Our new culinary playground

Santa Rosa in Laguna has been transformed from a sleepy town into a bustling industrial/business center. Gated villages have also sprouted during the period of its development. Accompanying all these developments are general food and household stores that comprise our new culinary playground.

To start with, the wet market is a pleasure to visit. It is clean, well organized and has everything a homemaker needs. On our first foray there, we skipped the fresh food section and tackled the fast food counters, since we wanted to buy and take home some cooked Filipino food, prepared the way our mothers taught us. There are tables and chairs for dining, which that day were fully occupied. Looking at all their offerings, we had a difficult time choosing. Most are priced at P150 an order, good for three average diners. We settled for kinilaw, sinigang na baboy, ampalaya with beef (not too good as the meat was still tough), and inihaw na bangus (full of fat) stuffed with tomatoes and onions. Grilled pusit (squid) and other special dishes are served on order.

Moving on, right across in a building called Humana Wellness Center, is Santarosa Mart, Japanese-Korean Store where those who love these particular cuisines will find all they need. There are bottles of different marinades, an array of soy sauces, a selection of dried noodles, even meat and fish. Japanese cakes, cookies and snacks are also on the racks. We got the gyoza, a pack of thinly sliced beef, chap chae noodles, bulgogi marinade.

 Going back to Alabang to indulge our whim to get all our favorite bakery products at S&R, we found a lot more to buy. We noted that cranberries have now been made into other products outside of the traditional beverage. One of them is called Cransins, a combination of the fruit and raisins, taken like peanuts, to munch on. This cost P249.95 for a pack of 18 oz. There is the Merba white chocolate with cranberry. Roasted chestnuts go for P329.95 per 20 oz pack. And if your pocket is deep, get the Truffle Tartlets at P799. You can also go for the French fondue. Of the bakery items, we always get the US Blueberry Cremr cake at P299.95. A new discovery which became a hit with our apo B, is the box of Crunchy Cinnamon Twists for P249.95.

From the S&R meat section, there are lots of New Zealand meat cuts – short ribs at P799.95, ox tongue at P679.95, ribeye at P699.95, lamb chops at P699.95, tenderloin at P890.95. The local selection comes from Montana. They have the seasoned marinated belly for P257.95 a kilo, plus the usual pork and beef cuts. They are comparatively good. This is one outlet where food stuff not carried regularly by other stores are available. They’ve got Portobello mushrooms for P266.95 a pack of 25 gms and sweet capsicums (yellow) for P283.95 a kilo. Should you be getting only two pieces to use in one dish, this will cost you about P77.

Dear homemakers, you are allowed to indulge once on a while. But not always. Have a happy Sunday!

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