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Philippines

Filipino food: Arce Dairy has got the BEST tropical ice cream flavors

15 June 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

I love ice cream. One of the things I was looking forward to most when I went back to Manila after being away for over 20 years is  the ice cream. Mango, ube (purple yam), macapuno (a type of mutant coconut with soft meat inside instead of water), atis (sugar apple), nanca (jackfruit), pinipig (pounded glutinous rice) – just to name a few of the more interesting tropical flavors. Back when I was a kid there the brand to get was Magnolia, but the line seems to have faded a bit. Towards the end of our stay in Manila I had to binge on this one premium brand, Arce Dairy. It’s less sweet but packs a denser taste than other brands cuz (or so I’m told) it’s made with carabao milk and more natural ingredients.

Arce Dairy Ice Cream
Photo from www.fewsimplethoughts.com

 

Filed Under: Life, Travels Tagged With: Arce Dairy, atis, Filipino food, ice cream, ice cream flavors, macapuno, mango, Manila, nanca, Philippines, pinipig, tropical ice cream flavor, ube

a new baby

3 April 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

Mum and Papa are in love. Her Kuya is not. He’s less than thrilled with the little bundle, but he’s resigned himself to the fact that she’s sticking around so he finds ways to bond with her… :-)

Saoirse Inés Abejero Kelly

Saoirse Inés Abejero Kelly

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Tristan Quinn Abejero Kelly

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: baby, medical tourism, Metro Manila, newborn, Philippines, St. Luke's Medical Center, Taguig

Filipino food: Mango Bene and Hot Tsokolate

21 March 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

I’m not into sweets so much, but I love love LOVE mangoes, especially the sweet Philippine varieties. Someone made this dessert at a family event and my son didn’t finish his so, thanks to my habit of polishing off his leftovers, I discovered this great dessert, Mango Bene. (If you are looking for a recipe try searching for Mango Float). This one below is from Mary Grace, a great cafe chain in Manila. It consists of layers of meringue, homemade cream and sweet mango slices in between, and is served frozen at this cafe. At my family gathering it wasn’t served frozen, and I thought it was perfect for the hot summer day in the province.

Whenever we had Mango Bene, I had to order a cup of traditional tsokolate too. If at home we drop a couple of tsokolate tablets into a small cup of hot water and milk. Perfect combo!

Mango Bene from Mary Grace Cafe

Hot Chocolate (Tsokolate) Philippino style!

Filed Under: Life, Travels Tagged With: Filipino dessert, Filipino food, hot chocolate, Mango Bene, Mango float, Manila, Mary Grace Cafe, Philippines, tsokolate

Tropical Fruits in the Philippines

10 March 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

I ate so many fruits while I was there. If I never eat another mango again, I know I’ll have eaten the sweetest, most buttery melt-in-your-mouth mangoes on the planet, in the Philippines.

Chesa, the two more orange fruits next to the guyabana (green prickly-skin fruit), is grown from an evergreen tree native to Mexico and South America but now cultivated across Asia. It’s in the same genus as Cambodia’s Lamut, which is smaller and browner. Sri Lankans call their varieties laulu/lavulu/lawalu. Another variety that may have a more familiar ring to English speakers is Sapodilla.

Guyabana is a fruit in the Annona genus in the pawpaw/sugar apple family, which I believe is native to the Andes but now cultivated in many countries that don’t get too cold (correct me if I’m wrong!). Similar fruits from the genus are called Tiep in Cambodia, Atis in the Philippines, Annona in Guatemala. I’ve heard other species called Soursop, Cherimoya, Custard Apple. Apparently many species in this genus have important agricultural, medicinal and pharmaceutical uses.

Photos are courtesy of Keith Kelly.

Plate of fruit
Mangoes, Chesas, Guyabana
Chesa
Chesa, cut.
Chesa
Chesa half, close-up.

And here’s another pungent fruit from the tropics, mabolo. This one is native to the Philippines. It grows from a tree called kamagong, which is sought-after for its unique dark characteristics. I’m used to durian, jackfruit and other foul-smelling fruit and not averse to trying them despite the off-putting aroma, but this one is an exception. The outer skin is red and has the fuzzy texture of velvet – I’ve been told to wash it very well or your skin will itch where it came to contact with the skin of this fruit. I can’t find reference to that, though. When cut open it has the texture and feel of apple, but a bit more creamy. The ones we had was a bit bland, so I was not very impressed.

Mabolo
Mabolo

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: annona, atis, cherimoya, chesa, custard apple, Filipino food, Filipino fruit, guyabana, kamagong, lamut, laulu, Mabolo, mango, Philippines, pungent fruit, sapodilla, soursop, tiep

Then and now – going home is bittersweet

20 January 2013 by Nathalie Abejero Leave a Comment

Then and Now

Looking through photos from our trip to the Philippines back in December. It was such a treat to meet the extended families (who I sadly don’t recall very well), but who have so many stories of us, and who even dug out some of our old toys or pictures and diplomas and long-forgotten trinkets from our past. Trying to digitize all of it is a project!

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: home, Philippines, visit

Learning Filipino etiquette

20 January 2013 by Nathalie Abejero 1 Comment

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“Mano po” is a gesture showing respect towards the elderly. Growing up in the US, I’ve slowly lost the old customs.. being back in the Philippines brings it all back. Need to re-adopt some of them!

Filed Under: Life, Travels Tagged With: Filipino custom, Filipino customs, Filipino etiquette, Filipino traditions, mano po, Philippines

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Those little feet pitter-pattering about rule our lives lately. But on the occasional free moment I get to tap out scatterbrained bursts of consciousness about raising toddlers in Cambodia, traveling with them and working abroad. These posts are my personal updates to friends and family. But since you’re here, have a look around. Thanks for stopping by…

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