Frannywanny

When you say Christmas in the Philippines, a number of things come to mind... Parol  (lanterns), Bibingka (rice cake with salted egg), Lechon  (roasted pig) , Noche Buena  (Christmas feast) and Queso de Bola.   Actually, I think I can name a lot more but that will definitely make this blog entry so so so long. Let me focus on Queso de Bola . Recently, I wondered how come this round cheese that's traditionally coated in red wax cover became so popular especially during Christmas. Well, a quick research showed that back in the day, edam cheese or queso de bola is one of the staple items during Noche Buena. I'd also credit this to brilliant marketing work of whoever is behind the brand who sold the first ever Queso de Bola. Imagine, while having cheese with crackers, nuts or fruits is something very European yet this was successfully adapted into our Noche Buena spread together with Jamon, Fruit Salad, Bibingka and Puto Bumbong.

During the first leg of my US trip, my colleague L and I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Irvine. Irvine, is actually like the central business district of California where tall skyscrapers line up the streets and it's relatively more quiet here at any given part of the day simply because everyone is busy at work. On our first work day, L and I decided to start early by walking around the neighborhood in search for a good place to have breakfast. Thanks to the friendly hotel staff, he directed us towards Specialty's Cafe & Bakery which he says serves pretty good coffee.

with four varieties to choose from!