An all-coconut meal

We have cooked quite a few dishes with coconut milk, such as ginataang hipon and adobong manok sa gata, both of which are old Biñan family recipes. We went once to Lucena, Quezon to judge the Kulinarya competition. There was quite an array of dishes done with coconut milk and other coconut by-products, presented as main ingredient of omelets, soups and, of course, desserts.

A week ago, a friend was very enthusiastic about discovering a restaurant serving all-coconut meals. We are a group of foodies, so immediately, we decided to take the long trip from our base in the south to Quezon City. The place is called The Coconut House, located in the Quezon Circle. Luckily traffic was bearable and we had someone who knew the short cuts so we got there in no time.  

The Coconut House is a small one-level little house of wood and cement, neatly done and brightly lit by the sunlight that comes through the glass walls and windows. The menu is huge from the pampagana (starters) to tanghap (tanghalian and hapunan or lunch and dinner). If one has a big appetite, each portion is perfect, but we decided to go family-style and ordered for sharing.

Everybody was eager for the pancit buko, so it served as our starter. To most of us, this was the piece de resistance because it had been infused with a new taste by lacing it with oyster sauce. The ‘noodle’ strips of buko (young coconut) were exactly like canton. The buco okoy, however, was not the ordinary okoy we are used to. It was more like a patty of vegetables including Baguio beans, turnips and carrots. It tasted more like lumpiang prito. But the company enjoyed it, anyway. Coconut cream was used for the seafood curry and more coconut was in the sariwang lumpia. Dessert was mini buko pie, which they sell at P65 each, and hard-to-resist halo-halo, made richer with coco cream.

An interesting blend is their coffee nut, brewed using coconut water. Unfortunately, the coco flavor overwhelms what we expected of a good beverage. Coco biscuits came with it. The meal tab was very reasonable.

The Coconut House is also a store with a selection of coconut products, including virgin coconut oil (from P150 a bottle), coco sugar (like muscovado but finer) at P200 a bottle of 500 gms and P200 for 150 gms, Quezon’s natural pure coco vinegar (between P65 and P85 a bottle) depending on the size, aroma therapy oil for P150, gugo shampoo, gift baskets and coco trays. Certainly it was worth the long trip.

An ice cream house is located adjacent to the restaurant. This is another enterprising endeavor of the owners. A more expanded outlet is located in Sikatuna Village. Here we saw what some popular brands have been famous for, daringly entering a formidable market, providing good competition. This is a collection of ice cream concoctions using a variety of flavors. They have labeled their offerings as Gold Delight Ice Cream, Coco Delite sweetened with sugar, and Fruity Coco which is a non-dairy ice cream. Both Houses are open to franchising, call 392-411 and 434-7605.

We have just received information that Jamon Iberico Puro is now available on the menu of Cirkulo in Makati. This what is referred to as Solo Bellota or Pata Negra. It comes from pure-bred free range black Iberian pigs put on a diet of acorns. Other than the Iberico offerings, Cirkulo has more Spanish specialties. Look up the following: dry-cured Spanish ham, tortilla (omelet), glazed Iberian pork in red wine sauce, and tapas. They look promising.

Happy eating!

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