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Under the cute, unassuming exterior lies the spirit of one crazy Filipina who will eat/do insane things just for the fun of it.

So go ahead! Dare The Traveling Filipina! If goaded (bribed) enough, she just might do it! You’ll even get a nice picture or vid and post to go along with the challenge. Click the donate button below to goad her.

Please note that donations are non-refundable because… C’mon! Who requests a refund on donations?! But if she chickens out, she’ll refund your money and be shamed by her friends.

If you do donate/bribe, leave a comment so that everyone knows what your challenge is!

Limits:

• She will not do “Jackass”-type things. If there’s a remote chance she could get killed or seriously hurt doing something? No.
• She will not eat parasites or things that could cause parasites to eat her body and cause cancer.

My apologies for the long hiatus. The holidays really do a number on my traveling and food plans. However, it’s a new year and what a way to start the year than by doing a series on Vietnamese sandwiches! Happy Year of the Ox, everyone!

Over the weekend, I was listening to good ole NPR and during Weekend America, I hear a deliciously familiar phrase: Bahn Mi (pronounced: ban me). For the uninitiated, those are Vietnamese sandwiches. For those in the know, they’re crack sandwiches! So addictive!

This sandwich is <3

One of the reasons I wax poetic about this humble sandwich is the fact that not only is it jaw-droppingly inexpensive, perfect for today’s economy, but it also sends my taste buds into wild paroxysms of gastronomic pleasure. A word of caution though, if you’re not into spicy food, you can always request they make your sandwich without peppers. The most expensive bahn mi I ever saw anywhere was $3.00 for an 8-inch sandwich. To call these sandwiches “cheap” is to slap the face of the person who invented this sandwich who I’m sure is a saint in Food Heaven. These sandwiches are usually served on deliciously crusty baguettes with freshly shredded or sliced ingredients. The turn-around on these sandwiches is unbelievable, most sandwich proprietors make them as you order them, you can’t help but see them use fresh ingredients.

Big menu on the front so you can see what you're gonna get. I want them all. *cries*

You can’t get any further from Saigon than our first stop on this sandwich tour: Pho Thanh Huong Sandwich Restaurant. They have the best food deal in Las Vegas. Who wants to get a questionably edible $6.99 steak when you can hit a taste jackpot for $2.50? Pho Thanh Huong Sandwich Restaurant is on a strip mall by the McCarran Airport, a mile or so away from UNLV. Keep your eyes peeled for it since LV is an endless sea of strip malls and it’s easy to miss it.

We got into this brightly lit restaurant around 3:00 PM, a little late for lunch and definitely early for dinner. We saw an endless stream of locals–students, nurses, casino workers–getting sandwiches wrapped in paper, each secured by one rubber band, in takeout bags. The menu on the wall was nice and big and in picture format. All the better to make you hungry with!

We sat down and waited for our server. Sadly, this is the one thing I was bummed out about at Pho Thanh Huong: the service was leisurely. Don’t come there when you’re about to pass out from hunger. Get yourself a little something to tide you over like the mini-eggrolls they have there on the counter at 2 for $1.00. They were okay since they were sitting under a heat lamp.

Pretty AND yummy! Perfect combination!

But when our food came, it was awesome! I got my bahn mi usual: barbeque pork with everything on it. The Chinese-style bbq pork was meaty, not too sweet, and lean. The vegetables, shredded and slightly pickled carrots and daikon and sliced jalapenos with stalks of cilantro, were nice and crunchy. The mini-baguette crust was magnifique! Note, bahn mi does have a little bit of mayo in it but it was layered thinly and mixed with some secret herbs and spices.

I also got a side of guoi cuon, shrimp and pork fresh rolls, with the peanut sauce. I wasn’t too crazy about the sauce since it didn’t have a distinct peanuty and oyster-sauce taste to it. Also, the inside of the guoi cuon itself was too light on the flavor and heavy on the rice noodles. At least, they made it fresh though. My boyfriend ordered the pork chop plate which was lean, tender,  subtly glazed, and was an adequate serving for his six-foot frame.

Our bahn mi jaunt cost us around $17.00 including sodas (in cans, bummer).

The 411:
Pho Thanh Huong Sandwich Restaurant (map)
1131 E Tropicana Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(702) 739-8703
Reviews on Yelp

THANK YOU SO MUCH to Jonathan Lorenzo of the Filipino American Library for donating to The Traveling Filipina food fund! I promise to dedicate the next Filipino food review to you and the Filipino American Library! SUPPORT THEM!

P.S: I am sad to report that on January 31, 2009, Weekend America will be broadcasting their last show. This makes me mad! Everyone, support public radio. It’s intelligent programming–something sorely lacking in this mediocre, media consolidated world.

Okay, I know I said I’m not a fan of reviewing chains but I’m going to be making another notable exception here. Why? Because my boyfriend and I are nostalgic eaters. Yeah, that’s right, we eat the stuff that used to taste good to us when we were kids. As older folks with more discerning palates, we give it a second taste and ask ourselves, “Why the f**k did we eat this s**t again?”

But I’m not gonna diss Dunkin Donuts because of that! Dunkin’ makes good donuts.

When both of us moved back to California after our failed stints as East Coast people, we discovered that there were no Dunkin Donuts here. Dunkin Donuts’ several attempts to open up far-flung franchises died due to lack of nostalgic East Coast people and local competition (Winchell’s). That made us very sad (eating) pandas.

However, in Las Vegas, we found one! It was toward the back of a row of 1¢ slots in Sam’s Town, a family-friendly casino (meaning off the strip and they had bingo, a bowling alley, and an 18-screen movie theater).

So after a night of Ichiza, we decided to start the day off with carbs and sugar. I got the coffee (essential for The Traveling Filipina’s sanity and daily function), a Boston Creme donut (pictured), and he got a glazed and vanilla glazed donut with sprinkles (in the bag).

Dunkin Donuts, a walk down memory lane! Awww!

It was awesome. Pretty soon, I was transported to Philadelphia with the El zipping over my head and he was somewhere in New Jersey.

Our walk down memory lane cost us around $7.

The 411:

Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall (map)
5111 Boulder Highway
Las Vegas, NV 89122
http://www.samstownlv.com/

Don’t forget to support The Traveling Filipina! One small step for Dunkin’, one giant leap for diabeetus.

On Friday night, we got into Las Vegas late enough that we could’ve braved the 24-hour casino restaurants. But why do that when we knew there were late night joints the locals went to? On our list was this fabulous little Japanese restaurant on the second floor of a strip mall in Las Vegas’ Chinatown: Ichiza!

It was a nice night to be waiting outside.

Handwritten specials.

We walked in at 9:30 PM thinking we’d sashay in but no, the line was about 1 hour long for a table for two. Sadly, the restaurant could only hold about 60 people max, hence the line. The wait allowed us to read the quaint hand made signs posted on the dark wooden walls and over the bar in Japanese with English subtitles. By the time we got our place at the bar, we already knew what to order!

I only have one thing to say about Ichiza: FABULOUS! My boyfriend and I vowed that every time we’re ever in Las Vegas, it was mandatory to have at least one dinner here. This time, we’ll call ahead for reservations.

I have to let you all know that my boyfriend is a very finicky eater. Needless to say, he didn’t go all out adventurous on me but that’s okay. We started off with miso soup. He had the very delicious Beef Bowl and Salted Salmon Steak Fillet and a container-for-two of cold house sake. He also ordered the Kushi-Katsu: pork chop pieces with onions deep fried with a crust of panko with a side of plum sauce and a ball of hot mustard. I ate that.

I, on the other hand–the adventurous one who eats rodents, went nuts. Most of the photos are of things I ordered. With that, on to the food porn!

Kushi-Katsu: Fried pork on a stick. Yum.

Seaweed salad with this very delicious special that was on the board right above our heads when we were waiting by the door. These two morsels of Heaven were called Seared Scallop Rock and Roll. Note the scallop wasn't seared but who cares! My tastebuds were rockin' and rollin'!

Grilled Salmon Belly and Aspara-Bacon!

Now let me tell you something about this monstrosity called Aspara-Bacon. How can anyone resist anything wrapped with bacon? It’s obviously not Japanese and one order is good enough for two. It’s one of their specialties and for a mere $3.95 per order, how could you not try to assault two of your bodily systems, your urinary and coronary systems, at the same time!? Talk about multi-tasking!

Madness?! This is Spartaaaa-- Aspara-Bacon!

What a yin-and-yang combination of bad and good! Nice crunchy spears dressed in nice crunchy bacon! My heart and kidneys were screaming for mercy!

Needless to say, we got out of there very round and very, very happy. Our entire feast, including Cokes, was around $70 including tip. Sure it’s a little pricey but we did order a lot of good food.

I have to admit, I was cheating the whole time I was in Las Vegas. No, not that kind of cheating but the kind of cheating where you pre-program your GPS unit with a list of restaurants with excellent ratings from Yelp.com. That’s how I found Ichiza. Boo! Some adventurer I was! But you couldn’t really blame me since I only had four days in Sin City to indulge in the my most favorite of sins: gluttony! Why spend a single day eating bad food, y’know?

The 411:

Ichiza Japanese Restaurant (map)
4355 Spring Mountain Rd # 205
Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 367-3151
Open from 5:00 PM – 3:00 AM, 2:15 last call
Call for reservations unless you want to wait an hour!

Don’t forget to support The Traveling Filipina! She went broke at Ichiza!

Two types of cheesesteaks with yummy fries. The Tastykake didn't last very long.

On our way to Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend, my boyfriend and fellow cheesesteak connoisseur, took the back way through Santa Clarita and Palmdale so we could avail ourselves of some authentic Philadelphia cheesesteaks. Some of you may or may not know that I lived in Philadelphia for eight years and for many years after that, I have been searching for “the most authentic Philly cheesesteak” in the Los Angeles area. I’m not a big fan of chains since I’ve always been a huge supporter of independent or family run restaurants but this one is an exception. I got nothing against small regional chains that have consistent quality.

Thanks to a family of homesick Philadelphians, a small chain called Philly’s Best was born. This chain started in Orange County and franchises can now be found in Santa Clarita and Burbank.

We arrived at Philly’s Best Santa Clarita rather late in the afternoon but the tables were full. The walls were lined with framed Pennsylvania law enforcement patches. A huge mural of Center City Philadelphia overlooking the Art Museum (Rocky steps) covered one wall. There were Eagles and Flyers banners everywhere and there were even a few cork boards with Polaroid shots of visiting Philadelphians hanging. If you’re curious, I’m not on that wall but if I was my Polaroid pic would say, “Yo From The Far Northeast!”

I ordered my cheesesteak with grilled onions, mushrooms, and Provolone cheese over imported Amoroso buns just like I always ordered my cheesesteaks in Philadelphia. I had a can of Frank’s Black Cherry Wishniak soda and a side of Tastykake chocolate kreme-filled krimpets. My boyfriend ordered the cheesesteak with fries and a large Coke.

What’s wonderful about this small chain is the fact that they import their Amoroso bread from back East. Every cheesesteak place in the Mid-Atlantic region seems to use Amoroso bread for their cheesesteaks. It’s fresh and soft and it’s got that nice layer of corn meal on the bottom. Now if only they could import the soft pretzels… Each table had a convenient little bay seasoning dispenser for the fries. In the back by the soda fountain, the condiments tray had sliced butter and regular dill pickles but the best part were the sliced Italian cherry peppers. Aaah! In Philly, we’d get these whole but the sheer fact they had them out is a good sign they cared about authenticity.

There are other notable things about this chain: they have Wise potato chips, Frank’s sodas, Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer, a variety of Hank’s sodas–all in bottles. They even sell Rolling Rock and other types of bottled beer.

This little feast of ours cost us about $23.00.

The 411:

Philly’s Best – Santa Clarita (map)
22913 Soledad Canyon Rd
Santa Clarita, CA 91350
(661) 286-9949
http://www.eatphillysbest.com/

They also have frequent eater cards and you can use the same card for the Santa Clarita and Burbank branches. Nice!

Don’t forget to support The Traveling Filipina! Dare her to eat/do stuff!

Welcome to the first post of The Traveling Filipina. I’m sure you’re asking if that nicely golden-fried guinea pig on the header was eaten by yours truly. Yes it was.

This photo was taken on February 2003 in the Peruvian city of Arequipa, a few hundred miles north of the border from Chile. Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, second only to the capitol of Lima. Arequipa stands under the shadow of a great white volcano called Mt. Misti, the source of the stones used to make most of the buildings in the city.

The dish is called Cuy Chactado. It is prepared by gutting the guinea pigs raised in pens at the back of restaurants, splaying it, and deep frying it with a large, flat stone to keep the guinea pigs from rising to the top of the deep fryer.

In many places, cuy chactado is chopped into pieces you can easily eat it as you would with fried chicken.

It is usually served with Aji Verde (Peruvian green chile sauce), potatoes, and corn. Sometimes, a side salad comes with this dish as well. Since cuy chactado is regional to the Andes and locales south, you might have trouble finding this dish in Lima.