Fast Food Folly

Another example of the fast food prevalence principle: I’ve been craving a Jolly Hotdog since Friday. And I would’ve gotten one, too, if it hadn’t been for the long line.

Finally, on Monday (and despite trying my best to resist the temptation) I stood in front of the Jollibee counter and ordered myself a Classic Jolly Hotdog.

When you look at the picture above, which is from the Jollibee website and has been food-styled into oblivion, it doesn’t specifically call out to you. It’s certainly no gourmet wiener. But the power of Comfort Food is strong. And the relief you feel upon consuming it is enough to inspire an ode to the Jolly Hotdog.

I am one of the many fools who has tasted the proverbial food rainbow, and yet is still a captive to the trap that is fast food. Perhaps the chefs who have been spearheading the good food revolution are weeping right now. But then they might, one day, find themselves stressed out and starved... How about a quick, greasy meal? (I hear it even serves as a good hangover cure.)

Speaking of chefs, please watch this funny McDonald's commercial.

I have to admit that I've seen a lot of McDo delivery bikes come up to our school. And even the students can be found frequenting McDonald's on their lunch breaks. Guilty pleasure. -You'll probably see that phrase a lot in this blog. I suppose I'm a bit of a hedonist. But I like to think that I enjoy an eclectic variety of food.


Until Later,


P.S. I won't be writing about fast food next time!

it takes två...

So I am lucky enough to be in one of the northernmost city in the world for a few days in the height of summer. Where the sun rises at 2am and does not set until after 11pm. There is no darkness for days/nights on end, and there would be a slight dimness to the sky, where in a few hours, the sun will rise again.

This is stockholm, sweden. I work for a Swedish company, and it does have its perks. The swedes are a cool, intelligent and good looking bunch of people. they love the sun (they don't have so much of it, 2/3 of the time, it's dark and wintry they say), and they love their boats...

On my first night, i was taken to a bar called två (read as t-voh) which means two. I have been here 

before and we always enjoy the cocktails here... http://www.två.se/

The place is quite simple, elegant, but the bar is loaded! The people are well-dressed and prim without being too snobbish. I order, for my first drink on a bright and sunny evening - yes, you read it right - bright and sunny at 7pm... a drink called solero. On the menu, it says:

Absolut vanilj björnbär björnbärslikör citron 7up

and this is what i get:

crushed blackberries, in a tall glass filled with blackberry liquor, absolut vanilla vodka and topped with 7up. Complete with a cute orange twist for style. I loved the blackberries... it was the best part of the drink. Especially drinking it in the summer -- which is not sweltering, but just bright and warm enough that it's not freezing.

When I get the chance, tomorrow i will show you what a swedish zabaione is like...

Saucy Sauces

There might be something wrong with my palate. Lately, I’ve noticed that I’ve taken a liking to sauce. Yes, sauce. I will gladly admit that the extra “X” lbs. that I have gained in the course of a year is due to something that I would consider a sauce addiction.

Of course, I’d primarily place the blame on myself. My obvious lack of self control when it comes to food intake is the main culprit for my falling off the “healthier” wagon. Making Hollandaise has its pitfalls, when you are the type to find amazement in its rich flavour way too much!

I have quite a few cringing witnesses who’ve informed me that French fries swimming in a bucket of ketchup --yes, it’s a condiment. I know.-- hardly constitutes a tasty, if not healthy meal.

But here’s the thing, I realize that there is a huge sauce culture out there. I learned in school, as well as in some culinary books that sauces are the shizz, for lack of a better term. Sauciers were held in high esteem, especially in the olden days, for their ability to make the ordinary extraordinary, in addition to masking the taste and smell of slightly past-its-prime food (due to the lack of preservation know-how). And it became a routine: When you requested for a dish, you expected a corresponding sauce.

This sort of mentality has endured so well in the modern world. It’s come to a point where the idea of eating a certain food item without a sauce (say, grilled chicken breast) starts to feel like it’s only meant for hard-core dieters. It’s as though the food is sure to be bland.

That is why all these fried chicken places, --especially the ones I see here in the Philippines, are so protective of their gravy recipes. Personally, I can’t imagine eating my *Jollibee Chicken Joy without its gravy. Neither can I fathom eating McDonald’s fries without a serious helping of ketchup. Also, I know a lot of people who like their viands in lots of sauce because they are able to flavour their rice with spoonfuls of yummy sauce. I’m even guilty of that.

I was quite relieved to hear about the rise of Nouvelle Cuisine in one of our culinary history lectures. The new top chefs are going for concepts like fresh, lean, healthy, organic, natural, simplistic,… etc. You get the picture.

The trend in sauces has shifted towards light dressings, vinaigrette, salsas, and olive-oil concoctions. And they are actually a formidable force in terms of flavor, texture, appearance, and nutrition.

Perhaps it’s a marketing tactic: Keep customers healthy, so they can patronize your establishment longer. Clever, isn’t it?

*Watch the Jollibee Chicken Joy ad here, and see how they’ve made gravy as much a part of the fried chicken as anything else.

Until Later,

Starfruit & Apple Juice

While i am refreshing myself with a glass of freshly juiced starfruit and apple, I wondered what nutritional values this drink has. When I was growing up, the starfruit i knew were usually small, the size of a five year-old's fist, and always sour. It was fun to eat because you cringe and you get tingles all over... a sprinkling of salt helps to neutralize the sharp sourness of the fruit.

Coming to Singapore, I found bigger star fruits - they were as big as my hand now -- about 4-5 inches long and quite large, compared to the ones I know from the Philippines. They were crisp to the bite, but surprisingly lacking of any dominant flavors. It has a slight tartness in the end, but one would neither say it's sweet or sour... it's just slightly flavored water...

What a very pleasant surprise to find out that the starfruit is also very high in vitamin C, full of anti-oxidants and flavanoids too! Good for dieters, a website said... 

Even when I've mixed the apple and starfuit juices together, the unique scent of the starfruit and its tartness came out rounding off the sweetness that the apples usually punches out to you. It becomes a wonderful, after gym drink... really really delicious! 

barbera - the graceful one.

I don't recall if Barbera was indeed the first Italian wine I've ever tasted, but it doesn't matter. I found it easy to drink and pleasant for asia's harsh warm weather.  Only lately did i find out that this is a wine that does not have a great reputation among those who pride themselves of knowing wine, or make a living out of it, or find that it's a redeeming quality in supposedly being an expert in drinking wine. More on that later... but now I want to talk about this badly misplaced wine.

Barbera is an italian red, of which most recommend to drink while young. the bouquet explodes with floral scents, and the taste is refreshing with a hint of over ripe cherries. I love this particular bottle (pictured above) -- there's no earthliness to this wine, no heavy, thick tar, or spice or wood in it... which makes this a lovely red for me. This glass has a beautiful deep red violet tint to match its gentle flavors.

One website says:

"While Barbera has been sneered at, spat upon and spurned, bottles of it are commonly found as the table wine in Italian restaurants. What do they know that the snooty critics don't? Barbera may be underrated, but it's the everyday underrated drinking wine." 

It gets me thinking... what makes wine a good wine? Does it have to do with price? with the color? with its characteristics????  Eventually, after all the hustle and bustle, it boils down to one's preference. Whether you prefer a lighter, fruitier red than a punchy pinot noir, is not to be criticized upon. It's all a matter of appreciation and respect for the wine, the vine and the winemaker.

more on Barbera here: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/barbera.html

"kalabasa-q"

Pumpkin - simmered in butter and sugar, on slow fire - with some spices (yes, cinammon and a dash of nutmeg)... Yummy...

Inspired from the local street food kamote-q (sweet potato bar-b-que)...  I just had a sampling of mine and i'm a convert -- i'm now a kalabasa-que fan...

chicken lettuce wraps

Never underestimate what a little ingenuity can do to a bag of lettuce, chicken breast, celery, carrots and some left over tomatoes!

My lunch consists of stir fried chicken cut into small pieces (seasoned a bit with salt and pepper). I chopped the tomatoes up and poured a generous amount of olive oil - found out along the way, that chopped tomatoes, low fire and a full teaspoon or two of olive oil, get the tomatoes really saucy. A splash of balsamic vinegar, and chili powder --

viola - lunch in 10 minutes! Eating it now, and the vinegar was the star. I think i put too much chili in the sauce, but the chicken, tender, sweet and moist. Really delicious!