 |
 |
Mabuhay, a closer look
Aloha!
3/20/09 - Truly, truly, one of the most authentic, well-established, and long-standing Filipino eateries on the island has to be the little restaurant that could on River St. called Mabuhay. You won't find a modern, more contemporary place like Max's of Manila, Golden Coin, or Loulen's here, but an old-school, no-frill's diner, and that's including the location, which sits amidst drug dealers, homeless populations, and some very sketchy people in general. In fact, even as we drove by looking for parking, there was a drug transaction happening right then and there on the street! Meanwhile, after parking, a truly distraught individual ran right by us dashing and darting in and around nooks and crannies like a single soldier taking control of Downtown house-by-house (or store by store!) - hey, no problem with me, so long as he's packing only his index finger and thumb as a weapon and doesn't start messing with wifey! She's not yet even 100 lbs., but lemme tell you, this one surely has a mean right-cross, a decent jab, and a light's-out, never-seen-it-coming round-house kick, as well!
Lucky us, though, we got parking right there on the street across from the restaurant, so we could both keep an eye on our car! I hope I'm not over-dramatizing life down in that section of Downtown, but I don't wanna under-explain how bad it is, either, 'cuz it is pretty bad. Generally, the homeless there look more scary than they actually are and usually keep to themselves (they usually have full conversations without needing anyone else, right?), but it's the one's that don't look crazy and delusional that worry me more - damn low-life's, pushing drugs and women, nothing better to do than hang out on street corners preying on weak people. Makes me ill.
Anywayz, here's the entrance at Mabuhay, which actually looks kinda nice, doesn't it? And like my choice of border color? National color of the Philippines, yes?
As you can see from the next shot, the inside of the restaurant is old-school all-the-way, in everything from the vinyl-backed chairs, checkerboard table-coverings, juke box, and pictures hanging from the Brady Bunch era. And Aaai-susss', you'll love the manang's in their bright-colored, traditional dresses - so nice! And I'm not being sarcastic, either - there's nothing more heart-warming and pretty than tutu's breaking out the mascara, the flowers, the wardrobe, and just taking the time in general to get all prettie'd-up! Of course, that could apply to any female of any age, but still... I think it's waaay cool, and they really do look beautiful!
The first two items laid on our table was a vinegar-garlic sauce and a small bowl of unchoi stems that carried with it a serious punch, indeed, the punch coming from both a lip-puckering soak in vinegar and a hefty wash in chili pepper. The crunchy green's were meant as a simple appetizer to whet the palate, while the other, also-potent bowl of vinegar-garlic was a dip for something that came later.
 |
 |
And that something was a very popular dish in Filipino culture - crispy pata. This delicacy is the ultimate beer food, consisting of thick cuts of pork leg, including knuckles. It is first boiled in water flavored with salt, spices, and herbs, then dried for up to 24 hours and deep-fried with flour and extra flavorings like patis (fish sauce). I've seen many variations on this dish, sometimes coming as large pieces with slits cut throughout that almost resemble a rack of ribs and sometimes as clean, even slices. Most often, however, it is roughly-cut into irregular-sized pieces like here at Mabuhay - homely, rustic, and simple, just the way it should be.
Talk about an artery-clogger, though! It's my guess that taking down this plate would be far worse for your cardiac situation than a double bacon cheeseburger with fries or a chicken katsu plate, any day! In fact, the only parts I could actually eat were the small pockets of meaty areas, as the fat and skin were just a bit much for either of us to handle - it wasn't really even all that crispy, but more tough and chewy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Granted, I wasn't expecting potato chip-style pork rinds or anything, but outside of the meaty areas, I wasn't expecting a Crisco-like creaminess, either!
Our second dish almost came as an order of pancit, the popular Filipino-style noodle, but we decided instead on a bowl of kare-kare. Especially popular in the Tagalog areas of the Philippines, this well-known stew comes infused with a strong peanut flavor and contains various meats, mostly oxtail, as well as a bevy of vegetables like eggplant, cabbage, and green beans, as seen here.
Also hidden within the bowl were some of these little guys:
Aw, c'mon, you gotta know what this is! That unmistakeable, honey-combed pattern? Tripe is a perhaps more palatable name to use, instead of its real name of animal intestines. I've had tripe stew on various occasions, but for some strange reason, it was always with copious amounts of beer! This particularly fine day found me, not with a dulled sense of inebriation to hide behind, but with the full range and heightened sensitivity of a genuinely sober palate, which meant that just one of these pieces was quite enough for me, thank you! I dunno, unlike wifey, any kind of organ never really goes down this local-boy's stomach all that well. I figure hey, I may not care for certain things, but at the very least, I'll surely try them, as everything deserves a shot. Keeps the mind open and inquisitive, you know. Also keeps wifey from calling me a wimp!!!
And by the way, that red coloring you see in the last shot comes from the popular fermented paste called bagoong. This one in particular was bagoong alamang, the version where ground shrimp are used. Bagoong terong comes instead from the fermenting of fish, which is allowed to sit for weeks or even months, producing not only the paste for bagoong that sits on the bottom, but also a thin, less viscous layer of liquid that rises to the top to produce patis, or fish sauce.
Though it may not look so great and has a reputation for smelling really bad, it was actually very good, tasting very much like a wet, concentrated version of those packages of small, dried shrimp, along with just a touch of sweetness and spice. I allowed for liberal portions all over my kare kare.
And finally, the dish all my Filipino friends at work suggested I order - tilapia sarciado. I was hoping it'd be the cleaner, whitish-pink species of tilapia generally considered more valuable, but it seemed to be the darker version on this particular day. Oh, well...
The fish was huge, at least for a tilapia, stretching over the entire plate and coming covered with a delicious layer of tomato, onion, garlic, bell peppers, and a spicy tomato-based sauce. As you can see, it's still steaming-hot and very aromatic. Can't wait to dig in!
There were a lot of interesting things going-on with this dish, a truly delightful amalgamation of different textures and tastes. Before even arriving on the plate, the fish was cooked in that time-tested preparation that always works - deep-fried whole with flour, with slits cut down the entire length of the body. This produced a super-crispy, flour-enhanced skin that melted slightly while soaking up all the great flavors of the sauce poured over it. The inside's, meanwhile, were firm, white, flaky, and yes, very clean, with large bones that were readily identifiable and easily separated from the meat.
After the top half of the fish was gone, I took another shot exposing some of the flesh, all mixing together with the vegetables and tomato sauce. Spoon a little bit of everything over hot rice, and wow, what a combination! Much thanks to Roberto, Bernardo, and the rest of my friend's at work who led me to a winner dish, for sure!
Yes, I gotta admit, actually, that Filipino foods are not exactly my favorite culinary variety, but there are yet many dishes that I do love, not the least being my newly-discovered sarciado! And I can see how I may just be able to develop even more of a taste for Filipino foods, as the strong, hearty flavors do have a way of jolting the senses into a kind of awakened pleasure. The use of potent vinegars, fermented fish sauces, shrimp pastes, tangy-sour tamarind, liberal amounts of pork fat, and more may be harsh and over-powering to some, but absolute bliss to other's. Much like a person growing up with Indian and Thai foods, where dishes without a powerful, jolting dose of spicy-hot chili can seem dull and taste-less, I see how Filipino foods can be so delicious to those brought up in the culture. Like our minds and bodies, our sense's, once stretched, always carry with them a kind of memory that remembers the outer boundaries and presence of their furthest stimulations. With tastes as strong and pronounced as the dishes we just had today, they certainly do stretch to the limits of our culinary sense perceptions. One thing I know for sure, is that you can never accuse Filipino foods as being boring!
May you all have a fabulous and wonderful week!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
Post a Comment or just say hello! Don't worry about leaving REAL names if you don't want to! Changing to Code names are fine, but just stay consistent with your code names, allright? Heck, you can even punch-in a fake email if you wanna stay completely anonymous (no e-mails will be posted without consent, either way)! Hope to hear from you all!
