Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Crazy Katsu

On my first visit at the soft opening of Crazy Katsu at the Archer's One Building, Taft Ave. beside DLSU, I fell in love with their tonkatsu - the thick, hot and crispy pork rest on shredded cabbage. Their special sauce when poured on the pork magnifies the taste of the pork plus the sesame seeds - the real taste of a tonkatsu which I remember eating at a popular tonkatsu shop in Yokohama. Wow!

So when our family had dinner out, I suggested Crazy Katsu at Maginhawa St, Teachers Village, QC. We ordered their bestseller chicken katsu, pork ginger, fish and veggie tempura, pork curry, gyoza and miso soup. Their chicken katsu is not really Japanese since the spicy sauce is more Pinoy - soy sauce with vinegar and sili. I love the taste of their pork curry. Over-all, the family enjoyed the food - the serving is large, the rice is the sticky type which is appropriate for the chopsticks. And the price is very reasonable: P140.00 for tonkatsu!

Gyoza (5 pcs per order)
Chicken Katsu

Fish  & Vegetable Tempura

Katsu Curry

Pork Ginger

Maginhawa St, Teachers Village is a haven of eateries

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The Mighty Ton of Cebu

An ordinary hamburger has a diameter of about 4 inches. But the Mighty Ton burger is 3 times bigger, with a diameter of 12 inches or one foot. Inside the giant bun is 1 kilogram of beef patty (shaped in a square mold), with 125 grams of veggies, cheese, and bacon. The bun is almost as heavy as the 1 kg of burger! 
The Mighty Ton (12-inch diameter) burger dwarfs the apple in size.
As soon as I saw this, the picture of Adam (of "Man vs. Food") flashed before me.  I have got to show this to my son and hubby who are both fans of the show.

Bringing it home was quite a challenge.  When I got it out of the restaurant, Casa Verde, the smell was overpowering.  I thought to myself, I can't hand-carry something this smelly, the entire plane might smell like McDonalds. We had to wrap the box with layers of packaging tape, making sure that the holes are sealed tight.  As soon as we cleared it with the check-in counter, the next challenge was the departure x-ray and checking of luggage.  The airport personnel couldn't decide whether to allow me to hand-carry it (donuts and cakes are regular hand carries, but a burger as big in diameter as a cake was something new), he had to consult his supervisor.  When we finally got it in, it's quite hefty to haul it around in a packed airport.

125 grams of bacon, cheese and veggies inside
So I got it home.  And Geof  had to have the first taste - the verdict:  "it tastes good."  The burger was a bit dry, though since it was grilled (and maybe because it took sometime to get it home - from Cebu to Manila, from Airport to Quezon City.  The bun is thick but is good and soft.  The fillings, especially the cheese and bacon, complements well the grilled burger.

Overall, the burger is  good (Geof gave it a "4" in  scale of 1 to 5).  

www.casaverdecebu.com 
The ordinary burger vs the mighty ton
- Apple Oreta 17 April 2-13






Thursday, April 4, 2013

"Paluto" at "Dampa"

"Dampa" is a popular eating place in Metro Manila. There are dampa places near D. Macapagal Ave., C5-Libis, Ortigas Area and Pasay City near the NAIA I. A "Dampa" is both a market and eatery. You first buy the fresh seafoods - Lapu-Lapu, Tilapia, Crabs, Scallops, Shrimps, Squid, Tahong or mussel, etc - at the wet market. Price of the fresh goodies is on a per kilo basis. After purchasing your fresh seafood, choose a "Paluto" restaurant. "Paluto" means to cook. The restaurant will cook the fresh food based on your choice of cooking. For example: Mussels can be cooked as a soup or baked, fish can be fried, steamed or grilled, squid can be fried or grilled, etc. The cooking fee is also on per kilo basis. Price of cooking ranges from P75.00 to P200.00 

Fresh Sea Mussels
Last Holy Week, in observance of abstinence from pork and meat, we visited the Dampa at D. Macapagal Ave. We bought tahong (1/2 kilo), scallops (12 pieces), squid (1/2 kilo) and one Lapu-Lapu. Total cost is  P500.00 +. Then we asked Josefina's to cook our food. Four of us enjoyed the meal with still left-over for take-out. Cooking cost is about P500.00. By the way, at Josefina's, we love their appetizer, peanuts.

Fresh scallops
Baked scallops in cheese and garlic
 
Calamares

Steamed Lapu-Lapu - where's the fish? Ubos na?

Tahong  Soup in onion leeks and ginger