Goodies at Oody’s Express
October 27, 2005 | 12:00am
Oody’s Express came about because Dori Shani and Maritel Nievera-Shani enjoyed the food prepared by street hawkers on their frequent trips to Thailand. Thinking that Filipinos would also enjoy the different flavors and textures of Thai street food, they opened the first Oody’s Express outlet in Market! Market last October. Apparently, they were correct. Filipinos liked the food, and a second outlet in Glorietta 2 quickly followed last January. A third store at SM North EDSA opened in August; and as the restaurant continues to build up a loyal following, outlets in SM Centerpoint, Gateway Mall, SM Valenzuela and Robinsons Place, Ermita are scheduled to open this year.
What is it about Oody’s Express that has more people flocking to the restaurant? Loyal patrons agree that tasty dishes, hearty servings and wallet-friendly prices are a hard-to-beat combination. In addition, the ingredients in Thai cooking are not totally alien to the Filipino’s sense of taste, so many dishes will already be familiar. However, despite some similarities, Thai cooking is distinct from Filipino cooking because ingredients that are common to both cuisines are paired in different ways. Thus, although the individual flavors at Oody’s Express are familiar, the unusual combinations of spices and condiments result in a surprising, interesting, yet pleasing conundrum.
The Thai version of bagoong isda (monamon in Ilocandia) is called paraa. The papaya paraa (P45) listed under "Salad Dishes" looks like the Filipino achara at first glance with its grated green papaya. Doused with a light vinaigrette dressing, shreds of crisp papaya are paired with string beans and tomatoes; and with each sweet, sour, mildly salty and spicy mouthful, the taste buds seem to become increasingly revitalized. The papaya paraa is a welcome alternative for those who have had a surfeit of fried and greasy food. The umay or suya that comes after eating too much fatty food disappears with each mouthful of papaya paraa, clearing the palate and unclogging the taste buds.
For those who cannot forgo meat, the pork neck yaam (P48) manages to achieve the same effect. Yaam salad dressing has herbs, spices, and lemon and is somewhat similar to the vinegar-based kilawin dressing that most Filipinos are familiar with. With slivers of sweet white onions and chopped green onion leeks, the dish is a tasty pulutan, side dish or ulam. Other alternatives served with the palate-cleansing yaam salad sauce include mango yaam (P45), fish ball yaam (P65) and catfish yaam (P90).
As the cold months roll in, or on days of unceasing rain, soups become the more popular choice. At Oody’s Express, the soup stock is boiled for three hours to extract the best flavors. Sukhothai Soup (P88), or rice noodles topped with roast pork, bean curd, ground peanuts, and a pork ball, is a good choice, but the beef in brown soup (P90) is the more interesting option. This comes highly recommended by owner Dori Shani as a "rich and complete" soup. The first mouthful convinced us that, indeed, this soup was different. Sweet, spicy, and tangy, we detected a hint of lemongrass and kafir lime. Different – yet, the soup was vaguely familiar. Upon discovering that the soup is thickened with beef blood, we realized that the soup has a Filipino counterpart. Although the soup was less thick, it could be considered as a distant cousin of the more familiar dinuguan in Filipino cuisine.
Many of us remain rice eaters and are not satiated until we have eaten our rice fix. The rice toppings at Oody’s Express are tasty and filling meals. A fixture in most Thai restaurants, bagoong rice (P85) is certainly available, as are chicken with bamboo shoots in gravy (P88), spicy ground pork and shrimp paste fried rice (P88), green curry rice with chicken or pork (P98), fried chicken in yellow rice (P98), and salted fish fried rice (P98). Healthy eaters can have the vegetarian fried rice (P75), while avid carnivores have the option of ordering the breaded pork chop in yellow rice (P98). The pork chop remains moist and tasty because a thin rind of tasty fat is left on each slice. However, my personal choice in the rice toppings list would have to be the phad kee mao (P88), where ground pork is sautéed with basil and various spices to make a tasty topping that you could thoroughly mix with the rice.
Of course, noodles are available at Oody’s Express, too. As a filling snack or substantial meal, one may have the pad thai chicken (P88), or Vietnamese-style noodles (P85). Singaporean style noodles (P85) flavored with curry are also available, along with pad siew chicken with broccoli leaves (P85). The less adventurous could have spaghetti with meat sauce; while those who prefer the unusual can opt for spaghetti in yellow curry with chicken (P75).
Barbecues, such as chicken satay (P128), pork satay (P68), and squid satay (P110) are served with tamarind-infused and sweet sauces, while the tasty chicken pandan (P80) comes in green leaf pockets. Thai kangkong (P45) is a delicious surprise that makes one wish that all vegetables were always cooked in a similarly tasty way.
Finally, dessert! Thai halo-halo (P38 for small and P55 for regular servings) is different from the local version because of the addition of dessert noodles; while water chestnut with toddy palm in ice (P45) is refreshing and sweet. Toddy or tody (tod-dee), by the way, is a sweet alcoholic beverage of Indian origin made from the fermented sap of coconut or other palms. However, no trace of alcohol is detectable in the dessert. Both halo-halo and water chestnut with toddy palm are served with a choice of either fresh milk or coconut milk.
Truly eye-catching were what they call the snow mountains (P38): varicolored mounds of finely crushed ice, flavored with assorted syrups. One can choose from cream soda, sala, strawberry, pineapple, grape, rose, and jasmine. Being familiar with the other flavors, it was more adventurous to try the unknown. Unexpectedly, the green colored cream soda snow mountain brought me back to childhood. The cream soda snow mountain was familiar, after all. It tasted like the non-alcoholic cream soda Shasta Collins mixer that we used to filch from the wine closet and clandestinely consume.
The dark pink sala-flavored snow mountain, on the other hand, was an entirely new flavor experience. With its clean, sweet flavor, it was thoroughly refreshing. Sala syrup, I was informed, is made from a flower intriguingly called the Thai rose. Resolving to look up sala on the Internet, I sat back and savored the sensation as each delicious pink mouthful melted on my tongue.
With three Thai teams to train the staff and ensure quality control, Oody’s Express serves affordable, tasty food that one can enjoy whether or not he is on a budget. The food is fresh – cooked only as you order, and does not contain monosodium glutamate. Service is quick and serving time averages eight minutes at peak time. Thus, it is not surprising that the restaurant continues to gain a devoted and avid following. With its easy-on-the-pocket fast food prices, Oody’s Express lives up to its name by serving freshly-cooked and flavorsome food fast.
What is it about Oody’s Express that has more people flocking to the restaurant? Loyal patrons agree that tasty dishes, hearty servings and wallet-friendly prices are a hard-to-beat combination. In addition, the ingredients in Thai cooking are not totally alien to the Filipino’s sense of taste, so many dishes will already be familiar. However, despite some similarities, Thai cooking is distinct from Filipino cooking because ingredients that are common to both cuisines are paired in different ways. Thus, although the individual flavors at Oody’s Express are familiar, the unusual combinations of spices and condiments result in a surprising, interesting, yet pleasing conundrum.
The Thai version of bagoong isda (monamon in Ilocandia) is called paraa. The papaya paraa (P45) listed under "Salad Dishes" looks like the Filipino achara at first glance with its grated green papaya. Doused with a light vinaigrette dressing, shreds of crisp papaya are paired with string beans and tomatoes; and with each sweet, sour, mildly salty and spicy mouthful, the taste buds seem to become increasingly revitalized. The papaya paraa is a welcome alternative for those who have had a surfeit of fried and greasy food. The umay or suya that comes after eating too much fatty food disappears with each mouthful of papaya paraa, clearing the palate and unclogging the taste buds.
For those who cannot forgo meat, the pork neck yaam (P48) manages to achieve the same effect. Yaam salad dressing has herbs, spices, and lemon and is somewhat similar to the vinegar-based kilawin dressing that most Filipinos are familiar with. With slivers of sweet white onions and chopped green onion leeks, the dish is a tasty pulutan, side dish or ulam. Other alternatives served with the palate-cleansing yaam salad sauce include mango yaam (P45), fish ball yaam (P65) and catfish yaam (P90).
As the cold months roll in, or on days of unceasing rain, soups become the more popular choice. At Oody’s Express, the soup stock is boiled for three hours to extract the best flavors. Sukhothai Soup (P88), or rice noodles topped with roast pork, bean curd, ground peanuts, and a pork ball, is a good choice, but the beef in brown soup (P90) is the more interesting option. This comes highly recommended by owner Dori Shani as a "rich and complete" soup. The first mouthful convinced us that, indeed, this soup was different. Sweet, spicy, and tangy, we detected a hint of lemongrass and kafir lime. Different – yet, the soup was vaguely familiar. Upon discovering that the soup is thickened with beef blood, we realized that the soup has a Filipino counterpart. Although the soup was less thick, it could be considered as a distant cousin of the more familiar dinuguan in Filipino cuisine.
Many of us remain rice eaters and are not satiated until we have eaten our rice fix. The rice toppings at Oody’s Express are tasty and filling meals. A fixture in most Thai restaurants, bagoong rice (P85) is certainly available, as are chicken with bamboo shoots in gravy (P88), spicy ground pork and shrimp paste fried rice (P88), green curry rice with chicken or pork (P98), fried chicken in yellow rice (P98), and salted fish fried rice (P98). Healthy eaters can have the vegetarian fried rice (P75), while avid carnivores have the option of ordering the breaded pork chop in yellow rice (P98). The pork chop remains moist and tasty because a thin rind of tasty fat is left on each slice. However, my personal choice in the rice toppings list would have to be the phad kee mao (P88), where ground pork is sautéed with basil and various spices to make a tasty topping that you could thoroughly mix with the rice.
Of course, noodles are available at Oody’s Express, too. As a filling snack or substantial meal, one may have the pad thai chicken (P88), or Vietnamese-style noodles (P85). Singaporean style noodles (P85) flavored with curry are also available, along with pad siew chicken with broccoli leaves (P85). The less adventurous could have spaghetti with meat sauce; while those who prefer the unusual can opt for spaghetti in yellow curry with chicken (P75).
Barbecues, such as chicken satay (P128), pork satay (P68), and squid satay (P110) are served with tamarind-infused and sweet sauces, while the tasty chicken pandan (P80) comes in green leaf pockets. Thai kangkong (P45) is a delicious surprise that makes one wish that all vegetables were always cooked in a similarly tasty way.
Finally, dessert! Thai halo-halo (P38 for small and P55 for regular servings) is different from the local version because of the addition of dessert noodles; while water chestnut with toddy palm in ice (P45) is refreshing and sweet. Toddy or tody (tod-dee), by the way, is a sweet alcoholic beverage of Indian origin made from the fermented sap of coconut or other palms. However, no trace of alcohol is detectable in the dessert. Both halo-halo and water chestnut with toddy palm are served with a choice of either fresh milk or coconut milk.
Truly eye-catching were what they call the snow mountains (P38): varicolored mounds of finely crushed ice, flavored with assorted syrups. One can choose from cream soda, sala, strawberry, pineapple, grape, rose, and jasmine. Being familiar with the other flavors, it was more adventurous to try the unknown. Unexpectedly, the green colored cream soda snow mountain brought me back to childhood. The cream soda snow mountain was familiar, after all. It tasted like the non-alcoholic cream soda Shasta Collins mixer that we used to filch from the wine closet and clandestinely consume.
The dark pink sala-flavored snow mountain, on the other hand, was an entirely new flavor experience. With its clean, sweet flavor, it was thoroughly refreshing. Sala syrup, I was informed, is made from a flower intriguingly called the Thai rose. Resolving to look up sala on the Internet, I sat back and savored the sensation as each delicious pink mouthful melted on my tongue.
With three Thai teams to train the staff and ensure quality control, Oody’s Express serves affordable, tasty food that one can enjoy whether or not he is on a budget. The food is fresh – cooked only as you order, and does not contain monosodium glutamate. Service is quick and serving time averages eight minutes at peak time. Thus, it is not surprising that the restaurant continues to gain a devoted and avid following. With its easy-on-the-pocket fast food prices, Oody’s Express lives up to its name by serving freshly-cooked and flavorsome food fast.
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