Assam Milk Tea

... is good. It's very very good. I have never tasted milk tea as refreshing as this. Assam Milk Tea is a product of Indonesia and is among the many beverages with labels I can't for the life of me translate stacked in Thaiki grocery, the biggest Asian supermarket in Sydney. Thaiki has everything, well, Asian, including the infamous weird Kit Kat flavors of Japan as well as Jack and Jill chips of the Philippines.

I was in Chinatown looking for pork floss-- one of the rare instances I want something made in China, but all I could find were made in Thailand. My Indonesian friend took me to Thaiki but it was no different. Aside from not trusting Thai made pork floss, they are absurdly expensive at $7 per air-filled bag.

I didn't want to leave the grocery empty-handed, having dragged my Indonesian friend all the way there. I was going to get an aloe vera drink when he recommended the milk tea. I was persuaded so I bought one plus a wintermelon drink in tetra pack out of curiosity.

Instead of plain milky tea, Assam Milk Tea has a melon-y/apple-y taste that makes you sip nonstop. It's not as creamy as those found in Chinese restaurants and Lipton's tend to be, and just lightly sweet. I imagine it to be good with any food whether sweet or salty, but only when it's properly chilled.

The tetra pack is a hefty square that's bigger than those I'm used to at home. You can see from the packaging that it passes itself as something for the lifestyle. It's sizeable enough for the office coffee break or to tide one over before lunch or dinner. I'm just not sure about the actual tea content though. I never really got the point of milk in tea and I like mine plain, preferably green. The more awful it tastes, the more healthfully beneficial I imagine it to be. I just thought it's how things work. But if I'm looking for a creamy dessert-like drink that's cheap and not as heavy as the fresh milk laden gourmet coffee, I certainly might consider Assam Milk Tea.

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Uncle Tobys Plus Fiber Lift

I've decided to sample this cereal after my affair with Kellog's All Bran Dual. Uncle Toby's Plus Fiber Lift has 472 kJ (112 kcal) and 6.2g fiber per serving, the lowest calorie containing cereal with the highest fiber content by proportion that I've seen in the grocery aisles so far.

Uncle Tobys is an Australian company with a long history beginning in 1861. It passed hands from one mammoth company to the next until it was acquired by Nestle Australia in 2006. It produces all types of products made of grain such as oats, energy bars, cereals, and even popcorn. Uncle Tobys produces an overwhelming variety of fruit and grain cereals, with names that specify the exact health benefit like Fibre Lift, Protein Lift, Sports Lift, Antioxidant Lift and Omega 3 Lift.

Plus Fiber Lift is a mixture of different grains. Apart from the bran which is the tiny stick like pieces, I recognize rice and corn flakes. This tastes okay with definitely more variety of textures. But it doesn't compare to All-Bran Dual for some reason. The Brits and Aussies call raisins sultanas. Each raisin in this cereal is an explosion of sweetness and overdone chewiness. I wish it were more sour-sweet than just sweet. The apple bits are smaller and hardly significant. Still, the proportion of calories and fiber is quite good for all the ingredients it contains.

Uncle Tobys Plus Fiber Lift is also an effective crap inducer, but the timing isn't as predictable as All Bran Dual. Because I like it enough except for the raisins, it gave me a brilliant idea. Next time, I'll buy bran that's cheaply sold in homebrand packaging (think Bonus for SM Supermarkets) and buy a box of raisins. Then I can mix them however I want, and even throw in pieces of banana. Brilliant? I think it's genius.

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Kellog's All-Bran Dual

My favorite meal is breakfast. In the bleakest of mornings, the thought of my first meal for the day gets me out of bed and ready in no time. Experts say breakfast should provide for most calories consumed in a day. That's an excuse for filling up, and with the endless yummy options one is faced with, it seems like the easiest undertaking that's hard to pass up.

Because breakfast s the most important meal of the day, I make it a point to choose the healthiest alternative out there. My default choice is any variety of wholegrain cereal that helps with digestion, or more precisely, bran. A lot of people find that strange, especially since bran is associated with middle-aged men with cholesterol problems, but even among that demographic you can't call it popular. I don't like bran but I do like the feeling after cleaning my bowels. Like exercise and bitter gourd, there are some things we just have to tolerate.

I am guilty of taking the longest time in the cereal aisle of the supermarket because I find fascination in the discrepancy between packaging and the nutritional label contents. As far as my hunt is concerned, I've come to the conclusion that Kellog's All -Bran Dual is the best deal there is in Sydney supermarkets. Although a little high on the calorie mark at 580kJ (138 kcal) per serve due mainly to the addition of apple pieces, this cereal tastes better than any bran variety I've tried. Plain bran cereals range from 90-110 kcal and pack 11g fiber per serving, with the tradeoff of tasting like cut up bits of carton and the tendency to scratch at the throat when swallowed. Considering the slight decrease of fiber content at 8g per serve, the additional calories in All-Bran Dual is forgivable in exchange for a wholesome experience that's actually enjoyable. It's virtuous, even, compared with "healthy" cereals that have everything on it-- gains, fruits and nuts-- that are admittedly yummy at 200 kcal per serve and yet only has 1.5-3g of fiber, some even less.

The pieces of cereal come in a granular shape that hold well in milk. They get soggy less quickly and when they do, they don't form into clumps that resemble wet, brown sand. The white bits are the apple pieces. The smoothness and chewy texture balance the dry, grainy bran pieces, and together they give a subtle sweet taste that's really good with milk.

The packaging says the Kellog's All-Bran Dual contains "Insoluble fibre to help cleanse your insides, [and] natural plant based insulin to help nourish the good bugs." I'm happy to report that it lives up to its promise, as I find myself wanting to take a crap by late afternoon when I eat a small bowl of this in the morning. I think this is real good value for my money. I know that it's unfair to base the healthiness of cereals on fiber content alone and that varieties with fruits and nuts have vitamins and minerals that plain bran types lack. I know, and I don't care. That's why I take other vitamin supplements.

I've had this cereal in the pantry for more than three weeks, and it's given me about 16 bowls of satisfactory breakfast. The second picture above is actually the last of it, which made me a little sad yesterday when I found out. Fortunately, there's literally more where that came from, but I think I'm going to try other cereals for a while while I'm here. I might hoard several boxes before coming home, though. And establishing a Bran Fan Club, who knows, I might get to sell some.

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Lunch at Hyde Park

This is my favorite ice cream growing up. Its mysterious disappearance broke my heart but I never gave up the hope of finding it again... to have another chance at sinking my teeth from the soft, chewy chocolate cookie sandwich exterior into the smooth, cold vanilla ice cream within.

If you liked Maxibon as much I did, you will know what makes this ice cream lovable: its ingenious dual personality. One slab of vanilla ice cream is dressed up in two ways: one half is an ice cream sandwich, while the other half is classically coated with chocolate and rice crispies. Two treats in one!

It's still as good as I remember it. My last recollection of the ice cream's presence in the Philippines is a Maxibon eating competition that was televised, and which I have always regretted not joining. I don't remember the price then, but here in Australia at AUD$3.95 (convenience store price; it's cheaper in the supermarket but they sell it by boxes), this indulgence is a luxury indeed.

A Hungry Jack's Grilled Chicken Burger completed my lunch. Hungry Jack's is an Australian fast food chain with offerings not unlike Burger King. It is the local competitor of McDonald's, much like Jollibee keeps the foreign company from dominating the fast food industry in the Philippines.

This burger has grilled chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, cabbage, and what tasted like wasabi mayo dressing. As you can see, the chicken is practically spilling out of the burger, and I could tell that it's real chicken breast. As for the greasiness, it's only detectable on the inside of the bottom bun where the chicken rested. The tomato tasted fresh and juicy, and the wasabi mayo was a pleasant surprise. I thought McD's bun tasted better though, but aside from that I was pretty happy with this burger.

I missed having lunch in a park which I often did when I was working in Makati. Hyde Park was my solace today as I took my late late lunch. I sat in a bench facing St. Peter's Cathedral, keeping myself exposed to the afternoon sun as much as possible. I felt at home with tourists from all nations taking photos of each other. I'd like to say it went without incident, but that's another story which you can read in my other blog.

A Monday that feels like a Sunday. Now that's a first.

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