Uncle Cheffy's at Eastwood

Had dinner with Augie at Uncle Cheffy's at the New Eastwood Mall.

The restaurant prides itself for its  brick-oven and slow-cooked cuisine, Interiros were cozy and as in most restaurants at the second floor of the mall, it provided seating in the veranda area where you have a view of the mall park pedestrians below and the wide outdoor video screen. We decided to dine in the outdoor area and cool down with drinks.

Soda and Banana Shake

For starters, we had the Grilled Prawns and Pomelo Salad with Asian dressing..

It was a well-plated salad with well-cooked prawns, pinkish pomelos and crunchy fresh greens. The dressing used light soy and was subtle, allwing you to taste the freshness of the veggies. We ordered the small plate and it was good enough to share.

Grilled Prawn and Pomelo Salad

A. decided to get the Pork Ribs with Hawaiian rice which was good to be shared by 4 people! The meat was tender and slid right off the bone but most of the flavor was just on the outside. Thankfully, it came with a dip that saved the dish. I wonder though if the dip is made by the restaurant or just bought off supermarket shelves.

Barbecue Pork Ribs and Hawaiian Rice

 I got the Garlic Studded Pork Belly Lechon which was served with liver sauce, tomato salsa and marble potatoes. The skin was crispy but the meat was just bland. if you dip it in either the sauce or the salsa, all you would get is the taste of the sauce and the salsa. I only had two bites and said goodbye to the dish.

Garlic Studded Pork Belly Lechon

We weren't very happy with dinner and decided to leave without having dessert. Maybe next time, if there is a next time, we'll just have their signature specialty- brick oven panizza.

Gusto Mo Bang Mag-Pakwan...Sa Sinigang?

Whilst surfing the net for interesting fruit-based meat dishes, I came upon several articles about sinigang (sour, fruit-based soup) using Pakwan (watermelon). Bloggers and food enthusisasts wrote about it as a native dish of Pampanga and Laguna. I think the area of San Miguel Bulacan and Candaba, where watermelons abound is a logical area of origin for this dish. That theory is unfounded of course. 

Another interesting  bit of cooking technique adapted for this sinigang was to pre-cook the pork so the watermelon will not disintegrate. Interesting, 'no?

Although the recipe calls for the use of unripe watermelon, using a slightly ripe one will do, just make sure to include the pale green flesh of the fruit. I also use the seedless watermelon variety you can buy from the supermarket.

And instead of using a tamarind cube, you can use stock made from fresh unripe tamarind boiled and strained to remove the solids. I think you can even make the dish prettier if you add in the rarely available tamarind flower (which has a subtler sour taste).

SINIGANG  SA PAKWAN

Ingredients:

3/4 Kg seedless watermelon (pakwan mura- hilaw), peeled, cut into chunks

1 Cup sliced tomatoes

1/2 Kg pork spareribs, cut into chunks

1 pc large taro roots (gabi), peeled, sliced into small bits

1 large onion, quartered

2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled

2 pcs finger chillies (siling haba)

1/2 bundle string beans (sitaw), cut into 2" long

1 bundle  water spinach (Kangkong), trimmed, washed

1 small bundle okra, sliced into diagonal 1inch pieces

1 small labanos, sliced into 1 cm-thick pieces

Salt or fish sauce (patis) to taste

1 tamarind cube, softened in 1 Cup water

1. Blanch the pork spareribs in a pot of boiling water. Skim top to remove impurities.

2. Dilute the tamarind cube in 1 cup of the water used for blanching the pork spare ribs.

3. In another clean pot, place the watermelon at the bottom. Then add in the onions, tomatoes, taro roots, then the blanched spareribs. Add in the tamarind mixture and around 5 cups of water. Cook over high heat until boiling, then simmer until meat is cooked and the watermelon are soft and mushy. This will take around 1 hour. Add water if you want to adjust the sourness of the soup.

4. Start adding the vegetables starting with the finger chillies and the string beans. Cook until the vegetables have changed color (brighter) but remain crisp.

5. Add in the water spinach. Cover the pan. After about 1 minute, add in the leaves of the water spinach.

6. Season with salt or preferably fish sauce to taste. Serve hot with rice.