As promised, we visited the newest restaurant of Mr. Hossein, Gilak.  This is his 5th restaurant already.  Mr. Hossein is the only one who knows all the recipes of his food.  He prepares everything in his commissary and then sends it to his restaurants. You can imagine how hard he works and how hands on he is in his business. Hossein will always be our all time favorite restaurant! 

This room can be made into a private function room.  It has a nice view of Greenbelt 5 

Nelyn, long time waitress in Persian Kebab and now a supervisor already.  She is the one who always takes care of us and she knows already what we want when we arrive.  We have known her as long as we have known Hr. Hossein 

 The restaurant was full and I congratulated Mr. Hossein on his continous success and he told me “It is because I love God!”:-)   

We later on found out that it was Mr. Hossein’s birthday that evening.  What a coincidence for us to have been there….or maybe not.. because for some reason, I kept insisting that we go to Gilak despite the heavy traffic.  We were so happy to have been there on his special day  

He gave us many words of wisdom and advice on life.  God gave him a second chance to live and this has made him realize many things which he shared with us.   

When we were leaving, Mr. Hossein told us that he would like us to come back to Gilak and this time he will choose the dishes we will eat.  I guess for all the years that we have been going to Persian Kebab, we order the same thing all the time. Every single time!  So, finally he probably could not resist but offer and let us try some of his other delicious dishes. So two weeks after, we went back as his guests

It was the BEST meal we had in his restaurant…. mostly because it was an honor to be served  and hosted by Mr. Hossein himself.  It was a delicious meal and one experience we will never forget!  Thank you very much Mr. Hossein!

Roti Channai – WOW!! YUMMY!!! 

Naan bread with Borani spinach, Chicken Dopiaza and Greek Salad 

Then Mr. Hossein started mixing everything and making it into a sandwich!   YUMMY!!

 Shrimp kebab ( Persian style ) !!!! Wow! That sauce that goes with it is my my type!!! I put it in my rice!!!

Lamb Shank 

Chicken Kebab 

We normally order fried rice, but this time Mr. Hossein served us saffron and Biryani rice which went very well with everything 

Then he mixed the two kinds of rice together, put the sauce from the kebab then mixed in some strips of chicken kebab – LOVE IT!!!

Shrimp Tandori kebab – WOW!!!!!!! Also YUMMY!!

Mr. Hossein knows what I like….he got the rice and put it on the sauce of the tandori!! YUMMMMMY!! 

 WOW!!! WHAT A MEAL!!! Everything was YUMMY and perfect!!!

I think that was the most “YUMMY” words in one feature!  We are so spoiled now that we better make sure Mr. Hossein is there whenever we go!

There are 380 dishes in the menu of Hossein/Persian kebab and Gilak.  

Mr. Hossein told me that he reads his recipe books atleast 2 hours a day to learn more recipes, more techniques in cooking, etc etc. Now you know why he is successful at what he is doing.  He never stops learning and discovering new things.  He told us about a Shawarma salad and a new kebab which will be in his menu….WE CAN’T WAIT!!!  And a sandwich bar which he will also open!  WOW!!  Till the next eating adventure with Hossein!

Previous Entry:  Hossein – May 19, 2008

 [email_link]

Josie is a friend who I met in Mothers Club.  I also bump into her in Rustan’s in almost all the home events.  She says that the Home floor at Rustan’s is her favorite place. Now I know why! SHE LOVES TO COOK!

She is definitely my friend because she loves Rustan’s! 🙂

Josie took up Nutrition as her major and after her studies, she has been in the hospitality industry for 20 years.  She has always dreamed of opening her own restaurant, so finally she did.  She started doing it as a sideline under her brand JOSIE,  but later on decided to do it full time and opened Ensaymada Factory.   She told me,” It is a small business, but it is MINE! and I am very happy!”  and I guess being happy with what you are doing is most important.

I admire my friend, Josie, for starting her own business and doing what she always dreamed of.  

Thank you Josie for a wonderful afternoon!  I will definitely cross the street and visit you everytime I go to Shopwise Pasong Tamo!

The first thing that caught my attention when I came in…..what a nice poster!

The Ensaymada factory is located in Pasong Tamo right across Shopwise.  It is a very cozy place.  Josie told me that she named her place after the Cheesecake Factory in the States.  I asked her if she is known for her ensaymada, and she said not really and that just like the Cheesecake Factory, it does not serve only cheesecake but has a wide variety of dishes in their menu 

Pastries:  Flourless Cookies, Yema, Empanada, Ensaymada, Cheese Roll and Brownies.  Josie wakes up early in the morning to bake her daily goodies which she sells in her store

More Pastries: Chocolate cake, Canonigo, Chocolate Cupcakes, Apple Crumble and  Food for the Gods 

Banana Cake 

YUMMY!  We both shared those 3 dishes!! I ate more than her!  🙂 These dishes reminded me of one of my old time favorites, Yum Yum Tree Coffeeshop at Rustan’s.  It does not exist anymore so it was a nice way of reminiscing.  

Beefsteak Tagalog, Garlic Chicken and Pork Binagoongan – YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Josie served all of this to me! She taught me a new way of eating ensaymada ( photo under the canonigo slice ).  She flattens the ensaymada in a teflon pan till light brown and then serve with additional grated queso de bola and sugar.  Yummy!! and come to think of it, I want to add butter to that!  🙂

Josie also makes packed meals and she gets a lot of orders for functions, meetings and events 

I still need to go back to try the other things on her menu! She says I need to try her Sinigang na Bangus and Laing Pasta…. I WILL BE BACK FOR SURE! 

 [email_link]