Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me Food I Love (Last of 2 Parts)
Tue, January27th of 2009
8:37 am
Roasted Marrow Bones at Cirkulo
My photo doesn’t quite capture the mind-numbing, knees-gone-weak sensation that bones – these bones – invoke. It’s akin to a religious experience to scoop out a nub of the soft substance, deposit it on my tongue and then close my eyes. Every cell of my being is alert to the creaminess therein, the gentle rush of oil that follows, and then, as that glorious fat slides down my throat, the ensuing giddiness that comes with it.
Cirkulo
900 Pasay Road, Makati
810-8735 / 810-2763
Related Posts:
Cirkulo: The Belly
Dessert at Cirkulo: Delirium
Tomatoes For Dessert
Meatloaf at Apartment 1B
I grew up with meatloaf, a much-maligned main dish suspected of being a catch-all for mysterious leftovers. Me, I love meatloaf. And when I cook it, I keep it simple: quality ground sirloin, minced onions, seasonings, and an egg to bind. Slap it into a loaf pan and bake. I suppose I could make beef gravy to go with it but I’ve always preferred my food unadorned. Eaten with rice, or ensconced in thick slices of bread with globs of ketchup or garlic-mayo, it’s quintessential comfort.
Sadly, my Bin and Boo don’t quite understand the mystique of meatloaf. “Why can’t we just have burgers instead?” They whine. It’s not quite the same, I want to tell them, but I don’t know how. So, on the days when I want meatloaf but don’t have the wherewithal to cook a whole loaf of it, I head to Apartment 1B. Perhaps the only local restaurant I know that serves this homely dish, it satisfies me on all fronts; making me believe, even just for a minute, that the whole world loves meatloaf.
Apt. 1B
132 L.P. Leviste corner Sedeño St
Salcedo Village, Makati
843.4075
Sisig
French gastronome Charles Monselet had this to say about the pig, “[it] is nothing but an enormous dish which walks while waiting to be served.” Like-minded others agree that the only part that can’t be used in a pig is its oink. Giving credence to such pithy culinary wisdom is sisig, a dish invented expressly to make use of a pig’s head, cheeks, tail, ears, etc.
A favorite accompaniment with beer, sisig fans tell me that there are two camps: those who prefer the soft, Pampanga kind (all pig), and those who prefer the crunchy, chicharon-added kind. I belong to the latter camp, fan that I am of contrasts in texture. Then, to add even more of a good thing when wretched excess just isn’t enough, a raw egg is cracked upon the whole piggy lot. Indescribable when served on a hot plate with lashes of Knorr liquid seasoning and hot sauce, it’s so good it’ll make anyone say “oink.”
Taro duck
In this Chinese dish, mashed taro seasoned with Chinese 5-spice powder is layered on cooked slices of duck and then deep-fried to a crisp. For taro puff lovers like me, it’s everything we love about taro puff –the whisper of crunch, the smoothness of taro — with the added succulence of duck. In fancier places, this dish can boast a savory layer of sausage and mushroom but in nondescript joints, such as where the above photo was taken, it’s duck and taro served on a tacky plastic plate. But just as good.
16 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL
Leave a comment
Submit your comment once. It will not show up right away.
For other RSS readers
I like your second set of food favorites, am so with you there on the marrow! Have you ever tried fried taro with oysters? There aren’t too many places that serve it anymore, but it’s one of those dishes I wish more panciterias would serve.
[Reply]
Comment by Mila — January 27, 2009 @ 9:46 am
I really don’t like bone marrow, weird huh because a lot of people loves to eat it specially in bulalo. I just find it too…fatty!
[Reply]
Comment by SimplePleasure — January 27, 2009 @ 10:10 am
What is that white thing those bone marrow bones are sitting on?
[Reply]
Comment by Gus Hansen — January 27, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
Oh NOOOO. You left out where to get that taro duck. The AGONYYYYY!!!!!!
[Reply]
Comment by Risa — January 27, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
That’s so cute how the bone marrow bones look like popsicles.
But WHERE can I find the taro duck??? I took one look at the picture, and without knowing what it is, I knew I’d love it. True enough, your description contained some of my favorite words: duck, taro (taro puff lover here, too), and deep-fried! I’ve gone to my share of Chinese restaurants, both fancy and nondescript, yet I’ve never noticed that. Please do tell us where taro duck is served (whether with or without the sausage layer)!
[Reply]
Comment by Katrina — January 27, 2009 @ 8:57 pm
Oh Lori! These are all my favorites too! Especially the bone marrow (have tried Je Suis but will try Cirkulo’s too after your photo!) and the sisig (or course anything piggy for me!)
I also love love love meatloaf…and yes I think it is so misunderstood! I like mine plain as well (but I line the pan with bacon)…many put stuff like hard boiled eggs, pickles, and whatnot in it which I can’t stand 
So next time you get the craving…call me!
The one thing I haven’t tried is taro duck…but I’m a taro puff fan too so (to echo Katrina) where can we get it???
[Reply]
Comment by joey — January 27, 2009 @ 9:54 pm
marrow looks awesome. trying that real soon.
i’ve ordered taro duck at Causeway and Peking Garden. pretty sure a few more establishments serve it.
[Reply]
Comment by anonymous paul — January 27, 2009 @ 10:29 pm
I feel my arteries cracking… all that cholesterol. LOL
[Reply]
Comment by maira — January 28, 2009 @ 2:25 am
[Reply]
Comment by lori — January 28, 2009 @ 9:21 am
I haven’t been to Cirkulo in a while, but you have just given me one good reason to go back.:-)
And you’re right about the meatloaf at Apartment 1b- It’s a great dish, very comforting and homely yet abundant in flavor. Lavhet!
[Reply]
Comment by chinkee — January 28, 2009 @ 3:33 pm
I love crunchy sisig as well, and Gilligan’s serves the best ones for me. Sarap even with kanin!
You can also try Taro Duck at Emerald Garden along Roxas Blvd (pre-order). Most restaurants in Binondo still serve it since it’s a Chinese favorite.
[Reply]
Comment by Rain — January 29, 2009 @ 10:17 am
Taro duck is a favorite of mine as well. Eastwood’s Shanghai Bistro’s serves a good one. If you’re ok with it try the Taro Scallops @ the chinese resto in Tagaytay Highlands.
May I ask where the sisig in your picture comes from? Thanks.
[Reply]
Comment by Benz — January 30, 2009 @ 2:22 pm
where can we try the sisig that you posted?
[Reply]
Comment by van — January 31, 2009 @ 11:06 pm
After two failed tries (would you believe the place was closed for a private party each time I wanted to go?), I finally got to eat at Cirkulo again last weekend. Funny thing is, I’d forgotten about the bone marrow so I didn’t go there for that; I just missed eating there. Even after I saw the dish in the menu and decided to order it (had a hard time choosing between that and the Foie Gras 3 Ways, and was afraid of the consequences if we got both), I still didn’t remember that you’d posted about it. But as soon as I saw it, with those cute wooden spoons, I remembered the photo above and was delighted.
And guess who was sitting at the very next table, also eating marrow? Anonymous Paul!
But they were a big group sharing the dish, while there was just two of us. Together with our main course of Beef Belly, it sure was a heart-stopping meal! But, yes, we survived…gotta go back for the foie! 
[Reply]
Comment by Katrina — February 11, 2009 @ 1:06 pm
bone marrow in pepato is great as well. will try cirkulo soon
[Reply]
Comment by joel — June 6, 2009 @ 5:23 pm
As to the Roasted Bone Marrow, we have to credit an award winning chef from London, Fergus Henderson. He is the writer of Nose to Tail Eating. A very Good book for cooks and foodies who love the the odd parts…It’s nice to see that a certain dish made by a special chef has influenced dishes from London up to our own country.
[Reply]
Comment by Carlos — March 11, 2010 @ 4:28 pm