Log Cabin Dinner Buffet by Aklay

Log Cabin Dinner Buffet by Aklay

Food Glorious Food
I miss Sagada for a lot of things, one of which is Aklay's dinner buffet every Saturday at Log Cabin. The food this time of year, when it's not too busy, is a little more special. Why? Because the volume of food prepared is not that much, lending more time and space for the creative process. Where it used to be roast pork loin for the main entreé, tonight, he served roast beef tenderloin, barbecued ribs and butter-fried devil chicken baked with mustard. Of course, his usual staples were there - Sagada rice, fern salad with bacon and boiled eggs, and whole wheat sourdough baguette...and then some.

Mushroom Soup
Given the abundance of mushrooms, now that it's the rainy season, and the almost infinitely myriad ways of making soup out of it, I think Aklay has honed his mushroom soup-making skill to perfection. His best soups are mushroom based. This one, cream of Cedesden (Boleto) soup, is no exception.

White Chocolate Cake with Blueberry
The name sounds benign, but when you sink your teeth into it, you could forgive Marie Antoinette for letting them eat cake. There were 4 unique layers per slice, each layer a class on its own having its own texture, taste and consistency. The top was a thin brittle layer of white chocolate crust, the second layer was soft white chocolate that melted in your mouth, the third layer was blueberry, and the bottom was crunchy oats. Since Aklay was once pastry chef to the Sultan of Brunei, I remarked, "...sooooo, I'm eating what the Sultan eats for dessert?". He quipped, "No, you're eating better. The Sultan is used to margarine on his cake, not butter!"

Kitchen-Aid
While I was complementing his food, Aklay added that I haven't seen anything yet. If he has a Kitchen-Aid, he can do magic to food the way a magician uses a magic wand. I was thinking, "Really? It can still get better than this?". If you're reading this and have a spare Kitchen-Aid you'd like to donate to Aklay, puleeeeez, bring it with you next time you go up Sagada. Oh yeah, he added, it has to have 2 identical whisks and 3 identical bowls for the magic to work....go figure!

My Little Community
In addition to the glorious food, I also miss my little community here. Tonight, the usual suspects were all there and it was nice to gather around the fireplace after the meal, and shop talk, plan for the coming rides, get updated on the latest events, and exchange a few laughs. Yeah, it's so good to be back.

--- TheLoneRider

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