Masterchef Pinoy Edition: Celebrating Filipino Food And The PinoyPalette

I started following Masterchef Pinoy Edition some two weeks ago and today, they just completed their roster of top 16 Pinoy home cooks.  The Junior Edition got me hooked so I really have high expectations for this one.  Being a foodie and trying hard home cook, I am interested to see how we fair compared to the likes of Whitney, Jennifer and Christine of Masterchef US and Julie, Adam, Kate and Andy of the Australian edition.

The Junior Edition had its finale showdown early this year and I must say, I was really impressed with how good the young chefs were.  I was also happy with how ABS-CBN made the show really close to home.  I think this is what they are trying to achieve with the grown ups, only in full throttle.

During the audition, we see people from all walks of life.  Some obviously have a taste for the finer things in life.  Some have lived simple lives but are filled with interesting stories about  food.  I was really hoping to see the usual French, Italian and Asian dishes that are often served in Masterchef US and Australia.  So seeing my usual comfort food: Sinigang, Lugaw and Kare-kare surprised me a lot.  Then I realised, Masterchef Pinoy Edition is a celebration of Filipino food and the Pinoy palette.  Most Pinoys do not eat risotto but most Pinoys (if not all) have tasted lugaw.  Only a few of us can appreciate ceviche but we are accustomed to eating Kinilaw.

At first I was worried that if they decide to include a soufflé challenge a lot of those who got through the top 16 would not keep up.  But I guess the show is trying to portray food as a great equalizer.  You do not have to be at the upper echelons of our society in order to experience or even make good food.  It would not be realistic to have a soufflé or a creme brûlée challenge.  A leche flan challenge would make more sense.

Masterchef Pinoy Edition is also dubbed as a Kusinaserye (there goes our penchant for drama) so don't be shocked to see sob stories here and there.  I think they are trying to show that for every amazing home cook, there is an interesting story behind their love and passion for food.  Just like the story of a single mom who used food to cope with the breakdown of her marriage.  I am just a little concerned that the competition will become a charity event and the one with the best story wins the title.

At the end of the day, it should be all about the food.  And it should elevate Filipino Cuisine and make it know internationally.  I am really excited to see how this show will progress.

Care For A-Gantea Party?

My bummed out feet took me to Robinsons Place Manila today.  I have not visited this mall for quite some time now so I wanted to know what's new.  Naturally, I went to look for a tea place.  Serenitea was my obvious choice but since I had to walk around, it surprised me that they have lots of tea shops already.  In fact they have all the major ones: Serenitea, GongCha, ChaTime and even Happy Lemon plus more.  I was pulling my hair (what's left of it) because there were so many choices and I can't make up my mind.  Then I realised my feet are tired so I had to choose one that appears to be cozy.

A familiar name caught my eye and guess what?  They have sofas!  So Qoola it is.  Wait a minute, I thought I wanted tea, why go to a froyo place.  Well, Qoola happen to have another label inside its store, A-Gan Tea.  Think Jollibee and Red Ribbon in G4, I'm not sure how to describe the relationship.



 

So I fell in line, browsed their menu and since I can't find the usual, Okinawa, Nagoya, Oolong or Earl Grey, I chose Vanilla Milk Tea with Black Pearls.  They have a massive menu which they organised into Milk, Herbal, Fruit, Original Brew.  They also have a Milk-Lid selection which I think is somewhat similar to GongCha's house specialty where the tea is topped with milk.  They also serve, coffee, yogurt and smoothie.  And yes, there's more.  They have chicken, pork chop and rice boxes!  Talk about having it all (well almost).  That's something you don't see in other labels.  And I think it's so Filipino to have a "pambara" with your "panulak."



We all fell in love with those black round stuff that lights up and vibrates when its time for you to pick up your order.  Sorry to disappoint but they dont have any of that.  But, check out what they have to offer.



 

Definitely not shabby!  A refreshing site indeed.

When my huge cup of joy came, another thing surprised me.  I've never seen black pearls that are small.  It's like the street sago that you store inside your mouth and turn them into darts with the plastic straw only they were black.  It made me sceptical and nervous at the same time.

The tea was okay.  Reminds me of the tea stand in my old work place that I would frequent.  So that's a good thing.  Then there goes my first sip of their pearl.  To my delight the pearl is actually tasty.  I'm not sure what the equivalent of al dente for pearls is but it is exactly like that!  Tender and chewy but a hint of resistance when you bite into it.  And it's not bland.  They also serve it with the right amount of ice so you dont have to worry about drinking all the tea and you're still left with the ice on top of your hard to get pearls.   That made me a happy camper.

It was a great first time for me.  Will definitely visit them again and try out their drinks, and their rice box!  Right now, they only have 3 branches: Greenbelt 2, Robinsons Place Manila and the new one in Ayala Triangle.  I hope they get to open more.  For more info about their menu, you can visit their official website, or like Facebook page.

 

I Smell Christmas

It's about 50 days till Christmas and I can already smell it.

Decided to go to Market Market for dinner and a little chillin' before my week ends.  The street that leads to it coming from my place is still closed so I had to pass by Serendra first to get to my destination.  While walking I noticed a crowd of people taking pictures building up at the center.  So I rushed to find out what it was all about and as I get nearer, the site of a gigantic Christmas tree all lit and bright welcomed me.

I wanted to join the people and take a picture of it but the crowd was just to big at that time so I said, I might just catch it later.  And on my way home that's what I just did.

I had some difficulties capturing the entire tree at its foot so I had to crop out a good portion of it.  Yes, that's how tall it was (for an outdoor Christmas tree).  One thing I didn't notice earlier is that Serendra also has smaller versions of this tree around the area.



I have not noticed other malls put up their holiday trees so it's nice to see one this early.  According to SM Mall Of Asia, they will unveil their grand Christmas tree on November 11.  I'm certainly looking forward to that.

Christmas, you can definitely smell it already!

Oh, oh! Since I passed by Serendra, I just have to bring home my favorite treats!  Cupcake heaven!





 

What a way to cap of the weekend!

 

 

 

Late Night Gourmet

After ironing a truck load of clothes and feeding my cat, my brain remembered that I my needs something inside it.  I didn't want to have something delivered because an average online delivery service takes about an hour (15 mins for them to call you and verify and 45 mins to deliver the food).  So at 3:00 AM, I thought of whipping up something from the cupboards.

I have not cooked pasta in a while so I decided to experiment on the stuff I have in my fridge... Chicken Breast!  The first thing I had in mind was to do an alfredo with chicken.  But  I cant seem to find parmesan cheese. So I abandoned that thought and decided to go pomodoro.  Good thing I always keep canned tomatoes and mushrooms and packs of pasta in my cupboard so it's just a matter of me keeping laziness at bay.

In less than 30 minutes, I have my late night munchies.



 

For this recipe, I used 200g macaroni pasta, 2 cans of peeled tomatoes, a small can of sliced button mushroom, one medium sized onion, 3 huge cloves of garlic, salt, sugar and pepper corns.  I diced two slabs of chicken breast fillets.

It is a little on the sour side as I intend to use the left over sauce tomorrow as a base for another pasta recipe.  This time, I'll go creamy!

Bon appetit!