Anthony Bourdain's Upcoming 2nd visit to The Philippines

Just to spice things up a bit, I want to post something that is in a different format but would definitely be of interest to the readers of this blog.

Picture taken from Parts Unknown Facebook page.

This may be a bit late but I just started this blog. Back in September, we heard that Anthony Bourdain (see news article), the famous host of No Reservations is planning for a second trip to the Philippines for a second time for his new show Parts Unknown. I watched the old show where Mr Bourdain's first visit the country in 2008 and cringed at a few moments in the show. Why the self depreciating description of the awesome beer food Kinilaw na Kambing? And what's up with the deconstructed Sinigang? Why would one of the host call Taho as Tofu??? Or Hopiang Ube as Purple Cakes??? That was weird. Why rob those food of their proper names? We never refer Hamburgers as Ground Beef Sandwiches or Ebi Tempura as Fried Battered Shrimp do we? Calling them like that sort of devalue their prestige and place in our unique culinary culture. And it looks like that we feel our food is inferior so we have to make up a name that a visitor can easily understand and appreciate. Guys, no need for that.

And I am very glad they made him sample Papaitan, Kare Kare, Pinakbet, Sisig, Stuffed Crab, Bulalo, and Lechon (litson). And made him eat at a "Dampa" and "Kambingan". That was awesome! If I were part of the production, I would have made him sample Paksiw na Litson as this dish is usually made up of left over litson from the fiesta and cooked in litson sauce to avoid spoilage and thus extend the storage life of the food. This would have been an interesting side story for the show.

The choice for Augusto, the Filipino-American guide chosen by the show to lead Mr Bourdain through our country's culinary landscape, was PERFECT! Augusto not withstanding the fact that he was born and raised in another country, embodied the typical Filipino psyche that is holding back this country to be a great nation. We are a nation populated mostly by people who can individually surmount odds and be succesful in life but get easily intimidated and tend to shrink back feeling inferior while trying too hard to please others.

As Mr Bourdain said: "I think you (Filipinos) are too damn nice!"

By succesfully hurdling the selection process of No Reservations, Augusto then proceeded in meeting the show's host but come up very short in meeting the audience's expecation to lead Mr Bourdain through his motherland's rich culture and  awesome food selection. He could have easily asked a local to guide him and Mr Bourdain through the country with him acting as a medium or translator and it would have been both a wonderful and eye opener experience for him and the show's host. That could have gone very well but I guess Augusto folded up when he realized he might be trying too hard to impress people with something that he himself has not fully taken by heart.

Good work to the Filipino host Joe who was very articulate and knowledgable. His bit was the best part of the show contrary to one online commercial article I read. As the show managed to get inside and analyze our country's psyche through food. People are too nice as Mr Bourdain rightfully pointed out when they discussed why they think Filipino food, for all its vast range of delicious dishes is somewhat just barely there in the world's food radar. Joe's answer was Filipinos just happen to easily assimilate with other culture. That coincidentaly is one of my pet peeves. I don't buy that. Typical Filipinos usually shy away from unfamiliar or real spicy food (Pinoy shawarma that caters to the local taste here is like eating shawarma with a bad case of stuffy nose... yup, lots of missing main ingredients like cardamom, cinnamon, cumin etc... they just use sugar, garlic, pepper and soy sauce as marinade. It really taste different and there is no point still calling it "shawarma").

I think it has something to do with our temperament as a collective people. In some strange way we somehow feel inferior to others. We are always trying to be too polite and accommodating to a fault. Joe also pointed out that our food is not sharply spiced compared to other countries. I do not agree with that either. It is not always about the spice. Take a look at the Japanese sushi and sashimi, the only thing there to season the food is the soy sauce dip and wasabi. You eat the food raw. You do not see Japanese restaurants cooking their fish or sprinkling them with sugar or chopped dill just to accomodate foreign taste do you? That is how you get the world to take notice of your food. I remember in the 80's, Sushi was so exotic that it was the Balot of that time, mostly exploited in news or articles for shock value but look at it right now. Present the dish with confidence as it is without those unecessary modification, self depreciation or name changing gimmicks and the world will love you for it.

A little confidence here and there would help push our culinary culture to new and greater heights instead of forever relying in Adobo, Balot, or even Litson.

So we now come to the part where if I were asked by the show's producers on what dish they can feature in their show. This is my list for Anthony Bourdain to try out. This also goes for the people in other nations if they are curious about the food in this country. I assure you, there is a lot more to it than Adobo and Balot. We really can't pick a single dish that can best represent Filipino food because we have a very rich and diverse selection of dishes available because of our colorful history as an island nation.

Of course I have already taken out those who were already featured in the show and I just limit the selection to a few because of the show's running time. And of course, some of the items here are interchangeble. A lot of times, pansit (noodle dish) is already a main course.

Appetizer
1. Kinilaw na Tanigue (or any ocean fish like Tuna) - Raw fish marinated in coco vinegar (ordinary vinegar is also used), garlic, ginger, onions and served as is. Best with a bottle of pale pilsen.

2. Chicharon Bulaklak - Translated as fried crispy flowers. It is basically prepared like pork rinds but instead of pork skin, we use pork innards and the cooked product resembles a delicious deep fried savory flower haha. Again, best accompanied by a bottle of ice cold pale pilsen hehe. (See here where it comes from)

Chicharon Bulaklak image from marketmanila.com website

3. Tortang Talong - Omelet made from eggplant (Fried still with the top part on) sometimes with ground meat.

Tortang Talong picture taken from pinkmagline.com website

4. Tokwa't Baboy - A wonderful ensemble of fried tofu cubes and boiled (sometimes fried) pork. The pork part usually coming from the face of the pig so you get all those fatty and gelatinous morsels. Served with onions and vinegar-soy sauce.

Main Entree
1. Pares - Savory braised beef paired with a bowl of fried rice and served with a cup of soup. This wonderful combo will blow your mind. (see here for my recent post about pares)

2. Dinuguan - This intimidating grimy black dish made of pork blood with innards served with green sili (chilli) and sometimes white puto is a classic Filipino dish that anyone in Manila without a dietary constriction would have eaten it at least once at some point in their lives.

Image taken from fivestomach.blogspot.com website

3. Inasal Chicken - Coal grilled skewered chicken usually marinated in coco vinegar, achuete (annatto), garlic, ginger and onion. It originated from the Visayas region of the Philippines. Served with the local Sinamak vinegar, soy sauce and achuete with chicken fat oil. It is very popular here in Manila as well.

Image taken from traveling-up.com website

5. Bicol Express - This is a hot spicy food laced generously with siling labuyo (red chilis) or any other sili available. The original version only has vegetables as the main ingredient. But the popular version consists of pork cooked in fresh coconut milk, bagoong (shrimp paste) with sigarilyas ("winged bean" according to wiki but we really do not call it in any other name) which originated in Manila.

Image taken from cuzinacorazon.wordpress.com website

6. Pansit Batil Patong - This is a glorious pansit dish from the northern province of Cagayan. Fried noodles with vinegar and soy sauce topped with beef (carabao beef aka carabeef is also used) meat and innards and crushed pork rinds served with beef broth soup. Might include a fried or soft boiled egg.

Image taken from lakadpilipinas.com website

7. Inihaw na Liempo - Grilled slices of pork belly over hot coals typically marinated with soy sauce, catsup, kalamansi (local lime), and garlic. Sometimes with 7-Up softdrink! Hahaha no kidding.

Dessert
1. Leche Flan - A sweet flan custard served with a dark sweet sauce made up of caramelized sugar.

2. Ube Halaya - For me this dessert is KING! Made from grated and boiled ube yam and cooked painstakenly by stirring constantly the very sticky yam paste together with milk and sugar. There are a lot of watered down versions in the market using only a portion of ube yam and they just use food coloring to make it purple. The good ones is usually expensive but if you can find one, it will be an unforgetable experience. If you can't find a good one, ask a local who knows how to properly cook it to make one for you hehe.

Image taken from flavoursofiloilo.blogspot.com website

3. Fruit Salad -  I'm a fan of fruits. One of the reasons why I am thankful I live in a tropical country is that fresh fruits are available anytime and in any season. Whenever you feel like it, just drop by the nearest market and buy some fruits and assemble your customized fruit salad in however which way you would prefer.

Street Food
1. Fried Baga - Literaly "fried lungs". A lot of street vendors cleverly call it "fried baka" (fried cow) and smartly use a strong vinegary marinade to make the taste and aroma more appealing. It resembles a charred pork barbecue which is fried with the stick on. Sort of like a mystery meat skewer.

2. Kwek Kwek and Tokneneng - Hardboiled egg deep fried coated in a tempura like orange batter. Kwekwek use small quail eggs while tokneneg usually use duck's egg. You dip this either in a sweet and sour sauce or spiced vinegar. There is also the variant which is my favorite: Fried Balot. Instead of using hard boiled eggs, they use peeled balot with everything in it.

Image taken from lutuingbahay.blogspot.com website

3. Fried Calamares - Pieces of squid fried with tempura like batter.You can dip it with spiced vinegar. It is a straightforward street food and is popular as just the wonderful aroma of these fried seafood is in itself a big draw.

4.One Day Old Chick - Chicks marinated in a mysterious savory and vinegary orange mix and deep fried. It might get a bit of getting used to it. Ask the vendor to take out the bitter part (intestines).

Image taken from pharmacistontherocks.wordpress.com website

Snack
1. Banana-Q - Fried bananas (Lakatan variety) coated in carameized sugar. Very popular snack anywhere you go. A variant is Turon which is banana-q wrapped in lumpia (spring roll) wrapper, very crispy!

2. La Paz Batchoy - A hearty bowl of soup with miki noodles topped with pork and beef slices and crushed pork rinds. (See here for my recent post about batchoy)

3. Goto - Porridge or congee with pork innards and usually accompanied by a hard boiled chicken egg or tokwa't baboy
.
4. Lomi - A noodle dish that use thick egg noodles served with a very thick egg dropped savory sauce. Other ingredients shrimp, pork or chicken slices with kikiam and fishballs. A very tasty dish and is easy to find in Manila.

Image taken from thepoortraveler.net website

Whew, you don't know how much mental torture I went through trying to trim down my entries. I am now inspired to do a some sort of a food dish special in the future.

Robina Chicken House

Location: 351 B Roosevelt Ave Q.C.
House Specialty: Chicken Barbecue

Standing their ground against the onslaught of well financed mall based competitors, Robina House is a testament to good roast chicken. By the way, this is one of the many entries about chicken places. Here in Manila, people are so fond of chicken (mostly roast or fried) that you will be practically be overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices of chicken joints to try out. I am a native of this city and I haven't got the opportunity to visit all those places that serve or specializes in chicken. But I'm still trying haha.

Near Waltermart Mall. Near EDSA and Roosevelt corner.

The Munoz branch which is located in one of the most busiest major intersection in EDSA is one of their only two branches which I frequent. According to their Facebook page they started in 1978.

I first got a taste of their delicious roast chicken as a kid way back in the 80's. My parents would occasionaly brought home this wonderful chicken as dinner ang I get to enjoy eating while fantasizing about Star Wars, Krull, Excalibur or other equally awesome movies back then. If you grew up eating chicken from awesome restarurants such as Robina House your palate tend to get biased against fast food chicken.

This awesome rotisserie will greet you at the entrance.

Fast forward to October 2015, I visit again this chicken joint for the nth time before lunchtime to avoid the rush and order the half chicken (120 pesos) and two servings of plain rice (15 pesos each). I wait for the order taker to announce in their P.A. system: "isang half chicken paki roast". You see, their chicken are slow roasted in roasters that are encased in see-through glass showcase room in front of their restaurant. Once they are done, they keep it warm by transferring it to the "coldest " part in their roaster and wait for the order. Once you order a roast, they will then expertly torch the cooked bird for several minutes until the skin is well done. That way it is guaranteed that you will get a nice caramelized crispy skin everytime.

Wondering what a good roast chicken in the Philippines would taste like?

They serve it in a plate already chopped for your convenience and you will see the delightful juice oozing out. Right away you will see that the meat is tender and moist. The chicken's taste is on the anise/garlicky side. Very savory and it does not come with the artificial smokey flavor as what you taste in a lot of fastfood roasted products. Also they do not taste something like sweet brine (think of the taste of hamonado) which is my pet peeve, in my opinion that kind of sweet marinade is best with ham. The chicken comes with their version of ketchup which I think is based from plums or something like that. This magical sweet spicy sauce goes really well with the roast chicken without spoiling your taste buds or overwhelming your tongue with sweetness. The two items taste perfect together.

A typical pansitan setting in Manila. Note the wall of boxes that they use to package the chckens for take out. There's a lot of them at the back.

I've never been to their second branch in Makati. But in the Munoz (Roosevelt) branch, the place is worn down (but not too much) and looks like a typical panceteria in the 70's or 80's. One look at their long seats will evoke the famous quip "natulog ka na naman sa pansitan". The place has certainly been through a lot and you can tell by the seats and the retro steel water pitchers that they haven't done much renovation.

This is one of those joints that really specializes in their house specialty. I did tried ordering other items in their menu like the camaron rebosado (battered shrimp) and chopsuey but they don't taste nothing compared to their roast chicken. You are better off just ordering their house specialty if you just have enough to order one meal. It seems their chicken is setting the bar too high that other items in their menu pale in comparison.

Here's to more Robina's barbecue for many years to come. I would love to see this joint out live that establishment masquerading as "inasal chicken" or those roasters using sweet ham marinade in their recipe.

And lastly, the aroma is something else. It does not smell of any artificial flavor. Just a whiff of those roast chickens will let you know that you won't be regretting going out of your way and trying out this homey joint.

Service: You wait for the roast chicken to be served to you within a reasonable time. The same goes when asking for the bill. The place may have seen better days but it just goes to show you how long they have been serving good roast chickens.

Menu: Well... You are better off just ordering their house specialty hehe. But feel free to try the other items in the menu, it might just only be me. Whenever I eat there, someone is always ordering pansit. Hmm... I'll try it next time.

Value: For 135 pesos you get half a chicken and two servings of rice with soup. Compare that to your favorite fastfood and you will just get 1/4 chicken and one rice and a small sofdrink cup. This is a winner!

What Food Spots say about Robina House:

RECOMMENDED
We urge everyone to try it out!