The first pork fillet I had was from Yellow in Potts Point. I went there on a Friday night with Iggy, following the suggestions of his workmates. I was really impressed with the dish because I never had pork like that. I’ve always thought that you have to cook pork thoroughly. You see, I just started to have steaks the proper way when I met Andrew. In the Philippines, we do not have that idea of rare in meats. If it’s a bit hilaw (raw), you have take it back to the kitchen. For Yellow’s pork fillet, it wasn’t raw, but it’s still pinkish and tender and I didn’t have to chew a lot. Also, I was able to appreciate the flavor of the meat more.

When I got the beef brisket from Harris Farm, I had to reach $50 total for my orders so that delivery will be free. I saw the pork fillet and thought, why not. I did the beef brisket on Friday night to Saturday morning, then I worked on the pork Sunday night. Sounds like a whole weekend of cooking, no? Haha.

But this pork fillet is easy peasy and didn’t take long to cook. I wanted to do the flavors from the last pork belly dish I made before, but I didn’t have fennel. So I just used whatever I had that time. I had the idea that it should be brown outside but still reddish and juicy inside. It also has to sit on some veggies so it doesn’t dry up while roasting. I didn’t know what to do exactly, but I just winged it.

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It’s freezing this week in Sydney and nothing can be more comforting than a hearty soup for dinner. And actually, for even lunch! I’ve taken soup for lunch thrice this week, thanks to my soup container.

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I posted this on November 2013 on a different blog. Yes, I have/had another blog and I’m not even going to share the link because it only has this post. And I’m closing it today. That time, I was thinking of having a blog that is solely for my kitchen adventures. But life happened, and I forgot about it (the blog, my kitchen adventure is soaring!).

This is part 1of 2 of the Table for Bantayan project. I have photos of the second dinner and will post about it this week. With the 2 dinners, and some friends helping out, I was able raise $800 for the cause. 

PS. And my photos suck, no? 

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As most of you already know, Philippines was recently hit by the super typhoon Haiyan. It left high count of casualties and massive destruction in the eastern islands. Unfortunately, my mother’s hometown, Bantayan Island, was not spared. Bantayan is the north most island of Cebu and is very close to Samar (where most of the news cover). You can see the aftermath on these links:

http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disasters/typhoon-yolanda/43523-bantayan-island-yolanda-bangon-bantayanon

http://www.demotix.com/photo/3239153/devastation-typhoon-haiyan-over-town-guiuan-and-bantayan-island

Our relatives, my first cousins and their families and my mom’s cousins, are lucky to have survived the storm but they’ve lost everything – their homes and their means of living. Relief are coming from the government operations as it’s still difficult to reach these areas. Where I’m planning to help is on the rehabilitation. They definitely need to build their houses and boats again. Also, will there be enough resource for food and sanitation before they can stand on their own again?

If I just send the amount that I can, I know it will not be enough for everyone there. Then I thought that maybe this Table For N project will be a good way to raise more funds! I’m so glad I have supportive friends for this cause – last night was the first “Table for Bantayan”.

Menu:

• Tangy barbeque pork ribs
• Honey Bourbon beef ribs
• Baked chicken breasts and corn
• Smoky baked beans
• Coleslaw
• Baked sweet potatoes
• Turkish bread (to dip into the beans!)

This is the table:

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