Chicharon Bulaklak - PHP 255.00++ ($US 6.00)

Do Russians like Filipino Food? Our friends Aleksander Sokolov and Alina Harkach from Russia just arrived in Manila and were virgins to Filipino cuisine. They did not have a clue of what our food was about. As an introduction to our marvelous country and culinary heritage, we brought them to Fely J’s Kitchen in Greenbelt 5 to sample what we believe to represent the best of Filipino Fine Dining.

Fely J’s Kitchen is a Filipino restaurant created in 2008 by the Larry J. Cruz (LJC) Group in honor of his mother and her revered style of cooking.

As a rude awakening, we had the Chicharon Bulaklak as an appetizer and of course we did not tell our unassuming friends what it was as it might influence their perceptions and possibly repulse them from even tasting. They eagerly dipped a crisp morsel into the vinegar spiced with chili labuyo and popped it into their mouths.

They advised us that they were quite hungry as they had a long connecting flight from Dubai via Emirates. While Aleksander and Alina did not know what was entering their system, they liked it completely and chomped it down with gusto. When we advised them that it was a meticulously cleaned pig intestine, they told us that it is similar to a Russian fried pork dish called “shkvarki” but it was their first time to try innards and did not expect it could taste so deliscious. The crunchiness combined with the chewy inside of the deep fried pork intestines fired up their appetite for the next dishes to come. Fely J’s has one of the best chicharon bulaklak we have tried, the only other place that even compares is at the Lobby of the Peninsula Hotel.

Prawn Sinigang – PHP 525.00++ ($US 12.50)

Sinigang is truly one of our favorite soups in the world. It has such a powerfully sour tangy flavor from the tamarind that is uniquely Filipino. Some people can not handle it, some adore it, and some simply can not live without it! At Fely J’s they have the regular sinigang and the guava based sinigang. We have tried their guava version and it is good, but in this case we went for their original with prawns. With a little bit of patis – local fish sauce and calamansi and we were in soup heaven! But alas, Alina and Aleksander had difficulty even having a spoonful of this dish as it was just too strong for their tastebuds.

Kang-Kong – Sa Gata – PHP 220.00++ ($US 5.00)

As our first course we had Filipino spinach in coconut milk. Everybody enjoyed the sweetness of the coconut milk as a contrast to the sinigang beforehand. The kangkong was fresh and had a nice bite to it.

Lamb Kaldereta – PHP 395.00++ ($US 9.00)

Their lamb stew while enjoyable was nothing to rave about and was probably one of the weakest dishes. There just wasn’t anything spectacular about it.

Bistek Tagalog – PHP 850.00++ ($US 20.00)

For our main entrée we had the Bistek Tagalog. This is the Filipino thinly sliced steak marinated in a soy, garlic, calamansi sauce topped with onions. They thoroughly enjoyed this dish as the beef was so tender and succulent.

Fely J’s Dliscious Rice - PHP 195.00++ ($US 4.80)

All these courses could not have been considered a Filipino meal without the Filipino staple – RICE! While most restaurants would serve plain or garlic rice, Fely J’s has their own unique twist which they have called Diliscious rice that has a generous topping of deep fried dried long-jawed anchovy a.k.a. dilis which add a tremendous amount of flavor to the rice. What did you like best at Fely J’s or do you prefer Abe in Serendra instead?

Fely J’s Kitchen
2nd Level Greebelt 5
Ayala Center
Makati
Open Everyday 11:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Tel: +632-728-8878

On our next post we share some of our impressions about Boracay! Please click here.

Remember life is way too short, don’t let it pass you by. Enjoy Hour Philippines!

Sincerely,

Lord and Aksana
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