One of Tutubi's favorite bulaluhan was Nita's Bulalo on Evangelista St, Bangkal, Makati where you can get free refills of steaming hot bulalo soup from waiters with takure (kettle) but Tutubi hasn't set foot on the frugal food haunt for years.

At least once a month, Tutubi comes home to his hometown Paete, Laguna via Rizal province that's why he's tried most restaurants in Rizal you can see along the national highway and Manila East Road that connects east Metro manila to the provinces of Rizal and Laguna.

One of these restaurants is quite new in the area, not actually what you call a restaurant but an eatery turo-turo style yet it has free wifi Internet and free refill of hot sabaw of their specially evident on their name: Bulalo Bah

a bowl of bulalo good for 2-3 persons price at PhP85.00, it comes with free refill of sabaw

the eatery is an unpretentious "al fresco" dining place with floor of pebbles, wooden benches and tables and with parking for two cars

Bulalo Bah's version of bulalo is more on the meaty side instead of "utak" (bone marrow) and litid (tendons) but the subtle taste of Tutubi's favorite comfort food is there.

Tutubi has been to this eatery twice already when he's looking for "fast food" at budget-friendly price. The restaurant/eatery serves at least four dishes in addition to bulalo like adobo, giniling and some bicolano cuisine e.g. kinunot na pagi (stingray in coconut milk), and laing. Budget per person is just about PhP100.00 up where you can order a bowl of bulalo, two viands, rice and a bottle of coke.

Looking for Bulalo Bah? click here for online map via OpenStreetmap (partly maintained by Tutubi) of Tanay, Rizal a few hundred meters away from Sampaloc junction and just a few meters from Kata Cafe.

Laslt this may be a simple Frugal Food Find but Bulalo Bah has an official Facebook page and Twitter account :P
Do contact them there

Note:
as always, this is not a sponsored post. Tutubi paid for his bills the two times he visited the place.
will also add GPS coordinates later so you won't get lost if you're direction-challenged person :P

Labels: Filipino Cuisine, Frugal Food Find, Rizal Restaurants

Pancit Batil Patung (or batil patong) is Tuguegarao’s version of stir fried noodles topped with a fried egg topping (the patung or patong) and served with a siding of egg drop soup (called batil) plus soy sauce, spicy vinegar, and lots of raw onions.

G&B's version of Pancit Batil Patong (Solano, Nueva Vizcaya)

Rapsatodits' version of Pancit Batil Patung (take out version thus it still has no sauce and the spices mixed with it

the unique texture of the noodles and the siding and raw spices make this noodle dish unique from other regional pancit recipe specialties.

If you're looking for pancit batil patong in Manila, there's Rapsatodits restaurant on Roosevelt avenue near Frisco (between Sto. Nino St and M.H. del Pilar in front of EastWest Bank) for only P60/order good for 2-3 persons already unless you have a big tummy. there's also the special order for P80 with lots of toppings but Tutubi has yet to try it.

where is the best pancit batil patong recipe available? Tuguegaran, Cagayan? Kalinga?
or nearby places?

if you know of other places in metro manila serving this dish, please drop a note :P

you may be looking for:
pancit batil patung recipe, pansit batil patong recipe. batil patung in quezon city
pancit batil patung isabela, best pancit batil patung tuguegarao,

Labels: Filipino Cuisine, Filipino Food, Pancit

Locally called tajom in Surigao, Tutubi's friends brought a plastic bag full of the sea urchin for just PhP20.00 at Cantilan market and was served, what else, but kinilaw style.

These sea creatures are considered delicacies in many cultures, called uni in Japan (expensive or as the Japanese say it in Nihongo: takai!), ricci di mare in Italy. If you're unfamiliar what are sea urchins, they're the small balls with spikes you see on your snorkeling trips to the islands. (Sea Urchin photo from Wikipedia creative commons)

Tutubi has been looking forward to eating them just to taste for quite some time now but his wish was granted, without him asking for it, by his friends who informed him it's a usual part of daily fare, uncommon in urban jungles of Manila though.

kinilaw na tajom/kilawing tayom (served raw with vinegar and spices

As they always say, the sea urchin is an aphrodisiac though there's really no scientific proof to it. Sea urchins dont' actually taste slimy, has a unique texture to it and are, actually, good.

Now where can we find the urchin served in Manila restaurants, anyone? Japanese restaurants have it as uni, but not popular even in Makati in other forms, probably due to supply problems.

Labels: Delicacies, Filipino Cuisine, Filipino Food

Food historians said that the truly Filipino food devoid of any foreign influences is the kilawin (kilaw or kinilaw) where the food is not actually cooked but soaked in vinegar and spices. It's also the local food particularly liked by Tutubi's friends from France that they intend to duplicate at home later.

Nope, this is not the actual Kinilaw Festival celebrated annually on October 2 in Surigao City. This is the "fiesta" prepared by Tutubi's friends from Cantilan while in Inijakan: a kilawin feast with the freshest ingredients

Tutubi just watched as his friends took out the goodies they bought from Cantilan public market and the others gathered fresh seaweed, called lato, also to make kinilaw, the almost equivalent of the ceviche of central and south America, which uses lemon instead of vinegar.

the freshest ingredients of a kilawin recipe: onions, ginger, garlic, bell pepper and chili pepper. In some parts of Mindanao, coconut milk is added to the recipe

freshly-caught fish kilawin

freshly-gathered seaweed, locally called lato. You eat it by dunking the green thing in spiced vinegar

Now, what are the secrets of the best kilawin recipe? The best way "how to make Kilawin" is to use the freshest ingredients, the right vinegar that's not too sour (tip: don't use commercially available vinegar, try the local ones), prepare it fresh, consume immediately (don't let it stand for more than an hour, and lastly, prepare it with love!

tags:
how to make kilawin, how to prepare kilawin, kinilaw preparation, kinilaw recipe, kilaw ingredients, how to make kinilaw, how to cook kilawin

Labels: Caraga, Filipino Cuisine, Filipino Food, Surigao del Sur

Along the way in every trip, you'll always encounter something unusual, something that captures your fancy by just looking at road signs and establishment names.

One sign caught Tutubi's attention with the sign that proudly say "babalu's bulalo" somewhere in Tarlac and another in Bauang, La Union with a restaurant serving steaming hot bulalo (beef marrow soup) along the highway and where you can see lots of parked cars, meaning it must be good, cheap or both.

But since seeing Babalu's Bulalo and not yet time for lunch, Tutubi and his driver drove on and just looked for a place to eat out at 12 noon along the bypass road of San Fernando, Union, a place called Sisters Restaurant with a signage advertising bulalo on their menu.

the simple menu of the simple roadside eatery in San Fernando, La Union says: bagisen, papaitan, sinanglao, cowballs (soup #5?)

Without thinking, Tutubi ordered bulalo plus "bistek" for his companion to satiate his craving for his favorite comfort food. But to his dismay, he got this: bulalong pata ng baboy, more like nilagang baboy.

bulalo...err...nilagang pata ng baboy

Was Tutubi misled by the bulalo sign outside or he's totally clueless that in La Union, bulalo means pork knuckle soup?

On his return trip to Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur, he again passed by the same road, saw the same restaurant with the unforgettable "bulalo" but no longer duped and instead was able to mark the real Babalu's Bulalo in his GPS so as not to miss it. The result:

Babalu's Bulalo branch in Bauang, La Union (an order costs PhP50.00 single serving)

Besides finally sampling Babalu's Bulalo, he was also able to find out if the "long-chin" actor was behind the road side bulalo eatery but he got the answer that Babalu was really not behind the restaurant, it's just a marketing ploy, some sort of name recall that even Tutubi was fooled.

Babalu's Bulalo falls into the Frugal Food Find category, bulalo was not really good but also not bad at a price of PhP50.00. It seems the marrowy goodness of beef tendons got drowned out by the generous serving of soup but still it's something to satiate once craving for hot bulalo, particularly for the ultra-hungry on rainy days.

Labels: Filipino Cuisine, Frugal Food Find, La Union

After finishing what needs to be done at SM City Cebu, Tutubi and his officemate asked around for a nice, yet budget-friendly restaurant nearby, their other officemate suggested Golden Cowrie near Waterfront Lahug and proceeded to order food for the group since they're already there. As usual, Tutubi requested local Cebuano cuisine be included.



After taking another cab ride from SM City Cebu to Golden Cowrie restaurant, Tutubi was dismayed at the food ordered by his officemate who seemed uninformed of his request for she ordered bulalo, a soupy dish of Batangas provenance, Bicol Express from the Bicol region so named after the railroad from Manila with its signature coconut milk and fiery hot cuisine, and pinakbet, an Ilocano vegetable dish.

Bulalo reminds Tutubi of Singaporean/Malaysian Bak Kut Teh (but made of pork)

The pinakbet, vegetable meat stew of the Ilocos in northern Luzon, in it's authentic form is composed of ampalaya (bitter gourd), talong (eggplant), and kamatis (tomatoes) stewed in bagoong (fish sauce or fermented shrimp paste). This is Golden Cowrie's take on the Ilocano viand.

Tutubi, with the last option to choose the last dish opted for Chicken Halang-halang, knowing fully well that halang-halang in Cebuano means spicy hot. (Tutubi can understand and speak Cebuano although "gamay lang." He was even called an honorary Cebuano by an officemate from his previous job when he noticed he can pass of as one unlike others frustrated with using Tagalog but getting replies in English from locals in Cebu and Dumaguete)

Chicken Halang-halang is a Cebuano/Visayan dish of chicken in coconut milk, spices and lots of chilies.

Golden Cowrie Review and Comments:

The Bulalo was ok, but not exceptional, there are better ones in Batangas and Cavite/Tagaytay but a steaming pot of hot soup is really welcome due to the rains still brought by typhoon Frank. The chicken halang-halang's good anre recommended with the right balance of spiciness and other spices.

Costs/Sample Menu Prices:

Bulalo with meat: P229
Bulalo soup: P69
Chicken Halang-halang P85
Bicol Express P69
Pinakbet P69

All these four dishes came with all you can eat rice.

Verdict: It's a recommended restaurant looking for Filipino dishes in Cebu, comes with a price that won't make a serious hole in your pocket. Ambiance is airy and very Filipino and ample parking space for those with own vehicles.

Address : Salinas Drive, Lahug
Tel No. : +63.32.233-4243, +63.32.233.4670
Open: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, 6:00 PM - 10 PM (Daily)

Golden Cowrie is just a short ride away from Waterfront Lahug. Taxi is just P50 and jeepneys won't cost more than minimum fare of PhP8.50. There also is a branch at SM City Cebu Lower Ground Floor

Labels: Cebu City, Cebu Restaurants, Filipino Cuisine, Filipino Food, Restaurants

It's really hot here in the big city when most people head out to the beaches scattered all over this sun-drenched archipelago.

Being stuck here in Manila and looking for a different kind of high, I looked for a branch of Razons at Robinsons Galleria foodcourt that I later found out has a rather long queue (right photo furtively taken with my phone cam)attesting to the popularity of this ice concoction from Guagua, Pampanga. Other branches I know are SM Megamall Foodcourt, SM Mall of Asia (MOA) and the Shell complex on NLEX southbound.

Halo-halo is a concoction of shaved ice, milk, sugar and various other sweet ingredients e.g. beans, purple yam, nata de coco, kaong (sugar palm) et al mixed together and sometimes topped with ice cream. The name itself literally means mix-mix in the vernacular.

For a bit of trivia, halo-halo is not an original Filipino invention but was introduced by the Japanese and also influenced by the Chinese. Many people from the Land of the Rising Sun, settled in Mindanao particularly in Davao that’s why many residents there have Japanese-sounding names. The Japanese were also the ones who built the roads of Baguio particularly Kennon road where many Nihonjin migrant workers died during construction of that torturous road leading to the summer capital.



Razon's version of the Filipino cooler is a simple one with only three main ingredients: macapuno (a sweet variety of coconut), sun-ripened handpicked saba (a certain variety of banana) and topped with syrupy, saccharine leche flan (steamed milk custard with caramel glaze) added together with finely-shaved ice, milk and a dash of dayap (lime) to complete the recipe.
The halo-halo this time is paired with dinuguan (pork blood stew. hey, even the british have black pudding, the germans with their blutwurst and Americans with blood sausage, so Filipinos are not the only ones guilty of breaking the kosher laws), puto (Filipino rice cake) and pancit luglug.



The pancit luglug, a close cousin of the palabok, is a common Pinoy comfort food made from round rice noodles smothered with special sauce, topped with boiled eggs and ground chicharon (an "evil" cholesterol-rich Pinoy food made of deep-fried pork fat that you may opt to avoid for those health-conscious. The Chicharon is what made foreigners think Philippine food is unhealthy, rather generalizing, isn't it?) and sprinkled with calamansi (Philippine lemon) for added zest.

Razon's halo-halo, sinfully sweet and delectably creamy that you can enjoy without having to make a beeline to Pampanga to enjoy, together with dinuguan, puto and pancit luglug make a hearty meal

I always love the halo-halo of my hometown for its creamyness but Razon's halo-halo is a rare gem that makes the more visually-enticing Icebergs and Chowking's versions less gustatory appealing.


Razon's branches:

Robinsons Galleria foodcourt
SM Megamall foodcourt
Trinoma Food Choices
Alabang Town Center Food Court
Jupiter St. Makati
lastly, their original Guagua branch, of course!

wonder how much a razon's franchise is

Labels: Central Luzon, Filipino Cuisine, Food Trip, Pampanga, Pampanga Restaurant