06.08.09
MANDARIN WOK AND SOME CHICKEN TALK
I lost a bet yesterday so I had to pay for a meal we’ve had in Mandarin Wok in the Mall of Asia. Now this restaurant supposedly offer gourmet Chinese food, or something to that effect. But that’s not the reason why we came there instead of Don Henrico’s, which is just a stone’s throw away or the ritzier Azul which I want to go to. My friends were raving about a roasted chicken (The friggin chicken aroma was wafting all over the place) and I think the Chinese does this dish best.
I got the Mandarin Orange and their seafood rice. I could not remember how much I paid. What I do remember, however, is that for the price I shelled, I was mighty satisfied with the serving of the rice.
Now, their chicken was good, something different from the other chicken I’ve had before. This is mainly due to the skin. See, when you have a bite, there’s the proverbial crunch and then it crumbles! You will actually feel that. I have been racking my mind how the cooks there achieve that kind of effect. Anyway, I have no complaints except for the iced tea and the hard seat. Had the service been just a tad faster, I wouldn’t have whined about the latter ^^.
Now this brings me to another conclusion I made. I do like KFC chicken and I’ve been trying to figure out how their chickens are made and fried. As you probably know, KFC chicken are moist and the inner flesh is flavorful so I thought, they must be soaking it in brine. I tried this method already, and it seem to achieve its objective. lol. However, what I could not quite get was the outer part. I initially thought they were using a batter instead of dredging it (breading is out of the question). So, what…
Yeah, what the heck am I talking about, lol. The thing is I was not able to duplicate the feat via my taste buds alone. And since we could not eat chicken all the time, it is only sensible for the other attempts to be relegated in the future. 
Oh, by the way. One of my favorite chicken is the Cajun Chicken of Bigg’s Diner back at home. It’s delicious.
05.28.09
WALKING and so forth
Warning: A better part of this post wouldn’t make much sense to most, so this would probably qualify as a rant.
See, am absolutely dead beat these days – with the endless walking under the menacing heat and all. Been looking for a place where I can do my training and, as things are, the current circumstance is frustratingly dismal. WTF. There’s this thought gnawing at my brain telling me that things are so dangerously overrated with this caper I am in. I’ve had so much of this character-building exercises etc. etc., as a result, I am increasingly getting fidgety. I feel like I am wasting so much time!
Lest, peeps say this dude is way too impatient, it seems I would still keep walking, aight?
Anyway, today, been to 5-star Hotel # 1, 5-star Hotel #2, then Renaissance in Makati. In a three-way battle for first impressions, I’d say Renaissance won. Like, this is the place that would be interesting to work as an employee out of these three – that is, if I have a choice (unfortunately, I don’t have that luxury). The place is cozy and gives you a real welcoming feeling and so it’s kinda conducive for creative people. Besides, I think they don’t have this system in place that filters paying guests from non-paying guests, lol, unlike some, which appear so ridiculously impregnable.
04.16.09
MIHCA FINALS
Scenario:
Final Examinations Part II (Practical Exam)
Menu:
French Onion Soup
Vegies
Baked Marble Potatoes
Supreme of Chicken
Tarte Tatin smothered with Creme Anglaise for dessert
Breakfast
Time: 2.5 hours
Result: ________.
Eh, sa di ko rin alam e. T.T Tawagan na lang daw kung sumablay o hindi. Tsk. tsk.
Did I do well? I am not so certain now. I got mixed reviews. Wah!
03.04.09
STUFFS
Even though I hate baking and pastry because it’s a damn science, I am very competitive so I made these for our bake sale (I call it Death by Chocolate ^. It looks so-so but there’s this mousse inside which I am very proud of.):
Also, there’s this:
I also did French Bread successfully on my first try. ^^
I have done numerous dishes – soups, main course, starches, pasta – but uploading pixes is such a chore so I am showing off muna yung me struggle variable talaga .
03.01.09
RISOTTO ON MY MIND
Today, a friend asked if we could eat at Amici. I have been hearing about this restaurant for a while now and I wanted to go but then I couldn’t because I have to finish a project about David Elkind (I ended up watching 4400 the whole day lol) As it is, this friend is adamant on trying the risotto so we will be going the next chance we have. To be honest, I am not a fan of risotto I’m more 
interested in Amici’s famed gelato. Anyway, this talk about the cereal reminded me of a funny learning episode with Chef Popit. It went something like this:
Prologue:
Chef Popit was harping about being creative with our garnish: “Who would want to buy your food if they look like that?” So I was kinda fired up and tried somethin different instead of the good ol parsley which the Chef abhors because it is understandably a cliche na. lol. What I did was cut a generous slab of onion thinking that I’d make a little island, with the risotto on top around a stalk of asparagus that would supposedly play the palm tree part. To my mind, it was a decent work. But here was the exchange when I presented my case:
He ate the asparagus, poked the risotto with the thermometer and scraped it off leaving the onion behind.
C.P.: Wow. What’s this?
Me: Uh, it’s an onion?
C.P.: What a big onion. What is it for?
Me: It’s a garnish chef.
C.P.: Didn’t I tell you that the garnish should serve a purpose besides decorating your plate? It should be edible.
Me: Well…
Great, Einstein. Think!
Palusot #1:
See, chef, the risotto is hot right? So I thought, it would scald the onion and I was hoping it would produce the steam that could spice the dish a bit.
C.P.: Can you eat it? Here, try.
Me:
Palusot #2:
No, chef. But the purpose of that onion is analogous to the principle behind the utility of the plate. You can’t eat it but it serves a function.
Bwahaha. So lame, eh?
C.P.: Aw, really. What are you gonna do with it after?
Me: Well…
Alright, change the topic dude.
So, how about the flavor. How does it taste like?
C.P.: Ummm… so-so… But remember the garnish, cook it. Otherwise, I should be very careful about you depleting the onion supply should you ever work for me.
Me: Sure. I’d remember.
C.P.: Anyway, nice job.
Me: Really?
C.P.: not on the food. your debating skill, that is.
T.T
02.25.09
SUMMER IS HERE
Today, I am that dude-who’s-gonna-be-sick-with-flu. The sudden onslaught of summer caught me fvckin offguard! It’s so hot out there that you just wanna die. The changes in temperature – from hot to cold-then-hot – probably shocked my system. I am supposed to go play today but I do feel bad. T.T
Meanwhile, another chef said goodbye this afternoon. She’s been teaching us for almost two weeks. And it was sad. I have heard that there’s this policy in MIHCA that chefs aren’t allowed to teach a class for too long lest they form an attachment with the students. Anyway, Chef Mia (I don’t know if you would be able to read this) I had fun with your class and we’ll miss you as much as we do Chef Jam.
This talk about chefs brings me to a thought that has been tugging on my mind for a bit. It appears that girl chefs are way different from dude chefs. I’d like to talk about this perspective later I guess.
^^
