Chocolate review: La Belgique Gourmande Noir 85% Cacao

We conclude the short month of February with a chocolate review. A colleague gave this to chocolate bar as a pasalubong from a trip to Europe earlier this year.

This chocolate was a 'pasalubong' from one of our faculty who traveled to Europe last year to participate in an academic conference.

Details about the chocolate at the back of the pack. You can see that this is local and artisanal.

The ingredients indicate the cacao content (pure chocolate) to be at 85%.

This is a Fair trade chocolate. The best before date is also indicated. This is something that many now interpret as contrary to the expiration date. That means the chocolate is still good to eat after the BB date but is not as good as before the date. Expiration dates suggest that the chocolate (or any other product) can no longer be eaten after the date, often resulting in unnecessary waste.

The chocolate is wrapped and sealed in foil. This helps preserve the chocolate.

I thought this was one of the better chocolates we've enjoyed eating. It was smooth for an 85% chocolate.  I was expecting this to be on the bitter side as far as dark chocolates are concerned but the bitterness is lighter and perhaps more like 60% chocolates. I'm not sure this is available here but I definitely will purchase a bar or two if I see this in a shop.

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Pepperoncino mix at a Japanese store

Today being my 54th birthday, I am posting about something simple but really enjoy eating. I've been always curious about a Japanese goods store along Katipunan Avenue across from St. Ignatius Village. The store is relatively big as most stores like it are more the size of convenience stores. And so I assumed that it would have more to offer in terms of merchandise (i.e., Japanese products). I was right in my assumption and ended up doing some shopping for items we usually have at home like the Bulldog sauce, furikake, gyoza sauce and instant ramen. I was happy to see another product that has evaded me in most Japanese stores.

Garlic, Olive Oil & Chili Pepper by S&B for Aglio Olio e Peperoncino

 

Details of the product and how to make some good pasta at the back of the package.

More about the store and other items there in a future post!

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The renovated NAIA Terminal 3 Food Hall

I am sharing here photos I took at NAIA Terminal 3. Shown are photos taken around the newly renovated food hall located at the level between the arrival and departure levels of the terminal. There are already a lot of restaurants and cafes open, giving visitors many choices for eating and drinking at the airport.

I didn't include labels anymore as the photos are self explanatory, showing names of the restos and cafes at the food hall.

 

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The nostalgia for the Love Bus

I spotted this vehicle while we were driving to UP along Katipunan Avenue. It is one of those modernized jeepney units that are actually mini buses. This one's electric and with the GET Comet group. They painted their vehicles to look like the Love Bus that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. There is still a nostalgia about these buses, which were the first aircon buses used for city operations in Metro Manila. The Love Bus was one of the bus types operated by the Metro Manila Transit Corporation (MMTC), a government owned unit that competed with the private bus operators at this time.

A revival of sorts for the Love Bus?

This one is an electric mini-bus from GET Comet

I have good memories of riding the Love Bus between Escolta and Cubao as a child. It was via Escolta that we went to Luneta at the time. Later in high school and when I was a student at UP, I rode the Love Bus between Cubao and UP. 

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Hibiscus in recovery

This is another late post of a draft I started right after the break. During the Christmas and New Year break, there was no one with the skill to tend the flower garden at our office. My colleague who developed the garden taught one of the maintenance staff on how to care for the hibiscus and roses. Unfortunately, that guy was transferred to another office so there wasn't anyone who could help with the plants. 

My colleague returned after the break and I saw him tending the garden, which we at the office cheerfully say we will name after him. The garden was actually damaged by a vehicle last year, which plowed into the plants. The garden has recovered since then and again is recovering. Here are photos of the various hibiscus varieties that are now in full bloom again.

I will occasionally share photos of these and the roses in future posts! 

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Back at Breakthrough for lunch

We just had to go to Arevalo to eat at either Breakthrough or Tatoy's. Breakthrough's menu has more items though and we didn't feel like eating chicken so we went to Breakthrough for a heartly lunch.

Diwal or angel wing clam is popular in the region. The best are supposed to be from Capiz, in Roxas City. This is supposed to be abundant in clean waters so if there is no or few diwal, then that means the waters are polluted. Its actually a good example of how we can gauge cleanliness in nature.

More diwal in another basket. 

Other live fish in the aquariums include lapu-lapu varieties and tilapia

Other food available and on display include grilled pork, vegetables, shrimps, etc. Of course, you can also order other items including pancit (noodles), drinks and dessert.

Variety of fish for 'paluto' including tangigue and managat.

A view of the beach, waters and Guimaras Island. Surprisingly, the weather was fair despite the approaching storm.

Another view of the beach. Noticeable is the cleanliness of both sands and water - a testament to Iloilo's commitment to clean-up. You can observe the same at Tatoy's, which is not far from Breakthrough.

Grilled tangigue, which is a variety of mackerel.

We saw that they had mangoes available at the counter. These are supposedly from Guimaras, which is famous for its mangoes. They are recognized to be of the highest quality among Philippine mangoes.

Halaan or clam soup just the way we like it. Perfect for rainy days.

My friends ordered crabs. You can select live ones from the tank at the restaurant and ask them to cook it the way you like them.

 

There's an FIC stand inside the restaurant for those who was some ice cream for dessert. Payment is separate from the restaurant bill. Its actually a good dessert for those who feel "umay" after eating a lot of tasteful food.

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Dinner at Ponsyon by Breakthrough at Plazuela

What to do at a city renowned for gastronomy but enjoy the food. Due to the inclement weather (there was a storm the past days), we decided to eat at a familiar place at Plazuela. Ponsyon by Breakthrough is conveniently located near where we are staying and serves items on the menu of its mother restaurant in Villa. They just don't have live seafood that you can choose from.

Baked scallops

Halaan soup as we like it

Grilled managat is something we regularly order. Managat is a variety of snapper that can be cooked in a variety of ways including sinigang (with soup) or steamed.

This was a really good dinner for our first night in Iloilo during this quick trip. 

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Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Church, Miag-ao, Iloilo

I am back in Iloilo. While this trip is mainly work-related, we were planning to have a side trip during our free time. Unfortunately though, a storm is arriving soon in this area. Tropical storm Basyang is currently inundating provinces in Mindanao and Visayas, and is expected to bring heavy rains to Iloilo today. We might just be content on doing indoor activities then.

Meanwhile, I am content in posting (late post) some photos of Miag-ao Church that I took during my travel here last November. 

Church facade 

UNESCO market recognizing the church as a World Heritage Site

The church as seen from the grounds

 

The main altar features a retablo with key figures such as the crucified Christ and the Sto. Nino.

The church features a long main aisle, which is preferred by many for church weddings (i.e., the bridal march is longer and somewhat more dramatic).

Another view of the church interior

More on Iloilo later! 

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Ovalteenies at the convenience store

I found another item that took me back decades ago. I had always preferred Ovaltine over Milo as a morning drink (though for a time I also drank Enervon to start my day). The makers of Ovaltine made a candy shaped like tablets, and me and my siblings enjoyed eating them as snacks. Mama used to buy these at the supermarket and I had one as baon. I remember I didn't consume one pack in one sitting. I made it a point to eat them gradually so I could enjoy them the whole day.

Spotted in a convenience store, it wasn't a hard decision to get a pack.

The candies were the same tablet form

I think the taste was basically the same. And that is why it brought me back to my younger days. There are tastes that have a lot of memory in them. This is an example of that.

 

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Serg's chocolate - Revival of a childhood favorite?

I've been seeing posts on my social media feed about a childhood favorite. Serg's chocolates was very much part of my childhood as they produced what I thought was the best chocolates at the time. Of course, when I was a child, I didn't have easy access to other chocolates including imported ones. M&M's, Hersheys, Snickers, etc. were luxuries that you can only get via balikbayan relatives or friends, or the PX stores that sell imported goods mainly from the US. I heard then that there were stores near the US bases (Clark and Subic) where you can get imported goods including chocolates. We got ours in the 1980s when my father returned from a couple of overseas trips.

So the choices in terms of branded chocolates were few. These include Goya and Ricoa chocolates. The best to me was Serg's with their chocolate bars that in my memory were the best of what was generally available. My thoughts now is that their chocolates are comparable to the Meiji chocolates we enjoy - only cheaper.

This is the design for the chocolate's 

The Serg's chocolate factory was actually located in Cainta, along Ortigas Avenue Extension where there are now warehouses beside the BF Construction lot. I still remember the pleasant smell of chocolate every-time we passed the factory.

The news is that Serg's is looking to reviving its business and coming back later this year. I'm sure looking forwards to this. And I hope the taste is the same if not better than what I remembered the last time I had some. 

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