As kids, our only exposure to candy was from the sari-sari store. For me, that meant the UP Coop and Little Quiapo on campus.

There were three candy brands I remember: Chocnut, which I still love to this day; Serg’s chocolate bar that was so good at the time; and Goya. For my unexposed palate, Serg’s and Goya were my go-to candies when I wanted to satisfy my sweet cravings.

As we grew up, so did our allowance. That meant we could now afford the American candies—M&Ms, Nestlé Crunch, KitKat, Baby Ruth, Butterfinger and Reese’s. The problem with this kind of exposure was that our standards likewise went up. I no longer craved for local candies—except for Chocnut, which has its own distinct taste. It is still comfort candy to me.

For spreads or jams, only Good Shepherd in Baguio and Lily’s Peanut Butter made my list. The Good Shepherd nuns’ ube and strawberry jams were my favorites.

Hazelnut

As a new resident of Paris in the 1970s, I would wait on the streets of St. Michel for my crepe with what was a new filling to me, Nutella and bananas. I love Nutella. I guess my daughter Danielle took after me because when we lived in Canada, her baon during her entire elementary school days was pan de sal with Nutella.

I do the groceries for the family. And every so often, I would see new products either on the shelves or at the checkout counters.

One time, I was looking for Nutella because that was Danielle’s only request. Alas, it wasn’t available, but what caught my attention was Chocolate Hazelnut and Double Hazelnut. I didn’t look at the maker. I took these two spreads home, and now both have become a staple.

The Chocolate Hazelnut has hints of hazelnut and a dominant creamy, chocolate flavor. The Double Hazelnut is my new discovery. It is so good. With toasted kambal pan de sal, this is a winner. I also add bananas.

You know how one hums while enjoying something? I was doing that while reading the label. And, lo and behold, it’s Goya! Reading the back label, I read the chocolates are manufactured in Switzerland. No wonder the superior taste. They also have a hazelnut with milk flavor. Good, but I prefer the Double Hazelnut.

Since Goya caught my attention, I would see at the checkout counters some candies the brand likewise makes. Since its spreads were so impressive, I took a chance with its candies. I got a Take It wafer-covered chocolates, Dark Almonds, Dark Chocolate bar, and Bits, which are peanut-covered chocolates.

Take It reminds me of Kitkat and is also quite good. Dark Almonds are huge clusters of toasted almonds covered in rich, dark chocolate. I also love them. The Dark Chocolate bar is also a winner.

I particularly love the Bits. I love peanuts and enjoy the combination with the rich chocolate. This has become my favorite. Scary part is you don’t notice how easily you can down this pack. Sarap! All the chocolates are not too sweet at all. I love the subtle sweetness.

Goya has thus been resurrected. The once local chocolate that was left behind by the foreign brands has caught up and is making waves in terms of quality.

Food can bring back memories. Goya does that to me since the quality is no longer the same. It has escalated by a whole lot. Check them out!

My Japan Food tour is on May 5-10: two days Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Osaka.
E-mail me if interested at [email protected].

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