Archive for December, 2009

December 29th, 2009

Reyes Goto Shoot

rg_arrozcaldo

This was a lovely present for Christmas! Before I left I was able to finish a food styling job for the Reyes Barbeque group which is their newest stall called Reyes Goto. Meeting Mr. Frank Reyes was truly interesting because I didn’t know that he was actually a descendant of the founders of Aristocrat and he told me all about how his great grandmother began her culinary empire and how he was inspired by nostalgic Filipino family recipes to create the ultimate goto place that’s clean and within reach.

I used to only take offals in tiny amounts since I didn’t really appreciate it much until I tasted this goto. But that’s another story. Going back, Frank Reyes and his wife Inez made their empire, Reyes Barbeque grow within a few years of its establishment. I’m telling you, these clients knew what they want. Sir Frank was constantly coming up with ideas, and Ms. Inez was the greatest executioner.

read more »

Bookmark and Share

Categoryblog | CommentNo Comments »

Tags:
December 29th, 2009

My Birthday Brush with Death through Fugu!

For my birthday last month, I decided to treat the couples out to dinner (that’s me, Mig, my brother and China) to our favorite Izakaya Kikufuji at Little Tokyo in Pasong Tamo. We ordered our usual fare until Vicki our favorite server said that there was Fugu available straight from Japan. Now wasn’t that exciting or what? My brother and I decided to get a plate. Mig was a bit jittery, though I was sure he’d have taste since he wouldn’t want to be left out of the group even if it meant potentially getting poisoned as well.

fugu

I watched a documentary in National Geographic about this and it said that many homeless people died during the war after scavenging for fish remains in trash cans outside restaurants. Apparently the stuff they threw were the Fugu’s organs which is highly toxic and can cause suffocation if it is prepared the wrong way. The fuss about this fish has been bugging my mind for years, and i thought that the only way i could get some fugu, was if i went to Japan with a sh*tload of money and ate in a pretty classy restaurant there. AND i had to make sure that the sushi chef in that place had the proper license and documents to prove he has trained to fabricate this fish properly. Sashimi is usually served thin in a shape of a chrysanthemum flower which symbollizes death in the Japanese culture.

read more »

Bookmark and Share

Categoryblog, food finds | Comment1 Comment »

Tags:
December 14th, 2009

Nam Tan Sot – Sterilized Coconut Nectar

We’re in Chiangmai and we were in our friend’s house Woon and Wolfgang trying to make some Christmas Stollen. Woon told us about the procedure of how they make the coconut sugar from these special palm trees. One of the procedures were to boil down the already smoked juice from the coconut. without fermenting, they bottled the drink and sold it to the supermarket.

This pristine but thick drink was delightful, it would be something I could finish if I were a kid. It was very sweet but it included flavors that I didn’t think existed in your typical Buko juice. The delightful smoking can be detected in the juice… It was like eating caramel and butterscotch with vanilla in a drink.it has an extremely slight acidity detectable from the original coconut juice. Now I’m starting to wonder if this thing had flavorings etc considering there was no english translation on the label. Ah whatever it was a joy for me since I dread drinking coconut juice.

This was definitely a must try for those who love beverages. Or those who don’t really like buko juice… This will make you think again

Bookmark and Share

Categoryaround the world, food finds | CommentNo Comments »

Tags: