Moshi Moshi, Mochi!

Because I didn't have the time to shop for super personalized gifts this year, I got most people the gift of calories:

I know, it seems highly tamad to get a one-size-fits-all gift, but I took comfort in the thought that most people were bound to fall in love at first bite with these mochi.

Mochi are Japanese treats made of glutinous rice. The first time I had mochi was in Los Angeles some eight years ago, and they had an ice cream center. These babies from Dezato have a surprising filling: chocolate!

The box with a dozen bite-size mochi balls (P195) contains four different flavors: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate with walnuts, and white chocolate with green tea. (Unfortunately, their chocolate and peanut butter mochi--sounds heavenly!--isn't included in the box, so I've never had it.) Now I've never tried authentic mochi from Japan, but I must say that these Dezato ones are love. When you bite into one, you are first met with the jelly-like, slightly sticky rice. Then your teeth sink into the rich truffle center. The rice nicely offsets the sweetness of the chocolate. Such a wonderful balance of flavors and textures!

A couple of comments I've gotten from my gift recipients:

"At first I was sharing it with my family, then I realized how yummy it was so I kept it for myself!"

"My mom gave me one. ONE. By the next morning, it was all gone."

Christmas is supposed to be the season of giving--but you really can't be faulted for being a bit selfish when it comes to these teeny treats!

Visit the Dezato Cafe at 100 Hemady St., New Manila, Quezon City. Contact them through (02) 727-1229. Check out their website: http://dezato.multiply.com. They've also got mochi ice cream, and serve pasta and other filling dishes.

What's Orange and White and Sweet All Over?

Lookie lookie what I found at the supermarket: Orange M&M's!

True chocoholics would probably scoff at these little crunchy discs, but I am unabashedly an M&M fan. I'd choose a pack over a tumbler of popcorn while watching a movie. I was quite delighted to find that they had come up with this new, limited-edition flavor.

They come in just white and orange candy coatings, and they seem to taste sweeter than the regular version. I much prefer the original ones (no peanuts, please) or, even better, dark M&M's--but really, when did I ever say no to chocolate in any form?

Pino: Playful Pinoy Food

I'd been wanting to try an absolutely sinful dessert: a deep-fried chocolate bar which, I was told, was available at Pino Resto Bar. Deep-fried chocolate bars are nothing new; I first heard about Snickers bars dipped in batter being one of the most unhealthy snacks available in the US, and read about Scotland's notorious deep-fried Mars bars. Fortunately (or unfortunately), this shamelessly rich creation has made it onto our shores.

Doodle art on one wall.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The menu shows some Filipino favorites used in inventive ways. Some Pino standbys are bagnet (used in kare-kare, for example) and sisig (on...wait for it...carbonara!). H and I started off with one of their newer offerings: mini sisig tacos. At P185, I thought it was a bit pricey for an appetizer at a neighborhood cafe--that's more than an entree at Banapple! But when it was set down in front us, I understood why.

There were eight little tacos in all, filling enough for two! Each little shell was stuffed with sisig, lettuce, salsa, aioli, and cheese. Extra yummy with the surprisingly spicy Jufran hot sauce!

Next up, our entrees. H opted for the red wine adobong tadyang (P210), described as "adobo-style short ribs slow cooked in red wine, served with steamed rice and mango salsa." The ribs were fairly tender, and the adobo was a bit unusual in that it had a very strong flavor of anise.

I was craving for something crispy, so I went for the bagnet and tofu stack-o with mushroom rice (P225).

The bagnet and tofu stack-o is Pino's version of tokwa't baboy, with the soy sauce and vinegar served on the side; the bagnet thus maintains its crunchiness. The bagnet, in thin strips, didn't come close to the divine ones we had in Ilocos, but they hit the spot. The rice was very flavorful, with shitake mushrooms dotting it here and there.

The food might seem a bit expensive, but I think they're reasonable given the servings. I barely had room for the grand finale, but I sucked it up in the name of research (riiight). I ordered what I had gone there for: the chunky choco tempura (P125).

It's a chocolate wafer bar covered in tempura batter and deep fried. As if that weren't bad enough, it's served with some vanilla ice cream and some strawberry syrup! Once you slice into the bar, the melted chocolate oozes out of the tempura coating. There's a play of textures, with the light batter, sticky melted chocolate, and crunchy wafer bar, and the warmth is tempered by the cool ice cream. It's the very definition of evil. I didn't finish it out of guilt.

Now I have to run every day for the rest of the week.


Pino Resto Bar is located at 122 Maginhawa St., Teachers Village, Quezon City. Contact them through (02) 441-1773. Open daily from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm onwards.

Me Want Cookiiieeee

Will you look at that? A perfectly chewy, gooey, fudgy chocolate crinkle. I've been eating Hungrypac chocolate crinkles for a while now, but it's the first time I had enough left to take a picture of. They've also got these chocolate cakes that look really simple but absolutely divine--the chocolate frosting just drips off the sides. Haven't tried it, but I imagine it tastes a bit like those el cheapo (and muy delicioso) chocolate cakes from that Shell station in Magallanes.

Hungrypac proudly proclaims that they've got "The Best Chocolate Crinkles & Cakes." I dunno about that--I haven't tried enough crinkles to say if this is true. But they have certainly got my vote. They're the kind of crinkles I aim for when I bake (which doesn't happen too often now, given my packed sched).

Cookiiieeeee. Num num num num num.*

*Blog imitation of Cookie Monster

Hungrypac is available at Glorietta 4, Alabang Town Center, Ash Creek Center (Madison St. corner Ortigas Ave.), SM City Manila, SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa, and TriNoma

The Dark Side

Dark chocolate seems to be one of the trends this year (right up there with banoffee pie and cupcakes), with dark versions of the classics popping up everywhere--Hershey's Kisses, Nestle Crunch (which I luuurve, by the way!), and even M&Ms!

I'm guessing this has been out in the market for some time now, but last Saturday was the first time I saw it! The purple packaging caught my eye ("Oooh! Purple! Purrrty!") and when I saw the label saying "dark" I just let out a gasp. It was genius to put two of my favorite things together. H, who generally isn't a sweets kind of guy, much preferred it over regular M&Ms, so yes, there is a difference.

I wonder how dark it really is though. My taste buds have grown accustomed to really bitter chocolate (around 80 or even 90% cacao!), and these "dark" versions still taste quite sweet to me. Not that I'm complaining. I ate the whole damn bag, all 230 calories. (It wouldn't have been a big deal if only I hadn't just eaten a big meal and had a big buffet meal coming up later in the day!)

And can I just say, ang landi nung green M&M sa packaging! Love her!