Blog Marco

Obama gobbling a hotdog in Montana on Independence day 2008. While we're on the topic of politics, remember this funny photo of Bush?

Philippine Food Festival was CRAP. Rating at a 5 out of 10 (maybe even a 4 out of ten). Around 100 people turned up. This Filipino Food festival wasn't great. The food was bland, dry and very mild in taste. Here's what the flyer claimed the meal was to be: "Enjoy tantalising South East Asian cuisine rich in exotic flavours, specially created by Michel Le Teuff, who will be our guest Executive Chef for this Festival. Chef Le Teuff joins us from the prestigious Travel Cafe Philippines, Makati City. Luscious dishes bursting with flavour will bring the essence of the Philippines to the Grace Brasserie." So where is the "tantilising" tastes we were promised Chef Le Teuff? Where are the "exotic flavours" and luscious dishes?

At AUD$45 a head at this buffet meal we were expecting much more from an international imported chef. I wasn't even "full" (busog). Compare this with a really tasty meal at Dampa in Paranaque (which is just a stone's throw away from the international airport). We were able to feed three people there for only $40. Or how about the masarap (tasty) lechon from cebu?. Hell we fed 5 people for only AUD$15 and we were soooo full then. Perhaps we should have just ate at one of my usual restaurants near UTS or just venture to Newtown for some exotic tastes from all the Thai food out there.

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

Eat Here. Corregidor Entertainment Centre & Restaurant

122 Rooty Hill Road North, Rooty Hill. (Located in Sydney's Western Suburbs - Across the road from St Aidan's Church) Call them on 9625 6289. Open from Wednesday to Sunday for Lunch and Dinner.

You can have a look at their menu. Yummy Filipino Food. Yum.

Plus they have entertainment on some nights.

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 did a review for Menya before – that's where I got this dish... I forgot the name for this dish but I think its tonkatsu with soba? I'm not too sure. It was nice, the soup wasn't oily but the one hitch is that it isn't too filling. Maybe they need to put in more noodles? By the way, Menya is located in Sydney's ChinaTown.

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.

I regret eating this overpriced dish (was around $8.50). The picture may have looked great but the seafood noodle dish from the Korean fast food place in MarketCity's food court was bad. On the picture it looked enticing and tasty. But all the dish ever gave me was a bland taste with excessive oil. Next time I'll avoid this dish and stick to their spicy chicken with rice. MarketCity is located in Sydney's Chinatown. I much rather eat at Menya or Kura.

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.