PAL treats local

Guyabano drink by NutriAsia is sourced from local produce in the Philippines.

Choose your flavor.

I was delighted to see at the airport that Philippine Airlines is treating its passengers with Filipino blend. PAL is giving complimentary drink to passengers during holiday season, particularly this Holy Week. The five flavors to choose from include dalandan, guyabano, tamarind, calamansi and pomelo drinks in can by NutriAsia.

Dubbed as sipsip and away, a passenger has to show his boarding pass to get the free drink or simply they'll just approach you to give you a drink of your choice. The hashtags #travelwithlocally and #locallyph are used to promote the products. By this means, like that introducing the pili lipstick in the boutique, local products are showcased and local produce in a new form creates a new market. In the end, this also helps the local agriculture and promotes local brand. 

Meanwhile, while talking with the persons in the booth, a Japanese approached to say the juice drink is quite sweet, which I did agree. I tried guyabano and it's a bit sweeter than I expected. 

DELIMONDO Restaurant: Home of the Best Corned Beef in the World

Facade of Delimondo restaurant and shop in Makati City.

Not known maybe to many Filipinos, the world's best corned beef in the world comes from the Philippines. Perhaps because of its price that is a bit higher than other advertised brands; I have never seen a Delimondo advertisement in television; for the print ads, that I do not know. 

Delimondo brand is simple without any colorful packaging.

After bringing to the office a Delimondo corned beef, an office mate kept on asking me where to buy one. I searched the net and learned that my favorite brand of corned beef, Delimondo, has a restaurant of its own and serves everything of DELIMONDO.

Spicy luncheon meat kimchi fried rice

I went to the restaurant, ordered my Delimondo meal and bought some to take home. The restaurant is located in Makati City. I am a frequent passerby in the area but I never noticed that. I have been to a basement restaurant opposite Delimondo but I did not notice the latter. It is because the tent in a restaurant next door covers the sign. Had it not for the next big sign in the parking and a where-to question to the security guard, I will not be able to pinpoint immediately the restaurant.

The restaurant serves rice meals, pasta - everything Delimondo and also pastry and coffee. For my lunch, I ordered spicy luncheon meat in kimchi fried rice. The fried rice is topped with kimchi, Delimondo luncheon meat and sunny side up egg. For other menu, the restaurant serves chorizo carbonara, croque madame, spicy tinapa fried rice, sausage ragu pasta and corned beef cardereta lasagna. 

For the pastry, it serves barako cheesecake, San Marco, NY cheesecake, leche flan pudding cake, sticky date pudding, Kristen's gluten-free banana bread, carrot cake, ube cheesecake, Petra's chocolate cake, mini cheesecakes, brownies and blondies bars and croissant pudding. Brewed coffee and cappuccino are also available.

The restaurant is mainly a shop for all Delimondo products. So, for one coming from Quezon City, taking home Delimondo products is a must to me. Known for the best corned beef, Delimondo brand also offers a wide-range of its deli line aside from corned beef. Those products, sold at a discounted price in Delimondo restaurant and shop, are the Delimondo sausages, pasta sauces, deli meats, drizzling oils and dressings, dips and spreads, marinades, canned meat and prepared food.

Delimondo product line at its shop in Makati City.

Below is the list of Delimondo products available at the Delimondo restaurant and shop:

Canned Meat

Luncheon meat

Spicy luncheon meat

Ranch style corned beef

Garlic and chili corned beef

Prepared Food

Spicy tinapa in tomato sauce

Callos ala Morado

Bacalao ala Mestiza

Dulong in olive oil

Bacalao ala Vizcaina

Marinades

Guava jelly and coffee

Universal sauce

Iberian chicken

Dips and Spreads

Chicken liver pate

Batido de sardinas

Tomato eggplant pate

Pasta Sauces

Bolognese

Puttanesca

Pesto

Drizzling Oils and Dressings

Chilli and garlic oil

Sundried tomatos and pepperoncino

Anchovies, garlic and cream

Sausages

Breakfast sausage with maple syrup

Chili and garlic

Hot Italian

Schublig and cheese

Scublig

Smoked Kielbasa

Spanish longanisa

Chorizo bilbao

Hungarian and cheeze

Hungarian

Salciccia di Roma

Chicken curry

Chicken, garlic and cheeze

Chicken and pili pesto

Mediterranean chicken

Deli Meats

Thick sliced honey-cured bacon

Country style smokehouse bacon

Delimondo restaurant and shop is located at JAKA Center, Urban Ave. cor. Chino Roces, Makati City. Another shop of Delimondo products is located at JFPC Food Outlet, Phividec Industrial Complex, Veterans Center, Taguig City. For online orders: delimondosales@gmail.com

Making Palawan Food Trip Unforgetable

There are great things to make one's foodie adventure in Palawan more meaningful. I did it myself and sharing it based on experience. If there are things I missed, I am glad to be back and experience new more things.

• Vietnamese food. Palawan is home to Vietnamese refugees before. Since then, Vietnamese food has been part of being in Palawan where you will still see and dine in those restaurants serving Vietnamese food and Viet-Phil menu (amalgam of Vietnamese and Filipino menu).

• Fruit Shake in Sabang. The price for these shakes range from as low as one dollar to less than two dollars. Fresh fruits that are cheaper than that of Metro Manila price, worthy of trying and enjoying.

• Tamilok. Never leave Palawan without eating tamilok. I tried one order when we visited Baker's Hill. It is the longest oyster in Palawan and tastes like your known talaba in Farmers Market.

• Eating All You Can at Gusto Grill. At a reasonable price for P200 pesos (when I went there) for unlimited lunch, it was so sumptuous already. They already have some seafood and sea weed as well. You'll leave so full and sleepy on your way back to Puerto Princesa.

• Ka Inato. It is seldom that I see restaurant that employs mute people. It is only in Ka Inato where you meet and see them doing their job for a living. 

I will be glad to go back in Palawan; next time together with my family. I would like to explore more its places and food, of course.

Eat, Dine, Wash at Grub and Guzzle in Balagtas

Hungry from a long journey, one has to be reminded of these values.

It was past one o'clock already. We haven't taken our lunch yet. Waze app says of nine kilometers to our next destination. Roads are narrow, some concrete and needed repair. From our last point of departure in Pandi, we were trying to find the nearest exit to North Luzon Expressway. But wait! We still have to take our lunch before finally leaving. 

We said to ourselves - push more. It literally meant, drive more and discover more. We are not familiar with the place. We do not know fast food chain there. Maybe there is no 7 Eleven either; we did not see any. We thought of the place as greenery, rice fields, rural communities. There are perhaps restaurants that serve local food. There is perhaps itik (duck) here or kambing (goat) specialty here, we told ourselves, until we saw a somewhat inviting car wash that has Chinese bamboo surrounding it. Here we go, maybe we can have something to eat here. Presto! 

Kalderetang kambing (left) and fried itik (right)

The car wash is within the area in an establishment that shares the same place with a restaurant. We assumed it has one owner as the restaurant invites one to "eat, dine, and wash." I am talking about the restaurant we discovered in Balagtas, Bulacan - Grub and Guzzle - located at Milagrosa Homes, Burol 2nd. While one brings a car for washing, he or she can eat quickly or have quality time savoring the food they serve in the restaurant. 

The concept of the restaurant and car wash is very strategic for me. I am highlighting Grub and Gruzzle as a restaurant to try in Balagtas. Established in 2016 only, I could say that there is creativity in its simplicity. Things that I liked here are food, design and the taste of itik and kambing which we ordered amid our hunger from a long drive. 

Beauty in simplicity.

Interior design is click to me because there is not much colorful paint. Simple wall looks vintage and making use of things which one may not be using anymore and transforming old stuff into a creative visual art although the wall decors do not necessarily hold some old stuff. For instance, the clock blends with the concrete color while the board with shoes on top of it highlights the other side. I loved the Beatles decor as I am a fan of the band.

Of course, good place needs to be outstanding for the good food it has. We ordered kalderetang kambing and fried itik - the former at P180 per serving while the latter at P200 each. Cheaper already than the general price in Metro Manila. The kalderetang kambing tasted well that we couldn't wait anymore for the itik to be served as we consumed it ahead. The itik tasted well - not so salty not so bland - crunchy and well done. We ended up taking out three orders of fried itik. 

We left the restaurant so full as we headed to another long journey. Discovering a new place and a new taste takes patience indeed. Nevertheless, there will always be a gem in every place.

Inside a Jeepney

If you have not yet tried riding a jeepney or have tried a jeepney like Papua New Guinea and yet you wanted to try its new utility, let's go to Gerry's Jeepney. It is a restaurant at Maginhawa Street in Quezon City (Philippines, of course). The entrance of the restaurant greets its patrons with "sakay na!" Then, literally, you will see those jeepneys like an array in a terminal. 

Inside the restaurant are various signs for routes in Metro Manila. You have to get yourself first of the jeepneys so that you can eat inside those vehicles. Inside the jeepneys are tables and chairs for the fine dining. However, if the jeepneys are full, you've got two choices. Either you wait or you eat inside the restaurant's main hall. If you can wait, better to have a seat inside the jeepneys. However, if you're hungry enough to wait for the jeepneys to be vacated, find a seat inside the restaurant then.

Even the menu is named into various routes in Metro Manila. For instance, this menu good for two to four persons is called Cubao Yale, a jeepney route in Quezon City.

There are indeed many artistic ways on how Filipino restaurant owners present their business to particular groups of customer. In Gerry's Jeepney, while Filipinos are familiar of the menu and the jeepneys, the experience is worth the try for both Filipinos and foreigners alike. Sakay na!