Discover what you may find in different streets and places across the Philippines and know where to have the true Filipino Alternative Food Experience.
It was a good feeling to be back in Maasin. The last time I went to this Southern tip of Eastern Visayas was two years ago. Now, it has progressed but still remained the southern charm that it have.
Its been a long time since last visited and it has always fascinated me to roam around in this lovely city. My favorite part, the port area.
View from Kinamot sa Abgao
In Maasin, there is this great restaurant that is known for its great food and warm accommodation. The first time that I went there was around 2006. The name is Kinamot sa Abgao. It has improved. Now, they have a hotel beside the restaurant.
Kinamot sa Abgao
Going inside Kinamot
Kinamot is a word in Visayas to “eat using your bare hands”. We Filipinos are familiar with this way of eating and there is a proper etiquette in doing so. You may either use your left or right but you have to make sure that your other hand is not used. There are exemptions like eating shrimps, crabs and shells but as much as possible, it is avoided. In eating using your hands, you have to make sure that the food that you take is just enough to enter your mouth and must be very clean afterwards.
Going back to the restaurant, it is situated just beside the breakwaters. You will experience a cool breeze of the sea. We even saw fishermen catching fish while we were dinning.
Inside Kinamot sa Abgao
Here are the foods that are must have:
Kinilaw
One of the best tasting kinilaw that I ever had. The combination of sweetness and the tang our sourness plus the freshness of the fish has made this a fantastic dish. This is highly recommended.
Inihaw Platter
Inihaw platter is a combination of grilled fish, squid, pork bacon, beef and chicken. At first we thought at this is just a small dish good for two. But then it came, we were three and still we had a hard time finishing it. This complimented the kinilaw. The grilled squid was cooked just right leaving it very soft.
San Miguel Pale Pilsen
The kinilaw and the inihaw platter were great with with a bottle of San Miguel Pale Pilsen. The combination of grill and kinilaw is the perfect match here in Kinamot. They also have a hotel beside the resto named Villa Romana Hotel. When you go to Maasin Southern Leyte, never miss this opportunity to eat beside the bay with one of the best kinilaw and gilled that I tasted. Bare in mind, Kinamot sa Abgao.
How can you afford to eat when people are suffering. My dear friends, let us help the victims of the Typhoon Sendong at CDO, Iligan and Dumaguete. The picture above is our guard in our CDO office whos 3 year old daughter drowned during the flash flood. His house was swept by the flood. Many more have the same condition that needs our help.
There is always a mood to go Mediterranean most specially when you are craving for spicy and beefy meal. My first choice, is Beef Kababs. Where to have it is another piece of the puzzle to complete your food trip. I discovered a very hip place to eat Persian food without hurting your budget. It is at Alfahkr’s Persian Food. That trendy resto serves a very tasty Kababs straight from the grill.
Of course, Kababs cannot be complete without the yogurt and super hot sauce. Kababs is always best with grilled tomatoes.
Grilling the Kababs
Beef Kababs Again
Where to Find
Alfahkr's Persian Food
The Beef Kababs of Alfahkr’s Persian Food is located along Maginhawa st., Teachers Village, Diliman Quezon City. This part of Quezon City is a watering hole for those who love to eat and enjoy good food. As a patron of arts, I appreciated their interior painted with black and white graffiti. It was done clean and very artistic.
There is this special place that I never miss whenever I go to Tacloban. The name is Rafael farms and it is situated in the town of Babatngon. It is already outside of Tacloban city but is still near. You will pass by the way to Samar which is connected by the famous San Juancio Bridge. You will reach Rafael Farms without going to Babatngon proper. It is situated to the left. I suggest you must be vigilant in looking since there is no familiar landmark that will indicate you are at the place. However, the entrance is very visible and you may ask the people around and almost all are familiar with it.
Pathwat going to the Resto
Here is the entrance going to the farm. The vines created a tunnel with a path way. From there, you will feel that it is more of a nature adventure than a casual dining experience. Never the less, the walk is just fine since what you will see, is the beauty of the place.
Going to the Restaurant
It is a huge place with a tropical setting. The nipa roof combined with wood and beautiful plants setting made it a place to relax and enjoy. But before we dine, we went to the manmade lagoon. It was designed in such a way that visitors can also do boat ridding.
Lagoon at Rafael Farms
Way to the Lagoon
at the side of the restaurant
When you are in the garden, you will see that they have an outdoor accent that will catch your attention. They have combined it well with the vegetation and it came out to things that are pleasant to ones eye. It gave a feeling of relaxation.
Outdoor Accent
Full of Green Plants
The position of the banga or clay jar caught my attention. It is situated at the pond surrounding the restaurant with live tilapia swimming around. It was neatly placed and it created a cool ambiance around the restaurant.
Another Outdoor Accent
Here is a pathway going the comfort room. It is made of hard wood combined with stones.
Floor Accent
Now, if you want to refresh yourself, you will be welcomed by their bright, clean and refreshing ambiance of the comfort room.
Rafael's Comfort Room
Now, let go to the main entrance. There you will find, 2 jars that is big enough for an adult to go inside and hide. Unfortunately, that is not allowed. It just serves as an accent. What really caught my attention were the beautiful carvings on the wooden wall upon entering. It is really a piece of art.
Front of the Resto
Once you enter, you will see the great combination of wood and antiques combined very well with the modern amenities without sacrificing the space.
Inside the Resto
The ceiling is high and that gives some space of overhead fans and nostalgic chandeliers.
Ceiling Accent
When we were inside, the tables were prepared but the food we still not served. I guess they did that in purpose, just to make sure that the food we were about to eat are steamingly hot and fresh from the kitchen.
table setting
Here is their beautiful table setting with old lamps.
at the dining area
Just to kill time waiting for the food, some of us went drinking juices, some read some books, some had a short chat, others went back to the garden to have their photos taken, while I was busy reviewing my photo shots. It took us just a while around 15 minutes when the entourage of the food arrived.
Tinolang Native na Manok
First to arrive was the soup. It was tinolang native na manok or native Chicken broth. It was delicious. They added lemon grass that enhanced the taste. The meat was just tender. I ate this from my previous travel but I always experience hard meat of the chicken. I understand that is because native chicken roam around thus it creates strong muscles in compare with the domesticated caged chicken.
Green Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Next was the vegetable salad with vinaigrette. The crush peanuts and the crunchy vegetable was the thing that made me say “ wow”. The vinaigrette’s sourness made it more delicious.
After which, all of the remaining food came and we had the feast. Here are the foods that we ate.
Baked Scallops
I made these baked scallops as my side dish. It was indeed delicious but I prefer eating it without rice.
Kinilaw
This kilawin or raw fish salad was different from what I tasted. They used slices of mangoes to sweeten it and its combination with the vinegar blended very well.
Now came the other main dishes
Grilled Blue Marlin
Grilled Pork Chops
Here is my shot when all of the foods were in place.
The Feast
After eating the main course, next is the dessert. They serve a modified turon or banana roll with chocolate and peanuts bits. They served it right after we finished eating. It was served still hot. For us Filipinos, eating turon is best if it is freshly cooked and that’s what they did.
Hot Turon with Chocolate Syrup
After the sumptuous feast, it was again for relaxation. Rafael Farms is really a great place to relax and eat delicious food. No wonder even if it is far from down town Tacloban, many still go there because it gives a rustic ambiance with a modern amenities and good food. This is also coupled with an excellent customer service. I will surely go back to this wonderful place when my itinerary says “ Leyte”.
It is a must to have La Paz Batchoy when you are in Iloilo most specially when you are in the place where it was born, at La Paz. La Paz Batchoy is common at the place and there is a well known institution that has been serving this for a generation. That is Teds Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy. I remember then, during my first job around mid 90’s, my friends who were assigned at Iloilo would always talk about the tasty La Paz Batchoy of Teds Oldtimer. When I got the change to go to the place, I did not let this opportunity passed.
Inside Ted's Oldtimer
I ordered for their Super Special La Paz Batchoy. It was so special that the soup itself really tasted great. I finished the soup and I had a refill for free. That is common at all Ted’s branches. La Paz Batchoy has a different taste from other noodle soup. It has a taste of sweetness that I cannot describe.
It was delicious and very much inviting to sip the soup again and again. The toppings were pork strips and chicharon (popped pork skin) with fresh egg. You may also opt for different noodles like misua if that is your preference. For me, I still prefer the original miki noodles and I partnered it with puto (rice cake).
Where to find
Here is a video that I took inside Ted’s Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy Robinson’s Place, Iloilo
Ted’s Old Timer La Paz Batchoy can be found not only around every corner of Iloilo city, but to its neighboring town as well. Ted has been in the batchoy business for a long time and have been recognize as one of Iloilo’s institution when it comes to culinary culture. For this entry, I went to their Robinson’s Place Brach in the City. They have a very accommodating staff and a clean “fastfood” style of resto. This is something you should not miss when you go to Iloilo or with in the province of Panay. Kanamit gid!!!
Ted's Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy at Robinson's Place Iloilo
SM Mega Mall is like a home to me. When I was still working at Ortigas Center, never did I miss passing by SM Mega Mall and dining at the fastfood area. That was a long time ago . Since we have priorities that we set, we cannot do that as often as we want. In embedding the “Dugong SM” to my kids, I brought then to my favorite place at the Basement of Building A and here, I discovered Razon’s Sizzling Bulalo. Very unusual right, since when we say Razon, what pops into our mind is Halo Halo.
Razon’s Sizzling Bulalo is very delicious. I prefer it better than steak on sizzling plates. The tenderness of the Bulalo meat and mushroom sauce gave a new flavor in eating over a hot plate. It is perfect with a hot steaming rice. Of course, this is not complete without the bone marrow. That is what sizzling Bulalo is all about that you cannot find in any steak dish. When you happen to go to any SM mall’s fastfood, never forget that Razon does not only serve a very delicious Halo halo, hence they also have a mouth watering Sizzling Bulalo.
Data has never been so easy specially to my fellow restaurant owners and entrepreneurs if you got an overwhelming service not necessary for your business. Porma lang ang ahente, bentahan ka pa ng mahal na di mo kailangan.Ang masaklap, tuturuan ka pang magyabang na meron kang”gantong data service”. . Bayan Telecommunication listens and it personalizes the service that you really need. With its proven excellent service backed up by a superior customer care, your data requirements are truly personal but very powerful.
Rapsa is using Bayan Internet and never it encountered downtime. Very easy to talk to people inside. Parang Barkada lang kausap. Just like Chuck; simple, straight to the point, at serbisyong totoo.
This is another delicacy that can be found everywhere in the country. Â There is a slight difference when it comes to version of Biko in Luzon in compare with Biko of Visayas and Mindanao. Â They both have the main ingredients like malagkit ( stick rice), coconut milk, sugar. For the the version in Luzon particularly the Tagalog Regions, they place it in a bilao( native flat plate) and with toppings of latik ( local caramel) with toasted coconut meat. Â For the Visayan version, they use to add ginger as one of the ingredient and serve without any toppings. Â The blend of sweet gingery taste good. Either version is delicious and we can say a truly Filipino signature delicacy.Â
Where to Find
People in Cainta Rizal are known to be very good in making delicious “kakanin” and one of which is Biko.  For my part, I recommend the Biko of Aling Ligaya in Teresa Rizal whose house-factory is located in barangay Poblacion. I also tasted a very good one in Angono which my Aunt Tess brought during one of our gathering.  In the Visayas, I recommend the kanin store  inside the market of Carbon in Cebu. In Davao, its along the market in Agdao after the flyover.  The best for me is the one made by my beloved wife who’s style of cooking came from Tanjay, Negros Oriental. Â
Everywhere you go in the Philippines, Biko has different style of cooking. But the bottomline is, they all taste delicious. Â Cheer to the Biko makers from North to South!!!
