July 21, 2020
1:58 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Milk Tea Madness This July!

Thai Tea Milk Tea

LOVE milk tea? You’re not alone. Filipinos love milk tea. It is a cool, refreshing and playful beverage that comes with delightful sinkers such as chewy black pearls, pudding, jelly, nata de coco, aloe vera chunks and chia seeds. The smoothness of the milk tea goes perfectly with the gnawing textures of the sinkers. The drink has, through time, become an everyday feel-good staple that has captured the entire Philippines. Why, the Philippines ranks second among countries with the most number of bubble tea drinkers in Southeast Asia! Filipinos consume an average of five cups of milk tea in a month, and this is way more than the three cups of milk tea consumed by average Indonesians, Malaysians, Singaporeans and Vietnamese in a month.

More than just trying out the different flavors of milk tea available in the market today, however, nothing can be more satisfying than being able to whip up a glass of delightfully refreshing milk tea on your own.

Yes, you can make your own professionally looking and tasting milk tea, and no one can tell the difference/ Equilibrium Intertrade Corporation, the country’s leading distributor of top-quality coffee, tea and specialty beverage products, and partner to Manila’s biggest luxury hotels, restaurants and coffee shops, makes it even more satisfying this July with its Milk Tea Madness promo.

David Rio’s Elephant Vanilla Chai Tea

Ongoing until July 31, 2020, Equilibrium’s Milk Tea Madness offers a variety of milk tea bundles at special discounted prices. The company’s flavored powder products make crafting your personal milk tea concoctions at home easier and more enjoyable. Milk tea lovers availing of the bundles can enjoy selections like American specialty beverage company Mocafe’s Okinawa, Wintermelon, and Thai Tea Latte powders, as well as chai and tea company David Rio’s Chai, Assam, and Earl Grey powders. Each of the bundled offers come with Gippy Full Cream Milk and café-grade Torani syrups, to complete the full milk tea experience.

Milk Tea Madness bundles available this July

The perks do not end there, as customers who avail of any of the Milk Tea Madness bundles this July will be entitled to a 30% discount on selected products, the availability of which will vary per branch of Equilibrium.

To order product bundles, message Equilibrium on its Facebook page (www.facebook.com/EQuilibriumIntertradeCorp/), visit an Equilibrium branch, or call 0956-2644712.

To help you get started on your milk tea making experience at home, here are some recipes of classic milk tea concoctions to try. Who knows? It might help get you started on a simple, home-based milk tea business.

OKINAWA MILK TEA

48cc Mocafe Okinawa Powder
120 ml. Dilmah Extra Strength Black Tea
90 ml. Gippy Milk
10 ml. Torani Cane Sugar Sweetener Syrup
3/4 cup ice

1. Combine all ingredients, except ice, in a shaker.
2. Shake until ingredients are fully blended.
3. Pour into a blender. Add ice. Blend until ice is roughly “chopped.”

CHAI MILK TEA

48 cc Elephant Vanilla Chai
120 ml. Dilmah Extra Strength Black Tea
90 ml. Gippy Milk
10 ml. Torani Cane Sugar Sweetener Syrup
3/4 cup ice

1. Follow same instructions as with Okinawa Milk Tea.
2. Enjoy!

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July 13, 2020
12:56 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Gel Salonga-Datu’s Strawberry Shortcake:
One of the Best!

Gel Salonga-Datu’s newest creation: Strawberry Shortcake Tub

COUNT on Gel Salonga-Datu to rise to the challenge of creating a new cake. Her newest creation: Strawberry Shortcake in a tub.

Known for her kakanin series of cheesecakes, Chef Gel focuses on a classic cake this time and transforms it into a different form. Her Strawberry Shortcake Tub is layers of pillowy soft chiffon cake, mildly sweetened cream and fresh Benguet strawberries in a convenient 7-inch tub. And because it is in a tub, the possibility of the cake keeping its form is higher than with a regular cake.

Strawberry Shortcake Tub is available for Php750 per tub. To order, message baker_gel_salonga on Instagram or call 0917-1883361. Lead time of three days needed.

Posted in FoodBiz Tagged , ,

July 9, 2020
1:15 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Le Delicieux’s Chicken Pot Pie:
Definitely a Must-try!

Le Delicieux Patisserie and Cafe’s Chicken Pot Pie

IF you are craving for the savory goodness of Chicken Pot Pie and are wondering where to get a really good one, consider Le Delicieux Patisserie and Café. They’ve got a mean Chicken Pot Pie, whose tried and tested recipe has been used by Le Delicieux’s Susan Ong for 35 years now. Everybody who has tasted it loves it.

A 9-inch round pie priced at Php700, Le Delicieux’s Chicken Pot Pie is packed with generous chunks of chicken, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes and ham cubes in a rich cream sauce, topped with a buttery and flaky golden crust with their signature three stems of flowers design on the crust.

Le Delicieux’s physical store is located along Paz Guazon St. in Paco, Manila, but not to worry if you do not live nearby. They deliver via courier service. Simply make arrangements. Order two days in advance and pay through bank transfer. To order, call 8-5619601 (landline) or 0917-1272258 (Globe).

And, oh, since you are already ordering, know that Le Delicieux’s Blueberry Cream Cheese Loaf is also very good. You wouldn’t need a spread for it because the blueberry-cream cheese combination is enough to ensure a good mouthful with every bite.

Posted in FoodBiz, Restos Tagged , ,

July 7, 2020
3:21 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Great-tasting Sushi Bake
by Chef Dino Datu

Salmon and Scallop Aburi by Chef Dino Datu

SUSHI Bake. It is all the rage these days. Layers of baked sushi rice, mango, kani, Japanese mayonnaise, salmon, cream cheese, tobiko (fish roe) and furikake in a tray, which comes with packs of nori sheets… You eat it by scooping a bite-sized amount of the baked sushi onto a piece of nori and enjoying each mouthful.

Lots of online sellers offer it, but it is best to get a sushi bake from a professional chef who knows the science of food and the building of complementary flavors. If you ask me for a recommendation, I would say get yours from Chef Dino Datu. He makes two of the best sushi bakes in town—Kani Aburi Sushi and Salmon and Scallop Aburi.

Kani Aburi Sushi (Php550) is sushi rice topped with mango slices, crabstick, Kewpie mayo, cream cheese, and tobiko; with two packs of nori sheets.

Salmon and Scallop Aburi (Php850) is an amalgamation of complex flavors that come beautifully together—sushi rice, mango slices, crabstick, Kewpie mayo, cream cheese, tobiko, salmon pieces, and scallops. It also comes with two packs of nori sheets.

You eat sushi bake by scooping a small amount of it onto a sheet of nori. Enjoy the burst of flavors in your mouth.

For orders, call 0917-3116965, giving at least two days’ lead time. Delivery is via Lalamove or similar service, with delivery fee to be shouldered by customer.

Posted in FoodBiz Tagged , , ,

July 2, 2020
9:14 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Sinantolan / Ginataang Santol
(Chef Heny Sison)

The Sinantolan I made using Chef Heny Sison’s recipe

I USED to think that the only edible part of the santol (cotton fruit) is the seed. I would open up a piece of santol by slicing it in half, then spoon out each seed, pop it in my mouth, and try to bite off as much as I could of the succulent white cottony fruit that envelops the seed, repeat the process until all seeds are gone, then shoot the skin straight into the trash can. Yes, I was aware of preserved santol—whole santol, with only the outer skin peeled, and cured in a vinegar-based mixture—but I did not like biting into the inner skin. It’s rough to the bite and sour to the taste, and its sap does not really go away.

But when I ‘discovered’ Sinantolan, or Guinataang Santol, I instantly loved it. No sourness, no sap, perfect with coconut milk, and simply marvelous. Maybe I was lucky I tasted good sinantolan. But then again, Sinantolan in general must be really good.

During the Enhanced Community Quarantine, which was enforced in March and lasted until May before it was shifted to a more relaxed General Community Quarantine, I relied heavily on my own cooking and that of my caregiving assistant. (My husband Raff suffered a second stroke last year, 2019, so I had to get a caregiving assistant to help me take care of him.) I also relied on the Facebook page of our subdivision in Cainta, Rizal, where enterprising homeowners posted food they cooked for sale at reasonable prices. A particular online seller makes really good Sinantolan, and I always order from her whenever she makes it. Curious about this simple but delectable dish, I decided to try making it, and Chef Heny Sison’s recipe came in very handy when she posted it on FB. It turned out really good, if I may say so.

Here, Chef Heny happily shares her recipe with those who want to cook Sinantolan, too.

Happy cooking!

5 pcs. santol, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
3 Tbsps. Magnolia Nutri-Oil
1 pc. white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 kg. ground chicken
1 pc. green pepper, chopped
1 cup chicken stock or water
4 cups coconut cream
1/4 cup shrimp paste
1 tsp. sugar
5 pcs. siling labuyo, sliced

1. Put the chunks of santol in the food processor. Pulse and process until coarsely chopped.
2. Transfer mixture to a food mill to extract the juice. Discard the juice.
3. Sauté chopped onion and garlic in hot oil. Add ground chicken. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add green pepper. Add santol and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Pour in chicken stock or water. Simmer for 3 minutes.
6. Add coconut cream.
7. Add shrimp paste and siling labuyo. Stir and cook over low heat for about an hour or until oil from the coconut cream comes out and the mixture is almost dry.

Posted in Recipes, Vegetables Tagged , ,