Breakfast at Gasthof

One of Boracay’s iconic restaurants is Gasthof, the home of the island’s best baby back ribs. These flavorful ribs can make you forget about using utensils, grab the ribs with your hands and devour the tender meat that’s practically falling off the bone. But it’s not the ribs that making me look forward to going back to Boracay, it’s Gasthof’s breakfast.

Boracay, Philippines 69

Every morning, Gasthof serves Filipino and Continental breakfast. While my travel buddies ordered the Tapsilog and Longsilog, I had veal sausage, with two sunny side up eggs, huge pancake and tea.

Boracay, Philippines 70

What can I say except that I was extremely happy with my breakfast? The sausage was packed with flavor, the eggs cooked the way I like it, the pancake huge and fluffy and comes with maple syrup. Best off all, it’s only Php 190 for the entire thing, and it comes with your choice of tea or coffee. I’m definitely having this when I go back to Boracay this weekend!

Gasthof Boracay Restaurant
Boracay D’Mall,station 2
+63-36-288.6473

Seair flies daily to Boracay, with as much as 11 flights from Manila to Caticlan. Book your flight now by calling the Seair hotline at 849 0100 or book online through www.flyseair.com.

Kasbah Moroccan Restaurant

“Are we there yet?” I asked Melo.

We had been walking for 10 minutes since leaving our guesthouse in Boracay’s Station 2, and we have yet to arrive where we’re having dinner that night. Kasbah was Melo’s discovery. While walking the length of Boracay’s fine white sand beach, he stumbled upon this Moroccan restaurant in Station 1. He got to chatting with Evelyn, the restaurant’s operations manager, and before he left, she invited him back to the restaurant if he finds himself in Boracay again. And so three weeks later, Melo was back, with Eric, Gail, Marc and me tagging along to discover Moroccan cuisine.
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Post Holiday Omelette

Happy new year! Like most households, our refrigerator is still bursting with food prepared for the holidays. I was getting tired of eating humba, spring rolls, and macaroni salad, so for dinner, I whipped up some omelette. Of course, when I foraged for ingredients to put in my omelette, there was nothing else except holiday leftovers: queso de bola and ham. Not that I’m complaining though, I love the Christmas ham!

Post Holiday Omelette

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Fish Fingers Recipe

Do fish have fingers? No, they don’t! But for some reason, this is what my sister calls this dish. When I stayed with her in Melbourne, she listed off the dishes she wants me to cook — dishes she personally loves and dishes the kids would want to eat. She asked me to try to make fish fingers — fish fillet seasoned and deep fried.

Fish Fingers

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Thai Mince Pork Salad

I first tried this salad in Thailand, when I took a Thai cooking class. Admittedly, it’s not something I’d probably order if I saw it in the menu. However, from the first bite, I was hooked! I have the recipe in the booklet they gave us, but I was too lazy to look for fennel locally. Luckily, a Thai friend thought to cook some for dinner last weekend. And instead of using fennel, he used cilantro and mint, and added in some ground roasted rice for added texture. It was even better than the one we made in Bangkok!
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Fried Lumpiang Ubod (Fried Palm Heart Spring Rolls)

lumpiang ubod

Lumpiang ubod is one Filipino food I definitely love to eat. Be it sariwa or fried, this delicious food is readily available at most Filipino restaurants, eateries, canteens, and even from peddlers on the street.

Here’s a very simple recipe if you’d like to make some yourself.

Fried Lumpiang Ubod (Fried Palm Heart Spring Rolls)

Ingredients:

2 cups ubod (palm heart), cut into thin strips
1 chicken breast, boiled and flaked
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
Dash of chicken powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Lumpia (spring roll) wrappers
Cooking oil for stir frying
Cooking oil for deep frying
cornstarch diluted in water

Heat oil in pan. Saute’ onion and garlic until onion is translucent and garlic is golden brown. Add in the ubod. Next, add in the chicken. Season with chicken powder, salt and pepper. Stir fry until ubod is cooked. It should be tender but still has a bit of crunch. Allow to cool.

Lay out one lumpia wrapper on a plate. Place two tablespoons of the filling mixture on one end of the wrapper. Fold flap over the filling and fold the left and right sides in. roll until you reach the end of the wrapper. Seal the end with cornstarch diluted in water.

Deep fry in cooking oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature with vinegar and crushed garlic.

lumpiang ubod

Grilled Oregano Chicken

My mother loves watching cooking shows, and one of her current favorites is Q TV’s Quickfire: 10-minute kitchen wonders with Chef Rosebud Benitez. That’s probably where she got the idea of this simple chicken dish.

When my mother first asked me to try this, I was skeptical because it didn’t really look good. Plus, it’s chicken breast, and I’m wary that it’d be dry. However, I was in for a surprise — it tasted good and it was moist! I was an instant convert, and I’ve been cooking this dish every week.
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Pork Adobo Recipe

The other thing I cooked for my birthday was pork adobo. I know it’s a simple ordinary Filipino dish, but just weeks ago, I was able cook great adobo in Batanes, and I wanted to replicate it for my family. Besides, it’s not everyday we eat adobo in the house.

Pork Adobo

My sister taught me this recipe years ago, and I’m so glad she did.
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Easy Roast Chicken

One of my favorite things to eat while in Australia was roast chicken. Every time my sister and I go to the supermarket, we always pick up a tray of seasoned chicken that’s ready to roast. The roast is always a huge hit in the house, and the kids that are normally hard to feed have chicken bones piled up their plates. I wanted to replicate the chicken, so I tried my hand at making them from scratch, using the roast chicken seasoning she sent us in one of the balikbayan boxes.
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