Treasures in left-overs

We have said this before, and we say it again. These days when every centavo counts, every morsel of food is valuable. Allow us to share with you some left-over recipes. Because it’s Holy Week, let’s look at a fish dish. Recently we had grilled panga ng tuna. Our suki Vilma gave us a fleshy piece and with only three of us, we had quite a chunk left. To take away that lansa taste, we laced it with the juice of half a lemon, then deboned, flaked and cooked it like the traditional a la Vizcaina, sauteing in olive oil, lots of crushed garlic, chopped tomatoes and onions, dash of paprika and a pinch of saffron fibers. Great! Serve with green salad with your favorite dressing. For nilagang bulalo, drain the meat, heat butter, slightly fry and pour cream over it. Serve at once. Giniling na karne or baboy can always be re-cycled into omelet. Check your refrigerator regularly and see what you can transform into a new dish.

Our quest for new shopping outlets and reasonable prices brought us one Sunday to the Organic Market on Connecticut in Greenhills. On two sides of the street are rows of food stuff, from fresh fruits and vegetables to seafood and cooked food. The vendors need some training (or extra effort) in effective customer relations. A lot of them showed indifference, ignoring questions about prices and information on the products they are selling. In more than two occasions, we had to give up buying. Anyway, what do they have? Nothing different from those found in other weekend markets. Some items are priced competitively, such as tomatoes for P36 a kilo, mangoes from P60 and cantaloupe at P50 per. Our friend who was with us finally convinced us to get a kilo of the Australian beef (Rib Eye) at P580 a kilo, giving us three reasonably-sized chunks. We did not regret making this purchase, it was tender and juicy. An interesting line is carried by Casa Carlos, distributing bottled specialties, including bangus paté, dulong in two sizes, tapa and tokwa in bottles as well. The products are either in corn or olive oil, hence the difference in price, which range from P55 to P180. The company is based in Maywood Village, Parañaque and can be reached at tel 824-3761 or cell 0919-3761.

Here one can find good-sized seabass (apahap), ideal for steaming, at P260 a kilo. There are big and small shrimps, the pang-gisa we got for P200 a kilo. Bread is likewise aplenty with appetizingly attractive pan de sal at P36 a pack of a dozen pieces. As with lots of weekend markets, the sellers are also taking advantage of the shoppers’ weakness for things other than food. Hence, there are garments, bags and even house décor.

Two restaurants and a coffee stop made us glad we selected them for quiet intimate get-togethers with our foodie friends. We drove to SM Mall of Asia and met our date at Bizu along Bay Area, fronting the sea, which on that day was calm. She volunteered the info that this place has just opened. We have pleasant memories of this chain (in Greenbelt specifically), of Herbed Roast Chicken and their exquisite thin cookies. Now the chef, proudly Filipino, has expanded the menu and successfully interpreted international dishes such as perfect Duck Ala Orange. It was difficult going through the extensive list. We welcome the system that provides the diner a choice of Personal and Grande serving. Each dish is recommended for additional (of P75) light soup or salad.

Over at The Fort, one can always depend on a good reasonably priced Chinese meal at Zong. The service is fast and gracious. But come early because the popular place gets full at noontime. One can never go wrong ordering the "usual’’—E fu Noodles (braised as against fried), Beef Tenderloin with Broccoli flowers, Lemon Chicken and Yang Chow fried rice.

For coffee and dessert, it is best to hop over to a real coffee house. We went to Serendra and checked Café Isla, a cozy place for a soothing cup plus a few bites of a moist chocolate muffin. The choice here is wide. Needless to say the locally-grown beans are at par with all those from other countries.

There’s a war among hypermarts and supermarkets. Competition has become so challenging each chain is doing its best to retain loyal shoppers and to attract new ones. The big establishments continue to build almost right next to each other and the customer is tempted with loyalty cards and awards, lots of promo items and discounts. And the winner is—the customer who gets the best from each of them.

E-mail comments and questions to: lydia_d_castillo@yahoo.com