My latest trip to the Philippines was largely a spur of the moment deal...or shall I say spur of the stomach. I totally had no intentions of making that day long journey halfway around the world until my brother and I had a conversation about street food. He mentioned a newly-discovered eatery in our hometown that was serving up amazing Asian fare and that it was helmed by a Malaysian chef.
“Really?” I said, as I mentally calculated how many pounds I needed to lose to offset the inevitable weight gain such a trip was going to cost me.
“Well,” my brother continued, slightly backtracking, “Uhm, It’s more like a carinderya ...”

A carinderya is a type of roadside eatery in the Philippines where several dishes are cooked and kept in big pots. There is a ledge and a wooden bench where patrons would sit and eat. Also called “turo-turo”, which literally means “point-point”, the customers point at the dishes they want to eat. Definitely no Michelin-star ratings here.

Apparently this newly opened “carinderya” that my brother was talking about has quickly become a hotspot for Baguio’s who is who. So now you’ve got expensive cars parked outside a roadside eatery...

Apolo Store - not your typical carinderya

Anyway, it didn’t take long for me to decide to take that long tedious journey with nothing but a promise of fantastic food from a roadside joint.

However, as it turns out, the place is not a “turo-turo”. For one thing Chef Alvin's got an impressive menu, some items change everyday while some are in regular rotation (and some are not on the menu, you just need to know your Asian food and ask). He actually prepares each dish to order, although I’m sure he has pre-cooked some of them partly for a quick final toss.

An authentic taste of Asia

Since he does all the cooking, there is a long wait if you have the misfortune of being stuck behind a big table. Fortunately, there are only a few tables. My brother usually calls ahead because some of the dishes like the Hainanese chicken is by special order only.

Murtabak

Murtabak is minced beef curry wrapped in unleavened bread. I was not too fond of this but the rest of my group liked it.

Tom Yum Kung

This is one of the best I've ever had, not too sour and not too sweet with just the right amount of spiciness. And the perfectly cooked prawns were almost too big to serve in each individual bowl.

Cream dory

Cream dory is popular white fish in the Philippines. This was melt in your mouth delicious.

okra with meat floss

sweet potato leaves with meat floss

I'm not a big fan of vegetables but if they're cooked this way, I'd gladly eat them.  Both were cooked  the right side of crunchy (hate overcooked & mushy vegetables), not a shred of green was left on the plate after we were done.

*meat floss is a Chinese condiment made by cooking pork until the collagen dissolves and all that's left are muscle fibers that can be easily shredded. It is further cooked until it becomes really dry.

Hainanese Chicken

I was very pleased with Chef Alvin's Hainanese Chicken rice. His lime-chili sauce was very addictive, I think our table ordered several refills of that red sauce. He deboned the chicken for us which made it very easy to eat...and yes, this too was feasted on heartily.

Me & the Chef

There's nothing that inspires me more than someone who cooks because of love for his craft. This was so apparent with each dish that was carefully plated and served before us. I’ve heard rumors of several enterprising individuals offering Chef Alvin a partnership in opening a more mainstream restaurant. I have a feeling though he is quite happy where he’s at and I fear expanding into another venue will diminish the charming appeal of his little business.

Not to be missed in Baguio:

O-Mai-Khan - a perennial favorite since the 1990’s when it first opened. Best mongolian grill ever even compared to the ones I’ve had in the U.S. I am amazed at how it’s able to maintain its quality over the years. The restaurant is always packed during weekends, so it is best to make reservations. Aside from the mongolian grill there is “The Barbarian” ( a version of crispy pata) which I ordered when I dined there. Alas, it was devoured before I remembered to take a picture.

*Crispy pata - is deep fried pork legs. Check me wrestling with one in the previous post.

 Cafe By the Ruins - another favorite, specially of the artsy crowd. Having had the crispy pata from O-Mai-khan the previous night, I wanted to have a light salad for lunch. Conversation went like this:
Me: “I’m getting the Thai grilled beef salad.”
Brother: “I thought you wanted the bagnet.” and then with a conspiratorial devilish smile “It’s masarap (yummy).”
Me: “Ok.” slamming the menu shut while my mind was screaming "Noooo!!!"

Cafe by the Ruins

The weather was perfect for dining outdoors, 70F no humidity.

The Notorious Bagnet

So what is a bagnet?

Bagnet is twice fried pork. The first fry takes a long time, an hour I think, so the meat part is almost dry. A thick layer of fat is a desirable attribute. It’s crunchy on the outside and has a quivering "melty" layer of fat in between.

The bagnet was served with lime and “padas” (small fish bagoong) and a side of chopped tomato and shallots.

Just how thick is the layer of fat? Take a look...

Bagnet cross-section

Chaya - a charming restaurant serving traditional Japanese home-cooked food. The Japanese lady who runs this establishment sources her ingredients from Japan.

Mixed Tempura

I liked her rendition of Tempura. Unlike the heavily battered version, these were light and crisp. The squash blossoms and the shiso leaves were especially tasty.

sukiyaki

 And the list goes on...special mention also goes to  Hill Station for its excellent mini blue cheese burgers and beef salpicao. Check out their website for their special offerings. I still regret missing their valentine special of Cochinillo - roast suckling pig...

Up next: Toki, Choi Garden and Aubergine

But before anything else, welcome to my brief round up of Hong Kong eats. Brief because when I checked my pictures, a lot of food pictures were missing due to overeager eaters … again.

My "muni-muni" (soul-searching) pose

The picture above was a product of my recent addiction to the Filipino teleserya, an obsession that I like to make fun about. I wanted my brother to take a picture of me in “muni-muni” (soul-searching) mode as the scenery was the perfect backdrop – and boy was I having a moment.

Anyway, that’s the view of Hong Kong from the Kowloon side. Kowloon, I believe, is the tourist center with shopping, food and hotels galore. A reader of mine summed up this tiny Chinese peninsula so well – "New York on steroids", I couldn’t agree more.

Spring Deer Peking Duck

One restaurant I wanted to revisit was Spring Deer – a restaurant I visited back in 1996 where/when I had the best Peking duck of my life. Unfortunately, 14 years later, it was not the same. The duck was a bit dry and was not as flavorful.

Peking Duck slices

Which makes me wonder – do our tastes change? Do we become more discerning as we get older and the food that tastes so fabulous to us in our youth becomes a mirage – a false memory?

Moving on…

One of our best meals in Hong Kong was at Jade Garden’s location in Star house, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. The restaurant is a part of the Maxim’s group of restaurants and is a reliable place for Cantonese cuisine. They offer set menus that are good for two, four, 10 etc. Since there were three of us, we decide to order the set menu for two and added additional ‘ala carte dishes.

Fabulous barbecue pork

Marinated tofu and eggs

I finally had the pigeon of my dreams. Perfect skin, succulent tasty meat, I savored every bite and bit of it, bones sucked clean.

Come to mama…my little pigeon!

Most surprising dish was this simple soup of mushroom, cabbage and dried scallop. The broth had the most umami of flavors. We finally decided it was the dried scallops that lent such a haunting taste that each spoonful was meant to be savored.

One of the best soups ever!

Sometimes it’s not easy for everyone in a group to agree to one place to eat and that’s where The Food Republic comes in. It has the atmosphere of hawker street fare in a food-court type setting.
 

The Food Republic

Yes, it’s fast food, but it was here that I ate one of my more memorable meals not because it was oozing with culinary savviness but because it was comfort food, plain and simple. After a long day of shopping (well, mostly window shopping), this is just what a worn-out soul needs. Take for example:

Assorted marinated dish

I’m a sucker for marinated dishes in soy and star anise. It’s one of my favorite flavor combinations.

tendon in noodle soup

I attributed my improved skin tone in Hong Kong due to my high consumption of collagen found in tendons. See…

flawless skin? Nah…

No, that’s not a product of photoshop, it’s more like the handiwork of the experts at the Armani make-up counter, he…he. If you ever get your hands on their luminous silk foundation, you’ll know why I’m raving.

Taking a break from all the food, here are some shopping centers we visited. The K-11 is a new shopping center in front of the Holiday Inn, Kowloon.

K-11

More shopping…

breathtaking interiors

Endless shopping. That’s Hong Kong. With no import tax, it’s every shopaholic’s dream (and nightmare when the credit card bill arrives).

Great noodle houses abound. There was one we went to where the hostess told us quite pointedly what time we needed to be done and out of there. And I forgot the name of the place! Sorry!

They make their noodles in-house.

Dimsum and noodle house

You get to choose which type of noodle you want for your dish.

Marinated pork and spaghetti

No idea why I got spaghetti for this. I wanted egg noodles!

Chicken Pots de Creme?

Not really. It’s a wine-marinated chicken served chilled. Did not like it too much, but brother did.

The crispy smoked duck below was to die for.

Smoked duck

We’re at the home stretch! For lunch on our last day we decided to go back to the Food Republic. I had been eyeing the Seargent’s Hainanese chicken rice for a while but couldn’t make up my mind because it was the most boring-looking chicken dish I have ever seen.

Hainanese Chicken Rice vendor

But my curiosity got the better of me so I ordered it…and fell in love. "Chickeny", if that’s a word, is thy name. The texture of the skin was velvet in my mouth and the tender ginger-scented flesh teased my tongue so delicately. It was sublime! And the rice… the rice, so addictive in its garlic, ginger, sesame-oil blend of splendor, the low-carb diet can go to hell! Ah, how can I describe the experience with justice?

Anyway, enough swooning.

That evening, we felt we’ve had enough of Chinese food and decided to go Vietnamese. I forgot the restaurant name (again) but the name had "Pho" and a number. My brother said it was a chain restaurant and there is one in the Philippines but the HK one had a bigger menu.

So, I had rare-beef pho which isn’t really rare once the hot broth cooks the beef slices.

Pho!

And a side of garlicky fried-chicken wings.

Fried chicken wings

This is how I like my fried chicken wings, simple and unbreaded.

I love Hong Kong food! It’s the closest I could get to the dishes that my grandmother and dad prepared when I was growing up. The flavors are uncomplicated, sauces are restrained, the taste of the ingredients come through with clarity, cliche I know, but in this case so true.

Which brings me back to this obsession with Hainanese Chicken rice which isn’t really Chinese but Singaporean. Like the white cut chicken that was a regular rotation in our Cantonese family dinners, the type of chicken used here is very important. It has to be a "native" chicken that roams free and eats grass. This type of chicken has firmer but tastier flesh. My grandma and dad had regular suppliers who would bring a fine selection of chicken over. I remember the "ass-pinch" test to check if the chicken was fat and the "breastbone-press" test to check if the chicken was the right age (not too old).

Unfortunately, here in the U.S., it’s harder to find such chicken. A friend on twitter, after my not so stellar result making Hainanese Chicken using Steamy Kitchen’s recipe, directed me to Polyface farms which supplies chicken to the local health food shop Ellwood Thompson.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

I was not able to replicate that heavenly first encounter in HK. For one thing, if you notice the chicken skin, it’s a lot paler in comparison to the obvious yellowish tinge of the one hanging in the stall in HK. That immediately told me that the chicken I used was wrong for this dish. Though the skin texture was close it was too thin compared to the HK chicken. The meat was not "chickeny" enough – meaning even without sufficient flavoring, it should still have that chicken taste. Understandably, the rice lacked flavor because the chicken broth that was used to steam the rice lacked flavor.

But there was something else lacking. For the chicken, there was that "liquor" taste that was missing and for the rice, some "richness".

In my relentless search to rebuild a taste from memory, I came across this post regarding the secrets of Hainanese chicken rice. Aniseed is an ingredient not included in the original recipe I used. For the rice, coconut milk is an added ingredient. Hopefully this would not turn into a two year quest like my duck confit, and thankfully, ingredients are cheaper!

Yes, it looks like the plainest poultry dish ever, it’s boiled after all, but all you need is that one fateful perfect encounter and you’ll be hooked!