Disorganized but...

The recently-concluded World’s Food and Trade Expo at the World Trade Center organized by Premiere Events Plus Group, Inc., showed a few minor flaws on opening day–the counter staff appeared confused, ranking officials came in late and badges took nearly an hour to be released. Inspite of that, the three-day event proved to be an effective display of local and foreign products available to consumers and industrial buyers.

Bottled food and sauces showed Filipino ingenuity and they certainly made us proud. They provide the busy homemakers with no-hassle preparation of meals. Mura Sarap Foods offered bottled kare- kare sauce (P96 each) as well as laing (P72 per) and bagoong (P60.). They all have a shelf life of one year. What delighted us much was the Burong Bangus ni Balae from ACL Native Food Products from Bulacan. Those who worry about the purine content of shrimp alamang can have this as a delicious substitute. In fact, it has a subtle taste and can be a full ulam, mixed with rice. This sells at P50 a bottle of 240 gms. At home, our brood savored this with the crispy tawilis (P50 a serving) we bought from two gracious young ladies of City Grill (a restaurant in the Tektite Building in Ortigas) , who guaranteed that the fish would still be crispy at the end of the day. Indeed, they remained so.

More delectable sauces were encountered at the Bravo! booth, where their collection of original creations are attracting a lot of exhibit visitors. Among their products: tomato garlic dip from P100 a bottle, peperonata sauce at P105 and P120 depending on the size, mango jam and orange marmalade. Going Italian, the most extensive display was that of DeCecco group, whose products are distributed locally by Bacchus International. These include a wide range of pasta, a collection of canned vegetables (cherry, peeled whole and chopped tomatoes with suggested retail price ranging from P28.50 to P168), Fabbri brand concentrated fruit products and a line of flavoring for gelato and bakery items. They also carry the LavAzza label of coffee blends, either ground or beans. Price is from P323 to P1,000.

We are all familiar with Mama Sita sauces (patis, etc.). Their newest addition is the Labuyo Chili sauce, prepared from organically grown peppers. They cost from P54 to P57 per bottle of 60 mls. Now you can say goodbye to imported, more expensive hot sauces.

Regional Foods Marketing has pulled another magic trick with their Bonuan Boneless Bangus. We have patronized their embutido, tiyan, etc. and this time, at the Expo we got the latest, bangus patties (P50 a pack of five) and we tho-roughly enjoyed its subtle flavor. If you fancy Indian food, it may be time to visit Uncle Ed’s Community Supermarket in the Cityland Tower in Makati. They carry a wide selection of spices and sauces from India (BMC brand, Singapore Spicelady and Sinsin labels) and the Asian Gourmet collection from Thailand. Brush up on your Asian cooking and you won’t be lacking the required spices and seasonings.

A most interesting product at the fair is the line of bottled fruits and vegetables offered by GCH International Mercantile, Inc. They are attractively packaged in clear bottles and plastic in the most soothing colors of green and yellow. Exhibit visitors were all fascinated with the aged pickled green mangoes, crispy with the subtle combination of sweet and salty taste.

The most attractive plastic state-of-the art microwave-oven safe food containers were displayed by Prestige Plastics Incorporated. Black being one of our favorite colors, we were delighted to find their latest collection–Faerch serving trays and pans, ideal for use with oven-to-table food and catering purposes. They are elegant, neat and sturdy. Made in Scandinavia, the choice consists of small and large trays and small and large servers from P51.75 to P112.70.

Most of the products shown are available at Rustan’s, ShopWise, the SM chain, Makati Supermarket and Landmark.

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Lydia D. Castillo’s e-mail address: [email protected]