Blog Marco

I have reservations about eating out now. After watching a few episodes of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (aired on Channel 9 - yeah we're behind again Australia) I feel sick. How can we trust restaurants? How can we trust that the kitchen is up to scratch? I'm not even sure if the amount of people sitting and eating within the restaurant is a good measure of how clean the back is (although it is a good indication that the food is good to eat since it attracts a lot of people). Men's health has an interesting article: "16 Secrets the Restaurant Industry Doesn't Want You to Know" which talks about the calories that restaurants (fast food and sit down restaurant chains) are pumping into our bodies. Is it even safe to eat out anymore? Has it ever been safe? "Bloody hell" (as Chef

Do you know what you are eating? Do you know how or why certain foods end up on your plate? Are these philosophical questions even relevant? Those are the types a new book by Raj Patel is asking. The book is entitled: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Here's an abstract from the book:

One ingredient we consume a lot more than most of us realise is the soya bean. Patel labels it the food industry's secret ingredient.

"Soy is new, it's weird and it's absolutely everywhere," he says. "It can be found in three-quarters of products on supermarket shelves and almost everything the fast-food industry produces, and yet we have no idea, not a clue."

But the soya bean has a dark side because its mass cultivation in Brazil, especially by several big agricultural companies, has deforested vast tracts of the Amazon.

That most consumers don't make the connection between food production and its impact on the environment shows we become oblivious to what goes on to produce what we eat, Patel says.

It's interesting to see where the food we eat are coming from. Just going through my food pantry I've noticed that Oreos are made in Indonesia, Premium crispbread crackers are made in China, Instant noodles were manufactured in Korea, Fisherman's Friend mints are made in England and Vick's Vapodrops are made in India. Thankfully Buttermenthols is still made in Australia.

I'm having a craving for Thai Tea... having been introduced to it only a month ago in New Jersey, I can't believe I haven't come across this cold drink in Australia before! I love Thai food, I can claim that I have eaten Pad Thai (my favourite Thai dish) at least once in every Thai restaurant I've been to from Germany to USA and Australia...

Anyway, back to that Thai tea. I'm going to look into making myself... hopefully some Asian supermarket has the ingredients to make this truly refreshing iced tea. I've looked up a few websites, and just as I suspected, there are varying recipes: a few making it from scratch and other from pre-made syrups. According to the Wikipedia article about Thai Tea: the tea itself "is a drink made from strongly-brewed powdered black tea... Other ingredients in the powder vary, but may include added star anise, tamarind or red and yellow food coloring, and sometimes other spices as well. This tea is sweetened with sugar and condensed milk and served chilled. Evaporated or whole milk is generally poured over the tea and ice before serving--it is never mixed prior to serving--to add taste and creamy appearance.

The latest news from a free London newspaper (much like our local mX here in Sydney): "Restaurant diner was left with horrific burns after a sizzling sausage dish blew up in her face. The unnamed woman spent two weeks in hospital and needed skin grafts, said it was like 'being hit by a flame-thrower'. Rui Daniel Faria Velosa, owner of Sporting Clube de Londres in Westbourne Green, West London, was fined £4,000 and £2,000 in court costs at West London magistrates court for breaching safety rules."

A few things to note about the article:

1. A Sausage can Blow up
2. English law allows the news to name and shame restaurant owners

(Unlike in Sydney, Australia, it is not allowed for the councils to report to the public which restaurants have breached safety/health regulations

Was watching TV the other day when the TV dad offered to make huevos rancheros. Accoring to Wikipedia, its a traditional Mexican breakfast dish, with its name meaning "eggs ranch-style" or "eggs country-style". "The basic version of huevos rancheros consists of corn tortillas fried lightly, and fried eggs with a tomato–chili sauce. Refried beans (frijoles refritos), slices of avocado, fried potatoes, and extra chili peppers are common accompaniments. Scrambled eggs can be used instead of fried eggs." Variations to the recipe: cook the tortillas in the oven, soaking them in oil beforehand. Fry the egg, leaving the yolk runny. Place the egg on top of the tortilla and put beans or the salsa on top of the egg. Will I cook it? Maybe if I had leftover tortillas...

I was fortunate enough to be able to catch Business Class on Qantas on the way back home from Manila to Sydney. Want to know what people in Business class eat? Let me tell you that these people get fed pretty well. I remember flying Economy on the way to Manila and I was still hungry after the lunch service. On the other hand, eating in Business left me satisfied from the great tasting food but somewhat bloated by the end of the flight. I had the Cod Fillet with Mustard Crust. I would like to commend the Qantas flight attendants - they provide excellent service.

Max's restaurants have been an institution in Manila in the past 60 years. They are known for their chicken. Sad to say, ever since they have expanded rapidly, franchising out their concept all over the Philippines - their chickens never do taste the same as the good old days.

Max's Spring Chicken is still up to scratch. Even though their taste have somewhat degraded even since their massive expansion via franchising. What's a spring chicken I hear you ask? It's basically a young chicken (I think). Beside the chicken are kamote chips. They only serve a stingy four pieces of those chips! Cheapos!

I know you can barely read the picture above but it’s a receipt from Max's restaurant. We fed three people for P693.16 (pesos) which is around AUD$18. If you were in Australia, you would only have fed two people (complete with drinks) in a food court with $18. But Philippine standard-wise, P693 is expensive for a meal. I noticed that the further you got away from Manila, the cheaper the food became. If you want to feed a van-full of people, say about 15, take them to the province and you can get them a great meal for less than AUD$60. Complete with desert and alcohol...

The standard for Brucshetta needs to be lifted in the Philippines. It was crap! There wasn't enough parmesan cheese. The tomatoes were shredded and not fresh (I think they were canned) The herbs weren't fresh either. Well maybe because I got it from Cibo in Gateway Mall in Cubao.

About a month ago my cousin treated us to Cibo in Gateway Mall located in Cubao, Philippines. Don't eat there. Cibo serves "Italian food". It was disastrously bad. It was awful! Even I can cook better than what they served me. My main complaint was the pasta. The sauce was livable but not terrific. But the pasta! Don't get me started, the pasta was not al-dente. It wasn't even cooked enough – it was still tough. I hope they improve, Italian food can be tasty if done right. Save your cash and just eat at Burgoo (another restaurant at Gateway Mall).

Tasty Lechon! Lechon is pork – well to be specific I think it is "young-suckling pork cooked on a spit for a few hours". You know where the best lechon is? You can find tasty lechon in Cebu, Philippines. And it's cheap too! Just have a look at the photo! A kilo of the cooked pork is only P280 which is about $7.40. A kilo! And no need for Mang Tomas (The popular sauce people use for Lechon) - the meat is succulent and full of flavour that there is no need for any sauce. At this restaurant - Bernadette's – located close to SM Cebu City in an alleyway, we managed to feed 5 people at this restaurant for about AUD$15. The meal was complete with the lechon + soup + drinks + ihaw'd sergeant fish...

Looks like Australia's shortage of Banana's will be ending soon. Tens of thousands of Bananas will soon be landing in markets around Australia with the Queensland plantations bouncing back 5 months after Cyclone Larry wiped out the banana crop (in March). Queensland typically supplies 90 percent of Australia's Banana supply with Australia refusing to accept Bananas from the Philippines. Prices in NSW will drop from around $8 per kilo to about $3 with the new incoming supplies. In the market's peak - Sydney prices for bananas rose to $16 per kilo.

Sydneysiders are not being told which restaurants are breaching food safety regulations. Restaurants found breaching any of these regulations are publicly reported in world-class cities like New York, London, Toronto, Copenhagen, Los Angeles. In Sydney, the council has ruled that it cannot reveal the names and addresses of the restaurants in breach because of privacy laws. The council did release a list to the SMH when they requested the information under FOI (Freedom of Information) laws but the list of 78 fines issued in the past year had their restaurant details blacked out with only the fine amount and the date showing. The SMH report says that "in Toronto restaurants must display a sticker in the window that reveals the results of health inspections with similar systems operating across the US and increasingly in Britain". I guess we just have to trust that the government officials return to these offending restaurants to follow up. I sure do hope that in future that the government publicly report those restaurants in breach of food safety regulations.

In Australia, Dampa (pronounce "amp" like amplifier and "pa" as in parachute) is simple bread made from water and flour. In Manila, Philippines, Dampa (pronounce "Damp" as in dump truck and "a" as in apple) is a location in Paranaque city. It is very close to the international airport. And if you do eat there you will definitely hear the deafening roar of a 747 jumbo flying over. Dampa has a market selling seafood and an adjoining area of restaurants that don't (seem to) have a menu.

Dampa is a wet market meaning that the seafood sold in that market are not iced or frozen but kept wet and alive. Normally fish is iced or frozen when it comes to our fish mongers in Australia. After you buy the seafood from the markets you can take your 'catch' down the street to have it cooked by one of the restaurants. Ask your fish to be Ihaw-Ihaw – which I think means char-grilled. Food was affordable when I was there. The whole bill to feed three people amounted to less than $40. And we are tal