**** Chibugan has closed
Back in August I did a short post, noting that Eddels inside of Vinh Hung Market had changed ownership and was now named Chibugan. I recently finally got around to visiting Chibugan.
I did notice that the place had been cleaned-up a bit. Doors had been installed in the interior entrance, and the place has been painted a bright orange.
This place is a typical"turo-turo" (steam table) joint, featuring items like Pork and Chicken "BBQ", and a few desserts. Another big difference is the woman who works the front counter, who is a bit different from the the previous staff who were friendly and loquacious. She's more quiet and serious, and perhaps a bit more cautious. Not good or bad, just different.
The two item combo, with steamed rice rings in at $5.99. the portions aren't "Tita's sized" but are adequate.
Looking over the steam-table I made my choices, which ended up being pretty predictable. Sisig was one of choices of course.
For me, this wasn't a very pleasant Sisig. First, as you can clearly see, there was a ton of ginger, which overwhelmed most of the flavors, in a dish that's usually packed with sour, salty, and spicy notes. Second, the pork was much too waxy, and in this type of Sisig, I'd have enjoyed having some crisp pork skin which would have added a nice one-two crunch with the onions. The Sisig was also ice cold, which made it seem much more greasy.
The second item was something that I'd strangely never had before, Goat Adobo (Adobong Kambing):
This was pretty good, the chunks of goat was moist and tender. There was a hint of black pepper, but it didn't over-power the dish. In fact, this was pretty low on the salty-scale for Adobo, but not in a bad way. I did enjoy it.
Which gave me enough reason to return. The woman working the front counter, saw me entering, and told me "today this is the goat dish" while pointing at one of the trays. She had remembered me….. I guess I'm now the "goat guy".
Kaldereta was what she was pointing to. Which was one of the items I got.
This was a pretty mediocre version of Kaldereta; there were mostly bones in what I got, almost no meat. The goat flavor was too mild, and with the huge amount of tomato used to flavor this dish, it was almost like eating bony Filipino Menudo. Which was kind of a bummer, since I paired this with…… yes Menudo.
Fairly mediocre as well; fairly bland, an adjective I rarely use when describing Filipino dishes. The meat was dry and tasteless……. in fact just about the only thing that stood out in this dish was pervading taste of tomato sauce.
I did enjoy the Goat Adobo, but the other dishes really did nothing to inspire me to return. I'd say that Chibugan is a cut above Olga's and Ed's, but perhaps a notch below Manila Fast Food and Desserts and R & B.
Chibugan
10550 Camino Ruiz (In Vinh Hung Supermarket)
San Diego, CA 92126
too bad it wasn’t too good!
Sisig, Kaldereta, Adobong Kambing… My list of new things to try only gets longer!
Uninspiring joints. Can’t have the cake and eat ๐
Hi Kat – Yes…….
Hi Dennis – I think you’ll love good Sisig. I’ve created a category just for that:
/2008/10/08/clearing-out-th/
Hi Bill – LOL!
Bummer some of the dishes were bland. Goat adobo sounds really interesting, though.
Hi Kirk. Too bad about the sisig. I loves me some good sisig from Conching’s. For me, goat has to be cooked only by an Ilocano as they ‘know’ how to prepare goat.
And Chibugan, pronounced chi.boo.gahn…in Tagalog, that translates to Eatery…chibug means to eat…chibugan means a place to eat or eatery.
Just add’l info… ๐
Hi Carol – Yes, that Goat Adobo was the best item I had.
Hi Shirley – Thanks for the info! As for goat, my friend’s cousin does a fantastic Kaldereta and he’s from Olongapo….frankly, I think most places try to mask the flavor of goat or lamb. My personal preference is for goat to taste like…. well, goat. Conching is still #1 for Sisig in my book as well….though they almost never have it available except for special orders.
hi kirk
ugh – there is nothing worse than cold sisig.
okay,kenny g is worse.
LOL CC – Actually, nothing is worse than Kenny G and Michael Bolton doing a duet. I actually first heard KennyG when he was still Kenny Gorelick and played with the Jeff Lorber fusion…. dude had some chops. Of course now it’s all pop and after awhile I’ve found his overuse of circular breathing to be annoying.
hi kirk – i remember telling the dj at our wedding receptions (eons ago), “Please, I beg of you, no Kenny G!!!!!!” i find it laughable that people find his music “romantic” when it’s far from romantic. how can anyone get down and dirty to that music is beyond me.
i would rather get my teeth drilled without anesthesia than listen to kenny gorelick. ha ha.
i’ll shut up now.
Hey CC – I can just see it now “ABC Music Hump Day Videos – R is for Root Canal featuring Kenny G” he-he-he…..
you’ve just given me an idea….ha ha!
the sisig is cold because that is how they cook it its like a salad u know
Hi K0567 – No kidding…. I’d rather not have it ice cold. BTW, is this the Ilocano way of making sisig, because most places don’t serve it ice cold? One more thing, if Sisig is salad, why do places serve it sizzling??? Huh?