- When it comes to stews, Filipinos are the ones
who are good at it. - Why is it noisy there?
- [Martin] I'm doing my spiels for my outdoor shoot.
- Me too.
Why are you doing it here? Go to some other place.
- [Martin] Who came here first?
- I don't have a rebuttal for that.
Let's leave here.
- Just kidding. We love each other.
(laughs)
(grunts)
There.
(grunts)
Go ahead.
You don't have anything beside you. Just continue.
You got anything for me?
There's still some stuff in this.
So today we're going around the metro
to find out which kare-kare is the best.
In my opinion, anyway.
All right. So today we're going around the metro.
Maybe we'll go to three establishments
that serve kare-kare,
but then different personalities.
Like the first one we're going to go to
would be an establishment that made it as far
as London.
Imagine, our stew has become international.
The second one is homegrown.
It's a small home business.
The last one, they've been around for a very long time.
So yeah. I'm very excited.
So we're going to Romulo Cafe.
Now it has three branches here in the Philippines—
QC, Alabang, and I think in Makati.
But did you know that they also have
a branch in Kensington High Street
over at London?
Classy!
So Romulo Cafe actually is run by third generation already.
If I had to describe kare-kare to you,
I'd say that it's a rich and creamy stew
that has a very prominent peanut flavor
and that strong broth that we used
to tenderize, our ox tails, our tripe,
and whatever beef part you put it into.
And of course, there's the steamed vegetables
and bagoong, 'cause that really compliments
the savory and peanuty flavor.
And usually, kare-kare is eaten with rice
since it's already packed with meat, veggies,
and a thick soup.
As you can see, it's not as smooth
as your usual kare-kare, and that's
because they actually grind their own rice
and that's what they use as thickeners,
which is what we use traditionally anyway.
And so at first, I saw the prices on the menu,
you'd think it's a bit much, but then
when they served the food, it was packed with tripe
and ox tail.
This is what a family serving really means.
Standard beans, cabbage, and eggplant.
Wow.
This is their bagoong.
So let's taste it first without bagoong.
That's usually what I do whenever I eat kare-kare outside.
To be honest, the fact that it's not smooth
actually reminds me of the more traditional kare-kare.
Well, obviously my preference is a smoother sauce
or smoother soup.
Some people would really love this.
I think it's time to move on to another place
that serves an heirloom kare-kare recipe.
This business was started by two couples
during the pandemic.
And they are called Iya's Kare-Kare.
Let's go.
Oh my, my back.
We're on our way to Iya's Kare-Kare.
They are an online business, but they're nice enough
to let me in.
- [Iya] It was April 2020, my husband and I
just kind of craved kare-kare.
And then at that time, I asked my grandmother
to teach me how to cook it.
- [Martin] So it's really an heirloom recipe.
- Yes.
Then, I cooked one and she said
that it's good.
I even posted in Facebook without having any idea.
My caption was like, "It's my first time cooking it
and it tasted good."
So I posted it.
We were living then at a condo.
At that time, marketplace is common
in condos.
- [Martin] Oh, yeah. The Viber groups.
- [Iya] Exactly, right?
So I offered it without thinking
of anything.
I was surprised that someone ordered.
Never in my wildest dream did I imagine
that this would evolve into something
like up until now, two years have passed...
It's still small, but now there's more people
who knows this.
- We're not saying that we're already there.
But hopefully one day we can reach it.
- Actually, this guy over here,
he's one main critic when it comes to kare-kare.
That's automatic.
When he says that it's good, it's really good.
For me, this is the perfect tenderization of meat,
when it still keeps its form.
- [Iya] Chef, bagoong.
- They also make the bagoong.
How many times do you have to make
your bagoong, since you make it by batch?
- [Iya] Maybe I do it once a week.
Honest feedback, okay?
- It's so worth it.
(laughs)
It's really good, man.
That's without bagoong yet.
- [Iya] Thank you!
That's how I usually eat. - You know what,
I don't believe that you've just started
cooking in 2019.
- Oh, you!
(laughs)
- But it's really true.
There will be nothing left for you, Julius.
I'm sorry.
It's so good.
So you guys can order from Iya's Kare-Kare.
We'll just put that in the description somewhere.
It would be weird if we mention
any Facebook or number.
So we'll do it later.
So I'm not going to wait until we get back
to the office.
This is really one of the best kare-kare
that I've had.
Trust. Trust.
Even though this is not bread, trust me.
It's beautiful.
So we are here at our last stop.
This space is called Cafe Juanita.
It's full of trinkets. The place is very interesting.
And you know, this place is actually described
by Time Magazine as a place where the food
is as close to home cooking as it can get.
And also, another thing, it's proudly Filipino,
naturally home cooked, but made contemporary.
I'm very excited to try the kare-kare,
especially since it was mentioned to me that they have
the main focus on the trinity, where I also feel like
it should also be the main focus of all hospitality business
which is service, food, and the ambiance.
Wow, it's so soft.
It's so tender.
Of course, we have different favorites,
but of course, it's perfect when there's
a balance of vegetables, ox tail, tripe. Right?
And of course, this bagoong.
And what's great with their bagoong here
is that, like the others we've went to today,
they actually process it themselves.
They cook it here, they get the raw materials,
and have their own formulation or like own recipe for it.
Let's taste it as is.
This is how tender it is.
Now this is what you call fork tender.
It didn't separate into pieces,
its mass or shape is still intact.
But you can use the back of a spoon
or even just your fork.
It's so solid.
It's so delicious.
This is the food that you can bring
to any potluck and it'll be a winner.
The ox tail is so soft.
The flavor of the sauce is delicious,
there's a bit of sweetness and savoriness to it.
Its seasoning gets completed when you eat it
with their bagoong.
I won't share this, this is all mine.
So we've gone through three of the best kare-kares here
in Metro Manila according to our sources.
And I'm about to give my verdict.
But before that...
Don't get mad at me, Erwan.
Julius and I are really just like this.
Iya's Kare-Kare is the best one.
Kare-kare will always be one of our go-to
Filipino dishes, and I can definitely see why.
Savory, comforting, loaded with meat
and vegetables.
And best of all, it will always remind us
of our mom's or our grandmother's cooking.
Iya's Kare-Kare wins this one for me,
but do give the others a try as well
and let us know whose kare-kare
is the best for you.