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Banana Brittle Wrapped in their own little white paper cones, these snacks are banana chips, given the carmel 'brittle' treatment. Not as sweet as I'd hoped, but not bad. Would I try again? No Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Biku - (Wild
Black Rice Cake) - Filipino Sweet rice, wild black rice, coconut milk, sugar and anise seeds. It's mildly sweet, and pleasant to eat. Would I try again? Yes, although I'm in no hurry. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Buko Pandan
Salad It's like ambrosia - young slivers of buko (coconut), fresh pandan leaves, cream, sugar and a chunks of a green gelatin that could be Jello or Gulaman, depending on the ingredients handy. It's frozen into a light, airy mixture with just a hint of sugar - perfect for a hot sweltering day. Would I try again? Yes - especially in the summertime. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Cassava Cake -
Filipino Cassava is a low calorie starchy tuber, the pellets of which are made into tapioca. Cassava cake is grated cassava, mixed with egg, sugar and coconut milk. A fave Filipino dessert (as well as other nationalities, I hear.) The cake I tried was a little sticky, sweet and pleasant. The best part of it was the texture of the chewy cassava. Would I try again? Maybe, it was nice. Where I found it: Elvies Turo Turo |
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- Filipino A round sweet n' light pastry with various fillings - mine had ube (purple Filipino yam). Not bad. Would I try again? No - but not because of anything wrong with it - it just wasn't *different* enough for me. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Espasol -
Filipino A light, delightful snack of ground rice, coconut milk, jackfruit and sugar. Floppy little bits of boiled glutinous rice flour, dusted with generous extra amounts of flour, and coconut. Not my *favorite* - that title is reserved so far for sapin-sapin, polvoron and yema, but it's a fun eat. Would I try again? Yes, they were fun. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
| Flan (leche) -
Filipino A classic Filipino dessert, a caramel custard made of egg yolk, sugar, milk and vanilla essence. The experience is a basic custard, with a very nice caramel syrup poured over and under. Not remarkable, but very nice. Would I try again? Yes, but honestly, in this category I'd prefer a creme brulee. Where I found it: Krystals Cafe |
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Halo Halo An "everything but the kitchen sink" dessert, with crushed ice, milk, sugar, red beans, jackfruit, flan, ice cream, a little sago, and a few other fruits thrown in. Don't let the myriad ingredients throw you. It works. Not bad - I had it in the dead of winter, but this sweet tasting slushy would surely be terrific on a hot day. Would I try again? Maybe - but for me, the best type of this dessert I've tried is Malaysian ABC at Jaya. Where I found it: Krystals Cafe |
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Guinataang Halo
Halo -
Filipino Halo Halo means mix-mix, but this item should not be confused with the Halo Halo made with shaved ice - that's a whole different type o' dessert. Guinataang means cooked with gata (sweetened coconut cream) - and this dessert is a mix of bananas (saba), sweet potatos (kamote), taro (gabi), sago (tapioca balls) and sticky rice balls (bilo bilo). It comes off as a sweet version of clam chowder - soupy, chewy from the tapioca balls and sago - rather pleasant. Would I try again? No - not 'wow' enough. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Hopia - Filipino It's the Filipino version of Chinese mooncakes, and for some reason I like these better. They're less heavy, that's why. It's a small, sweet round cake of flaky pastry, filled with various sweet stuffs - like Ube (purple yam), or mung bean, or sometimes meat. It's good! Would I try again? Yes! Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Karioka -
Filipino Deep fried sweet rice balls, skewered on a stick for easy snacking, and drizzled with carmelized sugar syrup. It's nice, with a crunchy outside, and a definite carmel taste. Good but not amazing! Would I try again? No - it wasn't *different* enough. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
| Kutsinta -
Filipino A traditional brown rice cake steamed with rice flour, sugar, and lye water. They're brown, and mine were Reeses' peanut butter cup shaped. I found them bland and uninteresting. Would I try again? No, not impressed. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Maja Mais (Corn
Pudding) - Filipino Corn starch, cream of corn, coco milk and sugar - it's typically corn flavored, with a standard (slightly chunky) pudding texture (my version was softer than the picture.) It's pleasant, although no great shakes. Would I try again? No hurry. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Mangoes (Dried) What can I say? It's dried mangoes. Nice, but not enough to try again. Not as sweet as I'd thought it would be. Would I try again? No. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Palitaw -
Filipino Silver dollar glutinous pancakes. Flattened disks of glutinous dough, rolled in shredded coconut, sugar and toasted sesame seeds. Very soft, and a sweet end to a meal. Would I try again? Yes. Where I found it: Elvies Turo Turo |
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Pastillas de
Leche (Milk Candies) - Filipino Light cigarette shaped tubes of powdered milk, condensed milk and sugar. (I saw other pastillas made of Ube and another of jackfruit). It's sweet, distinctive and tastes vaguely of kindergarten milk. Nice! Would I try again? On occasion! Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Pianono -
Filipino A spongy "pinwheel" cake, with a fruit filling (often Ube, swirled along the inside in a spiral pattern.) Nice, but nothing particularly special. Would I try again? No.... Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Pitsi-Pitsu
(aka Pitchi - Pitchi or Cassava Balls) Grated cassava, coconut, sugar and jackfruit - melded into superfically moist little balls. (Superficially, because they contain some fluid, but don't taste particularly tender on the tongue.) There's not much taste to these things, they're very white and bland, and I didn't bother to finish the packet. Would I try again? No - not my thing at all. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Polvoron -
Filipino Made of flour, butter, sugar, and powdered milk - it's like a huge, loosely packed medicine pill about two inches in diameter, and wrapped in pretty colored cellophane. The taste is alot like that malted powder that they used to put in our milk as kids. Extreme yum! And cheap, at 50 cents a disk. Lovable! 3.2 stars. Would I try again? Yes! Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Puto
and Puto
Bumbong (Taro Roll) - Filipino I've tried two versions: the regular puto is a sweet, steamed rice cake - white, soft, somewhat granular, chewy and lightly sweet. (Some versions have cheese in it.) The Puto Bumbong is a bright purple color due to the addition of Ube, which is a Filipino purple yam, and lots of granulated sugar. I've also read that Puto Bumbong is a Filipino Christmas treat. I *love* the bright purple color, and the white version is nice. The taro of the Bumbong version was a bit too chewy/tough for my taste, however. Would I try again? No - but I'm looking forward to other Filipino desserts. Where I found it: Elvies Turo Turo |
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Sago Gulaman -
Filipino I have been looking for this dessert forever! I finally found it at Krystal's. It has sago, gulaman, sugarcane and ice. Sago (as I may have mentioned elsewhere) is a form of jelly like starch derived from sago palm trees. (No, it's actually not tapioca, although they're similar and are often substituted for each other.) Gulaman is also known as agar agar - it's a form of jello made from seaweed. So you take crushed ice, sugarcane, and put in alot of chewy jello-like chunks and - dig in! Try it, it's not as weird as you might think. My only complaint - it wasn't sweet enough for my taste buds. Would I try again? No - if I'm aching for a sago drink, I'll go to Sweet N' Tart (or get an ABC at Jaya) - they're more sugary, and I like it! Where I found it: Krystal's Cafe |
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Sapin Sapin -
Filipino I really liked this one - it's starting to grow on me, even as I think about it. A vividly colored and multi-layered, steamed rice cake - much fuller and richer tasting than many of the steamed treats I've had in the past. Thick and creamy, with a crunchy sprinkling toasted coconut on top. Comprised of rice flour, sugar, and coconut milk. 3.8 stars! Would I try again? Yes, I'm charmed by this dessert. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center (in the Bronx, no less!) |
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Taho -
Taiwan/Filipino Creamy tofu custard, served with sweet syrup. Very filling, sweet comfort food. What can I say? You have to try some - and there's this great guy on Mott Street that sells it $1.75 for a large cup! Would I try again? Oh yeah. Where I found it: Fong Inn Too |
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Ube Halaya -
Filipino Violet yam (Ube), boiled and grated, mixed with coconut milk and sugar, and cooked until thick. The taste and texture is really neat - it comes across as a heavy ice cream, custard type pudding. Ube flavored (since I'm not quite sure what else to compare it to, flavor-wise. ) Nice! A solid 3.7 stars. Would I try again? Yes Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
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Yema Macapuno -
Filipino Macapuno, condensed milk and butter. This stuff was extremely good, and subtly different! Globs of solidified candy. The texture is obtained from the Macapuno, which is a type of coconut with solid, sticky sweet meat. I really really liked this stuff! 3.75 stars. Would I try again? Yes. Where I found it: Phillipino Food Center |
The
Grand List:
Elvies Turo Turo Fong Inn Too Krystals Cafe New Manilla Food Mart Phillipino Food Center |
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