Of road rage and big bites

It seems that the big city is thick with the traffic quagmire that grips the nerves of every Metro Manilan. Heavy traffic is usually expected this time of year, starting last month as the “unofficial” start of the yuletide season, but with the rainy season still with us, the traffic situation has gone from bad to unbearable with the whole metropolis being paralyzed at every downpour.

Just last Friday, Mary Ann and I were at our condo at the Fairways Tower at the BGC. We were to have dinner with some friends at the Rockwell Plant. Leaving our unit early at 6 p.m., I wanted to make sure we’d have enough allowance for traveling time. Oh, boy, was I ever so wrong. Just as we got out of the basement parking onto the lobby ramp, we couldn’t go out to 5th Avenue — all three lanes were packed with vehicles at a standstill. We literally just sat there for about 30 minutes, inching our way out to McKinley Road just some 20 meters away! Mary Ann’s iPhone app Waze estimated that we’d make it to Rockwell around 8:30 p.m. She read me the comments (mostly cuss words) and suggestions to stay put, wherever you might find yourself.

Making a quick decision, we decided not to proceed to Rockwell anymore and opted to go to SM Aura instead. It would have been impossible for us to turn back to Fairways. After everything, we got to Aura at around 7 p.m., which would have taken us normally 15 minutes from our condo.

Arriving at Aura, we went to National Book Store and my favorite hardware Ace, while deciding where to have our dinner and go back home when traffic had abated. Reaching the sixth floor, we found ourselves at the entrance of the newly opened Niu (pronounced nee-yuh), the latest branch of the popular local buffet chain Vikings.

Asking the receptionist what the difference between Niu and other Viking restaurants was, she said Niu has a more “select” menu with unlimited beverages, including wines (Jacob’s Creek Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling, to boot), double-chilled (zero-degree) draft beer and Japanese sake. To top it all off, it was on a 10-percent-discount promotion during its first 10 days of operations. “Let’s give it a try,” I told my darleng, while eyeing the chilled Riesling on the roving wine trolley.

As a pretty receptionist seated us, she introduced us to a well-groomed male waiter who was assigned to take our orders. “I thought this is a self-serve buffet,” I told the receptionist.

“Yes sir, it is,” she replied. “But once you go around the different stations and get whatever you want, including those cooked a la minute or anything to your liking, those will be brought to your table. And once you’re seated, you don’t have to stand up again to get other dishes. Just order anything from the waiter and he’ll serve it to you.”

Ah, so that’s the big difference in service over the other Viking branches, I concluded.

Making a run through our battle plan, we zeroed in on our personal favorites. Starting with the salads, cheeses, baked oysters (how we wished there was fresh oysters and uni/sea urchin), I moved on to asohos tempura (shrimp for her), grilled chicken bums in teriyaki sauce (puwit ng manok, isol), pan-fried foie gras on toast, grilled gindara (codfish) and roast prime rib.

And lucky me, I got the only turkey bum for the night. Though there were many other delectable dishes from the Filipino, Chinese, Thai, Indian and Italian stations, it was the choices I mentioned that we usually like and enjoy the most, and Niu didn’t disappoint. The Chinese dim sum section was a bit of a letdown, though, considering it is touted as being prepared by IMC (International Master Chef) Kavino of Jupiter Street, Makati City. The dim sum was a bit dry and starchy. As for the dessert station, the different gelato offerings were more than enough for our now-sated hunger pangs.

Overall, we had a very pleasant dining experience and we’d go back for more, and thanks to the traffic jam for this serendipitous discovery. The bottle of chilled Riesling I finished over our two-hour dinner must have pacified my road rage. By the way, Niu means “nine” in the Viking language and is a significant number in Norse mythology. We went home on cloud 9.

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Niu by Vikings is on Level 6, SM Aura Premier, 26th St., BGC. Weekday lunch for adults: P1,088 + 5 percent service charge. Weekday dinner/weekend or holiday lunch/dinner for adults: P1,388 + 5 percent service charge. Open daily from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for lunch and from 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. for dinner, tel. 478-3888 or 0917-586-6888.

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BITING THE BIG BITE

While Metro Manila battles traffic, the entrepreneurs and creative minds of the provinces can take advantage of the opportunity to promote their cities and products.  “Big Bite,” an event to be held at MarQuee Mall, Angeles City, from Oct. 17 to 19, is a perfect example.  Now on its second year, there will be over 100 food concepts and vendors from all over the North gathered in one venue to showcase the best of the Northern Luzon. Last year was such a success that there are more participants this year. Vendors from Baguio, Tuguegarao, Ilocos, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Kalinga, and naturally from Pampanga, will all be at one venue to entice and confuse visitors and buyers, more of whom are expected this year.

At the media launch, our kabalen chef Sau del Rosario and Tita Amelita Galang did separate cooking demos with ANC’s Gretchen Fulido emceeing the event. Angeles City Mayor Ed Pamintuan, his wife Miniang and Vice Mayor Vicky Vega Kabigting attended. Many well-thought-out activities have been lined up for the event.  There will be a Sisig Festival, where visitors can try the different versions of this iconic dish.

By the way, as Mayor Pamintuan noted in his welcome remarks, it was his brother Benedict who first served Aling Lucing’s sisig on a hot, sizzling skillet for that lightly burnt, toasted bottom way back in the late 1970s (the original Aling Lucing’s sisig was served cold or at room temperature like kinilaw na baboy).

Other highlights include over 100 vendors from Northern Luzon selling each locality’s specialties like Ilocos empanada, bagnet, strawberry taho, Magalang’s pastillas de leche, etc., a culinary cook-off between the top culinary schools in Pampanga and Bulacan; the Pampanga Arts Guild exhibiting the different regions’ specialties through art; cooking demos by Lifestyle Network’s celebrity chefs Sharwin Tee on Oct. 18 at 6 p.m., and Sandy Daza of Foodprints on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.

Big Bite is in partnership with NLEX, the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Tourism, Angeles City Tourism Office, Bank of the Philippine Islands, and Lifestyle Network. And for a minimum purchase of P1,000 at the MarQuee Mall, shoppers can enjoy free food samples from participating food vendors. Our Downtown Café will have a booth, too.  See you there!