Year 2015 Filipino Food Compilation Special

Happy New Year!!!! It has been about a week since 2016 started. Continuing the journey with a flashback, let's take a look at the Pinoy dishes we had for 2015. View a list of all the Filipino restaurants we tried here. We have also listed some of the favorite Filipino dishes we tried in 2015. Click the labels of the photos below to see the full write-up.



Mesa's 12 Baked Scallops

Seafood appetizer! I just remember how we started 2015 with a New Year lunch at Mesa and had this tasty appetizer. [...read me]


Nipa Hut's Kare Kare and Bulalo

A little far from where we usually dine, this place will be remembered for both its food and the view it offers. [...read me]


Manam's Turon with Mango and Kesong Puti

Could be a snack, could be a dessert. Turon's crispiness plus sweet and salty flavors is a sure merienda or dessert treat. [...read me]


KKK's Tibok tibok

Two dessert items on this list! Dessert should be equally good as the main dishes in every meal. [...read me]



Barbara's Cultural Experience at Intramuros

Sometimes, it's not all about the food. The ambiance and location also contributes to the dining experience. Situated within the walled city, just across San Agustin church which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and within Casa Manila, this is a good venue to feel the historical Filipino vibe. [...read me]


View a list of all the Filipino restaurants we tried in 2015 here.

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KKK: Food for the Revolutionary

Celebrating Bonifacio day this long weekend, we write about KKK - a restaurant with the same name as the revolutionary group led by the hero. We bought an online discount voucher for this.

The place is decorated with the likeness of a nipa hut - walls covered like this.

A paper mache of a pair of Filipinos accompany each table. You can munch on complementary kropek while waiting for your order.


Pancit Luglog

This comes with fried tofu and chicharon toppings.


Kare Kareng Baka

A mix of beef chunks and tripe in a chunky peanut pumpkin sauce with bagoong on the side is served. Kare kare is already a staple when we try out Filipino restaurants.


Pinitpit na Manok

Grilled chicken fillet with tamarind sauce on the side is up next. The sampaloc sauce is like a sour tamarind candy but with less sugar. The meat itself is a little dry but it goes well with the sauce.


Tibok tibok

This one is the favorite. It is a maja blanca, but richer and thicker. Carabao's milk is used for this. It's quite filling and the serving size is bigger than the usual round kakanin that you can finish in two bites.


Unlike our recent visits to other Filipino restaurants, food here is relatively not that salty.


Branch visited located at: Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Sarsa: Negrense Dinner

To cap off the Buwan ng Wika Filipino food features, we had dinner at Sarsa. We got an online discount voucher for this one.


Sizzling Kansi

Can't decide between bulalo and sizzling food? Well, just have a serving of their sizzling kansi. It is their kansi style bulalo with batwan gravy. There is actually no soup. tender pieces of beef and marrow are served on a sizzling plate. The plate was just warm and it was not actually sizzling when served though. The beef itself was tender but it was a little too salty to be eaten on its own. Better order rice with it.



Inasal Pecho

We just had to try their inasal. Loved that their inasal pecho (chicken breast) looked like a heart. It was not dry, it was actually a bit juicy. This particular inasal dish was already sour even if we did not squeeze calamansi juice over it. Quite salty for me too (I need rice). It was very flavorful even up to the inner parts of the meat.



Roasted Kalabasa

Discovered another tasty vegetable dish. Since kalabasa (pumpkin) is one of my favorite vegetables, we ordered Roasted Kalabasa. This had pureed and sliced pumpkin. To enjoy this fully, make sure to get some green beans, crispy dilis, and fried tofu along with your roasted kalabasa. This provides a good mix of textures and flavors. This is my favorite dish of the night. Just hope there was more crispy dilis in it.


Overall, the kalabasa dish was good. Plus points for the tender beef and juicy chicken. The beef and chicken were quite salty for my palate but then again maybe it's just my taste buds' opinion or maybe I just needed rice.


Branch visited located at: 2nd floor, Entertainment Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay



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Backlog Post: Bangus

Way back in 2014, we dined at Bangus and used our online discount voucher. This restaurant's specialty is obviously bangus (milkfish) as seen in the numerous bangus dishes in their menu. But we opted to try their non-bangus offerings. We also ordered rice to complete our Filipino meal.


Spring Chicken

Half roasted chicken served with gravy as the poultry of the day.


Sirloin Tapa

I was craving for a saltier viand and got this beef tapa. Some slices were tender enough but some pieces were a bit rubbery. I liked that it was actually sizzling when served and not just presented on a cold sizzling plate


Branch visited located at: Main Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Abe: Purple Soup, Bamboo Rice, and Lengua

Featuring more Filipino food restaurants as we continue with our Buwan ng Wika Special this August. We have started with Barbara's last week. This week we visit Abe. The place was full as it was lunch time. Good thing there was a table left at the corner.

Food has arrived.

Bamboo Rice

The bamboo rice was served with a little show, with the server drumming on the bamboo shell before sliding off the upper half to reveal the rice.

Flavored rice with wood ear mushroom and the bamboo taste. This is good for around 3-4 people.

Sinigang sa Ube

A thicker and purple version of the classic sour soup.

Ube is a purple yam which is commonly used for dessert, may it be cake, ice cream, jam, or others. Surprisingly, it went well in a soup dish. Purple coloring of the soup came from ube. The root crop's starchiness contributed to the thickness. This Sinigang sa Ube is less sour than other common versions.

Pastel de Lengua

Hidden under the pastry are chunks of lengua - ox tongue, stewed together with mushrooms and carrots. The ox tongue was tender enough and made more tasty with the cream.

Branch visited located at: 2nd floor, Entertainment Mall, Mall of Asia, Pasay city

Backlog Post: Barbara's: Buwan ng Wika flashback

The month of August is known as the "Buwan ng Wika", a month where language and culture is celebrated. In schools, activities for this month often include a presentation of native Filipino dances. And a taste of culture and Filipino dances (plus a dinner buffet) is what we got for this trip.

Note: This post will be more about the place than the food

Last 2014, we went to Intramuros, a walled city in Manila, to eat at Barbara's. We bought an online discount voucher for a dinner buffet plus cultural dance show at Barbara's.

We arrived earlier than the buffet start time so that we can hear mass at San Agustin Church. It is the oldest stone church in the Philippines and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Old houses turned into establishments are found along the cobble stone street. Barbara's is one of them. It's just across San Agustin Church.

After enjoying the place, we move on to the dining area, which seems to be the attic of the house.

The buffet choices were simple. Among the choices of viands, pasta, and salad, what I liked best was the pumpkin soup. It was thick and had a hint of sweetness. I had several bowls of that.

A number of cultural dances were performed. Here are some screen shots from the video I took.

Mabuhay!!


Branch visited located at: Intramuros, Manila