|
For the past 17 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
|
|
This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
|
|
|
|
To tell us what you think about Filipino Express Online or to comment on the stories published here, E-mail us at Filexpress@aol.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After four long years away from the Philippines, I found myself faced by the plethora of food choices at the bustling and beautiful malls of Metro Manila. During my last visit to Manila, we dined out for almost every meal, making me wonder whatever happened to good ol’ lutong bahay (home cooking) ? Well, it turned out traditional lutong bahay was exactly what was being served at these new restaurants, albeit with a twist. Yes, creative Filipino chefs have re-imagined traditional fare in various ways. Thus, you can find things like pritong isda (fried fish) served fancy at Masas or Kesong Puti Pizza at Fat Michael’s. Call it Filipino fusion cuisine – mixing home cooking/traditional fare with other types of cuisine, and adapting foreign dishes to the Filipino palate, with Filipino ingredients.
In uber-trendy Manila, there is always the danger of something being a uso or just a passing fad. And this is true not just in fashion, but in food as well. I vividly recall the litsong manok fad back in the 80s and the shawarma craze of the 90s. Could Filipino fusion cuisine be the new trend? Is it destined to fade away like other food fads or have we finally come to value our own gastronomy? Whatever it is, if you are passionate about food like me, it can only be a good thing.
With my foodie brother Myke and his fiancée Anne on hand to lead my palate, and provide some trivia, I have randomly listed some of my special food finds in Manila. These dishes and food products can be found at restaurants, parties and on grocery shelves.
PRITCHON
At one of our welcome home parties, we had delicious lechon served Peking-duck style, wrapped in pita, to be dipped in different sauces. It’s called Pritchon, short for “pritong lechon” (fried suckling pig) and the sauces include hoisin, garlic, sweet-liver sauce (Mang Tomas?) , wasabi, and honey mustard. My foodie brother and his fiancée share a word of warning when eating this what they like to call this “Sinful but good” fat-laden dish: “Eat three in a row and feel your batok (nape) tighten. Not for people with heart problems. Cholesterol Heaven. Be ready with Calcibloc (an anti-hypertension medicine). Drink lots of water when you eat it to dilute the oil.””
CHOCNUT ICE CREAM
For dessert, we had Chocnut Ice Cream which is exactly what it is – vanilla ice cream flavored with crushed *Chocnut candy. It is supposed to have been concocted by Chef Fernando Aracama of a restaurant named UVA and has since been reproduced by home cooks and even commercially produced by Selecta as Choco-Peanut Flavor ice cream.
DALANDAN SODA
Everyone’s beverage of choice? Dalandan Soda made by Zesto. For someone who doesn’t drink any soda at all, this was quite a revelation for me. It’s bubbly dalandan juice, so Pinoy, so good. It reminded me of a homemade drink we used to make at our teen parties (when no alcohol could be served) –it was calamansi soda which was a mixture of calamansi juice and soda water (seltzer). According to my foodie guides, “Dalandan Soda has been so successful that it has actually threatened the reign of Coca-Cola. So much so that the people of Coke have come out with their version of the drink --Royal Tru-DALANDAN and Royal Tru-GRAPE. The popularity of dalandan soda can be attributed to the “health consciousness” of the urban pinoys. The sodas come in regular and diet variants. But as it is, it contains zero calories! “
TAHOOOOO!
Though not quite trendy, one of my yummy food finds was Mango Taho – I tasted it at a restaurant and later bought it at the grocery. Cold Taho, how ingenious. How yummy. I can’t believe this isn’t more popular because I think this can totally be exported either as a health drink (using soy milk) or something like bubble tea.
KESONG PUTI
What was once “imported” from Laguna is now sold everywhere even at the Shell Station in Magallanes. It’s kesong puti (white cheese), made from Carabao’s milk, our salty version of cottage cheese. Myke and Anne reveal: “Kesong Puti, just like *Chocnut, is another foodie fusion favorite. The formula is to get an old childhood comfort food and make it look gourmet.” At Fat Michael’s, a secret hole in the wall-type-resto, they serve Kesong Puti Pizza, while gourmet restos like Cena use kesong puti on salads, replacing feta cheese, and Café Bola sells a Kesong Puti Cheesecake. Of course, as far as comfort food goes – nothing beats plain old hot pandesal with kesong puti palaman (available at Via Mare) served with a hot cup of chocolate eh.”
As I write this, my mouth waters with memories. I am excited to find what tasty treats await me in Manila when I visit later this year for Myke and Anne’s wedding. Perhaps this creative surge in our Filipino chefs will finally lead Philippine Cuisine onto the world table.
E-mail. manilagirl01@hotmail.com, www.manila-girl.com, www.missingmangoes.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
