Sauces and mixes

While we agree that cooking from scratch is the most ideal thing to do, housewives, especially those maintaining jobs outside the home, can now quickly whip up delicious meals with help of the flavorful contents of tetra packs or bottles. Whatever you need  barbecue sauce, sukiyaki flavoring, whatever, you’ll find them on a rack in the supermarket.

Occasionally, we find ourselves wanting to do a dish, like kare-kare, only to discover that not all the ingredients are available in our fridge or cupboard. Because we are a bit of a compulsive shopper, we always have quite a few mixes ready for quick fixes. These save us from frustration.

Here is a partial list of these very helpful items, most of them available at a store near you. They consist of both locally manufactured products and imports. We start with a favorite  Mama Sita’s kare-kare mix, which takes away the tedious chore of roasting and pounding rice and peanuts. The first time we used this short cut, the family admired my dedication to coming up with authentic kare-kare and were all very surprised that the thick tasty sauce came from a packet. From Sysu International, we learned to use marinades, especially the Singapore-made Kikkoman teriyaki marinade and sauce with bits of roasted garlic. Super for fish fillet. There is the Lee Kum Kee baste and cook mix. The Clara Olé brand has become quite extensive. A sister uses their spaghetti-mushroom mix in a vegetable soup. It gives the dish a wholesome flavor and texture. Among their new packets are kung pao and the Mix Me collection of the following flavors  paella, Japanese fried rice, cheesy pesto and chunky tomato and cheese. They are simply poured on rice and pasta.         

Asian Home Gourmet offers a collection that includes curry mixes, biryani rice powder and kum pao, which seems to have captured quite an approval that it has been used by a restaurant for one of their pizzas. Typical Thai flavors are in Asian Home Gourmet’s nasi goreng and sambal stir fry rice, phad thai paste and sambal oleh.

“Old timers” that have been in the market for years, are Hunt’s and Del Monte’s vari-flavored spaghetti sauces, which we use to enhance our pasta dishes.

New comers are Ram’s sweet spaghetti sauce and Best Food’s fast food style mix. Needless to say, barbecue sauces abound. Pick your brand, you have a lot of choices.

We were searching for the chocolate shop at the Venice Piazza from which a nephew bought the yummy desserts he gave us recently. We were attracted to a banner of Sweet Sensations which turned out to be a bazaar-style group selling dessert goodies to complement the various dining places in the complex.

They set up every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 5 p.m. to closing time, 11 p.m.

Among the participating stores are Desato which sells mochi balls, Marilao Puto, Russian Cookie House which offers tea cookies (the cream puff-like cookies with chocolate topping are so good) and Amaldin Cuisine.  

Discover this new playground  Venice Piazza on the corners of Upper McKinley and Venezia Drive. It is dubbed as a gourmet oasis. Housed in a twin structure bound by a tall thin tower, it has all the food chains, which seem to go wherever potential customers are.

Occupying half a circle of the piazza is an entertainment area where well-known singers like Martin Nievera perform. It is envisioned to have a Grand Canal.

Your food choices include  Kuse which brings us to our childhood days when the “imported” chefs were called “kuse” for kusinero. The place serves traditional Filipino food.

Stackers Burger Café with Go Breakie (breakfast) with a free cup of coffee. Old Vine does good lamb spareribs plus an array of cakes, like gooey fudge, pralines and mocha roulade. The lady by the entrance, Karen, is most charming and helpful.

Tokyo Café gives free iced coffee au lait for spending at least P500. On the menu are kalbi-ju (beef with salad); pork shoga yahi, thinly sliced meat on rice; pizzas and sandwiches. Do not miss their sweet offerings and coolers.

Bibingka and puto bumbong have always been comfort food for us Pinoys. Via Mare still does them very well. A few days ago we were craving for bibingka so we went to Landmark. Via Mare, on the second level, has undergone quite a facelift  it no longer looks like a poor relation on that small spot by the escalator. It occupies a bigger area, has the ambiance of a real restaurant and a gracious and accommodating staff, mostly males. In effect, it has moved away from the milling crowd of shoppers so diners can comfortably have their snacks or meals.

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