By Antonette Pua

As Manny Pacquiao continues to bring honor to the country by constantly beating Mexicans in the boxing ring, and more Hollywood ladies rave over Filipino haute couture Monique Lhuillier’s glamorous gowns, here comes Tristan Encarnacion, a Filipino chef whose exemplary cooking style earned him his own signature line from the imported cookware brand Sunnex.

Unveiled on April 17 at SM North EDSA’s The Block, is a high-end cookware line tagged Tristan Chef’s Classics by Sunnex bearing the signature of Tristan Encarnacion, resident chef of GMA-7’s morning program, “Unang Hirit,” and owner of Bambouche restaurant.

Read more on celebrity chef Tristan Encarnacion

The Center for Culinary Arts-Manila, the country’s premier formal culinary school will be conducting a wine course dubbed as Wine Appreciation Workshop, at C3 Events in San Juan on April 21.The event will be handled by no less than wine connoisseur/expert Sherwin Lao.

He will teach the participants how to evaluate wine through the senses of sight, smell, taste and touch. Students will also learn how to judge premium wines and differentiate Old and New World wines and read labels.

Read more about Center for Culinary Arts wine workshop

By Excel V. Dyquiangco

One of the things the Filipinos are known for is their unique qualities that make up almost anything into something new and unblemished. And, well, food is not an exception. While many nations still prefer dining in or dining out and eating pizzas in a raucous way, Filipinos bring their hunger to the streets for their favorite Pinoy street food.

Everywhere one looks, there is a queue formed to buy some of the most exotic delicacies that vendors could offer – there is the grilled chicken intestines or isaw, fried squid balls, fishballs or kikiam – a type of processed chicken, which are served on a stick. There are also the offal (or better known as betamax, after its rectangular shape, and chicken feet (adidas).

More Isaw and Fishball Pinoy Street Food

The Chinese Lunar New Year is coming up. Time to see reds, fireworks, dancing dragons, and of course everyone’s favorite delicacy, tikoy (sticky rice cake) or the Chinese New Year Pudding. This and other Chinese food delights make the Filipino-Chinese celebration of the joyous event unique from its Asian counterparts.

The sweet tikoy is made from grounded rice flour, wheat starch, lard, water, and sugar. The sugar type determines the color of the pudding. That’s why when you go the stores, you have a choice of brown or white tikoy.

Read more about Tikoy and Chinese New Year Food Tradition

Wondering what to give your special someone this Valentine’s Day? Why not some Valentine dessert goodies?

If you ask me nothing says ‘I love you’ like homemade sweets that you have labored over just so you can make your Valentine gift truly a work of love. One fine suggestion is baking a Valentine chocolate cookie or a delectable Valentine dessert. Follow the old saying that the way to your partner’s heart is through their stomach.

Ponder on these simple yet mouth-waterring Valentine recipes:

Continue reading Special Valentine Gift Recipes