Category Archives: Filipino

Filipino Restaurant Reviews

La Mesa, Dee Why

15 March 2012 – 10:32 pm

It’s amazing how long it has taken us to visit La Mesa at Dee Why.

Why? (Why Dee Why? Haha sorry I couldn’t help myself)

It is, for me, the single most popular Filipino restaurant in the whole of Sydney and it has taken us 100 million years to join the fun and visit the restaurant. Being Filipinos doesn’t help – the fact that most of us believe Mum’s homecooking is better than any restaurant has steered us away from going to Filipino restaurants. But, the pull of our hungry stomachs and the lure of the beach, plus our own curiosity had us driving 45 minutes up north to Dee Why to see what the fuss was all about.

Kare Kare: tender meat & peanut sauce heaven!

Yes, we’re late bloomers. We also tagged along a high school friend who was equally eager to tuck into some grub from the motherland.

I was equally surprised at how good the food was. The prices were relatively good, the servings massive and most importantly, the food was fantastic!

As soon as you walk in, you’re immediately greeted by some regular bits and bobs found in almost every Filipino household:

So Filipino: spoon and fork

The giant fork and spoon (what’s missing is the framed “God Bless Our Home” and “God Bless Our Kitchen” hanging on the wall, but the fork and spoon will do).

While waiting for our orders to arrive, we entertained ourselves with the different drawings on the wall, each showing distinctive Filipino icons.

The Jeepney, every Filipino's staple public transportation complete with "sabit"

Kalabaw, or water buffalo - essential in farmers in rice paddies

There was no mucking about. We ordered three dishes that really showed how meat-hungry we were. We also ordered these three specifically because although we can cook, all three of us couldn’t cook these dishes. Especially the third one.

So, shall we? (and yes, we went straight to the mains!)

Beef Caldereta

Beef Kaldereta

This Spanish-inspired dish is a true crimson beauty. Tender chunks of meat in a pool of rich, mild-spicy tomato based sauce cooked to tender perfection. Pour the sauce over your white rice and this is a meal in itself. We certainly mopped the sauce with a healthy serving of white rice, just because.

Kare Kare

Kare Kare

I let out a silent squeak when I saw the black bowl-looking dish heading our way. This is how kare kare should be served: in a clay pot called palayok that screams AUTHENTIC! Imagine this: slow cooked ox tail, beef and tripe in a peanut sauce. Sounds heavenly? What if I tell you that to eat this the right way, you have to finish it off with a side serving of bagoong, a salty concoction of smelly shrimp paste that oh-so-oddly goes well with the heavy, heady peanut sauce? Again, serve with a side of steaming white rice and you got yourself a plate of food heaven.

Bagoong (shrimp paste)

Lechong Kawali Crispy Pata!

Crispy pata comes sliced off the bone, ready to be consumed

This is, by far, the creme de la creme, of every Filipino gathering. Whoever brings Lechong Kawali  Crispy Pata (I am such a bad foodblogger, I should be fired), is put on a pedestal and wins the award for best dish ever. Crispy Pata is simply put crispy pork knuckle, with tender, almost fall of the bone meat, crunchy pork crackling and finished off with a spicy vinegar dip. Life is short, have some pork!

Two words: PORK CRACKLING!

And so, with bulging bellies and a homely satisfaction that could make every Filipino proud, we staggered out of the restaurant pleased with our dining experience. Filipino food is increasingly becoming more popular, and just as how it should be. We are proud of our heritage, of our diverse and colourful history, of our mixed cultures, and of our wonderful, fantastic cuisine.

A Filipino degustation

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La Mesa Cuisine

Shop 2, 874 Pittwater Road (corner Oakes Ave) Dee Why

9972 9877

http://www.lamesa.com.au/

 

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Events & Festivals Filipino Kulinarya Cooking Club Meat

Kulinarya December: Noche Buena Mechado

18 December 2011 – 9:46 am

Christmas is all about family. In the Philippines, we take one step further and celebrate Christmas pretty much any way we can, any time. Christmas celebrations usually start when we’re in the “-ber” months – September, October, November, December, and drags on until pretty much January and February when the stores change their Christmas decorations to Valentine’s day.

As most Latin and Spanish countries, Christmas Eve is just as important as Christmas day in the Philippines. Families gather together on the 24th of December, prepare an absolutely scrumptious feast, stay up until midnight, open the presents and dig into the food.

Beef Mechado

Our family is an exemption. We’re not the big parties, big gift giving family that is typically Filipino. Rather, our Christmas dinners are usually a dish or two, rice, Coca-Cola (yes, always a mainstay in Filipino dinners), a Goldilocks cake and ice cream. Sometimes as a treat, my dad will buy roast chicken from Andoks or Baliwag, and mum will come home with kilos of fresh, ripe mangoes. We don’t usually give each other gifts, but again dad will usually take us to Divisoria, a wholesale marketplace in the Philippines full of bargains, and he would buy us Barbie dolls and plastic tea pots and cups.

For me, Christmas eve dinner or Noche Buena is all about simple, Filipino food made special by the people you share it with. May it be a fabulous, colourful fiesta ham, or a simple yet fresh plate of grilled fish served with rice cooked in banana leaves – Christmas in the Philippines is what you have and with who you have it with.

My favourite, most special dish from my mum’s repertoire of dishes is mechado. My sisters and I would request this from mum on every birthdays and special occasions, and we would tuck in with so much gusto my heart bursts with each memory. This is my take on Noche Buena, my mother’s Mechado – because this is what Christmas eve is all about.

Mother’s Mechado

Makes approximately 4-5 servings

1 kg gravy beef, cut into large chunks

Olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

3 tbsps soy sauce

2 tsps fish sauce

3 medium sized potatoes, peeled & chopped into large chunks

2 medium sized carrots, peeled & chopped into large chunks

2/3 cup tomato sauce

1/3 cup tasty cheese

1 tbsp raw sugar

1 dried bay leaf

1 medium sized green capsicum

Salt & pepper to taste

1. In a large pan, heat oil and sauté garlic until brown but not burnt. Add onions and tomatoes, and sauté until everything has softened.

2. Add in fish sauce and the beef. Saute everything together and put on lid for a few minutes.

3. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir to combine, and put on lid.

4. Cook meat for approximately 2 to 2 ½ hours, depending on pan size, heat, and heat distribution. I like the meat really tender, almost shredded when cooked through. Ensure the pan doesn’t burn – add about ½ cup water every time the meat gets a bit dry. Don’t worry if you add too much water – it will evaporate really quickly during the 2 hour cooking time.

5. Once meat is almost tender, add the potatoes and carrots. Put on lid and cook for another 10 minutes until the vegetables have softened.

6. Add tomato sauce, tasty cheese, raw sugar and bay leaf. Adjust the taste by adding salt and/or pepper.

7. I prefer crunchy capsicums, so I put these last. Add capsicums once the root vegetables have softened and the taste adjusted, turn off heat, and put on lid. The steam will cook the capsicums but won’t make them soggy or soft.

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The Kulinarya Cooking Club comprises of dedicated and hungry food bloggers from all over the world, eager to promote the colours and passion of Filipinos through our food, drinks and hospitality. The Kulinarya Cooking Club is a celebration of Filipino cuisine, culture, history and its people.

Kath – http://www.acupcakeortwo.com/
Trisha – http://sugarlace.com/
Trissa – http://trissalicious.com/
Olive – http://www.latestrecipes.net/
Caroline – http://whenadobometfeijoada.blogspot.com/
Ninette – http://bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com/
Peach- http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/
Althea- http://www.busogsarap.com/
Asha – http://forkspoonnknife.blogspot.com/
Malou – http://www.skiptomalou.net/
Cherrie – http://www.sweetcherriepie.com
Acdee – http://acdee.blogspot.com/
Valerie – http://www.acanadianfoodie.com/
Sheryl – http://crispywaffle.com/
Divina – http://www.sense-serendipity.com/
Anna – http://www.anniesfoodjournal.blogspot.com/
Dahlia – http://www.energychef.blogspot.com/
Joy – http://joyjoycreativeoutlet.blogspot.com/
Maribel – http://www.foodgeek.webs.com/
Tressa
Jen – http://www.jen-at-work.blogspot.com/
Pia – http://bisayajudkaayo.blogspot.com/
Malaka – http://thegrandinternational.com.
Mimi – http://lapinchecocinera.blogspot.com
Erika – Ivory Hut
Kat – Alonakat
Lala – This Little Piggy Went to the Market
Selfie – http://eats.sefiebee.com/
Connie Veneracion frm Home Cooking Rocks
Oggi from I Can Do That
Katrina Kostik from Lardon My French
Rochelle Ryan from Why Diss
Marica – Cuppy Creme
Diona – Tita Flips
Rowena -Saraplicious/a>
Theodore – Chef By Day
Gianna – The Empty Fridge
Mireille – Dirty Ice Cream in Your Lunchbox
Marishka – Rishka
Annapet – Moonglow Gardens
Boyet – Reel and Grill
Adora – Adora’s Box
Yaz – Who Ate My Tomato
Marvin – Eat Marvin
Ray – Wok with Ray

 

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