Warm Summer Evenings

The warm February evening felt much like summer already. And similarly, it felt much like a warm August evening during the Obon holiday season in Japan; with Valentine's having just ended and a holiday-like atmosphere pervaded the air. The fennel bulbs decided to do an Obon (お盆）theme, and firstly landed in a tonkatsu restaurant (which is aptly called Tonkatsu-Ya, which means the same thing in Japanese, トンカツ屋).

Located in the basement of Palm Towers in San Antonio Village, Makati City, Tonkatsu-ya is more or less a little nook serving Japan's favourite pork cutlet, in various kinds. And the offerings are nonetheless veritable.

The fennel bulbs ordered the regular tonkatsu set (Php200) and the miso hirekatsu set (Php245). "Hire (ひれ)" means fillet, and often pertains to more tender cuts of pork than what may be used for a regular "Rosu (ロス)" tonkatsu, although the difference in price is more or less negligible.

The quality of the pork was good and tender, and the breading was done very well in such a way that it did not peel off when one bites into it. The thickness of the pork was also optimal, and the size of the chunks were convenient enough to be held by a pair of chopsticks. A dollop of yellow wasabi was placed on the side.

A pile of shredded cabbage accompanied the dish, which one could dress liberally with the tonkatsu sauce. A bowl of miso soup and some cold vegetables were had, and the indispensable rice.

A lot of Japanese people frequent the place, even though it is located in a quiet residential area. The price is definitely more than worth it, and the fennel bulbs would gladly recommend this place to someone who would want a delicious pork cutlet meal, without the commotion of going to those popular Japanese joints found in the shopping malls.

Still not fully satiated, the fennel bulbs headed off to Hana (華）in nearby Little Tokyo. The lanterns were all lit and the place was filled with people, the humid air and the noise of people made it really feel quite similar to an Obon evening.

We tried the tako karaage (fried octopus, Php140), which was served with flavoured salt. It was a good accompaniment to a cold mug of draught beer. Afterwards, tuna rolled in seaweed with mayonnaise (Php200) was ordered. The tuna was of permissible quality, and the dollops of mayonnaise were a bit too excessive.

Lastly, ujikintoki (宇治金時、Php160) was ordered. This is a favourite of the fennelbulbs - green tea ice cream with red bean paste, and shaved ice. This encapsulates that feeling of a very humid Obon evening - a bowl of flavoured shaved ice (かき氷, called kakigoori) as a sweet refreshment.

Sawasdee Christmas

It is, most pleasantly, the Christmas season once again. The fennel bulbs always love to look for and try wonderful places to eat, and the season just adds more reason for it. This time (which also is the first time that they will be sharing their experiences) they decided to check out the culinary treats the Dusit Thani Hotel has to offer. 

The fennel bulbs have long heard of the fine Thai cuisine offered at the Benjarong Restaurant on the hotel's second floor. And so they decided to give it a try. 

A statue of a Thai girl kneeling with hands folded in greeting welcomes diners. The entrance is rather modest and plain, not indicative of its grand interiors. 

Various porcelain dishes are hanging from the corridor's wall, showcasing artistry Thai royalty required. This restaurant serves not just ordinary Thai cuisine, but Royal Thai cuisine. The name "Benjarong" also refers

to traditional Thai porcelain, and the word itself comes from the Bali and Sanskrit words "Benja" and "Rong" which translates to "Five Colours", referring to the different colors used for painting the intricate and dense patterns that adorn the wares. 

After battling the nerve-wracking traffic that jams the roads of Metropolitan Manila during Christmas time,

the fennel bulbs were definitely very hungry. And so, they decided to order three dishes at first: a roast

duck salad (yam ped yang), a stir-fried seafood dish smothered in curry which intrigued one of the fennel

bulbs (Andaman phad kee mao), and their favorite Thai dish, phad thai goong (or phad thai noodles). 

The roast duck salad (priced at Php305) turned out to have very generous servings of duck meat, and it was breast meat. This is most pleasing as eating the salad would be very convenient (no need to get hands dirty trying to bite off meat off the bone with other duck parts). 

The meat was a bit too gamey to the taste at first. But the palate gets used to it after a few bites. The dressing, which seems to be comprised of vinegar, fish sauce, chillies, and seasonings all proportioned roundly, happens to be light and refreshing. The dish can stand independently on its own, and 

together with a cup of rice can already be a meal in itself. 

Next came in the Andaman Phad Kee Mao (priced at Php520), or the stir-fried seafood with curry sauce. 

This is, as it will turn out, the zenith of the entire meal, as the vegetables and the seafood are cooked

divinely. The vegetables were crisp, and the seafood was tender to the palate - the rings of squid were

soft to the bite and not rubbery which is usually the problem with cooked squid; the shrimps, chunks of

white fish, and crab legs, were all cooked very beautifully.

Overall, the quality of this dish is excellent - the product of veritable cooking skill. Also, this dish is more than enough to serve two hungry fennel bulbs, and would go best with some Jasmine rice, as the taste is succinctly rich. This prompted the fennel bulbs to order some rice, in addition to the Phad Thai Goong which they already initially ordered. 

This is the rice dish - fried rice dish with pork and kale (khao phad rod fai, priced at Php280). The dish seems to have been smothered with a conservative drizzling of soy sauce, amongst other Thai seasonings. However, the dish very much resembles Chinese style fried rice dishes - after all, the culinary exchange between the two countries is an entity not ought to be ignored. 

Lastly, the phad thai goong (priced at Php440) arrived. The fennel bulbs have tasted all sorts of phad thai dishes in various Thai restaurants - including ones that used cheap fish sauce that gave them allergies afterwards. And so, Benjarong's phad thai goong simply had to be tried and judged: 

And as it was indeed supposed to be Phad Thai cooked in the royal way, it was just as such: sublime. The fennel bulbs have never tasted Phad Thai (in the Philippines, that is) that is cooked in the most proportioned manner - the flavors were distinct but were subtle enough to coexist with other flavors. The noodles were cooked just right - not too soft and mushy to the bite. The dish is very well-rounded, almost artistic, as it were. 

And finally, the fennel bulbs wanted some dessert. Now, the fennel bulbs have quite some standards when it comes to sweets - of course, it is with a bit of bias that Asian dishes are a bit devoid of fine dessert dishes. The Europeans have elevated making sweets to the level of art, and baking in itself is a formidable skill requiring intuition and exactitude. Sadly, these elements rather fall short in Asian cuisines, whose dessert dishes are usually comprised of simple fritters and gelatinous sweet things, and of course, the indispensable fruit slices. 

But the Thai waitress, who had a very motherly air about her, was very insisting, and the fennel bulbs would not want to put her down, and so they tried the best seller: gelatinous coconut milk and water chestnuts in pandan cups called ka nom tako (priced Php155). 

And it was a very pleasing finale to a meal filled with rich and exciting flavours. It was light and not exceedingly sweet. Good enough to cleanse the palate and end a very wonderful experience at Benjarong. 

Definitely this is not going to be the last time that the fennel bulbs will eat at Dusit Thani's Benjarong.

Happy Christmas everyone.