El Chapo: a perfectly legal food cartel in the Yard

El Chapo is known as one of the most notorious Mexican druglords. His vast empire, built on heroin and cocaine, spanned continents and earned him billions of dollars. For some strange reason, one of the foodstalls in the Yard (Xavierville, Q.C.) amazingly used El Chapo as a name for the establishment.

According to the owner, they used the name El Chapo since it would amaze diners about its uniqueness; apart from being enthralled with good food and good vibes, of course.

The tagline of El Chapo is "Don't worry esse, it's legal." It is a reference to the fact that the stall is a Fil-Mex food cartel serving only the finest Mexican dishes the owners can think of. The dishes had their own special twist from the owners though. The recipes were somewhat taken from their family heritage. They also substituted Mexican ingredients with Filipino ones for the hard to find parts.

We first tried the Cheesy Beef Salpicao Nachos. At Php 160, it was an overload of tortilla chips, garlic mayo, hot salsa, silantro, and their special blend of beef salpicao. The ingredients blended well to create a blast of sweet, spicy, and salty flavors accentuated by the greens.

We then had a bite of their onion rings. This humungous plate of fried onions cost Php 75 and came with garlic mayo sauce and parmesan. This was great with beer or hard drinks due to its sweet/salty flavor. I love the fact that the big servings came in cheap. 

I tried the beef salpicao taco. At Php 95, it came with their secret salsa verde and their special white sauce plus a load of sriracha on the side. It can be rolled then eaten or taken by the fork. It was a mix of their special beef salpico, which was tender by the way, and the salsa plus pita bread. It was soft on the texture and bursting with flavor too. 

Their ubiquitous tagline.

We ended the meal with fibery goodness in the form of Fil-Mex style barbecued street corn. At 60, it served as a pleasant appetizer. It was roasted corn with sriracha and their special white sauce plus silantro. It was oozing with sauce and that sweet/spicy flavor.

The ordering station. Note the cool insignia.

El Chapo's is located at the first flood of the Yard. It is usually open from 6pm to 12 mn.

Shizen Ramen: a startup that's eager to serve excellent ramen

About a month ago, I went to Marikina with my barkada. We came across this discreet restaurant near Gil Fernando, Marikina. This ramen joint is a start-up from a student who conceptualized the business. He believed that opening a ramen restaurant would help him graduate as well as earn funds for his livelihood. 

He completely conceptualized the interiors and the menu of his shop; and even imported them from abroad. I must say that the interiors were pretty brand new, albeit uncleaned at the time.

Initially I didn't expect much from this since it was pretty new and pretty small. However, my expectations were shattered when he showed us his incredible cooking skills and delectable ingredients. I must say that his ramen was top notch given that he was only a startup.

I tried out the Yakuza ramen variant. It was a a deliciously spicy big bowl of beef ramen with black mushroom, beansprouts, tofu, and chili. It was truly satisfying to my palate since I requested it to be insanely spicy. The spicy sauce was high class; and the hot broth only made it event more palatable. The ramen was quite challenging to finish due to the spiciness, the size, and the hot broth; but eventually I succeeded in my goal. For Php 189, the ramen was ultra-cheap given the high quality of the aforementioned ingredients and the humungous serving size. I'd say that this can feed two to three people. Except that i can eat as much as 2-3 people.

The excellent ramen was supplemented by a generous helping of their gyoza. The dumplings were well-cooked; and the meat was well-stocked in every niche of the wrapper. I love the fact that it blended well with the black vinegar sauce for a meaty, stocky flavor.

The place may not look like much. Plus the area is quite hidden. But I urge the consuming public to give this startup a try. You will really be amazed at the place and the good food.

Limbaga 77, an excellent family restaurant in the heart of Tomas Morato, QC.

Limbaga 77 is a restaurant situated in the heart of Tomas Morato, QC. The name is taken from its actual address, which was once a residential area. Its venue is located in a house that has been adaptively reused into a huge two-floor dining space that is well-lit and ambient. As a Filipino family restaurant, they serve home-cooked meals that surely made me enjoy my experience. 

We were able to taste the entire range of their meals, starting from soup up to dessert. For starters, we tried the Halaan Soup. This was a showcase of boiled clams which released so much flavor into the soup. I easily devoured the clams and the soup in no time at all due to the addictive fatty taste.

We then had a handful of their starters, which were the Bulaklak ng Kalabasa and the Poqui poqui Rolls. The former was an amalgamation of ground beef, cheddar cheese, and squash flower fried to a crisp. The latter was a lumpia-like combination of eggplant and dumpling wrapper fried as well. Both were just the right taste. Nothing was explosive in the experience.  However, I must say that the Rolls had a small amount of filling. It felt like I was eating more of the wrapper itself. 

Their main dishes were composed of Pochero, Baked Litson Paksiw, Stuffed Laing, Four Flavored Wings, and the Spicy Seafood Adobo.  the Pochero was a helping of tomato sauce where beef, leafy vegetables, and saba were braised to perfection. The Pochero reminded me of Afritada due to the strange sweetness of the sauce. However, the beef was pretty tender, and the Saba was a reminder that the dish was Pochero. The Baked Litson Paksiw, on the other hand, reminded me of Porkloin and Roast Beef by its appearance.  According to the owner, the pork was first baked then braised in their secret sarsa sauce.  The meat itself was pretty tender, however the skin left something to be desired. It was quite tough, actually. The Flavored wings were served in fours. It was comprised of baked chicken wings with honey glazed barbecue sauce. It was pretty crunchy and tasty too. It could have used a bit more spice, though. The Spicy Seafood Adobo was for seafood lovers. It was a braised combination of shrimp, mussels, squid, crab, and spicy adobo sauce.  I loved the way they cooked the squid since it was done just right.

Their ultra best seller, the Stuffed Laing, reminded me of Lumpia. The gabi leaves were turned into wrappers, while ground pork served as the filling. It came in the standard coconut milk sauce. What surprised me was the fact that there was no spicy kick from this iconic dish. Usually it would be pretty spicy. However, the owner guaranteed us that the dish was a best seller even without the kick. 

The viands were accompanied by a healthy serving of Danggit Rice, a popular Visayan dried fish which had a pungent smell and a smoky flavor.  The rice was topped with leeks, Danggit, fried egg, and garlic. It would be considered as a dish in itself. I enjoyed pairing the dish with the meat selections due to its bitter and smoky taste. 

I chose the Mabuhay Smoothie for a drink. It was a cooler composed of cocount milk, pineapple and celery. It reminded me of Pina colada mixed with buko pandan due to the coocunty flavor and the milky texture. While being quite heavy, I still enjoyed the mildly sweet taste and the healthy ingredients. 

Their desserts were the Bikoron, the Perlas ng Mangga, and the Maja Brulee. The First is composed of Biko wrapped in Lumpia wrapper. The second is their take on Mango Sago. The third is their unique blend of Maja Blanca.  Of all three, the most remarkable was the Perlas ng Mangga. It was a combination of fresh mango, taro balls, and mango buding in a small cocktail glass. I truly enjoyed the explosion of sweetness in this dish, albeit the small servings. I wish it didn't end so soon. The Biko reminded me of Tikoy due to the appearance. The maja was just alright. Nothing too remarkable for me since I don't enjoy eating Maja blanca anyway.

In sum, Limbaga 77 is all you need and more for a family restaurant that is welcome to gatherings, parties, and other special occasions for the family.

Brewology: a new third wave coffeeshop in Mother Ignacia, QC.

Coffee in Brewology is made with the utmost regard to quality of the ingredients and exacting standardsfor preparation. While the place is a bona fide third wave cafe, it doesn't intimidate the average drinker who just wants a cup of good old caffeine. 

During our visit, we not only got a chance to taste their offerings; we also had a cupping experience. We had to sniff out the different kinds of ground coffee laid out for us; then we had to guess the kind of taste it gave off. We were even given a tasting chart to help us determine the kind and blend of the coffee. During this experience, I noticed that they only used the best and freshest imported ingredients. I was able to guess the variants of coffee involved after sniffing the brews. Oh, the beans for the coffee shop were provided by Crema and Cream, a startup offering high quality coffee beans to different coffeeshops in the area. 

We then tried their dishes. We first had the Chicken and Spiced Honey, which was in essence a waffle sandwich with fried chicken, Asian coleslaw, and spiced honey. The tangy and peppery taste was pretty good, although the servings could have been more.

Beef Bulgogi Tapa was a mix of spicy kimchi rice, sunny side up egg, and tender beef bulgogi with a taste caramlized sauce. I considered this as the best dish in the house. The mix of sweet beef easily complemented the spicy rice. The spiciness was also at par with my taste.

Pulled Pork and Cheddar Sandwich was less remarkable due to the thin pork and cheddar filling. It was generously served though. 

The breakfast pasta was remarkable for its excellent texture and taste. The pasta was not soggy compared to those cooked by other cafes.

Waffogato was a simple dessert composed of baked waffle and vanilla ice cream. It is what it is: simple. I didn't find anything so special with it. Minimalist.

Smores Brownies were a chunky helping of chocolate goodness with roasted marshmallows on top akin to real smores. These had an excellent texture and a good, sweet taste.

Chocolate chip brownies were milder at the taste department. It boasted of a mocha-like flavor compared to the smores.

Smores Waffle was a bit dry for the palate; but the marshmallows and grahams were generously topped. 

Matcha Cheesecake was a slightly bitter cheesecake dish that was pretty tall in size. I liked the mix of sweet cheese and the acrid taste of matcha, though.

The drinks I tried were:

Butterbeer. Brewology had their own version. I'd say it was excellent. This was a non-caffeinated non-coffee drink made with milk and other secret ingredients. It reminded me of a rootbeer float, though. 

H.O.E or Heaven on Earth was simply the best coffee drink/dessert in the cafe. It was an amalgamation of whipped cream, coffee jelly, cold brew, and their mocha pudding. It can be mixed as a drink or eaten as a dessert, depending on the customer's preference.  I drank it instead. It had a strong mocha flavor accentuated by the coffee jelly and the pudding. It truly was a unique coffee experience. 

In sum, Brewology is no frills coffee shop with a lot to offer than just coffee.