Foodie Manila

For years now, I’ve noticed that some of the family traditions with regard to food are not common or rather not normal. We always serve callos, bacalao, oysters, and ham during certain events. For lenten season, since meat is frowned upon, easter lunch would always have bacalao (which is in itself a kind of fish already deep into the spanish tradition; it means dried salt cod), and osyters. As for Christmas tradition we would always have callos and lengua served to us during family dinner. We would have other food, like lechon and pasta, but as you can always expect to find the two dishes during any family gathering.

I read somewhere that the tradition of food expresses a lot about a family. I would best describe our family dish then being callos. Callos you see is, a mixture, of tripe, ox leg, Chorizo de Bilbao, garbanzos, tomatoes, red bell pepper, and seasoning. The technique here is to simmer the ox leg and tripe under firewood and pressure cook them in the end to make them literally melt in your mouth. The smokey flavor the wood cooking process adds is just heavenly. This kind of meal is best eaten with some bread and drizzle some olive oil and you’ve got yourself a prize meal.

Just a little background about the dish. The dish is a winter dish served during the cold months in Spain. This dish is high energy in order to help Spaniards complete daily tasks as well as keep their bodies warm.

I guess I am lucky to be part of a family rich in tradition, even if it only in food. I grew up loving this dish. I will pass it on to my kids. I guess I should be thankful for at least this during Christmas.

It started about 3 years ago. My family or even just my mother and I would start baking cookies. I would measure because she hated that aspect of baking, the measuring of ingredients, as well as my eagerness to learn worked well for both of us. We were a good tandem. Working all those late nights to push out close to 50-100 cookies for our family gatherings. Cookies then came to be associated with family. We made it for family gatherings, as well as we did it as a family.

Fast forward 3 years ahead. I now can bake on my own as well as cook pretty tasty dishes. I still attribute everything I know to my mother. Not so much as the technique, nor is it about the secret family recipes, but rather for continuously cooking good food. Both my girth and weight can attribute to that fact. I developed a taste for good food. Take note, GOOD FOOD, not mediocre cooking that can pass of for a generic run-of-the-mill cooking, but actual food that after eating it the past 23 years, I would still gladly eat for another 23 years. It all boils down to palette. I always tell people who refer to me as a foodie that one needs to develop a palette to identify what good food is really. I am proud to say, I can tell good food from ordinary food thanks to my mom.

These cookies are not ordinary food. They are extraordinary. I’ve tasted cookies over the past 3 years and I must say this batch is the best. I’ve tasted burnt cookies, cookies which didn’t rise, and just downright nasty cookies. (Mistakenly, put salt instead of sugar. Hey I had to start somewhere!) I’ve always been asked to sell my cookies, but I always say I’ll think about it. Deep down, I think I would never sell my cookies. I give them to friends because I find that special cookies that one cannot obtain anywhere else no matter how good they are, and that rareness adds to how special the cookies are. I think I’ll continue to give them to friends still.

I don’t usually buy food books, especially about cooking or baking, but this foodie book I just couldn’t pass up. I saw it only in passing while GF was paying at the cashier for the stuff that she bought. I quickly glanced over the featured books and saw it standing over there. (Those actually work!) I’ve actually heard about this book from either a relative or a friend who knew I blogged about food. They would always say “hey there’s this book about restos and you should check it out!” or it could be “dapat mabasa mo ung book about restos! napuntahan mo na ba lahat yun?”

You see, people have this often mistaken view of a food blogger that one has a vast majority of knowledge of restos and/or food. That a food blogger is an authority of taste and food. I would like to take this time to debunk this myth. Food bloggers, or at least for my case, are not authorities on a particular kind of food. I do not claim to know all and would actually say a resto is not worth going to. Everything is worth a try once. If I mention a restaurant is good, you should try it to know why I say it is good. If I say a resto is bad, you should also try to know why I think it is bad. As with everything else, taste is a very subjective topic. It really differs from one person to another. The best I, as a food blogger, can aspire to is to be able to share those places or recipes or dishes that do make me go “mmmmmm….” Do not mistake my articles to be gospel truth. I find pleasure in eating at a fast food joint as much as a 5-star restaurant. As long as it’s good food, I write about it. But I digress.

I saw the book and immediately found an opened copy. (Yes I know how evil of me.) I quickly flipped through the pages and I was really engrossed. I seemed to know a vast majority of the restos there or at least in one form of another swore to visit some of the featured ones. It cost me about Php 1,599.20 @ Fully Booked. For a hard bound, coffee table type book, it was ok. I didn’t feel cheated. All in all I think the knowledge, not only about the places to eat at, but also from the food photography and as well as writing style will definitely make the book a worthwhile buy, even if it is just for my blogging. I will definitely read through the entire book more than once!

Every so often there pops out a restaurant which at first glance is full of promise. You see the eye catching buntings, streamers, and flyers, promoting the latest dishes or specialties. Your expectations are set and mind you are set high. Upon ordering the prices seem reasonable and the food looks promising as well. (thanks to a great photographer and food stylist!) This was not the case with Malcolms.

Tucked away in a condo building in the middle of the Fort, this little unassuming restaurant promises nothing, guarantees nothing and yet delivers everything. From their LOCAL wagyu beef to the pasta and sausages, this small and cozy restaurant provides one the best worldly experiences I’ve ever taken. I came at 10 in the morning and had brewed coffee. The coffee was excellent. I will let the pictures do the talking for this one.

I have to note though that they served us Wagyu Tapa and Wagyu Burgers.

A lot of friends ask me where I learned to cook. It is quite unusual for a guy my age to be actually cooking some of these great meals for my friends especially since I never took up culinary skills. You see, you can only learn so much on your own. There are just some things that someone has to teach you. Luckily, I have Heny Sison’s culinary school. They offer short courses as well as half day classes on particular subjects such as rice toppings, cup cakes. So I thought I’d help everyone out by posting their schedule for December. Do something special for your family/loved one/ friends this holiday season. Take a break and learn to cook something. I tell you these classes are worth it!

(This post was made after attending one of her classes.)

Click Here to Download The Entire Schedule