Sebastian Ice Cream's Green Mango Ice Cream and Peanut Butter

I'm no stranger to unusual food--I fancy myself  taking over Anthony Zimmern's quest for bizarre chow  when I grow up. I'll do anything once, and if it's good, I'll have another serving. One of the things I wanted to try the first time I learned about it through the blogosphere and food columns is Sebastian Ice Cream's Green Mango Ice Cream. Fortunately I live near ginormous Mall of Asia, where lie a branch of the artisanal ice cream purveyor. 

Mouth puckering green mango sorbet topped with warm, sweetish shrimp paste.
It was not that bad at all, pretty well-balanced flavors, and quite the palate cleanser.
The mango reminds me of green tamarind.

Peanut butter toffee. It's peanut butter on a stick, with real peanut bits. This is
a winner, and I'd gladly return for this.

I wasn't keen on ordering the green mango ice cream alone, so to be on the safe side I ordered a favorite--peanut butter toffee ice cream bar. The first one I did out of curiosity, and that satisfied, I hankered down to enjoying the second one. The next time I'd visit, I'll have more of the peanut butter ice cream bar variants.

Sebastian's Ice Cream
SM Mall of Asia
(+63) 915 489 5753

The Best from a Visit to the SIDCOR Sunday Market: Lechon Kawali and Bibingka Galapong

I've been to the Salcedo and Legazpi Weekend Markets, both based in Makati, and let's just say I'm a fan of both. For my post on my visits to weekend markets, click here. I haven't been to the Centris Sunday Market, it's quite a long way from where I live, but feeling adventurous, I texted my favorite weekend market companion to meet up at Eton Centris, right below the Quezon Avenue LRT station. Below were the best from our loot: 

This was Teeny's order: the lechon kawali, a popular pan-roasted pork dish, from
an unnamed stall.  Pork cuts are boiled, air-dried, and then fried to make lechon kawali.
Like good lechon kawali, these were  crisp outside, and soft and melts in your mouth
inside. I could feel my blood pressure hiking just thinking of  how good the dish was.

Bibingka Galapong, a rice cake usually eaten during the Christmas season. This one
was quite substantial, so I ate it installments. It was as straightforward as the stall we
brought if from. The dough a tad sweet, balanced by the salted eggs. Not too greasy.
The fresh grated coconut provided textural interest.

Sidcor Sunday Market
Eton Centris, Edsa corner Quezon Avenue, Quezon City
Open from 6 am to 2 pm

Top Picks from Bacolod City's Aboy's Restaurant

This is my last post on the highlights of my eating expedition in Bacolod City. For related posts go here, here, and here. 

It was our last day in the city, and we had time to kill before going to the airport. Aboy's came out on top of a quick survey of where to go for lunch. We ordered a storm, and here are the winners: 

Sinigang na pargo/maya maya (mangrove snapper). This I learned from my colleague--
maya maya 's rich strong taste is well suited to a full-bodied souring agent. The secret to good
fish sinigang, then, relies to a great extent on pairing the right species with the complementary souring agent.

I picked this not because it is stellar chicken inasal, but because it shows what for me
is good chicken barbecue--straightforward, moist, flavorful, roasted just right.
Notice the blisters in the skin? It gave the skin just the right crackle. 

It must be age, but I find myself lately gravitating towards fish sinigang. I prefer pork most days, but fish siningang done right is irresistible. I can get lost in the cartilagey, fatty and minerally flavors of this dish, especially the head and the collar, dipped in calamansi and fish sauce.

Aboy's Restaurant
Liroville Subdivision, Singcang
Bacolod City
(+63) 034 435 0760

Davao City's Galletas de Davao

I'm in training, and one of our lecturers is related to Wency Cornejo, the singer, who's now into a Davao-City based pasalubong business. They met in one of our trainings in the city, and she urged us to buy his crispy wafers called Galletas de Davao.

I bought two canisters from their Davao airport stall: one in durian, the other in ube-langka. I hand-carried these to Manila, and they barely survived intact.

durian, my favorite, now in wafer form

the ube-langka was delicate

Since I'm partial to durian, I tried it out first--it was melt-in-your-mouth and rich, like ice cream. I should have bitten into the ube-langka wafers first. The durian wafers overwhelmed the delicate taste of the latter. I tried these a few days later, and they're quite good, too. 

If you've ran out of ideas on what to bring from Davao City, consider these wafers.