Skip to main content

Buto't Balat

I've been here many times but this is the first one with blogging in mind.
It was actually an unexpected text message from EricD of www.byahilo.com asking me where he can find chicken binakol since he was craving for one. I gave him Breakthrough Restaurant (having seen it featured on TV) and Buto't Balat having this actually part of our order before.

Eric chose Buto't Balat and luckily I was in the vicinity so we decided on a late-lunch EB. I didn't actually raved about Buto't Balat's chicken binakol before but their sisig keeps me craving for more. I already knew what orders will be even before we even met that time.
Indeed it was a native chicken binakol (PhP 188, PhP152 for broiler chicken) and sizzling sisig (Php168). Since EricD has also started a food blog www.sugarloaded.com, it was another great meeting sharing passion for food, photography and blogging. The place offered a good blogging ambiance that time since there wasn't a crowd and picture taking around the restaurant was just a breeze.
But the hard part of a food bloggers meet is that no matter how hungry you are, picture taking will always be the most important and often the first part. Of course you gave to style the food, choose the right angle, correct lighting and setting that took us another 15 minutes on top of the 20 minute waiting time.

As I have said before Buto't Balat branch located along Solis Street seems like an oasis in this "concrete desert" part of the city. It has a native ambiance in and around just like a real oasis, a pool is a great addition. The main hall is native all throughout; tables, chairs, blinds, lighting fixtures, even the menu. They also have a few cottages and a bar-counter if ever it becomes an SRO crowd.

Well it was worth it after, from the pictures we got to actually how the food tasted. The sisig was still the great tasting one I like; crunchy and well seasoned, just perfect! And Eric's chicken binakol? I'm glad he liked it and eventually I liked it too as compared to the just okay rating I gave it during my last visit.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Ultimate Ilonggo Favorite: KBL Kadyos, Baboy, Langka

K.B.L. or Kadyos, Baboy, Langka is the ultimate favorite dish of most Ilonggos. It is also one of the most missed native dishes as kadyos and the souring ingredient, batwan , are hard to find when outside of the Ilonggo region.  Basically, it is boiled/stewed pork dish owing its "deliciousness" to the combination of the soft and tender pork, the tamed sourness of  batwan  and the  malinamnam na sabaw .  One of the "secrets" of the malinamnamn na sabaw , is the fact that the pork, whether just the plain meat or pata (hocks) are first grilled or broiled. This gives the broth a rather smoky taste that makes it more appetizing.. Learn how to make the Ilonggo dish KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, at Langka) with the recipe below. Ingredients 1 kilo Pata (pork hocks) or pork cubes, GRILLED and sliced into bite size pieces  1 unripe Jack fruit, cubed 2 cups pigeon pea (kadyos) 6-8 pieces batwan fruit  (or tamarind powder) 1 piece pork broth cube (
Read More ...

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home.  A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ".  Here's the recipe for Valenciana
Read More ...

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy  and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice .  I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the usu
Read More ...

Takway

The gabi (taro) is just one of those plants which is edible from "roots to tops". The most popular of which is the tuber part which is used in a variety of dishes and mostly in combination with coconut milk. Its leaves, of course, is the main ingredient of a Bicol specialty, laing . It is dried then chopped and sauteed with other ingredients including, again, coconut milk. Then there is takway . The local term for its tendrils/runner, that part which is torn between being a stem or a root for it neither grows upwards nor downwards - it grows sideways . Scraped off of its outer skin, takway is often a key ingredient in vegetable dishes like laswa and the gabi tuber with coconut milk and local snails know as bago-ngon . It is also popular when cooked adobo style with guinamos , the local bago-ong . It is very popular in the region that even big supermarkets sell takway in style - cleaned and plastic wrapped in styro with some additions to make it easier to prepare.
Read More ...

An Ilonggo favorite - Suman Latik

Suman Latik is one of my favorite native delicacies - plain suman/ibos topped with sweetened coconut strips or bukayo . Most of the time those sold in the markets have this two (suman and bukayo) already in one wrap and all you have to to is devour it. But most of the time, the bukayo portion is bitin that I wish there's more. So why not make our own suman latik so you can have all the suman we want with all the bukayo toppings we desire! Here's a simple recipe for Suman Latik 
Read More ...