BuchiButsiGooooo #20

There is this friend of ours who would order a Lauriat and just eat tiny balls coated with sesame seeds. This is called Butsi or Buchi, a typical rice cake made from sweet rice flour and stuffed with sweet bean paste. It is rolled unto sesame seeds and deep-fried thereafter. Whenever we go to Manila, our family would always have this bumbong filled with of course Buchi, Puto, Suman, and Palabok.

We were shipped off to The Big City to accompany our Grandmother in her visit to her sick Sister at Cavite. The kids got to be with kids and the olds, self-explanatory. We were reminded of the speed limit and reprimanded when we got there obviously. Lo and behold!

These gooey balls were still steaming when we saw it being covered. We hurriedly opened the bumbong and ate the very hot and crispy oil-drenched goodness. Sorry, Friends. Family with lots of good food goes first. Here are more shots from our Impromptu Manila Trip. Enjoy!

Comment on how you love our BuchiButsiGooooo. xoxo, FI.

Berry Summery #19

It is summer (finally!) and let us detoxify ourselves. We are having oats for breakfast with fruits and nuts: pecan, raisins, and walnuts.

PLUS: Berry Summery Strawberries from Baguio City. 

Thank You to the visitors of the Ledesma family.

Kalan-an Sulod Lang #18

The usual question asked when we are planning for a get-together: “Diin kita makaon?” or “Where are we going to eat?” Suddenly, Mr. Bedonia and Ms. Aquino’s Sulod Lang would usually pop in. We assembled at  the corner of Banana Cracker (rode Jaro CPU) because the easier route (Jaro Liko) is being messed with the bridge renovation.

After a lot of turns we arrived at the sign that says: “Kalan-an Sulod Lang”. It is actually a home that serves people in their garden. We have no idea who got there first, but they crave on the same specialty’s specials. That may sound like wait, what? But it is pata. When we ordered it, one said, crispy pata, and the other would order the sinabawan type.

Flash backwards, we got the contact information from Dr. Bedonia (Special thank you here) and she has been showing her brother to digout spots that you could actually cover your ears from salivating back in our high school days. We called a night before and they asked for our order, like wait, what again moment.

The more than the good for two persons advice in the menu but more than three verbally.

We had the large Crispy Pata because of Franz’s request at Php 380. It was actually bigger than the usuals we have in others, we will start a food war soon. The hind was actually, worth it because of the pork muscles that it prevents the usual fat on high feeling.

Leni’s Pata (Php80), made  everyone wow, literally, when they told us that it would be available after 10 minutes, it was really heartwarming. Note: Ask for the extra caldo, please.

We were hoping that the Crispy Bulalo (Php180) would actually come with the bone. But they were sliced of meat soaked in bulalo broth, and deep-fried that you could still actually taste the bulalo-ness without the bone. But come to think of it, the marrows would taste best if they are deep-fried to perfection right? Nagging for we want bones.

Anja’s Grilled Bangus (Php95) became the star of the show because everyone was mocking her that you could actually have the milkfish anytime you want at home.

We finished  our midterms celebration with 2 cups of Rice each (Php10/cup). We walked our way and passed by a gym that made us guilty from today’s shocking consumption. See you here after Finals, after all the work is done. We found love in this hopeless place, not your typical kalan-an.

Brgy. Cuartero, Jaro, Iloilo City

(033)320-7327

Comment on how you love our Kalan-an Sulod Lang. xoxo, FI

WVSU’s SISIG #17

As West Visayas State University commemorate our University Week Celebration 2012, we made sure to have the taste of WVSU at the Integrated Laboratory School (ILS) cafeteria’s specialty: Sisig. That may sound quite odd considering that this is not a usual “tambay” spot where you could enjoy your ice-cold drinks, but, this is much better because you could actually eat it anytime. That is, if there are still stocks left. The 1st stall (in the left) will let you wonder why people will say, “Isa gne ka sisig” or  “One serve of sisig please”, one after the other. A friend of ours made us order a serving to-go. Like, seriously. What is with this sisig that enables those who have not yet digested it fully burp the “sisig aroma”?

The term “sisig” is a word that originated from Pampanga (a province in the island of Luzon, Philippines), which means ‘to snack on something sour.' ‘Something sour' usually refers to unripe or semi-ripe fruits that are sour to taste (such as mango) and eaten with salt and vinegar dip. In mid-1974, Lucia Cunanan, a lady restaurateur in Angeles, has invented the original pork ‘sisig' dish. The pig ears and cheeks were boiled until tender; and chopped them into small cubes. The meat was generously seasoned with vinegar and calamansi juice; then served with chopped onions, chopped grilled chicken liver -- on sizzling plates.She has been acknowledged by the Philippine Department of Tourism as the ‘Sisig' Queen when her restaurant had established the City of Angeles in Pampanga as the ‘Sisig Capital of the Philippines.' The word “sisig” is also used to describe a method of food preparation that marinates fish and meat (particularly pork) in sour concoction - lemon juice or vinegar - and seasoned with pepper, salt, and other desired spices (such as garlic or green onion leaves).

Back at WVSU - Me: “4 gne ka sisig, ang isa take-out, kag tatlo ka rice palihog. Pila ni tnan?” or  “4 servings of sisig please, 1 for to-go, and 3 serving of rice please. How much would everything be?”

Girl: “Isdog lg d, Day!”

Everyone: *Whew* look.

The 3 Stages of Sisig Preparation (from QueenCleo):

As if chopping everything is not enough work, the preliminary preparation of “sisig” requires 3 types of cooking: boiling, grilling (or broiling), and frying of the pig's head (deboned with only the snout, cheeks, and ears included).

1.      Boil - to tenderize the pig's head so that deboning and cutting into smaller parts will be easy

2.      Grill/Broil/Barbecue- to remove the hair from the pig's head and to give the authentic smoky taste

3.      Fry/Sauté - to crisp the meat and to sauté with garlic, onions, and other desired spices

“Sisig” has always been served in sizzling hot plates but many variations had been introduced by adding raw egg, chicharon (pork or chicken crisp/cracklings, or beef rind), liver (pork or chicken), mayonnaise, or brain (pork or ox). Since not all people like to eat fatty and oily dishes, local chefs have concocted different versions of ‘sisig,' using other ingredients such as: chicken, tuna, bangus, squid, and tofu.

Anyway, enough said about that, the sisig, was worth it for Php28. Eventhough there was a sisig hike we went back to our building on high with this cholesterolific and spicy journey. To tell you frankly, it could have tasted better if it was hot, considering it was still 11:00 AM, we assumed it would be fresh by then. But it was not “sum-od” and you could crave for it endlessly. Looking forward to eating this again. Now we need to believe what the Sisig Squad claims. What can you be proud of at your school?

Comment on how you love our WVSU’s SISIG. xoxo, FI

Maridel’s: Let them eat MORE THAN JUST CAKES #16

Where can we possibly start? Well, we have been eating these cakes for nothing special and special occasions at the P. residence. Confessions would frankly tell you how eager we kids are every time we see the delivery vehicle at the driveway with Ma. Delia "Genius-as-proclaimed-by-children" Padilla Uygongco herself carrying the aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh. Okay, the birthday cake. 



After months of the literally mouthwatering photos being posted online, now the public can actually have their own dose of these sweet treats when they finally opened their doors at Plazuela de Iloilo last October 28, 2011.

How is Maridel’s doing after 2 months? You could see the people bustling and literally goggling when they have set their sights on the tempting endless array of desserts. The usual staples are the Frozen Mango Brazos, Death by Chocolate, Icecream Turtle Pie, Banoffee Pie, Eclairs, Napoleons,  Choco Candy Explosion, Snickers Pie, Sugar-Free Carrot-Walnut and Chocolate cakes and of course, Icecream burgers.

A person popped the question days ago and that amazed everyone. See, the place is more than just for cakes. Visit them and keep in mind that is worth the wait to have your seats or grab your takeouts. Spending time with lovers is a must because desserts are stressed spelled backwards after all.

508-CAKE

Plazuela de  Iloilo

Comment on how you love our Maridel’s: Let them eat MORE THAN JUST CAKES. xoxo, FI

Merry Lasagna Pizza #15

While watching the simultaneous airing of Ms. Universe and Ms. USA, we decided to try real Christmas cooking (finally!). On our list were Tita Buka’s Eggplant Lasagna and Pizzas (Spanish Sardines and Hawaiian).

Tita Buka’s Eggplant Lasagna

Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds eggplant, thinly sliced

vegetable spray

2 tablespoons olive oil

9 lasagna noodles

1 jar (16 ounces) canned tomato sauce

8 ounces cheddar quickmelt cheese

4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

In large nonstick skillet, quickly brown eggplant slices; set aside. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling salted water according to package directions. Into an 11x7-inch baking dish, spoon about 1/4 of the sauce. Arrange three alternate layers of lasagna noodles, quickmelt mixture, mozzarella cheese, eggplant slices, sauce and Parmesan cheese. Bake eggplant lasagna at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes.

Well, you top pizza with anything but th real problem is the dough and we asked Pops for help. Right. We will be having formal pizza dough making lessons with Mr. Gacho soon. We settled for an online recipe and that left us with a super crunchy pizza dough. We will not give up though since we have pizza plates now even though we did not have any basil and parsley, Ms. Bueno.

Pizza Dough

Yields3, 12-inch (30 cm) pizzas 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon active dry yeast, 

        or 1 oz (25 g) brewer’s yeast

 1 1/2 cups (350 cc) warm water

 3 1/2 cups (500 g) flour

 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

 pinch of salt

The ingredients are pretty much the same for the Spicy Sardines and Hawaiian Pizza. Except of course their own stars: 6 - 8 sardine from can and ham respectively. These are the other remaining ingredients.

Small handful black olive (avoid the big ones from California), sliced

Spoonfuls tomato sauce

Onions

Cheese

Salt

Extra virgin olive oil

What are you up this New Year? Happy Holidays to you and your family!

Comment on how you love our Merry Lasagna Pizza. xoxo, FI

Pizza Nutrition #14

We had our field study or trip or whatsoever in Pizza Hut, Robinsons Place, Iloilo City for our Nutrition class. First we had to tackle the history as a prerequisite for our course (Anatomy and Physiology of Pizzas).

History of Pizza Hut

Ks, USA - Dan and Frank Carney on June 15, 1958 borrowed $600 form their mother to start a business. Their friend suggested opening a pizza parlor they agreed with the idea that it could prove successful. At that time the original Pizza hut was at Wichita State University with 25 seats. It had a bar, cashier, and kitchen area.

When making the sign for the restaurant they only had enough room for nine letters and because they made pizza's they wanted pizza in the name, that only left 3 letters and because the restaurant looked like a hut they named it Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut is the world's largest pizza restaurant chain and is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., whose restaurants total approximately 34,000 restaurants, namely, Pizza Hut for pizzas (duh?), Kentucky Fried Chicken for chicken, Taco Bell for tacos, or the "usuals" of restaurants. In every country, there should only be a sole owner of the franchise, that would be Jorge L. Araneta. The first branch here is at Park's Square Makati (January 1984) where they shoot all their commercials. Pizza Hut has a total of 26 DELCO or Delivery and Carry Out, 42 RBD or Restaurant Based Dining, 59 Restaurants, 6 Bistro and 3 Express.

"The reason behind Pizza Hut's success all over the world is its steadfast belief and uncompromising drive in providing customers the best in terms of product quality, service, cleanliness and value." 

Enough of that, for Php159 we were given our own set of pizza essentials: dough (we had the personal size = 140g), sauce, cheese, meat, and pineapple. The standard is to leave an inch from the rim when you are putting the sauce in a circular manner from the center. 



We drizzled it with a handful of cheese and placed the regulars, 5 ham and 7 pineapples. We were told not to overload our pizzas because that could like to burnt ones. Well, most of my colleagues did the usual stuff here and everywhere. Lucky for Cha and I, we managed to coax the head chef and had Mozarellas for the win. Regular pizza dough weighs 250 g and 450 g for the Family size, like seriously.

We really had fun, plus the event shouldered pasta w/o garlic bread unlike others and soda (ehh). So, what more could you ask for? Just ring the bell at the door to signify if you had  a great Pizzasss making time. After all, we are the kings and queens of this parlor.

Comment on how you love our Pizza Nutrition. xoxo, FI