Food is the most primitive form comfort. If you remember, we have 3 basic needs, food, clothing & shelter. And the biggest need that we have is food. My speech for tonight will not be about inspiring quotes, as the title goes Food for the Thoughts. Instead, I will talk about one of my secrets to be happy in this fast phased environment that we live in, my comfort foods. I am not a cook but I know what tastes good. I can share with you all of my favorite foods but I only picked the top 3 munchies I usually crave for specially at times when I don’t feel good. These are the times when I feel overworked, tired, emotionally high or simply about to have my monthly period.
To begin with, for my appetizer, I love to have Kuchay Dumplings. Kuchay Dumplings is a foul flavorful food I tasted in Causeway, one of the Chinese restaurants that serve this kind of dimsum. Kuchay in English is the Chinese Garlic chives. It is similar to a grass with buds at the edge. It is chopped and wrapped in a dimsum wrapper. Most Chinese restaurants add pork balls and shrimp to make if tastier. What I like in Causeway’s Kuchay dumplings is its purely kutchay, no other ingredients, and since it’s a vegetable dish, I don’t worry for my diet. I can eat 9-12 pieces in one meal.
For my Main Course, I go for a bowl of a steaming hot Goto paired with Pork & Tofu. Others don’t like it because they only take Goto when they are sick. Congee is their Chinese version of Goto. I like the savory smell of garlic bits, onion chives, Chicharon bits, ox tripe and the egg. My Goto meal will not be complete without the pork and tofu. The pork and tofu may be a simple dish since this is only fried but what makes it special is the mixture of condiments. The sauce is made of suka, toyo, diced onions and a pinch of sugar. This meal great specially when served hot and its raining.
Before I give my finale, I have seen this quote from a pastry shop in Mall of Asia. And it says, Stressed when spelled backwards is Desserts. Coincidence? I think not. I guess, whenever we are stressed and we get a delectable dessert, the high sugar intake from the chocolates and other ingredients triggers the happy hormones, making us hyper active. For Desserts, I go for a slice of Torta delos Reyes cake from Aristocrat. My friend and I will really go to any Aristocrat bakeshop just to have a taste of this cake. It is a very rich chocolate-coated cake with the insides similar to a Silvanas and it melts in your mouth like M&M chocolates. Whenever I have a bite of this cake, I really close my eyes and feel its rich and sweet taste. For me, this is one of the best tasting cakes I had.
Well I hope I gave you delight with this simple sharing that I have with a few of my favorite things - The Kuchay Dumplings, Goto with Tokwa’t Baboy and Torta Delos Reyes. It never fails me to feel better and go home with a smile in my face. With that let me leave you a quote from The Barefoot Contessa’s Cookbook, “Food is not about impressing people. It’s about making them feel comfortable”. Good Evening.
