New York Bound!

Jason Mraz once tweeted, "All that u need, to have all that u want, will be provided, as if by magic, once u know what u want and do something about it every day." And truly as if by magic and with the help of a most accommodating travel agent, the US tourist visa that not too long ago I decided that I wanted, is on its way to my doorstep.

My sister is getting married, and thanks to the generous consul who granted me my visa, I can actually bear witness to such an exciting and memorable event, and maybe even walk her down the aisle if she so wishes. I just could not believe my luck when I was told that my visa interview has been confirmed at an earlier date despite the lateness of my application. But because of the limited time I had to prepare prior to the interview, I only had a bank statement and one employment certificate to show whatever ties I had here in the country. A dark thought was looming at the back of my mind--that there was no way a consul would grant someone like me a visa. I could barely sleep the night before so when I got to the interview, I was on the edge. My hands were so wet I could've messed up the barcode on my passport. Seeing applicant after applicant get the dreaded blue slip was just making things worse, and the NBA finals on the gigantic flat screen did very little to distract me. But just when I thought I blew my chances when I inadvertently displayed my nerves to the consul, he shrugs it off, says that there was no reason to be nervous and then goes on to tell me that my visa has been approved. I could not help but smile from ear to ear, but I was glad I managed to keep myself from doing the happy dance. At some point in the interview, I was so sure that he was going to deny me the visa when he asked if I'd be interested working in New York City, the 'biggest pastry mecca' around, and I retorted, "I'd go to France, officer. Not New York." He grants me the visa anyway. 

/sweat

And with that, I am New York bound!

I am looking forward to her big day, but I am also very excited to experience the New York I never got to see back when I was still working on the ms Veendam.

With the sister in some NY deli; she's talking to Mama on the phone! -- NY 2010

Flat Iron Builing

Yale University

Imagine Circle, Strawberry Fields (John Lennon Memorial). Central Park, NY

I am so excited to do some research!!! And by research I mean trying out as many cupcakes as I could afford. Some sell theirs for 4 bucks a piece! Silly, I know.

Here's a list of cupcakes I'd really like to try:

Magnolia Bakery

photo from www.magnoliabakery.com

Not only did this bakery increase cupcake awareness in the US, but it has also managed to turn the humble cupcake into a fashionable pastry, with its frosted little ones appearing in cameos on shows like Sex and The City. There is just no way I'm leaving the states without trying their best sellers.

The Buttercup Bakeshop

photo from buttercupbakeshop.com

After working for a few years as business parter to Allysa Torey of Magnolia Bakery which they opened in 1996, Jennifer Appel decides she wants her own bake shop and opens The Buttercup Bake Shop in August of 1999. It would be interesting to see if she has kept the same recipes from Magnolia or made them her own.

Billy's Bakery

www.billysbakerynyc.com

So Magnolia Bakery did start it all. Billy Reece (who is now Lauren Reece after estrogen therapy and gender reassignment surgery) who worked in Magnolia Bakery for two years, opened Billy's with two partners back in 2003. Eventually, her partners decide to buy her out, but Billy's Bakery remains to be successful without her. I wonder how these will compare to the Magnolia and Buttercup ones? Will the student surpass the master?

Eleni's New York

elenis.com

I have been to Eleni's in Chelsea Market before but I was not able to try their cupcakes. Though better known for their playfully decorated sugar cookies, they also have a large selection of cupcakes (more like muffins! I think they were about the size of my fist!) and I would definitely try them this time.

Georgetown Cupcake

www.georgetowncupcakes.com

I would have to travel 4 hours for this beauty, since Georgetown Cupcake is located in Washington, DC. 

Georgetown Cupcake is the home of DC Cupcakes, a reality show on TLC that follows owners and sisters Katherine and Sophie while they manage and operate the cupcakery. For a cupcake bakery to get its own TV show, their cupcakes better be good.

Sprinkles

www.sprinkles.com

Claiming to be the 'world's first cupcake bakery,' Sprinkles Bakery has been serving cupcakes (and only cupcakes) since 2003. Getting inspiration from where else, Magnolia Bakery, they opened the first Sprinkles bakery in Beverly Hills in hopes of making a 'better cupcake.' From their flagship store in California, Sprinkles has grown into 10 locations all over the states and they are planning to open more branches in locations including London and Tokyo. Both of the owners are investment bankers, which could partly explain Sprinkles' rapid growth. And just last May, they opened their first branch in NYC! Which means I don't have to travel all the way to the west coast to try these intriguing cupcakes!

Apart from all these delicious-looking cupcakes, I would definitely try to enjoy the culinary delights that NYC has to offer. I am looking forward to bumping into celebrities too!

New York City, see you in a bit!!!

Busy just got a helluva lot busier!

After much thought, I decided to sit down and commit some time to writing at least one blog entry for this month because if things will keep on going the way they are, then I might as well shut down this blog. Remember when I said that March was such a busy month for me? Well, it just got busier. Waaaay busier. Just like I predicted.

Last April, I was in Palawan to train some of the kitchen staff of a resort in Sabang Beach. I stayed there for 10 days teaching a couple of cooks how to prepare the desserts we presented to the resort owners during a food tasting a while back.

Desserts I made for the resort: this one is a Choco-Caramel Candy Bar, sort of like a Snicker bar, only less sweet and with  walnuts and almonds

White Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse: Cheesecake mousse enrobed in white chocolate with graham crumbs and berry compote

Shipping is tricky in these parts so I was not surprised to find out that the shipment of the ingredients I ordered in Manila hadn't arrived yet. I was jumping for joy inside (or was I literally? Can't recall. I was overcome by jump-inducing joy) because that gave me some time to explore the beautiful beach and the interesting subterranean river. I'm still punishing myself though for having missed trying the exotic tamilok or shipworms (which are not actually worms, but odd-looking mollusks that burrow into wood immersed in sea water, or specifically in mangrove trees which thrive in Sabang). Locally, they serve it marinated like a ceviche. Heard they taste like oysters. And I looove oysters.

At the subterranean river entrance

Hardhats are for pussies

The beach near the entrance of the river

Wouldn't mind waking up to this every morning 

Sabang has interesting sunsets

Rainy days in Sabang are still beautiful

The mountains that sit on top of the subterranean river

Monitor lizards roam the protected area freely

At the Empire State Building 

Ten days later, I was 80% done with my work in Palawan. I was scheduled to go back for five days in May to teach the rest of the desserts, but not before Chef Booj and I along with Chef Ed, discussed a few consultancy projects that I might be interested in. I'm really thankful for having reconnected with Chef Booj. I will never admit it to his face, but I do owe him for giving me ways to raise some capital for my business in a shorter span of time. I was at a point where I couldn't really invest in any thing like kitchen equipment I knew I needed. And briefly, I didn't even allow myself to fantasize about having my own kitchen to operate. But now, with significant amounts of financial and emotional support from my mom, income from Chef Booj' projects and continuous cupcake orders, things are looking a lot more reachable.

I went back this month to Palawan to finish the work I started in April. We knew that it was going to be a very busy five days because on top of the food tastings and the cooking, we also had to train the service staff and make them familiar with the new menu. It was such an action-packed week due to the full resort occupancy with equipment breaking down in the kitchen and simultaneously teaching the staff the new recipes and dishing out the existing recipes.

You screw up your mise en place, you screw up your service

Chef Booj plating his Kinilaw na Tanigue, Sashimi style

Busy night at the resort restaurant

Getting ready to plate the new menu items

To add to the frenetics in the kitchen, we had encountered quite a number of manpower challenges so Chefs Booj, Ed and I agreed that there was just no way we could finish the training given the circumstances. So we made some adjustments with the staff schedule and decided that we needed to go back in June so we could launch the new menu smoothly. I'm scheduled to leave for Palawan at the end of the month and will be staying there for five more days.

When I get back to Manila, more work awaits me. The consultancy projects that Chefs Ed, Booj and I discussed are pushing through and our clients have made their initial payments. Now consulting doesn't come cheap and I'd be sure as hell our clients will be getting bang for their buck. Time to hit the recipe books!

Wish me luck!!!

PS:

On my second trip to Puerto Princesa, we made a pitstop at Vietville Restaurant. Our flight was delayed by an hour and by the time we got to the city, it was already past lunch time. We decided to get a couple of banh mi (baguettes with vietnamese fillings) to go so we wouldn't starve on the hour and a half transfer from the city to Sabang beach.

There were plain jane banh mi like pork and chicken. I got their best seller, roasted pork with pate. Oh my gosh, this was delicious. The baguette was hot and crispy outside and the crust was thin and delicate. And it soft and airy and pleasantly stringy inside. I was like, how did they do that?! The filling was good, but this time, really, I could have survived on the bread alone. The filling consisted of roasted pork that reminded me of char siu, atchara or pickled papaya, tomatoes and a yummy chicken liver pate intensely perfumed with star anise. The sandwich was so good I regretted not getting extra for dinner and breakfast the next day =D

Roast Pork with Pate banh mi

Read more about the history of Vietville here. Viet Ville Restaurant is located in Kilometer 13, Barangay Sta. Lourdes, Puerto Princesa City, 5300 Palawan.

My online shop is up and running!

Fact of the matter is that I've put off publishing my online shop and content for such a long time because I just could not resist going on a holiday with my friends in Mindoro to see the Apo Reef Natural Park and Pandan Island. There were no cupcakes there, but there was plenty of marine life (and for some reason, Europeans). White tip reef sharks and green sea turtles included! A close encounter with the shark had me thinking that if the circumstances were unfortunate, I would not have been baking cupcakes yesterday. Whew.

Anywho, the point is, I got it done! I think it looks pretty and it is sooo me. Dark with plenty of pink!!! I am still working on its contents, but for now it gives me and potential clients a place to communicate. I am so excited to fill it with photos of my products and actual projects. I am also looking forward to your comments and suggestions! Please do visit the site (click on the link below) and take a look at my current offerings.

Sweet Addictions by Lorenzo

Enjoy!!!

xoxo

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April 9, 2011
As mentioned in this blogpost, I had to change my business name and in doing so, I have rendered the Multiply site above irrelevant. I have taken down the website and put up a new one under my new business name.

Please do visit the new website!

www.twinsistersbakeshoppe.co.nr

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New York Cupcakes, Lobsters and my Frosting Issues

I love my buttercream recipe. With a little tweaking and some help from my friend Denieza, I was able to find the balance between flavor and texture.

However, I still can't find a way to make my frostings look like this. I just think they are so pretty!

Billy's Chocolate Cupcake
Photo from Billy's Bakery