Some Like it Hot: Nando’s Flame-Grilled Chicken

Peri-Peri sauce

Hubby and I discovered Portuguese chicken back when we still lived downtown where there were a few great Portuguese chicken places nearby. We love the lemon-herb marinade of the chicken basted and then dipped in Piri-Piri sauce. Potato balls and fried rice on the side complete this hearty meal.

So, having tried other Portuguese chicken before, I wasn’t really expecting anything new from Nando’s when I went there with DD#1. But it was not quite the same. The system in the Richmond Hill location was to order what you want at the counter, grab a number and they will bring your order to your table. I got a kid’s meal of chicken skewer and a side of fries for DD#1 and I ordered a combo quarter chicken (dark meat, of course!) with a side of garlic mashed potatoes for myself. You can then choose what sauce you want to baste your meat. I got a lemon-herb for DD#1 and a medium (hot sauce) for me.

They flame-grill the chicken to order so you won’t immediately get your order. But service was not too slow. They provide several bottles of Peri-Peri sauces along with your meal—garlic, hot and extra hot. Whether you call it Piri-Piri or Peri-Peri, this sauce was delectably scorching! Made from African bird’s eye chili, this thick, orange-coloured sauce makes the Portuguese chicken absolutely YUM. Spicy with a bit of tang, the Peri-Peri sauce gave our tastebuds a delicious workout.

DD#1 who tends to go for spicy stuff, enjoyed dipping her chicken in the hot and extra hot sauces—well, along with sips of water and juice in between bites. I actually suggest getting juice or pop with your meal as the water does absolutely nothing to take away the heat from your tongue. In between sniffles from the spice, DD#1 and I agreed that the chicken and most especially the sauce, have already sealed the deal for our return trip to this place.

Nando's Flame-Grilled chicken

The chicken was tender and moist and the skin had a grilled crisp. The flavor of the marinade goes throughout the chicken and the addictive Peri-Peri sauce perfectly complements the meat. The variety of side dishes was substantial as well. Each order was under $10 but they have family packs (for whole chicken and sides) for under $30. We cannot wait to go back, with the whole gang next time!

A Sunday evening filled with songs of hope and healing: Bukas Palad’s Huwag Kang Mangamba (Be Not Afraid) North American tour

I do not like Sunday evenings. Sundays signal the end of the weekend and tell me that Monday is coming soon. So, it is quite easy to understand I will take what I can to ease the transition—even if it meant traveling all the way to Brampton!

A couple of Sunday evenings ago, we caught Bukas Palad’s “Huwag Kang Mangamba (Be Not Afraid)” show. They had it at the St Marguerite d’Youville parish to help raise funds for the building expenses of the parish and also to support World Vision. Hubby was quite excited to go, given that some of the members/writers were his teachers in school. I was also looking forward to hearing the chorale sing some of my favourite mass songs. My mom knew some of the songs as well, but the girls had no clue. 

Bukas Palad is a Catholic Filipino music ministry with roots in the Jesuit Music Ministry of the Ateneo de Manila University. They had produced over a hundred original songs in almost 30 years. This particular North American tour was focused on hope and healing.

Doors opened one hour before the show, which started promptly at 5pm (no Pinoy time here!). It was a sold-out event, but good thing was, the church had sufficient parking. 

At 5pm, recordings of the national anthems of Philippines and Canada were played. It was on the ear-splitting side, not quite apt for the wonderful music we were expecting. It was quite reminiscent of catching the last full show at the cinemas in Manila, sounding like an overplayed and scratchy vinyl record. Wish these were sung instead by the choir or one of their soloists. Anyway, there were a couple of opening remarks before the show went underway.

The group entered in brightly coloured tops singing, “In Him Alone” and encouraging the audience to join them in sign language. My girls were in rapt attention. This first song was promptly followed by one of my favourite songs, “I Will Sing Forever. “ They also sang other crowd favourites such as Tanging Yaman (loosely translated: My Only Treasure) and Sa ‘yo Lamang (again loosely translated: Only Yours) as well as new songs. 

 They had divided the show into several parts with songs marking God’s promise, our suffering and our hope. There was an intermission after the first hour where the guest speaker, a former World Vision sponsored child, spoke about the work of World Vision in the world. Check out their page to see the many ways to help transform lives of children around the world. 

After the intermission, the group came back in more somber black tops. They sang the rest of the songs with impeccable blending for about another hour. It helped that the projectors showed the lyrics—allowing the audience to internalize the wonderful words composed by Bukas Palad, including Fr. Manoling Francisco SJ.

 There was a time for reflection as the audience meditated. There was also a time for interaction, where the audience sang along to newer versions of mass songs (“When We Eat This Bread”). 

It was a beautiful concert and the songs were very uplifting. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday night or a better way to prepare for a Monday. Talagang hindi mangangamba!

Dimsum breakfast at Dragon Boat Fusion Cuisine

siomai

In my mind, dimsum is served all-day--at least in the Chinese restaurants I go to. But the call out for “All-Day” should have cued me that mostly this is offered in the morning. I had assumed lunch, but I did not realize that it really is for breakfast and brunch. Duh!

So, in my first dimsum breakfast get-together with a friend, I was quite surprised to see how many people have lined up at Dragon Boat Fusion cuisine at 9am to have dimsum! We arrived at 9:30am, with me thinking that was early. We actually got seated one hour later! Had I not been chatting with my friend, I would not have stayed to wait for a table. But the longer we waited, the more I wanted to see what was so great about this particular dimsum place. People just kept coming in and wait times were getting longer. Meanwhile, I was getting hungrier. We were finally seated at 10:30am.

We quickly ordered the usual, familiar dimsum dishes. And, I would have to say that the dimsum was worth the wait (well, and I had some catching up to do with my friend which helped pass the wait time). The BBQ pork buns, pork siomai and shrimp hargow were delicious! The dumplings were packed and not with fillers. They were very tasty and came in good servings.

bbq pork buns and taro puff with quail eggs

The cheong fun (rice noodle roll) was also good, especially with the sweet soy sauce. The taro puff came with quail egg. How delightful!

cheong fun

The Octopus tentacles were nicely deep fried and had a slight crunch to it. These were perfectly seasoned and not oily. This was the only dish which was $5.80 per order. All the others were $2.80 (before 11am). Service was fast enough and the presentation was wonderful. The dimsum was served in square steamers and the hargow had an actual shrimp in the middle.

hargow

As we waited for the rest of our order, interesting dumplings and other delights were being brought to other tables. I have decided that I have to come back—with hubby, the girls and grandma next time! I just hope we don’t have to camp out the night before to get a table fast!

some interesting fish in their tanks

Food, Friends and Flamenco on a Friday night: couples’ night out at Tapas at Embrujo

One Friday night, one of our couple friends invited us to join what was initially their intimate dinner. Along with another couple, we made it a couples’ night out—a get-together we do not have often.  We headed off to Greektown (beside Rodeo) to check out this Spanish restaurant, Tapas at Embrujo.

We got there at 7pm, just in time for the 7:30 show. We got a pitcher of Sangria while we figured out what to get. Our friends got a variety of tapas—from traditional jamon to some reinvented dishes like duck confit and crayfish. Hubby and I decided to get Paella de Mariscos (could not resist!) and some JamonSerrano. 

Sangria

While we expected the paella to take 40minutes, the rest of the tapas took a bit of time as well to get to our table.  Service was very friendly, though. So, between the show and the good humoured staff, we did not mind the wait. We also knew Chef Jose Salgado was preparing the food to order.

Jamon Serrano

Our friends claimed the tapas were good. The duck seemed a bit too fatty for me but the servings for the calamares and crayfish were substantial. The Serrano that Hubby and I ordered was also nice, though I’m sure the Iberico would have been better. 

Solomillo con tres salsas (Black Angus Sirloin strips with 3 sauces)

The paella did arrive after our friends were pretty much done with their tapas. It was a good sized dish and sufficiently packed with mussles, squid and shrimps. The only thing was that it was quite “wet.” I prefer having socarrat (toasted bottom). I would say that the paella did not wow me, but it was not bad. It cannot compare to the ones we’ve had in Valencia. 

Paella @ Tapas at Embrujo

 Dessert of Crema Catalan was just so so. It did go well with Hubby's poached pear, though.

Crema Catalan and Poached Pear

The Flamenco show was energetic even with just one Flamenco dancer/singer and a guitarist. The stage could not accommodate a bigger show. While the Flamenco dancer did not have the castanets and fans I was expecting, she gave us some pretty good clapping and stamping! To do all that dancing, clapping and stamping while singing was already quite a feat! The guitarist was outstanding, too. It was not quite the show we saw at Sevilla, but it was entertaining nonetheless. The music, dancing and singing were good all around. We also caught a bit of the next show at 9:30 and there was another singer, making the performance a trio. They had more formal outfits this time, and the songs were more dramatic.

Flamenco show @ Tapas at Embrujo

There is a minimum charge of $30 per person on show nights, but they have other specials as well. With tapas costing a minimum of $8 (and as much as $18 for the Iberico board), 6 tapas and drinks are enough to satisfy and will make you hit the minimum tab. You get to enjoy a show, too. 

The night had all the right ingredients for fun—good food, good friends and a show. And, it was a Friday night. What better way to set up a weekend? Salut!