Monthly Archives: March 2017

Rock the Kasbah

31 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by in Food & Travel

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What a wonderful surprise to find the only spot in Boracay that serves Moroccan cuisine! The Kasbah.

And delicious Moroccan cuisine at that! Surprising because the owners are not Moroccan at all. The Kasbah is owned by Chef Felipe de la Cruz from Bacolod, together with his British wife. A graduate of the International Culinary School in Los Angeles, Chef Felipe and his wife set up the restaurant at Station 1 — a charming and colorful bohemian spot that looked as if a genie would pop out to welcome you in.

The dishes are delicious, especially the tagines, and the flavors taste authentic, rich with aromatic spices and balanced flavors. We tried 3 different tagines — Seafood Saffron Tagine, classic Lamb Tagine (cooked with prunes and honey and drizzled with almond slivers), and Berber Lamb Tagine (full-flavored and zesty, cooked with oranges and prunes). They were all superb! A tagine is a traditional way of slow-cooking meats in a stew in a special cone-shaped earthenware dish of the same name. The long, slow cooking makes the meat so delectable and tender and the flavors of the stew are all the more enhanced with fruits, olives, preserved lemons, and distinctive spices, which usually include saffron, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and Ras El Hanout, which is a mixture of various spices ground together.

In fact, everything we ordered was superb! The refreshing Watermelon and Feta Salad was just the perfect starter to a lunch on a hot day by the sea. The mezze plates were excellent. And everything else that followed was a flavorful feast in the mouth. If you ever go to Boracay, you definitely have to rock the Kasbah… because the Kasbah rocks!

The Kasbah is at Station 1 in Boracay Island, beside Discovery Shores resort. But Chef Felipe has also opened a branch called Kasbah the Fort at the BGC — more modern-Moorish than Moroccan-homey and bohemian — at 7th Avenue corner Katipunan Circle. With a live band in the evenings. For reservations, call 553-4499.

Savoring Sogamiga

15 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Asian Cuisine, Noshes in my Neighborhood, Restaurants, Southern Spots

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Sogamiga means “House with Special Beef”, or so I read somewhere. It is the first of two Korean restaurants set up in Alabang, a long long time ago, at the height of the Korean migrants’ influx into the country. Darkly lit, both outside and inside, tucked in a corner just beside the perimeter fence of what is now the Molito Complex, almost as if its spot was deliberately chosen to be inconspicuous. Like a mysterious, shadowy figure in whodunnits. Or was that merely my imagination, fuelled by unsubstantiated whisperings? You see, rumor had it that it was owned by a Korean gangster boss and this was either a meeting place for his cohorts and other unsavory characters or a venue for money-laundering. Hmm. Just a rumor, mind you! It’s possibly some tale concocted by the waitresses serving us, claiming the staff were made to live in strictly guarded dorms. Or it was merely a fascinating but exaggerated story circulating among the residents. Whatever and whichever, the place had back then a mystique about it and that merely added flavor to the excellent wagyu rib-eye barbecue! What was definitely clear-as-day real was its delicious, authentic Korean food!

Today, Sogamiga stands prominent and brightly lit, both outside and inside. In fact, now, it seems almost undistinguished, ordinary, and… well, legit, so to speak. Still at that corner beside the perimeter wall. The menu has expanded from just the grilled meats to page after page of an extensive selection of classic Korean dishes. From Gun Mandu — similar to deep-fried Japanese gyoza but as large as a full empanada — to the traditional Bibimbap (rice toppings cooked in a hot stone pot) to Japchae (stir-fried sweet potato pancit). They still have, of course, the wagyu rib-eye barbecue for which they are known for.

For me, the prices are a bit high versus your typical Korean restaurant, but at least the food is authentic and delicious. Just ask the loyal Korean patrons who frequent the place. The restaurant is quite large and I have never seen it full to capacity but, just to be sure, you may call 8073008 to reserve a table or room. Sogamiga is at the back of where BMW Autozentrum is in the Molito Complex in Alabang.