cute food

Why is it that there's sure to be a Filipino in every corner of the world, but Filipino cuisine is not well-known outside the Philippines? Our dishes are very flavorful, comforting and tasty, but somehow, while Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and other dishes from Southeast Asian countries are becoming staples and are being devoured everywhere, Pinoy food remains on the back burner.

Is it because our food is ugly?

Well, let's face it. We eat with our eyes, and our food lacks color and presentation. Thank gad more and more Pinoy chefs and bakers are becoming aware of this, and slowly but surely, our cuisine is attaining a certain sophistication.

To be world-class, we have to LOOK world-class.

Take the humble piaya. Most people know it as a souvenir foodstuff that's being sold in every airport in the country. Make them really tiny and call them piayitos.


Make them as thin as possible. Obviously, there won't be space for the filling, but you're looking for that crispy, crunchy texture.


Sprinkle some organic muscovado and sesame seeds et voila. The piaya is reinvented, and with really cool packaging. Actually, it's the perfect size for your purse-- just right for snacking. I can imagine crumbling them up over a bowl of ice cream.


Congrats to Casa Carmela Kitchen of Bacolod! Good job, thumbs up! See more of their products here.

letter to the lourd

Dear Lourd,

Omigod omigod omigod! You have Lhasa Apsos, too?! Aren't they the cutest little furry furballs yes aren't they?

I just loved what you said about them in your blog: So I got myself two more dogs, this time, a pair of mahogany-colored Lhasa Apsos. They're also small, not quite lazy, but frighteningly furry sometimes I can't tell between their front and back.

You're so funnnnyyyy!!!

Here's a picture of our puppies. Well, they're actually three years old now. That's Kisses and Teddy and Ginger. Aren't they adorable yes they are!


Here's their mommy, Tootsie. She's our very first Lhasa Apso. I saw her in the window of Bio Research Mega and I just had to have her. She's so preeeeeetttyyyy!!!


And here's their daddy, Toby Too. Isn't he as cute as a button?! But he was a little retarded, I think. He had that crazy look in his eye. He ran away from home a couple of years ago, but in our hearts, we know that he's still out there and someday, he'll come home to us.


Anyway, I'm bringing Teddy to Manila next week because he needs a haircut. He's at that woolly mammoth stage right now.


I'll be watching Legally Blonde the Musical at Meralco Theater, I'm so excited! Hey, maybe I'll see you there huh??? Omigod, bring your doggies and we can introduce our super-cute babies to one another! Yay!

See you there!

xoxo

from bacolod, with love

Our friends from Bacolod-- BenG, the Mayor, Attorney Gold, the Architect and a bunch of other other people (I counted about 30!)-- came to Boracay this past weekend to celebrate the Mayor's victory in the local elections. Congratulations!

As usual, BenG knows the key to my heart... Good eats, of course.


This is the first time I've heard of Casa Carmela. I really like their simple yet dramatic packaging-- Pinoy Zen. It says on the box "heritage Philippine recipes redefined", but I didn't know what it meant until I opened it up.


A turron is usually tube-shaped, about the same thickness as a pencil. The outside is a crispy white edible wrapper-- what we called "the paper that we can eat" when we were kids. The filling inside is commonly peanuts. We used to pretend to smoke the turrones because they were shaped like cigarettes.

What's this giant pancake thingy?


Redefined, indeed. I am impressed. It's a turron unlike any I've ever seen, but the taste is undeniably turron, made with premium locally-sourced ingredients. The entire product is so INTELLIGENT without being pretentious. And tastes good, too.


The only problem is we had to finish it quickly so that it wouldn't get soggy... OK, we didn't really HAVE to finish it. We could have kept the rest in an airtight container. I couldn't stop eating it, I admit. I'm looking forward to tasting their other products.

Casa Carmela Kitchen, 54 Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City. They have a website: www.casacarmelakitchen.com

Thanks, BenG! See you again soon.

pyschedelic saturday

In the old days, a single light bulb was enough. Ten years ago on Boracay, walking on the beach in the dark, the only way you could tell where you were was by looking for a tiny light on a coconut tree.

Nowadays... Classy or cheesy, watchuthink?


At first I thought there was something wrong with my LX3's white balance. Notice that the left portion of this last picture is warm, while the right is cool.

Switching to energy-saving bulbs in stages, maybe. But why different colors? Trip lang?

when i grow up

I don't think I'm a food blogger. I just like to take pictures of food. I find food very interesting as photography subjects. I like how the colors and shapes come together-- so organic, you know what I mean? Food is easy because it's not moving, but at the same time, challenging, because the longer it sits there, it deteriorates and the camera can see it.

I like food that looks good, which is why I like chefs who make good-looking food. But ultimately, it has to taste good. Otherwise, it's just a waste of time and calories. (I'd rather eat ugly but yummy food. Wouldn't you?)

So, anyway... I am surfing the interweb, looking at other people's food photos, comparing my style with theirs, when I find Akiko Ida.


More images here. Cuteness.

I want to be like Akiko Ida, mommy!