A PhP122.50 buffet at Maki Japanese Restaurant

The tag seems too good to be true but Maki Japanese Restaurant’s Bento Bento buffet is back – bigger, bolder and better. This whole month of October Chef Pauline Gorriceta Banusing’s Japanese specialty restaurant give its diners a “full on food at half the price” treat. From Mondays to Fridays during lunch time (11am to 2pm) avail of their promo bento bento meal buffet for only PhP122.50 (from the regular price of PhP 245).

I got the chance to relive the experience I had years ago when I had lunch at Maki today. On each table, one finds a list of Japanese specialties that will make up your bento box meal. After filling up necessary items and getting the basic reminders, one is now faced with the delicious dilemma of choosing what will make his meal and usually the first one is often the hardest.

The bento meal has five categories; Soup, Sushi and Sashimi, Misono, Fried/Steamed and Grill. You will have to choose one from each category in order to make your own bento meal. Juts mark your choices in each and give it to your food server and wait around five minutes and enjoy a meal you made your own.

From the Soup Kettle one can choose fromMiso soup, Vegetable Ramen soup and Soba noodles to which I chose the specialty miso soup. It was a “refreshing”, not too heavy on the stomach yet full of flavour.

The Sushi and Sashimi set has the most choices and one can rally get lost in Japanese gastronomy with California Maki, Avocado and Tuna Maki, Spam and Cheese Maki, Crazy Maki (tuna cucumber and tamago), Tamago Maki (sweetened egg) Spicy Tuna Maki, Kani Maki (crabstick) and Dragon Maki (tempura).

I played safe so I got the California Maki then also had the Dragon maki afterwards. I then realized that I never got rice (which comes free) but these specialties already have rice. From the Misono table one can have Beef Teriyaki, Pork Sukiyaki Teppanyaki, Beef Gyudon - my first order but it wasn’t available that time, so I got Pork Tonkatsu (looks like a thick strip of bacon) which I really enjoyed (sans the fat)

The Flash from the Pan choices had sio mai both pork and beef, pan fried Gyoza, fried spring rolls and shrimp tempura. I had the sio mais first then opted for spring rolls which I really enjoyed during the Amazing Appetite buffet weeks ago.

Finally, “Hot off the grill” were beef, pork tenderloin and fish plus vegetable yakitoris. They usually come in last and separate from the bento box for they are still grilled in the kitchen upon order. I really had a blast with the pork tenderloin that it was always the same order for each bento meal.

And here's how the bento bento buffet list looks like.

All in all, I had four bento box plates and each time it came, I had favorites that often make it to my next plate. It’s more on the thrill of a new experience but the food itself is worth the wait and its tag. A relatively new concept (introduced years ago) for the Ilonggo foodies that brings buffet into a whole new level. But just like any buffets, everybody seems to make it worthwhile and try to have a taste of everything on the menu.

And definitely it’s all worth craving (more pork tenderloin yakitori please.) and raving also sharing the experience – all in the name of good food!

Promo period is from Oct. 3 to Oct 30, 2011 at Maki Japanese Restaurant in Smallville. For more inquiries, please call (033) 321 3885.

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 (

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

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

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.

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

FLAVOURS OF ILOILO

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