Our chefs' comfort food
MANILA, Philippines - Come rainy days, we often turn to home-cooked meals, hot beverages, and sweet treats to get us by. Otherwise, we rely on our all-time favorite dishes as prepared by Manila’s great chefs.
We decided to turn the tables on these chefs and ask them what food brings them comfort during the cold and gloomy season.
Steaming Hot Goodness
I am a simple person, and these bring me happiness: Steaming hot congee just soothes the body and soul. Hot noodle soup gives the same comfort. And churros with hot tablea chocolate; served in bed with a warm blanket makes it more sinful. These foods are mostly prepared homecooked but there are times when I also go to Ling Nam, Ha Yuan, Masuki in Greenhills, and Suzhou in Shaw. — Penk Ching of Pastry Bin, wedding cake specialist
Comfort ‘Ulam’
Anything sinigang since this is my ultimate comfort ulam. I am very blessed to have a grandmother-in-law who makes many kinds of it using different souring ingredients. Also, Japanese Salad with Goma dressing. I always have a stock of the dressing at home in case I want to eat something light but still fabulous in taste. And lastly, sourdough bread, which I think I got to like when I was still in school in San Francisco. I have a subconscious tendency to look for sourdough bread when the weather is cool. It reminds me of being young, independent and optimistic about the future. — Jackie Ang-Po, host of True Confections and chef-owner of Fleur de Lys
Mom-Prepared
My mom would prepare paksiw ng bangus with green chili to soothe our cold bodies during rainy days. This pickled-like sour dish is very popular in Pampanga. Dinuguan or tidtad in Pampango is a blood stew that is prepared thick also during rainy days and eaten almost three times a day. It could be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner and eaten with puto or rice. And native manok sa tinola, which is believed to combat flu and fever. Plus the malunggay helps develop the immune system. Then there’s hokkaido or salmon in can, sauteed in onions and tomatoes with lots of sabaw, for times when my mom would be lazy to go to the market. — Sau del Rosario, owner of Food Garage and Food Klinik
Good Soup Blues
For me, nothing beats a good soup to melt those rainy day blues. Either a Nagasaki Chanpon at Tsukiji, made of ramen noodles, seafood and vegetables. Or sinigang na Salmon at Milky Way Cafe. Both dishes are available all the time. — J Gamboa, co-owner of Milky Way Cafe, Tsukiji, Azuthai and Cirkulo
PJ’s, DVD’s, and Hot Coco
Drinking hot chocolate, curling up on the couch in my PJs and watching DVDs is one of my favorite things to do on a rainy night. When I’m craving for the Pinoy hot chocolate, I go for Nana Meng’s cashew hot chocolate in Glorietta. Ice cream for me is such a happy food so I tend to crave for it even when it’s raining and so gloomy outside. It never fails to cheer me up. The bubble gum flavor of Coney Island was my favorite when I was a kid so I am so glad I can get it now at Go Nuts Donuts. One dessert that manages to keep me warm and help cure my winter blues would be a warm slice of freshly baked apple pie. My roommate in NYC then would buy this sour cream apple walnut pie from Grand Central Station. It was so good that I sometimes try to replicate the same pie when I get a bit nostalgic during the rainy season. — Sonja Ocampo, chef–owner of Cupcakes by Sonja
