Las Tablas
(Chicago) – It’s not difficult for a Pinoy to love Columbian food. Both Filipino and Columbian cuisines are rooted from Spain. They have empanada, corn, cassava…
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Colombia’s Best at Sanpocho
(Miami) – I feel at home here. Sanpocho serves authentic Colombian comfort food that every Filipino can relate to. Right off the bat, I could think of a corresponding Filipino version with each of their dishes in the menu. This restaurant is not fancy at all and very inexpensive but the food is ultra savory [...]
Deliciousness in Unlikely Places
(Miami) - There are moments that I get sick of the whole process of eating out in a restaurant: short listing, selecting, reading reviews, calling to reserve a table, dressing up, waiting in line, so on and so forth. The effort it takes could qualify as a full-time job. But I just hope I get [...]
Say Hello to Ola!
(Miami) – What is a trip to Miami without trying some ceviche? I brought my friends to Ola at the Sanctuary Hotel in South Beach to have a taste of the phenomenal “Fire and Ice” ceviche. It’s exceptionally good- a perfect balance of the extremes: hotness of jalapeno with the chill of granita and the [...]
The Real Deal Cubano: Versailles
(Miami) – I am no green to Cuban cuisine. My associations and immersions with Cuban and Latino friends exposed my palate to their native food and my awareness to their deeply passionate culture. But I am not claiming to be an expert of their food. I am not really into dissecting the flavors of everything [...]
Steak Romance at Tango Sur
(Chicago) – If you are looking for something romantic, Tango Sur can be your place. If you want something intimate to spend a night with your close friends and share some great and reasonably-priced steak, you can come to this Argentinean steak house in Southport. The steaks here are not the best in town but [...]
Churrascaria Galore
(Chicago) – It’s always a feast in Texas de Brazil. With elegant ambiance, bountiful salad/appetizer buffet spread, abundant selection of perfectly cooked and well-seasoned grilled meat (churrasco-style) and a mesmerizing acrobatic sommelier, 3 hours of dining just went by unnoticeably.
Coobah, Latino-Filipino Fusion
(Chicago) – It is fairly typical nowadays to find restaurants offering fusion cuisines with Asian dishes. But the word “Asian”, in most cases, refers only to Chinese, Japanese, Thai or Vietnamese. There are very few attempts to fuse with Filipino food. Coobah is one of those bold restaurants in Chi-town that presents Latino dishes with [...]
Recipes
24. Apr, 2012
Pinoy Chicken Curry
If I will think of one Filipino dish that can’t be eaten without a lot of rice, I think it is Chicken Curry. The coconut-curry sauce is just perfect for white steamy rice. Though not originally Pinoy …
29. Mar, 2012
Embutido: Pinoy Meatloaf
Americans have their meatloaf and Italians have their meatball. We, Pinoys, have our very own embutido. The sweetness of the vegetables, meaty juice from the meat and a touch of creaminess from …
24. Mar, 2012
Cagbalete Island: Another Outdoor Culinary 101 with the Lakwatserong Kusinero
(Cagbalete Island, Quezon Province, Philippines) – The menu when we went to Cagbalete Island early this year was probably the most Pinoy of all the food that Chef Janjie had prepared for his …
21. Dec, 2011
Chicken Sopas
This is a typical Filipino pasta/noodle soup that is inexpensive, highly nutritious and a complete meal in itself- it has protein, starch and vegetable all in one dish.
28. Nov, 2011
Tokwa’t Baboy (Tofu/Pork Mash Up)
Tokwa means tofu while baboy means pork in Filipino. This is a simple mash up of boiled pork parts such as belly and ears and fried tofu soaked in soy-vinegar sauce.
03. Nov, 2011
Easy, Lemony Chicken Inasal
Chicken Inasal is now big in the Philippines. This is a popular chicken grill that originated from Bacolod in Iloilo region. This dish left a good imprint in my food memory for the first time I tried it when I was a kid. I can …
12. Oct, 2011
Pancit Malabon
Pancit Malabon is a native Filipino noodle dish using tubular rice noodles with shrimp-base thick sauce, just like palabok or luglog, and with generous garnishing of pork crackling and seafood such as shrimp…
22. Sep, 2011
Fried Fish Twist: Sarciado
Fish sarciado is a typical Filipino dish which is directly translated as fish with sauce. The fish is usually fried first and then simmered in sauce that is made of fresh tomatoes and eggs. However, I do mine …
14. Sep, 2011
Pancit Canton
There are only 3 Filipino noodles dishes that are being rotated every time there is a special occasion in my family back home in Manila; it’s either Filipino-style sweet spaghetti, pancit bihon or pancit…
08. Sep, 2011
Pritong Chicken Adobo
It could be interesting to know how many versions of Filipino adobo exist currently. There are only a few ingredients used in adobo but there are countless twists and turns that you can do …
01. Sep, 2011
Pinoy-Style Fried Chicken
This is no Jollibee or KFC. But in some hidden corner of my mind, I remember my grandmother putting vinegar to chicken before frying them. I asked some elderly Pinoys as well and they affirmed that this is pretty common. Vinegar …
25. Aug, 2011
Pork Binagoongan
(Chicago) – This is one hell of a Filipino dish that makes me want to eat 5 cups of rice in one meal. “Binagoongan” is a shrimp paste dish with lots of meat and usually made super spicy. Some people like it with lesser meat but more …
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