-
- 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.