Cook and Brew.

I go by many nicknames but I’ve now grown accustomed to being called “Mai” nowadays.  It actually originated from the handle that my parents gave me which is “Maileen”.  However, when I entered college and my best buddies didn’t feel like mentioning “Maileen” every time because it’s “too long” for them, they christened me with a shorter nick “Mai”.  Incidentally, I am a big siomai fan and I swear, I can eat a whole bunch of this in just one sitting especially if it’s partnered with soy sauce and an oily, spicy garlic mix.  The one’s from Orient’s Best and Bernabest’s Siomai House the best.  Then this one (pictured above) from Le Cheng’s Restaurant comes in third.  My friend who lives near Binondo (Manila’s Chinatown where all Chinese products are sold like food, beauty and acne products, amulets, etc) said that I should try the authentic and big servings of Chinese siomai.  She swears that all other siomai brands that I’ve tasted will be going down the memory lane.

We rarely eat at Sbarro but whenever we do (usually at the SM North branch), this is what I order: Baked Ziti (just half) with garlic bread, drinks and a slice of blueberry cheesecake to complete this mouth watering meal.  I order just half because aside from the costly price of Baked Ziti these days, the “whole” order size plus the garlic bread are too heavy for my tummy.  In fact, this half order can satisfy me already that much.  This Sbarro meal for me is like my anti wrinkle eye cream because it certainly de-stresses me and take away all my baggage and worries in life even for just a few minutes while devouring this meal.

Just got a news that my sister’s homecoming from Qatar on April is now confirmed. We’re so excited because it’s her baby daughter’s first time to visit our native land and so we’re anxious to meet and kiss her personally for the first time. They have confirmed their ticket bookings and so it’s all systems go. Now here comes one of my pre-arrival favorite parts. That is, it’s listing down time of homecoming gifts (pasalubong). The last time my sister and her husband had a vacation, we’ve got so many confectioneries and the one I liked the most are these Quality Street chocolates. She gave me one tin and I’ve almost consumed the varied chocolates in just one sitting. I like how they are not so “sinfully sweet”. I hope they fill their Samsonite luggage with these chocolates.

Quality Street is manufactured in Halifax, in the United Kingdom by Nestlé. A box or a tin of this usually consists of indiviadually wrapped sweets in 12 flavours, all of which are either chocolate or toffee based:

* Milk Chocolate Hazelnut with caramel (the ‘Purple One’)
* Chocolate Noisette Pate (the ‘green triangle’)
* Chocolate Toffee Finger (gold wrapped stick)
* Toffee Penny (gold wrapper)
* Vanilla Fudge (pink wrapper)
* Strawberry Delight (red circular wrapper)
* Coconut Eclair (blue wrapper)
* Caramel Swirl (yellow frustum)
* Milk Choc Block (green wrapper)
* Orange Crunch (hexagonal orange wrapper)
* Orange Creme (orange circular wrapper)
* Toffee Deluxe (Brown wrapper)

You Are a Sweet Person

When it comes to snacks, you’re more likely to grab some candy than heat up a pizza. There’s a good chance you’re female (women prefer sweet snacks)… Or at least, you prefer to be in the company of women. Your tastes are simple and predictable. You are young at heart. You tend to crave food you can just grab and eat.

Are You Sweet or Salty?

Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity

Wow..this is so true. Aside from my being affectionate, which the husband can attest to that, I truly have an incredibly sweet tooth. In fact, the barcode scanners in the grocery could actually break down whenever we shop for my sweets stocks for the week. I stock our cart a lot! From ice cream, to chocolates, cookies, donuts, etc. My latest sweet cravings lately are Goldilocks Polvorons which I’m currently munching as I blog.

Going to Baguio City this Holiday season? Don’t forget to drop by Teahouse along Session Road or their SM Baguio branch and snag this delectable treat for your own feasting or as a pasalubong to your loved ones here in Manila:

Here’s what I have previously blogged about this sweet treat:

Ever since we tasted this heavenly cake dessert, we make it a point that this is the number one in the list of pasalubongs to take home from Baguio. This refrigerator cake called Chona’s Delight is named after the brilliant Aling Chona, the owner of Tea House Restaurant and Bakeshop located along Session Road.  This establishment is one of the oldest chow place for locals and tourists craving for noodle snacks, coffee, bread and sinfully delicious cakes such as the above pictured Chona’s Delight. Tea House now also has a branch at nearby SM Baguio where we bought 5 small tubs of Chona’s Delight for take home during our annual Christmas vacation in the city of Pines last year. Three of the five small tubs were exclusively devoured by me..yes, that’s how delectable and addicting this cake is.  It consists of layers of rich chocolate cake frosting and fillings of creamy custard and whipped cream. Don’t be fooled with the rich, dark chocolatey look but this doesn’t taste tooth-cringing sweet at all. In fact, you can really even consume all by yourself in one sitting the small tub which they sell at Php 105/container.

Tea House Restaurant and Bakeshop
87 Session Road, Baguio City
Branch:
SM Baguio, Upper Session Road, Baguio City