A Respite from the Wet Markets

The disturbing rise in prices of food stuff made us take a respite from visiting wet markets and supermarkets these last few days. Instead we went to find out how restaurants are doing with dwindling clientele and increasing food cost. The consensus is that more and more people are trying to save by limiting their outings, hence this is not good for business. Furthermore, with the rains the quality of fresh produce has suffered.

Anyway, we re-acquainted ourselves with the cuisine offered by the Schwarzwalder restaurant, now located at the Atruim building on Makati Avenue. The place is refreshing, to say the least, because this is about the only restaurant that offers a view of tall trees and healthy-looking shrubs, a sight most welcome while savoring the house specialties, unmindful, for a while, of the pollution and mess in the country and elsewhere around the world.

We were almost tempted to order our favorite Swiss farmer’s chicken roasted to perfection with mushrooms and bacon plus a sunny-side up egg on top (P315++). But we decided on the Penne Rigate with Chicken and Pesto (P295++) and did not regret it. Schwarzwalder still provides impeccable service and is open for breakfast, just as it offers a good merienda menu. We can’t eat there and not have their refreshing apple juice, so we had a glass.

A few years back, we got introduced to the over-stuffed sandwiches at Oliver’s in Hong Kong. For quite a time now, Oliver’s has operated in the country with outlets all over the city. Today, they have a new and more aggressive management team plus a young lady, Chef Dawn, who decided to give the sandwich new spunk and personality by concocting a line that they pledge is "good for life". The recently launched "Deli Fest", a collection of gourmet sandwiches, includes German roast beef (herbed tenderloin with horseradish and dijon dressing), the original and novel blue marlin wasabe (with the subtle blending of the Japanese element and mayonnaise) and the Mediterranean basil chicken (steamed chicken breast with lemon-basil dressing). Each massive sandwich, with crispy fresh vegetables, is pegged at a value-for-money price of P98.

Now for coffee, we have found a new favorite, the Segafredo Zanetti Espresso of the renowned Italian tradition. This is served at the newly opened Segafredo Coffee Bar in Greenbelt 2, with Milan-inspired interiors and a very welcoming ambiance typical of an authentic Italian coffee shop. Espresso is an Italian invention dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. It is whipped up by a machine that allows the serving of the beverage with lightning speed. We sampled and delighted in their full bodied and aromatic cappuccino. Packed coffee beans can be purchased at the outlet.

The café-bar also serves Italian pizza (with the thinnest crust) and pasta.

There is a new collection of wines on the market. Wild Vines, from Gallo in California, come in beautifully frosted bottles, costing P180 each. This line, consisting of Strawberry White Zinfandel, Peach Chardonnay and Blackberry Merlot, is targeted at the new wine drinker, hence they are a bit fruity. But judging from the reaction of some seasoned connoisseurs, this can also please the discriminating, if served with the proper food. Which was exactly what the distributors projected when they held the Wild Vines’ "Wines and Dreams Food Styling Competition" where the participants did very well in matching their culinary innovations with the most fitting beverage.

The latest bottled seasonings from SySu International are the Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinades–one with roasted garlic and another with five Chinese spices. The former has a lot of garlic bits and was perfect for the salmon belly which we pan fried after marinating. Both have no artificial coloring, no artificial flavorings, no preservatives and are cholesterol free. Each bottle has a long shelf life (ours expires in 2004), so there is no need to worry if the marinade is not consumed immediately.

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Lydia D. Castillo’s e-mail address: [email protected]