The Travelling Table: A Good Plate of Pad Thai

Pad Thai is probably the Thai food portal. It's so simple yet so good that it just piques ones interest and sucks you in to find out about other great Thai dishes. At least that's how it was for me. This dish was born on the streets and I find they do taste best when eaten in its natural habitat. One need not spend upwards of Bht40 to get a great plate. Very rarely will you see Thais order this in proper restaurants with a proper meal along with other viands as, however good, it's still considered a one-dish-meal quickly eaten during hurried lunch breaks. It would be like ordering tapsilog over at a lauriat.

But hey, I've probably eaten this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Preferably at places like this (which also abounds every Bangkok neighborhood).


Here is a one dish shop-house wherein this husband and wife combo have been banging out pad thais for definitely more than at least a decade now. An efficient mise en place surrounds whoever's cooking with tamarind water, rice noodles, chili flakes, bean sprouts, tofu, dried shrimp, eggs, crushed peanuts, chives, sugar and manao. Nothing else. (No, there is no ketchup). And everything gets cooked in one wok, one order at a time. Which can be a bummer if you get to the place with more than a handful of people in line. But what you will always get is something very consistent.

Step 1. Step 2.

They plop in front of you a blue melamine plate of spicy, eggy, al dente noodles with a bit of brininess and pungency you get from the dried fermented shrimp. You then top the plate with even more bean sprouts, garlic chives and a squeeze of manao (lime) to balance fresh and fried flavors.

Step 3.

And then as a final step before eating: tweak with vinegared chilis, chili flakes, patis and sugar. Mix, mix, mix and then be surrounded with the sound of serious eating...silence.






70 Soi Somboon Panya
off Siphraya Rd, Bangrak
Bangkok, Thailand

Best Brekkies: Danggit

For Filipinos, nothing tugs at the heart more than a big breakfast of fried salt-preserved fish called danggit. As I scanned through the metro's breakfast and brunch menus one lazy Saturday morning, I found nothing really convinced me to get out of my boxers and drive out for a morning meal. But I did remember we had been given some danggit (from Cebu's Tabo-an market) that was just in the pantry. It had been sitting there for a month or so and I hadn't touched it as, honestly...it just really stinks up the entire house when you fry it. We don't have a "dirty kitchen" or an outside cooking area as with most Filipino households and so there was no other option but to fry this inside the house. But on that particular Saturday the hunger for a true Pinoy almusal grew to a massive craving that I almost thought I was pregnant.


So I fried some day old rice the way I liked it; a little bit moist but still fluffy and with lots of garlic. Some extra large eggs were made in to sunny side ups with still quivering yolks, blistered whites and browned edges. I sliced some tomatoes and cilantro and added a few twists of black pepper and a squeeze of dayap to make a simple relish. I had brought out a precious bottle of some spiced palm vinegar from Quezon and threw in even more slivers of siling labuyo to make the dipping sauce. And for the danggit, I threw them in by batches in about an inch of hot oil. They do a spirited sputtering at first but they calm down after a few seconds. It's at this point where you want to take them out as you know they've been fried through and through; making all parts of the fish crisply edible (head, fins and all).



I don't know how you like eating this but I like mashing the egg up in the hot rice. And I like a little bit of everything with each spoonful; rice, egg, tomato, salty fish, vinegar, chili. So good. Which made the fact that it would take a couple or so showers to take out the danggit smell from my hair a little bit more bearable.

Best Brekkies: Maty's

I am a sucker for all types of "silog" (fried rice and eggs) meals. For me, the basic Filipino breakfast of having garlic fried rice, a couple of runny fried eggs and a serving of tocino or tapa rates way up there in terms of favorites. So, when I heard about a place along Quirino Avenue in Paranaque that supposedly serves the best tapsilog, I had to go and check it out. One evening, I asked my friends J, 2M and E to accompany me to Maty's. You could have imagined the "what weird place is this guy taking us to this time" look on their faces, when I told them that it was a place near the airport. But they gamely put their faith in me and we made the trip down to Quirino, Paranaque for some good old tapsilog.

Maty's has been around since the 1960's. Some say that they were one of the first to actually serve tapsilog in Manila. I have so much respect for places that count longevity as one of their assets. It is a testament to the owners' perseverance, the consistently good food and a sense of history. Despite its basic, bare bones setting, Maty's has had countless satisfied customers, covering a cross section of Philippine society. Oh what tales we would be privy to if only those humble walls could talk.

Maty's offers many types of "silog" meals but we all decided to stick to the specialty of the house Tapsilog(P56). While waiting for our food to come, our next order of business was making the sawsawan or dipping sauce. Normally, I like my dipping sauce to be simply a saucer of good quality native vinegar and some chopped siling labuyo or bird's eye chillies. Maty's however encourages you to use their recommended dipping sauce that consists of some vinegar, chopped siling labuyo, a pinch of rock salt and a dash of banana ketchup. I was skeptical at first but I decided to give it a try.

Our orders came shortly after. One serving of tapa consisted of a decent sized portion of tender, shredded beef with just the right amount of fat mixed in. It was gamey, sweetish, oily and delicious. Surprisingly, the dipping sauce worked very well. The sweetness of the ketchup was a perfect counter to the tartness of the vinegar. Being the skeptic that I am, I quickly made my own regular dipping sauce to compare. No contest folks, Maty's version was the clear winner. It complimented the tapa marinade very well. While I was doing all this tasting and mixing, my friends in the meantime had quickly inhaled their orders and were already asking the waiter for seconds. Proof positive that they were enjoying themselves and were not disappointed. Hopefully, the next time I ask them to join me to try out another place, their "what weird place is this guy taking us to this time look" would be replaced by simple acquiescence. I asked them how they would rate the tapa meal they just had, the average rating was 8.5/10. Not a bad rating at all. Here's to many more satisfying years Maty's!

Maty's now has three outlets all situated within walking distance from each other along Quirino Avenue. All branches are opened 24hrs seven days a week. To get there, drive south on Roxas Boulevard towards Coastal Road. Make a left on MIA Road and then a right on Quirino Avenue. You will see the first branch of Maty's on your right after about 500 meters or so.

Maty's

0395 Quirino Avenue

Paranaque City,

Manila.

Cash only

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