Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Word of Mouth

I love food shopping. Most weekends you’ll find me cruising supermarket aisles, checking out specialty food shops, perusing organic market offerings or braving the morning crush at Farmer’s Market in Cubao. There’s something strangely soothing and therapeutic about being surrounded by food – whether fresh or canned, poultry, meat or produce. I’m totally addicted.

I also love to keep company with people who have an honest appreciation for food. Not necessarily hardcore foodies, but people who just want to eat well. What’s not to like? They serve good food and I pick up food tips along the way. Perfect.

My favorite in-house food trip partner is hubby Christian. He’s infamous for having solid food aversions (mushrooms, monggo, chocolate…!). But he’s also adventurous when it comes to new food and I like that. Some food finds from hubby:


Oregon Fresh Wasabi-flavored potato chips
This is hubby’s discovery and I’ve grown to love it as well. Now we always have bags in store should visitors pop in. I’m not really into chips – simply because I can’t be trusted to go for portion control . Me + Beer Match Salt & Vinegar + The Buzz on Sundays = slow descent to Dante’s seventh circle of hell. But I must say that Oregon Fresh’s sharp tang of wasabi makes me want to park the whole transfat thing momentarily. Serve it together with BLT and some kani salad. Yumyumyum.



Bulla Yoghurt Delights
Christian likes yoghurt. He actively seeks yoghurt brands to try. And he introduced me to Bulla, which is like the queen of yoghurts in my book. I simply adore their yoghurt mini sticks in Strawberry and Mango. Super Sarap ng Over. Wherever you see a Dippin Dots kiosk, there’s usually some Bulla bars available too. Whole boxes available in Market, Market.

Good pal Jay is also a favorite source of food tips. He’s such a food whore – all I need to do is call him up and next thing I know, we’re headed to Chinatown for some dimsum and dumplings. Now that’s a winner of a friend, in my opinion. Here are some of Jay’s finds:


Frank’s Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
This was pal Jay’s Christmas gift (rebottled since you can only get it by the gallon in Market Market). Oh wow, what a joy. Fry up some chicken wings in clarified butter, pour the cayenne pepper sauce, stir it up and you’ve got some killer buffalo chicken wings. Chop some celery sticks, add sour cream and you’ve got the big delish.



Bakersfield Choco Fudge
Otherwise known as Anti-Sungit potion, this is exactly what you need after a crap day at work (or a disastrous arranged date). Pour a huge dollop on a banana and you’re set. Add a little bit of milk and it makes for an instant chocolate fondue. I get my stash from Jay (I think his cuz owns the company or something). It’s for export so not sure it’s available retail. But if you do find it in some random shelf, buy immediately.


Kewpie Sesame Dressing
I first encountered this during lunch at my sister-in-law’s. To begin with, Kewpie has a kitschy line, “for ages 1-100”. How cute is that?! But there’s nothing cute about the Kewpie Sesame Dressing. It is quite simply: The Bomb. Slather it on any ordinary salad for an instant boost. I like it with some salad greens, cherry tomatoes and mango slices. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t instantly fall in love with this dressing. Can be found in Japanese groceries along little Tokyo and Milelong makati (COOP, etc). A bit pricey but super worth it.

Got any food finds for me? : )