apparent in some dishes, but I suspect that it goes pretty deep and that there are some pretty colorful stories involved.
What are you baking these days? November 2011, part 2
You'd love it, buttertart! It's like a mutant rum custard-cake in a thin, crisp shell. Particularly heavenly while it's warm. Since some of us have already made all the mistakes (and posted them), you don't have to re-invent the wheel and you can go straight to canelé heaven.
What are you baking these days? November 2011, part 2
After many months of staying away, I made canelés again! This time, using the pointers from the last canelé thread, they came out beautifully! Maybe it was all my fond thoughts of Cynsa, souschef, trewq, et al that did it.
Sorry, no photos, but I'll post some if the the remaining batter works out as well. Fingers crossed--we all know how temperamental those little cakes can be.
Please help my mom...
I'm afraid a vacuum packer won't work: it may slow down the mold growth, but the vacuum will suck all the air out of the biscuits and your mom will have sent you a pile of hockey pucks. I don't know if a recipe that avoids perishable ingredients like butter and buttermilk will result in mold resistant biscuits, but those might taste like hockey pucks even if they don't look like them. Some things just don't travel well.
Do you think you could develop a taste for fruitcake? At least that'll keep. . . Some of the drier, crisper cookies could work, too.
Good luck to you and your mom. I hope you get to go home to a batch of freshly baked biscuits in the not too distant future.
Manila Chinese Food
Thank you for the nice, informative post, poggibonzzi! It reminded me of many favorite dishes. I'll probably be salivating in my sleep tonight, visions of lomi, machang and ngo hiong dancing in my head. . .
The fresh lumpia is a particular favorite: I have to have it at least once every visit back to Manila. And I cannot imagine why such a wonderful dish hasn't made it across the Pacific and caught on like a California wildfire. It really is one of those rare dishes that is as good for you as it is delicious. Well, maybe the reason it hasn't caught on is the same reason I haven't made it myself--a heck of a lot of work julienne-ing those veggies. A couple of family friends who make the lumpia insist that everything be cut by hand--they say the slicing blades of a food processor will make for mushy vegetables. I bought a ceramic julienne slicer, but I don't think it will work either. Maybe a real mandoline--but I keep imagining bits of julienned finger mixed with the green beans.
It is interesting that although most of the Filipino Chinese are of Amoy or Fookien descent, it seems that most of the prominent Chinese restaurants are Cantonese. I wonder if it is because, as was true of Filipinos and Filipino food a couple of decades ago, Chinoys (Filipino Chinese) feel they get better Amoy/ Hokkien food at home than at local Chinese restaurants.
Incidentally, though it belongs to another genre of Chinese food, I had some excellent food at Lugang in Greenhills: xiao long bao, steamed fish head with pickled peppers, crisp fried chicken, and shaved peanut ice come to mind. I haven't had XLB like that since Taipei.
http://www.munchpunch.com/7456/lugang-cafe-greenhills/menu
Now to go back to my wistful dreams of lumpia. . .
NEED GREAT suggestion for lunch in Napa
I second Oxbow. You'll have plenty of choice and be able to graze to your heart's content while getting a better feel for local products than you would by going to a regular restaurant.
What to Do with a Kilo of Khalas Dates? A pound of Agen prunes?
These come from Abu Dhabi and are pressed together, (unpitted, I think). I hate to confess it, but this package (a gift) has been lying on my counter for the past 10 months, the prospect of cutting up and wrestling bits of date off my kitchen shears sending me off to the other side of the kitchen every time I picked it up.
Actually, I could--and maybe should--eat those lovely Agen prunes straight, but I thought the 'hounds might give me even better more enjoyable ideas. I have fond memories of childhood prune cakes with prune-studded buttercream icing, but that might not be the best and highest use for these prunes.
Plugra by the Pound
I bought some Beurremont a few days ago at Gourmet Corner: it was $4.99/lb. Since it says "Beurremont 83%" I am assuming that the 83% refers to the butterfat content. Strauss European style butter says its butterfat content is 85-86%, but it is much more expensive.
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The Gourmet Corner
873 N San Mateo Drive, San Mateo, CA 94401
Plugra by the Pound
If the cheaper alternative offered by Gourmet Corner in San Mateo is Beurremont, grab it! If they have it in stock tomorrow, I certainly shall. Although I haven't done a side-by-side taste test with Plugra, I have tried Beurremont beside a few more expensive California butters and thought Beurremont was excellent for both table and baking: very good flavor and the same high fat content as European butters. I think it is made in Vermont :-)
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The Gourmet Corner
873 N San Mateo Drive, San Mateo, CA 94401
Draeger's Kobe beef Pastrami
One more big thank you, cheesecaking! I was at Draeger's last night and remembered the post. There were two kinds available: kobe and regular beef, which was distinctly leaner and pinker than the kobe. I went for the kobe. It was an entirely different experience from the fatty, chewy, peppery New York pastrami I remember: this was very tender and mildly flavored. Personally, I would have liked more of a kick from the flavor, but my guests and DH loved it, and I'd certainly buy it again.
Vancouverites 4 day SF food itinerary-please let me know what you think?
Haven't been to Knead yet, but am hoping to go very soon!
What's not to miss?
Vancouverites 4 day SF food itinerary-please let me know what you think?
No, not yet! Thanks for the heads-up. I know that the pastry chef, Philippe, had teamed up with a new business partner, but I haven't been to PP in a couple of months. Do you know where they will be? The website says they will be reopening, but nothing on when or where. I know they were doing a brisk wholesale business, so I doubt that they closed for lack of clientele.
Vancouverites 4 day SF food itinerary-please let me know what you think?
Your choices sound terrific, and I'm sure you'll have a great time! But I wouldn't call Tartine "the best patisserie in SF": it's a very good American bakery with tasty, crusty loaf breads, an excellent banana cream tart, mouthwatering sandwiches, and (to me) a poor excuse for a croissant. I'm still looking for a patisserie in SF that is on par with Vancouver's 5 Senses, as it was when it was in that old downtown hotel. The best patisserie I've found so far is Patisserie Philippe on Townsend near 8th St.
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Patisserie Philippe (moving)
655 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Dim Sum at Champagne Seafood Restaurant, San Mateo
It was a pity that the suckling pig, which was small and expensive (6-7 slices at $16) was so bad. Normally, Champagne's roasted meats are among the best in the area, so I hope that this was a one-off. I did make a point of complaining to one of the managers, but there was only 1 sorry piece of pork left on the plate, so it was unlikely that they would take it off the bill or give us a fresh platter. He said that they make their roasts every day, but we insisted that it must have been at least a day or two old and he went off to the kitchen. I'm pretty sure he found out that we were correct and he offered us a dessert on the house. We ended up with the egg tarts which, though not the Macanese ones we asked for, we actually very good, with the classic delicate multi-layered pastry that is getting harder to find these days.
And RWCFoodie is right about the sesame balls and the rice noodle roll: those two are reason enough to return to Champagne. We also had the braised chicken feet, and they were more tender and tasty than we had expected. There are probably a few more hidden gems on their dimsum menu, and being able to start with a few exceptional dishes will make discovering the new one much more pleasant.
Hog Island Oysters - buyer beware...
I adore HI's Kumamotos! I can never walk away without buying some whenever they are available. Yes, they are small, but so sweet and very easy to shuck. The ones we got at the $1 Happy Hour were about half the size of HI's regular Kumamotos--don't know if they usually serve the runts or if we were just unlucky.
What are you baking these days? September 2011, part 2 [old]
Have you tried this one from James Villas in Saveur's "butter" issue?
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pound-Cake
I've made it a couple of times and I thought it was the best pound cake I've made yet. It helps to read the full article, including Villas' 10 Commandments, though most of these are worked into the recipe, which should be followed closely.
Another delicious one is Maida Heatter's Kentucky Pound Cake from her first (and best) dessert cookbook, "Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts." This cake is flavored with bourbon and mace.
