[temp for subs] The Best Kare-Kare in Manila

- 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.

(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.

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.

I won't leave anything
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.

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 you're going
to be the 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.