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by Philipina A. Marcelo
Okay, I'm cheating. :) This entry should have been posted about a couple of months ago... but I have been too lazy to upload photos from my camera to my computer - to my nieces and nephew's disappointment! Aaaw, sorry, guys! :) But they know me... I'm almost always late on stuff like this. But, hey, I always come through - if people were patient enough to wait! :) Besides, this entry coincidentally fits what the Philippines is celebrating today: our National Hero's Day - Jose Rizal's Day.
After my nephew Miguel (or Miggy) learned that he passed his High School entrance exams, he wanted to celebrate! He and his sisters, Poala and Myka, went to check out the results with him. As their parents were at work, and it was still summer vacation then (see? very late,
right?), of course, the "idle aunt" was the self-appointed celebration chaperone! :) As usual... food trip for us! :)While their taste palates are "well-exercised" being such food lovers, these kids can also be "easy"... easy to please! For Myka and Miggy, for as long as there's chicken, they're good! :) And when chicken is involved, there's one place that comes to mind: "K.K.K.", where the chicken is cooked in various Pinoy na Pinoy styles! And everything is reasonably priced as well... so, for people like us who "enjoy food to the max", K.K.K. is a 2go2 place. And today, something Filipino is also apt since it's Rizal's Day. :)
From the banga (clay pot) plant holders and the hardwood benches at the receiving area that usually adorn old Philippine villas, to the rice straw ceiling accents, the ambiance in the restaurant was very Filipino. The menu
KKK kids...design was "fun" as well... their poultry choices, for instance were dubbed "sa pula, sa puti" (or, "for the red rooster, for the white rooster") and their beef dishes were dubbed "maki-baka" (or, "struggle" - the battlecry of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution heroes). This of course, gave me the opportunity to educate the kids about Pinoy old past-times, like sabong (cockfight), and some first-hand account of the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986, while we were waiting for our food to be served. :) See, I like these types of restaurants that are creative, not only in the dishes they served, but also in small details in their services.
As expected, Miggy chose the "fried chicken ng KKK", which came with three sauces, one of which Miggy thinks "special" (soy sauce, delicately sweetened and given a mild "kick" to mask the fermented note) and he so loved it. In fact, the next time he stayed the weekend with us at home, he requested me to try to immitate the sauce... which I did to only a dismal success - the fine tuning was hard! :) Beaten by Miggy in the fried chicken race, Myka chose the "chicken barbecue" cooked in a truly delicious sweetish marinade and garnished with crunchy greens and pickled green papaya. Poala, quite conscious of her figure now that she's reached 20 years,
Bibingka specialordered the light noodle merienda, pancit palabok. It's a rice noodle dish, topped with rich shrimp sauce, thin slices of hardboiled egg, a dust of ground chicharron (pork rind), and chopped scallions. And I chose a mouthwatering merienda: bibingka espesyal, which is a rice cake baked with rice flour and coconut milk. :) It was baked with a generous amount of white cheese on top, which together with slices of century egg, contrasted nicely with the sweet and rich rice base of the bibingka. When it was being brought to us, the sweet smell of burnt banana leaves with which the earthen baking ware used to bake the bibingka was lined, filled our nostrils - very enticing. After sprinkling the top with a mixture of brown sugar and browned grated coconut meat, I ate a slice of the warm fluffy delight... aaaaah, heaven! It went very nicely with my samalamig - a cold beverage with tapioca pearls and gelatine bits, flavored with vanilla.
We left the restaurant very satisfied... and we went to shop for new swim wears for the kids. I told you, it was still summer! :)
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Hey, I'm being good!
Back to the future. I don't know what I've posted here that alarmed some of my friends. I think that because I've not been talking
I've been good... and here's Exhibit #1. :)fruits and veggies lately, they've been getting the impression that I've not been eating "properly". And they feel that it's irresponsible, considering that I'm still recuperating from a recent "close encounter" with the "hooded one". :) But, of course, my Knights in Whites shooed it away with a stroke of the scalpel... and negotiated some more years for me to enjoy watching footie and tennis... and the beautiful men who play them. Yowzer! ;) OK, I admit, I'm being silly. ;) But, in all seriousness, for the said friends' peace of mind, I've been as good as Bugs Bunny, and my fruit tray is full... and constantly replenished, too. :)
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Photo credits: I own all photos.
