Mad about FOOD

About six or seven years ago, I attempted to learn Nihongo. There was an old Japanese man who gave us free lessons in the office, an hour a day. Two weeks into the lessons, I realized that Japanese is a very difficult language to learn. German was a breeze compared with Japanese, since the English language traces its roots to the old Germanic. But Japanese is really alien to us. I gave up learning it faster than you could say sukiyaki. This notwithstanding, my vocabulary is ever-expanding–thanks to Saisaki, Sugi, Teriyaki Boy, Karate Kid and Okuya, my favorite places to go in the metro whenever I need some sushi and sashimi fix. But in the Subic Freeport, there’s only one restaurant to go to for authentic Japanese food, and it is where my love of the cuisine all began: Sakura.

After eating a free appetizer, usually a small serving of delectable baby octopus or spicy squid (as shown in first photo), I always go for kani salad (P150) . I can actually wipe out this heaping bowl of the salad (is that any surprise to you?), but I usually share it so I can leave enough room for the main courses. This is the perfect kani salad for me because it uses finely shredded cabbage instead of cucumber, which is often the case in other Japanese restaurants. I don’t eat cucumber because I think it tastes like vomit (gross, yes?), but that’s just me. Anyway, this one has enough crabsticks (which, oddly enough, are indeed fish meat–which is why they call them "imitation" crabsticks), fish roe, and that delicious Japanese mayonnaise. I’m crazy about mayonnaise, but the Japanese kind is something else. I suspect that the kani salad they serve at Sakura also uses some kind of vinegar–balsamic or other. Ahhh…one of my absolute favorites! Oishi desu ne!

Alright, I may have to create a whole different entry on my favorite kinds of fish, but this much I’ll tell you: I love salmon! Raw, smoked, poached, grilled, baked and in sinigang–I lovelovelove it! Shake sashimi is a staple for me when dining in a Japanese restaurant and you can’t find fresher, more desirable chunks of salmon than in Sakura (P300). Aside from its delicious taste and very appealing color, its silky texture provides a wonderful sensation in the mouth that you simply cannot experience with tuna. Dipped in soy sauce, each slab is pure bliss.

A bento box (P450) is a practical choice for Japanese food lovers. Depending on which box you order, it’s like getting your favorite combo meal from McDo or Jollibee. Shown in the photo are a bowl of miso soup, some seaweeds, rice, a couple of pieces of ebi tempura (battered and deep-fried prawn), unagi (freshwater eel), and assorted sashimi. A glass of refreshing mugi cha (roasted barley tea) completes this square meal (literally). The green tea shake in Sakura is also one of the best! Oh, I can’t wait to eat there again. It’s where I learned how to use chopsticks. And for that, it will always be my sentimental favorite.

Unless you’ve visited the United States, chances are you are not familiar with funnel cakes. I, myself, have only learned about this regional specialty when I found a Funnel Cake Factory stall at Glorietta’s Food Choices.  Funnel cakes are traditional cakes from Pennsylvania and are said to be very popular at theme parks, carnivals, fairs and ballparks. It is named such because the batter is poured in a circular motion into a funnel-like mold, then deep-fried. When done, it is sprinkled with powdered sugar and garnished with your choice of toppings. Among the selections are strawberry ice cream whip, peanut butter banana, blueberry whip, nutty chocoloco, mango graham and choco rainbow. I decided to try the caramel almonds variety (P70).

It was so good that I wolfed down the entire cake (about 5 inches in diameter) all by myself. The caramel lends a gooey-ness that balances the texture of the fried dough. It’s a really tasty treat and, I must say, the fun is in the crrrrrunch!

Now if you like Mediterranean food, I’m sure you love the pastries, too. When my Tita Cora asked me what pasalubong I want from Australia, I had no second thoughts when I said "baklava." Huh? Baklava from Australia? Well, see, my aunt is married to a Greek and they know where to buy these delicious baklava rolls with pistachio nuts.

There are many versions of baklava–Greek, Turkish, Lebanese–but my Tita Cora gave me a whole container of baklava rolls, Syrian-style. The phyllo or dough, which looks like a bird’s nest, is made from flour, sugar and water. Each roll is no bigger than a 5-peso coin, but it took me about 2 weeks to finish eating my pasalubong. Burp.

If you’ve been to the most romantic city in the world, you’d probably recognize these pastel-colored cookies anywhere. Yet, when I roamed the streets of Paris for an entire day, I didn’t see one.

Good thing there’s Bizu Patisserie, which brought the Macaron de Paris to Manila. We can now enjoy this famous French pastry described by a website on the city of Paris as "a mouthful of heaven." The cookies are made from a mixture of crushed almonds, sugar and egg whites. Sandwiched between two chewy meringue cookies is a layer of delicately sweet cream. They come in many different flavors like blueberry, raspberry, coffee, vanilla, lemon, etc. My little Bea’s favorite is the exotic rose flavor, while mine is the pistachio (the green one). I’ve read that Bizu employs one person whose sole responsibility is to make these macarons every single day. What a job, eh? The cookies are quite extravagant, costing P33.60 (VAT included) per piece. But because of the ingredients and the meticulous way of preparing it, each bite is worth every centavo.

Earlier this month, Powerbooks sent me its newsletter by mail. When I read that a free baking demo was to be conducted by French Kiss, I immediately made plans to attend it. So last February 10, my family and I trooped to Powerbooks-Greenbelt for an afternoon of fun and learning.

While my kids were busily browsing books in the children’s section, I engaged the hostess and part-owner of the specialty cakes shop, Ms. Belle, in conversation. She’s an incredibly nice lady. I inquired about a custom-made cake for a future event and she was very helpful, giving me practical tips and showing me photos of their work. At 4 p.m. sharp, she officially started the demo with her baking partner and pastry chef, Ms. Sheila.

               
                   Can you spot the youngest member of the audience?

Each of us was given a hand-out of the recipes. First on the list was the strawberry shortcake. It’s made with layers of chiffon cake, whipped cream frosting and fresh strawberry slices. It looked really easy to make, even for someone like me who has never baked from scratch before. The chiffon cake could also be made into a chocolate-flavored one for variety. Next, Ms. Sheila showed us the step-by-step procedure on how to make classic chocolate chip cookies.

The cookies taste exactly the way I want them–chewy, chocolatey, with the distinct taste of brown sugar (a healthier alternative to refined white sugar). The fresh, homebaked goodness of the cookies is something that I always look for. Then we were taught how to make rosemary shortbread, which came in small, heart-shaped cookies with a hint of dried rosemary. It was a rather simple yet unusual recipe. Finally, Ms. Sheila demonstrated how to bake chocolate cupcakes with ganache frosting. I was called upon to try putting the frosting on top so, the obedient student that I am, I did. As a reward, I got to eat the two mini-cupcakes that I frosted, and–wow–the chocolate ganache was really, really good. Yum.

After the demo, the audience had a feast sampling the baked goodies. We had a great time learning how to make them. In conclusion, I wish I could be a good homebaker someday. It would be really nice to tell people, "I baked this cake" in true domestic goddess fashion. However, baking is an exact science just like mathematics. And I’m very slow in math. Therefore, I’m better off eating the goodies rather than making them. But it was a worthwhile afternoon just the same.

Diet or die. They are actually the words of my father-in-law. Dad is a bigger foodie than I am, and when he was put on a strict diet following two strokes in 2004, he muttered, "What’s the point in living?" I understood his sentiment.

At the start of this year, a fitness/wellness guru advised in her column in the Inquirer to "declare a temporary ban" on sweets–chocolates, cakes, etc.–since the holidays are over. Excuse me?!?  What am I going to do with all the chocolates that I got for Christmas?  The thing about addiction is that you can’t just quit cold turkey. I can’t stop eating chocolates and other desserts just because somebody said so. Even when I was pregnant, I still found a way to eat chocolates–I nibbled on those bite-size pieces instead of the whole bar.

Food is my drugs. Chocolates, cakes and other sweets give me a real high. I simply couldn’t help eating heartily. When I hear or think of the word mall, I don’t immediately think of shopping for clothes, shoes and the like. A light bulb in my head goes, "food!" And the tough part is deciding on where to eat, with the whole gamut of gustatory offerings. So many eating places, so little time (and budget)!

Of course, one reaps what one sows (or, for that matter, eats) so I’ve gained a lot of extra weight because of my eating habits. Now if I can’t curb my appetite, I resort to other tactics to keep off unwanted pounds.  I do brisk walking (so far, 3 times in the last…uhm…2 months), drink herbal slimming tea at night, and sometimes skip the rice. But I’m not one to subscribe to the South Beach Diet–I can do away with rice but not the sugar.

This blog will be dedicated to my food trips: my virtual food journal. What better time to satisfy my gastronomical urges than this year? So expect a lot of food discoveries and restaurant adventures as we usher in the Year of the Pig. Oink! Oink!