The "ber" months always signify these happy things to me: relatives visiting, visiting relatives, Thanksgiving, hairy crabs, noche buena, Christmas songs, Christmas, Christmas trees, jingle bells, chestnuts roasting on open fires, Hong Kong, reunions, cold weather, overeating, and lechon.
And it's that time of the year again. Yay!!! :)
My first lechon meal this season was at Pepita's Kitchen. And it was a first meal that will destroy
all other stuffed lechon meals I will be having until the end of the year. Okay, maybe until
February 2014.
It was not just any lechon dinner.
It was a HAYOP na Degustacion dinner with 13 courses which
included two lechon de leches. Don't worry, I went prepared.
Dedet has mastered the art of entertaining at home. Her table centerpieces
were simple yet tasteful, the atmosphere relaxed...
And most importantly, she made everyone feel right at home
That's Dedet's daughter Lileya explaining to us how to work the pink fluffs in the martini glasses
You pour the lambanog into the cotton candy and...
Ta-Da! You have Pepita's Magic Potion!
Dedet assured us that she used tendon instead of fat to make the
next appetizer - Tendon Chips and Dip
I was amazed that something so delightfully crunchy and sinfully good did not
come from delightful and sinful origins such as fat. I felt zero guilt after devouring
it topped with a generous smear of the sour and creamy gabi sinigang mash.
Hiplog = Hipon (shrimp) and… wait for it… ITLOG!!! (EGG!!!)
And not just any egg, but my favorite salted egg yolk. I've had too many versions
of this dish and I have to say this is one of the very few unforgettable ones.
To this day I still fantasize about it… on top of rice, on pasta, on the dining table,
on the couch, in the shower… LOL! You get the point. :P
And what's better than this piece of hiplog is a whole tray of hiplogs!
You can now order this for your parties, potlucks, or for your own personal consumption.
(I won't judge.) See Pepita Kitchen's Food to Go Menu below.
Bone Marrow with Oxtail Marmalade and Special Salt
Special salt was chicharon crumbs. How brilliant was that???
I loved eating all three elements together for that sweet, salty, creamy, crunchy, tender, and
fatty sensation in my mouth
The Salad Surprise looked unbelievably simple but offered in taste a very complex and exciting
experience with the peppery arugula, creamy yogurt cheese, incredibly nutty cashew butter,
and the surprise - watermelon rocks that went pop! pop! pop! in my mouth.
Sipit Sarap. CRAB CLAW cooked in CRAB FAT and COCONUT CREAM. Enough said.
But I just want to say that this cholesterol-on-cholesterol-on-cholesterol dish was soooooo good
it will be worth the heart attack, if ever.
Lucky You was sotanghon tossed in herbed oil. Loved it. Can eat bowls of this.
Lambada. A lamb kaldereta so spicy that, according to Dedet, mapapa-lambada ka sa anghang.
I, on the other hand, say mapapa-lambada ka sa sarap.
Tamarind sorbet palate cleanser
I highly recommend Pepita's Kitchen for that meal to welcome balikbayans, celebrate special
occasions, gather the whole family together, or catch up with the best people - the food-loving
kind! With me are my favorites, Leslie of Shoot First, Eat Later, and Fran of Frannywanny. :)
(Photo grabbed from Fran)
During the meal, you can also enjoy a very relaxing shoulder and back massage by Liyora
to get you ready for the main event
THE MAIN EVENT
Look at all the attention the derriere was getting :P
Liyora is not only a terrific masseuse, she is also a pro at lechon-cutting.
This little pepita made it look like a breeze when it was really one tough job.
Than Long Lechon stuffed with garlic noodles. And that bowl over there held crab garlic
butter that you drizzle over the innards.
The meat was very tender and tasty it needed no sauce
My favorite was the skin, the thin and crunchy glorious skin. So thin and crunchy it felt like
eating very porky potato chips. And there was no other way I would eat very porky potato chips
but attack it with my bare hands.
The standard Hayop na Degustacion comes with one lechon, but that night Dedet wanted
us to try another one of her newest creations, The Ham Lechon.
Proof that I excelled more in eating the pig than cutting it up
Pork on pork always works
Look at Leslie's big and happy ham lechon smile. Such pure
and unadulterated joy is the real essence of ber months! :)
My plate of lechon with Chinese ham and sweet ham glaze. I liked this much better than
the Than Long version. :)
Okay, this was the whole plate situation. He he he.
At Dedet's, there's free chocnut for everyone!
Our first dessert, the Cholesterol Sweeper, was a shot of oatmeal
with Ghirardelli white chocolate. I enjoyed this sweet treat...
But not as much as I enjoyed this excellent Guinataan Brûlée with
Carabao Flan! Really, this mommy Pepita is an Einstein in the kitchen!
Heaven till the very last bite
Thank you, Dedet, for the marvelous feast, and Spanky for getting all of us together :)
The Lechon and The Lechon Diva!
12-Course Hayop na Degustacion Menu
Food-to-Go Menu
Starting next year, you don't need to go to Pepita's Kitchen, because Pepita's Kitchen can come to you! Sit back and let the Lechon Diva take care of your catering needs. It's gonna be an exciting 2014 for all of us! :)
Pepita's Kitchen
Tel: +639178660662, +632-425-4605
Email: pepitaskitchen@gmail.com
