So that night at Patio Filipino inspired me to whip up some paella of our own, and I did, but not before picking up a pan smaller than what we have, which was a bit too big for our portable butane burner. The only store I know of that would have everything needed to make paella (except for fresh chicken and shellfish of course) is about 40 minutes from where I live, in Berkeley, The Spanish Table on San Pablo about a block from University Avenue. That store is always a treat. Needing a smaller paellera was an excellent reason to visit the store. We also picked up some Chorizo de Bilbao and a small bag of Bomba rice. I had another excuse the other day and dropped in to pick up a 10g box of saffron for $34, not bad. I wonder what I'll run out of next.

Misis made some a few years back. It's like adobo with pork morsels, only she subbed out soy sauce with tausi (salted black beans) and probably added some sugar. It had this thick sauce and it was sweet, sickeningly sweet. So I readied myself that afternoon for more of that sickeningly sweet pork morsels only to find this braised six-inch shank served over bok choy garnished with peanuts. Patio Filipino's is not as sweet, and the sauce was way thinner, almost brothy. It goes well with steamed rice. As for what I had before, I'd like to say I'm sorry, hunny. I like Patio's better.

We decided to invite the whole family and try out their paella and some other items two weeks ago. We made a 7 o'clock reservation for eight on September 15th. We ordered:

• Bulalo, beef shank & marrow soup with some veggies: My favorite, but the meat was pretty bland, and the broth was so-so. We didn't care for it.
  
• Escabeche, deep fried fish with sweet & sour sauce: We failed to realize it was catfish until it was a bit too late. Dad hates catfish with a passion. That was a miss in our part. The sauce was pretty good, though.
  
• String beans and squash in coconut milk: Never tried it. Not a fan of ginataan dish except for that dessert item bilo-bilo.
  
• Sizzling sisig, minced pork jowl etc on a hot cast iron plate: with fresh egg, and it was very good, but too much worries me. My very first sisig was mainly minced meat seasoned with chopped pepper, ginger, and a bit of vinegar. It might not have been the genuine thing...like that matters. :)
  
• Carne ala Cubana, ground pork with raisins, garbanzos, & peas: served with egg over easy on top and sweetened plantain on the side. Delicious meat-n-hash. It ranks up there with humba.
  
• Paella (of course): The shrimp was all right, the scallops a bit bland, the mussels were most likely bought frozen in a box, and the chicken could use some seasoning. I however realize Patio Filipino is like any other Pinoy restaurant, only aside from your typical Filipino dishes, they also serve some Spanish items. Having said that, their paella may not be the best, but it's pretty damn good. Though the rice could use a little soccarat, you can taste the saffron seasoning. Whether it was either actual, powdered, or bottled concentrate, it didn't matter. It tasted like saffron and it had no safflower (what we usually dump in our lugaw).

We also had humba and lumpianitas. Overall experience was good. We had fun and we got stuffed. I wound't mind going back for more meat-n-hash. :)