As cliche as it may sound, truly there's no place like home. The feeling of coming back to your roots is just beyond words. This, likewise transcends to enjoying habitual foods we grew up with. Hence, whenever we are in the Philippines we always make sure that we get to taste the foods we usually missed. We hopped from one restaurant to another to indulge into scrumptious, like no other fare. The photo above shows a typical breakfast plate of Pinoys. It has some of the most popular, uniquely Filipino breakfast items. You wouldn't go wrong with fried daing na bangus (milk fish marinated in vinegar, onion, garlic and pepper), cured meat like pork tapa and fried dried seafoods such as danggit and pusit (squid) for a morning fix. All these go well with a fried rice. Complement it with the famous kapeng barako (Filipino Coffee) and you're all set to start your day right.         

Come lunch time, we're heading for the best fried chicken in town. There might be a lot of fried chickens now in the market, but I would always vouch for the goodness of Max's Fried Chicken. Considering its staying power in the Philippines food scene for many generations, this is without a doubt a heritage name in its own right. Easily, I could trade off a 4 Fingers Bonchon Chicken for a Max's Fried Chicken. It's crispiness and soft meat character is second to none. The best accompaniment to its finger licking good character is the local favorite banana ketchup sans the typical sourish aftertaste of the more widely popular tomato ketchup. Trust me, it tastes better with the former.

It's been only a week since we came back from our short visit to the Philippines. And until  now I'm having dejavu on the much missed Filipino delicacies. The most popular among them are Puto Bumbong and Bibingka. No vacation to the Philippines will be complete without indulging on these local favorites. The former is a glutinous rice steamed in a bamboo tube. It's normally topped with melted butter served with grated coconut and palm sugar on the side. It's purple color makes it characteristically different from other form of rice cakes. Its gooey texture is something to look forward to. Bibingka on the other hand is another rice cake made with eggs and milk. It's usually cooked in a banana leaf and has its distinct charred surface that gives a very nice smokey flavor. The best place to try these heritage goodies is no other than Via Mare.

Now, if we talk about desserts, the most famous among them is Halo-halo. It's a mixture of shaved ice, fruits, and sweet treats (i.e. egg custard, ice cream, yam etc.) generously poured with evaporated milk. It's sweet, rich and creamy. The different ingredients provide a varying texture dimensions which makes it more enjoyable. Another popular one is Buko Pandan. A sweetened grated coconut with cubed jelly, sago, milk and pandan extract. It has a perfect blend of sweetness and creaminess that finishes your meal with much gusto.   

There's this particular fried chicken that's been haunting me for quite a while now. A number of blogs raved about it ergo, I was more than curious to try it. When I had my chance to finally dig into some servings of it, I somehow understood why the rave was so. Yet, a part of me is also wondering why it seemed like something is still missing.

I opted for the soy-garlic flavor and I got a crispy, sweet with a hint of sour, fatty, oily and creamy fried chicken. It's delicious to put it simply. However, I can't say that it's a supreme chicken to be had. The kind that's truly addicting. It's a bit pricey for an S$8.90 meal with just 3 pieces of chicken. Nevertheless, it's a tasty chicken treat to have every once in a while.

4 Fingers Bonchon Crispy Chicken
#B4-06A ION Orchard, Singapore