World cuisines

Katsudon blasphemy!

May 16, 2012 Leave a Comment

I was craving for one of my favorite Japanese rices bowls of all time, the Katsudon: tender yet crispy panko breaded pork cutlet drowning in a mixture of sweet dashi-soy-mirin sauce, runny barely scrambled egg, translucent onion slivers and green peas atop a cup of pristine rice. And having passed Umami a number of times, it was a sign from the heavens that I have submit to the Katsudon craving. I knew that Umami at Ibn Battuta mall’s food court had a lot of promise of being an authentic Japanese fast food stall with its brightly lit glass display of life-like plastic food bowls.

But as I was hungrily looking through each plastic food display, my eyes did a double take on one dish. The sign read “Chicken cutlet katsu don”, but the rice bowl wasn’t katsudon at all…

The I-don’t-like-Arroz-Caldo recipe

May 15, 2012 1 Comment

The Arroz Caldo (chicken congee or porridge) is a bowl of comfort for millions of Filipinos out there. Perhaps the counter part of chicken noodle soup from the North Americas, it is a cure all for the sick. It is also a warm hug for the grieving, often present during memorial services, especially in the chilly evenings.

Unfortunately, the Arroz Caldo does not earn a coveted spot in my line-up of comfort foods. It not one of my favorite Filipino dishes. In fact, I don’t like it. There’s something about dishes with boiled chicken, especially those with the bumpy skin on, that have me heading for the hills. *insert Goofy yoddle here*

But then as The Husband and I were menu planning, he wanted arroz caldo to rid our wee pantry of the not-so yummy jasmine rice we bought. Then arroz caldo it is…Gulp!

Creepy crawlies in my man’ousheh?

April 23, 2012 6 Comments

Are you seeing what I saw on my fresh from the oven man’ousheh (more popularly known as its plural form, makakeesh)? Don’t those sesame seeds look like clumps of creepy crawlies, a reminder of unwanted infestations in deep dark corners of the house or on our furry friends?

Blech.

The Yemeni Mandi Challenge

April 22, 2012 12 Comments

Enter the Yemeni battle arena!

The Husband and I don’t agree on many things, unlike some couples, who are completely on the same page on practically everything in life. (But being clones of each other doesn’t make it any fun, right?)

Hence, we argue quite often about food, including which restaurants serve the “best (insert dish here)” And unlike me, who is more open to trying out restaurants (maybe because I am still on googly-eyed curious Dubai newbie mode) , he’s the type of customer that is fiercely loyal to his favorite restaurants, which he has tried and tested through the years he’s been here, and is highly critical of the competition. Good thing about The Husband that he’s open to try at least once, but if the competition doesn’t pass his critical palate’s standards, then bye-bye to the restaurant forever and back to sticking to the tried and tested.

I can be a person, who likes a bit of a challenge, most especially when it comes to convincing people of the best dish or the best restaurant. So I was brave enough to have thrown the gauntlet down on The Husband’s favorite Arabic meat and rice dish: the Yemeni Mandi.

Meat you could cut with a plastic spoon

April 14, 2012 2 Comments

After a long day of back and forth trips to the diagnostic center and the doctor, The Husband decided to stop by the Mandi-han (Mandi restaurant) to feed his curiosity of Madfoon, another Arabic meat dish haunting his meat lover’s dreams.

The Emirati cultural breakfast club

March 27, 2012 8 Comments

Yesterday morning, I’ve taken the road less travelled by most Filipinos, perhaps one of the most un-touristy things ever: take part in a cultural breakfast at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.

A corny Purefoods corned beef post

March 2, 2012 4 Comments

I will be perfectly honest that I just do not feel like blogging right now. I am dead tired after deciding to vacuum and scrub down our floors on all floors in order to remove the collecting dust from the past two weekend’s sandstorms. My eyes are droopy already with my head bobbing up and down as I struggle to finish today’s post.

Oh, did I mention that I also did writing work and cook on top of my Cinderella duties? Tired…

A pleasant surprise inside

February 25, 2012 9 Comments

One of the things I love about Dubai is the random surprises you get from the unexpected places. Who would’ve thought that you could enjoy fragrant biryani inside a clay pot (or palayok as we call it in Filipino), covered with a crispy sheet of dough?

An education beyond Biryani and Chicken Tikka Masala

February 12, 2012 14 Comments

Do you know which one to order?!? Ordering Indian food can be quite daunting...

I must admit I am going through an Indian phase right now. Yes, almost anything and everything Indian fascinates me with an eager beaver like gusto, especially if food and culture related. I’ve watched some movies like 3 Idiots, apparently the highest grossing Bollywood film in the history of India, and The Mistress of Spices, a movie adaptation (not sure if it is a Hollywood or UK produced movie. Can anyone tell which?) of the book of the same title. I am now in the middle of reading Delirious Delhi, a story of a New York expat’s experience in India’s crazy capital. I’ve been in touch with a number of Indian food bloggers based in Dubai and learned a lot of about their cuisine through their posts. But somehow I’ve never found the brazen courage or the opportunity to go beyond the usual orders of Biryani and Chicken Tikka Masala.

And a few days ago, I was so blessed to have been given chance to partake in an educational Indian food outing around Dubai’s Little India, Meena Bazaar in Bur Dubai. I found myself on a fierce quest to push my Indian cuisine limits and take a deeper dive into the culture, which has bewitched me for quite some time now.

There’s something about Monggo

February 4, 2012 2 Comments

Ginisang Monggo (mung bean soup / stew)

What is it about monggo that we Filipinos adore? I just can’t seem to pin it down.

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Filed Under: My Filipino cuisine, World cuisines Tagged With: Filipino, Filipino cuisine, filipino food, ginisang monggo