Kit Kat Green Tea

My friend arrived from Sapporo and she gifted me with a unique treat from Nestle.  One usually associates Kit Kat with chocolates, but in this case, I didn't even sense the chocolate flavor in the coating.  The wafer coating is green tea paste, quite unique in taste and texture (I found it a little grainy, which was exciting to the tongue).  And yes, to balance it all, the inside has a thin chocolate filling for the chocolate purist.  I understand that Kit-Kat was originally produced by Rowntree (England) in 1912 and the brand was essentially a chocolate coated crisp wafer.  In 1970, Hershey acquired the rights to produce the candy bar in the United States.  What is unique about the product is that since Nestle acquired Rowntree in 1988, the whole world knows that Kit-Kat is produced by Nestle, but in the United States, the brand is produced by its competitor.  Nestle has experimented with a lot of flavors like orange, peanut butter, white chocolate and hazelnut (usually labelled as limited or special editions), and this has done much to generate continued excitement in the confectionery market.  I lIke it!  Have a break, have a Kit-Kat!

Mister Donut

My ocular inspection trip to Cebu with some bankers started off with with an early morning PAL flight, and I just had to get some brekky at the NAIA 2.  It was a good thing that Mister Donut has a counter right within the pre-departure area, and I was able to try some of their new offerings--the Chunky Bavarians.  I had the mango bavarian, and while the dough was soft and the filling was filled with mango bits (not chunks, bits), I found the donut to be on the sweet side.  They also had chunky chocolate and chunky choco-peanuts, and I would surmise that the sweetness level would be the same.  Inexpensive at P20 each.

Nic's

After Cerchio, Monique and I decided to go on a binge to satisfy our sweet teeth, probably also to salvage the dining experience for the night.  I had been very curious about Nic's Gourmet Desserts along A. Mabini St. in Mandaluyong, and I thought that this was the perfect time to try the place.  Yes, Bingo!  We were not mistaken.  We arrived almost 9pm, and the place was still open.  Nice interior colors, very neat and delightful to behold, practically eye-candy.

Since it was almost closing time, we were lucky that some items were on special discount--food for the god, cheese rolls and ensaymada were going at half price (this is a popular way for bakeries to ensure that inventory is always fresh).  The Red Velvet cake looked good and tasted good as well.  The Walnut cluster was absolutely stunning!  Monique loved this and I thought that the quality of the pie was already up to par with international standards.  I suddenly remembered that delicious walnut pie that I tasted in a country club in Melbourne (I forget which one), and I could swear that this walnut pie was right there, on par, if not better.  It so happened that Rina Go, the owner of the place, dropped by and we engaged in light exchange--I must congratulate her for bringing gourmet desserts to town; it used to be that one would have to go abroad to enjoy delectable desserts of this caliber.

We also picked up some deli items--parmesan spread, tomato basil dip, salmon spread (Kraft used to have this, but now it's no longer available locally) and wheat crisps.  For our dessert  (excluding the deli items), we spent something like P250 each.  The store is open till around 10pm, and this is the view of the store from the street (you can't miss it, A. Mabini is a one-way street coming from Shaw Boulevard to Wilson Street; the store is on the right side).

Amosic Choco Peanut Bars

Vicky buys this chocolate peanut bar from one of her friends.  It's crunchy yet it has a fluffy dimension to it, I ought to say the texture is really unique.  It tastes more of peanuts than chocolate though.  Sweetness is just about right, slightly on the sweet side--I will have around 2-3 bars though before my mouth sweetness level begins to saturate.  I understand that this product comes from Baguio City, and is made by Amosic Food Products.  I have tried to find out more about this company, to no avail.  Interesting find, a favorite with the kids.

J.Co

J.Co Donuts is taking the Metro by storm.  I passed by their outlet at the Greenbelt 3 and I saw a long line of around 40 people all patiently waiting for their turn at the counter.  This Indonesian cafe chain was formed by Johnny Andrean, and it seems that the expansion over the past 6 years has been simply phenomenal.  Becca took home some of their doughnuts last week, and I had my first taste of their stuff.  I now understand why this brand is getting popular.  The donuts are soft and chewy, made with quality chocolate, nuts and fillings, and I observed that even a couple of days after being purchased the doughnuts wouldn't harden.  My only reservation is that I found the doughnuts to be on the sweet end of my taste buds--oh well, I can only eat one at a time then.

Choc Nuts

Choc Nut has gotta be one of the longest lasting Philippine chocolate delicacies.  I can remember buying this in the early seventies at our neighborhood sari-sari store--Mi, the salesgirl, would always ask us if we wanted some.  The candy is made by New Unity Sweets based in Malabon, and the packaging has improved over the years (it used to come in carton box, but now comes in a plastic foil wrap).  The candy is made from chocolate, milk, sugar and ground peanuts, and is a bit crumbly, so one would have to eat it fast by plunking the whole candy into one's mouth all in one fell swoop!  It's inexpensive, P27.50 for a pack of 24 pieces, and available practically in most stores groceries, and convenience stores around Metro Manila.  It has a chocolatey taste, yet the ground peanut gives it a slightly different texture from plain chocolate bars.  It's a favorite with kids and adults alike.  It gets exported into various parts of the world, mostly by pasalubong treats of travelling Filipinos.  It's good, it's yummy, it's addictive!

Chewy Junior

Monique just loves cream puffs!  While at Greenbelt last weekend, we chanced upon Chewy Junior, which is a Singaporean maker of cream puffs with a few newly opened stores in Metro Manila.  I got to taste a chocolate version, the crust was quite chewy and needed a few bites before I could get it to separate--by that time the cream had run off to my fingers!  Cream filling was quite good, but it was a bit messy to munch on for me.  I can actually forego this dessert (and do away with all that sugar), but Monique smiles whenever she sees cream puffs!  Each puff costs around P45, but I understand that it comes out cheaper by the dozen.

Oatberry Clusters

Marks & Spencer has a number of stores all over the Philippines, but some items just don't find their way into the local stores.  A good example is the all-time favorite of Vicky and Monique--Oatberry Clusters!  This delectable treat of oats, yoghurt and cranberries can't be seen locally, and we were just lucky that a friend of Vicky's came back from London with a whole pint of the stuff!  It's chewy, close to gooey, and filled with addicting flavor.  It's a bit on the sweet side for me though, but I can still eat two or three bars in one sitting!

Susie's Tibok-Tibok

It seems to me that I've been eating a lot of kakanin lately, and my sweet tooth can't seem to get enough.  Becca came home with some Tibok-Tibok from Susie's Cuisine (Tarlac), and we had a wonderful treat!  Tibok-tibok is like a soft flan made from carabao's milk, and it can be quite addicting.  It's smooth and creamy, softer than maja blanca, but not as sweet as leche flan or tocino del cielo.  I can finish plates of this wonderful dessert!

Budbud Kabog

Made from millet grains (not rice) and coconut gata, this is my favorite suman of all time.  There is nothing like it, and for me, no other suman compares.  This is made popular by the people from Dumaguete (Negros Oriental), where Kong Kong was born.  Every time some relatives come to Manila, the pasalubong of choice is budbud kabog.  You can find this on Saturday mornings at the Salcedo Village market, just ask for the stall operated by the people from Dumaguete (my last time there though was more a year ago, so I could be wrong).  You can freeze this and it will keep for up to three months, just steam and it is ready to serve.  Soft, distinctive flavor, and absolutely wonderful!

Puto Binan

Erica arrived in the main house with a giant Puto Binan!  Apparently she had gone on a trip to Laguna, and passed by some store that was selling the speciality--it's basically a rice cake, sweetened with brown sugar and topped with cheese and salty duck eggs.  Knowing that it was Gwammy's favorite, she bought some for the whole family to enjoy.  As you can see, less than half of the puto remained when I got there, it was wiped out in a jiffy!  Michaela and I then reminisced about the puto seller who would shout "Puuuuuuto, Puto Binan!" on weekends during the early seventies, and we siblings would be up at 7am just to catch him when his basket was still full of goodies.  Erica just loved the kakanin that he would sell (that was around 5 to 15 centavos each for kutsinta, halaya and puto), and early riser amongst us siblings would literally hoard the stuff to re-sell to the other siblings.  "Hindi ka nagising eh!" we would always chant, to the consternation of the late risers!  Yes, Puto Binan binds us together, and a lot of fond brekky memories came out of that purchasing ritual.

Mochi Ice

I was browsing through some of my old picture files and I came across a picture of Mochi Ice, which Monique and Deannie are wild about.  We bought this during our trip to Hong Kong (we got the ube flavored one) and we couldn't help but pig out on this yummy treat in our hotel room.  It's actually a frozen dessert made from glutinous rice, with an ube filling.  What caught my eye was that even if the product was made by Kowloon Dairy in Hong Kong the labeling indicates "ube" flavor, which is a Filipino word for purple yam.  I've seen some in Manila, probably one of the supermarkets, but this is rare and hard to come by.  Nice for midnight snack!

Ten Four

One of my favorite kakanins is cassava cake.   I simply cannot resist this Filipino treat, even just a canteen slice  for my daily dessert will make my afternoon cheerful and bright.  Last week, a colleague decided to bring a box of Ten Four cassava cake, which turned out to be firm, and had just the right amount of sweetness.  The cake was topped with cheese, and we had a mini afternoon tea party with some of our friends.  I heard that a box sells for not more than P150, and while I haven't been to a Ten Four store, I understand that they have branches all over the metro (I've seen one along N. Domingo, near the Pinaglaban area).  Ten Four is probably based on the old Citizen's Band 10 code meaning "okay" or "message received," and in this case, we give a hi-five and thumbs-up for this wonderful kakanin.

Chicago Popcorn Shop

My colleague brought a bag of caramelized popcorn from the Chicago Popcorn Shop over at SM Mall of Asia.  I like this munchie, not that sweet, surprisingly.  It's a crunchy munchie, nice as an all-day snack, and tastes even better with almonds!  I love the copper tin packaging (I understand that one sells for around P200) and the simple but elegant brand inscription.  Oh no... I'm gaining weight!

Don Benito's

Kakanin lovers, unite!  I don't know if cassava cake classifies as kakanin (Filipino sweet desserts), but I've always had a soft spot for this.  It's gooey, sticky, sweet and the grated cheese topping usually provides the counterpoint saltiness to the palate, and I simply love it!

I came across the Don Benito cassava cake shop along Sanchez St. in the Sta. Mesa area; the shop is located just across from the Lourdes Hospital.  12" x 12" cassava cakes are very reasonably priced at P180 and they even have flavored ones--macapuno (coconut sport), for example, for just a little bit more (P200).  Unlike the ones sold in most carinderia stalls, these cassava cakes are freshly made--so evident when you can feel the gooeyness in your mouth!

Smint

This is one pocket candy that Vicky just loves--Smint!  Super cool flavor that freshens the breath, made by Van Melle, the same people that make Mentos.  Vicky likes this sugar-free product; I understand that they use Xylitol instead of cane sugar.  Relatively inexpensive, I think that a canister can be bought for less than P100.

Nathaniel's

Here's something that Michaela brought over for a family dinner get-together--Nathaniel's buko pandan salad which came with a mixture of dairy and coconut cream.  I'm a bit picky about my salads, and I was happy to find out that it was sweetened just right for my taste.  I was also thankful that I did not detect any trace of condensed milk, as that really makes the sweetness level flip over the boarder line.  On the one hand, buko (young coconut) shreds were just the right for salad, not membrane-like (malauhog) nor too old (niyog).  While on the other hand, the pandan gelatin cubes did have a whiff of pandan flavor--I would have enjoyed a stronger pandan taste though.  I don't know if this comes frozen or simply chilled; I would guess that the product life expectancy is limited, so you probably have to serve it right after purchase.

Kashi TLC

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not much of a healthy eater, as I like lavish spreads that my body sometimes can't take (I do have to check my cholesterol and uric acid levels every now and then).  This morning, however, I had some healthy granola bars that someone gifted Becca over the holidays.  Called TLC (Tasty Little Chewies), these granola bars have lots of nuts and berries, and were surprisingly not sticky and gooey, which is the usual case with nut & cereal bars that use a lot of syrup as binder.  First time I heard of Kashi, the company behind it--apparently this is company prides itself with their line-up of healthy foods.  If you got a sweet tooth, however, this one will probably taste on the bland side.  Cheer up, it's supposed to be healthy!

Titina

Titina, or Haw Flakes as they are called these days, is a compressed sweet snack made of plum fruit that comes wafer thin, in both round and rectangular forms.  When we were kids, we used the round version to simulate the priest giving communion, to which Gwammy would always give us the stern eye.  Well, we were kids then... This delicious munchie was a staple purchase of our shopping trips to Binondo (Chinatown) and this was my super favorite of them all, even topping rock candy (as in solid sugar), kiamoy (sour plum) and champoy (sweet plum).  Vicky bought some last week; It doesn't cost much (maybe P40 a pack) and is easily available in most Oriental stores.  Go and experiment, you'll like it!

Bibica Choco Chips

As we were going around the grocery racks of Unimart, I came across Bibica, a Vietnamese brand of chocolate chip cookies.  The cookies themselves were tasty but were just like any chocolate cookie you'd find in any store.  What impressed me was the globalization of the Vietnamese economy--the Philippines now imports rice, fertilizer, appliances and now even chocolate chips from Vietnam.  Quite an interesting find!