California Crunch Cassava Chips (P44 each)

I couldn’t resist the temptation of opening the bags so I went ahead and opened one.  The unmistakable smell of sour cream and onion chips wafted into the air inviting me to dig in.  The flavor was very sour cream & onion-y.  The mouth feel was spot-on crunchy.  Not that I would mistake it for potato chips (the slightly thicker slices and wee bit starchy) but it’s close.  The chips are from California Crunch and these are cassava chips.  But it ain’t the same ole kamote chips we are accustomed to.

Sour Cream and Onion flavor

Lagal[og] says: Oh, I’m quite a chips fanatic and Lay’s is my long-time favorite. I didn’t have much expectations which is why the California Crunch Cassava Chips came as a very pleasant surprise.  I really like the Sour Cream and Onions flavor (I think I finished the whole bag in one sitting).  Comforting to know the chips do have 30% less cholesterol compared to potato chips though if it didn’t taste the way they did, I wouldn’t have really finished the whole bag.  I just wished the chips are less salty though.

Barbecue Flavor

Ironwulf says: I enjoyed the thicker and crispier crunch these Cassava Chips have. There’s more to chew on than those regular potato chips. The Barbecue Flavor was my favorite. I like the strong flavor and the spice that builds up on each munch. The Sour Cream and Onion successfully masked its cassava roots with its distinct flavor, but it was a tad too salty for my taste.

California Crunch Cassava Chips come in
Sour Cream & Onions and Barbecue flavors
Retails for P44 at leading supermarkets

Pasta Box at the Collective

With all the new eating places cropping up, it’s safe to say that there’s no shortage of pasta places to go to in Manila.  The issue rather is where to go for good pasta that’s more imaginative than usual, tasty and yet won’t clean up your pocket as fast as you can clean up your plate.  Your Happyfoodies happened to chance upon Pasta Box at the far corner of The Collective along Malugay in Makati and the clean, spic-and-span interiors worked like a charm in pulling us in and giving this place a try.

Pasta Box Interiors

Lagal[og] says: One look at the Pasta Box menu and we knew it was a fusion-or-bust matter.  There are interesting takes on Italian fare with Pinoy twists.  The usual problem with fusion attempts is that the recipe looks good on paper but falls short in the taste department. Happily, this is not the case with Pasta Box.

Holy Chicken Fussili (P135)

Ironwulf says: We came at a late afternoon hour and were famished so we have to have some appetizers.  We settled for Nachos & Italian Dips.  We ordered three dips to go with it and the Garlic-Tomatoes Dip came out the most-liked (loads of garlic with every dip!) but I must say that the Sour Cream-Basil wasn’t bad either.

Lagal[og] says: The Pasta Box format is:  1) Choose your pasta and 2) choose your sauce.  I have this predilection for chicken so the Holy Chicken Fussilli became an automatic choice.  While I wish it could be spicier, I liked the medley of shredded chicken, the hint of spiciness in the peppers and chili garlic sauce along with the crunch of cashew nuts.  The serving size is on the large side, good enough for sharing (not for me as I could eat another bowlful of this stuff).

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto (P135)

Ironwulf says: At a time when people are more conscious of eating healthy, Pasta Box banners that their food has no MSG or trans-fat. Their pasta sauces are all home-made. And I could believe the claims.

The first pasta dish I tried was the Seafood Pomodoro. I was (pleasantly) surprised by the wonderful presentation of the pasta with all the clams, mussels, shrimps and tuna. The tastes of seafood and herbs blended well in a medley of flavors . I also enjoyed their Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta (not on the menu) as I dig through the tasty layers of pesto pasta to get those flavorful bits of crunchy sun-dried tomatoes.

Lagal[og] says: We had the Italian Panini during our shoot day.  It was okay though I like the Pinoy Panini more.  Made with Ciabatta bread and served with cassava chips, the Pinoy version has adobo flakes instead of salami and laced with caramelized onions and melted kesong puti (local white cheese).  It’s a really nice take on Panini with soft, flavorful adobo (pork cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and oil) shreds melding beautifully with the kesong puti .

Italian Panini (P95)

Ironwulf says: While I liked the Italian Panini, I thought the Pinoy Panini made more of an impression as its taste really stands out. For drinks, I simply had their refreshing Sago Gulaman.

Lagal[og] says: For drinks, I would’ve loved to try the Sago Punch but I’m a teetotaler so had to settle for the Sago Gulaman.  Nothing really spectacular about it but it’s a curious pairing to a predominantly French-Italian fusion fare.

Pasta Box
Located within The Collective
7274 Malugay St., San Antonio Village, Makati City
www.pastabox.ph
Accepts deliveries within the Makati area;
call 881-6188 or text 0910-7995916

Wabi-sabi Noodle House Window

Yeah, I know the drill.  Eat your veggies.  Eat more of ‘em.  And eat ‘em more often.  Well, I’m no veggie hater; it’s just that pork, chicken and beef are just too commonplace and admittedly, too good to pass up come mealtime.  Vegemeat dishes are okay but there aren’t a lot of places that serve them, and honestly, the dishes fall short on taste.  Call it serendipity or luck but your Happyfoodies are just too happy to have stumbled upon a really nice veggie place — Wabi-Sabi Noodle House & Vegetarian Grocery at The Collective in Makati.  We’re just too glad to find somewhere we can seek penance for all those trips to the nearby 8065 Bagnet.

Viet Pho (P95)

Lagal[og] says: Maybe it was the name that caught my eye; that and the inviting interior with the warm lighting .  Wabi-Sabi sounds Filipino but the name has a rather sublime meaning — the Japanese concept of aesthetic or beauty with acceptance of transcience or impermance.  Whew, heavy stuff but there’s nothing too heavy to comprehend as far as the menu is concerned.  I ordered the Pho which arrived redolent of basil.  This one is laced with chunks of vegemeat which I think is an interesting twist, making it filling yet not that burdensome to the tummy.  It was also nice to have the fragrant Lemongrass Iced Tea as a complement — light, cool and refreshing to the palate.

Banh Mi (P75 half/ P150 whole)

Ironwulf says: I missed Banh Mi (baguette with grilled meat and slices of vegetable toppings) very much from my Indochina travels in Vietnam and Laos. Boy I used to have Banh Mi as breakfast everyday when I was in Luang Prabang. It’s a rare treat to find here in Manila so I was glad to find one at Wabi-sabi. It’s Banh Mi with a twist as it uses veggie meat as substitute to beef. And oh it was savory and juicy that I thought it was the real thing. The dressing was also flavorful and I like the kick of lemongrass.

Gyoza Pot Sticker (P45/ 3pcs)

Lagal[og] says: As side dish, we ordered the vegetarian Gyoza Pot Stickers.  One dip into the yummy sauce was all it took to make me order another batch.  The gyoza was lightly seared instead of deep-fried and the sauce was really something. Definitely worth coming back for.

Vegetable Cracklings (P40)

Ironwulf says: Another side dish to nibble on was the Vegetable Cracklings which were deep fried bits of veggie meat that resemble bits of regular fish crackers. It was light and good. Dipping it into the Vinegar Cane that comes with it heightens the flavor.

Wabi-Sabi dining interiors

Wabi-Sabi
The Collective
7274 Malugay St., San Antonio Village,
Makati City • Mobile: 0918.4501714

Halo Halo de Iloko Special

Ah, the halo-halo.  This quintessential Pinoy cooler is literally a hodge podge of locally-available ingredients.  Just like the ubiquitous adobo, it varies from province to province with iterations that change partly due to what’s available, partly to what tickle the taste buds of the locals.

Inside Halo Halo de Iloko

On a particularly hot afternoon, Thunderbird Resorts, our gracious host in La Union, deemed it worthy to cool us down at the much-written-about Halo Halo de Iloko.  The rains fell by the time we traveled from Luna to San Fernando proper but that didn’t dissuade us from having that special halo halo.

Prawn Crackers (P65)

Lagal[og] says: It took awhile before the halo halo was prepared so we got ourselves something to nibble on.  The prawn crackers that came first were as enticing as they were colorful, though pretty standard in taste.  But one dip into the vinegar sauce was all it took to know this was special.  We queried the staff about the ‘secret’ additive but they were mum about it (as the owner is equally secretive about the halo halo mix).  I suspect it is rice wine (common in the Ilocos region) that gives the sauce that kick.

Special Okoy Langgonisa (P85)

Ironwulf says: Okoy, a popular Filipino Snack that is usually made up of shrimp, bean sprouts, tofu and flour was served to stave off our hunger while we wait for the halo-halo. But Halo Halo de Iloko’s okay was different. It was a lot tastier and more pastry-like in consistency.  It’s also a lot more flavorful with the added malunggay and carrot with variants laced with langgonisa bits or tuna strips. I definitely enjoyed the langgonisa variant. Dipping into their special vinegar really heightens the taste even more.

Halo Halo Fiesta (P85)

Lagal[og] says: The Halo Halo came just in time to give us not so much as relief from the afternoon heat which has considerably scaled down with the rain as much as relief from the ‘spiked’ vinegar sauce of the fish crackers and okoy.

It was, as halo halo fare goes, pretty much loaded – ube ice cream on top of not-so-fine yet not-really-that-coarse shaved ice, mung beans and an assortment of pretty much halo-halo staple ingredients at the bottom.

I think what spelled the difference was the smoky flavor and extra crunch lent by the roasted pinipig (toasted rice crispies).  At times, it’s the use of a single ingredient that gives a recipe a delightful difference, e.g. the generous use of sweetened coconut that made Razon’s halo halo a distinct, Zen-like experience.

Ironwulf says: The roasted crispy flavor and rich ingredients spelled the difference for this halo-halo. The shaved ice isn’t as fine grated as Razon’s but the serving size and finely picked, locally-sourced ingredients did make a difference.

Halo Halo de Iloko Dining

Halo Halo de Iloko
P. Burgos cor. Zandueta Sts.
San Fernando City, La Union

Baked Potato Lasagna, P90

We’re a rice-eating nation and even with the globalization of the Filipino taste buds, rice remains to be our main source of carbs.  But every once in a while, one just wants a break — maybe a pasta dish here or a sandwich there.  With the birth of The Spud Diner, you can add potato dishes to your list of options.  It used to be that potatoes are relegated to side dish status on the dinner table (mashed with gravy on top or sliced into strips, deep-fried and served as French fries).  Maybe, that’s because most of the potatoes that are served here are imported from the U.S. of A and saying “I’m a meat-and-potatoes person” sounds very colonial and un-Pinoy.  But Spud Diner, an offshoot of the flavored fries institution called Potato Corner, rises up to the challenge of giving potatoes its rightful place on the table by providing this staple with some surprising twists.

The Spud Diner Italian Job, P85

Lagal[og] said: One attribute of potatoes that serves a delicious purpose in the Chorizo Potato Chowder is the volume it adds to the soup stock without necessarily adding a lot of fat compared to using heavy cream.   Served piping hot, this would be a nice treat come the rainy days.  What followed was the Italian Job (nice moniker!), which featured layers of potato wedges interspersed with a rich tomato sauce plus cheese.

Tuna Sisig

Ironwulf said: It was a pleasant surprise to see baked potato chip slices layered with melted cheese and grilled meat on their Baked Potato Lasagna. It not only looks good but the mixture of flavors and textures works really well. It was like eating a very tasty lasagna with the chewy goodness of the potato. Another dish that I liked was the Tuna Sisig. I never thought that this would work but it did have that Sisig essence with every layer of potato chips and spicy tuna flakes. Very flavorful and one of my favorites (it isn’t in the menu yet though so I guess we got lucky to have been given a taste).

Potato and Sausage Surprise, P165

Lagal[og] said: The Potato and Sausage Surprise was very good (I guess any meat and potato combination will do the trick anyway).  The sausage was spicy and the potato slices provide a foil to the spiciness. I just found the potato slices a bit too numerous but overall, the taste is good.  This will make a heavy lunch sans any serving of rice.

Ice Cream Temptation, P50

Ironwulf said: I remember the times when I used to scoop ice cream with my French fries. It was delicious. Spud’s Ice Cream Temptation let me relive those fun moments by serving chocolate- covered fries topped with Vanilla ice cream.  The churros-like flavor works well for a refreshing and rather unique chocolatey dessert.

The Spud Diner
The Columns, Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. cor. Ayala, Makati City
www.potatocorner.com

No Problem Sutukil Restaurant Fresh Catch

One of the indelible impressions that going around Cebu City left me is that Cebuanos simply love to eat. I’ve visited this so-called Queen City of the South every year for the last four or so years and seeing new eating places coming up just amazes me. The last time around was for another work assignment when we went around and saw signages on lampposts advertising either lechon (roast pig) and pochero, a kind of beef soup.

Hmmm, our group didn’t have have the opportunity to try Cebu’s version of the pochero but we got to sample delicious fare here and there, some more worth remembering than the others. We’re really just scratching the surface of the Cebu foodscape here but what the heck, it’s my modest contribution to the online literature extolling the flavors of the city’s food offerings and celebrating the Cebuanos’ love affair with food.

No Problem Sutukil Restaurant's Scallops in Lemon-Butter Sauce

Sutokil? No Problem!

Oh, you probably knew where the tongue-in-cheek name came from — Sugba (grilled), Tinowa (stewed in sour soup base), Kilaw (cooked not with heat but vinegar or lime juice) — so I wouldn’t dwell on it. We arrived at No Problem Restaurant to eat a very late lunch at 4:30pm due to a rather hectic itinerary but I, personally, wouldn’t want to miss this chance. No Problem is no frills, with a dining area that sits on stilts over a mangrove area. There’s cheap plastic covering the long wooden tables and the creaking wooden floor oftentimes yield sea roaches but remember that you came here for the food.

It’s hard to believe this restaurant is over two decades old but I guess the come-ons of unpretentious preparation, freshly-cooked flavors and low prices are time-tested alternatives to the pomp and frills of the restaurants that has come and gone during those years. We chose from the array of fresh fishes and seafood at the entrance and feasted on Shrimps in Sweet and Sour Sauce (P375/kilo), Lapu-lapu in Soy Sauce(red grouper) and Grilled Scallops in Lemon-Butter Sauce (P320/kilo) while our loquacious servers regaled us with tales of love found and love lost.  Hmm, the way we were eating the past days, it seemed we in turn have tales of pounds found and pounds we must lose.

Rico's Cebu Lechon

Lechon!  Lechon!

This is the birthplace of the famed Lechon Bisaya so it’s understandable that the locals I’ve spoken to were hard-pressed to say which lechon (roasted pig) is the best.  Our group heard of Rico’s in Talamban and knew we had to put this to the taste/test.  We had to wait for over an hour as Mang Rico’s young hands roasted a pig to a wonderful crisp.  As usual, the skin is very much coveted but I must say the laman (meat) was fully cooked and flavorful owing to the stuffing — a motley mix of tanglad (lemongrass), other kinds of leaves, salt and seasoning, the composition of which is a guarded family secret.  Certainly not everyday fare but a very worthwhile indulgence (Prices from P2,500-P5,000 depending on size of the pig).

From streetwise to swanky.

I wish we could have come on a different night to Abaca in Punta Engaño Road in Mactan so I could have taken even a shot of the glorious food as it was dark when we got there. But even so, I feel it’s worth a mention here. It’s not-for-nothing that it’s one of the latest, must-eat-here places in Cebu, the good food is personally prepared by Jason Hyatt who has worked with Wolfgang Puck. His pizzas are paper-thin (the way I like them). Why, even his salads are laced with his plump and fruity heritage tomatoes.  The dining area overlooks a view of the private jetty and the sea, lit with candles and wall scones which makes the place ideal for convivial dining with friends or romantic dates. One of the benefits of going on a business trip is foregoing paying a hefty bill which costs upwards of P1,600 per head for a full course meal.

Formo Sweet and Spicy Potato Crisps

Crisp Delight.

I’m not a party-goer but going on an after-dinner trip to Formo in Banilad is worth it even just for the taste of the Sweet and Spicy Home-made Potato Crisps.  Thinly-sliced and delicately-flavored, they go well with the Mojitos (available in 5 fruity flavors) or in my case, the ever-reliable iced tea.  There’s also the original salted variant but I prefer the sweet and spicy one.

Cafe Georg! Tiramisu

After a filling day, a sweet ending.

A sweet way to cap the day will be at Cafe Georg, also in Banilad, or its smaller but no less cozy store, Oh Georg! at the Ayala Center.  They have a wide selection of desserts but don’t forget the Tiramisu — it’s certainly worth the trip to Banilad even if you happen to be based in Mactan. Go ahead, order one or two dessert item to go along with your java.

No Problem Restaurant
Mactan Island • (6332) 495.8101

Rico’s Lechon
Hiway 77, Talamban • (6332) 344.0119; (0971) 407.2033

Abaca
Punta Engaño, Mactan Island • (6332) 495.8546

Formo
Banilad Town Centre (6332)420.7070

Cafe Georg
G/F MILD Bldg., Banilad • (6332) 234.0887

Oh Georg!
Level 1, Ayala Center • (6332) 233.4735

Haagen Dazs Dark Chocolate Orange

It’s hard not to love Haagen Dazs. The texture is always creamy, smooth and velvety. The flavors are real and faithful to the fruits that inspired them.  And what they say is true – the ice cream’s consistency is dense and full-bodied, not full of air, even when melted.  True, the price is very premium but the quality you get is incomparable. We got invited to another Haagen Dazs event (always a welcome thought for any foodie) and got to try more flavors.

Haagen Dazs Dark Chocolate Orange Cups

Lagal[og] said: The Dark Chocolate Orange flavor is really something else.  Never thought orange can go well with chocolate but this one came out very good.  I guess the orange acts as a foil to the chocolate’s semi-sweetness.  There are even orange bits especially when you get to the halfway mark of the cup.

Ironwulf said: Scraping through the surface of the Dark Chocolate Orange, I thought it was good. I’ve always liked dark chocolates but I was looking for something different. I dug deeper and uncovered the rich orange flavor that adds a nice fruity contrast to the chocolate ice cream. It’s very good, especially with bits of pulp right to the core. I enjoyed it.

Haagen Dazs Banana Split (P350)

Lagal[og] said: I also ordered the Banana Ssplit out of curiosity.  Hmmm, I’ve always loved banana split when I was a kid and now I wonder, how would it taste when it’s made from Haagen Dazs?  Well, this one didn’t disappoint.  It took time before I can eat my ice cream since we had to take turns in shooting our orders but the nice thing about Haagen Dazs is that even the melted ice cream retains its consistency. Even a common flavor as strawberry gets a flavorful second look with this concoction.  The bed of crushed ice cream cones at the bottom also adds a delightful crunch.

Haagen Dazs Melon Nut Crunch (P350)

Ironwulf said: I love cookies so I tried the Macadamia Nut Crunch on the menu but with a twist. Instead of the Macadamia, I paired Melon Ice Cream with Chocolate Midnight Cookies for that added fruitiness. The combination was a good one well as expected. And the cookies added that welcome crunch.  It’s a nice treat.

Haagen-Dazs
With a new store at Robinsons Place, Ermita • Other branches: SM Mall of Asia (556.1111) • SM Megamall Atrium (638.2971) • Shangri-la (634.8103) • Glorietta (892.2873) • Greenhills (721.0111) • Alabang Town Center (809.1996) • Powerplant Mall (899.3274) • Greenbelt (757.7570) and Eastwood (687.1839)