In love with sweets

My mother once had an elderly patient who inexplicably burst out crying when visitors brought her a bunch of flowers. The onlookers were puzzled at her behavior. Did she get emotional because she was touched by the thoughtful gesture? When the patient calmed down enough to enlighten them, they laughed and balked at her explanation: "Why did you bring flowers? I’m not dead yet!"

Forget giving a bouquet to people who have strange ideas about flowers. Avoid causing illness by bestowing floral gifts on people who are allergic to pollen. Allow the flowers to live longer by letting them stay on the plant.

I never really appreciated getting flowers on Valentine’s Day. A boyfriend always gave me flowers that I promptly forgot about. Chided about my complete lack of sentimentality by friends who pressed the blooms they received between the pages of thick books, I once stuck roses into the freezer with the intent of making sugared rose petals later on. These were promptly buried underneath bleeding bags of dog food that came fresh from the butcher.

Call me unromantic, but I would still say that it is a prosaic and sappy custom. I appreciate the beauty of flowers, but the ridiculous cost of blooms on V-Day offends my miserly sensibilities. I would rather get something useful: maybe a book, or chocolates, a rack of lamb, or chic designer salt (like fleur de sel and Oshima Island Blue Label), or something in that drift. It isn’t strange. I’ve met countless women and men who think exactly as I do.

However, the usual alternative to flowers for loved ones is still sweets; and the custom of giving confections goes a long way back. A fragment of an old song is playing in my head: "Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey…." Fortunately, I don’t remember any other lines, thus sparing us all from a bad case of musical diabetes. But you get the point: If not flowers for V-Day, then sweets.

It was in the spirit of gonzo food exploration that I embarked on an outing for new and unfamiliar sources of sweets. I successfully hit the jackpot on my initial sortie. In Love With Sweets, at 6797 Ayala Avenue, Makati City opened barely a month ago, and had an attractive display of newly-baked pastries.

Especially pretty were what they called La Manzana that was topped with green apple slices, and Mango Bango that had mango slices arranged to look like a bright yellow- orange marigold. If anyone would stubbornly insist on giving me blooms, the Mango Bango floral variety is ultimately the more acceptable alternative. Attracted to all things chocolate, I noticed a cake that was topped by an Oreo cookie. It was called a Yoyo Oreo.

The slices that came from towering cakes were formidable. Was that Choco Hazelnut, or was it Toasted Almond cake? The presentations were equally eye-catching.

The cakes came under headings that denoted the sizes of the portions. Cutie was the smallest, but the portion could easily be dessert for two or three. Midi was, of course, medium, and the towering cakes went under the Grande category. Portions of the latter are good for sharing by bigger groups. It would be foolhardy to singularly devour the huge slices after a meal.

I set out to sample the pastries and sweets, but as is usual in various food exploration trips, I was a bit derailed by the menu.

In Love With Sweets also serves pizza and pasta. I felt that my taste buds needed a diversion from the sugar overload. Hence, I paid closer attention to the pizza/ pasta lists.

Pizza Margherita (P179), the most basic of the pizzas, came with a special tomato sauce and was topped with mozzarella cheese. Chicken fajita (P229) was topped with barbecued chicken, green bell pepper, onion, and mozzarella. Fish and seafood lovers could opt for Greek (P229) that had tuna as the main component or Frutti Di Mare with calamari and shrimps. With the exception of Quattro Frommagio, it was apparent from briefly scanning through the pizza list that mozzarella was the common component of all.

Cheese is fromage in French and fromaggio in Italian. The four component cheeses in Quattro Fromaggio are Parmesan, feta, cheddar, and mozzarella. The common component, mozzarella, is well known as the "pizza cheese." It becomes elastic when melted.

I tried Verdur Di Stagone (P199), which, aside from mozzarella, was topped with zucchini, eggplant, mushroom, bell pepper and olives; and Quattro Stagone (P199) topped with meat, chicken, pepperoni, and mushroom. Both had thin, crisp crusts and I daresay the meat lovers who tried the pizzas with me preferred the latter choice.

The pasta selection included the usual Napolitane (P169) – fetuccine with tomato, basil and Parmesan; Penne Sicilian (P179) – pan-roasted chicken and peas; pesto pasta with chicken (P229), and seafood linguine (P269).

The curry pasta (P249,) which was linguine with yogurt, chicken, raisins, and roasted walnuts, and Thai spicy pasta (P299), fettucine, shrimp, bell pepper, leeks, and pine nuts, seemed interesting. I made a mental note to try these on my next visit.

But meantime, it was back to the desserts. The list of cakes also included Marble Dabble, Manna Banana, and Crème de la Crème. All posed a calorific temptation.

To go with the cakes were the hot (siphon brewed coffee, Choco Orange, Café Choco, Café Cinno, Milky Oreo) and cold beverages (Polar, Parisian, Oreo Frenzy, Choco Banana Passion, Corn Blitz, Mango Tapioca.) Specialty coffees were also on the list.

I felt that my jeans were already getting tighter. The tasting session at In Love With Sweets seemed to have quickly taken its toll. But no matter, I will exercise and lose all the extra weight later. As a food writer, I am spurred on by the likes of Charles Monselet, who is credited with the quote: " A true gastronome should always be ready to eat, just as a soldier should be ready to fight."

And so, after the pizza, the pasta, the Mango Bango, and the Yoyo Oreo, I bravely forge on through the rest of the pastry selection.

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At least 20 kinds of bread are also sold at In Love with Sweets, located at the ground floor, Security Land Bldg., 6797 Ayala Ave. corner V. A. Rufino St., Makati City. For inquiries, call 840-4848.