To welcome the Year of the Sheep, dear friend Sofia Co gifted me with Choi Garden’s Poon Choi, also known as the Big Bowl Feast—a Cantonese celebratory dish often served on Chinese New Year and consisting of delectable ingredients.
Choi Garden’s version has 15 ingredients—oysters, abalone, sea cucumber, chicken, sea moss, pig knuckles, fish balls, black mushrooms, bean curd, roast duck, pork, prawns, radish, taro, lettuce.
The big bowl feast is put together layer by layer, which is how it is to be enjoyed as well. One starts eating it from the top, where all the premium ingredients are, to the bottom.
The radish and taro that line the bottom of the bowl were, to me, the most delicious.
Each ingredient that goes into the dish has a significance and is said to be auspicious for those who partake of it.
For example, Choi’s manager Joseph Tan pointed out, prawns are for happiness; sea moss, wealth; pig knuckles, good luck; sea cucumber, good health; fish balls, good fortune.
Those into numerology will be delighted to find eight pieces of each ingredient inside the bowl.
Here’s to peace, happiness, good health and wealth… Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Choi Garden, tel. 7276042, 7277489, 7245343
Sebastian’s creative flavors
Ian Carandang of Sebastian’s Ice Cream is a creative genius. His recent Valentine offerings stopped me in my tracks.
The story of his Valentine Series goes back to November 2013, when Ian’s friend Carlo Vergara (playwright, comic writer, artist and creator of Pinoy superhero Zsazsa Zaturnnah), sent him a message: “Your next best-selling flavor will be called Matinong Boyfriend.”
Ian took it to heart and started creating flavors that would best suit the tag: Matinong Boyfriend (raspberry sorbet swirled with vanilla bean whipped cream); “Matinong Girlfriend” (chocolate rum ice cream with cookie butter chunks and candied almonds).
Ian said it was a fun thing to do, a nice gesture for those who are not romantically involved: “Valentine’s Day can be rough on the unattached. Since every restaurant does promos for couples, I thought single people would appreciate someone reaching out to them, in a tongue-in-cheek way.”
When he launched it, the response was quite unexpected. The flavors were sold out in the afternoon, which had never happened before.
After Valentine’s Day, Ian decided to retain Matinong Boyfriend and Matinong Girlfriend but with a totally new taste.
Matinong Boyfriend, which caters to women, is a complex yet balanced-flavored dessert: cashew buttercream ice cream with a passion fruit sorbet ribbon and toasted macadamia nuts.
Matinong Girlfriend, apparently for guys, has big, bold flavors with lots of texture and crunch: potato chip ice cream (made by soaking the potato chips in milk, straining and turning into a base); ridged sour cream and cheddar potato chips dipped in salted white chocolate (to preserve the crunchiness) are added as garnish.
While these two flavors appeal to the single and searching, Ian went a step further by creating a new one, Closure, for those healing from a heartbreak.
“I thought it would be funny if people would say, ‘I went to Sebastian’s… and found Closure.’”
To build on the flavor, he played with floral teas that promote detoxification, cleansing and rejuvenation of the soul. He chose chrysanthemum and added fresh orange zest and real vanilla to add depth and complexity.
However, the most interesting of all four flavors was inspired by his mother’s nightly regimen of ampalaya tea.
Ian’s ice-cream-making machine runs on his sense of humor, and the thought of ampalaya prompted him to create a bitter gourd sorbet: “I thought it would be absolutely hysterical if I made a sorbet out of this stuff, the essence of bitterness.”
The sorbet really tasted like the gourd! For texture Ian candied some finely chopped ampalaya and added it to the base.
“If I was going to call something Unresolved Issues on behalf of anyone who has ever had a broken heart, I wanted to do the flavor justice and really capture the bitterness one feels at being unable to move on,” explained Ian.
I look forward to Ian’s 2016 Valentine collection with great anticipation.
Sebastian’s Ice Cream, tel. 4266935.
Delicious in whatever state
While having Valentine lunch, my niece Maureen Ferrer brought a cake that she described as delicious whether served frozen, cold, room temperature, hot, or in whatever state.
She was not kidding. Camille Ocampo’s Creme Brûlée Cake is to die for.
Inspired by Tarta San Marcos, a Spanish classic, Camille’s rendition is simple—chiffon cake filled with whipped cream, topped with torched yema that crackles when sliced.
Devoid of frills, it is light, moderately sweet and easy to eat.
Camille Ocampo’s Crème Brûlée Cake, tel. 0916-7457729