HAYOP NA DEGUSTACION AT PEPITA'S KITCHEN!

Serious na si Food Reviews Manila and Chef Sharwin Tee

               Though my blog is already on it's third year, It wasn't until my second year of blogging that I decided to begin accepting invitations from establishments to sample what their dining experience had to offer. Since then, Rina and I have been fortunate enough to have taken part in many amazing dinners. There are a select few that stood out more than the others, and one of those dinners was my 14 Course Lechon Degustation by Pepita's Kitchen. 

          Did you ever watch the movie "Seven" by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gweneyth Paltrow? The scene where the obese man was being force fed with food as a punishment for his alleged, "Gluttony"? If you take away the psychopath pointing the gun to the man's head, that was sort of how I describe that evening. 

         No one was forcing anyone to eat, but all these mouthwatering dishes kept flying out of the kitchen, it would have been a crime in itself to NOT eat them.. Stomach lining be damned. 

         Even though I only actually knew a handful of people there, Rina and I had such a wonderful time. So, when given the opportunity to go back, how on Earth do you say no to that? 

         Easy. You don't. 

         This is our HAYOP NA DEGUSTATION EXPERIENCE at Pepita's Kitchen. 

14 COURSES.. LECHON DEGUSTATION AT PEPITA'S KITCHEN!!

        One of my new years resolutions as a blogger, was to make sure I attend more blogger events that I'm invited to. I was very hesitant to go last year, mainly because I was a bit shy (I really didn't know anyone from the blogging world yet), but Rina convinced me that if I had any intention of taking my blog to the next level, I was going to need to break out of my shell (I'm being serious by the way). Perhaps one of the events that I had been dying to go to, was the Lechon Degustation hosted by Pepita's Kitchen. When I had heard about that magic night of Lechon concoctions, I had told myself that if ever I get invited to that event, I'm dropping anything and everything I'm doing to make sure I'm there.   

    I bumped into Dedet De La Fuente, owner of Pepita's Kitchen, during Yummy Eats, where she thanked me for the video I made about her two daughters, Lileya, the 12 year old that made a version of Butter Beer here in the country, and Liyora, the young girl that created "Chocolate Happiness". She was proud to note that Liyora's efforts to sell her chocolate treats was able to help buy three wheelchairs for children in need.. Quite an achievement for a nine year old girl!

    Since Dedet was manning a booth at Yummy Eats that featured her trademark lechon, our conversation was cut rather short, but as we said our goodbyes and went our own ways, she turned around and called out to me.. (Well.. she actually yelled out, "Pickiest Eater!") and said, "Please come to my next Lechon Degustation this June!". 

   I think I may have actually shouted out "Yes!" even before she finished her sentence. 

POSTMANILA INVADES MEAT PLUS SUBIC

     Last May, my company scheduled an employees summer outing at Subic. Ever since baby Rain has come into my life, I have made it a point to spend every waking moment of my weekend with her, since I leave early in the morning and arrive later in the night. Which is why my initial thoughts when I realized I'd be away from my wife and daughter for a day, was to NOT attend the annual excursion. 


     I sat down with my supervisor, and was just about to tell her that I wasn't planning on joining them in Subic. Whenever we have an event for the office, I'm usually asked to help out with the planning of the program and such, so before I could start on about not wanting to go, my supervisor stopped to show me the itinerary. We go point by point on the schedule, and then I come across our final destination, which simply said "Lunch before heading back to Manila". I asked where they had planned to have their final meat at Subic, and she said, "Meat Plus". She then realized I hadn't gotten to what I wanted to tell her, so she said, "Sorry, you were going to tell me something?".


  "Yes, what time do we leave?", was my quick reply. 
             

LECHON LOVE AT CEBU'S ZUBUCHON!

 

       Something I believe I took for granted in all my years in Cebu, was their lechon. In all honesty, I didn't realize that Cebu Lechon tasted different from Lechon anywhere else, because my dad would have Cebu Lechon flown in from Cebu for family events (Trust me, it sounds "Sosyal" but its actually done quite often by Cebunanos). But then again, during my days in Cebu, Lechons were only really available as a whole.. And despite my declarations of love for the animal, there was no way I could finish an entire pig by myself, let alone afford it. Aside from that, there wasn't really a place back then where I could sit down and enjoy a kilo of Cebu Lechon at a reasonable rate. 

        According to my dad (Who spends most of his time in Cebu), two places have risen to the top of the Lechon heap in Cebu.

    One of them has the distinction of having none other than World Famous Chef Anthony Bourdain declared it "The Best Pig Ever".. 

    This is the awesomeness of Zubuchon. 

THE PICKIEST EATER VS. THE BRAZIL BRAZIL! CHURRASCO PLATTER

       Good Day. It is with much pride to annouce that this post marks a first for The Pickiest Eater In The World. This is the first time (to my recollection) that I went to a restaurant and ordered ONE dish. 

      Do NOT adjust your screens, my friends, you read that right. That's ONE DISH to SHARE with Rina, ladies and gentlemen. 

         And guess what? 

       We couldn't even finish it!  

  That's the kind of madness that happens when you enter the wonderful world of Brazil: Brazilian Churrasco! 

I SAW RED AT BUGSY'S

The O-Desk Christmas Bash

        Rina has the most intriguing job. She works with a whole bunch of people, but the thing is, they don't see each other, because they all work from home. It's actually pretty cool, and she's enjoying it, because she gets to spend more time with Schatzi. I think it's the perfect set up, because since we both want to have a baby soon, this way she doesn't have to worry so much about traveling back and forth from the house to the office. If I worked from home, I probably wouldn't get anything done, except catch up on series and sleep. Of course, if someday this blog starts earning for me, I'll have that luxury, but until that day comes, it's off to the every day drive to Makati for me.

    Since everyone works from home, you can imagine that their Christmas party wasn't your usual office yuletide celebration. It was actually a lot like a chat room "eyeball" (Although I've never actually been to one, I imagine thats what it would be like) Rina had a blast because a lot of them have become her "chat mates". She's gotten to know a few of them rather well, especially when they share the same shift and she doesn't have so much customers. Even though I don't usually go to Rina's office parties (cuz of my shyness), I went when I found out it was "Bugsy's" (I'm so easy).The temptress that is Rina, knew exactly what my weakness would be and said, "If you go with me, you can blog about the food of Bugsy's - FOR FREE."

    In that one sentence, she said two things that appealed to me. "Food" and "Free". So i gave her a deep sigh, and replied, "Fine, I'll go, but only because I can't stand to be apart from you, even for two minutes..", which was met with a slight rolling of her eyes, and a triumphant smile.

THE FLYING PIG HAS LANDED!

 I'm a "Flying Pig".. get it? A "Flying Pig?... never mind..

         So I'm sure by now, you all know I won the online contest of myfoodtrip.com, right? Meaning, yes, you lucky devil you, are reading the actual written works of Mr. Myfoodtrip 2010, himself. Please.. try to control yourself. (from hurling?) hehe..

       A few days after the winners were announced, I got an email from the lovely Leslie of myfoodtrip.com, congratulating me and as well as coordinating the pick up of my prize. My options were to either have someone pick it up, have them send it through "Snail Mail", or if I would be picking it up. Rina wanted me to pick it up so she could take pictures, ya know, for memories sake. I thought it would be a cool thing to blog about as well. Of course, I asked permission first from Leslie if I picked it up in person, if they'd allow Rina to cover it for my blog, which she of course said was no problem. So Leslie and I set a date to meet over at Eastwood so I could pick up my prize. 

     Picking our meeting place for me was easy. What kind of carnivore wouldn't be drawn to a restaurant with a name like "The Flying Pig"?                     

WHO LET THE PIG OUT?!

It finally happened. I've eaten so much pork, I've transformed myself into a pig.

        During the Christmas break of 2009, a group of my friends from work, together with Rina and I, went on a road trip to Laguna, with the intent of going to Enchanted Kingdom. Given that it was the Christmas season, It should have been a no brainer: Theme Park + Christmas Vacation = Chaos. That trip eventually turned into our visit to Kanin Club, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. However, as I mentioned in that previous post, The signs for the restaurant "Pig Out" stuck clearly in my mind.

    I love the name, Pig Out. You instantly know it's all about the meat, and you can eat to your hearts content without being judged. In fact, I found it funny no other restaurant ever thought of using that name before, especially since it got my attention. I swore to Rina that she and I would eventually go back some day. Of course, since it was out of town, it wasn't really that easy to schedule an excursion to Laguna. 

       Funnily enough, roughly around one year to the fateful day that I saw that sign, Rina and I, together with my father in law, my sister and law Chaikka, and her irrepressible partner-in-crime, Don, had planned to visit our Aunt's vacation home in Batangas. I did a little research before I left, and I saw a dish that left me intrigued.. "Chicharon Fried Rice".

      Given that dish in mind, I thought it would be perfect time to make a little side trip to Pig Out.  (Pun intended)

TENDER BOBS IS THE BOMB, BABY!

The Tower of Doom? Ppsshh.. Only if you're an onion ring.

                              

                    

                     To me, Tender Bob's is in the category of those dependable restaurants that you go to when you're at a stalemate with your wife on the question, "Where do you want to eat?". After ping ponging back and forth around five times with "Up to you" and "No, You", one mention of "Tender Bob's" and the discussion is over. And despite the fact that we made a deal to go to a restaurant we hadn't tried before, the mere fact that I put Tender Bob's option out there, renders that arrangement null and void. ("Sinabi mo na eh, di mo na pwede bawiin!")

                     It's hard to argue against Tender Bob's though. You go there, and you're assured of a darn good meal, and when you consider the wide array of USDA Approved cuts you have to choose from, the biggest problem isn't WHAT you want to order, but HOW you plan to fit everything you ordered into your stomach.

                      (Easy. Just make sure you have a big stomach. Duh.)