Comments on: “Japanese” Cantaloupe

By: Katrina

Katrina — Thu, 04 May 2006 10:20:03 +0000

Choy, “torta” means different things in different places. Literally, in Spanish, it means torte or cake. It seems they’ve retained that meaning in the South, like in Cebu where there’s a torta that looks like a more buttery version of mamon. But in Tagalog, it’s sort of like a frittata: eggs mixed with various ingredients, most commonly ground meat with potatoes, or eggplant (tortang talong), then fried. On the other hand, the Spanish version of frittata is called “tortilla” while in Mexico “tortilla” is a flat bread. My guess is the etymology is from the fact that these are all, in a way, cakes or patties. In the same way we say “crab cake” for something that’s certainly not a pastry. MM, is this correct? :-)

A bit off topic: has anyone here tried Aristocrat’s Torta de los Reyes (Cake of Kings/Cake of the Reyeses)? Unlike most Pinoys, I’m no fan of their regular food; however, I love their cakes, especially their many and varied takes on Sans Rival. The Torta de los Reyes is a divine butter & chocolate Sans Rival with a checkered interior — a treat for both the eyes and mouth! (And no, I’m not related to the Aristocrat de los Reyeses either. ;-))

By: Choy

Choy — Thu, 04 May 2006 04:49:19 +0000

melon is perfect for this sizzling summer, whether pinoy, japanese or whatever. and wrapping it in prosciutto is heavenly. i saw giada do that on her cooking show and it was luscious. the melon, i mean.

btw,MM…just got back from bohol and acting on your previous post, had a great experience at MR Seafoods. we had the kinilaw na malasugui, kinilaw na pusit, a couple of crabs, inihaw na baboy (served already in vinegar with onions), chicharon bulaklak, an order of shrimps, two big bowls of rice and soft drinks. we were 4 very satisfied customers and we paid only P826 pesos for the whole feast! well, the shrimps were a bit overcooked, but everything else was great.

btw, i always knew torta to be some sort of pastry so i was surprised when i saw a recipe of yours that had a meat filling called “torta boholana”. i asked around in bohol, and no one seemed to know of that particular version. where is it from? even in leyte i encountered torta, the pastry.

i am intrigued!

By: stef

stef — Wed, 03 May 2006 17:05:09 +0000

marketman, refresh my memory please, is this any different in *appearance* from pinoy melon? while i have bought different melons here in the US, i always thought our melons looked just like this, but then i haven’t seen one in years.

By: fried-neurons

fried-neurons — Wed, 03 May 2006 14:29:40 +0000

That melon looks great! As a child in Manila, I hated melons. I even hated melon “juice” (aka grated melon, ice water, and sugar). But I grew to love them when we moved here to the USA. Maybe it’s because my family generally got inferior-quality melons back home. It’s great to know that the variety and quality of produce over there are both increasing.