YenYen Taiwan Street Food

We finally made our way to YenYen after they moved to a brighter and airier location on P. Guevara.The restaurant never appealed to us when they were across from Mien San because it was dark and looked really seedy. Upon entering the new YenYen, my husband exclaimed that he liked the feel of the place and he hoped that the food would be good since it's located in our neighborhood.

As expected, my son said that he will choose the dishes to order. I couldn't believe it when he ordered fried everything since these were the dishes the server recommended.

Fried Wantons at Php 180. This was nothing great. I think that I will order the steamed variety on our next visit.

Taiwan Porkchops at Php 220. This is their house specialty. The chops were really crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. My son loved this dish.

Taiwan Special Fried Rice at Php 195. This rice is really good. It's somewhat like sticky rice and has the texture of machang or kiampong. The serving was sufficient for the three of us.

8 Treasures at Php 120. This is their version of halo-halo with shaved ice. I needed this to remove all the oily taste in my mouth. This dish was quite good.

We thoroughly loved our lunch at YenYen. The service staff was very accommodating. They even gave us free coffee. The location is also great because there are four tea shops a block away. So, naturally my son had to cross over to the Kozui branch for his milk tea fix.  Then, he exclaimed that we have to eat at YenYen again because he wants to try their asado which looked like it was wrapped in something and then fried. Yes, it looked really yummy on their wall poster. We shall return.

YenYen Taiwan Street Food
198 Wilson St., corner P. Guevara

Brasserie Cicou

Since Brasserie Cicou does not have a single negative review, the Jungolf moms and I decided that this would be the next venue for our lunch date.

For starters, it was a toss up between the pate platter and the roasted bone marrow. As you can see, we ended up with the healthier option. There was really nothing special about this dish if eaten as is. My friends said that it tasted like chicken galantina and the pate in the terrine had the consistency of corned beef! However, when we were served individual servings of mustard, the pates suddenly came to life. It was a  perfect fit. This was served with their complimentary mini baguettes which was so, so good. The baguette was served warm with a slab of butter on the side. It was so crunchy on the outside and so moist and soft on the inside. We must have had 3-4 refills until we were told that it was their last piece!!!! The pate platter was Php 310.

Seafood Bouillabaise at Php 490. This dish had mixed reviews. I liked the flavor of the seafood reduction which was the base of this dish. The fish, clams and other pieces of seafood were cooked to perfection. However, my friend was looking for the creamy bouillabaise which is usually served in Filipino homes and restaurants. It was only then that I realized that yes, it would taste even better if served with some type of gremolata. When I got home, I googled the reviews of this dish and true enough, this dish should have been served with some condiments. Oops, the service staff forgot to serve those condiments to us.

Garlic Sausage with lentils at Php 320. This must be the french version of  pork and beans! The homemade sausage was good but I liked the lentils even better.

Onglet de Boeuf at Php 490. This was highly recommended by the server and so we decided to give it a try. This was US beef hanger steak which was cooked medium. I am not a fan of hanger steak and so this dish did not yell out "Eat me, eat me!" However, my friend who is a steak lover said that this was an excellent dish which she could eat all by herself. Honestly, this was the only dish we had which was not a small portion.

Kouign-Amman at Php 310. This flaky pastry was served with Sea Salted Caramel ice cream. This dessert is pure heaven. We had to have another order which took 20 minutes but we happily waited for it. The pastry was so flaky, buttery, moist and just had that touch of sweetness which was perfect. The salted caramel ice cream that was paired with it was a stroke of genius. Oh my, oh my. I am still dreaming of this dessert. It really is the best dessert in town. You really, really, really have to try this dessert and then you can die happy.

Would I go back to this restaurant? You bet I would just to have my fill of the complimentary mini baguettes and the KA. So, so yummy. The service was also excellent; no quibbling when we kept requesting for refills of the bread basket. That's the sign that the service staff was trained well. I've also never eaten in a restaurant which had perfectly seasoned dishes but Brasserie Cicou really had this. Amazing. The only downside is that the servings are quite small but I suppose that this is the norm in French cuisine.

Lunch at Brasserie Cicou with the Jungolf Moms. A photo op at the start of our meal with our first complimentary bread basket.


Brasserie Cicou
57 Annapolis St.(beside OB Montessori)
Greenhills, San Juan

Steak Rub/Beef Roast Rub

Ingredients:
3-4 lb top roast sirloin (this is the next best thing if ribeye is not option)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoon rosemary
4 tsp sea salt
1 Tablespoon black pepper

Procedure:
Rub on roast. Wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

My notes:
I rubbed this on my frozen prime rib steaks and left it in the chiller section of my refrigerator for 2 days. My steaks were still not fully defrosted when I removed it and so I let it defrost at room temperature. Before putting it on the grill, I added some Knorr seasoning. I heated the grill until white wisps of smoke was visible. I cooked my steaks for 2 minutes on both sides. Sometimes, I cook it for a minute and then lower the heat and cook it for another minute or two. Then, flip it over and cook for another two minutes. Whoa, the steaks were super tender and juicy.

This recipe came from a segment I saw on TV. The host explained that salt tenderizes the meats through a process called osmosis. My steaks came out tender and not mushy at all.