Critic's Log: Cake Couture by Trina

PRODUCT PROMOTION

Cake Couture by Trina

Because there's always room for cake!

APPETITE

Cebu Sensations - Issue

By Kristina S. Tabon

Word Count  568

Photography by Marini Esguerra, M.D.

At her web site's profile, Trina Ang-Kokseng wrote that "sky's the limit for your imagination!"  She didn't mean "hers", she meant her client's imagination.  A quick browse through three of her online pages bear witness to exactly how the clients pulled all stops. In those pages, we find all manner of cakes available.  Everything from traditionally elegant multiple-tiered cakes for weddings to cleverly topped cupcakes and celebration cakes.  There were shoes, guns, gorillas, sexy girls, Louis Vuitton bags, Macbooks---you'll get the picture if you check out her web site at http://www.cakecouturebytrina.com/

Fancy an exotic Asian tropical theme?  Dress up your cake in bamboo, why don't you?  You want swags, Cornelli Lace, and candy clay?  She'll dream up something with all of the above.  How about a can of coke sitting atop a mound of ice in a red cooler?  Done and done.  

Trina calls what she does cake couture and for all intents and purposes she has every right to call it that.  The term "couture" is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as the design and manufacture of fashionable clothes to a client's specific requirements and measurements, yet in Old French according to Webster's, "cousture" means "sewing."  So couture as a term refers to clothes and fashion in general.  For those who know their fashion history, "haute couture" is a term regulated by the French government.  (I'm not kidding.  Google it.) The term has evolved, however, and is usually a colloquialism for "haute couture" , and from there, has gone on to mean something into which exquisite care has been observed in its making and is typically handmade.  Trina's creations definitely fit that definition.  There is nothing careless about her pearl borders, her intricate basketweave and latticework, or her sculpted forms.

Being subject to her clients' whimsical ideas means she can't rely on moulds which requires her to sculpt most of the gorgeous embellishments by hand.  She's quite the crafty girl with candy clay!  Her cupcake toppers are exquisite little things that you'll think twice about eating because it's sooo pretty.  Trina credits her clients' imaginations with the end-products:  gargantuan cakes that took more than twenty-four hours to make (with only one assistant! who does the kneading); but really, there's serious skill in this woman's hands.  She injects not only technical know-how, but also a very balanced rhythm in her designs, which doesn't come as a surprise given that she studied at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies in San Juan, Metro Manila, and cleverly supplemented that with multiple courses at the Wilton School of Cake Decorating in Chicago.  Trina was also an apprentice of internationally renowned cake decorator, Colette Peters.

In June 17 of this year, Trina opened a store from where clients can make orders.   It's located in the ground floor of the Banilad Town Centre south arcade, just in front of Rai rai ken.  On Saturdays and Sundays, there's Cupcake Madness where  her quaint little store sells cupcakes in three wondrous flavors:  red velvet, choco madness, and peppermint party.  In the supporting roles are the lemon meringue, chocolate cream, vanilla, and cookies 'n cream.  Pre-orders for the cupcakes are welcome.  

She takes orders by phone or by email.

Please contact 0917-6224464, 0922-8087788, or cakecouture@ymail.com for inquiries and/or search "cake couture by trina" at Multiply or Facebook.  Also call the landline at (032) 316-2181.

CRITIC’S LOG: Ampao nasad

CRITIC'S LOG

Ampao nasad

Or "ampao again."  Not that ampao isn't a worthy topic to discuss.  It's among those categories of things seldom explored because it's always there.  It's about time we take a moment to ponder on the simple pleasures like the crunch of a mouthful of ampao.

APPETITE

Cebu Sensations - column

By Kristina S. Tabon

Photos by Marini & Brian Esguerra

Word count  602

Care for a crunchy treat?  Like a sweet sticky chewy rice crispy? If by that definition alone "ampao" came to mind, you're right.  I hoarded a small bundle while city-bound after a visit to the holy site at Simala, Sibonga, where an image of Mother Mary was reported to have shed tears of blood.  Now the Holy Mother may not be directly related to the story about this famous Carcar delicacy, but it is true that many a pilgrim's journey may often be accompanied by a rice crispy or two.  I must say that obliterating five packs of ampao is the best way to kill time on the 40-kilometer drive back to Cebu City.

As far as I know, no one's a stranger to ampao.  They're peddled by street hawkers at every jeepney stop and introduced to tourists the moment they get off the plane.   At Myrna's, a pack can be had for PhP20.00 while aggressive vendors at the Carcar Plaza sell them at PhP25.00.  Now you won't really feel like shelling out if they're shoving ampao at your face while you're buying chicharon, so if you don't mind a short walk just behind Jollibee (still at the Carcar Plaza), you'll find the humble abode of Myrna, who claim to have been the originals for the ampao south of Cebu.  Ampao are ubiquitous white cubes of crispy rice. And rice being our nation's staple food, every corner of the archipelago has its version of rice-based desserts. It is one of those classic Filipino desserts that always always reminds us of our childhood.  My ears used to feel like it popped every time I chewed a piece.  Nevermind that the toasted rice grated at my gums, I'd eat loads of them anyway.

In Cebu, ampao has a definite address. It can only be the right kind of sweet chewy crunchy if it's from Myrna's in Carcar City. Otherwise, the rice would be too dry, too sweet, and horror of horrors---not chewy at all!  It's making is quite the hands-on affair, usually consuming a whole morning. It starts as cooked rice---Myrna's uses Sinandomeng---that goes through a repetitive sun-drying process before the batch is cooked in a wok of sugar syrup.  It's this syrup that holds the rice kernels together.  While in this gooey state, a whole batch is eased unto a tabletop mold where it's pressed flat with a rolling pin.  They do this repeatedly until the rice crispies are packed so closely it's almost airtight.  It's this process that helps keep the ampao fresh for days, which explains why it's a favorite inexpensive baon among travelers.  

At this point, another block of wood is used as a ruler for the cutting process.  They use regular knives to cut the rice into symmetrical blocks and from there, they're packed and sealed, ready for the market.

Such a simple procedure creates this simple delicacy, the ampao.  And often, as in other cuisines and cultures, it's this simpleness, the availability of its crucial ingredients, and the ease of preparation that makes certain food work---across different palates.  I'll even go as far as saying, anyone can make ampao if they really wanted to.  You've got rice in your pantry, some sugar, a bit of calamansi to liven up the syrup, and the forever sunny weather.  All it takes is the will to make it just right, the way Myrna does.