Empty Chair

Sadly, Stich has to leave our Table...

So, we are having an open call for someone to take his place. Our requirements?

• A love for all things concerning food
• A desire to share this love with the citizens of cyberspace
• And the willingness to talk, write and take pictures of food.

Write us at tableforthreeplease@gmail.com and tell us what you love about food. Photographs are more than welcome.

To Stich, you will be missed.

Table Recipes: Lemon-Fresh Ginger Ice Cream

Once again, like clockwork, A and I got sick over the holidays.

The usual colds and cough. Nothing to worry about. As any doctor will tell you, drinking lots and lots of liquid is a must. My drink of choice? A nice hot cup of ginger tea with a spoonful of honey and twist of lemon. Warm and soothing, this drink really clears my airways and helps me sleep at night.

Taking a sip of my ginger tea, I wondered, would these flavors work as an ice cream? Once better, I did some research--and discovered that the recipe I needed was right under my (slightly clogged) nose, care of David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop.

Lemon-Fresh Ginger Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz’s Perfect Scoop

• 85 grams peeled fresh ginger
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups cream*
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• Zest of 2 lemons
• Pinch of salt

Cut the ginger into thin slices. In a saucepan, place the ginger slices and add just enough water to cover. Bring the water to boil and blanch the ginger for two minutes. Drain. Save the ginger and discard the liquid.**

In a separate bowl, combine the finely grated lemon zest, sugar and milk. Mix thoroughly until the sugar dissolves.

Place the reserved ginger back into the saucepan. Add the milk mixture, half a cup of cream and salt. Warm the mixture. Once warm, remove from the heat. Cover and steep for at least an hour.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks.

Rewarm the ginger mixture. Remove the ginger slices with a slotted spoon. Dispose of the ginger. Slowly pour the warmed mixture in the egg yolks and continue to whisk.

Once combined, return the egg-ginger mixture to the saucepan. Over medium heat, stir the mixture constantly with a wooden spoon until it thickens and coats the spoon. Strain the mixture into a bowl and combine with the remaining cream.

Immediately chill the mixture in the freezer. Once thoroughly cooled, freeze it in your ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes 1 liter

* I use good quality whipping cream.
** You can use the liquid as ginger tea, if you wish.

The end result is surprisingly light, creamy ice cream with an overall ginger flavor and a strong note of lemon. Of course, I would never recommend eating ice cream to those with colds but this flavor makes getting better oh-so-sweet.

The Masters of Hype

For a resto that hasn't gotten any spectacular reviews (at least, none that I've read), John and Yoko sure has a lot of people raring to try it. All the tables were filled when B and I were there, and there was a continuous stream of customers--impressive, considering this was an ordinary, non-holiday Tuesday night.

I wasn't really expecting much, but I did kind of expect it to be better than its brother, Sumo Sam. While the latter isn't on my list of favorite restos, I found their food satisfactory (again, not spectacular)--I was lured by the crowd regularly gathered outside, waiting to get a table. Ahh, you know how it goes: A crowd attracts a bigger crowd. I figured the number of people must account for something. But I digress.

Franco already mentioned the trendy interiors at the brand spankin' new GB5 resto. I've got a bonus image though--the wall upon which black-and-white Japanese films are projected...

Now, onto the food.

B chose one item that didn't succumb to this whole fusion nonsense: good old-fashioned Tuna Sashimi (P168). Hey, at least they got this one right. It was very fresh, and thankfully, the wasabi had a bit of a kick (a lot of Japanese restos nowadays have green gunk posing as wasabi).

He also ordered the Dynamite Roll (P168), one of the bestsellers. It wasn't, er, explosive, but it did have some delightfully spicy and crunchy bits.

I was craving for something meaty, so I got me the Mt. Fuji Steak (P338), beef tenderloin on a mound of French fries and mushrooms, drizzled with gravy. Hmmm. I liken it to high school cafeteria roast beef. But with fries instead of rice. And a price that's, like, five times more expensive than caf food. The meat was also a bit overdone and slightly tough.

As Franco mentioned, there were some similarities between the John and Yoko menu and the Sumo Sam menu. B and I decided to order the Salmon Wasabi Cream (P294), something we ordered and quite liked at Sumo Sam, just so we could compare.

Sumo Sam Salmon Wasabi Cream versus...

John and Yoko Salmon Wasabi Cream

And the winner of Battle Salmon is...Sumo Sam! The John and Yoko version looks more attractive (is it the artfully placed asparagus?), but don't let looks deceive you. I distinctly remember savoring the white sauce at Sumo Sam, appreciating the hint of wasabi that came at the end of each bite. After trying the John and Yoko salmon, I remarked, "The sauce tastes like it should be on pasta." And B agreed! There was not a trace of wasabi in it; it could very well have been served as carbonara. (Japanese-Italian. Now there's fusion for you.)

Sigh. I think, more than anything, John and Yoko is a seen-and-be-seen-type of place, rather than a gustatory destination. And if there's anything they're doing exceptionally well, it's generating buzz--whether they deserve it or not.

John and Yoko
2nd Floor
Greenbelt 5
Makati City
Telephone: (02) 7298698

Table Conversation: Pinoy Favorites

The interiors and Food of Ebun

Franco Says:

After the long holiday season and all the rich food that goes with it, one longs for the simpler things in life.

Food that doesn't require a French to English dictionary to make. Food that all Filipinos can relate to. The much under-appreciated and unacknowledged Pinoy cuisine. But when you are too lazy to cook at home or have guests who are clamouring to try something local, where do you go to tuck into some home-grown food?

Stich says:

We always have visitors, though they're balikbayans mostly. Here's what has worked:

• Ten Titas, especially when they get creative. Especially with their pork dishes, like the peking duck style pata and the osso buco caldereta. Oh, the chinese ham carbonara works too.
• Sentro, in Glorietta, (Particularly their catfish gindara, the crispy pata, and the tofu sisig)
• Recipes, the gising-gising and the crispy pla-pla, in particular.

Mariko says:

Hmmm, perhaps Sentro, para he/she won't be so scared! Haha. Or one of those grill places (Gerry's, Dencio's, I'm trying to remember the name of that place in Alabang, also with a branch at a driving range in one of the military camps...).

I'm not big on the Pinoy food--I prefer the fried dishes like lechon kawali and crispy pata over sauce-y stuff like kare-kare. So any place that does a mean crispy pata, and crispy sisig (without drying it out) is enough to make me happy.:) My all-time favorite dish is adobo, but I generally just have that at home. Nothing beats homecooked adobo!

Senor Macho says:

If not a meal at my house (I know that’s a cliché), I like taking foreign visitors to Ebun in Greenbelt 3. They like the hip Filipino décor yet it makes them feel like they’re going local. The food is inexpensive and good, especially if you order the right things (such as sigarilyas in gata, kilawin, crispy pata, and smoked talong with bagoong). My brother and his chef friend like going there after the lunch service. Maybe the kapampangan food has something to do with it.

Here’s my super generalization: for foreign guests I think what’s more important than the restaurant is ordering food with flavors or cooking styles that they like. Unlike Thai food where most westerners like noodles, chili, lime, basil, curries, etc., I think Pinoy food has fewer flavors or cooking styles that they enjoy. Maybe that has something to do with the lack of success of Filipino cuisine abroad.

Most of my guests like dishes in coconut milk, any grilled or barbecued meat, most green vegetables (like kangkong) if simply prepared, crispy pata, lumpiang shanghai and ubod, and any “ceviche’d” fish to cut the fat. What they seem to like less are thick stews (kare-kare and kaldereta), vinegary stews (paksiw), fear factor meats (although people seem to like lengua if they can get over the initial reaction), sour soups (sinigang), and anything too sweet.

Sharky says:

I would definitely bring them to the following places:

• Everybody's Cafe in Pampanga
• Cafe Juanita (Tofu Sisig)
• Via Mare (Bibingka, Puto Bumbong, Bagnet Salad, Spicy Tuyo Flakes)
• Recipes (Gising Gising)
• Sentro (Sinigang, Ensalada, Fish Dishes)
• Aling Lucing's or Trellis - if my guest is adventurous enough to try the sisig!!!

Just so they have different takes on the way Pinoy food is made --- from lutong bahay to daily fare to special occasions to fusion.

ChichaJo says:

That's a toughie. Pinoy food is so subjective. I don't think any single restaurant would fit the bill. I think I would take them to Sentro, Cafe Adriatico (not totally Pinoy but their Pinoy food, especially adobo ni aling ising is bomb-diggety), Chef Laudico's, Via Mare and then maybe some street food. And the fresh piyaya in Salcedo Market. And Tita Cely's Bicol Express. And sisig! And Chicken Inasal! I wouldn't want to plunk someone down in from of a plate and say...this is pinoy food. I want to paint a picture...where we are, where we are going, where we can go...past, present, future. Filipino food is just as much Laudico's fusion'd creations as it is a down-home adobo, or your lola's sinigang, or your fave merienda in Via Mare, or eating isaw off the street. It is all of this and more.

Margauxlicous says:

I wrote an article on this - here. And, as I forgot Sentro as you pointed out, I wrote another article including this lovely resto here. What I failed to mention na dapat matikman - squid balls, balut, barbecue from the sidewalk, green mango from the sidewalk, halo halo ng Razons, chicharon na full back fat, dried mangoes from Cebu, yema, kaong (most of the bottled goodies you can find in fiesta market in market market), and goto!

Docchef says:

Bangus for Crispy pata(i know, i know, why would you order Crispy pata in a resto named after a fish). Anyway, their crispy pata is very good and their sauce is different, then you can have the bangus skin chicaron as appetizer, and the different bangus recipe.

Lola Maria in Pioneer Street, visit my blog and look at my review, they also have excellent sinigang.

Bistro Remedios, Abe, Sentro 1771 or O Kitchen in Libis. If he eats a lot, Kamayan's buffet.

Hundred Pound Foodie says:

Mangan -- if you don't mind malls that is. Simple setting, mid-price, but food tastes like it came from our own (Capampangan) home kitchen. Have them try the steamed vegetables with a selection of dips (usually paired with grilled fish). I hope it still looks like the veggies grew from the ginormous plate. For me that's a refreshing visual treat.

Siguro it will also depend on the "stature" of the guests. In Manila -- maybe Cafe Juanita, Larry Cruz's Abe, Bistro Remedios, etc. I miss Afrodisia on Annapolis Greenhills, also Larry Cruz's (this one used to be my favorite, same reason for Mangan, albeit it was pricier, tribal/somewhat polynesian interior).

Or perhaps take them to an exotic island/very tropical destination like Palawan and let them try the grilled seafood and kinilaw there. I like Ka Lui in Puerto Princesa. More about Ka Lui here.

Truth is, whenever my family and I have foreign guests and want to impress, we usually invite them to our home and cook for them.

Many thanks to A. for the lovely interior shot of Ebun.

Table Suggestions: Classic Confections at Greenbelt5

Calamansi Bars

We love Baba Ibazeta-Benedicto's Classic Confections.

If you haven't been to a bazaar in the past eight years, you might have missed out on some amazing baked treats. Since 1999, Baba and her partner, Kat Malvar set up Classic Confections and started sell in bazaars around Metro Manila. Business has been booming and now, Baba has taken to next level, a Classic Confections Cafe.

Located at Greenbelt 5, this little jewel box of baked temptations is a must-stop for fans of Classic Confections or for those weary shoppers looking for delicious sugar high. Since, A. and I in a bit of rush after lunch we decide to pick up a box of Calamansi Bars for A. and a bag Chocolate Chip Cookies for me. Yum. The sweet sugar rush...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now you can take seat, order a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy a slice of Nono's Chocolate Oblivion or nibble on Russian Tea Cookies. We are so looking forward to what new baking creations the new shop will inspire.

Classic Confections
2nd Floor
Greenbelt 5, Makati City
Telephone: (02) 746 2773, (02) 490 7896
Web: www.classicconfections.net

John and Yoko: Fusion Confusion

from top left, clockwise
Uni Nori Tempura, Chawan Mushi Shooters
Two's Company, John and Yoko Menu

I always find restaurants that label themselves as fusion a bit worrisome.

Really, it could go either way. Some brave culinary artists can elevate traditional cuisine to new flavors and textures that none dare imagine. Or sadly, some wayward souls could fall flat on their faces creating food that is just plain inedible.

Yes, I know that most (if not all) world cuisines are essential fusion. Over the centuries, cooks around the world have borrowed techniques and ingredients that are not indigenously their own and integrated them into their own culinary repertoire. Like everything else, food preparation will progress and evolve with the times. Only the delicious survive. The question is what the eating public will embrace as genius and what will they toss aside as another failed (but well-intended) experiment.

Case in point, John and Yoko.

John and Yoko doesn’t hide the fact they are a fusion restaurant or that their concept is not completely original. What they do promise is to bring their guests on a tour of the world’s culinary capitals that innovate traditional Japanese cuisine, giving their diners a taste of Japan in new and interesting ways. It’s a great and intriguing idea but for some reason, my tour took a wrong turn.

The interiors are stylish and modern. Techno music blares in the room. The service staff looking sexy/cool, dressed in black and silver clothing unseasonably warm for this country. You almost feel like you’ve walked into a fancy supper club in London/Tokyo/Hong Kong/ New York. Then your meal begins…

It’s a bit troubling when a Japanese restaurant (fusion or otherwise) serves their green tea from a single tea bag steeping in pot of hot water. More bothersome is fact that your tea still tastes like plain hot water. Maybe it needs another tea bag?

We start our meal with a pair of Chawan Mushi Shooters (P108), each garnished with a steamed shrimp. To be honest, we wanted to try this traditional egg custard because it was supposed to be served in shot glasses. We liked the idea of downing this dish in one go. Shallow? Yes. Cool? We thought so. Sadly unlike the picture in the menu, ours looked like any other chawan mushi served in little, green and blue stoneware cups. It was fine but the presentation was not as innovative as promised.

Next, we have the Uni Nori Tempura (P218). Uni is rolled in dried seaweed, coated in tempura batter, deep-fried and served on a bed of fried vermicelli noodles. This is a dish is one that we enjoyed, mostly because it involved raw sea urchin and deep-frying.

To end our meal, we have the Two’s Company (P228), a small tower made of tuna and salmon tartare surrounded with pieces of toast. A new way to enjoy your tuna and salmon sashimi, we thought. This dish which I imagine does not require much (if any) cooking, was actually undercooked. The slices of baguette were cold and soggy, ruining the experience of this dish. Really, how hard is it to toast toast? Again, what was delivered was not as it was pictured in the menu where the thick slices of bread were grilled, rather than merely toasted.

A high concept, up-scale, Japanese fusion restaurant is great in theory but if the actual taste of the food doesn’t match the marketing or décor then what’s the point?

I applaud the proprietors for their attempt at innovation. The idea of this restaurant will get people through the door but as more restaurants around John and Yoko begin to open will people be satisfied with just cosmopolitan ideas and stylish interiors? God is in the details. In the end, it is always about the food.

PS. Recently, I saw a feature on food from Sumo Sam. I was shocked at how similar it was to John and Yoko’s menu. Hmmm…

John and Yoko
2nd Floor
Greenbelt 5
Makati City
Telephone: (02) 7298698

The Travelling Table: A's Singapore Swing

from top left, clockwise
Interiors of the Majestic Restaurant, Carrot Cake from Maxwell Food Center
Burger from Wine Garage, Hainanese Chicken Rice from Maxwell Food Center

When Franco found out I was going to Singapore on a business trip, he asked me, “So should I give you a list of restaurants to go to?” I told him, unlike our honeymoon, I would have limited time to go to the ten places he wanted me to visit. He exercised some self-control and trimmed the list down to three.

Maxwell Food Center

It was a lazy Sunday morning when my brother, Dr. L, and I went to the Maxwell Food Center. The hawker center was less than half-full—families enjoying an early Sunday lunch or a late breakfast. No ties and business suits here; just dressed-down Singaporeans, far away from the chic-ness that is Orchard Road.

There was only one long line and predictably, it was for the chicken rice stall. When my brother came with our two plates of chicken rice, I understood why the line was so long. The chicken-broth-suffused rice, the tenderness of the white chicken, the spicy oiliness of the dipping sauces—they all perfectly enhanced each other. My brother had also ordered a carrot salad and oyster omelet but I ignored them both, preferring to focus on my favorite Singaporean dish.

I washed everything down with a tall glass of sugarcane juice. I’ve tried to find this all around Manila but have failed so far. It’s sweet but not cloying—and extremely refreshing in the humid Singapore air.

As we exited the hawker center, I took one last look at the chicken rice stall. Laminated accolades from food magazines and websites encircled its front. Anthony Bourdain’s face was on one. But more than the recommendations from the experts, it was the long, seemingly unending line of locals that gave the stall a stronger seal of approval.

Wine Garage

I met up with M, one of my dearest friends, in Wine Garage, for Sunday dinner. It was one of those chic little places by the riverside. What’s interesting about Singapore is that we can actually sit by the river and there will be no stench, garbage or floating bodies to overwhelm us.

I had a few minutes to kill before M arrived and had time to observe the restaurant. It was long rather than wide with one wall, dominated by a display of wines. But it wasn’t the usual clichéd display—like Magnum or Cork. Rather the full wine bottle was exposed and placed on individual stands all across the wall. Behind me was a black wall with handwritten truisms such as “In Vino Veritas (the truth in the wine)” or “If you drink no noir, you pinot noir” (whatever).

Both Franco and M did warn me that it would be pricey. Both M and I order the burger (the cheapest thing on the menu), no starter. Funnily (or stupidly?) enough, we both didn’t order any wine.

The burger was rich, juicy, with cheese melting on top and crispy lettuce adding interest to the burger. The fries were crisp and for some reason, special as the menu specified that they were handcut, which was a description for fries that I haven’t seen in any other menu before this. Aren’t all fries handcut anyway?


The Majestic Restaurant

Our partners invited us to dinner at the New Majestic Hotel. This is a fairly new boutique hotel, near Chinatown. Like most boutique hotels, a premium is placed on high design. The lobby is littered with chairs—from a dentist chair to a whole slew of designer chairs. You’re suddenly 100% hipper just stepping into the lobby with its exposed ceiling and all-white interior and without the corny giant reception/concierge desks that are the hallmarks of the big chain hotels.

Our partner booked a function room at the restaurant. The dinner started out with a salmon tartare with mixed salad in soya vinaigrette and majestic claypot shark’s fin soup with crabmeat. While delicious, they weren’t particularly memorable. The meal started picking up when the third dish was served. Oh. My. God. Yum. It was a combination of crispy wasabi prawn,peking duck and pan-seared foie gras. The refreshing, crisp taste of the prawn counteracted the richness of the Peking duck-topped foie gras. I was getting full at that point so I wanted to ignore the next dish: a braised “South African” whole abalone with homemade beancurd and garden green. I took a bite and immediately decided this was a dish I couldn’t ignore. I ended up finishing my bowl of abalone. I loved the different textures, suffused with a very flavorful sauce. The main course was a perfect pan-seared fillet of rib-eye in homemade sesame sauce.

I kept my dessert order simple. I ordered a mango sago with pomelo bits. It was definitely the best mango sago I had ever eaten in my life. The broth was cold but the sensual flavor of the mango was a burst of tropical sunshine in my mouth. The pomelo bits also added crunch to the chewy sago balls.

My colleague K said that it was the best meal she’s ever had in her life. While I can’t entirely agree with her, I can say that this would rank among my top five.

Maxwell Food Center
South Bridge Road cor. Maxwell Road
Singapore

Majestic Restaurant
New Majestic Hotel
31 Bukit Pasoh Road
Chinatown, Singapore 089845
Telephone: (65) 6511 4718

Wine Garage
30 Merchant Road, #01-07
Riverside Point
Singapore 058282
Tel: (65) 6533 3188

Franco's Note: Many thanks to A. for the lovely post, to M. for the Wine Garage burger photo and to K. for the Majestic Menu.

The Travelling Table: For Once, It's the Food That Travels

It isn't often that food actually travels to a table. Normally, people do the walking, or flying, and the food patiently waits to meet the travellers. In this case, it was the opposite as we finally met the famous Sacher Torte, from the Sacher Hotel in Austria.

It arrived as a travelling companion of my brother-in-law, who asked us what we wanted from Europe (he's based there). In jest, we said, a Sacher Torte. Imagine our surprise as he brought one out, complete with its own branded (I mean literally branded, like cows) box. Talk about packaging! I don't know of many cakes that come with their own travel accommodations, as this one was obviously packed for travel. Guess it shows just how popular the cake is.

The Sacher Torte, for those who are curious, is a chocolate and apricot jam concoction, with the layers of torte, or cake, sandwiching a thin layer of apricot jam. More jam is spread on top of the cake, then the whole thing is coated in rich, thick ganache. Mmmm.

It took us a few minutes of actual hemming and hawing before we finally cut into the thing, since it looked so gorgeous, with that little Hotel Sacher Chocolate badge placed off center. When we did...well...

Flavor-wise, it was very good. The cake itself was not very sweet, since the ganache and the apricot jam were, it set the other two off very nicely. The ganache was thick and creamy while the apricot jam provided what was an expected, but surprising, acid note. The texture of the thing was rather dry, however, which my wife and I speculated was either because it was made in Austria, which was rather cold, or because it flew through high altitude. It was a little disconcerting to our gooey-dessert palettes, but it actually still worked. And, according to our European guests, that's how cakes are over there.

We had more of the cake as time progressed, and it actually moistened up a bit, probably because of the humidity here. And it went absolutely gangbusters with strawberries. I suspect a nice slightly sweet chardonnay would do really well, too. I've heard of some people actually ordering it from Vienna, for a couple of thousand bucks. As cakes go, it may not be worth all that effort.

But, as an encounter with a celebrity, well, I'd get it.