Friday, March 28, 2008 The revitalized Honeybear By Ianne I. Monfort From My Kitchen
I REMEMBER the time when Honeybear restaurant, at its old location on Malvar Street (now Duterte street) was the toast of the yuppies in the late 80's and early 90's. But despite it's popularity, the restaurant simply disappeared -- seemingly without a trace.
Fortunately, the mystery has been resolved. Honeybear is back in restaurant scene with its new location on Quirino Avenue near the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
I was invited to a dinner at the restaurant where I met young food entrepreneur Emmylou Yap and younger brother Glenn -- the forces behind the revitalized Honeybear Chicken Haus.
The siblings, who inherited to manage the food establishment, prepared a sumptuous dinner, a combination of old and new dishes from their menu -- cheese sticks served with marinara sauce; crab and mango salad, a healthy and refreshing way to start your meal.
We also have the old Honeybear chicken feast, the resto's topseller, 1/2 greaseless fried chicken served with rice and buttered veggies. Then we have the sizzling noodles with tenderloin tips. The modified honey glaze chicken is a new addition to their best tasting chicken menu.
Then came the patalicious, Honeybear's own version of crispy pata cooked to perfection and served with two kinds of sauce to suite your taste buds; Bro's American spareribs with sweet and spicy sauce served with java rice and buttered veggies; bulalo steak ala pobre; Yo! ala mode, warm moist brownie cup with vanilla ice cream on top; strawberry parfait, scoops of vanilla and strawberry ice cream topped with strawberry syrup and another bestseller, Halo-Halo.
Suffice it to say, Honeybear's new menu contains what you can call really good food. The bottomless iced tea was the companion throughout the meal to cleanse our palate as we shifted from one course to another.
At dessert time, I only had Yo! ala Mode. As a chocolate lover, I remember the Molten chocolate cake I had at the cliff house in Tagaytay.
A beautifully presented cake with scoop of vanilla ice cream and chocolate oozing
from the center that made it absolute divine.
Kudo's to Emmylou who has the passion and loved for cooking. She also generously shared to us Honeybears favorite recipes. Try them!!!
HONEY BEAR GREASELESS CHICKEN
Ingredients:
1 klo Fresh Chicken
1 tbsp. Iodized Salt
1 tsp. Freshly Ground Pepper
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 cup All Purpose Flour
Oil for frying
Procedure:
* In a bowl, combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Set aside.
* Wash chicken in water and allow to drain. Pat dry with paper towel. Marinate the chicken with the above mixture for at least 3 hours or overnight. Keep in the refrigerator.
* In a deep fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees F with medium high heat. This is very important to achieve a greaseless chicken.
* Deep fry chicken, turning once until thoroughly cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown in color. Allow to drain and serve immediately with your favorite gravy.
HONEY GLAZED CHICKEN
Ingredients:
1 klo Fresh Chicken
2 cups Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Rice Wine
1 tsp. Black Peppercorns
1 slice Ginger
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup Water/Chicken Stock
Oil for frying
Procedure:
* In a bowl, mix soy sauce, rice wine, black peppercorns, ginger, honey and chicken stock until well blended.
* Wash chicken in water and allow to drain. Pat dry with paper towel. Marinate the chicken with the above mixture for at least 3 hours or overnight. Keep in the refrigerator.
* Drain chicken. In a sauce pan, allow remaining marinade to reduce to half of its volume or until it thickens. Turn off heat and set aside.
* In a deep fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees F with medium high heat. Deep fry chicken until thoroughly cooked. Brush chicken with the reduced sauce and garnish with fresh leeks.
* Serve remaining sauce on the side.
SIZZLING NOODLES WITH TENDERLOIN TIPS
Ingredients:
1/4 klo Beef Tenderloin Tips
1/2 tsp Iodized Salt
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp. Liquid Seasoning (divided)
1 cup Beef Stock
2 tbsp. Butter ( divided )
1 tbsp. All Purpose Flour
6 pcs. Button Mushrooms ( Sliced )
1 tbsp. Olive oil
Fettuccine Pasta
Parsley for Garnish
Procedure:
* In a bowl, marinate tenderloin tips with salt, pepper and liquid seasoning. Set aside.
* Cook pasta according to package directions.
* Heat a non-stick pan. Add olive oil and butter. Sauté chopped onions until translucent. Add in marinated tenderloin tips and mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Set aside. Using the same pan, add butter and flour. Allow to cook for a minute and slowly add the beef stock and liquid seasoning. Season with salt and pepper, using a wire whip, mix well until the gravy becomes smooth.
* Place cooked pasta on a well heated sizzling plate, topped with tenderloin tips and mushrooms. Pour gravy on top and garnish with parsley.
