• Ping’s Antipasto di Frutti di Mare
Another yummy treat from my favorite cassava lady. This is perfect, well, come to think of it, for just about any time of the day. Enjoy it with your favorite crackers or pour some over pasta. It’s up to you. I personally love it with crackers. I find myself munching on it as a midnight snack, and it is my favorite companion when I watch American Idol and The Bold and the Beautiful in the afternoons. I also like having it handy for those times when we have unexpected guests. It can be served fast and easy, and is always a hit.
One time, I dropped by this cassava lady’s house to get some more of her antipasto, and she served it together with toasted crackers with queso de bola on the side. It tasted absolutely wonderful. I never had queso de bola that way. It was sliced not too thin or thick and was toasted until it was crunchy enough to make a sound when you bite into it. The heat kinda intensified the flavor of the cheese and it reminds me a lot of the Parmesan crisps that Italian restaurants often serve with their dishes.
One more bonus: Because it is made of seafood and spices, Ping’s antipasto de frutti di mare is perfect for Fridays during the Lenten season.
For orders, call or text Ping at 0917-6255123.
• Violet’s Peking piglet
This is a must-try. It is delightfully delicious, to say the least. Imagine a very yummy, roasted piglet, its meat melt-in-the-mouth tender, the skin crunchy and crisp, the flavor just right and perfect. With every order, Violet includes a generous serving of garnishes and crepes that you can wrap up the meat in. Yummy, yummy, yummy. I am off meat during the whole Lenten season, but I already know that this is one of the first treats I will enjoy come Easter Sunday.
While you‘re at it, why don’t you order her paella, as well? It is just lovely. I love to dig in all the way to the bottom of the dish and scoop out the tutong. The sight of it alone excites me, maybe because I already know how good it will taste. She also makes a delicious fish dish that has garlic and almonds.
For orders, call or text Violet at 0917-7915505.
• Beef tapa from Pecadeli
If you must have beef tapa at home, make it this one. Everyone we serve it to only have the best things to say about it. I always have instant food in the freezer, and a steady supply of tapa, tocino, and the like is high on my list. I initially bought some of this tapa to give away last Christmas, but before they could be given away, we ended up enjoying them ourselves, and serving them to our guests, until I realized it practically never made its way to anyone’s else’s house but ours. Breakfast and midnight meals take on new meanings with this to enjoy. It is tender, good, and delicious.
For orders, call or text Marian at 0917-5306558.
• Saranggani Bay milkfish
What was supposed to be a quick stop at Pan de Manila proved to be everything but. This shop carried enough choices to make me stay longer than I intended to. They had their own brand of jams and spreads, even peanut butter. There were bottles of sardines, but what caught Richard’s eye was the line of chubby bottles that held even chubbier cuts of young milkfish. We tried it when we got home, after which we sent the driver back to Pan de Manila to buy lots more. It was that good. There were hardly any bones, except for the spine, the oil is yummy when poured over rice, and the meat is tasty and firm. It even comes in two varieties, regular and spicy. Given a choice, I would pick the spicy variety, but the regular variety is delicious just the same. It is probably available in bigger grocery stores, but somehow I always get our supply at Pan de Manila. I’m just a creature of habit, I guess.
• Chocolate cookie
Now, this one was given to me as a gift, but it was so, so, so good, the memory of it makes me smile and crave for more, more more. Thin, chewy, yummy, and with a delicious burst of chocolate flavor, this munchie is highly addictive. If happiness were a cookie, it would probably taste something like this. I do not even know what the cookie is called. I just have the contact number. And I am sharing it with you. Don’t ask me for a contact person. I don’t know who to ask for either. Just call, I guess. If you want it bad enough, you will find your way to that cookie.
Call or text 0917-5246329.
• Brother’s Burger
I am not much of a burger person, but I actually enjoyed a few bites of the burgers from Brother’s Burger. My brothers love it. One time, though they came home with fish fillet from that place, I was hooked on their sandwiches for good. The size alone is intimidating – in a good way. Unlike other burger joints that dish out huge buns with a filling so tiny you can’t taste it in the first few bites, this one is served generously (And that’s spelled with a capital G). The fish fillet extends far beyond the huge buns that cover it. It is crisp and tasty, and not loaded with extenders, thank God. You really taste the fish. I like it with their wasabi mayonnaise, but if you’re not brave enough to try that, their regular mayo makes the cut as well. Your choice.