Cycle 5 – Item 151

5 (Thu) June 2014

Chipirones en su Tinte

4.0

by CAL

at her home

-Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

with CAL, CL, FL, et al.

Another feast by CAL in her home, the second that I’ve been blessed to attend (see most recently 5.081 Gazpacho).

Someone recently asked me, upon reading the post about that prior dinner, whether I’d exaggerated the rating and review out of politeness, in case CAL should ever read the post.   No.  I’ve never done that on any post.  If ever I were to sense a conflict of interest, I’d just not write about it.

Chipirones en su Tinte is a Spanish dish.  Consists of baby squid (chipirones), sautéed with onions and garlic in ink (en su tinte), served as a tapa or as a main course with rice or bread.

I was even more blown away by the food.  In particular, the chipirones en su tinte killed me: the sweet baby squid, the earthy brininess of the ink, all perfectly seasoned, over buttery basmati rice – oh my god.  I had 5 servings.  Although this was my first experience with the dish in its pure Spanish form, I can’t imagine it getting any better than this.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN PHILIPPINES)