Chow Kueh Teow from Pinang Asian Cuisine - $8.00

218 Louviers Drive, Newark, DE - 302.368.2298

This is "Malaysian Famous stir-fried flat rice noodles with fresh shrimp, squid, bean sprouts, eggs, soy sauce and chili paste."

You know those Chinese dishes that lack all taste because they're so oily? Well, this dish matches that description to a T. Bland, greasy, and chewy. I can deal with the chewy part, but the rest of the dish needs a makeover.

Double Cheeseburger from McDonald’s - $1.50

All over Philippines.

Not much to say about this one, except that it was my very first meal of 2009. For comparison’s sake I got a very unadventurous Double Cheeseburger Value Meal from McD’s. It tastes and looks exactly the same as I what I get in Malaysia. The same goes for the fries and Coke, obviously.

I also got a Taro Pie, which is quite new to me, and I’d welcome this addition to the McD’s pie family in Malaysia (which includes apple, banana and at one point, pineapple).  Taro btw is yam, and if you still have a puzzled look, you should to google it. You get it a lot in chinese cooking.

My friend was slight more adventurous and went for something more Filipino, with the Chicken McDo & McSpaghetti. Ok adventurous may not be the best word to describe this, but you get the idea. McDo must be their short name for McDonald’s as you will find their   website is www.mcdo.com.ph, that or they think fried chicken is the flagship McDonald’s dish in the Philippines.

I heard the spaghetti is sweeter than it should be, and the fried chicken tasted like fried chicken. I wasn’t sure what to expect walking into a McD’s in Philippines, now I know it’s not that much different from what we are all used to.

My next post will be the last from my Philippines trip. I have a lot more pics, but because they are so similar (to each other) as well as to chinese food, I decided to give them a pass. Also most of them are more snack-like than a proper meal. Maybe I’ll post them in a batch next time. But what I’m posting next, well that was one of my culinary missions before going to Philippines, so you can imagine how happy I was to find it on my very last day, also the reason why it’s the last post.

 

 

Szechwan Cold Noodles from Katy's Dumpling House - $7.00??

665 North Cass Avenue, Westmont, IL - (630) 323-9393

Katy's Dumpling House is a great little gem of a restaurant tucked away in the corner of a shopping center. Supposedly, they hand-make their noodles every morning and results are well worth the effort.

This was my first time eating here, and the noodles were a wee bit on the tough side, but my friend said that's not the usual case. In spite of this fault, the dish was still fantastic. It's harder for me to find spicy food in Delaware, so the chili oil on there really hit the spot. But even with the oil, this dish still lacks the greasiness that plagues most Chinese noodle dishes.

Anyway, I should note that Katy's Dumpling House closed on Wednesdays. In addition to that, they ONLY ACCEPT CASH so be prepared before you go.

Santa Fe Wrap from Einstein Bros Bagels - ???

1727 Freedom Drive Suite 101, Naperville, IL - 630.955.1138

It's turkey sausage, ancho lime salsa, jalapeno cream cheese & pepper jack cheese sealed within a tortilla shell.

Each part contributes a valuable piece of the puzzle. The turkey sausage provides the fleshy foundation for the dish. Add to that the ancho lime salsa and you've juicy, flavorful bite. Meanwhile, both the jalapeno cream cheese and pepper jack cheese act as a glue to seal the wrap while simultaneously pitching into the slightly sweet zest. Leave it to a restaurant named after a genius to concoct a successful combination as unique as this.

Yum with Cheese Value Meal from Jollibee - $1.70?

All around the Philippines.

So Jollibee is Philippines’ answer to McDonald’s. That’s not to say they are short on McD’s. Or KFC or Wendy’s or whatever other American fast food chain you can think of. They LOVE their fast food. And they have a major sweet tooth too, desserts, donuts, everything.

We were stuck in Cebu City on New Year’s eve, so to make the best of it I picked a mall from my Lonely Planet guide and headed there, hoping to find a few bars to drink 2008 away. Nothing against Cebu, I was just thinking I’d be celebrating new year’s AWAY from a city for once. I picked Ayala Center for its newly constructed Terrace area, aptly called The Terraces. Being open air, maybe there would be a few bars and some fireworks. I mean it’s a mall right? There HAS to be a bar that’s open to celebrate New Year’s. You will find a bar (or 5) in every mall in Malaysia, and come Xmas or NY’s they’ll stay open till after countdown. That apparently is not how it works in the Philippines. Anyway, that’s a whole other story. BEFORE the clock struck 12, dinner was first.

For some reason I decided to forego a nice NY Eve dinner and thought it was as good a time as any to continue sampling the daily Filipino diet. I’ve seen Jollibee at least twice a day throughout my 2 weeks there, it’s a wonder how I haven’t actually tried it yet.

To be honest the menu doesn’t look that good, I feel like it’s just trying to be McD’s. In fact it’s actually more popular than McD’s there, but anyways. I didn’t see anything I’d especially like, so for comparison’s sake I went with a Yum with Cheese value meal. That’s basically a cheeseburger.

The big difference between this and McD’s is that the meat patty tastes very sausagey. Also again with the sweetness, I found the meat to be really sweet. Or maybe it was the ketchup that was sweet. The meal comes with fries and Coke, and I don’t really have anything to say about them. But overall not a very outstanding burger. It doesn’t suck, but I don’t miss it.

Ironically, in trying to figure out the price of the meal, I went to the website and found some pretty nice sounding items like Cheesy Bacon Mushroom and Amazing Aloha with an “It’s Back!” logo on it. Well damn why couldn’t they come back sooner?

 

Beef Patty from D&H Jamaican Cuisine - $1.75

748 East Chestnut Hill Road, Newark, DE - 302.896.8826

There are just three words you need to know about this appetizer: ox tail gravy. This is just a beef patty deep-fried in batter, but then you drown that sucker in some ox tail gravy and you've got yourself a winner. I don't believe there is such a thing as "too much ox tail gravy" so go nuts. And if you have leftovers after you finish the patty, dump it on your entree. My coworker and I go so far as to get another bowl of oxtail gravy on the side to make sure our food is submerged.

How would I describe it? Meaty, oily, and yummy. I honestly can't explain it better than that. Just give it a try if you run across it and you'll see what I mean.

Bolognese Pizza from Pizza Volante - $7?

82 Session Road, Baguio City, Philippines

On the second day of our Philippines trip, we were at Baguio, a small highland city with a population size of a large one. Kinda killed the fun of being at a highland (where the weather is a nice 68°F, an awesome relieve from the average South-East Asian temperature of 80-88°F), as this means over-crowded streets, and major major polution.

Anyways, Session Road is where the action is, and I noticed it was packed with pizza joints, among other things. Yellow Cab, Greenwich, Pizza Hut, Shakey’s & Pizza Volante on the same street, about 2 blocks long. Now if they’re that passionate about pizza, they should theoretically rock at making it, so we had to give it a go as part of the Filipino experience.

First pizza was an 8” Bolognese. I know, pretty boring flavour, not my choice. Without trying to sound daft, it tasted like spaghetti on bread and a lotta cheese. OK so it does sound a bit daft, but hey, I write ‘em as I taste ‘em.

Next pizza is a 6” whutchamacallit. I forgot the name. It was beef something. Why I don’t remember is a combination of it being over a month ago and the pizza being very un-memorable. It was.. mehh.. it had a strong red wine taste to it and nothing else that stands out.

This was all the time I could afford for pizza in Philippines, but I just googled Pizza Volante and I see some people raving about how this is one of the better places to get pizza in Philippines. Based on that, I’ll have to say I was wrong about them rocking at pizza making.

Oh here’s a San Miguel Strong Ice that went with my pizza. It was, as with all other San Miguel beers, good but made better with the price being only $1. This is standard  throughout the country, prices ranging from $0.60 to $1.50 for bottled beer. Why drink Coke when you can have a San Miguel!

Roti Telur from Pinang Asian Cuisine - $5.00

218 Louviers Drive, Newark, DE - 302.368.2298

Roti Telur is a traditional Indian pancake filled with egg, onion, served with curry chicken and potato dipping sauce.

I like the eggy bread, but there's too much onion for my tastes. The dip is good too, but with the flimsy eggy bread, it's hard to grab any dip without it falling off. This was an interesting venture, but I don't believe I'll be ordering this one again.

Pasta Mardi Gras from Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen - $21.95

921 Pasquinelli Dr, Westmont, IL - (630) 455-9846

Pasta Mardi Gras - Linguine tossed with crawfish, andouille sausage & crimini mushrooms in a marinara cream sauce topped with jumbo grilled shrimp.

I can't deny that the above menu description sounds awesome, nor can i deny that the dish was tasty. But at $22 for a bowl of pasta, there needs to be more. Someone told me you get a large discount when you sit at the bar during lunch hours. I didn't hear about this until after I went so I can't confirm it, but 50% off (yes, I was told 50% off) is definitely worth a shot. And if I could get this same dish for $11, I would make the trip all the time.

Thin Crust Shrimp Pizza from Giordano's - $15.85

119 South Main Street, Naperville, IL - (630) 428-2111

This price will get you the thin crust, medium, 12" shrimp pizza. Not worth it.

There are so many things wrong here. Firstable, what am I doing getting a thin crust pizza from a joint that specializes in deep dish? Secondly, that doesn't look like $4 worth of shrimp topping. Also, ordering shrimp from a pizza joint located in the Midwest isn't the greatest idea either.

But hey, sometimes you have to be adventurous to find that special dish. And it wasn't completely bad - the shrimp pizza was actually pretty good. It just wasn't worth the price.

Beef With Chinese Broccoli Over Rice Noodles from Tong's Polynesian Village - $8.99

1239 East Ogden Avenue, Naperville, IL - 630.357.7120

Here's a dish I loved so much, that I still remembered its name even after it mysteriously disappeared from their menu. The owner couldn't locate the item on the menu either, but knew exactly what I was referring to, so he still had it made for me and charged me the same price as a similar item. Very nice people. It's a shame to see that their restaurant shrank since my previous visit about three years ago.

Anyway, the dish name is pretty self-explanatory. Chinese broccoli is sometimes referred to as kai-lan or Chinese kale too. These rice noodles are fluffier and stickier than the ones you might receive from a Thai restaurant, but I love them just as much, if not more. The sauce is just a typical brown sauce you get in a Chinese dish - probably oyster sauce - but when you put that with other three ingredients, it's magic.

One more thing to note - you can't tell from the picture, but the serving size is pretty enormous. It's tough for me to finish the entire thing in a single sitting, which if you've seen me eat, you know means a lot.

Wreck from Potbelly's - $4.19

28361 Diehl Road, Warrenville, IL - 630-821-7940

The Wreck comes with salami, roast beef, turkey, and ham with swiss cheese. On top of that, you can choose from mayo, mustard, hot peppers, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle, oil & Italian seasoning. As for me, I like to get everything.

Potbelly is one of those place that I crave when it's not around me. But when I stop to think about it, I think the only sandwich I've ever ordered from there is the Wreck, so you could say that it's the Wreck that I truly miss. You get a good amount of meat, AND the hot peppers give it a pleasant, fiery zest. Can't beat that.

Enchiladas con Mole from Las Palmas - $11.50

1150 East Ogden Avenue, Naperville, IL - (630) 717-9030

The menu lists this dish as "a rolled corn tortilla stuffed with Seasoned Ground Beef, Marinated Chicken or Cheese, topped with our special mole sauce & melted cheese, garnished with lettuce & tomato." In my case, I paid the extra $1 to substitute skirt steak (so the cost was actually $12.50).

This was my first time trying mole sauce and I was quickly able to detect a subtle chocolatey flavor and as it turns out, mole sauce is typically made with Mexican chocolate as one of its ingredients. Anyway, this blended well with the tender steak and the refried beans. The vegetables felt a little out of place, but that could be because I'm more of a carnivore. Yummy Mexican dish.

Crispy Pork from Cafe Uno - $1.50

1 Bonifacio St, Vigan City, Philippines

This is my first in a series of Philippine posts, of food I had during my 2 week trip to Philippines end of last year.

This was the first meal we had since landing in Philippines and taking a 10 hour bus ride to Vigan from Angeles City, with the last meal before this being a crappy eggs benedict from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, about 14-15 hours before.

I’ll confess, I forgot the name and price of the dish. It IS essentially crispy pork but I don’t remember the Filipino name. The closest I’ve come to via googling is Lechon Kawali. But the price is accurate to about USD0.40 so it’s a fair estimate on my behalf.

First thing to note about Filipino food, it’s very similar to Malay / Chinese cuisine. This is no exception, reminding me very much of Chinese Roast Pork, only this is cut into chunks before roasting. I liked it, not too much seasoning so you get to enjoy all the porkiness.

We also ordered a serving of fish, I really don’t remember the name, and the price is around the vicinity of $1.50 as well. Because I have no idea what it is, I didn’t include it into the topic of this post, but here’s a picture.  It was okay, standard fare, fried fish cuts, with sauce that was starchy and quite flavourless, maybe that’s why it also came with pickled vegetables mixed with a fermented sauce, I don’t know what it was but it tasted incredibly similar to a Malaysian sauce called Cincalok, which is basically fermented shrimp.

Another thing to note about the Filipino diet, they eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Also, most of their dishes (the flavours of Philippines, if you will) are a little too much for foreigners of the non-asian kind to handle, and a lot of the locals told me stories about how some of the Caucasian visitors would order a lot thinking they are adventurous, and when it comes some of them would only eat white rice, perhaps picking on the egg or vegetable dish only, cos the other dishes are too overwhelming. I can picture it, and have nothing to say except to shake my head at the thought.

Flaming Saganaki Cheese from Greek Island - $5.50

200 South Halsted Street, Chicago, IL - (312) 782-9855

Even if you don't have a taste for cheese, this appetizer might still be worth an order for the little show. After deep frying this imported Greek cheese in the kitchen, the server will come out and flambé the cheese tableside and shout "OPAA!" Apparently, that practice originated at the restaurant next door to Greek Island so it's more of a Chicago touch than it is a Greek custom.

As for the cheese itself, instead of consuming it while it's soft and gooey, I liked it better when it cooled to a slight firmness which also made it easier for cutting too. To give you an idea of what it was like, I'd say it's similar to a very lightly battered & fried mozzarella.

Chef's Special Crispy Duck from Lao Sze Chuan - $10.95

1331 West Ogden Avenue, Downers Grove, IL - 630.663.0303

Honestly, there's nothing special about this "Chef's Special" crispy duck. Not that it was bad (in fact, it was very good), but there was nothing unique about it to receive such a name like "Chef's Special." It's a standard Chinese duck dish, served with hoisin sauce, as usual.

For those of you unfamiliar with ordering duck, $11 for an entire duck is a very fair price that you may find difficult to match. This particular version is served with bones, and some may also find it tedious to dig through them to get at the meat, but like lobster, it's well worth the effort.

Unfortunately, this is a poor representation of the restaurant itself, because the other dishes are usually more decorated and flavorful, but trust me, if you like Chinese food, this place is a winner.

Chicken Pomodoro Panini from Go Roma - $6.49

28361 Diehl Road, Warrenville, IL - (630)393-7662

This sandwich is comprised of roasted chicken breast, oven dried tomatoes, spinach, basil, provolone cheese, and pesto mayo on panini bread.

The bread was too hard for my liking and the chicken a bit too dry. In spite of these two criticisms, the sandwich was still okay. The crispy fries that came with the sandwich earned it some bonus points.

On a sidenote, I also ordered their pasta & meatball soup. I didn't take a picture because soup pictures tend to look boring. Anyway, the soup was far too salty so I recommend passing on it.

Pad Thai from Joy Yee's Noodles - $8.50

1163 East Ogden Avenue, Naperville, IL - 630.579.6800

Pad Thai is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander. It is normally served with a piece of lime, the juice of which can be added along with Thai condiments.
- Excerpt from wikipedia

I did a post on this same dish before here and now I'm showing you another restaurant's take on it. Joy Yee's Noodles is a fairly prestigious shop in Chinatown of Chicago, but this is one of their newer shops in the suburbs. Also, I believe they are more famously known for their bubble tea instead of their food.

Anyway, I have reached the conclusion that just about every dish at Joy Yee's is good, but not great, but they make up for their lack of awesomeness by giving you huge portions. That's definitely okay with me. Another handy feature is their ginormous menu with pictures of nearly every dish.

But that's beside the point. Today, I'm criticizing their pad thai and like I stated about the rest of their food, it's good, but not great. If you're only looking to leave stuffed to the brim with some decent quality food at a fair price, then this place is for you. But if you're seeking something to tantalize your tastebuds, then I recommend driving a few miles from there to Lao Sze Chuan (which I'll post about later).

Shrimp Fra Diavolo from Buca di Beppo - $19.99

90 Yorktown Road, Lombard, IL - 630.932.7673

Fra Diavolo (Italian for "Brother Devil") is the name given to a spicy sauce for pasta or seafood. Most versions are tomato-based and use chili peppers for spice, but the term is also used for sauces that include no tomato, or that use cayenne or other forms of pepper.
- Excerpt from wikipedia

Although this pasta looks like it's loaded with peppers, it wasn't all that spicy. In fact, I didn't even know it was supposed to be spicy until I looked up the meaning of "fra diavolo" just now.

In spite of that, the dish was really great. The noodles were a bit dry, but not in a bad way, unless you like your noodles sopping with sauce. The sautéed garlic shrimp were cooked well too. The price may seem steep, but the serving size is large enough to feed two even though we only ordered a small. All in all, I would happily order this dish again, if not for the chance to discover other great dishes on their menu.