Classic Palabok at Amboy's, San Pablo City

The Jollibee palabok is probably representative of a more common palabok dish where bihon is used. I much prefer the thicker noodles found at Amboy's, which to me is the more classic version. In this case, there's hardly any difference at all between Pancit Palabok and Pancit Luglug,

Palabok commonly has a thick shrimp sauce, some bits of pork (or in Amboy's case, bits of chicharon), hard boiled egg, green onions. Amboy's version (P25) is probably the best I've tasted in San Pablo. I like it even more than the more expensive and much hyped Pancit Luglug from Razon's (P109).

SanPellegrino Aranciata Sparkling Beverage

I'm a big soda fan, I have to admit. Apart from ice cold water when I'm incredibly thirsty, soda is my go to drink of choice. Yeah, I tried to go alcoholic. I've had a few drunken binges to prove it. But there's no alcoholic beverage that I prefer more than an ice cold soda immersed in lots of ice.

Once in a while I'd see a soda drink that I haven't seen before and I'll try it. I've known of San Pellegrino sparkling beverages for a while from things I've read online. But I actually haven't seen one locally until recently. I saw these two, "Limonata" and "Aranciata" from Marketplace by Rustan's at BGC the other day and I grabbed them right away. I was thinking FINALLY. I'll be able to taste these bad boys!

Call it "sparkling" all you like Pellegrino, but it's all soda to me. Yeah, SOFTDRINKS. Calling it "Sparkling Beverage" is like calling comics "graphic novels". It's all the same to me.

Shuddering with excitement, I opened Aranciata first, poured it on ice and prepared myself for whatever was to come. And what came was...

WTF. This tastes like Sunquick.

That said, I love Sunquick. It's a childhood orange drink that my mom would always pack in my bag with my snacks for school. I grew up with it. I love it.

It's just disorienting that a product that's marketing itself as a classy softdrink would taste exactly like my childhood orange drink.

On the bright side, I guess I don't have to buy such an expensive can of Pellegrino Aranciata to taste it. I'll just mix Sunquick with a can of Schweppes soda water and I'll have the exact same thing.

Thanks Sunquick!

Authentic Kulawo at Sulyap Gallery Cafe

I have to say it straight away. Nobody cooks Kulawo better than my aunts and uncles back in Sta Catalina (Sandig), here in San Pablo. Their kulawo has a very earthy, very countryside flavor that can't be replicated here at home or found at restaurants.

That said, the next best thing is Sulyap Gallery Cafe's version at Brg. Del Remedio, Cocoland Compound, San Pablo City.

There are two types of kulawo that's made here. One is made from eggplant and the other is made from banana hearts, the latter being my favorite.

We ordered Sulyap's version of the banana hearts kulawo, which comes with a generous helping of awesome, awesome grilled pork belly. We had also ordered their eggplant version previously which is also very good, but I just really love the banana hearts one.

If you haven't tasted kulawo yet, it's basically the aforementioned main ingredients cooked with vinegar, onion and coconut milk squeezed from toasted coconut meat shavings. The authentic way is to put the shavings into a metal pot, throw in some live coconut coals and just let it burn the shavings. After that's done, remove the remaining coals, let it cool and then squeeze the milk from it. It is quite unlike anything you've tasted before.

Another thing we ordered was their Ginatang Sugpo, or large shrimp cooked in coconut milk. It's pretty common to have so much food cooked with coconut milk here in San Pablo due to the abundance of coconut. Sulyap's version is very very good. It's just like how your mom would make it.

Any visitors to San Pablo wishing to taste authentic Southern Tagalog dishes ought to head to Sulyap Gallery Cafe, not only for the food, but for the incredible ambiance. Their dining rooms are spread out among restored Spanish style houses nestled in beautiful gardens. None of the dining areas are air conditioned but it's so pretty and so oozing with history and culture that you wouldn't mind.

Sulyap is not only a place you can eat, but they also have rooms available if you want to stay overnight. They have a pool, and they have a museum! This is truly one of the must visit places whenever you go to San Pablo City.

Sulyap Gallery Cafe's website:
http://www.sulyap.net/