8 years after…

 Wow it’s been 8 years since I’ve last posted on this blog…quite some time - many things have happened since then. Lots of ups and downs in my life but I’m a survivor and will continue to pull through no matter what.

I still love food and decided to start updating again here after a tasting dinner we had last night in one of the restaurants that is part of the group I’m currently connected with. I was seated beside Chef S, our current corporate Chef and we talked about memorable meals and I explained to him the story which got me to be obsessed with food: my meal at El Bulli. There’s and extensive 3 part post at the beginning of this blog site if you would care to read it.

Last night was a tasting dinner by Chef Manny, my former head chef in one of my restaurants. He left during pandemic for Spain and is based in Barcelona now. I’m happy to see how he has evolved as a chef and how his creativity has flourished. He cooked along side Chef Gerard Lorente who is also based in Barcelona- he is an equally creative and excellent Chef.

The theme of the dinner was Cocina-Kusina- a play on their Filipino and Spanish culinary roots. Here are women of the notable dishes we had:

Sinigang

Canelones de rabo de Toro with Kare kare sauce

Pluma Ibéricas with Diniguan sauce

                                               Arroz Meloso wit cutlefish

                    

                                                The Chefs at work  pre dinner 

Carbonara

Ahhhhh Carbonara…many of my friends know this was an obsession for me and still is. tI tried many restaurants in the Philippines and no one serves it the authentic way: no cream and just eggs. I was lucky enough to have travelled to Italy (Rome particularly) many times, and have been able to try the real thing.

5 simple ingredients - thats all you need: Pasta, Egg, Guanciale (or bacon), Pecorino (or parmesan) and pepper. Many of you will have your own ways of doing it. I have my own and I am quite pleased with the results. If anyone wants to know how I make it, just Pm or email me and I’ll be glad to send it to you. 

Basically. If you can get fresh organic or fee range eggs this is how your Carbonara should look like

There is a lot of pepper but this is really how it is traditionally served. The 'sauce' which is made of egg yolk should just be the exact consistency, creamy, silky wit the right amount of cheese. I add a little pasta water to achieve this and it seems to work. 

Like all good food, it starts by always the best and most fresh ingredients. 

Paella

Having grown up in Spain, I definitely love a good Paella. I remember Sunday lunches with the family, paella and a glass of rosé or a good Rioja wine. The paella was the star dish and everyone convened beside the paella for our Sunday lunch. 

The key to a great paella is the rice. I think a lot of people make the mistake of loading up the Paella with too much rice and meat, seafoods, eggs, peas, etc...for me, how the rice tastes is the most important aspect of a Paella(no offense meant this is just mr personal opinion)

Never ever overload your paella. Just put enough rice to go half way of the pan (rivets) once cooked. That will ensure all the flavor of the broth stays in the rice, and not evaporate into thin air. Remember all the broth has to be soaked by the rice and not by air. 

Make sure your broth is flavorful. Just add a few ingredients to complement the rice. Wether it's all meat, seafood or vegetables. Remember the key is the rice. All the rest is secondary. It's nice to have the 'socarrat' which is the Burt bottom part known as 'tutong', but again please don't overdo it. No one likes eating burnt rice. A little crust or browning will do. 

Speaking about rice, the best rice to use (for me) is arroz Bomba de Calasparra. This is short grain rice, which absorbs all the flavor of the broth. Be careful though, when using this, I add an extra cup of broth per cup of rice(from the usual recipes) since it absorbs much more than the usual Japanese or Calrose rice use locally to Make Paella. 

If you want to eat this the traditional way like In Spain, once cooked, put the pan in the middle of the table, give everyone a wooden spoon and eat directly from the pan. Just make your own imaginary divisions (think pizza slices but made if rice) and no crossing of the imaginary lines. 

My 2 favorites are the all meat paella (shown on top) and a Paella de Bogavante (Lobster Paella)

Enjoy!

It's been a while

Wow!! Last post on this blog was almost 3 years ago. Definitely I need to get back to blogging. Maybe more focused on food I cook. 

I've been cooking a lot and doing other things so I will try to revive this blog. Not so focused on restaurants since there are  tons of other people doing this already and really, I can't keep up with the way they eat out, almost daily. Must hurt their stomachs and also their pockets.  If I do find though something I really like in a restaurant I will definitely post it. 

Ok so this first one is dedicated to Fabada. I made one the other day and I must say, I was very pleased with the results. 

I don't really follow any recipes so if anyone wants to ask me how I did it, just leave a message and I can email you the procedures. You might be a bit frustrated though as I mentioned I don't follow recipes or exact measurements. 

This was done with all ingredients freshly flown in from Spain. From the beans to the meats to the pimentón. 

Cheers!!

La Girolle

Had a quick lunch today at La Girolle, the new restaurant of Chef Ian Padilla located at the Fort near Burgos circle. The menu changes weekly, so whatever was featured here may not be in the menu anymore by next week.

For starters, of course I had to order Beef Tartare. This was was very creamy texture more like mashed potatoes. Not sure if it was really meat to be like this. Taste was good very tangy although I would have wanted a bit more heat. I liked the bits of cucumber which gave it the crunchy texture.




For main, Sous vide pork belly. Not sure how long this was cooked but probably over 20 hours. Very tender pork with crackling crispy skin. This came with mashed potatoes a la Robuchon (very creamy and lots of butter).




Over all a good meal. Will have to go back to try other dishes since it changes weekly.

The restaurant is quite small (but very cozy) so if you plan to go, you need to reserve in advance.

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Antonios Tagaytay

Had lunch yesterday after a long time. I forgot how good the food is.

The best Steak Tartare I've had (and I've had many) is this one.

The Duck Leg Confit, the best I've had in the Philippines.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

I was lucky to have been able to reserve a table at this restaurant. It takes months to get one and you are at the mercy of the time they tell you and how many people can be with you (you book thru the open table website, so everything is automated)

For starters, we had 2 starters: Meat Fruit and Roast Scallops. The meat fruit was a tangerine covered chicken liver parfait. This was delicious. The tangy taste of tangerine was in perfect harmony with the liver. I could have had this all by myself. The scallops, perfectly cooked, had the cucumber ketchup which was quite unique.








For main course I had the black Foot Pork Chop, pointy cabbage and Robert sauce. It also has some sort of crunchy thing on top, pork cracklings maybe very tender and juicy chop. They must use a special kind of Blackfoot pig maybe similar to the pata negra of Spain, which gives it the deep rich flavour.





For dessert we shared a tipsy cake. Spit roasted Pineapple with a sponge cake drowned in liquor. This was interesting as the cake was very rich and the pineapple had the right acidity to it.





Overall a good experience ad service was excellent Don't expect the fancy dishes from the Fat Duck. This place is more a traditional/typical English food bistro. Over great value for money. It takes a whole to get a reservation but I believe it's worth it.

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Healthy Eating

Still on a diet so all healthy eating for now like this dish I had in La Tienda last week. Lapu Lapu a la plancha with shrimp and green salad. After my diet I'll be back with a vengeance.....or not...

New blog

I have a new blog!!!

www.miguelvecin.wordpress.com

I'll be using this new blog for shorter entries, on a daily basis, while this blog will be more for longer restaurant posts.

Hope you enjoy my new blog and hope it makes you hungry!


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Birthday Lunch at Champetre part 2

More of my birthday celebrations...as many people know I'm a creature of habit and once I like something, I can get quite obsessive (specially with food). So for another birthday lunch, I decided on Champetre again, to have more of the Algerian Couscous. I figured this was more a dish for lunch rather tan dinner (since its quite heavy) so off we went again. This time, no more Domaine Tempier Bandol, so I passed by Terry's for some Otoñal Rosado to pair with the Escargot and Couscous. Oh..this time also much better pictures, since I brought my Panasonic GF1.

For starters, Escargot, mixed cheese and deli platter and Marc's Terrine. Needless to say, everything was up to par (even if Marc was not there, Chef Andreas was in the kitchen) so I was not worried.

For main, of course I had to have again the Algerian Couscous. This is such a great dish...it has Lamb Chops, Merguez Sausage, Couscous and a stew, made of Broth, Chick Peas, more Lamb, Chicken, Beef, etc.. oh and to for some heat, Harissa sauce. This goes perfectly well with a refreshing Rosé wine to help cut the heat from the Harissa.




We also had other dishes, all of them perfect in execution: Black Angus Steak(2 orders), Veal Cheeks and Scallops. The steak and the veal cheeks were excellent (was not able to try the Scallops).




One of the waiters apparently heard us toasting (for my birthday) and right after our main course, brought out a small dessert with a candle. I did not even tell them it was my birthday (since its been a week) but well that's what you get when you go to a place that has great service.

It was a nice lunch with my siblings and my Dad (my wife who is in China could not make it) and without our kids for once, so we had lots of time to chat and not worry about them running around the place. I had a great time. Cheers!

Birthday dinner at Champetre

I decided not to have a big party for my 40th birthday this year. Instead, I choose to just have several smaller celebrations. This one was an intimate dinner with my wife. I had a great time and food was excellent. Below, a photo of the wine I had brought for the night. I have to thank Noel for letting me drink one of his bottles of Domaine Bandol Rose. This was just perfect for the food I had. I was really craving for this.




For starters, Salmon salad with cheese. The salmon was very fresh and great combination of the cheese, Salmon and arugula.




Next, Escargot Bourguignone. I love this, specially if paired with a Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose. This is a classic pairing and the wine, probably the best Rose wine in the world in my opinion.




For the main course, we had Marc's Algerian Couscous (good for 2). I've been looking forward to having this for quite some time now. With the Rose wine, it's a magical pairing. The dish is basically 2 plates. First the Couscous with lamb and merguez sausages..



Then a stew with chick peas, beef, chicken, and many other goodies. Another important factor is the Harissa, a spicy chilli paste.




One of my favourite dishes in Champetre. Chef Marc really does this well. It a perfect dish for a typical Sunday lunch, served with Rose wine. Delicious.

I had a great time. Thank you to my wonderful wife!!

More birthday celebrations to come!

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Latteria San Marco, Milan

This is probably one of my favourite restaurants in Milan. Small neighbourhood restaurant. Literally sits just around 25 people max. You have to come early if not you will have to wait a while.

Started with some Culatello di Zibello and some ravioli stuffed with mozzarella and a butter sauce. Delicious!







For main, we had risso venere with julienne vegetables. This is some kind of black long grain wild rice served with vegetables and a little truffle oil. So simple yet so good.. And seemed to be healthy.

My dish: Egg, Butter, Bottarga in a silver pan (Uova al burro con Bottarga de Muggine in argento)




Look at that beauty! Such a simple no nonsense dish. 3 ingredients a voila! I could have easily had one more of this.

Definitely San Marco is a place I will always return, in fact I wanted to return the next day but unfortunately, that was their last day since they were going on summer vacation.

I'll be back there soon.

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Asador Donostiarra, Madrid

I've been wanting to eat at this restaurant for quite some time now. I jut never found the right time. It's one of those classic restaurants in Madrid that ha e been there for ages. Apparently t us also the favourite hang out of Real Madrid players and many celebrities.

For starters, I had some sherry with some chorizo and olives which is a standard starter for Asadores. We also had a platter of Jamon Iberico. We just had this to start, since we knew the Chuleton was coming next and it was going to be huge. We had this with the wine I chose also for the steak, a 2007 Muga Reservation from Rioja.






Then came the main attraction: 1 Kilo of dry aged beef which they call 'Chuleton'. Normally around 2 inches thick or even more, this is slightly seared, sliced them served. A hot plate is provided to cook it more of you like. I just put it in the hot plate for around 10 seconds to warm it up. The Steak is still rare which is how I like it. Here some pictures of the Chuleton:









The meat was one of the better ones I've tried lately. The dry ageing really gives it more flavour and taste, buttery and nutty. Served rare and with good wine, this is one of the finer things in life.

We managed to finish the steak and had no more room for anything else. We did have room though for some 'chupitos' of Pacharan and Licor de Hierbas. This is a typical digestif served in many Spanish restaurants.




This is one of the better restaurants I've been to in Madrid. Very highly recommended.

Hasta la Proxima!

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Frankfurt, Germany

I was in Frankfurt for a couple of days for business. Did not have much time to go around, but was able to try a few typical dishes and sone local beers...

For lunch, Herring. I think this is more a Dutch speciality but this one was excellent. Very buttery texture.




Typical platter: sausage, sauerkraut, meat loaf, haxe (pork knuckles), etc... With lots of Kartoffen (potatoes)



All this washed down with a couple of glasses of applewein (German cider)

Some curiosities, a german mobile bratwurst vendor:




Many stalls selling chips and pretzels(very popular around here) and for some reason, popcorn too is quite popular.






Hefeweizen beer...had a few of these ...




That's all the time I had here. Til my next trip...Auf wiedersehen!! Prost!

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