shabby chic food challenge # 1: vanilla affogato

for lack of a better name, i'm calling this the shabby chic challenge. (but i hate it, so i'll probably change it later on. be warned.)

objective: to discover cheaper alternatives to (my) favorite food items, which are usually expensive (i have a spendthrift attitude when it comes to food, and it was the leading cause of my previous ballooning credit card debt problem - but that's another story).

to quote an officemate (who quotes a popular tv ad) - 'sing sarap, pero 'di 'sing mahal.

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affogato: a coffee-based beverage or dessert. "affogato style", which refers to the act of topping a drink or dessert with espresso, may also incorporate caramel sauce or chocolate sauce. - wikipedia

i first encountered this drink at starbucks around 3-4 years ago. the way starbucks made it, it was actually a blended ice drink (either vanilla or chocolate cream) and the espresso shot is added last, creating a beautiful drip pattern down the side of the plastic cup. it's no longer in their regular menu, i think, but the baristas can make it if you place an order. at today's prices, the tall cup probably costs around 130 pesos.

now, even a spendthrift like me will balk at shelling out 130 bucks every visit - i do work for a living, and i don't have a trust fund to fall back on. if i had to spend that much, might as well get a mocha frap.

cheaper alternative # 1: granita (aka ice coffee at 7-11 or mini stop) - i could be wrong, but a 16 oz glass from the convenience store could set you back 30-40 bucks. whatta deal. the coffee experience granita used to cost 50 pesos, about 8 years ago. no idea how much it is now.

cheaper alternative # 2: ice cream and brewed coffee - this is if you want to stick closer to the definition of affogato. i tried it this morning, and it was a pleasant change from the typical brewed coffee we get at mcdonald's or jollibee. an a la carte order of sundae cone + brewed coffee will set you back 45 pesos. if you're having a breakfast meal at the aforementioned fastfood chains, just add 15 bucks for the ice cream.

cheaper alternative # 3: the ultimate cheapskate - get the ice cream cone from mini stop, which was 14 bucks a year ago, and a nescafe 3-in-1 (or san mig 2-in-1) for 6 pesos. better yet, just steal the 3-in-1 from your officemate. prepare the coffee, then dump the cone into it.

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disclaimer: i am not affiliated with any of the brands or restaurants mentioned here. but i wouldn't mind if i got compensated for advertising :D

i broke my diet again

i've been trying to go on a diet since friday. i failed. i just don't know how to avoid carbs, they're my happy food! especially a nice, steaming plate of pasta. ohhhhhbrother.

whenever my best bud mike and i meet for lunch or dinner we usually end up going for italian. this time we tried cibo. and i loved it. i can't remember the names of the dishes we ordered, but show me the menu and i can point them out. we started with a mozzarella & asparagus something with toasted flatbread. the spread was being a little difficult and wasn't as salty as i really wanted, but still a hit. the bread was nicely done. then we had a something salad with arugula, yellow bell peppers, and pine nuts with some sort of vinaigrette dressing (which i initially thought wasn't there). ohhhhman, it was good. just the right amount and tartness. then i asked the waiter for a pasta dish with a mix of red and cream sauce, and was given this shrimp thing on penne. i could die right then and there, i couldn't get enough! but those three dishes proved to be enough for us after all, and we walked away happily full. not the buffet-gorging sort where you wonder why you ate that much. we were very very satisfied.

oh, and we were listening to urbandub live while eating. can't beat that!

tell me, is it love...

here's a warning. don't eat mc shaker fries if you have a respiratory condition. i had some last sunday, and you won't believe the dust that floats up when you first open the bag after shaking. i didn't even put in half the powder! after the 2 minute coughing fit and wishing for tears to roll down (just to get my eyes cleaned), i made a promise to myself never to order that again. at least potato corner has a person to do the shaking and powder-inhaling for you.

song of the week (five months ago): love floats (the coke float theme song)

good eats!

one of my favorite shows on the food network is alton brown's good eats. every episode he features one food item -- like tofu, for instance -- and tells its story in a very interesting manner. off-putting to some, maybe, but refreshingly different.

this is not a story on every food featured on good eats. but it is about good eats... the ones you encounter on that day when you least expect to celebrate food and the place that is highly suspect for hygiene. this is about the wonderful world of food you find on november first. at the cemetery.

when i started going to the catholic cemetery more than a decade ago, there is limited choice on offer. just the typical small-time carinderia fare like palamig, pineapple juice (di-takal syempre), banana cue, and the jack and jill fun snacks. at the time i rarely bought food from the stalls, usually i brought my own or i eat back at the house which is only a few minutes away. but now, the number of people in the cemetery just manning the food stalls can equal the number of visitors, any given time. and yesterday, i had the time of my life checking out the good eats.

at the cemetery entrance were the more popular food chains: mc donald's, pizza hut, doner durum (the local shawarma shop). a bit further is the purefoods stall, complete with the large skillet thing. here's where i got my bacon cheesedog sandwich and canned soda. but scattered on every remaining available space are the stalls selling proven, kwek kwek, squid balls, fish balls, even papu's siomai (one of uplb's most popular street food). i helped myself to a few bags of crispy chicken skin, only my mom's caution stopped me from getting the proven as well. of course, there are still the vendors selling the good old palamig and junk food, but with more choices than ever before. not to mention the people going around hawking chicharon, mani, kasoy, and "dirty" ice cream. and do you know that mc donald's has joined the bandwagon, offering their 20-peso burger mc do on foot?

long ago i shared the conservative sentiment that the celebration of all saints' day should be solemn and quiet -- meaning, none of the music, laughter, and the food. but times are different now. and i've learned that death should not be a mourning of a life's end, but a celebration of a life lived. it is not the dead that celebrate this occassion, it is the living. and as long as we keep faithful to the meaning of this day -- a day of remembrance and of faith in the afterlife -- who's to say that we can't enjoy it as well?