I discovered my love for the blend of sweet and salty when I was a kid. Dad always used to buy a whole box of Act II popcorn from the States, so we’d never run out of popcorn at home. It became one of my favorite afternoon snacks as a kid. I felt experimental one day, and put some sugar in the popcorn. Lo and behold! I am the hipster of sweet and salty popcorn lovers.

Fast forward to high school, and enter Holy Kettle Corn, the answer to my prayers. It’s a local brand of popcorn, and it’s just like the popcorn I enjoyed on those lazy afternoons watching TV as a kid. Except it’s much better, because it didn’t have any of those unpopped kernels in the bag.

HKC later on came out with different flavors like sweet corn, barbecue, and parmesan, but I have always loved the original. I’m a sad little bunny, though, as I can only find Holy Kettle Corn in one place — at the cinemas in Trinoma. I used to see them (although rarely) in certain 7-Eleven branches, but not as much anymore. Woe!

While there’s still the similarly named brand Kettle Corn, nothing compares to this, I’m afraid.

This week’s Favorite Food Friday post is going to be simple and sweet!

I don’t think you can ever go wrong with waffles. Unless you cook them wrong I guess? But they often hit the spot for me when I have a hankering for some yummy breakfast goodness!

One of my favorite waffles come from good ol’ Pancake House. And I love them for infusing my two favorite breakfast foods into one dish, their Bacon Waffles. YUM. We had lunch at Pancake House in Solenad a few weeks back, while doing an engagement shoot near the area. The waffles hit the spot since I hadn’t had breakfast that day, and injected me with the needed energy for the rest of the day. Hurray for Bacon Waffles!

Early Thursday afternoon, we had a quick Tender Blender meeting with Lipton at La Crêperie in Eastwood, and I took the opportunity to get some material for this week’s Favorite Food Friday. For this edition, I decided to make use of my phone instead of my dSLR, just to prove to myself how its camera is indeed spectacular. Also because I wasn’t able to bring my camera with me. Haha!

It’s always encouraging that my favorite order from this restaurant is the first thing I see when I open the menu. Yes, the Salidou. Salidou is basically a creamy caramel made with salted butter. And as I’ve mentioned time and again, caramel is one of my favorite things in the world. SOLD!

The only problem with having a favorite is that I’m compelled to order it every time. But I eventually would like to try making my own crepe — I’m a fan of Nutella as much as I am a fan of caramel! I think.

But back to the crepe! It’s simple and sweet, literally. With just butter (I assume) on the inside, and topped with whipped cream with a generous drizzling of, ah, salidou, it’s perfect for little crepe cravings.

(Don’t you just love their plates? They’re beautiful! I wish I had some here at home!)

Because the caramel is lightly salted, the whipped cream adds a nice sweet touch to this light crepe.

I quite enjoy wiping down my plate with crepe every time I cut it. And even though I don’t have any more crepe, I still wipe down the plate when there’s excess caramel! YUM. If I didn’t have any shame, I would take the plate and lick it clean.

(Source: blog.tracymonsod.com)

I’ve frequented the US since I was a kid since my grandparents on my mom’s side lived there, but the only time I ever actually got to try Jamba Juice was when it came to Manila. Isn’t that weird?

I used to see it quite often when driving around in San Diego. When it arrived here sometime earlier this year, I think (or was it sometime last year? I forget), and opened in Taguig, I finally got a taste and it was pretty good!

I’m really more of a dairy than fruity person, so it was only natural I go for the Chocolate Moo’d. So much rich chocolatey goodness that I always order just the smallest size because of how surprisingly heavy it is.

Can I just comment on the lids? Pardon the shallowness, but I was so amused with the placement of the cut for the straw. It never occurred to me to move it a bit so the logo remains intact. Yeah, I notice these little details a little way too much for my own good. But anyway!

I always thought that the photo booth was only a promotional thing, but it turns out I was mistaken. It’s a fun little thing to entertain yourselves while waiting for your drink, not to mention a clever way for Jamba Juice to get details on who their actual market is.

I think one of the reasons I like Jamba Juice is because we have a shared… use… of blenders? HAHAHA I DON’T KNOW. The branding is pretty cool; I like the use of bright colors, and non-conventional typefaces. Plus of course it’s healthy, and every drink comes with a free boost! I often go for immunity. What’s your favorite boost? :)

There are certain kinds of food that we immediately associate with certain occasions — fruitcake and candy canes to Christmas, chocolates in a heart-shaped box to Valentine’s Day, or pastel-colored M&Ms to Easter. We often associate cakes with birthdays, and for my birthday, that is definitely no exception.

But the Tracy kind of birthday cake is special.

As I’ve mentioned a million times before, there is nothing that pleasures my taste buds more than the combination of chocolate and caramel. This is where the Chocolate Caramel Cake from Cravings — the ultimate Tracy cake — steps in.

This is all sorts of amazing, and it was love at first sight. Or, taste.

This moist, chocolate cake is covered with an incredibly rich coating of caramel with drizzles of chocolate. The result is a ridiculously sweet treat, that I get to have once a year.

As much as I would have liked to cut a slice to take a photo to show you the inside of the cake, I wanted to wait until I actually did cut the cake to serve to my friends and family, as this was taken on the morning of my birthday celebration. But the cake went pretty fast, and I was only able to enjoy one slice! I supposed that could stand as a testament to just how good it is.

When I finally have my own home with my own fridge, this is most likely going to be in there almost all the time. But then again, there’s something about getting to have it only on your day of the year that makes it all the more special.

Nothing says Christmas in your mouth more than the Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks, at least for this coffee-slurping girl of 24. 

It’s November once again; Christmas is roughly a month away, and a lot of coffee-loving people know what that means — the red cups come out at Starbucks!

I just find so much to love about Starbucks at this time of the year…

I love hanging out at Starbucks stores more during the Christmas season partly because of the decor! The glass windows become so much more interesting and fun to look at, and inject the Christmas feeling in the air. I don’t know if this is bias talking, but I feel that nobody does this better than Starbucks.

I rarely buy anything from Starbucks other than their coffee, but this year’s line up of Christmas themed products caught my eye. One item in particular, actually, and it just so happens to be the tumbler for kids. I’ve been a fan of striped straws for as long as I can remember, and I was sold when I saw a sticker on it in one of the stores that said the straw changes color when you sip! I’m a sucker for cute, simple things like this! Too bad I didn’t have cash on me when I saw it, so I grabbed a catalogue instead to remind myself to get one soon.

Can I just say, by the way, that this catalogue of the Starbucks merchandise is so pretty?? I felt greatly inspired and terribly excited to do a Christmas-themed shoot, no matter what the subject! Anybody out there what to plan one with me? :D

And then of course, it goes without saying that I love Starbucks during the later -ber months because of this. Here in the Philippines, we have these cards wherein we get stickers every time we buy a Starbucks drink, and once we complete the stickers we get a Starbucks planner for the following year! I think certain other countries have this thing going too, but I’m not sure where? More reason to spend Christmas vacation in the Philippines for foreigners whose countries don’t have this but want a Starbucks planner? Hahaha!

You can judge me all you want for giving in to this marketing strategy, but I honestly adore Starbucks planners, especially if they’re designed to my taste. I’ll admit that there has been a year or two wherein I wouldn’t bother to get a planner because I didn’t like how it looked both on the cover and on the inside, but most of the time, you’ll find a Starbucks card in my wallet.

The final reason why Starbucks booms during the Christmas season is of course because of their Christmas drinks. Much like McDonald’s with their twister fries, these aren’t available all throughout the year, creating much excitement for their arrival come November.

I actually used to be a fan of their Crème Brûlée Frappuccino back in the early 2000’s (2005, I think?) when it was part of the Christmas drink roster, but I was only able to enjoy it that one year because they replaced it with something else. Woe is me for my lack of a Christmas drink, as I wasn’t a fan of the nutty flavor of the well-loved Toffee Nut Frappuccino!

I eventually decided to give the Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino a try, and I was hooked ever since! I’m not a big fan of mint, but this is one of the few delicious exceptions. I’ve stuck by it through the years, and my personal signal for “Christmas is in the air” was redefined. Now, when I see red sprinkles instead of a caramel drizzle on the whipped cream on my drink, I know that Christmas isn’t that far off, and I get that fuzzy feeling and excitement for Christmas lights again.

On certain occasions, a small girl like me can have a huge appetite for ice cream. And what better place to get ice cream than from good old Dairy Queen!

There was a time when Kiks & I would very often get a hankering for Dairy Queen. So what a joy it was then they finally decided to open up again along Katipunan! It’s been especially delightful during the hot summer months, and there was nothing on our minds but DQ Blizzards!

I’ve always been attracted to the combination of chocolate, sprinkles, and waffle cones, so I once gave DQ’s a try. I still fancied their Blizzards better — I’m all about the toppings when it comes to vanilla ice cream!

In the words of one of my favorite food buddies, there’s always room for ice cream! No truer words have been spoken. While he enjoys his usual simple sundae cone…

I opt for their Triple Chocolate Utopia. Yeah, we’re polar opposites when it comes to ice cream. He likes his plain vanilla, while I pile on the chocolate and whipped cream. It’s not very often that I order this, but every time I do, I end up with a little ice cream belly, chocolate smears around my mouth, and no regrets. I share this little favorite with my cousin Troy, from whom I discovered this glorious baby! Mmm-mmm.

You would be lying if you eat this and tell me you don’t need a napkin. Or maybe that’s just me. It’s a small feat for me to eat this without making a mess. The times I order the Triple Chocolate Utopia is when I’m particularly hungry for ice cream, plus plus. My favorite part about this is that I get to lick the spoon clean, and eat the bowl. YUMMEH!

There seems to be a growing love for mochi ice cream these days, but honestly, I will forever prefer dark & milk chocolate mochi over mochi ice cream any day.

I first tried Dezato Mochi at a most peculiar occurrence — at a housewarming party for the family of one of my students at Global Art. Her mom had asked me and teacher Carl to paint Maia’s room, and invited us to the little party. Among the delicious food was this box of mochi.

I had never tried mochi prior to that time, and actually had no plans of doing so, being the extremely picky eater that I am. But the assurance that it was chocolate filled and not just dusted with cocoa powder got me to make the better decision and pop it into my mouth.

I learned from Maia’s mom that she bought them at the Eastwood weekend market in the mall, so I made it a point to find their stall and hoard all the boxes.

I always stock up on the milk & dark chocolate ones whenever I get a hankering for mochi — mochi ice cream just doesn’t really do it for me sometimes, partly because it’s a little difficult to eat (but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good!), and it turns me into a messy eater with ice cream dribbling down from the corners of my mouth.

The box always comes with instructions on how to properly store these yummy, chewy little balls of happiness, and to my slight dismay, it can only last for 5 to 6 days. So much for saving them for later, but ah well. A box of 12 is enough to keep me happy whenever I crave for chocolate mochi. The chocolate that oozes out is decadent enough to satisfy a sweet tooth as intense as mine.