REDD: The New Foodie Destination at Prism Plaza

A few years ago, before I decided to blog full-time, I used to work at one of the BPOs located at ONE E-Com.  Back then the row of restaurants at the seaside were still  being constructed and the only dining choices we had were the 24 hour convenience stores and a couple of food chains nearby.

The problem is that these fast food restos were often packed with other employees who probably realized that eating siopao, hotdog or noodles wasn’t exactly a good way to live. We were deprived of affordable, delicious food during those times.

Our encounters with real food, and complete meals only existed during paydays and we had to go to the SM Moa or at the stretch of expensive restos at SM Moa By the Bay.

I finally got the chance to revisit the place a few weeks ago when one of our close blogger friends Alex Dizon invited us over for a food review.  He was quite excited to show us this new restaurant  at the Two E-com, (which just a stone's throw away from One E-Com) The name of the place was REDD and it had this cool millennial vibe with its detailed red and white decor, with cute lamps hanging around the ceiling.  REDD is located upstairs Prism Plaza which has a nice view of the bay area, and had the perfect view during those pyromusical events. It has a separate videoke room if you want to chill out with friends for good food and music.

The REDD features Filipino delicious funny sounding names to your usual "pulutan" or "ulam".
Their menu was composed mostly of Filipino dishes, which you can order either in “selfie,” “date,” and “groufie” sizes, depending on your budget, diet or if you are with friends.

Sisig Ala Kanto

We were then served two versions of sisig. Their best selling Sisig ala kanto is an heirloom recipe of one of the owners, Its a street style pork mascara and ears with chicken liver. The best pulutan there is to order with chicharon as toppings. Or if you're watching your diet, you can try out their SEAsig, made of tuna, bangus and dory. Ask for some siling labuyo for that extra kick. 

Seasig

Unlike your ordinary sisig, REDDs version is not topped with egg or mayonnaise so you could enjoy and savor the taste of the individual ingredients. 

Juana Fries

On this particular visit we tried out their Juana Fries- hand cut camote tops fried 3x and topped with cheddar cream cheese, salsa and chili con carne. What makes this particular dish unique is the crispiness of the camote fries and the salsa that tastes out of this world.

Chicken and Pork Adobo

Redd's version of Chicken and Pork Adobo topped with fresh garlic! Best with steamed rice. 

Anybody can cook Chicken and Pork Adobo, but not the way REDD does it. Sandwiched between crunch slices of pork belly bagnet and seasoned chicken leg and thigh inasal mixed in special adobo sauce. The result is a smoky grilled taste with a crunch in every bite! 

Beef Kaldereta 

Beef kaldereta is comprised of potatoes, carrots, chili, pitted olives, bell pepper and of course the key ingredient, the tomato sauce. I love how the potatoes were fried and separated while all the ingredients are cooked first. 

Beef Kaldereta slow cooked braised beef from batangas made special with their kaldereta sauce.

Kansi

Kansi is Ilonggo’s version of the famous Bulalo. The dish is a cross between bulalo and sinigang. This is the first time I have tasted kansi.  If you’re feeling a bit cold, especially now that the rainy season is kicking in you might want to try this soup.

Grilled Tuna Belly

Grilled tuna is my comfort food. I could eat this all day on its own. Redd's version of Grilled Tuna Belly is the best there is because of its sweet and tangy marinade flavor that takes away the "lansa" of the fish, good thing is that the inside meat is cooked just right, soft and juicy. 

Bagoong Rice

The fried rice dish that makes use of bagoong or shrimp paste, topped with stripped green mangoes, best to partner with REDD's mains. Now I try to avoid rice as much as possible but I couldn’t resist the Bagoong Rice and tinapa rice. That perfectly complemented the meals I mentioned above.

Mango Tango 

To cap the meal,  REDD got your favorite signature cocktails like the Mango Tango, Coco Martini, Samalamig, Mojito de Guimaras and many others. You'll be surprised for the alcohol content, but not enough to knock you down. Unless you order for local beers.

With the opening of REDD, those working at the BPO offices in the area can have something to look forward to before or after their shift. It’s a great place to hang out, chill out or even spend some time singing some tunes at the REDD private videoke lounge which can be availed of through reservation at a very friendly price. REDD has prepared very affordable special KTV packages that start at Php199.00 to Php4,999.00 depending on the number of guests. Visitors can likewise request for the Beer Pong station to be set up for a rollicking good time.

REDD is located at Prism Plaza, Two E-Com Building, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. For more details and for updates on promos, visit the REDD Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/REDDeatdrinkchill and Instagram account: @REDDeatdrinkchill

Alomah's Place: Bukidnon's Best Kept Secret Hideaway

I remember fellow blogger Ruth Floresca’s  precautionary advice before we agreed to join the OA trip--- "Hindi ka dapat maarte, and you should be ready to sleep on a tent--- in the middle of the farm,”

Well all my friends know that “maarte” isn’t in my vocabulary, and as far as sleeping inside a tent, I don’t think it could be worse than the time we went to Mt. Pico De Loro when our tent became our blanket amidst the rain.

After the Cervantes Farm tour, we then proceeded to Alomah's Place in Dahilayan. It was a long, tiring, drizzling 3-hour ride and by the time we arrived it was already late in the afternoon. Alomah's is located at Barangay Dahilayan in Manolo Fortich town Bukidnon.


Despite the long ride I think this was my favorite of the five farms we visited.  It had more of a laid back feel to it, "para ka lang bakasyonista" and the food was tasty and healthy!

Organic Tarragon tea with Stevia leaves and "Unli" Salad

As soon as we arrived, we were ushered to their living room/karaoke room/ and our hosts were quite generous and told us we could have all the Tarrragon tea (with stevia leaves) and salad we want to eat.

After having our afternoon tea and salad, we were introduced to the owners Mr. Benjohn and Grace Mahistrado.  Ms. Grace then showed us to our tent room for our overnight stay. The "tent room" was located upstairs with six set up camping tents.   We were supposed to sleep outside with tents in the farm, but the heavy rain downpour prevented us from doing so.


The 2000 hectare land is managed by the husband and wife couple Alomah's is the combination of Grace's maiden name Alombro and Benjohn's last name, thus the Alomah's. We listened to their success story, starting out as a young married couple who saved up and pursued their dreams of having a farm with varieties of organic produce and make a living out of it. ATI (Agricultural Training Institute of the Philippine Department of Agriculture) helped them make their dreams come true.

They are the ones who supply green lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, romaine, and carrots to one of the Shakeys branches. They told us that people who bought their organic vegetables loved and keep coming back for their produce because of its sweet, crunchy taste, their lettuce are guaranteed no pesticides and 100% organic.

Alomah's place also has an organic tilapia pond. There are free range chickens, goats and horses roaming around the farm.

After the farm tour, Mr Benjohn let us ride his favorite horse Riffle,  he guided us for a little straddle along the short path. I chose to just pose for a pic with my cowboy hat on.

The scenery was priceless as it was spectacular. The farm was really a sight to behold with its colorful organic plant produce in rows.

Mr Benjohn Mahistrado

I love that you have a clear view of the farm from just about anywhere so you'll get to see the lush greens, and see what's happening around the area. We were also lucky to witness the brilliant sunrise from the farm. It was truly a beautiful and captivating sight.

The weather was cold as if you were in Baguio because of the uphill elevation.  I was enjoying it too much that I seriously was contemplating of buying my own farm and live there for the rest of my life.

Alomah's place is open for teambuilding, recollection, retreat and horseback riding. They have cottages you can rent at P2400 a night, or tents for p500.  You can also enjoy unlimited tarragon tea and salad with special vinaigrette during your stay.

Farm Details:
Alomah's Place Dahilayan Manolo Fortich Bukidnon
Dahilayan 8703, Manolo Fortich,
Bukidnon Province, Philippines
+639177153560 / +639088972466 / +639168844374

To visit the different ATI-assisted projects (Organic Farming Learning Sites), you can drop by or ask the ATI Regional Training Center nearest you or inquire through:

982AGRI (982-2474) for Metro Manila calls
1-800-10-982AGRI (1-800-10-9822474) for provincial toll-free calls using PLDT landlines

For Smart and Talk & Text Subscribers, text 391-DA (391-32).
For non-Smart Subscribers, text 0920-946AGRI (0920-9462474).

Cervantes Farm advocates Square Foot and Vertical Gardening method

For someone who’s spent half her life working at a hospital and seeing just about every kind of disease and its horrible effects on the human body, I consider myself quite conscious about my health.

Especially since my state of health hasn’t been optimal for the past few months, I’ve been very particular about the food I eat. I avoid eating pork, worry about serving sizes, and eat as much green veggies and fruits as I can. I’ve also been reading the labels of the products I buy, staying away from those snacks with heavy doses of MSG and going for those with the ORGANIC tag.

Going Organic has been the trend for the past few years, and though it doesn’t come cheap, I felt it was worth spending the extra pesos.

But I have to admit my knowledge of organic has been quite limited, all I know is that organic food is fresher, free from GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms, and pesticide-free.

So when I got the invitation to join a group of bloggers on an “OA” (Organic Agriculture) adventure down south, I quickly cleared my schedule and said YES! After all, I’ve always wondered where those bok choys, romaine lettuce, and all those ingredients from those “fresh” salad bars actually came from.

Under the auspices of the Agriculture Training Institute, our 4D3N CDO-Bukidnon adventure would take us to five “farmventures” and even through forests to learn about new agricultural practices. It was my first OA trip, but as it turns out they have done it four times already in the past couple of years.

To say I was excited would be an understatement and even my body clock would betray me. I set the alarm for 4 am but I was already up at 3 eager to get to the airport way ahead of our scheduled 9 am flight. The flight took about an hour and a half and as soon as I saw those lush green mountains I was eager to get off the plane to start our adventures.

It was going to be my first time to visit a farm—a real organic one.  When you say organic farm, the produce relies on fertilizers of organic origin such as compost, manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation, companion planting, and water conservation. From this organic farm comes organic produce such as vegetables, fruits, dairy products and meat. It is designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution.

Our first stop for the day was the Cervantes Farm. It was a two-hour drive from Laguindingan Airport, Misamis Oriental.

Ret.Col Honorio Cervantes

Now whenever I heard the word farm, I would immediately think of large acres of land that would stretch as far as my eyes would see. So when we were told by our ATI official Ms. Niet Jarceo that the Cervantes farm espoused square foot gardening, it was as if someone popped my thought bubbles and replaced it with images of my sad little virtual farm when I used to play Farmville.

What can you plant with a squarefoot when I could barely plant my feet inside that small space.
We were greeted by Retired Colonel Honorio Cervantes who owned the Cervantes Farm located in Brgy. Pagatpat, Cagayan de Oro. His farm was recognized by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Learning Site for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and is open to farmers, students and the public.

He said he advocates square foot gardening and wants to teach everyone how they could start planting with just a small space. He said square foot gardening is the most practical, foolproof way to grow a home garden and even make a living out of this. You can start planting your own pechay, basil, tomato, melon, kangkong and or eggplant.  Mr. Cervantes told us that anyone with a backyard and some sun can grow an abundance of food for their family, regardless of where they live so no one will go hungry.

To start your own square foot farm, you just need to start by building a raise bed frame. This bed would measure 4 x 4 and at 6 inches deep or any size you want, just make sure you don’t make your bed too wide.  Then, you just need to make it into a 3x3 (3 squares by 3 squares) grid, 2x2, 4x4 or more if you want more produce.  Place a weed barrier such as cloth in the bottom before you fill in with the soil mix. Measure out the squares, and fill the bed with soil.

Growing in square foot gardening style saves 20% more space than growing plants in rows, he told us.

This police turned organic farmer practitioner advocates urban gardening and has proven that we can really grow our own food no matter how little land we have. His farm which only measures 300sqm has been utilized perfectly that they are able to grow a lot of vegetables using his square foot and vertical gardening methods.

Mr. Cervantes said he learned about the method through a book by Mel Bartholomew, a retired businessman and engineer from Utah, USA.

According to the Wikipedia entry: “Bartholomew used a 12’ x 12’ square with a grid that divided it into 9 squares with equal lengths of 4 feet on each side. Each of these 4’ by 4’ squares was then invisibly divided into sixteen one foot squares that were each planted with a different species. In smaller square gardens the grids may simply serve as a way to divide the garden but in larger gardens the grids can be made wide enough to be used as narrow walkways. 

After his lecture we got the chance to try out and harvest “kangkong”. Unlike the usual kangkong, his vegetables are grown on plots of land, not on water. Following his square foot gardening method, his kangkong and the other vegetables are planted systematically every few days so there will always be a new batch ready for harvesting.

He also shared the secret of his soil—the Cervantes mix, which is made up of composted cow manure, chicken dung, bamboo charcoal, and other natural ingredients.

Before we checked out on Sir Cervantes backyard farm. We had our sumptuous lunch “boodle fight style” first at his simple nipa house. The table was set where a big pile of food are served on top of banana leaves loaded with steamed rice, topped with fish, pork, vegetables, mangoes, bananas and vinegar/ soy sauce dips, he proudly told us that our lunch are crops from his backyard farm. They tasted delicious, healthy and fresh.

We were served mangoes, bananas,  and fresh buco juice with milk for dessert.

His parting advice to us: "Go organic. You can provide food for your family without the harmful chemicals.” 

It was a very “fulfilling” first stop both for our minds and our  tummies and I couldn’t wait for the next stop. 

Contact Cervantes Farm at 0927-4699994 to schedule a learning visit / farm tour.