A story, bak kut teh, and a lesson on tea

The famous Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Soup Eating House

APPARENTLY, UNCEASING dreams of bak kut teh (meaty pork ribs soup) could really lead to having the door slammed shut at your face.  But unlike in the case of a top Hong Kong government official, my series of unfortunate events in the pursuit of the best bak kut teh didn’t matter enough to stir uproar from the masses.

The anecdote was perfect to whet the appetite on the short walk from the car to Ng Ah Sio Pork Ribs Soup Eating House, at 208 Rangoon Road, Hong Building, Singapore.  It was lunchtime, so the chances of being turned away were slim to none.  Though this place has been known to run out of the house specialty way before 2:00 PM.

The interiors of this "eating house" is replete with memories.

 

A section of the wall has been turned into a photo wall.

I went there for the bak kut teh that should take no time to make it to the table.  But the very little wait turned out to be enough time to squeeze in a little lesson on tea preparation courtesy of our host.  But he had to first pull me from my distraction – snapping shots of the interiors and the walls with my trusty Blackberry Bold 9780.

“Come here, eNTeNG.  Pay attention.  Next time, you will make the tea.”

Like the dutiful student that I was decades ago, I sat down and paid attention.  A little boiling water from the kettle beside our table is poured into a small terra cotta pot.  “This is to clean the pot.”  The water is then poured out on to a shallow aluminum pan.  A little more water is added to the pot and this time, the water is poured out on to really cute, really-miniature-they’re-almost-purely-decorative teacups.  “This is to clean the cups.”  After all the cleaning – or shall I say, cleansing? – a bag of loose leaf tea, infused with dried jasmine blossoms is ripped open, the matte pearls of floral goodness allowed to tumble into the earthenware.

The really cute teacups and the terra cotta pot.

 

A lesson on tea preparation. This now is my new task.

 

A peek inside the tea bag. Or sachet. Or packet.

The boiling water hits the tea leaves and a robust, ethereal, soothing whiff engulfs the air as if incense paying homage to the advent of pork ribs soup touted to be so good it could very well change a life.  That, or simply raise the bar of what really good bak kut teh is.

Two really meaty ribs come swimming in a deep brown soup.  The shape remaining intact – no visual hint to the much-desired fall-off-the-bone romanticism attributed to flesh stuck to bone – proves to be the perfect foil to the tenderness that would yield to the first bite.  The flesh fell off the bone.  And the meat was quite flavorful.  It sure took hours to simmer the meat in the rich, full-bodied, peppery broth.  But it was just enough to develop much depth in the flavor and render much softness to the pork.  But without draining the life out of it – no matter how paradoxical that sounds.

The bak kut teh that I’m waxing lyrical and yes, with much longing about, came without any pretensions – just ribs in soup.  But it was stick-to-your-ribs goodness (the pun is intended!) that made me not miss the many cloves of garlic that I’ve been used to with bak kut teh.  Not even the bunches of fresh coriander I would litter my soup with.  But a deep sense of longing did rise from my gut to my head, halfway through my bowl of rice.  I knew I needed another bowl.  So just when the attentive wait staff refilled our bowls with the heavenly soup, I mustered all courage I had in me, to sheepishly smile at our host and ask, “May I have one more bowl of rice?”

I was quite embarrassed for asking seconds that I had to chase my sudden shyness down with a shot of the jasmine tea.  And for about the second time, I had to stop for a split second to appreciate how perfectly the subtle fragrance of the tea buoys the flavors of the bak kut teh.

But only for a split second, as the descent of a steaming hot bowl of white rice snapped me out of the trance I was falling in.  I dug my chopsticks into the pristine grains and quietly slurped my soup and thought, with the constant craving that this experience has ignited, I don’t think I would be able to stand having the door slammed shut at my face.

I looked up and saw that they are closed on Mondays.  I just had to tell myself, “Ok, avoid Mondays.”

The star of the meal... Bak kut teh!

 

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

Playing favorites

“eNTeNG’s FAVORITES,” my roster of the blogs I read have only had four links for like, the life of this blog so far.  That’s over a couple of years.  It seems that my playing favorites got stuck.

Well, really…  until today.

My apprehension in linking up other people’s blogs – especially the ones which have achieved celebrity status, cult following a most likelihood – is that I feel that I should first have a real connection with the people behind the blogs.  I’m myself’s most unforgiving critic.  I mean, before anybody accuses me of SMC, I would have accused myself first!  (So don’t bother!)  Hahaha!

But today I realized I need to link up three blogs.  Why?  Because I feel so much joy going thru them that I think it is my obligation to my few readers to offer them the perfect escape from my page once they’ve grown tired of my entries.  My dear readers just have to click away and they’re off to somewhere better.

A Year In Love is my friend Toni Alexis Araneta’s chronicle of her 2011.  She’s one girl, with one mission, in one year:  to spread one love one day at a time.

A Year In Love

 

Munchy Crunchy by “the CRUNCH queen” is one no-fuss, no-nonsense food blog that I’ve come to really appreciate.  She does away with lengthy prose (I’m guilty, I know!) and just talks about her foodie discoveries right away.  I came across her blog thru the many comments she has left here on mine.

Munchy Crunchy

 

ME BUDDHA BANANA by @Rambuc is the first ever style blog that I really find captivating.  Ok, I think that’s a strong word to use after merely a couple of scrolls down and a few clicks of the “Older Posts” link.  But it really is.  I’m glad I came across that retweet that pointed to @Rambuc, that pointed to his blog’s link.  I’ll definitely be reading this one regularly.

ME BUDDHA BANANA!

 

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

Northern exposure

Photo taken with my brother's Samsung camera phone, at Giordano Outlet, Shell of Asia along NLEX

BROTHER ALWAYS tells me that my charisma appeals only to sales associates, service crew personnel, and to baristas.  I actually find this as a compliment, as the feeling is mutual.  I like sales associates, service crew personnel, and baristas.

By our second of three stops at Shell of Asia along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), I knew I’d already made a good impression when upon entering GIORDANO OUTLET, I was cordially met halfway at the floor by the same associate who assisted me a week before.  I didn’t make a huge purchase then – just a pair of jeans in royal blue, an affordable version of the Lacoste pants I had been lusting after – but her warmth was infectious and sincere.  I engaged her in a conversation and I think, I even walked her through my shopping philosophy.  Hahaha!  Too much information.  I came out of the store with three bags – a nylon jacket for my brother, a shirt for me, and a kikay hobo bag for my favorite Executive Administrative Assistant in the office.

A couple of doors down the strip was the Starbucks with the barista with the best penmanship.  Yes, the beautiful penmanship I harped about about a couple of weeks ago has now gone down in history as a has-been (So sorry barista at MOA!).  And it helps that the Shell of Asia barista is cute.  I didn’t buy everything on display at their 5ºC counter but I really felt treated well.  Friendship knows how exacting I am when it comes to my favorite Chai Tea Latte over ice (“Do you really really say all of that?!” she once snapped back thru text) that I would always expect to just be acknowledged with a blank stare after my litany.  And a part of me would always expect that they’d miss my specifications.

My coffee name. Cute barista, good penmanship.

“I want Chai Tea Latte, served over ice.  Easy on the milk.  Heavy on the strong tea.  I want it strong.  I want to savor the spicy black tea with just enough milk and sugar.  I want to be able to pick out the essences of ginger, fennel, cardamom, and cinnamon.  Venti.”  The Shell of Asia barista smiled, and even told me that if I didn’t like the drink, I could have it replaced, gratis et amore.  Now that’s service!  As it turned out, the blend was perfect and replacement wasn’t necessary.

“Sir, sana dito na lang kayo lagi mag-Starbucks.”  (”Sir, I hope you’d always get your coffee here.“)

How I wish I could!  Since I knew that my NLEX sojourn would come to an end by the end of January, the last time I was there, I surprised my newfound service crew personnel friends with pizza from the nearby Pizza Hut.  The people there were great too but it would border on hilarious to surprise them with a family-sized Cheesy Volcano Super Supreme Pizza!  Hahaha!

"Tomato" and eNTeNG at Pizza Hut

 

I miss you, Shell of Asia!

 

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

How do I thank thee?

IT’S INSIDIOUS, the pleasures I derive from miso.  Just when I thought I have had enough, I crave for just a little more.  So when someone so kind gave me a 10-serving pack of my favorite miso soup, I jumped up and down, quite a vulgar and immature reaction.

My favorite brand of miso soup!

I heart miso, here and here.

I can have this all day – everyday.  Which was exactly what I did this past weekend.  No wonder I’m so happy.

A bowl I made, with lots of tofu and onion leeks. I love how the dried wakame seeweeds start off as little as peppercorns and soak up broth to become bigger than the shallow bowl-shaped container of my soup spoon!

 

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

Iced with cream and coffee beans and berries

CHOCOLATES DO not really send me to a state of frenzied rapture.  Unless perhaps we’re talking Royce’ or Baci Perugina here.  But ice cream…  ice cream, I’ve always loved.  And it runs the whole gamut – from the “dirty” variant that gets peddled on the streets (which Partner and I both love), to the soft ones we’d bring to the movie theater when I was a kid (beginning with that one birthday), to a couple I stocked up with in preparation for the movie and TV series marathons I’ve been having this holiday.

My first serving of the mocha ice cream.

Anything that captures the robust, full-bodied aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans at subzero temperatures has my name written all over it.  Sometimes, waiting in line at Starbucks, I would fancy asking for a couple of shots of espresso, mix them with cream and a little chocolate, and stick the whole thing in the freezer.  This very thought got me so turned on I had to make calls to have a half-gallon tub of Nestle mocha ice cream brought home.  I started politely by scooping small portions that beautifully contrasted against pristine fine china.  But eventually, I took the whole container with me to the couch, and finished it off as Norah Walker’s stentorian voice rose to such a feverish pitch as to drown out all protests from her children, over dinner on Brothers & Sisters.

Yet another portion of the mocha ice cream... before I had to just get the whole tub!

 

Just one last shot before I cleaned the container out.

But running out of ice cream – with many more episodes of that ABC hit family drama and The Big Bang Theory staring me at the face – wasn’t exactly a thought to relish.  So even before I licked the last scoop of mocha ice cream off of my Oneida spoon, I made sure that Berry Strawberry from the Selecta Gold Series was already cocooning in the coldest corner of the freezer, behind piles of Nestle fruit selection yogurt.  Originally, I’ve never liked the thought of fruit bits in my ice cream.  No wonder, “Halo-halo sorbetes” never had a chance with me as a kid.  The cold stare I would give it always did a better job in turning it into mush than the sorching tropical sun ever could.

Berry Strawberry from the Selecta Gold Series

 

Taking it a scoop at a time. Sooo good!

 

The real strawberry bits are blended so well with and into the Franch vanilla ice cream. Yum!

But yogurt changed that for me.  And now, Berry Strawberry – more so.  It has taken me over a year, from when I first tried a variant from the Selecta Gold Series, to try Chef J. Gamboa’s “unique, carefully perfected masterpiece.”  Truly, sun-ripened strawberries blended with the very best French vanilla ice cream is “a marriage made in heaven.”  I think I’ve found my new favorite!

Yes, coffee and mocha will be constant in my life.  But strawberries in rich cream has held my tastebuds hostage for now. 

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

Caramel chocolate chip cookies

Ricci's Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

PERFECTION CAN be tiring.  There’s just no other way to go from that state.  But courtesy of a tub of sweet treats, I conceded that perfection could pull a surprise too.  And in this case, it came by way of a sinful addition right smack at the center – a cute dollop of caramel.

A tub of six of the very best caramel chocolate chip cookies

I first wrote about my friend Ricci’s chocolate chip cookies here.  A few other treats have come and gone between then and now – punctuated by the likes of my death-by-chocolate favorite that is the S&R muffin – but this tub of her “Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies” deserves mention in this space.

A cute dollop of creamy caramel brought perfection to a whole new high!

Just how good were these cookies?  I had to flick off my selfishness switch and opted to share.  Even my diabetic Mother couldn’t resist a bite – okay, she had a whole one to herself.  But that meant working her meds and her Omni blood sugar monitor on overtime.

 

 

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

Sloshed on crimson tide

The lovely Piuquenes Cabernet Sauvignon from Argentina, together with Martinelli's, make for an excellent drink – my brother's "Crimson Tide."

FROM THE moment Martha Stewart poured a very lovely well-chilled bottle of champagne into a glass with a scoop of the very best, ripe passion fruit, I knew she had awoken that part of me that has never taken to drink.  The sight of carbon dioxide forming pretty patterns with bubbles that sizzled all through the length of the flute, not showing any sign of fizzling out, did exactly that to me.  Added to it was the tint the passion fruit pulp gave the drink.  It was very pretty.

Unfortunately, I don’t drink still.  But the holidays were a good enough excuse to pour glass after glass of bubbly.  Or a good chardonnay, pinot noir, chianti, or sauvignon blanc.

Or a really good cabernet sauvignon.

My youngest brother asked if I wanted a drink while I finished the kare-kare (oxtail stew in a peanut butter sauce with lots of fresh vegetables).  He handed me a concoction of one part Martinelli’s Gold Medal Sparkling 100% Apple-Cranberry Juice and two parts Piuquenes Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendoza, Argentina.

It was really fruity and pleasing to the palate – from the first sip and sustained all throughout – that I loved it so much.  I told my brother that he should name this drink.  He turned to me and rattled off, “Crimson Tide,” owing to the rouge origins of the cocktail’s components.

I thought the name to be catchy, with good recall that I had to name-drop it on the New Year’s message I sent my friends: “Now sloshed on his third “Crimson Tide”…”

I really was sloshed.  I was already referring to myself in the third person.

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

Food is the kindness from friends

Holding Mabelle's Banana Choco Muffin in my hand. I loved this!

THERE’S NO shaking off the cataclysmic devastation the ferocious storm brought since the last weekend.  After the unprecedented precipitation and the floodwaters that rose in minutes, the city was reduced to a modern-day Atlantis, threatened to be obliterated from the face of this earth.

In the face of helplessness splashed all over the papers and in the evening news, it seems hard to pull one’s self from out of this emotional and psychological rut.  And I wasn’t even one of those who waded through murky water clinging for dear life.

But just when we least expect it – notwithstanding surrendering to the gloom – we find ourselves in the receiving end of other people’s kindness.  I was reminded of this today when one of my close friends at work, Mabelle, handed me yet another one of her yummy confections – the Banana Choco Muffin.  In past days, she had shared with me generous portions of her pasta creations – Spaghetti Aglio-Oglio and Fetuccini with Tuna and Mushroom.  Her generosity never fails to make me feel good.  It all started last year with her Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies I went nuts for.

For some reason, doing something good for others always bring to my mind the 1929 Lloyd C. Douglas novel, “Magnificent Obssession.”

Thanks, Mabelle.  Happy birthday too!

Mabelle makes really good pasta too. This is her Fetuccini with Tuna and Mushroom

Worth the long wait

My day started with Roger Federer, some Reese's... and this beauty of a muffin that can only be S&R's!

SEVEN MONTHS is a long time to wait.  For love to come along. For a reservation to confirm.  For the object of your affection to return the enthusiasm that you have hoped for.  Seven months is a long time to wait. For anything.

In December last year, my good friend, Senior Industrial Engineer Ricci Bejarin introduced me to what I have since regarded as the best muffin I have ever had.  I went to as far as calling it the best “death-by-chocolate” chocolate chip chocolate muffin there is.  You see that I didn’t hold back on using the word “chocolate” in christening this confection.  And that’s simply because I think only an overload of that word can give justice to it.  That, and the fact that I haven’t the faintest idea as to how the store calls it.  Hahaha! (I asked Ricci just a few minutes back and she said that the barcode only said, “Assorted Muffins” – and that’s because that was what she got).

A closer shot of the muffin further reveals the generous amount of the yummy, very good chocolate chips!

 

This wonderful confection is sitting prettily on my Starbucks Coffee 16-month planner and journal, courtesy of Partner!

But regardless of what it is really called, nothing can take away from the fact that this has got to be the muffin that is most chockful with chocolate chips.  And I have to say that they use only very good chocolate indeed.  I picked out some from the very generously covered muffin top and I played with them on my tongue, and waited for them to melt.  The jolt of chocolate flavor wasn’t enough to cause me to have a seizure.  Instead, it brought me to a happy place in my head that had me impatiently wanting to get a bite of the muffin itself!

You shall see that I shared the muffin with one of my best friends – Spider-man.  And he loved it too!  While normally we expect only the muffin top to taste great – which in the case of this one was a glistening, crusty, almost crunchy chocolate chip-studded top – this one was yummy beyond muffin top-deep.  The crumb was dense but at the same time so moist and – surprise surprise! – still riddled with the very good chocolate chips!  It’s a big plus that it is not greasy too.  Which to me was an indication of the skill that went into its baking – a not-so-greasy muffin that is surprisingly full of flavor and richness.

I shared my S&R muffin from Ricci with one of my bestest friends ever - Spider-man!

Yes, seven months was a long time to wait.  But for this S&R muffin from Ricci, I will have to concede it was well worth it.

Worth the long wait... S&R's chocolate chip chocolate muffin...

Cocoa in numbers

 

THIS HAPPENED last Monday.

 

I don’t normally snack before lunch time.  But I could already hear my stomach grumbling furiously.  So grabbing something to bite was in order.  But unfortunately, my meetings then were running a bit late.

 

So I turned to my seat mate, our company’s Quality & Reliability Manager, and asked if she had something I could munch on.  She stepped out of the room and in an instant came back with a box of chocolates she said she didn’t really want.

 

It was a Lindt EXCELLENCE 85% COCOA DARK SWISS THINS.  I took one bite of one of the 2” x 2” thin squares and instantly fell in love.

 

 

I felt like I literally melted in my seat.  The “thins” – each “engraved” with the signature Lindt cursive brand logo – have a deeply intense, dark and bitter chocolate taste that smelled robust and full-bodied.  The “crunch” that came with each bite would later give way to a velvety smooth texture as the chocolate melted on my tongue.  I guess this kind of dark chocolate doesn’t really appeal to everybody’s palate.  But it does to me.  Some who tried it said they’re just fit to be used for baking or probably thrown in to a pot of boiling water to make “Tsokolate eh!”

 

 

Having tremendously enjoyed this box of chocolate brought back to mind the beautiful box of STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY® *STARBUCKS® ORIGIN SELECT CHOCOLATES* that I bought at their store right across our company’s corporate offices on Prairie City Road somewhere in the Golden State, right around one Christmas time.

 

As you can see from the pictures, the box could actually pass off as a “Celestina minaudiere,” complete with metallic chrome hardware – the snap lock.  Inside this box came individually wrapped miniature chocolate blocks of Starbucks’ special “Origin Select Chocolates” – Venezuelan 45% cacao, Ecuadorian Arriba 66% cacao, Mexican 50% cacao, African 34% cacao, African 54% cacao, and Venezuelan 73.5% cacao.

 

I won’t go to great lengths as to how I recollect these chocolate pieces tasted.  They’re all in the pictures.  Hahaha!