Ritter Sport

It seems that we're having a chocolate festival this weekend.  Our AISEC trainees gave us some wonderful German chocolates, Ritter Sport, which is made by a Stuttgart based company specializing in filled chocolates.  This company makes square chocolates instead of rectangular chocolate bars, on the philosophy that the chocolates should fit in one's jacket without breaking.  We have a wonderful blast, chocolates with, yes, you name it--raisins and hazelnuts, butter biscuit, cornflakes, yogurt filling, praline, chopped hazelnuts, marzipan.  We even have white chocolates with whole hazelnuts!  Fantastic!  Not too sweet, just the right gooey texture, melts in your mouth and stands firm while in your pocket.  Aside from the 16-square handheld size, i understand they also have a 4-square bite size version, that's easy on the pocket and convenient to munch anywhere, anytime.

After Eight

After Eight choco-mints are among the best tasting mints one can take to soothe the palate right after dessert.  I just love it!  When Vicky brought out a box today (came from the stash she hoarded from her last trip to Singapore), I just enjoyed myself.  Of course, in contrast, some people don't enjoy mints--while I decribed it as a wonderful cross between ganache and mint-flovored fondant,  Monique for example has always descrbed it as the child of chocolate and toothpaste.  So much for the elan in my heart... hehehe... Originally introduced by Rowntree, an English company, in the early 60s, I understand that Nestle bought the company in the late 80s.  The candy is enveloped in simple dark brown pouches, and I always get a kick out of pullling a pouch from the box.  This was first introduced to me my my later father-in-law some 25 years ago, I understand that he would have it specially ordered since at that time, the importation of luxury items into the Philippines were severely restricted.  Ever since, I have craved for this wonderful after-dinner chocolate mint!

Lutong Bahay ni Tita Lolit

Had lunch today at the Galleon food court located at the 6th floor of One Corporate Center at the Ortigas Center.  After going around the food court, I settled for the stall with the most appetizing viands, and my instincts were right again!  The food stall of Tita Lolit serves home-cooked food that pretty much can pass for restaurant fare, but at very economical prices.  I had chicken barbeque, a side dish of laing, a cup of rice and a bowl of hot misua soup for only P65.  Can you imagine that?  The food was kept warm in crock-pots, and it looked much yummier than those of other stalls, which simply relied on steel trays.  Operated by a mother and daughter team, the stall normally has 3 viands to choose from, and their meals usually come with hot soup and a cup of rice.  For merienda, they a few specialties like champorado (chocolate porridge) and fried saging saba (a Philippine  banana vairety most suitable for cooking).

Edox

By some unfortunate reason, I must have left the nitrogen release valve of my Edox Class I watch open, leaving the watch prone to moisture.  I love this watch; to me, it looks beautiful and furthermore, is supposed to be watertight to 500 meters.  Casing is cast in titanium and the sapphire glass will resist scratches.  When I bought the watch, it was Monique who gave me heart to make the purchase--despite the fact that her mother was absent, she clearly knew how much I felt about it and she just beamed with that perfect smile of approval.  It was a good thing that the watch is still under warranty, and I was able to retrieve the watch from the service center practically new and in great working order, without having to pay a single centavo.  Edox has been making watches since 1884 and has since concentrated on sports watches.  The company currently sponsors the World Rally Championship and is also active in keeping time at various water sports events.  I like the sporty feel of the brand, and good designs at an affordable price bracket.

Hamton Meats

Now here's a great tasting meat brand that's making the rounds of the Chinese delis in the Metro.  Hamton  Taiwan-style sausages come in packs of five pieces and are so easy to prepare--just pop in a frying pan with some water and the tender sausages would be cooked in a few minutes.  I have also tried this sliced and then pan-fried, as well as grilled (this, however means that you have an electric griller at home, as it is a bit more difficult to set up a charcoal grill).  The texture is quite tender, and the sausage casings are not hard too chew.  I find their sausages quite flavorful, and not too sweet.  I understand that due to the high demand, they have also come out with a chicken version of the sausages. Aside from the sausage line, the company also makes cooked hams, which are usually in demand during the Christmas season.  Available at the Little Store on the Hill in both San Juan and New Manila, at the many branches of Holland Hopia (Nueva, Banawe & N. Domingo), also at the Tin Hok Deli in V-Mall, Greenhills, and at the Crossings Supermarket along Quezon Avenue.  It's not exactly cheap (commercial hotdogs go for P175 per kilo), but I find it reasonably priced for premium meat products (gourmet European sausages can go as high as P600 per kilo).  Nice to have as ulam with hot rice or palaman with hot pandesal!  I'm hungry already.... 

Jyl's Cafe

After a long meeting yesterday at the Export Industry Bank, I found myself wandering around the Buendia-Pasong Tamo area, looking for a place for a fast lunch.  I came across Jyl's Cafe, and stepped in to have a quick look-see.  Located at the ground floor of the Oriental Gardens (this is a residential condominium developed by Federal Land), this eating place lists pastas and several kinds of short orders in their menu.  I had beef calderetta which was tasty enough, acceptable for the P165 price tag.  Of course, given that this was not a gourmet bistro, only the basic ingredients (carrots, potatoes, red pepper, beef & tomato sauce) were encapsulated in the dish.  As I was eating, I mentally imagined that the dish could have been more rich and flavorful with the addition of more garlic, black olives and cheese bits... but that's going overboard!

Thaipan

Along Dr. Lozano Street in the Tomas Morato area of Quezon City lies Thaipan restaurant, which I understand is a sister restaurant of the Romulo Cafe.  As the name suggests, the restaurant serves Thai food that is tasty and not too spicy, just right for my taste.  The restaurant has been fashioned out of a 60s residence, and I liked the good use of mirrors and glass panels to make the place look spacious.  Very modern interiors, which would not even suggest that the specialty would be Thai cuisine.  We had dinner with Anita and the kids, and as we arrived at 8pm on a Friday night, the place was already quite full.  Vicky and Anita ordered several specialties--shrimp cake & lumpia for appetizers, pad thai noodles, chicken curry, cinnamon pork, pandan chicken, bagoong rice, fish with tamarind sauce, roti with prawn sauce, and the much-loved takoh rice & tapioca cake for dessert.  I found the cinnamon pork done much like the New Orleans style, and I couldn't help but wonder about the similarities of the two cuisines.  All in all, we had a great dinner, which came to around P600 per head.  Not bad for our Happy Friday routine!