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Bo's Kaldereta
"Bring big appetites!"  I looked at Cat's cellphone with a mix of exuberant anticipation and, I have to admit it, a bit of trepidation.  Chef Tinette Miciano had just confirmed our shoot and sampling session at her restaurant, Twenty One Plates, and for a moment I was wondering if she'd bring out all twenty one of her signature dishes.  I certainly had no problem shooting that many, nor any problem tasting that many; what I was afraid of was getting stuffed into immobility for the next few days!

I'd heard good things already of this delightfully quirky Mediterranean-Asian fusion restaurant.  The food was said to be good, and the place really cozy.  Located in what used to be a law office, Twenty One Plates' dining area is divided among several rooms that give diners a very private, homey feeling.  The tables are spaced wide enough apart that one doesn't feel crowded at all.  Cat and I chose the former library as our shooting room, as I thought I could use the shelves now arrayed with wine bottles as a fitting background for the food.  Along with us was Doc Jon Atacador, a good friend and avid hobby photographer who wanted to see what shooting food was like.
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Pork Adobo with Sherry Vinegar
Chef Tinette and her husband Mico gave us an effusive welcome then showed us the tasting menu.  I wanted to cry with joy!  For starters there would be Kimchi Rolls, beef bulgogi and rice wrapped in kimchi cabbage leaves.  Then Bo's Kaldereta, beef ribs cooked in a creamy sauce with peanuts and coconut milk; savory Korean Beef Stew; Seafood Paella; Spaghettini with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Chorizo; and Pork Adobo with Sherry Vinegar Sauce, a large slab of pork slowly braised with Chef Tinette's fusion take on adobo sauce.  I estimated there would be enough food on the table to feed six or seven people.  But Chef Tinette wasn't done with us yet; we still had to try her Frozen Brazo de Mercedes, Banana Split with Peanut Butter Cookies, and her signature Carrot Cake.

Our timing was perfect, Chef Tinette said, as she was launching her new menu this very day.  Twenty One Plates' unique take is that it only offers 21 entrees (plus a few mainstays that regulars always ask for).  Another fun innovation the couple have introduced is to brand the dishes for the patrons who like them most; so the Taco Spaghetti is now named Aaron's Taco Spaghetti, for a ten-year old boy who's there every weekend and orders nothing else.
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Kimchi Rolls
The food was simply fantastic.   The Kimchi Rolls were a novelty for me, a fun and spicy twist on sashimi, that. The meats were incredibly tender, falling off the bone and soaked through and through with flavor.  I loved the way Chef Tinette combined the traditional and the new.  Having the Adobo served as a slab that had to be carved just tickled the carnivore in me pink, and the unique flavor of the sherry vinegar was exactly what was needed to cut through the fat; I'm a great fan of fat in adobo, as that's simply where the flavor is.  The Bo's Kaldereta was - and I exaggerate not -- the best kaldereta I've ever tasted, every mouthful to be savored; Cat enthused repeatedly about drowning in delight in the creamy sauce.  The Korean Beef Stew was nice and savory, not too sweet -- a problem I have with some Korean beef stew versions -- though I could've taken it a little hotter.

The Spaghettini tasted very Italian, with a hint of Spain; the sun-dried tomatoes went perfectly with the spicy Spanish sausage, all brought together with just the right amount of olive oil.  As for the Paella, I loved the freshness and quality of the ingredients, the mussels and shrimps having the sweet succulence of something caught just that morning.  Cat and I did wish Chef Tinette had added more tomato sauce to the Paella though, and I would've liked for it to stay a little longer in the oven because I love paella crust.
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Banana Split with Peanut-Butter Cookies
I was already feeling quite immobile when Chef Tinette brought out the desserts.  Any more room in there?  Probably not.  But -- sniff -- this Carrot Cake is really fragrant!  A little bite, then - and another, and another, and hey, what's this plate of ice cream and stuff?  Banana Split with home-made Peanut Butter Cookies?  Pass me some!  Cathy gushed something about these cookies should be sold on their own too.  And I already know what to give for Christmas -- Tinette's carrot cake.  The coup de grace to my mobility was delivered by the Frozen Brazo.  Doc Jon and Cat just took a little taste; I finished it.   Fifteen minutes after we were done, I still found it near-impossible to stand up.

Thinking of trying out Twenty One Plates?  There's no need to think about it.  Just go!  And bring a (really) big appetite.

Twenty One Plates

 
Once again, I'm writing up this blog post right after a heavy meal, but doing it is making me hungry again.  Or should I say, I'm still full but having to look at my pics and recalling the taste of the food at Tavern Asia is tickling my appetite again.

Tavern Asia is a restaurant/bar along Aguirre, a bit after De La Rama if you're coming from Phase III, that's staked its territory with Asian fusion food and a cozy, chic Asian-modern ambiance.  Converted two years ago from an original BHomes showcase house, Tavern Asia  features three al fresco dining areas -- front, side, and back -- and an interior dining area with  classy Chinese-crimson walls, tables of fine old hardwood and tastefully chosen decor.  I usually don't think of red as a relaxing color, but the combination here worked very well for me.  This is a place I'd consider taking Cat for our anniversary dinner or something similar.  In fact, says co-owner Jules Bonifacio, Tavern Asia makes quite a bit of its business in events, its ambiance being very conducive for private parties.
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Cream dory w/ Mango salsa
Cat and I got to try the Crispy Cream Dory with Mango Salsa and the Pad Thai, two of Tavern Asia's bestsellers, as well as two of their signature flavored beers, the Caramel and the Strawberry.   We were debating whether to get the Thai-inspired Bagoong Rice, but as I'd had asthma just a few days before I was wary of triggering my allergies again.  Having tasted the food though, I think we missed something not getting the Bagoong Rice. The Cream Dory with Mango Salsa was perfectly cooked, crisp outside with a very light batter coating, very tender inside.  Yep, they know how to cook seafood with respect -- I hate it when a restaurant overcooks my seafood or my steak.  The fish went very well with its refreshing mango salsa, which came in a pretty generous portion.
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Pad Thai
The Pad Thai too came in a surprisingly hefty serving, easily good for three or maybe four if you're ordering it with one or two other dishes.  But Pad Thai being what it is, ordering this dish of fried rice noodles topped with tofu, baby shrimps, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, shallots and onion rings would've been enough on its own for me and Cat.  And this Pad Thai is the real thing, as Jules told us: his partner is half-Thai, and this is his own mom's recipe.  Only the chili has been toned down for the Pinoy taste, but that was easy to fix: there's a caddy on every table that includes, among other things, a bottle of dried chili flakes.
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Strawberry and Caramel flavored beers
The flavored beers went surprisingly well with our food.  I've never tried flavored beer before, so I had no idea what to expect.  Would it sweeten the beer too much?  It didn't.  The Caramel, Jules' own favorite and their current best-selling flavor, made my beer (the flavored beer has a San Mig Lite base) taste and smell like one of those Belgian brown beers.  I also liked the taste of the strawberry, but it was a bit understated for us.  Perhaps it was because I had a little more beer poured into the glass to give it a foamy head for my shot, but the main difference between the caramel and the strawberry was that the strawberry didn't have as much of a scent.
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Platter 1 - Grilled squid, Grilled liempo, Chicken inasal
Tavern Asia also serves platters of grilled pulutan, again something for future reference -- maybe for a barkada get-together or a family dinner.  Platter 1 contains portions of grilled squid, grilled liempo, and chicken inasal, while Platter 2 has spring rolls, crispy shrimp and chicken teriyaki.  Definitely beer food.  Definitely a beer place. We're definitely coming back.
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Platter 2 - Crispy hipon, Spring roll, Chicken teriyaki

Tavern Asia

 
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Salmon & Tuna Sashimi
There's a very basic rule for eating regional cuisines: if you want the good stuff, go where the people from that region eat.  And in BF Homes, one of the places where you'll almost always find a Japanese customer is Tatsunoko, formerly known as Bento-Ya.  With its plain exterior and very simple sign, this little restaurant along El Grande can be easy to miss, yet I've found that it has a whole coterie of regulars.  

As our dining-out trips almost always take us in the direction of Phase I, Cat and I had never tried this place before.  It was time to remedy the oversight -- particularly as Tatsunoko has been reviewed very favorably before by other food writers.  Its claim to fame is in preparing Japanese food exactly the way the Japanese themselves like it, even including dishes in its menu that are not often found in Japanese restaurants catering more to the Filipino taste (for example, the rather pungent natto).
 
Today Cat and I made arrangements for a late lunch/shoot, trying out the Negima (chicken barbecue with leeks), Oroshi Soba, Agedashi Tofu, and a plate of Salmon and Tuna Sashimi.  I'm almost tempted to say the photos already declare everything I want to say about the food, but I have to put down words or this isn't a proper food blog.  If I could use just one word, it would be:  Oishii!!!  Delicious!
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Oroshi Soba
The Salmon and Tuna Sashimi were very fresh, the cuts served to us all flesh/muscle with none of the tough ligament you sometimes get with lesser-grade sashimi.  For its listed price (a mere PHP 200.00), I'd say this sashimi is a steal.  Next came the Oroshi Soba, buckwheat noodles in chilled stock that's served in Japan as a refreshing summer treat. And refreshing this soba was, as well as very tasty.  The noodles had a nice nutty flavor, and the sauce it was served in zesty with ginger, radish, and leeks, plus a nice crunch from the tenkatsu crumbs sprinkled on top.  Cat says she thinks she can understand why the Japanese expats in the neighborhood choose to eat here: the food is made with a delicate touch that's very Japanese, the fresh natural flavors of the ingredients enhanced rather than covered up.  
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Agedashi Tofu
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Negima
The Agedashi Tofu was also very good.  I love tofu, and I ask for it almost every time we eat Japanese.  This tofu was very nicely made -- crisp outside, silky-creamy-soft inside, in a leek-and-soy sauce that was, again, so delicate in flavor you can taste every ingredient in it.  The dish served last was the Negima, basically a yakitori with chunks of negi, leeks, threaded alternately with the chicken.  The best yakitori is made with the juicier thigh, not the breast, and Tatsunoko's was as juicy and tender as I've ever had.  Cat's a big fan of dark meat, so she was very happy with hers.  Again, a nice very light flavor.  

Conclusion: As this restaurant is actually on my way home when I'm coming from Lopez, I strongly suspect I'll be stopping here a lot more often from now on.

Tatsunoko Restaurant

 
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I once had a friend with a funny way of eating empanadas: right after buying one, she'd squish it flat.  "Why?!" I asked.  "To drive out the air," she grinned.  And true enough, the empanadas we got often had way too much air in them.  But she won't be doing that to Empanada Mas' pies.  There's hardly any air in `em; once you get past the crisp, flavorful crust all you see and chew is filling.  Rich, flavorful filling.

Cat and I got a boxful at the Pergola Mall branch of Empanada Mas, trying out the Chorizo, Chicken, Ham Cheese and Jalapeno, Tuna, Spinach with Cream Cheese and Pork empanadas, plus the Cream Cheese and Chives, Cheese, Chocolate, and Peanut Butter Fudge empanaditas.  First, the crust: I have to say Empanada Mas trains its employees well.  The empanadas were fried, but done just right and in very hot oil, leaving hardly any oil in the crust afterward.  A hastily-trained cook would likely not wait until the oil was the right temperature, resulting in an oily, soggy empanada.  Ours were really crunchy outside.  And inside ... I have a feeling if I bought another box to bring home, only half the contents would make it to the house!
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Ham & Cheese Jalapeno
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Chorizo
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Spinach with Cream Cheese
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Tuna
I'd already tried the Cream Cheese & Chives empanaditas before, which was why I got really excited when Cat told me we were shooting Empanada Mas.  These little explosions of flavor make a good starter or snack, and you can mix them with the Cheese empanaditas to have a balance of flavors.  The Chicken, Pork and Tuna are hearty comfort foods, just like mom used to make (or better - mom could never get her crust like that).   The Spinach was a salad you can eat on the go, perfect for the health buff or vegetarian.  Spice addict that I am, though, I enjoyed the Chorizo and Ham n Cheese with Jalapeno best.  The Chorizo reminds me of a sausage we can only find in Davao, or a milder version of the Vigan longganisa in flavor -- loaded with garlic and pepper, and very fragrant.  The Ham n Cheese with Jalapeno is nicely balanced, with just the right amount of the peppers so you can definitely taste the jalapeno but without its overwhelming the ham or cheese.
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Chocolate, Cream Cheese & Chives, Cheese, Peanut Butter Fudge
Our hasty lunch -- grabbed on the way to Cat's parlor session for a friend's wedding -- ended on a perfect note with the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Fudge empanaditas.  What kid wouldn't go crazy for flavors like these?  I have to say when it comes to Empanada Mas' dessert empanaditas, I'm definitely still a ten-year-old.

Empanada Mas

 
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Seeking a coffee spot for me is usually a case of 'let's find a joint that isn't Starbucks.'  Not that I don't like Starbucks' coffee, but a) there are usually too many people and too much noise for me in the Starbucks branch here, and b) why should I patronize an American chain when I can have coffee exactly as I like it in a real homegrown Filipino cafe?  Which is precisely why I like Figaro at the Pergola Mall.  Not only is the coffee good, it has exactly the kind of quiet, classy but laid-back ambiance I find most relaxing.

What I'd never done before, though, was eat lunch at Figaro.  Like most cafe-goers, this is a place I usually find myself at in between traditional mealtimes.  This time, Cat and I tried their new entrees, the Chicken a la Kiev and the Cream Dory Provencal.  The Chicken a laKiev is a chunky, hefty roll of chicken breast enfolding a pretty thick slice of ham and creamily melted cheese, served with Carbonara pasta and fries (also cut thick, as I like 'em).  I must confess I was deceived by the size of this serving, thinking it was rather smaller than it really was; that chicken roll is not only sizeable, it's stuffed to bursting.  Coupled with the fries, this dish moves comfortably to Medium-Heavy on my Meal Heftiness scale.  Did I mention I liked the taste? My portion disappeared in less than ten minutes,which I guess should tell you all you need to know :-)
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Cat also enjoyed the Dory Provencal, which came with Arrabiata pasta and green salad.  Arrabiata's supposed to be a hot sauce, but Figaro's version is quite mild; however, we loved the flavor, very rich and not too oily.  Cat thinks it was made with sun-dried tomatoes, as there was a sort of smoky intensity to the flavor of the tomato.  I'm not sure about that, but I am definitely sure that I like this pasta, especially with more chili flakes poured on.  The dory was fresh and tender, cooked just right, and its mild flavor with the mustardy, herby Provencal sauce made a nicely balanced contrast to the pasta.  Next time anyone tells me healthy eating means eating like a rabbit, I'll confront them with this dish.  (By the way, I used quite a bit of the Provencal sauce to dip my fries in; if you order the Chicken a la Kiev, by all means use the Force to influence your companion to order the Dory Provencal!)

Both dishes come with your choice of iced coffee or iced tea.  I went for the coffee, Cat for the tea.  Figaro's coffee is quite strong, the way I like it, but if you like your iced coffee sweeter you should ask
for sugar or syrup to go with yours.  Both drinks were of course very welcome in the oppressive heat.
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We had our meal, by the way, in Figaro's mini-function room.  This enclosed rectangular space at the side of the cafe looks like it can seat 24 or so people, more if they re-laid out the tables.  The back
wall is a bookshelf filled with Readers' Digest compilations.  It feels like a library in here, and when it's not otherwise booked it'd be a perfect place to read or use the cafe's Wi-Fi in isolated peace.  It would also serve very well for a meeting, seminar for small groups or a small party.  Wonder if they'd be open to me taking my gaming group here?

Figaro

 
There's just something about food cooked with traditional methods that takes them a step beyond what we usually can do in a home kitchen.  Did I have the space at home, I'd like to have a tandoor oven built into one corner of my kitchen (and if I had the budget, one big enough to accommodate a whole sheep!)  At Chi's Brick Oven Kitchen, they have the local counterpart, a wood-fired brick oven or pugon.  And boy, do they know how to use it!

Chi's is a cozy little restaurant along Aguirre, near the corner of De La Rama, which is literally built around its brick oven.  Practically the only items on the menu not made in the oven are the drinks.  The oven is the very first thing you see when yo enter Chi's, as it's right opposite the door.  The next thing you'll notice is the homey European style of the place -- heavy, rustic wooden furniture and tables, framed prints on the walls, wine bottles and china on little shelves, giving you a feel of an old Southern French farmhouse but with some Filipino touches.  Their menu is similarly eclectic, blending Mediterranean and Pinoy; according to manager and partner Joey Torres, the concept was to build everything around the experience of brick oven cooking.

Cat and I first came here during our anniversary a year and a half ago.  We absolutely loved the pizza and the baked clams, but at the time they were having a problem with the air conditioning and we didn't enjoy the experience as much as we could have.  This time around, they seem to have the ventilation problem tamed, and the restaurant is much cooler now.  If you're a polar bear like me, though, the best place to sit is in the room that doubles as their smoking area, as it's totally insulated from the common room and the oven behind.  Having an idea already what to expect in terms of flavor, Cat and I were looking forward to visiting the restaurant again.  This time, we tried out the Puchon, one of Chi's most popular entrees, the Roasted Veggie Pizza, the mouth-watering Brick Oven Chocolate Cake a la Mode, and the Chocoholic's Pizza.
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Puchon
The Puchon, short for 'lechon sa pugon', was a hefty slab of pork liempo baked to crisp golden perfection and served with rice in a clay dish and a sharp-salty vinaigrette sauce.  I, of course, was very happy that the garnishing thoughtfully included several chilies, as I like my vinegar dip hot.  What can I say?  The skin was crunchy, the tender flesh cooked through and flavored with a delicate touch of wood smoke.  I wanted to take pic of Cat enjoying the Puchon, taking great big bites, but was stopped with a loaded glare.   (Would've made a great Facebook post, dang) This order is good for two, even three people.  As I normally count as two persons when dining, it was just right for us.
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Roasted Veggie Pizza
The Roasted Veggie Pizza not only made for a nice shot, it was very good eating as well.   Fresh
tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers and onion, roasted in foil in the oven then layered on their own freshly-rolled pizza crust with mozzarella cheese and baked. Salad on a pizza!  Healthiness plus flavor, that's a winning combo for me.  (One sure sign that this pizza was really good was that the leftovers still tasted just as good two days after!)
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Chocoholic's Pizza
We finished our meal with two of Chi's signature desserts.  The Chocoholic's Pizza is exactly that--layers of white chocolate shavings and dark chocolate chips on a freshly baked pizza crust, crunchy, smoky, and as chocolatey as anyone could wish.  If there was anything I would've added to this to make it perfect, it would be a layer of slivered almonds.
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Brick Oven Chocolate Cake
The Brick Oven Chocolate Cake is a heavenly confection of rich, dark, gooey chocolate batter topped with cherry preserve straight from the oven and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  As we shot everything first before digging in, by the time we got to sample this cake, the ice cream had totally melted into the cake.  Did it make any difference?  Not at all, I said.  But if you really want to have empirical evidence, we can order another... and at this point Cat whacked me.  Too bad.  I really wanted another...

Chi's Brick Oven Kitchen


 
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(l to r) Tea Latte (Caramel Nut flavor), Hokkaido Milk tea with black bricks, Cranberry, Green Symphony, Glass Jelly Milk Tea with sinker
Tea.  Way before the Brits became addicted to their cuppas, tea was a deeply-rooted Asian tradition, its relaxing fragrance and mind-clearing properties making it a favorite of wise teachers and holy men alike.  Even in this modern age, tea's gift of serenity is something we could all use; thus Serenitea.  

Serenitea in BF Homes, along Aguirre, is a modern tea shop inspired by tea-consuming trends in Taiwan.  Younger Taiwanese have made their influence felt in a profusion of flavors and combinations that the Herrera sisters thought would take off in Manila, especially as a healthier alternative to the coffee, milkshakes and smoothies offered in cafes. We got to sample several of Serenitea's drinks when we met Serenitea BF owner Jennifer Herrera.

One secret of their success, says Jennifer, is their tea espresso machine.  A modified espresso machine, it allows them to make tea much faster than cafes using traditional steeping methods can, with no loss in flavor.  With their machine Serenitea can turn out any number of hot brewed teas -- Oolong, Jasmine, you name it -- or concoct hot or cold tea-based drinks.  As a sampler Jennifer brought out some of her most popular drinks: the Tea Latte, Milk Tea with Grass Jelly, Hokkaido Milk Tea with Black Bricks (coffee jelly), Cranberry Tea, and the citrusy Green Symphony.  To accompany them, Jennifer also let us try the Pepper Tofu and crispy Chicken Chop.
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I have to confess I was a bit ambivalent regarding some of the drinks.  I like my tea the traditional way, steaming hot and pure -- without even sugar.  Now here were, to my mind, tea-based versions of Starbucks' lattes.  I was afraid I'd find them too sweet and milky.  Sip.  Hmm.  Sip.  Hmm.  Hey!  This is really refreshing!  The Tea Latte has hints of toffee and caramel, but is far from being too sweet.  The Milk Tea with Grass Jelly has hints of honey, and as I've always been a fan of Chinese grass jelly, I liked it.  The milk tea I liked best was the Hokkaido Milk Tea, as I'm addicted to coffee jelly.  

Cat and I liked the fruit-flavored teas the best.  I'm most likely to visit Serenitea either after a heavy dinner out, or when I want to write elsewhere than at home, and for situations like those I prefer palate-cleansing fruit flavors.  The Cranberry Tea has just the right balance of tart and sweet, and the Green Symphony, green tea with calamansi and lime jelly, has a surprise touch in the form of a cinnamony kiamoy floating in it.  
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Pepper Tofu and Taiwanese Chicken Chop
The sharp, very refreshing flavor of the Green Symphony also went excellently with the food, which Jennifer says is Taiwanese street fare.  The Pepper Tofu is fried tofu sprinkled with Chinese spices, and topped with fried basil leaves; I liked the flavor contrast between the tofu and the basil.  The Taiwanese Chicken Chop was very crunchy, and dangerously addictive; I can see myself ordering plate after plate if I were to stay here for any length of time.  Which I very probably will the next time I have writer's block and need a dose of serenity.

Serenitea


 
Cat often teases me that my palate seems to have converted to Islam.  Certainly, my favorite cuisines geographically coincide with what is considered the Dar al-Islam -- from Moroccan in the west to Indonesian in the east, and just about everything in between.  At the golden center of this region, and one of its most influential cultures, is Persia. I am of course bananas about Persian food, so I'm really glad Miraj is here.

Cat and I have eaten several times already at Miraj, and our barkadas have also come to like it.  Aside from the ubiquitous shawarma (which by the way is good here), there's kebabs, ox brain, curries, and staple side dishes like hummus and moutabal.  Last Wednesday we visited Miraj again to shoot (and of course eat!) some of their signature dishes.  Another marathon session at the trenchers -- and as the following day was Maundy Thursday, a good prep for abstinence and fasting during the Holy Week!  We had Hummus, Kheema, Ox Brains, the Double Beef Kebab with rice,  and the newly introduced Masala Burrito.
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Ox Brains
I requested to have the Ox Brains served first, as I was thinking it would be the most challenging dish to shoot.  How do you make a dish of chopped braaaains look as good as it tastes?  With hardly any effort at all, it turned out.  Fried in turmeric and cumin, and served with a calamansi to bring out their buttery flavor, the brains had a beautiful golden color that stood out beautifully with the green accent of the calamansi.  It was Cat's first time to try brains, so I let her have the first forkful.  I already had a very good idea what to expect, having ordered this before, so I wasn't surprised at all when her eyes lit up and she grabbed her own fork to get some more. 
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Hummus
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Kheema
Next came the Hummus, a paste of ground chickpeas (garbanzos) sprinkled with spices and drizzled with olive oil, made to be scooped up with pieces of flat pita bread.  Now Cat usually doesn't like chickpeas, but hummus is the one exception on her list.  As soon as I finished shooting it, the hummus plate magically migrated to her side of the table and stayed there!  We rounded off our appetizers with the Kheema, a ground beef sauce with mild spices, also made to be scooped up with pita.  It's quite a hearty dish, for an appetizer, and Cat really liked the fact that its spicing doesn't overwhelm the beefy taste but just complements it.  Me, I usually mix a good dose of the chili sauce into my portion; goes better with San Mig Lite.
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Double Beef Kabab
Speaking of sauces, Miraj serves its own fresh sauces -- a yogurt-and-garlic white sauce, and a fiery chili-yogurt sauce.  As I usually go straight for the hot one, I actually got to taste the garlic-yogurt sauce for the first time that night with the Double Beef Kabab.  Miraj's ground beef kebabs are made the traditional Persian way, very simple and formed onto a spatula-like metal skewer (it's said they cook more evenly that way), and served with buttered rice and a grilled tomato.  You moosh up the butter and tomato into the rice, bathe the meat in the yogurt sauce to add flavor and juiciness, and -- fight with the wifey for portions! 
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Masala Burrito
Our last dish was the Masala Burrito, a reinvention of the Tex-Mex burrito with Persian fillings.  This one came with Persian saffron rice, fresh tomatoes and onion, and their Masala Beef.  This is one nice hearty dish, something I'd consider ordering if I only had time to eat one item and needed to fill up fast.  With a good-sized group, though, I think the best way to enjoy Miraj is to order up a lot of different appetizers and kebabs, and if no one else in my barkada will eat the brains, that's just more for me and Cat!  Our gang is going to invade Miraj again -- soon.

Miraj Persian Grill


 
One of the great things about  being a food blogger is that I get to write about something I really love.  On the other hand, the bad thing about  being a food blogger is that writing each and every blog post brings back a full-sensory recollection of the subject, making me really hungry.  Which is exactly what's happening right now, as I review the pics I'm going to use for this entry on Kenji Tei.

Kenji Tei is a new ramen house along President Avenue that's been drawing raves, and with good reason.  The food here, according to owner Kenneth Kho, is a blend of traditional Japanese ramen recipes and new Japanese-inspired fusion dishes.    Why Japanese?  Simple, says Kenneth, it's the food he likes best. Kho shared some of the house specialties with us in a marathon sampling session that started at one p.m. and ended at well past three.  We got to try the Spicy Negi Ramen, a traditional Gomoku Shio Ramen, Crispy Chicken Teriyaki, fried Cheese Gyoza, traditional steamed Gyoza, and Chahan. 
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Spicy Negi Ramen
The Spicy Negi Ramen was ramen noodles and succulent slices of roast pork floating in a bowl of rich, savory broth with a kick.  This is exactly the kind of comfort food I'd look for after a really tiring day and something to pick up my spirits.  The spicy soup also went very well with the Cheese Gyoza, pork dumplings in a thick dough wrapper, but fried crispy golden brown instead of steamed, with a nugget of creamily melted mozzarella cheese in the middle.  The cheese gyozas are served with a dip of mayo and chili oil, which perfectly set off the mildness of the cheese. I can see why this is a crowd favorite!  The Gomoku Shio Ramen will certainly please lovers of traditional style ramen--noodles in a very umami Japanese soup stock, topped with shrimp, beef, roast pork, cuttlefish, vegetables, and half a boiled egg, and it comes in a really big bowl.  Were I dining alone, a bowl of this would be a match even for my rather wolfish appetite. 
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Cheese Gyoza
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Gomoku Shio Ramen
Next came two dishes usually eaten with rice, though they also make great sides for ramen; the Crispy Chicken Teriyaki and steamed Gyoza.  The teriyaki consisted of  boneless pieces of chicken, skin on and fried to a nice crunch, glazed in Kenji Tei's special teriyaki sauce and rolled in fresh toasted sesame seeds.  It's sweet-salty-peppery, crackling crisp outside and really tender inside.  Cat of course was delighted with her favorite, the gyoza; it's something she invariably orders in every Japanese restaurant we go to.  Which means I've tasted a lot of gyoza.  Some are too salty, some soggy, some have a funny taste that's reminiscent of chorizo.  Kenji Tei's gyoza was none of the above -- it was simply excellent.  We had the teriyaki and gyoza with chahan fried rice, and I have to say Kenji Tei's cooks have a nice light hand with oil.  I often find fried rice too oily, but this tasted like it had none at all. 
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Crispy Chicken Teriyaki
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Gyoza with Chahan
And now I've done it.  I just had a nice, heavy dinner -- but my stomach is growling.  Again.  And it wants Japanese.

Kenji Tei

 
I'm looking forward to  Armageddon.  No, I'm not wishing for the world to end; I'm hankering for Buffalo's Wings N' Things' newest offering, the Armageddon sauce for their famous Buffalo Wings.

As a spice addict, I'm always looking for that next delightful blast of heat on the palate.  I got it at Buffalo's Wings N' Things, a new restaurant along Aguirre that specializes in -- what else, spicy buffalo wings.  Said to have been developed at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York -- hence the name -- buffalo wings have become an icon of American casual dining.  Buffalo's Wings N' Things has gotten its spicy wings recipe down to a T, so it was a surprise to me that this is a homegrown concept, not a franchise of an American chain.
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Half-pound Buffalo wings with New York's finest sauce
Cat and I shared a Half Pound of Buffalo Wings tossed in their New York's Finest Sauce, a fiery orange Cajun-style sauce made with cayenne and butter.  One sniff, and I almost forgot to photograph it!  The chicken tasted exactly as good as it looked and smelled; I suspect even without the sauce it would've been good, but with the sauce I think I finished my share in less than two minutes.  And, oh yeah, this is one place where you won't get far with knife and fork; if you want to eat spicy wings properly, you really should use fingers. 
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Buffalo's Mini Cheeseburnger
We also tried the Buffalo Cheeseburger Minis, a set of three small cheeseburgers meant for kiddie appetites.  One bite and I knew the patties had been made with American beef -- there's a subtle but still definitely detectable difference in taste.  Definitely something for the avowed carnivore. The minis were nice to photograph, but my stomach was growling, 'Why didn't you order the big one?'  

So what's Armageddon got to do with all this?  In addition to their already hot New York's Finest sauce, Buffalo's Wings N' Things has introduced two even hotter sauces; with some customers demanding even more heat, owner Sonny Ong concocted the Armageddon, supposedly the ultimate in Cajun witchcraft.  Just thinking about it has got me bewitched already.  I wants some!

Buffalo's Wings N' Things