Sunday, January 25, 2009

the mother ship

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

To celebrate with our buddies in the Fil-Chi community, I want to write about one of their best contributions to our country. And I don’t mean tikoy, I mean Le Ching.

Le Ching has been talked about here in Bogchi before, but this time we’re talking about the Banawe branch. Over a week ago, I had a job to do in the area and decided to go early to finally check out where it all began. (Actually, I really don’t know what came first, the Le Chings in Greenhills, or this one on Banawe. But like the chicken or the egg argument, it’s moot and academic. Basta! Masarap!)

The Banawe branch will give you exactly what you crave for, and more. The usual combo of spareribs rice and chili garlic is incapable of failing. But in this particular branch, they have an extended menu featuring more short order choices in addition to the usual rice toppings or dimsum. I was feeling adventurous so I ordered the fried chicken. Haha. Also, the savory radish cake deserves a mention because it’s deep fried in a portable station right in the middle of the resto as opposed to being done inside the kitchen.



I probably won’t travel all the way to this part of town for my spareribs rice fix because the Greenhills branches are way closer. Unless I’m in it for the nostalgia. This particular Le Ching is actually on the corner of Banawe and Del Monte and a few blocks away from the house I grew up in. Had I known that Banawe would evolve into this Chinese food haven (aside from being an auto surplus supply haven), I would have never moved away.


Saturday, January 24, 2009

Bánh mì


Paté and patis. That odd couple, some cilantro, cucumber, mystery meat, mystery sauce, and soy sauce stuffed in a crusty baguette make for probably the best sandwich for under P50.

Bánh mì stalls can be found on every other corner in Saigon. The one pictured has a little compartment off to one side where the lady heats your baguette over a charcoal grill before stuffing it with magic.

Locally, I think Pho Hoa sells these sandwiches, but I don’t know if they can compare.

Monday, January 19, 2009

DO YOU DARE TO EAT?


P12 at your friendly neighborhood convenience store.  I love that they used actual pics and not graphics :-).

Thursday, January 15, 2009

i'll be fat

Fatter, to be honest. Anyway, so I tried The Baconator from Wendy's. Here's what it looked like in the ads:


And here's what was delivered:



Was I disappointed? Hell no. In this day and age, who really thinks they're going to get what they see on TV and on print. Especially when it comes to food.

Also, the Baconator was GREAT. How can you go wrong with the taste of melted cheese, greasy meat, and bacon? Bacon is awesome. There's nothing like wafer-thin, crispy fat attached to a dead and deep fried pig. In this world. You know what was really considerate and thoughtful of Wendy's to do? There was nary a superfluous, sacrilegious veggie in sight. None of that awful, sickly tomato liquid to run down your neck. No leaf of lettuce to dillute the taste. No pickle to make me gag. (I could've used some onion though.) And I washed everything down with a thirst-quenching Biggie Iced Tea. None of that sugar-free stuff.

Anyway, based on this spot on review, (which bases this on Wendy's corporate site) a Baconator, in terms of bad stuff, is the equivalent of each of the ff:
Sodium (1920 mg)

180 Pringles potato chips
132 Doritos Cooler Ranch chips

Calories (830)

10 Rolling Rock Light 12 oz bottles
4 Dodger Dogs
5 7-Eleven Cola Slurpees 12 oz
3 Chili Dogs from The Varsity in Atlanta
33 tablespoons of Oscar Mayer Bacon Bits
83 Life Saver Five Flavors candies
166 Starbucks coffees of the week 12 oz
4 Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts
Enough Pam No-Stick Cooking Spray to cover 138 10-inch skillets

Fat grams (51)

10 Dolly Madison Zingers
3 orders of A&W cheese fries
4 Dairy Queen banana splits
22 Oreo cookies
51 cups of Froot Loops
10 servings of KFC mashed potatoes with gravy
22 Mrs. Paul's Crunchy Fish Sticks
23 3 Musketeers funsize snacks
1 Sara Lee frozen cheesecake
6 ounces of Oscar Mayer hard salami
19 Chips Ahoy cookies
4 Jimmy Dean Pancake and Sausage on a Stick, chocolate chip flavored
68 Aunt Jemima microwaveable pancakes
A whole frozen cheesecake?! That means it's all good. But check on me in the morning.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

WARNING: BRING BREATH MINTS

The dishes at Santush will make your breath smell funky. So don't bring a date there, unless close na kayo.  But chances are your breath will be an afterthought once you've tasted their  yummy yet affordable Persian fusion food.  Conveniently located in Ortigas, it's fast becoming a favorite after-gimmick pit stop. A nice, steady place to hang out 'til the wee hours of the morning. 

Must tries are the Shawarma Grilled Pizza and Chicken/Beef Kebab Pizza, priced at P140 and P135 respectively.



They also have a dip platter priced at just P73, while their ox brain goes for P60.





Santush is located at 88 Meralco Ave. cor. Dona Julia Vargas St. Avenue (PRO1 AUTO GARAGE, Inc.), right before Metrowalk, and is open until 2 a.m. on Saturdays.

Photos courtesy of TMAC.