Best Brekkies: Chesa Bianca

It is believed that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Having said that, what goes onto one's plate should be given a lot of importance as well. The brunch concept is spreading around many establishments around the metro and people are warming up to the idea. Brunch is a very social activity fueled by a heavy meal and often accompanied by some heavy drinking as well. Although Chesa Bianca is an old favorite, they're not the popular choice for Saturday brunch but their opening time of 11am makes them a perfect venue to dine in for this occasion.

Boom. Pan grilled tomato and all.

The Rösti Oberland (P475) is what brought me to this place. A potato pancake, a slice of ham covered with baked Raclette cheese and topped with a fried egg and a slice of grilled tomato. This typical Swiss dish is comprised of all the essential ingredients of typical brunch fare: carbohydrate, protein and dairy. What more could you ask for? It was beautifully prepared on a warm plate to keep the Raclette gooey throughout your meal. I was so engrossed by the delicious combination; I forgot to order a glass of sparkling wine!

For people out there looking for Eggs Benedict, this is something new to try. Hopefully, you get to enjoy it as much as I did.



Chesa Bianca
7431 Yakal Street, San Antonio Village
Makati City, Metro Manila, 1203 Philippines
T: [63] 2 815 1359


Open daily from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm, except Sundays and selected holidays, for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner.

Chiang Mai: Khun Mor's Cuisine

One of the restaurants I liked most in Chiang Mai is this local favorite called Khun Mor's. It's tucked away in a quiet location also within the Nimmanhemin neighborhood. Laid back open air dining with exceptional simple, still inexpensive food despite its growing popularity with the foreigners.

hey, nice head

They serve a pretty good Thai-style iced tea (cha yen); whizzed in the blender to produce a thick froth. If you wanted to do this at home, you could easily replicate by just combining brewed tea with condensed milk and Blue Boy syrup. Found in Thai groceries everywhere, the red sugary concentrate sells for less than Bht40 a liter. But you know...when in Rome... just order the darned iced tea.

crispy deep fried eggs

We sampled a specialty of house; which was a fried egg omelet topped with shrimp over steamed rice. Slightly beaten eggs are literally deep fried in a wok to get this golden brown color and crisp texture. The shrimp were soft and cooked perfectly; just stir fried with some veg for a minute or two. Amazing how a no-frills dish executed properly produces great results.

sausage stuffed with aromatics with even more aromatics

The sai ua sausage with mixed herbs was also pretty good. But more for tapas I suppose than a viand. The hard, inedible shredded lemongrass and kaffir leaves sort of got in the way of chewing. But no doubt it tasted awesome. All those aromatics with lime rinds, raw onions and galangal made made for some explosive flavors.

still haunts me

They also serve a pretty awesome khao soi. I know, I know I'm still harking about this curry noodle dish; but with a bowl this big and exceptional flavor at the same price you get in the markets (Bht45) I highly recommend you try out Khun Mor's version.

There was a lot more on the menu we had hoped to try out but as least we got to understand why Khun Mor's is so popular. Great place, great food, great quality.






Khun Mor's Cuisine
Nimmanhemin soi 17
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai: iBerry Garden

iBerry started out as a small shop along Sukhumvit 24 (in Bangkok) more than 10 years ago by a couple of siblings who wanted to churn out the best home made ice creams. At present the store count is at 15. Pretty manageable organic growth to keep Thai loyalists coming back for some really great tasting sweets. As Thais love design as well, they've sort of given all the stores/cafes that signature youthful and bright, airy feel. An effort that has associated iBerry with not only fabulous desserts but also being chic dessert destinations.


Probably the most happily designed of all their cafes is located in one of the sois off Nimmanhemin Rd called the iBerry Garden. It's only been open two or three years but has gained status of being a must-see destination for hip travelers to Chiang Mai. We sort of got lost walking around looking for the place as we weren't sure if it was really around the noticeably upscale residential area. But as we walked further in the soi, this huge yellow sculpture emerged amidst the huge branches of this banyan tree. We knew we had arrived.


The place is literally a garden. You place your order inside this simple square concrete and corrugated steel roofed shack and, while there is limited seating inside, you just cannot help but be drawn to the eccentric grounds. You get a vast wooden deck with these low, retro lounge furniture sets amidst trees decorated with multi-colored lights. A golden frame hangs from nowhere which make people just go mad with their cameras taking portraits of themselves. Everywhere you look, paintings, sculptures and interactive installation art can be seen; courtesy of business partner/famous Thai comedian called "Nose", who just happens to be a visual artist as well.


And the food is just as appealing. You can always expect unexpected ice cream flavors in this establishment. We had placed orders for scoops of the feelsgood (lychee, mint sorbet), pumpkin almond, red bean and green tea and chocolate chip. Placing and extra order of the strawberry-banana trifle for good measure. The lychee sorbet was nice and refreshing, the pumpkin and almond was a bit of an acquired taste, the red bean/green tea and chocolate chip were spot on with that signature creamy texture. The trifle I was most happy with as it literally had chunks of fresh fruit within the layers of sponge cake and thick milk custard.


I mentioned this place being the "'happiest" designed iBerry for reasons that we just couldn't stop smiling while we had our ice creams. Was it because of all the trees? The nice cool weather? Or the colorful surroundings? Was there crack in the desserts? Or maybe all that ingested sugar? I have just never been to a place like it.





iBerry Garden
Nimmanhemin Soi 17,
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Open daily 10:30am-10pm.

Tel. (053)-895-181.

www.iberryhomemade.com

Chiang Mai: Street and Market Finds

One of the things I look forward to most when visiting a new place is checking out the markets and the street food. You really do get to know more about the culture and the people when you visit its belly.

At the food section of the Anusarn night market you get a lot of dried fruit preserves, nuts, durian pastes and local snacks; including that of fried silkworms. On the right are packs and packs of kep muu (fried pork rinds or chicharon).

At a shake shack; still at Anusarn. Fruits prepped and ready to be blended into slushies. I had a big cup of passion fruit shake. So good. Strawberries are also cheap and abundant in Chiang Mai.

My new favorite Thai food. Chiang Mai's famous khao soi; in essence egg noodles in a creamy curry gravy with pickled vegetables, raw onions and crispy fried noodles on top. Usually served with pork, beef or chicken. Fine tuning with lime juice, sugar and chilies does magic. I've had several bowls from all over during my stay and while they did have slight variations on the general recipe, I have to say I found them all good. Reading countless articles on the web prior about this fusion food of Burmese/Islamic origins I now understand what all the fuss is about. The problem is when and where to have this on a regular basis. *sigh*

Street beans. Broad beans or "pop beans" as we call them. A smoldering batch of chestnuts. And some interesting looking peanuts with edgier looking shells.

The northern Thais sure like their fermented pork called naem; which is made by letting marinated raw minced pork sit out for a couple of days to get that distinctive flavor (of turned meat) which is then grilled or fried. Pictured above are the sausage variants called naem maw. Spicy, a little bit tart, lots of garlic and oftentimes mixed in with some starches. Shredded vermicelli is mixed in with the stuffing on the left. Sticky rice is mixed in with the one on the right. They actually make for some pretty tasty fast food.

Gluai kaek, or fried bananas are a favorite all over the country. Their version consists of dipping sliced fruit in a light rice flour/coconut water/sesame seed batter to form a sweetish, nutty crust after frying. People snack on this all day and can also be a dessert.

If you want to purchase local food (be it raw, cooked, preserved, etc...) they have it all here at Warorot Market. It's a massive food bazaar with a few other markets surrounding it dealing with more food and produce. There's also an adjoining food court, but who needs to sit down and eat there when you can sample all the food going around. Textiles and clothes are sold on the upper floors.

Left: Pre-packaged mieng kam; usually served as a DIY hor's horderve at chichi Thai restaurants, I find out they're eaten as an everyday snack in the north and did in fact originate across the border. To make a serving you place some dried shrimp, manao rinds, slivers of onions, garlic and galangal and toasted coconut on a betel leaf and drizzle with some sweet/savory/spicy shrimp paste based sauce. You then wrap everything up in a small parcel and pop in the mouth. It's a punctuation of flavors to say the least. Top right; coconut "ice-cream". More like sherbet though. Not unlike our buko pandan...without the pandan. Nice and icy though a little bit too sweet for my taste. Bottom right: what I assume to be some nam prik pao. The all purpose Thai chili oil. That red film floating on your tom yum? That's what it is. Deep, smoky and provides a glowing burn rather than a sharp bite.

Left: amidst super fresh produce. Right: selling dried beef, candied tamarind and grilled plantains.

The Anusarn Market opens in the evenings and is more touristy that the Divisoria-like Warorot "day market". But there are definitely a lot of food finds in both venues and worth a look-see.

The Travelling Table: Davao Delights

I spent the last week of 2010 with family in Davao. Amidst the gatherings at home and a trip to the beach, I was able to go to a few restaurants that were unique and totally homegrown.

Toryano's Chicken Haus

This place was recommended to me by Chef Gene Gonzalez. I had dinner here one Monday evening and I was surprised to see a large crowd gathered. Toryano's touts itself to be the number one chicken house in Davao. What shines here is their version of native chicken barbecue(P80). Tasty, gamey with a slight sweet glaze that enhances but does not overpower. This is a winner in my book. Those with big appetites should note that native chicken pieces are smaller than regular chicken. So, an order of chicken barbecue may not be enough. Loading up on a couple of orders and availing of Toryano's unlimited Rice offer(P20) may do the trick.

I was pretty hungry so aside from two orders of native chicken barbecue I had a stick of chicken liver barbecue(P20) and a stick of barbecued chicken ass(P20). Aside from the chicken ass, which was a bit tough, everything else was very good. If you are looking for a no frills, good value for money place, Toryano's is it.

Kasagingan Kapihan

I had dessert here one evening and was quite taken by this charming cafe. The menu as the name implies, revolves around Davao's number one fruit: The banana. I chose a few banana themed desserts to try and I was most happy with the Maruya Supreme(P75). It is a deconstructed turon drizzled with chocolate, strawberry and caramel sauces. The bananas were just how I liked them, not too firm and they had the right amount of ripeness. The natural sweetness of the bananas still shone through amidst all the sauces, making this dessert a definite must try.

The other two desserts that I sampled were a Banana Cobbler(P95) and the Saw-Saw Banana(P110). The crumble was a bit of a disappointment as it was very dry. The Saw-Saw Banana on the other hand, was very good. It consisted of thinly wrapped sliced bananas fried to perfection accompanied by chocolate and creamy custard dipping sauces. Personally, I just like eating the bananas as is without any of the sauces but that's just me.

Majid's Kabab

Owned by a former Hollywood stuntman of Iranian descent, this 25 seater restaurant serves great, reasonably priced Middle Eastern food in a simple setting. Most dishes are less than P50 and come with either Pita Bread or rice and a whole grilled tomato. Among my favorites are the Beef Tenderloin Kabab(P43), Goat/Mutton Kabab(P45), Beef Liver Kabab(P30) and Pan-fried Ox Brain(P35). All dishes are grilled or cooked to order and everything was delicious. The servings are adequate at best, but a budget of P200 per person including a drink is more than enough for most to walk out completely satisfied.

As a bonus, spend a few minutes with the amiable Mr. Majid as he regales you with stories of his interesting past. Look through the different pictures of Hollywood personalities posted on the restaurant wall and ask him for some juicy insider tidbits. Who knows, if he likes you enough, he may just oblige.

Toryano's Chicken Haus

Legaspi Street, Davao City

Tel: +6382 3022439

Kasagingan Kapihan

F. Torres Street, Davao City

Tel: +6382 3212909

Majid's Kabab

Rizal Street, Davao City

Tel: +6382 2862090

Chiang Mai: Mont Blanc Sweet Cafe

Looking for coffee and Wi-Fi one morning, we saw a sign that read "Mont Blanc Sweet Cafe" pointing towards an alley off Nimmanhemin Road. Mont Blanc is a Chiang Mai born and bred patisserie with only three branches. One in the local airport, one along the main Nimmanhemin Road (which looks a bit tired from all the customer traffic) and this little gem off into the Soi. A very cool place and much more private. I'm assuming their commissary may be in the premises as well given the place's size. The area's more residential than commercial really.

There's a main house and an annex; which both look clean and contemporary from the outside. Inside, I love how they've designed the interiors using retro-modern pieces and reproductions. Psychedelic wallpapers and paintings on the walls, classic tube TV's in a corner, Dutch bikes and Vespas parked along the hall and rotary dial phones on shelves keep your other senses entertained while waiting for your order.

Left: raspberry, pistachio and strawberry cakes, an assortment of chocolates and macarons; Right: strawberry montblancs

The products definitely reflect the packaging as well. You get these perfectly crafted Japanese/Viennese/French inspired cakes and pastries that all look so good it may take a while to order.


I sampled the Kurogama Mousse; consisting of a bottom layer made with crushed black sesame seeds, a middle layer of milk custard and a top layer of caramel drizzled whipped cream. It was smooth, light and very clean tasting. Yum.

Incredible sheen on all the cakes as on this chocolate covered batch.

They're also popular for their signature Montblanc chestnut cake and ice creams. And oh yeah, they serve some pretty good coffee as well.







Mont Blanc Sweet Cafe
Nimmanhemin Soi 2,
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Tel (053) 210 776

Open daily 8:30am-10pm.

www.montblanc-cm.com

Chiang Mai: Kaeng Ron Ban Suan

Great to have been in a place I've never been to before over the holidays, i.e. Chiang Mai. Laid back, great weather and excellent food. For our first lunch in Thailand's second largest city, I asked our guide to point us to a place where we could get a sampling of the local food. Referred to as Lanna cuisine, northern Thai dishes are influenced by the cultures surrounding the northern border of the country such as Burma's. Heavy trade with Indians and Chinese have also produced some interesting dishes that have become synonymous with Chiang Mai. Dishes are generally spiced but not as hot as compared to Issan or north-eastern Thai.

In the outskirts of the city, across the canal, over some rough road and into a small dirt alley lies a pretty impressive, open air establishment that not a lot of tourist vans, like ours, get to. Kaeng Ron Ban Suan actually turns into a drinking joint for the locals at night but they also serve some awesome food as well. We had some requisite fare as tom yum and the papaya salads; good, not the best I've had but definitely still better than what we get in Manila. However some pretty outstanding dishes included this perfectly balanced tamarind based curry called gaeng haeng lay. Sweet, salty and spicy with pork so tender; you'll definitely need some rice to sop up the gravy. This was a house specialty, no doubt.


An appetizer plate of boiled vegetables and eggs along with various meats as sai ua (herbed pork sausages), kep muu (chicharon), naem (fermented pork) and fish cakes are served along with nam prik num (finger chili paste) and nam prik ong (tomato based chili paste). The combination of flavors and textures were interesting; the sauces were not as spicy as they looked. And who could go wrong with a variety of pork products? But I have to say, my preferred chicharon condiment would still be cane vinegar; Pinoy style.


Grilled pork neck (kor moo yang) is more Issan than Lanna though, but since this cut is just so succulent its become part of many restaurants' menus in Chiang Mai. Grilled over hot coals this is served with a sweet chili sauce and lots of fresh coriander. Perfect with some som tam and sticky rice.


I'm sure you've had some yum pla duk foo (catfish salad) before, but this place serves it with a slight twist. The fish meat is fried to a crisp in larger, chunkier pieces as opposed to being finely shredded. The fish skin is also mixed in. So when you get these small crisp things mixed in with the larger sheets of crisp things mixed in with all these aromatics and manao (lime) you get a super salad. The best catfish salad I've had thus far.


Probably the star dish for me was the yum tua plu (wingbean salad). Its coconut cream dressing was thin as compared to the normally thick (which tends to get sickly). And mixed in with the young and tender wing beans were some roasted skin-on peanuts, fried squid chips (daing na pusit) and cashews. Thai salads are typically very spicy but this, for some reason, was more so. Like a foolish lab rat I still managed a spoonful in between groans from the chili and wiping my sweat drenched scalp. I still wish I were having this right now for lunch.


And so the need for dessert. Of which even the restaurant's tabtim krob was superb. Cold and milky with a rose water aroma; the red "rubies" were so pleasantly toothy with crunchy water chestnut centers. The effect of the chilies were miraculously nullified after finishing my bowl.


The verdict? You've headed out to as far as Chiang Mai already so heading out another twenty minutes from the city to Kaeng Ron Ban Suan shouldn't be a problem when you want to get a pretty great mix of central and northern Thai food. Another good thing is the price. For a hungry group of twelve the entire bill, including drinks and dessert, came out to about Bht1800 (Php2600). Pretty great value, no?





Kaeng Ron Ban Suan
149/3 Moo 2, Soi Chomdoi
Klangcholprathan Rd.
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Tel. +66 (053) 213.762; +66 (053) 221.378