Antonio's

Antonio's in Tagaytay is one of the country's most popular restaurants. It is certainly the most prominent having been the only one from the Philippines to get into the top 10 of the newly-launched Miele Guide last year.

Chef Tony Boy Escalante is a jolly fellow who loves nothing more than giving a good party, and this can be felt in every aspect of the restaurant, from the staff's crisp uniforms, the restaurant's festive old house feel, and of course, the food itself.

The Scallop Tasting (P250), giant scallops sealed in puff pastry are soft and fresh, pliable with a fork, like a seafood marshmallow, a savory contrast to the salad that comes with it – fresh Tagaytay greens like lettuce, radish, and arugula, probably picked earlier that day.

Another savory starter is the Baked Brie & Cranberry in a Puff Pastry (P300) with Pan Seared Foie Gras (P550), melt-in-your-mouth brie enveloped in soft puff pastry served with foie gras, the liver light, evenly textured, its caramel-like flavor sliding beautifully of the tongue.

It comes with greens drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette, some sweetness to cut through the subtle yet intense flavors.

I particularly liked the Steak Taretare (P700).

Served chilled, it was quite a refreshing dish, the grated radish cutting down the beef's saltiness while onions gave the dish crunch and zing.

Despite the vegetables, the dish was still too salty for my taste, so I recommend pairing it with bread.

The Tomato Broth with Coriander Dumpling is served hot.

The broth is light and slightly tart, the dumpling akin to ones found in chicken dumpling noodle soups.

The effect is stomach-warming and palate cleansing. Scooping up the melted cheese at the bottom of the bowl is a treat.

The Grilled Pink Peppered Chilean Sea Bass on Tomato Risotto, Saffron-Kaffir Sauce (P1,600) is lovely, the fish soft, grilled just right on the outside so that it has a crisp exterior while its inside stays moist.

Paired with the tomato risotto, it is a dish you will not want to share with anyone else.

The Beef Fillet on Plancha with Black Pepper Sauce, Pappardelle, Tossed Baby Arugula with Honey and Lemon Truffle Vinaigrette (P1750) was also good, the beef tender, and tendon-free.

If you want to try the sea bass and the beef, plus Honey Glazed Lambloin with Goat Cheese, you should get Antonio's Trio (P1,900).

Even people not fond of lamb will take to the latter, as it doesn't have a gamey flavor.

Eating at Antonio's may not be cheap, but each bite is worth every penny spent.

And if you like food as much as I suspect you do, you know that there is no price too high for good quality and great cooking.

Southern Deli Halal Restaurant

Posted this in my GMA blog. Though this post is strictly about food, and I never claim to know anything about Islamic cuisine, a lot of the comments veered towards religion, most of them borderline offensive. Thankfully, there were folks who kept to the spirit of the post, and that's the enjoyment of good food. I say, can't we all just get along at the dinner table?

Hidden behind the building fronting V Mall in the Greenhills shopping center is Southern Deli, a modest cafeteria frequented by the area's Muslim community.

Small and clean, the restaurant specializes in Maranao cuisine. The restaurant may look humble, ut the dishes – all Maranao home cooking – are anything but.

Diners get a free bowl of soup. Made from carabao (water buffalo) ribs, this translucent broth is warm, its beefy base enhanced by a coconutty taste. It warms the stomach and prepares it for the dishes yet to come.

Dining is no frills, no nonsense. You pick your dishes from a cafeteria lineup, sit at one of the plastic tables and eat. All the dishes cost Php50 for a small saucerfull, the rice, Php15 a bowl.

The Rendang Beef tastes like a cross between adobo and beef stew. It's pretty tasty, but has a slightly overpowering saltiness that is masked once it is paired with rice. This saltiness occurs in a lot of the canteen's dishes, and when asked about it, the owners explained that it is actually a hallmark of good Maranao cooking.

My favorite dish was the Fresh Tuna Kinilaw (what they call kilawin in the South), which was very, very spicy. Since my companion and I had gotten there early, the tuna had not yet “cooked” in its vinegar marinade. What makes this cerviche-like dish stand out is the addition of coconut milk, which lends the dish a sweet edge. The kinilaw also contains chopped cucumber, onion, chili and ginger. This, I have to say, is one of the best I've had in the city.

We also had Bakas, which, unlike its name implies, is not a beef dish but is actually tuna grilled with tumeric and grated coconut. It was dry and a bit tough but with a mild taste, quite the opposite of the Beef Rendang!

The Chicken Curry was more salty than curry-shy, but also very very spicy. Another dish that has to be eaten with rice.

Another favorite of mine was the Badak, a vegetable dish made from leaves not found in Manila. The dish also contains langka (Jackfruit) and daing (smoked fish) and tasted like laing with the texture of labong. Could a dish be even more perfect?

I wouldn't mind going back there again, especially if I'm in the mood for kinilaw. I have to wonder about what the mainly Muslim clientele will think of a non-believer being there though, as we got a few strange looks during out trip there. Still, I'm glad we got to try it.

Southern Deli

Greenhills Shopping Center

Carpark Mosque

San Juan

0902-5755559

10.30am – 9pm daily except holidays

"Seek Ye Whore" an Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow's "Best Horror of..."

Art by MM Yu
Published in Rogue magazine, July 2008

"Seek Ye Whore," which was published in the July 2008 issue of Rogue magazine (the one with the just-got-out-of-bed Anne Curtis), is an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's new horror anthology "Best Horror of..."

You have no idea how happy this makes me.

"Seek Ye Whore," by the way, is the story that made Gilda Cordero Fernando say to me: "You're such a pretty girl and you write such bloody stories!"

She said I was pretty, hehehe.

Shameless Self-Promotion October 2009 Edition

It's an exciting October!

Not only am I Uno magazine's guest editor (the issue with the lovely, bloody, mostly naked Ornusa Cadness on the cover), my book is also featured in this month's issue of Garage magazine and on the FHM website.

Hmm... all of them seem to be men's magazines...

But wait, there's more!

My dream of my clothes being commended on a fashion blog has come true! Check out What KT Did (I'm not linking to the post I'm in but check out the blog, which is awesome) for a look into the fun, exciting life of fashion designer Kate Torralba.

Good Mood is Good Taste: Thai Cooking at The Mandarin

The Mandarin Oriental is known for its wonderful accommodations and even more wonderful cuisine. A couple of months ago, I got to witness the creation of this cuisine firsthand when I attended the hotel's Thai Kitchen 2009, an interactive cooking class with Chef Anchalee Luadkham of the Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

We were a class of about fifteen people, all huddled around the makeshift kitchen set up in the middle of the Tivoli Grill. Chef Anchalee taught us three Thai dishes. An appetizer - Yam Nue Yang A-Ngun, spicy beef salad with grapes and mint dressing; a main course – Panang Goong, red prawn curry; and a dessert – Tub Tim Krob, chilled water chestnuts rubies in sweet coconut milk.

It was fun watching Chef Anchalee, who, at 26, is also a faculty member at the Mandarin culinary school (as well as being a sous chef in the hotel's Thai restaurant) in Chiang Mai, demonstrate her skill. She worked fast and with a smile, her Thai staff skillfully assisting her, without her having to tell them to do so.

What was more fun was learning some secrets of Thai cooking. “You have to get all ingredients ready before cook,” Chef Anchalee suggests.

One secret I learned was how to get really good curry. What Chef Anchalee did was heat (stirring constantly) a ladle-ful of coconut milk (gata) in a wok until it reduced and was mostly oil. It was this oil she used to fry the curry paste. The technique may be slow and time-consuming, but it made a big difference. The resulting curry was more flavorful and had more depth to it. It was also somehow more filling.

Another secret that I discovered (one that I had been wondering about ever since I was a child) was what the glutinous exterior of the Tub Tim Krob was prepared. I have always been fond of dessert, and it was wonderful to finally find out how to make it (I'm too lazy to surf for it – besides, having a Thai Chef prepare it in front of me is proof that the recipe is authentic).

“I think that Filipino and Thai cooking are similar, in that they can have a lot of ingredients, but take a short time to cook, like curry,” Chef Anchalee says.

When asked what her tip for cooking Thai well was, she answered, “My tip is smiling. Good mood is good taste.”


TUB TIM KROB
chilled water chestnuts rubies in sweet coconut milk
(serves one - why share?)


TAPIOCA WATER CHESTNUT

7 – 10 pcs water chestnut (fresh or canned)
2 tbsp red food color
3 tbsp tapoica flour (magic powder)


COCONUT SAUCE

½ cup coconut milk
3 tbsp sugar
1 pc pandan leaf
1 pinch salt


GARNISH
½ cup crushed ice


1. Heat coconut milk in a saucepan. Add sugar, salt and pandan leaves. Mix well and set aside.
2.Dice water chestnuts. Place in a bowl, add red food color and leave for 1-2 minutes. Drain excess food color.
3.Mix chestnuts with the tapoica flour. Make sure that chestnuts are evenly coated.
4.Shake off excess flour and drop water chestnuts in hot water until the flour coating solidifies into a red gel covering, then place in cold water.
5.Place water chestnuts in a serving bowl. Top with crushed ice and milk (remove pandan leaf first). Garnish with jackfruit and coconut meat if desired.