Thursday, August 28, 2008

BIG MAMA's PLACE

After several weeks of a roller coaster ride, I finally made my Saturday alive again. So I decided to visit Big Mama’s Place. Owned by the family of Bede Ongtengsiem. Bede is a good friend of mine.

The place is fabulous. It has a positive ambiance. Its interior is very neat and very stylish. People will have a feeling of being at your home when you are inside the Big Mama’s. I met Beau, Bede’s brother. Like Bede, Beau is also nice and cool person. They were both very accommodating when I was there. I also met Tita Bonnie, the mother of Bede and Beau. I was really mesmerized by the warm welcome they showed me. They prepared for me one of the best sellers in their resto, the Peppered Chicken with Tomato Rice, Thai Bagoong Rice and Orange Tuna Pasta plus Dimsum. I can say without exaggeration that the dishes were all fantastic and superb. I wanted to ask for more and eat more.

MENU

Orange Tuna Pasta

Thai Bagoong Rice

Peppered Chicken with Tomato Fried Rice

Perfect Homemade Dimsum

Interior of the resto designed by Bede's sister

Kitchen Confidential

Tita Bonnie shared with me her cooking styles. She doesn’t want to bake food because she hates exact measurement of ingredients. She prefers the “tanchahan” way of cooking. She makes sure that the ingredients they use in cooking are all fresh and are in good quality. She also allowed me to take a closer look at their kitchen where the food are prepared and cooked. It is very neat and clean. The utensils are all placed accordingly. The staff are all well groomed.

She also told me that their menu continuously evolves as she makes ways to find and experiment different recipes. She doesn’t want their food to be commercialized. She wants to make other people happy and satisfied especially the families who dine with them by serving them real tasty and quality food at its best.

We both believe in home-style cooking where everything goes around. We both love to experiment on different dishes. We never follow the recipes of others. We want to make our own. And we both believe cooking is not just cooking to let others eat and taste your food. We both believe that cooking is a special way of showing others that you care for them and love them. Cooking is not just an art for us. It is a passion.

With the BIG MAMA Bonnie and son Bede Ongtengsiem

Afterwards, I can’t help but express my gratitude to them (Bede, Beau and Tita Bonnie). I thank them from the bottom of my heart for having me taste their one-of-a-kind food. Sincerely, I was really glad and my stomach was really full that time. I am very happy for my friend, Bede for having this kind of business. I can see that it is doing very well. It was indeed a satisfing lunch and a learning experience as well. It wasn’t my usual lunch. It was extra ordinary. I wish to have my own restaurant. I know I can fulfill that dream one day.

Bede, Thanks for inspiring me to wear my big smile again. And for always telling me that life is beautiful and full of possibilities amidst pain and sufferings. ☺


My TAKE HOME!

BIG MAMA's PLACE
Along N. Paterno St. San Juan, Metro Manila
Opens Tuesday to Sunday –11am to 9pm

Mie Daging ala meixiang

28 agustus 2008, kamis siang

Pulang kursus mobil, dijemput husband, langsung ke spmket deh...beli macem2, biasa deh belanja makanan..hehehe... Siangnya kepingin banget makan mie ala indo punya...jadi nyempetin bikin deh...bumbunya diracik sendiri....hehe Bahannya cuman mie, daging giling babi [terserah sesuai keinginan]bwg bombai, minyak wijen, kecap asin, bumbu garam lada, sayur [gw pake toge n sayur ijo direbus].

Cara bikin dagingnya - bwg bombai diiris tipis2 tumis mpe wangi, masukkan daging giling - tumis mpe matang...tambahkan saos osyter, n kecap manis, garam lada secukupnya
Mienya tinggal direbus aja, sajikan di piring bersama daging n sayur, tambahkan minyak wijen, kecap asin, bumbu garam lada.

Hasilnya lumayan lah.... mei juga makan stengah porsi, husband bilang enak...hehehe. Akhirnya bisa bikin juga mie ala indo..puas deh makannya...

Food Writer’s Diary job service

August 28

Chef Tom Block, who has been catering since March, is looking for a full-time job. He was chef de cuisine at Falai when he left in March, having been promoted from line cook to sous chef and then to chef de cuisine over the course of three years.
Before that he was garde-manger and then tournant at Aquavit. He’s done stages at Nobu in Tokyo and, here in New York, at Washington Park and P*ong.
Oh, he also studied cooking in Bangkok.
Write a comment below or e-mail me at bthorn@nrn.com if you’d like to talk to him.

Trying to be antisocial

August 28

On Tuesday night, as I was finishing up work to go to the carnivorefest that is Josh Ozersky’s annual birthday party, I got a call from a friend who was standing at the host’s station of Thor, where they were under the impression that we were to be dining on Wednesday. I checked my calendar, and they were right and my friend was wrong, so I imagine he wandered off to Katz's or someplace for a quick bite before heading to his neighborhood bar on the Upper East Side.
I went to Josh’s party. I think tomorrow is his last day at Grub Street. He’s going to work for Citysearch, which very reliable sources tell me “made [him] an offer [he] couldn't refuse.” I hope it wasn’t a horse’s head in his bed.
At any rate, Josh used the full force of his influence to get cool chefs to cook delicious meat, and convinced all of the usual suspects to show up (except for Eater’s Ben Leventhal, who was on vacation).
So that was fine, and I certainly wish Josh many happy returns of the day, but, I mean, I see all those people all the time, at all the parties, and I don’t have to get sand in my shoes at Water Taxi Beach, where Josh holds his shindig, to do it. Seamus Mullen’s terrific lamb burgers notwithstanding, I just wasn’t in the mood.
So I didn’t bother to find a replacement date for dinner at Thor and instead went solo, allowing me to be somewhat antisocial and focus on the food of the restaurant’s new chef, Jesi Solomon, whose food you might have eaten at The Stanton Social, not far from Thor, where he was a sous chef.
Jesi’s half Turkish and is originally from Tucson, which he told me when explaining the main dish I ordered, which was spiced rack of lamb on avocado purée with a feta chile relleno, garnished with fresh cilantro.
I also had white bean purée with olive oil and Parmesan, which came out with the bread, and a salad of fried artichoke with Parmesan and toasted coriander vinaigrette.
Coriander, the seed, not the leaf which we Americans usually call cilantro, is enjoying quite the little wave of popularity here in Gotham. Cilantro is, too, but that’s nothing new.
While I was eating my salad, publicist Chris Langley, looking trim and well-tanned from time in Nantucket and Cape Cod — sauntered over to hang out. Jesi sent out a couple of types of flatbread — one with smoked tomato and whipped feta and another with pulled pork — and Chris and I spoke of New England and other things. A friendly-sounding commotion at the bar motivated him to move up front and the server brought out some smoked cheese with figs and balsamic vinegar.
Then I had the lamb and was told by Jesi to have the peanut butter sundae with salted chocolate and caramelized banana.
I ended up having that at the table of Food & Beverage Magazine editor Francine Cohen and her husband Jake, who had asked me to join them. We discussed the state of modern Judaism and other things.
So the attempts at being antisocial didn’t work, but I enjoyed myself anyway.

Something that made me smile


I was sent this picture last week. It made me smile so I thought I'd share it on here as I am sure there are a few people out there who will appreciate it too.

It's from Married to the Sea.