Festive baon food

Paella, cocido, caldereta–these are special occasion dishes which we all grew up with. They are rather complicated to prepare and thus difficult to make into baon food, unless there are leftovers which can get into lunch boxes. Not anymore. A group recently put up "Moving Feasts" and, as the name suggests, they carry a line of fiesta fare, fit for taking to office, school or even picnic. Never has baon food been this gourmet. Done in the cook-freeze technique, the viands, packed with rice in reheatable food savers, are richly flavored with saffron, balsamic vinegar and spices like cumin and fennel. One can choose from more than 20 varieties among which are Paelletta, Fabada, Callos, Pescado Japones at good prices–from P50 to P65, currently available in some gasoline stations or call 625-6251.

We went to yet another Food Fair, the World’s Food Expo 2003 (Wofex), organized by Premiere Events Plus Group, Inc. Apparently courting small entrepreneurs, quite a number of exhibitors are offering franchises of their products such as Sari-Sari Bread Store based in La Paz, Iloilo with an office at the New Frontier Arcade in Quezon City. Listening to a group of women asking all sorts of questions, we concluded that franchising is fast taking off in this country. Franchising consultancy outfits can help interested parties.

Searching for dalandan juice, we were led to the booth of Drysdale and Marsman, which sells the sweetest mangoes (from P50 a kilo) and pomelos (P95 a kilo) in town. They have slightly sweetened juice retailing at P14. While most of the merchants are exporters, they have outlets within the city for local consumers, like the fruit store Pelican Farms located in BF Parañaque, Marikina Riverbank, Fairview, Wilson Street in Greenhills and Pilar Village in Las Piñas. Their juices are available in supermarkets.

Fitrite Incorporated manufactures food stuff under two brands, Mother’s and Fitglo. Their product range includes Meat Stew mix, Peeled Tomatoes at P15 a can, powdered dalandan in canisters for P90, sold in most outlets in Metro Manila. From Uncle Ed’s booth are canned, ready to serve Indian curries, labeled Rasm which means kitchen. This outfit has many stores in Metro Manila, one of the most accessible is in the Midtown Executive Homes on UN Avenue where it also has the Tandoor Indian Restaurant.

Meal suppliers needing containers can get some of those lovely products sold by Prestige Plastics, like burgundy-hued bento trays which come in three sizes with two, three and five divisions from P8 each. Their newest offering is round cake trays, small and medium. Needless to say, the ubiquitos Bangus Bonoan, from Regional Food Marketing, also had a booth. They are encouraging purchase on line through www.bangus-online. com. Now that is convenience.

With the food business getting more and more attractive, this piece of news would be much welcome. Two young gentlemen, both aspiring to be world-class chefs, introduced us to the Institute of Hotel and Restaurant Studies in Ortigas. Since it started operation in June 2002, the school has graduated 500 students. Available courses include Fundamentals of Culinary Arts, Cooking Pro series, Kitchen Internship and the Fundamentals of Pastries. Fees range from P30,000 to P40,000 per four-month certificate course. Looking at the young men and women managing the many restaurants and pastry shops all around the country, a culinary course would indeed look very attractive and promising.

We did a quick stop at Cherry Foodarama in Mandaluyong recently and found the breadline of Goldilock’s including loaf bread (cream, wheat and raisin) at P33 (big) and P23 (small), and jumbo and regular pan de sal. We were happy to find the Pearl River Bridge Superior light soy sauce (P36.50) from China, and Singapore’s Sinsin Grade dark soy (P39.50). With the Yong Ghun Laugu black vinegar from the Chinese grocery on Aguirre Avenue in BF, we were able to whip up a good Chinese meal for our brood. Happy eating!