Jo Boston is a Foodie

Thirst-ay Thursday #1 - The Fire Bowl Tiki Haven

2012-01-26T15:39:00.001-08:00

Hi loves,

Hope you all are having a great day! I'm still smiling about the great modern Japanese food I ate at lunch, but now I want a drink. No, not just water, but an alky one. Something sweet that would also make me blush a little.

Then I thought of the fun "Fire Bowl" at Tiki Haven Noriega in the Outer Sunset. Went there for the first time on Saturday after the Kulinarya Cookoff (recap coming). The passionfruit bowl was really yummy, and the best part of drinking on this particular occasion was that I was introduced to "King's Cup."

Truth be told: I was a PRUDE during my college years. Not very adventurous and didn't party too much. Sorry, when I was 23 I would have taken a glass of Pinot grigio over a beer pong game any day. When our drinking companion suggested we play, I initially turned it down fearing it would get me too drunk. I didn't want a repeat of my Domain Chandon trip last month.

I gave in and played...

...

Why is this [juvenile] game so effing fun?

I guess I'm too uptight and I need to loosen up sometimes. Life isn't your job. Life isn't your salary. Life isn't your reputation. Life is the time you spend with friends and family. Even if it means doing body rolls at the bar.

Wanna learn how to play King's Cup?

1. Take an empty glass and create a circle of playing cards around it. Make sure the circle isn't broken and they are all face down.

2. Make sure everyone has an alcoholic beverage. Each player takes turns and draws a card. Here are the meanings:

A - waterfall - the first person drinks and going clockwise every player starts drinking when the card drawer does. This person can stop drinking at anytime. Once the first person stops, it's up to the 2nd person to stop then the 3rd then the 4th then the 5th so on and so on. If you're last, you're screwed.

2 - you - card drawer picks someone to drink

3 - me - card drawer drinks

4 - whores - all females drink

5 - jive - card drawer stands and does a dance move. The next person does the 1st person's dance and adds their own move. The 3rd person does the previous moves and adds their own and so on and so on. The person who messes up or doesn't remember the sequence drinks.

6 - dicks - all males drink

7 - arms up to heaven - last person to raise both arms in the air drinks

8 - mate - card drawer picks a person to drink every time the drawer drinks. This rule ends once another person picks the next 8. Example - I pick my hubby to be my mate. If the person next to me picks 4 for whores, Hubby drinks because I had to drink. It doesn't apply for drawer however.

9 - rhyme - pick a word and next person's answer must rhyme. whoever fumbles answer drinks.

10 - categories - pick a topic and go around one by one answering with things from that topic. We have done countries, food, animals, etc. Whoever screws up drinks.

J - thumbmaster (my personal favorite) - card drawer places their thumb on edge of the table during any point of the game. It is important to pay attention. The last person to put their own thumb on the table drinks. Rule ends when person picks next J. The thumbmaster controls the game.

Q - Queen's Rule - card drawer can create ANY rule, except make themselves the thumbmaster. Be generic (names starting with vowels must finish half their drink) or get personal (Hubby drinks all his drink and gets another).

K - King's Cup - there are 4 Kings in the deck. Whoever draws the K must pour a little or a lot of their drink into the empty cup that you set up at the beginning of the game. Whoever draws the last K has to drink the contents of that glass. If there are a variety of cocktails, wine, and beer in the game, there will be an interesting elixir for the last person. The next game cannot start until the Kings Cup is empty.

Other rules:

- whoever "breaks" the card circle (creating a gap in between cards), that person drinks

- whoever draws the 8 mate card does not have to drink if their mate is required to drink.

- the thumbmaster or any player can call out another person if they see them place their thumb on the table if the thumbmaster hasn't. The "cheater" drinks.

- "drink" can be a sip, gulp, shot, whatever. The fire bowls are perfect because they're big and people can share. If using straws, the liquid must be seen going up straw.

So yes...I just posted about a drinking game. I am aware of that...but tell me why I want to play again. It's just hilarious how incoherent or dumb people can get when they drink lol. Like what?! You can't find a word that rhymes with cat and you're the 3rd person to answer?

Drink responsibly! Don't drink and drive!

xoxo,
Jo

Wordless Wednesday #1 - Pear Frangipane Tart from Mission Pie

2012-01-25T23:28:00.001-08:00

Ok, I know it is "wordless Wednesday," but this was so good!

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If You Liked It Then You Should've Made a Ring of It

2012-01-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

I love anything associated with food. Even if it is fake. I find myself staring at those plastic replicas of Japanese dishes when I walk through the Kintetsu Food Mall in Japantown. I know you do it too.

I am also intrigued by professional food photographers and how they use anything but food for marketing campaigns and print ads. Who knew that ice cube was really made of plastic? Or that ice cream was made with Crisco?

What is even cuter is MINIATURE food. I remember as a child, I would receive the American Girl doll magazines and I would fast forward to the page where they would show the doll with food from her cultural background. My favorite was Samantha, but here is the Jewish Doll with her bagels and pickles:

I didn't care about the doll's dresses or the books associated with each doll...I cared about how cute those miniature food items were! I remember one doll had a picnic set and another had bread and cheese. Or was that part of the same set?

Anyhow, that love for miniature food has not died even 20 years later. The rings I am about to post are from Etsy. While there were pages of these ultra-kawaii food rings, these were my top 10 (in no particular order):

1. French Macaron Rings by GiraffesKiss

2. Chinese Takeout Box Ring by ChocolateMintCrafts

3. Chicken Salad Ring by Neat Eats

4. Roast Beef Dinner by Neat Eats*

*actually ALL of Neat Eats' rings are AMAZEBALLS

5. Pepperoni Pizza by The Menu

6. Curry Rice Ring by SouZouCreations

7. Ebi Sushi Ring by LolaSeeStars

8. Spaghetti and Meatballs Ring by mybeadgarden

9. Cheeseburger Ring by JewelleryLandMM

10. Lavender Rose Cake Ring by Fatally Feminine - but I'll imagine it's UBE

Weren't these just DARLING? =) I am partial to the ones that are flatter and aren't so HUGE, but were some fantastic-looking rings with "floating" features, like this one:

Honorable Mention: Chinese Noodles Ring by Justyni3

While they are gorgeous, I would be too afraid to wear them simply because the "floating" element would break easily. Perhaps you more daring folks can pull them off! Have a great rest of your day, everyone!

xoxo,
Jo

Happy Chinese New Year!

2012-01-23T09:45:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!

Well, what a weekend! Kulinarya and that Niner playoff game stressed me out! Haha! It's Monday now, and I wanted to wish all my friends and family a happy lunar new year! Gun hay fat choy! Sun nien fai lok!

I am not Chinese, but my husband's family is. I have already been to a few Chinese New Year celebrations with the Kwan Clan. Last year was the first time we gahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifve "lai see" or red envelopes because it was our first new year as a married couple!

One important part of Chinese New Year is, of course, the food. Here is a piece I wrote for SF Station's YUM Blog about the symbolism on a few of my favorite Chinese New Year foods: Year of the Dragon - Gung Hay Fat Choy!

I am looking forward to what this new year has to bring! I was born in the year of the rat, so according to Astrology.com, "...this could be one of your best years."

So for my people who were born in 1984, this is going to be a good year for us!

I especially LOVE this line, "Anything to do with communication, networking or travel could lead you to your heart's desire. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. Fly with the Dragon and make your dreams come true!"

Speaking of which, I was chosen to go on a two-day trip to Seattle courtesy of Klout and Seattle's Convention and Visitor Bureau! So the communication, networking, or travel aspect of my horoscope is already coming true! I just found out that I qualified for the trip Friday night and we are finalizing our schedule right now. I am traveling in February. I hope the weather gets better!

Anyway, I hope you all have a good one. The weather in SF is a bit rattling, but hey, let's all be grateful! Life is a blessing!

Gung hay fat choy!

xoxo,
Jo

My "Filipino" Name

2012-01-23T00:49:00.001-08:00

This post is not completely about food, but I wanted to post about it since I would not be able to sleep if I did not.

On Saturday, I judged a Filipino food cookoff. A reporter approached me saying he wanted to keep in touch. Because my blog and online articles were established prior to me getting married, I kept my maiden name "Boston." My husband's surname is KwanHull, btw.

Anyhow, I gave my info to the reporter and he asked, "what is your Filipino name?" I assume he thought that Boston was my married name, so I explained to him Boston WAS my Filipino last name. I did not know how else to explain it since the Boston name belonged to my grandfather who was born in the Philippines. The reporter looked at me and nodded...all the while he still seemed quite bewildered...so I gave him a family name that sounded more "Filipino" saying it belonged to another side of my family. It was more Spanish sounding and he nodded again, but this time more accepting of my answer.

I love the Boston last name. I just found the encounter interesting. It should already be known that the Philippines has a fusion of cultures, right? I know "Boston" does not sound Filipino at all considering an American city is named Boston, but in the end, my name is a conversation starter...which I do not mind at all. I like it when people ask how I got my last name.

I actually also enjoy seeing the look on people's faces when they see what I look like. Since my face and name do not match, it's funny when they are expecting someone different. Nevertheless, the reporter was really nice and I hope he does write about the contest.

I am also going to do a recap of the cooking competition sooner or later, but here is a teaser photo of one of my favorite dishes. It was a bone marrow entree created by my friend Chef Tim of Attic. Yes, it was tonguegasmic!!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Niner Nation: great season! Don't cry! We did great! See you next season!

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Yountville - Yes, Again - REDD and Somerston

2012-01-16T22:12:00.000-08:00

My friends and I have been to Napa three times since our first visit in late October. Talk about loving the place! Each time is a new experience and that only makes us want to visit again. Since it is late, I am just going to post the pictures with description if I have it. No point in me gushing on how good something is. You probably already know how good I am at doing that.

Oh yes, it's just my luck that my blogger friends met Chef Thomas Keller at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco and another friend [randomly] met Chef Tyler Florence at the TARGET (yes, Target) at the Tanforan shopping center in San Bruno while I was up there in Napa. Haha!

We started our journey this morning at 10:00 and 6 of us squished in CC's sedan. Totally reminded me of my college years. We went to Safeway for a bottle of Jameson, headed to Yountville, had REDD for lunch, did a tasting flight at Somerston, went to Oakland's Chinatown and had pho at the first Vietnamese joint we saw, and then came back to the City for dessert at Anthony's Cookies!

Go big then go home! Enjoy the pictures. They are completely unedited/undoctored.

xoxo,
Jo

PS: I did want to add that the beauty of this trip was that we did not know where we were going until we got into the car. While the Somerston wine tasting was planned, the REDD lunch was agreed upon in the car on 280N, pho in Oakland was decided on our way to dropping off Pimp Momma, and Anthony's was a whim as we approached the Cesar Chavez exit on 101S. Score.

Stop #1 - REDD

Restaurant: REDD
Address: 6480 Washington Street, Yountville, California
Phone Number: (707) 944-2222
Cuisine: New American
Date Visited: January 16, 2012
Dining Companions: Bubz, Sexy Saladbar, Chealsea Castro aka CC, HK Lover, Pimp Momma

WARNING: There WILL be a deliberate excess of foie gras pictures. Just saying.

The "Revolver" and a glass of Schramsberg, Brut Rosé, North Coast 2007

Prosciutto pizza, fontina, arugula and shaved parmesan

Tasting of cold foie gras, apple, brioche

Château Doisy-Védrines, Sauternes, Barsac, France 2003

Glazed pork belly, apple purée, burdock, soy caramel

Petrale sole, creamy jasmine rice, clams, chorizo, saffron curry nage

Braised beef shortrib, bacon, fingerling potatoes, red wine jus

Crisp duck confit, lentils, foie gras meatballs, crispy spaetzle

Fried arancini, bolognese, fennel pollen, tapenade

Stop #2 - Somerston Wine Shop

Venue: Somerston Wine Shop
Address: 6490 Washington Street, Yountville, California
Phone Number: (707) 944-8200

[What's left of] Wine #1 - Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Somerston, Napa Valley

Cheese Platter Consisting of Salumi, Mortadella, Pistachios,
Dried Cranberries, Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese with Vegetable Ash,
Gouda, Gruyère, and Truffle Honey

Wine #5 - Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Somerston, Napa Valley

Other wines in our flight:
#2 - Pinot Noir 2008, Highflyer, Doctors Vineyard, SLH
#3 - Petite Sirah 2009, Priest Ranch, Napa Valley
#4 - Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Priest Ranch, Napa Valley
#6 - no label - from 2004 - my favorite

January Qwik-E Catch Up

2012-01-15T19:38:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!

Hope you all are having a great MLK Weekend thus far! I really cannot believe February is in a mere two weeks! I did want to do a little catch up with you all about what I've been up to so far in 2012.

Well...

Nothing really! Haha!

Been watching TV (did you catch Bourdain's "The Layover!), been watching sports (Niners!! Sharks!!), went to the gun range (love my little 22), been playing lots of mind boggling puzzle games (to keep my neurons from rotting)...

Why?

My day job has been kicking my ass...

Meaning by the time I get home, I'm too tired to do anything else. I am hoping to gain a bit more willpower to write as the year goes by. Crossing my fingers on that one. I have also been feeling sick (maybe stress from work?), so I have been on chillax mode at the house. I did get my Cortisol checked. It is on the high side of normal range, so that is fine. Because I've been home more, I'm spending more time with the family and living life outside of food. Who knew that was possible for me. I don't take pics every time I go out and eat anymore. I'm not eating out as often. I don't know what's going on. There are some days where I just want to lay in my [warm, comfy, soft] bed all day. And don't get me started on my migraines and eye issues. My body is jacked up.

Maybe I just need to chill, relax, hang out for the time being. My inner self is telling my body to have a break because 2011 was ridiculously busy. I'm also taking a timeout from hosting events. Those who do what I did, as far as marketing and leading events, know the pressures of putting on an event every month. Honestly, it is hard. So the kapaMEALya team and I are pow wowing on how to keep Filipino food in view in different ways. I've been making tons of connections so hopefully they are fruitful ones!

I just got back from the 2012 Winter Fancy Food Show. I'm so tired. Just think Costco samples (albeit some even artisan samples) that go on forever! It's overwhelming for some. I went for the first time last year and I was floored. Today, I never thought I could eat so much cheese! I networked with some awesome folks there and I cannot wait to collab with them.

In other news, I was chosen to be a judge at the 2nd Kulinarya Filipino Cooking Showdown. It's official. I'm stoked!! Don't believe me? See the image below! It is a page from this year's Kulinarya Magazine. I share a page with Franco Finn AND Manny Pacquiao?! Dope. The printed hard copy version is going to be in the morning San Francisco Examiner sometime this week.

If you want to see the full magazine right now go to: http://kulinaryasf.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/kulinaryamagazine_v22.pdf

But if you want more info about the event being held on January 21 and watch me judge it, go here: http://www.kulinaryashowdown.com/index.html

Sorry if you have to copy and paste the URL onto your browser. I'm posting from an app right now.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to a day trip to Napa I am taking with my husband and friends tomorrow. It's going to be fun!

I guess I'm not relaxing much after all. Haha, can't help it! Take care until next time!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Goooooo Niners!

PPS: I'm sooooo wearing Niners gear at Kulinarya. Gotta represent where I was born and raised, ya feel?!

Retweet, Share, Repeat - Simple Ways to Elevate Filipino Food

2012-01-10T20:43:00.001-08:00

More than ever, people are relying on the Internet for their information. Sure the television is there, but there is a huge absence of Filipino cuisine on the airwaves - aside from the ones shown on paid cable networks such as TFC and GMA. The Internet provides Filipino recipes, photos, and restaurant tsismis with one click of a mouse.

Why not take the opportunity to use this great tool? Filipino food is still slowly crawling its way up the ranks. While places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York have Filipino restaurants, vast portions of the country are very unfamiliar with it. Even go five miles outside of the said cities and you will still see people will be unfamiliar with Filipino food. BUT there are ways we can use the Internet and other tools to spread awareness. By using these methods, we may open many more eyes to how wonderful our cuisine is:

1) share share share - whether it is snapping a photo and posting it on Facebook, Foodspotting, etc. Or sharing a link to an article about Filipino food from a prestigious publication. Or RTing (retweeting) someone's 140-word statement about their success making adobo. Any transfer of information is important. Remember to use #filipinofood in your uploads on Twitter and Instagram to see a collection of all the posts from others.

2) take a Filipino food novice to a Filipino restaurant - this is probably the boldest thing you can do. Why? You will be face to face with someone who may either get turned on or off by it. If you get the latter, you have to be prepared to get some grief from them. On the other hand, if your friend likes the food, they'll want to try more and may even suggest the restaurant to their own friends. Because the common mentality is, "my mom makes the best, why should I eat out?" not many people will go out for Filipino food. The truth is, Filipino restaurants will continue to suffer due to lack of patronage. Like going shopping to boost the economy, it is okay to eat out every once in a while, especially to help restaurants stay open to the public. No restaurants means no sources for folks to get their grub on. While at the restaurant, do step #1.

3) cook and bring your Pinoy creations to work, your child's bake sale, or your friend's BBQ potluck - not only will you introduce Filipino food to folks of different cultures, you will get major points if you made it yourself. So find a Filipino cookbook (a favorite of mine is "Memories of Philippine Kitchens" by Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan) or a Filipino recipe-driven blog (my go-to's are Jun Blog and Burnt Lumpia) and cook your heart out! If you are lucky and have a family member who cooks, be sure to spend time with them. Passing on recipes is essentially passing on a tradition, an heirloom, a memory. Keeping these alive will keep the cuisine in the forefront. While you are cooking, do step #1. Bonus points if you get a snapshot with your family in it. Trust me, years down the line, you will be happy you did.

4) attend a Filipino cooking class or workshop - the hands-on ones are the way to go. Even though you may already know some basic Filipino cooking methods, it is always good to attend a class to broaden your knowledge. Okay, so you've never steered far from Mom's recipe, but can you imagine all the different ingredient combinations for pancit or sinigang? The Philippines has "so many" of many things - islands, dialects, provinces, etc. Besides, because Filipino food conjures memories for us, the class always ends up being a place to recollect and share experiences with your classmates. During class, do step #1.

5) give direction to others - if you found a vendor at the farmers market that sold fresh calamansi, broadcast it to your friends. Who, what, when, where. Some ingredients are hard to find, so keeping an eye out might even help someone who has been looking all over for it. Then do step #1. Also, who knew that sisig would make a huge appearance in the street food scene in the Bay Area? Do step #1, and give street intersections of your favorite street food trucks. Is a Filipino restaurant going to be featured on television? Yup, step #1. Have a Filipino dinner party! Step #1. Notice a Filipino food event on your news stream? Step #1. Get people to where they need to go!

6) eat - it sounds simple, but the challenge is eating outside your comfort zone and accepting the many transformations Filipino food can go through. Ever had vegan Filipino food? How about tapa in a burrito? How about something Andrew Zimmern would try? This one is always tricky because there are old school and new school ways of thinking what Filipino food is and "should" be. The cuisine is already a "fusion" cuisine because of the many influences it has from other cultures. The best way to eat is with an open palate and open mind. Forget what you think, and try new things. Not only will this keep your spark ignited, but it may also wake up someone else's. There is more to Filipino food than just Lumpia and Adobo. Though they are good, so many other dishes are waiting to be debuted on American plates, like Laing, mechado, mungo, bibingka, and sans rival. So keep eating and yes, do step #1.

You may already be doing all of the above, but it is essential for it to continue. Sharing is the most important thing to do in life. As we learn from each other, the spectrum of what we can do with Filipino food will only get wider. Imagine a Filipino chef on television. Let's get them off YouTube and get them on the Cooking Channel. There has to be an impression that Filipino food is in demand in this country, but that can't happen if we stay silent. We have to keep our voices heard and our image seen. Until we get the recognition Filipino food deserves, we cannot stop. With that said, share, share, share!

PS: no papparazzi at the dinner table until you take a picture with your family first, especially with Lola and Lolo.

My 2011 Recap (Finally)

2012-01-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

I wasn't intending on doing a recap for this blog, because I already wrote one up for SF Station's YUM Blog. Then I thought about it. There were things I did in 2011 that I wasn't not able to write about because they meant more to me on a personal level. So while I thought I was going to do just one highlight per month, you're going to see that didn't pan out as planned. I may have gotten carried away, but that is what happens when I get excited. Go big or go home!

So here, loves, is just a chip of the iceberg. It's no wonder that I was broke all the time!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Before you go on, I did want to thank the following for making my year one to remember:

The staff of these great restaurants - Patio Filipino, Intramuros Restaurant, Attic Restaurant, Sinugba, House of Silvanas, No Worries Filipino Vegan Cuisine, and especially Chef Dom of Mercury Lounge who always had faith in us.

Tracy of Dishcrawl who pushed me and taught me so much when it came to organizing and hard work. RG at Astig Vegan who opening my eyes to a whole new world of food. Aileen of Kitchen Kwento who is an inspiration to all Filipino food and farming advocates. Arnold of inuyaki and Fred of I Love Sisig whose photos and footage I have stolen on many occasions, this one is not an exception. The boys at Mixsterious who let me collaborate with them. To the Filipino food advocates around the world - keep going!

My kapaMEALya team - FOH and BAH - who continue to push for Filipino food even when others forget its value. I look forward to our projects in 2012!

Most importantly my friends and family who have stuck by me unconditionally and who have contributed so much of themselves to my experiences.

My husband...he should already know. Our chins wouldn't be as doubled if it were otherwise.

Okay, I'm done now.

=)

______________________________________________________________________

- January -

Media/Press Event - Winter Fancy Food Show
Moscone Center, San Francisco - January 17

Fil-Dishcrawl at Mercury Lounge
San Francisco - January 30

Filipino Dishcrawl at Mercury Lounge from dishcrawl on Vimeo.

______________________________________________________________________

- February -

Yakiniku Dinner at the Ventura Residence
Daly City, CA - February 21

Fil-Dishcrawl at Intramuros Restaurant
South San Francisco - February 24

Chef Ventura Creates for the Filipino Dishcrawl from dishcrawl on Vimeo.

______________________________________________________________________

- March -

kapaMEALya Trip - #Bay2LA
So Cal - March 4-6

Fil-Discrawl at Sinugba - Jo's Birthday
Daly City, CA - March 16, 2011

Winter Family Trip
Lake Tahoe - March 19-20

Outside In X Food Festival hosted by Mixsterious
Intramuros Restaurant - March 27

______________________________________________________________________

- April -

Fil-Dishcrawl - No Worries Filipino Vegan Cuisine
Oakland, CA - April 19

______________________________________________________________________

- May -

kapaMEALya Dinner Event - kapaMEALya's Soft Launching
Patio Filipino - May 21

______________________________________________________________________

- June -

Boston Family Trip to the Philippines
Pangasinan, Manila, Batangas - June 1 - 15

Philippines 2011 from Roxanne B. on Vimeo.

______________________________________________________________________

- July -

Dinner with My Ladies
- One of Two Best Dinners in 2011 -
The Fifth Floor Restaurant - July 13

kapaMEALya Dinner Event - The Pilot Episode
Mercury Lounge - July 18

Pinoy Picnic in the Park - Hosted by Astig Vegan & kapaMEALya
Golden Gate Park San Francisco - July 24

______________________________________________________________________

- August -

Media/Press Event - SF Chefs - July 31 - August 7
Special Thanks to SF Magazine, The Golden Gate
Restaurant Association and A. Freeman & Co.

kapaMEALya Mention in SF Weekly
by Jonathan Kauffman - August 11

Judging the Adobo Cookoff at Pistahan
Sponsored by Ramar Foods - August 13

3rd Annual San Francisco Street Food Festival
The Mission, San Francisco - August 20

kapaMEALya Dinner Event - Coconuts!
Mercury Lounge - August 21

Media/Press Event - Marina Bar Crawl
Sponsored by SVEDKA Vodka - August 24

kapaMEALya Dinner Event - The LAST Dinner and Demo
No Worries Filipino Vegan Cuisine - August 30

______________________________________________________________________

- September -

Labor Day Weekend Boston Family Trip
So Cal and Disneyland - September 2 - 5

kapaMEALya Dinner Event - Taglish Pub Grub
Mercury Lounge - September 18, 2011

kapaMEALYA on Adobo Nation!

Eat Real Festival Oakland
Jack London Square - September 24

______________________________________________________________________

- October -

Dinner with Fellow Filipino Foodies
- 1 of the 2 Best Dinners I Had in 2011 -
Brenda's Fench Soul Food - October 1

Media/Press Event - San Francisco Bakery Crawl
Sponsored by Scharffen Berger Chocolates - October 7

Farm. Filipino. Food! Potluck and Farm Tour
On Aileen's Farm in Santa Cruz - October 9

Jo and KapaMEALya Gets Mentioned in SF Weekly
by Jonathan Kauffman - October 12

kapaMEALya Dinner Event - Family Style
Alido's Island Flavor Restaurant - October 17

Press/Media Event - Opening of Claudine
Financial District, San Francisco - October 27

______________________________________________________________________

- November -

Foodbuzz Food Blogger Festival
San Francisco - November 5 & 6

kapaMEALya Event - Blogger Halo-Halo Mixer
Mercury Lounge - November 7

kapaMEALya Dinner Event - Pound 4 Pound
Mercury Lounge - November 20

______________________________________________________________________

- December -

Aileen Suzara's Filipino Soups for the Soul Workshop
Oakland Asian Cultural Center - December 10

kapaMEALya Dinner Event - La Noche Buena
Intramuros Restaurant - December 16

J&K Wedding Anniversary Weekend
Disneyland and So Cal - December 17 & 18

Happy 2012!

Response to Top Chef Texas Episode Tribute Dinner

2012-01-07T01:10:00.001-08:00

Hey loves,

This was the episode where Fil-Am chef Paul Qui of Austin, Texas made Filipino adobo in homage to his grandma. He put his own spin on it and created the dish with quail. No spoilers here if you haven't watched it, but his adobo was gorgeous and sent the Filipino/Fil-Am Twitter community over the moon with delight. Finally a Filipino dish recognized on mainstream television! This only makes me want to head over to Texas and try his restaurant.

Then it got me thinking who inspired me to start cooking. Like Chef Qui, it was my grandma, whom my family calls Inang. Chef Qui served a mango salsa with his adobo and that's how we as a family would eat it: adobo, rice, and a fruit whether it be mango, banana, or tomato. You know my love affair with adobo, but I think all Filipinos have an emotional connection with adobo or another Filipino dish their family made.

My Inang is my inspiration. She let me cut veggies for pancit, roll rice flour balls for tambo tambo aka ginataan, and sautée onions and garlic for the various stews we would make. We never talked much while we were preparing meals, but she did give orders. She did things a certain way. Inang's way meant "perfection." If perfection meant taking [a lot of] direction, it was done and I think I took them pretty well. All I wanted to do was to make her proud. It taught me a sense of discipline...which in retrospect made me such a goody-goody growing up. Haha, it's all good!

So if I were to make a tribute menu for my Inang, it would be the following:

- First course - beef nilaga soup with calamansi-patis to taste
- Surf and Turf Entree - sarciadong tilapia & pork belly and chicken wing adobo with rice and a tomato-mango salsa on the side
- Dessert "trio" - 1) tambo tambo - a warm dessert soup of rice flour balls, jackfruit, bananas, and yams cooked in coconut milk 2) Inang's Biko - sticky sweet rice cooked in brown sugar and coconut milk 3) Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum

Love you, Inang.

I miss you dearly.

xoxo,
Joanne

So Cal Food I Wish We Had in the Bay

2012-01-05T20:46:00.001-08:00

2012 is the year I develop a healthier relationship with food and my finances. Truth be told, in true gluttonous fashion, I spent majority of my funds on temporary palate highs than on my bills...which were probably racked up by spending on food in 2010.

I have no regrets. You only live once, they say. I went to So Cal three times last year. Weekend trips ruled my calendar in 2011 and fortunately for me, I spent those weekends with dear friends who hooked me up with the tastiest food in So Cal!

So friends in the Bay Area, if you ever find yourself down there, think of me and bring me some if the following. I'm going to try and spend less money on eating out this year. I'm dying inside. Dining out is so much fun for me, but alas, if you're down to hook your girl Jo up, I'm here! I WISH we had these up here in SF!

1. Red velvet chocolate chip pancakes from The Buttermilk Truck - why didn't I think of thus before? Genius. Not quite sure what they put in the icing, but it is worth licking the cardboard plate clean for.

2. Witte Burger from the Grill Em All Truck - oh lord, just read: cream cheese, deep fried bacon, beer/ Sriracha onion, malt vinegar aioli. Yup. Best burger. Ever.

3. Bibingka corn bread from The Parks Finest - bounce boo, to the boogie that be with this bibingka. Probably my favorite preparations of corn bread. not pictured - the re-al rib-eye. Gotdamn!

4. Buttermilk fried chicken and Belgian waffle from Bruxie - served with an intoxicating chili honey and cider slaw, you'll be ready to scream tonguegasms. This dish is the ish. Da bomb baby...bomb baby.

5. The entire Porto's store - I fell in love with Daniel at the Downey location. I watched him pack 3 dozen cheese rolls with care and heard him enunciate "medianoche" with his sexy Latin tongue. Ay, papi!

We headed over to Santa Monica for a little sun before heading back to SF, and as we drove there, we stuffed our faces with these incred potato balls. They're basically mashed potatoes stuffed with ground beef stew (kinda like picadillo) and fried until lightly crisp on the outside!

When we got to the beach, we dug into our sandwiches.

First was the "medianoche" or Midnight sandwich - slices of slow roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, butter, and mustard and mayonnaise mix on a sweet roll. It's a traditional Cubano but sweeter because of the bread used.

Next was the "pan con bistec," a robust sammie made with marinated steak, potato sticks, grilled onions, tomatoes, and mojo (Cuban garlic sauce) on Cuban bread.

Two Cuban sandwiches with different flavors! They were perfect to ear before walking the pier at Santa Monica.

Oh, the cheese rolls?

Don't think I forgot about those! We bought a dozen for him and two dozen for Ate Lara and Kuya Chip. We brought them to LAX and TSA didn't even trip because they already knew! For those who've had them, they'll know they are the best cheese pastries around. No one can compare. They're flaky and not too sweet. Perfect for pasalubong (take home gifts)!

Dammit, good thing I live up here and all the food is down there. Otherwise, I'd be in a lot of trouble! Haha, have a great night, loves!

We are almost a week into 2012! What is making me think 2012 is going to fly by like 2011?

Take care, fam!

xoxo,
Jo

India Palace - My Favorite Spot in the Bay

2012-01-03T21:35:00.001-08:00

Restaurant: India Palace
Address: 737 Buena Vista Avenue, Alameda, California
Phone Number: (510) 814-8778
Cuisine: Indian
Dining Partners: Keaton and Family

Who would have thought my favorite Indian-Pakistani place would be in Alameda? I sure didn't! We came here for the first time with my in-laws' family friends. We enjoyed it so much that one time that we had to come back for more. I honestly do not make it out to Alameda as often as I should. That's a bad look because my husband's parents live there. Bad daughter-in-law, I know. Maybe I should bring them here!

Before I get into the food, I want to talk ambiance. I adore the rich reds that decorate the dining room. The red folded napkins and drapes made it feel so regal and lush. Plus the service is so attentive. Win.

They always start you out with pappadam which are crispy lentil wafers. I love the tamarind sauce it comes with. The tandoori bread here is stellar. We always get the garlic naan (I am salivating here) as well as the paneer pratha which is bread filled with Indian cheese. It has been known that we order seconds of that garlic naan. It's fluffy and so flavorful and aromatic from the garlic.

As for entrees, we haven't ventured far from the curry section. Why? Our usual selections are so good that it is difficult to steer away from them. Keat loves his spinach, so he orders the chicken palak which is a rich stew of chicken, cream, and spinach. My go-to is the chicken tikka masala. It has that silky luscious mouthfeel and the ideal balance of cream and tomato. Of course, we have to have basmati rice. Can't help it, I'm Pinay.

To make the meal absolutely perfect, order some raita (yogurt sauce) for dipping and cooling the palate, mango lassi for sweetness, and that awesome cup of chai tea to sip as you sit back in your chair and relish in how great your meal was.

I've been to a number Indian spots in SF, but none of them do not appeal to me as much as India Palace. It must be the setting. Alameda is quaint. The area isn't as busy as the City.

It is a bold statement to ever say something is my "favorite," but I feel comfortable about this one. I sure wish it was closer, but the next time I eat there, I'll bring my in-laws. I've had a mad craving for Indian food recently. Why aren't you closer to me, India Palace?! I'm so sad.

Do you think they'd deliver to Daly City?!

Just kidding.

xoxo,
Jo

PS: I downloaded two blogging apps but they suck monkey balls. Anyone have a suggestion for posting on Blogger via iPad 2?

Happy Birthday, Keaton!

2012-01-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

It was Keaton's 30th birthday on New Year's Eve! I can't believe how fast we are getting older because I met him when he was only 21! Well, we celebrated how we have been since 2009 - Benihana! Now now, I know some of you food snobs are rolling your eyes because it is a chain restaurant blah blah blah. Whatever, mofo. Sometimes, the overall experience is better than any frou frou gourmet dinner. It is all about who you are with celebrating with, right?

Our first time celebrating at Benihana was in 2009. Oh gosh, see how young we looked. Technically, we were lured in because of The Chef's Table birthday promo. If it is your birthday, they comp the birthday celebrant's dinner. They send an email at the beginning of the month, so you have the full month to redeem your dinner.

Truth be told, I like the food here. It is both the entertainment and the food that keeps me coming back. I mean, it's totally a bargain for all the food you get. Note: No, I'm not endorsing this place. I genuinely like the place. It's fun! Gotta love the Coca-Cola in the hibachi rice!

We were so greedy in 2010! Keaton and I went by ourselves first and then later on in December, we were joined by our family!

For our family dinner, we went to the location in Burlingame. It is really nice there because it is right on the water. We occupied two tables which was cool because our chefs were interacting with other. Yes, that chef was blindfolded. Fun!

This birthday in 2011, we celebrated with our kapaMEALya Fam as well as a couple who was seated with us! We make friends everywhere! Beforehand we had a little picture whoring fun at a little photo place in Japantown Center and afterwards we headed to Playground just down the street for lychee soju shots! The only thing I am going to complain about this year is that they did not send the birthday emails. The waitress asked for it when we were seated, but she did not quite understand that I told her we never received it. She explained how the promo worked (a process I obviously knew), but oh well. I let it go. If corporate was not sending them this year, they should have informed each branch. Just saying. Anywho, let's just see if they do it next year. No biggie.

Keaton, I hope you had a great birthday this year! Actually the whole month of December was pretty extraordinary. I'm blessed to have you.

So next year, same time, same place. I'm taking RSVPs now! Thank you to everyone who has celebrated with us over the last few years!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: We JUST received the Benihana birthday certificate today. 4 days late, but it will work!

Disneyland Eats

2012-01-01T21:13:00.001-08:00

Something I let myself do in 2011 was go to Disneyland twice.

Yes, twice.

The last time I went to Disneyland was back in 2003, so going there twice in one year after eight years of not going is a big deal. I could go to Disneyland every month because you cannot possibly discover everything there in one visit.

Visit 1 - September - Labor Day Weekend

The first time I went in September, I came with my family. It was my neice Jayla's, first time so we wanted to make sure she met some of the characters. For breakfast, we went to Goofy's Kitchen, which is located at the Paradise Pier Hotel.

What I really liked about this place was that even before they seat you, you get to take a picture with Goofy:

Goofy's Kitchen is an all-you-can eat buffet restaurant, so you have a wide selection of entrees. Since we came at brunch, we had eggs, bacon, roasted chicken...but to get the full Disney effect, we had to have some Mickey pancakes and waffles! The Disney characters also came to each table to sign autographs and take pix.

So much fun!

When we were at the actual park, I didn't really have a sit-down meal. We ate on the go. All my friends told me to hit up the corn dog stand which is just off of Main Street. These must be the heaviest corn dogs I have ever had. I loved the crispness the batter had and the steam the hot dog gave off once bitten into. Keaton says these are a definite must-have when visiting the park.

We definitely went for those [in]famous giant turkey legs everyone was looking forward to. This stand is right by the entrance of Adventureland. These legs are a battle to eat. The skin is really thick and the meat requires a lot of chewing. You can also get chimichangas and chile lime corn on the cob from the same stand. To beat the heat from the spices, a Mickey ice cream bar is perfect!

Visit 2 - December 17 - Anniversary Weekend

This was a very special visit because we were celebrating our 8-year relationship anniversary and our 1-year wedding anniversary. I accomplished my goal of getting our bride and groom ears with our married names stitched on the back of them. The gentlemen who stitched them was kind enough to upgrade us from the $3 simple stitch to the $7 special stitch for free.ninety-nine after he saw our anniversary buttons! These free buttons can be picked up at City Hall. They're great because the cast members congratulate you when they see them! It just makes the visit that much more special.

This visit, we concentrated on Adventureland because we did not the last time. Before we hit up the Jungle Cruise, we made a quick stop at The Bengal Barbeque. They served skewers, pretzels and even bacon-wrapped asparagus. Of course we had to order a Mickey-shaped pretzel! The skewers were decent. We got both chicken and beef. While the sauces were tasty, the price was a bit high for the size of the skewers. Then again this IS Disneyland. Gotta expect to pay DL prices. I was a bit thrown off the stalk of scallion they threw on with the meat. I assumed you take a bite of the meat and the scallion alerternately...what a pleasant surprise that it totally worked flavor-wise.

We bought park hopper tickets, so we had to make a trip to Disney's California Adventure...but before exiting Disneyland, we visited the corn dog stand. Again. They're too good!

Okay, just kidding.

Before going to California Adventure, we made our way to Downtown Disney for some dinner. After walking around (and feeling raindrops), we settled into Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar, a Mediterranean spot which served alcohol! ftw!

Catal Restaurant does have a higher price point than the other restaurants on the strip, but the place was perfect for us. It had a nice ambiance special enough for our dinner, and there was a vibe of happiness in the air. Must have been the magic of Disney, yes?! To whet our appetites, a nice portion of bread came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Keaton had a beer and i had champagne. Bubbles are perfect for anniversary dinners!

For appetizer, we had the "Coca" which was a Spanish flatbread topped with house made cheese, butternut squash, and honey bacon. This app ate like a dessert. You had the sweet from both the squash and the bacon - not that I'm complaining. It was delicious.

My entree course was the "Paella Pollo" which consisted on roast chicken, chorizo de Bilbao, asparagus, piquillo peppers, saffron bomba rice, and lemon garlic aioli. This was some of the best paella I have ever had. The rice had a nice texture and that aioli they added was awesome with the chicken. There was a lot going on, as far as flavors and textures, but they all made sense together.

Keat's entree was a fancy version of spaghetti and meatballs - bucatini pasta, piquillo pepper-tomato sauce, albondigas meatballs, and shaved Mahon cheese. Don't get me wrong, we loved it. Bucatini is a long pasta but if you look closely at it, you will find a whole running through it. If the sauce used is a but on the soupy side or if a sauce is being reduced into the bucatini, this would be perfect to utilize as the sauce can actually get inside of the pasta.

One thing I loved about this restaurant was that we could watch the fireworks from where we were sitting - which we didn't plan, so it was a treat!

During dinner, it started. I know...it rained on our wedding also. Call it double luck? So we headed to California Adventure in our shnazzy ponchos. It was surprisingly cold that weekend. I suppose we brought Bay Area weather with us? Since it was getting late, we headed back to Disneyland to ride the Indiana Jones ride which we got Fast Passes for earlier. On our way there, Keaton got his second box of popcorn. I admit, it was really good popcorn! Uh, nice picture Keaton. Heads were in the gutter, folks. Before we left, we stopped by the sweets shop on Main Street for snacks to take home for the kids.

There are so many other restaurants that I want to try out like Blue Bayou and Ariel's Grotto. just today, my sister and I were planning to go there in May with the fam. Maybe that will be our chance to sample some new places. I was such a Disney kid growing up and it surprises me that even when I am nearing 30 years old, I still feel the same giddiness as I felt when I was a child.

I love Disneyland and I cannot wait to go back!

Hope you're having a great 2012 thus far!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Please forgive any spacing issues. This is my first time using an iPad app to post, so I hope it doesn't look too bad! If it does, please drop be a line! Thanks!

Posted via DraftCraft app

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T21:32:00.001-08:00

CNN with Kathy griffin and Anderson Cooper is high-larious!

This is my last post for 2011! I am spending my new year's eve with my kapaFAM! Dinner was awesome. We were so hungry that we didn't even say prayer or toast!! Haha! We had House of Prime Rib-inspired dishes...my prime rib came out a bit too well. Boo. Oh it's okay, my momma was awesome and cooked tinola, pancit, mungo, and baked whole tilapia stuffed with tomato and scallions. Yum! We are still sooooooo full!

We were also so excited that we did the countdown for New York! We jumped with coins in our pockets! Okay, we are all heading out now. Not quite sure how the night is going end but rest assured we are going to have a good time!

Happy 2011 everyone!

xoxo,
Jo

2012 Blogging Resolutions

2011-12-28T22:42:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!

Can you believe it's going to be 2012 in just a few days? My blog[baby] is going to be 5 years old in April, and I can't help but notice the changes it has gone through.

Honestly it has been really hard for me to write in the last couple of months. Not only because it was the holiday season...I suppose it is a culmination of things like side projects with kapaMEALya, writing for other outlets, being tired after the 9 to 5, etc. etc. etc, I wish I were a housewife so I could write all day long, but that ain't the case so I gotta work with what I got in the time that I have.

I remember when blogging was fun(er)...not that it's not fun now, but as I developed my blog and wrote "articles" as opposed to "here's a post just because I feel like blogging," I sure felt that pressure to make things PERFECT.

Perfection will be the death of me.

I remember my first posts on this blog. One picture. A couple of simple paragraphs. Done. Now it's 5-10 pictures, doctoring pix, super long copy to match with vocabulary I don't even use on a daily.

Resolution #1: keep it simple

I remember walking into the Borders store at Westfield Center in SF (RIP) and getting completely sucked into "Everything I Ate: A Year in the Life of My Mouth" by Tucker Shaw. His book was a simple one - just a collection of photos of what he ate for 365 days. There was a week where he only ate chicken noodle soup because he was ill. He didn't go to Michelin-starred restaurants all the time. A bagel here. A muffin there. Simple.

Maybe I shall go back to simpler formats for 2012. Less pressure. More fun.

Resolution #2: blog everyday

Yup, everyday. It goes along with the "keep it simple" rule. One photo and a few lines on copy. Done. I only wrote 2 posts in December and the latter one was super short while the other was a full essay.

Simplicity. Constant simplicity.

Resolution #3: be Jo

My downfall is that I get bored. I get bored because I'm not excited about my content. I start to write but stop in the middle because I lost my passion for it. I lost passion because I'm so into my writing that I start to sound the same in my posts.

How many other words are there for "delicious" again?

I don't even know if I what I just said made any sense whatever, but I guess what I'm saying is that I need to get a life. Writing is great, but I have a life that has nothing to do with it. I want to get back to doing other things like hanging out with family, traveling, or EATING OUT WITHOUT A CAMERA!

Is that possible?

I suppose the pressures of writing have gotten to me. I just need that *spark* back. So please be patient with me as I try to rediscover what is important in my writing life and style.

At the end of the day, I want to come out with content that not only is delicious, but thought-provoking at the same time.

With that said, have a wonderful new year!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: okay, I admit, I'm vain :) gotta love The Family Feud app for iPad!

Maligayang Pasko 2011 - A Delicious Christmas

2011-12-26T19:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a great Christmas weekend! I was a bad blogger. I didn't take many pictures from Christmas dinner on Sunday night. I neglected to charge my camera(s) and since I was so busy preparing everything, I just didn't get to take any. My bad. It's okay. I had a great dinner nevertheless.

I actually started preparing for Christmas on Friday night. After work, I made my infamous Red Velvet Cookie Whoopies. Part whoopie pie, part cookie.

My formula is: one scoop per cookie and one scoop of cream cheese frosting goes in between each pair of cookies. It works.

Not the best pictures because I used the cam on my Droid, but they'll do. I used to make these a lot, but I have only made them twice this year. Hopefully I make them more in 2012.

Keat and I spent Christmas Eve-ning with the Kwan Cousins and Chef Cousin Dave made some of his bomb fried spaghetti. TO ORDER. Oui oui. Delicious.

Cousin TAK made up some, what I call "Naughty Hot Chocolates." He gave me a little Bailey's to give me a little more warmth. Delish. We also played a White Elephant gift exchange and we came out with some awesome porcelain mugs!

When we got home that night, which was just a few minutes before midnight, my family and I did our gift exchange.

My little sister SAM, SAM's daughter Jayla, Momma, myself, and Bubz

We opened the gifts from my sister first...

Matching Christmas penguin footsie pajamas!

Momma opening her gift from me.
It was a white Ellen Tracy jacket with gold buttons. I hope she liked it!

Could it be?! My hubby got me the one thing I wanted this year!
This is one of the first pix I took on my new iPad! I was so excited to start using it. I really have the best husband in the world! He says that it help me with my writing. Gosh, he is so supportive of my passion. I love him.

After we opened our presents, we knocked out!

I really needed to rest because of all the cooking I was going to do in the afternoon. The menu?

Meal inspired by the House of Prime Rib!

Our mess of wrapping paper!

In the morning, Keat made sure to take the rib roast out of the refrigerator. Putting a cold roast in the oven just doesn't make sense. The recipe/procedure I followed is by my friend and fellow blogger Chef John over at Food Wishes. At about 2 o'clock Christmas Day, I started buttering my rib roast. There were about 4 bones in it, so it would feed 8 people - total weight was about 7.5 pounds.

It took about 2 sticks of butter to cover the whole thing, as follows:

Using an offset spatula made it so easy. Just make sure the butter is soft. I added a simple melange of parsley, black pepper, and kosher salt in the butter. Once I started applying the butter, I noticed it firming from the coolness of the meat. In the end, it looked like a weird-looking cake with buttercream spread. I thought it looked gorgeous.

The directions are SUPER easy. Just click the link above. The only thing I would change is probably leaving it out to sit in room temp longer and leaving it longer under the high temp in the oven. My family, turns out, likes their prime rib more on the well side. I also made au jus which really helped with those who wanted their meat more done. I simply swished their cut of prime rib in the jus until the pink went away.

Here is my plate. I have a piece of prime rib sitting in au jus accompanied by mashed potatoes made with heavy cream and topped with bacon, and Pioneer Woman's creamed spinach. It was SOOOOOO easy to make this creamed spinach, it's ridiculous.

There are other things I should have done when making this meal. I should have used an elective knife. My knife, though brand-new, didn't cut it as smoothly as I wanted.

This is Cousin Starr's plate. I put the bacon over the spinach this time. She likes her meat on the rarer side, so if making a prime rib for different people, maybe do it exactly how Chef John suggested and do the "au jus swish" for those who want it well done. Once you overcook it, you can't fix it.

Another thing I WISH I had more time for was making the Yorkshire Pudding. I found some great recipes for it online (was going to use Claire Robinson's) and I had great great pan drippings from the roast. Alas, the guests were arriving and I hadn't showered, so I had to clean myself up and skip the Yorkshire pudding.

ANOTHER thing I WISH i did was take a picture of the House of Prime Rib-inspired salad I made. Chip and Lara got to our house a little later that expected (AHEM haha) and they were bringing the dressings for the salad as well as the horseradish for the meat.

So yes, we did have the salad which consisted of sliced beets, iceberg lettuce, boiled eggs, and the Thousand-Island-ish dressing. I actually mixed the Thousand Island with Bacon ranch. YUM!

I then mixed some sour cream with the grated horseradish. Horseradish is really really potent, so muting that with sour cream worked.

Our dinner table was a smorgasbord of food from Chinese, to American, to Filipino. It was really really really delicious and it was equally awesome to have my family, Keaton's family, and our dear friends there, too.

So what about the day after Christmas? We took some leftover roasted chicken and made sopas - a soup of macaroni, chicken, veggies, and milk - so comforting on that chilly day! I took the chicken skin and broiled that until a little crisp and put them on top. Adds nice crunch and saltiness.

Well, I hope you all had a glorious holiday season. I really am excited for 2012 and all the things in store. I can only thank God for blessing me and giving me a wonderful family and delicious food to eat.

Until next time, loves!

xoxo,
Jo

Merry Christmas / Maligayang Pasko!

2011-12-25T03:30:00.001-08:00

I hope you all have a great Christmas this year! Eat lots and love lots!

xoxo,
Jo

EDIT on 12/28: A new post is coming soon! Below is what I ate on Christmas! All made with love by me!

Filipino Soup for the Soul - Workshop in Oakland

2011-12-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

"Hi, my name is Joanne and I am here because I have been stalking Aileen on the Internets..."

It's true. Aileen Suzara, founder and writer of Kitchen Kwento, is worth stalking. She strives for local, sustainable, healthy cooking while keeping Filipino flavors and recipes alive. Talk about admirable. A couple of months ago, she invited myself and members of kapaMEALya to "her farm" in Santa Cruz. She had been living there for 6 months as she participated in a farm apprenticeship program associated with UC Santa Cruz. We were treated to a glorious veggie potluck and a tour of her farm. It was truly a learning experience.

I literally ate the BEST apple of my life there. Find out more about Aileen and her farm in this fantastic feature on Adobo Nation:

I really met Aileen on Halloween of 2010 at Filipeanut's Halloween Party. From then on, we have "stalked" each other and here we were in December 2011 making soup.

I saw she was holding a workshop called "Filipino Soup for the Soul" at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center (which is amazing in itself, btw), and I jumped on Eventbrite right away to buy a ticket.

Not only were we going to collaborate in creating Filipino soups, we were going to "talk story," reminisce, and in the end, share what we have produced. That's what I would call the "perfect" meal.

- Tinola -
This chicken soup infused with ginger and garlic brings back so many warm memories about my Inang. It is a very low-maintenance soup. All you have to do is saute the aromatics (onion, garlic, ginger), add all the other ingredients, and let cook in liquid. It's super easy one-pot cooking.

You can use several veggies for tinola. I have seen it with spinach, green papaya, and chili leaves. Today we would be using baby bok choy and opo - a tender gourd.

Aileen demonstrating how to chop an onion.

We browned chopped onion and garlic to create some flavor.

We used boneless chicken thighs as well as rice wash water as the liquid base.
The starch from the rice makes a soup with a silky mouthfeel.

We let the onions, garlic, julienned ginger, and chicken cook a bit before
adding the rice wash water. While that cooked, we moved onto the next soup.
- Sinigang -
I love sinigang because of its tang. My mom makes the best sinigang with pork spare ribs and bok choy. This is another soup that makes me feel at home wherever I eat it.

You have to forgive me. I don't quite remember all the leafy greens that Aileen put in the sinigang, but of course I know the tomato, sitaw (long beans), gabi (taro), aaaaaaaaand...

salmon heads!
Hello, lunch!

These are guavas which can also be used to sour sinigang.

We were not going to take any shortcuts today. We used REAL tamarind!

After using hot water to soften the compacted tamarind, we added this to the soup base made with rice wash water as well. The soup had a nice brown color from this.
If we had made the soup with a seasoning packet, the broth would be clearer and thinner...but who wants to use a packet with so many preservatives and salt?

As Chef Dom says, "Think outside the packet."
- Soup's On! -

Chicken Tinola

Salmon Head Sinigang

Everyone was excited to try our finished products!
You're going to have to forgive me again. I didn't take pics of the soup in my bowl! I was so eager to dig in that I forgot! Can you believe that?! All hope is not lost, here is Kitchen Kwento's Facebook album! Check it out!

Photo courtesy of Aileen Suzara
I had an amazing time. Even before the soups finished cooking, we were already asking when the next workshop is! Sadly, Aileen will be leaving the Bay Area again for another farming venture come 2012. I am hoping/wishing/praying that another Filipino cooking workshop will be done before then!

*hint hint nudge nudge*

Maraming salamat to Aileen, the kitchen team Aimee and Toussaint, and all my fellow cooks. It was an honor and a pleasure. It was fun to collaborate and share memories with you all. Until next time!

xoxo,
Jo

Bouchon & Domain Chandon Yountville - A Day Full of Surprises

2011-12-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

Another trip to Yountville. Every girl needs some quality time with her ladies, and YV is the perfect place to do so.

First stop: Sweet Goodies

Bouchon Bakery
Address: 6528 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599
Phone Number: (707) 944-2253

The last time we came, we got to Bouchon Bakery too late, so we were not able to grab some goodies. We weren't going to let that happen this time. I knew that there was a fire at the Bakery in September so their macarons were not going to be available. It was all good. Anything from the bakery would be great.

I was correct when there weren't any macarons to be found, but I did make it out of there with a couple TKO's, bouchons, a pumpkin muffin, a blueberry muffin, a coffee cake, and a bread pudding! From the look on my sister and husband's faces, they liked them a lot.

Next stop: Lunch!

Bouchon
Address: 6534 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599
Phone Number: (707) 944-8037
Cuisine: French

After grabbing our loot from Bouchon Bakery, we had to figure out where to eat lunch before heading to our wine tasting. Bouchon is just steps away from the bakery, so why not? We didn't have a reservation, but it was not going to hurt to try. There were so many other places to try like Chiarello's place across the way and a bunch of other spots down Washington.

It was okay because we got in! w00t!

I went to Bouchon Bistro in Las Vegas last year during my *surprise* bachelorette weekend. The one in Yountville is a lot smaller, but the interior with it's burgandies and velvet banquets is gorgeous. We perused the menu. My ladies are rad. We usually don't order the same thing because we want to share with each other. We coordinate so everyone has a taste. We made our decisions and waited for the server...however! The server began to recite the specials of the day and our decisions made from the menu were thrown out the window.

Daily Special: Lobster Beignets with Pickled Huckleberry and Squash Puree
This was one of the specials and we were lucky to grab the last ones from the kitchen. I love how it looks like a painter's palette.

Not the best shot, sorry, I was rushing. I do admit, I found them to be a little small. When I thought beignets, I pictured the fantabulous ones I ate at Brenda's a few months ago. Okay, I understand this IS Kellerville. Dainty portions.

No matter the size, I loved how SWEET the lobster was. The buttery sauces and pickled berries both complimented with rich and tart flavors. We even used our bread to sweep up the remaining sauce. Delicious.

Daily Special: Seared Scallops with Huckleberry-Foie Sauce
Prior to the deliverance of the daily specials, I was set to order the steak frites. Something about seared scallops always makes me stop and change my mind. Plus she said my favorite 4-letter "F" word - FOIE.

Presented in an All-Clad pan, the scallops were served with a kale cake, lobster knuckles, mushrooms, and that luscious sauce. I wish they had more of it on there! It was sweet yet had this richness and velvety mouthfeel. Glo-ri-ous. You know how scallops are supposed to melt in your mouth? Yes, these did. This was a very filling entree. I was struggling after 1.5 scallops. Great to have girls to share with...but then again, they were struggling with their's too...in a good way of course:

Jenn's Poulet Roti
This is on the regular menu at Bouchon: roasted chicken, bacon lardons, cippolini onions & Lyonnaise potatoes with chicken jus. Seriously this is everything you would want in a roasted chicken entree. LARDONS give hard-ons. Remember that. The chicken itself was tender and the onions were nice and sweet. Delish.

Daily Special - Rozz's Braised Lamb Shank
The plate also consisted of mushrooms, beans, and radish. I'm not a lamb person, but of course I tried it. It was good! The meat just fell off the bone because it was braised beautifully.

We decided not to order wine because of our upcoming wine tasting and we didn't get dessert because we already bought sweets from the bakery earlier. We asked for the check and were completely surprised by what the server told us:

Server: Do you recall the blonde lady who was sitting at the next table when you were seated?

Us: Yes...

Me in my head: Oh crap, we pissed her off with our talking. -sidenote- we were talking about restaurants and I did notice her looking over. I thought we were annoying her, so we quieted our speech.

Server: She said she would pay for two of your entrees because she appreciated young ladies dining at nice restaurants...

We were floored. Completely, utterly floored. I mean, who does that? I was ready for the server to say we ruined the lady's dinner or something, but this was a shock. Truth be told, this totally made our day. I asked if she left her name or how to reach her because I wanted to send her my gratitude, but the server said no. Even as we were walking out of Bouchon, we were wondering why someone would bless us like that. Wherever this awesome lady is, she knows who she is and what she did and I hope something great will happen to her too. Praise God, that's all I can say.

Final Stop: Bubbles

Domain Chandon
Address: 1 California Drive, Yountville, CA 94599
Phone Number: (888) 242-6366

Oh Domain Chandon, I heart thee. We are treated like royalty whenever we are here. Let's just say we didn't have to spend a penny at the tasting room, expect for one truffled popcorn...but then again we got another order of popcorn for free-ninety nine. I guess it does pay to be a Chandon Member!

As far as wine goes, we tried everything from (my favorite) the sparkling red, rose, classic extra dry riche, reserved Chardonnay brut, and a few more I don't remember (ha!). Bubbles, gossip, and blackmail conversations are the best especially on those comfy couches in the reserved member section.

Bliss.

Every girl needs a day like this. Thank you to my ladies, Rozz and Jenn.

[kapaMEALya] “Kakanin” – Rice Desserts and Noche Buena Event

2011-11-29T21:44:00.000-08:00

[Originally posted on the kapaMEALya site]

This evening I had dinner at Gyro King, a Turkish restaurant in SF's Civic Center Area with Keaton. One of our favorite things to order there is the Sütlaç, or Turkish rice pudding.

It goes from this:

To this in no time!

Then all of a sudden, all of my rice-based desserts came to mind. I love rice. While I try not to eat it ALL the time, I do feel a sense of comfort when I eat it. Take a look at the awesome Filipino desserts I had in the Philippines.

I have grown up eating rice desserts also known as kakanin. So many Filipino desserts are made with rice from polvoron with pinipig (toasted rice), suman (glutinous sweet rice steamed in banana leaves), biko (above - sweet rice cooked in coconut milk and topped with coconut milk crumbs called latik. BTW: Inang and my friend Jun Belen make AWESOME biko). Here are just a few of my favorites...

THEN I thought of champorado. It is a Filipino chocolate rice porridge often served at breakfast with dried salted fish. I know, it sounds incredibly weird, but it works. I love topping it with sweetened condensed milk. The one pictured above was made by my friend Mr. Arroz Caldo at Off the Grid.

THEN I thought of the champorado cake that Chef Lisal Moran at Attic Restaurant made. It is now on the restaurant's dessert menu and it is absolutely awesome. It wasn't too sweet, but the vanilla foam on top lent the perfect amount of sugar. I love how the flavors of this Filipino favorite are still present, but the look of it is so modern and gorgeous. Here is a peak at the rest of Attic Restaurant's dessert menu on SF Station's YUM Blog.

THEN I thought of bibingka. It is a cake made with rice flour and is typically eaten during the Christmas season. Honestly, I like eating it all-year. It's buttery and I enjoy the char it has on the bottom from it (traditionally) cooking over a fire.

This one was from Alido's in SSF. The texture is spongy and tender. I adore the addition of white cheese. You can find bibingka even topped with coconut and salted egg. I know it sounds weird (again), but it totally works! The last two times Keat and I went to Alido's, we have left with a bibingka (or two) and ate them in car. Total baboy status.

Photo Provided by Mike Carrion
THEN I thought of bibingka souffle at Intramuros Restaurant. Like Lisal's chaporado cake at Attic, this is a modern take on Filipino flavors. I adore eating the airy, eggy, souffle with the queso puti (white cheese) and salted egg. Ohhh, the coconut creme anglais is awesome when poured right in the center of it. YUM!

THEN I thought of kutsinta (orange circles) and puto (white cupcake-looking things). I can eat to many of these in one sitting. You can find these at almost ALL Filipino parties. They are not too sweet, but they have lovely textures. The puto are made by steaming them, so they have a light feeling in the mouth. The kutsinta are sticky and fun. Roll them in grated coconut and you are set!

Want to sample some rice cakes? It's perfect because it's almost Christmas! Now you have a chance! Join me on December 16th at Intramuros Restaurant for a special Noche Buena dinner prepared by Chef Cocoy Ventura. I looked at the menu and while he is keeping dessert a little vague, it did mention "Native Sweets and Rice Cakes." Yup, like I said, here is your chance!

http://nochebuena2011.eventbrite.com/

I love rice cakes. I hope this post made you hungry and I hope you all can make it to my dinner!

xoxo,
Jo

Thanksgiving Day 2011

2011-11-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

How was everyone's Turkey Day? I'm usually anti-Turkey, but it being my first Thanksgiving as a married lady, Keat and I thought this would be the perfect time to make our first turkey together. This would also be the first time we would be hosting Thanksgiving for our friends and family as a married couple. Talk about pressure!

I started on Tuesday by making sweet red bean (mungo) ice cream. I haven't had any myself, so I can't really say how it was haha. No, I didn't serve it on Thanksgiving, but it's in the freezer for whoever wants to try it.

On Wednesday night, I started making my lech flan cake:

TALK ABOUT A FAIL!

Wednesday night, everything was going right. The burnt caramel was gorgeous. The leche flan mix was perfect. Even the meringue I made was gorgeous...complete with perky Madonna boobies. When I went to invert it yesterday, I got leche flan soup. I guess I did something wrong and the leche flan didn't set up right. IDK, I was quite disappointed.

My family was so kind to at least taste the cake...which they said was pretty good. Oh well, there is always next time to try to perfect it.

Then...before I knew it...it was Thanksgiving Day...I woke up around 9am to prepare.

Everyone should always have a game plan!
I found some post-its and figured it was a good way to organize the menu and cooking schedule. For sure, I knew that the turkey would take the longest, so I scheduled for it to go into the oven at around Noon. We got a smallish bird - at around 11 pounds. We were going to also stuff it, so we planned for 4 hours.

Before sticking the turkey in the oven, I made some easy banana cinnamon cupcakes with Scharffen Berger chocolate chunks since my first dessert failed:

I simply couldn't wait to see all the food on the table!
After the cupcakes were done, we tackled the turkey. We had been brining it since Tuesday night in a sugar, kosher salt, and apple cider vinegar solution. I took it out of the brine and dried it with paper towels. Keat and I then took turns giving it a butter massage. Earlier in the morning, I prepared some stuffing which I let cool. Keat had the honor of stuffing the bird. Sorry no pictures. My hands were covered in turkey juice. Cross contamination is a no-no!

The color isn't the best in this picture because I took it with my camera phone, but we were thrilled with the carmelization of the skin. We took it out of the oven and let it rest under a foil tent while we were finishing up preparing the table.

View #1

View #2

View #3
You will notice that it was a very eclectic menu. We had everything from the traditional things that go with turkey, like Keat's mom's cranberry sauce and his gravy made with the turkey drippings, to Chinese roasted duck brought by Cousin Star, my "Pinoy na Pinoy" sweet spaghetti, Chip and Lara's Mexican Corn with Lime, Chile Powder, and Cotija cheese, my sister's friends' Chinese salt and pepper chicken wings, my bread and cheese plate complete with bruschetta tomatoes, black pepper'ed fresh mozzarella medallions, and TRUFFLE brie, and Manang Gem's homemade rice cakes called "puto" seen below:

This tray of puto reminds me of the Philippine flag! Here are more goodies:

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Creamy Onion Salmon and Mussels
These are a tradition in our family. We HAVE to have these or else Thanksgiving would not be complete. Seriously the easiest buffet items you can possibly make!

Our First Turkey!
I admit, due to a misunderstanding of how to tell when it was done (*stupid turkey popper*), this COULD have been taken out a good 15 minutes before we actually did. I feared it would have been too dry by the time it got to the table, but it wasn't bad at all! I was told the drumsticks were tender and the white meat was moist! Keat and I were pleased with it! Doesn't the skin look amazing?

I was a proud momma.

On my "game plan" wall, my guests wrote down what they were thankful for. It was really great to see what was said. Here is one of the interesting ones:

I would have to say our first time hosting Thanksgiving was a success! The good food, three bottles of Chandon, friends, and family sure made for a wonderful get-together. I can't wait for the next holiday party at my place! I confess, I was so tired from all the cooking yesterday that I woke up at 10am this morning. I failed at the Black Friday shopping.

So what about the leftovers?

This morning, I made balatong/mungo with leftover turkey meat and turkey drippings I reserved, tomatoes, and spinach. Yes, Keat is going to be so happy when he gets home this afternoon.

I surely hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and ate yourself silly! I was so grateful to have my loved ones with me last night. Happy holidays, my loves!

xoxo,
Jo

[kapaMEALya] - Memories from the Pantry

2011-11-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

[Originally posted on kapaMEALya's site - In response to Chip's blog]

On Saturday morning, I felt the urge to cook. This feeling usually doesn't come over me during the workweek, so I knew I had to take advantage of this motivation before it went away.

Jayla wanted a can of Vienna sausages, but I was THRILLED to see the canned sardines. They must be the dirtiest little fish on the face of this planet, but boy do I love them...especially when smashed into scrambled eggs.

I know a bunch of you are "ew"-ing me in your minds. It's completely fine. I grew up on canned goods and instant noodles for breakfast: sardines, Vienna sausages, SPAM (!!!), corned beef, Hormel beef stew, packaged pancit canton:

Inang was the best at making sure we had everything we needed for breakfast including condiments like vinegar, soy sauce fish sauce or little side dishes like salted egg with diced tomatoes. For me any canned food would be perfect with said accoutrements. I suppose I got the condiment wh*re gene from her. She was also the best at taking what we had already in the pantry and making masterpieces with them.

One thing I learned from her is "corned beef picadillo" with potato and onion:

Anywho!

Uhhh yes, I totally digressed, but the cooking method was the same as how I prepared my little canned sardines. I took the sardines, deboned them, and threw them in a pan where I was sauteing chopped garlic, onions, and tomatoes.

I also fried up some lumpiang Shanghai. Scooped up some steamed rice, took out from spiced vinegar for dipping, color me happy. Sorry, no picture. I got excited.

These breakfasts from the pantry reminds me of my childhood and the times I spent in PI. I nearly orgasm'ed when I saw this wall of deliciousness at the supermarket in my province the Phils. Yup, that's a whole wall of LUNCHEON MEAT! Amazeballs.

I swear SPAM gets a bad rap. Sure no one knows what the hell is in it, but sometimes I get a thrill from the unknown. The unknown tastes pretty damn good when fried up and coated in sugar. Uh-huh. If you don't know, now you know.

Speaking more about the unknown: does anyone know why Filipino hot dogs are this strange tint of RED? They are so bright! I have seen hot dogs put in dishes and for some reason if there is hot dog in it, it's automatically "Filipino:" Sweet Pinoy Spaghetti, Pork Menudo, Sopas aka macaroni milk soup...

I remember when I was 8, my Uncle Freddie and I made a pizza by topping a Boboli premade crust with ketchup, sliced American cheese, and sliced hot dogs then microwaving it. It wasn't very good.

While I do want to eat healthier, I have a special place in my heart for these things - the corned beef, SPAM, atomic red hot dogs. I also remember my grandparents packing these into their balikbayan boxes when they traveled back to the Philippines. It's all very nostalgic to me and I remember so much from my childhood when I eat these pantry favorites breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Jo

Alido's Island Flavor - I [Heart] Mung Bean Soup / Mungo / Balatong

2011-11-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

It was at my friend (and fellow Filipino food advocate) Aileen of Kitchen Kwento who asked the question, "what is your FAVORITE food?" at her farm to table gathering in Santa Cruz last month. I was in the middle in the string of people to answer so I had a little bit of time to think of it.

Then it hit me.

Balatong.

Actually it was more of a "duh..."

Balatong is a soup made with mung beans. Depending on where you go in the Philippines dictates what it is called. My mom is from the Pangasinan province and they call it balatong while Tagalog speakers called it mungo.

Balatong is my ultimate comfort food. I remember waiting for it to be cooked by my Inang and mom. There is a process to it and I learned to be patient. When it finished cooking, I was welcomed by the biggest feeling of home and love as I watched it served to me in a bowl with steamed rice. Mom would sometimes cook something along with it, such as tapa (soy-marinated beef) or fried chicken - as seen here:

Then it was my turn to answer. I had to face the crowd and tell them I was having an awful week, so I had it three times that week. I said it felt like having your life meter re-energized like in Super Mario Brothers or in a video game. I can honestly say balatong is my FAVORITE food ever. Whenever I feel down, balatong makes me feel so much better.

Even when I am not having a not-so-good day, I fiend for it. While my mom taught me how to make it, I've only cooked in a handful of times...plus when I want it, I want it right then and there. Admittedly, I have resorted to going to steam-table restaurants (known in Filipino as turo-turo restaurants) to satisfy my cravings:

from Irma's Pampangan Cuisine in SF

from Manila Bay Cuisine at Serramonte Mall in Daly City

Yes, I went to the MALL to get it! And before you go off on me saying it's not very pretty...well, it isn't. It's just a dish of stewed down mung beans. It's not fancy. It was never meant to be. It's humble and simple. As with every other Filipino family recipe, the recipes will vary. For example, Irma's adds spinach and bittermelon while the Manila Bay Cuisine's version has fried pork and shrimp. I actually like putting in tomatoes and fish sauce in mine. I also like mine on the thicker side. Like rice, the more you cook it, the thicker in consistency it gets.

While it was cool to get the balatong from the turo-turo spots and I guess I could wait for my mom to make it again, there just HAD to be a sit-down restaurant where I can go buckwild on my love for it. Enter Alido's.

Alido's Island Flavor
Address: 3560 Callan Boulevard at Westborough, SSF, CA
Phone Number: (650) 869-4457
Cuisine: Traditional Filipino

Alido's is a family-run restaurant situated on Callan Boulevard in South San Francisco. I confess. I like less than 5 (driving) minutes away and I have only been there twice before the visit I am about to recap. The first time was for Chloe's party and the second visit was for kapaMEALya's Family Style dinner. I came back not only because the food was yummy, the Alido Family is so warm and welcoming, but because they have a $5 menu and BALATONG WAS ON THAT MENU. Victory! $5 a dish?! Cool! I thought the soups, stews, and other entrees would come out in individual/personal-sized bowls, but NO.

Behold:

The bowl of misua noodle soup above could easily feed 2-3 people. Seriously. It was a cold day so this concoction of Asian angel hair in a silky broth was perfect...but you know what I came for:

Ernesto Alido, who was both our server and chef, told me that they used petchay/bok choy. Perfect. I ate the first spoonful so quickly that it gave me a second-degree on the roof of my mouth. I'm not kidding. But the pain was so worth it! You can tell here that the balatong is truly a "soup" because of the visible broth. I suppose since the balatong sits for a bit on the steam table at the turo-turo joints that the broth/cooking liquid simply evaporates creating a thicker stew. You know what though? This was awesome. It hit the spot in more places than one. I told Mr. Alido that I was so happy that I found a place that served it. Bonus that it is so close to home. Why I haven't come here more often? Idk. I'm stupid. I mean, the portions are waaaaaaaaaaay generous.

Let me show you the other dishes we got:

Keaton's Loco Moco
sorry, not on the $5 menu
but still really really good!

Fried Chicken and Veggies
I like having a little extra protein on the side when I eat balatong. The fried chicken here was a perfect choice. When I am at Irma's I eat it with Filipino bbq chicken on a stick. Sometimes mom fries up some salmon or buys a whole fried tilapia from the supermarket.

I will reiterate that balatong is my favorite food. Ever. Yes, ever. It just conjures up so many memories of my family and home in the Philippines and it's great that Keaton loves it as well. Side note: I think the balatong Keaton had in the Phils that had marungay/malungay in it changed his life.

While it's not as appreciated as say, adobo or kare kare or sinigang, it is truly something everyone should try at least once. I am lucky to have friends who have recipes for this great dish. I think you should visit their sites:

Jun Belen's Recipe for
Monggo Guisado and Fried Dried Fish

Btw, Jun's story brought me to tears. I am in love with his writing and how each food tells a story. While everyone has a story, he tells it like no other.

Malou's Recipe
for Mongo with Ham and Bacon Soup

I remember I was drawn to Malou's blog BECAUSE of the mongo recipe. Since then, I've read her blog and met her in LA. All thanks to mongo!

Annapet's Recipe for
Braised Mung Beans and Pea Shoots

Annapet lives across the Golden Gate Bridge and is the sweetest thing ever. I met her seredipitously at SF Chefs 2011 at Union Square and I need to make a date with her soon. =)

So for you who have always wanted to make balatong - mongo - monggo, you have no excuse not to make it now OR head over to Aldio's for a huge bowl! The weather has been rather chilly, ahhh November, so there is no better time than now. Take care everyone and stay warm!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: all photos and recipes are the property of their owners - especially those of Jun, Malou, and Annapet. Please visit their sites to see much more of there delicious recipes and breathtaking photographs.

PPS: Here is a piece I wrote for my family blog at myinang.blogspot.com about me, my Tatay, and balatong.

RIP Tatay.

I love you.

Missing you always.

Pierre Herme Macarons - I Have the Best Twinsy

2011-10-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Good evening everyone,

I was not planning on writing tonight, but I got inspired by some gifts that a dear friend gave me. Let's start at the beginning!

I was really really bummed on Sunday.

My girlfriends and I went all the way to Yountville aka Kellerville to have a little wine and nibble on some macarons...except the latter didn't happen. For some reason I trusted the store hours on Yelp and assumed they were going to be open after our wine tasting and lunch at Cornerstone Cellars. We got there at 2:30 and there was a sign on the door saying the temporary store hours were 7:00 am - 1:00 pm.

Nooooooooooooooo...

Must've been because of the fire that damaged the property last month or the month before. Yes, we were very disappointed to say the least. We were looking forward to those ginormous macarons. -smh- But we were in Napa. We weren't going to give up our trip there. How do you cure unhappiness in Napa?

Wine.

And lots of it.

We ended up going to Domain Chandon and that was a ftw trip, most definitely. BTW, our lunch at Cornerstone Cellars was provided by Michael Chiarello's kitchen. It was delish.

One of my favorite foodie people right now is my "Twinsy" aka @nom_nom_nom_nom on Twitter. Idk, we must have a psychic connection. She must have sensed my grief from Sunday's macaron excursion failure because she tweeted me Monday morning saying she had brought over some Pierre Herme macarons from PARIS!!!

She brought me four flavors: To the left is the Mogador - Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit & to the right is Creme Brulee - Vanilla and Caramel Bits.

On the left is the Infiniment Chocolat Porcelana - Pure Origin Venezuela Porcelana Dark Chocolate & to the right is the Infiniment Caramel - Salted Butter Caramel.

Let's just say that these macs are PERFECTION! Okay, I know they are the 1st French macarons I have had in my life, which only makes me want to go to Paris myself and try more of them! If you haven't seen all the flavors from Pierre Herme, I suggest you do HERE.

Be prepared to drool.

Jokingly, I told Twinsy that all of them were my favorite flavor when she asked, but if I had to choose one, it would be the creme brulee. Not only did it excite my palate, but it was also very visually appealing with its specks on vanilla bean in the filling. A close 2nd is the salted caramel. Though those two macarons had caramel components to them, you can really taste it in the salted caramel - both buttery and a hint of burnt flavor.

The chocolate mac was very deep in chocolate flavor as there was quality Venezuelan chocolate in the biscuit and dark ganache. There were even pieces of Pure Origin Porcelana chocolate intensified with fleur de sel studding the sides of the macaron. The passion fruit was a treat. At first bite, you get the taste of the luscious chocolate filling initially, but as you start chewing you get the tart from the passion fruit. Amazing.

There was MORE!

Twinsy was TOO TOO sweet and also brought Keat and I an almond croissant which totally looks different from almond croissants here in the States. Why? Look:

Twinsy mentioned that they were for some reason on the flatter side. It was all good to me because what I really care for in a croissant is flakiness and butteriness. Keat and my sis said the same thing after their first bite, "Oh. My. God."

Come to think of it, I think that's what I said when I took my first bite of the creme brulee mac!

We warmed up the croissant a little bit in the oven before digging in. The flaky layers were there. The butter was definitely there. The almond filling in the middle was extraordinary. Idk what how they made it, but did I taste a little alky in there? Keat said he didn't care because it was incredible!

Merci beaucoup, Twinsy, for the French treats. You really didn't have to, but you did and I am grateful! You're the best! I hope you had a wonderful time on your birthday in Paris. And remember, So Cal treats are coming your way when we get back!

I don't feel too bad about the MIA macs in Kellerville now.

xoxo,
Jo

[contest entry] Why I Should Be the Sooo Pinoy Ultimate Blogger!

2011-10-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hello!

My name is Joanne.

I want to be the Sooo Pinoy Ultimate Food Blogger!

Why?

I live for Filipino food.

Oxtail Kare Kare with Bok Choy, Sitaw, and Talong
from Patio Filipino, San Bruno, CA
I started my food blog in 2007 with the intent to document all the food excursions I had in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond; however, my love for food started when I was a child.

My mom and my Inang were fantastic cooks who taught me how to appreciate the cuisine of their homeland.

Longsilog - Longanisa Sausages, Garlic Rice, and Egg
from Mercury Lounge, San Francisco, CA
Filipino food is a way for me to keep in touch with my roots. Though I was born and raised in the Bay Area, I have been to the Philippines many times primarily staying with my family in Umingan, Pangasinan.

Back in Umingan with Some Coke and Pork BBQ
As a Filipina-American, I’m intrigued by where my family from. Any new knowledge I take from this trip will be treasured.

Silvanas - Cashew Meringue Wafer Sandwiches Filled with Buttercream
from House of Silvanas, Daly City, CA

Here in the States, I do a multitude of things associated with food. Aside from my day job at a medical practice...

I cook and bake.

I write for my personal food blog.

I am a contributing food writer for SF Station’s YUM! Blog.

And I am cofounder of a Filipino dining group called kapaMEALya:

One of the goals I have in life is to promote Filipino food and the creativity of our Filipino chefs here in the United States. Filipino food is so underrated. My friends, local Filipino chefs, folks in the Filipino food industry and I have had debates about why that is. We have traveled together in search of Filipino food and have organized events that showcase Filipino cuisine for Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike.

Buko con Seta - Coconut Gel and Tropical Ice Cream Dessert
at Intramuros Restaurant, South San Francisco, CA
I want to experience the food culture in the Philippines and share my adventures and my impressions with everyone who may never get the chance to do what I did.

Like Mother Like Daughter - Crispy Pata, Anyone?
If chosen, I will start my adventures with an open mind and a clean palate. I will welcome any dish, any ingredient, any flavor and in any setting. I am eager to learn and absorb everything I take in with all my senses. In the end, my goal is to share the knowledge I gained in the Philippines.

It is important to me that the traditions of Filipino food stay intact for future generations. I want my children to know how to make balatong and ginataang bilo bilo the way my mom and Inang taught me. The world is always changing. People change with time and so does food. Yes, I AM a Filipina-American, but I do not want the heritage and history of my family and their homeland to be forgotten, especially Filipino cuisine. On the same token, I do want to see growth in the cuisine and how far it can go in the mainstream here in the States.

Picnic Lunch of Filipino Classics Made with
Farm Fresh Vegetables Grown in Santa Cruz, CA
Food is a tool to unite people and a way for people to learn about each other. To say that I love food is an understatement. Food is my passion. To explore the Philippines would be the learning experience of a lifetime.

Yours,
Joanne

More Goodies:

Article About kapaMEALya in SF Weekly

Grilled Pusit
from Intramuros Restaurant, SSF, CA

Sisig Surprise Sandwich
from Toast Deli, Daly City, CA

Longsilog and Longanisa Corn Dogs
from The Wow Truck, San Francisco, CA

Sizzling Pork Sisig
from Sinugba, Daly City, CA

Copyright Notice: All Food Photos (except those in kapaMEALya banner)
in this Post Were Taken by Joanne

Burgers in SF

2011-10-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

People often ask me where to get the "best" burger in the City.

That is a hard question to answer because it's subjective. Some people just want meat and cheese on a bun. Others like the fancy-shmancy stuff. To each his own.

I even compiled a list for CBS and trust me, I got lots of hate mail sent to me saying I didn't know what the hell I was talking about. My addition of In-N-Out got lots of love/hate comments.

You know what?

Shut your faces. The comments are comical and I didn't read them for the longest time because I was honestly hurt. I'm fine now, but I swear, people are passionate about burgers and because I didn't put their favorite, suddenly I don't know what I am talking about.

But if you really wanna get in my head about burgers, here it is:

There are 3 levels of burgers:
• Sh*t Hole Burgers Spots – Fast food joints that usually have a value menu: McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, etc.
• Specialized Burger Joints – Places/food trucks where they focus on only burgers: Joe's Cable Car, Burger Meister, etc. I would put In-N-Out in this tier because it has a better quality than fast food places.
• Only One Burger on the Menu Restaurants – Spots that are known for their burger, but cook other different types of food: Marlowe, Spruce, The Fifth Floor, etc.

When it comes to MY ideal burger, I go to tier #2 - the Specialized Burger Joints. Why?

Food Quality:

Obviously, they are better than fast food.

What I like (and prefer) is that these places usually make their burgers with grass-fed beef from local purveyors like Pacific Pastures or Niman Ranch. There is usually no mixing of meats of different animals - just beef - and the toppings can be standard such as fresh lettuce, tomato, and onion or unique like over-easy egg, arugula, and sauteed mushrooms.

Ambiance:

I want to go to a place where burgers are the word. Period. I want to see the person across from me, diagonally from me, in back of me, perpendicular to me, eating a burger.

For me, formal table service ain't needed. I don't want to have to go out of my way to make a reservation just to have a burger. I'm not talking fast food fast, but sometimes that hankering for a legit burger comes out of nowhere (I blame it on my anemia), and I just wanna get in there, order, and eat. Or even take it to go because the husband would most likely get upset I had a burger without him.

Also, I want to go to spot where I do not have to worry too much about what I'm wearing. If I'm gonna eat a burger, I wanna get my hands greasy. If I get ketchup on my pants, oh well. None of this go see to be seen BS.

I am lucky to have friends and a husband who love burgers. Real burgers. They have introduced me to some of the tastiest ones I have ever eaten. So for real for real, here is MY ideal Top 5 list of burgers.

1) Super Duper - My friend and kapaMEALya brother Kuya Chip intro'ed this to me and to many others calling it his "Shake Shack." He is a NY/NJ native, so if that is what he says, I'll believe it because the burgers at Shake Shack seem to be a big deal. Did you not see *chick flick alert* "Something Barrowed?"

What I Order: The 4oz burger with "everything on it" (lettuce, tomato, red onions, and super sauce) with additions of cheese, bacon, and an organic egg. They cook their burgers to medium by default. At their condiment bar, they have pickles for the taking. Last time, I had like 5 of them. And I think I stole one of Kuya Chip's.

2) 4505 Meats - Every time I get the chance to go to a food festival, I get Chef Farr's burger. Unfortunately, I can't make it to the Thurs/Sat Ferry Building Market all the time. Lame. I wish I could though.

What I Order: The Cheeseburger - however Chef Farr makes it that day. For my CBS article, he told me that he grinds his own meat and the melange can be different from day to day. Anyway he does it, I seemed to inhale the whole thing within a few minutes.

3) Gott's Roadside - This place was used to be called "Taylor's Automatic Refresher" and even then I adored it. The burgers are placed on a lovely toasted yellow egg bun and are perfect with a side of their insanely green garlic fries or sweet potato fries.

What I Order: The Cheeseburger or Bacon Cheeseburger with American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and secret sauce. All burgers are cooked to a medium well, leaving a little bit on pink in the middle. This one has the flavor of a classic classic burger with no bells and whistles. It's all good - no BS.

4) ROAM Artisan Burgers - I learned about this place from Anne Pao, a lady I met at a foodcentric photoshoot. She brought some of ROAM's burgers for props for the crew and models and they were amazeballs to say the least. ROAM's burgers are unique with tasty toppings, of course, you can get your classic versions as well, but why not go for something different? Adding beyond the norm ingredients to burgers is what's in. What I like about ROAM is that it's casual, yet sophisticated.

What I Order: I have 2 favorites - The Tejano: Pepper Jack, Jalapeño Relish, Avocado, Tomato, White Corn Strips, Herb Ranch and the Sunny Side: Organic Free-Range Egg, Aged White Cheddar, Caramelized Onions, Greens, Tomato, Sweet Chili Sauce. A lot of thought went behind creating these combinations. And PLEASE order a salted caramel milkshake and the Fry-fecta. You're welcome.

5) Umami Burger - OK, I know this is a So Cal-based company, I think this is love at first bite. Literally. I had this for lunch yesterday for the first time and I fell head over heels from the punch of flavor the fries and the burger had. Yup, laced with crack. Laced with crack.

What I Order: I know I know, I only had 1 burger, but it was LEGIT. I had the namesake Umami Burger which had shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, and umami ketchup. I had a bad experience coming back to the office from Umami Burger, but all the negativity went away when I ate this burger.

By all means, this is not a Burger Bible. And please, no hate emails! I understand there are a million ways to make a burger these days, and the 5 listed are just the way I like it. So there you go, friends. Eat away and tell me what you think! And be sure to call me if you're in the mood for a good burger!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Does anyone remember the Carousel / Doggy Diner on Sloat across from the Zoo? I had one of my favorite burger experiences there when I was in the 10th grade. I can still remember how good they were.

Brenda’s French Soul Food – Dinner with My Fave Filipino Foodies

2011-10-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

Restaurant: Brenda's French Soul Food
Address: 652 Polk Street at Eddy, Civic Center/TL, SF
Phone Number: (415) 345-8100
Date Last Visited: October 1, 2011
Dining Partners: Fantastic Filipino Foodies - Keaton (honorary Filipino), Lara & Chip (kapaMEALya Power Couple), Albert (Filipeanut), Arnold (Inuyaki), and our special guest Marvin (Burnt Lumpia and Manila Machine)

Imagine this was in front of you:

Gorgeous, ain't it?

The colors, the scents, and flavors. They all worked. This, my friends, is what you can have at Brenda's French Soul Food for dinner. When Brenda's first opened about 4 years ago, they only served brunch and lunch. In fact, when I first came here, I was not impressed with the service, but the fried chicken I had that day in 2007 was really good. I did drop by for lunch a couple years later and had their Fried Shrimp Po'Boy which was legit. 3rd time here and all I wondered was if it got better.

The space was definitely different. It actually doubled in size and there was a wonderful natural light coming from the skylight above. They opened up for dinner about a couple of months ago, so I was excited to see what was on the dinner menu. Before I move on, the reason why we came here was because our friend Marvin came up from So Cal to spend the weekend in SF. The Filipino-American International Book Festival was going on at the Asian Art Museum and Public Library in the Civic Center area. Since some of us were attending, we decided to make a full experience out of it and have dinner at Brenda's.

Brenda is Filipina-Creole (wow, that's sexy), and it only made sense to eat at a place where a Pinay cooked. Unfortunately, Brenda was not around at dinnertime. I cried inside. It would have been great to converse with her. Anywho, who is ready for some food porn?

Sweet Watermelon House Tea
I was thirsty from walking from our rendezvous spot at the Asian Art Museum. Those 4 blocks were killer. I kid. But I was thirsty. This watermelon tea was on point! Not too sweet like those horrible canned drinks at the store.

Spicy Fried Black Eyed Peas
As a snack to munch on while you peruse the menu, you get these fried BEPs. Wow, did they have a kick to them.

Broiled Oyster Flight
One of Each Kind Provided
Oysters! I love them any which way you prepare them. We all thought, "go big or go home" and each trio shared a flight. Keat is allergic to seafood, so he did not participate. Poor guy.

Close Up of the Broiled Oysters
There are 4 different types on the plate:

1) Casino: Bacon, scallion, biscuit crumbs, parmesan, gruyère
2) Saint Charles: Andouille sausage, cornbread, holy trinity
3) Tchoupitoulas: Cayenne butter, garlic, herbs
4) Orleans: Blackened Voodoo bbq sauce

Each oyster had its own flavor and they were all awesome. We ended up dipping our crawfish beignets in the leftover sauces on the shells!

Crawfish Beignets
Spiced with Cayenne, Scallions & Cheddar
Speaking of the crawfish beignets...they were fantastic!!

The Interior of the Crawfish Beignets
The dough was pillowly and the filling was creamy and nicely seasoned. You have to try these when you are at Brenda's.

Smoked Pork Rillettes
Watermelon Pickles, Creole Mustard, Croutons
Spreadable pork. Yes. The buttery meat was on the rich side but the watermelon pickles were a nice tangy contrast as was the mustard with its pungent vinegary quality. Who knew the rind of a watermelon would make great pickles? I admit, I am not a pate person. Can't do liver, but this is a nice alternative.

Chicken, Sausage & Okra Gumbo
Because Keat didn't to try the oysters or the beignets, he ordered himself a cup of gumbo which he verified was seafood-free. I loved it.

The Burger
Our Spiced-Up Version Served on a Toasted Kaiser Roll
with Caramelized Onions, House Catsup, and Bread & Butter Pickles
This was Keat's man dish and it was a legit burger. Lots of flavor and the addition of the egg made it perfect. Everyone eyed the BFC - Brenda's Fried Chicken, and to our delight, our server informed us that you can order a piece of the fried chicken to go with your entree. Yes, Keat got one.

Catfish des Allemands
Bronzed Catfish, Crawfish Etouffée, Pecan Rice Pilaf
...and I did as well to go along this beautiful plate of food. The creamy étouffée on top made it such a sophisticated dish. The catfish, not browned nor blacked, was bronzed leaving a light lovely crust on the outside. You got your rice, fish, veggies, and luscious sauce.

Brenda’s Cream Biscuits
A meal is not complete without these cream biscuits. They are HUGE, first of all. Ramekins of butter and strawberry jam were set before us, but the butter really isn't necessary because the biscuit itself was already so buttery. A spreading of strawberry jam was just perfect. If only I can have one of these every morning...

Happiness
Look at the table. The rest of the gang ordered other outstanding dishes such as the Shrimp & Grits - sautéed shrimp, cheddar grits, spicy tomato-bacon gravy. Lara let me steal a couple bites of it and it was sinful. I hate to sound cliche, but it WAS! Albs got (check this): the Cornmeal-Fried Catfish Po'boy with chipotle rémoulade on toasted french roll AND a piece of Brenda's Fried Chicken AND an order of fried shrimp on the side! Chip ordered the BFC - Three pieces of Brenda's secret recipe fried chicken, the famous cream biscuit, hot pepper jelly & collard greens. Winners ALL AROUND!

Dessert Beignet Flight
Plain, Chocolate, Apple
You don't skip on dessert when you eat with us. The crawfish beignets treated us well and the dessert ones were great as well.

Rice Pudding Brulee
Vanilla Rice Pudding with Burnt Sugar Top
I liked that the rice pudding wasn't too sweet and the burnt sugar on top lent a little bitterness which I liked.

Chocolate Pot de Creme
Pot de Creme, regardless of what flavor is something I adore. Something about a luscious dessert that melts effortless in the mouth yet has a full feeling on the palette. We made some bootleg champurado by combing the rice pudding and chocolate pot de creme. We always find a way, us Filipinos.

I was incredibly satisfied with this meal. I'd like to thank my dining partners for ordering some fabulous food and their willingness to try new things. The conversation we had was also eye-opening. I love having friends like these! So the 1st visit was so-so, the 2nd visit was better, and the 3rd visit was outstanding. Whatever impressions we had prior to this visit were erased and now I am looking forward to future visits.

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Dear Marvin, hope we didn't traumatize you too much. =)

I Apologize for...You Know...

2011-10-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

Neglecting you all again!I have been so busy! It's crazy. In a good way of course! Let's do some catch up! Oh dear, the last time I updated was on the 2nd. Geez. LOL!

1) We made it on television! My Filipino dining group was on Adobo Nation, a show on The Filipino Channel. A crew came to our dinner last month and we are so pleased with the segment. Check it out above!

Gazing at cupcakes at Kara's Cupcakes located in Ghirardelli Square

2) During Fleet Week, I was invited to attend the Scharffen Berger Media Bakery Crawl. It was loads of yummy fun! You can check out the pictures HERE. Photo above and photos in the gallery are courtesy of Scharffen Berger Chocolate. Thank you for the opportunity!

3) The awesome Jonathan Kauffman reviewed one of my favorite spots here in Daly City - House of Sisig. He invited me to dinner last month and his write-up of it was just published this afternoon. Thank you for having me, Mr. Kauffman. Click the image for the recap! Your girl Jo and kapaMEALya got a shout-out!

4) I attend Ferran Adria's event on Monday at the Castro Theater - omg. Talk about inspirational. Here is my recap that I wrote for SF Station's YUM! Blog. It was so much fun seeing all my foodie friends there as well and it was quite remarkable to see to many people gather because of the love of food.

Things have been so busy, but I honestly cannot complain. Things are going just awesome!

xoxo,
Jo

[kapaMEALya] - Happy October! Fil-Am Book Fest and Adobo Nation!

2011-10-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

[This is a post copied from the kapaMEALya blog]

How was everyone's weekend? I hope it was great. Happy Filipino American Heritage Month! To start off the month strong, I spent most of my weekend with my kapaMEALya team members at the Fil-Am International Book Fest held in SF's Civic Center area.

On Saturday, my husband Keaton (@phatpanda650) and I (@joanneisafoodie) met up with Albert (@filipeanut), Arnold (@inuyaki), Chip (@angcolette), Lara (@spelles), and special super especial VIP to the bones food writer Marvin (@burntlumpia) who came up from Southern California. We went for dinner at Brenda's French Soul Food - which is owned by a Creole-Pinay!

The food was incredible to say the least:

Please note the sheer happiness in my face. Of course, since Marvin was a special guest, we dragged him to the Mission via BART train and walked 4 blocks for an SF foodie's right of passage.

4505 Chicharonnes bought from Bi-Rite Market. Yes, you read right: we were on a mission for pork rinds.

Upon first bite, Marvin said and I quote, "Oh sh*t...it's like cotton candy made with meat."

Yes, it just *melts* in your mouth.

After bidding adieu on Saturday, we returned again today for a culinary lecture led by Felice Santa Maria and Chef Edgar Grajo. Unfortunately, intended presenter Claude Tayag wasn't able to make it, but it was still a great lecture to attend.

We learned so much such as the history of Filipino food and actually getting to try samples of the flavors they were telling us about!

I had a great weekend, especially after seeing so many people at the festival. If you went, I hope you had a great time!

After getting home, I got a call from Chip who told me that he saw our segment on tonight's Adobo Nation on The Filipino Channel (TFC)! I haven't seen it yet, but from the sound in his voice, he was pleased! Once I get the link to the Youtube upload, I will surely post it on here for you to watch. I don't have TFC, so I am eagerly waiting to see it as well!

DID YOU SEE kapaMEALya on television tonight? If so, what did you think? Please drop us a line if you are interested in finding out about more of our events here in the Bay Area and beyond!

Happy Sunday and hope Monday is just as nice!

xoxo,
Jo

10 Lunches To Go – A Guide for Those Who Work in Pacific Heights

2011-09-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

I have been compelled to write up this guide for a longwhile. As an employee of the medical center just one block up from Fillmore Street, there are days where I resort to eatingcafeteria food because I am too tired to leave the campus and there are dayswhere I can’t wait to take a walk on Fillmore. Today was one of those days – the sun was shining and the warmth fromits rays felt wonderful.

I hate to be away from my office too long fearing a patientor one of my colleagues might need me, so 90% of the time, I call ahead, pickup my lunch, and eat it on campus.

So here is my list of restaurants along Fillmore (betweenSutter and Clay) that offer great pick-up options for those on the go – betteryet, most of them are under $10 (prices listed are menu prices not includingtax.)

1) Bun Mee– Vietnamese - 2015 Fillmore Street between Pine and California

I was soexcited when they opened this year. Finally a banh mi spot! Thoughthere are many filling combinations, my favorite is the “Belly Bun.” It’s a perfect sandwich complete with tenderpork belly, pickled carrots, cilantro, jalapeno, and cucumber. $6.25 Pssst…on days where I feel like I deserve it, I add a boiled egg ontop. If you want a more substantiallunch, try the Citrus Caramel Rice Bowl. It’s a little over $10, but it’s awesome. Delivery in immediate area with $20+ purchase.

2) LaMediteranee – Mediterranean - 2210 Fillmore Street between Sacramentoand Clay

If youwant a full meal with your starch, veggies, and protein, look no further. Their lunch specials run from 11am – 5pm,which is awesome for those who can’t make it out at Noon. My ideal lunch special from La Med is thechicken kebab – comes with rice pilaf, your choice of soup or salad, pitabread, hummus, and fruit. Can’t beatthat when you’re only paying $8.95. Theportions are generous. On a day when youfeel a little sick, grab their chicken rice soup. It’s comforting to the bone. Better yet, order and pay online, so all you have to do is pick it up!

3) Fresca – Peruvian - 2114 Fillmore Street between Sacramento and California

Peruvian food is a cuisine Iabsolutely adore. It’s Latin, but thereare hints of Asian in there as well. Thelunches here are ridiculously delicious – especially the Chicken Pesto on Ciabatta (pictured below) or the “Pan con Lomito” whichis a sandwich using Dutch crunch and in it is jack cheese and beef tenderlointhat’s been sautéed with soy sauce, tomato, and onion. You also choose either a salad or fries foryour side. The price? Only about $9.00!

4) Out the Door – Vietnamese – 2232 Bush Streetbetween Steiner and Fillmore

Okay, you’re probably wondering whyOTD is on my list because they are on the pricier end of the spectrum. I can tell you that they are open forbreakfast, so coming in to pick up a hot chicken porridge ($9.00) on a coldmorning before your shift is ideal. Forlunch, their fresh spring rolls with pork, shrimp, mint, and their outstandingpeanut sauce are perfect for a light lunch. I swear, I can bathe in that peanut sauce.

5) Osaka– Japanese – 1923 Fillmore Streetbetween Pine and Bush

I totally heart the folks at Osaka. Not only are their “Osaka Combination Lunch”inexpensive and delicious - $8.95 for two entrée items (your choice ofteriyakis and tempuras), rice, miso soup, and salad – they DELIVER W-Th-Fduring lunch hours. Bonus: if you call from a hospital line, they’llrecognize it on their caller ID and give you a neighborhood discount. Win! They have made my days so much better after I’ve eaten their food.

6) Grove Cafe – Eclectic – 2016 Fillmore Streetbetween Californiaand Pine

I finally came into The Grove after3 years of working in the area. Why Iwaited so long? I don’t know. It’s a gem. It would be the perfect spot to grab lunch and work on the laptop, if Ihad the time, of course. I love theirchicken pot pie ($10) with its creamy and savory gravy and flaky crust. Plus! It comes with a salad! They alsohave a wide array of sandwiches and salads and are open for breakfast.

7) Taco Bar – Mexican – 2401 California Street at the Corner ofFillmore

I remember the days when this was aLa Salsa location. While sad that theone and only Mexican option was closing, I was glad that a new one was takingits place. The quesadillas are huge andfilling, but I come here for taco – doesn’t matter which one (around $3.50) andtheir “esquites” or corn in a cup ($4.75) – white corn, epazote herb, crema,lime, chile, and cotija cheese. Youmight even catch me walking up Fillmore eating it straight from the cup.

8) Pizzeria Delfina – Italian – 2406 California Streetbetween Fillmore and Steiner

Do I even need to explain why? Delfina is known throughout the nation fortheir incredible Cal-Italian fare. I’mcheating a bit here. The pies, dependingon the variation, are over $10, BUT! Idoubt you’re going to eat a whole pie by yourself, so if you share with yourcolleagues, you can spend less than $7 for a portion! The Margerita is always good, but try the Salsiccia for some meatygoodness thanks to their housemade fennel sausage.

9) Woodhouse Fish Co. – Seafood - 1914 Fillmore Streetbetween Pine and Bush

Alright, this is cheatingagain. Everything on the menu is over$10, but the quality of the food is worth paying for. I like to buy lunch here on PAY DAY! There is nothing wrong with splurging,right? You earned it! Even with that said, my favorite item is theDungeness Crab Melt served on buttery toasted bread and comes with slaw andFrench fries - at $12.00, the flavor and all that crab with that squeeze oflemon is totally worth it, plus the fries are addicting!

10) SWEETS! I will dedicate my whole #10 to dessert. Cheating? No, not when it comes to dessert.

a. Citizen Cake Ice Cream Parlor and Eats –2125 Fillmore Streetbetween California and Sacramteo - RecentlyChef Elizabeth Falkner revamped her menu to include housemade ice cream;however, I have been coming here since it’s opening in Pac Heightsfor macarons, cakes, and cupcakes. Last week,I had the Toasted Sourdough Ice Cream with Hot Fudge. Talk about awesome. The ice cream did have a toasted flavor…andwas that butter and sugar at the end? I don’tknow exactly how they made the ice cream, but it was certainly unique and yummy.

b. La Boulange – two locations: 2325 Pine Street at Fillmore and 2043 Fillmore Street between California and Pine – IfI could, I would come here everyday. Everyday. Their chocolate hazelnut croissants areperfect for breakfast, the croissant bread pudding is great for a midday treat, and theirabsolutely perfect canneles are ideal for anytime! I adore that slightly burnt tasting crust andthe custardy interior. If the bakery wasany closer to my place of employment, I would be in trouble.

c. Fillmore Bakeshop – 1890 Fillmore Street between Bush andSutter – their macarons are ginormous. No joke. Blood orange. You’re welcome. Their cake display case is also veryimpressive – Swedish Princess Cake, cheesecakes, cupcakes with SF Giants logoson them! Come on, how can you not love aplace like this?

Have a great lunch!

xoxo,
Jo

Judging the 2011 Pistahan Adobo Cookoff

2011-09-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

I made adobo today.

Yes, again.Why not? Adobo is great!

The husband was nice enough to post the dinner I cooked for him on FB. =)I swear, whenever adobo is around, something good happens. I have memories of my family and adobo. I've met good friends because of adobo. I think I even got my husband to fall in love with me almost 8 years ago because of my adobo. I owe adobo a lot, but again, the powers that be let adobo bless me again.Last month, I was chosen by the Pistahan committee to be a judge in their annual Adobo Cook Off. An open call was made for the public to bring their best adobo to Pistahan.

For those who don't know, Pistahan is a yearly festival held at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. It celebrates the Filipino-American experience for two whole days. I have been going to Pistahan since I was a teenager. It's such a great event to attend because of the entertainment (usually a celeb from the Philippines is flown to SF to perform), the educational and creative pavilions, and of course, the FOOD!

I was also asked to write about the Culinary Pavilion for Pistahan's official publication - EXPO Magazine. The Culinary Pavilion housed an exhibit of various grilled delicacies from the Philippines and was sponsored by Mama Sita's. On Saturday, I went to the Culinary Pavilion and was ready to eat some adobo!

This is me with reps from Ramar Foods, the sponsor of the Adobo Cookoff.
Susie Quesada VP Marketing and Chef Wayne.

I thought I knew adobo, but I really didn't.
There were so many interpretations of the National Dish!

Adobo #1: was a pork adobo made with a tomato base.

Abodo #2: Chicken and Pork Adobo with Quail Egs

Adobo #3: Chicken Adobo with Potatoes

Adobo #4: Chicken Adobo with Lemongrass

Adobo #5: Traditional Chicken Adobo

Here I am judging. I look so serious. Each adobo has its own personality. No two were alike at all which made the judging process that much more difficult. Did we go for traditional flavors or we were ready to give avant garde approaches the crown?

The rest of the judging team comprised of
the "angels" representing Heavenly Ice Cream. To the left is Tita Pearl, representative from Mama Sita's.

So who won?

It was none other than my friend Aileen Suzara of Filipino food blog Kitchen Kwento! Her lemongrass chicken adobo burst with flavor - a flavor not normally found in adobo. It totally worked and was a great new view on our classic dish. Congrats, Aileen!

So if I were eligible to enter my own adobo, what would I have done to it?
As we all now know, there are so many different ways to make adobo.
Here is my technique:

Sautee chopped onions, garlic, and pickled jalapeno peppers in salt, black pepper, olive oil and butter. This bring out the flavor in the onions and garlic and adds spice.
Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar - not only will the balsamic pick up the fond on the bottom of the pan, it will reduce down creating a syrupy and sweeter sauce.
Add raw chicken wings and add 1 part soy / 2 parts white vinegar / 1 part water
Cook on medium heat until chicken is full cooked

That's it!

From the way husband ate his adobo, I have a feeling he liked it. It's going to be perfect for lunch tomorrow! Can't believe it's already Monday tomorrow! Ta ta for now, loves!

xoxo,

Thank you to Frank Jang of Asian Week for the photographs

Sam's Anchor Cafe - Time Well Spent

2011-09-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Are you like me?

You buy a calendar or a planner, but never fill it out? I went to Target the other night and bought one for cheap, but I am determined to use it. October is going to be a ridiculously crazy month and I really need to get organized with all the events planned. Yeah, I have a calendar on my phone, but I have an affinity for paper products.

I filled in my calendar and saw that I am officially booked every weekend until Thanksgiving.

Holler.

Then it got me thinking...

It's almost the holiday season!

I can't believe this time last year, I was still planning my wedding. Where did 2011 go? We're three-fourths into the year already. True, time passes by when you are having fun, but at the same time we all need to learn to make time with our loved ones and spent QT with them.

This past Saturday, my mom planned a day trip across the Golden Gate Bridge for me, my sis, and my niece in Tiburon. We all have lived here in SF/Daly City for so long, but we never went to that part of the Bay Area as a family. It was certainly about time. We went to eat at Sam's Anchor Cafe, which sits on the docks where the ferries to the City depart. It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend.

No critiques. Just pictures. It was a beautiful, sun-shiny day, indeed. I love my family. The day was just perfect.

Restaurant: Sam's Anchor Cafe
Address: 27 Main Street, Tiburon, California
Cuisine: Seafood
Phone Number: (415) 435-4527
Date Last Visited: September 17, 2011
Dining Partners: Momma, Jayla (the niece), Sherri-Anne (the sister)

Deep Fried Calamari

Blue Cheese Garlic Bread

My Dungeness Crab Salad on Sourdough

That's ALL crab, baby...

Mom's Cioppino

Jayla's Bacon and Eggs

SAM's/Sam's Burger on Sourdough Bun
Haha, get it SAM - Sherri-Anne Malabanan lol

Eating Ice Cream on the Dock

Do me a favor.

Kiss your kids. Hug your parents. Tell them you love them. Embrace your spouse, your significant other, your pet, your teddy bear.

Time is ticking. We're not getting any younger. Spend time with the ones you love.

Have a goodnight everyone.

xoxo,
Jo

Join Me for Dinner! "Taglish" Pub Grub 9/18/2011

2011-09-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you will be able to join me and the kapaMEALya team this coming Sunday, September 18th at Mercury Lounge!

What do you get when you stick a Pinoy chef in an English Pub's kitchen?

TAGLISH PUB GRUB!

Yes, there WILL be beer onhand if you so choose to share in the merriment...

Buy your tickets today!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or any kapaMEALya team member.

xoxo,
Jo

3rd Annual SF Street Food Festival 2011

2011-09-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Who else went to this year’s SF Food Festival?

I know I’m late on this, but I can’t NOT show you all the goodies I shared with my good foodie friends “Fish n Chip!” I have attended every SF Street Food Fest since the 1st one in 2009. The coordination of the event and the food have immensely improved since then. I love this festival and the Mission neighborhood it is held in. I can't wait for next year!

This year, I wanted to go for new things, but there was one thing I tried last year that I had to have again this time:

The Cheeseburger and Chicharones from 4505 Meats

Had this last year. Holy crap. Still great as ever. Nuff sed.

I love you, Chef Ryan Farr.

Nom Nom Truck!

I was such fans of them when they were on the Food Network! So happy to have them here. So Cal reppin' the Bay! Holler like a baller! Got a pork banh mi for home. Misa took my order. "Her eyes her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining..." Yeah, I was actually singing that when I left the order window. *geek*

Banh Mi Taco and Pad Thai Taco from The Peached Tortilla

While Fish and I were waiting for Nom Nom and talking about wedding stuff, Chip brought us some goodies from this Asian fusion truck from Austin, Texas! These tacos are LEGIT. All the flavors are you want from the tangy to the bit of spice is all in there. Loved these! My fave of the two was the Pad Thai taco. Genius.

Penang Curry Bomb from Azalina's Malaysian

I was actually a bit scared to eat this because of the thrice cooked bun - steaming, baking, and finally frying. As Chip took a bite, the sauce and the oil from frying dripped down causing an utter mess. I denied a bite at first. Then I gave in. It was fantastic! Holy sh*t! The curry on the inside was delightfully spicy also.

Rice Milk Lemon Cookie from Three Twins Ice Cream

After that savory bun, I needed something cool a sweet. This hit the spot. Because of the lack of clean bathrooms, I didn't want to risk it with full cream ice cream and went vegan. A littler icier of course than the real thing, but it was awesome.

Brazilian Cheese Bread and Gourmet S'more from Kika's Treats

Lovely. Both of the items from Kika's were delicious. I never had Brazilian cheese bread before, but it is totally gluten free because it is made with cassava or tapioca flour. The s'more is everything you want in one. It melted as we held it and strings of molten marshmallow extended from the chocolate-covered graham crackers as we took bites. Yum.

Wax Moth Larvae Tacos from Don Bugito

Did she? Yes. She did. I actually tried one of the little worms on its own and it's like eating a toasted rice crispy or pinipig. It actually wasn't bad. When I had it IN the taco, they were almost unrecognizable. If I were blindfolded, I wouldn't have noticed. The fresh Mexican cheese, though very delicious, hid the toasty flavor a little bit. The pickled onions and spiced jicama on the side were quite tasty as well. The verdict: Not gross at all. Y'all should try it. I'd do it again!

Sweet Potato Pie Waffle from Pinx

Decadent! That bourbon salted caramel sauce on top was like sex sauce. Paint that sh*t on! Pardon my language, but I was ready for bed after this. It was a unique concoction that used classic flavors but in a new preparation. They are from across the Bay in San Leandro and they cater! ftw!

Apple Crisp Crepe from Ingrid's Lunchbox

This truck is all the way from Madison, Wisconsin! Now the flavors in this remind me of all-American country Little House on the Prairie fare. They essentially made good apple crisp and put it in a sweet crepe. Yummy!

Arte Floral En Gelatina from Sweet Collection

This is OUT OF THIS WORLD. This is all made with gelatin! Amazing! I didn't eat it because it was so beautiful, but I did open it up and took a whiff. Strawberry. =) This just astonishes me. Gorgeous. The owner is from Mexico and it seems gelatin art is big there. Awesome.

It is safe to say that this year was a success!

See you next year, friends!

xoxo,
Jo

PS:

A Tribute: Uncle Clem, You Will Be Missed!

2011-09-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

His full name is Clemente Escopete…but to us, he’s Uncle Clem.

I first met Uncle Clem and his family at the Asian Culinary Forum’s Adobo Throwdown in May of 2010. This day would be a historic day for me and kapaMEALya because this was where we all connected. I was immediately drawn to his station. His wife Ofelia was smiling behind the table setting up the decorations including the infamous barrel man, Filipino coin purses, and Filipino cookbooks.

He competed against 8 other adobo chefs, and his Adobo Bicolano won 1st place in “People’s Power!” The intense garlic in the dish sure won the people over.

Watch the following video to learn how he makes his award-winning Adobo Bicolano (courtesy of Adobo Nation):

I was pleased to see him and his family again at Kulinarya, another Filipino cooking contest held at SF’s City View at the Metreon in December of 2010.

He competed in the amateur category and created a three-course meal including his famous adobo:

Though he did not win 1st prize this time, his dishes still wow’ed the crowd. It was also great to formally meet him, his son Ron, and his lovely wife Tita Ofie. This encounter would eventually lead to the formation of kapaMEALya.

He was an architect by profession, but also the “keeper” of his family’s recipes. He learned how to cook at a young age and continued to prepare dishes like calderetta, mechado, and relleno for his family. He was a natural when it came to cooking. It was said that he knew how to make something by just using his eyes and palate. No measuring utensils needed. I later learned through his Twitter (run by his son Ron) that Uncle Clem also made appearances at street food events in San Francisco and across the Bay – showing the masses what Filipino food was really about. Simple, yet delicious, using fresh ingredients.

Sadly, Uncle Clem passed away this passed Labor Day in San Francisco.

His contribution to the Filipino food culture in the Bay Area is immense. He kept the tradition of good Filipino cooking and culture alive by using recipes passed down from generations before him. Even more, he initiated the exposure of Filipino food by catering and street food events and introducing his dishes to those who are unfamiliar with this type of cuisine.

Photo courtesy of Uncle Clem's Food Facebook

Whether he knew it or not, he was passing on his passion for cooking to everyone around him. This love is contagious. Whenever you cook for your family, you are passing on something made with love to them. That is what Uncle Clem did for his family for so many years - above all, he is a husband, a father, and a grandfather who will truly be missed.

I am now compelled to make Uncle Clem’s Adobo Bicolano this weekend for my family. I'm going to use the recipe in the video I posted above. If you do the same, please share your experience making it and post it to your websites and blogs using #UncleClemsAdobo.

Dear Uncle Clem,

Thank you for everything you have done for the food community and your family. Hope you continue cooking up there in heaven.

Love,

From all of us

Jo's Filipino Food Interview with Ashley Rivera aka ashleyslips

2011-09-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Here is another food interview with one of your favorite Filipino stars!

(Photo Courtesy of Petra Mahalimuyak / Ashley Rivera)
Petra Mahalimuyak can teach you how to get abs in under a minute, compete in a beauty pageant and teach you how to dougie:

A Jill of all trades, yes? But there is a young lady behind the Petra character named Ashley Rivera. This talented girl has taken the Youtube community by storm. Let’s have a chat with Ashley and get to know her a little bit more!

Jo Boston: Say I just met you and I had never heard of Petra and your videos, how would you describe what you do in 140 characters -- Twitter-style?

Ashley Rivera: I basically make common sense tutorials. I can act, dance and even transform to a guy or a British girl. I can also be a "genie in a bottle" to make your wishes come true.

Jo: So, you're currently residing in Las Vegas, have you lived anywhere else in your life?
Ashley: My mom and I just moved here to Vegas in September 2010. I actually grew up in the Philippines. I was born in L.A, but we moved to Pinas when I was 2.

Jo: There is no doubt that you are a great dancer and performer. Your "Ja-bra-wockees" vid is amazeballs. Aside from producing videos showcasing your talents, have you performed professionally before?
Ashley: Aww! Thank you so much! I started modeling when I was 11. Ramp and print for Barbie. I also modeled for Boardwalk. And when I was 18, I started Belly Dancing on some events.

Jo: Tell me more about Petra Mahalimuyak. What differentiates Petra and Ashley? Do you channel anyone in particular when you film yourself as Petra?
Ashley: Petra is one crazy girl who loves to make people laugh. She'll say whatever she wants to say and not give a "shyet". She makes funny tutorials based on her observations. And surprisingly, people love it! Well not everyone, of course. I (Ashley) on the other hand, am more refined. I'm like Josephina but not as bitchy. I'm not as wild as Petra. But I can be fun too. I love to dance and I love to act!

Jo: Now let's get to the good stuff -- the FOOD! You've told me that you are a culinary arts grad, congrats! Are you currently working in the food industry right now?
Ashley: No. Not as of the moment, but I did work at a coffee shop/ restaurant back home. It's called "Baang Coffee" at Tomas Morato. I worked as a barista/waitress there for a couple of months. Try their adobo! It's really good!

Jo: Do you think Wolfgang Puck is a hunk? =P What is your favorite food-related show on TV?
Ashley: Hahahaha. I don't know about that. But I worked as a hostess at one of his restaurants. It's located at The Venetian. The resto is called "Riva by Wolfgang Puck." Great place, great food! My fave show would be Barefoot Contessa! I absolutely love her! I love how she cooks. I wish I had an aunt like her.

Jo: We all know you DO have a real hunk for a boyfriend! Think of the perfect date - since you have culinary experience, would you prepare a meal for him yourself or would you go out to eat?
Ashley: He sure is! We love eating out! Japanese food is our favorite! But I think it's always sweet when you cook for your man…Especially when you cook together. I did cook his favorite dish “Salpicao” on Valentine’s Day and he loved it! The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!

Jo: I went to Vegas last year and was overwhelmed with all the great places to dine. What are your favorite spots in Las Vegas? Are there hidden gems you would like to uncover for us?
Ashley: There really is so much food here! It's impossible not to gain weight! My top 3 would be: Oyshi (Japanese/ All-you-can-eat sushi), Thai BBQ (Thai food), M Resort (Buffet). Search it on Google!

Jo: Now let's talk about home. You lived in the Philippines for a lot of your life. What do you miss most as far as food? What are your favorite Filipino foods?
Ashley: Street food, definitely. I miss eating isaw, fresh peanuts, hotdog, turon. I also miss our dirty ice cream! And pares pares! Now I want to go back home.

Jo: Maybe Petra or Ashley can do a cooking demo video! Does Petra cook or will she burn the house down?
Ashley: People have been requesting for that. I'll probably make one soon! Petra can cook but not as good as Ashley. hahahaha!

Jo: In your video introducing Jora Eschusera (the SDBFF), Petra wants to eat rice with her Chicken McNuggets. I have to eat rice with my KFC! What is your favorite "ulam" to eat with rice?
Ashley: TOCINO! Oh my god. I love tocino! I love tocino with garlic rice, sunny side up egg and some fresh tomatoes. Now THAT is heaven on earth.

Jo: Who in your family cooks the best Filipino food and what are their specialties?
Ashley: My mom. She cooks for us everyday. I love her kare-kare! It's awesome! And I’m not just saying that 'cause she's my mom but seriously, that is the best kare-kare I’ve ever had! I'll never get tired of it.

** This is a game I like to call "This, This, or That?"

Jo: Wine, beer, or hard liquor? Go!
Ashley: HARD LIQUOR

Jo: Fried chicken, fried shrimp or fried tilapia? Go!
Ashley: FRIED SHRIMP

Jo: Pancit bihon, pancit palabok, or pancit canton? Go!
Ashley: PANCIT PALABOK

Jo: Mango Juice, Calamansi Juice, or Oreyndz Juz? Go!
Ashley: MANGO JUICE - just because Josephina died because of oreynds juz. hahahaha. Kidding. (Editor’s note: please view the following video to understand)

Jo: This is what I like to call "Say the first thing that pops in your head when you hear the following words...

I'll give you time to clear your mind and palate...3...2...1...go!

Jo: Kate Middleton
Ashley: royalty

Jo: Dinuguan
Ashley: yuck

Jo: Lechon Baboy
Ashley: favorite!

Jo: Pokwang
Ashley: comedian

Jo: Tokwat Baboy
Ashley: bawang (i don't even know why)

Jo: Your boyfriend
Ashley: LOVE

Jo: Jabbawockees
Ashley: awesome

Jo: Jollibee
Ashley: langhap sarap

That concludes the interview! Thank you Ashley for sharing your time with me and all your adoring fans out there!

You can find her on Twitter - @ashleyslips and on her Youtube Channel.

Hope you all enjoyed the interview!

xoxo,
Jo

SVEDKA Bar Crawl in the Marina Recap

2011-08-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, I received an invitation to attend the SVEDKA Summer Crawl in SF’s Marina district hosted by Gilt City. 4 bars. 4 bites.

SVEDKA is a vodka brand from Sweden. You probably have noticed their ads with the sexy robot. Uh-huh. Have I ever mentioned that I love vodka? I really do, so this was going to be fun.

I seldom come to the Marina. Though it is only a 5 minute drive from work, it’s the opposite direction of home. That only made this excursion to the Marina a little more interesting. I have to admit that I am very unfamiliar with this area as I have dined more on Chestnut Street. Union Street is another story. I immediately fell in like with it. Love? Not yet.

Come on. This was only our first date!

Our Entry Passes - Note the Sexy Robot
My Cousin Star and I started at OSHA Thai where we were given our passes. It was a great idea where you just unclip the pass to the designated bar and hand it to the bartender. Each pass was a different color which also indicated what type of vodka the bar was going to use.

Stop 1 - OSHA Thai on Union

The “Lady Gaga” at OSHA Thai
SVEDKA Raspberry, Fresh Lemon, Triple Sec, Drop of Chambord
Great, fun cocktail especially with the sugar-rimmed glass. Star and I are major Gaga fans, so you can say we were tickled by this one. We have both been to OSHA in the past, but never had happy hour there. That’s going to change.

Veggie Roll, Mango Prawns, and Wasabi Beef Roll at OSHA Thai
Each plate of food for each guest was gorgeous with the purple orchid and the details with each bite. My favorite was definitely the prawn. It was lightly battered and fried. Went perfectly with the slightly tart mango.

Stop 2 - Cafe des Amis

Swede Cherry Spritz
SVEDKA Cherry, Peychaud’s Bitters, Lemon, Pineapple, Lemon-Lime Soda
Café des Amis was next and were excited to try some French fare. The drink was very light and easy to drink. Very nice. Let me say here that the room they hosted us in was absolutely gorgeous with the beautiful chandelier in the middle of it. Perfect for a private dinner. My favorite venue space out of the four right here.

Duck Rillettes & Chanterelles à la Grecque at Café des Amis
English? Well, Franglish…duck crostini with pickled chanterelle mushrooms and cornichons. The vinegar from the vegetables cut the richness of the duck. The only complaint is that I wish we could have had seconds.

Stop 3 - Perry's

Sparkling SVEDKA Pink Lemonade
SVEDKA Citron, Soda, Splash of Cranberry, Sweet & Sour, Triple Sec
This is a drink I can get in trouble with if I had enough. Had the flavors of the classic pink lemonade, but I knew there was something extra in there once my cheeks felt flushed.

Foreground is a Mini Ahi Tuna Taco and
Background is a Buffalo Tender Bite at Perry’s
What I liked is that we got seconds on all the bites here. The ahi tuna was seasoned well, though the chip was a little delicate. Ask my guest who dropped her’s. Poor Star. The buffalo bite was full of spicy flavor and nice tang from the blue cheese sauce.

Cheese Quesadilla Pinwheel at Perry’s
I would love to come back here to hang out during a Giants game. I can already tell the husband would love these quesadillas stuffed with cheese and vegetables.

Stop 4 - Unwind

Screwhound
SVEDKA Vodka, Fresh Orange Juice, Fresh Grapefruit
By this time in the crawl, I was getting full…and slightly buzzed. Good, classic drink. Would love this during brunch. What I noticed as I was going to freshen up in the CR was that they have a poppin' dining area in the back. It looked so festive with the holiday lights on the rafters. Gotta check it out one time!

Signature Thai Stick Spring Roll and the New American Skin at Unwind
I really really liked the potato here. Fluffy potato interior and the top is buttery and sprinkled with bacon and jalapeno. Delicious.

Thank you and Gilt City and Skirt PR for this fun evening in the Marina. What I really liked was that each location had representatives there to welcome you. I also enjoyed that you can move at your own pace. I have been to a few crawls where the whole group has to arrive and leave at the same time. This frustrated me especially when I didn’t like the place or if I did enjoy the place and wanted to stay longer. This is definitely something I would do again. For ticket-buying guests, the price was only $30! What a bargain. Normally a cocktail would go for $8-$10. Here you got 4 drinks and 4 sets of awesome bites to try. You get a taste of the Marina for very little money. Can’t beat that.

Union Street, when is our second date?

xoxo,
Jo

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Fifth Floor - There Are No Words...

2011-08-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

Restaurant: Fifth Floor
Address: 12 4th Street at Market inside the Hotel Palomar, Downtown SF
Phone Number: (415) 348-1555
Cuisine: New American
Dining Companions: The Girls

I was a very bad food blogger when it came to this visit. I didn’t take any notes or take any pictures (what you’re going to see are photos my girlfriends took). I treated this meal as if I was not a food blogger…if that makes any sense. I just sat back and enjoyed my visit. I didn’t have any intention of doing a recap of the meal, but since Exec Chef Baz and “The Filipino Pastry Chef” were so nice to us, I had to share.

The girls I came with I have known since high school and j0lie, since the 4th grade. After years of not seeing each other, we realized we were all getting older and hey, why not reunite over dinner? Two weeks prior we went to Wayfare Tavern. On this night, the Fifth Floor. I had always wanted to come here, but since Chef Baz joined the desire became even stronger. Perfect timing. I experienced Chef's food for the first time when he was back at Chez Papa and it was simply fabulous. Couldn't wait.

Again, because I was a “bad blogger,” I didn’t take notes of the exact menu descriptions...so everything I am writing here is from memory. Like the experience I had at Benu a little while ago, I am not going to go dish by dish to say how “glorious” and “fantastic” each was. In truth, everything we had was amazing. I want you to go to the Fifth Floor and try it out yourself. With that said, here was our dinner (after the delicious champagne and amuse bouche Chef had sent over):

Hamachi Crudo with Cherries

Beets, Strawberry, and Mascarpone

Heirloom Cucumber Salad to the Left and Beets to the Right

Mendocino Uni Flan…Yes…

Brillat-Savarin Ravioli

Hot and Cold Foie Gras with Rhubarb

The Foie Gras. Chef Baz does it best!

Spring Pea Risotto with Bacon

j0lie’s Duck Breast

Popper’s Fallon Hills Ranch Spring Lamb with Couscous

Momma’s Salmon and Clams

My Squab

Rozzer’s New Bedford Diver Scallops

Bammer’s Dry Aged Steak

The biggest treat was having Chef Baz and The Filipino Pastry Chef
bring out our desserts. Yup, we got a flippin’ fireshow with dinner.
All the following desserts were made by Fifth Floor’s pastry chef Francis Ang.

Baked Alaska with Cassis Ice Cream

Strawberry Consommé

Chocolate Bomb

Rhum Baba with Pineapple

Beignets and Ice Cream

Mignardise

It was an awesome dinner to say the least. Chef Baz made sure he used only the freshest ingredients he was able to find at the local farmer’s market and doing so gave us incredible dishes that evoked color, flavor, and sexiness. I would come back just for the uni flan and the foie gras. Seriously.

Fifth Floor.

Try it.

You won’t be sorry.

xoxo,
Jo

PS: it sure was grand to be served by the “Hottest Chef in America.” ;-)
PPS: bad blogger.

Jo's Filipino Food Interview with Mikey Bustos

2011-08-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Let's shake things up a little bit here!

Have you heard of a gentleman named Mikey Bustos?

Photo courtesy of Mikey Bustos and Mikey Bustos Entertainment
Some people know Mikey as the handsome Pinoy-Canadian who won hearts while performing in Canadian Idol in 2003. Lately, he has gained worldwide fans via his Youtube Channel where he posts his infamous "Filipino Tutorials", like this one:

Mikey was kind enough to let me wrack his brain about, you guessed it, Filipino Food! I mean, c'mon, what else?! =D Ready?! On your mark, get set, GO!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jo: Hey Mikey! Thank you so much for your time as I know you have a busy schedule. I am sure your audience will appreciate getting to know you a little bit more.

First thing’s first, to someone who isn’t familiar with you and your videos, how would you describe yourself in 140 characters?

Mikey: Actually, I can describe myself in five characters. I am a mixture of Ace Ventura, Kermit the Frog, Yoda, Pepe le Pew, and Professor Xavier. <------(That btw is exactly 140 characters)

Jo: Your Filipino tutorial videos are hilarious and take so much time to create. Which one is your favorite?

Mikey: The Filipino CR Tutorial

Jo: Do you channel anyone in particular when you film yourself as this Filipino character?

Mikey: Yes, I actually channel the Pinoy in me. It really makes up a large part of my essence!

Jo: As for family, did they feed you Filipino food breakfast, lunch, and dinner or did they introduce you to other cuisines growing up?

Mikey: I was exposed to other cuisines, but I really grew up on Adobo, Sinigang, Tinola, Kaldaretta, and Pinakbet - dishes rotated daily.

Jo: What is your favorite Filipino food?

Mikey: Chicken adobo, but kaldaretta or sinigang cooked right like my mom does... it's tied in first!

Jo: I can’t stand goat myself, what Filipino would you NOT eat?

Mikey: I love cambing in kaldaretta! I think bagoong is from the bowels of hell. Yuck! So smelly!

Jo: Do you know how to cook?

Mikey: Yes. It's in my blood.

Jo: What are your specialties?

Mikey: Adobo, kaldaretta, and of all things Curry Chicken with pineapple!

Jo: If you were on a deserted island, what 5 ingredients would you bring with you? Okay, let’s throw in a beverage as a bonus.

Mikey: Soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, onion... and Buko juice!

Jo: We all know you are Mariah Carey’s #1 fan, if you could prepare a candlelit dinner for her, what would you do for her?

Mikey: I would hire Chef Ramsey to cook us a million dollar meal, then let her know that I would like to be the Ninong of her twins. Then I would ask her to sing Whenever You Call with me, but ask her to take Bryan McKnight's part, so I can surprise her when she finds out I can sing all her riffs in her key.

Jo: What would you do if Frank intruded on the meal?

Mikey: I would tell him Kris Lawrence is waiting outside and that he should go find him before he flies back to Philippines!

Jo: When you have the time to eat out, where do you usually go?

Mikey: Korean BBQ Grill or Sushi.

Jo: What is your favorite memory associated with Filipino food?

Mikey: Halo-halo and lechon at summer Filipino family parties.

Jo: Will you visit the San Francisco Bay Area anytime soon?

Mikey: I hope so! I really miss performing in the Bay area!

Jo: Now, pick one of the following, boxers, briefs, or bahag? Go!

Mikey: Au naturelle ALWAYS!

Jo: Dry wine, dry fried chicken wings or dry steak? Go!

Mikey: Dry wine, of course!

Jo: Pancit bihon, pancit palabok, or pancit canton? Go!

Mikey: Pancit palabok Mmmmm!

Jo: Say the first thing that pops in your head when you hear the following words…

I’ll give you time to clear your mind and palate…3…2…1…go!

Jo: Mariah Carey

Mikey: Butterfly

Jo: Dinuguan

Mikey: My mom killing my pet chickens as a kid

Jo: Carabao

Mikey: I rode one last time I visited Philippines

Jo: That music video by Korean group KISS about the guy giving his eyes to his girlfriend.

Mikey: OMG! I bawled my eyes out for days! Music doesn't need a language. It's a language of its own!

Jo: Superhero

Mikey: Me

Jo: Ice cream

Mikey: My Youtube wife Michelle (aka Sheng-sheng) who ordered bagoong ice cream shipped overnight from Philippines.

Jo: Frank in a Speedo

Mikey: Gross!

Jo: Haha! Again, I appreciate you taking the time to let us peek into your brain! Good luck and keep on doing those Filipino tutorials! They’re ridiculously funny!

Kiss, kiss, bopis!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everyone needs a good laugh every once in a while and Mikey's Filipino Tutorials are perfect! For kicks, here is Frank's (Mikey's BFF) vid on his favorite Pinoy food!

xoxo,
Jo

Culinary Pavilion at Pistahan 2011!

2011-08-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

I'll be there! Will you?!

This is the article I submitted to EXPO Magazine - the official publication of Pistahan 2011. They had to edit my material to have it fit in the magazine and newsletter, but I wanted to give you my ORIGINAL [more thorough] submission here!

Hope to see you at Pistahan this weekend Yerba Buena Gardens!

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Please be sure to check out my two friends Melvin aka MelvinSings from Youtube playing ukelele on the Bayanihan Stage and Ron Quesada aka Kulintronica who will be performing on the Pistahan Stage.

all graphics courtesy of Pistahan
_____________________________________________________________________

- Culinary Pavilion -
By Joanne Boston
Filipino Food is truly a melting pot of several different cuisines from Chinese to Spanish to American. Some of the flavors and aromas may seem strange to some, but to all, they conjure memories with family and friends. After all, food brings people together! As well as having the opportunity to sample those flavors at all the delicious vendors at Pistahan, here is your chance to come to the Culinary Pavilion where you can experience Filipino food in a whole new way.

So you think you knew adobo? Think again. On Saturday at 12:30, be sure not to miss the 7th annual Adobo Cook-Off sponsored by Ramar Foods! Every family has their own recipe for the Philippines’ national dish of vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, simmered down with a chosen meat or vegetable. Whose dish will reign supreme? Come to the sample the competitors’ delectable variations to find out and see who will come out as the winner. The distinguished group of judges and you, the public, get to vote.

Are you aspiring to be the next Joey Chestnut and have a sweet tooth? Why don’t you enter the Heavenly Tropical Ice Cream eating contest on Saturday at 3:00. Watch as the contestants try their best to avoid brain freeze from delicious tropical flavored ice creams, such as mango and ube. The winner earns bragging rights and the title of Ice Cream Eating Champion! The audience will also have an opportunity to sample the luscious ice cream at 3:30 on both days of the festival.

Want more? Join in on the yearly Balut Eating Contest on Sunday at 1:30! Sign up at 11 am on both Saturday and Sunday – who knows, you maybe one of the lucky participants chosen to relish in this delicacy. Duck embryos not your thing? Well cheer on your favorite competitor as they chew their way through fertilized duck eggs - white, yolk, and yes…the baby ducks. This Philippine specialty may make some cringe, but our brave competitors have to put mind over matter (and weathers) if they truly want to be the champion! Check it out on the Bayanihan Stage Sunday afternoon sponsored by Mama Sita’s!

Sunday is your day for cooking demos. At Noon, come by the pavilion for a calamansi cooking demo presented by Pacific Fruit & Beverage Co. Thought it was just for juice and squeezing it over pancit? Our little tart fruit has made appearances on restaurant menus all over San Francisco in desserts, cocktails, and marinades. Stop by to watch how to take calamansi to the next level. Another awesome cooking demo will be presented by White King on Sunday at 2:30 in the afternoon. Have you ever wondered how to make “bibingka?” Here is your opportunity to see how this Philippine treat of rice flour and coconut milk is created. This soft and spongy cake is sure to summon memories of Christmases past or afternoon merienda with your Titas and Nanays.

This year’s 2-day exhibit, brought to you by Mama Sita’s USA, will feature “inihaw” or Filipino barbecue. Like adobo, there are many different types and recipes for inihaw depending on the region from your classic BBQ pork or chicken on a stick to the more exotic and infamous “isaw”/intestine and chicken feet. What goes perfectly with grilled meats? Atchara, of course! Come by for a cooking demo by Pinex on how to make your own pickled papaya condiment at 1:30 on Saturday.

If you find yourself hungry from gazing at the delectable-looking display, find Pearl Parmelee of Mama Sita’s USA who will be handing out recipe cards that you can try in your own home. While you are there, fill out a survey with Pearl and receive a Mama Sita’s seasoning packet as well as an entry in their hourly raffles. The recipe cards and giveaways, courtesy of Mama Sita’s USA, are only available while supplies last, so make your way to the exhibit early!

Food has truly become a part of our Filipino-American heritage from the meals at our own homes to the innovative food trucks that make their way through the streets of San Francisco. Let’s all come together at Pistahan to celebrate the wonderful flavors of our culture and to share our experiences as a community. Pinoy Pride is happening right now and so much pride comes through in our food!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2011-08-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Who doesn't like walking down memory lane? I love looking at pictures and seeing what great times I've had with family and friends. I was given the opportunity to participate in the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program with KODAK Gallery. The best part? I would be able to create a book of my own using my photos and memories!

Now the tough part was choosing a theme or subject for my book. I could have done my wedding, but that would have taken FOREVER. I could have created my own cookbook, but I realized I eat out more than I actually cook. Then it came to me: a photo memoir of all the Filipino food events my crew and I have produced as well as random foodventures I had since the Summer of 2010.

Asian Culinary Forum's Adobo Throwdown
As some of you know, I am a blogger here in San Francisco, and I also enjoy hosting events that spread awareness of Filipino food. This book started to become a memoir of how my kapaMEALya crew and I met and started a group to celebrate our love for Filipino food.

Movers and Shakers Dinner at Attic
I went back and gathered all the pictures I could find of the Filipino-centric events and dinners I went to, and found HUNDREDS. My friends and I sure love to take pictures of our food! I got so hungry making the layouts!

Sisig Burrito Day at Papalote and Kulinarya at the City View
I also included pictures of special events that my food friends hosted at their restaurants and Filipino food competitions that were held in San Francisco.

Outside In X - a music and street food festival
Memories did flood back into my mind as I used Kodak's program to resize the pictures and made sure that each pic was in the right place.

A Dinner I Hosted at Patio Filipino in San Bruno
I realized one thing about my style and how I wanted the book to look. I am very simple and very "symmetrically" driven. I made sure that a page with 4 slots for photos and line for copy was the 1st page of each event.

Keaton's Big Break:
he made longanisa corn dogs ON The Wow Truck!
I also noticed that my days of being high school yearbook editor had come into play. I would make sure that all the names of the events, the event dates, and venue were 100% before moving on to the next page.

I want to let the world know I ♥ Filipino Food!

I have thousands of pictures on my cameras and phone of all the Filipino food I ate. This double-page spread was just a fraction of all the Filipino food I ate in a year. It amazed me that there are so many items on a Filipino menu!

...maraming salamat...
So many people were involved in making these memories! I wanted to acknowledge them by having a "maraming salamat" (thank you) page at the end of the book. Without their love for Filipino food and their support of our events, I guarantee that the book I currently have (*ahem* 53 pages *ahem*) would not be as large.

The photos I included are gorgeous not only because they look beautiful but also because of the people behind the camera taking them. They are my friends, my colleagues, and family. This book reminds me that Filipino food is not just food. It's love, camaraderie, fun, and even spontaneity.

Making this book was incredibly easy because of how simple the layouts and templates were to implement on the page, but it did get a bit complicated when I uploaded hundreds of pictures and decided which ones to include on the page and which ones to toss. What I appreciated was the little icon that showed up on a picture if the resolution was too low to produce a good print. One thing I would have liked is a spell-checker. While it is up to me to know pronouns and people's names, having a spell check system to review the copy would have been great.

Would I use Kodak to make another photobook?

Yes, I would.

I think you should give it a try as well. Here is a link to the Kodak Gallery: www.kodakgallery.com/creativity - with this link, you get 40% off your next medium OR large size photobook**! With it being so easy to put a book together, you would be foolish not to. I know you have tons of pics in your memory cards and SD cards what haven't been uploaded yet! You know who you are out there!

Give it a shot. Who knows, the book you create now may be an heirloom in the future!

xoxo,
Jo

**40% off photobook offer good from 8/1/11 - 8/31/11 - www.kodakgallery.com/creativity

Disclaimer: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a free medium photobook to create "A Year of Filipino Food" Photo Memoir.

My SF Chefs 2011 Photo Slideshow

2011-08-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Because August has become to busy, I probably won't be able to have a full detailed recap of SF Chefs as soon as I'd like. So many deadlines and events to plan with my crew. Who knew August would become to eventful? This weekend I'll be at Pistahan, so I better see you there! Saturday night is a dear friend's birthday. Deadline Monday. More fun next next weekend with the annual San Francisco Street Food Festival on Saturday and another kapaMEALya dinner event Suday night!

With that said, I wanted to post my pix in slideshow form while the SF Chefs buzz is still in the air. I didn't want to wait until September to post and find the excitement had gone stale. These pix are straight from my camera, so no doctoring or enhancements have been done to them. I apologize if some came out bad.

You will see that I went to 5 events and each of them had its own vibe. It was quite exciting. I want to thank San Francisco Magazine and A. Freeman & Co. for giving me the opportunity to experience the best of the best in SF's food scene. I am sorry to say I missed my Saturday morning class because some guy, you might have heard of him, Hubert Keller-somethingaruther, was partying it up Friday night. He totally outdanced Keat and me (and we were trying to catch up). I overslept. How amateur. I promise, that won't happen again! I also want to send shouts to Kat and Francis for keeping me company at Sunday's Grand Tasting.

I hope you liked the slideshow! I cannot wait until next year!

xoxo,
Jo

House of Sisig – Finger Licking Good!

2011-08-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Restaurant: House of Sisig
Address: 2408 Junipero Serra Boulevard (but entrance is on 87th street), Daly City
Phone Number: (650) 755-0288
Cuisine: Filipino
Dining Partners: Team kapaMEALya

Visit #1

I came to House of Sisig twice in the last couple of months. The first time was with Bub who had just returned from a trip with his parents in Taos, New Mexico where they have a home. I couldn’t stand the thought of going out to eat without him so I held off until he came home.

Sinigang na Baboy
Pork and Assorted Vegetables in Tamarind Broth
It often gets very cold and foggy in Daly City, so having a soup like this is ideal. I like my sinigang very sour and House of Sisig’s version is just right for me. If you can see, there is a jalapeno pepper at the top of the picture. I adore them. Best believe I took it and ate it with my rice and broth. The spice and heat from the soup was very comforting. The veggies were pretty standard: eggplant, daikon radish, tomatoes, long beans, and onions. The meat was very tender as well. All-around very good.

Sizzling Platter of Sisig na Baboy
Grilled Pork Diced and Topped with Egg, Onions and Jalapeno Peppers
How can you go to House of Sisig and not get the namesake dish? Keep in mind that there are two variations of the sisig. You have the “sizzling platter” which you have here, and the normal a la carte pork sisig. We got the sizzling platter because a raw egg is included and once combined with the meat, it produces a silky mouthfeel. You don’t get the egg with the a la carte sisig – there wouldn’t be any heat to cook it. Don’t see the onions and peppers? Here you go…

I appreciate having the peppers and onions on the side so you can control the heat factor. The only criticism I had was that it was way too greasy. I doubt the excess oil was from the meat because it is grilled and diced prior to it hitting the cast iron. I believe they put the oil so that the egg could cook in it. Maybe it was the certain cook that day that just put too much oil? Who knows…so if you would rather skip the whole spectacle of your poor server bringing a loud, steaming plate of sisig to your table and running the risk of it being too oily, just ask for the a la carte variation.

Of course rice is needed with a meal like this. We got sinangag which is garlic fried rice. Wow, looking back we had an all SI-dinner – SInigang, SIsig, and SInangag. So not planned btw.

Calamansi juice is my favorite beverage at any Filipino meal Hit the spot for sure because sisig was spicy!

Our meal
Don’t laugh! I burned myself on the hot handle of the cast iron pan. It didn’t hurt much after the initial skin to metal contact, but it did scab over and I now have a scar on my arm to forever remind me of this meal!

Visit #2
While we were waiting for a table at our first visit, I saw a sign for their “Kamayan” meal! “Kamayan” means to eat with your hands. It sounded like a lot of fun. Fortunately not too long after the first visit, Team kapaMEALya suggested we try it out since it was all going to be our first time!

Filipino Tablecloth
When we were seated, we were asked if we were going to have the kamayan. When we said yes, they rushed to the table with stacks of banana leaves. This, my friends, is your tablecloth and plate in one. Please note that there are no forks, spoons, knives, chopsticks, or napkins on the table. Yes. Deal with it!

There were 5 of us (and eating in this fashion is best with groups btw!), so we just went for the “Fiesta” menu for 6 people at $69.95. This includes:

• Rice enough for 6
• 8 halves of itlog maalat – salted eggs
• 8 kamote que – caramelized sweet yams
• 8 mangga - mango
• 6 talong - roasted eggplant
• Kamatis – Diced tomatoes
• Diced Onion
• Bagoong - fermented shrimp paste
• Half pound of lumpiang Shanghai - mini pork egg rolls
• 1 pound of lechon kawali - woke-fried side of pork
• 3 sticks of boneless chicken BBQ
• 8 pieces of crispy hipon – fried shell-on shrimp
• 1 crispy hito - whole fried catfish
• 1 dozen garlic tahong - mussels on the half shell
• Inihaw ng Squid - grilled squid

I think this is the best menu to get because it has all the items you can possibly get – for example, if you had the meal one level below, you wouldn’t everything on this menu. Trust me, it’s so worth it!

Garlic Tahong - Mussels Topped with Garlic Butter
When these came out, I was already wow’ed. They were delicious. We didn’t have forks, so we had to figure out how to eat them. It really is so much fun to watch your friends eat awkwardly. Garlic. Butter. Need I say more?

Like I said. Garlic. Butter. We were so in love with the sauce that we took our rice and mixed it in with the leftover oil on the plate. Heaven.

The protein made it on the table shortly after we were through with our mussels. They literally just dumped all the meat on the banana leaves. Here you can see (from the left) the crispy shrimo, grilled whole squid, chicken bbq on the stick, lumpia, and whole fried catfish. Off to the right side was an order of sitaw kalabasa – long beans and pumpkin in coconut sauce – since Bub thought there was too much meat and not enough veggies! This vegetable dish is not with the kamayan menu, btw.

Bring on the fruit and condiments! Here they dumped the fresh sweet mango slices, roasted eggplant, yams, and tomatoes and onions. They also brought over some soy sauce, patis - fish sauce, and vinegar because we Filipinos love to dip our meats in various sauces.

Once everything was on the table, we all dug in. Please excuse the absence of photos of us eating. My hands weren’t particularly clean. There is not rhyme or reason how to eat here. You can combine the tomato, onion, and bagoong and make a little salad. You can eat the mango with the rice. You can dip your shrimp heads in a soy-vinegar concoction. Anything and everything is right. Just have fun with it and find what is delicious to you!

As you can see, we killed it. The only thing left on the table was the lone catfish head. Again let me reiterate how FUN eating this way is. It reminds me of eating on the beach in the Philippines. Fish, rice, mango, and tomatoes on the shore sounds like perfection.

Frankly, I cannot wait to go back to House of Sisig to have the kamayan again. It’s messy, but great fun! Like I said before, eating in groups is how I would do it. So…if you plan on going, let me know! Let’s eat!

xoxo,
Jo

Back to the Basics

2011-08-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I hope you all are well. A sad day has come in my blogging life.

My laptop is non-responsive.

...during happier times...
Yes, the charger and/or the battery and/or the actual computer are out of commission. And no, I did not backup my files from the last 6 or so months. I know, my bad, but thank goodness I am not the type who transfers all my photos from my SD to the computer because then I am totally screwed. It is easier to buy a new SD than to lose everything all at once.

Aside from that, I have come to realize how dependent I am on photo-editing programs. I use a Photoshop-like program that came with my laptop and I loved it. I liked making logos and tags for my pics on it. Now I have to somehow move forward with blogging without that program. No more fixing lighting, shadows, overexposed pics.

Then it got me thinking even more. Is it expected of a food blogger to use the pics straight from their camera without any skewing to the pix? I am not a professional photographer, so I do do some doctoring to my pix. I don't know.

All I know now is that I gotta go back to the basics to when I first started blogging in 2007. No editing programs. No special filters. No cropping abilities besides paint. No high-def photos. No more fancy-shmancy borders. No more fancy-shmancy-shadowing.

Sh*t I'm spoiled...but who knows...maybe this is what I need?

Sometimes I don't even blog on certain events because there is so much work that goes into one post from the choosing and doctoring of the pics, to the page layout, to the writing, to the coding, to the publishing, to the final edits. It's really a multi-step process that most non-blogger people aren't aware of.

So maybe cutting the doctoring process and simplifying the posting will get me to blog more. Who knows...we shall see.

I don't know if this computer can get salvaged and I don't know if I can purchase a new computer anytime soon. Thank goodness Keat has one that I can borrow for now. Thank goodness for husbands.

=)

xoxo,
Jo

Special KODAK Discount for My Readers

2011-08-01T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

As part of the Foodbuzz and Kodak Gallery Tastemaker Program, Foodbuzz gave me the opportunity to create a Photo Book with Kodak's online software. From what I have experienced first-hand, it is easy and so much fun! I am able to resize, move, rotate, and overlay my photo images and text.

I have decided to create a Photo Book about my experiences with Filipino Cuisine from the past year. I never knew that my love for Filipino food would lead me to my favorite foodie friends and to some innovative dishes such as adobo chicken wings and *gasp* pan de sal bread pudding! I am designing it as we speak, and it is turning out beautifully.

I want to extend this opportunity to you, my readers. If you go to www.kodakgallery.com/creativity OR click the image above, you get a special discount - 40% off medium or large sized Photo Books!

It only makes sense to do so since majority of all the photographs taken these days are digital. Take your memories and put them in a keepsake that you will look back on for years to come. For me, there is a joy that fills me when I see all the delicious Filipino food my friends and I have eaten.

Don't wait! This special price is only good from TODAY August 1 to August 31, 2011. Again, the special link is: www.kodakgallery.com/creativity. Make a book from your wedding or family reunion or a RECIPE book! Yum! Before you know it, you will be passing these books to future generations. =)

xoxo,
Jo

PS: Stay tuned to see what I put in my own Photo Book! It's going to be great!

SF Chefs 2011 - Are You Ready?!

2011-07-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

The first time I attended SF Chefs was back in 2009, when Foodbuzz sent me with a press pass to cover and recap the Friday Night Opening Reception. Bluntly, it was amazing. It was the first event I went to where I was standing next to Thomas Keller and smiling and nodding to food legends like Hubert Keller, Joanne Weir, and Tyler Florence. The food was amazing and the whole thing was just so much fun.

I only went to 1 event...this year, you get a whole week of events and parties.

Unfortunately, I missed out last year because I was super busy planning THIS, but from what my friends told me, they had a great time. Color me green with envy! I knew that I had to make plans to attend this year!

How about YOU?! Have you made plans yet? If you are a VISA Signature Card Holder, you get special perks like special private classes at the Grand Tasting Tents as well as 20% off the entire schedule.

This year, I am doing it big! I was fortunate enough to get passes for these events, so if you are at the same thing I am, let me know because I need an eating buddy:

July 31 - SF Chefs Cable Car Crawl
August 6 - Talking and Tasting Pork
August 6 - Saturday Night After Party
August 7 - Wake Up Your Palate
August 7 - Sunday Grand Tasting Tent

You can get more information on the events by going to the official SF Chefs Website OR you can go directly to the official SF Chefs Eventbrite page.

Hope to see you there!

xoxo,
Jo

Happy National Ice Cream Day - Frosted Flakes and Milk Ice Cream?

2011-07-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

Now I swear I didn’t know it was going to be National Ice Cream Day when I asked Keat to pick up a new ice cream machine at Macys on Friday. I have been fighting something, that I mostly picked up from someone *ahem Jayla ahem* since I got home Thursday night, but that didn’t stop me from making ice cream!

So here is my new baby. I won’t be surprised if Keaton claims I have been spending more time with this machine than with him. Isn’t she pretty. We got her on sale at Macy’s. She is normally $119 or so, but got her for $79. It makes two quarts at a time, so if you like experimenting or dabbling in making “artisan” ice creams (oh lala so foo foo shi shi), she’d be perfect. I haven’t given her a name yet…what shall it be? Comment below with your suggestions! =)

On Saturday, we were pretty excited to use her…which was a good and bad thing. Good thing: Keaton went to the market to pick up ingredients for the base. Decided on something simple, not a recipe that contained egg yolks. Maybe when we’re more experienced. Bad thing: we neglected to put the freezer bowl long enough. So the first time we tried to churn, it wouldn’t solidify. It was bad. So back the drum went into the freezer and the base in the fridge. Can you guess what flavor we made? HUGE HINT in the pic above.

If you guessed Frosted Flakes and Milk, you are CORRECT! I was inspired by the Momofuko’s way of steeping their cereal in milk to flavor their desserts, so why not in ice cream? The texture was on the icy side, which was okay. It must have been the back and forth of the base going from the freezer bowl to the fridge and back again. It wasn’t on the HORRIBLE side, but I did wish it were creamier. Even so, the flavor of the Frosted Flakes was shining through and through. Loved it!

ANOTHER mistake we make was leaving the ice cream to freeze over night in the freezer bowl. It was difficult to get out and the metal utensil scratched the inside of the bowl. By this time, the ice cream was hard to scoop, hence Keaton was assigned to do this job. Let’s just say we learned a lot from our inaugural batch of ice cream.

So here we are on National Ice Cream Day (every third Sunday of July) and we are excited to make yet another batch of ice cream. I made sure the freezer bowl stayed in the chiller a little longer than last time. The trick is to make sure you don’t hear any liquid swish around when you shake the freezer bowl. Inside is a liquid that stays colder for longer periods of time. Of course, once it freezes and solidifies, it stays in that state for longer. Once it was at that stage, you can assemble the machine, which is easy-peasy. Just put the bowl on the base, insert the paddle, and put on the top.

While the bowl was freezing (give her 6 hours to overnight), I made the base for my next ice cream: cookies and cream! I made a simple vanilla cream base of just 4 ingredients: milk, sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream. My recipe yielded about 4.5 cups of liquid. I wanted a simple base for the cookies to swim in. Just make sure once you make the base to let the mixture chill thoroughly in the fridge. What is the point of freezing the bowl if you use a warm base? Make everything cold cold cold.

While the machine is on and turning, put in the cream mixture. Doing so from a container with a corner like the one I have here or a measuring cup is ideal to avoid spillage.

You will have to wait a few minutes to see any real action. The coldness from the bowl will instantly freeze and harden any liquid it touches and the paddle thingymajiggy there scrapes the solid cream from the sides and introduces more liquid to the surface of the bowl.

Voila! Be careful, you might find yourself hypnotized by the turning and the churning and watching the mixture transform before your eyes. If you wanted to make a simple vanilla, I would let the machine churn the full 25 minutes with the mixture we made here. Of course, I wanted to experiment…

Initially, I wanted to make a Sugar Cookie ice cream, but the flavor of the actual sugar cookie I was going to use didn’t cut it, so I used some Heads or Tails Oreo Cookies! I simply crushed them a bit in a plastic baggie and put them in after about 20 minutes of churning. Once the mixture has churned for approximately 25 minutes, I transferred the mixture into a plastic container, covered it, and put it in the freezer to harden. The recipe I used doesn’t make a totally hard ice cream. It’s still loose, like a milkshake.

We learned from the first time not to leave the ice cream in the freezer bowl, so we bought little plastic containers for individual portions. Yes, the freezer bowl is back in the chiller because Keaton wants to make Thai Iced Tea Ice Cream! That is going to be awesome! The cookies and cream ice cream is freezing as we speak, so I haven’t tasted the finished product yet. Don’t worry, I will post an update once I do!

If you haven’t made homemade ice cream before, DO IT! It’s so much fun. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

xoxo
Jo

If you are attending “Dining with Dom” tomorrow night at Mercury Lounge, you MIGHT get to sample the ice cream we made. =)

Wayfare Tavern - Dinner with My WHS Ladies

2011-07-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

Restaurant: Wayfare Tavern
Address: 558 Sacramento Street b/t Montgomery and Sansome, FiDI, SF
Phone Number: (415) 772-9060
Cuisine: New American
Date Last Visited: July 1, 2011
Dining Partner: Rozzer, Popper, and Bammer

Every girl needs a night out to dinner with their ladies. This night was special because the ladies I met were my friends from high school. We graduated in 2002 (holy crap) and life happened where we all went to different colleges and bam, 9 years later we are online planning a reunion. I’d like to say that we have all matured and grown into lovely young women, but we couldn’t help but reminisce about the boys we liked and how those boys are now either engaged, married, and/or daddy’ed, about eating stir-fried instant ramen noodles, about dance rehearsals in each other’s garages for all the cotillions and debuts we performed in. Those were the days - carefree and rent-free! I knew this was going to be a night of laughs and giggles…

Oh vino…I really needed you that night!
2009 Sonoma Cutrer Winery Chardonnay Russian River Ranches
I needed wine. Fast. Ordered a bottle of this white. Reminded me of apple juice with a hint of vanilla. One girl said it was strong…I had 3.5 glasses. Ha! Hey, I needed it! I had a long week at work.

Warm Popover
I love how they serve popovers here. After tearing into the thin, flaky outer crust, and letting the steam escape from the hollow middle, I slathered some soft butter on its custardy interior and watched it melt before putting it into my mouth. Perfect. Had two.

Di Stefano Burrata
Warm Braised Mustard Greens, Grilled Sourdough, Lemon & Olive Oil
For appetizer, I ordered this for us to share because whenever I see burrata on the menu, I go for it. At first bite, I noticed the bitterness from the greens which put me off for a second, then I tasted the creamy cheese. Lovely. What made it even better was a squeeze of fresh lemon juice on top. Then the harmony of flavors made sense. I can have two plates of this to myself.

Oysters on the Half-Shell
served with Crackers, Cocktail Sauce, Lemon, and Mignonette
How can you go wrong? They were sweet and the mignonette was very nice. We could have easily polished off another dozen…or two.

Grilled Bone-In Veal Chop
Spring Panzanella, White Anchovy Vinaigrette, Grilled Lemon
Popper got the veal and I had never tried veal as a chop - usually as a Milanese, but if there was a veal chop on the menu at any restaurant, I’d get it. The meat, which was cooked to a perfectly pink medium, was juicy and tender as can be. Grilled lemon is always a nice touch. I put lemon on everything, so this was perfect.

Berkshire Pork Hash
Roasted Potatoes, Turnips, Baby Carrots,
Pearl Onions, Sunny Side Up Egg, Veal Jus
Bammer’s has sure did remind me of pork and potato adobo that my Inang used to make. Add garlic rice, and bam, adobo-silog. Of course the flavors were a bit refined, not as tangy as adobo, but very reminiscent of the classic Filipino dish. I knew Tyler had some Filipino in him. =)

Pan Roasted Alaskan Halibut
Black Eyed Peas, Bacon Aioli, Crisp Okra, Piperade, Chive Blossom
Rozzer’s dish looked amazing. Gorgeous colors from the peppers in the piperade and from the veggies under the fish. Halibut is a dense fish, and it was cooked perfectly with its pretty brown sear. Bacon aioli? Get outta here!

Cowgirl Ricotta Ravioli
Roasted Zucchini, Sweet Corn, Cherry Tomato Confit, Fried Blossoms, Basil
I ordered this for the table to share. I fell in love with this pasta. The sauce was creamy but not too rich, but the veggies all around were wonderful. I particularly likes the tomato confit - literally bursting with sweet flavor and the sweet corn. I love the balance of flavors from the milky cheese to the sweet of the said veggies and the hint of char from the roasting of the zucchini. I completely adored this dish. Adored it. I would totally order it again.

Organic Fried Chicken
Buttermilk Brine, Roasted Garlic, Crisp Woody Herbs, Lemon
I guess you can say that I was super excited to try this chicken because I forgot to take a picture of it before I dug in. I saw a gentleman eating it at one of the outside tables and it looks great. I was so happy with it. The coating was nice and crispy without being too greasy and the texture of the chicken was perfect: juicy and tender. I appreciated the little details of how some of the herbs made their way into the coating and how there were roasted cloves of garlic on the plate lending a beautiful aroma. This is some of the best fried chicken in San Francisco. Oh Tyler, you southern boy, you.

Roasted Spring Mushrooms
Olive Oil, Spring Garlic
There are no words, sometimes the simplest things are what make the meal outstanding. These are just mushrooms. They were roasted. Easy peasy. But damn, they were good. They went perfect with everything we ordered!

Our Table
As you can probably tell, we were not going to leave the restaurant hungry. We even had enough to take home. If you can see in the middle, we got French fries. I just realized that we got the wrong potato side. I remember Bammer asking for the Salt Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes with the truffle oil. WOW. I guess I was enjoying my wine a bit too much.

Chocolate Cream Pie
I love classic American desserts and chocolate cream pie is one of my favorites. This particular one is everything you would want in a chocolate cream pie from the generous mound of whipped cream, chocolate filling, and buttery crust. Good stuff.

Strawberry Shortcake
with Creamsicle Ice Cream
This doesn't look like your typical strawberry shortcake right? At first we were confused thinking they brought us the wrong dessert, but even if it was the wrong one, we would not have returned it. The cake was somehow covered (dipped?) in a berry sauce so that all sides were red in color. The fresh fruit were simple - not sweetened or glazed. The ice cream was amazing. I love orange sherbet, so this was ideal for me. A-MAZE-BALLS.

It is safe to say that this dinner was great. The service, the food, and the ambiance were wonderful. We were able to talk and laugh without anyone giving us the evil eye. Actually, we even conversed with a fine British couple at the table next to us. I suppose it's the lighting and the rich brown colors and laid back (but still classy) atmosphere that makes everyone feel relaxed and happy. The food made us even happier. I am so happy that Tyler Florence opened up shop here in SF. This can easily become one of my favorite places in town. So if you need a great dinner with your girls, come here! =)

xoxo,
Jo

Independence Day - What Does It Mean to You?

2011-07-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

Freedom? Patriotism? Will Smith? BBQ?

Being a Filipina-American, it means a few things.

Of course, being a United States citizen, I am grateful for the troops and veterans who have fought abroad to ensure our safety and freedom here in America. I am literally listening to “Empire State of Mind” right now and though it is about New York, you can sense the amount of pride in that song. As Jay-Z said, “long live the World Trade…” 9/11 gave us another definition of what being “American” was. It seemed concrete before that, but now it feels more like modeling clay. In the last decade since 9/11, we have realized our freedoms, our rights, as well as our shortcomings as the country of “milk and honey.” Minority groups are fighting. The poor are fighting. Immigrants are fighting. IN America. With Jose Antonio Vargas' admission of being an undocumented immigrant, we have been faced with challenge that has been swept under the rug for so long. Now what? What do we do? We know we have a long way to go.

Many immigrants, including my mom and grandfather, traveled to America because America guaranteed a “better life.” I was born here, grew up here, started school here, and I now work here. I am an American…but I am Filipino. I am Filipino…but also American. This Fourth of July, I explored what it took for me to be where I am today.

The Many Flags of the Philippines
KKK in Tagalog stands for “Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mgá Anak ng Bayan” which in English means “Highest and Most Honorable Society of the Children of the Nation.” The KKK or the Katipunan for short was an anti-colonial secret organization which was started by Filipino patriots Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo in the shadow of Jose Rizal’s exile. This organization started the fight for their country’s freedom. Here’s your history lesson for today. The Philippines, was colonized and taken over by many countries. The longest occupation was by Spain for 300 years up until the end of the Spanish-American War aka the “Philippine Revolution” when the Spanish granted the islands their “independence” on June 12, 1898. I was lucky enough to have been in the Philippines during the 113th celebration of Philippine Independence Day this year.

Gabriela Silang
A True Filipina Hero
On June 12, 2011, my family went to SM City Rosales, which is the closest shopping center to our house. “Closest” meaning a good 30 minute drive. Little did I know, however, that there were many more conflicts before the Philippine Revolution. Moreover, many of them occurred in my family’s province. A woman by the name of Grabiela Silang, an Ilocano (like me!), fought for the Ilocano people against the Spanish colonizers in the 1700’s - a good 10 years before the American Revolution even started! She is known to be the first woman general of the Philippines.

Don Daniel Maramba
A Hero from Pangasinan
Now this man fought both the Spaniards and the US! Our province of Pangasinan would not be what it is today without this man. What I loved about this exhibit was that since it was in Pangasinan, there was a focus on heroes from Pangasinan and the Ilocano region. I heard of Gabriela before, but I got to learn more about her and her contributions here on the land she fought for.

One cannot think of Philippine heroes without mentioning Jose Rizal. He is considered the Philippines national hero who was a well-traveled doctor, poet, scientist, and novelist who knew 20 languages, but most of all a patriot. He formed “La Liga Filipina” a group advocating equality and wrote publications for reform. These would lead to his execution in December 1896. He was a hero who not only left his mark in the Philippines but also in Europe and the Caribbean. Did you know he made a trip to San Francisco in 1888, but was detained due to the Chinese Exclusion Act? Even then he saw the unjust treatment of people of color in the States. As we all know, the Philippines was involved in another nasty war - WWII. See the gentleman who is just to the right of the Jose Rizal statue? He and I passed each other as I was leaving the exhibit. I could tell by his age and the hat he wore that he was a Veterano of WWII. This picture wasn’t taken by accident. I meant for him to be in the picture…He, himself, knows the struggles that the country went through to get to where it is now. Now…let me tell you about another hero.

Tatay with his fellow Veteranos in Lingayen, Pangasinan
Near the site of the Battle of Luzon/Lingayen Gulf
World War II started in the Philippines shortly after Europe's war did. By the end of 1942, the Japanese had occupied the Philippines putting droves of Filipinos into slavery. Throughout this time, the US planned on “liberating” the Philippines and its people successfully doing so 1945. In 1946, with the Treaty of Manila, the United States granted independence to the Philippines on July 4th…So technically there WERE two Philippine Independence Days - one from Spain on June 12th 1898 and one from the USA on July 4, 1946. July 4th was celebrated as Independence Day until 1964 when then President Diosdado Macapagal changed it back to June 12. Since then June 12th has been the official Independence Day. Either way, it’s reason to celebrate!

My grandpa, who we lovingly call “Tatay,” fought alongside the Americans against the Japanese during the war. Tatay was only 20 years old…and even 60 years later, he told me stories about being a guerilla warrior and capturing a Japanese POW. I remember him saying, "we didn't kill the "hapon" (Japanese)...we brought him back to the camp and gave him rice to eat because he was a solider just like us..." He had a 4-inch scar on his upper arm near his shoulder from the war. One time he told me it was from a Japanese sword. Another time he told me it was from shrapnel. LOL! I don’t care where it came from. It was deep - a battle scar…from somewhere. At Tatay’s funeral in 2010, he got full military honors complete with a parade led by his fellow soldiers and a Philippine flag draped across his coffin.

Sergio Fabro Boston, is MY hero.

So I am asking myself again…what does Independence Day mean for me?

It means a lot of things. It meant looking back at our family’s history, our country’s history, the history the USA is in the process of making. It means paying homage to those, our heroes, who paved the way for our happiness. It means being appreciative of the blessings we have received since the Boston Family arrived here in San Francisco. Though Jose Rizal was kept at the pier during his visit, I am glad my Tatay made it through. I am sure he dealt with hardships adapting to his new surroundings in the late 70’s, but he lived like a soldier until his last breath. For him and his “fight” for his family, I am grateful. Maybe Independence Day also means being yourself. Being free to be who you are wholeheartedly, to believe whatever, love whoever, and be wherever...as long as it is fair and no one gets hurt. Just free...just yourself...if that is the case, I wish Independence Day should be 365.

=D

Anywho!

So what was everyone eating this whole weekend?

July 4th Weekend is all about grilling, bbq, burgers, etc…atbp…

On Saturday, Keat and I went to Sinugba, a Filipino restaurant in our neighborhood. It’s one of our go-to spots when we whttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifant a meal that is fast, delicious, and close to home. So July 4th is all about grilling? Well “Sinugba” means “grill” in Visayan - PERFECT!

Chicken BBQ with Garlic Rice
Side: Chicken Sotanghon, Chicken BBQ-Silog, Laing

Dishes from My Birthday
Tocino, Chick-Boy Sisig, Grilled Sea Bass, and Pork BBQ
So if you want some tasty Filipino grilled and sizzling dishes, hit up Sinugba and say hi to Gus for me! =) We come here hungry and always leave satisfied. GO!

On Saturday, it was a bittersweet day. We were remembering our Auntie Lolit who passed away last year of leukemia. Our family gathered in true Filipino-style: a potluck buffet at lunchtime. From Manang Yolly’s Pinoy spaghetti, Nanay Aida’s luscious leche flan, my sister’s chicken wings, and my sushi bake, we were FULL! We just wished Auntie Lolit was still here…but something tells me she was watching over us.

Today, is July 4th, but we spent the early hours of the day at Seton Hospital’s Emergency Room. Keaton succumbed to his mosquito bites and had a fever. He’s fine now, but it was scary for a moment. Actually, he was more than okay. We woke up in the early afternoon, and when I mentioned I wanted cheeseburgers, we got out of bed with a quickness!

Bacon Cheeseburger, Fries, Strawberry Tart
How much more American can you get?
Of course we didn’t get our cheeseburgers from anywhere! We went to Nation’s Giant Hamburgers in honor of our nation. I think they make the best “traditional” burger. At times like these, when I am home with my family on a weekend, I like a good burger with American cheese and bacon. I can save the fancy accoutrements for the weekdays when I am in the City. Nation’s sure hit the spot today.

So here I am now just writing and watching Keaton sleep. The Benny he popped knocked him out. =D I hope everyone out there is having a great time and enjoying all the fabulous food! Most importantly, be safe!

Yikes! I already hear the fireworks! Happy Independence Day!

xoxo,
Jo