Buko-Melon Ice Pops

Summer's here and I'm dreading the Manila heat.  It can get pretty unbearable at times, but luckily Filipinos have devised a simple solution to get around the scorching weather.  For my very first Pinoy Foodista cooking challenge entry, I decided to make an age-old treat that transcends all Philippine social classes and age groups.  This is my take on the classic "Ice Candy".  I'm calling mine Buko-Melon Ice Pops instead.

My Lola used to own a sari-sari store and I used to hang out there A LOT as a kid.  It was called "3R Variety Store".  "3R" stood for my mom's and her two siblings' names which all starts with the letter R.  A truly Filipino way of naming things.  My Lola's store was one of the biggest wholesale sari-sari stores in Rosario (Pasig).  During my pre-teen years, I was there during most of my weekends and school breaks to supposedly give her a hand.  I fear I might've been more of a liability than anything else.  I'm quite sure that I ate and drank my fair share of her paninda.  I'd hijack her Sarsi, Marie biscuits, Presto Creams, and ice candies on a regular basis!

During the summertime, the sari-sari store would be overrun with kids buying ice candy.  They'd buy at least one ice candy every two to three hours.  The popular flavors were chocolate, orange, buko, and melon.  Chocolate was always the first to go.  Us (my younger brother and I) being the spoiled apos that we were, would just grab any one from my Lola's freezer whenever we felt like it.  We'd home in on the ice candies on those especially wilting afternoons.  These ice candies provided a much-needed reprieve and a welcome break from playing and running around all day outside; as we were prone to do when we were dropped off at our grandparents' place.  So yeah I'm dedicating this post to my Lola (and rightfully so).  Thanks for putting up with us, spoiling us silly, and giving us such priceless childhood memories! 

I've always loved fruits, so for this challenge, I'm combining two all-time Pinoy favorites in my ice pops; buko (coconut) and melon (cantaloupe).  Two equally refreshing ingredients that are staple desserts/snacks/beverages especially on hot days.

Buko-Melon Ice Pops

Makes approximately 12 ice pops.

• Coconut, shredded
• Cantaloupe, shredded 
• 1 1/2 C coconut juice
• 1 1/2 C water
• 3/4 C white sugar
• 1 T evaporated milk
• 12 12 oz. cups, cut in half
• 12 wooden spoons/popsicle sticks

Mix cantaloupe, coconut meat, coconut juice, water, sugar, and evaporated milk in a large pitcher stirring until combined.  Divide the shredded cantaloupe, coconut, and liquid into the molds.  Place them in the freezer for about 2-21/2 hours, or until semi-frozen.  Once the ice pops are semi-frozen, stick the wooden spoons (it was what I had on hand at the time but you may use popsicle sticks too) in the middle of each plastic cup and then return the ice pops to the freezer for another 4 hours or until frozen solid.

I had planned on using our old popsicle mold (Kool-aids) from way back when, but to my dismay, I recently found out that my mom already sold off the molds at one of our many garage sales.  Boo.  That was completely unexpected!  I had to push through with the project though and get creative.  I decided to use plastic cups as molds instead to still get my "ice pop" look.  You could also opt to use ice candy plastic bags instead and save yourself the trouble. 

Buko-melon ice pops are definitely refreshing, healthy, and inexpensive desserts.  The coconut juice adds another layer of flavor and somehow helps quench my thirst better.  The coconut and melon shreds gives this simple ice dessert texture, and reinforces the freshness of the ingredients.  These treats are lifesavers and it wouldn't hurt to stock a few in your freezer especially during these summer months. :)

Please click here to vote for my summer creation and here to find out more about Pinoy Foodista.  Thanks!

The Best of Both Worlds: Bread Pudding Creme Brulee

During one of our after-dinner forays, Yuri and I stumbled on an unexpected treat.  It was a little past 9 PM and we were hungry.  Dinner never seems to hold us over for long.  We racked our brains trying to think of places in Quezon City that were still open at that late hour, and on a mundane Tuesday night.

After a ten-minute spirited debate (hungry people make for grumpy people) on where to eat and the merits of this place vs. that place, we still had nothing. We had no choice but to wing it. We got in the car and drove.

We somehow ended up at Banchetto Libis.

Banchetto-Libis is an offshoot of the original Banchetto (Banchetto-Emerald) which is in the heart of Ortigas Center.  It's the first weekly overnight street food market in the Philippines.  A "street food fiesta' which initially catered to the dozens of call centers that have set up shop in Ortigas.  Now it has become a Friday night attraction of sorts.  People stay up late to flock to Banchetto with their friends and family just to see what's new.

It was a Tuesday night so Banchetto-Emerald was out of the picture.  We parked at the Shopwise parking lot and did an initial survey of the relatively short strech of food stalls.

I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary since I knew that Banchetto-Libis was relatively new and was rarely packed with people.  As we were looking around, this lady called out to us with bite-size samples of something that looked like flan.  I squinted and took a look at the product she was pointing to.

Bread Pudding Creme Brulee by MedChef Php 190.00

Hmmmm.  Bread Pudding Creme Brulee.  These guys were definitely on to something here.  I tasted the sample they gave us and was an instant believer!   

Torched to get that signature Creme Brulee look.

You can't sell a creme brulee without it being properly "bruleed".  Our dessert still had to be torched before the lady could hand it over to us.  Watching bubbling sugar forming a hard candy shell over the soft flan always has me drooling.  I have served and made hundreds of creme brulees but it always tastes better when someone else makes it for me.

You guys can pretty much guess what happened as soon as the Bread Pudding Creme Brulee was turned over to us.

We gobbled up everything except for the 6-inch aluminum pie plate! 

Digging in!

This dessert fills you up quite nicely because of the bread pudding incorporated into the flan.  Since it was torched on the spot, I got that nice "crack" that I always look for in my creme brulee.  The sound of that burnt sugar shell breaking as soon as my spoon taps into it always puts me in a good mood.  I recommend eating it as soon as you buy it for the full experience; the crisp burnt sugar layer together with the the slightly warm flan and bread pudding is intoxicating.

I was, and still am, completely enamored by this dessert.  I love it when people take the time to get the  details right especially in a setting like Banchetto.  I'm definitely going back for another round and this time I'm not sharing.  Nuuuuh-uh.

Banchetto Schedule:

Banchetto-Libis: Tuesday 6:00PM up to 4:00AM Wednesday (front parking of Shopwise-Libis, QC)
Banchetto-Emerald: Friday 12:00MN up to 11:00AM Saturday (Emerald Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig)
Banchetto-Forum: Wednesdays & Thursdays from 8:30PM up to 6:00AM the next day (Robinsons Pioneer at the back of Cybergate Pioneer St., cor. EDSA)

Build Your Own BRGR at Burger Project!

Another Maginhawa St. must-try:  The Burger Project!

One of the perks of living in this part of Quezon City is this street right here.  Maginhawa St. provides Yuri and I with a varied selection of places to eat at depending on what type of chow we're in the mood for and how much our budget is.  (Check out our Italian Maginhawa St. date night at Friuli Trattoria.) 

We've been meaning to check Burger Project out for a while now.  Every time we'd pass by, the signage and look of the place made me more and more curious.   I guess it took us this long to give it a go because of my apprehension with the number of burger joints popping up all over the place.  A decent burger is definitely hard to find.

What qualifies as a decent burger you may ask?  In my book this means, one with a decent-sized and respectable tasting bun, quality toppings, sauces made from scratch, and a nice juicy seasoned all-beef patty that kind of falls apart when you take a bite into it.  Mmmmmmm.

When we got there, the place was starting to fill up.  Burger Project is a tidy operation (with only four employees) that could probably seat 30 people at most (including the outside seating).

We lined up at the counter and were handed these clipboards with our build-your-own-BRGR options.

Oh so many options... much more than I expected.  They left each of our burger's fate in our own hands, which I think is genius by the way.  That way, if my burger turns out horrible, then I wouldn't be able to pass off all the blame on them.   AND if, hypothetically, I did get it wrong the first time, I'd possibly go back a 2nd or 3rd time just to get the combination right.  Well-played.

Obviously the pressure was too much for me!  Just when I had finally, with much deliberation and nail-biting, decided on my toppings, sauce, and add-ons,  I looked up and saw their "designer BRGRS" menu on the other side of the room. Ack!

It completely threw me off!  I panicked, crossed out my "customized burger", and just went with the the French Lick Designer BRGR.  I was hungry, stressed,and confused, so I just wimped out of making my own burger.  This build your own burger thing is a lot more stressful than I thought it would be.

French Lick Php 245.00

I ended up with sesame bread, gruyere cheese, caramelized onion, bacon (Canadian!), lettuce, tomatoes, and their special BRGR sauce with a 100% angus beef patty.  I guess, my mini-meltdown was sort of worth it.  The lightly seasoned patty was surprisingly juicy, and their sweet(ish) and slightly tart mayo-based special BRGR sauce went surprisingly well with everything.  This burger fills you up just right.  I ate the only way I knew how.  Messy.  Nope these burgers are definitely NOT first-date material.  You'd have to roll up your sleeves and dig in.  I looked like a five-year-old kid who managed to steal a whole chocolate bar... erm except it was a burger.  Everyone knows that a good half of whatever food item a toddler gets a hold of ends up smeared all over his/her face and clothes.  BUT like that kid, I was happy and decidedly full. *burp*

Yuri's will power was a lot stronger than mine.  He went through with his own burger despite that darned Designer BRGR menu.

Yuri's customized burger Php 200.00

His burger was made up of sesame bread, gruyere cheese, onion rings, lettuce, teriyaki sauce, and their 100% Angus beef patty.  He was a happy boy!  We both were pleasantly surprised with the Angus beef patty because it was super juicy and fell apart the way a real freshly-made patty should.


Another reason why I wanted to try out this place was (and still is) their mozzarella sticks.  I heard they were awwwwesome!  Everybody's a sucker for mozzarella plus I heard their's were huge. [insert Yuri's snickering]  Not like those puny ones other restos try to pass off as mozzarella sticks.  Anyways, to my dismay they were all out.  Boooo.  We settled for the next-best-thing instead.

Onion Rings Php 65.00

Onion rings!  Nice and crisp and they were big rings of deep-fried white onion so we were happy with that.  I still want my mozzarella sticks though so I'll be back and I'm definitely building my own burger next time.  Ha! :-)


Address: 122 Maginhawa St., Teacher's Village, Quezon City

Caffeine Trip at The Real Thing

Coke, Sarsi, Royal Tru-Orange, Sprite, and Eight O'Clock star in this wacky diner's unique theme and menu.

Welcome to The Real Thing.  Yes, that is their name, and no this diner isn't owned by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. despite the obvious branding and the Coca-Cola merchandise littered all over the place.  What it is, is a tribute to all things Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola is near and dear to every Filipino's heart.  Who didn't grow up buying Coca-Cola in a plastic bag from the nearest sari-sari store?  In every sort of Filipino family reunion, party, and fiesta, Coca-Cola is and will always be the drink of choice.  NOT Pepsi.  By the time Pepsi arrived in the Philippines, we were already way too addicted and hooked on Coca-Cola's sugary sweetness.

Aside from Coca-Cola, The Real Thing diner also features other local beverages like Sarsi (then owned by RFM), Royal Tru-Orange (originally introduced by San Miguel Brewery), and Eight O' Clock fruit juice which has been enjoyed by Filipino families since the 1980s.

My parents used to drop me off at my grandparents' house on days when they had to work overtime or when they had business trips to go to.  We'd always have freshly baked monay and a glass of cold Eight O' Clock orange juice for merienda.  I was taught by my lolo and lola to quickly dunk the monay in my glass of orange juice before biting into it.  I know it sounds weird, but it really goes well together plus it totally takes me back to my carefree childhood years.   

The lively red and white color scheme draws your eye to every corner of this eclectic diner.  I couldn't stop looking at all the little details they put into the place, from the Coca-Cola memorabilia (which I heard came from one of the owner's personal collection) down to the lights and wall fixtures that were made to resemble fizz bubbles.  They've even got piped-in music of classic Coca-Cola jingles and a flat screen TV in one corner playing those old Coca-Cola commercials.  A well-executed concept if I may say so myself.  You definitely get what the place is about.  They went all out on this Coca-Cola theme.

Their food is no exception.  I had such a fun time choosing from the menu!  The menu completely embraces the theme; from the drinks (of course!) down to the main courses.  You absolutely cannot pass up on their non-alcoholic mixed drinks!

Can-shaped beverage menu.

 We tried their bestseller: The Cinnamon Snifter.

Cinnamon Snifter Php 99.00

Coke, Sarsi, cinnamon, and vanilla ice cream.  I kind of panicked when I saw the ultra generous sprinkling of cinnamon on top of the whipped cream.  I like cinnamon when there are only hints of it in my drink and/or food, otherwise it completely ruins my dining experience.  Well, guess what?  Cinnamon apparently complements Coke and Sarsi surprisingly well.  They balanced each other out beautifully, with the right blend of the signature sugary sweetness of Coke, the root beer taste of Sarsi, the creaminess of the ice cream, and the pleasant aromatic taste of cinnamon.  So yeah, I learned something new.  This Cinnamon Snifter is a must try!

Since it was just Yuri and I, we had to skip the appetizers and go straight to the main courses.  Their portion sizes are close to American sizes so the appetizer part just wasn't gonna happen.

I decided to go for their bestselling dish, which is the Coca-Cola Baby Back Ribs.

Coca-Cola Baby Back Ribs Php 399.00

It's a bit pricey, but again, their portions are quite huge.  I'd say this dish could be good enough for two people (maybe?) depending on their appetite.  However, if your appetite is anything like mine, then you'd better ask whoever's dining with you to order their own dish.  I ain't sharin'!  Haha.  Yuri knows the drill.  LOL.

As far as diner food goes, this dish was really good.  The meat was tender and flaky, veggies weren't overcooked, and they used real potatoes in my mashed potatoes.  The ribs are meant to be smothered in their signature Coca-Cola BBQ sauce because they concentrated all the flavor there.  Without the sauce, the meat is quite bland and devoid of seasoning especially towards the middle.  I guess they really wanted to highlight their BBQ sauce, which is really tasty by the way!  You do get those distinct, reduced-down, Coca-Cola flavors in the sauce.

Yuri loooooves his fish and chips so his was an easy choice.

Sarsi Fish n' Chips Php 249.00

Sarsi Fish n' Chips!  Also a crowd favorite at the Real Thing Diner according to our server.  I might've liked his dish better than mine.  The texture of the Sarsi-battered fish and the criss cut fries were spot on.  Nice and crisp!

The best part of this dish would have to be the Sarsi Root Beer dipping sauce.  It MADE the dish.  I'm not a big fan of mayo-based dipping sauces, but this one was phenomenal.  The sauce takes the fish from okayyy to nomnomnomnom!  You can definitely taste the Sarsi in the dip, and like the Coca-Cola Baby Back Ribs, the fish is meant to be eaten with the dip because it would be a tad bland otherwise.


They've been open for four months now.  I hope they stand the test of time since most themed restaurants end up with really short life spans.  We'll see how this one does.

I'd really recommend trying out this place at least once.  It's perfect for a casual lunch or dinner out.  The other interesting dishes to try would be the Sarsi Wings (Php 199.00), Coca-Cola BBQ Burger (Php 249.00), and the Eight O' Clock Apple Green Tea Dory (Php 259.00),   We all know what diner fare's all about.  No one ever mentions the world "healthy" or "heart-friendly" at places like these, so expect greasy caffeinated food at its best. :-)



Address:  2/F, IL Terazzo Mall, 305 Tomas Morato Ave Cor. Scout Madrinan St., QC.
Phone #:  (+63 2)352-4320

Deli Boys!

Deli Boys are out to give Santis a run for their money!  We were invited by the owners, Perry Choi and Wilcon Syjuico, to the grand opening of Deli Boys over at  Connecticut St., San Juan.  A night of cold cuts, Havarti cheese, and Meltique striploin.  *drooooool*

Cheese samples!

Oh my gosh that Meltique striploin was seared to awesomeness!  I'm usually wary of anything cooked rare to medium rare.  My uncle Fred was the only person EVER to able to tempt me to try a whole portion of rare steak.  I'd eat almost anything cooked by him.  I gained 10 pounds in a week on both my visits to him and my aunt Gina in Minnesota.  He developed the recipes for the likes of Auntie Anne's, Mister Donut, and many more.  A genius baker and uber talented cook.  His bourbon wings and artichoke dip had me eating like a caveman.  LOL.  I swear between my cousin and I, he baked about 2 dozen wings and we just vacuumed the whole batch.  Full rack of ribs.  Gone.  A kilo worth of assorted cold cuts.  Wiped out.  A big-ass New York cheesecake.  Obliterated.   Him and my aunt were just looking at us like we were aliens or something.  They're probably not gonna be inviting us over anytime soon.   Their pantry and alcohol stock took quite a hit.

As always I digress.  My apologies!  Anywayyyy all I'm trying to say, long-winded as it may be, is that I'd only eat steak rare if I knew I was in good hands.  Up to this day only my uncle has been able to ply me with rare steak.  I get paranoid with the quality of the meat, it's source, and the threat of parasites.  I blame it on the food science classes I took in college.  Counting all those bacteria colonies on petri dishes from various food swabs has made me really picky with my meat in general.

That was definitely not the case last night.  We were definitely in the best of hands.  These guys knew their meat.

We arrived a bit late at Deli Boys since we had a catering gig that same night which we had to oversee (Happy 30th Jay!).  We promised to drop in though and I really was looking forward to having a look at their products.

Really accurate copies of the real deal.

The main event?  The Meltique striploin.  The showed it to us before they cooked it.  The marbling on it was perfectly even all throughout the meat.  It was pink, fresh, and clean.  The quality was superb.  I feel terrible because I don't have any pictures to show for it.  I completely forgot about taking one.  It was that good!

It was served to us, medium-rare, with both sides seared perfectly and evenly, simply flavored with salt, pepper, and a mild teriyaki base and then topped with crunchy garlic bits and minced spring onions.  There was no way I was passing up on that.  Everyone took a bite and a resounding "Mmmmmm" was heard among the group of tasters.  Or maybe it was just me.  Haha.  I'm not all that sure since I was off in my own little world savoring my morsel of wagyu-like beef.  The striploin was seasoned well and the meat just literally melted in my mouth.  They had us try it again, medium-well this time, and it was still tender and moist.  The weird thing was that I found I liked it better medium-rare.  Whoa!  A first for me. :-)

All mostly under Php 100.00. :)

They've also got a nice selection of bread (foccacias, bagels, french bread, etc.), cheeses, wines, cold cuts, and every sort of prime cut of meat you can ever think of at really affordable prices.  They can cook it for you too since they also offer a full dining menu.  I will definitely be back for their steaks and I'll be sure to get a good picture this time. :-)



Address:  Unit 206, Northeast Square Building, Connecticut St.,Greenhills, San Juan City