Froodie: The Cool and Casual Foodie

Location: Mr. Ramyun, Aurora Blvd.

I was having a bad case of colds yesterday and felt a little feverish. Although a jeepney ride away from home, I immediately thought of going to Mr. Ramyun for their spicy Korean noodles. Something spicy and hot was what I needed to declog my sinuses.

(Read my earlier Mr. Ramyun review)

The spicy noodles topped with beef (P39 only since it's a half serving) was exactly what I needed. :) I immediately felt better after the first spoonful. Since I asked for the mild version (something too spicy will leave me with a runny nose), adding kimchi into the noodles helps a lot. Yum!

I decided to buy a couple of their instant spicy noodles so I can make some at home. I also have kimchi at home so I won't need to eat out for a while.
Saw this article the other day. What can you say about this?

Dubai landlords turning down Pinoys over 'smelly food?'
January 19, 2012 6:00pm

Some Filipinos in Dubai are claiming that certain real estate agents there are refusing to rent out apartments to them, partly because of the odor of a Filipino dried fish delicacy.
According to a report of Gulf News on Thursday, watchmen in two buildings informed a Filipino couple— Rey and Cynthia Alfonso — about an unwritten "no-leasing-to-Filipinos" rule by landlords.
The couple also said landlords are not happy with the Filipinos' tendency to overcrowd rental units.
However, the couple said "it's a false generalization. In reality, no one wants to live in an overcrowded place."
Gulf News said unrelated people may share a flat. However, the Dubai Municipality strictly enforces the one-family-one-villa rule. Violators can be fined Dh1,000 to Dh50,000, it said.

Foul-smelling food
Gulf News quoted Indian real estate agent Kumar as saying, "There's this one particular dried fish Filipino delicacy. I cannot blame them if they cook it and it's one of their favorite dishes. Even we Indians have some food that other people can't bear. But my landlord says this is one reason why Filipinos are not welcome in his building."
Kumar said "tuyo" (dried fish) fouls up rooms in centrally-cooled buildings.

Indian watchman Bagharam said a two-bedroom unit in their building is usualy rented out for Dh60,000 but is offered at Dh80,000 for Filipinos and Arabs.

Gulf News also quoted property agent Saeed as saying the building owner gave him specific orders not to take Filipinos, Chinese and Vietnamese as tenants. - VVP, GMA News
Always on the lookout for great food deals, my officemates/friends and I invaded Tomato Kick yesterday to check out their Bring a Friend to Lunch promo.

Beef with Mushroom (P160). This I loved... Tender and tasty,
it was my favorite dish

The promo is only valid from 12nn to 4pm. We arrived just before 1pm. I was expecting a lot of people (because of the promo) but it turned out that we're the only customers at the time. Well, Tomato Kick is mostly known as a watering hole...I was actually surprised that they were open during the day.
CNN Go came up with a nice article enumerating the "50 foods that define the Philippines."

Never forget puto and other kakanin

Here's a run-down of the list:
1. Adobo (read about the real history of adobo)
2. Lechon
3. Sisig (find out where you can find yummy crispy sisig)
4. Crispy Pata
5. Chicken Inasal
6. Taba ng talangka
7. Pancit Palabok (we actually had 5 diff. kinds of pancit at this party)
8. Bulalo (you have to taste this - the best bulalo steak)
9. Arroz Caldo (arroz caldo in the US)
10. Fish Tinola
11. Kare-kare
12. Kamaro
13. Ilocos Empanada
14. Sinigang
15. Tapa
16. Dinuguan at Puto (among our must-have fiesta food)

Lumpiang shanghai is not really from the Philippines
(probably why it didn't make the list) but it's a party staple

17. Betute
18. Laing
19. Pinakbet
20. Sinugno
21. Bagnet (bagnet from Vigan!)
22. Pancit Habhab
23. Pork Barbecue (among our must-have fiesta food)
24. Longaniza
25. Lumpiang Ubod
26. Bicol Express
27. Relyenong Alimango
28. Balut
29. Inihaw na panga ng tuna
30. Fish kinilaw
31. Kuhol sa gata
32. Sinanglay
33. Inihaw na liempo
34. Empanada de kaliskis
35. Tinolang tugac
36. Camaron rebosado
37. Bibingka
38. Suman at manga

Yummy bulalo steak!

39. Champorado
40. Halo-halo
41. Buko pie (among our must-have fiesta food)
42. Ensaymada at tsokolate
43. Pastillas de leche
44. Puto bumbong
45. Turon
46. Pan de sal
47. Taho
48. Tablea tsokolate
49. Halayang ube
50. Leche flan

Actually, some commented (in the CNN article) that their favorite Filipino food was not included. How about you? What is your favorite Filipino food?
My boyfriend brought home some nori (seaweed wrapper) from his trip to Korea and I thought the only thing I could do with it was to make sushi. I don't know how to make sushi, nor have I watched anyone assemble the Japanese delicacy. And so relying on recipes found in the internet, I dub my California roll version "Anything Goes Sushi."
In Spanish, the word taste (‘sabor’) etymologically derives from the word knowledge (‘saber’): to taste is to know. Bolivia is a poor country with little access to material goods, but its close relationship to the land creates a strong relationship with food. - Fernando Martinez, creator of Fastfood Off the Shelf (a documentary on why McDonald's failed in Bolivia)

A couple of hours ago, news that McDonald's had totally shut down in Bolivia circulated the Internet. Well, it wasn't entirely true. McDonald's did shut down but it was back in 2002. But that's not the point of this entry. Apparently, the world is being reminded of the historic event because of the recent release of "Fastfood off the Shelf," a documentary on why McDonald's failed in Bolivia.
Besides fruit cake, another Western Christmas dessert that has reached the country is rum cake. While not as popular as fruit cake, this bittersweet, alcohol-soaked cake remains a classic. I was still oblivious to the foodie scene years ago but I'm sure that for a time, rum cake trended in bazaars (think about the cupcake craze).
I've been out for a while (a really long while) since I decided to choose freedom and family time over blog hits. Anyway, I couldn't help but share this interesting bit of news. Apparently, Filipino food continues to be a success in the US, reinventing and evolving with the other international cuisines and eventually broadening its fan base.

Sisig nachos from Senor Sisig
I spent my Saturday satisfying my taste buds with Indonesian cuisine. :)

We all thought we'd be spending the morning talking about post-war Philippine politics when Prof. Dagdag announced that we'll be cutting the class short to attend the "Philippines-Indonesia Culinary Festival" organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia and Sahabat Indonesia Club with the help of our UP Asian Center.
I am still partial to the indigenous Sinigang but I will post something on that some other day. As part of my graduate studies (Philippine studies), I am obligated to report on Adobo as a marker of the Filipino ethnicity. I stumbled upon this article while researching:

ADOBO: A History of the Country’s National Dish

By Cynthia De Castro & Rene Villaroman/AJPress

The Filipinos imbibed, imitated and improved the cooking styles of their colonial masters. Thus, Filipino cuisine reflects its culture and history. As the local saying goes, Philippine food was prepared by Malay settlers, spiced by the Chinese, stewed by the Spanish and hamburgerized by the Americans.

Adobo

is the result of the eclectic influences, both regional and historical, that come together in many Filipino dishes. ‘’Philippine cooking probably reflects history more than a national cuisine,’’ says Cecilia Florencio, a nutrition professor at the University of the Philippines in Manila.

Even before the Spaniards came, early Filipinos cooked their food minimally by roasting, steaming or boiling. To keep it fresh longer, food was often cooked by immersion in vinegar and salt. Thus, early Filipinos could have been cooking its meat in vinegar, which is the basic process in making adobo.

From the Chinese traders came soy sauce and thus this ingredient found its way into the meat being cooked in vinegar. Salt was slowly taken out from the recipe and replaced with soy sauce. However, there are adobo purists who continue to use salt in their adobo marinade.

The colonization of the Philippines had a big impact on the evolution of Philippine food, and adobo was one of those Spanish-inspired recipes, along with others like morcon, paella, embotido, pochero and caldereta, that have not only survived hundreds of years of popularity but have undergone infusions of other ingredients.

The Spanish influenced our local cooking with their marinades and sauces. Some say that adobo is related, albeit distantly, to adobado, a tasty Spanish concoction that consists of pork loin cured for weeks in olive oil, vinegar and spices and simmered for several hours. But the recipe is quite different.

The Spanish word adobo means seasoning or marinade, according to Wikipedia. The noun form is used to describe the actual marinade or seasoning mix, and the term used for meat or poultry that has been marinated or seasoned with theadobo marinade is referred to as having been adobada. For the grammarians, this is a first-person singular present indicative form of adobar, a verb meaning to marinate.

The old Spanish word adobar could be where the early Filipinos got the word for their most famous dish. In Spanish cuisine, however, adobo refers to a pickling sauce made with olive oil, vinegar, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, oregano, paprika and salt. The word adobo is also used in Mexican and Caribbean cuisine. The Mexican adobo refers to a piquant red sauce made from ground chilies, herbs and vinegar sold canned or jarred. The Caribbean adobo usually refers to a dry rub of garlic, onion, oregano, salt and pepper.

But the Filipinos’ adobo is the most famous the world over. Filipinos selected their favorite condiments and spices — vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves — used them to stew chicken and/or pork, and gave it a Spanish name.

This just goes to show that no matter how many cultures may add to the Filipinos’ range of food cuisine, you can’t keep their culinary identity down.

http://asianjournal.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/adobo-a-history-of-the-countrys-national-dish/
Location: Trinoma Mall
It's the month of sweets so I hope you don't mind if I write about satiating my sweet tooth. Last Saturday, we dropped by Conti's for a slice of my favorite Turtle Pie and Mango Bravo.

Continue reading...
Look what the office received for Christmas!

I love Christmas. Of course I don't receive gifts that much anymore (leave that to tweeners and below) but I always look forward to the food. Here in Congress, legislators often send out advance Christmas gifts in the form of local delicacies and knick knacks. Fortunately for us, one senator always sends a sans rival cake to his friend-colleagues. We wait for this special cake every year. :)