Food Trip

Bibingka is one of the most popular native rice cakes, if it must be considered Philippine native food at all. I say so because of its ingredients. Most native rice cakes I know of use mostly natural ingredients: tinubong, the rice cake packaged inside a bamboo variety Ilocanos call “bolo” uses in its simplest forms flour, sugar, and coconut. In its “supreme” form, milk, cheese, butter or star margarine, egg and even vanilla flavor is added. The same can be said of other rice cakes such as patupat (triangular-shaped), tinupig, (elongated) and my favorite sinambong made of diket (sticky rice), tagapulot (muscovado sugar) and wrapped in woven coconut leaves. I have not seen the production of sinambong but some say it is as tedious as tinubong. For tinubong, after mixing all ingredients, the semi-liquid mix is stuffed inside a bamboo hollow measured from one node cut prior to the next node, then, the bamboo is closed with a coconut husk. Dug-up earth holes will serve as oven for baking. The bamboos are lined up on the center hole while beneath it are flaming coals. Recalled from an experience when I was about 5 years old…

As for royal bibingka, my late grandma used to prepare it at least 12 hours prior to baking. The floured diket is sifted through very fine silk net, placed on a bamboo basket or bigao, scattered with strips of banana leaves to preserve its freshness. Egg is beaten with a wooden ladle in a mixing bowl, add sugar, milk, butter or Star margarine (original flavor), a bit of baking soda, finely grated Kraft cheddar cheese, Carnation or Alaska evaporated and condensed milk, and last, the flour. Vanilla may be added, but she preferred the flavor for leche flan. It is cooked in a red clay circular flat pot, with 1 cup per serving to control thickness. Flaming coals supported by galvanized iron on top serves as cover while another flaming coal is set below. Grated cheese is used as topping when it is nearly cooked.

But why go through all the hard work of mixing and preparation if same delectable flavor is within easy reach? This bibingka has been traditionally popularized by Vigan folks. I can recall Tongson’s, then, Mom’s, then, 3 Sisters, and most recently, Marsha’s Delicacy to come out with the same traditional flavor. What made the rest history is that Marsha’s has perfected the flavor I hardly distinguish a bite from my grandma’s. And besides, Marsha’s is now available in many tourist spot of Vigan, at the Partas station, and thankfully, has an outlet at Magic Mall Urdaneta (fronting the grocery). Besides bibingka, Marsha’s also carry in its product line chocolatey brownies, even baked macaroni, cassava cake, calamay (fame of Candon), leche flan, pichi-pichi, ube macapuno and maja mais.

And now that we’re talking about gastronomic delights, I’ll proceed within the confines of Urdaneta. I am a self-confessed Italian dish fan, and been a regular at Sbarro’s for they serve generous tomato sauce with most of their dishes. As there’s not much choices here but commercial flavored Pizza Hut and Greenwich, I have to go look for others. Eating is not just a stomach duty for me. I also like to enjoy eating, and how else but through savoring old familiar flavors and discovering new ones? Found an alternative at Tsaptiks along McArthur Highway in front of CB Balingit Mall. I also dig “eat-all-you-cans” and Tsaptiks hosts one every now and then, and it is how I discovered the place. The price is just about the same as Chowking’s, but why settle for less? Last I heard, there’s an eat-all-you-can going on again. I like best their seafood fried noodles, and dimsums. But there’s an array of Chinese dishes you won’t need to bet your money for.

You see, I am so disappointed with my recent dining at Pizza Hut. I could hardly taste the cheese and tomato sauce. I mean, pizza is all about its toppings and mix of seasoning. And, I used to believe pizza is automatically topped with (mozarella, or melted thick layer of Kraft cheddar) cheese and tomato sauce, and all those Italian herbs and spices. All I could taste was a bland mix of meat preserves (sausages, pepperoni, bacon, et al) and the bread which is no longer soft and supple but something you must struggle with for a bite! Yikes! I have noticed the same with Shakey’s, although Pizza Hut and Shakey’s were previously to me, two distinct pizzas: the other is pan (thick bread) and the other is thin crust, which I both loved. Now, they all taste alike with Greenwich. It’s disappointing how commercialism has gone this low.

Blandly low.

2 comments November 14, 2006

Homemade Peanut Butter

Jho & Glo’s Homemade Peanut Butter

Homemade is a rarity nowadays with mass productions coming mostly from China. Yep. Chinese products from candies to cookies and plastics (tons and loads of them) flood our sidewalks to department stores (seems no one’s spared of China’s plastics). So that when one discovers a genuine homemade food, it’s like finding a rare wine… you cherish and treasure, and relish… Like Jho and Glo’s Homemade Peanut Butter. To try theirs, order at (63) -(0)920-8981613. Their address (home, of course) is at 229 Poblacion 5 Villasis, Pangasinan (Philippines). Aren’t you done with those generic peanut butters from (aaargh) Canada yet? I mean, when we receive packages, of all goodies, peanut butter from Canada? Strawberry jam from Canada? It’s like eating some kind of gummy candies made a little bit softer… I won’t switch local homemades for anything imported… When it comes to food, trust your taste buds!

Add a comment November 14, 2006

Pizza

Pizza is one of the family favorites when it comes to eating out. We all know Greenwich is OK, as in, fine. And there’s no Shakey’s nearby in our area (Villasis), although the husband would prefer Pizza Hut most of the time because it stuffs him faster. Well, there’s a PizzaHut restaurant in jazzy get up, in and out, along Alexander Street, too. Just beside Metrobank. Dining could have been just normal if not for their savvy “upgrade” offers that quite confused the lot of us. As if we’re not inbto cyberspace and all.One dinner time, we were offered this volcanic upgrade and we were actually fooled into thinking we’d have additional piece for the additional fee, or something. So much like the “regular” offers some… well…years back (from both Shakey’s and Pizza Hut).It only dawned on me that it was just an “upgrade” and not “discount” for another piece we were paying!!! And it was too late because we’re through eating, anyway. The lesson is, keep an ear on keywords being offered before saying yes, because the additional price was enough to buy us another family-sized pizza. We could have bought Kraft cheddar cheese if we were just after the cheese within the crate, or bread if you wish! For just a few bucks!

2 comments November 14, 2006