10 January 2007

How [not] to make a hot choco drink

Scrumptious delicacies sought after during the Christmas holidays abound in the Philippines. We have puto bumbong, taho, rice cakes, salabat, a hot choco drink.

It is the latter that I was reminded of when, in one of our organizer's meetings for our Christmas Party, Ma'am Sue shared with us her recipe for a really unforgettable hot choco drink. The thick syrup would slide down your throat and leave that chocolatey taste ever so pleasingly. And she told her story with sparkling eyes. Man, I simply had to try one of those.

Her recipe called for Hershey's cocoa powder. Put Hereshey's into boiling water and stir constantly. How much of it is up to you. When you ladle out the mixture and when it pours down as a thick syrup, then it's good. Add in evaporated milk and sugar to taste.

Sounds simple enough.

Not. We went to three different groceries in Baguio looking for Hershey's. Nada! We settled for Ricoa instead (though Ma'am Sue said Ricoa results in a rather bitter drink). As I wondered how many spoonful it takes to make the water syrupy, I decided to mix in the milk and sugar a bit ahead of time. I scooped out a cup and handed it to my wife.

She ever so slowly took a sip and declared, "bitter."

I took a sip and said "Hmmm... it's ok." Yes, I was salvaging my dignity. In the end I drank all of it up to show how delicious it was. Yum yum...

Oh well. Better luck next time.

***

To end my holiday rambling, here are the last batch of photos from our Christmas party. These just arrived from our photographer.

We had a dance number! After sooo many years, I danced in front of 0ver 200 people! It's the 80s once again!

We had a Memorabilia contest at the party. Lots of eighties entries! Songbooks and casettes, toys (I loved the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the Ghostbusters movie), giant coloring book, photo albums. The E.T. below is mine. If I were eligible to join the contest, I would have won something too I'm sure. My entry will be ... myself!

We wish for a prosperous year, both in material wealth and in our well-being. Happy New Year!

17 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:23 pm

    That powder is really bitter, i dont know why they called it chocolate! I didnt try using it again! oppppsss..

    wow, ET.. i miss that!

    Happy New Year to all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy New Year, Mmmy-Lei!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:27 am

    I would also have loved an 80s party. :)

    I love that ET doll.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous3:52 am

    mukhang magaling sumayaw ah, may custome pa, nice.

    nga pala mura lang domain around 550 pesos per year lang. yung hosting iba pa, pero pwede ata magkaroon ng domain tapos free hosting pa rin sa blogger or wordpress. try mo inquire sa bigskymedia, you can find the links on my site

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous11:56 am

    dati gustong-gusto ko ang hersheys hot choco. pero lately, it's too sweet for me. ricoa naman is too bitter. my mom bought another brand (hindi ko matandaan) pero hindi siya powder, parang chunks of choco - ayun perfect!

    ang ganda ng ET doll mo. as in nung 80's pa na-acquire yan? good condition pa ha?

    ReplyDelete
  6. ganun? not so successful eh? try GODIVA hot choco. you dont use water to mix it. you need warm milk.. PUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRFEEEECT! it's powder pero lasang choco bar na tinunaw!!!! yum!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Niceheart: it was one of the nicest parties we had.

    550 pesos? Uy mura nga... thanks I will look it up.

    Cess: Actually acquired na ito when the 20th anniversary of ET came up and was shown in cinemas again. Such items were not allowed dun sa contest. I have 80s toys though that I'm sure would have won me something.

    Dessagirl: you mean you boil milk pala instead of water?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous2:26 am

    I guess I'm spoiled, we have Hershey's in great quantities over here. For added pleasure, add a squirt of Hershey's chocolate syrup into your cup.

    P.S. In case you noticed, when I switched to my new blog layout in beta blogger, your link disappeared. I noticed and it is back now!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous3:14 am

    i like pics esp that of ET! :) looks like you had fun! happy new year!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous1:12 pm

    80's ka pala tito nick akala ko 70's...hehehe (joke lang)

    Bawal dito sa amin ang chocolate drink, pinagbawal ko..hahaha! Kahit milk nga low fat lang ang pwedeng pumasok sa bahay.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hello Ed! Yes, I noticed you have a spiffy new layout! But I did not notice my link disappeared. Happy New Year to you and your family!

    Sayote Queen! Happy New Year!

    Ann: Hindi sila nagrerequest ng chocolate paminsan-minsan?

    ReplyDelete
  12. That '80s Memorabilia station looks so interesting! You would've donated yourself? Heehee, that was funny! Child of the '80s unite!!!

    I would've donated siguro Kool-Aid, shoulder pads and yun mga big belts na nauuso nanaman!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous3:29 am

    ET phone home, guto ko rin ng ganyan!

    try mo tawaran 15K, kapag binigay eh good!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous3:30 am

    ET phone home, guto ko rin ng ganyan!

    try mo tawaran 15K, kapag binigay eh good!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10:05 am

    dito naman I buy chocolate powder lang tapos , hot water and add some milk. Labs ng daughter ko yan.

    The ET looks really cute. Sino nanalo?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous2:39 pm

    offtopic: did you get the camera?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous4:32 pm

    i dog chocolate drinks!

    Happy New Year nick!

    ReplyDelete

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