Kenny Rogers says Hi to Hainanese

When we went to Power Plant Mall last night to watch a movie, we decided to get dinner beforehand. We are big fans of Kenny Rogers Roasters, or Kenny's as we affectionately call it. I like how they blend healthy options and tasty meals under one roof. Mabie had told me that they now offer Hainanese chicken, so we thought we'd try it out for ourselves.

Kenny's serves one-quarter orders of the chicken paired with rice for PhP200. The rice itself is attractively garnished with cucumber slices, a parsley sprig and dried garlic flakes, and a small bowl of soup is served along with it. Accompanying the chicken are the ubiquitous three sauces: rich soy sauce, minced ginger sauce, and a very mild chili paste. Kudos to the Power Plant Mall branch for having our order served very quickly.

We've sampled Toast Box's Hainanese chicken as our very first experience of this Singaporean staple, and we were absolutely floored by the tastes and textures woven into this very humble food. That's our benchmark, then. 

How does Kenny's version fare? Unfortunately, it was slightly disappointing. 

Taste-wise, Hainanese chicken isn't far removed from our very own tinolang manok, so it's not that hard to pick apart and appreciate. That said, we think Kenny's stuck too closely to its signature roasting techniques preparing this, quick serving time aside. The chicken itself seems a bit overcooked and dry, without the characteristic savory moistness of either dish. It's as if the meat got squeezed out of its juices and served on the plate, with the liquid served separately as a soup. It might make for a "healthier" version of the dish but it's not quite as satisfying on the palate. 

Another thing: because the chicken is less flavorful and savory by itself, the rich soy sauce that would probably have been okay paired with more traditional Hainanese chicken suddenly overpowers Kenny's version. The best of the three sauces was the minced ginger. The chili paste was simply too mild to make an impression.

Kenny Rogers Roasters Hainanese chicken rice @ PhP200 per quarter-chicken order.

Chicken rice is not complete without its rice, and here Kenny's also comes out wanting. Maybe it's a nod to a more Filipino version of this dish that they used what looks almost like a dry sinangag (fried rice) and garlic flakes. It's not a bad combination to go with the chicken, but it just doesn't shout authentic Hainanese chicken rice, just like the rest of this dish.

Kenny's Hainanese chicken rice is simply okay, but it needs a little improvement here and there and we do hope we've been of help. We'll probably stick to ordering what we think they do best: good roast chicken, their signature classic corn muffins, a surprisingly good, heavy cheeseburger, and a nice platter of roasted salmon. Can't go wrong with any of those!

Free Dilly Bar. MmmmmMMMMMMmmmmmm...

Over the weekend Mabie and I redeemed a few credit card receipts at the local Dairy Queen. Who can argue against free Dilly Bars?

I think we may have overdid it a little...

Toast Box redux: Sampling real laksa

One evening, Mabie had dinner with her friends, so I had a couple of hours to kill around Greenbelt. I hadn't had any supper myself, so I spent most of the time walking around in circles and attempting to get gloriously lost. Most of the places I first considered dining in were too expensive, and at that time I was more interested in stretching my money due to the numerous expenses I'd had.

I ended up trundling back to Toast Box. We've sampled some of their wares in a previous visit, but because of an upcoming Singapore trip, Mabie and I had an interest in the stuff the hawkers there would sell. Also, I'd already sampled instant laksa before - I wonder how the real thing would play on my palate?

Nonya Laksa with hot barley - PhP245 as a set.

So off I went, sat and ordered a bowl of Nonya Laksa with hot barley. The latter is new to my eyes as well; barley is better known to most as one of the four key ingredients of beer. I got it as a set for PhP245, with the drink discounted.

The instant version just doesn't come with this many toppings

The main difference between Koka's instant laksa and the real thing is the noodles. Nonya Laksa has what you could call rice-based spaghetti. Also, the genuine article comes with a host of toppings: fish balls, shrimp, tofu, ground meat and some herbs. Koka's instant laksa is a good imitation, but Toast Box's version is much more filling and delicious. It tastes more like its own dish and less of a distant relative to tom yum goong.

Oh yes that's hot.

What about the hot barley? It literally is hot, served in a vessel that's the love child of a mug and a jar. A long-handled teaspoon is provided for scooping the soggy barley grains with. I was surprised by how sweet this drink tasted. It's not the kind of sweetness brought on by sugar, but a more natural, more pleasurable taste. Once it sufficiently cooled down, I gulped it down with gusto and fished the barley grains out as Toast Box slowly closed another business day.

This was a sufficiently satisfying meal, although I did get food allergies in bed that night - no fault of the restaurant. Of course, the next step for me is to try authentic laksa in its place of origin...we'll see how it compares.

The jelly-like barley grains waiting for you at the bottom!

Sugi: An old family favorite

My parents have been dining at Greenbelt's Sugi restaurant for what seems like years now. I remember it used to be in Greenbelt 1, but has since moved to Greenbelt 2 after the renovation. Since I share my birthday with their wedding anniversary, we usually get to eat here at least once a year.

"Sugi" may seem like a random Japanese word picked out from thin air, but a cursory search on Wikipedia will reveal that it's actually a type of cypress tree endemic to Japan, and it's actually its national tree, as well as Kyoto Prefecture's official plant. This is subtly alluded to in its current exterior decor, where the Sugi logo and name is embossed on stacked wood slabs. Incidentally the logo itself is shaped like a stylized drawing of a conifer tree.

Inside there are traditional paper lanterns hung from the ceiling with names of foods and ingredients written in the rounded hiragana script: ebi (prawns), unagi (eel), yakitori (an umbrella term for foods on a Japanese-style grill) and tenpura. No explanation necessary on the final item I believe. ;)

For this evening we reserved a room made up in the traditional tatami (rice mat) style. Purists may frown but the common Pinoy will rejoice, as there won't be any cases of tingly, sleeping legs and feet from sitting on folded legs for hours at a time. Sugi instead has a cavity dug into the floor, forming a footwell, then has the table set in the center. You may look like you're kneeling on the tatami mat, but you're actually seated and your tired tootsies can relax.

We started out with various types of sashimi and a dish of creamy spicy tuna, the latter of which my mom considers one of Sugi's signature dishes. Crispy flakes are added for a crunch. The spice isn't too strong but adds a distinctive flavor.

We went easy on the sushi selection this time around. We got a caviar-encrusted type of maki with mango and kani crabmeat. I'm no expert on sushi but this seems "inverted" due to the way the rice wraps around the nori seaweed wrapper, not the other way round.

Update: According to Tita Hedwig this was California maki. Thanks for the heads-up!

Last on the appetizer list is kaiware salad, made out of radish sprouts and bonito flakes with vinegar-based dressing. The sprouts have a peculiar, strong taste. I'd best describe it as halfway towards the signature sinus-busting heat of its close relative, wasabi paste. The vinegar does soften the punch, but you'll have to apply a lot of it. I noticed it only at the end where the dressing pooled at the bottom of the bowl and soaked into the remaining sprouts.

My dad and I have recently started sampling beers from around the world. Sugi does oblige the beer enthusiast with cold cans of Asahi Super Dry, made out of the traditional recipe of hops, water, yeast and a grain - in this case, cornstarch. Each can has 5% alcohol per volume, which isn't too far removed from local brewskis.

All I can say is it tastes so much like our beloved San Miguel Pale Pilsen. It's not an exotic beer, so if you were expecting a new flavor to your beer you might be disappointed. Then again, if beer for you is equivalent to San Miguel and absolutely nothing else, you'll enjoy it.

Our alternative drink was genmaicha. This is a type of green tea that's been passed through crisped or malted rice, and it's a personal favorite because of the added "toasty flavor" notes. It's so good, it can be enjoyed by people who normally despise drinking tea of any kind.

Of course, what Pinoy-consumed dinner of Japanese cuisine would be complete without tenpura?

Next up are two dishes most people will enjoy: chicken teriyaki and beef teppanyaki.

This may seem like a harmless dish of tofu and mushrooms, but be warned! The sizzling plate it sits on should alert you. It may look just a bit warm on the outside, but on the inside it's very hot and a few of us were taken by surprise. Best to poke or crack the surface of the tofu first to let the pent-up heat from the insides escape. Very delicious and tasty if you can get past the heat, though.

I have no idea what this dish is called but the white, finger-thick noodles are definitely udon. (Thanks to my cousin Czasha for identifying them correctly!) It has vegetables, oysters and scallops as topping, and is quite tasty. This was one of the final items served, and it's a gut-buster because of the thick udon noodles. If you weren't full before sampling the udon, you definitely would be afterwards.

A word of caution to chopsticks users: The noodles can be slippery and hard to grasp. Some of us had to poke and stab at them with the chopsticks to pick them up!

As a birthday treat they served coffee jelly a la mode with a lone candle on top. Sugi's kimono-clad waitresses will flock around your table or room and sing a little birthday ditty as they serve it. :)

That was a lot of food. It was a good thing I had a few hours free so I could work out beforehand.

Coffee + gelato = love?

I had my curiosities and doubts about this new place that opened recently in Greenbelt 5 called "Caffe Ti-amo." It sure generated a buzz when it opened to lots of fanfare and featured local celebrities not too long ago...but is it any good? We decided to find out.

The draw of this place is its gelato, or Italian-style ice cream, supposedly sold with 90% less fat. How much less the fat content of its gelato is, we probably will never know unless nutrition facts are published, so we'll move on to other matters.

When you think about it, Caffe Ti-amo's strategy of selling gelato and coffee makes perfect sense. Many of the popular drinks of high-end coffee places like Starbucks or The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf are actually the cold, blended ones, with dollops of whipped cream and other decadent, calorific toppings. Nutritionally speaking, they might as well be made out of ice cream...so why not offer the real thing? :p

The signature offering is something called "Affogato." Pictures of this exotic-sounding featured concoction are displayed all over. Essentially it's your choice of vanilla- or tiramisu-flavored gelato with a shot of piping hot espresso. Maybe next time. We'll try them separately for now.

I had ordered a regular mocha coffee, with a packet of brown sugar and some cinnamon, while Mabie had a regular-size gelato. At this size serving you have the option of two flavors, and she picked coffee and tiramisu.

Mabie's gelato: Tiramisu on top, coffee at the bottom

Their coffee is...surprisingly good. There are cafes that will sell you mocha that tastes like hot chocolate with just a hint of coffee in it. Caffe Ti-amo's is the other way 'round; it has a lot of brewed coffee's punch with just enough cocoa taste to remind you of its "mocha" moniker. Fans of full-bodied coffee, I think you have a new haunt to call your very own.

How about their gelato? It was also pretty good, actually. Previously we had tried tiramisu-flavored gelato from another shop. While it was good, this place's tiramisu gelato trumps it. Even the coffee-flavored variety was also pretty strong yet creamy.

The funny thing is, while technically we did not order the affogato, we had ordered a combination of coffee and gelato that, for all intents and purposes, might as well have been affogato anyway. Mabie was feeding me little spoonfuls of tiramisu gelato in between coffee sips, and I could already imagine how their signature creation must taste.

As I end this post, you might wonder where on earth Caffe Ti-amo came from. Judging from the name, is it from Italy? Spain? Looking at their stand of add-ons might provide a clue. The little table has, among other things, tall sachets of white sugar that indicate its origins from Korea.