Divisoria Madness and Chariya's Thai Kitchen

You haven't really seen the Philippines unless you've been to Manila.  It was and still is the busiest city in Metro Manila.  It has such character.  Here you still feel and see the remnants of the old Manila in terms of architecture and culture.  This is especially true for the Divisoria area, the heart of Manila's principal trading districts.  You'll find that business owners still run their businesses almost the same way they did when they started ages ago.  Shopping here is quite the experience.

Lone policeman desperately trying to restore order.  Good luck with that.

For newbies there's 168, Tutuban Mall, and 999;  airconditioned, sanitized, and spacious.   I recommend a gradual immersion into the whole Manila shopping experience.  I have made the mistake of bringing a few people straight to the Divisoria streets (my favorite!) that I frequent.  It's more of an alley really.  Here you'll find an astounding display of glorious fabrics, piles and piles of organza, silk charmeuse, tulle, katrina, gina, satin, jacquard, etc. etc. sold for shockingly low prices.  You'd be surprised by the product knowledge of these brusque macho hawkers in cutoff shorts and white sandos each standing barefoot on their own "hills" (rolls and rolls of cloth piled on top of the other) of fabric trying to outshout each other with their deafening cries of "Tela, tela, tela, tela!".  They know EVERYTHING there is to know about any particular type of fabric they're selling.

We were TRYING (in vain) to drive through all this. 

I forget sometimes that culture-shock can prevent first-timers from enjoying the beauty and diversity of the place.  The organized chaos, deafening noise, and not-so-pleasant aromas are all part of Divisoria's charm.  Weaving through a sea of street hawkers, pedicabs, and laborers pushing handtrucks filled to the brim with their wares are all part and parcel of a true Divisoria experience.

Recto Ave.  My view from the passenger seat of our car. LOL.

Here, haggling is a fine-tuned art.  Love love luuuuuurv it.  It's a skill that has helped me reach the elite status of "suki".  A lot of time, patience, the right amount of charm, and bulk buying went into it.  Now if I could only put that on a resume.     

Everything was as it was last Tuesday when we did our usual rounds at Quiapo and Divisoria.  Despite it being a weekday, the streets of Divisoria were teeming with anxious buyers and was alive as ever.  The traffic was horrible as always, with jeeps, pedicabs, and pedestrians vying for space.  By the time we managed to park our car, it was already lunch time.

Since we were in the area, I thought I'd surprise my mom by bringing her to our (me and Yuri's) favorite lunch place at 168.   She was really in for a treat because we were bringing her to her former teacher's, Thai Chef Chariya, AMAZING hole-in-the-wall Thai food stall.  Chef Chariya cooks with the likes of Chef Gene Gonzales and has been a chef-consultant to several Thai restaurants in the country.  Every time I'm at 168 I make a beeline for her stall, which is at the food court on the 3rd floor.

Chariya's Authentic Thai Kitchen.  This unassuming stall is such an unexpected find.   This cute lilac-tiled stall with it's four gas burners and single upright refrigerator, creates some really fresh Thai flavors.  

Menu pasted on the wall.

Simple authentic Thai cuisine done really really well at jaw-droppingly low prices.  I remember our bill at Mango Tree Bistro and shudder.  I could've ordered a feast here with the same amount of money and I would've enjoyed it waaayyy more.

Chef Chariya in action, cooking everything a-la-minute.

It gets better.  Chef Chariya was there with her husband on that fateful Tuesday AND she personally cooked our food for us.  Awesome! :-)

Phad Thai Php. 90.000

We started off with their Phad Thai.  A must try if you're dining here for the first time.  This is my favorite Phad Thai by far.  Al dente rice noodles, crunchy bean sprouts, and scrambled egg, mixed in with that secret sauce.  It's really lovely and the flavors are perfectly balanced with just the right amount of tartness and sweetness.  The generous serving of ground peanuts really makes the dish.  She told us to eat it like a real Thai and placed a big scoop of chili on our plate.  I begged her to place it on the side since I'm lightweight when it comes to all things spicy (except for wasabi)
. 

Bagoong Fried Rice Php 90.00

We also ordered a plate of her Bagoong Fried Rice.  I'd like to hug whoever thought of mixing bagoong with rice.  It just takes the whole rice experience to another level especially when it's mixed in with really tart julienned green mangoes, sliced egg omelette, and candied pork bits.  Om nom nom nom nom. YUM.

Chicken Garlic & Pepper Php 100.00

We tried her Chicken Garlic & Pepper dish as well.  How could something this simple taste so good???  Thinly sliced chicken breast bathed in a savory broth, and topped with loads of fried garlic and spring onions.  I'm a garlic freak so I was wild for this dish.

Thai Iced Tea Php 30.00

We each ordered a glass of Thai Iced Tea.  This really works well with spicy food since it sort of kills the sting.  You needn't worry though since they provide customers with chili powder on the side so that you can adjust the spiciness according to your taste. 

This was my third time eating at Chariya's Thai Kitchen .  Their food is really good but it definitely tastes a whole lot better when you know that a 5-star chef is cooking for you.  Plus she's really personable too and is always up for a good chat.  Dining at Chariya's Thai Kitchen is such a fun experience.  Going there is always something I look forward to when we go on our Divisoria trips.  :-)

On Mondays and Mango Tree

I love Mondays!  My mondays are what Sundays are for people with regular working days and hours.  On Mondays, I get to relax and sleep in.  However, this particular Monday seemed to whiz by faster than I would've liked.  Yes we did get to wake up late, but then we still had to go to a meeting and do one ocular inspection.  In between those two client meetings, we managed to squeeze in a date (Yay!).  You'd be surprised by the amount of greasy drive-through food we eat when we've got events to manage.  I make all these intricate appetizers and desserts for other people but it's usually Jollibee and Mcdonald's for me and Yuri.  I'm debunking some of the pre-conceived notions people have about chefs.  Chefs don't eat hoity toity fussy food all the time.  I can't speak for everyone, but when Yuri and I are working (managing events, logistics, and whatnot), any quick hot meal that'll fill our tummies usually does the trick.  You can't be fussy and choosy when you're pressed for time.  We make up for it when we're doing kitchen tests and when we're off the clock.  That's why our date earlier was such a treat and a welcome reprieve. 

We had a 1 o'clock meeting at Starbucks at Trinoma so we decided to do a late lunch at this resto we've been eyeing for a while now.  We've tried almost every other restaurant at Trinoma except for this one: The Mango Tree Bistro.  It's relatively new.  They opened their doors around mid-October last year.

The Mango Tree Bistro is from the famous Thai Mango Tree restaurant chain.  This spacious resto with its dimly-lit interior, brick walls, and deep violet accents is definitely pleasing to the eye.  We were looking forward to a nice, quiet, and relaxing meal, away from the usual hustle and bustle of the mall.  We were excited!  Yuri and I, we luuuurve our Thai food.  We've been to some really amazing Thai restaurants so our expectations were quite high.

I was determined to shy away from the Thai resto combo trap which is Phad Thai, Chicken Pandan, and Bagoong Rice.  I sort of succeeded.  Sort of.  Haha.  We started off with Por Pia Phad Thai, which was simply deep-fried spring rolls stuffed with Pad Thai noodles with sweet chili dipping sauce on the side.

Por Pia Phad Thai Php 150.00

It was nice and crisp but a tad too oily for my taste.  The peanut oil really comes through.  Props though for originality and well-seasoned Phad Thai noodles even if it was slightly overcooked.

Panang Nua Php 380.00

Next, we had this beef curry dish infused with kaffir lime leaves.  It was highly recommended by our courteous server.  The beef fillets were incredibly tender and the spiciness was just right for me.  The heat was spot on.  The  portion size is definitely big enough for 3 persons especially since you're supposed to eat it with rice.  Not eating rice with any sort of curry dish is just.... oh.... it's just not done!

Khaopad Gai Php 200.00

Me being the rice monster that I am decided to order Khaopad Gai (stir fried rice with chicken) to go with the Panang Nua.  I'm usually not this harsh, but I've got to say that this dish was a complete letdown.  It was totally under seasoned and did nothing to improve our meal and appetite (as most fried rice dishes usually do).  I guess my biggest issue with this dish would have to be the price.  It left us wanting.  We were better off with a bowl of Thai jasmine rice (which we did order in addition to the fried rice harhar).

If anything, the ambiance and service was excellent.  It definitely was not the best Thai food we've had (check out our secret Thai resto and then there's Thai Silk too which I will write about soon), but it was a welcome break from all the fast food grub we've been eating for the past week.

It's going to be another busy day for us tomorrow.  We will be braving the streets of Quiapo, Divisoria, Dangwa again. *sigh*  No more fastfoods please. :-(

Thuk Thai: Our Secret Thai Restaurant

Thuk Thai menu.

I've recovered from yesterday's event.  Yuri and I are just bent on being lazy today.  I'm on the 11th episode of Hell's Kitchen Season 8 and he's been watching UFC and PSP-ing since this morning.

I left out some important things last night.  We had a few more things to celebrate about aside from our very successful gig.

I got my eyes checked yesterday right after putting in an appearance at the event.  I've been getting really pesky migraines lately, which is really unusual for me.  After weeks of suffering I figured my eyes might just be the culprit.  True enough that was exactly it.  The astigmatism in my left eye went from 250 to 150! :-)  Unbelievable.  I thought my eyesight was getting worse not better.  I had my left lens changed and now I feel a whole lot better.

The other thing to celebrate was that... um it was sort of our 3rd month anniversary as a married couple yesterday.  Oh my gosh I completely forgot!  No wonder Yuri wanted to go on a date last night.  Good thing we ended up going to one of our favorite restaurants.   But I only remembered our anniversary today.  Sheesh.  Sorry.

Yuri first discovered Thuk Thai 2 years ago when he still working in Ortigas.  It was in a dingy alley and Thuk Thai was just literally a hole-in-the-wall with a teeny tiny kitchen, a counter, and about 5 stools.  He took me and friend there for the first time and I didn't know what to expect.  I mean the alley was dirty and really cramped.  Anyway I trusted Yuri's taste so I went along with it.  I ordered Phad See Eaw and was so shocked.  The dish was really really good!

The kitchen, no matter how tiny, was a well-oiled machine. Those cooks, they got skills.  At that time, I was thinking to myself that they deserved to be working in their own restaurant and not in this alley hidden away from the world.   On our next visit they told us that they were about to move and open a new restaurant at Rockwell so we were excited about it but we didn't think it would have happened soon.

One day I asked Yuri to buy me some Phad See Eaw from Thuk Thai when he got off from work.  He calls me and tells me that they're not there anymore.  It took awhile to sink in.  We were incredibly sad, but then we remembered that they said that they would be moving to Rockwell.  We actually went a couple of times to the Rockwell area peeling our eyes for any sign of Thuk Thai, but alas no luck.

6 months back, we were driving along Ortigas Ave. and we suddenly see this small banner with "Thuk Thai" written on it right next to the new Rockwell Business Center.  Duhhhhh.  It was right there all along.  So we immediately made a detour, ecstatic about reconnecting with Thuk Thai.  We absolutely HAD to eat there.  At that time the complex was brand new.  There was still construction going on in parts of it and not all of the stores were occupied yet.  We went inside and the place was, in the words of Venus, a major major improvement from before.

Decor is on the minimalist modern side.  They have artworks on the wall to go with the feel.  It could probably seat around 30 people inside at best but they have tables outside too.  We were warmly greeted by Rey, their super friendly restaurant manager who remembered us from before.  He was happy to see us and proud of their new restaurant.  We are too.  We sit down and he rings up our usual orders. 

So anyway the rest is history and Yuri and I pop in at Thuk Thai from time to time whenever we feel the need for budget-friendly Thai food.  (Now if your working with a bigger budget I'd recommend another Thai restaurant which is No. 1 on my list but I'd like to save that for another entry)

Here's my dish.  Phad See Eaw.  I think this is their best noodle dish.  I'm crazy over flat rice noodles and they cook it really well.  Always al dente.  A really simple dish done well.  Flat Rice Noodles, Pechay, Sweet Soy Sauce and Chicken.  I also like their Bagoong Rice, and their curry dishes.  Their curries are really authentic, meaning aromatic, flavorful, and SPICY.  So beware.  It's better to order this for sharing if you're not as good at handling spicy food... like me.

This is the only thing Yuri orders.  Khao Krappao.  Steamed rice smothered in a basil chili sauce with chicken pieces.  It's super spicy and that's why Yuri likes it.  Basil is very prominent in this dish and the sauce is on the sweet side.  Yesterday though, Yuri said that it wasn't as spicy as it used to be.  That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preferences.  This dish goes really well with their Thai Iced Tea.

      
I'm a fan of this place especially since we've seen them grow.  It's inspiring.  They've got good food, personalized service, and very affordable prices.  Oh their kitchen is spotless too.  Can't go wrong there. :)


Thuk Thai is located at G/F North Tower, Rockwell Business Center, Ortigas Ave., Pasig City.  It's right next to 7/11. :)