Gelatinous Goodness

I am a lover of simply cooked, well-executed seafood. No frills, not too much fuss, just cooking that focuses on making the star ingredient stand out.

In a small seaside town by the name of Getaria, only 40mins bus ride away from San Sebastian, you'll find a temple which pays homage to this cooking philosophy: Restaurante Elkano. I could tell you more about the history of this family-owned business, but I want to get straight to what matters most.

To whet our appetites, an amuse-bouche of fresh anchovy with a delicately spicy tomato and onion salsa was presented before us. It did indeed entertain our palettes.

Between the three of us, we had three starters, one complete portion of hake kokotxas (kokotxas de merluza) cooked three ways (grilled on charcoal, deep fried, green sauce), one half portion of grilled white prawns (gambas a la plancha), and one half portion of oven baked spider crab (txangurro al horno).

Kokotxas aren't for everyone, in my opnion. They are a tad slimey and I guess some people would prefer the cheek of a fish or the main body. The fried and with green sauce versions were nice, but not overly impressive. However, in fitting with what this restaurant does best, the charcoal grilled rendition was memorable (middle in the picture below) - smokey, melt in your mouth goodness.

The standout starter for me was definitely the pair of white prawns. Exceedingly fresh - maybe some of the freshest I've ever eaten - whose sweet, tender and juicy flesh, when combined with smokey shell exterior (which I ate) was a truly memorable taste sensation. And, of course, the head juice of these prawns was simply sublime. 

The baked spider crab, creamy and rich, was delicious, and paired very well with Elkano's truly awesome bread. But it didn't quite reach the levels of the prawns that preceded it, so we had even high expectations for the main event.

We waited in anticipation for our mains - a whole grilled turbot (rodaballo a la parilla), the speciality of the house (April/May is the season for turbot, so we were in luck). I just had to go and see these beauties on the grill - but be warned that if you also decide to have a peek, the intense heat will make even the hardiest folk sweat just a little.

The sight, smell and sound (yes, you can hear the skin sizzling) of the rodaballo was indeed matched by the taste. The waitress divided up the turbot into 3 types of flesh: 'white' skin flesh with the skin not facing the charcoal, 'black' skin flesh with the skin facing the coals, and lastly the bones and fins.

The first two were delicious; but the overriding memory will doubtless be that of eating the bones and the fins:

The charred outer bones were crispy, and the bones further towards the main body were surrounded by gelatinous collagen. This combination of smokey crispyness and unctuously creamy collagen is a truly memorable taste and textural experience. Of course, this restaurant has great service and an excellent set of cheap yet brilliant matching wines, but for me, this part of the turbot was probably the secret weapon restaurant in helping this restaurant win its Michelin star.

http://www.restauranteelkano.com/ 

Pigs can fly

Probably the best pig skin I’ve ever eaten. Yes, better than the best Chinese style suckling pig skin. The key difference is the crunch – Chinese style suckling pig skin has a crispy crunch, whereas CnT lechon has ‘glass-like’ crunch which does not break down into small fragments upon biting, giving a longer lasting crunch. Not the mention the moreishly salty layer of fat underneath.

But it’s not just the skin – make sure you order the pork shoulder cut of lechon – it’s tender, a tad salty and a touch herby from the secret mixture used to stuff the pig.

Don’t forget the to order the ‘atchara’ – a pickled green papaya salad whose sweet and sour properties complement the fatty pork perfectly.

And I didn’t mention the price. Rice, half a kilo of lechon and ‘atchara’ will set you back around 500 PHP. Incredible value. Just note the opening hours of CnT’s branches – many will be sold out by the later hours of the afternoon – so if you can, stop by for lunch.

Price: ~250PHP per person

Opening hours: 8am – 6pm, Earlier you arrive, the better!

Address: Multiple outlets across Cebu

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cnt-Lechon/100751080018862?rf=161096753940659

Crabsters

I had no idea that these creatures even existed until we stumbled across a restaurant by the name of Alona Hidden Dream, about five minutes walk from Alona Beach (Panglao Island). As a foodie, a mere glimpse of these oddly-shaped animals from 10m away sparked off something in my brain: I had to go investigate. Upon closer inspection, they looked like a slightly alien-esque cross between a crab and a lobster. The lady promoting trying to entice people into the restaurant explained to me that these critters go by the name of ‘Curacha’, only found in the south of the Philippines.

Over the next two days, we ate around 50% of the restaurant’s stock of these arthropods, 6 to be precise. The majority of their flesh resides within their massive head, or rather their main thorax, to be precise. So compared to say Sri Lankan crabs, they are much easier to devour due to the easy accessibility of their juicy flesh. 

The flavour is much more similar to that of a Sri Lankan crab than a lobster, but the meat has a bit more bite which is why these creatures are often marketed as a lobster-crab hybrid, or a crabster as some might call it. Depending on how many you buy, one large Curacha could set you back 1000 – 1500 Piso, so not cheap, but with their sweet, juicy flesh, and excellent meat to weight ratio, and the fact that you might not find these guys outside the Phillipines, these are a must try. 

Best steamed and served plain (or with garlic butter sauce separately to dip) so their sweet flesh is un-adulterated. We demolished many crabsters and crabs on our final, highly satisfying night on Alona beach:

Price: 1000 – 1500 PHP per Curacha, depending on how many you eat and your negotiating skills

Address: Alona hidden Dream Restaurant, Tawala, Panglao (walk along main path perpendicular to Alona Beach for about 5-8mins)

https://www.facebook.com/alonahiddendream

Kinda like ceviche

Moalboal isn’t famous for its food. Top class diving, such as its famed ‘Sardine Storm’, it has. Authentic Filipino food, it has, but hard to uncover. If you are struggling to find genuine local fare, then I’d suggest Lantaw restaurant near Panagsama beach.

Two notable dishes here. First, kinilaw – a Filipino classic. The easiest way for me to describe it would be that it is like a creamy ceviche, with a strong focus on citrus and chilli kick. Watch out for the bird’s eye chillis hiding within. Delicious nonetheless.

And then sizzling shrimp. This dish wasn’t about the shrimp. They were quite small and own their own nothing to write home about. But that sauce, nutty and buttery, is really addictive. I wanted to order another portion.

Price:  ~400 PHP per person (including non alcoholic drinks)

Address: Lantaw Restaurant, Panagsama Beach, 6032 Moalboal

Opening hours: Mon – Thurs 10am – 10pm, Fri – Sun: 10am – 11.30pm

http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Restaurant_Review-g663539-d1807065-Reviews-Lantaw_Restaurant-Moalboal_Cebu_Island_Visayas.html

Overload yourself on Organic

The food here is good. Very good. And organic. And pretty cheap. And it's spot of serenity away from the touristic area of Alona Beach. Now you might be wondering, how did two people eat all of this:

Complimentary starter plate: Freshly made bread and mango jam (awesomely tasty), crispy cassava chips with a cucumber and feta topping

Fresh vegetable spring rolls: crunchy assortment of veggies wrapped in a crispy cassava shell

Halang halang soup, a slowed cooked chicken in light coconut-based broth, enhanced by horseradish-esque ‘malunggay’ leaves.

Seafood soup with noodles (Not pictured), simple yet delicious, with the prawn shell notes running through this spicy soup. Mango and peanut butter shake. No further explanation needed.

Ube ‘jam’: Not really a jam. Just a soft ube (Filipino purple yam) cake. A must have for ube addicts like myself.

Then, somehow waddle out of the restaurant.

Price: 400 PHP per person

Address: Bohol Bee Farm and Resort, Dao, Dauis, Panglao Island, 6339 Bohol

http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Restaurant_Review-g1036817-d1168871-Reviews-Bohol_Bee_Farm_Restaurant-Panglao_Island_Bohol_Province_Visayas.html

One place where sea urchin is cheap

Uni, or sea urchin, is not normally an item which is cheap. But on Virgin Island (Bohol), this unctuously sweet and delicious animal is. Extremely. And downright delicious.

For only 20 Piso, a fisherman will cut a open a fresh sea urchin, and hand a half straight to you. I ate ten such portions. Tip: Ask for the orange ones, orange referring to the colour of the flesh. The more orange they are, the sweeter they are.

Umami Bomb

Tsukemen hasn’t quite taken off in the West in quite the same fashion as conventional ramen; but if tsukemen was done in the same way as at Tsukemen Tetsu, I’d put some money on it gaining siginificant popularity.

Looking at the picture will immediately tell those of you familiar to making sauces and stocks that this tsukemen broth possesses intense flavour. Made from pork bones and bonito, the flavour is different to your average tonkotsu ramen broth: the fish adds another umami dimension, not to mention that it’s highly concentrated in comparison with conventional broths. Basically it’s an umami overload: sheer deliciousness: perhaps too intense to drink on its own: hence the need for noodles.

Tetsu’s tsukemen noodles are in my mind a hybrid of an udon and a conventional ramen noodle: chewy and slippery like normal udon but thinner and with enough texture to allow the broth the cling on.

How to eat tsukemen: Dip these noodles in the broth, and slurp away, and eventually, you will reach umami nirvana. Add to that meltingly tender cha-shu pork belly pieces and an expertly cooked “onsen” egg, and that, as you can imagine, is an irresistible preposition.

I went to the branch next to Shinagawa JR train station: probably a good bet if you need to fill up before a long Shinkansen train ride.

Tsukemen TETSU (Shinagawa branch)

Shinatatsu Ramen Mentatsu Shichininshu

3-26—20 Takanawa Minato-ku Tokyo

Opening hours: 11am – 11pm (Ramen plaza opening hours)

Price: Around 900 – 1000 yen

http://houseofhaos.com/2014/02/04/tsukemen-tetsu-shinatatsu-ramen-plaza-tokyo/