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Friday, September 15, 2006

In Today's Paper

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This was in today's paper and wanted to share it with my non-Filipino readers :-). I figure it's a good way for them to know more about Filipino cuisine--by reading a review written by a non-Filipino :-).

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Taste of the exotic, Filipino style
VGM Foods and Deli dishes up food with a 'melting pot' flair
from The Commercial Appeal, September 15, 2006
2.5 out of 4 stars

It might be a stretch to call VGM Foods and Deli a restaurant. Sure, there are a few tables at this spot in an obscure strip mall off Sycamore View, but it's mostly a to-go venue. Order at the counter, where the rotating selection of food is dished up from a steam table.

What makes this address worth plugging into your GPS is the exotic foods from the Philippines that you're unlikely to find elsewhere in Memphis. (Though Lola's Kitchen in Millington also offers some Filipino dishes.)

As with many island cultures, the cuisine is a real melting pot of flavors and ingredients, with influences from Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese cooking traditions.

Some dishes look comfortingly familiar, yet the unusual seasonings set them a world apart. La-ing -- taro root leaves braised with coconut milk, peppers and shrimp paste -- might pass for greens, but it has an earthy, almost bitter flavor.

Savory skewers of grilled pork or chicken, bearing a slightly caramelized char that adds a wonderful flavor, are the Filipino version of barbecue.

Afritada is mild vegetable stew with pork or beef.

The outstanding lumpia is a cigar-size eggroll, wrapped around seasoned ground pork and veggies. Ask them to make it to order; it's best hot and crispy. (Then again, isn't everything from the fryer?)

Adobo is another stew, one which gets its trademark tangy kick from vinegar, soy sauce and bay leaves.

House noodles such as pancit Canton might remind you of an authentic Chinese chow mein, with soft stir-fried noodles tangled up with chopped meat and vegetables. There's even a Filipino-style spaghetti, with sliced spicy hotdogs giving the dish some bite.

And for dessert, the cassava cake bears a faint resemblance to sweet potato pie.

There are plenty of options more adventurous palates might want to explore. Paksiw is a little sweet, a little sour, with pig's feet as the key ingredient. Dinuguan gets its distinctive flavor and hue from pork and beef blood. (And they had run out of it during a recent lunch rush, so obviously it's a popular dish.)

The menu always includes a fried fish, served whole, from a mild, boned and butterflied milkfish to scrod or tilapia. Fried fish is sometimes sprinkled with seasoned vinegar or dipped into a sweet chili sauce.

Bopis is chock full of the pig's parts most folks think of as throw-aways: liver, heart and ears.

Kare-kare is oxtail simmered with peanuts. The Filipino version of menudo is nothing like its Mexican counterpart, with the key ingredient beef liver.

I'm not typically excited about food from steam tables, preferring cooked-to-order chow. But the several visits I've made to VGM, I was consistently impressed that the food tasted fresh, the vegetables tender-crisp, the meat falling off the bone. The food is vibrantly seasoned, though the afritada might have been even better with a pinch more salt.

Diners can embellish with a host of sauces: sweet chili sauce, vinegar with chopped garlic, Heinz ketchup.

The kitchen also cranks out fried chicken and fries.

Price are incredible: A choice of two dishes with rice is $4.99. That's a whole lot of food too.

The deli is tucked into a corner of the expansive store, that carries everything from canned squid to Sea Crunch "prawn snacks," and some offbeat soda and juices.

At some cafes with strange and wonderful foods, it's easy to feel lost, but the staff at VGM is helpful and accommodating. They'll be happy to suggest dishes, and steer neophytes toward the appropriate condiments.

On weekends, the selection grows larger, with specials such as sinigang -- a soup with pork or fish -- and chicken skewers, maybe even a spit-roasted pig.

With a congenial crowd enjoying lunch, it reminded me of a home-cooking restaurant. Filipino fare could very well be Asia's version of soul food.

-- Leslie Kelly: 529-2594

More info
VGM Foods and Deli
Address: 6195 Macon Road, Suite 1
Service: Friendly, helpful; order at the counter
Reviewer's choice: Adobo, sausages, stir-fried steak with vegetables, fried milkfish, bihon (rice noodles with stir-fried meat and veggies), cassava cake
Telephone: (901) 937-7798; FAX, 937-4146
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays.
Price range: $4.99 for two entrees and rice; lumpia $1.25 per piece. Desserts, $1.25 a slice. VGM also caters.
Payment: Major credit cards, no personal checks.
No-smoking area: Yes
Handicapped access: Yes
Alcoholic beverages: Beer only
Dress: Casual
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I make my menudo a little differently, though. I don't use liver at all (Steve doesn't like liver). I just use plain pork stew meat. So imagine slices of pork stewed in a tomato sauce base with cubes of potato and carrots. That's it. Not threatening at all :-). There are even some days when Steve looks at me and says, "Let's have menudo tonight :-)."

Labels: Arts

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