Monday, January 20, 2014

Daddy's Grill's Crispy Pata

Daddy’s Grill's Crispy Pata

Although we have been coming back to Daddy’s Grill,
our favorite sea food restaurant in the city regularly,


…I have not blogged about it lately as I didn’t want to
sound like a paid hack (which I am not, I am just a fan),
as I couldn’t stop raving about their delicious food.


 

We again ordered our regular favorite
seafood fares the last time we visited the
restaurant, which we tremendously enjoyed,

 


 …but this is the first time that we
 tried their delectable Crispy Pata. 

I would really run out of superlative adjectives
to describe the food as it appears just like any
other Crispy Pata dishes just by looking at it.

  

But once you taste it, the crispiness of the
perfectly fried skin had a full crunchiness
\that resonates at the back of your mastoids.



 The tender and juicy subcutaneous fat was cooked to 
an ideal  consistency that is chewy but soft and 
very scrumptiously edible and one wouldn’t notice that 
they are eating an otherwise gross slab of pork fat.


 Even the articular cartilages were fried to gooey
perfection that you cannot help but nibble the bone
clean to enjoy the mouth  watering treat that
one would thought only dogs would enjoy.


 By golly- they were made edible
 by Daddy’s Grill that  I felt guilty for 
our pet dogs as there was really
nothing left for them to anymore.


 To borrow two of  popular fried chicken
commercials,this Crispy Pata is “Sarap to
the bones” and “Finger lickin’ good”.


Click the links below for related posts

Daddy’s Grill, The Third Time Around   
Daddy’s Grill Bestsellers; Bestsellers are not Necessarily the Best Dishes   
Daddy’s Grill Seafood Galore; Best Seafood Restaurant in the City





Friday, January 17, 2014

Jollibee LCC Mall, Naga

Jollibee, LCC Mall Naga
Hideously Delicious Ultimate Burger Steak


It was one of the rare moments last Christmas season that
 we were able to dine at LCC Mall as we could not find any
  parking and any vacant seats in the city  center restaurants.



It was also very crowded inside the Jollibee LCC,
 but since it is located just in front of the food court
 we were able to find a vacant table immediately.

 

 My family ordered some of  Jollibee’s 
 classic fares like   Lumpia Shanghai meal 
which we found rubbery and overcooked,

 

…their popular Palabok Fiesta which is an all time  favorite in
  this restaurant. I personally never really  liked this dish as I find
it too salty and nauseatingly gross as the vomit-like topping 
leaves an awfully briny and smelly aftertaste in the mouth.


The Grilled Pork Tenders tasted like a fusion of tocino and 
tapa, but the combination blended perfectly as it is not as 
sickeningly sweet as tocino and not as hideously salty as tapa.


I was craving for Champ but it was not available.
The new Cheesey Bacon Mushroom Champ, and the
Jolly Hotdog were also not  available and all they had 
were those ghastly tiny Yumburgers that tasted more
like a synthetic rubber rather than a beef.


They suggested the Ultimate Burger Steak. I never really 
considered trying this dish as one would  immediately lose 
his appetite on the sight of a burger patty bathing in mawkish
 mushroom sauce,  lying in a bed of French Fries  served 
with a cup of rice topped with egg fried sunny side up. 



Who would ever have  thought of putting all these 
inappropriately dissimilar dishes together? 
What could be more disgustingly gross than this?


Surprisingly, all those divergently repulsive looking
stuffs placed together in one plate tasted great.


It left me craving for more and would have ordered
another had I not gotten guilty of the extra calories
and extra poundage that the extra order would bring.


Click the link below for related post:

Jollibee Lucena Diversion Tidy South Road Meal Stop


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Pechelito’s Place: Raucous, Chaotic and Seedy Resort

Pechelito’s Place 
Raucous, Chaotic and Seedy Resort


I never heard about Pechelito’s Place before until
we were invited by my sister-in law for a dinner in the
resort where they would be apparently staying overnight.


It is located in Magarao, Camarines Sur and going there
is just like driving in a meandering maze of narrow and
 sometimes pocked- marked subdivision roads,



When we arrived, there were several groups of men
seated around an outdoor garden table, passing a whiskey
in a drinking glass, having fun the ‘tagay- tagay’ style.
One of them stood up dressed in a police uniform and
greeted us saying “Welcome to Pechelito’s Place”

 

A young lady also welcomed us and asked if
we are checking in and if we have a reservation.
 We informed her that we were invited by
 someone else, and she took us to their room.


The place was huge and there was a man- made pond
surrounded by huts and cabanas, and all of them seemed
 to have been equipped with a karaoke,  filled with people
drinking alcohol and singing at the top of their voices.






Every dark nook around the lake seemed to have
people seated around a garden table, getting drunk,
hiding and obscured by the darkness of the night.





We were brought to a lake side cabana and we were told
that my sister in law’s family has not checked in yet, but
the staff was nice enough to let us get inside the room.



The room looked okay and comfortable.



It was well lighted, clean and had a rather
tiny air-conditioning unit for that room.



It had two boxed type plywood beds
topped with a about 3 inches of foam.



On the bed were neatly folded white towels,
some obviously needing replacement, and
guests were provided with basic toiletries.

 



It had a nice and clean bathroom,

 

…and interestingly, it had a pail and a dipper,


...and to our horror- there was no toilet paper.

 

We were given tissue papers after asking for one.
When we called their attention that we were asking
for a toilet paper, not tissue paper we were told
that those are the ones they give to their guests.


The room had a scenic balcony overlooking
the man- made lake with the direct view of
the cabanas and cottages surrounding the lake,



…but each of them has their own Karaoke Sets
and everyone seem to be singing on earsplitting 
levels, and this raucous balcony is not a place to
stay if one is looking for some peace and quiet.



 


The room also has a flat screen TV.


One had to ask for assistance from the staff
to turn it on as it is located too  far away from
the electrical outlet and they would provide
the guests an extension wire that had to go
all the way to the other side of the room.



I find it strange as why would one install an
appliance so far away from the power source? 
If it happened in my house, I would have fired
my architect and my interior decorator for not
having a proper plan and for not coordinating.




The TV does not have a remote and
had to be turned on and off manually.



There was no available Wi Fi in the room.


We were already hungry as took a little
 more time for our dinner host to arrive,
so we decided to  order something to eat.


The problem with this hotel is that they
 did not have any phone or an intercom
in the room so one had to walk around the
lake just to order food for room service.





Ordering is done on the front desk and we chose
Club House and Ham and Egg Sandwiches.
We also ordered Diet Sodas for us but they
have none so we settled for bottled water.


It's kinda weird that this resort sells almost
all kinds of wines and spirits but they have
none of the healthier diet drinks.


They delivered the sandwiches in our room which we
shared,  but we noted that the ham and egg sandwich,


…and the club house sandwich tasted the same.


On a closer look, we found out that both were
made of the same stuff-  ham and egg.

   They just cut it into quarters, added chips on it
and labeled it as a club house sandwich. Cool.

 

We were already halfway with our sandwiches
when our dinner hosts arrived…


…and they brought along tons and tons
 of food that they cooked at home and
 that was the reason why they were late.


 

The kids bonded with 
their cousins for a while,



…and later our hosts decided to have
a karaoke session by the balcony.



Out came the hotel staff tagging along
bundles and bundles of  electrical extension,
which they plugged on the TV extension,
creating a dangerous octopus connection.



The wires stretched on tangled mess all the way
 to the balcony where the  Karaoke set was.



When I told that staff that is not safe for those convoluted
wires lying around the floor, he decided to hide it
at the rear end of the room and under the beds.







Then,  it was time for them to for
 their own karaoke bonding.

 



Shortly after, the singing began, which annoyingly
intermingled  with the  dreadful out of tune voices
blaring from other cabanas coming from all directions,

 

...we decided to leave before the kids could see
their young relatives getting drunk just like
anyone else in this seedy and sordid resort.



I cannot imagine how can one relax, read a book,
rest or even sleep in such an appalling place?



Pechelito’s  ambiance just is as convoluted as
the multiple electric wire extensions on the floor
and just as chaotic as the horrible voices from hapless,
drunk karaoke enthusiasts populating the resort.