Via Mare in BF

It has been such a hectic two months. Sneaking a date with hubby proves to be harder than I thought. It’s funny that we have to really make time for such simple dates. With our schedules practically on opposite timezones, hubby and I hardly have time so really sit down and share a leisurely meal together.

We finally got the chance to grab a quick lunch together in BF after such a super hectic morning. Via Mare recently opened its doors to the residents of BF. They are located near Starbucks (where Mocha Blends used to be).

Feeling famished, hot and tired, Via Mare was the perfect choice for Filipino comfort food. The puto-bumbong actually is what draws hubby to their restaurant.

We ordered quite a lot! We convince ourselves that we need that much sustenance to make up for such a super hectic day.

Hubby had the Lugaw Toppings, rice porridge with an assortment of toppings like tofu, wanton chips, pork "litid", pork flakes and others. He paired it with Tokwa’t Baboy. Tofu and Pork ‘face” stewed in vinegar, garlic, onions and soy sauce.




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Hubby’s partial to rice porridge and he considers it his go-to comfort food. It probably stems from his college days in La Salle where he would spend practically spend most afternoons, eating goto, lugaw ang matang baka (cow’s eyes, yeah I know, eeeew, right? Ha ha ha) near the LRT station. I know this story because he would often share it with me when he’s feeling nostalgic about his nerdy youth, ha ha ha! Surprisingly, our paths never crossed during our college days despite living in the same village and studying in the same area (I studied in St. Scho).

Anyway, back to the present, I ordered the Crab Omelette served with rice and Lumpiang Togue. Huge but delicious. I miss eating fried food!



If the above food wasn’t enough, we ordered some Oysters Boursin, too. Baked oysters with lots of cheese. Oysters and cheese, you cant go wrong.




Of course we had the Puto-Bumbong as well. Puto Bumbong is local “kakanin” or rice- based dessert. Usually made from “pirurutong” or purple sticky rice that has been soaked overnight and ground to create a clay-like concistency and then steamed in specailly made steamers with two tubes protruding. I know all this from theory only, I have never attempted to make Puto Bumbong, to the utter dismay of hubby, ha ha ha :-)

Violet Glutenous Rice

Lookie lookie. I found this violet glutenous rice (locally known as pirurutong) at the supermarket today, very very rare. I almost thought that pirurutong was a myth and thought that no one's growing them anymore (you can't see it in the picture but the label says that the pirurutong is grown locally!). It's what traditional Puto Bumbong is made of, not the regular glutenous rice dyed purple to mimic the original.



If they only sold the Puto Bumbong steamer with it and a copy of the recipe on the package, people would be lining up to buy them. I would be one of them. Hubby loves Puto Bumbong (pictured below), almost as much as he does me. He he he :-)



Purple Glutenous Rice available at Shopwise for P177.75 for a pack of 2 kilos.

Simbang Gabi Fare

December 16 is the start of the Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo, a nightly novena (for 9nights) preceding Christmas day. It's a Catholic tradition here in the Philippines. People would troop to the churches at dawn or late in the evening to attend the daily novena. It is believed that if you complete the novena, your wish would come true.

With the onset of the Simbang Gabi, it is synonymous with Bibingka, a type of local cake made with glutenous rice flour, eggs, topped with kesong puti or itlog na maalat (salted eggs). The cake itself is cooked over hot coals and generously spread with butter, sugar and topped with niyog. Yum!

Another staple is the Puto Bumbong, a sweet dessert made with pirurutong, a purple colored glutenous rice. The puto bumbong is placed in specially designed tubes and steamed until cooked. The strands are then placed on banana leaves, spread with butter and generously sprinkled with muscovado sugar and niyog, grated mature coconuts. This is what hubby and I bought when we had our Sunday mass.



Pasko na!!!!