A Trip Down Memory Lane...

We had a very late lunch earlier. So despite the fact that we were seated at Green Tomato in Shangri-la Edsa and have already ordered, I asked H to buy me something, anything(!) to munch on while waiting for our food to be served.

Red and purple bread - the blue kitchen

Just a few steps away from Green Tomato is the Blue Kitchen. H bought this, the stuff of his childhood memories (and mine as well). Can you guess what it is?

Find out after the jump!



red and purple bread

Named by The Blue Kitchen as the Red and Purple Bread.

More than a score ago, back in the province, where mass-produced goodies in shiny packaging scarcely come by, I loved to snack on locally made breads and biscuits. There was a biscuit we called Dalunggan, cebuano term for ears, because it was shaped like a human ear. There was another buscuit called Dalagang Bukid which literally translates to "maiden from the boondoks/hills". I don't know why it was called such. I also loved Bahaw breads, another Cebuano term that means stale or day-old. It got the name because it re-used the day-old breads, mashed together, sweetened and colored  (I supposed because it had a red-violet color) as filling for the new bread. At least that was what I told. Other childhood breads I liked were the coconut bread, spanish bread (haha! Not what I'd imagine as something coming from Spain now), Sputnik (hard to bite into at times), Monay which looks like a letter B, and the squarish bread whose name escapes me now.

Red and purple bread

And then you get something very similar to the above with a more cupcake consistency for a filling. It came in red and yellow. I couldn't really recall having it in purple. It was more expensive than the other treats I've mentioned though I do recall that a pack containing 4 slices only set me back PhP 2.50.

Those were the times then. No preservatives so the breads only kepts for about 3 days. These were in clear plastic containers and sealed with a knot. The bread guy came every morning in his bike (later on motorbike) to restock the sari-sari stores (your mini version of a convenience shop, family-run, which is ubiquitous in the provinces). Now the above still came in a clear plastic, tho already machine sealed, complete with a blue tiffany-ish branding. It has also increased more than tenfold since.

The Blue Kitchen is located at the 6th floor of Shangri-la Plaza.

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