Taho: Authentic Filipino Mornings

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Growing up, taho, has been my favorite treat. Every Sunday morning when we were still kids, the taho vendor would pass by our then compound. My brother and I would ask our mother to buy taho for us. She would get us a mug-full of taho each for only P5 each. That was 10 years ago.

Taho is made from soy beans, sugar and pearls. Imagine having soy milk with sugar syrup and sago or tapioca pearls. Yum!

A special taho. It's in my mug! ♥

I love taho. It's probably one of the best things in the morning. I love its sweetness that is overpowering. I just love the softness of the soy and the sugar syrup in it. I don't like the sago pearls with my taho so I always ask the vendor not to put them in my mug. But most people like sago pearls (I'm just picky like that). 

Having just taho makes one feel full. Most often when I don't feel like having breakfast, I just have taho. I would wait for the vendor to come by our house around 9AM. That's usually my breakfast (I know it's unhealthy). 

Taho is most often sold in the mornings by the vendor. The vendor walks around the different areas and communities trying to sell their taho.The taho, that the vendor carries, is still unmixed. So, the vendor carries two big cylindrical metal containers. The bigger container carries the soy while the other one carries the sugar syrup and the pearls. They carry these through a long wooden stick placed on their shoulders.  I salute all those taho vendors since it's not that easy to carry those early dawn til mid morning with not much earnings for their family.

Close-up of taho minus the sago.

Anyway, taho can be found almost anywhere in the Philippines especially along the sidewalks near schools. One can encounter these taho vendors most especially during dawn when they just got their taho ingredients from their suppliers. Taho is one of those amazing foods that a Filipino can associate himself/herself with. It's something that makes a morning truly Filipino.

Going Japanese at Micky's Cafe

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I keep passing by this shop every time I go home from school. I first tried Mickey's two years ago when a friend, who was half-Japanese, invited me and another friend to have some cake. Nanami, my half-Jap friend, was close friends with the owner, Mickey, who was also a Japanese. After that, I wasn't really able to come back until recently.

Their cutee counter. ♥

The boyfriend and I decided to go to Mickey's for our special day, although it was more of my decision. One thing that I really like about Mickey's is that it has a cool ambiance. It helps you to relax. It has cozy interiors that makes you really feel at home.

The set-up. Lovely!

The boyfriend got himself a slice of lemon cheesecake while I got me a slice of rare chocolate cake. We also had ganash chocolate and iced tea.

Rare chocolate cake.

My chocolate cake had this really full taste but not that too empowering. I like the chocolate shavings and the texture of the layers of chocolate in it. It's sweet and chocolatey. I like the texture of the cake that shifts from soft to grainy.

Lemon cheesecake.

I love the lemon cheesecake. It was so soft and it melts in the mouth. The boyfriend, who is a cheese fanatic, also loved it. He liked having real lemon on top of the cake. But, he said that the slice was too small for him, which I also agree. He wanted more cheese in it but I found it just enough for my taste.

Ganash chocolate! ♥

Ganash chocolate is made from rum and chocolate. You wouldn't really smell the rum in the ganash. The smell of the chocolate overpowers it. It also has a good chocolatey taste to it. It may come out a bit strong because of the little rum in it which I like.

Iced tea! ♥

Pouring the milk. Fun! :)

The boyfriend and I found their iced teas quite interesting. We got the cold ones with milk. You have to put the milk and the sugar to your glass which we found to be fun. I also love how it tastes. It really refreshes you.

The cute sugar and milk containers.

Both cakes we ordered were only P95 per slice. You can also buy a whole if you want to. Ganash costs P18 per piece. Our iced tea with milk cost P70 each. Their drinks are from P60 above. They also have other coffee available including pasta and rice meals.

The exterior of Mickey's Cafe.

Mickey's Cafe is open from 11am to 7pm, Tuesdays to Sundays. Unfortunately, they're closed during the Mondays. You can easily spot Mickey's Cafe since it has a sign that's in Japanese and has Japanese Cakes outside. It's near Parklane Hotel so you can't miss it.

KitKat Bites Ice Cream: The Art of Cheap Date

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So, we were less moneyed, like the usual and pining for something cold and sweet. The boyfriend just got himself a new CamelBak, so he gave an ice cream treat. We were at first torn between Gelatissimo and this special Nestle ice cream we found at a local drugstore. Since we've tried Gelatissimo (but haven't featured it), we just decided to go for that Nestle ice cream.

There were three options for us.  There was Baby Ruth ice cream, Kit Kat Bites ice cream and Crunch ice cream. It's like having your favorite chocolate in ice cream version. So being the Kit Kat girl that I am, I opted for the Kit Kat Bites ice cream. We got ourselves 800mL of ice cream for about P70. It was a bargain.

Our ice cream. ♥

We just went to the Food Avenue in Metro Ayala and got ourselves spoons and dug in. Imagine Kit Kat in small bite sized pieces floating in chocolate. But this time, the chocolate is frozen. I like the entire idea of having Kit Kat in my ice cream. I just love tasting the bits and pieces of Kit Kat found all over the ice cream.

It's blurry but the white chunks you see are the Kit Kat bites.

I'm really sorry for the boyfriend since I cheated and ate more Kit Kat bites than he did. He found out that I ate them all. :P

Although the Kit Kat Bites ice cream is good, its chocolate, unfortunately wasn't all that creamy. Yes, sure it was chocolate but not as chocolatey as I wanted or expected it to be. Nevertheless, it was a good buy and enjoyed looking for the Kit Kat in the ice cream. We will surely try the other ones soon, especially you Baby Ruth!

Pipo's Ice Cream: 'Coz We Were Close to Being Broke

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Who wouldn't want some de-stressing after a stressful long exam? This is especially true when you are unsure whether you passed or not, trust me. This is why I thought of treating the boyfriend for an ice cream after his test in Nihonggo.

This is what you get when you're broke.

Since we were broke and hungry at that time we just opted to go for tempura and squid roll before having our ice cream. We went over to Metro Ayala's Food Avenue and got ourselves a stick of tempura and two sticks of squid roll. During broke-r days, we resort to even cheaper food on the streets. We spent P48 for the food that we got.

Pipo's Gelato food cart in Metro Ayala Food Avenue.

So for ice cream, we tried Pipo's Ice Cream which is also located in Metro Ayala's Food Avenue. This was actually our second time of trying the place out. Our first was last week but I forgot to bring my camera. So anyhow, for this ice cream visit we got mango float and  stracciatella (which was recommended by the sales guy). They had other flavors as well like coconut, rocky road, blue ocean, bubble gum, nocciola italia and a whole lot more.

Stracciatella ice cream. ♥

For our first time, the boyfriend and I ordered tiramisu and after 8.  I like the tiramisu better. It tastes like any other tiramisu ice cream. It's like a cheap imitation of Gelatissimo's tiramisu which happens to be my favorite. The only thing with Pipo's is that it's cheap so you wouldn't expect it to be as flavorful and as creamy as Gelatissimo. It is already a good buy. After 8 is a mint flavored ice cream which the boyfriend likes. I'm not really a fan of mint (and green) so I passed. The boyfriend loved it.

Mango float in a cone. Yum!

Pipo's mango float really taste like mango float (duh!). I loved it even though it's not my order. I kept asking the boyfriend for some little scoops since it's so yummy. Stracciatella, on the other hand, is yummier. I like its texture. It's is creamy but also has chunks of chocolate in it which makes the taste dynamic.

Although the price is affordable, their scoops are not really enough. Just a scoop would make you want more. They have really small scoops which can be justified by its price. It's also not as creamy as Gelatissimo which is sad. Nevertheless, it is a good buy for those who are on a budget.

Me, eating my stracciatella. Disclaimer: I do not know the other people in the picture.

For only P40, you could already get a scoop of ice cream from Pipo's. You also have the option to choose whether you'd get a cup or a cone. They are available as soon as Metro Ayala opens.

Gelato

Baye-Baye: It's the Smell

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As I've mentioned in a previous blog, I stayed in Negros Oriental for two years when I was in my third and fourth years in high school. I spent the last half of my high school life in a Catholic school in Bayawan City. And, living there has exposed me to a new dialect and a new culture. One of the things that I have discovered in Bayawan was their delicacy, the Baye-Baye.

I first knew about this during my first few days in Bayawan. I keep on passing this peculiar store that produces this attracting aroma that I'm sure comes from a certain food. Well, that was actually the scent from the grinding of the ingredients for Baye-Baye. 

Baye-Baye is made from roasted glutinous rice (pilit), bukayo which is candied strips of young coconut, and sugar.

Just a third left. The only pic I got. Everything else was eaten already when I got home.

Originally, Baye-Baye was said to be brought by the migrants from Iloilo to Bayawan City. From then on, Baye-Baye has already been a favorite snack by the people and is the usual treat that visitors eat when in town. Baye-Baye has also been the favorite pasalubong of the visitors to their friends and families. 

The Baye-Baye in Bayawan looks like a sandwich. It is unlike the Baye-Baye in Iloilo which is more of a roll. The Iloilo version is more of sticky. The one in Bayawan is more of starchy.

I honestly don't really like Baye-Baye but it tastes good. It has a sticky sandwich-y feeling when you eat it but the coconut that is at the middle negates the sticky texture of the pilit. I like its aroma even more. To me, it has a calming effect. The scent attracts me to take a bite. It's soft and marshmallow-y. 

You can actually buy ready made Baye-Baye in Morgado's Special Baye-Baye and in Ivon's Baye-Baye. You can buy three pieces for P100. You can also buy your own ingredients and have either of these stores make Baye-Baye for you. You only have to pay a nominal price.  

Cheap Thrill: Japanese Cakes

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I first noticed these small pancake/cupcakes in the streets of Opon in Lapu-Lapu City. I found them interesting and I asked the boyfriend to buy some after having brunch at Senyang's. It was just out of curiosity that we tried the cupcake-looking pancakes. When you get to the small stall that sells these stuff, it says "Japanese Cakes". So, who would not be intrigued?

The pack of "Japanese Cake" that we ordered. Credit to the boyfriend for the photo.

The good thing about these "Japanese cakes" is that it sells for P5 only. You'll have two flavors to choose from: chocolate and cheese. Just last week, I noticed that they are already selling milk flavor which I haven't tried yet.

Just imagine a pancake shaped like a sandwich-like cupcake. It's like there are two cupcakes withe a filling at the middle. It is actually made from this electric stove that is similar to the one used in frying kikiam, fishballs and the likes in cafeterias. But instead of a single deep frier, imagine holes that seem like molds for cupcakes. There are about six of these molds in a single electric frier.

Chocolate filling on the left. Cheese filling on the ring. Credits to the boyfriend.

I like the taste of the "Japanese Cakes". It's like pretty much the same thing with pancakes except there's no butter or honey to top it. I think it's a fun way of eating pancakes the handy way. Moreover, it's just cheap and affordable and a good idea for snacks.

What's interesting is that it reminds me of the cake/hopia that Doraemon used to it except this one's bigger. They also look the same. Another thing is that I've only seen "Japanese Cake" stalls around Lapu-Lapu area. There's one near St. Alphonsus  Catholic School and near Pajo National High School. I'm not quite sure if they are also around Cebu City.