OBAT at Legaspi City

There is this soup dish that is not common to other places and can only be found in Legaspi City, Albay.  It is the creation of Ma’am Dina Lana.  It is called OBAT.  This soup has a resemblance to the Goto soup of Batangas.  But this is different, because it uses beef meat with ligaments.  The soup has a different taste with a mixture of ginger and other spices.  It is served a little bit spicy but you can add your chilis if you want to make it hotter. The add-ons to this spicy soup are fresh grated onions, chili garlic, fresh chilis and leeks.  The spices and flavor really tingles to you taste buds that made this power soup so unique.  

Where to find

Obat may be found inside Legaspi’s Public Market in the heart of the city of Legaspi, Albay.  It is easy to find it because only one restaurant serves this spicy soup.  The name of the restaurant is Lana’s OBAT and Halo-Halo.  I asked Ms. Dina how she came up with the soup and she told me that it came about with the idea of bringing the soup dish from Batangas to Legaspi because before, no one is serving goto soup.  But he made improvisation to fit the taste of the Bicolanos.  She perfected her culinary craft and named it OBAT. Why Obat?  That is the name that remained unanswered.  Nevertheless it answered the taste preference of the Bicolanos in Albay.  This is a must try for the bulalo or soup lovers.  OBAT is Hot and rapsa!!!

Pizza Bicolana by Small Talk Cafe

Shawarma

This Middle Eastern Arabic-style sandwich-like wrap has been very popular every since it was introduced widely in the 1990s in Manila.  It spread like wild fire in other areas through out the country. Somehow, it declined a little after its rapid growth, but now is regaining its strength and popularity in the Filipino market.  This wrap sandwich is one of my favorite most specially when I am in a hurry.  One of the best that I tasted is the Shawarma of Channel Food.  The serving is very generous and the taste is great.  Not to mention that their hot sauce is really hot.  You have a choice if you want it all meat or with veggies.

Where to find

The Shawarma of Channel Food may be found at Pioneer Centre Supermarket. It is along Pioneer street Barangay Kapitolyo, Pasig City.  Every time we go to that place, we always have this wonderful sandwich.  A very good comfort food for those in a rush or simply want to enjoy the taste.  This comfort food has become a natural craving for those to like eating.  A heaven sent creation that fits the Filipino taste buds.  Shawarma tayo!!!   

Chopsuey

After eating pure meat, it is time to go veggies.  As a Filipino, Chopsuey is always a familiar vegetable dish that can be found at every Filipino restaurant.  This is a mixed vegetable dish.  Mostly, it is a combination of onions, cabbage, bell pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, water chestnut, cauliflower, shrimp and some pork.  It is then stir-fried and best served half cooked.  This technique will give you the crisp in every bite. 

Where to find

You may find Chopsuey eveywhere in the county but for this, I would like to recommend the chopsuey of Jj’s Seafood Village. If you are coming from Cebu and you landed at Tagbilaran Port, it is the first street to your right. It will take you at least 500 meters from the street corner to reach the panaflex of Jj’s Seafood Food Village. When in Tagbilaran City, don’t forget to drop by Jj’s Seafood Village.  There is also a very good chopsuey that I tasted at Joe Kuan.  But I have to look for this since the last time I went there was a long time ago and the branch was at Buendia cor. Taft ave. I don’t know it it still exist.  Nevertheless, I will still look for a branch of Joe Kuan.  If every you know of a branch, I will be very happy to be informed. Yes my fellow foodies, this delicious healthy vegetable dish will balance your meat intake.  Rapsa talaga ang Chopsuey all the time!!!

Hinalang na Manok

Sobrang Anghang, Sobrang Sarap!!! This is the hinalang na manok that was serve to me during my stay in Bohol.  It is chicken cooked in coconut milk with plenty of chili (bird’s eye pepper). For this culinary experience, native chicken was used that made it more delicious.  This is one of the dish that I can say, the sauce goes very good with hot steamed rice.  The blend of coconut milk and spiciness makes the sauce a viand in itself. “Sarsa pa lang, ulam na”.  It was so delectable that I was able to eat plenty of rice.

Hinalang in the Visayas, means “spicy”.  The technique in cooking is similar to chicken curry except that there is no curry powder and this is full of chilis.  Since this was new to me, I had a very sumptuous meal without tinking of diet at least for a while. Hehe!  By the way, It did went well with seafoods.  Hinalang is truly a mouth-watering food that will surely perk you up.  Thanks to my mother-in-law who prepared this dish for me.  She knew that I was fun of eating spicy foods and dishes not new to me.  If you want to have this, make sure you know someone from the Visayas or Minadanao who knows how to cook. I’m pretty sure they know how to prepare this super spicy food.  Hang kaayo bai!!!

Baye-Baye

When you are fun of delicacies, this one is for you. I first saw and tasted this when I went to Iloilo city, Panay.  This was sold along the highway from Cabatuan airport going to Sta. Barbara.  I asked my friend JessRaf Palmares what Baye-Baye is.  According to him, it is a delicacy made of grinded rice turned into gluten, with the right mixture of sugar and coated with flour to control its stickiness.  This is similar to the espasol in Laguna and Rizal it is just the shape was square.

Baye-Baye is available not only in Panay but also in Negros provinces.  For this one, I was able to taste a version from Bayawan City, Negros Ocidental.  It was brought the aunt Dolly of my wife from Sta. Catalina when they went to Bohol to attend a special occasion. It is IVON’s Special Baye-Baye. You may eat it directly and you may also fry it to have a different texture.  Any preparation method or ritual you perform before eating this sweet thing, is okay as long as you enjoy it. I would recommend a cup of coffee with baye-baye.  To make it a memorable experience, I suggest you have it with your friends. J 

Lechon

In every fiesta the star in the buffet table is always the LECHON.  As a Filipino, everyone likes to have a taste of this festival food except to our Muslim brothers and sisters and the vegetarians.  Lechon is serve in every special occasion and in every part of the country. The preparation also differ form the Luzon and the Visayan version.  In the Visayas, they put lemon grass, salt, pepper and garlic.  They use to rub it with milk while it is being roasted. In the luzon, the flavor is more on the rubbing of sauces  while being roasted. The priced part is the skin.  It is crackling crispy and very tasty. Sarap!!!

There are also differences in the preparation of condiments.  Majority of the Lechon in Luzon is served with a sweet liver sauce named Mang Tomas.   In some part of Luzon it is served with achara or pickled papayas.  In Eastern Visayas, it is served with boiled gabi or gaway as they call it.  You eat it after you bite the lechon most specially the cholesterol rich skin.  It does help in pacifying the oiliness feeling.    In some part of Visayas and Mindanao, the condiment is a mixture of coconut vinegar, garlic and chilis. Sometimes, it’s a combination of vinegar, soy, tomatoes, and onions.   

Where to Find

Lechon can be found everywhere in the country.  It is the star of all occasion. In Manila, It can be found in most of the famous Filipino restaurants.  In the Visayas and Mindanao, there is always a place in every town and cities that serve this everyday and you can buy it per kilo. In Bohol, one of the tastiest lechon can be found along C.P. Garcia and the name of the store is Bebie’s Lechon.  You can also contact in advance with this number: 0909-7725563. Rapsa ang Lechon, lalo na ang balat!!!

Sea Urchin

One of my favorite delicacies that I always want to taste when I have the opportunity is the sea urchin. This is hard to gather because you have the live sea urchin has a sting to its pin-like pines.  But the taste is worth the work.  In Japan, they call it uni and it is one of their priced sushi. It also goes very well with sake wine and roe.  Try it with soy, calamansi and wasabi together with your favorite wine.  There is a particular place in Italy that they catch it, eat it fresh together with their traditional red wine.  Yes, red not white.  When I saw that in the television, I tried it and it does taste good.  For my favorite, calamansi only will do. 

Where to find

Sea Urchin is available in most Japanese restaurant.  In the Philippines, this is plentiful in the Visayas and Mindanao.  In Cebu, I found on store in Tabuan Market but you have to order in advance to make sure that what they will give you is fresh.  In Bohol, this is available in every market including their groceries.  When you crave for raw food, this is one of the best delicacy that you can have.  If there are seashores, this is always available as long as there are those who patiently collect this delicacy.  Have a blessed Good Friday.

Tinolang Native na Manok

You know fellow foodies, this is the best part of my travel in going back to the rural areas.  The ingredients of the food were freshly picked in the backyard, cooked while you relax and served hot from the wooden or charcoal stove directly to the dining table.  That is what I experienced with this Tinolang Native na Manok ( chicken soup).  The chicken was not the commercial one that you can buy at any instance in the groceries.  These priced chicken has always been a delicacy for its tastiness and organic-ness.  Organic in the sense that it does not feed on commercial feeds full of chemicals but it eats natural chicken food from the backyard. When it comes to taste, it is much tastier and the meat is much more lean.

For the ingredients, there were freshly picked green papayas, pepper leaves, ginger, and malungay.  All of which came form the backyard.  All natural!!! I have experienced this beside the pristine white sand of Panglao island here in Bohol and had our lunch beside this beautiful seascape.  Native na Manok is available at every part of the Philippine Island.  It’s a matter of requesting it to your friends. J 

Calamares

This is one calamares that is perfectly cooked.  They have perfected the crispiness of the breading and made the squid very soft.  I remember a technique that was taught to me by one of our lineman in Bicol in how you can make the squid or cattle fish very soft and very tender. But I was never taught how to make a crispy coating outside. For my first attempt, I made the squid rubberized. Hehe.  They is a technique that involves time, heat, color and smell that you have to master in order to have the right timing of crispiness and softness inside.  In search for that quality, I found it at Chicken for the road.  The blend of their squid wiht the red and green pepper has made it more delectable.

Where to find

Chicken for the Road is located along Araneta ave. (across SO-EN) Quezon city. They also deliver for free. You may contact them at (632)716-8866 or (632)411-3297.  They also have a newer branch at Ortigas Home Depot , Julia Vargas, Pasig City. For this branch you may contact then at (632) 706-1966 or (632) 706-1965.  For the squid lovers, this Calamares will bring you to another level of taste experience both in flavor and food texture.

Stuffed Baked Pepper

During one of our Sunday get-together, I requested my mother to come up with this dish that we use to have when we were still kids.  She prepared this stuffed baked pepper.  It was basically a bell pepper stuffed with ground beef.  We had it plain ground beef with a little bit of spiciness. Another tip, I suggest to flavor it with fajitas or taco flavor to make it more Mexican.  Afterwards, you bake the stuffed bell pepper for 20 to 30 minutes.  The blend of the ground beef with the bell pepper gives a distinct flavor of spiced ground beef flavor.  The baking process made it more delectable to eat.

The recipe of this home made dish has been passed through generations and is always available every time we have gatherings.  As a matter of fact, this was the first that vanished on the dinning table. You may try this and make a simple but unique viand. You can experiment using the bell pepper or the elongated pepper that is use in sinigang. Believe me, I tried to stuffed it with quick melt cheese and the result was very nice specially when you are drinking your favorite beer!!!  J Using pepper in any dishes has always been fun and exciting because of its distinct flavor.  Mataba or payat man ang sili, maanghang at masarap padin!!!