Taste Bud Tickler: Coco Hut's Kare-Kare Pasta

CocoHut in the Bonifacio Stopover in BGC.

Bilang isang karaniwang employee sa isang opisina sa BGC, Taguig - curious ako sa ilang pagkain na abot kaya ng bulsa ng mga katulad kong -- hindi naman mayaman.  Mejo affordable naman ang CocoHut sa may Bonifacio Stopover sa BGC (malapit sa St. Luke's Hospital) --- kapag may sweldo.  Pag wala pang sweldo at mejo CWD - Critical Wallet Days na, wag na lang. 

In any case, may mga konting extra pa naman ako today so I decided to try their Kare-Kare Pasta.

Lemme just tell you though that around 3 weeks ago, kumain na ako ng Kare-Kareng gulay - na luto ko naman.

So, let's go!

May 2 "variants" - if that's what you call them - ng Kare-Kare nila - seafood and lechon kawali.  Though I love seafoods, I ordered lechon kawali.  The order taking is done at the counter.  Pretty cool to note though that you can see the kitchen, how your food is prepared and cooked (without the glass) from the dining area.  I paid a good Php250 - no soda - tubig lang ako.  Ayos na yun.  Remember: Magtipid.

After being handed the receipt and change and the serving number, I was seated and waited for about 10-15 minutes for my food. Yes, it was served hot and steaming. Can't wait!

It is pale orange in color reminds me of Aligue ng alimango.  Kahit di pa ako nakakatikim nun - pero nakikita ko naman na nakabote.  there were a few bits of Lechon Kawali.  Kinda disappointing though kasi sa picture nman malalaki ang nakalagay na Lechon Kawali - pero sa totoong buhay - maliliit lang pala.  May mga bits of bagoong -- oh yeah - ano pa nga ba ang the best partner ng Kare-Kare?! 

Behind my brain I was thinking of a nutty taste - like what Kare-Kare should be. Yung tipong - feeling mo kumakain ka ng peanut sauce sa pasta. Yung lasang - nagaagaw ang alat at ang lasa ng peanuts na nagpapalinamnam sa pagkain.  dagdagan pa ng crunch ng Lechon Kawali.

Nananaginip lang pala ako.  That was just something at the back of my brain.   It tasted ordinary - parang ready-mix sauce Kare-Kare sauce ng Mama Sita or a cheaper version of the powdered mix.  Nothing special, really. Mas masarap pa ang palabok.  Maybe you can try to buy a powdered mix, lagyan mo ng tubig tapos pakuluan then pag mejo thick na ang sauce - ilagay ang cooked pasta - siguro yun na yun mismo.  The nutty Kare-Kare taste is not really dominating the dish.  

Save perhaps for the Lechon Kawali bits and the small bagoong "dots" that they put on - nagkalasa naman siya.  Lemme Tell you though that the Lechon Kawali is not the big chunky, sizzling, crispy kind.  Sapat lang.  Para na rin ako kumain ng sabaw ng cheap Kare-Kare sa kalye na nilagay sa kanin - kaso sa pasta lang pinatong at hinalo. Ganun.

My verdict, #umay.  Your 250 pesos will serve you and a companion.  If you eat it alone, #umay talaga.  Di ko naubos. Malamang ako lang kasi mag isa.  If split nyo ang bill to 125 each, mejo mahal pa rin para sa akin. To cut the long kuda short - hindi siya worth it para sa akin.  Ewan ko lang sa taste bud nyo.  

The Lechon Kawali Kare-Kare pasta tickled my brain - but it really failed to tickle my taste bud.



UPDATE:
Too bad ... this resto is closed. probably there are other branches.

8 Minutes to Go

I'm not really 'inspired' to write today.

Consider this as a free flow of ideas and thoughts while in the office and just waiting for 8 minutes to pass and log out and go home.

Thankfully - walang OT today.  Downside is, may trabaho pa ring naghihintay.  At least may trabaho, hindi tambay.

Nakakauta na kasi tumingin sa spreadsheet at numbers at tumingin ng left and right para magcompare ng numbers.  I am not complaining.  Syempre - stop na lang muna kasi - malapit na uwian.   At least may time to write something kahit walang spirit ng mga writers na sumasapi sa akin ngayon.

5 mins na lang.  Make it 4 mins. After this shift - I can finally eat  and go home.  

Last 2 minutes. I will be closing some applications na.

Akalain mo... may nagawa ako in 8 mins. hahahaha

Getting Touristy

The Tower Bridge.  A great mix of the old and the modern.  Just a few steps from our Apartment.

Near the London Eye. Dream come true! :)

The London Eye is just a few steps away from the Big Ben.

A view from one side while in the London Eye.  Di bale di ako nakasakay ng MOA Eye... London Eye to.. hahaha

First Few Minutes

Lovely.

Expression ng mga Briton.  Description rin sa paligid.  Totoo naman pala.

Yeah, lovely talaga ang paligid.   Unang hakbang pa lang paglabas ng airport - lovely na agad ang klima - malamig at presko. Walang kainit init kahit na alas 3 or alas 4 na ng hapon yun.  Ang sarap lang maglakad.  

In any case -  check out a few pics while we were on our way to the apartment.

Right Hand Drive.  Whew.
This is totally new to me kasi naman Left hand sa Pilipinas.

My First Step in Europe

View from the top.

Well, the United Kingdom isn't really in the middle of continental Europe, but hey, it is one of the primary hubs of the continent.  I can't be more thrilled to step in the UK - almost a year ago.  It's still fresh in my mind.
Yung UK trip, particularly London, was not a liesure trip but a working trip. Thank you sa company ko, QBE, for sending me and an officemate, there - for free with allowance. Bongga talaga. Nakakakaba man ang visa application but hey - approved. 6 months Business visa. Choosy pa ba ako?!


Skip the other stuff, i was off to London via Hong Kong - and that wasnt bad for a 1st time out of the country trip!

It was a long flight and it was literally an "all day" flight - from the time we were off at Terminal 3 at around 5AM and arriving in Heathrow at 3PM - timezone is backwards. 12 to 15 hours travel time in total. No sleep. The heck. It was pure excitement!

Touchdown - Heathrow.

While on the plane, para akong tangaa. Di makakilos. Palibhasa economy. Pero di na ko choosy. Libre naman kasi. Nasa window seat ako, dko naman mabuksan ang bintana kasi mainit. All throughout the flight tanghali ang dinadaanan namin. Mainit talaga. Di rin ako makatulog kasi alanganin sa pwesto. Masikip kasi may katabi akong magasawang foreigner. Maybe nakatapos ako ng 2 or 3 movies. Di na masama.

May flight path. Dun ko tinitingnan if malapit na kami. Nakaka excite. Di ko lubos maisip,  nasa ibabaw kami ng China, Russia at iba pang bansa. Saya lang.
Ignoramos.
Bakit ba, di lahat ng Pinoy nagkakaroon ng chance to travel - for free.
Finally, nagsalita na si Captain, malapit na daw kami.
Excited.

Binuksan ko ang bintana.
Behold!
My first glimpse of the United Kingdom.

Beautiful. Green.
Smile. Thankful.
Then a few more moments, nagland na sa Heathrow.... and my companion, Joms, and I inched our way out of the plane... to finally breath London air.

What this means is.....

1st step outside the airplane door and brrrrr... it's cold in here. No aircon needed.
Smile. Thankful - we arrived safely.


Next hurdle - Immigration. Di pa lubos ang tuwa dahil baka mapabalik kami ng de oras. In any case, at that point though, I was thankful enough to have my first step in Europe.