eNTeNG’s The Best Of… Breakfast (‘An Introduction’ and 1st in a Series)

A week after my birthday in 2000, I wrote an essay I entitled, ‘Over Coffee.’  And yes, I unashamedly forced it down my friends’ throats.  I sent them copies and ended up short of quizzing them about its contents – just so I knew they did read it!

The best of breakfast at Leisure Coast Resort... was very affordable. Only Php 600+ for full breakfasts for four very hungry people.

In that work, I recognized that most of the good years and the good times of my life and my friendships had been punctuated by coffee.  And now I have to say, by food too.  And as I have said, I’ve been toying around with the idea of sharing my own ‘eNTeNG’s The Best Of…’ a.k.a. ‘eNTeNG’s Favorite Things(?)…’.  From the moment the thought of doing this ran through and ricocheted in my mind, it had been so persistent – an itch that had been dying to be scratched.

 

Whatever will make it under this ‘The Best Of…’ header, is purely eNTeNG’s opinionated voice speaking.  Without a doubt, all the ‘best’ items here were judged by no other than me, myself, and I.  So I won’t be too hard on any reader who would end up violently reacting.

 

Quite fittingly, my first selection is for the best of breakfast.

 

And in this world of fastfood chains that had sprouted everywhere, I surprised even myself with my selection that found me going all the way up north to Dagupan City in the province of Pangasinan!  It was a plate of hot garlic fried white rice; sidings of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes; a cute mound of “atsara” (pickled shredded unripe papaya, with carrots and shallots); and, the shining star that had got to be the crispiest, tastiest, most flawlessly executed deep-fried vinegar-marinated milkfish that I’ve ever come across!  I found this unassumingly simple platter at the eight-year-old Sabina Restaurant of the Leisure Coast Resort.  And my finding it was quite serendipitous.  I was in that beauteous resort, with friends, to attend the wedding and emcee the reception of two of my best friends – James (Spider-man!) and Juvy.

 

I had the milkfish for two consecutive mornings there and up to today, nothing has come close to it.  All I can do is look back to how perfect it was.  The flavor was awesome, as I got right away how the salt, black pepper and white vinegar blended harmoniously, infusing every shred of the fish meat with undeniable flavor that complemented well the resulting fried-to-golden-brown-perfection texture.  I loved the crunch that came resounding with every bite as if what I was having were crispy chitlings.  The first that would hit me was the subdued acidity from the vinegar, made more defined by the salt and rounded by the pungency of the black pepper.  Because of all these, hard as it was for us, we couldn’t leave any piece – not even a small one – for any cat to enjoy.  And I love cats.  Alex (one of our engineers) actually finished everything from the head to the tail.  No sign of the tasty fish dish was left on the plates.

eNTeNG loved these – Jing Dadulla’s ‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

eNTeNG loved these – Jing Dadulla's 'Perfect' Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies!

FASTER THAN the speed of thought, a couple of feet away from the object on my desk, I identified it to be a small tub of sweet treats.  Close enough, the object of scrutiny made itself ostensibly known.  It was a container of seven cookies (I counted!).  Beautifully tied with a bright red ribbon, it had a note that said: “To Boss eNTeNG, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!! From Jing D.”  It was the 9^th of December.

Yummy treats prettily tied with a bright red ribbon. Everything really is good... with a red ribbon. Hahaha!

 

Officially, this would be the first ever home-baked treat I’m receiving this holiday season.  There really is no better time than the holidays for the home baker to come out from obscurity and showcase his or her edible works of art.  Having been friends with quite a few gifted home pastry artists (Cecille Carnay and Therese Yuvienco-Kinney), in my own right, I have championed their talent.  And I brag about them just about any chance that I get.

 

 

With what she shyly left on my desk – her Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie – I’m adding Jing Dadulla to my short list!  I just had to swing by her office (she’s one of our Product Planners) just to confirm that indeed, what she whipped up was a batch of cookies that combined the melt-in-your-mouth goodness of chocolate chips with the earthy taste and texture of old-fashioned rolled oats.  I was right.  And I promised her that I will let her know how I would find them, especially since I’ve never had an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips.  I saved the treats for later, primarily because I didn’t want to mess up the pretty red ribbon they were tied with.  (Sometimes, the petty stuff gets in the way!)

 

 

But the thought of a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie just wouldn’t let up.  Up to this day, I still salivate over the thought of Otis Spunkmeyer Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (I don’t think we have them here).  And since I surmised that home-made goodies have a short shelf life – probably 2 days tops – I gave in.  After dinner in the office (yes, I rendered overtime work yet again), I ceremoniously pulled one end of the red ribbon; pulled off the lid… and, with breathless anticipation, freed what could very well be some of the best-looking home-made cookies I’ve ever seen.

 

I smelled the cookies before taking the first bite and all I got was a faint buttery goodness with a light gust of vanilla.  They were surprisingly not greasy.  I held one in my hand while taking time to think how to capture its image nicely, and it didn’t bleed with grease on my fingers.  The cookies were crisp and crunchy outside, with a surprisingly chewy center.  The chocolate chips were sparingly distributed throughout, with one or a couple temptingly sitting perfect on the cookie top.  The size and the shape of each cookie were also near-perfect, which just testified to how well Jing must have chilled her dough before scooping portions and lining them up on the sheet pan and baking them.  And even after the whole process, the chocolate chips had managed to retain their integrity – they didn’t fall apart in all the mixing and the baking.  The best part?  The cookies were not cloyingly sweet at all!

Doesn't this half-bitten-into cookie just scream: "Bite me more!"???

 

Jing may not agree with me that she could add ‘Perfect’ to the name of her cookie, and call it the Perfect Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie.  But she could very well do that.  After all, Martha Stewart’s daughter Alexis did name her own cookie the ‘perfect’ chocolate chip.

 

Jing’s cookies were so good that I believed it would be a waste to let even a single crumb fall off.  Those that I did manage to catch on the palm of my hand, I licked!  Without needing to say it, these cookies didn’t last to see the light of the next day.  They were that good.