Family Lunch at Kusina Salud

Sorry took so long to post this. Hubby and I have been sick and had to take it easy for a few days. All is well now :-)

Last Sunday the family (all 14 of us), drove to Kusina Salud for the family's weekend glutton festival. The drive took a total of 1 1/2 hours and 3 cars.

The place was an instant hit with the first timers in the group. It's a traditional Filipino vacation home of old. Antique narra furniture interspersed with batibot chairs, local antique dolls, figurines, capiz windows, orchids and a wide variety of local knick knacks adorn the charming home. Fountains located in several areas provide soothing sounds while you dine. It's type of home that your lola would probably have if she lived in a province in the 1930's.

For this Sunday, Kusina Salud only offered buffet lunch consisting of Filipino Salad (Cucumbers, Okra, Onions, Kangkong in a choice of bagoong alamang or bagoong balayan sauce), Vegetarian Laing, Monggo with Bulalo, Fried Tuyo, Chicken Inasal and Sisig. For dessert, Saba con yelo and sponge cake with matamis na bao. My favorite was the sisig.













Despite only offering buffet that lunch, the restaurant did make us Kulawo (banana heart) Salad with Calamari in Hollandaise Sauce and Pako Salad (fern salad) upon request. Both were absolute winners. The kulawo particularly is the specialty of the house. I've only had this salad there and nowhere else. If you're in the area, a must try.





We also had a fantastic time taking pictures.













On our way home, we all bought stainless steel pitchers and grill from several stores that line the highway. They're much cheaper than what you would buy in a department store and since it's on the way, we all indulged in a little bit of shopping.

My brother Jacob and I even bought some rambutan, freshly picked from the plantation nearby and some lanzones also from the fruit stands found along the highway. Yum!

Cheap and Good Sisig

For me, nothing beats the sisig of Tita Zeny, my late Tito Florante's wife. But Sisig Pinoy in Pure Gold comes a close second. I've never made sisig before but my Tita Zeny at one point years ago, told me how it's done. (I'm enumerating from memory here)

1. Clean pork face, ear and nose. Remove all the dirt and hairs.
2. Boil the meat in salted water. Drain.
3. Grill the meat in charcoal. Cool and mince.
4. Boil pork liver, drain, cool and mince.
5. In a heavy pan, saute onions, green finger peppers and/or siling labuyo (bird's eye pepper, very spicy), liver and pork with soy sauce and calamansi (native lemon). (Sisig Pinoy adds what looks like mayonnaise at this point).
6. Transfer to a hot sizzling plate. Topped with raw or fried egg.
7. Served with calamansi and hot sauce on the side.

The Sisig Pinoy version has generous helpings of chicharon on top instead of the egg. This dish is best paired with beer and is recommended to people who has no heart condition, for obvious reasons.



For P50 with rice and P125 for a full order, Sisig Pinoy is very good. If you're craving for something Pinoy and fattening and doesn't have the energy to do all the cooking steps, Sisig Pinoy is your best bet.