Hurray Team Lolo Dad's!

A dinner hosted by the Meat and Livestock Australia which featured delegates and creations of its Black Box competition was recently held at the Blue Leaf in Fort Bonifacio. The competition featured various hotels, restaurants and schools in the Philippines featuring young chefs. Those who joined the contest were Lolo Dad's Cafe, EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Makati Shangri-La, MezzaLuna, The Palms and St. Therese Culinary School.

The venue was at the Blue Leaf in Upper Mckinley in Fort Bonifacio. As it was my first time there, it proved to be a nice and beautiful venue for gatherings such as corporate parties. The downside however is that, because the area is still surrounded by residential and commercial lots being developed, the roads were poorly lit and you'd easily get lost as some of the attendees of the event did.

Cocktails were served and fine wines from Australia (of course) complemented the hors d'oeuvres. The hall was finally opened after 2 hours of waiting and each guest was directed to his assigned seat. Each table is assigned to a particular establishment and will be served a three course meal - appetizer, main course and dessert. I was very lucky to have been seated in the Lolo Dad's table with Chef Ariel Manuel and his wife and partner Mia, as well as their family members and special friends. As soon as the welcome speeches have been delivered, the competing groups were given their signal to start serving their assigned tables. Each group was tasked to serve 2 tables that seats 10 people per table.

Our appetizer was delicious! Imagine having compressed and lightly seared lamb served with warm poached pear, fruit jelly, herbed butter panini and roasted garlic aioli. We were off to a good start. At this point, I couldn't wait for the main course.

But we had to wait. In between courses, we were served raspberry sorbet laced with basil essence to cleanse off our palates. This was served in pretty teeny-weeny tea pots,with its cover upturned and topped with a scoop of sorbet. To keep it from melting, the pots were stuffed with dry ice. Absolutely wonderful!

Then came the main dish. Using beef rump, the Lolo Dad's team rolled it in gremolata and roasted it to medium doneness, while the trimmings were sauteed and served as the bed of the roasted fillet. Served with potato terrine, vegetable flan and tomato confit, it was well executed and truly deserved the Best Main Course award.

The grand finale of our dinner also proved to be a conversational piece. Dessert was composed of Italian meringe with chocolate and pineapple filling, strawberry coulis and mocha ice cream. As you cut through the towering meringue, you will find the oozing mixture inside with its tartness complementing the sweetness of the meringue itself. As I type this piece, I am still salivating with the gustatory pleasure this course has given.


It is not a surprise that given the careful preparation of the Lolo Dad's team and the delightful flavors our three-course dinner has imparted, the team was chosen to represent the Philippines to compete in the MLA's Black Box global competition (to be participated by 22 countries) in Dubai. No doubt, the Philippines has a great chance in bringing home the gold once more.

Congratulations to the Lolo Dad's team!

It's Halloween!

I've never seen such cute little wickeds like I did yesterday. My son's halloween costume party in the small school was such an anticipated event and sure enough, the kids came well prepared. Thanks to the parents of these kids (and their investments too, am sure the costumes didn't come cheap), little fairies, princesses, devils and counts happily flaunted their attires with utter gusto.

My boys were clad in their black ninja and master-of-the-shadows costumes. My youngest felt that he was a real ninja and was ready to strike anybody who dared to challenge him anytime. My eldest however was still the kind hearted one indeed, despite the drab-looking master of the shadows costume he absolutely disliked - he was saying that it looked like it was a girl's costume given that it was one dark, long frock similar to that of priests with a funny hat.

I was however, still able to let them wear the costumes, and me being a "stage mom" forever had to control myself from crying, realizing that my little ones are getting older as I type. Armed with my digicam, and glaring at my husband for not re-charging the batteries for the event, I had to wait until we get the c-store to get new batteries and document these precious moments.

I was very impressed with the preparations of the teachers for the event. The classrooms were decorated with webs, jack-o-lanterns, spiders and other scary paraphernalia. Decors of orange, purple and black were all over the place. The teachers were also in their signature halloween styles - a pirate, an angel, a witch, a mouse. If I didn't have work, I would have come in a costume myself - guess what? A chef, hehehe.

To me, the food of course is the highlight of any party, and sure enough, the teachers did a really good job preparing it. In fact, my kids have been talking about it in anticipation, a few days prior to the event. They are still talking about it now and can't get over the "blood juice", "spider cookies", "pizza mummies" and "eyeball munchkins". The centerpiece was the "choco-mud fountain (chocolate fountain) with ghost mallows". If you are planning your own party, be creative with your preparations. Like how the teachers made their party food, they utilized readily available items (in fact, almost all are ready to eat), but was presented in a very unique and fun way. Check out mygreatfood.com for more halloween food ideas. Keep in mind however that anything for the kids should be prepared in the most safe way and prevent the choking hazards please.

Enjoy trick or treating!
Happy Halloween!

Cooking on Air

One of the things I love about my job is the fact that I get to meet and sometimes work with interesting personalities - renowned local chefs, showbiz personalities, public figures and the like. I recently taped a few cooking segments for a breakfast show and it still gives me the jitters - it is never the same when cooking on cam. I am forever conscious of what I am about to say next, and if the person I am working with will ask me something I absolutely have no answer for.

Chop it all up!
And so, as I tell everyone in my team, preparation is key. Do your mise en place, meaning, all your ingredients should already be in place. Arranged on a tray per recipe, this gives you the impression that the recipes are pretty easy to make even though it is really not. I tell you, though I love to cook, I just hate it when I need to do a lot of chopping and pre-preparations, that by the time I get to the actual cooking part, hell, I am already exhausted. However, this part is something that you should do, otherwise, your demo will look extremely cluttered and disorganized.

Tool of the trade
The tools of course, need to be prepared as well,and mind you, make sure they are all working. I remember doing a taped show in another stations breakfast show and gosh, the food processor wouldn't work, I had to squat down and re-plug the damn thing, and imagine me being out of frame for a few seconds - everybody was wondering if I slipped or dropped something. Good thing it was a taped show. I watched it when it aired, and did you think the director edited that part? He didn't! I never guested on that show again.

Spiel it out
The script is another thing you need to focus on. I prefer doing a pre-taped segment since it allows me to move at a more reasonable pace rather than going live and praying the whole time that the steak doesn't burn while I am saying my spiels or that the sauce doesn't become too thick while I am explaining a tip or two to my partner. And boy, the lines that you need to memorize - that so and so product is rich in what-have-you nutrients; that you can get it in blah-blah-blah stores at so and so sizes; or that you have to text 123 to win an instant prize. Hohum. I gotta give it to the showbiz people, how can they do it all with grace?!

Ask away
The questions of course are a given. Usually, the segment producer will allow us (meaning me and my celeb partner) to interact with each other, maybe share with him/her a tip or two about the dish. Though I love to cook and doing this on cam is something that I really enjoy, I don't however like it when people ask me silly questions like, if the dish I am preparing is a breakfast dish, and you ask me if this is also okay for lunch, well - Of course, I'll say its okay anytime of the day! You eat want you want anyhow right? Ever heard of all-day breakfast? But of course, that wasn't how I answered my celeb partner at that time. Don't get me wrong though, I have worked with some pretty fascinating and witty celebs and it will be a joy to work with them again. But, give me one dumdidumdum partner, and I just wish the tapings all over man!

So, the next time you watch cooking shows and food segments, remember, behind the scenes, there might just be an even more interesting thing happening.

Secret Recipe - No More

So off I went one weekday for a lunch out with some colleagues. T'was quite a drive from Pasig to the Fort given that it was drizzling. Yet because we were all sick of the same old restaurants in the Pasig area, we all agreed to drive all the way to Makati to try out something new.

It was a celebratory lunch after all, given that my some of precious staff recently passed a food safety exam. Armed with the added know-how on food safety, not to mention our empty and growling stomachs, we excitedly browsed through the modern and beautifully made menu of Secret Recipe, just a stone's throw away from S&R in the Fort. Situated beside Zhu, I just can't remember the name of the building, well, we ordered 4 different dishes for all of us to try. Laksa, Tom Yum, Grilled chicken with peppercorn sauce and Lamb stew.

Laksa-rap
We started our meal with the Laksa, deliciously warm and spicy, the flat noodles and fragrant broth was a welcome treat to us hungry monsters. We all agreed that it was good to the last drop. Portions are actually for sharing - for two really, but if you have a big appetite like I do, you can definitely finish one serving yourself. Served with cubes of crunchy tofu and slices of squid tofu, the medley of soft and crunchy was an interesting meal in itself. I had to stop myself from slurping noisily the beautiful broth it had.

More spicy stuff
Next was our Tom Yum with prawns and again, it was deliciously good. The fragrance of the kaffir and the acid coming from the lemon provided a perfect balance to the dish. I don't know if we were just too hungry, but as soon as our next dish came - that's the Lamb stew, we all came to the conclusion that the drive was sure worth it. The stew used a meaty lamb shank and if you are like me and hate the "gamey" flavor inherent in lamb, you will definitely like this one since their preparation somehow masked the gaminess and the brown sauce complemented it well. Nope, this one isn't spicy at all. It is also served with mashed potatoes and is good for sharing. We had to order plain rice though - we aren't fans of Atkins, that's for sure. Gimme rice please?!

Call the fire department!
The grilled chicken with peppercorn sauce reminded me of a similar sauce made by a certain fastfood when they had in their menu a burger steak with peppercorn sauce. This one's really hot and of course, you had to stuff yourself with mouthfulls of rice just to counter the hotness. I on the other hand, love spicy dishes so this one's generally okay, although I felt that the chicken per se should have been seasoned more for a more flavorful version.

Happy Ending?
Secret Recipe boasts of its wide array of displayed cakes and pastries in its chiller showcase. The cakes are huge, about 10" in diameter and very tall that a slice of each is good for two as well. We ordered the mocha crunch, cheese choco and mango cake. We learned that the cakes were shipped from hmm, was it malaysia? singapore? gosh, i can't remember, however, all I can say is, I've have much better desserts made in Manila.

For the price of Php500 per head, I'd say it was reasonable and I'd come back for more of the meals.

Sweet!

Let's Party!

I wasn't necessarily proud of how I prepared for my son's school birthday party last year. Everything was last minute and I wasn't even there to celebrate it with him. This year, I vowed to make up for it and make it extra special.

The Party Planner
I focused my energies in basically coordinating with suppliers and making sure that everything is ready on that special day. Parties do not mean that you would have to do everything by yourself. No need to do it all by yourself that come party time, you are so stressed you did not even enjoy it yourself. Trust your suppliers. Get referrals from friends. Get help from relatives and friends. This surely is a handy tip for working parents like me.

Books for Less
Given that my kids are starting to learn how to read, I personally chose books to provide as give-aways for the kids, a welcome change from the usual candies, small toys and knick-knacks other parties would usually have. The mall is not the only place to get these things - try the tiangge's around - like me, I was able to get the books at 50% discount. Great bargain indeed!

Kiddie Menu
Of course, the menu I chose still had the usual party fare - chicken, pasta and cake for the kids. The menu should always be age appropriate and safe. No choking hazards please. I opted to just have reliable suppliers prepare the food for me. No sense in slaving over these when you can get quality food items minus the hassle. Check out the more popular and established restaurants to ensure food quality and safety.

French Kiss
The cake being the centerpiece in any kid's party, I was happy to discover through a friend French Kiss Pastries. They are actually a dessert commissary run by a group of friends and accepts orders for desserts and specialty cakes that you could think of. Reasonably priced, I ordered cupcakes for my son's party, as well as a 5 inch cake to be placed on a cupcake tower which you can lease from them. My son loving everything about the characters "Cars" and "Thomas the train", the cake with its pretty character toppers was a welcome treat and made us all excited.



The 5-inch cake



The cupcakes come in chocolate, vanilla and lemon flavors. I personally prefer the vanilla chiffon. The frosting they use is a buttercream one and turned out with just the right sweetness that'll make you ask for more.


Cupcake Tower

Did the kids love it or leave it?

Check out these photos and find out for yourself.






YumYum!

Thanks to my son's teachers, the party was a hit. They were the one's who facilitated the games and up until now, how I wish I have their energies in patiently handling all these kids at one time - imagine 35 kids in a party - gosh!



Pull!

Party on!