We Eat and We Love It

Proof that there are models who do not go on starvation diets.

Yeoh and his model friends pigging out at one event last night. We didn't know that we filled an entire cocktail table with food. Favorite quote for the night: Wooooowwww leche flan. Ayyyyy cheesecake pala. Hahaha I love my friends.

Sweet Treats from Dessert Barn

[Disclaimer: Products provided for review]

I met up with Twinkle yesterday for coffee after I picked up a few items at Ortigas. I told her I'll just grab a quick bite and satisfy my fast food cravings then I'll dash off to the MRT to meet up with her in Glorietta. She texted. "Surely, Don't forget to leave some room for dessert!" As soon as the MRT reached the Ayala station, I hauled my bags, took the stairs instead of squeezing through the elevator and met up with Twinkle where she presented me with two boxes, which were her bestselling cakes.

The first time I met Twinkle, she was my client at MAC and I encouraged her to take the plunge for red lipstick. She was one of those clients you would want to have often and we ended up making chika while doing her makeover. The second was at a food event and she shares too her fondness for sweets. I then knew that she also bakes. She has a baking business that she fondly calls Dessert Barn that fuels her passion for baking, which are among her many other passions.

After a bit of chat, she showed me the first cake, which, I was reassured wasn't fruitcake.

Bananalicious cakes with [top] cranberries and roasted walnuts and [bottom] roasted walnuts. Php 350 for a 6-inch cake and Php 500 for a 9-inch cake

She calls this cake bananalicious cake, which she describes the cake as literally "half banana and half cake." For every 1 cup of batter, she's got 1 cup of bananas thrown in. The natural sweetness makes it less migraine-causing than cakes overloaded with sugar and grease, so not only does it taste good, but it's also healthy.

The icing on top, I asked if it was made of cream cheese. She said it was snow glaze, the same glaze used in donuts. The one I tasted was the one with cranberries and roasted walnuts and she also has another bananalicious cake with just the walnuts, for those who aren't cranberry fans. I actually like cranberries, and this brings me memories of turkey and Thanksgiving, making it a perfect Holiday giveaway. The dried cranberries are less tart though, and go well with the sweetness of the snow glaze. I had to give in to a slice though, and wedged a teaspoon at the edges. Usually, edges are hard though, with the tenderness and moistness of the cake concentrated on the middle. The Bananalicious cake, however, had a uniform moistness and consistency through and through. Even kids wouldn't gag at this cake. My 10-year-old nephew at first was apprehensive to try this out since he thought it was just banana cake. However, after a tiny sliver of this, he asked for seconds and had another slice for breakfast the following morning. When cakes get dry and mealy by the third day absorbing whatever flavors and odors the refridgerator has, this one was still true to its flavor, of course I kept it inside the cardboard box.

After that, I sipped some peppermint tea to cleanse my palate in tune for the next cake, which I assume would be a hit among everyone with a sweet tooth but also those who want to indulge in a guilty pleasure once in a while, the Amnesia cake, a four-layer moist chocolate cake with chocolate filling with dark chocolate fudge encapsulated with an Oreo cookie crust.

Amnesia cake, so good that you'll forget your name. Php 480 for a 6-inch cake and Php 958 for an 8-inch cake.

I asked Twinkle why it was called Amnesia cake. The name was actually from her brother, who said that this cake is so good, you're going to forget your name. I chuckled a bit at the description. When I took a bite, I was quite surprised. Normally, I thought a chocolate overload like this would be too sweet that I'd be getting a sugar overload but it was quite a surprise, really, that the sweetness was mild and mellow. The reason for this was that Twinkle uses dark chocolate for the recipe, which is healthier. You get to taste and enjoy the chocolateness without the bitterness. The texture and genuine chocolate flavor are in one delicious compromise. The fudge was also rich, which added to the melt-in-the-mouth texture of the soft chocolate cake layers.

The Amnesia cake travels well when frozen. If you're taking this with you as pasalubong or baon when you go abroad, you could tell Twinkle ahead of time and she would give you instructions on how this could stay fresh up to your next destination. This makes a great pasalubong as well for your loved ones abroad when you fly off to visit them. This was an easy sell to the kids, though and they didn't think twice when I said chocolate and enjoyed their slices even though I told them after they got their second slice that it was dark chocolate. Normally, kids don't like dark chocolate because it's bitter but this one was sweet enough for them to go halfway the 6-inch cake in minutes. If you've got more of a sweet tooth that you can't handle, try a scoop of vanilla ice cream too. Too sweet? Then have a cup of espresso or tea.

Aside from these cakes, another bestseller is the Red Velvet cupcakes (iLOVu), which you could order per dozen (a dozen costs Php540). The Red Velvet cupcake is for the romantics who love the rich taste of red velvet cakes and cream cheese. Twinkle adds another touch by dusting some cocoa on top and adding a rosebud.

Dessert Barn also has cupcakes for giveaways and desserts during Christmas parties or Christmas dinners. To order, you could send a PM at Dessert Barn's Facebook page or if you want to sample their treats, Dessert Barn would be at Our Awesome Plante's Ultimate Taste Test 5.0 this Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the NBC Tent. In the meantime, you could check out Dessert Barn at http://dessertbarn.multiply.com/ or Facebook page.You could order too by texting or calling 0927-2697252

*Pictures taken from Dessert Barn's website.

Manila Joins Keso De Gallo with Cheese, Vegetables, and Tangy Tamarind Sauce

To most of the people in the world, Christmas isn't a big production number unlike here in the Philippines. But to us, it's more than a month-long celebration. As early as September, people are putting up Christmas decorations. I was at the mall last weekend and they were already playing Christmas songs and in fact, had a humongous Christmas tree already displayed. Some Filipinos abroad use their vacation leaves to spend Christmas here in the Philippines. Weddings are big on December because that's when relatives abroad go home to visit and that's also one way of maximizing time, to celebrate a milestone with the people you love.

In every city here in the Philippines, Christmas is celebrated differently, which gives it its own unique character. Manila, for example, is one city which breathes history in itself. Back in the olden days, this was the center of hustle, bustle, and commerce. The walled city of Intramuros is home to the old churches - the Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church, which preserves pre-colonial Architecture of the old Manila we know. Intramuros was also a fortress, and former home to the oldest university, the University of Sto. Tomas.

The San Agustin Church.
Old World Architecture that you can't get anywhere.

I went to school in the heart of Manila, and even though the center of trade and commerce has been moved elsewhere, Manila still retains its old-world charm.

[image from wikipedia.org]

My campus in UP Manila still has the robust old-world architecture, preserved with the big, heavy doors and pillars.

Perhaps today the busiest part of Manila is the shopping center, Divisoria, where as early as September, people go there for early Christmas shopping and bargain hunts. It's a place where anything and everything could be found at super low prices, and even lower when bought wholesale. Last but not the least, the natural artwork of the Manila Bay Sunset is one that's definitely to be seen.

Definitely Manila is a place where I spent a good deal of my life in. I've had a great number of field trips there. I've attended weddings in Manila Cathedral and Manila Hotel. I was also witness to the Manila Bay Sunset whenever I go home from class. Manila was also the place where I had my first taste of street food, and ended up loving them. At first I was apprehensive to try them, being sheltered and all but after learning how to commute plus familiarizing myself with street food, I begin loving it as well. Grab and go fishballs and cheese sticks was probably enough to get the hunger pangs away before my class.

Street food seemed to be the inspiration I guess, for Manila's entry to Keso De Gallo, a celebration where 100 towns come up with 100 unique dishes and these dishes would be showcased for 100 days to underscore this celebration of Christmas here in the Philippines. For the City of Manila, their entry is Cheese and Garlic Rolls in Tamarind Sauce

Simple and frills-free, this dish reminds me of the cheese sticks that I used to buy in our canteen. The cheese mixes with vegetables like cabbage and carrots, so it's more like lumpia than your average cheese stick. It's quite interesting though that they use tamarind sauce, which balances quite well with the richness of the cheese. If you look at the recipe here, it's quite easy to make, and I do plan to make a batch myself, subjecting myself to cooking boot camp. :P

Love this town? Are you a true-blue Manilenyo? Or did you try out this dish yourself and ended up loving it? Then go here. Oh, and before going to buy your ingredients, remember to save that box of Kraft Eden Cheese. :)

I Heart Goya Chocolate Bars

My name is Bambi and I'm a sweet tooth. I need my chocolate fix because I'm having the case of the blues, so I pick this up in the grocery:

Why I like it:

1. It's dirt cheap, It's about Php 16.00 for a bar.
2. It's not too sweet.
3. The raisins' flavor mix well with the sweet chocolate, and they don't annoyingly stick to the upper palate.
4. It's locally available, and it's a local product. Hence, supporting too our livelihood. Yeaaah baybeeeehh!

It doesn't melt as fast as other chocolates but since it's thin, it's quite soft, so I keep tissue on hand. Plus, chocolate makes me happy.

The Day Italy was Brought To Me

"Hi, I'm Giorgio Matera and if you don't know me, I'm the guy in the menu," says the guy in front. He points to the La Piadina menu, which shows his picture, and we all chuckle. It was a low-peak mall hour Monday morning. half of the new La Piadina store in Glorietta 4 was closed to several members of the media in an intimate lunch that features La Piadina's new recipes.

Before the group gathered, I arrived rather early and had a chat with Giorgio and Tetta Matera, a husband-and-wife team who owns La Piadina La Cucina Regionale, a quaint Italian chain of restaurants in Tokyo and in Manila. I immediately beamed how much I've been a fan of the Piadina stall at the Glorietta food court. It's true. My comfort food is the Pasta Arrabiata and mozzarella set.

This is Italian food from Italy," Giorgio explains to me. Italian food isn't just pizza and pasta, which are what we're used to. They've got more than pizza and pasta. There were also main courses to try. And pasta isn't just spaghetti. We also have ravioli and gnocchi, which are potato dumplings made by hand. "Are your pastas fresh pasta?" Giorgio nods in agreement and points to me his staff making fresh gnocchi with his hands and a fresh sheet of pasta being cut up. I love fresh pasta. This ought to be good.

Tetta sits two places on my right and joins us for lunch as well. Tetta is a picture of happiness and health. She mentions how her whole take on food totally changed when she met Giorgio. With minimal makeup save for obligatory mascara and bronzer, Tetta has an elegant aura similar to Monica Belluci. As her husband stays in the kitchen cooking, she's usually in the dining area overseeing everything.

For appetizer, we were served I Crostini with Liver and Tuna Pate. For someone who's not much on pate, I had quite a serving of these. First the tuna, then I conceded with liver. I noticed that there's no fishy taste unlike some pates that I've tasted. While feasting on the crostini, I opened the menu. Most people find the menu confusing, since instead of the usual grouping of soup, salad, pasta, pizza, dessert, the food is divided into regions. Regions meaning regions in Italy to emphasize food being regional. This sets them apart from other restaurants. It's a little Italy 101 lesson for us. In the Tuscan region, for example, mushrooms and truffle oil were quite popular, hence there were a lot of them. The Le Linguine ai Funghi Con Olio di Tartufo (if I get it right, that's linguini with mushrooms in olive oil) was our dish for that region, which was rich and flavorful but didn't cause my stomach to turn in somersaults. Oh here, we were served using ribbon pasta.

Look! I get to try to shape ribbon pasta too!

Giorgio is from the Puglia region in Italy. The Puglia part caught my eye and tastebuds. With a lot of fish and tomatoes, I wanted something rich and robust in favor. Tetta explains that in their menu, there are no added sugars or preservatives. Tomato sauce and tomatoes are simmered for 2-3 hours to bring out the natural sweetness.

Giorgio personally serves us sampling sizes of Le Penne con Rucola e Acciughe, which is penne with anchovies, olives, and fresh tomato sauce. He relates that this is also the same way they serve it in his home. Right before serving, Giorgio mixes in fresh arugula, so when served, the arugula isn't crumpled and wilted. I personally like arugula and mixed with the rich flavor, I think I found another favorite in place of my Arrabiata.

The sauce appears to be just touching the pasta (which is fresh, by the way) and we don't have the ingredients swimming in red liquid. Presentation-wise this is something. And this has been consistent not just in the restaurant but also in the food court version.

I've confessed I've never tasted gnocchi in my whole life, but I'm always interested in them. Here's the gnocchi served to us - in creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce. What did I say? "Why did I only taste this now?" The gorgonzola cheese had just the taste that I wanted, a bit salty but not too salty. If there were seconds I would have had seconds.

We were served two kinds of risottos. First up was a meat-lover's delight, Il Risotto Pilota, which had Parmesan cheese and homemade Italian sausage.

The second was my favorite, Il Risotto al Pesto con Scampi. The shrimps were very fresh, and these were shrimps bought straight from the market that very day, so I get none of the annoying shell sticking on the meat. In fact, there are some of clients with sensitivity to day-old shrimps who could eat their scampi without any allergies.

Risotto is actually Italian rice quite different from the rice we know. Risotto has a certain bite. However, before making risotto at home, I found out that it's a dish that really takes time and effort. You can't leave it and you have to be hands-on with it. Risotto in their kitchen takes 20 minutes to prepare, but the wait is worth it. If you're not allergic to shrimp you must try the scampi. As I tell people, I die without shrimp and seafood. By the way, this is my first time to try risotto too. Risotto is actually a favorite of Giorgio's and Tetta's children.

Main course came up, which was Il Pollo Saltato al Balsamico con Basilico. The chicken breast was soft, moist, and melt-in-the mouth. The grilled vegetables were slightly tart due to the balsamic but I totally did not complain and was lucky to get a second serving. In fact, I was glad there was one. Again, these are fresh meat and vegetables marketed everyday and delivered to their kitchen.

To cap off our lunch, we were served one of La Piadina's bestselling desserts: Tiramisu, made from real marscapone cheese. It wasn't sweet and overpowering. The taste was mild and light, and cleansed the palate from all the rich flavors we tasted.

If you go back there and ask whatever happened to the old favorites? Well they still are there. There's still Pasta Arrabiata in the menu, and in fact I had it weeks before when I dined there when it opened. Other favorites still exist, like the Pasta Scampi and Pesto, but with different twists and upgrades.

This totally new concept of Piadina still maintains the quiet and intimate ambiance of the old Piadina we used to love. Here, Chef Giorgio communicates and introduces his country via the food he serves which he believes we would all love. In fact, having dined here for quite a while, I'm glad I not only got to taste my usual favorites but also new dishes that I only see in pictures.

La Piadina (La Cucina Regionale Italiana) is located at the second floor of Glorietta 4 in Makati. :) It's right across Jolibee and next to Dulcinea.

Iced Gems are my Happy Childhood Snack

Remember these?

These little biscuits were every happy child's companion. My best Iced Gem memories (I called them "teased" gem back then, I don't know why maybe because I couldn't make out the words with the lettering , I didn't know how to pronounce "iced," or I was crazy.) were finding them in my Charlie Brown lunchbox during recess time or my mom buying them in bulk at the grocery. I was searching for Iced Gems since forever. They don't sell them in convenience stores and they're hardly in the groceries. SM doesn't even have it (please do please do please do!). I was lucky to find it in one grocery trip at Makati Supermart in Alabang and I grabbed not one but two bags. It was cornered in one section in fact, with only a few bags left.

I don't know about most of you, but I was one of them kids who would eat only the icing and leave the biscuits behind. I don't know what became of the biscuits after, but I'd behead mine during recess time and down it with my Hi-C orange or strawberry drink.

"I beheads you!" 8-}

Anyone know where else I could buy them? These are one of my missed kiddie snacks. These and a bag of Chickadees with the hop-and-pop.

Not Our Usual Makis At Red Kimono

If you're tired of your usual maki formula of nori and sushi rice either inside out and rolled in fish roe or enveloping raw tuna or kani, then the event I attended last week was definitely maki in various conoctions. Red Kimono held a contest entitled "My Maki Masterpiece", a contest that marks Red Kimono's 5th birthday. This contest encouraged participants to create their very own maki. They had to think out-of-the-box for other ingredients that could make a maki truly unique. Prior to this event, the participants were required to submit a recipe, photo of the finished maki, and a title. Ten entries were pre-selected and these were the makis we tasted that night.

Food and drinks were overflowing that night as we all gathered to witness the event where these 10 finalists would showcase their Maki recipes. These were judged by six prominent personalities namely Tweetie De Leon-Gonzales, Ricky de Vera, DJ Rob Joseph, Carlos Celdran, Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez, and Ernie Lopez. Host Issa Litton multitasks as being a judge too that night.

Of course it wasn't just them who got a taste of these ten recipes. We also did. Check out some of the favorites:

This three-in-0ne maki stresses how breakfast is an important meal of the day. These three makis contain salted egg, tomatoes, and sardines in one big cluster. Even without soy sauce, these makis are quite flavorful.

This was the crowd favorite, having incorporated kani and aligue on the recipe. I wasn't able to have seconds of these as it got wiped out in an instant. It's very tasty, in fact, and although I'm not much of an aligue fan, I found this maki delicious.

Is that shrimp I see? well I gotta have this Kurtswheel pretty roll, I think!

There were still seven more flavors that kept coming in, most of them taking inspirations from Filipino dishes. I was glad that there were also vegan makiI found the vegan makis quite refreshing and I would recommend them to someone who wants to try maki but is allergic but could take nori.

While on a maki break, Arpee tells me to lay low on the sake. At least this picture got me cheekbones!

The winners of the challenge would have their recipes included in the Red Kimono menu. That too and also Php5,000 cash and Php5,000 gift certificates from Red Kimono. Among the five winners, the grand winner happened to be a dessert maki made of mangoes and sticky rice drizzled in chocolate syrup. It was quite unusual and original to have maki as a dessert. From those who tasted it, they said it reminded them of suman. Suman and chocolate do go together! Looks like I gotta try them soon, but I have to hurry since these are available for a limited time only.