Gluttony is NAT a sin

What would you expect when food bloggers meet?

An afternoon filled with food;

whether being prepared, eaten, photographed

and/or talked about!

Natie's invitation to meet at her house was a welcome change from the usual eat-and-run meetings we had before. Thinking of what to bring proved to be an adventure for me. Living far away was the factor that made me decide to buy rather than "experiment". It did not solve my dilemma but even widened the possibilities.

The real adventure was going to Natie's residence for it is always out of my way though I pass by the area from time to time. But the directions they gave me were crystal clear that I reached the place without a hitch though I thought I was lost since the path that led was a world away from the hustle and bustle of the outside.

Pancit Palabok from Balbi's

Assorted chocolates and nuts

Amy was already there when I arrived and after catching my breath we started preparing for what to be an afternoon "snack". Natie's treat was a big bilao of Balbi's famous pancit palabok plus assorted drinks, nuts and chocolates. Amy had a big batch of home made goodies; banana-prune loaf, longganisa burgers, chocolate cake, sio mai, ube haleya and mangoes from her Lolo's farm in Guimaras. My (small) share turned out to be Roberto's queen sio pao and Goldilocks cathedral window.

Cathedral window from Goldilocks Roberto's queen sio pao
After half an hour of preparation with talks in between; it was finally taking shape as the table was overflowing with food enough for fifteen persons. With only three of us plus Natie's sister and brother in law, makes five, thus inspiring my blog title. Thinking of the title for thsi entry gave me another "headache" but it wasn't until few hours before I had my internet connection working again that I finally thought of the most appropriate one.

Longganisa burgers

Sweet mangoes from Guimaras Home made chocolate cake Banana and prune loaf Sio mai galore Mommy Ondette's ube haleya It was a fun afternoon filled not only with food but with casual talks and stories that certainly bonded us all together.

NOTE: My header text holds a much bigger "secret" than my blog entry's title. Go Figure!

A tinapay called MONAY

Monay is a well-known Filipino bread and based on Wikipedia , it's the Filipinized version of the Spanish bread pan de monja or bread of the monks . I had to laugh it out upon reading that entry from Wiki. Coming from Western Visayas in which monay is more than a bread based on local dialect, it's hard not to. And here's why... A post from PinoyExchange forum "I had this funny experience a few years back when I was in Aklan. I bought a homemade peanut butter and I was craving to eat it so I immediately ran to a nearby bakery with a friend to buy some bread. I was hoping to buy pandesal but I saw this large "monay" and I said to the tindera " Miss magkano ang hot monay mo ?" My friend suddenly laughed and so did the tindera. I repeated it saying " Yan monay mo nga miss kung magkano and bibilhin ko ." They again laughed and I was left wondering why. Then on our way back with my "hot monay" I asked my friend why did they laughed...

An Ilonggo favorite - Valenciana

Found in almost all occasions like fiesta, birthdays, reunions and others, Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in special gatherings at home. A complete " go, grow and glow " dish because it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful, Valenciana is really an " occasional dish ". Here's the recipe for Valenciana

Easy Century Tuna Recipes

If you're looking for simple, easy and delicious Century Tuna recipes online, congratulations, you've found it right here! How about spicy tuna sisig or tuna sinigang ? Maybe stir fried tuna with pickles or just yang chow fried rice . I love Century Tuna from its flakes in oil variety, the spicier the better, but when I discovered the versatility of its solid variant, it became an obsession. At first I was just into the usual tested recipes; pasta and sandwich filling, but then it got simpler – I just eat it straight from the can! Usually with a piece of bread or an apple. I just add a few drops of vinegar to spice it up a bit. Then came the experiments. Yup I got tired of that habit that one day, I decided to test my skills in the kitchen. Serendipity, you might call it yet most of them turned into good recipes that I have shared now and then. Satisfying my Palabok cravings had me experiment on this recipe on the spot. With Century Tuna in lieu of the us...

Sooo Pinoy in Davao City at Binggoy's Lounge

Aside from durian, another fruit that brings Davao to mind is pomelo or suha and for the Ilonggos, it is known as kabugaw. And the Pomelo-Seafood Salad was a fitting appetizer that welcome us to our next food trip destination - Binggoy's Lounge located at the Villa Margarita Hotel. The cozy restaurant served us local Dabawenyo specialties that excited our palates and certainly satisfied our cravings. I was part of Sooo Pinoy, Food Trip na Pilipinas ! which is set to visit 300 restaurants in 10 key regions/areas all over the Philippines. Davao is the 4th food stop after Iloilo , Bora cay and Cebu that started last March. The goal of the Food Trip is to show that Filipino dishes per region have different identities based on the culture, lifestyle and history of the area. The Food Trip also aims to show that there are many Filipino recipes from different regions of the Philippines, each having its own specialty that has to be recognized for the unique flavor it adds t...

Ube brazo de mercedes from Lapaz Bakeshop

It was just an impromptu food trip in and around Lapaz market a few months ago when I discovered this ube brazo de mercedes from the Lapaz Bakeshop. I got to taste and take home this ube dessert that later on became a staple at home. Lapaz Bakeshop sits on the corner of Tinda Lapaz right across Grand Dame Hotel. A restaurant named Lapaz Kitchenette was the previous locator of the space and it was famous for it's PhP59 buffet . The bakeshop is among the bigger "small town" bakeshops in the city with it's wide range of breads, pastries and cakes plus shorts snack items. It even has branches in some towns in Iloilo including one in my hometown, Sta. Barbara. It was a quick side trip made by Sir Eugene that time that introduced me to this ube variant of brazos. He bought a few slices of this dessert and brought it inside Madge Cafe inside the market. It was perfect with the cafe's native coffee and the filling is somewhat like ube halaya. The meringue is jus...

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