Malagos Farmhouse's Blue Pepato Cheese

Olive Puentespina of the Malagos Farmhouse in Davao City has been producing cheeses using cow and goat milk for the past six or so years. Her products - Blue Pepato, Aged Pepato, Fromage frais, Chevre, and other gourmet cheeses and products that are "natural, farm fresh from their gardens, and prepared by caring hands."



I was able to try Malagos Farmhouse's Blue Pepato cheese thanks to Director Art Boncato, Eden, and our friends from our Tourism Office in Davao. It's mildly aged cow's milk cheese with whole green pepper corn. Available in approximately 130g tumblers.



I tried scraping off some of the cheese and placed it on top of my spaghetti/pasta. It was really good :) I think Filipinos aren't that acquainted with different kinds of cheeses. I, for one, just had Blue Pepato the first time. I never knew there was such a thing before.

Also, I don't know if these kinds of cheeses are for everyone given that they're aged and fermented, and do not really smell that good. But frankly, I do not care because it tastes good to me. We should have more cheese appreciation opportunities.

Malagos Farm is a sprawling, eight-hectare property in the Baguio District of Davao City. At an elevation of 375 meters above sea level, it is the ideal location for growing the most breathtaking Vandas, Dendrobiums, Mokaras, Oncidium Grower Ramsey, and Phalaenopsis, as well as exotic landscape plants. It produces approximately 20,000 dozen sprays of Oncidium Grower Ramsey and 60,000 dozen inflorescences of Dendrobiums. Adjacent to the farm is the family’s famous Malagos Garden Resort, which serves as a hotel, park, function area, and public stage where the family can share its love and knowledge of indigenous Philippine flora, and, occasionally, even the country’s rich avian life.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf opens at One Archer's Place near DLSU Manila

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf comes to One Archer’s Place on Fidel Reyes St. near De La Salle University (DLSU), along Taft Avenue in Manila. The new The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf shop opened its doors to its first customers yesterday, January 30, "serving everyone with their full selection of internationally-acclaimed signature blends and gourmet treats and dishes."

In line with its debut, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® branch in One Archer’s Place will be holding a special promotion that will coincide with DLSU’s 100th year celebration. During the promo period that will run from its opening day till February 05, 2012, customers can come to the store from 12:30 to 1:30 in the afternoon and purchase any of their favorite drinks for only Php 100.

“Manila is a good market for us,” shares Walden Chu, President of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®. “A place that’s right in the center of a burgeoning coffee culture in the country, this new branch will not only compliment the busy lifestyle of people in the area, it will also make it easier for more to enjoy the specialty drinks that our brand is known for.”

The One Archer’s Place store will be located near prominent establishments around DLSU and will cater mostly to students and young professionals working and living in the vicinity. In addition, it will serve as a haven for both cult-like followers of the brands as well as coffee and tea aficionados of all sorts.

The White Hat Creamy Cioccolato

Want a new experience for enjoying HOT CHOCOLATE? Instead of having it made for you, you can have fun blending your own hot chocolate with The White Hat’s new DRINK called THE WHITE HAT CIOCCOLATO.

You will be given THE WHITE HAT SPOON encased in a block of premium chocolate. Then, they will warm a cup of milk for you so you can slowly melt the chocolate into the milk and smell the rich aroma before savoring the oh-so-delicious and REAL HOT CHOCOLATE. SPOON, STIR, SIP -- It’s truly an experience worth waiting in line for.

The White Hat can be found at these Metro Manila Outlets:

Glorietta 3
Robinson’s Place Ermita
Robinson’s Galleria
Rustan’s Makati
Shangri-La Mall
SM Fairview – Annex 2
SM North Edsa – Annex Bldg.
Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street

Saint's Alp Teahouse

It was my first time to try Saint's Alp Teahouse. I brought my family to Saint's Alp Katipunan, located right above the Fullybooked branch along Katipunan Avenue, in front of Ateneo. I have been really curious about this place, as I have tried other milk tea and tea stores which have taken Manila by storm, and sprouted like mushrooms everywhere you look. Lucky for tea lovers like myself, we have a lot of options to choose from.



Saint's Alp Teahouse has a nicely decorated interior, which provides comfy seats and great ambiance. It isn't just a tea shop, because it also offers a variety of food and beverage items for customers to choose from (which is also good, come to think of it).




And since I had Php 1000 gift certificate to use that night, I browsed through a very long menu, and decided to order these for the family to try:



We ordered the 2 Taiwanese Breaded Chops (Chicken and Pork) with Marinated Minced Pork add ons (Php 195 + Php 60 = Php 255): Quite honestly, I like the chicken better than the pork. The chicken chops were okay, but with the minced pork combined, it was good and filling. We also got a Large Chicken Breast (Php 110) to add on to the chops.



An all time Filipino breakfast favorite, the Beef Tapa w/ Garlic Rice & Egg (Php 195), I think, was the better choice. The tapa was soft, tasty, and flavorful.



For cheese lovers, you might want to try their Cheesy Tempura Balls (Php 90), which is a good appetizer. Watch out for the oozing hot cheese, if you don't want to scald your tongue. It's fried cheese in light tempura batter.



A must try off their menu is the Matcha (half-and-half) Peanut Butter Toast with Tea (Php 90). Matcha flavor and peanut butter with honey green tea equals perfect combination. The toast is a perfect snack, combined with a perfect hot tea, which is flavorful.




The drinks reminded me why the place is called a teahouse. Surely, I can say that the beverage is good. As for drinks, we got the Almond Milk Tea (Php 115) and Blueberry Double Chocolate Sorbies (Php 130). The almond milk tea is a refreshing taste, something different from what I have tasted so far. I think it's good for almond lovers, or those who want the tea taste hidden. The Blueberry Double Chocolate Sorbies is one of the best iced blended drinks you should try in Saint's Alp. Who would have imagined blueberry and chocolate (double) actually works. It's a little sweet for my taste though, other than that it's a perfect cooler!



Last, but definitely not the least. This is the star of the night. The best drink I have tasted in Saint's Alp Teahouse. It's actually not a tea-based drink, but it's great for coffee lovers, like myself. Sumiyaki Coffee with Coffeeagar (Php 150). Really good strong coffee with coffee jelly on ice. Yummy! :)



Saint's Alp Teahouse
2/F Regis Center, 327 Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City
G/F Forbeswood Parklane, Rizal Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Tel#: 990-2194 (Katipunan), 478-7135 (Fort Branch)
http://www.saintsalp.com.hk/

Yummy celebrates 5th with a "fresh start"

YUMMY magazine is celebrating a milestone this year as 2012 marks their fifth anniversary. To kick off their year long celebration, YUMMY is introducing new columns and sections. Editor-in-chief Becky Kho says, “YUMMY is expected to be a more fun, helpful, useful cooking and dining companion for you.”

With the addition of new pages, YUMMY now boasts of a meatier content. Guest Chef is a new section where readers can get to know the cooking style of a noteworthy personality each month. Another is the Yummy Likes! which features YUMMY editors’ current best picks of their favorite food, drinks, and restaurants in the country.

The Everyday Recipes section is now given an upgrade with the addition of more baon ideas using five ingredients only. Plus, YUMMY also trains the spotlight each month to local artisans who are living out their passions in their Making It page.

Readers can also expect more surprises in the coming months. Kho adds, “Content is not only the only aspect of the magazine we’re making better. In our next issue, we will also unveil the all-new look of YUMMY.”

The January-February issue of YUMMY is also a healthy issue which features homegrown products and local superfoods guaranteed to improve your lifestyle, help you make the right food choices, and achieve a balanced and healthy diet.

YUMMY is available at newsstands, bookstores, and supermarkets nationwide. For more of YUMMY online, visit www.yummy.ph.

Photo courtesy of Yummy Magazine. :)

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love chocolates with mint. That is my ultimate dessert heaven. That is why when I saw a photo-recipe online of the mint chocolate chip cookies, I immediately reposted and shared it to my friends. One of my friends, Arvin, took it to heart, and recreated the dessert heaven.



In his blog, Vin Chocolatier, he wrote, "This chocolate chip mint cookie recipe is inspired by the raw cold and chill breeze of December, balanced with a hearty dose of dark and rich chocolate." He adds that the chocolate chip mint cookies, "can be quite intimidating because the mint really jolts you with a sudden freshness with each bite, but it eventually calms down with the soothing sweetness of chocolate."

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe from Arvin Peralta 

1/2 cup / 100 g butter, softened
3/4 cup / 150 g brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup / 150 g all-purpose flour
1/4 cup / 35 g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
200 g chocolate chips (dark works best, but you can use milk chocolate too) 

Mint Glaze 

1/2 cup + 1 tbsp / 75 g confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp / 8 g cocoa powder
2 tbsp / 40 mL hot water
1/4 tsp mint extract

• Preheat your oven to 180°C.

• Cream the butter and sugar until smooth. You can do this manually (sure, labor of love), but better use a hand mixer or a freestanding mixer for ease. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well until soft and fluffy.

• On another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Add gradually to your cream mixture until well incorporated. Mix in your chocolate chips.

• Using an ice cream scoop or a 15mL tablespoon, drop measures of cookie dough on a lined baking sheet. The cookies do not expand when they bake, so you can leave little spaces in between to pack in as many as you can.

• Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a rack.

• Mix all the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan and and heat until combined. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies as they cool on the rack. The glaze will solidify gradually as it cools.

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe Opening

The famous Singaporean restaurant Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe opened its flagship franchise cafe two days ago in the Philippines, located beside the IMAX Theatre, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City. With around 200 items on the menu, which includes favorites from Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, and other Asian and international comfort foods and street favorites, Xin Wang will definitely have what you are craving for - something for everyone's palate.




A little back story and sort of historical fact about how the Hong Kong cafe concept was conceived as told by one of the owners: Before, the restaurants which serve international cuisine in Hong Kong were sort of exclusive to the foreigners, that's why the Hong Kongers (or the locals) decided to incorporate international cuisine to their cafes so that they may be able to try it, thus the concept of the Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, and similar shops.



Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe boasts of its line-up of food, ranging from dimsum, all kinds of noodles (ramen, udon, spaghetti, etc), western "hong-kong style" food, roti, and a lot more.

Iced HK YingYong - Everyone's raving about this milk tea drink, and how tasty and unforgettable it is. It became an instant hit favorite among all who were there at the launch. A MUST TRY.



Prawn Paste Chicken - Tender juicy fried chicken in prawn paste batter. It's probably an acquired taste, or something unique or different for Filipinos, but definitely worth trying.



Pork Chop Papaya Soup Noodles - Friend tender pork chops on a creamy papaya soup with noodles, egg, corn and tomatoes.



Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf - One of the best sellers we tasted that night. Glutinous rice with yummy meat filling.




Siew Mai (4pcs) - Ingredients are fresh, definitely a must try if you're on a quest for the best Siomai in Manila. Maybe this one's for you? :)



Steamed Pork Spare Ribs - The pork is tender, easily eaten and really tasty.



Noodles with Luncheon Meat 'N Egg - It's quite surprising to see noodles, luncheon meat and egg to all be in one dish served in a restaurant, but no one's complaining as this is quite a famous staple in the comforts of the Filipino home.



Coconut Float - Fresh Coconut or Buko Juice with Vanilla Ice Cream, which makes it even more interesting and refreshing.



After trying all these, and even more (which aren't included here in the post), there are still more dishes to try and appreciate, to fully taste what Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe brings to the table. For us, we are definitely up for the challenge, since we love food, eating, and sharing stories at the dining table. Xin Wang is one of the perfect restaurants to go to because there are a lot of food and cuisines to choose from.

Xin Wang offers a place where the early morning breakfast crowd, up to the late night and even midnight (after last full show movies) crowd can enjoy. It is fuss-free restaurant, where both the younger generation and even families can hang out and enjoy a wide variety of food, even just for desserts, coffee or tea. Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe can seat up to 200 customers at a given time.



Brian Ong

P.S. It's really nice to be back with Manila Foodistas, thanks to Tiffy, Thea, Danne and Nicole :)


Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe 
SM Mall of Asia
Ground floor (beside IMAX and Cabalen)




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