TODAI for

The Birthday Girl Brenda, with husband Darryl, and your blogger.

I ATTACK an eat-all-you-can buffet with the arsenal of skills built from years and years of packing my luggage.  If Louis Vuitton parlayed the mastery of this art – I read somewhere that he used to pack luggage for French aristocracy – into one of the most recognized luxury brands in the world, I at least would like to make use of it in maximizing the potentials of a sumptuous international spread.

It has to be paced, never rushed.  It has to cover all the basic needs.  And everything has to fit into only one check-in and one carry-on.

Welcome to TODAI at the Marina Bay Sands!

TODAI at the Marina Bay Sands, right at its very entrance, told me that I had to muster all the courage I had to stuff myself up.  Touted as an international seafood and sushi buffet restaurant at its opening in March 2011, TODAI has come to establish itself as one of Singapore’s “upscale” – their word, not mine – “all you care to eat” buffet restaurants on the island.  Eleven rounds of their spread – rather smallish portions, not really plates running over – and I wouldn’t argue with either of those quotable quotes.

I snapped this photo on 19 March 2011, vowing to eat at the place the soonest possible time. It took all of 10 months and it was so worth the wait!

 

I was again fashionably late. But my friends were so understanding, gamely flashing their best smiles for the first group shot.

 

"Chicago" ... I snapped this shot because this city happens to be my favorite in the States. In TODAI, they have VIP rooms. Apparently, Chicago is "V. VIP". That's VERY VIP!

 

The Sushi & Roll section. This photo doesn't do justice to just how extensive the spread is!

 

Ready to attack the buffet! (Photo by Darryl)

The common pitfall of most buffet restaurants is the attempt to mask substandard culinary offerings with the sheer number they would roll out in their spread.  I surveyed TODAI’s offerings a couple of times – from end to end – before zeroing in on what I personally would consider as the determinant of the place’s quality.  I wanted to start with a particular cold noodle dish in mind.  I saw it unassumingly set up in a small corner – the zaru soba, buckwheat noodles served chilled with a dipping sauce.

I fixed myself a bowl by taking one mound of the noodles – the last one at the spread at the time so even if I wanted more… – topping it with a little of the grated daikon radish, lots of chopped spring onions, and a heap of crushed seasoned seaweed (nori).  I ladled onto it a little of the dipping sauce and excitedly went back to my table.  I dug my chopsticks in and enthusiastically, albeit quietly, slurped.  I closed my eyes for a second and got reminded of that time I got to spend in Japan.  I tasted the dried kelp and the fermented dried fish that infused the dipping sauce.  I got the arrest of the robust roasted goodness of seaweed.  I chewed on the buckwheat noodles, still with a little give to them.  Before I opened my eyes, I told myself I wouldn’t be surprised if I would look up to a surrounding filled with cherry blossoms.  The dipping sauce alone, if it was watered down, wouldn’t be able to conjure up that image.

My first bowl of zaru soba

I found the perfect dish to start my meal with, punctuate every few couple of rounds with, and close it.  I did intend to finish the evening with one more bowl of soba – yes, after I would’ve had dessert.

Round two – a plate of sushi (crabstick, eel), steamed mussels on the half shell, and poached shrimps.  The mussels tasted fresh in spite of obviously being shipped from some far-flung place like Australia, but the real winner on this plate was the shrimps.  The head burst with roe so sweet and so juicy I kept asking if there was steamed Japanese rice to stain with it.

Round Two – A plate of sushi

 

A squeeze of lemon brightens up the seafood flavors!

 

Pickled ginger tempers any strong fishy taste, if any.

Round three – a bigger bowl of the zaru soba.

Round Three - A bigger serving of the soba!

 

Something about thoughts of snow and making things "snow-capped" made me put a dollop of grated daikon radish on the noodles.

Round four – tuna sashimi, some white fish sashimi, more poached shrimps, and snow crab claws.  The snow crab claws are a priced delicacy, the “deadly” fishing of which being the subject of a Discovery Channel documentary.  I would often stare at crab claws at the Japanese grocery at the basement of Takashimaya and marvel at their size – and their price.  I have always been too cheap to actually buy.  The claws were packed with sweet, juicy flesh that they can claw on me anytime they want to.  Or me on them.

Round Four – Snow Crab claws, sashimi, and poached shrimps!

 

The sashimi was fresh, obviously not a cheap cut.

 

These seem lean, but you'll be surprised with the meat they're packing!

 

The claws were intimidating at first. I got by with a little help from my friends!

 

eNTeNG lorded it over the claws! Hahaha!

Round five – fresh live oysters on the half shell and steamed snails.  I would’ve wanted more of the oysters but they would only serve two at a time.  But you could always go back as many times as you want.  The snails were uncharacteristically huge and daunting, enough to elicit a loud, denouncing “eww!!!” from those standing behind me.  I looked at them with a smile, and holding on to the two biggest snails from the pile, calmly said, “You mean escargot?”

Round Five – Oysters & Snails!

 

These oysters were fresh. And snails, daunting in their size, were so sweet!

 

Look at how huge the snail is!

Round six – Barbecued Korean beef short ribs and Prawns Au Gratin.  Yummy, safe, delicious, not exotic at all.

Round Six - Korean Beef Short Ribs & Prawns Au Gratin

Round seven – Caesar salad and Seafood Ceviche.  The salad attempts to be authentic, I could taste it in the dressing.  I particularly loved the fact that the hearts of Romaine were left torn into big pieces.  The ceviche is a mélange of the cold seafood station, dressed in a citrus vinaigrette.  I fell in love with the baby octopus halves thrown in for good measure.

Round Seven – Caesar Salad & Seafood Ceviche

 

That has got to be the sweetest mussels!

 

Too bad I wasn't able to take a good shot of the half of an octopus that was in this pile.

Round eight – another big bowl of the zaru soba.

Round Eight – Soba again!!!

Round nine – a much bigger bowl of the zaru soba, along with a cup each of the cream of mushroom soup and the abalone congee.

Round Nine – A much bigger bowl, yet again.

Round ten – Korean strawberries and Chocolate Ice Cream.  The former were sweet, the latter velvety smooth and creamy.

Round Ten – Korean Strawberries & Chocolate Ice Cream

 

Korean strawberries are the sweetest. This chocolate ice cream, the smoothest.

Round eleven – the final bowl of the zaru soba.

Round Eleven – The perfect bowl to cap the night off!

I’ve been meaning to pay TODAI a visit.  But I guess something so good can be worth all the wait.  And this dinner, being one organized on the fly in honor of the birthday of one of my best friends, couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

I spoke about the skills I came armed with whenever I would attack buffets.  And I mentioned about the limit to one check-in and one carry-on.  But whenever I would find my luggage bursting at the seams – as it has always been the case lately – I wouldn’t be ashamed to reach for the zipper to release the expandable portion.  Which to me, at that night at TODAI, meant loosening my belt by at least a hole down.

Jossel & Vel, the Birthday Girl, Loradel, and eNTeNG

 

We asked Darryl & Brenda to "table hop" ... Parang kasal lang (As if it was a wedding). Hahaha!

 

Hey, hey, the gang's (almost) all here!

 

Vuma-Vanity Fair... Happy Birthday!!!

 

Copyright © 2012 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved

Awfully dark, awfully bitter, awfully good chocolate

Rich Chocolate Cupcake (in an "exhibition" solo box), Awfully Chocolate, Ion Orchard, Singapore

CHOCOLATE HASN’T really stood a chance to make me weak in the knees.

Okay, I guess there must’ve been at least one wobbling on record somewhere.  But for the most part, chocolate has never really made me hardly speak or lose my self-control.

And then I came across Awfully Chocolate at Ion Orchard.

Their very straightforward menu – just cakes, cupcakes, ice cream, truffles. It's the "cold poached chocolate" that caught my eye.

 

So the bestsellers are the "Super Stacked Chocolate Cake" and the ice cream.

 

Kahlua Bars

 

Dark Chocolate Truffles

 

Cold Poached Chocolate

Now I’m speechless and knocked right off of my feet.

I’m big on cupcakes.  That’s one of the things I miss most about home.  And seeing “Rich Chocolate Cupcakes” staring back at me at Awfully Chocolate’s stark counter top display, I couldn’t help but hear, “Bite me.”

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes

 

There are White Chocolate Cupcakes too.

 

I haven't tried this one yet!

Going along with the dialogue developing in my head – believe me, that almost always happens when I wait in line – I fixed the cupcake with a stare, quite obviously taking the bait, and telepathically snapped back, “Why so lonely in the window?”

Don't they look so pretty?! Pretty scrumptious.

I asked the pretty counter girl about their cupcakes and she said, “They’re moist chocolate cake with a rich dark chocolate frosting.”  I don’t think I need to add to that.

This cupcake is such a tease...

But standing right in front of a tub of their Dark Chocolate Ice Cream, I knew I needed to add to my order of 10 of their luscious-looking cupcakes.  I just had to have a scoop to see me through the wait.  Intense pleasures.

Their boxes and packaging could very well be at home at Chanel.

 

Awfully Chocolate has these laminated "Chinese takeout boxes" to scoop their ice cream in.

 

 

The same boxes are perfect for their Kahlua Bars and Dark Chocolate Truffles.

 

But as I've said, they're perfect for the ice cream.

 

This was my first one!

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Awfully Chocolate

Awfully Chocolate, ION ORCHARD, Singapore

ON MY list of next must-try places is Awfully Chocolate at ION ORCHARD.  They have an extensive handwritten menu on boards outside the store and on their wall that when I first read, made me feverish enough to convulse.  How could I not shiver upon reading a seeming culinary paradox as scrumptiously sounding as “cold poached chocolate”?

That may be fancy, but it was the sight of the seriously chocolate cupcakes that pushed me over the edge.  I got to go back.  Soon!

Care for cold poached chocolate, anyone?

 

Truffle cake! Kahlua bar! And the best? It's "chocolate by weight"!

 

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

It’s Complicated but delicious

THERE ARE movies that I watch over and over again.  In the past year, one of them turned out to be “It’s Complicated,” starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.  It came out in the year Ms. Streep’s other starrer “Julie & Julia” was released.  On any other given year, either of these roles could’ve given Ms. Streep her much overdue (third, second as Best Actress) Oscar.  But even her compelling turn as the culinary icon Julia Child – remember that quiet, heart-wrenching kitchen scene when she received news that her sister was expecting? – was trumped by America’s Sweetheart Sandra Bullock’s understated performance in “The Blind Side.”

I think that “It’s Complicated’s” biggest triumph was showing that women of a certain age can still be sexy, passionate, lustful at times, and most of all, in control.  Even in times when the heart collides with the head, she could still be in control.

The movie’s end didn’t succumb to the convenience of cliché, I liked that a lot.  But for me, its appeal mostly comes from all the luscious, almost sinful, reference to food, Ms. Streep’s character being a successful pastry chef/bakeshop owner.  Whenever I would feel down – including times when I would feel hungry but not really hungry hungry just yet – I’d put this movie on and either it would pick me up or it would cause me to create chaos in the kitchen.

I highly recommend this movie.  It has come to the point of me stopping total strangers and telling them they should see it!  Short of clutching them at both arms and shaking them like crazy.

Here are some of the really delicious lines that have been haunting me incessantly.

 

00:43:47

“It’s called croque monsieur.  The first thing I learned to make when I was living in Paris.  Because the ingredients are really really cheap.” – Jane Adler (Meryl Streep) to Adam (Steve Martin)

00:43:56

“When I was in my early twenties.  I went there to take a six-day pastry class.  And I ended up staying a year working as an apprentice at a bakery” – Jane Adler to Adam

00:47:31

“And the lavender ice cream was the best dessert of any sort I’ve ever had like…  in my life.” – Adam to Jane Adler

00:48:37

“I always make ice cream when I can’t sleep so I’m glad someone was here to eat it.” – Jane Adler to Adam

00:48:31

“I love when you smell like butter.” – Jake Adler (Alec Baldwin) to Jane Adler

00:55:00

“I brought you some coffee cake that you like.  Not as a bribe or anything.” – Jane Adler to Dr. Allen

01:06:32

Jake Adler:  “You’ll make the whole thing, the roast chicken?”
Jane Adler:  “And mashed potatoes.  And sautéed string beans.  And double fudge chocolate cake.  I know your favorite dinner, Jakey.”

01:15:58

“Uhm.  Oh my God.  Uhm…  uhm…  u-uhm…  Could be the best cake I ever made.  You want a piece?  It’s beyond.” – Jane Adler

01:17:34

“I actually know them.  Blueberry scone and a latte.” – Jane Adler

01:26:19

Adam Schaefer:  “Do you think…  do you think you have more of that chocolate cake at your house?”

Jane Adler:  “Hungry?”

Adam Schaefer:  “Starved.”

01:26:50

Jane Adler:  “Okay.  So, basically, I can make you anything on the menu.”

Adam Schaefer:  “No?”

Jane Adler:  “Or, even not on the menu.”

Adam Schaefer: “Really?”

Jane Adler: “Just name it.”

Adam Schaefer:  “Ok.  Wow!  What about a warm chocolate croissant?”

Jane Adler:  “Oh!  It’s my specialty.”

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Moo two nights in a row

Clean! This is The Flash's. I always use Pepper Lunch's orange chopsticks. And I end up with a clean plate too!

IT WAS a one-sided carnage outside a Roman coliseum.  For two consecutive nights.

Brother, The Flash and myself spent a couple of nights together shopping *wink*.  I guess it was just one of my little efforts for a little more altruism in this world.  That is, expressing my unselfish concern for the welfare of others.  I mean, in terms of what they strap on their wrists.

With The Flash

 

With Brother

Of course, shopping meant getting famished towards the evening’s end.  As both were nights in Town, the three of us decided – no long discussions necessary – to indulge in our carnivorous desires at Pepper Lunch.

As a creature of habit, I’d order the same thing over and over again.  I would stop at the point in the menu where it says, “Beef Pepper Rice”, which is like the starting point.  I’d ask for it to be “double beef” then, I’d have extra Mixed Pepper Rice, and Miso Soup.  Once settled comfortably in my seat, I’d make another go to ask for a side of Vegetables (just the bean sprouts, please!).  And once I’m done with the first portion of rice that comes with the dish, I’d make yet another trip to the cashier – or the likes of Hazel or Oteph at Town would offer to do it for me – to get another Miso Soup and another side of Vegetables.

See, I always eat for two.  Hahaha! 

Pepper Lunch has been a favorite and I’ve talked about it in length here.  Five posts, to be exact – here (Now this is sizzling hot), here (Stare. Spread. Flip. Enjoy.), here (Dinner, a movie, and “semblance of a life”), here (Peppery & Spidey), and here (The Caped Crusader in person at Pepper Lunch).

Double Beef Pepper Rice

 

My Double Beef Pepper Rice, mixed up!

 

I really love the amount of yummy "fat" that comes with the beef in their Beef Pepper Rice!

 

Brother's Double Beef Teriyaki Pepper Rice. He was busy surfing the net when this landed on the table. So I took it upon myself to "cook" his food.

 

The Flash's Salmon Pepper Rice

 

Brother's Tokusen Rib Eye Steak

 

Brother spreading butter on his Tokusen Rib Eye Steak!

 

The Flash's Unagi Pepper Rice

 

Really yummy unagi!

 

Mixed Pepper Rice

 

Quite obviously, I'm super fond of pepper! And Pepper Lunch uses only the outermost covering, which is the most fragrant part of the peppercorn!

 

Molten Chocolate Cake A La Mode. Pepper Lunch has fab desserts too! I haven't tried any of the salads though.

 

Vanilla Crepe Cake A La Mode

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Today in jeans and shirts

WHEN MY penny-pinching started, my blog post “Life in the time of bailouts” came to be.  Nothing much has changed a couple of years since I wrote that.  If there’s anything that three consecutive days and nights at the Mall of Asia (MOA), and a serendipitous find at the “Shell of Asia” along NLEX further affirmed to me, it is that I will shop only where it says S–A–L–E.  Preferably in big, bold, red letters.

Last Friday, while doing the rounds of stores at MOA – for shirts and toys for my nephews – I chanced upon this window display at Lacoste.  I was drawn to how well-put-together the whole ensemble was.  I loved the shirt and the shoes, but it was the pair of pants in royal blue that pulled me in to the store.  Now I could say that the green scarf speaking to Rebecca Bloomwood, luring her to yet another unnecessary purchase, wasn’t so preposterous.

Lovin' the pants in my fade shade of blue!... Lacoste ensemble at their window display in MOA.

I actually hesitated to inquire because I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford it.  Besides, I didn’t want to risk having to call the pants “that blue stuff on display” – because I’d always articulate my inquiry to sales people rather than point with my fingers – lest I earn the ire of Miranda Priestly and get a dressing down on how this shade of blue trickled down to the masses.  Sensing my indecisiveness, my sister-in-law did all the asking on my behalf.  Php 4950.00 for the pair of pants.  Quite steep for my standards for things I buy for myself.

I told myself that I could save up for it.  Then another voice in my head told me that if I will have to do that, I don’t have a business wanting it in the first place.  So, goodbye Lacoste pants in my favorite shade of blue.

Then came the weekend.  On the drive back from Fontana in Clark we decided to stop for Starbucks, which we found at this gas station that purports itself to be the “Shell of Asia”.  Do you know how it feels like when you know what your goal or intention is and yet so many other things seem more attractive, piquing your curiosity and pulling you to directions other than your original goal?  That’s exactly what happened to me on the way to Starbucks.  And it was because one store screamed: “O–U–T–L–E–T”.  Giordano Outlet, to be exact.

Giordano Outlet at the Shell of Asia along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)

Walking past the Php 299.00 shirt pile, I ran my fingers through the jeans rack and that was where my eye caught a certain shade of blue peeking from what appeared to me as a slice of vanilla gateau de crêpe turned to its side.  Eureka!  And when I checked the tag – reduced three times! – it was just for the very affordable price of Php 750.00.  Sold!  Hahaha!

So here it is, my new pair of jeans.  In the shade of blue that I love.  For a price I was willing to pay.

Giordano jeans in my favorite shade of (royal) blue!

 

(At MOA, I also found a statement shirt that appealed to me in all its cheesiness.  Yes, cheesy but undeniably…  hopeful too.  Hahaha!)

"God is writing my love story"

 

Today in jeans and shirt

 

This is just so cute.

 

Starbucks at the "Shell of Asia"

 

My usual "goodness" is chai tea latte over ice. Sometimes, it's green tea latte, which I discovered through Green Lantern.

 

Starbucks Flourless Chocolate Brownie

 

Dessert and tea

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Peanut Butter Nutella. Eat Pay Love.

CUPCAKES BY Sonja keeps giving back.  And I keep coming back!  It’s like having your very own Eat Pay Love moment.  Have your cupcake and eat it too.  Pay for it.  And, send ripples of your love to as far as they could go.  I’m sure that’s what happens when part of the proceeds go to a good cause.

Peanut Butter Nutella cupcake by Cupcakes by Sonja

 

A box of four. Actually, one of boxes of four.

That exactly is the case with every purchase of the Peanut Butter Nutella cupcake by Cupcakes by Sonja.  Reminiscent of her “Red Velvet Vixen for Red Cross” campaign in 2009, this new socially responsible drive benefits the Virlanie Foundation – “Giving back the smile to street children”.

And sinking your teeth into one of these peanut butter-nutella confections likewise couldn’t help but put a smile on your face!  I love peanut butter, reason enough for me to explore turning it into a sauce for egg noodles long before I got formally exposed to the wonders of Indonesian satay.  But over the years, I’ve come across peanut butter cookies and cakes that had proven to be wanting.  Even Otis Spunkmeyer’s version of the classic peanut butter chocolate chip cookie wasn’t able to impress me.

I just love the height and the look of that Nutella buttercream frosting.

Cupcakes by Sonja’s Peanut Butter Nutella cupcake puts an end to the dry spell that’s my search for a really satiating peanut butter confection.  It has got to be one of the most visually compelling in Sonja’s wide array of offerings – an imposing tower of swirls of nutella-spiked buttercream frosting sits prettily on top of the peanut butter cake, in which is ensconced a dollop of Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread.  It’s an “architecturally sound” work of edible art as handling and traveling didn’t compromise the integrity of the frosting’s design and structure.

I freed one from the hold of the box-of-four liner and soon the feast for the eyes became a feast for the palate.  The cake is crumbly and moist, my Oneida Silversmiths dessert fork being chased by just enough eager and yummy crumbs as it pierced its way through to the bottom.  The flavor is undeniably peanut buttery – unapologetic in its goodness but at the same time, not cloyingly sweet.  And when savored in the mouth, it is amazing how a small piece of cake – kissed by Nutella, and slathered with buttercream – becomes something big.

And when you get reminded where part of what you paid for for the cupcake goes, you do realize just how big.  Now, doesn’t that bring enjoying dessert to a totally new level of guilt-free?

A pile of treats from Cupcakes by Sonja! My all-time favorite is somewhere in there.

 

Four red velvet vixens in a box!

 

Once bitten...

 

I just had to get these too – Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies!

 

The very scrumptious Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie in a solo box. The "doily" that lined the pie against the box was a nice, elegant touch.

 

Sharing the love – a Peanut Butter Nutella and a Red Velvet Vixen shared with our company's very efficient and outstanding Executive Admin Assistant, Ms. Deng.

 

Cupcakes by Sonja menu

 

My excitement over the Peanut Butter Nutella cupcake makes it to a card.

 

Every purchase of the Peanut Butter Nutella cupcakes benefits a good cause.

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Perfectly chocolatey new year’s day

A slice from the edge of the cake (it was baked in a 9-inch square). I intentionally got the edge because for me, the true test of how a cake tastes is how the edge turns out. This one's perfect!

 

We didn't fuss about the cutting. As long as we could get our forks into it. Hahaha!

ONE FOODNETWORK episode that I play in my head whenever I want to go to a happy place is From Martha’s Kitchen’s trip to the Hershey plant in Pennsylvania.  Martha’s demonstration of the HERSHEY®’S cocoa tin can back label recipe called Hershey’s® “Perfectly Chocolate”™ Chocolate Cake caps off the episode.  And that’s actually the part that takes me the a happy place.  I saw that episode seven years ago.  But the memory of that baking demonstration has remained fresh in my head I could almost lick the frosting off of my hands every single time.  Oh, how sacrilegious of me – I meant the “Perfectly Chocolate”™ Chocolate Frosting.

So imagine my pleasant surprise when my dear sister-in-law told me that our new year’s lunch at their house would have that cake – yes, the Hershey’s® “Perfectly Chocolate”™ Chocolate Cake frosted with the “Perfectly Chocolate”™ Chocolate Frosting! – for dessert.  I wanted to hit the fast forward and breeze through the spread.

Look at how the decadent frosting just oozes...

 

The recipe at the back of the cocoa can.

But in deference to everybody at the dining table, good manners prevailed and I sampled all the dishes that they had laid out.  Especially since I could immediately see the effort.  They did away with the tri-color fusilli and the spinach linguine of years past and opted for my favorite angel hair pasta.  My dear sister-in-law even chimed in as I approached the table, “See, it’s your favorite angel hair.”  I acknowledged it with a wide smile and a nod quick enough to turn to my brother who was by the stovetop, deep-frying meatballs.

The meatballs!

“You made these yourself?”  I had to ask, and proceeded on before he could even break into a reply, “So I assume it’s ground sirloin, with Italian herbs and say, a splash of Worcestershire sauce.  Did you have to put breadcrumbs?  It’s optional.  But for sure it has to have grated parmesan cheese, right?”  All my brother could manage was, “Yes.  No.  Yes, may parmesan.”

The kare-kare came from us so I didn’t really help myself to a lot of it.  It is the classic Filipino stew of your choice meat cuts (beef or pork, usuallt oxtail) and fresh vegetables in a savory roasted peanut sauce thickened further with ground roasted rice, and colored with natural annatto.  Sautéed fermented shrimp paste is served on the side.

Having moved past the staple kare-kare, it soon dawned on me that the spread was a veritable display of my brother’s and sister-in-laws culinary prowess.  There was my brother’s roasted chicken, this time infused with the essence of lemon and thyme, and my sister-in-law’s Bistek Tagalog (beef stewed in soy sauce and citrus, topped with sautéed onion rings) using choice sirloin sliced paper thin.  The latter was the runaway hit with me that I couldn’t run away without demanding for the recipe – down to the actual brands she used.

Roasted chicken

 

Halfway through the scrumptious Bistek Tagalog! I have to make this at home!

They put out a selections of wines – both red and white – but the non-drinker that I am, I opted for hot tea.  Lunch conversation revolved mostly on how each dish was prepared – I’m the most shameless, unapologetic solicitor of recipes that I know! – and quite obviously, it meant a lot of actual slaving over a hot stove and oven.  True enough, my brother was able to finish Rick Riordan’s The Sea of Monsters from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, while all the cooking and the new year’s eve celebration were going on.

One of the reds. My brother said it's good. I didn't take even a sip.

 

I didn't automatically get what a "moreish" red wine is... "Moreish", it turns out, means "so good that you want more".

I asked for the book, and he whipped out his brand spanking new iPad.  It was the first time I held one in my hand.  I just played with the touch screen and by the time I reached page 179, I knew it’s still the hardback for me.  Thank God, I’m not into gadgets or they would’ve long burned a hole in my pockets.

Page 179 of Rick Riordan's The Sea of Monsters on my brother's new iPad.

Just as I was handing back the iPad, the chocolate cake – the Hershey’s® “Perfectly Chocolate”™ Chocolate Cake frosted with the “Perfectly Chocolate”™ Chocolate Frosting! – was served.  It was a nice touch.  But even before it hit the table, I already knew I was in a happy place.

Oh, we finished this too. Hahaha!

 

Copyright © 2011 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

Like unintentionally deconstructing dessert

Organic chocolate tablets

eNTeNG KNEW that it could’ve been a lot easier if he had just gotten a pack of fig newtons.  But he also knew that after a long while, he had found himself unencumbered with time.  A quick glance at the vintage mechanical wristwatch he had on revealed that it was already 2:00 AM – yes, he wears wristwatches all the time – but instead of shutting his eyelids, he got up from bed and went to the kitchen to make something for his eleven zzz’s.  The delicious read he had in his hands had to be parked at page 43.

On top of the dining table, on one side, was a seeming disarray of deliciousness attempting to leap from under a pile of multicolored biodegradables.  His hands burrowed through the pile as he felt the need to concretize the scent that had arrested his olfactory nerve the very moment his feet hit the stairs landing.  “Ripe sweet guavas,” he exclaimed in his head.  One more thrust of the hand confirmed the suspicion.

He picked the three that appeared to be the ripest, and under running cold water vigorously scrubbed their green exterior.  He reached for his favorite knife – easily a seven-year-old blade – and sliced open the first.  The green yielded to a yellowish flesh that ensconced a delicate pink pulp.  As its juices flowed freely on to the board, the essence of its sweetness rose to perfume the air.

eNTeNG opened his eyes slowly, as if from a trance.  It occurred to him that the guavas, though not macerated in some natural acidulent and sugar, would taste great packed firmly inside folds of buttery, crumbly crust.  While he did claim early on that time was not of the essence, eNTeNG knew that he wouldn’t want to knead dough when there was still page 43 to go back to.

So what was a hungry bookworm to do?  Certainly not hunker down and pray for a miracle of very rich thick butter cookie!  He turned to the cupboard and hoped to find the closest alternative.  And he did even better – a pack of Marks & Spencer Organic Scottish all butter shortbread fingers!  “Ah, the words of Paulo Coelho always ring true,” eNTeNG told himself, as if a pat on the back.

With the munchies taken care of, eNTeNG turned to the fridge to find something to wash everything down.  The ice-cold 1.5-liter bottle of Coca-Cola beckoned to him, temptingly so.  He feigned resitance, shaking his head from side to side, but with his hands almost reaching out to grab the bottle by the neck.  That was when his fingers accidentally nudged a jar of whole milk.  “Milk?!”

Faster than he could muster a mono-syllabic response to the query that had formed in his head, he absent-mindedly slammed the refrigerator door to dash back to the helter-skelter of a pile on the dining table.  Instinct told him that something he had chanced upon earlier – the rolls of white paper wrapped around something cylindrical – could be conceling tablets of ground organic chocolate made from the roasted beans of locally grown cocoa.  He guessed right, as the nondescript white paper packaging exposed the chocolate tablets.  Actually, the blotches of cocoa butter on the paper were the first giveaway.

He turned the fire on underneath a heavy-bottomed saucepan to bring 320-mL of water to a roaring boil.  To this he dunked three of the four chocolate tablets available in one roll, the provenance of which he learned the following morning to be the province of Guimaras.  He whisked the simmering concoction like crazy until all the solids melted away into the liquid.  He did so while snacking on the fourth tablet.

He poured himself a big mug, leaving enough room for the cold milk from the jar.  He decided to add just a little brown sugar.  And in keeping with his propensity of late to lace everything with his current “tipple” of choice, he sprinkled a teaspoon of Zino Davidoff Grande Cuvee Café to top off his drink.  Who knew Mr. Cool Water also made coffee?!

By 2:32 AM, eNTeNG was back at page 43 – the book in his right hand, the guava, shortbread, and the chocolate taking turns in his left.

A wedge of the sweetest ripe guava

 

Marks & Spencer Organic Scottish all butter shortbread fingers

 

Each roll has four tablets.

 

A tight shot of a chocolate tablet, bitten into.

 

Swirls of yummy goodness

 

Davidoff Grande Cuvee Cafe

 

"Having a taste for quality is having a taste for life." - Zino Davidoff

 

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

From the land where boys are over flowers

jeongmal nae chingudeul-ege gamsahabnida!

THE MOST unforgettable card that I have ever received just had one line.  But it’s the one that has stayed with me the most through these years.  It just said, “Thank you for turning me into somebody loved.”  It was attached to a very generous gift from a friend.

I knew where the line came from.  It was from a song played on one of the American TV series I was particularly fond of at the time.  But to have someone tell me that, it was a bit overwhelming.

Today happens to be one of those days that I feel like paying it forward.  I want to tell a few people that they have turned me into somebody loved.  Surprisingly, the simplest of gestures could make me feel this way.  I tell you this, pasalubongs from South Korea definitely can.

The K-Pop Girls and Boy – they don’t know yet that I’ve started calling them that – just got back from a four-day trip from the land where boys are over flowers.  And with their return came a deluge of presents on my desk.

A Korea Football Association (KFA) jersey!  I could imagine The Wonder Boy feeling a vicarious thrill over my latest acquisition.  I’m definitely loving the color – red.  On the front is a sewn-on KFA patch.  Right underneath it is a bold print “KOREA LEGEND” with the image of a tiger, my animal birth year sign!  The best thing about it?  The fit is perfect!  I have it on as I blog.  Hahaha!

Korea Football Association (KFA) official licensed jersey

My friend has a keen eye for form and fit. This jersey fits me perfectly! Love it!

Inside an “innisfree” paper bag, I found a pack of authentic Korean Spicy Beef Noodles.  The K-Pop Girls repeatedly admonished me about the unusual hot spiciness of these noodles.  But I have become so accustomed to Korean cuisine that I am unfazed by the possibility of losing feeling on my tongue.  As I write, I have just finished it!  They were right.  Good thing I held back on my propensity to spike everything with lots of cayenne pepper (I like it hot!).  The noodles were so good I had them with a bowl of steamed white rice.

Korean REALLY spicy beef noodles. I think the brand's name if NongShim.

I tried the seasoning powder on its own... and I coughed at the hot spiciness! Whew!

The noodles could have very well had this much chili. Could even be much more!

The noodles, just moments before I devoured everything! And I mean everything with lots of steaming hot white rice. I used the chopsticks from Shanghai that Tenz gifted me with.

I find humor in the paper bag.  “Innis” in “innisfree” could very well be the homonym of the Filipino word “inis”, allowing for a translation of “vexation-free.”  Which, as I stare at the Korea Seoul Tower refrigerator magnet that came with the noodles, has been how the day has turned out to be.

"Innisfree"

Seoul Tower refirgerator magnet

I knew Rizzie, the original K-Pop Girl, and the gang would be back to work today, so to welcome her, I wore the Ruehl polo shirt she and her hubby gifted me with last year.  To complete the look, I strapped on my red Technomarine wristwatch, only to realize later that it would go nicely with the wraparound red leather bracelet I would get!  I’m all about the sleek all-stainless steel clasp that secures the bracelet.

The Ruehl polo shirt from Bom and Rizzie. One of my faves!

The wraparound red leather bracelet

While the bracelet goes perfectly with a red wristwatch, the stainless stell clasp allows for easy pairing with an all-stainless steel wristwatch.

Will chocolates be forgotten ever?  No.  Since this morning, I’ve been munching on a couple of LOTTE treats – ABC Chocolates and a chocote cream pie called Ghana.  I piled the ABC chocolates to take a shot only to later realize that in the randomness of it all, my favorite letter, “R” and my favorite number, “10” ended on top.  What are the chances of that?!

A pile of LOTTE ABC chocolates. These are super yummy! As I said above, the pile ended up with the "R" and with the "10" on top. My fave letter and my fave number.

LOTTE Ghana premium pie

And to appease my revolting tongue right now, I’m having my very own box of Roly Poly crunchy roll wafers with sweet chocolate cream filling.  Not too sweet.  Just right.  Almost coyly so.

Roly Poly crunchy wafer rolls with sweet chocolate cream filling

I’m so lovin’ South Korea.

Copyright © 2010 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MunchTime™©.  All rights reserved.