Food finds at the Eastwood Gourmet Market

For years, weekend gourmet markets have been making it fun to go to market again. These havens of gourmet delights give us a comforting oneness forged for a common good: the glorification of food. The markets of Salcedo Village, the Lung Center (formerly along EDSA Cubao), Legazpi Village, and in other exclusive villages have not only been a marketplace of exciting finds but of new food ideas as well. Gourmet markets have given us a delightful taste of Turkish baklavas, Russian tea cookies, authentic French crepes, Japanese pancakes, and other new discoveries. There were beloved Filipino favorites like Cebu lechon, Aling Ineng’s barbecue, Bonoan bangus relleno, and a host of gourmet goods from fine restaurants and chefs as well as those lovingly prepared in enterprising homes across the metro. One of the new weekend gourmet markets is right on the second level of Eastwood mall along Libis. Like a wide-eyed kid on a trip to a toy store, I ventured into the air-conditioned mall, perfect in this suffocating heat, to see if there are new treats to uncover. Lo and behold, the mall yielded a harvest of finds from food-lovers who joined a gourmet market for the first time, all excited to let the world of foodies have a taste of what they had to offer. KAMOTE BREAD by Sonia’s Cakes and Bakes

Curious to see what people were milling around for in this stall, I was pleasantly surprised that its star was a huge soft bread weighing close to a pound called Kamote Bread (P35). The bread was soft as a pillow and delectably sweet, which owner Mrs. Sonia Uy’s nephew explained was because of the kamote (sweet potato) that’s grated into the sugarless flour mixture. All you get is the natural sweetness of the kamote – nothing more. When toasted, it’s light, good to go with some jam and downed with a cup of freshly-brewed coffee at breakfast, it’s a perfect way to start your day right. PROBIOTIC SAUCE and ORGANIC LEMONGRASS TEA MIX of Arama

All around. You can use this Probiotic Sauce as a veggie dip or a salad dressing.

Vegetarians and those who like their food as fresh as only mother nature can give will do well to drop by Arama’s stall to sample their Probiotic Sauce (P200 a bottle), a tangy sauce made from kefir, cucumber, bell peppers and coriander that is good as a dip with carrot and celery sticks or as a dressing for a healthy veggie salad. The other terrific find here is their Organic Lemongrass Tea from Pangasinan (P350 a bottle). Just a spoonful mixed into a glass of ice-cold water and served with a slice of lemon will instantly keep you cool under the hot weather. DULCE DE LECHE ENSAYMADAS of Perfect Endings We’ve had this before from other ensaymada stalls but we must say that the one at Perfect Endings is by far the best. Each ensaymada is topped with grated queso de bola but the real treat lies within – a generously thick gooey dollop of dulce de leche that isn’t overpoweringly sweet and enough to send you to heaven bite after bite. We find it a bit small, though, for P35 a piece but still, irresistible. AEROPONIC VEGETABLES of Dewi Sri It was the first time I laid my eyes on purple spinach and before I knew it, I was convinced: hydroponic farming is the true organic way to grow vegetables. More than the odd colored spinach, what intrigued me is the way their veggies were not grown on soil but on plain water and air. This means you don’t get any of the toxins from dirt and best of all, they are totally pesticide-free. The veggies are also packed on-site right after they are harvested which keeps them fresh and crunchy for over a week without being put in a chiller. Dewi Sri’s aeroponic vegetables are not yet out in the markets but they have plenty of red and green spinach, kailan (kale), kangkong, bok choy, tomatoes, sweet cucumbers, lettuce and melons all grown in their hydroponic greenhouses in Victoria, Laguna. TROPICAL FRUIT JAM, SOFT BREAD with CARABAO’S MILK and BUTTERNUT ICE CREAM of Vieux Chalet

Homemade goodness. These fruit jams will make your breakfasts even sweeter.

No need to go to Antipolo for a taste of the best from this 26-year old hallmark of fine dining east of Manila. Here in Eastwood, the Swiss restaurant Vieux Chalet showcases their popular homemade jams, Tropical Fruit Jam (P110) made of mango-pineapple-papaya and their sweet and slightly tamarind-like flavored Kamias Jam (P110) that’s all perfect with their most requested 5-Grain Bread (P110) and a new loaf that for now only goes by the name of Soft Bread with Carabao's Milk (P75). I tried this and was pleasantly enamored with it because of its unusual creaminess. Once here, don’t leave without trying the Butternut Ice Cream (P50 a scoop), an original classic you can get only at Vieux Chalet. VEGAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES of Mrs. Q’s Cakes and Pastries Finally, vegans can have their fill of luscious chocolate desserts made with no sugar, no butter, and no eggs. This is as close to nirvana as it can get also for those on sugar-free and low-cholesterol diets who simply must satisfy their cravings for sweets. Mrs. Q herself, Amor Quiniones, gladly shared with customers how she started baking her own sweets because she couldn’t find a place that sells them at the time she turned vegan four years ago due to health reasons. Now, she eagerly bakes not just for herself but also for vegan friends and regular customers. Mrs. Q’s has a whole line of desserts: chocolate and mocha cupcakes (P75), brownies (P25), and unusual green tea, wheat grass and orange liqueur cupcakes. And guess what, they also have delicious biscuits for dogs! Also worth a visit here in Eastwood are the stalls by Dulcelin for everyone’s favorite mango torte, Swan’s bakeshop for their whole range of cakes and pastries, and a stall selling roasted chicken called Texas Roasters. However, the rest of the stalls are similar to those you can find elsewhere and the range of delicacies is limited compared to those in the bigger, longer-standing gourmet markets. Still, I left the mall with my bag filled to the brim with vegetables, jams, breads, and pastries. It was certainly more than I set out to buy. But the real treat in going to these gourmet markets is you get to exchange ideas with those who love food like you do and who have stepped out of the comforts of their homes, farms, and backyards to share their own culinary creations and discoveries with the rest of us. - GMANews.TV