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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Turkish delights

The wife was doing some cleaning last weekend and found some items still in her luggage from last year's travel to Europe. She had a stopover at Istanbul and got these two boxes as pasalubong.

Two boxes of Turkish Delight - one with pistachio & pomegrenate, and another just pistachio

Here's a close-up of one of the boxes.

I don't recall I've had some of these but maybe I have tasted it one time at least. One of the foreign students at Yokohama when I was studying was from Turkey so I probably tasted some during one of our social events among foreign students.

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Vegan cookies from Iloilo - Bread Basket

I bought these cookies at Bread Basket in Iloilo. We discovered Bread Basket last year when we got some reall good muffins from their branch across from Seda Hotel where we stayed.

A pack of assorted vegan cookies - 100% plant-based.

A peek inside the pack

The mango-infused cookie is really good. 

I got this pack and a box of pastries from their branch at SM City Iloilo. It's good for pasalubong and our daughter loves their muffins. So I got her some muffins that she got to enjoy for merienda.

 

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Sunset before the lunar eclipse

Last week, I was having an evening class lecture while the lunar eclipse was unfolding. I could only have a glimpse of the eclipse from my office window when we took a short break in the middle of the lecture. Prior to the event though, I was able to take a photo of the sunset before the eclipse. Here are a couple of photos of the sunset as seen from the 4th floor of our office.

You can see the outline of a mountain in Bataan province behind the tall buildings in the photo. We used to have a clear view of Mt. Mariveles and Mt. Natib when there were few buildings in the horizon.

The sun descended quickly after this photo. It is always a sight to behold.

 

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A dose of tuna melt for Friday lunch

Last Friday, I decided to treat myself with a tuna melt sandwich. It was a slow Friday to cap a very busy week. I was also sort of celebrating the accomplishments of our daughter as she concluded their 3rd Quarter exams.

My favorite tuna melt with green salad on the side from Wildflour

 

Wildflour's tuna melt is so far the best sandwich to me. The poached tuna and cheese they used were the perfect fusion. It helped that the multigrain bread was fresh and crunchy. The salad is always good though the dressing is not usually the one I like. Regardless, I prefer my salads without dressing if its this fresh.

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Jericho's, Tanay - Pililla Boundary

It's nice to "get lost" from time to time. A relatively long drive during a holiday took us to some towns in Rizal where we happened upon a dairy farm and drove to a restaurant in Tanay that we wanted to try out for the food and the view. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we found it too crowded and didn't want to wait among the crowd who probably drove there for the same reasons we had. And so we decided to go back the way we went there and try to find a place to have late lunch.

Doing a quick search of places to eat at along the way back to Antipolo, we found Jericho's and its high ratings. The place was at the border of Tanay and Pililla (just beside the arch actually).

A pitcher of their refreshing lemongrass and orange juice

We ordered chicken quesadillas for starters

We ordered their boneless fried chicken and chose the parmesan variant

Their take on the roast beef was really good and is a must try for diners. The beef is so tender and the sauce actually has a hint of bulalo.

Their version of carbonara is also very good.

We had a very good meal at Jericho's. The service was also very good. Their staff was very attentive and also helpful with the menu. Jericho's is a very good restaurant with a very good selection in their menu. I think this is a restaurant that you can put in the map and also consider eating at whether you drive or take public transport to get there. It's definitely a good stopover for those driving to the farther towns of Rizal or perhaps on the was south to Laguna, Quezon or even Bicol. 

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Buc-ee's Pecan Log

This is another late post of a snack we enjoyed last year. The wife took home a lot of pasalubong from our friends in the US the last time she was there (in Texas to be exact). Buc-ee's Pecan Log is one of the new items we tasted and enjoyed eating last year.

The packaging for this bar is quite simple and you can see what's inside - a bar loaded with pecans.

We thought this was a satisfying snack. Perhaps it is most suitable as a power bar. I thought that you can have one on hiking or walking trips. When you feel tired or need a time out, you can take a bite or two to energize yourself.

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Puto manapla from Iloilo

I arrived at the office one morning to find our staff excited by the rice cakes given to them by one of our faculty members. One of our lecturers regularly commute between Iloilo and Quezon City and brought with him puto as pasalubong to the staff. These were not the regular puto manapla that you can now also buy at markets here but flavored variants - cheese and ube.

Ube and cheese flavored puto manapla

I was fortunate to have a share of the puto as the staff offered some to me. I consider this as comfort food among the many that bring back happy memories.  

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Bren Raphael's Ube halaya from Antipolo

Last week, we had dinner at the nearby mall and went around a bazaar selling local products. This was a regular thing at the mall where Antipolo and Rizal made products were sold. Most were food products and handicrafts but there were also clothing and cosmetic products. Among the new products we saw there was ube halaya made by a company in Antipolo City.

Ube halaya translates to Purple Yam Pudding. They have two variants - the smooth variant and this one with tidbits.

The ingredients and other details on the product are at the back of the package. They also make ube jam but we didn't purchase some to try.

The ube halaya comes out from the package sealed in a vacuum pack. It is on a plastic container with a lid. We thought this was really good packaging that would preserve the product especially for those wanting to buy these as pasalubong from Antipolo.

 

Price list for their ube halaya and ube jam

Their ube halaya is really good. It is better than many of the ube halaya we've bought before. It is on the pricier side of these products though. A tub of typical ube halaya costs a third of this. And we used to buy high quality ube halaya in the church bazaar at the Taktak church where we used to hear Mass on Sundays (we now hear Mass at our village chapel).

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