Cycle 5 – Item 127

12 (Mon) May 2014

Pork Caldereta

2.5

at Mr Pares

(Robinsons Place)

-Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

solo

Try Every Restaurant in Robinsons Place (48) (see also TERRP)

Mr Pares is a Filipino food court stall.  Almost exactly the same menu as Casa Ilongga.

Calderata is a Filipino dish.  Consists of meat, traditionally goat but now more commonly pork or beef or sometimes chicken, with potatoes, carrots, and peas, plus bay leaves and other herbs, simmered in a tomato broth.  Tastes like a typical western-style stew – for foreigners hesitant about trying the local cuisine, fearful of getting something weird, get the caldereta to play it safe.  As the term derives from the Spanish “caldera (cauldron),” the dish is a direct legacy of Spanish colonialism.

The pork caldereta at Mr. Pares was pretty good.  Reminded me, in a good way, of Chunky Soup Beef Stew.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN PHILIPPINES)