January 10, 2020
2:25 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Cebuano Faves at Cucina This January

LOVE Cebuano food? Then you’d love the Cebuano food promotion that is taking place at Marco Polo Ortigas Manila’s all-day dining destination, Cucina, from January 11 to 23, 2020, as part of the restaurant’s mission to showcase the regional cuisines of the country.

Lechon de Cebu

Sinuglaw

Humba

Nilarang na Pagi

Mango de Cebu Pizza

Cucina’s kitchen team, led by Executive Chef Alisdair Bletcher, will be featuring select dishes from Cebu as part of the daily lunch and dinner buffet spread. These include Sinuglaw (grilled pork belly and fish ceviche), Paklay (pork, beef and goat innards), Humba (braised pork belly with tausi and dried banana blossoms), Nilarang na Pagi (stingray in coconut milk), Ginabot (chicharon) and Cucina’s own take on the puso (cooked rice in woven coconut leaves). The chefs also feature the Philippine mango, which is one of Cebu’s treasured by-products, in a seasonal dessert pizza.

For inquiries and reservations, call (+632) 7720.

 

(Marco Polo Ortigas Manila is located at Meralco Ave. corner Sapphire Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.)

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January 9, 2020
2:35 PM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Angelo Comsti Launches
‘Also Filipino’ Cookbook

‘Also Filipino’ is an important book on Philippine regional cuisine

IN an effort to introduce lesser known regional dishes to the general public and make them not just appreciate and enjoy them but preserve them, too, food writer, stylist, cookbook author and former magazine editor Angelo Comsti recently launched his fifth cookbook, Also Filipino: 75 Regional Dishes I Never Had Growing Up.

Published by RPD Publications, Also Filipino features 75 regional dishes which the author discovered from his travels to 22 provinces, “from up north in the land-locked towns of Ilocos Norte to down south in Tawi-Tawi, where the food closely resembles those from neighboring countries.”

Signing books during the launch…

While growing up, Comsti knew little about Filipino cuisine. The food served at home more or less determined his idea of what Filipino cuisine was. But eventually he got introduced to different variations of adobo and sinigang, kakanins, noodles and sweets from his visits to friends’ homes, from restaurants, and from his travels to different parts of the country.

He then decided to scour the provinces for more hidden gems and succeeded in gathering the 75 regional dishes that he included in his latest cookbook, Also Filipino.

‘Also Filipino’ author Angelo Comsti

An important book on Philippine regional cuisines, Also Filipino introduces readers to such dishes as Pancit Puso of Cavite, Kinalas of Camarines Sur, Kiyuning of Lanao del Sur, Ngohiong of Cebu, Sinuwan of Albay, Kinunot na Tinapa of Sorsogon, Tinuom of Iloilo, Chicken Halang-Halang of Zamboanga del Norte, Bule Baluga of Pampanga, Pinatisang Baboy of Bulacan, and Linubak of Bicol.

Priced at P1,795, Also Filipino is available through Thekitchenbookstore.com. It is Southeast Asia’s first independent online bookstore specializing in food and wine.

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January 8, 2020
8:48 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Binuyok nga Mais

Binuyok nga Mais

I LEARNED a new recipe today (January 8, 2020), and I would like to share it with you. It is the recipe of Binuyok nga Mais, a corn rice dish from Samar which is said to originate from Cebu. I had a handful of corn grits lying around the house for a few months and I wanted to whip up a dish that would use the corn grits as an ingredient. In the course of a conversation last week, my caregiving assistant, Belen Carasaquit, mentioned that in her home province Samar, they made Binuyok nga Mais with corn grits. It is a sweetened corn rice dish cooked with coconut cream and is eaten for merienda, accompanied by a cup of coffee. It can also be eaten for lunch or dinner and is best enjoyed with fried dried fish and chopped tomatoes as a savory meal.

So, today, I asked Belen to make Binuyok nga Mais, which is easy to cook and needs only four ingredients—corn grits, brown or washed sugar, kakang-gata (coconut cream) and water—and we had it for lunch.

Binuyok nga Mais

1/2 to 3/4 cup brown or washed sugar
300 ml. kakang-gata (coconut cream)
300 ml. water
1-1/3 cups binlod nga mais (corn grits)

1. Combine sugar, kakang-gata and water in a pot. Use 1/2 cup sugar if intention is to eat the binuyok with savory accompaniments; use 3/4 cup sugar if it is for merienda. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
2. When mixture boils, add corn grits.
3. Stir until mixture turns almost dry. This will take only a few minutes.
4. Cover pot and allow corn grits to cook thoroughly.
5. Fluff up and enjoy for merienda, lunch or dinner.

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January 7, 2020
7:30 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

Marco Polo Ortigas Manila Introduces
New Addition to Chocolate Bar Line

Golden Crunch, the new artisanal chocolate bar variant

ON the occasion of Marco Polo Ortigas Manila’s fifth anniversary, Café Pronto introduced the latest addition to its Artisanal Chocolate Bar Series—the Golden Crunch.

The Golden Crunch highlights Albay region’s pili nut, which is combined with salted caramel and enveloped in classic milk chocolate. Ideal as a personal indulgence or a takeaway for family or friends, the Golden Crunch echoes Marco Polo Ortigas Manila’s commitment to showcase local flavors and thus reminds one of how rich the flavors of the Philippines are.

The Golden Crunch is the fourth variant in the hotel’s Artisanal Chocolate Bar Series, all of which feature Filipino ingredients that are crafted carefully by the pastry and dessert chefs of Marco Polo Ortigas Manila.

The Artisanal Chocolate Bar Series has three original variants—Chili Caramel, Zest & Zing, and Green Mango.

Chili Caramel

Chili Caramel banks on the deep warmth of Albay’s siling labuyo (bird’s eye chili), which shines in every bar of Chili Caramel.

Zest & Zing

The fruity flavors of dayap (native lime) and calamansi play with one’s taste buds even as they interact harmoniously with white chocolate in Zest & Zing.

Green Mango Delight

The interplay between the green mango’s sour notes and rice crispies make the Green Mango Delight an irresistibly delicious snack.

Each of these chocolate bars come in bespoke, oil painting-inspired designs, making the individual bars a collector’s item.

All four variants of the Artisanal Chocolate Bar Series are available at Café Pronto, located on the Ground Floor of Marco Polo Ortigas Manila.

 

(Marco Polo Ortigas Manila is located at Meralco Ave. corner Sapphire Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City; with telephone numbers +6327720-7777.)

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January 6, 2020
11:55 AM
by: Dolly Dy-Zulueta

The Best Ube Cake in Town!

Six-layer Ube Cake with Halaya Filling by La Royale Patisserie

THE best Ube Cake in town is the Ube Cake with Halaya Filling of La Royale Patisserie headed by multi-talented pastry chef Edward David Mateo!

I have been eating Ube Cake for a long time. My late mom loved the Ube Cake of a commercial brand (*I’m not telling which bakeshop this is, but its cake box is colored red and white) when she was still around, and I thought it was okay. It had soft and moist ube cake layers, and the icing and ube cake crumbs that covered the top and sides of the cake seemed fine. The bakeshop also had a decent Chocolate Mousse Pie. The price, though, kept going up and the slices commensurately grew, no, not bigger, but smaller.

In the course of my work in the publishing industry, where I focused mainly on food, I would discover a lot of other Ube Cakes. A lot of them turned out to be good by my standards, but when I recently ‘discovered’ Chef Edward’s Ube Cake with Halaya Filling, the competition on which is the best Ube Cake in town ended instantly. Undeniably one of La Royale Patisserie’s signature cakes, Chef Edward’s Ube Cake with Halaya Filling is made from real ube and homemade ube halaya filling. It is three layers of ube moist chiffon cake lined in between with homemade ube halaya. The cake is covered with whipping cream, then sprinkled with cake crumbs on the sides and topped with rosettes of icing. Sink your teeth into the cake, and it is really soft and moist, and you can actually taste and feel the texture of real ube halaya and not just ube flavoring. Light and not so sweet, you’d want to have another slice even if you are not a cake lover.

After all, it is a specialty cake and not something you can find in every branch of a bakeshop chain. La Royale Patisserie makes it fresh upon order. It comes in two sizes: 6×8 inches for an awesome 6-layer cake (Php1,200), and 4×8 inches for a delightful 3-layer cake (Php900).

The 3-layer Ube Cake variant

To order, call 0927-6724168 for pickup at the bakeshop located at 78 Mabini St. corner E. Rodriguez Sr., Brgy. Doña Aurora, Quezon City. Delivery via Lalamove or Grab can be arranged, with delivery fee to be shouldered by client.

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