palitaw – Jellybeans in the City

Take a bite of classic Kapampangan food at SilverSpoon QC

If you haven’t gotten your fill of food trips over the holiday break, the good news is that you won’t need to leave the metro to get a taste of the best of Filipino food.

SilverSpoon Kitchenette is launching its 2023 Travel Lokal Campaign which highlights dishes that represent regional culinary traditions every quarter of the year.

“SilverSpoon’s mission is to give a spoonful experience to our customers – part of which is to bring something new to the table,” shares owner Decie Montefrio. “That’s why we decided to immerse ourselves and travel to places to understand to understand the culture and tradition of our local dishes and to give homage to our own cuisines.”

From January 6 to April 5, 2023, Pinoy food lovers will be able to enjoy a well-curated selection of Kapampangan dishes.

Pampanga’s culinary heritage is heavily influenced by Spanish cuisine (by way of the Spanish friars and sailors who introduced their way of cooking to the locals during the Spanish occupation), while also sharing characteristics with Malay and Mexican cuisines. Kapampangan cooks also incorporated local produce into the resulting dishes, and pioneered in methods of pre-cooking (“sangkutsa”) and food preservation, earning for their region the moniker “culinary capital of Luzon.”

SilverSpoon’s limited edition menu is a product of extensive research by the SilverSpoon team, made by traveling to Pampanga collaborating with a local homecook who shared heritage recipes and provided insights into Kapampangan cuisine. This menu includes:

Pako Salad. Made with local vegetable pako (fiddlehead fern) tossed with tomatoes, onions and hard-boiled eggs in a honey citrus dressing.

Suam na Mais. Also known as sinabawang mais, this is a healthy and hearty soup made from white and yellow corn kernels.

Pork Sisig. The famous Kapampangan dish made with pig’s face (“maskara”), belly and chicken liver, seasoned with calamansi, onions and local chilis. Traditionally, this dish does not include the mayonnaise and pork cracklings (“chicharon”) that figure prominently in the version present in many Metro Manila restaurants.

Bringhe. Also known as biringhi, it is the local version of the Valencia paella, but uses local glutinous rice (“malagkit”) cooked in coconut milk (“gata”) and turmeric which gives the dish its distinct flavor and color. Giving more heft to the dish are the bits of chicken , chorizo and vegetables that are cooked along with the rice.

Palitaw. Popular local rice cake dessert made with glutinous rice that was washed, soaked and ground then shaped into flat discs and cooked in boiling water. The dish gets its name from the way that the palitaw floats to the surface to indicate that it’s done. It is then topped with grated mature coconut (“niyog”) and served with toasted sesame seeds, muscovado and washed sugar.

Leche Flan. The classic Filipino dessert made with fresh egg yolks, milk and topped with chocolate flakes.

Drinks. To complement the meal, SilverSpoon serves various beverage options which include hot and iced chocolate, as well as mocktails such as Blue Lagoon (citrusy drink made with blue curacao syrup) and Shirley Temple (made with ginger ale sweetened with grenadine and garnished with a maraschino cherry).

So if you feel like going back to our culinary roots and delving into our heritage cuisines, drop by SilverSpoon Kitchenette and take advantage of its Travel Lokal offerings.

Watch out for other local cuisines to be featured later in the year!

Note: SilverSpoon’s regular menu of sandwiches and rice meals is also available.

Silverspoon Kitchenette is located at 81 Scout Gandia Street, Barangay Laging Handa, Quezon City, open daily for dine-in, takeout or delivery from 11am to 10pm. For inquiries, reservations or delivery orders, call +63 917 1603327. It also delivers via GrabFood and FoodPanda.

Plus, here’s a special treat for your food trip!

Scan this code and present your boarding pass when you dine in at SilverSpoon to enjoy 10% off on your bill! (Applicable top dine-in transactions only)

For updates on its latest offers, follow Silverspoon on Facebook or Instagram.

Disclosure: I attended a food-tasting event held at this restaurant. Food items mentioned here were served to facilitate an honest review and were not paid for by the attendees.

Check out my previous posts about SilverSpoon:

Sumptuous snacking at Silverspoon, Tomas Morato

3 reasons to treat your Valentine to a meal at Silverspoon, Tomas Morato

‘Tis the start of the season for fam celebrations with Silverspoon

Ferino’s Bibingka Merienda Blowout

With all the time spent at home with the fam, I’m glad I was able to find the opportunity to reacquaint the kiddos to our rich culinary heritage.

This initiative was greatly helped by my mother-in-law when she treated her kids and their respective families to a Pinoy-style merienda during her recent birthday by having local delicacies from Ferino’s Bibingka delivered to our respective homes.

Bibingka is kind of kakanin or rice cake made with galapong (glutinous rice flour) and cooked in clay pots lined with banana leaves. While it can be enjoyed year-round, bibingka is especially popular during the holiday season; it is the go-to food to be enjoyed after Misa de Gallo.

Ferino’s Bibingka started in pre-war Tondo, Manila when Ceferino Francisco, Sr. (also known as Mang Ferino) starter selling bibingka and puto bumbong on the sidewalk outside their rented apartment. The business grew after the war, such as when they opened Ferino’s Cafe in the Manila Hotel in the 1950s, another branch at the Fiesta Carnival in Cubao in the 1970s and more afterwards.

Most of these stores closed down with Mang Ferino’s passing but the Ferino’s Bibingka brand was revived by his grandson, Sonny Francisco, who began to operate bibingka dine-in and takeout stores in 2016.

Ferino’s Bibingka’s storied dishes made their way to our table by way of the Family Set 1 (Php880) sent by MIL as her birthday blowout. This set consisted of:

Bibingka Extra Super. Pure galapong mixed with two fresh eggs, topped with salted eggs and kesong-puti.

Pancit Palabok (Small Bilao). A traditional Filipino noodle dish which is made with round rice noodles doused in a gold-colored savory sauce topped with shrimp, crushed chicharon (pork rind), slices of hard-boiled egg and chopped green onions.

Pork Barbecue (6pieces). This popular Pinoy street food of pork barbecue consists of slices of pork skewered on bamboo sticks, marinated in sweet and savory barbecue sauce then grilled to smokey and tender doneness.

Palitaw sa Linga. Another kakanin which is made of flattened ground glutinous rice which are dropped in boiling water. The rice cakes rise up to the surface (“litaw“) when cooked which is how the dish got its name. It is served dipped in grated coconut, with a side of sugar and sesame seeds (“linga“).

Thanks to MIL, the fam was able to explore the richness of our local cuisine!

To order from Ferino’s Bibingka, you can:

Call +63 2 76227104 or text +63 917 6502331
Click/Tap the SHOP NOW button on Facebook Messenger
Order via GrabFood

Check out my reviews of other Filipino restaurants:

Chocoholics’ delight at Tsokolateria, Tomas Morato

Being a chocoholic, I get all excited whenever I see chocolate bars or chocolate-based desserts.

However, chocolate can be so much more than desserts.

At Tsokolateria, for example, chocolate in the form of tablea (cacao tablets) or variations thereof, infuses almost every dish from salads, soups, kakanin (local rice delicacies), breads and main dishes, as well as, of course, desserts.

The cacao or cocoa plant made its way to the Philippines from Mexico in the 1700s by way of the Galleon Trade. Today, the Philippines cocoa industry is the primary producer of cocoa beans in Southeast Asia and boasts of its own rich chocolate culinary traditions.

Here in my neck of the woods, the foodie-friendly Tomas Morato area, Tsokolateria co-locates within the same premises as Pamana and Hawaiian BBQ. All three restaurants are part of the Happy Concept Group, the company owned and operated by third-generation restaurateur Happy Ongpauco-Tiu.

At Tsokolateria, Ongpauco-Tiu showcases the versatility of native chocolate as it serves as a main ingredient or as an add-on to various dishes – whether sweet or savory – and drinks.

I’ve visited this branch twice this week in my eagerness to sample as much of its offerings as I can. Check out what I’ve been able to try so far:

Oh My Gulay (Php200). Tsokolateria’s Bruschetta Pan de Sal topped by mushrooms, cherry tomatoes,spinach and quezong puti crumbles served with sugared kamote (sweet potato) fries and flavorful bulalo broth which was the soup of the day. For me, this is already a complete – though relatively light – meal!

Tablea Champorado (Php220 for solo | Php395 for double). This is not your normal champorado from a store-bought box. Nope, this is made the old-fashioned way: using mountain rice cooked in native tablea and served simmering-hot with adobo flakes, chicharon and crispy fish chips on the side for interesting contrasts of tastes and textures.

Palitaw at Tablea Syrup (Php130). This flat rice cake made from ground malagkit rice got its name from the way it pops up (“litaw”) to the surface of the boiling water once it’s done cooking. The rich, dark chocolatey tablea syrup adds another dimension of taste to this classic Pinoy merienda dish.

Churros Waffles with Strawberry Overload (Php230, good for two). Waffles made from churros batter accompanied by strawberry halves, native honey and tablea syrup.

Tsokolate ah (Php190, good for two). Hand-made hot chocolate drink made from native tablea, diluted (the “ah” comes from “aguado” which means “watery or thin”) by the addition of water and milk.

Tsokolate eh (Php190, good for two). Rich hot chocolate also made from native tablea which, because it is undiluted, is thick (the “eh” comes from the Spanish word “espeso” which translates to “thick”), has an earthier and pleasantly bitter taste and is generally considered the more authentic iteration of the native hot chocolate when compared with tsokolate ah.

Tsokolateria Signature Mocha (Php150). Native chocolate with milk and a shot of native coffee and served with a Choc Nut candy for added sweetness.

Tsokolateria more than establishes its creativity in crafting a menu permeated with chocolate. I think there’s a lot more to discover here and I look forward to the opportunity to taste more of its dishes.

That said, the resto should work on its queuing: on my second visit, my orders took too long to be served that my lunch break was over by the time they reached me.

Tsokolateria is located along Mother Ignacia Avenue, Bgy. South Triangle, Quezon City, open daily from 10am to 10pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 3743798.

Another branch is located at The Boutique Bed and Breakfast, 45 Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City, open daily from 9am to 9.30pm. For reservations and inquiries, call +63 46 4131798 or +63 46 4131885.