The call came in at 5pm last Friday. My editor asked me if I’d be willing to cover an event from 10am-5pm the next day. (What??! On a Saturday?!) Seeing my weekend disappearing before my very eyes but not wanting to disappoint my editor, I weakly agreed. After we ended the call, I immediately called Kaie, my favorite fellow food writer, and convinced her to get dragged along.Dubbed “Happiness Treats from Hershey’s,” the event was held at the Westin Philippine Plaza’s Imperial Suite, a $2000/night “room” that has housed foreign royalties and was reportedly a favorite of the Marcos family. This media event was being held to promote Hershey Philippines’ ongoing photo contest. (If you’re reading this, you should join. BIG prizes await those who win.)Since Manila media are notoriously late, Kaie and I entertained ourselves by hamming it up with the Hershey’s mascots. Take a look at our antics. As if clowning around wasn’t enough, I coerced Kaie to give it her all for the photo shoot. (All media people invited to the event were required ...

Eggs Benedict at Bizu This quintessential breakfast dish consists of two poached eggs reposing on a pair of English muffin halves, slapped with a side of ham, and slathered in Hollandaise sauce. It was the prefect prescription to quell my craving for a stick-to-my-ribs kind of breakfast, one that would see me through to the end of the day.I openly lust for egg yolks, and the more fluid the yolk, the better, so this dish just sends me. It is, in short, a love affair on a plate. The eggs sit demurely on the muffin halves, but once my knife homes in, the golden liquid gushes forth. It’s a sensual thing to behold, I believe.I like to alternate my bites between all egg and Hollandaise sauce, then egg sopped up with some bread, and then a mouthful of egg, bread, and ham and Hollandaise. It’s one dish that has me emitting all the appropriate moans of a person in pleasure.See Bizu’s website for locations.7. Crispy Pata at Luce Now-defunct bar Insomnia has been reincarnated in the crispy pata served at Luce (LOO-che). Seems that ...

I’m always on the lookout for a good hot chocolate, so when my friend Jay P., commented that I should try Xocolat in Greenhills, that’s where I went that weekend.First and foremost, Café Xocolat is a coffee shop: you should go there for the hot and cold drinks and even their desserts. Their light meals (i.e. sandwiches and pastas) are there as tummy fillers, but don’t make it your reason for going there. If you’re hungry, go to a restaurant first (or instead!) I had a full meal when I was there with Boo and my Bin – two kinds of pasta (chorizo and Bolognese – P140 each), as well as a chicken-brie sandwich. I’ve already told you how that didn’t go down so well.But all previous sins are forgiven, and new ones committed when you taste their hot chocolate. Because Xocolat means chocolate, expect it in several glorious incarnations: Mexican Xocolat (P95) - a cinnamon-chocolate drink made from a traditional Pueblo recipe; Xocolat Chai (P85) – a ...

Sometimes, when I’m feeling down, there’s nothing like eating hot-from-the-oven bread slathered with chocolate. I watch as the chocolate surrenders to the heat and dribbles ever so languorously down the white loaf.This is a nice cake-like bread full of chocolate and cinnamon, and textured with nuts. I used hazelnuts but you can use any nuts you prefer. I like to make this when I'm feeling blue or I can't sleep.The dough here is a rich golden yellow because of the egg yolks, which also results in its stickiness. While kneading, add more flour with a light hand. Too much flour will make this tough and dry. Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth.The filling for the dough is chocolate. I prefer to cut from a block of chocolate instead of using chocolate chips, which I think melts unevenly. You can also add a streusel (nut) mixture to the filling OR use the streusel as a topping. It’s your choice.Since I’m a cinnamon lover, I always add more than the required cinnamon. For this creation, I was excited to use the cinnamon that my Bin had brought back ...

Being exposed to the food industry, I’ve come to recognize and know (my) food. They begin to imprint themselves in my memory, not just taste-wise, but also in appearance. Thus, it’s easy to tell just by looking, that this cake came from this shop and this bread came from that shop. Most quality food stores earn by supplying desserts to a restaurant, for example, since doing it in-house requires additional investment and another kitchen altogether.Recently, I was at Café Xocolat, a new coffeeshop at the Greenhills Promenade that I have yet to blog about. I only had to take one look at their pastry display to know: this place sources their desserts from Goodies & Sweets, a pastry shop that also has a branch in Greenhills. The ube cake, tiramisu, and turtle pie were identical to those also sitting in Goodies & Sweets’ own display case. I was also familiar with the caramel-chocolate swirls and cake chunks on Café Xocolat’s brownies: those were made by Divine Desserts, another pastry shop along White Plains in Quezon City.Okay, I thought, at least dessert here will be ...

It’s about time I do another of my Top 10 lists. I did a Top 10 for April which focused mainly on restaurants. The following list concentrates on food I’ve been loving lately – of course in moderation, otherwise I’d be fat and dead by now (!) The following foods are also by no means new, unless noted. They’ve all been around a long while, although it’s only now that we found each other, in some cases, again.Read and then enjoy them as I do. But not all at the same time, otherwise you’re in for one memorable stomachache, the likes of which your insides have never felt before.Note: This list is in no particular order. I love all my food equally, but of course I love some more than others. Heh.1. Paratha from Banana Leaf Curry House When the waiter first served this to me, I thought I’d ordered the wrong thing. I took one look at it and all I could think was, “What is that?” It looked like some kind of edible dunce cap, which it is in a way – the cap ...

Today is my Boo’s 3rd birthday. It’s also her very first day of school. As a mom, I’m experiencing some withdrawal symptoms of sorts as well as anxieties about letting her out into the big, bad world. It’s only natural I know, but it’s compounded by the fact that Boo is my only child. Local band, Parokya ni Edgar hit the emotional nail on the head with their hit song, “First Day Funk.” It’s what’s running through my head as I write this. I laugh when I remember my Bin asking me this morning, “How are you?’“I’m fine,” I replied, somewhat distractedly. “Thanks for asking.”“Okay, because it’s you I’m worried about, not Boo.” (Ha! As if!)Apprehension aside, every birthday is special, so I made some cupcakes for Boo to share with her new classmates. In the States, cupcakes’ popularity may have plateaued, but here in Manila, it still needs to take off. Goodies & Sweets is the only place I know that sells these little things.I made Red Velvet Cupcakes, a retro sort of cake with vague ...

Say each syllable quickly like a staccato beat: cho-koh-la-teh-eh! with the accent on the “eh” thus my exclamation point. It’s Filipino thick hot chocolate, specifically made with tablea, (tab-LAY-ah; also tableya), cacao balls. Tablea also comes in flat or thick disks and even squares, but balls are the most common shape.Tsokolate is made from cacao and traditionally from crushed peanuts which add a pleasant grittiness and nutty flavor. The ingredients are ground together to form a thick paste and can be kept in bottles for several months.Most commercial tableas however omit the peanuts and use grounded cacao that is shaped into balls. They are easily available (unsweetened or sweetened) at supermarkets under brand names like Alfonso’s (my favorite), Megan’s, and Antonio Pueo (which I find bitter).It’s been raining steadily for more than a week now here in Manila, and the temperature has dropped, a rarity here in my tropical country. Naturally, with the cooler weather, my thoughts and palate (they’re almost always connected somehow) yearn for something hot and liquid. Classic American cocoa or French hot chocolate has its place and time, but when it’s gloomy outside, ...