Rarely Ordered | Adventurous dining or insanity? You decide.

You can be sure that if a food place starts with the word "WANG" there has to be something interesting about it.

One of the best places our family went to during our winter trip to Beijing is the Wang Fujing night market.

The highlight of the place was all the street food! Most notably, these exotic food items which are a little bit pricey but quite worth it for the experience. They had a wide range of food items such as scorpions, tarantulas, moths, centipedes, snake meat, chrysali, and a lot more.

Case in point:

I never knew starfish were even edible.

I would have eaten this but I used to keep one as a pet.

And this too I kept as a pet. As for the centipede, I just didn't eat it because it was plain expensive.

Now THIS is what I ate. The poor caterpillar never got out of the cocoon... and those that did still got their wings removed and served right here.

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I was walking down Pearl Drive, Ortigas near University of Asia & the Pacific today when I noticed a stand with a name that got me curious:

Sprite ZERO.

The stand offered free taste: a tried and tested PR mechanism that lets people become familiar with a product line – especially effective if it is new.

They even had a cameraman get testimonials from people who got the free taste. I agreed to give my testimonial.

After drinking a cup I asked “So what is the difference between this and Sprite Light?”

“Sir Sprite ZERO has zero sugar and zero calories.”

Funny enough, Sprite Light already did not have sugar or calories. And some of you may even wonder at this: but neither did Coke Light. Check the nutrition labels: 0 sugar, 0 calories – all of them.

So you may ask so why is it that they created the ZERO variants in the first place?

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Shangri-La has always had the knack of doing something first class – then taking it above that level. They aren’t a top and reputable 5-star hotel company for nothing.

The 4th and newest addition to the Philippine Shang company is in an interesting location – Boracay. With beaches still being the number one attraction of foreign tourists and visitors inbound to the Philippines, it is no wonder why Shang put a hotel up with the current hottest beach destination.

I first stayed here when it was only a couple of months old or last April 2009 with my family. Take note: we could not have afforded to stay here had my sister-in-law not used a benefit being an executive for business development at Edsa Shangri-La. (Thank you Ate Jenny I love you!)

At that time, I was already impressed with how the service was – very personalized but more importantly, it felt sincere on the part of all of the staff. The Vintana breakfast buffet was awesome – serving no less than what you would want to eat for breakfast – sausages, cereal, yogurt, fruit, fruit shakes, tapa, pancakes, waffles, muffins – you name it, they have got it in the best quality possible.

Recently, as part of my job (and this is the official preview to my NEXT blog, which will be a travel blog O.J.T. – On the Job Traveler) I was sent to do dozens of resort oculars in Boracay. Sadly, it WAS work and thus I had only 1 hour of free time in 3 days. (I kid you not – I was in Bora and I did not even step on the water on the shore.) The different dining experiences from the numerous and generous resorts was what made the trip still vacation-worthy. And heading that list is none other than Vintana’s Lunch Buffet!

Here are a few pictures that speak for themselves:

My acknowledgements to the whole PHILTOA (Philippine Tour Operators Association) group that made this possible – especially President Cezar Cruz and my kind boss Ms. Clang Garcia who opted to send me to Boracay on my first day – not many people can say they started out work like this.

Rarely Ordered… is now officially UNDEAD. (Insert zombie moans here.)

I wish I could say the word “resurrected” but that would give the wrong impression.

UNDEAD is a good word -because it means that while we may be moving again, a few changes will be in order and we don’t exactly know what they are.

One thing is for sure though, we will now give focus not just on the food, but on practically any aspect of the rare dining experience – especially that in the Philippines.

Changes will come in small increments and we will let them come on their own – and I hope that we are able to obtain our readership again.

FIRST ARTICLE COMES OUT TODAY AS WELL!

You know what they say about ideally marrying a Kapampangan woman – for they can really cook for you! While we are not so sure if that will be healthy for our weight, a once in a while visit to Everybody’s Cafe in McArthur highway, Pampanga is very fulfilling for the Kapampangan food lover and the adventurous foodie as well. Here we have the three guys of Rarely Ordered – finally back to food reviewing after a long hiatus of not being able to update, and for that we are monumentally aplogetic. We plan to update the skin, plugins etc etc before an actual post, but hell we love what we do and we love food so here goes!

Betute (Fried Frog stuffed with Ground Pork)

Fiel: Yes you heard that right! It is indeed frog with pork inside. I must say, the sour mix of the ingredients used in the ground pork complemented the frog meat very well. For people who like a sour treat and are willing to enjoy frog, as it really is tasty this deserves a solid 7.5/10.

Ren: The most evident element in this dish would be the deep-fried frog but the inside is stuffed with juicy ground pork. The frog is fried to be crispy in texture, with in contrast to the pork which was still inside having a juicy taste as the juices were kept inside by the frog. With the excellent contrasts of the two textures I give it 8.5/10.

RJ: Frogs! This is just awesome! The ground pork was good and didn’t overpower the frog meat. The frog itself is effing delicious, the texture is similar to chicken meat and the crispyness and flavor is just so awesome! Highly recommended! 8.5/10

Lengua Asado (Pork Tongue in Tomato sauce)

Fiel: While we eat lengua all the time in catered events, pork tongue isn’t usually served in comparison to beef tongue. Thus, this has an overall different “feel” to eating your usual lengua. While the taste was nothing special and is very close to the lengua estofado here in Manila, this is still pretty damn good as the tongue was softened perfectly and the sauce was lightly sour and very appetizing. 7.5/10.

Ren: The meat is made out of pork tongue with a tomato sauce as its stock. The stew is very delectable as the meat is very tender all through out. And the sauce is just makes it a right combination overall. A very homey dish, making it a 7/10 for me.

RJ: This dish really surprised me! I’m used to eating beef and ox tongues and I generally prefer beef overpork; but I’ve learned the pork tongue is just as good. The tongue is a bit harder, but it makes up in flavor and texture. It blended really well with the sauce. 8.5/10

Sisig Kapampangan

Fiel: This is truly different from the usual “sizzling sisig” we have in Manila. This was simply cooked and mixed with different ingredients such as vinegar and onions, but it still felt like eating your sisig with a “little sour twist to it.” The appetizing nature of pork and the sourness would probably make this even more ideal for pulutan over a lot of beer! 8/10.

Ren: It’s where the sizzling counter part came from. The texture is overall soft, and most evident perhaps is the sour taste of the ingredients along with the soy sauce just made it delectable, reminding me of other good dishes I have tried before. Making me give it a score of 7.5/10

RJ: This dish doesn’t look like your regular sisig, but the taste is very similar. The flavor is very rich with a distinct souryness you’d find in most sisig dishes. I the meat ok, but I guess I was just used to the crispy and crunchy sisig. 6.5/10

Kamaro (Sauteed Crickets)

Fiel: Now this is as exotic as we can get! Unless you are from Pampanga of course – where this is relished as a local food. The sourness, crunchiness and its meaty but tender taste is really unique but really good! I do not think this requires an acquired taste – but if you have an issue eating crickets it may affect what should overall be a good meal for you. This is my favorite and is ironically the healthiest item I have eaten here hahaha! – 9/10.

Ren: As some may or may not notice the dish is made out of crickets, with some of the parts taken out of, namely the wings and legs. Then they are sauted with onions and other spices. When you take a bit into it you can’t help but notice the crunchy texture of the crickets. And what hits you next is actually the sourness of themeat itself. An excellent combination with the crunchyness and spices. I give it a 8.5/10

RJ: At first I was like “Woah, I’m eating crickets! ”, but then I was like “Woah, I’m eating crickets! ಠ_ಠ “ And then I actually tasted it, and it was all good. The unique crunchyness and “buggy-ness” of it is something I’ve never experienced before. This dish is the reason why we went all the way to Pampanga just to eat lunch! And it was worth it! 8/10.

When we went: Saturday, November 15, 2008
Where it is: Mc Arthur Highway, Pampanga
Budget range: A bit less than P200 per person if you are a normal eater – but we each spent for than P300 here with a few more other orders.

I, Fiel had received an email from one Rayna Vihuela Reyes with the email subject “Boycott Kowloon House”
here is an exact copy of her statement to me:

taken from a friend at anakbayan-up diliman.

Before June of this year, the Kowloon management refused to pay the minimum wage which was mandated by law. In fact, it did not follow the three most-recent wage hikes, amounting to 82 pesos. As a result, while other workers were already receiving at least P382 a day, the workers of Kowloon only got home P300.

To pressure management into giving them SOMETHING WHICH THE LAW ALREADY MANDATED AS THEIRS yet which management refused to give, the workers wore black ribbons at work in a single day last June. But instead of listening to the workers, management instead reprimanded them, especially the union leaders.

Afterwards, they decided to hold a “picket protest” AFTER their WORK-HOURS and AWAY from any locations that would result in DISRUPTIONS of OPERATIONS. Management then decided to hold negotiations with the union. But secretly, they filed a case of “illegal strike” against the workers at the NLRC (National Labor Relations Commission). So when management did agree to raise their wages to P377 a day, the workers only enjoyed this wage hike for one pay day. Why? Because the other Saturday, all 73 members of the union were fired.

Meanwhile, the contractual workers of Kowloon receive only P250 a day.

All of this is ironic because Kowloon could easily pay for the demands of the workers. After all, the owners of the restaurant never applied for “exemption” from the minimum wage, something the Law affords to businesses that can’t afford to pay the minimum wage to its workers without going bankrupt. A lot of local businesses do that, but Kowloon never did. Its either they simply can afford to pay the minimum wage, or the owners of the restaurant have a severe case of amnesia (selective that is).

To illustrate their point, the workers calculated the amount in backwages (the amount of wages which all workers in Kowloon should have received if management had obeyed the three most-recent wage hikes). They then compared it to the sales for a SINGLE product of the restaurant: the siopao. Their calculations showed that the total backwages owed to all the workers was more than equalled by Kowloon sales for siopaos in only 11 days!

If this is greed at its worst, then the NLRC is stupidity exemplified. It ruled in favor of Kowloon management, agreeing that the workers indeed held an “illegal strike”. How could that have happened? Could it be possible that someone from NLRC forget that the definition of a “strike” is a stoppage of work? How could there have been a strike, when the workers protested outside of their work hours?

As of my writing, the workers of Kowloon have already established their picket line. To confront these unarmed and hungry workers, management has hired so many security guards that they virtually equal the number of striking workers. Who has heard of a restaurant with 20-30 security guards? The only restaurants that I know that have such a number are those in the movies that house activities of the Mafia. Come to think of it, its appropriate. The Kowloon management’s greed and dishonesty in dealing with the workers can only be described as nothing short of “criminal”.

And like everything in the Philippines, the Government sides with the thieves, not the theft victims. The Phil. National Police keeps a few cops on the scene at the ready… to disperse the picketline should there be a moment where no outsiders will intervene. Members of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Phils. have installed a security camera near the picket line, an obvious attempt to harrass students and youths who have regularly visited the picket line in the past few days to show their support to the workers.

This is something which should never be tolerated, and has no place in just society. I urge everyone, my relatives, friends, classmates, schoolmates, casual acquaintances, “online buddies”, and anyone else who is reading this, to adopt the cause of the Kowloon workers as if it was their own. Because like in the time of Hitler, the best accomplice of evil are those who keep silent and remain apathetic.

Please participate NOW. Everything is stacked against the workers. Here are a few suggestions:

- Tell everyone you know to boycott Kowloon Restaurant until it agrees to take back the 73 laid-off workers. The best way to hurt greedy people is by denying them our money.

- Repost an online version of their statement all over the internet, write blog entries, post in message boards, and send emails, all regarding this issue.

- Donate money so they can sustain their strike. Its not easy to feed 73 people especially when they all just recently lost their jobs. If you belong to an organization, have your org make it an activity of theirs to raise funds for the strikers.

- Visit the picket line and show your support. As the workers in my previous visits have told me, the morale support they get from us is priceless to them. In a system that stacks everything against them, our support really matters. And aside from that, the constant pressure of youths and students constantly raising hell at the picket line has created negative publicity towards the restaurant, forcing management to promise to hold a dialogue.

- Have your organization, barkada, block, church, family, or whatever, to support the workers.

Thank you and a Good day to you all.

Now I do not wish to make any judgement – only that I am a supporter of proper labor especially here in the Philippines. As a man who is experienced in business and dealing with employees, I could say that if this statement was accurate it would be just plain evil.

Closing this month of August, this post will be the closest thing to our 2nd monthsary! Yey! Two months of daring the menu is past us and we are still at it! Wooh!

This is also our second dessert review – and this time we reviewed the known but not so familiar Italian ice cream – gelato. Quoting Ricardo Cuna, the owner of the very famous Fiorgelato brand, that “Gelato is different from ice cream as it has significantly less butterfat making it more dense – which lets you taste the flavor immediately compared to ice cream.”

For this review, we went to a very historical Italian franchise – Amici in Thomas Morato. The original is now called Amici di Don Bosco near Don Bosco school, Makati founded by Chef Giorgio and Father Francis of said school. This place is reputed to serve authentic Italian – and is very famous for its gelato. The flavors you see here are ones we carefully selected – making sure nothing is to common to our readers’ taste keeping it Rarely Ordered.

Stracciata

Fiel: This actually disappointed me as it tastes basically the same as double dutch or cookies and cream. The difference is in the chocolate used – which is notable since it is bittersweet complementing the vanilla gelato. Still very ordinary though – 6/10.

Ren: Comparable not to cookies in cream but more to the double Dutch to average ice cream goers. The chocolate is hard and has a lingering taste making the gelato notable. Notable but still ordinary, so I give it a 7.75/10

Blueberry

Fiel: After tasting it, I find that blueberry probably isn’t up to the Filipino tastebud. The whole fruits used are frozen – making it bland whenever you eat a berry. However, I commend the use of natural ingredients making this easy on the palate. For those who like your desserts really tasting like the fruits, give this a shot! 8/10.

Ren: Could have been good gelato, it had a nice texture and the use of fruits was exquisite but what didn’t click for me was that the fruits were frozen making eating it a hassle than the flavor could have given off. So I give it a 7/10.

Mango Jubilee

Fiel: It has the same fruity feel of the blueberry gelato. This time, a variety of fruits were put in a mango gelato base. Creative and you can really tell the gelato itself used mangoes with no additive unnatural flavorings. Again easy on the palate. 8/10.

Ren: Again it could have been good but the frozen fruits just didn’t work for me. The soft texture of the gelato was in great contrast to the hardness of the fruits. If maybe we went in to get an earlier batch where the fruits aren’t as frozen like ice maybe it could have turned out better. The taste of mango was in the cream the taste of the other fruits could have complemented it but it was just too hard to get a mix of it in. A 7/10.

Hazelnut

Fiel: This is just fantastic! Tasting the gelato, you can feel the very finely ground hazelnut take its powdery toll on your tongue. Imagine eating Ferrero Rocher but without the chocolate taste – and I tell you the nuttiness of hazelnut is heavenly. It got consumed quite briskly haha. 9.5/10.

Ren: Not just a nut ice cream, no whole pieces of hazelnut on this one. The flavor comes from the hazelnut itself you can taste it as it has a bit of a powdery taste to it. A nice smooth texture as can be expected, but the taste is excellent as it captured a good sense of what hazelnut taste like. A solid 9/10.

When we went: Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
Where it is: Thomas Morato Food Strip!!!
Budget Range: Its just P50 a scoop – trust us its worth it.

This time we decided to make things simple as we reviewed the pioneer of pares – Jonas! Surprisingly, Jonas is only well-known to the people who have tried it as it proved memorable for them – good taste, great service and very affordable. Their most common dish is of course the classic pares, which is as its namesake a tandem – between Filipino style beef stew and garlic fried rice. We tried a couple of dishes then – an interesting twist to a classic and a rarely ordered item on the menu.

Chicken and Mushroom

Fiel: The chicken was very soft and the vegetables were done right. It almost frighteningly tastes like home cooking by my Aunt. It was rightly bland as it should be – although I am not a big fan of not so flavorful food. Good job though – 7/10.

Ren:It had a nice feel to it. the sauce was very light and didn’t overshadowed the steamed chicken giving it a slightly “homey” feel for the dish. a 7.25/10

Beef and Isaw Pares

Fiel: The highlight of this dish is the blissful mix of perfectly softened beef and the enticingly sinful taste of isaw. It has a salty stew, which was balances well with the garlic fried rice. I have tried other pares versions from other restaurants but this one bluntly outshines them for great taste and excellent value. For that, it deserves a 9.5/10.

Ren: The beef pares was great! You can taste of the marinated beef was able to go through the center of the meat, giving a somewhat presence of the sauce. with the addition of the steamed isaw it was able to give it a balance between taste and bland. A solid 8/10.

When we went: August 9, 2008, Saturday around 7PM
Where it is: Ali Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao
Budget Range: P100 for a very filling meal! XD

Rain, Fiel and RJ

This is the review that celebrates the return of RJ Palabasan – who just got home from Dubai after 7 months! RJ we miss and love you and we’re glad that you are back – you are indeed the proof that GMA must further secure the borders to our country.

We were actually supposed to attend a bloggers event sponsored by Coca-Cola; but when we arrived at Taste Asia, NO ONE WAS THERE! Turns out that the parteh was the day before! We’re sorry ate Aileen! We blame RJ! After getting laughed at by kuya Andrew, we decided to enjoy ourselves anyway by getting lost and eating where destiny took us!

Tempura restaurant at the Mall of Asia proved to be a very authentic yet very different sort of Japanese dining. First of all, they serve Japanese rice in all their dishes – which is a big deal because Japanese food really isn’t Japanese food without it. So for all other restaurants that serve normal rice – beware for this place rocks! Secondly, it is not as expensive as most authentic Japanese restaurants – so you get authentic Japanese food at about P150-P250 per dish. Lastly, they serve not-so-popular-here but very-popular-in-Japan dishes such as the Hamburger Curry Rice.

The three dishes featured here are novel – and they did not fail the Rarely Ordered expectations! And to top it off, we have a omfgsupergadengsizzlinghot reviewer in Rain Santos-Ocampo! This indeed is a great way to go! So here goes:

Buta Sansho Yaki (Pork Slices with Shiitake Mushrooms and Spinach in a Special Sauce)

Fiel: The thing I loved in this one order is the variety of the stuff in it – which all complemented the sweet sauce nicely. The pork was soft, and cut in the same way as in Pork Asado. I love shiitake and spinach – which when all put together was a wonderful dancing variety while I ate it with rice. The sweetness wasn’t overpowering either. Very solid – 8/10!

Rain: This had a very good sweet sauce that blended well with the taste of spinach and shiitake mushrooms. Unfortunately, the pork slices in this dish didn’t seem to have much impact on me. 7/10.

RJ: The meat in this pork dish wasn’t very memorable. However, what made the impression in this dish was the Spinach – we were fighting over ‘em instead of the pork! The sauce was very good as it blended well with the pork and spinach. Recommended for those who like salty dishes. 7.5/10.

Ebi Bacon Furai (Fried Shrimp wrapped in Bacon)

Fiel: I felt that the bacon was non-existent for me in this dish. However, it was fried nicely and the sauce (which we theorize to be honey-mustard with Japanese mayonnaise and sesame seeds) was very good and different. Try imagining the taste – or better yet, try it! 7.7/10.

Rain: This went very well with the sauce. I loved the crunchiness of the batter and the subtle taste of bacon wrapped in shrimp. I was happy that the sauce they served to compliment the dish wasn’t the usual or common sauce one would expect to receive. 9/10.

RJ: I just HAD to try this dish. First of all, it has bacon; and everybody knows that bacon (and lesbians) make the world go round! It is also rare to find dishes with both shrimp and bacon in them – and it was awesome! I absolutely loved the sauce, which we deducted as honey mustard, Japanese mayo and sesame sesame seeds. I will definitely come back for this dish. 8.5/10.

Gyu Hamburg Curry Don (Beef Hamburger Patty Curry with Rice)

Fiel: This for me is just loooove – eating it made me feel some of my memories in Japan come back to me as I ate this dish happily there. So far, this is the only restaurant here that I know of that serves this – and trust me when I say they do it very well! The curry was blended just right and the hamburger patty was very juicy. For curry lovers out there, this is a must try. 9/10!

Rain: This had tender meat and was served with an ample amount of curry sauce mixed with veggie tidbits. The veggie bits made the curry sauce interestingly crunchy. I find that this dish reminds me of a regular Pinoy breakfast food because of the egg, rice, and meat combination only with the addition of the curry sauce and veggie bits- its a fun and filling dish! 8/10.

RJ: I got so used to eating Indian-style curry that I forgot how good other curry variants are. The curry sauce was excellent as it went surprisingly well with the patty. Eating a burger patty with curry sauce on a flat plate using chopsticks was a bit troublesome (we refused to use other utensils) but it was a fun experience. 7/10.

When we went: Saturday, August 9, 2008.
Where it is: Mall of Asia
Budget Range: About P150-P250 for good enough servings.

I would like to share a very common family dish usually prepared by my grandmother – Lola Liling I love you po! Thank you for feeding me everytime I visit you.

This is a good, interesting dish for the savory-sweet Pinoy tastebud. This is very easy to cook in under 40minutes – making it perfect for any sudden guests and unplanned eat-ins. In my case, I simply passed by the grocery store on the way home for the ingredients and an hour later, I was digging in. Since ribs are very low in fat and cholesterol and pineapple contains phytochemicals and antioxidants, this is a very healthy dish too!

Ingredients:

1 kg pork spareribs, chopped into approximately 2×2 inch slices if you want it on the bowl (good for 4-6 people)
1L Pure, unsweetened natural pineapple juice
1 tsp whole black pepper corns
4 Laurel Leaves
1 Small garlic, peeled and chopped

Preparation:

1.Under a low fire leave he pineapple juice to a simmer.
2.Add the rest of the ingredients, and cover but with a slight opening to let the steam pass – this should be for about 25 minutes.
3.You know it is ready when the pineapple juice is thick and brownish. Check with a fork if the meat is cooked just right.
4.Serve with rice.

Tips:

There is a longer version to this dish which can be applied to any dish with meat – which is to slowly cook it under a low, low fire for about 3 hours. After which, you can follow the steps shown here. The advantage here is that the meat will be much, much more tender.

You can cook it without chopping it into pieces!

Experiment with the thickness of the pinapple juice – some may like it more viscous or more watery. Just add a bit of water while cooking to adjust,