Trip Ko Lang

Another food discovery and by accident… we were looking for a new resto to have dinner and good thing, Longganisa Sorpresa was there, a newly opened restaurant in Sky Garden. Its name tells it all, main cuisine will definitely be longganisa, different dishes with longganisa on it, and to make it more enticing, longganisa surprise – extraordinary food combination, food you didn’t imagine that you can have it with longganisa on it and surprisingly turn out to be great!

Longganisa Sorpresa @ SM North Edsa Sky Garden

Welcome longganisa lovers as well as haters… yes, I hate longganisa, that’s why I was hesitant to try this resto but seeing their menu really intrigued me and made me forget that I’m a longganisa hater…

Mangga Vigan Ensalada @ 175php

To start our meal, we had the usual green tossed salad but with manggang hilaw, kesong puti, itlog na maalat and longganisa bits with Vigan vinegar as sauce. I really loved it cause every topping included was my favorite. Yum yum.

Pansit Cabagan @ 170php

We wanted to have noodles so we ordered for Pansit Cabagan, a known pansit in the Isabela province. It had thin noodles, quail eggs, mixed vegetables, broth soup  and of course longganisa bits. It was good and the broth soup made it different and tastier.

Talunang Manok at Krisping Longganisa @ 140php

For our main dish we wanted to have chicken and ordered for their Talunang Manok at Krisping Longganisa, it was like chicken adobo but with more sauce, a bit sour and had a very distinct flavor (with strong ginger taste).

Sago Gulaman @ 50php

As for our drinks, very Filipino indeed, Sago Gulaman and their very own homemade Tsa-Ah (Tea)… loved it… Taste that is hard to explain you just have to try it yourself…

Tsa-Ang Pampalamig @ 45php

Funny, we didn’t ordered for real longganisa, haha, looked like we were overwhelmed with too much longganisa in their menu, longganisa overload… But Longganisa Sorpresa offers all kinds of longganisa from the different provinces (Vigan, Tuguegarao, Alaminos, Lucban, etc.) as well as their best vinegars.

So if you suddenly crave for Vigan longganisa or Lucban longganisa, there’s no need to travel far and it’s just a ride away to Longganisa Sorpresa.

Longganisa Sorpresa is located in Sky Garden, SM North Edsa.

Budget – 200php and up

Pino Resto Bar Menu

It was a Friday night, pay day, traffic in the metro and the highlight of that evening was the onset of typhoon Santi… but these obstructions did not stopped us on our aim for that evening and that is to reach Maginhawa street to dine in Pino Resto Bar…

Thanks to their multiply site with all those enticing food photos which greatly motivated us to get to the place and try it ourselves…So it was really a must for us to visit Pino Resto Bar and this was the only evening for it!

As we arrived in the resto, we were lucky to get a spot because the place was just small with a homey ambience like you were just in your own home. Pino Resto offers Filipino cuisine with a twist; in all their dishes, they have something distinct that made any simple dish intriguing and worth trying. The service crew were all friendly and you can feel that they were really happy to serve you.

Crispy Tenderloin Tapsilog (210php)

We ordered one of Pino’s favorites, the Crispy Tenderloin Tapsilog, juicy beef tenderloin in small pieces coated; fried with crispy breading and covered with gravy sauce.  As for the egg, 3 quail eggs fried in one and topped over the garlic rice.

Bagnet Tofu Stack-O with rice (215php)

Also we tried Bagnet Tofu Stack-O, one of their new dishes. The first time I tasted Bagnet was in Ilocos and that was last February 2009, I really missed it and so this Bagnet dish was one of my best choice.  Tofu is also my favorite, so I can say that this dish was really made for me. Even the rice was special; it has its own yummy flavour with slices of mushrooms mixed.

Dilis rice (90php)

We both had ordered our own meals but can’t resist to try their Dilis rice…we were interested to see how it would look like and so we also ordered for one. Dilis used was the typical big, flavoured dilis which is usually eaten as snack. Rice was also mixed with dilis and topped with fried egg. Yum, yum, yummy…

PINO Iced Tea (35php)

As for their drinks, they have their own iced tea called Pino iced tea at 35php per glass or 80php per pitcher. Definitely very cheap, refreshing and has distinct taste.

Buko Pandan Leche Flan (70php)

Pino’s best seller dessert is the Chunky Choco Tempura, though we really wanted to try it but can no longer have one because we were already full and just opted to have a light dessert like the Buko Pandan Leche Flan. With every taste, another taste follows and so on until you finish it all as you can’t figure out what makes it sweet, tasty and good to eat.

Our Pino Resto Bar experience was really remarkable; everyday Filipino food made to something surprising and superb in presentation and taste. The location is a bit far but worth a visit. Food prices are reasonable and really worth it.

We would surely go back for their Kare-kare Bagnet, Sisig Carbonara, Chunky Choco Tempura, Pino Flavoured beer and Pino Giant Margarita. Till our next visit!

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Special thanks to Shotnroll.com for the yummy shots used in this blog. Thanks!

Republic of Cavite

Free. Food tasting. Blogger event. An invitation I gladly accepted and very much enjoyed. It was my first time to attend such event; found it fulfilling and learned how to commute going to Cavite; Republic of Cavite is definitely a pride of the Cavitenios and Town’s Delight Catering offers unique and excellent dishes.

We arrived late because we didn’t really have an idea of the travel time… but we are proud to say that we didn’t get lost and thanks to our map… After 3 hours of traveling, you can just imagine the starvation we were having that in an instant vanished with the sight of these abundant and appealing food served in the buffet table. Big smiles were on our faces, happy we can eat something that looks delicious and hoping to satisfy our hunger.

Adobong Manok Kabitenyo and Chicken Magnifique

Thai fried rice, Basil fried rice, Deep fried tofu & fish, Pastel de Lengua

Grilled Eggplant Salad

Here’s a quick list of the food served and my personal ratings (1-lowest, 5-highest) Thai fried rice (5), Basil fried rice (5), Deep fried Tofu & Fish (3), Pastel de Lengua (4), Adobong Manok Kabitenyo (3), Chicken Magnifique (5), Ginataang Tulingan (5) (not in picture), Kinulot na Page (5) (not in picture) and Grilled Eggplant salad (4). I rated 5 because the food is somewhat unique and definitely exquisite in taste. Some got a rate of 4 because it is a common dish but gave a distinct taste and in presentation/look.  Then I rated 3 for some dishes with taste that I didn’t find anything special.

As for the desserts, I highly praise Town’s Delight Catering for their special and delectable native delicacies like Maja Maiz, Onde-onde, Peche-peche, Puto Pao (not in picture) and Lihim ni Lola. Lihim ni Lola is one of their intriguing delicacies and very original recipe; it is a glutinous violet rice cake with a delicious filling that only Lihim ni Lola has. As for my choice, I loved their Maja Maiz (very soft and tasty), Puto Pao (soft and good taste) and Lihim ni Lola (unique and tasty). 

Desserts - Onde-onde

Maja Maiz and Peche-peche

Lihim ni Lola

Buffet set-up

Dining at Republic of Cavite

Excellent is my overall rating for this one-of-a-kind Free Food Tasting event by Republic of Cavite and Town’s Delight Catering. Food is great in presentation and taste. We had a very satisfying lunch, enjoyed our visit and the whole trip was worthwhile. Thank  you for being so generous and giving away some of your best native delicacies as souvenirs.

Republic of Cavite restaurant is a must visit in Cavite, the place is also a good venue for weddings and other events. I’ll write about this on a separate blog… Go, go Cavitenios!

For visits and inquiries:

Address: City Hall Road, Brgy. San Agustin, Trece Martires City, Cavite
Tel. nos.: (046) 9730010 / (046) 4378501
Website: http://www.republicofcavite.com
Email: info@republicofcavite.com

Giveaway - 1 bilao of native delicacies

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Special thanks to Shotnroll.com for the photos used in this blog entry.

Sisig with Egg

Filipinos are known for people who love to eat, they love to celebrate birthdays, weddings and other occasions that require preparing and serving abundant and different types of food. But for ordinary days, like a Friday night after work, a lot of Pinoys would eat and drink out with their friends to get some relief at the end of a stressful week at work.

Pork sisig is one of Pinoy’s well-loved “pulutan” (beer-match), it is made from chopped part of pig’s head and mixed with raw egg. This is the typical pork sisig but some resto offer a twist and come up with own signature pork sisig. Sisig nowadays, are not just pork, we now have tuna, fish, squid and etc.

Pancit Lucban

Pancit is another Pinoy food that can’t be missed in any event. Pancit Lucban is one of the Quezon province’s specialty and also known as Pancit Hab-hab. If you happen to visit any Quezon province, Pancit Lucban is a must-eat, what makes it unique is how you should eat it – placed and eaten directly from a banana leaf and with a vinegar drizzled to enhance the taste. But if you are just in the metro, you can visit Buddy’s Pancit Lucban to get a taste of Quezon’s famous local delicacy.

San Miguel Beer

San Miguel beer is the ultimate booze of Pinoy. San Miguel has been in business for long generations now and has offered different variety and distinctiveness in all their beverages. Pinoys love SMB, I love SMB, and most enjoyed with good company, interesting chats and staying up till the morning breaks.

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Special thanks to my friend Darius for this blog photos. For more of his captivating shots, visit http://shotnroll.com/