Recipe 362: Oyster Cake

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 and a half egg
1lb Oysters
2 stalks Scallions
Parsley (a small bunch)
3T Potato starch
1t Fish sauce
2c Beans sprouts
1t Chinese cooking wine
Salet and Pepper to taste

Procedure:

Put the oysters in a large container. Fill it with water to cover the oysters. Add a pinch of salt. Rub the oysters gently. Discard the water. Rinse the oyster for 5 or 6 times until the slimy stuff is gone. Let the oysters drain. The oysters do not need to be completely dry. 

Put oysters in a mixing bowl. Cut scallion into dices, add it to the oysters.

Cut parsley into small pieces, add it to the oysters.

Add 2T flour first and see if it covers the oysters. Gradually add a little bit more flour if needed. 

Add egg, fish sauce, scallion, parsley, Chinese cooking wine, a dash of salt and pepper to the mixture. Mix well.

Use a non-stick frying pan sprayed with oil, over high heat start adding the oyster mixture to the pan. Make it flat.  

Let it cook untouched for 5 minutes or so.Spray some oil on the top side of the oyster cake before flipping it over. Cook the other side for another 5 mins or so. Serve hot. Taste it. If you need it more salty, drizzle a few drops of fish sauce on top.

1 week, 7 days and 14 new restaurants (Part I)

MILKY and SUNNY all day breakfast

9 East Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo 

Pasig City. tel no: 02- 6542049

(From L-R: Bacon tostadas- taquitos with bacon instead of ground beef, Ham and Cheese Waffle- oohh cheesy goodness, Breakfast Enchilas, Big Plate- bacon, sausage, corned beef, golden hash brown and sunny side up egg, Eggs Benedict, Choco Marble Pancakes, Pizza Omelette- Tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes)

   

 BALKAN Yugoslavian home cooking

 Maripola Bldg. 109 Parea St. Legaspi Village

Makati City. tel no: 02-8460744

(from L-R: Goulash- stew of lean beef, onions and paprika served with noodles, Stuffed Pljeskarica- cutting open this pc of rubbery looking meat releases a generous amount of gooey cheese all over your fries, oh heaven!, Butkice- baked pork knuckle w/ caramelized skin and go so flavorful meat, Jagnjentina- a plate of super tender lamb; dubbed their house specialty, meat falling from the bones isn't the only wow factor but the spices they use are so unusual it gives this dish that unique taste you'll crave, Sarama- pickled cabbage stuffed with beef, rice and spices! its the perfect mix of sweet, sour and savory and finally, NUTELLA CREPE! need i say more.)

MINSOK Korean BBQ

5655 Don Pedro Corner Jacobo Street Poblacion

Makati City. tel no: 02-8959586

(from L-R: Melting the fat for oil, Samgyupsal- korean bacon, Kalguksu- Seafood soup with vegetables and handmade noodles, Deungjang Jjigae- mildly spicy soup with veggies and a little meat and tofu; this is perfect for rainy day weather, Kalbi Tang- beef strips, veg and egg in clear broth with glass noodles, Seafood Jeon- seafood and green onion pancake, Bibimbap- rice with meat, veg, egg and chili paste, Korean Short Ribs)

LOCALE Gastrobar

City Golf Compound, Julio Vargas Avenue

Ortigas Center, Pasig City. tel no: +639292533128 / +639279547414

(From L-R: Taco Salad, Fish and Chips- british style; soft and flaky on the inside and crispy but without batter on the outside, Keema rigatoni- india-talian at its best, truffle pasta- more like a truffle carbonara to me, flexing mussels- white wine, fennel butter and chorizo, angus meatballs, tarragon oysters, FOIE BURGER with bacon, Truffle pizza, Angus rib-eye)

UKIYO Japanese Restaurant

6th floor Alphaland Southgate Tower , Chino Roces corner

EDSA, Makati City. tel no: 02-3105253

(From T-B: Miso Kushikalu- japanese kebab/ bbq made with a remarkably flavorful sauce, Ukiyo Special Pasta- hand made greentea soba, uni and squid ink, Pork Kurabata- for shabu shabu, Taraba Kani- king crab from Hokkaido which has the sweetest meat I've tasted and most succulent that you can imagine perfect when dipped in vinegar and wasabi pepper salt, Ebi Arare Age- ebi tempura coated with rice crackers and fried to perfection)

Newest Favorite: Tajimaya

There are not much Yakiniku places who actually do it right here in Manila. Yakimix, Robotosan, Tazamix... and other places like such disgust me... I don't even want to get into the details. 

Anyway, before Tajimay sufficed in the one rockwell strip, I used to eat at Urameshi-Ya at Little Tokyo all the time!!! The only problem with that place is that the restaurants aircon seems to be perennially broken! And the place, looks filthy especially having waitresses skunking around wearing promiscuous uniforms! But when it comes to the authenticity and realness of the restaurants food i'd give it a 101% and another bonus if you can cross order from other restaurants around. 

But, Never did I go back or even think about going to urameshi ever again though since Tajimaya opened last May at Rockwell. I'm there practically almost every sunday. Check out my pictures below and you'll understand why this has become MD and I's newest favorite.

(tip: order the chicken, its only P160, squirt some lemon on it though while grilling and ask for rock salt to drizzle over it when cooked. Go wagyu all the way or regular all the way, don't mix coz surely once you've tried the wagyu, no one would be touching the regulars. Don't forget to try their wagyu sashimi too. )

tajimaya menu:

Recipe 362: Creamy Artichoke Dip

Ingredients
1 garlic cloves miced well or pressed in a garlic press
3/4 C parmesan cheese
3/4 C 0% fat greek yogurt
5 oz cream cheese
5 oz sour cream
1 lemon, juiced
1 shallot
16 oz canned artichoke 
Hot sauce, cayenne, red pepper flakes to taste
Salt & pepper to taste



Procedure:

Start by pre-heating your oven to 350. Then mix the smashed garlic, minced onions and lemon juice together and sautee in a pan. Then, very roughly chop the artichoke hearts. I like this dish because you can taste the artichokes... it's not all smooshed. So leave 'em good and chunky. But if you prefer otherwise, that won't be a problem either. Add to pan.

In a food processor, combine cream cheese, sour cream and non-fat yogurt. Whip, but better if you just spatula it til the mixture becomes creamy. But since I'm lazy, I just used the food processor. Add processed mixture to pan and incorporate. Allow to heat through. Add 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan to mixture and combine. Check for seasoning and add salt (about 1 teaspoon sea salt), black pepper and a dash of your favorite hot sauce, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. Add more lemon or other seasonings if desired.

Spoon mixture into shallow baking dish or individual ramekins and top with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes. You want to remove it when it's browned and bubbling. And finish under a 500(F) broiler for 2 mins minutes to crisp cheese on top. Serve with chips, triscuits, or vegetables. Really anything works, as it's just a vehicle to scoop up this creamy deliciousness....enjoy!

Recipe 361: Pan Seared Scallops with Roasted Tomatoes, Leeks and Creamy Polenta

Ingredients:
1 pint grape tomatoes
3 T olive oil, divided
1 C polenta
3 C water
2 large leeks
3 C spinach
3 T butter
10-12 large scallops
1/4 C feta




Start by pre-heating  the oven at 400°. Then, put all of the tomatoes into a baking dish. Drizzle 1 T olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put it in the oven and roast for 1 hour.



Bring out a small pan then start boiling water. When the water starts boiling add in the the polenta.

Stir occasionally but let cook for 30 minutes. 

Slice the leeks after rinsing well.

Do the same with your scallops and pat them dry and set aside to dry for about 15 minutes.

Heat up the rest of the olive oil in a pan. Add the leeks.

Stir until the leeks are transparent. Add the spinach and add more olive oil if necessary.

Watch over and stir until the spinach has wilted.Heat up butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the scallop once the butter is HOT and cook on each side for 5 minutes.

Set the scallops aside. 

Add the feta to the warm polenta and remove the tomatoes from the oven.

Put a half cup of polenta at the bottom, add some tomatoes, leeks and spinach mix and scallops on top. Enjoy nom nom!

Recipe #360: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Ingredients: 
1 kg Beef shin bones
350 g Gravy beef
5 cm Fresh ginger, thinly sliced into 2 in length
1 teaspoon Salt
2.5 liters Water
6 Black peppercorns
1 Cinnamon sticks
4 Cloves
6 Coriander seeds
2 tablespoons Nuoc cham sauce
400 g Thick fresh rice noodles
150 g Rump Steak, thiny sliced
3 Spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
1 Medium onion, very thinly sliced 

Procedure:

Place the bones, gravy beef, ginger, salt and water in a large pan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer very gently, uncovered, for 3 1/2 hours.Skim off any scum that forms on the surface.

Add the peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds and nuoc cham sauce. 

Cook for another 40 minutes. 

Remove the gravy beef and set it aside to cool. 

Drain the stock, reserving all the liquid and discarding the bones and spices. 

Return the liquid to the pan. 

When the gravy beef is cool enough to handle, cut it against the grain into very fine slices. Set aside. 

Close to serving time, plunge the noodles into a pan of boiling water and cook them for about 10 seconds only, otherwise they will soften and fall apart. Drain the noodles well and divide them among large individual soup bowls. Arrange the toppings on a platter in the centre of the table. 

Bring the beef stock to a rapid boil. 

Place some slices of the cooked meat as well as a few slices of the raw steak into each bowl of noodles. 

Ladle the boiling stock over the top, sprinkle over the spring onion (scallion) and onion slides and serve.

THE GOOSE STATION

1ST: LYCHEE MOJITO

Chopped lychee, lychee vodka crushed ice, jellied mint and brandy

2ND: FOIE GRAS CONE

Phyllo pastry cones, piped in foie cream, topped with strawberry jam jelly and a macadamia

 3RD: ASSORTED CHIPS AND DIP

Guac and cane vinegar 

4TH: CAVIAR SURPRISE

Cauliflower Panna Cotta, Crab Jelly, Tapioca and Crab “Salad,” Sea Urchin and Avruga Caviar sprinkled with Gold Flakes

5TH: EGGS BENEDICT

Poached Egg, Hollandaise Foam, Bacon Tuile, Fleur de Sel, White Truffle Oil. 

6TH: FILIPINO ALFREDO

Candied alamang over spaghetti alfredo

 7TH: FOIE AND MUSHROOM RAVIOLI

8TH: DUCK CONFIT

Spice and Citrus Rub, Jus, Horseradish Potato Puree, Black Soy Beans, Whole Grain Mustard, Black Currant Jelly

9TH: 24-HR STEAK

 USDA Short rib, their very own worcestershire jus, truffle oil mashed potatoes, crispy onions 

DESSERT: CANDIED CHOCOLATE

praline crust, dark chocolate ganache, milk chocolate and earl grey tea mousse, frozen raspberries

DESSERT: PUMPKIN AND COCONUT

Coconut Panna Cotta, “latik” anglaise, sago, pumpkin foam and fondant sticks 

DESSERT: MINI MACARONS