Review
础苍诲辞办鈥檚 litson baka
A BARRAGE of witty hashtags (#BakaNaman) for 础苍诲辞办鈥檚 latest release, its litson baka (roasted calf), and the sexiness in its scarcity made me order it.
Friends spoke of driving to up to four 础苍诲辞办鈥檚 branches to get a box of litson baka (some ordering two, or more, to make the most of the drive), so there must have been something to it. Anonymous food blogger MasarapBa said it was 鈥Deym, Ang Sarap.鈥 We tend to take her word for anything, and luckily, an 础苍诲辞办鈥檚 outlet near my house had it, conveniently delivered via GrabFood at P352, so I was able to try it for myself.
It came in a box, with the meat itself, sliced in little squares about as big as two thumbs, wrapped in foil. The lemongrass and citrus scent, much like the marinade they already use on their liempo and litson manok, wafted out of the box like a dare. I took the scent up on its dare and placed my hand inside the box and plucked a piece with my fingers.
The texture, the unmistakable flavor of good beef, and the light char made me think of Texas barbecue. It wasn鈥檛 a plump roast beef 鈥 this was a tougher guy, but still with a desirable chew. The flavor notes on its marinade though, were definitely Filipino, and the familiar notes of its citrusy marinade can bring one back to small parties with 础苍诲辞办鈥檚 chicken on the table.
The familiar liver sauce wasn鈥檛 there, but my vanity got ahead of me, so I made some gravy to go with it (that, and I saw a guy on Instagram order the lechon and serve it like beef stroganoff). The gravy was too heavy for the fatty, charred bits of beef, so I immediately nixed that. The package of litson baka came with two containers of vinegar, but it really wasn鈥檛 my thing. Mustard proved to be a good condiment, but I imagine this to be good with horseradish too 鈥 speaking of horseradish, 础苍诲辞办鈥檚 can take a page from Arby鈥檚 and make sandwiches out of this (or somebody should use this as a filling for cua pao buns). Still, the Filipino spirit in me says, eat it with rice. Your inner cosmopolitan might trick you to pair this with a Shiraz, but come on, this was asking for either a nice, cold glass of Coke or San Miguel Pale Pilsen.
It would be a mistake to compare this to a nice, gentle roast beef (you鈥檇 have approximately the same amount for about P100 more from another restaurant), because you鈥檇 have different expectations for either. Quite frankly, this isn鈥檛 the stuff of polite Sunday lunches. It could be, however, the next masa classic. With the right marketing, it could be the next sizzling sisig (meaning, a drinking staple) but it otherwise won鈥檛 be a threat to the homegrown brand鈥檚 own litson manok (roasted chicken) and liempo (roasted pork). The scrappy-looking meat doesn鈥檛 look very festive on tables, so I highly doubt this would be the next birthday centerpiece (perhaps someone with better hands should plate it in the future).
However, it is perfect as a novelty for now, but in the future, it will be a nice inuman indulgence, one that makes a Pale Pilsen drinker feel like a king for a few moments.
Order your 础苍诲辞办鈥檚 Litson Manok either through GrabFood, or at 础苍诲辞办鈥檚 branches. 础苍诲辞办鈥檚 Facebook page has a list of branches of where the new dish is available. These include certain branches (up to four) in Quezon City, Manila, Caloocan, Las Pinas, Navotas, Laguna, Marikina, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Rizal, Makati, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, and Cavite. 鈥 Joseph L. Garcia
