Halal Resto in The Metro

Sitti's Greenhills Food Court

Sitti's Market! Market! Food Court

If you are a Muslim and you live in the Metro just like I do, chances are you are constantly plagued by the same question everytime you eat...where to eat and what to eat that does not have pork.

Luckily, if you are in Market! Market! or in Greenhills, you can feast on Halal dishes at Sitti's Halal Food Hauz. Why people name their restaurants "food hauz" with a "z" is beyond me but never mind that. Sitti's serve mostly Tausug cuisine although I've seen sisigs and steaks in their menu perhaps to attract a broader customer base.

We ordered Tiyulah Itum, Pyanggang and Satti. For first time eaters, I am pretty sure you will be shocked when you get to see these dishes. Here's why:

Tiyulah Itum

Tiyulah Itum is a black soup as in super black. This is the Tausug's version of the tinola without the papaya slices and chili leaves. It is a dark spicy broth of beef seasoned with ginger and chili. Chef said it also has turmeric and the black color came from toasted coconut flesh that takes quite a while to make i.e. you roast it and once it's burnt, you scrape it and roast the next layer until you finish the whole coconut! The first time I saw it, I was very hesitant to taste it because it seriously looked like soup with powdered charcoal but when I took my first sip, I was in love :)

Pyanggang

Pyanggang is roasted chicken smothered with toasted coconut flesh. I forgot to ask Chef how to make it as I was busy devouring our treats. Anyway, this dish looks like the chicken was rolled into powdered charcoal. It's salty and spicy and worth raving about.

Satti

Satti is actually a breakfast dish in Zamboanga and Jolo areas. It's cut up sticky rice floating in sambal sause topped with three to four little sticks of beef barbecue. Of the three, this is the dish that I didn't have a lot of because it's on the sweet side.

Tausug cuisine, according to Chef is one of the more advanced in the area. It was not influenced by Hispanic cooking therefore you find a lot of chili, turmeric, coconut and their cooking. Thanks to Sitti, we can now have a taste of Tausug cuisine without going all the way to Jolo! The best is that, the dishes are all under a hundred! Yay! Happiness! :)