Tochong Bangus

One of the famous and popular way of cooking bangus the Caviteñean way. It is a flavorful and hearty  dish that showcases the beloved bangus, or milkfish, in a delectable way. 

Ingredients: 
1 med. sized Bangus or milk fish (1/2 kilo) cleaned and sliced into 6 
3 cloves garlic, crushed 
1 white onion, sliced 
1 can tomato sauce  
1 cube tahure, liquid removed
70 grams tokwa 
oil for frying 

Optional: 
ampalaya and eggplant, sliced into thick strips

Procedure: 
Rub sliced bangus with rock salt. Fry in oil until golden brown. Set aside. 
Saute garlic and onions. Pour in tomato sauce and 1 cup water. Stir. Mash tahure and tokwa together into smaller pieces add to the sauce. Simmer for 10 mins. Add amplaya and eggplants. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add fried bangus and simmer for another 5 mins. Served.

Samonte Park

The only city park witness to the colorful history and past.

Photo credit to the owner

Photo credit: www.grewlegs.com 

Photo credit: www.panoramio.com

 The Park is also the site of the walls of Porta Vaga which was levelled to the ground by the Americans after the war. 

Choco Gelatin

Easy to make fat-free dessert.

Ingredients:

8 oz. water, very hot
3 tbsp instant hot cocoa mix
1 packet Knox unflavored gelatin

Procedure:
Mix the gelatin with the hot water until its completely dissolved. Add the cocoa mix and again, mix until completely dissolved. Chill until the gelatin is set. Serve cold.

Samala Kitchen Delights Pancit Palabok

Samala is known for its bibingka but not too long ago they also started operating a snack house named Samala Kitchen Delights. If you want a short order of pancit palabok with not only pork slices and loads of chicharon but with shrimps and squid this is the one to buy.

But the problem with this palabok is consistency in taste. Sometimes its yummy but sometimes its not and at times the squid is like rubber band.

P 145 - short order 

Kogi Bulgogi

Resto Name: Kogi Bulgogi

Location: Lucky Chinatown Mall

Type: Korean

Average Price Per Dish: P100-P300

Since its holiday we took time to see the latest mall in Divisoria area which is the Lucky Chinatown Mall and go shopping as well for some early Christmas buys. We arrived almost lunchtime because of the dreadful traffic due to the fact there in an on going shooting of nobody knows what film or series so we are very starved. 

Complimentary Appetizer

This is customary of any Korean restaurant 

Sweet Dried Anchovies

Bean Sprouts

Kimchi

Green Beans

Potato Marbles in Sweet Soy Sauce

Cucumber Apple Salad

It was late when we realize what we ordered was RICE overload LOL

Nude Kimbap - P188

The roll was big making each piece a mouthful. Its one complete meal.

Fried Rice - P 85

The yummiest and most flavorful fried rice we ever tasted. Better than Soi Thai. If your rice taste as yummy as this one then no need for viand anymore.

Chicken Ssambap - P250

This dish was a huge disappointment. We were only served with 3 lettuce leaves although it was large but it was not enough to roll the very huge 8 scoop of rice placed in the serving platter. When we ask the manager he told us it depends on how large the leaves are L Only about 2 tablespoon of chicken was included and more than half is skin and ligaments. We separated the meat part and almost nothing was left. They didn’t even give us red Korean paste that is typically used in wrapping it if we haven’t ask for it twice.

Doenjang Jjigae - P165 

The last dish that arrived which consist of mainly of chopped tofu, cube vegetables and supposed to be clams but there are only 2 clams in the pot.

One of the clam only has shell in it and no meat at all. Super Harang!  

The service was slow considering we are the 3rd table to occupy when we arrived. The soup should have been served first but it arrived last. We almost finished the nude kimbap before the second and third arrived more than fifteen minutes later. Water was not served on our table immediately unlike on other tables and we ask for it.

We like Kaya better than this one since half of what we ordered was good and half was not. And we spend more than an entire hour inside the restaurant more than half of it was waiting for the food to be served.


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Food – 3.5 stars
Service – 3.5 stars
Ambiance – 4.5 stars
Value – 3.5 stars

OVERALL RATING – 3.75 stars
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Porque

Finally a Chabacano inspired song in the Philippine radio airwaves. 

PORQUE by Maldita

"Porque" is the only Chavacano-Tagalog song to have charted on top FM stations' playlists in recent memory. The song is written by Geraldine Lim and is sung by Porque leadsinger Demz Espiñosa.

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Sinigang na Hipon

Sinigang na Hipon is a famous Philippine soup dish composed of shrimp and vegetables. These is cooked in a sour broth usually tamarind.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo Shrimp

1 small pack Sinigang Mix

1 medium onion (diced)

1 medium tomatoes (diced)

1 piece radish (sliced)

1 small bundle stringbeans or okra

1 small bundle kangkong (cut into 2″ long)

2 pieces green pepper

4 cups ricewash or water

patis to taste (fish sauce)

Procedure:

In a casserole, boil rice wash or water, sinigang mix, onions, tomatoes and radish. Lower fire. Add in shrimps, okra, kangkong and green pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Season with patis. Serve hot.