My Favourite Meal in Manila

I have been craving for it since end of June, and was searching for it in Mandaue, Cebu and Manila. Every time I found it, I was either travelling on a bus or a taxi and could not stop.

However, this time round, I made a special point to go to this famous and highly recommended little restaurant to have my craving satisfied.

This is Lydia's Lechon, a small non-airconditioned restaurant located near the Baclaran Church. It was quite crowded and we were lucky to find a table for ourselves. The decoration was simple, with lots of photographs of pigs hanging on the walls. But what captured my total attention was the window at the shop front.

This is lechon baboy, what I have been searching for. I finally come face to face with it. A whole roasted pig. Huge. Golden brown and looks so crispy and delicious.

And I was not disappointed. The skin was crispy and thin and not greasy. The meat was succulent, tender with little or not fat at all. And the gravy that came with the dish was just right to bring out the sweetness of the meat. Unlike the small suckling pigs we get back home, the lechon had lots of meat. It was not dry and tough. Simply heavenly as it melts in the mouth.

 

 We also ordered a variety of other dishes from the counter. We had the BBQ Whole Squid, which came with a delicious say sauce dip. The squid was not too dry and tough and had the spongy, chewy texture that I like.

My friend ordered the Kare Kare, which was a dish of stewed innards including cow stomach, pork knuckles and vegetables. I found it too gooey and abit bland.

We also ordered the stuffed crab shell. There was alot of crab meat stuffed into the shell and it was baked till golden brown. However, I found the meat abit dry and fortunately the dish came with a slightly spicy sauce. It was also abit too salty for my liking, but good value for money.

I could not resist ordering the Lumpia, which is actually like a Chinese spring roll filled with radish, carrot and turnip strips. It came with a spcied vinegar dip and chilli sauce. One of my favourite snacks.

All in all, this was my favourite meal in Manila. I will definitely go back there again the next time I am in Manila. I cannot forget the thrill of tasting the lechon. Finally my craving was somewhat satisfied, although not sufficiently. I want more!
     

Chinese Cooking in Manila

Previously when I was in Manila, I noticed many Chinese restaurants and fastfood joints. Owing to my eagerness to try Filipino street food, I did not get the chance to try some of these Chinese food.

This time round, I made it a point to try out some of the Chinese cooking in Manila. Some were surprisingly quite good, while others disappointed.

 Stewed chicken feet

  Fried radish cakes                         Chicken dumpling noodles

 Stewed curry beef brisket noodles

One of the better ones was North Park Next Door Noodles Restaurant on Makati Avenue. Needless to say, the noodle dishes were quite good. They even have a choice of different types of noodles such as Hong Kong noodles, Canton noodles, etc. The dim sum was also not too bad and the surprise was the char siew pao. The size of the pao was like that of your palm. Huge. And it is served with a small dish of char siew gravy, which I found out is the norm in Manila.

 Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet

 Curry Chicken Hot Pot                       Hot Shrimp Fruit Salad

We tried the Cifu Restaurant in Malate for dinner one evening. This was quite a disappointment. The only dish we found quite tasty was the Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet. The gravy was tangy and not too sweet and very appetizing. The other dishes we ordered turned out really bad. The curry chicken hot pot was just chicken cuts cooked in a gooey brown starch. Not spicy and very bland. The hot shrimp salad was worse. There was so much mayonnaise that you could not even see what you were eating.

 Shabu Shabu Set for 2 persons

 Pork Asado Pao                                    Fried Cuapao

At David's Tea House along Makati Avenue, we tried the Shabu Shabu. It turned out to be quite good. Good value for money. For 680 pesos, we got a combination of chicken soup and satay soup, with a huge plate of wagyu beef, meat balls, sotong balls, sea cucumber, beancurd skin, toufu, fresh prawns, chicken meat, tanghoon and vegetables enough for 2 persons. Especially good was the Fried Cuapao which were actually deep fried mantou. Had a wonderful lunch.
 

Birthday Celebrations

I flew to Manila to celebrate a friend's birthday. We wanted something different and arranged a special dinner at Chef Jessie's Top of the Citi Restaurant, located on the 34th Level of the CitiBank Tower in Makati.

As it was raining that evening, we did not get a table with a view (there was a private party, originally meant for the roof garden that was moved indoors). Nevertheless, the dinner was a very memorable one.

We ordered a bottle of red wine, a South African 2009 Nederbourg Pinotage, which was a chef's recommendation for the month. It was not too dry, slight fruity bouquet and quite easily palatable, with 14% alcohol content.

Our first course of French Onion Soup was excellent. The melted cheese just golden brown and the soup was tasty and the sauteed onions not overpowering. Loved it.

For the next course, we ordered the highly recommended Bacon and cheese savoury soufflé, which is Chef Jessie's specialty.

It was truly excellent. Soft, fluffy, tasty and melts in the mouth, with tiny bacon bits and creamy cheese flavour.  I strongly recommend the savoury soufflés here.

For the main course, my friend had his favourite Spaghetti Carbonara. He claims it was the best he had ever eaten. I had the Roast Duck with Orange Sauce, which was very tasty. However, I found the duck alittle overcooked and the meat was dry and tough, but the orange sauce was tangy and went well with the dish.

 

 

After the main course, there was a surprise awaiting my friend. All the waiters came singing the birthday song presenting him with a slice of chocolate cake and wishing him a happy birthday. The surprised look on my friend Raymond's face, was worth every cent of the cost of the dinner.

My special thanks to all the waiters at Top of the Citi Restaurant for making it a truly memorable and unforgettable evening.