Exports times four

If you are wondering about the volume of imported foodstuff available in the country, don’t lose any sleep over it. Facts show that the Philippines is one of the biggest export markets of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. It is because of this that the quartet mounted "World’s Finest Foods" at the Hotel InterContinental in Makati early this month. It was, to quote one of the organizers, a "show of confidence in the Philippines" and, we might add, to introduce to the locals new products, new technology and the abundance of supply.

The issue of organics, GMO and BT corn was raised during the media event that preceded the exhibition. The responses were that there are standards being followed, certification must be obtained, an information campaign is being undertaken and there has not been any evidence that such products are harmful to humans. BT corn particularly is supposed to increase production but at this point we leave the arguments to those who know what the issues really are.

Meantime, a swing around the exhibition showed familiar meat cuts, mainly corn-fed beef and chicken parts from the US , which are now available at wholesale outlets like Makro and supermarkets such as Rustan’s. And believe it or not, hotels and big restaurants in the US are consumers of Hormel’s Café H which produces ready-to-heat/serve food in bulk like the gourmet dish, osso buco. Would the hotels and restaurants in Manila choose this easy way to please their clientele?

There was this lady who operates a high-end Thai deli in Philadelphia who told us her bakery products, labelled Tasty Kake, are the most popular snack items in America. Maybe soon her fruit bars will find their way to the local market, and eventually to our homes. Already available here are some products of Goodman Fielder from Australia which are distributed by CSP International Commodities Corporation. We were particularly attracted to their healthy line–Breakfast on the Go, muesli bars (satisfying as a breakfast fare), Flakes Plus and the fruity bites under the Uncle Toby’s brand. The flakes are perfect for Harvey Fresh lactose-free milk.

With all these imports, the quartet of ambassadors assured us that there is a balance of trade. But that’s for the economists to figure out.

We spent a weekend in Subic. Needless to say a good portion of that was spent in market research for this column. The exchange rate (then) was higher at P53.35 to US$1. Royal Subic was teeming with lots and lots of chocolates which we strongly resisted. Before this trip we tried Palm brand corned beef which we found much better than the more popular brands, because it has real chunky meat and is juicy. This time we got the Ox and Palm Beef Stew ($1.59) and vienna sausage at $4.58 for a pack of six cans. They have good meat cuts, sirloin steaks, lamb shoulder. There is a corner called Food Alternatives which carries canned organic lentils, whole wheat spaghetti, bottled iced green tea.

Usually when we go to Subic, we stay in the area within the SBMA. This time our host prepared a culinary itinerary that brought us from the very popular Max’s chicken house on Magsaysay Street, to Kong’s Chinese restaurant on the same street, to the sprawling White Rock Resort for sinigang na hipon, pinakbet and adobo to the Cantina Mexicana on Argonotte Highway where we were surprised to meet an old friend, Connie, who owns and manages the restaurant. She immediately became our assurance that we were going to have a good meal–and we did, with lengua, salpicao and pescado, among others.

We were billeted at Crown Peak, which is a string of buildings in Cubi Point. Here we discovered the ideal place for a healthy and quick breakfast –Angels’ Café at the Garnet Building. Owned by someone who is in organic dentistry (yes, there is such a thing), it offers among others the Healthy Hotdog (with the least meet component) sandwich and organic coffee. They are so good a niece brought some home.

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