My 2012 food trend predictions

I received an e-mail from a college student conducting a survey on what will be the top food trend in 2012. It made me think. While I am not presumptuous enough to think that my predictions will 100% come true, I can’t deny myself such an interesting topic. I never really thought about food trends before. In fact, I despise them. But now that I have subjected myself to some thinking, it’s kinda fun. So let me play Nostradamus for a few minutes. Okay fine, Manang Bola.

In general, I think food in 2012 will be real, fresh and our own. There will be nothing half-baked, nothing trying to be something else, nothing ill-fitting. It’ll be all about bold flavors, comfort food and authentic cuisines. Just the way I like it.

Love our own

Filipino food is the answer I gave the girl who emailed me, although she wanted me to be more specific, which I couldn’t. It is the first thing I thought of, and it applies to me. I am committed to learn and share more about Filipino food.

So, I dare declare it: we’re going local - local produce, local ingredients, local recipes and even local techniques. We’re going back to our roots, and I believe this will be true for other countries as well. Perhaps we will also dig deeper into regional cuisines, bringing out obscure specialties that many haven’t even heard of. We will be more curious about each place’s history through food.

Battle of the Asians

We have numerous Korean restaurants as it is, but more have been opening recently. Now that Filipinos have this newfound courage when it comes to trying out unfamiliar food, it’s bringing them to kimchi, bulgogi, jjampong, wraps and rolls, and grilled meats. Regular readers would be aware of my penchant for Korean cuisine so, yeah, I’ll be one happy camper if this goes on.

But there is a quiet yet strong rise of Singaporean restaurants as well. I love Hainanese Chicken, laksa and cereal prawns myself. It will be pretty interesting to see which cuisine will outpace the other.

Seize the niche

Beyond cutting down to just one cuisine, restaurants will go even more specialized. We have seen the start of this last year with the growth of establishments focusing on ramen, katsu, burgers, chicken wings, milk teas and the like. Restaurants offering a modern twist to the usual fare will get more attention than fusion or 101-cuisines-in-1 eateries.

Heat up the stove

With modernity and technological advancements comes the desire to touch base, which is also part of the logic behind the rise of the local cuisine. Aside from that, wanting something basic will make home cooking more popular. Dishes will be mostly simple, raw and made from fresh ingredients, but there will be some experiments on family recipes and staple Filipino foods.

Home cooking may also extend to entrepreneurial efforts and backyard restaurants as people try to make money from their cooking or pursue passions that previously warranted millions in capital and a large team of employees. Now, they will only need to cook or bake when you place an order, or open their homes to diners who are after food quality, the coziness of eating at “home”, and the novelty and slight perversion of being in somebody else’s.

Another offshoot of home cooking will be family meals, but eating together may also bring families to eat out. This sends us back to Filipino cuisine since our dishes are best for sharing. We do family-style dinners like no other. Aside from that, banquets and self-service buffets will naturally continue their progress.

Exciting exotics

Innards and other cuts of the usual suspects will be explored more. In addition, other animals will be eaten with less trepidation as Filipinos become more adventurous and curious. (To PETA’s dismay?) Yey, meat!

Make way for milk and eggs

Inhibitions and fears will die down just enough for us to enjoy more cakes, breads, pastries and sandwiches. (I myself have been eating a lot of sandwiches and pancakes lately.) Yes, the dough will rise, although I think I’m saying this because it is what I want to happen more than it is what I think might happen. Who cares, as long as we get to buy our cakes and eat them too, right? Milk and eggs, rich creams and cheeses, and comfort food all the way.


This guessing game is quite amusing, isn’t it? So, what do you think will we be seeing and eating a lot of in 2012?

The Works Bistro, Il Terrazo

The Works Bistro was a pleasant surprise. C and I saw this restaurant on its opening day but didn't think twice about changing our dinner plans. When we couldn't decide where to eat the next time, we agreed to give The Works Bistro a try.
My expectations were low because: one, it's unknown and empty; two, it didn't look like a restaurant; and three, it didn't look like a bistro. The interior design was kind of ambivalent, although you can see that they gave special attention to their chairs with the W backs. There's a lounge-type sofa area, a bar at the back and a few touches of zen. The menu even looked ravaged, which was confusing because it just opened recently to my knowledge. But there's a QR code on the cover, which was pretty cool.

In trying to get a taste of their fare, C and I picked one pasta, one rice dish and a burger.
I chose the Parmigiano Fish Fillet at Php 175. I was blown away by how perfectly the fish was cooked. I hope that is always the case. The meat was al dente and juicy, and almost melted in my mouth. The crust was crispy and not broken. The sauce was savory, although I prefer it to be toned down a bit so as not to kill the fillet's flavor.
The 1/4 corn on a cob was sweet and well-seasoned. Would a whole cob be too much? How about half? I had to ration my corn well to last the whole meal. It would also be better if they had the option to serve it with shredded corn.

I'm undecided about the rice. It took me a while to appreciate it, but there's something lacking that I can't quite put my finger on. The texture? The flavor? As for the veggies, never mind. You can't really expect much from breaded and fried vegetables. I would have preferred crispy, blanched ones.
C's pasta, the Bolognese Classico at Php 188, was also not bad at all. The serving can probably be shared by two girls who don't eat a lot, or perhaps people who just want to sample the menu, but I have to say it is not intended for sharing. C ate the whole thing by himself. It's filling, but half of it isn't. One thing I noticed about their sauces is, they're really made to suit stereotypical Filipino taste. They are sweet. Rich, yes, but sweet, as if you're ready for an impromptu kiddie party.
I liked The Works Burger. It's big, comfortably juicy and just salty enough that you wouldn't tire of it. The patty isn't the very dense and packed type, but the consistency is not offensive. The buns were soft, too. I'm partial to really white and soft bread.

The burger came with potato sidings, which I'm always a sucker for. However, the leafy vegetable was kind of weird. Do you just stuff the whole leaf in your mouth after you take a bite of the burger? Despite the confusion, we ate it, 'coz it seemed fresh, and I like the dip. All these at Php 165 is pretty budget-friendly.

The small staff was quite sensitive to their customers' needs. Or in my case, wants. When we got there, they were playing music and showing The Proposal on a huge TV but on mute. I've never seen the film so I was curious and asking C about it. They probably saw me watching the screen 'coz they stopped playing music and turned up the sound on the TV. I got to watch the film 'til we left.

The Works Bistro is on the 2nd floor of Il Terrazo along Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Behind the scenes with Finland TV

A new Finland-based food, travel and lifestyle show came to Manila to feature the country, and I was lucky enough to be part of their filming! Standing in as the local food host, we spent an afternoon in Quiapo to try out the street food offering and talk a little bit about Filipino food, the cuisine's history and our culture.

The show is titled Saran ja Meri-Tuulin Metropolit, which directly translates to Metropolises of Sara and Meri-Tuuli. The series features one city or country each episode, just as how shows we are more familiar with such as Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods are formatted.

The people

The two hosts are celebrities in their own right in Europe. Sara La Fountain is a famous chef and TV personality, among others. Meri-Tuuli Lindström is a media personality and also a food lover. Together, they are two crazy girls exploring the world and having fun while at it. They were very warm to me and initiated a chit-chat right away for us to get to know each other and for me to be comfortable with them.

The Finnish and local crewmen were really nice and helpful that I was able to shrug off my nervousness. The Finnish director was always pleasant, and our own production manager, Ms. Ana, was a superwoman! She and her team, which includes her husband, made sure we're well taken care of. A shout out also to the local director Minco Fabregas, who arranged a small meet-and-greet with the local production team before the shoot.

It just kind of fell on my lap, but the whole filming was a fun experience, and I'm glad I made the right decision of going through with it. I can't wait to see the final episode. I hope it turns out well. I want them to have a great impression of the Philippines. If the Finnish crew's enthusiastic reception of Manila is any indication, then I think we're off to a good start. They absolutely loved the sun, the heat, our complex but rich cuisine, and all things that are so new to them, including the beach and the tall buildings!

I ♥ PH

Doing the show made me appreciate our country even more. We are an insane lot, and there are so many ills in our society that we are farther than far from being the ideal place to live in, but underneath all the evils and the chaos, there is an irresistible charm that no living person can turn his back on. I can proudly say I love the Philippines, and I was not embarrassed for one second of any eyesore or foul smell they encountered. What's important is we continue to improve ourselves and go through life's challenges with a sweet smile.

The only thing I was embarrassed of was the fact that Filipino cuisine isn't widely covered in this blog. I have so much to say about it, but very little has been posted. That will change from now on.

I also realized how much I truly love to talk about food! I knew this before but I guess doing the show was a solid affirmation 'coz it was the first time I ever talked about it in length, really explaining and introducing foods that we are too familiar with. I never had to take around foreigners to acquaint them with Filipino food, and it was a pleasant experience to do so. There are so many things to tell them about what we eat and the great restaurants we have regardless of cuisine, but I simply couldn't do it in a day! And I'm sure it'll be cut down to 10 minutes, maybe? Consider it a teaser then.

The show

Speaking of teasers, while we're all waiting for the show, check out the teaser to their Tel Aviv episode on Vimeo. You'd be amazed at how beautifully it was made. Of course it's in Finnish, and an English subtitle would help, but the images are more than enough to blow you away.

(Update: Embedding of the video has been disabled. Please watch Saran ja Meri-Tuulin metropolit (Teaser) from KOMIA Helsinki on Vimeo.)

They have a blog, www.metropolit.fi, which is also in Finnish. But you can easily have the page translated to English via Google translate.

If you are based in Finland, please please give me news when the show starts airing. Record the Manila episode if you may 'coz I don't know when I'll get a copy, and perhaps let us know how it was received there.

Bagnet (Twice-Fried Pork) & Alex III's Pinakbet sa Bagnet

I commonly go to Alex III for the chicken barbecue. That also goes for Aristocrat and Serye, of course.

On this particular visit, although I still did order a two-piece bone-in chicken barbecue, C got something else. And, boy, am I so glad that he did.

It was my first time to try Alex III's Pinakbet sa Bagnet. Normally, I don't go for Filipino food with a twist. I like my Pinoy dishes raw, authentic and home-cooked. But the Pinakbet sa Bagnet was a revelation.

You might think, duh, of course it'll work. How can you go wrong with bagnet? And pinakbet? And bagoong?

Believe me, I've eaten so many wrong things in my life that I know you can still go wrong with attempts like this. One of my fears while waiting for the Pinakbet sa Bagnet to come out from the kitchen was that the bagnet might get soggy when paired with a sauce dish.

Oh, but this pairing was perfect. The marriage of these two Ilokano dishes was simply divine, more divine than most real marriages of late.

For one, the bagnet was still pretty solid and crispy. Huge chunks of it were generously included that I still got to eat at least three pieces for lunch the next day. By then, the flavors only grew more intense, as the sauce of the pinakbet was rich with bagoong yet the saltiness wasn't off-putting. In fact, some might want it even saltier.

To understand what the fuss is all about, I guess you would first have to understand the two dishes on their own.

How to cook bagnet

Bagnet is the famous twice-fried crispy pork belly or liempo from Ilocos, a region in the north. No one in his right mind does not go crazy over bagnet, which is made special because of how it is cooked. The pork belly is boiled first to cook and soften the meat. It is then drained, cooled  and refrigerated. When ready to cook (again), it is deep fried in low heat for up to one hour. It is then cooled, chopped into chunks and deep fried the second time in the same oil, just reheated, for 10-15 minutes before serving. This is how perfectly blistered skin and a deep brown color around the pork are achieved. Eating the crispy, toasted outer meat is the best part of having bagnet, next to the to-die-for skin, of course.

What is pinakbet

Pinakbet has its own charm. This vegetable stew, although normally served with bits of pork, is a popular accompaniment to meat dishes throughout the country. Its secret weapon is the bagoong alamang (shrimp paste) that makes the sauce. Add that to the various flavors and textures that the different vegetables create then you get a dish that guarantees an interesting meal. The typical vegetables used include bitter melon, okra, string beans and eggplant.

There you have it. Two great dishes from the Philippines working hand in hand to elevate your eating experience.

Food blogging tips

I have blogged about the talk I gave at UP Diliman's ACLE 2012 food blogging seminar organized by PAFT-Alpha. As promised, I'm posting food blogging tips here as well. Just the gist of my presentation, titled Bite. Chew. Swallow. A slice of food blogging from Glutton on a Budget.


The whole talk revolved around the think-learn-act approach, which I believe should always be the game plan when taking on a task or a challenge.

Want a bite?

- Know why you want to get into food blogging. Remember, that whatever direction you intend the blog to take, be it strictly a personal food blog or down the problogging route, you have to love it first and foremost. That's the only good reason to get into it.

- You should set boundaries and extravagant goals. I say boundaries because there are some things we can live with, and some things we cannot. Just make sure you can live with yourself. As for extravagant goals, these will drive you to great heights. Be the barometer and never do anything half-baked.

Don't wing it. Chew it.

- HTML, CSS, SEO, basic writing principles and photography are just a few of what you should brush up on to be an effective blogger. Arm yourself. Read up. Acquire skills. Hone your talents. Practice. Never stop learning.

Swallow it up.

- Eat like you would normally do. Eat like a regular customer.

- Content is god, so make each post count. Be personal, truthful and independent, as how a blogger should be.

- Show respect. Respect other people's privacy, and save some for yourself. Be civil on your blog. Don't abuse the voice it gives you. It may be your blog, but you should still show some class and always respect other people.

- Last but not the least, get a life. The point of having a blog is to share your experiences. That requires having experiences to share. So get out there and live your life.

And as a reminder to everyone: in anything that you do, always be genuine, kick ass and have fun!