Baking Nostalgia

Back in the day, my mom would bring home blocks and blocks of excess margarine/shortenings and tubs of whipping cream from our factory. We had a good sized kitchen and oven at our old home in New Manila. I faced the oven almost everyday. I loved using my mom's Oster mixer from the 70's. I enjoyed trips to Chocolate Lover in P. Tuazon and Unimart for packaging and ingredients. I played with cookies, bars, sponge cakes, pies, casseroles and went as far as empanadas from scratch - dough & filling. I can clearly recall toiling over the empanadas for three hours just to have them disappear in 20 minutes. I didn't make them again after that. =) I gave my goodies to friends and family as treats for birthdays, Christmas or just because. My "baking career" lasted for about seven - eight years - HS to College. I got sick of the smell of sugar and butter. I couldn't eat what I baked and let whoever is around taste test. Eventually I just stopped. The oven burns on my arms have since faded. Too bad, taking photos of good food wasn't trendy yet. 

I've been home the past months and have time on my hands. The exact night escapes me but I had a dream of chocolate chip cookies and strawberry butter. Not necessarily together. =) The craving wouldn't stop so I thought I'm going to just make myself a batch. I knew a recipe by heart before but now needed a refresher so I googled a basic one and did simple tweaks - switched 1 cup of flour for oatmeal, put in less salt and MORE chocolate chips.

Who wouldn't take a swipe at cookie dough? Yum! I've always used an ice cream scooper to drop dough on baking sheets. Easier and less messy than using tablespoons.

They turned out great! Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Purrfect with milk! 

Here's an all time favorite of mine. Nora Daza's Sugar & Spice Coffee Cake. I was nervous making this. Cakes were always my weakness. Let's not go into how many angel food cakes I've thrown out because they came out the oven like bricks. Mmmmm.... the smell of cinnamon was MmmmMmMMm. It brought back memories of our old kitchen. 

When life gives you lemons, make coconut lemon squares! I lifted a recipe for such from Mary Engelbreit's Cookies Cookbook that a supportive cousin gifted me ten years ago now. I have made this no more than five times. This shot after 'years of retirement' was the best one that I can recall taste and texture wise. 

Last Friday, I meant to bring home made goodies to a birthday gathering of friends. I felt confident enough to switch chocolate chip brands and experiment with oven temperatures. The cookies' bottoms were slightly burned. Fail! I had no choice but to do a quick run for grocery store brand cake instead. I'm a baking schizo. I don't always get it right. 

Compared to cooking, baking's pretty exact. Follow directions to a tee and you produce a good result majority of the time. I'm no cook so I like that a lot. =) The process that I do now is a far cry from my Manila baking days. Now, I do everything myself, from prepping ingredients to cleaning/washing up all the utensils, bowls and baking sheets/pans. I do miss having help but enjoy the time and effort that I put into it. I welcome not having a mixer to do the grunt work - it's a lot of arm effort! I savor the time in between cookie batches, I get a kick out of watching the cake rise and for the batter to turn golden. To put it simply, I can think. It's quite calming. 

This probably won't continue when I start working again. In the mean time, biscotti next?

Lei Ho Hong Kong

This getaway post is looooong overdue. Yikes!!! My bad! After saying Ohayo Tokyo!! It was time to say Lei Ho Hong Kong. My friend is Hong Kong savvy so I turned over the navigation reins to her. Slight issue with our room that reeked of cigarette smoke at Royal Pacific Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui when we checked in, they did move us so it wasn’t a big deal. Now, instead of places, I’ll break this down by the gooood restaurants.

·      Crystal Jade at Gateway Arcade – The first and last meals in HK were eaten here. It was a bit stressful the first time because of the noise. Coming from Tokyo where it’s a lot more quiet, the chatter stressed me and my friend out. I have forgotten how loud the talking can really be here. But Xiao long bao, turnip pastries, la mien, asado siopao, shredded radish cake and the glutinous balls in ginger soup for dessert??? Take me back anytime please!!! Noise and all!!! My glee was evident. 

·      Hai Xian Rou at Times Square – We met up with friends on a business trip for lunch here. My friend and I mustered up all the Mandarin we could remember to do the ordering. Animal pictures were drawn, pictures were pointed at outside the restaurant  - just to get the right food! We did goood! Ha kaw, xiao long bao, soy chicken, asado siopao, hong ma, fried rice and desserts ordered in mulitiples. Of course, all the food was wiped out. The ha kaw and siopao rocked!! It was a hearty lunch complete with entertainment, magic and card tricks courtesy of our lunch date.

·      Sweet Dynasty at Canton Road­ – We always pass this joint on our walks to and from the hotel. Timing is key as it is always jampacked. We took a shot on an early day and the wait wasn’t bad at all. Siomai, shrimp chow fun, the donut like thing wrapped in rice noodles, shrimp/pork dumpling whose Chinese term I always, always forget and taho desserts!!! It was a sweet meal indeed.

·      Prince Restaurant at One Peking – Know Yan of Yan Can Cook? He was there for a business dinner and we happened to share elevators with him! Celebrity sighting!!! We wiped out the in house fried rice, fried eel and their yummy meat platter. This is the only restaurant we ate in that was quiet so we sat back and took our time. We watched the Symphony of Lights and the view of the Hong Kong Island skyline was pretty good from here.

When we weren’t eating, we were going in and out of stores! Muji, Staccato, Life of Circle, Fortress, Anna Sui, Shanghai Tang!!!!, Lane Crawford etc…. Oh SaSa for the kikay in you!!! We must have gone to eight branches! Starbucks is to NY as SaSa is to HK. There’s one at every corner. Speaking of kikayness, our love for Guerlain was born on the plane ride’s duty free shopping magazine to HK, my fault!!! Ha!! I enjoyed Harbour City, 1881 Heritage and Landmark a whole lot because of the stores. Did I tell you I was successful in introducing my friend into the wonderful world of Miu Miu??? We went bonkers at an ampao store and bought Chinese last name ampao envelopes. So, I only had two requests for the Hong Kong leg – to chow great Chinese food and to see a big Buddha. She took me to Ngong Ping for this. The best part was the long climb up the stairs to get to Buddha. I had to say Namaste to the dude up close of course! =) Again, prayers of thanks were said. Both missions accomplished! Yes, we were pushed, stepped on, shoved around in HK but that’s okay. Hong Kong was all about the delicious dimsum, noodles, shark’s fin soup, fried rice and desserts!!!

Ohayo Tokyo!!

April already?? Eeep! My vacation posts are sooooo late. Better late than never as always right? First up, TOKYO! Trend hungry! Trend driven! After my industry respected product development professor repeatedly spoke of the importance of Tokyo in fashion. It was a no brainer. Armed with just Frommer's Tokyo and a haphazard go to list, we explored. We stayed at Keio Plaza Hotel, a few blocks away from the world's busiest train hub, Shinjuku Station. Getting to any point of the city was easy because the Metro and JR Lines stopped there. We did goood in five days, there was Harajuku, the day trip to see Mt. Fuji-san, the tea ceremony, daiso (100 yen store), midnight Lawson’s runs, walks around Shinjuku etc… but I’m going to just bullet point my favorites!

• Meiji Dori & Omotesando Dori - because of the breadth of stores that were along these tree lined streets. It reminded me of Rodeo Drive, a better one. I liked the Oriental Bazaar for the well-priced/made souvenirs, Kiddie Land for kawaii toys and novelties and Comme Des Garcons’ Play Box. I couldn't resist, I got myself a navy/white striped tee!

• Roppongi – Where we had a yummy merienda of sweets at Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki Paris in Tokyo Midtown, hunted for Castella cake at the Precce Food Market to bring back and had our first yummy dinner at Gompachi. Tuna, foie gras, kobe beef skewers with pickled rice in a hot pot and sake! Sake!! The night time walk lead to discovering a good view of Tokyo Tower too!

• Tsukiji Fish Market – It was my fault that we didn’t get to see the fish auctions early morning because I was hammered by the foie gras. Having duck in any form really knocks me out. Uhm high cholesterol? =) We made it just in time for must try Sushi-Dai! It was a 1.5 hour wait at this teeny, tiny, cramped place but I had the best toro sushi of my life!!! The melts in your mouth kind. It wasn’t cheap but seriously, how more fresh can you get!!! The Itamaes (sushi chefs) were entertaining and engaged with us while preparing and plunking down sushi at the counter in front of us. I vow to come back to witness the trading and eat at Sushi-Dai again!!! Never mind the looong wait. It is worth it!!

• Asakusa – We caught the Sumida River Boat Cruise at Hara Mikyu Garden to get to Asakusa. This was a welcome break from the walking. The view would have been prettier had it been cherry blossom season. Another reason to return. The start of Nakamise Dori is marked by Kaminarimon Gate - right red with a giant lantern. I loved it. It was mochi, dorayaki and souvenir galore at this street. The Five Story Pagoda was a sight at night. Sensoji Temple was closed for renovation but we still said our thanks, prayers and tiu-cham’d. I got a good, good one.

• Ginza – For three things – food, fashion brands and Hello Kitty. Every luxury brand, specialty department store, mass market brand imaginable – Muji!!!! Uniqlo!!! can be found in Ginza. With the recommendation of good friends, dinner was at Ten-ichi at the Sony Building. I had the best tempura and fattest scallops of my life!!! Like Sushi-Dai, the place was small and could only seat 16 persons max. It was our most expensive meal yet but again worth every Yen. It was cool seeing the chef pick choice ingredients, prep the batter, dip and then frying away right in front of you. All done with flourish and neatness. Try sprinkling your tempura with curry powder and dipping it in lemon with a pinch of salt. Yum!!! Our second trip to Ginza was with empty stomachs. We were lucky to pick ABC Noodle Shop at random. The ramen and mini gyozas were soooo good. Sprinkled with freshly ground sesame seeds? Yum!!! Oh Sanrioworld!!! Hello Kitty’s my No. 1 but seeing Little Twin Stars was awwww just the same. I wanted to hoard elementary school supplies, stationery, stickers, utensils, plastic wallets, mirrored compacts etc… but settled for a Hello Kitty cell phone charm. Sanrio products can just take you back in the day you know

• Shibuya Crossing – We stationed ourselves at the second floor of the Starbucks café with grande macha lattes to see the action better. Said to be the busiest intersection in the world, yep, the volume of people was wow. It was a sight to see. It was here that I saw fashion subcultures everywhere. Goth, lolita, anime, prep, pink/black, floral, rock etc… etc… Thanks to a Yokohama-based college classmate for showing me. It was also here where we saw just how jam packed like sardines the trains could be. I get it though, why wait for the next train, after a long day’s work, you just want to get home so just squish yourself in!! My friend and I had a ball fighting our way off the train!!!

The Mandarin that my friend and I know was helpful but the train systems are easy to navigate, clean and quiet. We were out and about early and went home late but not once did we feel unsafe. Customer service was above average at each place we went to - at the hotel, restaurants, stores, tourist attractions. I wanted to voluntarily tip generously but couldn’t. No tipping allowed! The street fashion was street. It was a mish mash of different styles that just worked. I couldn’t stop looking and taking pictures. The quality of food, the packaging, the merchandise – oh how kawaii!!!! I have nothing but praises! I SHALL RETURN!! In my book, it’s official - I Love Tokyo. Tokyo is Love.

Billy's Bakery

I had time to kill before meeting up with my group mates earlier today for a project. Billy's Bakery was a few blocks down so I thought to swing by and grab myself a treat. Been craving for something chocolate the past few days. I heard that the brownies made here are quite good. According to their site, "Not only are our brownies made with rich, thick milk chocolate but they also have chocolate chips baked in the batter! So thick and fudgy, you'll think your mom was in the kitchen."


It was delish!!! Not to sweet which is how I like it and moist in all the right places. The cell phone picture does not do it any justice. I'm trying their cupcakes next. Must compare it to Magnolia Bakery and Buttercup Bakeshop.

Korean Authenticity Guaranteed

NYC has a huge Korean population. Many of them are here to learn English and further their studies. A whole lot are at Parsons and FIT. (Kat, you'll know what I mean in the Fall). Most of the friends I've made at school are Korean. It helps that I worked closely with two at Zegna. My friend Miu invited me and our Taiwanese friend over for a home cooked Korean meal and conversation at her place. I have professed my love for their cuisine waaaay too many times I suppose. According to her practice makes perfect. She didn't start cooking until she got married.

How much more authentic can you get?! Awesomeness! Everything looked and tasted good. The names escape me right now so I'll have to ask Miu to list them.


I was the last one to finish eating. I took all the "hiya pieces" as I like to call the last piece of food on the table that everyone would feel "shy" about taking.

They want to try Filipino food later on. No home cooking here. I'll just take them to Grill 21.

Steakalicious!

I had no idea we were in for a treat this weekend. My ahiya's family treated us to lunch at Peter Luger in Brooklyn. Reviews we've read all consistently say that this is THE steakhouse in the whole country. It's also in 1000 Places To See Before You Die. So 999 more to go???? Peter Luger just tops steakhouse ratings year after year after year.


There was five of us plus Isabel but we ordered only the Steak for Four, three sides - onion rings, creamed spinach and their special German fried potatoes. As everyone knows, servings are always giant in this side of the world. They only charge a minimal $3 per person over the number of servings anyway. We had the steaks cooked medium rare and medium. I don't know how to perfectly detail the taste of food but let me just say that I thought the steak was awesome! I personally prefer my steak medium well but online reviews said to not do it!! At first the red worried me but hey, you gotta trust THE steakhouse right?


This is the special steak sauce. With or without, the steak was g-o-o-d.


Mom ordered a diet Coke. We thought the little glass coke bottle was cute. Haven't seen those in a long, long time.


Because there's always room for dessert we shared a slice of cheesecake served with their homemade whipped cream they call "Schlag" which could have been dessert on its own. The server "surprise threw" those gold chocolate coins on the table. Of course the little girl was happiest.


We were stuffed good... On the way home, we all just wanted to sleep. If you're ever in these parts, check it out. Best to make reservations though as it got packed real quick. No need to worry about parking, they had a free lot a block away. And oh, bring cash, they don't accept any credit cards but their own.

Peter Luger's been around over 100 years, they DO know their porterhouse steak. Hmmm... Smith and Wollensky next?

Gimme Pastrami

Tony Bourdain recently featured "old school, hometown places" he loved in Manhattan. "Institutions who have survived the brutal caprices of style and changing tastes -- and are still worth going out of your way to patronize"

Read more here.

We went to Katz's Deli for brunch today. A personal favorite movie, When Harry Met Sally had a scene here.

(photo credit:google images)

In the words of Tony Bourdain - "it's damn good pastrami. Period." It was such a simple sandwich. Mustard, loads of damn good pastrami on thin rye. I was stuffed after.


When you're in the Lower East Side, the pastrami is worth it. Even just once.