Aired (October 27, 2024): In this episode, Chef JR Royol visits Benjarong Bar & Restaurant to sample Thai cuisine. ‘RapSa Roleta’ will prepare a special dish for Sparkle Artist Nikki Van. Plus, join Shaira Diaz in San Juan City for "Where Have You BEAN?"!
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00:00For today's food adventure, I'm going to make a dish that will surely make food explorers hungry.
00:09It's called Birria.
00:11I'll also be joined by farmer and vlogger, Mackie Moto.
00:18Birria is a Mexican dish that is usually similar to barbacoa.
00:26Their main difference is that birria is actually braised meat.
00:31Originally, what they use for this dish is goat meat.
00:36So if you order birria in a taco bar, this is the crispy corn tortilla.
00:43We'll just do the same concept using our goat.
00:49The process is easy, the only thing that takes a long time is the tenderizing of the meat.
00:54We have goat legs, and I specifically wanted to use goat neck for this dish.
00:59We'll be using different types of dried herbs.
01:02So we have here rosemary.
01:07Dried oregano.
01:10We also have bay leaves.
01:13We have paprika and chili powder.
01:18Then our aromatics.
01:25Then our salt and pepper.
01:33And then, our water.
01:42So once we tenderize the meat of our goat,
01:45we'll let it cool down a bit so we can handle it.
01:48We need to shred it.
01:54So our meat is ready, we shredded it.
01:58And then, another component of birria when you're serving it like the traditional way,
02:03is always have consome on the side.
02:07So what we're boiling, basically the stock,
02:11we'll just set it aside.
02:13And that's also what we're going to use.
02:15And then, we stuff it with our meat.
02:46It's so delicious.
03:04I know you're curious, food explorers.
03:07So now we're ready to let Maki taste the dishes we've prepared.
03:11The Kinulog na Bibe
03:14and the Goat Biryang
03:17Please, ladies and gentlemen,
03:20please try this and let us serve you.
03:42Goat Biryang
03:48So the Benja Rong, Benja is meaning five.
03:51Rong is we used to call a China ware.
03:54And this is a unique China ware
03:56was created, invented in Thailand.
03:58And when we talk about this kind of unique ware,
04:01of course, food is come with it.
04:03So Benja Rong is a name that been selected by Dusit
04:06and Benja Rong now become a unique restaurant
04:08for all the Dusit brand.
04:10Personally, I know Dusit since I was young
04:12and it's an honor to be in Dusit
04:14and also to lead the Benja Rong kitchen.
04:17In our weekly journey
04:19to find a new place where there is a delicious food trip destination,
04:23we were brought to Davao by our feet
04:26and here there is a food establishment
04:29that offers a legit Thai food experience
04:32using the local ingredients.
04:34The Thai flavors are delicious
04:36because their chef is a Thai national.
04:39And his delicious food will be tasted
04:42at the Benja Rong Bar and Restaurant in Dusit Thani, Davao.
04:46When the young kids in Thailand,
04:48you know, you start with the drinking
04:50and you make this.
04:52And they said, I make better.
04:55So I try out to learn it professionally.
04:58So I put myself as a trainee,
05:00start as a steward and become a cook.
05:04For us as a chef and come from Thailand,
05:07we want to be able to showcase our food.
05:10All right.
05:11And we want to influence people to know
05:13it's not just only the food that is supposed to be tasty.
05:16It's also should be that it's good for your body.
05:19Okay.
05:20So how to make other nationalities to eat our food,
05:24we have to adapt to wherever we go.
05:26And of course, if you talk about Benja Rong in Davao
05:29and Benja Rong in Manila, it's completely different.
05:32Benja Rong in Manila, Chef Jah, she's doing a great job.
05:36And don't forget, there's already like 18 years
05:40of experience in the Philippines.
05:42And we are just a baby, elementary.
05:46So a big gap.
05:47And of course, we need to understand
05:49what is the local looking for.
05:51So basically, the vision here is to provide
05:55a Thai experience through your food.
05:58But not necessarily pushing with the authenticity part,
06:02especially when the purists would come after us
06:04that for you to say a cuisine is authentic,
06:06you have to source the ingredients
06:08where the cuisine is from.
06:10Yeah.
06:11So that's basically where you tweak the idea.
06:14So Benja Rong is a Thai experience
06:16with Filipino ingredients.
06:22In different places,
06:23it's different requirement for the customer.
06:25And here, my majority of customer are more family oriented.
06:28So the table is quite big.
06:30And the food, it should be good for sharing.
06:33And the taste should be somehow authentic.
06:38With the flavors of Filipinos bringing in Thai cuisine,
06:42were there any challenges that you faced?
06:45The challenge would be the spicy level.
06:47They cannot take the spicy level,
06:48the same that we used to do.
06:50But that's not the big deal.
06:51The big deal is that sometimes the herbs
06:53that we put on the plate,
06:54except like coriander.
06:56Yeah, not everyone is bringing.
06:58Or lemongrass that we eat raw.
07:00They will like cook,
07:01or vegetable that we eat raw,
07:03they like it to be cooked.
07:04Okay.
07:05So I have to try to think and stimulate
07:08which dish they would respond well.
07:11Like papaya salad.
07:12Papaya salad is...
07:13Everything is raw.
07:14There's three different region.
07:16Here would be a northeast of Thailand,
07:19papaya salad.
07:20So this is will go along with papaya salad.
07:23With papaya salad.
07:24All right.
07:25And you will have the sauce here.
07:27These are common.
07:28It's made from tamarind,
07:29and roasted rice,
07:30and herbs.
07:31And this one,
07:32I'm using the local mango,
07:34the ripe mango,
07:35to make a sweet and sour sauce.
07:37The tamarind sauce is the bomb, man.
07:41Another thing that is very common
07:43here in the Philippines,
07:44but we don't utilize it like this.
07:48For tamarind,
07:49especially the ripe ones,
07:51we either just make it sweet
07:53so that we can snack on them.
07:55We don't use it as condiment.
07:57Because that's one of the example
07:59that I'm stressing out
08:00so that we can learn
08:01how to expound on the usage that we do,
08:06on the available ingredients that we have.
08:08And even like the mango dip
08:11that you have here,
08:12you don't do that as often.
08:14I'm just stressing out on points
08:15that we as a Filipino,
08:17especially myself,
08:18as a culinary artist,
08:19that we can adapt.
08:22Because the philosophy of your flavors,
08:25of your cuisine is something
08:26that we can definitely also copy,
08:30in a way,
08:31so as to elevate
08:33or to transform
08:35the Filipino dining experience.
08:38While Chef Pia and I are having a good time,
08:41I can't help but taste
08:43the delicious dishes that he cooks
08:46for the visitors
08:48here at Benjarong Bar & Restaurant.
08:50Similar to laksa,
08:51most people here know laksa.
08:53But khao soi gai also,
08:54it's a very long history,
08:56and mostly in the north of Thailand.
08:58So khao soi means rice being cut.
09:02So we used to call this noodle
09:04as cut rice.
09:05And it's come with,
09:06similar to a curry,
09:07with the crispy noodles,
09:09with the chicken.
09:10And of course,
09:11there's a condiment of lime
09:12and chilies combined with it.
09:14The correct translation is
09:17shrimp, kung.
09:18Pad is stir-fry.
09:20Krik is chili.
09:21Klua is salt.
09:22So very straightforward.
09:23So shrimp stir-fry with chili and salt.
09:26And of course,
09:27with a little bit of seasoning.
09:28And you cannot go wrong
09:30with spring onion, coriander.
09:32So that's how basic ingredients of Thailand
09:34and fried garlic, of course.
09:36Different presentation,
09:38different key of ingredients.
09:40Because me also,
09:41I'm responsible,
09:42and actually I love everywhere I go.
09:44I like to support the local farmer.
09:46So there's a lot of good farmers
09:48who produce a heirloom vegetable,
09:50produce cheeses.
09:52And it would be weird for people
09:54to know the Thai food,
09:55to collaborate with the cheeses.
09:56But that is going to happen soon.
10:04For the certified coffee lovers out there,
10:06Oh my!
10:07There's a coffee shop in Little Baguio,
10:09here in San Juan,
10:10that you will definitely want to visit
10:13because they don't just offer coffee.
10:16You can also take a crash course
10:18to learn more about coffee.
10:22You can find it here
10:24in the Cherries to Cup Coffee Solution.
10:27We're here in our showroom.
10:29This is Cherries to Cup Coffee Solutions.
10:32Jack Meets Caldi is here.
10:35Jack Meets Caldi is more on
10:38promoting specialty coffee.
10:40Meaning is we are jack of all trades
10:43in terms of coffee
10:44because we do everything
10:45in terms of coffee.
10:47I was surprised
10:48that the Latte School looks like that.
10:51It's like that
10:52if you want to train as a barista.
10:55And I appreciated the fact
10:58that it's expensive to make coffee.
11:00So you really need to take it seriously.
11:04It's not just like,
11:05okay, you can just make coffee.
11:07But it's like,
11:09it's still learning.
11:10You really need to know
11:13the core,
11:14what coffee is,
11:16how to process it,
11:17how to grade it.
11:18So there are a lot of factors.
11:20And it's funny because
11:21the people here are very informative,
11:23Sir Rusty and Sir Mark.
11:26Because they help me,
11:27willing to help and share the information
11:29about coffee,
11:31the machines that I need,
11:33and where I should start.
11:35We also explain
11:37what is specialty coffee.
11:38Like what Mark said,
11:41coffee is a fruit.
11:43So I heard it for the first time.
11:45Yes.
11:46All people are not aware.
11:47Because I know that coffee,
11:49especially beans,
11:51it's just a seed.
11:52Exactly.
11:53But you don't know where the seeds come from.
11:55I don't know.
11:56It's a cherry.
11:57It's a coffee cherry.
11:58Wow.
11:59I learned something new today.
12:02Anyone can enroll
12:04in the Philippine Latte Art Academy
12:06because their goal here
12:08is to educate people
12:09about the importance of coffee.
12:13And as a certified coffee lover,
12:15Shaira is the one who decided
12:17to share to us
12:18the coffee experience
12:19that this cafe has.
12:23Every day, every morning,
12:25when I'm at work,
12:26in the first shift,
12:27it's automatic.
12:28I'll make coffee.
12:29But in the morning,
12:31I want it to be hot.
12:33So I only take black.
12:35Pure black,
12:36no creamer, no sugar.
12:37Only black.
12:38And then,
12:39when it's afternoon,
12:40I like latte.
12:41Iced latte,
12:42caramel macchiato.
12:44So now,
12:45we're going to taste
12:46their cafe latte
12:48that's hot.
12:49As you can see,
12:50we have a latte art
12:51here that's beautiful.
12:53Sometimes, I don't want to drink it
12:54because the design is a waste.
12:55But okay, let's taste it.
13:01Oh.
13:02Wow.
13:03It's perfect for me.
13:05This is the taste of coffee.
13:07It's not strong.
13:08It's just in the middle.
13:10It's not sweet.
13:11And also,
13:12the coffee they used here
13:13is catimor beans
13:15from Lanao del Sur.
13:17If you don't like
13:19too bitter lattes in the morning,
13:22this is perfect for you.
13:27Mmm.
13:28Delicious.
13:30Oh,
13:31here's my next coffee.
13:33Yes.
13:34What is this,
13:35Sir Mark?
13:36This is a V60
13:38from Pinkanancy in Benguet.
13:40It's like I'm doing an experiment.
13:43But,
13:44it's like,
13:45it's like you can hear it
13:46when you see it.
13:47What is that?
13:48So you'll be curious to taste it.
13:50So okay,
13:51let's pour over.
13:53Okay, it smells a bit strong.
13:56Maybe because
13:57it's just water
13:58mixed with it.
14:04Wow.
14:05Wow.
14:08Oh, I'm shook.
14:09Because it smells strong,
14:11but the taste is delicious.
14:14It's not bitter.
14:15It's not burnt.
14:16It's not like a dark roast.
14:18It's just medium.
14:20Just like the first one I tasted.
14:25It's delicious.
14:26So this is like a freshly brewed
14:28Americano
14:30that can be iced Americano.
14:32That's how it came to me
14:34because I can really straighten it
14:36because it's not bitter.
14:41See, I straightened it.
14:43It's delicious,
14:45from Benguet.
14:46So these local beans
14:48that we're trying now,
14:50Food Explorers.
14:51And this is beautiful.
14:52This is a good idea for those
14:54who have a coffee shop business.
14:57It's strong.
14:59Food Explorers,
15:00can you see this painting
15:01behind me?
15:03That's the cherry.
15:04And this one in front of me
15:05is the cascara.
15:06Ah, cascara.
15:07That's an interesting one
15:08because instead of throwing away
15:10the coffee skin by the farmers,
15:13we did something to dry it
15:15meticulously
15:17and we create a cascara
15:19or cascara tea,
15:20as it's called.
15:21In other countries,
15:22it's already famous.
15:23Here in the Philippines,
15:24it's not that famous
15:25because usually,
15:27the skins that are used here
15:29are the highest grading
15:32like the Geisha variety.
15:34So here in the Philippines,
15:35the variety that we have here,
15:37we tried.
15:38We had this result
15:39that it's delicious.
15:40So we launched it
15:41and we helped the other farmers.
15:43The trash became a product
15:45for us.
15:46It's delicious.
15:48It's flavorful.
15:49It's not too strong.
15:54Usually, other teas
15:56are strong,
15:58but this one is delicious.
16:00And then,
16:01I also learned that
16:02this cascara
16:03is the skin of a cherry.
16:05So for example,
16:06if you pick a cherry,
16:07the seeds are what makes coffee.
16:10That's the coffee that's processed.
16:12And then the skin,
16:13this is what they do to it.
16:14So instead of throwing away the skin,
16:16they make use of it.
16:18It's like a cherry.
16:19It's like a flavor.
16:20It's like a grape
16:21that has a cherry flavor.
16:23That's why it's delicious.
16:24It's also smooth.
16:25It's smooth.
16:26When you taste it
16:28until you swallow it,
16:29you'll taste the fruit.
16:31So I believe
16:32that it's already a fruit.
16:39So horchata
16:40is a Mexican drink
16:42that's also popular
16:43here in the Philippines.
16:44But basically,
16:45here in the Philippines,
16:46our traditional drink
16:48or what we make our babies drink
16:50is called am.
16:51So it's rice milk.
16:53Actually, it's just rice
16:54that's boiled
16:55then added cinnamon
16:56and condensed milk.
16:58Oh!
16:59It's delicious!
17:02You'll taste the rice.
17:04In fairness.
17:08It's just right.
17:09And it also has
17:11an espresso.
17:13The beans
17:14are from Bukidnon.
17:16This is the robusta.
17:17So it has espresso
17:18plus horchata.
17:20I'm holding our last drink
17:22and this is called
17:23finca cano.
17:24This process that's done here
17:26is called cold drip.
17:28Because
17:29earlier,
17:30I saw
17:31where it drips.
17:33They said it drips
17:34continuously
17:35for 7 to 8 hours.
17:37And they use
17:39Arabica beans
17:40from Lanao del Sur.
17:41Again,
17:42local products.
17:43And if you'll notice,
17:44guys, look.
17:45The ice is different.
17:46It's different
17:47inside my glass.
17:48Because
17:49these are called
17:50whiskey stones.
17:51Because they avoid
17:53when we add
17:54the coffee,
17:56when we pour it,
17:58of course,
17:59the ice will melt, right?
18:00So the taste will be different.
18:02So we don't want
18:03the taste of coffee
18:04to be reduced, right?
18:06So there.
18:07So that the ice
18:08won't melt,
18:09that's why we use
18:10whiskey stones.
18:11Let's taste it now.
18:18Wow!
18:19Those who love cold brew,
18:20oh my gosh!
18:23It's delicious.
18:24It's also smooth.
18:25You know, guys,
18:26I can't really
18:27describe it.
18:28Because it's delicious.
18:29It's really smooth.
18:30It's like
18:31I'm speechless.
18:32Because
18:33this is the first time
18:34I've appreciated this.
18:35It drips for 7 to 8 hours.
18:36So this is how it tastes.
18:40Yummy!
18:41So follow us on Facebook
18:42and Instagram.
18:43We have
18:44Jack and the First
18:45Crock Coffee Roasters,
18:46Jack Meets Kaldi,
18:47Lap DJA,
18:49and the
18:50Philippine Latte Art Academy.
18:55Welcome to Fancy Table.
18:56Hello.
18:57Of course,
18:58the best way
18:59to welcome a guest
19:01is to feed them, right?
19:02Do you agree?
19:03Of course, of course.
19:04And that's what we'll do.
19:05I'll introduce you
19:06to our drop sack,
19:07Roleta.
19:10Go ahead, Nikki.
19:12I was like,
19:13please chicken,
19:14and then grilled
19:15because that's the first thing
19:16I saw,
19:17and then I really love
19:18grilled food also.
19:19So,
19:20we're a team.
19:21Fish.
19:22Fish.
19:23Nikki,
19:24when it comes to
19:25fish,
19:26what are the flavors
19:27or combinations
19:28that you think
19:29go well
19:30with our
19:31steamed dish?
19:35I'm not sure
19:36what it is,
19:37but the brown sauce.
19:38Ah, okay.
19:40So like
19:41in Chinese restaurants.
19:42Yes.
19:43Alright,
19:44I'll take care of it.
19:45But before that,
19:46join me
19:47in the kitchen.
19:48Okay.
19:49This is my first time.
19:50First time?
19:51Yes, first time.
19:52Alright, let's go.
19:55But there are
19:56many good markets
19:57in Cebu.
19:58Why didn't you
19:59visit them?
20:00Maybe next time
20:01with you?
20:02Maybe.
20:03So we have here
20:04talakitok, boss.
20:05Malipoto, sir.
20:06Malipoto,
20:07since it's here.
20:08That's the one
20:09in Taal.
20:10When it's in Taal,
20:11Taal Lake,
20:12it's called
20:13malipoto.
20:14Okay?
20:15But when it's in the sea,
20:16it's called
20:17talakitok.
20:19That's what I like, chef.
20:20Ah, that's what you like?
20:21Just kidding.
20:23If you can finish it.
20:25Hey!
20:26This is also malipoto, sir?
20:27Yes.
20:28This is talakitok, right?
20:32So this is
20:34not yet full-size.
20:36The talakitok will be bigger.
20:38So I think this is
20:39the perfect size
20:40for our
20:41malipoto.
20:42It's white fish,
20:43so I'm pretty sure
20:45I'm confident
20:46that you'll like it.
20:48We'll pay for it.
20:49Ah.
20:53Our malipoto is really fresh.
20:54And according to our
20:55wrapsaroleta,
20:57we'll steam
20:58the cooking process
20:59that we'll do.
21:00So here,
21:01our steamer is ready.
21:02Our malipoto
21:03that Kuya
21:04cleaned earlier.
21:10And then,
21:11just a little salt.
21:14We'll just season it
21:15because our
21:16sauce
21:17is soy-based.
21:20So we'll just
21:21season it inside
21:22so that the meat
21:23of our fish
21:24won't be too bland.
21:28It's that simple.
21:29Let's put it
21:30in our steamer.
21:31And we'll just steam it
21:32for around
21:3315 to 20 minutes.
21:34And that's more than
21:35enough time
21:36to prepare
21:37the other components
21:38of our dish.
21:39For our sauce,
21:40basically,
21:41we're just gonna add in
21:42some cornstarch.
21:44We'll just make
21:45our most
21:46glazed one.
21:48And then,
21:49we'll just add in
21:52oyster sauce.
21:54Let's also add
21:55some pepper.
22:14It's done.
22:16We can now serve it to Nikki.
22:22This is the one
22:23that I served
22:24or prepared for you.
22:27Ooh.
22:28So that's your steamed
22:29malipoto
22:31with our
22:32soy glaze.
22:34My favorite is
22:35the sauce in any food.
22:37Really?
22:38I need sauce in any food.
22:39So,
22:40let's serve it
22:41to Nikki.
22:42I need sauce in any food.
22:43So,
22:44you're one of those
22:45who loves to eat
22:46that you won't like
22:47unless there's
22:48sauce.
22:49Yes,
22:50unless there's sauce.
22:51I'll show you
22:52how our fish
22:53is steamed.
22:54See how
22:55perfectly cooked
22:56our fish is?
22:57I really don't
22:58like fish.
22:59So,
23:00when it landed on fish,
23:01I was like,
23:02oh no!
23:03But now that
23:04I tried chef's fish,
23:05I think it changed
23:06my whole perspective.
23:07So,
23:08starting now,
23:09I'm gonna try
23:10more fish.
23:11Yum sauce.
23:13So good yum sauce.