Pinoy Foodie

I was born and raised in the Philippines. Recently, I realized that many of my good memories of life in the country are about food or are food-related. I created this blog to share with you my pleasant memories as well as my random thoughts on food, cooking and eating. Hope you enjoy reading my posts. I welcome your comments.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Tea for Two

Imagine a leisurely hour, taking tea at a five-star hotel at five o’clock in the afternoon. This is a small luxury my friend and I allow ourselves at least once a year.

There are only a small number of establishments, mostly English-style hotels, in the city of Toronto that serve afternoon tea, or what is more fashionably known as “high tea. We have been to all of them.

We started the practice five years ago during the holiday season by going to the Café Victoria of King Edward Hotel. We found the experience so pleasant that we pledged to do it again on a special occasion. A few months after, the occasion presented itself --- a birthday! – so we went to Windsor Arms. This hotel in Yorkville has an exclusive tea room that is cozy and private. Seatings are for two or three people only, therefore it is the ideal place to take a girlfriend or two to catch up on what are happening in our lives or to confide in something. I have taken women friends there for intimate celebrations of very special occasions. High tea is perfect for women bonding.

High tea is served in the lobby café of the Four Seasons Hotel. It is an excellent place to rest tired feet after an afternoon of shopping or to ponder on the merits of a foreign film seen at the Cumberland Theatre. It is also the perfect place to catch celebrities especially during the Toronto International Film Festival. The other vantage point for celebrity spotting is the Bloor Park Hotel on Avenue Road. From the window of the Anona Restaurant where tea is served, one can watch the parade of limousines depositing and picking up guests at the hotel.

The tea room of the Royal York Hotel was being renovated when we went there so we did not enjoy ourselves. The restaurant where tea was served overlooked the hallway leading to the Union Station. The wait staff also was not trained on the service and didn’t perform the ritual as it should be. We made a mental note to revisit the hotel after renovations are completed but we have not been back yet.

The Old Mill also serves high tea. Here you can bring more of your friends for company. The tea room is really a hall and several can sit at a table. Service and servings are not as luxurious as in the hotels but the price is commensurate. It is still a pleasant experience.

Three other establishments that serve high tea are the Red Tea Box on Queen Street West, the La Tea Da on Queen Street East and the Victorian garden in Etobicoke. The Red Tea Box serves Oriental tea and food in Japanese lacquered (bento) boxes but the manner by which these are served follow the English style so they can still be called “high tea”.

What is the British style? It is a meal of tea and bread (usually scones and crumpets) and jam, savouries and pastries. In the olden times, the British people ate only two big meals a day --- breakfast and late-hour dinner. Anne, the Duchess of Bedford, was said to have invented high tea when, feeling the pangs of hunger before dinner was ready, she filled herself with tea and sweets and sandwiches at around four or five in the afternoon. She then began inviting her friends to Belvoir Castle for an afternoon meal consisting of small cakes, sandwiches and assorted sweets, accompanied by tea, and soon the practice spread.

Another historical note: Tea during Duchess Anne’s Victorian Period was served from low tables in the withdrawing room. But later on, the common people who adopted the afternoon meal set the tea and assorted meats, bread, pickles and cheese on high dining tables so it was called “high tea”. However, the term “high tea” became attached to the ritual because “high tea” sounded more royal, like high society.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Wake me up for Brunch

One of the pleasures of the weekend is the brunch. To wake up late on a Sunday morning, laze around the house, and then have a good meal without cooking, c’est la vie. Include a stroll on the Board Walk near Lake Ontario or a theatre matinee après brunch and life is perfect.

A combination of breakfast and lunch taken as one meal, the brunch is usually served at mid-morning but can extend to mid-afternoon. It is perfectly excusable to linger at the restaurant, to make a slow transition from breakfast to lunch and to take a digestive break by reading the newspaper or delighting in small talk with a companion. Ahhh, the day is mine to spend as I please.

It is this leisurely style that makes brunch so decadent and so seemingly out-of-place in a modern world. A Chinese friend once told me that dimsum was the original brunch. In olden times when life was not as harried as it is now, rich Chinese partook of several small dishes served one after another, feasting almost the whole morning till the afternoon. Many of us still treat dimsum as brunch. A person who loves brunch and variety in life, I sometimes go to Chinatown for my first and second meal of the day. I choose a restaurant which I know would have a very large selection of dimsum, then stick to the steamed dishes that are light on the stomach so I can try as many as I want.

Sometimes, a late, heavy breakfast is enough to double as lunch. Eggs benedict with a green salad and fresh fruits, preceded by a nice cup of café latte or café Americano, and topped by a Morning Glory can make my day.

But the real brunch experience is the buffet. There are standard breakfast things like bread, jams, eggs, sausages, bacon and cereals and then typical lunch items like assorted pastas and salads on the table and I can mix and match them on my plate. I can even reverse the order of the meal. My favourite brunch buffet includes an egg station where I can choose the fillings for an omelet and a staff can cook it for me (can take time) and a roast beef carving station with servers. Dessert --- and that’s another table with a wide selection --- is included in the price of the buffet although coffee and juice are not.

Some restaurants and cafes serving brunch have a live jazz band. This is indeed a special treat. Who would want Sunday to end, especially when the next day is Monday, the beginning of another crazy work week?