Goya Dark Mint Chocolate : Pinoy Chocolate at its best!

When I was a kid, I really love local chocolates like Goya Egg Chocolates, Sergs and the orange flavored cholocates from Mayfair. When you get older you’ll discover new chocolate brands that will make you addicted to it. Discovering imported chocolates makes us think that locally made chocolates are sub-standard in compare with a delicous Belgian Sweets.

The Plurk Effect!

I’ve been plurking for a week now and I always see a lot of plurkers wanting if not craving for Goya Dark Mint. Whats is it? Well Goya is a local chocolate brand here in the Philippines and they have a new Dark Chocolate product with a hint of mint. Part of Goya’s effort to reintroduce the brand they produced new variety to the chocolate in order to please the local market. When I first read about this product from AJ’s Blog, I immediately went to Mini Stop and lucky enough to get the last box available. The mix of mint and dark chocolate is a really good combination and really addictive too. No wonder, a lot of bloggers are craving for it.

Goya Dark Mint is one of my favorite locally made chocolate. It is available in Mini Stop for only 34 pesos but you can get it for as low as 25.00 pesos in local supermarkets like in SM Hypermart.

Photos courtesy of Aj of http://food.baklaako.com/

Putting the Filipino calamansi into the limelight

Foreigners describe it as the small green citrus native to the Philippines. The fruit looks like a small lime and is relative of the mandarin orange and the pomelo, others say.

Yes, the lowly versatile tart fruit has gained culinary popularity in the other countries and is being used in many recipes ranging from cocktails to salsas.

Many Filipinos call it calamansi, others call it calamondin, others call it suter. This is citrofortunella microcarpa, a round greenish to yellow in color, 2 cm to 4.5 cm fruit which is normally found in the kitchen of Filipino homes since it does wonders of wonders as a sour flavoring to a variety of dishes from the sautéed rice noodles called bihon to pancit palabok; from the arroz caldo to beefsteak Filipino style.

Calamansi is the secret ingredient to many mouthwatering Filipino delicacies. This writer remembers that the juice of the calamansi leaves are extracted and added to the leche plan to give it an exotic taste. How would the famous Leyte kinilaw taste without the secret ingredient called calamansi? What would dieters do without the calamansi to make the grapelike seeweeds called lato? And what is more refreshing than a glass of calamansi juice or iced tea laced with calamansi on a weather unusually unbearable because of global warming? Read the rest of this entry »

Philippine Mango is the World’s Sweetest Fruit

What can be considered as the world’s sweetest mango is produced in the island province of Guimaras. While other countries have different varieties of the tropical mango (Mangifera indica), none of them tastes like the superbly delicious Guimaras mango, which is a variety of the popular Carabao Mango (Manginera indica).

In 1995, the Guinness Book of World records listed the Carabao Mango as the sweetest fruit in the world. In the Philippines, mango ranks third among fruit crops in production, next to banana and pineapple. The country supplies mangoes to Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and recently the United States. In 1995, the Philippines produced 432,322 metric tons of mangoes, with an average production of 6.35 metric tons per hectare and 250 kilograms per tree from a total production area of 68,056 hectares.

The carabao mango that made the Western Visayas Island-province of Guimaras famous has created an appetizing first-bite impression among Australians, the Mango Information Network under the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) reported. Read the rest of this entry »

A Filipino Feast awaits

Come and celebrate Filipino culture via your tastebuds at The Filipino Food Festival, opening on Wednesday 11 June at The Grace Hotel in Sydney. Guest chefs from The Travel Café Philippines in Manila, the Philippines dynamic capital city, are preparing specially designed Filipino fare.

In the Philippines dining out for tanghalían (lunch) or hapúnan (dinner) with family and friends is a favourite pastime. Blessed with a melting pot of cultures, the Filipino cuisine is a wonderful blending of eastern and western cuisines. The chefs from The Travel Café Philippines will tempt guests with some of their favourite dishes.

The Filipino Food Festival is a perfect opportunity to experience the culture, colour, spice and style of this delicious international cuisine. An extensive buffet lunch and dinner will be served at The Grace Hotel from Wednesday 11 June until Sunday 22 June (lunch). The cost is only $35 for lunch per person daily except for Sunday when the cost is $45 per person. The buffet dinner is $45 per person. Read the rest of this entry »

Pinoy Food : The Jolly Bee in Jollibee

In the Philippines, when we say fast food, we say Jollibee Philippine. Among all the fast food chains here in the Philippines, Jollibee Philippine is considered to be the most popular choice of fast food among the Filipinos here and in the abroad.

The Jollibee Philippine has been serving us with their delectable collection of fast food such as the Chickenjoy and Yumburger, but what else do you know about the Jollibee Philippine? Where or when did it start? And who was the genius in starting the largest food corporation in the Philippines that expanded onto some of the largest countries in the world.

As far as we can remember, the Jollibee Philippine provides us with the most delectable fast-food foods, but did you know that the Jollibee Philippine did not start on selling hamburgers or chickens, it started as an ice cream parlor at Cubao in 1975 with Jolibe as the original name. Read the rest of this entry »

Lola Maria Coffee Shop: Serving Authentic Filipino Meals Amidst Urban Setting

In this time and age where cosmopolitan living practically penetrated our long gone quaint lifestyle, most of us now swim in a sea of modernity and cultural mixes. Today, little do we get a chance to experience something that is genuinely Filipino, whether it involves clothing, entertainment, literature, profession, or leisure. As a matter of fact, we are losing touch of our native foods as well.

Restaurants specializing in authentic Filipino dishes are becoming rare today. Yet, amidst the urban setting stands Lola Maria Coffee Shop. Located at The Legend Villas, a hotel in Mandaluyong, Lola Maria Coffee Shop serves delectable home-cooked Filipino Cuisines that surely bring pleasure to our native palate.

Lola Maria Coffee Shop is sure to satisfy our taste buds’ cravings for Filipino dishes. Among their savoring array of recipes are Inihaw Platter, Ubod Rolls, Pancit Tostado, Chopsuey, and many more.

Breakfast Buffet is open daily from 6am to 10am. Lunch Buffet is every Wednesdays and Fridays from 11am to 2pm. A la carte lunch and dinner are served daily. Lola Maria Coffee Shop. at The Legend Villas, Mandaluyong City is open everyday from 6am to 10pm.