6.044 Lobster in White Pepper Sauce

katch4246

11 years ago

Cycle 6 – Item 44

18 (Wed) Feb 2015

Lobster in White Pepper Sauce

4.0

at Tao Yuan

-Malate, Manila-

with the family

Lunar New Year with the Family in PHL, Day 1.

After spending the past few days in Seoul, we flew into Manila together late last night (see generally 6.043 Bibimbap). As on the prior family trip to the Philippines (see most recently 5.357 Chicago Cowboy Steak), which had gone so well that the wife was willing to come back so soon, the itinerary primarily involves water play for the kids and fine dining for the grown-ups. Flying back late Friday night.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, Chinese restaurants in Manila tend to get decked out in red, as do customers.

The dilemma facing parents with young children in the smartphone age: immediate luxury of a peaceful meal vs long-term potential of ADHD kids; well, the same thing was said about TVs in the 50s and PCs in the 80s, and look at how well-adjusted Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers turned out.

Unanimously, the choice of dinner venue was Tao Yuan.

While everyone had white pepper lobster in mind (see for example 5.313 White Pepper Lobster), a culinary highlight from the previous trip (see generally 5.353 Lapu Lapu Chazuke), I ordered it this time with slipper lobster (aka “bug”) – incorrectly referred to on the menu as “rock lobster;” rock lobsters are incorrectly referred to as “original” lobster here is – the idea for which had come to me on a recent visit (see generally 6.031 Fried Fish Skin).

While in the midst of TEITY (see Try Every Item at Tao Yuan), I only wanted to order dishes confirmed to be excellent, and so didn’t explore anything new from menu on this visit.

Each slipper lobster, at 2,800 pesos per kg (about $28 per lb), weighing about 325 g = 910 pesos (about $20); the “original” lobster is 5,000 pesos per kg, more than half of which comprises inedible head; by contrast, these are predominantly flesh, no major organs, not even much of a brain, as if its raison d’être is to be eaten.

Awesome, as anticipated. I’ve finally come up with the ultimate accompaniment for the white pepper sauce.

Having tried 205 of 222 items at the restaurant, I am now capable of custom-ordering my own blue-level dishes.

So lazily convenient, the mere flick of a chopstick sufficient to extract the flesh, as sweet and succulent as any kind of lobster…

…pairing perfectly with the white pepper sauce.

Encouraged by this success, I will experiment further. Next time, for example, something to maximize use of the gravy, such as scallops and broccoli, maybe even with rice noodles. Maybe during TEITY, Round 2?

Hanging out at the New World swimming pool earlier in the day…

Check out the high-speed capability of the camera on the iPhone 6.

Trying my damnedest to keep my eyes on the kid (despite distraction at left).

(See all GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See all RESTAURANTS IN PHILIPPINES)

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