Filipino street food sometimes has puns for names and come on a stick for ease of grab, go, and eat. Blitztorte fits the bill perfectly.
Their walkman, pig ears, was cut in strips or chunks. The are a bit chewy but not too rubbery which you would expect. It appears it was braised for a lengthy period to help soften it up.
The next adventurous plunge is their Adidas or chicken feet. They look just like what you would expect, from the ankle down. I've tried chicken feet twice and although I'm very happy that all parts are used and not wasted, I don't think I'll be trying it a third time. They are very boney and what is there is mainly gelatinous meat.
To one of my absolute favorites, Betamax or pork blood. Nope, its not a bowl of blood. Its so much better. Picture tofu with a deep red color. That's not a bad picture. It had this wonderful slight charred flavor from the grill. It didn't have a strong mineral flavor that sometimes blood sausage has or anything where blood is the main ingredient. I could eat several sticks of these.
The lady talked me into Porkisaw or pig intestine. I tried intestines once before and it was okay, I wasn't eager to try it again. However, she recommended it and when in Rome.... I was very happy that she talked me into this one. It was a tasty treat and redeemed intestines for me. Before, I had it prepared whee it was whole and still rubbery, however, Porkisaw is cut into cross sections and very thin, so when it's grilled, it takes on the grilled flavor more and it becomes very crispy. It was a welcomed surprise and I enjoyed the whole skewer.
Stay or chicken liver, was one of my least favorite skewers. It's in large pieces and extremely dry. It also has a very strong liver and mineraly flavor. I've never been a fan of liver, chopped or whole. I ended up not finishing this one.
You think I would be full yet, huh? Nope, not yet. The adventure kept going. I don't often have the opportunity for gizzards, so now's the time. They were in larger chunks, allowing more of the flavor to develop. Even though it had some of the connective tissue and cartilage, it was still pretty good. Not my favorite, but not my worst.
My absolute favorite was the BBQ pork. It is certainly not the most exotic, but it is one of the more familiar flavors. It had that delicious pork flavor with the grilled accents and the marinate on it, yum yum.
Stay with me, I only have two more and then I'm full. The Fishballs were a complete shock to me, I imagined grounded up meat, rolled into a ball. Instead, it does have a ball shape, but it has the texture more like a marshmallow. Very strange. When you bite into it, you know you're eating fish, but it feels similar to a marshmallow. The flavor actually resembles gefilta fish, if you've every tried that dish.
Finally, I finished with Kwek Kwek, battered quail eggs. They are small, size of marbles, and the texture and flavor were similar to hard boiled eggs. The flavor does have a bit of gaminess to it, but not far off.
All the skewers come with either a vinegar dressing or a brown sauce. I tried each skewer with each sauce and in every case, I preferred the vinegar dressing or the brown sauce. The vinegar helps to add that base to the dish that compliments the marinate or grilled charred flavor. The brown sauce is more on the sweet side and although it's good, it masks the flavor the meats more.
What an enormous lunch and fun doing it. The cost, $12. Yeah, all of it for just that. Most skewers are either $1 or $2. So, go with an appetite, an open mind, and just a few bucks in your pocket.
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