Sweet Talk - one fine dining place

Pssst. Let me tell you something... I stumbled upon a "sweet" surprise yesterday when my best friend from college and I met up today for a late afternoon snack. We needed to catch up on each other as we haven't hooked up for the longest of time.

Things are so much different now and so unlike in college and in the years after. We were still fancy-free then and could go out anytime we liked with nary a thought of how things would be in the home front as we still lived with our parents. But now, as homemakers ourselves, any social plans can only be made after adjustment are made on our donestic duties (e.g. ensuring that dinner would be ready when the hubby comes, children are fed and tutored, etc.). Yes, we still are fancy, but not that free anymore.

So there we were at the Tacloban Convention Center, a fast growing dining hub, and decided to try a restaurant that showed much promise from the outside. Far from its name, "Sweet Talk" serves anything but desserts. It's menu consists of pizzas, pasta dishes and sandwiches. No rice meals around here. At first glance the items look pricey as nothing goes below 150php for a single order, except for the beverages of course. But not to worry for the budget-conscious diner, they have big servings and an order of a plate of any pasta dish is good enough to share. A pizza priced at 185php-up can satisfy the hunger pangs of three people.

Finding some of the pasta items unfamilar and not feeling adventurous at that time, we had carbonara, something we easily recognized. It was more than filling as between the two of us. Verdict: four thumbs up. The sauce was a little on the sweet side, but just an eensi weenie bit. Perhaps this was due in part to the rich milk and cream that was added to it. The pasta noodles was cooked just right, soft but not sticky. Bits of bacon and ham and a sprinkling of mushrooms added spice and a certain tanginess that went well the slight sweet taste. Its one of the best carbonara I've had. The trick here is in the sauce, real creamy and the pasta was full of it.With drinks, our bill was only Php220.00 with no service charge. Now that's what I would call reasonable.

Looking around I felt transported to one of those dining places in Greenbelt. Finally, a place whose food matched the calibre of that hard to quantify criterion of any restaurant, its ambiance. When we asked who the owner was, it figured, Jose Karlo's interiors was just as tastefully done in rich wood colors. It's restrooms are clean and is beautiful enough to lounge on. If the carbonara is any indication, then the food here is definitely a must try.

With an almost perfect view (the shanties does obscure the waterfront), fine food, elegant interiors and reasonable prices, what's there not to like about "Sweet Taste"?

Caffeine Fix@the City

Jose Karlo Coffee Shop (Paterno St., right across Sto. Nino Church)

Looking for the perfect cup of cappuccino in the city? Long before Starbucks became a byword, Jose Karlo has been serving this brewing hot concoction to its regular patrons who dropped by not just for a caffeine fix but hang out for some "people-watching". A few years back it held the exclusive right to being, as my friend would term it, the place to "see and be seen" on the coffee scene.


Jose Karlo Coffee Shop


But now competing shops have sprouted taking away some of its "older" patrons. The teens and younger set has remained loyal though, and it is still the most popular hangout for students. Every now and then, a few yuppies (twentysomething with gainful employment) hang out and do "babe"-watching.

Its attraction to its patrons lie in its pricing scheme. Most items on the menu has remained affordable to students whose social life still live by mom and pop's weekly allowance. A cup of frappuccino can be had at Php60.00 and a slice of banana cake at Php25.00 the last time I looked. Another thing going for the place is its homey ambiance complete with sofa and living room sets in its second floor. Clearly, the owner has splurged in its decor as lovely paintings and colorful bric a brac's adorn its fake wooden walls. My friends and I sometimes meet here when we prefer a long and unhurried stay. We love to lounge on its cozy and soft sofas as we sip on cappuccinos and make "turab Luzon" all afternoon.

Bo's Coffee (Avenida Veteranos, right across DWU)

My only misgiving when this place first opened was its acquarium look. What do I mean by this? You could be seen by everyone passing by as the whole of its front is clear glass. In time it ceased to bother me and it soon became our favorite "tsikahan" haunt. The coffee shop is a franchise from Cebu City so more or less its items and prices are pre-determined by people other than the franchise owner. Which explains its steeper prices compared to its oldest competitor. THe lowest priced item on its beverage menu is Php90.00 per glass. The dessert tray items of pastries and slices of cakes ranges from Php50.00 to Php90.00. Most of its regular patrons are from the late twentysomething to thirtysomething crowd. Since Internet surfing is free, expect to see most people here crunching over their laptops.

Gloria Jeans Coffee (Avenida Veteranos cor. del Pilar St.)

Definitely the most expensive, this coffee shop with an international brand is slowly building up its customer base. Most med reps (detail me for pharmaceutical firms) hang out here and do their reports taking advantage of it Wi-fi coverage. I have only been here twice as I prefer staying at the other place. In terms of ambiance, it is similar to its closest neighboring coffee shop.

...So there you have it. A rundown of coffee shops in the city. But then a cup of coffee is a cup of coffee is a cup of coffee. What matters is you have the company of fine friends and good conversation. THe cappuccino? It can be had anywhere.

Millenium Raw Fish-Kinilaw from NZ

Hey, I got a reply from Mr. N. Remember, he's the guy from new Zealand who told me about a different kinilaw? As requested, he truly was kind enough to share with us a recipe from the Maoris (people native to New Zealand) which is quite similar to our kinilaw or kilawin. For the foodies out there, here is the recipe lifted from the nccuis.ifrance website.:

Ingredients:

1 cup of fresh lime juicea handful chopped corriander leaves

6 red chillis (or more if u like more heat)

salt/pepper 2 taste

6-8 fish fillets (snapper is beautiful)

1/2 kg fresh N.Z mussels (medium size)

1/2 kg fresh N.Z pipis

1-2 tins Coconut milk (samoan coconut milk is superior for this recipe)

1 bunch spring onions (topped,tailed & chopped finely)

1 large spanish onion (chopped in thin rings)

4-6 Roma tomatoes (Roma is more tasty)

4-6 medium Yellow capsicum (Yellow seems to be sweeter than red or green capsicum, use a combo of all 3 for better effect & accelerated flavour) - for the rest of the recipe, visit www.nccuis.ifrance.com

Kinilaw from New Zealand

I got a word from a college friend who had already migrated with his family to the land of native Maoris, yes that's New Zealand. He read my post on kinilaw (see July archives, Bartolo's Kinilaw) and he told me that there is actually a version of the dish in NZ. Unlike, Bartolo's, their's does not have coconut milk added to it. So, that means kinilaw is actually international fare. The common denominator is the vinegar. Figures, as its fermenting action does all the "cooking". We hope that he could share with us some of the Maori's food. If he does, your sure that it will appear on this blog. Mr. N. hope your reading and respond soon.

Oasis in Babatngon

A rowboat ride by the pond, anyone?

In a spur of the moment's fancy my friends and I decided to take a visit to Rafael's Farm, a mere 25 minutes drive from the city. I've already heard about this place from friends and have seen pictures of it in their Friendster accounts. They had but wonderful words and my curiosity was piqued. So that night, at a moment's notice off we went to Babatngon, the immediate neighboring town of Tacloban to the south, just short of the San Juanico Bridge. A few minutes after we left the outskirts of the city and the last barangay, we slowed to a stop in front of a wooden gate. We were just in time as the place closed at 8:30 p.m., so we were told by an ebbulient guard who opened its entrance. We went down a winding wooden path traversing over a large man made pond. Uhhmm. So far, everything was just as it looked in the pictures, even better.

The tree house

All twelve hectares of this estate is landscaped with lily ponds and artifial springs strewn all over. The largest pond has small rowboats which you could rent for the small price of P50.00, unlimited hours a delight for the kids which makes it an ideal place for a family outing

I am not much of an expert on architecture much more on landscaping,but I venture my two centavos worth of opinion on Rafael's and what makes it worth visiting. My over-all assessment is that it is the perfect millionaire's getaway. It is what my ideal rest house would look like if I had millions of bucks to spare. It is clear that the owner loving had his hand in the final look for it maintains that homey touch that must come only from the non-expert. But make no mistake, the whole place shows the stamp of a professional interior designer, one can see it in the symmetry and put-together finish of the design.



The restaurant as viewed from the entrance

For the millionaire (could be) that is Rafael's owner, he just was generous enough to share to the public his perfect sanctuary.

The focal point of the farm is the restaurant, which is not quite large but we were told that it is big enough to accomodate 100 persons. Antique chairs and wooden furniture dominates the interiors. Diaphanous curtains serve as soft dividers between the main dining hall and the side lanais. It is usually tied so as to let the fresh air in. Surrounding the building are mini wading pools with urns spouting water from pressurized pumps underneath. The design is an eclectic mix of native Filipino and old European touches. I do love the old kerosene lamps, a reminder of my childhood when emergency lights was then unheard of. It came in handy too as a brown out occurred a good ten minutes after we arrived.

Scatterred a few meters from the restaurant are small cottages you could rent for the day where you could bring in your own food plus corkage. There is also a tree house which, unfortunaltely could not be seen in nightime. All in all, Rafael's Farm provides the perfect ambiance for the weary soul tired of the usual city fare of smog and concrete. The food was reasonably priced for a restaurant of this caliber (settings-wise). We ordered crispy enough fries and cheesecake that, while unremarkable, is pleasing enough to the palate. But that is not always the lure of place. Just being there and savoring the sights is enough. Enough reason to return and bring along a friend.

(photos courtesy of Atty. M.N.A.)

Bartolo's kinilaw

My love affair with the "kinilaw" began when I tasted it during a trip to Calico-an, an island in Guiuian, Eastern Samar. Since then I have been on the look out for even tastier conconctions of this raw fish salad cooked by the fermenting action of local vinegar. I needn't have looked very far, as the hubby whipped up a very tasty one four weekends ago. Under pain of sleeping outside the kulambo (hehehe), he cooked one again for me for this piece, this time slowly demonstrating to me the process of soaking the fish in suoy in just the right amount of time, not to little as it would come out raw and not too long such that it becomes overcooked. They key here is watching out for the color of the fish such that when it turns from slightly pink to almost white, it is already "done" and you must now add the coconut milk. I say almost 'cause if it is already white, then the suoy has been "overstaying" already. The hubby loves to eat it with his bare hands but I prefer it the "American" way, with spoon and fork. Any which way it still is a hearty meal filling enough after a second serving.

They say the kinilaw is not something that the region can call its own as the dish is present all over the country, but I beg to disagree. A major ingredient is coconut milk for which Eastern Visays is abundant and I have heard of the tale of how kinilaw came to be, it goes like this:

One day a fisherman left his day's catch just below a coconut tree while he went back to his boat to retrieve something. In the meantime, sap from a coconut slowly dripped into the fish left by the fisherman. It took quite sometime for him to go back for his catch but when he he did, lo and behold, the fish had turned white. Thus, was born the country's first kinilaw.

You won't find it in any history book. Why? Because its urban legend......one made up by this wacky blogger (gotcha!, you actually believed that, didn't you?)

Seriously, some of the finest version of kinilaw can be found here, in the islands of Samar and Leyte It is a favorite pulutan and goes well with the native tuba, island red wine which is actually aged juice of the coconut colored red from the bark of the same tree. Indeed the coconut is the "tree of life".

Anyway, let me share with you a recipe of "kinilaw" that I got by way of verbal torture from the hubby (hehe) . I call it Bartolo's version of the ubiquitous philippine sashimi.

Bartolo's "kinilaw"

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo of the freshest fish available (kirawan or tangigue is most preferred)
1 cup local vinegar
1 and 1/2 cup of coconut milk
calamansi extract
two heads of onions, finely diced
2 or three tomatoes, finely diced

1 bell pepper, thinly sliced into strips
ginger, finely diced


1.Take out all the innards of the fish (gills, etc.)

2.Cut the fish into bite sized pieces, place in a bowl and add the vinegar.
3.Mix the onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic into the fish. Leave for ten minutes, have the vinegar ferment all the ingredients, especially the fish.
4.Add the coconut milk.
5.Toss all the ingredients into the bowl until its finely mixed. Leave for five minutes.
6. The "kinilaw" is now ready to eat.