Balut

It's a hard-boiled duck egg.  When anyone asks for an explanation, it's as simple as that.  Oh, I forgot to tell you that the duck egg has an embryo inside.  It's called "Balut." Tim Cameron puts it on the list of the 6 Most Terrifying Food in the World.  It's a common challenge in Fear Factor.  They say you can't eat it on an empty stomach because it's got too much protein, and after regularly eating this on an empty stomach, the protein build-up can cause lactose intolerance.  Zac Efron, the Hollywood heartthrob, had a couple of these babies a few weeks ago, and inadvertently, has somehow become the Brand Ambassador for the promotion of the egg.  I bought a dozen the other night and took it to the Raider's Club, where it was gone in 60 seconds.  I owe it all to my older cousin, Manong Peter, who taught me the art of consuming this (serve hot, crack on the wide end, use a flick of the wrist, and don't forget the salt).  I will forever recall those countless nights where Kong, Gwammy, Mikaela, Erika, Anita and I would gather round to have this delicious midnight snack.  I remember Erika would even ask for the extra hardened white ends.  She loved it very much.  We all did, and it's a shame we can't take more these days (cholesterol-watching).  P18 each, available throughout the Metro.

Ku Chai Ah

Vicky has a nameless door-to-door supplier of Ku Chai Ah, which is basically a vegetable empanada (stuffed pastry bread, usually fried or baked).  While her crust is a bit on the tough side, the filling is something that I like--green vegetables (cabbage, parsley & quinchay) with ground pork and tofu bits.  Each costs something like P25, and Vicky gets a discount for buying by the box!  When we were kids, I remember that these used to be sold individually wrapped in white wax paper which was stapled on both ends.  You had to remember to take the stapler bullets off before munching on them, otherwise it would be a disaster! Other popular empanada flavors then, I remember, were pork curry and shredded chicken, but I can't seem to find these anymore, and I doubt that this current supplier of Vicky has other flavors.  This is one snack that is well liked by Lola Dee and the Callars, and Vicky makes it a point to get an separate box for Ermita!

Steak Sauce Competition

I have always been a fan of steak sauces, and eating at Bugsy's gave me a rare chance to compare two well known brands, HP and A1, side by side.  While both originated in the UK, A1 is more popular in the United States, while HP continues its lead in the UK and in Canada.  I understand that the tangy taste of HP is juiced up by tamarind and tempered by dates, while A1 sauce has raisins and vinegar as contrasting agents.  I like both and can't make up my mind which one is better!

Super Fish Chips

Vicky brought home another version of the fish kropek, and this one is called Super Fish Chips.  These white flat crispy chips are tasty and quite addictive!  Note that fish kropek is not to be confused with fish crackers, which are color yellow and come in small sticks.  Fish kropek comes in sizes of around 2" x 3" x 1/4" and smell like, well, fish!  I find that this brand isn't as tasty as other brands like Gold Carp though, but it still is a nice thing to munch on, specially while watching movies!

Jagabee

Jagabee is another product, the existence of which I merely learned from Monique and Deannie.  Apparently, this brand of potato chips has made the rounds of the local schools and the kids are absolutely nuts over it.  Made by the Japanese company Calbee, we found a couple of packs at Wellcome grocery in Causeway Bay and the kids just loved the baked crunchy goodness of the snack.  The quantity provided by a pack of 3 tubs is so annoyingly pitiful though (only 40g per tub), and I must say that while the taste was excellent, I found the product to be on the expensive side.

Pik-Nik

I can say I'm a fan of potato chips.  There was a time that the only available flavor was plain salted, but it seems that today, all sorts of exotic flavors abound.  Some chips come with wasabi and nori, some are flavored with sour cream and chives, while others have BBQ spice or cheese.  Even shapes are varied--wrinkled, twisted, ruffled, formed too!  While I like chips, I simply can't resist the shoestring style and in this category, Pik-Nik is my brand of choice.  I simply love this--no overwhelming sensation, super crunchy, and salted just right.  Canisters are just under P130 and I can probably finish a large one watching a movie, maybe even halfway through!  As with chips, these come in a variety of flavors, and I really like the cheddar cheese flavor, pictured at left.  I took the liberty of picking up a canister for Monique, but ended up opening it myself!

Gold Carp Kropek

Kropek is a thin wafer-like crunchy snack usually made from starch and fish, shrimp or crab flavoring.  Fish kropek is usually white, while shrimp and crab kropek come in various shades of orange and pink.  I've spent many childhood days munching on this snack, and for a while, this disappeared from the market, as the western snacks (potato chips & nachos) came into fashion.  I was in Unimart with cousin Ed over the weekend, and one of the stalls at the entrance door happened to sell some Gold Carp kropek, just P35 a pack.  I pounced on it, and the crunchy taste just brought me back to my childhood days (we used to run to the neighborhood sari-sari store to buy the stuff; I can even remember the face of the counter girl, whose name was Mi--really!).  Ahhhh.... sarap!

Mogu

Vicky arrived with a box of Mogu siopitos (small asado siopao, or hot pork buns), which I found to be quite interesting, because I had thought that Mogu was a Japanese restaurant located at the Serendra (it is), and that siopao was a Chinese snack.  Oh well, divergence--talk about pan-Asian cuisine!  The siopitos are just about bite-size (2 to 3 bites for others, but maybe I can do that in one bite, haha...), taste pretty good, with just the right mix of salty-sweet stewed pork.  This comes to P180 per dozen, quite reasonable.

Virginia

Virginia Foods has been around since the seventies, but since their market concentration is in the Visayas, I had thought that the brand has disappeared from the Luzon grid.  These past few months, I've seen several of their hotdog stands sprouting in various locations (the one above is located at the Robinson's mall in Ermita), and their hotdogs are now available in groceries and supermarkets all over the metro.  Very tasty hotdogs, I must say!  Cooked and skewered, the hotdogs come to P15 each, and if you want a bun, you can simply add P10.  A kilo of frozen hotdogs comes to P175, and this is a bit higher in price, but still competitive with the pricing of their market set counterparts (i.e. Star, Holiday, Yummy, Purefoods' Tender Juicy).  I'm glad to see the product comeback!

The Tofu Store

Vicky usually goes to the Tofu Store along J. Abad Santos St. in Little Baguio, San Juan, in order to buy freshly made tokwa, a bean curd cake that she cuts uip, fries and dips into an insanely addicting mix of soy sauce, sugar, crushed garlic and a little water.  This time, she came back with some Tofu Chips (in various flavors like cheese, BBQ and sour cream).  Now, compared to your off-the-shelf chicherya (junk food), this invention is packed with a lot of protein, and Monique just loves the taste.  I, however, have a mixed reaction--the crunch was just right, but why is it tinged with sweetness?  I don't know if that's inherent in the tofu, or if some sugar was added.  Anyway, the packs are less than P50 each--go ahead, try it and be the judge!

Snackers

This is absolutely a super treat for those chicheria lovers out there.  Cheese puffs simply called Snackers, which is actually in generic packaging.  It's absolutely delicious, super cheesy, with a long-lasting crunchiness!  Vicky has an office mate that sells this stuff and the giant pack is only P70!  It's not even labelled--no manufacturer or telephone number or address--but since it's so yummy, there's a big demand for this stuff!  The funny thing is that I don't even know where to get it, but if you somehow see the packaging at right, this is it, folks!

Marcona Almonds

I've always thought that all almonds were the same shape, and moreover, i believed that "Marcona" was simply a more expensive Spanish brand of almonds.  I found out today that I was totally wrong on both counts.  My cousin Cliff gave us a bottle of Marcona almonds, and the first thing I noticed was that the nuts were slightly smaller than regular almonds, were much flatter, and had a rounder shape too.  After checking the internet, I found out that the Marcona is a type of almonds primarily grown in Spain--not a manufacturer's brand.  We opened the bottle today and the nuts were much softer and easier to chew than regular almonds.  Great for a mid-day snack!

Pringles

While munching over our buko pandan salad, the kids brought out an old Pringles can of mine that I used to store some badminton shuttlecocks.  This brought back a lot of memories!  In the late seventies when Pringles first appeared, we were mesmerized at the constant shape of the Pringles potato chip, not knowing that these were were machine pressed and baked.  Since this product is omnipresent nowadays (with a hundred different kinds of flavors and spices), the kids don't even think twice about it and assume it as given.  Annika had some new flavors (in containers that are now taller and thinner) in her backpack, so we took the shot pictured at left to highlight the comparison of the old and new.  If I'm not mistaken, my red canister was bought circa early 80s, and I think I got that from Nepo Mart in Dau, Pampanga (PX shopping!).

Homejoy

There's a type of popcorn that very few have ever seen.  This popcorn is completely popped but the shape of the corn kernel is retained! Take a closer look at the picture on the left--the popped corn is kernel-like in shape!  I'm not to sure if this is due to the cooking process or if this is inherent to the genetic properties of the corn hybrid, but it sure is a wonderful thing to pop in one's mouth, and Vicky's colleagues just love it!  It's not expensive, around P100 for a 250 gram pack, and it's available in a lot of groceries and supermarkets.  The best thing is that it's locally manufactured so it's readily available anytime!  Now ain't that great?

Tao Kae Noi

Tao Kae Noi is a crunchy nori (Japanese seaweed) snack introduced to us by Michaela.  Since she first gave us a couple of packs last year, we've been heavy into the stuff and we've tried the various flavors (original salty, spicy and wasabe).  Every time we do the grocery, I can't pass up the chance to pick up a pack!  I previously had the impression that nori was supposed to be supple, in order to roll around the sushi, but I think I got it mixed up--this was a snack product made of nori and not for use in making sushi!  The product is made in Thailand, and is geared for the Japanese market--it's lucky that some shipments make it to the Philippines!  I just love it!

Red Rock Potato Chips

Erika just came home from a trip to Oz and dropped off some treats for us, amongst them Red Rock Potato Chips, which were absolutely crunchy, pepper-spicy and had that wonderful zing from lime!  Didn't even need a dip... I just couldn't stop myself, poof!  It was gone in 60 seconds...

Baker's Mill

I simply forgot to write about this wonderful snack food that I picked up in Cebu during my last trip.  Dried nokos, as the Cebuanos call squid, tastes so yummy that I can probably eat a half kilo of the stuff in one sitting.  It's basically salty seafood snack, that has a tinge of both sweetness and chili.  No starches or artificial flavoring--this is the real thing, plain dried pusit!  One of the more popular brands is Baker's Mill, which comes in a gift box.  Price however, varies a lot--in Manila this comes to P285 per box; in Davao, Vicky found some at P250 per box; while in Cebu, the retailers have it at P185 per box, and the source (Profoods) goes down as low as P160 per box.  I still have 3 boxes in our stash--and don't you dare get one! ;)

Waterthins

Fast recovering from my bout with severe indigestion, I had to take a soft diet to slowly get my tummy accustomed to the regular diet.  Luckily, Vicky had bought some Waterthin gourmet cheese sticks and crackers from Wine Depot, and I had a enjoyable dinner.  The cheese twists would have been perfect with some liver pate, or tomato salsa or cheese dip... but well, I can't have them all... hehehe....

Chicharritos

I've been an addict of chicharon (pork-rind cracklings) even though my doctors have told me that this delicacy is off-limits for my diet.  Yes, I've heard the arguments--it's supposed to be cholesterol galore!  However, I don't usually indulge in bulk, and I make it a point to eat only in moderation--which means that I select the tastiest chicharon around in order to savor the experience.  Chicharritos is a product from Cebu-based Combrands, Inc. and they have managed to make bite-sized chicharon in various flavors.  They even have ready-to-fry and microwaveable pellets which come out more voluminous that buying ready-to-eat packages!  I love the taste!  The quality of Chicharritos is pretty consistent due to the aluminum foil packaging, and this ensures that one will have a delightful experience eating the product  (one of my pet peeves is purchasing  unbranded chicharon which turns out to be old stock, has no crunch at all, and even worse, already has a rancid taste).  These snack packs are less than P100, pretty good with juice, soda or beer!

DEC

Vicky came home yesterday with some fresh lumpia from Diao Eng Chay, a Chinese deli along Wilson St.  The  Chinese version is especially tasty, filled with meats (I think I tasted pork and shrimp) & vegetables and comes with a soft yellow wrapper that was obviously specially made by the deli (not the usual commercialize hard & white version).  The Vietnamese style lumpia, Vicky's favorite, is wrapped in a traditional translucent rice wrapper, and has bean vermicelli and other Vietnamese herbs and condiments.  Fast, flavorful and healthy pasalubong, each around P70 only... A most welcome addition to any family gathering!