"Pork Dinuguan"

With halloween just around the corner, Boots and I were thinking of a dish that best suits the season. So why not remake the native filipino dish called 'Pork Dinuguan" which is basically pork stewed in its own blood!

With our version, we braised the pork belly in pork blood, vinegar, tomatoes, onions, garlic, chili, and a little bit of water. When the pork is cooked and tender, we took it out from the braising liquid, then seared it. We then strained the blood and thicken it for the sauce.

Pork Dinuguan best matches with Puto (rice cake). We made our very own Puto and topped it off with salted egg and herbs.

Hope you guys like this one!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!  =)

-Alo and Boots


"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Let's Go Bowling!

It was our Aunt's birthday so we made her a cake on her special day. She loves to go bowling which gave us an idea on what to do with her cake. With the bowling theme in mind, we made two separate cakes. One for the bowling ball and another for the bowling pin. We also painted the fondant with brown food coloring to mimic the bowling alley floor.

Hope you guys like this one! =)

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Beef Nilaga 'Consomme"

We L.O.V.E. eating Beef Nilaga! As a matter of fact, its Boot's all time favorite. But we're sick and tired of eating this dish with this fat and grease floating all over the broth. So we thought of a way of cooking this dish to remove all these nasty stuff.

By making a consomme, we clarified the stock and remove all the impurities, so we only get that pure and very flavorful broth.

With that said, here's another video showing how we made our Beef Nilaga"Consomme".

Hope you guys enjoy!

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Oyster Appetizer

So our sister got us some fresh oysters from the eastern market in DC last Saturday. We wanted to do something and play around with it a little bit. Alo remembered that they used to serve oysters with mignonette at his old job. Inspired from the dish he learned from Chef Chris and Chef Karen, he did his own asian flavored mignonette.

So this is what we came up with!

This is our very first ever video. =D
Let us know what you think.

Thanks!

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Oxtail Mechado

Oxtail is one of our favorite cut of meat, but in filipino cuisine, this is only typically used in "kare-kare". What we wanted to do is to highlight this cut of meat and make it the main star to a different dish. And what better way to cook this meat than to cook it "Mechado" style! Combining both our favorite meat and favorite dish is a match made in heaven.

The first thing we did was browned the oxtail, then braised it in crushed tomatoes, soy sauce, mirepoix, lemon rind, bay leaves, peppercorns, and thyme. After brasing it for about 2 to 3 hours, we removed the meat, strained, and reduced the sauce. "Mechado" is usually serve  with potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers. So in our version, we roasted baby bell pepper and blanched baby carrots. For the potato part of the dish, we made pomme puree and piped it in a vol-au-vent, which is a puff pastry shell. Lastly, we added fried quail egg just because we liked it. =)

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Roasted Chicken Sinigang

This dish was inspired by our very good friend Chef Xavier Diego. He makes a killer Roasted Chicken Sinigang which is to die for. So we wanted to recreate this dish and  give it a different twist to make it our own. We  cooked this filipino dish using french techniques to create a fusion. Giving it that Alo and Boots Swag!

First, we made a chicken roulade and stuffed it with tomato concasse and sauteed spinach. We then seared it and roasted it in the oven with gabi (a root vegetable). After that, we braised the banana blossom in sinigang broth to give that sour flavor that we love. Lastly, we made a tamarind gastrique sauce to give that familiar flavor and to connect all the elements of the dish together. 

Let us know what you think! =)

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

*We would like to thank Chef Xavier Diego for inspiring us on creating this dish.

"Coca-Cola" Cake

Yesterday was Boot's dad's birthday so we made a special cake for him. Knowing Papa Boots, he loves his soda, particularly Coca-Cola. So the idea was to make a "Coca-Cola" Cake for him. We made chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream then shaped in to a Coca-Cola can. We only had a day to make this cake so we made it simple but good. At the end, the cake looked amazing and tasted great. But more importantly, the celebrant loved it! =)

Hope you guys like it too!

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's It!"

*If you guys are interested on ordering custom made cakes, just contact us at our email address at the right hand side of the page*

Mixing It Up with This "Halo-Halo"

So we decided to deconstruct another classic filipino dish. This time, the dessert we chose was the oh so famous "HALO-HALO". When translated, "HALO-HALO" means "Mix It Up". So its kind of ironic to deconstruct a dish with such meaning. There was a lot of thinking and brainstorming to come up with this version, but we had done it! =)

The idea was to serve "HALO-HALO" on a plate, instead of a bowl which might surprise some people. And by using different cooking techniques and a creative imagination, deconstructing an almost impossible dish was doable. So this is what we came up with: Deep Fried Ice Cream, Caramel Powder, Evaporated Milk Air/Foam, Coconut Cream Sauce, Plantain Compote, Sweet White and Mung Beans, Nata de Coco, Coconut Strings, Sweet Sugar Plum Fruit, Ube (Purple Yam)

Hope you guys like or version! =)

Let us know what you think. 

-Alo & Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Leche Flan Cheesecake

Leche Flan is the filipino version of a Creme Caramel. It is a sweet custard with a layer of soft caramel on top. Inspired on making this plain old boring filipino dessert a complex and elegant one, we reinvented it flavor-wise and presentation-wise. 

We wanted to give this dessert a different texture, so we combined cheesecake and leche flan together. by doing so, it gives a creamier texture but still has that good old leche flan flavor that every filipino loves.  For additional cheesecake element, the flan is placed on top of a graham cracker crust. We then grilled nectarines with rosemary and honey, which compliments the flan very well. Lastly, we made caramel powder for a play on texture. Once this powder is eaten, it will turn back in to that oowey gooey caramel consistency. The dish is served with caramel sauce, crushed almonds, mint and black lava sea salt.

All in all, this dessert was a success!

Hope you guys enjoy!

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

You Can't Lose With This Avocado Mousse!

Alo and Boot's moms loves avocado with condensed milk.  This was a dessert made by their mom and have enjoyed since they were little.  From this came our inspiration for the Avocado Mousse.

We first made cashew dacquoise which served as the base cake for the mousse.  We then made the mousse with ripe avocados, creme anglaise, gelatin and whipped cream.  To compliment the flavor of the mousse we roasted strawberries and made two different sauces, roasted strawberry jus and strawberry coulis.  For garnish we dehydrated strawberry puree to make strawberry leather and added roasted, ground cashews.


-Alo and Boots
"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Street Food that Makes You Feel Good

Kwek-kwek is a Filipino street food comparable to a tempura quail egg eaten with a spicy vinegar sauce.  Street food is very popular in the Philippines and is eaten by people from all walks of life.  Kwek-kwek became our inspiration for this appetizer dish.  It is made from soft boiled quail eggs battered and deep friend, served with pickled shallots and balsamic reduction.

We wanted to offer a variation of textures in this dish so we decided to soft boil the quail eggs.  When one bites into the crispy layer one is surprised  with the creamy yolk that provides a balance of textures.  We pickled the shallots to replace the vinegar sauce.  The acidity of the pickled shallots mimics the taste of the vinegar sauce.  The balsamic reduction was added for additional acidity and sweetness which completes the dish by providing the perfect balance between the saltiness, acidity, and sweetness of all the flavors.

-Alo and Boots
"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Crema de Fruta

Crema de fruta is a Filipino dessert traditionally made with sponge cake, custard and fruit cocktail.  Our plated version of this dessert is made with lady fingers, pastry cream, and fruit cocktail topped with peach frozen yogurt.  The frozen yogurt gives this dessert a fresh fruit flavor.  We did not veer far from its traditional flavors because we wanted to be reminded of the pleasant memories brought by this dessert during our childhood. Crema de fruta is both simple and flavorful; a perfect way to finish a meal!

-Alo and Boots
"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Princess Cake made for Royalty

This princess cake was specially made for a 7 year old named Delmi who was having a royal treatment for her birthday.  This is a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and fresh strawberry filling.  It is covered in fondant and decorated with sugar pearls, a piped royal icing tiara and pink pearl dust.  The best part is, everything was edible!

This was our first official cake order!  Feel free to leave us some comments and let us know your thoughts and insights!  If you want to order contact us on the contact info given on the right column of the blog underneath the about us section. =]

-Alo and Boots
"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Thee Steak, Bistek!

Its finally here, made with beef tenderloin and cooked to perfection (medium-rare), we proudly present, Bistek.  Some may think the cow may still be alive and mooing with it being medium-rare, but trust us it was delicious.  The tenderloin was marinated over night in soy sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, bay leaf, and lots of pepper and garlic.

24 hours later.....

The tenderloin was seared and was left to finish cooking in the oven.  The leftover marinate was reduced and thickened, serving as the Bistek's sauce.  We served the steak with crispy shallots, caramelized pearl onions, mixed greens and frites, giving birth to Alo and Boot's Filipino version of steak frites.  Hope you guys enjoy!

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Our Take on Lemon Cake

In brainstorming desserts for Alo's future restaurant business, a lemon theme was chosen.  Ideas for lemon desserts were being tossed around the table for hours, until a creative take on the lemon cake was finally chosen.

This dessert highlights the complimentary combination of lemon and strawberry.  It is a lemon cake with strawberry almond filling served with vanilla ice cream, strawberry coulis and cilantro lemon curd.  For additional flavor and presentation it is garnished with fried cilantro, candied lemon zest, cilantro sugar, and slices of fresh strawberries.  Together these flavors create a tasty dessert that's mind-boggling.  

- Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

"Cup"cake

Cupcakes have been selling like hot cakes.  Here in Virginia, and even DC, we are plagued with numerous cupcake joints where the lines run all the way down the block rain or shine.  To not be left behind with the growing trend, we decided to make our very own dynamic duo "cup"cake and indeed it is the ultimate "cup"cake!  Made with chocolate cake and topped with coffee jello, whip cream and chocolate shavings, this ultimate "cup"cake can stand its ground among the elite.

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!" 

Super Sinigang

Sinigang is one of Alo's favorite dishes.  Its pork belly cooked in tamarind broth and commonly mixed with lots of vegetables.  However, it is not limited to pork, one can also cook it with beef, shrimp, or fish.  In this rendition of Sinigang, our goal was to present it in a unique way but maintaining the integrity of the dish's original flavor.  In doing so, we chose to prepare it with both pork, shrimp and vegetables such as baby Italian eggplant, mustard greens, okra, string beans, radish, gabi (root vegetable), and for a little spice, chili.

In preparing the dish, we stewed the pork in the tamarind broth until fork tender.  We then stewed the rest of the ingredients in the broth as well.  Originally the dish would be served with the broth after everything had been stewed but we decided to change it's presentation.  We thickened the broth into a sauce by adding gabi puree.  We also made pork cracklings from the skin of the pork for additional texture and garnish.

After all was complete, it was ready to be served! ENJOY! ENJOY! Mister, mister. 

- Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

LEMON s'mores!?

Yes you got it right, we made lemon s'mores! This dessert is our take on the classic lemon meringue tart.  It has all the makings of a s'more but the only thing "s'more" about it, is the marshmallow.  We decided to keep this original s'more ingredient because roasting marshmallows on a stick, on our grill was simply too irresistible and fun to pass up.  However, the "graham cracker" is made off pate sucree while the chocolate was replaced with lemon curd.  To add even more flavor we created a basil syrup to go with it.  Basically, this is a lemon meringue tart disguising itself as a s'more!

- Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Calla Lily for Lilibel

This cake was made for Boot's mom, so we had to make it extra special.  We knew that Mama Boots loves flowers and for this reason we decided to create a cake involving flowers.  This being our first flower themed cake, we had some difficulty coming up with ideas of what the cake will actually be. It took us a total of 5 days to plan and create the cake.  We faced a few obstacles along the way causing us to cut it close to Mama Boots' birthday, in that we didn't finish till 5:00 am of her special day.  By this time, exhausted and a bit delusional, we were actually quite surprised at how well the cake turned out.  It was worth all the work and looking back it was actually F-U-N, fun.  The best part, however, was that Mama Boots absolutely loved her cake.  She loved it so much that she didn't even wanna eat it!

Let us know what you think! =0)

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

Dynamic Duo's Chicken Adobo

As the Philippine's national dish, we had to create our own interpretation of the infamous Adobo.  Throughout the Philippines this dish is made in different ways with vinegar as it's staple ingredient, in which one's chosen meat is stewed in the vinegar.

We grew up in the part of the Philippines where they cook Adobo with soy sauce and vinegar.  In our attempt to  find a new way to present the same rich flavors, we prepared this dish with different techniques.  We seared the chicken, braised it, and glazed it in the oven.  Then, reduced the sauce.  The chicken was then served with caramelized onions, hash brown, and soft boiled egg which compliments the chicken very well.

- Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

  

Deconstructed Turon

For those who may not know what Turon is, it is a Filipino dessert made with crispy lumpia/turon wrapper, plantain, langka (jackfruit) and mascovado sugar.  The plantain and jackfruit is rolled in mascovado sugar, wrapped with lumpia wrapper and fried.  In other words, it is a banana egg roll.

This deconstructed turon has the same flavors but is presented in a new way.  It is a crispy flat lumpia/turon wrapper sprinkled with sugar in a raw with a bruleed banana, langka (jackfruit) and homemade cotton candy.  The deconstructed turon showcases the ingredients inside of the dessert opposed to the traditional turon which hides the beautiful ingredients inside.

-Alo and Boots

"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"

 Traditional Turon

Deconstructed Turon

Rockin' the Red. Unleashing the Fury

Our cousin who has been asking for a personal custom made cake was surprised with her very own Cappy Birthday Cake ;0)  She is a huge Washington Capitals fan. After countless hours of brainstorming, we decided on a chocolate mayo cake with buttercream icing designed with the Washington Capitals' logo.   At the end of the day the Cappy Birthday cake was a success and everyone was fat with cake! =] Let's go Caps!

-Alo and Boots


"He cooks, I eat. That's it!"