Turon de Aleisa

Oh, yes! It is another Concina de Aleisa post.

But this time it is about dessert.

"Turon" does not turn me on. (yes, I rhyme.) It is one of the things that you would see on the menu that you would not consider to be anything special. I only ordered it because the waitress hinted it was good.

I was totally expecting conventional fried plantain wrapped in lumpia wrapper, topped with a scoop of ice cream and drizzled with chocolate, and sprinkled with chopped nuts. This is done all the time by many restaurants in an effort entice us with a regular plain turon. All these toppings really do not make it any special. I feel that we can all do this at home. Why do we have to pay for an overprice dessert that we can do so much better at home?

Turon de Aleisa was not what I thought it would be.

The magic word that the waitress utter that made me order this dessert was "ube". This is jam made from yam. I was only trying to explain what it is as most of the ingredients of this dessert is produced locally. The rhyme was totally unintentional.

She mentioned, the turon had ube filling. And this made me curious...

If you look at the picture, I am pretty sure you would start drooling inside your mouth. The plating does look good. Triangular turon is really cute. You would see that compared to the regular turon, this use very minimal wrapper. You can see this from the transparency of the lumpia wrapper hinting the color of ube or yam.

I would no longer describe how this was plated as this would be redundant, you can already see this from the picture. And, I cannot stand writing about this without anything as delicious to eat. My mouth is still watering as I am writing this.

I took the small dessert spoon and cut half of one of the turon and took a little bit of vanilla ice cream that is served with it. It think it is important to take a little bit of everything on the first bite. The first bite gives you a crunch from the deep-fried lumpia wrapper. It was crisp because it was really thin and cooked well. If you overcook or undercook lumpia, it has the tendency to be gummy; a bit would be tough. But this was cooked perfectly. I also tasted the vanilla ice cream with blended well with the chocolate syrup. The flavor of chocolate slightly introduces the creamy taste of ube. You would then taste the sweetness of the ube which introduces another sweet fruit. It was candied "langka" or jackfruit. This would then introduce another sweet taste that would come from "macapuno".

Macapuno is a mutant coconut. The meat is sweeter and makes a delicious dessert. It is tasty to eat it as it is. The coconut-y taste of macapuno goes really well with the taste of ube here. I just kept my mouth shut to masticate.

I was not able to talk for minutes after taking a bite. It was a lot to take in. It was crunchy to creamy to sweet. This was a lot of different elements added together but really created a somewhat seamless transition to each flavors as you eat it. You would be able to taste the distinct flavors as you eat it but it would feel like a really great marriage of different tastes

This is (by far/probably/so far) the best dessert i ever tasted. And probably the best turon I ever tasted. This is one dining experience that you are not suppose to read about on blogs; but rather, experience for yourself. If you still haven't planned on going to Cocina de Aleisa, you would end up missing a lot.


You can visit their Facebook account through here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cocina-de-Aleisa/162187057204351


Consider going there on a Friday as they have barbecue nights. This only adds more variety to their already oh-so-delicious entrees. The menu choices are made thoughtfully, I don't think you can make mistakes in choosing any dish.

I once read that Pampanga is the Culinary Capital of the Philippines; I am beginning to understand why.

Sinuglaw from Cocina de Aleisa

It can be such a gamble to try out new restaurants. They rarely bring anything new to the table. Some people are not willing to gamble good money on food that would leave them disappointed.

This place was such a great discovery. Cocina de Aleisa hasn't been in operations for so long.

The place is built where a garage should have been. It is really a house transformed into a restaurant. The place looks amazing. It features al fresco dining which only opens from 5pm onwards. Which is quite logical since it can be so hot out to eat al fresco in the Philippines during the midday. It can fit probably about 150 people at a time.

It was kind of awkward when I got there. You know how awkward  it feels to be the first customer of the day? But that is just me. The waiters and waitresses were courteous. They would even meet you by the entrance to take you to your seat already armed with a menu. A set of menu had a list of Korean food. Bibimbap... Bulgogi... The place is known to have a lot of Korean residents, but we are not going to talk about the neighborhood. We are here for the delicious food.

I was not in the mood for Korean so I browsed through the menu. The place had everything. It had a lot of fusion dishes, Mexican, French, Pinoy... I was more in the mood for Pinoy that time. After all, It's more fun in the Philippines.

Don't get me started. Being stuck in 7,107 islands, we have a very diverse culture. We have different dialects that even Pinoys don't even understand each other. This even affect our taste in food. But we are not here to talk but geography or history.

Back to the menu, they have everything, They have appetizers: Mozarella Sticks, Dynamite Rolls which is cored, long green peppers with bell pepper strips and cheese filling wrapped in "lumpia" wrapper and is fried served with a dip (I was told it was delicious). They also have pasta dishes, Chicken with Pesto, Bolognese and a lot more.

I was attracted to Sinuglaw.

This dish had a lot of influences from different parts of the Philippines but am not going to talk much about that. This had pork, seafood, and vegetables. It would make a well balanced meal.

It had the feel of "Kinilaw", where you put raw meat like fish or prawns in vinegar. And let it sit there. And wait for the acidity of the vinegar cook the meat for you.

It had grilled pork and tiger prawns, which is two of my favorites. You can never go wrong in ordering any of the two. These two ingredients rest on chopped, long, green peppers and sweet red onions, and is seasoned with vinegar. 

*pics taken from Cocina de Aleisa's Facebook account

I love vinegar. The vinegar we have here is made from sugar cane. It has that somewhat sweetish sour taste which is has this more natural and bearable taste compared to the acidic taste of cider. Since, Pinoys love rice. I ordered a serving to pair this with.

What I was served only had three pinkish-orange tiger prawns, they were as big as my fingers. Again, I am allergic to these things. But I! I live dangerously. I guess, having just three of them would be good for me. After all, I am allergic. Looking at it, I could already imagine the taste of prawn. They give this certain distinct taste that is kinda sweet and meaty. This is the reason why I still want to eat them despite being allergic to them. Can't blame me. A slab of pork rested on the tiger prawns. This was grilled or broiled and was cut into bite sizes as shown in the picture.

Since, the pork was on top of everything, I took some of it first. It was meaty and tender. Normally, you would expect pork to be a little tough when you eat it, but this was not like that. My theory is that: this was boiled before it as grilled. It is well done but juicy, like it was medium rare. Because it was boiled before it was broiled, it was not oily.

It had the taste of vinegar. I was expecting it to be sour that would turn my lips into prunes. The whole thing was practically dipped with vinegar. "Seasoned in vinegar" was an understatement. It was not too sour as i was expecting. It was just enough. I think that a little sugar was added to mellow down the sourness of vinegar.

I took a prawn, it had some sprinkles of finely chopped ginger. And boy, it was delicious. The combination was good. The smoky meat flavor, you get from the meat. The seafood, tender sweetness? All thanks to the tiger prawns. Prawns would always be such a treat. The mild, sour taste of vinegar keeps your appetite going and never overpowered the other elements of the dish. The dish was enough to be shared by two but I ate all of it. It was THAT good. I don't even think am giving it justice. It was so good that, again, I was eating like a slob.

There were a lot of other entrees from the menu that would entice you to comeback for seconds, but I would leave that for another visit and another post. Their iced tea is good, too. I ordered unlimited, or for Pinoys, "bottomless". Just a little bit too sweet, but delicious. It does not taste like iced tea you get from a sachet. You just have to always keep it with enough ice.

I actually ordered dessert. I cannot even begin to talk about it. It is so good that it has to be another post. But I should tell you, I will be back! I'd probably order a pasta dish, the Dynamite Rolls, and probably the same dessert. Regardless of the cuisine you love, you would definitely find a delicious meal for you here.

If in case you want to know more about the place:

You can find Cocina de Aleisa on Facebook through this link.

Here's the address: Sampaguita Ave., Timog Park Homes, 2009 Angeles City, Philippines

P.S. Don't try this out. I want to be able to keep this place's delicious dish to myself.

My Size Folded Pizza

I dunno if it's the same for other countries but Yellow Cab use to sell their pizza per slice for those who simply cannot devour a whole box of pizza in one sitting. This is no longer available here. It sucks!

Pinoys may not have that much big of an appetite to be able to devour a box full of pizza (though my youngest brother can). I can only eat up to 3-4 slices at most. I would have probably downed a lot of Coke, because I love Coke. Its part of my diet. For Pinoys and other people who have that much big of an appetite who still want to enjoy a slice of pizza, the My Size Folded Pizza maybe the next best thing.

The thought of a pizza sandwich appeals to me. I try that sometimes, putting two slices of pizza together and eat it like a slob. My Size Folded Pizza sounds promising. It comes in three flavors: pepperoni, grilled lime chicken, and shrimp. Despite being allergic to shrimp, shrimp was ordered. I live dangerously. But one good fact about shrimps is that the thing that makes you allergic is the vein which you would find at the spine area. This is responsible for the toxins that causes allergic reactions and it also makes the shrimp turn orange-y pink. Yellow Cab serves deveined shrimps. This is the reason it can be quite pale but it is a lot safer to eat for those who are allergic like me.

 *photo from Yellow Cab

It has the generic Yellow Cab pizza smell of baked cheese and crust. As you would notice from the picture, it is half shrimp pizza and half cheese pizza served with leaves of lettuce, arugula, slices of tomatoes and ranch dressing, I think. It definitely looks promising.

I try to do my best to fold it the best way possible. I lined the lettuce leaves over the shrimp pizza half, then the arugula, then the tomatoes, then the dressing. I carefully made indentations as to were i am going to fold the pizza, which is clearly where the shrimp pizza part and the cheese pizza part meets. Yes, People from other tables was starting to look at me on how ritualistic I prepared this. It made them think I am a lot weirder when I took a picture of it like it was a work of art.

Here's the picture:

I was really eager to take that first bite. I finally took my first bite after I mentally prepared myself of what I am about to partake. The crust was tough. And you know how it is when you flour the pan before laying down the crust? The first bite was too crusty and tasted like flour. I planned my next bite to make sure i get a little bit of everything. The taste of the shrimp was bland. You can taste the arugula which is good. The dressing is too weak. It would have helped it there were more but the dressing is really too bland to give much taste. The tomato is okay. I tried my best to take more bites from it but it really didn't satisfy me. It was just okay.

What would have worked? A softer crust. You would be able to taste all of these flavors with a softer crust. More cheese. You can never go wrong in adding more cheese. Better dressing, please! It was a good thing that an order of pepperoni pizza was made. I took a slice and ate it top-side down to get more flavor. It was oily but it had more flavor. I suggest you try to eat your pizza that way, it is really way better. And yes, this made some of the people look. So, do it discreetly.

I will try the My Size, Grilled Lime Chicken on Tuesday. I will make a post about it if it tastes better. Pig OUT!

Strawberry Shortcake Overload

Like any regular foodie, you hear things. Not to be misjudged as a schizo, I am only taking about the recommendations from other people about the best food that you can try out when you are new to a place. My theory is you gotta listen to your big-boned friends. They can talk about food with a certain decadence that your mouth would water just hearing about it.

Strawberry Shortcake Overload from Cookbook Kitchen.

I immediately placed the order as soon as I was directed to the seat by one of the waiters. It was a logical choice to order this with water. One, you know that it is going to be too sweet. Two, do I really have to you why you need to partner this with water? 

I waited in patience for my order. I had a glazed look on the pinkish table cloth like it was confusing me or something. In reality, the usual thoughts would run in my head: "Have I done enough sit-ups to deserve this?", "Who ever chose this table cloth??", "I so need to work out after this..." or "Is it me or am starting to think that the table cloth looks cute?"

And then it was served in front of me with a curious look from the waiter, calculating as to how I am going to fits this huge plateful of dessert into my skinny frame. You are probably wondering how it tastes like...

If you would judge from the picture alone showing a half-eaten Strawberry Shortcake Overload, would would probably guessed that I was too eager to dig a spoon in. You can smell the sweet and slightly sour scent of strawberries. At first glance, you would see a mountain of strawberry ice cream topped with frozen strawberries with syrup-y juice that washes down the ice cream mountain. this is topped with rich whipped cream and laced with the same thing on the side.

I immediately went for one of the frozen strawberries. It was sweet and sour at the same time. I dug a spoonful in to reveal a sponge cake; the bottom part of the cake is soaked in the same syrup that the whole thing is drizzled with. It is sweet because of the ice cream, slightly sour because of the strawberries, and balanced because of the cake. You must try your best to take a good bite with a little bit of everything for an explosion of flavor.

Though I may have given a decent review about this, I must tell you that this was devoured unglamorously. I was checking if one of the waiters were looking at me while i was enjoying this dessert. If I give myself a good pause to take a picture it would look like this:

*this pic taken from Cookbook Kitchen's Multiply site.

I am going to try out another version of the same treat: the Strawberry Shortcake MONSTERload. The difference? The new one is drizzled in chocolate syrup.

You can check their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cookbook-Kitchen/84763924654

If I am not taken by diabetes when I try that, expect another post about more delicious food that I can fit into this skinny frame. For now, indulge and listen to your fat heart!