Quarantine Favorite: Hungry Apron PH's Hainanese Chicken

Time flies by so fast. I can't believe that I'll be giving birth in a few weeks. And as much as I dread it, I am considering to do ge lai as it is said to help post-partum. But I discovered a dish that I think would make me look forward to eating gingery food!

Hello, Hungry Apron PH. 

I love Hainanese chicken. Sadly, I seldom find good ones here in Manila. More often than not, I'd end up having dry or bland ones that are highly dependent on the ginger spring onion sauce. Thankfully, the brilliant people behind Matt's Waffles decided to share their amazing Hainanese chicken with us.

First Bite: Nanyang

They say Asians can't live without rice. Well, I could but I definitely will go crazy without bread. I'm a sucker for good toast. It's one of my staple meals for breakfast. And when I got a taste of Kaya Toast, I'm hooked! Needless to say, I was heartbroken when I found out that Toast Box bid Manila farewell. But my frown was turned into a big grin when Nanyang opened. 

Hello, Nanyang.

Nanyang is the local counterpart of the crowd favorite Toast Box. Offering scrumptious toasts paired with soft boiled egg, it was an instant hit with me.

First Bite: Makansutra

Hurrah for new (and posh) food halls and the blooming food business for giving us foodies more and better options. Thank you too for satisfying not just our tummies but also our insatiable desire for Instagram-worthy walls and overall interiors. But I am going a couple of steps (or sentences) ahead of my review for the latest food hall in Manila, Makansutra. 

Hello, Makansutra! 

This beautifully decorated food hall in SM Megamall is the brainchild of Chef Him Uy de Baron and Pinoy Eats World's JJ Yulo. The spacious food hall has a bunch of food stalls offering several Asian favorites with laksa as one of the most recommended dishes to date. Unfortunately, R and I were still full from lunch when we dropped by and only had room for drinks and sweets. 

We were like lost kids in Instagram paradise as we read through one menu board after another. After several minutes, we finally decided to go with Pulut Hitam with Coconut Ice Cream (PHP160), Bandung (PHP90) and Lime Barley (PHP80). It was actually easy to decide on which dessert to order as most were not available that time. 

The whole food hall has a pay as you order policy and for now all stalls only accept cash payments. (So make sure you have cash with you when you drop by.) We got our drinks as soon as we settled our bill. 

First Bite: Hey Handsome

Hey Handsome has been receiving praises from notable influencers from the foodie community for a month now. Actually, just knowing that the minds behind this concept are the ones who brought Your Local already convinced me that I have to visit this place ASAP. I really respect these young talents as they are not afraid of the insanely crazy restaurant industry we have now. And to use unconventional raw ingredients such as keluak,a big poisonous fruit found in Indonesia, among others, proves how passionate they are in their craft and in bringing new flavors to Manila. The restaurant was scheduled to open last Friday but since the owners want to make sure that everything is perfect, they had to delay the opening and moved it to August 17 instead. (Thank you, Charlie Paw for the heads up!) And finally, Hey Handsome is open!!!

Hello, Hey Handsome!

I was greeted by lovely interiors that reminded me of Your Local, only brighter and more Instagram friendly (given the abundance of light). The modern mixed with industrial feel, high stools and white and green tiles turn every corner of this restaurant perfect for shoots. 

I guess Nicco Santos, one of the owners, head chef and a photographer himself, considered how foodies love to take snapshots of food and restaurant interiors. 

The restaurant aims to infuse more “real” Asian flavors such as Peranakan, Thai and Malaysian. Though some of the ingredients are sourced in other Asian countries for more authentic flavors, some are sourced locally. I honestly could not really tell which ones are authentic tasting or not. As long as the dish tastes good, I’m a-okay with it! 

I have read several positive reviews about the Beetroot Paneer (PHP480), Nam Tok (PHP580), Bebek Penyet (PHP680) and Nasi Lemak (PHP645). I decided to go with last one knowing that is considered as a complete meal in Malaysia and Singapore.

Quite unfamiliar with the dishes, I did a quick research and found out that Nasi Lemak is usually composed of meat, salted peanuts, coconut rice, hardboiled egg and dilis. But it is wrong to expect “usual” when dining at Chef Nicco’s restaurant. Instead of serving nasi lemak (coconut rice) with meat, Hey Handsome paired it with sea bass otah infused with spices that is wrapped and grilled in banana leaves served with sambal, pickled soft boiled egg and peanut brittle with dilis.

Café Ilang-Ilang, the place where you won’t get “ilang”

First off, I would like to apologize about the lame title for I feel that this place deserves a classier name… but I just can’t help it. (For those who are not that familiar with the Filipino language, ilang means to be uneasy.) Moving on…

I was so glad that my boss tagged me along to the launch of the all-new Café Ilang-Ilang. At first, I didn’t know that it was a buffet restaurant thus I had a heavy breakfast. When I got in, I felt remorse over not skipping breakfast. And who wouldn’t when one is faced with NINE COOKING STATIONS?

               

               

The host of the launch was Issa Litton and she felt that we were all drooling and eager to visit all nine stations. The stations were: Pan-Asian (Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, and Filipino dishes), Churrasco (Western), Japanese, Italian, Spa (healthy food station) and Dessert. After the short talk of the president of Manila Hotel (yes, Café Ilang-Ilang is inside the Manila Hotel), people from the press all “charged” to the different stations.

              

              

              
              
              

              

              

              

Being a frustrated Japanese that I am, I went to the Japanese station first. It was sushi, sashimi, and maki galore! I took a lot of salmon sashimi which is my ultimate love. I also took some other tuna sashimi, eel sushi, and this interesting pomelo with shrimp salad in a martini glass. All I can say was, it was LOVE! The seafood was fresh. The salmon was so soft and the shrimp is still firm and not the powdery type some restaurants serve. The dish that has several colors (I can’t remember the name), was also good. :)

Next stop was the Chinese, Filipino and Korean Stations. For the Filipino station, I took some grilled pork (and I forgot to get some sauce, no wonder it was so dry), steamed fish, and of course, lechon! For the Chinese station, I took some dumplings (pork, chicken and shark’s fin). Lastly, for the Korean station, I got chapche, kimbap and my favorite, bulgogi. 

The lechon’s best part is the skin and I was really excited to munch on it but I guess that was the one dish you have to try first. My lechon’s skin was no longer crispy. :( The steamed fish on the other hand was your typical steamed fish. A bit on the bland side but that was cooked just the way I love it!

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture before taking a bite. IT WAS THE LECHON!

The Chinese dumplings were also not that great to rave about but it was still quite good. But, the Korean dishes were a disappointment to me. I was actually quite excited because I was hoping that (at the very least) the bulgogi will be good, especially since the chef handling that station is a Korean. Unfortunately, the dishes were quite dry and bland. True, Korean dishes are not very rich in terms of flavor but I had better bulgogi, kimbap, and chapche in other restaurants here and in Korea.

Since I was already full and my tummy was already asking for mercy, I decided to skip all other stations, EXCEPT the desserts station. I left that I was in Willy Wonka’s factory when I visited the desserts station. There were lots of pastries, chocolates, fruits, ice cream, and much much more. I had a hard time choosing which ones to try. Just staring at the chocolate fountain brings tears to my eyes. 

Anyway, enough being so sentimental over desserts, I had marshmallow covered with chocolate, tiramisu, chocolate brownie, strawberry pudding, and that heavenly chocolate pudding (which I forgot to take picture of—was too excited). The tiramisu was a bit bland and same goes for the chocolate brownie and strawberry pudding (though it was not the pudding’s fault since I got it from the sugar-free section). BUT the chocolate on the marshmallow was so good. In fact, I savored every drop left on my plate (and no, I did not lick my plate clean. I was still aware that I was in a hotel and that I have to act properly.)  

Verdict: A must visit place!

Ambiance:  The place was quite cozy. At first, I thought that the place was small; but after checking all 9 stations, I realized that the interior designer was witty to segment the place in such a way that all kinds of people, from couples to families to colleagues will all feel at home. Also, they were witty at placing the desserts station near the entrance. As mentioned by Issa, it was purposely done so as to remind people to “make room for dessert” since there are 8 other stations.

Price: Given that it is in a hotel, expect that it will be pricey. The range goes as low as P1372.77 (net) and as high as P1647.32 (net).