Damp and Smug, London (part 1)

The fennel bulbs would like to share their gustatory experiences from further afield. They were able to go to London, capital of the United Kingdom. Such a global and major cultural and political city definitely has its share of delightful eats. British food has often been perceived as bland, if not lifeless; but London's multi-cultural atmosphere has created a very exciting culinary scene. A lot of cuisines can be had here, from French pastries to Indian curries and tandoori; from Japanese sushi to North African fare. 

What other way there could be to start a long day experiecning the sights and sounds of London and braving the cold January weather than a wonderful breakfast. A place most recommended is Ponti's, which has branches all over central London, including this cozy one in Covent Garden. 

Ponti's big breakfast ("The Full Ponti") is just as delicious as it is imposing. It is served in a vast platter. A buttered toast sandwich is included on the side. Bacon, scrambled eggs, and Cumberland sausage comprise a very hearty component. For the veggies, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms (fresh), and beans all make this seem an endless exercise in goodness. At around £11, it is worth it!

Moving on to lunch: fish and chips is very filling mid-day treat. Fish and chips started off as a take-away meal in the UK more than 150 years ago and since then has spread all across the English-speaking world. The traditional fish and chips though uses white-meat fish like plaice, and such is the speciality of this restaurant, Rock and Sole Plaice along narrow Endell Street in Covent Garden. 

As can be seen in the picture, the servings are hefty and require a massive appetite to finish them all up - it's probably almost a foot long with equally hefty servings of chips on the side. The batter is crisp and the fish is just soft and tasty as it is fresh. It's a very comforting food to devour especially when it's cold and drizzling outside. Big and delicious fish for just £10 is by all means, not bad. 

It's about time to move on to dessert. In contrast to the simplicity of the fish and chips, there is Laduree, a French pastry shop which has branches all over the world, including this one in Harrods' department store in Knightsbridge. Laduree is renowned for its delicious pastries and since 1862, it has delighted customers with its lovely creations, including its speciality, the macaroon (macaron). 

The rose-infused macaroon is at first a visual masterpiece. In between perfectly-baked macaroons are fresh raspberries, coupled with lychees and rose cream. It is topped with a ribbon with the Laduree sign and served on a gold-lined plate. It would be quite a shame to ruin this beautiful dessert when one eats it up. But the taste is to be remembered. 

Laduree is also famous for its cakes. This chocolate cake is moist with crunchy layers of nougat in between, and resembles more or less a glorified version of our sansrival. The taste is rich, and the overall consistency is just perfect. Macaroons and cakes fall within the £7-£15 range. 

(to be continued...)

Delicious and Shiok at Shiok!

The rich and exciting Asian culinary adventure does not end in Hong Kong. Back home in Manila, the fennel bulbs have heard from their friends a relatively new restaurant that serves delicious and cheap - in fact their friends were all ravenous about it - Singaporean and Malaysian food - called Shiok! located in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig. Shiok is the Hokkien word for "cheap". But in Malaysia and Singapore, Shiok in general is used to convey a feeling of pleasure or happiness. 

Photo-prints of hawker centres line the walls of the restaurant. Hawker centres are places where one can really find good eats, not just in Singapore or other Asian cities like Hong Kong, Bangkok, or Saigon, but probably right in the heart of Manila. Digressions aside, much of the menu of Shiok!, which offers a very brief, if not limited, selection, is largely hawker-inspired. 

For the appetizer, the fennel bulbs ordered Murtabak (Php85), which essentially is roti bread with minced stuffing. It is served with a brown dipping sauce redolent with the flavours of curry and tamarind. It could stand alone as a moderately heavy snack, or if one is on a diet, it can be a meal in itself. The roti is crisp and a bit flaky on the outside, and soft and hearty beneath its initial layers. 

Next, the fennel bulbs had Char Kway Teow (Php140). This is an exciting noodle dish which one can find anywhere from more up-end restaurants to the humble hawker stalls in Malaysia and Singapore. Flat noodles (ho-fan) are almost always used, and the sauce is just exulting with flavour. Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, coriander leaves, and a mixture of fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and other spices, all make this a very happy dish indeed. 

Next in line is a vegetable dish, which is the Sambal Kang Kong (Php65). The kangkong is sauteed in sambal sauce, and the texture is crisp but not too tough to the teeth. Sambal is a chili paste often used in Malaysian and Indonesian dishes. The hint of sambal is enough to dominate the dish, but not too overwhelmingly chili. The addition of probably soy sauce and vinegar adds a softer aspect to it. 

For the first entree, minced beef with eggplant (Php150) was ordered. The dish is mostly Chinese in nature, the sauce being a bit spicy. However, the servings and the plate leave much to be desired, as it seems to work better on a casserole or a similar earthen dish. 

Last but not the least is the char-siu (Php160). This is a very common dish among Chinese restaurants, and is similar to the Filipino asado. The marinade and the sauce are a tad sweet, and the flesh, however, leaves more to be desired, especially when comparing to similar roast pork dishes in Hong Kong. 

Overall, Shiok! is great value for money, if one is on the prowl for something spicy and uplifting such as Singaporean food. 好之！ :-) 

Hong Kong Sampler (Part 2)

A nice and cozy restaurant that the fennel bulbs would almost always come back to whenever they come to Hong Kong is Delicious Kitchen along Cleveland Street in Causeway Bay. It is located in a rather quiet neighborhood, lined with apartment buildings and some speciality boutiques. Delicious Kitchen serves Chinese food, and the menu is quite an eclectic mix of entrees, soups, and noodles. The cuisine is generally Chinese, but not restricted to Cantonese, as some entrees are Shanghai-style and Sichuan-style dishes. 

Condiments are pickled cabbage which is a bit on the sweet side. They are served right after the orders have been taken. The dressing is most probably a mixture of vinegar, sugar, and sesame seeds. Acidity and sweetness are the dominant themes in this condiment, which can become quite addictive especially when one is already hungry!

A speciality of the restaurant is crispy fried dumplings. A majority of take-away orders for the restaurant are actually these fried dumplings, which are served with a sweet-spicy red dipping sauce. The wrappers are crisp and light and the filling is a very delicious mix of minced pork and some vegetables (scallions definitely included). Locals usually eat these with a big bowl of noodle soup or vegetable rice (tsoi fan) on the side. 

The dish pictured above shows a plate of Nanking-style beef and vegetable rice. The beef has been softened but not to the point of becoming mushy. This preparation is typical of Nanking cuisine, where softening of meats is done quite often in a lot of dishes. The taste is rich and suggestive of a rich beef broth for the sauce. 

The vegetable rice is also very flavorful, as the bok choy imparts a buttery flavor to the rice due to the steaming process. It is a very tasty bowl of rice indeed. 

Another delicious treat is the Sichuan-style Chili Prawns. The prawns have been consistently of the same size, which is quite big and a bit tricky to eat with a pair of chopsticks as they do tend to slide off. The sauce is a delicious mix of chili and scallions, amongst other spices, and some peppers; its texture markedly made silky by the addition of starch. The taste is not overwhelmingly spicy, but just enough to tease the palate. A hint of sweetness further enhances the cravings. 

Treats never seem to end at Delicious Kitchen. Another sumptuous dish is the beef tendons cooked on an earthen dish. The sauce is made from the juices of the tendons and perhaps the addition of stock. It is a bit sticky due to the consistency of the tendons' juices. Ginger is the dominant flavor in the sauce, though it does not overpower the dish. 

Last but not the least is the restaurant's signature dish, pork chop rice. The picture above shows only some of the pork chop. The rice is exactly the same as the bowl of vegetable rice shown earlier. The meat is tender and tasty, and the breading is crunchy. The flavor is a blend of sweet and salty, somewhat like barbecue. This is comfort food at its best, and is by all means, the best-selling dish DelIcious Kitchen has to offer. 

Prices are likewise affordable by Hong Kong standards. A meal for four hungry people sharing some viands would cost anywhere between HK$350 - HK$500. And this ends the fennel bulb's Hong Kong sampler of restaurants, at least for the time being. 

Hong Kong Sampler (Part 1)

Hong Kong is just less than two hours away from Manila by plane and is very much a global and cosmopolitan city. It is not only a commercial hub, but it is also a centre for culture and the arts. And obviously one aspect of culture is gastronomy. A lot of people would agree that the best Chinese cuisine comes from Hong Kong. Hong Kong cuisine is just the same as Cantonese cuisine, which is Chinese haute cuisine, as it were. It is, in fact, the most popular of the Chinese cuisines that it often becomes equated with the notion of Chinese food, when there still is a plethora of regional cuisines that can be had in the vastness of the Middle Kingdom. 


The fennelbulbs' experience of Hong Kong is honestly, quite limited, being tourists as they were. But they would certainly love to share and recommend some great eats to experience fine local fare that would be quite a waste to miss. 


***


First in the list is Tai Hing Restaurant which has several branches in Hong Kong. The fennelbulbs' tried the branch in Causeway Bay along Jaffe Road. Tai Hing is known for their roasts - be it roast duck, roasted suckling pig, and mouth-watering sausages. Tai Hing is also known for their baked rice toppings - another Cantonese speciality which incorporates baking, a predominantly Western influence. Tai Hing basically is a very affordable eatery serving honest-to-goodness delicious local food. 

The roast goose and duck is served over a bowl of Jasmine rice with generous servings of bok choy and kai lan vegetables on the side. The roasts are crunchy on the skin and the meat is tender and the blend of the meat's juices and the oil is very satiating to the palate. It is comfort food at its finest. 

The baked rice toppings are also a delectable treat. On the picture is a hefty plate of baked wasabi pork chop. The wasabi is incorporated into the cream sauce which is poured over the pork and the rice and then baked. The texture is gratinated and very filling. The dish is made more delicious with the addition of mushrooms. 

The price at Tai Hing is by all means affordable. Roast toppings fall under the HK$35 - HK$45 range, while the baked rice toppings fall under the HK$40 - HK$50 range. Also a variety of Western style breakfasts can be had till 10 or 11 in the morning and various equally tempting snacks such as the one below: 

Baked potatoes with a topping of pork floss and mayonnaise and a garnish of raisin which provides a breather from the richness of the two previous ingredients mentioned. 

All in all, Tai Hing probably is the kind of restaurant you may want to go to after a tiring day of shopping and sightseeing in one of Asia's premier cities. 

(...to be continued)

Pot and Noodles

It's time to visit one of the fennel bulbs' favorite places for quick and cheap eats that are nonetheless delicious. One of them is the Pot and Noodles restaurant in the fourth floor of SM Megamall's Building A. This restaurant is totally candid and almost frill-free, if not resembling a shabby hospital canteen. But the flavors of its food and the culinary traditions it has upheld since when it opened (which almost is ten years from our food lovers' memories) is definitely beyond skin-deep.

A glass mirror on the restaurant's facade reveals a busy subsection of the kitchen - the subsection for dough and noodle-making. It definitely takes a fair amount of talent and lots of skill to pull noodles just as easy as it is to blow bubbles. Hand-pulled noodles are also better in terms of texture and taste as opposed to dried noodles that are boiled and cooked. There's a certain richness to freshly made noodles that is quite difficult to find in dried noodles. 

The Chinese call these noodles La-Mian (拉麵）which literally translates to pulled noodles. One can more or less read the history of the noodles on the information below the glass (in the picture above). La-Mian is a pervasive Chinese cultural and culinary export that is present in many Asian cuisines. And a bit of linguistics reveals that the equally famous Japanese ramen (ラーメん）is actually a direct phonetic transcription of the Mandarin Chinese La-Mian. 

The fennelbulbs' favourite La-Mian dish at Pot and Noodles has got to be the Szechuan cold noodles (Php160) as they find this dish utterly comforting. 

This dish is not as cold as its name seems to suggest. The fact that it's served not warm also seems to suggest that it is more or less an appetite-whetter, but the servings and the heaviness of the noodles already make it a meal in itself. The noodles are dressed in spicy peanut oil and pickled vegetables are added on top with a drizzle of sesame and crushed peanuts. Several slices of julienned cucumbers are added and texturally enhance the dish. The pickled vegetables justify the temperature of the dish as well. Overall the taste is redolent with garlic and the heat of the oil puts in a fairly strong, but not overwhelming, jerk to the palate. 

Another classic definitely has to be the oyster cake (Php250), which is a dish peculiar to Fujian province and Taiwan. The local Chinese call the dish uwaa-tsan (牡蠣煎蛋) and resembles an omelette stuffed with oysters, coriander, chives, and bean sprouts. 

The taste is hearty, rich, and downright filling. The dish is rather on the greasy side and this can't be avoided as it is fried. It's crunchy on the outside and the hot oysters and greens inside add a completely different dimension. It is always served with a sweet red sauce very much resembling catsup. Its size (which fills a whole plate) is good enough to satiate 2 people. 

Last but not the least is black tofu sauteed with kuchay (chives) greens. (Php175). Black tofu is made from dark soy beans which makes its skin grey and its flesh a bit darker than the regular tofu. The texture is harder and its taste nuttier than the white variety. 

The dish seems to have been sauteed in soy sauce. The strips of tofu actually taste much like mushrooms and are texturally similar to it. The chives and the soy sauce work hand-in-hand to produce a very delicious and well-balanced dish. With a cup of rice, it is more than enough to constitute a healthy vegetarian meal. 

With its affordable prices and down-to-earth menu of good and comforting Chinese food, Pot and Noodles Restaurant is indeed a place the fennel bulbs will come back to every so often. 

Dragonfly Desserts

The fennel bulb's quest for scrumptious sweets did not bring them very far from home. Just a 5-minute drive away is the home of Dragonfly Desserts, and their friend, pastry chef Cheryl Lim (or Che) is its proprietress. Dragonfly Desserts has been relatively new in its field, but the brevity of its history does not necessarily equate to the taste and vision of its products. Honestly, our sweet searchers were quite amazed with their pastries. 

The Christmas season has just come to a close and the fennel bulbs ordered a lot of pastries from Dragonfly Desserts as gifts for friends and loved ones, and most consistently, everyone enjoyed what had been handed to them as gifts. There are three products that have been tasted and enjoyed and shall be tackled in this entry, with pictures taken from the Dragonfly Desserts Facebook page. 

The Tomato Kesong Puti Tart (Php580) is a delectable treat. Kesong Puti (white cheese) is a local cheese made from unskimmed water buffalo milk. It is light in texture and moderately salty to the palate. A distinct flavor is contributed by the water buffalo milk and reminds one of goat's cheese. Altogether the tart is very soft on the palate, with minimalist flavors accentuated by hints of basil. It truly is a refreshing treat, and a most ideal gift for those whom we know are avoiding sweets (due to a host of health concerns such as Diabetes). One tart is big enough to create eight slices. 

The Almond Cappucino Bars (Php365 for a 9" x 9" box, Php195 for a half box) are quite addictive. These

bars are texturally similar to Brownies and Revel Bars but the combination of almonds and cappuccino 

elevate this dessert a notch higher. The sweetness of the almonds complements the flavour of cappuccino

which seems to have been incorporated right into the mixture before it was baked in the oven. The texture is delightful as it is perfectly moist in the inside while the exterior is integrally robust. 

And lastly, a truly wicked finale to this entry's trio offering is the Wicked Bites (Php265 for a box of 18). The fennel bulbs really have to commend Che for this imaginative and absolutely delightful dessert. These bites resemble small chocolate cupcakes. The texture is perfectly moist and this quality seems to be largely contributed by the generous addition of the chocolate, as the texture veers towards that of a souffle. Whilst in the process of munching the bites, the sweetness of the chocolate gives way to the flavour of chili, creating a sensual, and not overwhelming, hint of heat. A truly remarkable creation that engages the faculty of taste. 

Well done, Dragonfly Desserts! 

Sweet Searching

The fennel bulbs are quite a bunch of dessert lovers. However, it is a tad sad that the metropolis does not have much wonderful places where scrumptious desserts can be eaten. And with greater numbers of independent individuals honing their baking skills to sell pastries and other sweet things, the dessert dining scene in the metropolis is just quite not enough. 


One nice place that serves dessert in the metropolis, and one that the fennel bulbs have returned to, is Chocolate Fire in Salcedo Village. The place is nice and cozy, and they usually have gone to the place on
Saturdays where the crowds are more tolerable. 


Of course, the speciality is chocolate - be it Pringles dipped in chocolate, strawberries dipped in chocolate, chocolate bars with apricots or nuts amongst a roster of other ingredients. Coffee can also be had, as well as pastries. Now, the fennel bulbs were not just going to be contented with some chocolate - they wanted some cake. And so, they had some carrot cake and an Australian style fruit cake. 

This is the carrot cake blob (priced at Php120). It is cheap enough, and its overall theme seems to have been merged with the chocolate theme which the restaurant is exactly all about. Sadly, this cake does not have enough integrity to stand on its own - it's called a carrot cake blob, but it tastes more of chocolate, but it is not deviant enough to lead the person to misconstrue it as a chocolate cake blob. The carrots do not make themselves felt at all and there's not enough nuttiness associated with a traditional carrot cake, which by the way is one of the their favorite cakes. Overall, it is a sponge cake blob with chocolate accents. 


And so, they moved on to taste the second offering: 

The Australian Fruit Cake (priced at Php160). It's small, compact, and extremely dense - it is a heavy piece of cake. It is good enough to redeem the lackluster appeal of the carrot cake blob. The sprinkles are small red and green Christmas trees which add to its charm. The taste and texture is overall good and heavy, as it can be quite assumed that fruit cakes are quite dense. Also, the nuttiness is quite pleasing. 


Beside it is an chocolate-dipped Anzac biscuit (priced at Php55). The dipped goodies are a bit too much in terms of the price. And yes, Anzac biscuits are available at Landmark supermarket.


Though imperfections may be had at Chocolate Fire, some details are quite commendable, despite the loud music which is just deplorable. 

Yes, Evian glasses with peaks resembling the Alps (Evian's logo, after all) at the base of the glass. :-)


Good night.