Simply fun!

What do you get when you dump cake and ice cream into a single bowl?


A smile from your son and wife!


This actually reminds me of the burger bun with ice cream in it, a simple yet enjoyable concoction which I first had as a kid in Dagupan, the Philippines. Yummy stuff. And this is actually something you can whip up when you have guests over. Instead of simply having plain ice cream, use it as topping on cake. Or even loaf bread! Jazz it up some more with chocolate bits or syrup. I wonder what it would taste like with jam on top?

Technorati tags: food trip

Celebrate Earth Hour today

Switch off your lights at 8:30 tonight! Visit Earth Hour to learn more.

Rufo's Famous Tapa

And so another late night found us at the office in Makati, and at times like this we need Juicy Fruit gum. Errr... make that dinner. We were cruising aimlessly by, our minds as blank as our tummies as we searched for a place to have dinner. And this was how we came to Rufo's Famous Tapa at Kalayaan Avenue.

Ginisang tahong

I simply love clams, mussels, and oysters and the Philippines is blessed with much variety. Oysters top my list. I've been having some since I was a kid, and I do not just get my share any time I want to. My father, who is from Dagupan, loves oysters especially when he and his buddies have a drinking session at home. When his friends would visit us in Baguio, they would bring oysters as pasalubong. They would pour boiling water over it and bring out the beer. My brother and I would hang around and my father would give us a couple of oysters each. Just a couple, and then that's it. I guess I acquired the taste since then.

And then there are all sorts of clams that get served on the dining table. The soup itself is wonderful. From the small tulya where you have to go through a lot of shells to have a taste of the meat (it looks more like soup, come to think of it) to the bisukol and the tahong... just remembering these make my mouth water!

And what a treat it was when we had mussels for dinner last night! My wife bought a medium bag of tahong and cooked up a wonderful surprise.

Peanut butter - jam sandwiches

Have you ever tried putting peanut butter and jam (or jelly) in a sandwich? It's a tasty combination. The buttery texture of the peanut butter (and crunchiness if you like the chunky variety) and the smooth jam plays in your mouth and the two flavors interchange and mix somehow. It doesn't matter what type of jam you have; in our case it's strawberry.


I like using just one piece of loaf bread for my sandwiches. In this case, it's peanut butter on one half, and the jam on the other. Fold the bread in half and voila, you have a sandwich that doesn't look too difficult to consume and is easy to hold!


Here's proof that the combination works. My son Jo-Lo is quite picky with his merienda (snack) but I gave him this sandwich. Voila! Two bites down, a couple more and the first serving is gone.

Technorati tags: food trip

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in Manila, the Philippines

I was ["was" because it is not available on the local stations here in Wellington :-(] a regular viewer of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations back in the Philippines and enjoy watching his food escapades because he tells it as it is. No sugarcoating. As they say, a great way to learn about a culture is through its food.

Word has been circulating in the blogging community for months about the show doing a special on the Philippines. And it's about time too! Mr. Bourdain has been in many countries in Asia, save for the Philippines! We have Augusto Elefano, a Fil-Am from New York, to thank for that.

Pinakbet freestyle

Pinakbet is one of the yummiest veggie dishes from the Ilocano region of the Philippines. It's a simple mix of pork and vegetables jazzed up a couple of notches higher by fish sauce (bagoong). And man, when I say notched up, I mean notched up! You can smell Pinakbet cooking in the kitchen from all over the house and your tummy begins to grumble.


So what's with the freestyle? Well, this version makes pinakbet a bit more soupy and instead of pork bits, we use minced beef.

More pasta goodness

So you might be wondering what has happened to the other half of the spiral pasta... this time, there was ground beef in the freezer so I thawed it up and used basically the same procedure as I have for making Filipino Spaghetti. And then I tore up some fresh basil leaves and topped it off! Yum yum.


I will need to be more creative about how to make pasta dishes, though, so I will be making a trip to the library soon and check out cookbooks.

Technorati tags: food trip