Guava Bangus Sinigang

Our good friends, Oni and Billie Mayo brought me to a brand new restaurant in Greenbelt 5 in Makati called Fely’s.  I always go for Filipino food, especially unusual regional dishes when I’m in Manila so I welcomed the chance to try this new restaurant, which is supposedly part of the restaurant family of Larry Cruz, a noted local restaurauter. 

We had some great dishes at Fely’s including a killer guava sinigang na bangus which I haven’t had in a very long time.  We also had garlic fried rice with toasted dilis on top and crispy pata which were also very good.  Of course, I had San Miguel beer.  Dessert was faux apple pie made with sayote (?); it tasted just like apple.

I’ve always liked guava.  We used to have a guava tree in our house in Manila and I would pick the fruit right off the tree and eat it right there.  I also remember rubbing the leaves on cuts and scrapes that I would always get when I was a kid.  An old childhood friend used to bake guava bars for us.  But my most lasting memory of guava is the smell, particularly when the fruit is almost overripe.  My aunt always said it smelled of body odor.  Now that I’ve taken an interest in scents, I’m even more intrigued with this fruit.