Last weekend after shopping in Manila's finest retail market, I was treated to one of the best Chinese restaurants in Manila. There are plenty of Chinese restaurants around old Manila because this is the place where some of our Filipino-Chinese community live and converge.

Wan Chai is actually one of the busiest commercial areas in Hong Kong with many small and medium-sized companies gathering, likewise various shopping centres and restaurants serving cuisines of different countries. But we're not going to Hong Kong for this feature!


Wan Chai Tea House is one of the first, if not, the oldest Chinese restaurants in Manila. It is located in the heart of Benavidez St. just before reaching Tutuban Mall or 168. Their menu is simple and consists of some of the traditional Chinese cuisines known to many. And it is indeed one of the best in Manila.

For starters, we ordered the usual chicken feet, siomai and two of my favorites, hakaw and spareribs. Hakaw is a soft dumpling with shrimp inside. It has a unique translucent coating with some soft cooked egg-dough inside.


Hakaw


Hakaw insides


Spareribs

After that we ordered their Yang Chow Fried Rice and their Fried Chicken. And as much as possible, I try to avoid carbonated drinks, so as always, I ordered their lemon tea. Nothing really special about the lemon tea 'cause it tastes like the regular iced tea!







I would say that their chicken is simply one of the best fried chicken's I've ever tasted. There's no need for a sauce because the flavor is so locked inside the chicken meat. I could eat that everyday!

We also ordered their Beef Tenderlon with Radish in a hot pot. This dish is a little bit sweet, maybe because of the radish.



I also liked their Seafood Roll. It has a mixture of crab meat, some crab sticks, fish, and shrimp, I guess. Nevermind what's inside. What's important is the taste! hehehe!


Seafood Roll


Seafood Roll insides

I was so full that afternoon but for me, there's always room for dessert! Some of the desserts on their menu include the taro pudding, the mango sago and the lychee with almond jelly. What I had was the mango sago. I think they need to improve the consistency of the dessert. But I always loved the taste of mangoes, so it's really not a big deal.


Mango Sago (Mango with Tapioca)

Other good restaurants within the area also includes President's Tea House and Waying. I'd have to say that these are some of the best Chinese restaurants in Manila and the price is really affordable. You'll really get what you're paying for. The interiors are not really that fancy compared to the restaurants found in Malls or other establishments. But they compensate that in taste and in service!



Wan Chai is located in 918 Benavidez St. Binondo, Manila. For reservations, you can call (02)245-4406.

Labels: chinese food

My week in Alabang will not be complete if not for the side trips of my friend's agents to a so-called Mang Raul's. This is not your typical restaurant nor is it a kiosk in some mall. To cut to the chase, it's just a small space enough to fit a couple of barbeque grills under a tree! That is where Mang Raul cooks his Filipino-Fear-Factor delicacy.

Mang Raul's is located in BF Homes right between the intersection if streets Lovely and Imelda. At first glance, it would seem like your typical barbeque stand, but on a second look, you'll see that there's more to it than just barbeques and hotdogs.



As soon as we got there, we saw several cars parked already within the long stretch of Imelda St. Yes, cars! People from different places of Paranaque would literally drive there and eat at Mang Raul's. Some of them would go there and bring the food home. Mang Raul's is indeed a booming business in the peaceful neighborhood of Paranaque. But things really gets messy as soon as people start to pour in. I was lucky enough to get some photos before the big fight!



Mang Raul's offers you a wide variety of roasted meat, particularly the ones a typical Caucassian butcher would discard...but not a Filipino. We Filipinos are proud to say that nothing goes to waste when we slaughter a pig or a cow, for everything is used for something. In this case, it's the intestine! In an english dictionary, it translates to: innards.

Here's Mang Raul's menu of the Filipino Fear Factor. Anyone up to the challenge?


pork innards


pig ears


chicken innards


chicken feet


tender juicy's



All you have to do is wait in line and order from the wide variety of carcinogens in Mang Raul's menu. I'm glad to see that they also offer some hotdog buns and some urban refreshments too! After ordering, is food processing. Signal Mang Raul or any of his staff if you prefer the spiced vinegar, the sweet red sauce or the sweet & spicy-hot special sauce. Be careful, because when we say hot, we mean really hoooot! After that, it's up to you to pick any spot there and eat your hearts out! Their so-called-barbeques are served in a small plastic plate. How about that for street food? Huh?

And I'm sure most of you are thinking of health. How do you know if it's clean? Well, you don't!


Mang Raul's best

Labels: barbeque, filipino food, innards, street food

This is a very simple dessert but I'm sure that it'll make your guests crave for more. Bananas are a valuable source of Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and potassium. This fruit can be found on most groceries and other produce stands all over the city. Bananas are typically grown in most Asian countries and one thing that we can all brag about the bananas here in the Philippines is it's sweet and delightful taste!

Ingredients:
10 pieces banana fingers
1 cup (1/4 kilo) brown sugar
3-4 cups water
1/8 stick butter

There are a lot of varieties of bananas but for this dessert, I chose to use the "saging na saba." This is a common Filipino dessert and can sometimes be seen in most restaurants served with shaved ice and some milk.

Slice the bananas in an angle, put them in a large strainer and wash them. Drain the excess water and transfer them into a medium sized bowl. Add 3 or 4 cups of water, depending on how you want the consistency of the syrup to be. Cover the bananas and leave them for about 10-15 minutues in medium fire.



Once the bananas are soft, add the sugar and leave for another 3-5 minutes. Once the sugar has thickened into your desired consistency, add 1/8 stick of butter. You can transfer them into a small container once the butter is fully melted.


checking the banana's consistency
To add a little twist to this recipe, I created a caramel sauce with some special ingedients.


Arrange 5 pieces of the banana into a serving plate, add some vanilla ice cream and drizzle it with some syrup. Serve and enjoy. This recipe serves 6.

Banana Crème Fraîche

Labels: banana, ice cream, recipe

After a very stressful 2 weeks and a half, I found myself back in front of my computer…blogging again! I apologize to the “few” people who visit my blog. I’m now back and hopefully all things will be well. I’d like to write something for Mother’s Day but I guess I’d skip that for my next entry. I’d hate to drag you out to some restaurant or some bar, as I am sure that they will be filled with people who will celebrate Mom’s Day.

Instead, I’d like to share a simple recipe for those who wish to avoid the rush this weekend. If you have kids at home, I’m pretty damn sure they’d love this! Can you say “Churros”?

Basically, a churro is a fried-dough pastry based snack which originated in Spain. In Filipino terms, I guess it’s the doughnut you’d typically see in your local panaderia coated with lots of sugar. The churro is typically fried to a crunchy consistency. Its surface is ridged due to being extruded from a churrera, a syringe with a star-shaped nozzle.You can use a pastry bag or your cake decorator if you can’t seem to find one. Churros are generally prisms in shape, but instead of being straight they may be curled or spirally twisted.

Here's the ultimate recipe to make your own churros at home, just like they were at the churrería stands. Of course, the difference here is price. Here you can make a whole batch for what is cost for a few. Once you make the churros, you can make the authentic chocolate dip to dunk them in.

Ingredients: (Makes one platefull)
vegetable or olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Prepare to fry the churros by heating oil in a pan (1 to 1&1/2 inches) to 360 degrees F.

To make the churro dough, heat the water, margarine, salt and vanilla to a rolling boil in a 3-quart saucepan; stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat. Beat eggs all at once; continue beating until smooth and then add to saucepan while stirring mixture. Be sure that the dough is not too hot as you might end up with egg lumps on your dough.



Spoon mixture into cake decorators' tube with large star tip (like the kind use to decorate cakes). Squeeze 4-inch strips of dough into hot oil. For a more fancy design, try swirling it in circles.



Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes on each side. It's best if you have a strainer to flip the churros. Using a prong can sometimes damage the churro. Drain on paper towels. (Mix sugar and the optional cinnamon); roll churros in sugar or dump the sugar on the pile of churros, like the pros.

Note: REAL churros in Spain are made without cinnamon mixed with the sugar, but the cinnamon adds an extra nice flavor.



Chocolate for Churro Dunking

4oz dark chocolate or tablea's (all the way from Batangas)
2 cups milk
1 tbsp cornstarch (with the help of the batirol, of course!)
4 tbsp sugar



Place the chocolate and half the milk in a pan and heat, stirring, until the chocolate has melted. I use the tableas all the wat from Batangas to add that distinct Filipino taste. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining milk and whisk into the chocolate with the sugar. Cook on low heat, whisking constantly, until the chocolate is thickened, about five minutes. Add extra cornstarch if it doesn't start to thicken after 5 minutes. Remove and whisk smooth. Pour and server in cups or bowls for dunking churros. Do not pour over churros, but use the mix for dunking churros after every bite. Served warm and enjoy!

Labels: chocolate, churros, filipino food, recipe, snack, tsokolate

Looking for the right ingredient for that perfect dish can sometimes be so tedious. Most people nowadays would just go to the nearest supermarket and find what they need. It’s more convenient and conducive for shopping too! But if you’re the adventurous and daring type of person, why not try the busy streets of Quiapo or Divisoria. Smelly, crowded and a pickpocket's paradise, but you can get anything here, often at rock-bottom prices. The sensory overload is a bonus.

Our trip was quite different. Located behind the tall buildings and the large condos is Makati’s very own market. Right in the gut of Makati Business Center District is the Salcedo Park. Every Saturday, vendors would take their spot in the park to showcase and of course, sell their specialty items. The choices are endless. From lechon to chicken inasal, to sauces and spices, for sure, you’ll be back for more.

As soon as you step in the park you will be welcomed with the smell of freshly roasted beef - on a stick, that is! This is the Pinoy's version of the barbeque. Hehehe : )


Lechon Baka

Aside from the lechon baka, there's also freshly roasted chestnuts and some native items such as the buri hat, the "abanico" (fan), some picture frames, "banigs" (straw mat) and the likes. Flowers are also for sale.


native items









After that, we're off to the fruits and veggies section.









The choices are just endless! One of the vendors even say that they harvest their fruits the day before they sell them, so buyers are really in for a treat. One can be sure of the freshness of the products. Not the one that you'd see displayed in supermarkets preserved with formalin! After the fruits and veggies section comes the most exciting part of the market. Gourmet food! What's great about this is they offer you free taste samples of the different dishes and food that they sell. This ensures the consumers that they are buying what they really like. There's no room for sorry in this market. That is also the same reason why more and more people are going back because they are satisfied with the service and the food that they're buying.

Here are some of the pics of the delicious food Salcedo Weekend Market has to offer.











They also have some French food, wine and some Filipino dishes. Inihaw na tilapia, pork barbeque and chicken inasal are some of the other food they have.


Pinoy dishes


more ulam...








Chicken Inasal


Inihaw na Tilapia

Here are some of the pics of the French food.









This weekend market is just a haven for food lovers! What I enjoyed looking at are the spices in a small stand. They are arranged and all lined up together in small cute bottles. Aside from that, this weekend market is also home to some of the best pastries and sweets. They have Filipino sweets from different provinces, some still being cooked right in front of you, and some are already prepared and ready to go.


sugar, spice and everything nice


pistachios


tea flavorings


laurel leaves


black lemon


saffron


star anise

Here are my pics of the Pinoy sweets. Most of them are home-baked pastries. Each recipe has been perfected and has been passed on from generation to generation.








freshly cooked piyaya



The Salcedo Weekend Market is truly a gem within the busy and fast-paced environment in Makati. This is indeed a haven for people who don't have the time to go bumping and dodging cars and motorcycles in Quiapo or in Divisoria.

The market is being managed and supervised by Brgy. Capt. Nene Lichauco with the cooperation and support of the Makati Comercial Estates Association Inc.

Salcedo Community Market
Jaime Velasquez Park, Tordesillas
and Leviste (formerly Alfaro) Streets
Salcedo Village, Makati

Labels: filipino food, market