merienda – Jellybeans in the City

#QuarantineCookbook: Egg Pie

One of my favorite merienda items back when I was little was the egg pie.

I just love the creamy custard filling that’s perfectly complemented by a buttery and flaky crust.

To this day, I still find myself craving for it from time to time, especially during my coffee break.

While it is readily available in my neighborhood, whether via delivery apps or by dropping by a mom-and-pop bakery, I figured it was best to make it from scratch at home, especially since I got hold of this recipe which seems to easy to make.

Ingredients:

Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
4 tbsp water

Filling

3 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
1 300ml condensed milk
1 370ml evaporated milk

Procedure:

To make the pie crust:

Combine flour, salt, sugar and butter in a bowl. Mix until fine crumbs form.
Add the water and mix until a dough is formed. Cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Roll out the dough on a flour-dusted board until it is 1/8-inch thick.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased 9-inc round pan. Trim the excess dough and press the tines of a fork against the edges to create a design, then set aside.

To make the filling:

In a bowl, whisk together three whole eggs and one egg yolk.
Add the vanilla, condensed milk and evaporated milk, then stir well until thoroughly combined.
Strain the mixture twice, then set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks form, thrn gently fold into the filling mixture.

To bake the pie:

Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust.
Gently tap the pie pan against your work surface to get rid of air bubbles.
Bake the pie in a pre-heated 180-degree C oven for forty-five to fifty minutes pr until the top turns brown.
Serve and enjoy!

The baking pie filled our home with the sweet scent of vanilla and custard and the fam could hardly wait for it to be fully cooked so we could all dig in.

We polished off the pan in no time at all!

I’ve made this pie for the fam several times already and it’s a hit every time.

Try this recipe yourself and let me know how it goes!

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The Jelly List: Merienda classics for your holiday snacking

The holiday season is upon us, and with it comes a certain sense of nostalgia for days gone by.

Some of my favorite childhood memories involve snacking on classic Pinoy delicacies for merienda during my holiday break.

Merienda, or sometimes called minindal, may refer to either the mid-morning or mid-afternoon light snack eaten to fill in the gap in-between meals.

Luckily, we Pinoys grew up with a myriad of food items that we enjoy for during this snack time. Some of the classic merienda fare may have been overshadowed by Western snacks over the years, but I’m glad to see that many are regaining popularity, spurred by the efforts of foodies and these food entrepreneurs.

Ferino’s Bibingka

Ferino’s Bibingka started in pre-war Tondo, Manila when Mang Ferino Francisco started selling kakanin outside his family’s home. While most of his stores closed with his passing, the Ferino’s Bibingka brand was revived by his grandson, Sonny Francisco, who began to operate bibingka dine-in and takeout stores in 2016.

Ferino’s version of bibingka, the Bibingka Extra Super, is made of pure galapong mixed with two fresh eggs, topped with salted eggs and kesong-puti.

Ferino’s Bibingka accepts orders via:

Phone: +63 2 76227104
Mobile: +63 917 6502331
Facebook Messenger
GrabFood

More deets on Ferino’s Bibingka here.

Ka Mely’s Bibingka, Atbp.

This Cainta-based food business got its start when the Alcantara family matriarch Amelia – also known as Ka Mely – decided to expand her Bibingka-selling business to include the production of native delicacies. Today, it is a well-established food manufacturer with three physical stores as well as regular resellers.

Ka Mely’s Bibingka is more of a rice cake made with sticky glutinous rice topped with caramelized sugar and coconut cream.

Ka Mely’s Bibingka, Atbp accepts orders via:

Phone: +63 2 85155467
Mobile: +63 917 8533766 and +63 908 8876992
Facebook
Instagram

More deets on Ka Mely’s Bibingka, Atbp here.

Mama Lola’s Suman sa Latik

Foodpreneur Thirdee Duran turned her mom’s recipe for suman sa latik into a thriving food business during the quarantine.

A box of Mama Lola’s Suman sa Latik contains six pieces of banana leaf-wrapped suman and a generous helping of latik, more than enough to satisfy your suman craving.

Mama Lola’s Suman sa Latik accepts orders via:

More deets on Mama Lola’s Suman sa Latik here.

Bantay Bread

This Ilocos-based family business started out in 2010 as a local panaderia supplying morning pan de sal to its patrons. During quarantine, the family behind Bantay Bread set about pivoting their business to operate in their new business environment by expanding its product offers and its coverage areas to now include Metro Manila.

Its Pianono – named after Pope Pius IX also known as Pio Nono – is basically a sponge cake roll with a sweet buttercream filling

For more details on its product offerings and availability in your area, follow Bantay Bread on Facebook and Instagram.

More deets on Bantay Bread here.

Pampanga’s Cheesebread

The Metro Manila reseller of Pampanga landmark LBS Bakeshop, it has brought its famous Cheesebread to the metro.

These golden, cheesy and sweet balls of bread defies description. You simply have to taste it for yourself.

Pampanga’s Cheesebread accepts orders through its Metro Manila reseller – Pam via:

Facebook Messenger
Viber: +63 998 9694531

More deets on Pampanga’s Cheesebread here.

Tita She’s Bakery

Pan de Sal, the most common bread roll in the Philippines, is made with flour, yeast, sugar, eggs and water and is a staple many breakfast tables.

Its softer, longer and more buttery and sugary version, on the other hand, is called Spanish Bread.

Antipolo-based foodpreneur Tita She’s Bakery adds delicious and colorful twists to these classic breads by integrating cake flavors into them such as ube, cheese, ube cheese, ube choco, choco cheese, choco hazelnut, banana cake, banana hazelnut and carrot cake.

Tita She’s Bakery accepts orders via:

Mobile: +63 967 7613909
Facebook

As you can see, there’s quite a lot of options for merienda treats in the metro that will bring back pleasant childhood memories. Try them out and let me know what you think!

Sammy’s Weekend Quick Bites

Don’t you just love weekends?

It’s that time when you can wind down and recover from the hectic work days that precede it.

It’s also the time when you can treat yourself and the fam to a few indulgences.

Some of my favorite weekend memories are those I spent with my foodie friends hanging out at Sammy’s, a hidden gem of a restaurant located in Cainta.

There, we enjoyed great Indonesian-inspired dishes, along with a lovely post-meal serenade from Chef Sammy and his wife Dorothy, amidst the restaurant’s beautifully cozy interiors.

Recently, Sammy’s brought food lovers another reason to love weekends: its Weekend Quick Bites!

On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, Sammy’s offers yummy and highly snackable treats to sate our food cravings.

Being a mom to two budding foodies, I decided to have some of these munchies delivered to our home for the fam’s weekend merienda.

Korean Corndogs.

That sausage-on-stick that we love so well as kids got a significant upgrade, thanks to its thick coating of crunchy-on-the-outide, chewy-on-the-inside batter and further jazzed up with various fixins and condiments.

I got the Classic (Php99) for me, the Cheesedog (Php125) for my son, the Mozza (Php130) for my daughter and Overload (Php150) for Hubby.

I barely had time to take pictures of these corndogs as the fam was raring to get at them!

We weren’t able to try the Potato (Php125) but that’s what next orders are for!

Milk Teas.

Of course, we have to have something to drink together with our snacks, right?

Sammy’s has already got that covered with its refreshing milk teas that come in a variety of flavors with yummy and chewy tapioca pearls.

I actually already sampled these milk teas a few months ago when these were launched together with a special offer of a free slice of banana bread for every purchase.

Other milk tea variants available include: Wintermelon (Php65 16oz | Php75 22oz) and Taro (Php65 16oz | Php75 22oz).

Aside Korean Corndogs and Milk Teas, other snackable items included in Sammy’s Weekend Quick Bites are fries, nachos and floats.

Sammy’s makes weekends even better with its Weekend Quick Bites, wouldn’t you agree?

Weekend Quick Bites are available Saturdays and Sundays, from 3pm to 6pm.

Drop by Sammy’s at 14 Raspberry Bend Street, Valley View Executive Subdivision Phase 3, San Juan, Cainta to dine in and snack on these treats.

To enjoy these at home, order by calling +63 939 1483960, and book your delivery via Grab or Lalamove.

Follow Sammy’s on Facebook and Instagram to keep updated on its latest offers.

More memorable snacktimes with Lemon Square

What was your idea of a fun snacktime when you were growing up?

It can be winding down at home after an afternoon of playing with our friends, where a refreshing drink and a light repast had been lovingly laid out by our moms.

It can also be the highly anticipated recess where we munch on our baons in between classes.

Or, it might be the late-night munchies with a glass of warm milk that we shared with our parents right before bedtime.

These memorable snacking moments stayed in our memories into adulthood, and we looked forward to the days when we can witness our kiddos enjoying similar moments.

The kids nowadays may be feeling down as they’re stuck at home because of the lockdown. How about cheering them up by sharing a bite or two of these tasty home-style baked treats from Lemon Square?

For thirty-five years, Lemon Square has been a part of every Filipino household, serving up real goodness through affordable and nutritious snack cakes. Its products are also much-loved by nanays throughout the country for their affordability, accessibility and nutritional value.

They can even be used to make more elaborate desserts, saving moms precious time and effort in coming up with unique and show-stopping confections.

Lemon Square continues to expand its product line to provide all family members their own favorite treat:

Lemon Square Signature Cupcakes. An assortment of cupcake flavors (including cream caramel, ube and pandan) to tickle the tastebuds!

Buy it at Lazada

Lemon Square Lava Cake. Aside from its Chocolate variant, this moist cake bar with a yummy cream filling also comes in Creamy Bavarian and Quezo con Ube flavors.

Buy it at Lazada

Lemon Square Whatta Tops. There’s a lotta enjoy with Whatta Tops, from Vanilla, Milky Cheese, Mango Graham to Cookies ‘n Cream flavors to add to your faves.

Buy it at Lazada

Lemon Square Inipit. A light snack made of a filling sandwiched (or “inipit”) between two pieces of chiffon cakes which come in Custard, Pastillas, Pandan, Queso, Chocolate and Lemon flavors.

Buy it at Lazada

Lemon Square Choo Choo Cake Bites. A pocket-sized snack you can chew on while on-the-go, which comes in Choco Vanilla and Cheese Milk variants.

Buy it at Lazada

Lemon Square Fun Square. Who knew being square could be so much fun! Well, if you’re a fun-sized Brownie or a Butterscotch piece that can be eaten alone or paired with ice cream or syrup, then you are definitely a Fun Square!

Buy it at Lazada

With all these snack cake variants, the kiddos can enjoy fun and tasty treats after schoolwork or playtime!

So while the kiddos may not be able to roam out of doors, do bring them fun and unforgettable snacktimes at home with the real goodness of Lemon Square.

Check out my Lazada picks to stock up on these snackable goodies and more.

Click here

Disclosure: This post contains affliliate links..

Classic kakanin from Ka Mely’s Bibingka

So much of my childhood merienda memories involve kakanin – native delicacies usually made with glutinous rice, sugar and coconut milk.

You would think that we would have run out of ideas on what to make with kakanin at some point, but, no. We Pinoys have a extensive plethora of snacks or desserts that fall under this category.

After doing a bit of grocery shopping with Hubby, I happened upon a stand selling products from Ka Mely’s Bibingka, Atbp.

I had the idea of introducing kakanin the kiddos for our afternoon snack, so I brought home:

Bibingka (Php180 for small). The rice cake made with sticky glutinous rice topped with caramelized sugar and coconut cream.

Suman sa Ibos (Php10/pc). The most prevalent suman variant which is usually unsweetened and wrapped in palm leaves. I have two ways to enjoy this suman: one is at room temperature and dipped in sugar, another is lightly fried in vegetable oil until the outside is slightly crispy but the inside is still chewy, then slathered with butter and sprinkled with sugar.

Suman sa Lihiya (Php25/pc). A suman variant which is made with lye-treated glutinous rice which is usually served doused with latik, or caramelized coconut milk.

Sure these snacks are practically all carbs but they made for a good intro for my kids for the wonders of Filipino delicacies!

While I got my kakanin from a kiosk, you can have your kakanin delivered to your home by ordering from Ka Mely’s Bibingka, Atbp on Facebook or Instagram or calling +63 2 85155467, +63 917 8533766 or +63 908 8876992. Payments via BDO bank transfer, GCash or COD (via pabili service) are accepted. Ka Mely’s Bibingka Atbp products are delivered from Cainta, Rizal to anywhere in the metro.

Check out my blog posts on other small enterprises and startups in the food business:

Homeschooling snack break with Goldilocks

Many of us whose kids have just finished the first quarter of blended distance learning all deserve a pat on the back.

Much has been said about the stress experienced by students and teachers in adjusting to learning outside the classroom. But we parents are adjusting, too, right?

Assisting the kiddos with their online classes while also dealing with the challenges of working from can also be stressful.

So if you and your home pupil are still trudging on, bravo! You two deserve a snack break.

The good news is, you won’t have to leave the house nor spend a lot for your indulgence with the little one. Order some of Goldilocks’ tasty and affordable baked goodies from FoodPanda, and they will be delivered right to your doorstep.

Goldilocks has been around since the 1960s, when sisters Milagros, Clarita and their sister-in-law Doris decided to open a bakeshop in Pasong Tamo, Makati. At the suggestion of another sister, Maria Flor, they named their venture Goldilocks after the fairy tale character, to help kids and their moms remember the store name and since it also denoted luck and prosperity.

Decades later, Goldilocks cakes have become part of Pinoy celebrations, from birthdays, office parties or just anytime people decide to get together over their favorite cakes and pastries.

Taking advantage of a Php100 off FoodPanda discount code from EJ of ILoveToEatPH, I took out my phone and ordered some snacks from Goldilocks such as:

Fluffy and Mocha Mamon (Php25). Light and fluffy, these are the Pinoy version of the Sponge Cake.

Butter, Chocolate, Marble, Mocha Marble, Double Dutch and Chiffon Cake Slices (Php29/slice). The same light and airy snack cakes available in a variety of well-loved flavors, which are well-suited for a quick snack or pasalubong.

Egg Pie (Php237). Creamy egg custard baked in a special pie crust with a caramelized top. One of my childhood faves, newly discovered (and much-appreciated) by my little boy.

After snacking on a cake slice along with a mug of hot chocolate, my home student here is buoyed up to tackle his homework.

I’m glad that it’s so easy and affordable to reward him (and myself!) with a tasty treat after all our stress as we adjust to our New Normal.

So momshies, if you’re feeling harassed as you tackle your daily grind while still assisting your kiddos with their home learning, kudos to you. Treat yourself and your home student with these treats from Goldilocks.

To get your hands on these yummy goodies (whether for homeschooling baon or for munchin’ on), just tap away at your FoodPanda app.

Download the FoodPanda app and get Php100 off your first order.

You can also order via Goldilocks’ delivery website.

Check out my reviews of other dessert shops in the metro:

A quick merienda at Razon’s, SM East Ortigas

After a bout of errands at SM East Ortigas, we decided to have merienda here. (Note: For some reason, getting a table at the burger joint at the next stall was taking too long despite the empty seats. Go figure.)

We ordered items that Razon’s of Guagua is famous for: Halo-Halo (Php85 for the junior size) and Pancit Luglog (Php118 for the single size). The halo-halo is notable for its simplicity: just the sweetened saba bananas, macapuno and leche flan, all flavors that we grew up with as our household pahimagas (dessert). As for the pancit, I found its portion size too small given its price.

Fortunately, we also ordered Dinuguan with Puto (Php170) and Pritong Lumpiang Toge (Php35) so we were at least able to sate our hunger.

Food took quite a while getting to our table, and, while the service staff were accommodating, there were no efforts to anticipate our needs or queries.

All in all, other than the halo-halo, there is no compelling reason to return here.

Check out my reviews of other Filipino restaurants:

Want to learn more about Filipino cuisine? Check out these books on Amazon.com!

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