20 October 2004

Dinner fun


My wife was not feeling well yesterday. It's not really that serious, but I didn't want to aggravate it, so I volunteered to do the groceries after work. So off I went to Landmark at 7PM. Wow, it's been quite a while since I did the groceries. I've forgotten certain sections. I remember vividly, however, where the chips and dips, ice cream and sandwich spreads can be found. Ah, my favorite spots! I had trouble locating, however, the canola oil, laundry soap, and the other things I was really supposed to buy. But since I was there already, I might as well add in my favorite spanish sardines and canned tuna :-).

I also bought cooked food for our dinner. It was already closing time when I checked out, so McDonalds and KFC were selling the remaining food on the counter. I wasn't going for that, so instead I settled for Binalot!

Binalot simply means "wrapped" in English. This meal is wrapped in a traditional, no-garbage, back-to-nature, organic packaging. Banana leaves! My wife was delighted when she saw our dinner. She said when she was in grade school in Quezon, they would wrap their baon with banana leaves. This was the practice too for folks in the provinces, especially those working the fields. Their wives would arrive during lunchtime, a woven basket in tow. Then the meal inside would be separately wrapped in banana leaves. They'd simply sit under the shade of trees eat with their hands. There's actually a restaurant here in Manila where utensils are not a necessity to have your meal. It's aptly named Kamayan, which means 'by hand.'

Unwrap the packaging and the fragrant waft of the heated banana leaves mingling with the food will greet your nostrils. Inside you get an abundant serving of rice, viand, a tomato, and half a red egg. The pickled garlic (it's colored red, used in Japanese shops) came from our ref :-). One meal costs an average of 65 pesos. Not bad for a full meal!

The one in the photo came with pork chop. The other two sets I bought was with adobo (pork cooked in soy sauce) and skinless longganisa (a form of sausage). Yum Yum!

15 comments:

  1. wowwwwwwwww....binalot!!!! rapsa! paborito ko rin yan...normally double-wrap yan and in-between wrap, nandun yung asin, pampalasa. When I was working in Makati, may Binalot sa greenbelt park, nandun pa ba yun?
    kakalaway yan sir!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Naku sir, pag nakita mo ang Greenbelt ngayon, ibang-iba na sya. Di ko sure kung saan yung Binalot noon sa Greenbelt, pero yung lumang Greenbelt, Greenbelt1 na ang tawag. Yung bagong structures, ang tawag ay Greenbelt 2, 3 and 4. Yung hilera ng dating lugawan, kasama na yung Mushroom Burger at Tokyo Tokyo, wala na. Part na sya ng parking lot, tapos may malaking mall na beside McDonald's.

    Kuha ako photo pag dumaan ako dun. Anyways, sarap talaga ng binalot!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum! I think I'll have a take out from Binalot tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  4. inggitin be si Tanggero hehehe

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  5. I don't know if you've tried this before but this is my favorite binalot. Simpleng adobo lang pero the way my mother cooked it, ay yung tuyong-tuyo. Yun bang tipong nagtsitsitsaron na yung mga taba at bawang. And my mother prepares it with such a ritual. Idadarang yung dahon sa apoy, then, bubudburan ng asin. Then lalagyan ng kanin, ulam. Hahaluin, i-to-toss ang kanin na tiniklop-tiklop ang dahon. bubuksan uli, magdadagdag ng kanin, ulam, asin at bawang. Ibabalot. Pag kinain m yun sa tanghalian, kapit na kapit na yung lasa. Parang isinangag ang kanin and masosorpresa ka tuwing makakakuha ka ng baboy na parang treasure amid the rice. Goes well with kamatis and patis, and sinigang na hipon. I know, pampabata ito. :-)

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  6. hala, sige, pa-ing-gitin niyo pa ako...

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  7. Hmmm Tito Rolly I didn't know Binalot is a precise Science. So the ones we commercially buy are actually simplified versions! If these are already tasty by themselves, how much more if it was done in the manner you so vividly described!

    I think it will be great to have binalot done your mother's way when I have guests at home one of these days. Good thing the ingredients, including the banana leaves, are available in the local market!

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  8. hey watson!!!! ang sarap! parang gusto kong kumain ulit kahit na alas dyes na ng gabi dito! hehehe

    link din kita ha... pero bukas na ako mag-aayos ulit ng links ko. antuk na ako eh :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bakit wala kang tag board?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ting-aling: Mas nakakagutom sa World Cuiscene!

    Salamat Ate Sienna!

    Hello fionski! May psychic abilities ka ata, kasi kagabi, naghahanap ako ng magandang tag board. Napuntahan ko yung www.nvncbl.com kaya lang nagkaka-problema ako sa appearance, nagwawala ang colors. Dapat nailagay ko na kagabi kaso eto, ayaw
    talaga.

    Gusto ko itong nvncbl kasi meron syang IP filtering feature na free. Dun sa tag-board.com, may naka-sulat sa baba na comment ng isang user. May gumamit
    daw ng pangalan nya sa tag board nya tapos para ma-ban nya ito, kelangan nyang magbayad. E free sa nvncbl ito, kaya pinipilit ko pang intindihin kung paano
    paganahin yung colors.

    May suggestion ka? Please!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Binalot !!! super sarap. Muntik ko nang makalimutan yan ha, buti na lang pina-alala mo. Miss those times na nag-pa-pa-deliver tayo sa trends .. grabeh .. ubos ko (kung nabigyan nang chance hehehehe) ang dalawang balot niyan .. hehehehe.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Binalot !!! super sarap. Muntik ko nang makalimutan yan ha, buti na lang pina-alala mo. Miss those times na nag-pa-pa-deliver tayo sa trends .. grabeh .. ubos ko (kung nabigyan nang chance hehehehe) ang dalawang balot niyan .. hehehehe.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello Clavs! Buti naman gumawa ka na ng blog account mo. Have fun! To all: si Clavs po, ka-trabaho ko dati, Technical Engineer sya na nasa Austrialia na ngayon. Miss you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Espritgirl,

    The Binalot is really something special ... pinoy na pinoy kasi. Do drop by here and the other links in my blogroll. Para naman di ka masyado malulungkot.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous4:33 am

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    ReplyDelete

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