The STAR's Silver

In four days, The Philippine STAR will mark its 25th year. This column is also nearing its silver anniversary as well, with this magazine. We would like to thank our dear departed friends – Betty, Johnny and my tocaya Lydia, whose foresight gave us the opportunity to pioneer this food sourcing column (from wet markets to hypermarts) which has expanded to cover the multi-faceted culinary world. We are grateful to our editor, the gentle Ms. Doreen, who has been patient and understanding. Also to her diligent girls, Rosal and Alpha. We thank our sources too, because without their aggressive development and skills, through the years, there would be no “In My Basket.”  

This publication has partnered with two giants, the Ayala Malls and Bank of Philippine Islands, in celebrating this milestone with an Eat Food and Dining Festival, kicked off last July 7 and culminating in September. Go, join the celebration, have hearty inspired meals in any of the 100-plus participating restaurants and be part of the jubilation.

This puts us in a nostalgic mood. Years ago, when our dear departed friend Chiqui was working at the old Manila Hilton hotel, we would never pass up the chance to have its creamy, chicken pie wrapped in flaky wafer-like crust. No matter that we dined in their other outlets, among them Port Orient and the Rotisserie, there was always a stop at the Pattiserie, then facing the UN Avenue entrance, to take home a box of pies.

The new hotel that came after the Hilton, The Manila Pavilion which is now a member of the Waterfront chain, still makes the chicken pie and sells it at the Patisserie, now located on the left side of the Orosa Street entrance. It is bigger (P128 a piece), the meat is chunkier but has less cream. Their other bakery products are “everlasting” bread, so called because of the “food of life” coconut, done bocayo-style in white sugar and used as toping for the soft portola-shaped bread; Malolos ensaymada with chunks of itlog na maalat and the chocolate variant, both huge. Of course we took home some.

Port Orient, which served the very succulent sirloin steak teriyaki, is no longer there. Instead there is the Malaysian-Chinese restaurant called Peony. The famed Rotisserie still serves its piece de resistance, the juicy slab of roast beef with mouth-watering oil that drips with its fat. The coffee shop is now called Seasons, serving an international buffet where we had lunch recently with a friend. Donna, the hotel’s communications lady, hovered solicitously over us, as we settled down with ample servings of sashimi, grilled salmon, roast beef and salad, among others. It was a truly great “coming home” experience after missing the Hilton for a long, long time.

A niece based in Bangkok brought home quite a load of mangosteen. When asked, she said over there they are sold at 17 baht (approximately P22) a kilo. How on earth then are local fruit vendors pricing this at P500 a kilo? This was what we noted recently in one of the outlets. To add insult to injury, one vendor almost sarcastically told us “Bangkok po ito.” Considering airfreight cost and return of investment, would a kilo really amount to P500? Mangoes are generally sweet this season. They are tagged from P80 to P90 a kilo. Bananas still command a price of about P46 a kilo. Chicken? From P90 to P122, depending on the brand.

The team of servers at the Red Ribbon outlet in the Molito Mall, Ayala Alabang, deserve to be commended. It is a pity that in our hurry we failed to get their names. They know who they are. We bought a coffee crumble cake after doing our groceries. Then we realized we should not feed our little two-and-a-half year-old apo anything with coffee. We went back to change and get a chocolate-based cake instead. There was quick action, we never had to argue or wait for a “supervisor” as is normal in other establishments. That is another satisfying encounter with good customer service.

A good, reasonably priced snack or school baon are Waffle Time’s rolls which are filled either with chocolate, American hotdog or ube jam. They are priced from P10 to P12 each and can be found in many supermarkets and malls.

A happy Sunday to all!

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