Your Guide To Noche Buena

I grew up in a home where Christmas is a big deal.  My mom goes all out in decorating the house and in preparing the Noche Buena.

MY MOM PREPARED EVERYTHING ON THAT TABLE!

My mom owns Christmas. Even if our house looks like it's dressed in drag, we really appreciate that she makes an effort to make holidays memorable for us.  

During Christmas,

 Our house is the auditorium...

the Noche Buena is the show... 

...and my mom is the star.

Note the present tense. My mom is still at it.

Now that I am a wife and we have our own home, I decided to "mount" a traditional Noche Buena. Traditionally, it should be enjoyed after midnight mass.  But truth be told, it starts as early as 11 in the morning of the 24th and it's non-stop eating until the 25th.

Yesterday, I did my grocery for my First Ever Noche Buena. Nice spread di ba? I can't wait to cook.

My shopping inspired me to write this post for OFWs, Foreigners (who married Pinoys) and the new home-makers like me who are planning to host their first ever Noche Buena too. 

HERE ARE THE MUST HAVE NOCHE BUENA DISHES:

1. Lechon

  In Iloilo, my mom serves an entire adult-size pig. I think, we will only buy 1 kilo.

2.  Macaroni Salad

As the former Brand Manager of Lady's Choice, I can sincerely tell you that this is the best brand to use for your PINOY-STYLE macaroni salad. It has a different taste profile from Kraft and Best Foods. If you want your macaroni salad to be savoury and malinamnam, get Lady's Choice.
However,  If you want it sweet then get Best Foods Mayo Magic or Wonder Mayo.

3. Pinoy Style Spaghetti

I got the Del Monte Pinoy Style Spaghetti Sauce but I will mix it with the Dole Pure Tomato Sauce so that it will not be that sweet. I also got Kraft Cheese.

4.  Fiesta Ham

I want to play it safe so I went for the Purefoods Fiesta Ham . It costs around 500php for 900g. A bit more expensive. There are cheaper ones but they contain extenders. Read the back labels.

5. Quezo de Bola

This is edam cheese. If you want pure Edam, check the ingredients list. If you see "Modified Food Starch", it means it has extenders. The ones around 500-900 are pure edams.  The one below is around 280 php.

6. Tsokolate

I know its probably easier to use make a cup by just using Swiss Miss but okay...since it's Christmas I will put the myself through the hassle of preparing it from a tablea.

7. Fruit Salad

(Photo from www.wokwithray.com)

8. Kakanin

You can have sapinsapin, puto, puto bumbong. I'm just buying a small pack of Puto from Rustans.

(Photo from iamlouise23)

9. Leche Flan

(Photo from Panlasang Pinoy)

Then, out of nowhere.... I just got a text from my brother, "Inday, I'll make eggnog ha..."

Huh? Where did that come from? Haha! That's not pinoy! And yes, he calls me INDAY.

Hope this helps! 

Excited,

L

Note: Majority of the Photos are not mine. I don't claim any credit over them.  This is not a paid post :)

CROQUE: French Cafe and Bakery in Makati

If you love food and wine as much as I do, France is one of your heavens on earth. French cooking has simple ingredients but has very high technique. I love France so much that I actually had my pre-wedding photos with S in Paris.

Day 247: Realization

I realized today that I could never be a food blogger.

I am always hungry so I eat quickly, not savouring each bite. 

It also doesn't help that I generally find all savoury food delicious. Balance of flavors and all that sh*t is something I don't really care about. The more flavorful, the spicier, the hotter- the better.

(Oh my looooord)

Dessert is a different story. I admit I can be quite snobbish when it comes to patisserie. 

(Dessert platter by Jean Georges, a 3 michelin chef)

(Macarons à l’ancienne by Jean Paul Hevin)

 And even more so with wines...

But anything that is served with rice....I automatically love. And I don't give a rat's ass where I eat it from.

(Chicken Rice Wars: Boon Tong Kee vs 5 Star, River Valley)

I won't even bother describing food in any of my posts. Just trust that when I say "I loooove it"  it means that the food is perfect if you're hungry, if you're eating it with rice and if you're enjoying it with coke.

So I will leave the food blogging to my favorite food critics: www.tsinoyfoodies.com and www.frannywanny.com.

But if I list it here and you're hungry I swear on my wine collection that the food items, I mention in my journal, will taste really amazing.

Hungry Again,

L

Day 125: Ting Hun Lauriat

Truth be told, S and I never got to enjoy our Ting Hun Lauriat in Century Hotel because we were busy having our photos taken and entertaining all our well wishers.


Despite the fact that S chose Century because they are famous for their CHINESE FOOD, the most amazing meal we had that day was from Tapa King, which we had later that evening.

Today, we had lunch together with family of S and some his parents' friends. Apparently they paid for an extra table for  the Ting Hun Banquet just incase more guests showed up. 

So, 6 months later I finally got to see and taste our Ting Hun Lauriat.  

Since I'm not a food blogger, I will only share the picture of the dishes and I won't even bother to describe them at all. Boooooo!

Eh I don't know how to blog about food e!  That and I'm too lazy to write today.

I recommend you visit Tsinoyfoodies.com for  more credible food reviews.

Anyway, our 12 course lauriat or "pan-to"  started with...

1. Hot appetizer

2. Prawn Salad

And progressed to...

Day 92: Balik Gulay

Happy Monday! 

This week I celebrate BALIK GULAY! I am improving my immune system  by eating fruits and veggies and by sleeping well. 

I read in my book that "LIVE FOODS" are those that are created through natural interaction with the sun, soil, air and water. According to Robin Sharma, this is the diet that nature intended. This is called the sattvic or pure diet.

Knorr makes eating veggies so easy! Just boil water, dissolve bouillon,  add veggies and done!

Ofcourse, I'm still not ready to give up meat entirely. Breakfast will be smoothies and dinners will be soups, with rice ofcourse!  Lunch will be normal.

I'm excited to see what will happen if I do this for a week or two!

As you can see, I am all set! Wish me luck!

Still on Pause,

L

Day 58: Guide To Ordering in Tatoy's

Sundays in Iloilo are usually spent eating in the beach area with the family.

One of our favorite restaurants is TATOY's. OFCOURSE!!!!  There's a saying that you haven't been to Iloilo if you haven't eaten at Tatoy's. That's very true!

For those planning to visit my lovely city, make sure schedule lunch or dinner in this restaurant  and make sure you order the following dishes.

Grilled Porkchop

There secret is in the marinade. There is nothing in the Philippines that taste anywhere close to ilonggo version. 

Native Chicken

Mama said the unique flavor is from the tamarind leaves

But the chicken is already flavorful as it is. This is the same type of chicken used in cooking tinola.

Kinilaw na Tanigue

We love our seafood here in Iloilo. We have a lot of coastal towns so we always get the freshest catch.

Sinugba na Managat

Lechon

Unlike Cebu, we like our lechon with sauce.

Althought I'd have to concede with the other foodies in saying that Cebu makes better lechon. 

So feel free to skip this.

Talaba

Oysters are extremely cheap in Iloilo. A plate is less than 100 bux. 

And we enjoy all these delicious food in a very casual setting.  It's even okay to eat with your hands!

Hope to see visit Iloilo soon!

Still on Pause,

L

Must TRY Dutch Food

I'm Filipino and while I loooveee Filipino food to bits, I also appreciate the food of other countries.

Dutch food is something close to my heart for 3 reasons:

1. I love cheese

2. I love potatoes

3. I love drinking beer 

Ahhh yes...the trifecta of simple pleasures. And to me, Dutch cuisine is exactly like that...Simple pleasures. No pretentions. Very Approachable. Easy to Enjoy.

Speaking of easy, it's very easy to order food too. Everyone speaks English and everyone is friendly!

Here are the food I managed to stuff myself with while I was in the Amsterdam.

To my dear friends planning to go to the Netherlands this June, don't leave without eating the food in this list. 

1. Stroopwaffle. 

No picture. Boooohooooo!!! 

I ate it right away. Low EQ.

It's amazing when it's fresh and hot!! Peeeerrrrfect with a cup of brewed coffee.

I think, the crispy waffle uses similar spices as those being used in making spekulaas. I'm not too sure.

2. Koffie Verkeerd 

The Dutch Version of a Caffe Latte

Mine was served w a spekulaas cookie. 

3. Stamppot

The epitome of Dutch Cuisine: hearty, simple and filling. 

I will definitely include this in my cooking repertoire. I'm sure this will be pretty easy thanks to the new Knorr Mashed Potato.

4. Patat

The Dutch version of french fries. 

It's a meal in itself. 

When you're freezing and your tummy aching from hunger...an order of Patat with cola will taste like ambrosia.

5. Kaas broodjes

Like tuna turnover but with cheese.

And I mean... AMAZINGGGGGGG CHEESE!

When it's hot, the cheese inside melts while the cheese on top become even crispier.

6. Bitterballen

And my favorite!!!!

Beer food! The epic beer food!

Best enjoyed with Heineken. OFCOURSE!

7. Kroket

"Where is FEBO?"

"Are we near FEBO??!!!"
"Check your google maps for any nearby FEBO"
I'm sure S wanted to kill me for saying FEBO every minute.

I just couldn't get enough of their KROKETS!

I was so sad that when we got to the Schipol, I couldn't find any FEBO dispenser.

8. Poffertjes

Small pancakes best enjoyed during winter

9. Drops

We didn't like this. It was a big strange for me.

But you must try!

 Let me know what you think.

10. Gouda and other KAAS

If you know me in person, you'll know that I love cheese.

I particularly love hard and mature cheeses ;) 

Needless to say, Amsterdam was heaven for me because the entire country is famous for their dairy products.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to bring anything back because we had to fly Spain and then to Paris and we didn't want to lug them around. 

So if any Dutch gets to read this post and plans to go to Makati, I'll gladly buy you a beer in exchange for cheese.

11. Hagelstag.

Also eaten in Indonesia. This is usually eaten during breakfast.  Spread margarine on bread and sprinkle generously.

NOTE: use flora proactive.

12. Lots of Apple pastries 

This one was my favorite. Best served warm and with coffee. Perfect for winter afternoon tea.

And ofcourse... Don't go home without eating a slice of apple pie.

Food I never got to eat but you should try:

1. Snert

2. Kibble 

3. Haring

For pasalubong, buy the following

1. Short bread cookies, particularly this brand. They've been making this for ages!

2. Anything Spekulaas

3. Stroopwaffles

4. Cheese


Bye. I got hungry from writing this post.

Still on Pause,

L