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Friday, October 24, 2014





So this greeted me when I came in to the office today. Can I just brag about how thoughtful and talented my team is? Love you @DigifyPh guys.

Sunday, October 12, 2014





While in Positano, I was drawn to this sculpture by G. Bosco, which was on display at the Franco Senesi art gallery. I thought of you @ledbeltran. I was equally moved by the works of Marco Grassi. Kudos to the curator. #FrancoSenesiFineArt #Positano #Italy #MarcoGrassi #GBosco #ArtObjects





Leather goods are some of the best things to buy in Florence. According to Frommer’s, shopping here is better than in Rome. I can only agree. #MadeinFlorence #leathergoods #ShoppinginEurope #Firenze #Italy





I left a wish at this spot in St. Peter’s Basilica. And with this, I say, “Arrivederci, Roma!”





My last stop: Vatican City. #Vatican #Rome #Italy #travelswithgusto





I was drawn to this small sandwich joint named LikeEat because of the picture of a Porchetta di Ariccia in full roasting glory at the door. And I didn’t regret it. Olive oil, balsamico, arugula and porchetta. Perfetto. #Rome #Italy #LikeEatRoma #travelswithgusto #foodandwine





Trastevere, my favorite neighborhood in Rome, made even lovelier by the light of the full moon. #Rome #Italy #Trastevere #travelandleisure #travelswithgusto





The food gods must have smiled at me that day because they gave me two wonderful meals in one day: the seafood spaghetti at Chez Black and this glorious saltimbocca at Ristorante Agrodolce near the Trevi fountain. Molto buono! #Rome #Italy #RistoranteAgrodolce #saltimbocca #foodandwine

Saturday, October 11, 2014





Ahh, Positano. You’re the kind of place where great love stories are written. #Positano #Italy #travelandleisure #travelswithgusto





Our tour group made a lunch stop at this place in Positano where I had one of the best meals of my life. Spaghetti with scampi and mixed seafood. Pasta, olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, shrimps, squid, mussels and clams elevated to new heights. I swept the plate clean and wanted seconds. #ChezBlack #Positano #Italy #Pasta #travelswithgusto





My favorite experience during my stay in Rome was going out of Rome to the breathtaking Amalfi Coast. #BestDriveEver #TLPicks #AmalfiCoast #Italy #travelswithgusto





Seeing the Colosseo with my own eyes was quite overwhelming. #Rome #Italy #Colosseo #Gladiator

Thursday, October 9, 2014





Cooling myself with a Gelateria Dondoli gelato at San Gimignano. #gelato #SanGimignano #Tuscany #Italy #travelandleisure #travelswithgusto





Gelato by master maker Sergio Dondoli of San Gimignano. His gelato is regarded by many as the best in the world because of the international awards he has won. The world’s best gelato in 2014 went to France but that doesn’t make these Dondoli creations any less good. #gelato #Tuscany #Italy #epicurious #travelswithgusto





Now I know what it means to be “under the Tuscan sun.” I had lunch at a farm looking out to this view of the Tuscan hills and San Gimignano. Rarely do I see a sight so sublime. #Tuscany #SanGimignano #Italy #travelandleisure





Finally, rice. An amazing osso bucco and risotto at Trattoria Pizzeria Dante in Florence. #Firenze #Italy #Florence #epicurious





Pit stop at Pitti Palace. #Firenze #Florence #Italy #travelswithgusto





A lovely view of Firenze from Piazzale Michelangelo. It was a bit of a hike up but what a reward. There’s Ponte Vecchio bridge on the left, then the three tall structures are Palazzo Vecchio, the Duomo and Santa Croce. #Firenze #Florence #Italy #TLPicks #travelswithgusto

Wednesday, October 8, 2014





What a beauty you are, Firenze. #Florence #Italy #Tuscany #TLPicks

Tuesday, October 7, 2014





With my gondolier, Rudy. Yes, it is touristy. Yes, it is expensive. But riding a gondola through the Grand Canal and the back channels of Venezia is a classic bucket list experience. #Venice #Italy #travelswithgusto





Breakfast with a view. Tramezzinis, those triangular sandwiches often bulging with different types of filling, are surprisingly addicting. This is the restrained version from Cafe Florian, just smoked salmon and cream with a dollop of caviar. I would call this a tea sandwich. #Venice #Italy #epicurious #travelandleisure #travelswithgusto





Piazza San Marco. Even with the scaffolding in St. Mark’s Cathedral, still the most breathtaking piazza I have been to. #Venice #Italy #travelswithgusto #condenasttravel #travelandleisure

Monday, October 6, 2014





My first meal in Venezia: prosciutto, walnuts, Parmigianno and arugula. This was followed by the best coconut macaroons I have ever tasted. Ciao belly. #majeritaly #Venice #Italy #epicurious #travelandleisure #travelswithgusto





Ciao Bella, Venezia. #Venice #Italy #travelandleisure #travelswithgusto #condenasttravel

Sunday, October 5, 2014





And with this pot of moules mariniere just for me, I say au revoir to Nice. #latapenadedenice #Nice #France #Frenchcuisineisthebest #travelswithgusto #travelandleisure

Saturday, October 4, 2014





So walk I did. #PlaceMassena #Nice #France #travelswithgusto





Place Massena was made for walking. #Nice #France #travelandleisure #travelswithgusto





The first thing I ate in Nice: a pissaladiere, a French pizza topped with caramelized onions, onions and whole anchovies! #Nice #France #travelswithgusto #epicurious





Goodbye, ochre. Hello, pastels. #nice #france #travelswithgusto #travelandleisure

Thursday, October 2, 2014





Hello, Marseilles. #daytrip #france #provence #travelswithgusto #travelandleisure





I can never get enough of those ochre walls. Au revoir, Aix. Till we meet again. #aixenprovence #france #travelandleisure #travelswithgusto





Croque monsieur with a view. #aixenprovence #france #travelswithgusto #epicurious





Nothing like going to a Provençal market to start the day right. #aixenprovence #france #travelswithgusto

Wednesday, October 1, 2014





Practicing the art of the flaneur at Aix. #aixenprovence #france #goodkingrene #travelswithgusto





The foie gras to rule them all at Bistrot des Philosophes. #aixenprovence #foiegras #bistrotdesphilosophes #france #epicurious

Tuesday, September 30, 2014





The crowd led me to a cluster of restaurants at Forums de Cardeurs. One of them is Bistrot des Philosophes where I had one of the best meals of my life. #aixenprovence #france #forumsdecardeurs #bistrotdesphilosophes





I was lost among the quiet alleyways of Aix in search for Forum des Cardeurs when this crowd found me and led me to the place I was looking for. #aixenprovence #france #followthecrowd #travelswithgusto

Monday, September 29, 2014





In the footsteps of Cezanne. #aixenprovence #france #travelswithgusto #travelandleisure

Sunday, September 28, 2014





Be still my heart. #aix-en-provence #france #travelswithgusto #travelandleisure





En route to Aix en Provence. #tgv #provence #travelswithgusto





My favorite course at two Michelin star Le Taillevent: sweet, perfectly cooked Homard Bleu aux Saveurs Méridionales. #Michelin #LeTaillevent #Paris #travelswithgusto





Un cafe creme at Cafe de Flore, my way of paying tribute to the ghosts of Sartre, de Beauvoir and all those who taught us to love the questions more than the answers. #paris #travelswithgusto #cafedeflore

Saturday, September 27, 2014





Riding a red Vespa with a camera in hand and the wind in your face, a good driver in front of you and an expert tour guide leading the way. I really think this is the best way to see Paris if you are short on time. #paris #leftbankscooters #travelswithgusto #vespa





As good as its reputation. #angelinas #paris #travelswithgusto #epicurious

Thursday, September 25, 2014





Nothing like a home-cooked meal in Paris. Kuya Jojo and Vicky choosing the wine to pair with our tabbouleh, poulet roti and ratatouille. #paris #travelswithgusto

Wednesday, September 24, 2014





Breaking the travel posts with an OOTD pic. My travel blues and browns. #pfw #fashion #paris





Enjoying my petit dejeuner of baguette, brie, mimolette, chevre and espresso. #paris #petitdejeuner #travelswithgusto

Tuesday, September 23, 2014





Across my 6th arrondissement apartment is the bookshop and studio of Karl Lagerfeld. #paris #travelswithgusto #saintgermaindepres





After 22 years, we meet again. Bonjour. #paris #eiffeltower #travelswithgusto

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Lola Illang's Sikulati de Cacao: Worth Melting For


One of my fondest memories of Lola Illang is of her pretending to trip over some blooms at the Botanical Gardens in Baguio where we were spending the summer of my 10th year. A whistle went off because visitors were not allowed to touch the flowers. We helped her to her feet as she discreetly slipped a clenched fist into her pocket, hiding what I can only guess to be sprigs or seeds.

She had plenty of room for her spoils. Our family compound included an expansive orchard, where she’d often be found tucking something under the soil. The yield, in time, found their way onto our plate.

She was a retired Home Economics teacher. It was my belief that she could make anything by hand—from straw doormats to fruit preserves.


Back when I had yet to discover the pleasures of coffee, my drink of choice was lola’s sikulati (hot cocoa). Not only was it made my hand, the main ingredient was grown in our backyard. Lola would gather the pods from our cacao trees and prepared the seeds following the process detailed below.

Erming gathering cacao pods
Erming and Victor

The cacao tree grows tall. Dummo climbs up to pick more pods.
Eru's turn to climb.
Lola Illang left the seeds to dry under the sun in a bilao (woven winnowing tray), after which they were roasted, peeled and ground, and formed into balls. I would stand by to watch and she would put her chocolate-stained hand to my face so that I could inhale the warm, earthy smell.

Gathering the seeds

Washing off the pulp

The seeds are then spread on a bilao to dry
The trays are left on the roof of the outhouse to dry under the sun

The sun-dried seeds

The seeds are transferred into a claypot for roasting

The traditional wood-fed clay stove

Roasting the seeds

The seeds after roasting

Winnowing the roasted seeds


After which, the shells are peeled off

To reveal the cacao beans

The seeds go into the heavy-duty stone mortar, owned by my great-grandmother's family

Pound away



Until the seeds turn into powder

Spreading the powder onto a flat grinding stone, another heirloom piece from my great-lola’s family

The powder is spread onto the grindstone, another heirloom piece from my great-lola's family
Roll away until the powder turns into a fine paste and the oil comes out

The paste is shaped into balls by hand

When the surface is slick with oil, set them aside for melting.

The beans, the paste, the balls

Bring out the lomonilla (commonly called batirol)

She cooked her sikulati in a clay pot, over a clay stove fed with firewood. Let the water boil, drop the balls, whisk, add sugar, whisk, pour milk, whisk. Using a lomonilla, she would stir the mixture until it thickened and the flavors melded.

Away from fire, she whisked some more by briskly rubbing the handle of the lomonilla between her palms. She was a spare woman but she could work every single froth out of chocolate. She served this brown liquid in tiny cups called escudilla reserved solely for this purpose and I would enjoy every drop.

Until now, when this luscious beverage coats my tongue, I see her face. It transports me to better days.

See Lola Illang's recipe.

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