The banana in your coffee

Banana bread, banana cake, banana split, banana ice cream, banana pie.We love this tropical finger-like fruit and recently, we were introduced to a new refreshing concoction, Banana Java Chip Frappuccino Blended coffee by Starbucks. A rather long name for a beverage, it is long as well in flavor. We tried to find out what special type of banana was used, but we understand trade secrets would not allow them to reveal that.

As it turned out this popular coffee company already introduced a banana blend last year, Mocha. We know that bananas are rich in potassium and those with weak knees are advised to have a banana a day. It has zero fat, cholesterol and sodium. Starbucks also gave us some interesting info on bananas. Its name comes from the Arabic word ‘banan’ meaning fingers, thus a cluster is called a ‘hand’. This particular Frappuccino blends the pureed fruit with chocolate-y java chips. You can also have this light. The Frappuccino blend is among the most popular. It was in 1995 that a group of Starbucks partners in California concocted the unique blend of coffee, milk and ice. The rest is history. A cup (tall) costs P145, the grande is P155 and the Venti goes for P170.

It’s not all banana coffee at Starbucks. They have Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin topped with moist golden streusel at P70 each; Chocolate Chip Loaf with bits of Belgian chocolate for P50 a slice; Bancoffee on Graham crust for P105 and Banana Chocolate Puff, flaky pastry with strips of banana, at P105. Banana is our favorite fruit, it could be yours as well.

Obi is an enterprising young wife and mother. While faithfully performing her household duties, she wanted to start a business. What could she sell that would grab the taste and patronage of her fellow homemakers? Something they could serve to family and friends, which she knows very well and likes very much. Toasted siopao then, with which she grew up with as merienda fare in her native Naga.

In the late 40s, spouses William and Candida opened Washington restaurant, which changed its name to Naga years later, offering mami and siopao. Wanting to offer something more innovative, Lola Didang in the mid-60s thought she would be different and toasted her siopao instead of steaming it. It clicked and the Chinese original has become a unique toasted bun, filled with meat and boiled egg.

Today, Obi has brought her Lola’s specialty to Manila under the label O Bun, carrying the unique traditional recipe with contemporary branding. Soon, she plans to work on more flavorful choices. She uses the original recipe with today’s tested baking techniques. There’s a hearty meal and it comes at P30 a piece. Ideal for gifts or to bring to potluck gatherings, O Bun is attractively packaged in brown boxes of six and more and available at Market!Market!

Our friend Ofel is just as keen in making some extra money and got herself into chicharon-making using Monterey pork fat. A pack of 250 gms is sold at P150. The cracklings come with or without laman. For now she sells only to friends and neighbors, but plans to expand. What does she do with the lard that comes from the fat? She gives them as bonus (in bottles) to those who buy in bulk. Dishes laced with pork lard are yummy, but be conscious about your health. Ofel’s contact can be made available when requested.

We recently bought Japonica rice at P215 for a sack of five kilos. This is almost like the glutinous variety and is therefore ideal for paella or bringhe. However it is not ma-alsa, so for ordinary meals you’d be consuming more than the regular grained rice. However, you can indulge once in a while.

Banks and drugstores are places we visit the least. But when no one can do the chore for us, we find ourselves queueing up. A bank along Zapote road which advertises convenient banking had only a single machine (for card payment) operating; the other machine broke. The line was so long it took us 45 minutes to get to put in our envelope. No emergency procedure was adopted by the supervisor who simply walked up and down, looking at all the desperate clients, but not doing anything. Could they not have accepted payment, using temporary receipts, at the counters, where we noted no business was going on at that time?

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