FACE-OFF: Visiting Various Carinderia

food at Tapsi Ni Papi

It's nice to be in a neighborhood who's slowly becoming aware of the growing market of people wanting to get good food. I maybe the most happiest seeing food establishments and carinderia sprouting in our village (that's in Countryside Village in Ortigas Extension) like mushrooms. I've been to a couple of them and will narrate to you my rants and my raves, if you don't mind me doing so.

Goat 2 Run

kalderetang Kambing

As far as I can remember, I haven't tried a goat dish before this visit to Goat 2 Run. It's like playing a game of hide-and-seek dining here in this carinderia that specializes in goat meat. It is closed more often than not in most days I happen to pass by it so I consider it such a felicitous moment when it's open when I decided to give Goat 2 Run a try.

inside Goat 2 Run

Various permutations of goat dishes can be had here: from adobo, papaitan, kilawin and kaldereta (the dish that I tried on this visit). There's an option to also try Fried Itik which I might try next time. I'm tempted to include a photo I took of a beheaded carcass of the goat sitting on the counter, momentarily left there unattended for the customers to gloat at. But you might find the scene too repulsive and ended up abandoning my site altogether. So I decided otherwise.

kalderetang kambing (up close)

I've ordered the kaldeteta. And as I've come to expect, the meat is quite gamey and slightly tough. But this dish totally captivates me. The sauce is imbued with the meat flavor and it's pleasantly spicy, too. Just how I like my kaldereta prepared.

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Tapsi Ni Papi

at Tapsi Ni Papi

Tapsi Ni Papi could very well be my favorite among the carinderia that sprouted in our area. It's obviously a play of the Tapsi Ni Vivian name, a famous tapsihan that has several branches now. It's an open spaced type of carinderia. Too open spaced that the reflection of the sun glare bouncing from the pavement might make you dizzy plus the combustion smoke from the passing tricycles might further perfume your food. But that's part of the lure of this carinderia. 

condiments and utensils

bulalo

Even if I'm sweating from the sweltering heat, I ordered the Bulalo. Bulalo always satisfies. From the delicious soup, down to the bone meat that I ate unabashedly with my hands, eschewing the fork and spoon altogether.

bulalo and silog

I also tried the Longsilog (a trio of Longganisa, fried rice and egg in one plate). I do always asked for a sunny side up egg to partner with a sinangag so this is already a winning combo for me.

sizzling chicken

The Sizzling Chicken w/ Gravy is also a must order. Perfectly cooked chicken slicked with gravy. How could you ever go wrong with that?

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Bente Silog

inside Bente Silog

A new player in our area when it comes to the carinderya business. Bente Silog occupies the previous space of Chef Engineer's Grill & Cafe. My Tita says she also saw a Bente Silog outlet elsewhere so this might be a franchise of sorts.

chicksilog

There's a number of meals here that can be had at twenty pesos, of course. But the depending on your order, some meals are priced at fifty or sixty pesos. Which are still reasonable. I initially asked for the sisigsilog but what arrived instead is the chicksilog. The girl who took my order, who is obviously one of the owners, didn't mind to double check before dispensing an order. And based on the way she glared at me, she would stick with what she heard initially. I just don't want to be in a heated argument for a merely thirty (?), forty (?) pesos meal. Seething, I eat my chicksilog. But I haven't been back since.

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Tinkerbell

ube shake

Tinkerbell offers sundaes and shake concoctions made from homemade ice cream. When I went here, a guy eating his own ice cream order kept saying "Sarap!" over and over again. Well, it must really be that good to warrant that unabashed "declaration of affection".

ice cream on cone wafer

The tried the Ube Milkshake w/ a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with some chocolate syrup. I really liked it a lot so I ordered another one, this time on a wafer cone. Creamy and lush, I bet this ice cream shop will be a hit once summer kicks in.

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Brelle's Kitchen

at Brelle's Kitchen

Brelle's Kitchen is not located in our village but it's near enough. There eatery is located at One Oasis Condominum in Ortigas Extension. Just a quick five minute jeepney ride if there's no traffic from our place that I decided to include this eatery on this list. 

angus beef tapa

It struck me like I'm entering a room for nursery kids when I went here. Stools and tables are like the kind you normally see toddlers busy sketching drawings or messing up with their coloring books. And look at that baby tiger place mat! All I needed to do now is bring out my lunch box and eat.

But of course, I had them prepare the food for me instead. The Angus Beef Tapa is really flavorful. A lip smacking affair complete with hot rice and fried egg. And the concentric slices of tomatoes and cucumbers added a nice touch to an already pretty plate.

sausage sauteed in sweet spicy glaze

To cool down,  a pint of pistachio ice cream

I decided to try some Sausages. The weiner was cut in thinly slices and tossed with a sweet-spicy glaze with diced red and green bell peppers and onion rings. The glaze has a spicy note that caught up to me in the end and the fries came in handy to somewhat alleviate the flurry of heat that I'm tasting.

The post is quite long I know. It's my way of making up for not updating for more than a month now. I'll try to whip up another one this week and keep it more succinct this time. 'Till then, why not tell me about your favorite carinderya. Maybe I could visit it next time. Ciao for now! =)