Merienda – The Fourth Mealtime
May 18 '01
The Bottom Line Merienda is a delicious Filipino culinary institution.
In the Philippines there exists this special gastronomic occurrence – some time between lunch and dinner, often a social event, and almost like a fourth meal– merienda or afternoon snack. It’s a little like English high tea but merienda is considerably more substantial than crustless cucumber sandwiches or little cakes. The word merienda is Spanish for ‘snack’ – and while I’m sure snack time exists in Spain and in Central and South America, I’m not too sure what types of dishes are popular for that merienda. Having lived in the Philippines for a few years (and having a love for all things related to food) I have my list of favorite merienda treats. I suppose one could have anything from pizzas to pineapples for merienda but in the Philippines there is traditional merienda fare and here are my favorites:
leche flan
Leche flan is a little like the familiar egg custard... one can look at it like Central/South American flan’s sweeter, richer, and way creamier cousin. Whenever I eat Filipino leche flan I shave little slivers off and only take ultra small bites because it’s so sweet and dense (sometimes it seems like it’s made from condensed milk) and intersperse my enjoyment with a big honking glass of water. And of course, all of this translates to yummy to me. Luckily, leche flan comes in small portions.
bibingka
This snack reminds me of a sweet, dense pancake with a slight pudding-like consistency. It’s made of sticky rice (sometimes cassava), eggs, sugar, and coconut milk. It’s then shaped into something resembling a small platter and placed on a banana leaf and baked. Just before it’s fully cooked, toppings with contrasting flavors (my favorite part) like grated cheese, salted duck eggs, butter, grated coconut and sugar are arranged on top. Served warm this is one of my favorite snacks.
pancit palabok
The Chinese influence on Filipino food can best be seen in noodle dishes like palabok, although I’ve never eaten anything Chinese that resembles it. Palabok has thin rice noodles covered with a thick bright orange-colored crab and shrimp based sauce. The best part is the garnish beautifully arranged on top… green onions, sliced hardboiled egg, fried garlic, small crunchy bits of chicharones, minced cilantro, a dash of fish sauce and a squeeze of lime juice! All those colors, flavors and textures are wonderful together and make this snack another favorite, but my husband, who’s not a big fan of fish sauce doesn’t really like it – this might be an acquired taste kind of thing.
halo-halo
This fun snack features different types of sweet tropical preserves stacked on top of each other buried under shaved ice covered with milk -- typically served in a milkshake glass so you can see the festive colors. Halo-halo translates into something like ‘mix-mix’ (as in the verb) – you’re supposed to mix up the contents before eating. Typical contents include things like coconut, sweet beans, purple yam paste, jackfruit, tapioca balls, and various fruits. I’ve had similar desserts at Vietnamese restaurants but the Filipino Halo-halo is always more elaborate – often topped with a scoop of ice cream or a slice of leche flan.
turon
Simple and tasty, turon kind of reminds me of a banana fritter – except instead of a batter, the banana is wrapped in a giant egg roll wrapper, sprinkled with brown sugar and deep fried to a dark brown. Eaten with a scoop of vanilla, this is another yum.
There are dozens more delicious merienda candidates like guinataan, lumpia, ensamada I have yet to describe… but the ones I mentioned here are my favorites.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
megugrrrl
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Location: Oakland
Reviews written: 147
Trusted by: 317 members
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.