Durian Spikes

I still burp the after taste of durian and wear the infamous smell of durian, my ever favorite smelly fruit. Coming from Davao City where this fruit hails popularly in this side of the universe, I did ofcourse take back home some for my can't- get- over- it- cravings. I don't have issues with frozen durian. I actually prefer mine frozen which to me taste like an ice cream.

Cuzin' knew how we are forever yearning for the king of fruits and brought us to a durian market the soonest she could when we woke up the following day.

Buying durian ( or any fruits) here in Davao is a breath of fresh air. The customer  calls the shot. You  taste first with the privilege to buy or not. Here the customer is always right!

Best thing, you don't have to wait to get home to answer your craving. They have dine-in tables on the spot.






This month of August is Davao's Kadayawan Festival. We were there just few days ago and how delighted we were to realize that this month is also the harvest season when almost all fruits found in this province are in abundance and therefore nth times cheaper. I saw durian everywhere around the city. So opposite of scarce supply in my island see here and here .

durian tart

durian yema



Old time favorite durian sweets are yema, pastillas , tart , ice cream, shakes, but this time I was so happy to find all new favorites :



durian meringue tarts

durian pie, so magical. luv.luv. it!

durian ice candy! wowee!

durian_ _? those in square plastics ready to use for durian float ( ala mango float)



Trivia for this durian trip 2010 : cuzin' Joey had introduced us to 12 varieties of durian. Oh please don't ask me to name each and describe _ I can't! But I realize how diverse each variant is. There's one which is pure sweetness, there's one that is bitterly sweet, garlicky sweet. . so on and so forth. All are interestingly del-i-cious !

Hopia Find It !

Definitely, we felt a lil' lost in the middle of these Chinese versions delicacies. Too many to choose from. Cuzin' (fr Davao) personally requested to bring her to Salazar. she said she preferred this Chinese bakery over the other  famous Eng Bee Tin, cos the latter is all over the malls in Davao and there's no Salazar over there.

Hopia has so many variants.

Hopia or mooncake?

Cake rolls? . .



???

.. . and I thought our hopia adventure ended here at Salazar ..but no! 

 After dinner in one of the restaurants in the area, cuzin' saw another chinese bakery. The cousin of Holland -  Polland !

The hopia expedition ended here ;)

Dear Darla

Dear Darla,

How's your gastronomy doin'?
As for me, ..not doin' well. You see, these past weeks my kitchen remains famished of fresh & nutritious supplies. I hardly cook now a days. If I did _ it would mean using a can opener (corned beef/sardines/spam), chopping a clove of garlic and a bulb of onion. Sizzles them together in  a pan and throw-in the contents of the can.
You see, these days, my hubby is always out on weekends for a basketball season in the office which is creating havoc in my weekends fresh market schedule. Can't do it all by myself. The market is quite far and commuting is not an option. hello? How can I carry those gazillion kilos?

So mostly, you would see our faces dining in  fastfood chains. Ouch !! Really, I'm hurting in so many ways. It hurts me to let my family eat junks with delight. Ofcourse they love fast food especially my 10 year old girl and the dad. Two members of my family whose weight and health should be taken with utmost care. My and my college girl's shared diet is also in jeopardize with these unhealthy carbs.. and a big ouch to my budget! Omg! Imagine how multiplied by nth times dining out is costing us. huhuhu! I'm not likin' it, really I hate this situation.

For the meantime, I'm trying to work it out a lil' right. For instance, last night , the family opted for another quick pizza dinner. So acted quick by announcing that I was going to choose which variant.

And I chose you Dear Darla ! Cos atleast you had some fresh alfalfa sprouts and arugula leaves. The fact is since I had I tasted you last year, you became my favorite pizza. To me you are much healthier than other vege variants cos others are loaded with heavy cheese, not healthy!

nice, sweet! they left a slice for me! whaat?? just one?

You are also fun to eat.  Take a slice. Top with arugula and alfalfa. Drizzle (optional) with spices. Roll it. Bite. Chew. Happiness.



You are beautiful Dear Darla.. .once in a while.

Yours Truly,
My 3rd & 7th Sense