A Merienda At Cafe Via Mare
Merienda:
A light meal usually taken in the afternoon or for brunch, it fills in the meal gap between the noontime meal and the evening meal, being the equivalent of afternoon tea in the English-speaking world; or between breakfast and lunch. It is a simple meal often served with light food.
Merienda: (according to Amber)
A culture that finally gets me and has included two extra meals in the day to consume delicious kakanin, pandesal, ginataang bilo bilo etc etc etc. Merienda has proven that I was indeed always meant to live in Philippines. :)
I had been eyeing Cafe Via Mare for at least a year or two before I finally allowed myself the gluttonous privilege of trying all the merienda sari-saring kakanin my heart desired.
(side bar: this post is not sponsored i am just obsessed with merienda and kakanin. (another side bar: less than 2% of my content is sponsored))
Meet The Merienda Stars:
BIBINGKA
RICE CAKE TOPPED WITH MELTED BUTTER & COCONUT, WITH LAGUNA CHEESE IN THE BACKGROUND.
*My favorite bibingka is found in laguna from the sweet manangs selling it fresh on the side of the road.
PALITAW
POACHED RICE PATTIES GENEROUSLY TOPPED WITH FRESH COCONUT, SPRINKLED WHITE SUGAR AND TOASTED SESAME SEEDS.
*My favorite palitwa is fresh from the pasig palengke, when its still a bit warm.
PUTO MAYA
GLUTINOUS RICE STEAMED WITH COCONUT CREAM AND SERVED WITH RIPE JUICY MANGO.
this is a super sarap mango sticky rice, it isn’t sweetened so ask for sweetener if that’s your preference.
CRIPSY TOFU
CRISPY TOFU CUBES PAIRED WITH TANGY VINEGAR AND SHARP RED ONIONS.
this crispy tofu came with pork belly which was mostly all fat and no meat. i would skip the pork next time and just ask for the tofu.
this was a perfect dish choice to balance the sweetness of the other kakanin dishes.
For me, on of the easiest ways to cross cultures is through food. If you can find a dish or meal hihihi, that you enjoy you’ll start to find it every where! In fact, you might learn to cook it and share it with others. All of this will help you create place attachment with your place. Kain Na Tayo!
