Last Saturday marked the 2nd Anniversary picnic of Kalye Pinky, our local Pinky:ST collectors group. For me however, it signaled a totally different thing. It was the perfect excuse to break-in my brand new 3-tier Jyubako! A jyubako is a multi-tiered serving box traditionally used for New Year’s feasts. While it’s not New Year’s, nor was it a feast, I figured a picnic bento was a good enough excuse to start using it.
After all the holiday feasting, it feels nice to sit down to simpler food with simple, uncomplicated tastes. Even better if it’s easy to prepare in the mornings before work.
The memories of my childhood’s summers are dotted with ice candy, ice scramble and buko juice. Among these favorites though, it’s buko juice that remains to be a staple. And why not? With its light sweetness and refreshing flavor, it’s something to be enjoyed regardless of season.
Growing up, my grandmother would cook strips of labahita, coated in flour to make fish fillet. While they were delicious, it was more of a texture rather than flavor driven. It was after all, just a fillet of fish, coated in flour, then fried. Later on, as I was learning to cook, my mom gave me a slab of labahita to fry.
