TASTE OF HOLLAND: GIANT CHOCOLATE EGG!

I was given by my friend, Mimi from Holland a huge CHOCOLATE EGG! This egg is large but this is hollow inside! I guess this is similar to the giant Chocolate Letters the Dutch are known for. I didn't eat the Chocolate egg because it was too nice (and too large) to bite! So, I brought it all the way from Holland to the Philippines via bus...  then train...  then airplane!

here is the giant Chocolate egg from Mimi!

The egg kept its form during the whole trip! However, when I arrived in the Philippines, it was sad to note that from the airport to the house by car, there were cracks in the egg... I guess, I should have held it in my lap. I realized that the Philippine weather wasn't exactly the chocolate's friend. When I woke up the next day, gone was the egg and all I can see is a blob!

 

 

So much for the Chocolate egg! Kaye and Mimi calls it now the ALIEN EGG!!!

But, most important is the heart of the giver... thank you, Mimi and family! And... we still enjoyed eating the Chocolate egg even if it was deformed!!!


P.S.
similar to: http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2013/07/giant-dutch-chocolate-egg.html

TASTE OF MC DONALD'S IN EUROPE

My friend, Francis said, he really visits all the Mc Donald's store whenever he is on a tour outside of the Philippines. I'd like to share with you some of my visits to European Mc Donald stores! Basically, a Mc Donald store would have a typical look from the outside and have the usual counter with large neon display for the menu. Even if the Mc Donald stores have similar neon displays inside the store, you will find different choices.... MC DONALD in PARIS, FRANCE. This Mc Donald Store is along the Champs Elysees.

As we enter the Mc Donald store, we are greeted by Mc Cafe.  And interestingly, they sell  macarons here... of course, it is Paris!

Note the display.  Doesn't it have the Parisian flair? They have the usual cheeseburgers as well as chicken burgers. But they also have the Mc Wrap and the Mc Baguette which caters to the French taste.

 

And this is how the seats are arranged. The love for art is evident in the French Mc Donald store.

This is my order.

MC DONALD in ROME, ITALY. This store is in the EUR (Mussolini) part of Rome.

The signages show the typical hamburgers and with variants with lots of layers. But they also had salads and chicken nuggets and a different look for the fries.

And for their collection, these are glasses for UEFA EURO 2012. This is our order... the typical cheeseburger with a Milk Shake! I remember this cheeseburger cost 1 Euro!

MC DONALD in HEIDELBERG, GERMANY.   This Mc Donald store is close to the Heidelberg Hauptbanhof (Train Station).

This is the store with the choices already displayed in the doors and windows. so even in the outside, you can decide if you want to get a Mc Donald.

And this is their counter...

The signage shows this 1 Euro Mc Donald burger which is a great deal. Interesting is the flavor of the burger is Western style of the United States. They also had Chicken nuggets. But no, they did not serve German sausage in their Mc Donald stores! 

I guess even if we want to try the cuisine distinct of the European place, we often resort to fast food which we are comfortable with... especially, those who are not so adventurous with their palate... AND... those, who are on a budget!




P.S.
(similar post to In Pinay's Footsteps:  http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2013/07/mc-donalds-in-paris-rome-and-heidelberg.html)

TASTE OF MINDANAO: MANGOSTEEN

My friend, Cathy saw these bunches of this fruit on the table and asked if we were interested in eating it. She said it is one of her favorite fruits!

Do you recognize this purple fruit?

Well, some may immediately recognize it as the mangosteen! But others may not have seen it ever. 

Funny that its name has the Mango- prefix, where in fact, Mango is in no way related to the Mangosteen fruit!

For those not so familiar with this fruit, I would just like to share some things about it...

Here is what I gathered from Wikipedia...

The purple mangosteen(Garcinia mangostana), colloquially known simply as mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia.

The tree grows from 6 to 25 m (20–82 ft) tall.^[1] The fruit of the mangosteen is sweet and tangy, juicy, and somewhat fibrous, with an inedible, deep reddish-purple colored rind (exocarp) when ripe. In each fruit, the fragrant edible flesh that surrounds each seed is botanicallyendocarp, i.e., the inner layer of the ovary.^[2][3]

The edible endocarp of the mangosteen is botanically defined as an aril with the same shape and size as a tangerine 4–6 centimetres in diameter, but is white. The circle of wedge-shaped arils contains 4–8, rarely 9.

Mangosteen peel contains xanthonoids, such as mangostin, and other phytochemicals having antioxidant properties in vitro.

note the thick exocarp with the aril within
Wikipedia: The aril is the white part of the fruit containing a mild flavor that makes the fruit popular for eating; when analyzed specifically for its nutrient content, the mangosteen aril is absent of important nutrient content 

Wikipedia: On the bottom of the exocarp, raised ridges (remnants of the stigma), arranged like spokes of a wheel, correspond to the number of aril sections.

And this was taken in a fruit stall in Bangkok where we have varied colors of mangosteen and the "leaf-like" toppings look so thick.

And if the Mangosteen fruit is in anyway familiar to you, it is because of the now famous MX3, which by the way, I am not endorsing!

Also BE WARY! of the Mangosteen seeds. I personally know of two people who swallowed the seeds and ended up operated for Intestinal Obstruction!
Also beware of Santol seeds who has its own set of victims for operation!
What do you think of Lanzones seeds...aren't they of the same size?

By the way, why do people swallow the seeds in the first place?

TASTE OF ZAMBOANGA: TAUSUG DELICACIES / BANBAN

Our Zamboanga City Public Market experience was a very enlightening experience for us with the Travel Reportage group with Lester Ledesma. 

We were introduced for the first time to many Tausug delicacies or what they call Ban-ban.

Here are the different Ban ban which we can enjoy:

These are some links where I got some descriptions:

~~~ http://www.slideshare.net/dextervelez/tausug-famous-dish-and-delicacies

~~~ http://inpinaystummy.blogspot.com/2012/08/hariraya-puasa-gift-muslim-delicacies.html

~~~ http://inpinaystummy.blogspot.com/2012/08/pasalubong-from-zamboanga-zambo-rolls.html
~~~ http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/suman,tausug/Interesting

Lokot Lokot or Locot Locot.

a.k.a. Zamboanga Rolls

The Lokot-lokot is made of rice flour, which is repeatedly pounded until it becomes fine powder.

Water and other ingredients are then added and blended to create a thick mixture. The mixture is poured in a strainer with holes called ulayan and formed into rolls using two wooden spoons called the gagawi.

Now, the Lokot lokot is now known as Zamboanga Rolls and is a pasalubong from Zamboanga.

Baulu.

The baulu or bahulu is made of egg and flour like a mini sponge cake or mamon. The baulu is artistic because the batter is place on molds and baked, thus the shape is not uniform.

Putli Mandi.

The Putli Mandi is made of malagkit flour with sweet coconut strips like bukayo inside and rolled in fresh coconut. 

Daral.

The Daral caught my attention because it looked like the Lumpia or crepe!

What is wrapped within the wrapper is also sweet coconut mixture or bukayo.

Pali Kambing.

This is the Pali Kambing, according to my friend, Jean, but she told me don't let me spell it out!  
As I understand, banana is inside this fried flour! 

Pan Pan Mongo:

Pasung.
The Pasung or pasong is steamed sweetened rice flour held by banana leaf "balisungsong" or cones.

Pitis.

The Pitis is a sweet, sticky, violet rice flour (similar to Putli Mandih) boiled in coconut milk and brown sugar.

Pangih Pangih.

Donut. 
I don't know if there is a Tausug name for this.

Maybe, you can enlighten us more with comments on these delicacies!

TASTE OF ZAMBOANGA: DARAL

Our visit to the Zamboanga City Public Market was a very enlightening experience. We learned about many Muslim delicacies which we never really encountered before. As Rowena said, her customers were usually Badjaos. 

You will find her in Building A. 

These are her two stalls... one is where she cooks  and the other where she sells her delicacies and also complete meals.

Here is another one that she cooked in front of our eyes: the DARAL!

The Daral caught my attention because it looked like the Lumpia!

Rowena Anuddin, the lady in the food stall again showed us her skills!

It was like making crepe...

Photo Credit: Michelle Lim 

Photo Credit: Michelle Lim

This is the "lumpia wrap" or "crepe wrap" for the daral!

Photo Credit: Michelle Lim

She placed the Bucayo mix into one side of the wrapper...

Photo Credit: Michelle Lim

Then, she starts rolling this in "lumpia" fashion:

She was so serious showing us how to do the daral!

And now, she is done... with a smile!

Lo! The DARAL!!!

Here are the other delicacies or ban-ban:

This is the Pali Kambing, according to my friend, Jean, but she told me don't let me spell it out!  
As I understand, banana is inside this fried flour! 

While this is the Pan Pan Mongo:

This one caught the eye of Teacher Lester Ledesma and asked us about it. I had to research about this sweets and it is called Pasung.

The Pasung or pasong is steamed sweetened rice flour held by banana leaf "balisungsong" or cones.

This is the Pitis, which my friend Jeanrose loves.

The Pitis is a sweet, sticky, violet rice flour (similar to Putli Mandih) boiled in coconut milk and brown sugar.

This is the Pangih Pangih.

This looks like a Donut. I don't know if there is a Muslim name for this.

I wasn't able to ask anymore about these other delicacies...

Maybe, someone can enlighten us with these!

P.S. 1

I was glad to meet Rowena and her daughter, Luna. She impishly told her Mom that she would be in the internet if she talked to us!

Bright kid, huh! Indeed, she is now in the web!

P.S.2
Here is a link of other Muslim delicacies, I posted about:
http://inpinaystummy.blogspot.com/2012/08/hariraya-puasa-gift-muslim-delicacies.html

P.S.3

This is another output from our Travel Reportage by Lester Ledesma experience!