EXOTIC FOOD CHRONICLES: DINUGUAN AT PUTO

Bloody yummy!

Dinuguan is a dish made out of pork meat and innards, chili, spices, and pig's blood.  For people who get faint upon knowing that blood is part of the recipe, they might faint once again when they taste this concoction.  It's so BLOODY yummy!  Anti-meat and anti-blood eating people might cringe at the thought of eating food made up of a poor slaughtered animal with its blood included an unholy and inhumane act but for those who know that it's all part of survival and foodie-hood it's something that should not be missed!

Dinuguan is best served hot with puto, a kind of rice cake/muffin that is best dipped into the saucy dish.  The dinuguan in this photo was cooked by somebody I know so I am aware that all the ingredients were cleaned well before they were cooked.  For those who instantly want dinuguan and puto here in the Philippines but don't know if they could trust the quality of the ingredients, Goldilocks is one of those places where good food and D&P can be found.  

Halloween could be bloody and yummy at the same time...grab some dinuguan and puto NOW!

Modern Toilet: Go Ahead, Bowl Over!

Toilet seat covers, urinals, bathroom tiles, toilet bowls...the essence of Modern Toilet!

I dunno if this post might affect the other posts since this is unlike the usual stuff I post here.  Anyway, the photos are filtered so I do hope you wouldn't bowl over and get grossed out!

Modern Toilet is a bizarre chain of themed restaurants which can be found in Taiwan and Hong Kong.  The one I have been to is in Mongkok, HK and since I have already read up and searched about the appearance of the resto, I wasn't too surprised when we were welcomed with toilet seat covers and urinals for wall decor and toilet bowls for seats!  There's always some hype when you have heard of something quite popular and would want to go there out of sheer curiosity.  Modern Toilet is really unusual but for those who get squeamish and have no knack for toilet humor, then this kind of resto is not for you!

We have just arrived in the city and just dropped our things at the hotel, then ran the sidewalks and rode the MTR just to get to Modern Toilet on time. They cancel reservations if you are beyond five minutes late!  When we were seated and given copies of the menu, the language barrier kicked in since we didn't understand a thing.  There were names of the the food in English but we had to ask the local friend Mr W who served as the official travel guide about the food.  It was his first time there too so he had no idea which ones tasted good.  So, like poo, we didn't really know what we were going to get!   

It was a fun place but the food was not totally great!

To get the palates rolling, tomato soup was served; it was quite good and the toasted bread went well with it.  Next on the table (which was a glass top that had a ceramic sink as base) was the entrée (if you can call it that) and it was composed of dry stuff served in soap dishes.  I can remember the the deep-fried breaded lemon chicken and that meaty stuff shaped in balls tasted good and the dip was sort of sweet and spicy.  We had a few sips of our drinks in small urinals!  I never expected that servings were huge and I had a hard time eating too because I haven't practiced my chopstick skills prior to the trip!  I have also tried the salad but didn't dwell on it.  I felt I was already starting to get full and we haven't had the main course yet!

K and I order the same thing for our "main dish" and we expected it to taste good.  I can't remember what it was exactly (let me check the menu snapshot). I guess it must be Japanese Barbecued Pork in Milky Broth.  Mr W and F ordered Spare Ribs and then we ate.  Actually there was a slight delay because the waitresses didn't seem to get the orders right even if Mr W spoke to them in their language.

I will never have this again! Hahahaha!

After eating the meat and trying to slurp some of the noodles and chew some of the corn kernels, I realized what I was eating wasn't really good.  It may taste good to some but it didn't suit my tastebuds.  Hahaha!  It has milk broth! What was I thinking??? I am lactose intolerant!!!  Anyway, I ate about half of it and decided to stop or I might gag...

Mousse for the sweet tooth!

Dessert was okay.  Some mousse slices that tasted great.  The yellow one at the bottom of the pic had a lemony taste!  We were already full (and slightly irked) so we didn't get to order the famous poo-shaped ice cream. Hahaha! Mr W paid for dinner and gave the waitresses a piece of his mind.  Then we went off into the night and strolled the streets of Kowloon, thinking that Modern Toilet was a fun albeit shitty experience!

The Modern Toilet logo: Female and Male Toilet Symbols...and the so-called Shit Lamp hanging from the ceiling

EXOTIC FOOD CHRONICLES: SALTED EGGS (ITLOG NA MAALAT)

Itlog na maalat or salted eggs is a great delicacy from the the Phillipines and people love to eat it as a side dish during breakfast or with just about any meal.  Salted eggs are also known as red eggs because the eggshells are colored red (I don't know though for what purpose).

How are salted eggs made?  When I was in either 4th or 5th grade, my classmates and I made itlog na maalat for our home economics class.  (Yes, we had HE back then I dunno if kids nowadays still do the stuff we used to do back in grade school.)  Here's what we did:

• Placed clean raw eggs in a wide-mouthed container.
• Made a solution of water and a lot of salt and poured it into the container with the eggs.
• Made sure that the eggs remained submerged in the solution.
• Left the eggs in the solution at room temperature for 2 weeks (or 3 I guess...I can't remember anymore)
• When the time has elapsed, the eggs were then boiled in the solution and of course we ate the eggs after cooking them!

It log na maalat is best served sliced into cubes and combined with raw ripe tomatoes!  It is best to eat it with steamed rice straight from the pot!   Better give it a try if you haven't tasted it yet!

EXOTIC FOOD CHRONICLES: LECHON KAWALI

I’ve been sinfully craving for cholesterol-rich pork recipes and when I opened my archive of food images, I saw the tempting bowl of Lechon Kawali from Mom’s Corner…

Lechon Kawali is a Filipino delicacy (and I think it counts as exotic food…oh no not again…). It is called such because it tastes like lechon (roasted pig) but it is cooked in a frying pan (kawali).

Here’s how to make your own Lechon Kawali:

Ingredients:

• 1 kg whole pork belly (liempo)
• Salt
• Garlic cloves
• Peppercorns
• Water for boiling
• Cornstarch
• Oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. Clean pork belly and slice it into bite-size pieces.
2. Put pork in a pan with water, salt, garlic cloves, peppercorns.
3. Let the meat boil and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes or until the skin is tender. Once the meat is tender, drain it and let it dry.
4. Cover the meat with a thin layer of cornstarch.
5. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the pork until the meat turns golden brown and the skin becomes crispy.
6. In a bowl mix soy sauce, vinegar, minced garlic and chopped onions. Add chili peppers if desired. Use this as a dipping sauce.
7. Serve lechon kawali with the sauce and rice!

Yum yum!

WARNING: If you are a health conscious individual, don’t eat too much of this dish. Pork contains a lot of cholesterol which may cause several cardio-vascular diseases. If you already have cardiovascular diseases, maybe grab a bite or two of lechon kawali but not more… Eat more at your own risk!

EXOTIC FOOD CHRONICLES: ISAW

Chicken Isaw

Are you game for another exotic food? Better get ready for this delicacy to grace your guts! (No pun intended!)

Isaw is an exotic street food that you will most likely see being sold on sidewalks or street corners here in the Philippines. It is made from grilled pig or chicken intestines. Yes, intestines! Guts! Isaw is prepared by cleaning the intestines by turning them inside out repeatedly until they are free from dirt (umm, do I need to elaborate on what you can find inside intestines?). The intestines are then boiled and grilled or immediately grilled usually on bamboo skewers. Once cooked, isaw is then dipped in spicy vinegar or other variants of spicy sauce.

For some of you who are not fans of exotic food (and don’t have the guts to try them out), isaw may seem like an icky kind of food to try out. Well I believe it is indeed not good to eat IF it is not prepared well. Isaw if not cleaned and cooked properly may cause harmful diseases. Harmful bacteria may live inside the intestines and you might be able to ingest them if the isaw is not clean.

How would you know if isaw is safe to eat? I don’t really know but I think it is best when you can see or touch the isaw before it is set on the grill. I think isaw is on the “safe” side if it had been boiled before being skewered and grilled. The insides of raw isaw that is immediately grilled will not be cooked well even if the outer surface is already burnt.

I had the privilege to eat “safe” isaw way back when we used to have a neighbor who grilled barbecue and isaw at dusk. He boiled the isaw before putting them on sticks! I preferred to have my isaw grilled to a crisp and somehow charred but then I didn’t have them burnt because burnt food has carcinogens!

Anyway, since there had been warnings of the health risks of exotic food, my advice is that if you are really game to try them out, you should just be prepared of the worst that could happen. If you have the opportunity to check out how the food is prepared, the better.

One more thing with exotic food; no guts, no glory!

Exotic Food Chronicles: SISIG

Butcher's Best Sizzling Sisig

I don't know if sisig can be counted as exotic food but for people who are not from here, it is indeed exotic!

Sisig is a very popular Filipino dish that originated from Pampanga. It is made from finely chopped pork and it is usually served sizzling on a hot plate. The parts used for sisig are a pig's head (cheeks, snout, ears) and liver and it is usually seasoned with chili peppers and calamansi or Philippine lemons.

Sisig is prepared in three phases; the pork is boiled, broiled and fried before it becomes the exotic dish that it is! Boiling tenderizes the meat and broiling gives it its rich smoky flavor. Frying with onions gives the sisig more flavor and serving it on a sizzling plate makes it more exciting to eat!

Over the years, the curious palate of the Filipinos have created different sisig variants with a variety of add-ons such as chicharon, eggs, etc. Tuna, chicken, squid and tofu sisig have also popped up in many restaurants' menus and have also captivated the cravings of the locals.

Sisig tastes good especially if it's served with steaming rice! You can actually eat more than you've imagined!

Exotic Food Chronicles

The Philippines is an exotic country. I don’t care if many of you beg to disagree but I believe it is as exotic as I see it to be. Aside from the exotic people, traditions and customs, and atmosphere, the Philippines has a lot of exotic food that people from various parts of the world never imagined could be considered to be called food at all.

We Filipinos are known to be innovative and practical (and some think we’re gross) especially when it comes to food considering that our country belongs to the third world. Our exotic food may be considered unpalatable by other nationalities but once they get the knack and guts (bwahahaha!) to taste our line of unusual food, they may not want to leave the Philippines anymore and stay here for good. Not every foreign tongue may like our exotic dishes, but for most of us Filipinos who are proud of our heritage and idiosyncrasies, there’s no holding back in exploring the more interesting line of the food chain.

Once in a while I will be posting “exotic” stuff here. Believe me I will not post gross pictures! Hahaha!