June 23, 2011—It rained cats and dogs. In fact, some parts of Metro Manila had to endure long traffic and flooding due to typhoon Falcon. But that did not stop the bloggers to troop towards Carol’s Texan 5 Blogger’s Buffet event. Of course, due to the heavy traffic, some had arrived late, but came in as well. My good friend Rain de Ocampo and I were one of those, because despite bearing his name, we both did not anticipate the rain would pour down that much. But we were both glad to have made it just the same.
Outside a stream of motors, lorries and buses, private cars and hirelings, sped up and down the somewhat crowded thoroughfare, and every chaffeur must have blown his horn…Little Baguio is one of the busiest place in the city of San Juan. It is a meeting place of a hundred people perhaps due to the fact that it boasts numerous line up of different establishments. This is the cosmopolitan hub where many Michelin-starred personalities have set up shop like popular chef Gene Gonzales, embracing local flavors and incorporating them into sophisticated cuisines.
Carol’s Texan 5 is located in 2nd floor of the building it occupies in Jose Abad Santos Street in Little Baguio, San Juan. It’s just across Alex III, and it’s right in the heart of San Juan’s bustling town. Owned by the friendly and accommodating, Ms. Carol Chan, Carol’s Texan 5 started out of her own love for whipping out dishes for family and friends. With the encouragement of those that had tasted her famous recipes, Ms. Chan decided to open up a restaurant of her own. She had five different recipes that were superb hits to family and friends alike, giving them two thumbs up. Her love for American cuisine made her name her restaurant after the Southern US state Texas, thus Carol’s Texan 5 was born. We also later learned that Mr. Tristan Mirasol of tenminutestops.com, bloggersbuffet.com and clubtravelnow.org who organized and invited bloggers to the event was a good friend of Ms. Chan.
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| Ms. Carol Chan's to-die-for and fall-off-the-bones ultimate ribs. (my fave!) |
Customers will surely enjoy not just the good food but also the photo wall in the area where they could wear cowboy hats, sheriff vests, colorful scarf and toy guns as props for the total feel of Texas. My blogger friends and I had a lot of fun taking photos of ourselves wearing different hats under the sign that says “Wanted”.
As if that wasn’t fun enough, they even set up a unique photo booth for us; courtesy of BoothsRepublic. We had photo balloons of ourselves to the delight of each blogger. There were even games played during the said event and a chance for each blogger to introduce his or herself, giving each blogger a chance to get to know more people and in the process, plug his or her own blogs.
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| Dynamite Wings in the house! |
The buffet table served us with tomato-based pasta, dynamite chicken wings, buttered vegetables, Texan rice and slabs of Carol’s Texan 5 ultimate ribs. My personal favorite is the ultimate ribs. Rich and velvety with a hint of sweet barbecue hickory sauce, it had fragrant aromas wafting up your nose to your brain. The meat was great—tender and fall-off the bones, yet it was able to retain being juicy and packed with flavors to please your discriminating palate. It was lip-smacking just as I had imagined it to be. Barbecued ribs are always a much-awaited treat to our household. But with the onset of the rainy season, grilling the best ribs is next to impossible. That’s why I had really been grateful to Mr. Mirasol for inviting me over to the bloggers buffet.
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| The sumptuous tomato-based pasta. |
The tomato-based pasta is another dish to try. It had herbs and spices with that creamy sauce. I do have to admit that I was never really a fan of red-sauced or anything tomato-based pasta. But I can vouch for this pasta. The pasta was firm and al dente, cooked to perfection. The sauce was absolutely heaven, great for vegetarians.
Another Carol’s Texan 5 specialty is the dynamite wings with something that tasted like sour cream and onion dip. It had the perfect balance of spice and sourness for every discerning foodie. Each bite will explode in your mouth like a nuclear warhead. It had the right amount of spiciness, but it builds up to a crescendo of lingering hotness. By the time you savored your first morsel, you realize that every dish, every meal at Carol’s Texan 5 has been conceptualized to give customers a dining experience like no other.
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| The author in a cowboy hat in the Wanted wall. |
Everyone curious to try any of Carol’s Texan 5 staple food will be happy to know that their distinct gourmet food is affordable. In an era where most restaurants equate to high price, Carol’s Texan 5 takes the best of both worlds, serving their customers the highest quality food at prices that won’t leave a gaping void in their wallets. Yes, the only void that is happily filled is the one in your stomach.
Carol’s Texan 5 may not ring a bell yet, but I won’t be surprised if it will gain its popularity soon through word-of-mouth. TV personalities and celebrities like Angel Locsin, Coco Martin and Mike Enriquez all paid a visit to Carol’s Texan 5 despite their hectic schedule.
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| The author with fellow blogger/friend Emilian Sison of luckyfinds-shareapic.blogspot.com |
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| The author's good friend, Kuya Rain De Ocampo. |
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| Mr. Tristan Mirasol with Ms. Carol Chan (Carol's Texan 5 owner). |
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| Mr. Tristan Mirasol welcoming guests to the event. |
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| Magnolia ice cream set up my mood despite the heavy pouring of the rain that night. |
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| The gracious Ms. Carol Chan holds the mic. |
Indeed, Carol’s Texan 5 promises to be a place where the neighborhood can hang out and see familiar faces as they chow down their favorite food. I’d have to say that Carol’s Texan 5 has earned a sweet spot in my heart and, well…in my stomach.
Purple Plum Fairy thanks Mr. Tristan Maharlika Mirasol and his brother Majar, Ms. Carol Chan and all the sponsors of the bloggers buffet such as Coke, San Miguel, Magnolia (the ice cream was in my fave flavor!), Fern C, BoothsRepublic (for the really cute photo balloons) and of course, Carol’s Texan 5 (the lovely red journal personally made by Ms. Chan). I’d also like to thank ClubTravelNOW.org, IAmPilipinas.com and CliqManila.com as well as Cignal Digital TV.
Carol's Texan 5
2 F 713 Jose Abad Santos Street, Little Baguio, San Juan City
727-3847
email:orders@texan5.com
Carol's Texan 5
2 F 713 Jose Abad Santos Street, Little Baguio, San Juan City
727-3847
email:orders@texan5.com
xoxo,
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