crumb trails

A different way to celebrate Valentine’s day is happening at Adarna Food and Culture on February 13, 2010 at 7:00 PM with “PS. Mahal Kita”–A Valentine Tertulia. Profess your love to your special someone and bring a love letter to read.

Here’s the announcement from Adarna:

‘PS. Mahal kita.’ A Valentine Tertulia at Adarna

Date:   Saturday. February 13, 2010

Time:   7:00pm ~ 10:00pm

Location: 119 Kalayaan Ave., Quezon City

A tertulia is a social gathering common during the turn of the century. Friends usually congregate in someone’s home late in the afternoon or early evening to enjoy conversation, art and culture. The mood is informal and the guests themselves provide the entertainment.
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Everyone keeps a secret. But some secrets need to be shared. Like this great place I was tasked to photograph for the newspaper we publish.

I’m sure you all know Fanny Serrano. He’s a well-known celebrity makeup artists in the country. He enhances the beautiful faces of movie celebrities such as Sharon Cuneta, Lorna Tolentino, Amy Austria and many others. But did you know TF (as Fanny Serrano is fondly called) has a secret?

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Filipinos have grown fond of coffee shops. It has become the young generation’s hangout and EB place. Professionals likewise patronize these places; making coffee shops a convenient venue for short business meetings. Some people go for the ambiance and the coffee, of course. That is why, it’s not surprising anymore to see more and more coffee shops opening everywhere. Like Biska Coffee, a new cafe that has been in business for almost half a year already.

I’ve had the privilege to visit Biksa Coffee a few weeks ago and tried some of their food and beverages. The cafe offers for beverages hot coffee (espresso, cappuccino, Americano, etc.); ice blended coffee (caffee mocha, latte); frappe (brain freeze); smoothies; milkshake; Italian soda; and tea. They also serve food like sandwiches, pizza and pasta.

My friends and I had a long that day and we decided to drop by Biksa Coffee. We had mozzarella pesto sandwich, pasta with tuna carratierre sauce, a margharita pizza, Italian sodas (passion kiwi and passion strawberry), cookies & cream milkshake and cappuccino.

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Who doesn’t love chocolate? Me, I so love, love chocolate! I prefer dark over milk, white and other chocolate varieties. The darker and bitter a chocolate is, the more I love munching it.

A regular intake of dark chocolate is healthy and it has been proven in many studies. When eating chocolate remember that its main ingredient, cocoa, is made from plants, therefore it contains health properties found in many vegetables. Opposed to other varieties, dark chocolate has flavonoid, an antioxidant chemical that protects the body from harmful elements that cause early aging and heart diseases. In addition, flavonoids also balance certain hormones in the body.

Generally, dark chocolate is good for the heart. The right amount of intake (a small bar or around 1.6 ounces) everyday can keep the heart and cardio system functioning properly. Heart health benefits include lowering blood pressure and lowering cholesterol level in the body. A small bar of dark chocolate everyday has been proven to lower the blood pressure in people with hypertension. It can also reduce bad cholesterol (LDL or low density lipoprotein) in the body by almost 10 percent. Sweet news, right?

Apart from taking care of the heart, dark chocolate has other advantages. One, it gives one a feeling of happiness because it stimulates the production of endorphin. Two, it lifts ones spirits since it has serotonin, a neurotransmitter that act as anti-depressant. Lastly, chocolate tastes good, who can resist it?

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Last night two of my colleagues and I covered an event in Katipunan called “One Smoke-Free Night,” a benefit concert for project Brave Kids. It was also an avenue to raise public awareness on the health hazards of cigarette smoking. One of the event’s organizer was FCAP or Framework Convention on tobacco control Alliance Philippines. Currently, the organization is pursuing the passing of House Bill (HB) 3364 or the Picture-Based Health Warning Bill, which, when approved, graphic photos of the effects of smoking to ones health will replace the usual text warning in cigarette packs. The picture-based warning will be placed on the back panel of the cigarette package, the picture will occupy at least fifty percent of the back panel and the text warning must be in Filipino. In addition, no misleading descriptions should be placed in cigarette packs like “light or low tar,” because no matter how “light” or “low” the tar content is, it will still have the same effect in a person’s health.

a sample of how the picture-based warning will look like in cigarette packs

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I’m sure all of us are excited about the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, which will officially open in less than a month(look at the countdown in the sidebar). Wherever we are in the globe, we’d want to take part in this event, right? You must have listened and watched Jackie Chan sing “We Are Ready,” even if you barely understand the lyrics of the song. I am also very sure that you’d like to have a souvenir of the Olympics, no matter how little it is as long as the Beijing 2008 Olympic logo is carved on it.

We’ll, I’ve got mine already, and you can grab one too. Because at McDonald’s – one of the official partners of the Olympics – for only 20 pesos, you can have a Limited Edition Luminarc glass with the Coca-Cola logo on one side and an Olympic event and the Olympic logo on the other. There are five designs (Olympic event) to choose from. All you need to do is buy any of McDonald’s value meals, add 20 pesos to buy one glass or you can buy all five. Me I bought all the five glasses!

My Olympic glasses from McDonal’s

In Bicol almost everything is cooked with coconut milk; including snacks. One good example of that is pinakro (click if you understand Bikol), wherein banana, root tubers like cassava, or even sticky rice is cooked in coconut milk untel tender. It’s very easy to prepare and you only need a few ingredients.

While Frank (the typhoon last Sunday, June 22) was busy lashing the whole country, I remembered that dad brought back from Bicol a variety of  banana called pinipita — that’s what it’s called in Bikol. It’s firmer than saba. Here’s how this kind of banana looks:

Pinipita

peeled and sliced

Anyway, I thought of cooking these bananas–unripe and just perfect for pinakro–instead of just looking out the window, watching some falling trees and leaves flying in all direction or just listening to the  angry howling of the wind. I went with the taskfast: washed the bananas, peeled and sliced them in quarters so they’d cook fast. I soaked them in water (to pevent discoloration) while I squeezed the niyog. You can use canned coconut but I prefer the ‘real’ niyog. Mas masarap.

On with the cooking. I placed the sliced bananas in a pot, poured the coconut milk, added a dash of salt and brown sugar, covered the pot and placed it on the stove. By the way, I used the coconut milk obtained from the second squeezing and set aside the kakang gata (coconut milk obtained from the first squeezing). After 5 or 10 minutes, when half of the coconut milk has evaporated, I added the kakang gata, then covered the pot again. I only had to wait for a few more minutes and voila! Yum-yum merienda. Look:

Presenting: Pinakrong Batag (banana)

A closer look.

You can sprinkle sugar on top — a lot if you like. Or dip it in honey. I think that would really taste good. Haven’t tried it though.

Barkadas have another choice for an eat-out gimik: Halo Café. It is named so because of the kind of food they serve – light and healthy. This cozy little place is located at the Cubao Expo in Araneta Center. Here, diners can enjoy vegan dishes like the veggie burger and veggie burger steak, veggie medley lettuce wraps, and eggplant & cheese wholewheat tortilla. Halo also offers pasta dishes, so if you’re adventurous enough, you may want to try the spaghetti with malunggay pesto. They do not serve red meat; only chicken and tuna. Their line up of beverages are must-try. There’s the bohol coffee, bohol tsokolate, wheatgrass cold tea and Halo’s house specialty the tarragon tea.

What I have tried (together with friends) so far in Halo’s menu are:

(a) Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Olives – this one I highly recommend. I like how the tomatoes and olives blended and created a slightly sour sauce which suited my taste bud very well.

(b) Spaghetti with malunggay pesto – this dish is for the brave and adventurous. Although the malunggay sauce may look like your regular pesto, there’s more than slight difference in the taste since it is impossible to totally remove the bitter taste of the malunggay. Hey, but this is really healthy! Remember that malunggay is a better source of vitamin C than citrus fruits.

(c) Veggie Medley Lettuce Wraps – a little salty for my taste but still good. Look forward to discovering the taste of banana and ginger combined.

(d) Chicken Pastel – hmmm… this is different from the usual pastel dish because this one is not baked. It was okay. Still healthy, I guess, because it uses white meat (chicken skin not included).

(e) Wheat Grass Cold Tea – a drink that you MUST try when you eat at Halo. The wheat grass they use is freshly cut from the plant box they keep outside of the café.

(f) Eggplant & Cheese Wholewheat Tortilla – I think the wholewheat tortilla made the difference in this appetizer. And the eggplant? The eggplant always goes well with anything!

(g) Tuna Steak – one of the best-tasting in the menu. Loved the way it was cooked.

(h) Tarragon Tea – a highly recommended after meal beverage. Halo uses a mixture of fresh and dried tarragon leaves. You will enjoy its natural sweet flavor and fragrant aroma. I think it has a calming effect on the drinker because when I had a cup at Halo, I was able to sleep immediately when I got home. Maybe I should start growing tarragon in my backyard.

Here’s a peek at some of the food we tried:

(1) veggie medley lettuce wraps (2) vegetarian burger

(3) eggplant and cheese wholewheat tortilla (4) spaghetti with malunggay pesto

(5) wheatgrass cold tea (6) wheatglass plant box

Food prices range from fifty pesos to a little more than a hundred pesos. Really affordable.

For a list of Halo Cafe’s offering, click here.

A few snapshots of Halo’s interior:

You can do away with the usual fast-food fried chicken meal if you’re dining out on a budget. Cavana, a restaurant that specializes in chicken dishes, is a great alternative. You’ll find an array of not just chicken meal but other tasty dishes, too. You’re sure to find something that will suit your taste and within your budget.

Here in the Philippines, Cavana is located at SM Megamall (near Powerbooks). It’s a neat cozy place, with a color scheme that is relaxing; not too fancy to be intimidating. We’ve tried two of their chicken rice meals (hmm… reminds me of the Singaporean film Chicken Rice War — a truly enjoyable rom-com movie ): the honey grilled chicken rice and hainanese chicken rice.

A plate of Honey Grilled Chicken Rice — boneless chicken, grilled and glazed with honey; served with rice (of course) topped with crispy garlic, coleslaw and two kinds of sauces  or sawsawan (soy sauce and chili sauce).

Sumptuous Hainanese Chicken Rice — tender boneless boiled chicken topped with sautéed carrots and cucumber strips; served wit rice (dapat! ), soup, and three kinds of sauces or sawsawan (soy sauce, chili sauce and pounded ginger). The ginger really makes the difference. Personally, I’m curious to know how this dish is prepared. If you have the recipe, share it with me, please.

Check out Cavana’s other selections here.

This is not about the publishing house.

Recently, I discovered a restaurant along Kalayaan Avenue in Diliman, Quezon City that serves delicious authentic Filipino dishes. Diners can take their pick of favorite dishes from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The restaurant’s name is Adarna Food & Culture. It’s a cozy place that gives a homey ambiance while you’re dining. The whole concept is very Filipino, like a home, and the place looks like a restored old stone house. You can also dine alfresco, by the fountain. Interesting memorabilia and other collections adorn the main dining room and the function rooms. Customers also get a treat from the sari-sari store (Choices are chocnut, white rabbit candy, chocolate coin,  cigarette, and many other goodies available in a sari-sari store). It gives an exciting feel, like you’re a child again visiting your suking sari-sari sa may kanto.

One of the dishes served at the resto. Pinoy Pasta — it has chorizo instead of ham or hotdog.

A Muslim dish from Mindanao — Piassok. It is cooked in smoked coconut milk. The meat is so tender you won’t need a knife.

Different angels of the smaller dining area — perfect place to have coffee with friends. The sari-sari store is also located in this area.

Sherma & I, taking turns posing at the main dining hall.

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You may reach Adarna Food & Culture at these numbers:

(+632)926-8712/(+63917)961-8113

E-mail: adarnafoodandculture@yahoo.com

(The have a graduation promo this month.)

Note: See photo of Adarna Food & Culture facade from previous entry.