Chocolate review: Cachet Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao

This is a very late post about a chocolate that we bought and ate months ago. I started writing about it a long time ago but somehow other material got in the way of my finalizing this post. Cachet is Belgian chocolate but with the cacao sourced from Africa; Tanzania to be exact.

There's an interesting slogan on the wrapper - "This bar is supporting our "Cocoa for Schools" project in South Tanzania.

Details about the chocolate at the back of the package.

Ingredients - the chocolate claims to have 70% minimum cacao

Nutrition information

I was pleasantly surprised to see the inside of the wrapper having a story to tell.

The bar retailed for 185 pesos at Healthy Options. That is not really expensive for a high quality 180g chocolate bar. I think I mentioned before that many local chocolates are overpriced considering their inferior quality. This chocolate can serve for benchmarking local (Philippine) chocolates in terms of quality as well as pricing.

I will post about the information on the inside of the wrapper in the next post.

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House Macaroni Gratin

Last weekend, I found this box of Macaroni Gratin from Japanese brand House. I had forgotten about this, which I bought at a Japanese store along Katipunan in the St. Ignatius/White Plains area. It's an easy to prepare (instant) pasta dish that you can prepare in a few minutes. You can add potatoes and even meat if you want to though cooking those ingredients properly will add to the time for this to be ready to eat.

The box contained sealed packets of macaroni and the gratin mix.

I used cheddar and quick melt cheese as topping before I placed the clay pot in the oven toaster. This is the result after I took it out of the toaster.

The cheeses served as a crust to hold the macaroni gratin. This is what it looks like after scooping some for dinner.

The gratin was a success. Our daughter loved it. It was a good foil for the savory viands we had for dinner.  The price tag is still on the box. I thought this was good value for the 189 pesos I paid for when I bought it last year. I will probably get another box or two the next time I get to go to that Japanese store. 

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More brownies and chocolates by our daughter

Our daughter's still hooked on baking. She baked some brownies last weekend and we (mainly I) immediately consumed the brownies she allocated for us. One of the trays was already reserved to one of our close friends, her Ninang, who 'ordered' some.

Mixing the ingredients

One tray in the oven

She used walnuts for this batch as we ran out of cashew nuts

She also made a batch of Dubai chocolate loaded with pistachio and kadayiff. She uses local chocolates that she mixes to get the right consistency and texture. Her lola (my mother) and uncle (my brother) loves the chocolates.

Her mom decided to print these stickers for our giveaways. Currently, its limited to close relatives and friends who also encourage her to bake.

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Brownies from Sarah's Bakehouse

My sister served some egg pie for dessert after we had lunch at their home also in Antipolo a few Sundays ago. It was really good egg pie and I learned they bought it from Sarah's Bakehouse. I think they got this at the branch at SM Megamall but they said there's also one at Ayala Feliz. One afternoon I passed the Blue Ridge area, I chanced upon a branch there. And so I decided to check their products via the Grab app to see what goodies they have aside from egg pie. The brownies caught my attention and I decided, on a whim, to order a box.

Delivery of a box of brownies inside a paper bag

The box contained 8 brownie squares

Close-up before the first bite

My daughter bakes brownies and she chided me for buying some as she could have made some for me. In my defense, I mentioned to her about my curiosity and shared some so she can compare. The brownies were really good. I thought they were also the right fudgy or moist and some crunch to it. Not too soft. Not too tough or chewy. I said also because I have tasted others like it such as the ones I bought before from Mrs. Fields. My daughter enjoyed them, too, and said she will try to match them in her future bakes.  

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Coconut water from Thailand

A quick stop at a convenience store for some drinks led to my purchasing a bottle of coconut water. I was going to pick up one from Lipa, a local producer of bottled or tetra pak coconut water but I remembered that the taste of their coconut water was somewhat weird. Instead, I got this other bottle from Thailand.

The bottle has a simple design

Details including nutrition information

The taste is very much like the coconut water you can drink fresh from shell in Thailand. It is very familiar to me as I've been traveling frequently with Thailand and enjoyed drinking coconut water with my spicy meals. It is a nice option for refreshments on hot days like what we're currently experiencing this dry season.

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Chocolate review: Whittaker's Peanut Slab

Though I prefer dark chocolates, I also eat other chocolates from time to time. This is basically to satisfy cravings for chocolate. One milk chocolate bar I remember enjoying also because of the peanuts is this bar from Whittaker's.

Whittaker's The Original Peanut Slab claims to have 33% cocoa.

Details about the chocolate at the back of the bar include nutrition information and the 'best before' date.

The chocolate is okay and as I said, satisfied cravings for chocolate. So it served its intended purpose. I thought chocolates like this come in handy as a booster for when you're doing fieldwork or sports or other activities needing some quick source of energy.

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Chocolate review: Audrey's Confectioneries Chocolate Mango Caramel

I received a box of chocolate-covered dried mangoes last Christmas along with a desk calendar from friends connected with a Japanese consulting firm. I only opened these last Holy Week when I decided to take the box home to share with my family.

This box of goodies was made by Audrey's Confectioneries, which is based in Cebu.

Details on the chocolate-covered mangoes at the back of the box. It's good to know that there are products like this that are of high quality that can be used as gifts or souvenirs.

Nutrition information

Information on the manufacturer including their social media page

Inside were individually packaged servings

The chocolate-covered mango caramel was really good. It was perfect for dessert as it wasn't heavy or nakaka-umay. I am curious about their other products. I haven't been to Cebu for some time now and I am not sure I would go out of the way to find their store. The good thing about social media is that it provides a way to avail of their products even remotely.

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Lunch at Breakfast at Antonio's, Opus Mall

We finally ate at the Breakfast at Antonio's at Opus Mall along C5, which incidentally is still part of Quezon City but near the border with Pasig City. Its quite popular is an understatement as we always find it full. We were somewhat lucky one Saturday and had a really good late lunch there.

Smoked pork baby back ribs

Portobello truffle tagliatelle

We also got a couple of packs of freshly made piaya aside from ice cream for dessert. We are already looking forward to the next meal there. It's addressed our cravings for their food that we only enjoyed if we go to Tagaytay, which is not that often.

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Another mentor passing away - Dr. Romeo Manlapaz

Another mentor passed away recently. Dr. Romeo Manlapaz was my teacher in Math 54. While he was supposed to be a terror teacher, I remember him more to be amusing. His terror reputation was somewhat tempered by his conversations with some of us students while we waited for our room to be vacated at the 4th floor of Palma Hall. Even as we were his students, we were surprised that he engaged us and shared with us many stories. I guess the other students were not as lucky and maintained a distance that they were not able to understand or appreciate the man. While he appeared to have been fond of a few of us engineering students, he trained his strict and firm manner towards others he seem to see differently. 

https://math.upd.edu.ph/2026/04/in-memoriam-dr-romeo-l-manlapaz-1939-2026 

It was later when I joined the College of Engineering as a faculty member that I came to discover his other contributions to the university. My senior colleagues like Dr Leony Liongson and Dr Evangel Quiwa shared their stories about Dr. Manlapaz, being his colleagues at the Engineering Science and Computer Science Departments.

While many of my blockmates probably don't have fond memories of him, I have many including some amusing ones in class. Those include the time he was gulping some cough syrup straight from the bottle as he claimed he had a bad case of coughs. He even teased some of the female students who were from Math and Chemistry. One of these of course was probably a crush in college or at least what we thought was his crush. 

I don't think he remembered me the last time I encountered him in the mid 1990s. I just joined UP at the time and was shy to introduce myself as a former student. Rest is peace, Dr. Manlapaz. You will be remembered by at least one of your former student who is thankful for the learning experience.

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More sanggumay in full bloom

I took these photos of the sanggumay on our Narra and Mango trees. They flowers last only a couple of days after the full blooming. The other sanggumay we got last year are still too young. Some actually perished already but I hope most would survive to eventually bear flowers.

The orchids on our Narra tree are wildly growing.

Close-up of the orchids on the Narra Tree at the front corner of our house.

Sanggumay strands on our mango tree

Close-up of the flowers

The sanggumay on our mango tree is quite prolific 

It's the time of year when most of our flowering plants are blooming. It is actually spring in temperate countries. And so we have lots of birds and insects benefiting from the flowers and fruits. I will post soon about our mangoes!

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Roberto's siopao, Iloilo City

The wife had a quick trip to Iloilo before the Holy Week. I suggested that if they had free time she should ask about siopao from Roberto's. Roberto's is probably the most popular place for siopao in Iloilo City. The pleasant surprise was we got a couple as pasalubong that we enjoyed the following day for breakfast.

Roberto's King Siopao has ham, chinese sausage, chicken-pork adobo and egg

Here's a close-up of the fillings for the King Siopao

Another close-up that captured the steam coming off the siopao after we heated it.

You can see the ham, sausage, adobo and egg in this photo.

I missed buying some the last time I was in Iloilo. Hopefully, there's another opportunity to travel there in the near future. Maybe then I can also get some to take home and enjoy eating with family. 

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Some thoughts on a Good Friday - memories of Holy Weeks past, the crisis in Iran and Alay Lakad

Good Fridays in the past have had me in my father's hometown in Cabatuan, Iloilo. We usually flew in on a Wednesday to get settled in and do the routine visits to nearby relatives before the Holy Week activities start on Maundy Thursday. Thursday late afternoon to evening would be for the Mass commemorating the washing of the feet. This was always a long celebration with the parish priest washing the feet of apostles usually played by town elders (during election years, these would be candidates for the local positions). Tatay and his friends jokingly refer to the Mass as "misang Batman," referring to the priest vestments that they compare with the superhero's cape/costume.  The Last Supper commemoration is separate and held after this Mass. Good Fridays usually involved the Stations of the Cross in the morning to a hill in town that symbolizes Calvary. This was at Balic, which was at those times a rural part of the town past the Cabatuan National Comprehensive High School. In the afternoon, there is the procession featuring carrozas depicting the passion of Christ and the characters involved. Most prominent for me here were the antique images of the Santo Entiero and the Mater Dolorosa. During and after the procession, we usually went around to check out the temporary chapels set-up for the stations of the cross around town. There was usually a competition and winners were announced on Easter Sunday Mass.

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Iran has been in our minds lately, and mainly because of the attacks by the US and Israel that have led to a crisis now experienced by most of the world. Personally I have friends in Iran and I can't help but wonder how they are doing now. One of my closest friends at university in Japan was from Iran. We shared many experiences as foreign students in Japan and he was always kind, gracious and respectful. They (ordinary people) don't have means to communicate to the outside world. Internet is down and with the crisis still unresolved, I can only pray that he and his family are okay.

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Estimates stated that there were more than 6 million people (6.66M according to one estimate) who participated in the Alay Lakad to Antipolo yesterday, Maundy Thursday, until the early morning of today, Good Friday. Most of these people are of voting age, which I assume based on the physical capability needed to do the Alay Lakad. I wonder who among these voted wisely in the past 2 elections and who they will be voting for in 2028. These thoughts came to my mind as Alay Lakad is supposed to be a panata and for 'good'. Whose good exactly? Is it the selfish kind or the good of many (and by many I am not referring to just relatives and friends of those who did the Alay Lakad)? Were they really pilgrims or devotees or just there for the thrill of the experience or adventure?

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Classic Filipino breakfast during the Holy Week break

The Holy Week break allowed for some good breakfasts. On regular days, our breakfasts were quick, short meals. We had to leave early for school (to drop off our daughter) and then to our office afterwards. So we had to have something we could eat or drink in a short period of time. For me, that would be some cereal drink. And I frequently just get some rice and viand in a food container to have my full breakfast at the office. And so this break has provided a welcome change in pace and an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate. Filipino breakfasts have some variety across regions but the more common ones involve local sausages, dried fish, eggs and, of course, rice.

Ingredients for a silog breakfast - longganisa, dried fish and eggs. Plus some sinamak for dip. 

The longganisa (local sausage) from Tuguegarao, Cagayan was a pasalubong

Dried fish (tuyo and espada) and squid

 

Breaks like this are always welcome. These are re-energizing and allows for activities other than office or school related ones. Still, there is the specter of the resumption of the same come Monday after Easter so we have to make the most of the break including these breakfasts.

The sinamak in the photo is made by our driver and his wife:

Suka ni Pang by our driver Lary and his wife Elma. You can contact them thru the number on the bottle - 09975130044.

 

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A sad end to March 2026 - the passing of two great men

Last week, two great men passed away. Their accomplishments speak for themselves and they left their legacies for people to use and learn from even after they have passed. I just wanted to mark their passing as an important note here on my blog. 

Paalam Dr. Cornie Banaag, the Father of Child Psychiatry in the Philippines. I got to know of Doc Cornie as a neighbor whom I enjoyed a few walks with around our village. He loved to talk about life and shared his thoughts about the state of mental health especially among children or youth in general. We occasionally met in other cities where he happened to be a resource person in seminars and I happened to be working on projects.

Paalam Mr. Roger Murga, accomplished engineer whose accomplishments in the construction industry led to the realization of major infrastructure projects including the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX). I came to know him as he was a childhood friend of my father. They grew up in Cabatuan, Iloilo and went to the same High School.

Our deepest sympathies go with their families.

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Sanggumay blooming at our home

I got a few sanggumay a couple of years ago and these were planted on several trees around our home. The ones easily visible and checked are the sanggumay growing around our mango tree, the central and perhaps focal tree at our home. There are also sanggumay on our narra, guyabano and palm trees.

The flower buds along one of the strands indicate blooms soon. Other strands have buds already growing out. These are from the same plant on our mango tree. 

Close-up of one of the strands and the buds

I will share some photos here again when the sanggumay are in full bloom.  

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Crazy about baklava

I first tasted baklava when I was student in Japan in the 1990s. I recall one or two occasions when students from the Arab countries or Turkey would have brought these as their contribution to pot luck events. Later, we enjoyed baklava from a Greek neighbor in a village we resided at for almost a decade. And so we were delighted to have been gifted with a box of baklava from the Ambassador of the State of Palestine! The ambassador visited UP and distributed these to his hosts. We opened the box on the eve of Eid L Fitre (end of Ramadan) and enjoyed it as dessert after meals.

The packaging gave a preview of what's to be expected inside the box.

Details on the baklava at the back of the package.

Ingredients include only two nuts - pistachios and cashews.

Nutrition facts

We were very pleasantly surprised by the variety of baklava upon opening the box. It certainly did not disappoint as the contents are consistent with the images on the box.

These were a delightful dessert but I wouldn't be surprised if people instead snacked on these. One can easily indulge or over-indulge over these baklava.

I kept the box as a souvenir and will use it for other keepsakes. It can also be a reference if we happen to see this or something similar during our travels. I assume you can get these are duty free shops in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha or Istanbul - some of the usual airport stops en route to Europe, for example.

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Cravings for Mango and Sticky Rice

Last week, as we purchased some Cha Yen or Thai Milk Tea at our favorite stall at a nearby mall, I saw their sign stating they had mango and sticky rice for sale. I didn't hesitate to confirm if this was available and ended up ordering one to take home.

The set included sticky rice (malagkit), slices mangoes and a pack of reduced coconut milk (latik).

Mango and sticky rice ready for eating! 

Mango and sticky rice actually directly translates to suman at mangga in Filipino. This is a common food across Southeast Asia. I have enjoyed this while residing in Singapore, and while traveling in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. I assume there's a version in Vietnam, too. I just have yet to try it. I crave for this from time to time and usually get some from Thai restaurants.

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