camiguin island: sea urchin

found sea urchin at the waters of white island in camiguin.  i have always thought that we should stay away from sea urchins because they can do a nasty thing with your body if you get stung by it, some even said that you'll get a very high fever should you get into contact with a sea urchin.

what nobody told me is that se urchin is also a delicacy... yeah as in food, something that you eat....

apparently this is normal in this part of the island... fresh sea urchin harvested in the rich sea bed and sold by the locals for 10 pesos only.  whack it into half and put vinegar and that's eat. eaten raw and fresh... i didnt tried it though

chicharong bulaklak

 ugh! craving for chicharong bulaklak

suman dinurado

wow this suman dinurado is very very delicious! these yummy treats were a pasalubong from osamis and my first time to get a taste of this special suman that they also call bulubod in their dialect. yum yum yum tastes like no other suman...

my birthday treat to you guys! go have some and bite :D

crispy kare-kareng bagnet

crispy kare-kareng bagnet with bagoong rice

this is one really delicious dish! first time that i eat kare-kare where the meat is not included in the peanut sauce... really really delicious the bagnet is so crispy and it matches with the bagoong rice.  if you want to have a taste of this, check out casa reyes restaurant at greenhills.

ps. paid for this food and i was not paid by casa reyes to do this post, just found this dish really delicious and ought to be shared to the public :)

Casa Reyes Restaurant
Greenhills Shopping Complex
Level 1 Connecticut Carpark,
Ortigas Ave., Greenhills
San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone Number: (632) 721-1358

manila scramble

Yes! its so yummy and i am sooo glad that scramble is back! when i was a kid, i really enjoyed buying this sweet street food after classes or just for snack, i know not so healthy but this scramble is a must snack for us then :)

to those who doesn't know, scramble is pink in color (which i think made it more yummylicious to kids eyes hehehe). scramble is sweetened shaved ice served in a paper or plastic cup, a scoop of powdered milk and a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and eaten with a wooden popsicle stick.

and yes they are back in the streets of manila, well technically not a street food anymore because found this being sold at the mall, specifically at robinson's place malate... and i guess i'm not the only one who missed scramble because this little stall has always a long line but definitely worth having a taste of scramble again :)

before you can buy it at 3pesos or 5 pesos, this one called manila scramble is being sold at Php 7(small), Php 10 (medium) and Php 17 (large) and you can have additional toppings for 4 pesos. i had mine without extra toppings - just plain old school scramble taste and yes they taste like the way it used to be :)

lucban longanisa

Longganisa Lucban is a garlicky slightly sour sausage that is quite similar to chorizo de bilbao, the famous garlic sausage from Spain. Learn how to prepare your own longanisa here

panutsa

Panutsa or panocha is a sweet treat that looks like a flat disk of crystallized dark brown sugar that is studded with peanuts. Typical "pasalubong" from southern tagalog provinces. so you like this one? as for me - i lurve it! :D

busa

estero fastfood at binondo

Estero Fast Food, Binondo, Manila -- Located along murky canals of Manila's acclaimed Chinatown is a row of eateries known for its authentic yet cheap (and sometimes exotic) Chinese food.

mani

nilagang mani or boiled peanuts

shanghai fried siopap

shanghai fried siopao... in binondo

cebu chorizo

this is the chorizo version of cebu, it is actually a longganisa grilled in charcoal and it is very delicious. ate this in our stop over going to hagnaya wharf in san remigio, cebu. for more details of my trip from cebu city to hagnaya click here.

belekoy

Belekoy is a sweet delicacy that is said to have originated from Bulacan, it is made of flour, sugar, vanilla, and covered with sesame seeds. i love eating this when i was a kid and even now its just that i am having a hard time finding belekoy anywahere these days, that's why i buy tons when i see it at pasalubong stores. belekoy is makunat or it feels like your eating nougat but it is gummier. thats why we have this phrase "makunat ka pa sa belekoy" for a person who is a tightwad or stingy.

lumpiang sariwa

a fresh lumpia (spring rolls) waiting to be rolled. there are lots of lumpia varities but my favorite is lumpiang shanghai. Lumpia or spring roll was brought by the Chinese immigrants from the Fujian province of China to the Philippines. the Chinese usually serve this special lumpia on chinese new year celebration which is usually spring festival, hence the name spring roll.

orange

“The majority of (painters), because they aren't colorists, do not see yellow, orange or sulphur in the South (of France) and they call a painter mad if he sees with eyes other than theirs” -
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

bicho bicho

"Pengeng singko pambili ng puto
Sa mga tindera ng bitso-bitso"
~ Toyang by Eraserheads

Part of the Big Binondo Food WOK is trying out various food and eateries that can be found in Chinatown, and one of our stops is a store selling fried siopao and bicho bicho along Benavidez St. which is also known in the area for its food.

By the way, this bicho bicho really taste good. its taste like donut but better, you just fry it i think and then cut it into bite size sprinkle it with sugar and you're good to go! But some people prefer eating bicho bicho with lugaw or congee, and others also like to dip it in chocolate like churros.

masuki

Chinatown is indeed a gastronomic delight, a place where you can find authentic chinese food... and Masuki (which is dubbed to be the original Ma Mon Luk) located at Benavidez St., Binondo, is one of those food stalls that have survived over the years. It was established in 1930s but had to close down due to labor problems, and re-opened its doors in the 70s. Masuki, just like Ma Mon Luk's restaurant in Quezon Avenue, is what you'll call old school because it has the no frill feel, just like how you panciteria looked like ages ago.

I'd say their siomai tasted very like Ma Mon Luk's but i find their Mami more delicious, maybe its because of the special sauce that you pour to your taste, yes the same sauce that you use for the siomai.

siomai

our next stop in my Big Binondo food WOK is this hole in the wall shop (can only seat about 12 persons) that offers unique siomai in chinatown, they made it by hand, you can actually see how they make the siomai and instead of the usual steaming, they boil it just like how you'll cook palitaw, and they also grind their own pork so you'll really get 100% meat. even though i dont eat vegetables, and their siomai is full of leaves i dunno, i still love its taste (must be also because i love eating siomai). they also serve hot tea that is delicious too.
and they have another version, it's kinda like fried siomai but they presented it differently like a pancake and it taste good too!
this is how they acutally prepare their siomai, right in front of the store.

cafe mezzanine

Our first food stop in the Big Binondo Food WOK is at Cafe Mezzanine which is located at the corner of Ongpin and Yuchengco streets. This place is also dubbed as the fireman's coffee shop since the owner is an active officer in the chinese firemen volunteer association and the walls of the shop is adorned with firemen's hats! We were even encourage to don the hats and pose with a nuzzle and pretend we are firemen :)

They served us kiampong, it is salted fried rice with peanuts (my first time to eat this food) and we were also served with soup, and was advised that kiampong is best eaten by pouring the soup in the rice, for beverage we were handed iced brewed coffee. by the way, its an eat all you can rice.


At the ground floor is Chuan Kee food store which is also very busy at the time we visited.

EDIT: i forgot to mention that while we were there, a group of kids presented a "lion dance" similar to the dragon dance but the head is that of a lion and its shorter, kinda like a cute dog this lion dance is... and this lion had two kids as performer and they eagerly await treats and the lion kisses anyone who gives a treat :)

bibingka

Christmas and Simbang Gabi is almost synonymous with Bibingka, for Filipinos it's like christmas isnt the same if you dont see bibingka vendors outside the church, or at least eat one after simbang gabi.

Bibingka is made of flour and slowly cook on live charcoal. yeah that is the traditional way of cooking bibingka, it doesnt taste the same if it is cooked in the oven! :)
Once cooked you just spread the top a bit of margarine and sprinkle some sugar. Special bibingka would also have cheese and itlog na maalat. Yummy!
Bibingka is usually served with niyog or grated coconut on top and best eaten with tsaa or tea as beverage. Enjoy your bibingka!!!

Anyways i bought this bibingka at Tayuman, Felymar's is the name of the store and very near the Tayuman LRT station... actually they sell bibingka all year long :) prices of special bibingka is 35 pesos, additional toppings: cheese - 5pesos and salted egg - 5pesos