It's More Fun in the Philippines!

Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love where I live. But when thinking of a tropical holiday there’s no other choice for me but the Philippines.

The Philippines has suffered from bad press for the longest time. I don’t care to detail them here. You can read about them everywhere else. As a consequence, the country did not appeal as a holiday destination. The number of tourist arrivals lagged behind that of other countries.

The Department of Tourism (@DOTPhilippines) of the Philippines launched a new campaign to entice tourists to travel to that part of the world. It’s about time! I think it’s imperative! It’s high time to tell the world, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”

According to the DOT’s Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr:

“Our strategy is simple: while other countries invite you to observe, Filipinos can promise a more heartfelt and interesting experience. Wherever you go, whatever you do in the country, it’s the Filipinos that will complete your vacation and will make your holiday unforgettable.”

I absolutely agree! There are good food and nice beaches all around the world but “It is More Fun in the Philippines” because of the people.

I like it.

I believe in it.

I am getting involved.

This new campaign is not without its detractors. ‘Copycat’ accusations are rife. The Swiss apparently used the same slogan back in 1951. Yup, 61 years ago!

And what’s with this misplaced nostalgia for the ‘WOW Philippines’ campaign? Did it actually succeed?

In support of this new initiative I’ve edited some of my travel photos to the Philippines. Here’s the first set of them.

Food Trip Philippines - Part 1

My apologies to those of you who are following this blog.

Being The Beancounter, I am, at the moment, going through my annual silly season (similar to Christmas sans the jolliness).

In the meantime please enjoy a selection of photos from my recent trip home. The next couple of posts would be similar in style as well.

Pork BBQ w/ Binalot na Kanin

Home made crispy pata

Black Gulaman

Calamansi at Sili

Crispy Tawilis

Coming Home to Mooli

In a previous post I’ve mentioned that Mooli is another name for daikon (white radish). Little did I know that Mooli has a deeper meaning to anyone who speaks the Visayan dialect. A fellow blogger (Edik Dolotina of The World According to Melchizedik) has kindly informed me that Mooli (read as moo-lay in Tagalog) also means “to come home”.

pre-dinner chaos

The name is very apt for what you get at Mooli, Mermaid Beach. Having a meal there is less of a restaurant experience but more like visiting one’s aunt to share a sumptuous meal of aged old Filipino recipes that have been passed on from generation to generation. Thanks to Tita Liz Solatan who highlights the experience by being the warmest and most welcoming host. Tito Rodi Solatan, on the other hand, says it all with the food that he serves.

more pre-dinner chaos

So for the second time in as many months we went to Mooli for a special Queen’s Birthday weekend dinner. The experience was not worth keeping to oneself so I brought some more of my dearest friends on this follow up visit.

post dinner smiles

We had the requisite longanissa, adobo and siopao. They are consistently good, of course. We also ordered some fresh lumpia, fried lumpia, pinakbet, chicken teriyaki and fried rice with prawns. To finish the meal we had halo-halo (in the middle of winter, I know but that weather didn’t matter). Everything was good!

fresh lumpia

longsilog

halo-halo

But what made that dinner more impressive were servings of fresh octopus ceviche (kinilaw na pugita) and jack fruit salad (langka na may gata). We did not order these as they were not on the menu but Tito Rodi gave us generous helpings of these delectable dishes…gratis! Them, being complimentary, did not mean they are less scrumptious. In fact the opposite is true. I could have had another bowl of the ceviche and still want more! My wife specially enjoyed the jack fruit salad. According to her it is reminiscent of a favourite Laguna dish. This salad together with pickled bitter gourd (ampalaya) is normally served with lechon (which we should have ordered as well!). I did not know you can actually pickle ampalaya! You learn something new everyday, they say. A taste of the pickled ampalaya was definitely a first for me. And it was also very good!

octopus ceviche

green jack fruit salad

Sweet sourish ampalaya pickle

There was certainly one fault that evening and it wasn’t on the Solatans’ part. It was our failing for not being more specific with the dishes we want at the time of booking (to include even those not on the menu). Another lesson learned! We’ll be better next time!

So thanks once again to the Solatans! A big thank you to all my friends (the Adinas, the Mendozas, the Samsons and the Vicencios) who drove quite a distance to join us!

Chef Rodi in his domain

Chef Rodi & Me (& mini me) - unprecedented access to the control centre

P.S.

By the way, thanks also for the Sharon Cuneta tapes playing on TV that evening. That made the wife very happy!

Longsilog @ Mooli, Mermaid Beach

It saddens me to know that Filipino restaurants have been less than successful in Queensland. I’m aware of at least four which have folded in recent years. I’m sure they’ve tried their hardest but the market was just not buying. Some more obscure cuisines (in my opinion) are faring much better. Why? I don’t know!

So it pleases me to no end when I find out about new Filipino restaurants that are doing well.

On our recent trip to the Gold Coast I became aware of two new restaurants. One is called Sampaguita and the other is Mooli, both located at Mermaid Beach.

The focus of this post though is Mooli. Mooli, according to Chef Owner Rodi Solatan, is another name for daikon or labanos. The reason being, Mooli is a joint Filipino-Japanese restaurant. The Gold Coast being a “tourist” area has got a sizeable Japanese population so it makes business sense to combine the two.

After a full day at the beach Mooli’s range of traditional Filipino breakfasts (available all day, I should add) were exactly what we were craving. We ordered Tapsilog (pan fried sirloin served with garlic rice and egg) and Longsilog (Solatan sausages served with garlic rice and egg). We also tried their Adobo (Pork Stew in Soy Sauce), siopao (steamed pork buns) and empanaditas (Solatan fried pasties). To top it all we also tried their JFC (Japanese Fried Chicken).

The tapa was a bit dry but the rest of the dishes we ordered were excellent. The Adobo is more Chinese style with the strong presence of star anise but it is very good nonetheless. High commendation goes to their Solatan loganissa and Siopao! The longanissa was so good I could eat a dozen and still want more. Their Siopao reminded me so much of how it tastes back home! Mooli is worth visiting even just for these two menu items!

We intended to eat at the restaurant’s premises but there was no space available for us as there was a party being held on the same night we visited. Mooli is actually on the small scale. It can probably fit only about 20 people at a time. It’s designed more as a take-away café rather than a full on eatery.

I am extremely grateful though to Tita Liz and Chef Rodi for accommodating us despite the busyness of that evening. It’s clearly printed on their menu that “bookings are essential” and I can understand why...they serve excellent food!

Mooli is about an hours’ drive from where we live but we’ll surely be back very soon!

Mooli
Rodi & Liz Solatan, proprietors
6-2529 Gold Coast Highway
Mermaid Beach 4218 QLD
07 5575 6974

Thanks also to Patrick & Pilar for their generosity that evening