sutukil: now THIS is the way to eat

when in gensan, this is what we suggest you do for dinner: take a tricycle to tiongson street and look for the sutukil and barbecue stands. we did just that our first dinner there and had a most remarkable meal.

sutukil is an acronym for sugba (grilled), tula (soup), kilaw (raw things soaked in vinegar or citrus). the basic concept of a sutukil joint is you pick out fresh stuff and tell the staff how you want it cooked. these were our choices

it was a dizzying array and we were so happy just being able to make such choices! in the end we had grilled tuna panga (cheek and jaw), shellfish soup, grilled squid and grilled eggplant. everything was so fresh and the shellfish soup was particularly delicious! for this spread plus rice and 4 beers we paid P850.

this is what we mean about having good local produce easily accessible particularly in coastal towns. the sutukil places that night were packed with locals – they knew how to eat right, and we were overjoyed because at that moment so did we.

grab a crab in gensan: there’s actually a way to be let down by crab

despite having the privilege of being able to travel around, one place we rarely visit is mindanao. so we were both excited and apprehensive at heading to general santos city. there was little information we could find online as to where to stay and where to eat, but one place we saw being recommended was a restaurant called grab a crab, and so we decided to give it a shot.

there were 2 branches in gensan – one at the robinson’s mall and their main branch along laurel street. we went to the latter one because it was closer to the hotel. the menu excited us because there were so many choices. after careful consideration, we went with the chili garlic crab

let me make it clear from the start that this was not a terrible dish. it wasn’t even perhaps a bad dish. just… mediocre. it was heavy-handed. and the crab itself totally disappeared flavor-wise. admittedly too i was surprised by their prices. P900/kilo. in a city known for seafood in a country as cheap as the philippines, i found it unacceptable.

the other dish we had was the grilled tuna belly. we also had high hopes for this – gensan being the tuna capital of the philippines

camille’s first comment was that the tuna was frozen before it was cooked. if it was, that’s an awful thing in a city whose economy is driven by a fish port. but we actually can’t say for sure. what we do know is that the fish didn’t feel like it was in its prime of freshness. either that or it was just dreadfully overcooked. it was certainly over-seasoned. or, more accurately, over-knorred.

the only really good thing we had at this restaurant was their durian shake

now this was really good. rich, creamy, unadulterated durian flavor. the perfect shake. and at something like P60 (or P90), it was reasonably priced. the waiter asked how we liked our food and we said we really liked the shake. he looked a bit crestfallen.

they also have this weird (ie, illegal) practice of not issuing receipts for purchases under P1,000. i took it as a sign that their business isn’t doing too well. so while this is a generally recommended restaurant, we’re going the other way and saying maybe it’s not the best idea. the quality of the food was just too much of a let down.

cha ca la vong, where we had our top meal in hanoi

the streets in the old quarter of hanoi are named after the things that are sold on the street. for example, the street of our hotel was hang chieu for wooden mats – and there are still some mat stores there. there was also hemp street, dried fruit street… a whole bunch. and then there’s cha ca street, named after a famous fish dish. there’s a restaurant on the street called cha ca la vong that has been serving this dish for over a hundred years. to this day, this is the only thing on their menu.

we were totally unfamiliar with cha ca before this meal. reading up on it, some said it was roasted fish, others grilled. well, it definitely looked fried to us.

when you sit, the wait staff with throw down on your table a spread that looks something like this

the following items can be found: a plate of vermicelli noodles per person, a plate of herbs (basil, mint, etc) a plate of dill (a lot of dill) and green onions/leeks, nuoc cham, a small plate of peanuts, a little stove with a pot of fish happily sizzling on top.

the fish is white-fleshed, some say traditionally catfish, and is marinated in a LOT of tumeric and some other spices. it is then tossed into the pot. when served to you, toss in the dill and green onion/leeks and cook it down a bit

to eat, put some noodles in your bowl, toss in some peanuts and herbs, sprinkle in some nuoc cham, then get some fish and dill and all the goodness from that pot, put in your mouth quickly followed by chopstick-fuls of the noodle thing. this dish is out of this world!

you must must must eat cha ca in hanoi. you just must. now, this particular restaurant is expensive – a whopping 170,000 dong (P425) per person. for old hanoi street cuisine, this price is kinda nuts. we don’t know if the cha ca is much better in other places (we know it’s cheaper though. in la place, for example, it’s half this price), but paying that much in cha ca la vong is probably worth it once because this is the restaurant that pretty much started it all and is still standing.

and believe us, it’s still standing because this dish is really a true gastronomic delight.

green tangerine, hanoi

being in vietnam, we wanted to make sure we tried a french restaurant. or at least a french fusion one. there were lots of choices but the most convenient to go to was green tangerine, so that’s where we went. the restaurant is a converted old house with a wide patio, so that was quite charming. as expected from an upscale restaurant, the staff was competent and accommodating.

the thing is, we were too full for dinner so we decided to have two starters and some wine instead. i suppose that was a good thing because the prices were really on the high side. more expensive than the french restaurants in manila and i really found that both strange and disappointing. heck, green tangerine made antonio’s seem inexpensive.

i tried the scallops carpaccio

this was, obviously, a beautiful dish. great color and plating. the squares were pineapple, mango and beet. my main concern about this dish was the beet. i couldn’t see where the flavor fit, or what it was supposed to do. it dulled the brightness of the other fruit. all in all not bad, but perhaps not something i’d recommend.

camille went for the duck liver mousse

served as a parfait, this was actually quite delicious. and with the crunch on top, texturally full. very nice. camille made a comment that it was too heavy to serve in the warm weather – and she was right. considering green tangerine changes its menu seasonally, this was an odd choice. for those who want to give it a try, a word of advice – share it. the dish is rich and heavy and perhaps should not be consumed by one person alone. this can easily serve 3 given its richness. but yes, flavor and texture wise really good.

so for these two starters and a glass of white wine (mapu sauvignon blanc, not an expensive one), we paid 500,000 dong (P1250). in a manila-based restaurant like, say, champetre, that amount can get you a main course and a starter. so yes, on the pricey side. but still we’re happy to have given it a try. there’s always something new to learn food-wise.

more la place

it was too hot to eat on the sidewalks so we had lunch in la place one more time. having seen the menu from the last time, we knew exactly what to order. first up, fresh spring rolls

even if we could imagine what good fresh spring rolls must taste like, these were still surprisingly delicious. is there a word that means “a notch above fresh”? that’s the word i’d use here. sharp and cool and crisp. and that wrapper – it was so fine we thought it was a layer of plastic to protect the roll. it was that clear and firm. inside with the vegetables, a little bit of pork and a shrimp that was (again) so fresh it could’ve jumped out of there.

the other dish – recommended by my brother – pho bo

i read an article once about the importance of the stock to pho. that one should never eat pho unless you can see the pot boiling. another article also said that the broth of pho should be murky – because it’s the result of a lot of goodness (beef bone, that sort of thing) boiling for a long time. well, this pho was murky and – outside of bulalo – the beefiest tasting broth i’ve ever had. it was a revelation. and the flavor couldn’t have come from the beef strips in the bowl because that was obviously newly placed – still pink and very tender.

this was the only pho bo we had in hanoi – so i honestly can’t compare it to legendary sidewalk pho bo. but i seriously can’t imagine how much more spectacular street pho bo could be, especially given the no MSG rule of la place (i also read somewhere that vietnamese aren’t shy with MSG). this dish was full of flavor – perfectly walking the fine line between long boiled stock and fresh everything else. and at 45,000 dong (P112) – it isn’t priced much more than sidewalk pho. another must try.

we have so much more to learn about vietnamese cuisine (and to think this is just one city!) but we are really happy we had la place as a venue for our beginner’s course. if we ever manage to return to hanoi, we will eagerly throw our bags and head off joyfully to la place

la place: what quickly became our favorite restaurant in hanoi

we first decided to try this restaurant because the owner is a son of a family friend. my brother jop knew exactly how to find it – it’s actually easy, la place is pretty much right beside the famous st. joseph’s cathedral. if you’re facing the cathedral, look to your right and the restaurant is right there.

the menu is a good mix of traditional vietamese dishes, other dishes from around southeast asia and some western ones. because we read that one must have bun cha for lunch in hanoi, that’s one thing we ordered

dee-licious! grilled pork patties, vermicelli noodles, dill, mint, coriander, basil (i may have missed an herb there), and nuoc cham. this one is a cool dish – perhaps to battle the noon heat. this cost 69,000 dong (P175). i don’t know how much it is on the street, but given the general comfort of eating in a restaurant, this was well worth it. and did i mention it was delicious?

the other dish we had that lunch was fried spring rolls

these may have been my favorite spring rolls of the trip (and favorite ever!) followed closely behind by their own fresh spring rolls. i can’t remember the price exactly, but i think it was around 75,000 dong (P190). the wrapper wasn’t too thick – it was nice and crunchy and served mainly as an encasement without getting in the way. the filling was very very tasty. i would have suspected MSG but their menu specifically says they stay away from that. i’m willing to believe that the freshness and depth of flavor was achieved by good old great cooking – a must try.

so we did really enjoy the food here, but one other reason this became a favorite was its very charming ambience. it’s a small restaurant, pleasantly laid out, with a great view of the cathedral

we highly recommend this place when you go to hanoi. oh, and they also seem to be known for their pastries so that should be worth a try. and for us, a good excuse to eat there again one day.

street pho in hanoi

almost every write up about hanoi contains a rhapsody about pho on the sidewalks. because of this, we were determined to make that our first real meal in hanoi. at first we tried for the famous pho gia truyen on 49 bat dan – but we got there too late, it was already closed (that was around 10AM). so we just sat at the nearest spot we saw which was also about to close shop but still ladling out pho ga (chicken).

we sat and noted the condiments

chili sauce, salt, the ubiquitous nuoc cham (fish sauce based dipping sauce) and, for an extra 5,000 dong, fried bread. we were expecting what we get in vietnamese restaurants here – a plate of herbs and lemon or lime but we didn’t – nor did we see that happening in any of the places we saw. so we got a bowl each of pho ga (with the herbs mixed in)

was it delicious? absolutely. strong taste of cilantro, which we love. and the dish was still interactive enough since we needed to mix in chili sauce and salt – it does need it, and it’s part of the eating experience. this pho ga was bright and fresh. hot, yes, but in the way that cools you after. easy to see why this is THE breakfast to have in vietnam.

we paid 30,000 dong each (about P75). not as cheap as we would have wanted, or as we imagined the prices to be based on our research, but still much cheaper than pho here. and definitely tastier.

do we remember the name of this place? not at all. for those interested, it’s at the corner of bat dan and thuoc bac (i think. i’m sure about the bat dan part though). but it probably doesn’t matter. it stands to reason that all streetside pho places are just a few small degrees away from each other in terms of taste. the important thing is you get on those tiny stools and slurp down a bowl – the experience, together with the noise of hanoi streets, is sensorily incredible.

Antonio’s is all it’s made out to be

a few weeks ago, my family went out on our first vacation together in about 25 years. we were heading to taal town (for the wonderful heritage houses) and then tagaytay. my sister helen offered to treat us to lunch in antonio’s. my first thought was – at those prices, it better live up to all its hype. and so it has.

each main course (with prices ranging from P1250 to P2500 per head) comes with salad, soup, dessert, and coffee or tea. so in essence, dining in antonio’s is always a 4-course affair (5 if you count the coffee).

the salad is a hefty one

this is half a serving. it consists of a couple of kinds of lettuce, spinach, arugula, alugbati (a nice surprise), blue cheese, candied walnuts, and candied fruit. it perhaps wasn’t the most awesome of salads, but it was very good. certainly a very nice palate primer to start the meal. the contrast of the bitter of the arugula and the alugbati went along perfectly with the pungent saltiness of the cheese. the candied walnuts sent the flavor combination over the top.

soup was cream of upland rice and vegetables, which was well done albeit not terribly exciting.

we all shared a few main courses. the one i ordered was the duck breast with braised red cabbage and mashed potato topped with foie

one bite and i instantly felt the whole experience was special. the duck was perfectly done. and that foie – now i understand all the dying-from-deliciousness that comes from seared foie.

a few others shared a couple of steaks

this is what camille and i will come back for as soon as we save up. in a word – fantastic. the steak comes with 3 condiments: gravy, chimichurri, and lemon and sea salt. the lemon and sea salt was our favorite, bringing out the flavor of that beef. wow.

there were also a few desserts such as a dark chocolate souffle with creme anglaise

a very well-done souffle, but our favorite dessert was the chocolate mandarin which was an orange sorbet coated with chocolate. 

all in all the food in antonio’s showed great execution and spot on flavors. it’s not wildly imaginative or playful or anything like that – which is fine. the food is classical, so is its ambience, and so is the whole experience of dining. we hope to be able to return

 

a quick note on batchoy

we did a major batchoy tasting during this trip to negros. we were there for 5 days and had a batchoy everyday. the full article of that will come out in sidetrip magazine, but we can’t help but still say something about this utterly delicious soup.

it’s easy to imagine the origins of batchoy as coming from the pig parts nobody really wanted. the scraps made into broth and the meat in the soup usually composed of intestines, liver, and some pork. batchoy is garlicky, having its fair share of toasted garlic. it is sweetish, coming mostly (ideally) from caramelized onion. it has crunch from chicharon and heft from the meat and noodles.

some restaurants fancify batchoy – like 21 in bacolod now puts marrow instead of liver. we didn’t try that version because the parameters of our article were to go with traditional preparations.

usually priced at P60-90 a bowl, this is truly a must-try for anybody visiting iloilo and bacolod.

la puerta al paraiso in guimaras: good potential

we did a little overnight trip in guimaras before doing work in iloilo. finding a place to stay online was a challenge – we didn’t want anything too rugged nor too crowded. la puerta al paraiso looked fine. everybody’s word of warning though was it was far from the docks.

the docks themselves are easy to get to. guimaras is a short, 15-minute boat ride from iloilo and costs only P14. boats leave as soon as they’re full (40 to a boat), or around every 15-20 minutes.  when we got to the jordan wharf and tried to find our way to the resort, we realized everybody was right. it was far. about an hour or so by tricycle – the last 10-15 minutes on pure rough road. this cost P500 going and P700 coming back. our first word of advice: take the multicab for only P200 more.

the biggest plus of la puerta is the location of their cottages

each of them face the beach or the open sea. thoughtfulness in giving everybody a view – plus points. the cottages themselves though were quite small and the verandas could have used a bit more furniture. in fact, the whole resort would totally be better off with more lounging chairs around the beach, near the rooms, etc. the beaches were nice and there should be more ways to relax by them. 

facing the restaurant, one beach to the left is where the boats dock

and on the other side was a more people beach

the beaches were quite pretty and the sand very white and very fine. but the shore was also very short. the isolation serves la puerta well – because if they ever had more than 20 people, it would be uncomfortable on the beach.

the restaurant was big and airy and the staff very accommodating

the food was ok – as resort food generally goes. the servings were big enough, but still overpriced. we attributed this to the isolation and therefore the high cost of getting things there. in the future though, these costs need to be revisited. and little things like – they run out of mangoes (in guimaras!)… makes no sense.

we got to speak with the owner and he said they never really actually formally opened and their operations kind of “just happened” – we agree. it does feel that way. a lot of little details need to be attended to for this to become a really good resort. right now we’re totally open to staying in other places in guimaras – but once la puerta gets the other things done, then it will be worth a visit again.