Bizarre Foods from the Philippines

I've just seen this video from YouTube where Andrew Zimmerman munched on the Philippines' Most Bizarre Delicacies.

He described the balut as the Philippines' new national dish. Eating balut was also the final challenge in one of Fear Factor's episodes which is kind of weird especially for people who eat this stuff regularly. I don't see anything gross with it. I like the taste of the yellow egg yolk and egg juices in Balut except for the baby duck and the white hardened part they call "bato."

Some people believe that balut is best eaten at night. Other people eat this as pulutan that goes well with our national beer-San Miguel Pale Pilsen Beer.

Growing up in the Pateros and Taguig area mean we had generous supply of balut, itik (geese), and Tipas Hopia.

Mom&Tina's

With the stress brought about by the current losses that my company is experiencing, my girl friends and I needed spirit-uplifiting foodies that won't cause much dent in our pockets.

We suddenly found ourselves at Mom& Tina's, E. Rodriguez branch indulging on the following:

Acee ordered Chicken Alexander; while Darlene and I were curious about the hype on Shepherd's pie and soon found out. We knew that it was going to take some time to prepare our main dish so we tried out their Chocolate cup cake and cheese mamon. Chocolate cup cake is best eaten when heated. It really brought out the heavenly taste out of each soft small bites. The cheese mamon didn't disappoint either.

Beatriz Acosta did a fine review of Mom&Tina's through this ClicktheCity Article.

We all had trouble which dessert to order after seeing their wide-array of newly baked or frozen
goodies. We've finally decided to order their best sellers--chocolate profiterole (homemade cream, frozen chocolate, and stuffed with creampuff) for me, caramel profiterole for Acee, and sylvanna for the less adventurous Darlene.

When we started digging in on our Shepherd's pie and Chicken Alexander, we were all quiet for a few minutes. We had our own little world and enjoyed every moment of it.

Everything we ate was yummy. The reviews and feedback from their customers are certainly not overrated.

The prices were also not steep:

Shepherd's Pie: P168-198
Chicken Alexander: P168-198
Cheese Mamon: P20-28
Chocolate Cup Cake: P20-28
Profiterole Singles: P32
Sylvanna: P 32-40

We give this resto a two-thumbs up, and we'll certainly go back!

Trader Joe's French Truffles and My List of Favorite Chocolates

I haven't properly researched on the number of people who are crazy about chocolates. But I bet it exceeds 10 billion in the whole world.

Today's the first time I've tried Trader Joe's French Truffles. I must say-it's a small piece of heaven (this is way off-topic but I know my friend B thinks Ms. Dessert's Macadamia cheesecake is that other small piece of heaven).

It was love at first bite. There's this burst of cocoa-buttery yumminess. It also leaves some on your fingers for some licking action (Imagine the possibilities!).

I would like to thank my aunt Suzette who hails from Chicago for introducing me to the wonderful world of Trader Joe's. I've always thought the best chocolates come from Belgium; but now I am having second thoughts.

On a side note, here are the classic chocolates that I like:

1. Butterfinger

2. Reese's Peanutbutter Cups

3. Snickers

4. M&Ms

5. Hershey's Kisses
6. Ferrero Rocher

7. Royce'

8. ChocNut and Goya

9. YumYum

10. Meiji

STARBUCKS COFFEE ADDICTION

STARBUCKS COFFEE ADDICTION

Ahh.. Coffee, I wasn't really a fan of Cofee until I've joined the Call Center Industry back in 2002. I really have Chit (my former seatmate) to blame for introducing me to the addictive side effects of caffeine. We started having one cup at least 3 times a week - to - almost 3 times a day!

Here, I've learned that one trick to surviving the graveyard shift is to become caffeine-dependent. So many unforgettable things can happen in a coffee shop. Recently, it has become the most popular rendezvous for dates/informal business meetings/and informal reunions.

The coffee culture has invaded the Philippines around 1998 and it looks like it's here to stay.

Why do we love Starbucks? Here are a few reasons:

-they have excellent service
-they come up with ingenious ideas that make people want to keep coming back for more (remember those annual Organizers, Body Bags, etc?)
-they have great interior designs
-their interior designers know exactly how to make the most welcoming store ambience
-every drink is personalized and so as their service :)

Our Frappucino of choice? CARAMEL, with blended whipped cream and criss-cross drizzle.