Baked Oysters with mushrooms

My dad, whenever he comes back from shore duty, would bring a big sack of oysters. The whole family would have such a feast. Being the youngest, I am always given the chore to do the cooking (or should I say dipping it in boiling water for 3 minutes) and opening of the oysters, and have kind of pride myself on doing so as my siblings didn't have a clue on how to do it...(or were they just pretending that they didn't know how ?) , this is how my liking for oysters started.

Try it.

Crispy Pata - another hit at Kulinarya

When I called Kulinarya to order this dish again, the owner said "you just had this last night", what he didn't know was, last night's order was just for taste testing, and this time the call was to order it for our Christmas family dinner. I got the Crispy Pata on December 24th, worried that it might be a "pork jerky" by then, I went to order anyway. Just 10 minutes in the oven and it's crispy again. It was a hit.

Crispy Pata (fried pork legs, "pata" means pork feet in Spanish) is either a make it or break it dish, if you don't know how to cook it, it would taste like oil or it would be too salty or the pork skin is not crispy. This dish is very high in cholesterol, again, another common Filipino dish at parties, and it should only be eaten at parties, and never should be a daily dish at home.

Kulinarya did well on this dish, not oily at all, crispy (not cripsy), they have made a certain flavour on this dish that attracts your salty pallet but with some sweet aftertaste, the dipping sauce is a common recipe and is meant to eliminate the oilyness of the dish, but theirs has a certain flavour that blends well with the dish, you've got to try it.

This restaurant is starting to become a favorite, (I better start writing some disclaimers on my blog, you might think I'm friends with the owners), so far all the dishes I've tried are "take outs", I haven't written about the ambience, but I don't really care much about that, what impresses me first is how delicious the food would be and Kulinarya so far, is still on the upswing chart.

Stay tuned for the next dish... Chicken Lolipop

....

Escabeche - another delicious dish at Kulinarya - 5 stars !!

Escabeche (Sweet and Sour Fish, whether red snapper or tilapia) is one of the most common dish in Filipino events and parties. The deep fried fish, cooked crisp, with a special sweet and sour sauce poured over the top. There is a certain way of deep frying the fish so that the cooking oil doesn't stay with the fish when cooked.

I tried this "Escabeche" dish at Kulinarya. This dish, I must say, is in a different league to the Kare-Kare and Kalderetta that I mentioned in my previous post. It's not too sweet and not too sour, I can compare it to the Escabeche dish that they served at big restaurants in Manila. Even if they had used tilapia instead of the red snapper, I would think that it tasted almost the same.

There's a Chinese grocery deli nearby, a deep fried tilapia dish would cost you about $6 - 7, it tastes alright, but be prepared to taste the cooking oil in the fish. For another $5 ($12), Kulinarya offer the Escabeche, not oily at all, can't go wrong on this one, whether for a party or for just tonight's meal. It's simply delicious.

Another 5 star rating !!!

For the folks who know me... you know what I am talking about when a dish is delicious.

Try it..

Kulinarya Filipino Restaurant in Coquitlam - 5 stars

A Filipino restaurant in Coquitlam !, it is in a convenient place for a restaurant, Glen Drive and Johnson, by the mini strip mall, ample parking, just north of the mall. It's a small restaurant, I'd say about 8 - 9 tables, bright, clean and newly opened.

I've been there two times last week, but it just keeps my interest going for good tasting Filipino food. The Beef Stew (Kalderetta) is the first one I tried, and I tell you this is the best Kalderetta one can ever taste (sorry Nonoy, you have been replaced), not too salty, the beef is cooked tender enough, and not too saucy. My son never liked Kalderetta but this one passed his taste buds with mucho gusto. The following day, I went there again and tried their Kare-kare (Beef/tripe stew in peanut sauce with vegetables) and no doubt, just like the Kalderetta, very delicious.

I will be trying all their dishes one at a time (calories galore). Stay tuned for an update, I'd be trying the crispy pata next and then Escabeche (did I spell that right ?) tilapia with sweet and sour sauce Filipino style.

Kulinarya Filipino Restaurant, Johnson and Glen Streets in Coquitlam. I don't want to say too much about how good the food is at this restaurant, but you've got to try it to experience it, I'd give this restaurant 5 stars.

I recommend this restaurant, the servings are modest, a dish would be good for two people.

I'd be telling everyone I know about this restaurant.

Pho Phu Thinh Vietnamese Restaurant

I had the chance to dine at this restaurant twice, in a span of two weeks. I'm impressed. The restaurant is bright, clean, the staff are polite and easy to talk to, service is fast, and the food is delicious.

I tried #31, and #39 in two different occasions, both of them are superb dishes, and for the price of $8/dish, you can't go wrong. #31 is the Grilled Lemon Grass Pork on rice, and #39 is the same as #31 only it's with vermicelli and shrimps on a skewer. I like their grilled pork, not burnt, sweet taste and comes with that bbq flavour.

I also tried the shrimp wrapped in egg roll wrapper, deep fried and combo'd with sweet chili sauce, this is a delicious appy.

The restaurant has about 12 - 15 tables of 4 arranged in an open setting. It's spacious enough.

The restaurant is just behind Coquitlam Centre Mall, corner of Glen and Johnson, by the strip mall, near the Chinese Grocery. There's ample parking space in the area, but limited in front of the restaurant.

The restaurant is owned by a Vietnamese family from the northern part of Vietnam, Ha Long Bay.

Try it out.