On the side of the box is written: “How to taste these delicate truffles: place them at an ambient temperature of 19-20°C one hour in advance and savour them in (sic) the height of their aroma and smoothness.” And then a gentle admonition, lest I forget: “They are to be kept in a cool, dry place.” These are Truffettes de France, and judging from the directions on the box, these aren’t any ordinary confections. Translated as Truffles of France, these rightfully called “food of the gods” are created by Chocmod, a French confectionery company devoted to making exceptional chocolate truffles. Located in the city of Lille, Chocmod was founded in 1948 and specializes in truffles, coated walnuts and other sweets. Naturally, the company’s adherence to quality has succeeded in its making a name for itself far outside of its borders. Unlike the more common smooth-edged truffles, Truffettes are made in the old European shape, similar to a golf ball whose top was pinched slightly or pressed by an unwitting finger. They are dusted in cocoa powder and are recommended served at the above-mentioned room temperature (naturally), accompanied ...

Di’Mark’s, the Philippines’ pizza pioneer, turns 50 on April 1, 2007. That’s a long time to be around and that’s a lot of pizzas! Di’Mark’s started out as a mom ‘n’ pop operation way back in 1957 by enterprising couple, Arturo and Lita Fernandez, who decided to introduce the Philippines to the pizza that they’d learned from their Italian neighbors in New York. Named after the couple’s son, Marky, Di’Mark’s Pizza Garden opened for business on Menlo Road in Pasay City on April 1, 1957. Its location near the old American school ensured a market that was familiar with pizza, and later on with Filipinos, who embraced it wholeheartedly. Kristine Gimenez, one of Arturo and Lita Fernandez’s grandchildren talks of a time when Di’Mark’s menus would offer a softdrink and a pizza for less than a peso! “Growing up, we even used to eat pizza for breakfast,” she reminisces. “Pizza is really home food.” As part of the third generation now taking care of the business, Kristine counts professionalizing and streamlining the operation as a priority. “We’re still all about quality,” she stresses. Unlike other pizza places, all Di’Mark’s pizzas are still made by hand. “Nothing is ...

The coconut nut is a giant nut If you eat too much, you'll get very fat Now, the coconut nut is a big, big nut But its delicious nut is not a nut. - “The Coconut Song” sung by Smokey Mountain, composed by Ryan Cayabyab At first I think it’s panocha, a type of brown sugar made from a concentrate evaporated from sugarcane extract. Usually sold on half a coconut shell, it’s what’s usually sprinkled on top of bibingka (rice cake). A muted caramel in color, it’s sweet (but of course), and cleanly so, without any of the cloyingness that ordinary white sugar has. No, it doesn’t taste like coconut and yes, I’m crazy about it. That it’s low in calories and sugar free is a sweet plus. This is coconut sugar, a sugar made from the watery sap that drips from the coconut tree’s cut flower buds. Already a hardcore sugar fan, I’m ecstatic about adding another type of sugar to my already very sweet collection of sugary favorites. This coconut sugar has replaced my muscovado for now as my sweetener of choice in my afternoon cup ...

In my Top 10 for August 2005, I list the ube cake from Red Ribbon as one of my favorites. I grew up on this cake, a staple at all family get-togethers because my lola (grandmother) was (and still is) crazy about it. The best thing about it is that the cake tastes the same now in my 30s as it did when I was a teenager, soft and gently redolent of ube, with a resplendence of velvety frosting. Ube (OO-beh) is a purple yam, a tuber used in Filipino rice cakes and desserts. Obviously, its color tends to turn food it’s mixed in with, a Barney-the-dinosaur shade of purple. Quite unique really, since how many foods can you name that are purple? An ube cake, on the other hand, gets its remarkable color (depending on the recipe used) from a large dash of violet food coloring, ube powder, and some of the actual rootcrop. It’s essentially a chiffon cake that has a filling and frosting made from ube buttercream, although I’ve seen some recipes that actually use melted ube ice cream or ube jam (haleya). That this cake has an intoxicating aroma of ube ...

I think there are two types of people in the world: morning people and those who aren’t morning people. I have always been part of the first group. It doesn’t take me long to get up in the a.m., and once I’m up, I’m up. No need for coffee or even hot chocolate to get me going. Leaving for Baguio at 3 am? I’m there. Breakfast on a Sunday at 7? No problem. I also do my most challenging work in the morning, which includes my routine at the gym and writing my food articles. At 6 am, I’m working my way into the Guadalupe Public Market. The buses on EDSA wheeze and weave their way through the metropolis’ major highway, every honk from their horns a strident complaint at being up so early. As I enter the market, I leave the cacophony behind and am swallowed up by a gentler buzz and tranquility of people who thrive at what others would call a still-ungodly hour. The first thing I see is this buko stand, and it reminds me of the buko pie that I ...

An hour after I pick up six coffee buns from Roti Mum, I get into the car and head on home. Somewhere between Boni and Guadalupe, a pleasant coffee aroma begins to permeate inside the car. Initially puzzled, I laugh when I remember that I have coffee buns sitting in the back seat. So concentrated is the essence of coffee in these bread rolls that the next day, even my refrigerator has been imbued with the scent. It’s this extraordinarily lingering fragrance that Roti Mum owner Emil Sitjar feels is key. “We bought coffee buns of the competition and it did not smell in the car,” he recalls. “It was a one hour travel and no smell. Wala, ordinary bread.” He puts it more eloquently, “It’s the smell which entices the palate of the person. What makes you hungry is not the food that you see but the food that you smell.” Right on, bro. Emil co-owns Roti Mum with his brother Eduard. Based in Thailand, Eduard became strongly aware of the coffee bun boom in that country brought on by various bakeries such as Roti ...

Whenever I interview café owners, they always tell me how large the market is for sugar free desserts. And me, the sugar-full fiend, can’t help but agree. I’d be blind not to see how sugar free everything has pervaded supermarket shelves and restaurant menus; even my favorite home bakers have a sugar free item or three on offer. So, whether it’s for health or medical reasons, it looks like sugar free is here to stay. Thank goodness then for sugarnot!, the world’s first sugar free bakery-café, which is right here in the Philippines. Hooray for us! While I will admit that I haven’t eaten any of sugarnot!’s desserts since my last feature on them, I’ve gone back more than a few times for their latte. I waxed lyrical about it in that post and I still maintain that it’s the smoothest latte in Manila with a lush, velvety undertone. I love it. So when I’m invited back to sugarnot! by CEO Wolf Lambsdorff, I just about fall off my chair when he says, “Lori, you love our lattes here, right? Care for a cup?” It’s a rhetorical question, if I ever heard one. I’m back ...

There is a Thai phrase that Thai chefs and food critics use to describe Thai food: “rót châat.” It’s actually shortened from the original phrase that (literally) means, “tastes original, spicy hot.” A highly complimentary term used to describe only Thai cuisine, it emphasizes the focus on freshness that enables diners to easily distinguish and appreciate all the component flavors. Thai cuisine is a marvel in its own right, for what other cuisine successfully blends an array of taste sensations? Thai at Silk at current it-place Serendra, is the new go-to venue for Thai food aficionados. With its anchor on traditional food, many might fall into the trap of going the tom yum kung/chicken pandan/bagoong rice route. But what is eating if not an adventure? While old habits die hard, (we order the tom yum kung), I’m intent on ordering something that I’ve never tried before. I find it in the Mieng Kham (P290), a dish that has us staring agog with excitement. Beautifully graceful betel leaves are the base on which I spread ...