Tex-Mex Feast at Chihuahua Mexican Grill and Margarita Bar

Chips & Queso (Special)

Last December, I was fortunate enough to be a part of Chihuahua Mexican Grill and Margarita Bar’s new menu preview. Together with Manila’s top food bloggers and writers, we indulged in scrumptious nachos, quesadillas, and refreshing drinks all night long, thanks to the wonderful menu line-up created by Ines Cabarrus and Elian Habayeb.

We were welcomed by Ines and Elian, and were offered traditional Mexican fruit juices – Aguas Frescas – made with melon, pear, and watermelon. My first drink was melon and I instantly fell in love with it. Little did I knew that I was gonna like watermelon (my second drink), too! These are made from fresh fruit juices so you could really savor the original flavors with just the right sweetness.

While waiting for the others, we munched on their best-selling Chips & Queso Special (Php 195). Simple as it is, the crisp nacho chips perfectly combines with the delectable chili con carne made of beef, bell peppers, jalapeños, and tomatoes mixed with my first love – CHEESE! It’s a good appetizer or pica-pica over a good conversation and some alcoholic concoctions. The cheese dip is LOVE.

Next, we tried the new variations of their nachos: Chicken Nachos (Php 345) and Steak Nachos (Php 385). An offspring of their famous Nacho Grande, the Steak Nachos highlights tender chunks of char-grilled, perfectly marinated beef over queso, chili, guacamole, pico de gallo, salsa, sour cream, grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese, jalapeños and crisp nacho chips. The Chicken Nachos is almost similar, except that it’s topped with well-seasoned grilled chicken chunks. Both are a bit spicy but I must say I love the kick. It’s very Mexican.

Chicken Nachos

Steak Nachos

The Carnitas Quesadillas (Php 485) came next, and at this point I was already getting high with cheese! It looks like a Mexican pizza made with two toasted flour tortillas held together by the delectable filling consists  of slow-cooked pork, red onions, cilantro and cheese. The spicy and savory burst of flavors will definitely keep you hooked into it, add to that a side serving of pico de gallo, chipotle salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. Again, don’t forget to wash it down with either the melon or watermelon Aguas Frescas, or their margarita rimmed with sea salt, cayenne and paprika.

Carnitas Quesadillas

There’s also a hot sauce bar where you can see and use any of the owners’ hot sauces curated from their trips abroad. Among the collection, Elian swears by Valentina, or what he describes as Mexico’s number one salsa picante (hot sauce). They also have their own signature hot sauces like the Jules Jalapeño Sauce and Dr. Evils. They are damn hot and good! Wheeeww!

Mexico’s No. 1 Hot Sauce

Some of their signature hot sauces

The Burritos came in next, with two of their latest offerings: Two-Bean Burrito (Php 135) and the Mini Me Burrito (Php 225). The Two-Bean Burrito was created for those who wish to have a convenient Tex-Mex lunch at an affordable price. It’s packed with smoky refried beans, Mexican rice, black beans, creamy queso, and chipotle salsa wrapped in a 10-inch tortilla. Exclusively available for Chihuahua’s FB fans only during lunch on weekdays, the Mini Me Burrito is a smaller version of Chihuahua’s famous burrito. It has refried beans, guacamole, Mexican rice, black beans, queso, pico de gallo, salsa, sour cream, lettuce and a choice of meat or veggies wrapped in a 10-inch soft flour tortilla.

Two-Bean Burrito

Mini Me Burrito

And for dessert, the Banana Nutella Quesadilla (Php 195-small; Php 345-large) a la mode was unveiled. It’s made of soft flour tortillas filled with fresh bananas, Nutella, and Jiffy’s peanut butter topped with vanilla  ice cream and almonds, and drizzled with cajeta (a Mexican caramel). This desert is divine. It’s better than crepe, actually.

Banana Nutella Quesadilla

Ines Cabarrus and Elian Habayeb with Manila’s food bloggers

So if you want a taste of Texas+Mexico, you know where to go. Enjoy!

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CHIHUAHUA 1

7838 Makati Ave. (across A-Venue)

890-3192 11am – 3am weekdays

CHIHUAHUA 2

G/F Greenbelt 2 (street-side across The Residences)

625-0106, 0905-501-7800 11am – 11pm

Delivery Hotline 212-1212

http://www.chihuahuamexgrill.com

http://www.facebook.com/chihuahuamexicangrill

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Eat’s More Fun in Tacloban

Tacloban is not only about the fabled San Juanico Bridge and the historic McArthur Park. Here, gastronomic finds for all markets abound. Seafood, ribs, lechon, name it, Tacloban has it! So to guide you on your visit to Leyte’s capital city, here is a rundown of restaurants that we had tried last month:

Sunzibar
Burgos St, Tacloban City

This hole-in-the-wall restaurant boasts a variety of Mexican dishes that will definitely tickle your palate. I’ve read this on my friend’s blog (http://www.lakwatsero.com/spots/me-gusta-sunzibar-tacloban/) while trying to look for a place to eat lunch upon arrival at Hotel XYZ. I searched Google Maps and it turned out it was just walking distance from our hotel.

Two blocks away from Hotel XYZ

The facade of Sunzibar

From Angel’s blog, he was going crazy about the Sunzibar Rum Ribs, so when we went inside the restaurant, we didn’t have a hard time selecting from their wide array of gastronomic offerings.

Ribs, anyone?

The no-fuss restaurant is small but table turnover is relatively fast! It was 2:00 pm that time but there were still groups and pairs having their lunch here.

The menu has your old-time favourites like ribs, steaks, tacos, pasta, and a lot more.

For a group of three, we ordered cheese and mushroom quesadillas, rum ribs and an extra order of rice pilaf.

Cheese and Mushroom Quesadillas

The Cheese and Mushroom Quesadillas may not be that special taste-wise, but it’s a good and light starter. If you’re a group of three, I suggest you get another appetizer to combine with this.

Rum Ribs

The rum ribs is heaven!!! True to its description on the menu, its fall-off-the-bone meat is to die for. The sauce is on the sweet side though, so if you’re like me who likes it with a dash of freshly-ground pepper, then go ahead! The serving is good for two people and it already comes with two glasses of their signature redberry iced tea. But, the rib sauce is not refillable, and an extra order costs Php 30.

Comparing this rum ribs to Casa Verde’s and Hawaiian Bar-B-Que, it ranks number three (number one being the latter and the second one the former).

Service needs a bit of improvement though.

Ocho Seafood and Grill
Senator Enage Street, Tacloban City

Going to Tacloban is not and will not be complete without eating at the famous Ocho Seafood and Grill. If Puerto Princesa has Ka Lui and Baguio has Cafe by the Ruins, Tacloban has this seafood haven along Senator Enage Street just a few blocks away from Hotel XYZ.

From Hotel XYZ

There’s a wide array of wine selection at Ocho Grill

Ocho Seafood and Grill is a typical paluto restaurant that allows you to choose the seafood (meat and veggies are also available) that you want and they’ll cook it the way you want it. Since we were in the Visayas, we figured out we wanted to indulge in scallops!

Fresh catch of the day

Baked scallops with garlic

We ordered baked garlic scallops, ensaladang lato (seaweed salad), adobong sarad (shells), sinugbang chorizo (grilled local sausage), chili garlic prawns, inihaw na buntot ng tuna (grilled tuna) and a bottle each of Tsingtao, Tanduay Ice and San Mig Light. Our bill was only Php 1,200!

Ensaladang lato (seaweeds)

The baked garlic scallops is my personal favorite among the food that we had ordered. You can never go wrong with the soft and juicy scallops bathed in tangy garlic.

The ensaladang lato on the other hand is hubby’s favourite. For the first time, he was able to try it with julienned ginger and he loves it.

Adobong Sarad

One of Ocho Seafood and Grill’s specialty is adobong sarad. Slowly cooked in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and loads of pepper, this dish will definitely ignite your taste buds. A bit spicy but  it was a perfect match to ice-cold beer.

When in Visayas, eating sinugba (grilled) dishes is a must. My favourite is the grilled chorizo. Would you believe that we ate this one paired with puso (rice wrapped in banana leaves) in Bantayan (Cebu) for three days? That’s how much I love it. So, when we learned that they also serve it at Ocho Seafood and Grill, we were more than delighted!

Sinugbang Chorizo

Another star of the table, the chili garlic prawns, is one hot to-die for dish here. The perfectly battered prawns and the melange of flavours on its sauce are more than reasons to take your breath away. Caution: you need lots of rice here!

Chili Garlic Prawns

The inihaw na buntot ng tuna is also succulent and flavourful, but I still love my tuna raw, say sashimi or kinilaw (ceviche).

Inihaw na Buntot ng Tuna

To the birthday celebrators!!! Cheers to more trips ahead!!!

Leychon
384 Richcom Bldg, Real & Kalipayan St., Tacloban City

The Visayas region is known for serving the best lechon in the Philippines that even the iconic Anthony Bourdain said “it tastes like candy” (referring to Cebu Lechon). What most people didn’t know is that Leyte has its own version of this sinful yet well-loved whole roast pork. We were supposed to have brunch at Leychon where the supposedly “best lechon in Leyte” is but it was still closed and we were already starving.

Is it really the best lechon in Leyte?

From the controversial Sto. Nino Shrine of the Romualdezes, Leychon, along with other local lechon stalls, is located just a few meters away. You’ll past by a Jollibee until you reach the series of lechon stalls.

From Sto. Nino Shrine

Zilog
M.H. Del Pilar St, Tacloban City

If you’re looking for something to munch on at the wee hours of the night (read: after drinking sesh), then go to Zilog, a 24-hour diner in downtown Tacloban.

From Hotel XYZ

So what can we eat at Zilog? All kinds of silogs (“si” for sinangag or garlic fried rice, and “log” for itlog or egg). Since we just came from Biliran and we’ve been eating like a local for three days, I figured I wanted to have some bacon and eggs, so I got baconsilog (bacon + sinangag + itlog). Hubby got bulalo (beef shank soup). Price is very affordable and the serving is just right.

Zilog’s brief and simple menu

Baconsilog

Bulalo

Next time, will try to explore more restos around Tacloban. I heard Giuseppe’s is good? Let’s see in Feb!