Neighborhood buys

I have written about the Kamagong/Metropolitan avenue finds before, and I highly recommend more people check out the groceries and restaurants there. This morning, I paid my electric bill and decided to take a walk around to Hatchin Japanese grocery and then Uncle Ed's grocery. At Hatchin, I was thinking of looking for a gadget that froths milk, which I had seen at another Japanese grocery before. I didn't find it at Hatchin, but what I did get was a very fresh and clean bunch of watercress, apple juice and a milk tea, eggs, and my special find : egg shapers! For readers of bento blogs, they may have seen these used to make special star and heart shaped boiled eggs. For the uninitiated, the egg shapers/molds compress a freshly boiled egg into a specific shape, the ones available at Hatchin was the set of star and heart egg molds. I will now buy food dye so that I can make pink and yellow stars, or hearts. Pink hearts! The egg shaper/molds sell at Hatchin for P60 a set.

In this same line of thought, I had previously been told that collapsible sandwich holders were now available at the Japan Home Center for P55. Another one of those bento blog finds, it's useful for lunches or picnics. After chowing down on one's meal, you simply disassemble and it stores neatly away. I'm on my way to bento love!

At Uncle Ed's, I spied bottles of imported beer. What I was excited to see was Stella Artois, and when I asked, they sell them for P75 a bottle! Cheaper than going to Beer's Paradise! I also want to attempt a beer bread recipe I found a few weeks ago. It recommended using Stella Artois, but I had thought it impossible to find outside of a bar. Loverly! Thank you Uncle Ed for importing the stuff! Now I can make bread of beer!

I had remembered them selling more of the spices and mixes last time I was around the neighborhood, but they had less of that and more packed, processed foods. They had a series of mixes (Korma, Vindaloo, etc) made in Australia. Belgian beer, sauces from Australia, in an Indian Grocery. Hmmm. Is it the homogenization of the community market?

Since I had skipped breakfast, I was raring for a bite at Uncle Eds, and had a paratha with paneer, and a bowl of black lentils (dhal), plus a glass of mango lassi. The paratha and dhal were tasty and filling, but the lassi was lacking in yogurty goodness. I suspect they used some of that icky Nestle yogurt, full of sugar and just mixed it with shaved ice. How sad. You want a thick slightly sour, fruity shake. Little or no ice at that. Chilled of course, but not watered down. My lunch had been looking up till I drank the lassi.

As an added treat, after shopping and eating, walk down the road to Cardinal Ceramics, or for holiness, go to mass at the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart. It's a nice day in the neighborhood.