Fundamentals in Culinary Arts- Day 1, ISCAHM

I discovered my love for cooking when I was around eleven or twelve. It started with cooking scrambled eggs, omelettes, and pasta. Over the years that passed, I just enjoyed cooking more and more. I'd start to delve into the more intimidating things. And recently, I had a really big love affair with baking and pastries- but more on that next time.

Some of the veggie cuts.

A few of the many potato cuts

So during my summer holiday, which I'm obviously spending in the Philippines, I decided to take a short course in the Fundamentals of Culinary Arts in ISCAHM. So on the first day we had, we learned about Food Safety and Sanitation. Yes, I will admit that it was boring I was on the verge of falling asleep. But after the first half of the 5 hour class, we were actually brought to the kitchen which is a good sign nonetheless. We learned 12 cuts for vegetables in general, and what's was more intimidating was the 18 astounding cuts for Pommes (Potatoes). It's even harder than it seems cause most of the name of the cuts are in French. All of these complex names were for the mise en place apparently it becomes easier cause it is a universal cooking language that proves to be very essential.

Chef Gerd Menge with the other students.

We watched our instructor, Chef Gerd Menge who skillfully demonstrated each and every one of these cuts slice all sorts of vegetables precisely. We even took a ruler out and measured his cuts. Precise to the last millimeter. Now that's what I call perfection.

When it came to my turn, I couldn't tell you how easy he made it seem. I had such a hard time. I couldn't even cut up perfect matchsticks. It was such a challenge. But with practice and a ceramic knife in hand, I think I'm gradually improving.

Did I mention Chef Gerd met Julia Child? So lucky.

Avocado Cake, Lia's Cakes in Season

Sitting pretty waiting for me to take a slice and indulge.

I'm an avocado freak. I love guacamole, avocado ice cream, and smoothies. Then there's avocado with toasted bread, avo in my caesar salad, and my avo in my sandwiches. Crab and avo, tomato and avo, shrimp and avo, salmon and avo, fried egg and avo, oh let's just put it this way, I can't get enough AVO.


I got to Kapitolyo to get some grub from Charlie's Grind and Grill which is totally legendary. So anyway, one time after dining at Charlie's, we noticed a cake shop next door and it had an ad which read Avocado Cake. No words were needed to be said, we were getting one.

Crunchy pistachios

If you can't see, it's a 2 layer cake! More ICING in between!

It appears like your ordinary cake, the icing and the chiffon. But wait till you take a bite, it's very moist and tastes completely like avocado. It's an avocado explosion. The pistachio nuts on top give that contrast and crunch that would just encourage you to eat more. I love the fact that the cake isn't too sweet like the normal ones you get. The only improvement? I'd like the pistachio nuts to be caramelized, that would just elevate the presentation of the whole cake.


Discovering the Avocado Cake is a total revelation. Well, I guess you should expect nothing short of that  when it's a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation!


I'll be seeing eating more of the Avocado Cake really soon. Their other cakes look equally good, I'll give em a try next time. One last thing, they make deliveries too, PERFECT.


Lia's Cakes in Season


25 A&B East Capitol Drive
Barangay Kapitolyo, Pasig City
(from Kapitolyo Rotunda in Shaw Blvd, turn to West Capitol Drive (Petron), Left at
East Capitol Drive, 150 meters, left side)



Stall 29 Delicacies Village, Tiendesitas 
Frontera Verde, Pasig City


For deliveries: 2121212 (30% off for orders after 8pm)

The breakfast of my dreams

Guess what I had the other day, after 1 2/3 days of pure cranberry+apple juice hell.

Drumroll....







A fried egg, garlic rice, and corned beef with tons of onions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shall I describe it to you? Food porn time. The egg was perfectly and shamelessly FRIIIIIIIIIIIIED to perfection! Crispy, crunchy, egg-y, and ever-so-slighly salty. The rice was tasty, extremely garlic-y, with a hint of olive oil. And the corned beef was juicy and succulent, perfect with the caramelized onions...



And here's how this beautiful breakfast of mine looked:

Mamou: A Home Kitchen, Serendra, The Fort

I've been to Mamou endless times. I like the place cause it brings back flooding good memories dating back to high school and as well, it has undoubtedly good food that reels me in. My favorites are the Fish and Chips with Malt Vinegar and Lorenzo's Truffle Cream.

The kitchen and busy staff

Today, I decide to cut back on the fried stuff as well as the creamy buttery ones. I shuffled through the menu a couple of times and I was puzzled which dish to pick. I know Mamou has been very famous recently for their Dry Aged USDA Prime Grade, the issue is, I'm not allowed to chow down a wad of beef since it's bad for my particular diet. So, I decided to get the Roast Pork and Chicken cause it did seem appetizing.

Bread and butter

As per always, they always give complimentary dinner rolls and butter. I like their bread very much cause it is dense and a fair bit nutty. I do however favor the brown bread over the white ones.

Roast Pork and Chicken- Mamou's citrus roasted pork and chicken,
buttered onions, red cuban rice, cinnamon saba, and black beans.

When my main arrived, it seemed like a whole plate of cuban influence was dumped right in front of me. The plate looked gorgeous with all the different colors outshining one another. The beans seemed a tiny bit overcooked, but that wasn't the case with I swooped some into my mouth. It had a smoky flavor that was utterly satisfying. The bananas were partially caramelized with cinnamon sugar, the slight crunch proved to be very inviting. As for the chicken, it was moist and packed with the citrus flavor, it was impeccable. The pork's skin was burnt and not quite palatable.

Beer Battered Fish with Malt Vinegar- Choice of potato wedges,  mashed potato,
red or white rice with tartar sauce and malt vinegar.

We also ordered the Fish and Chips with Malt Vinegar. Still the same banana as it used to be. The hot crisp batter with the velvety flaking of the fish. Bliss. Arguably still my favorite item on the menu. Oh there was a side of rice since someone decided to choose it over the chips. The rice was buttery and perfectly cooked.

Slow roasted bone-in, Prime Rib/ Yorkshire Puddings
Choice of two sides.

For the ultimate piece de resistance, there was Wawa's Prime Rib. We had a short chat with the owner and she said that this is one of those dishes that has been passed down in her family. I would simply describe it as a full-on juicy steak with a perfect gravy. The steak was a pleasure, or it was up until we hit the bone which proved to be a little bit shifty cause it was hard to carve and the meat there was definitely on the raw side. There was a huge amount of fat on the steak as well. The Yorkshire puddings were dry and bland, not their best. The mashed potato and creamed spinach were equally good, and did I mention the amount of butter? It's something that you probably wouldn't miss in any case.

Mamou: A Home Kitchen
8563569

Serendra, Bonifacio Global City

Taguig City, Metro Manila

Philippines