Sprinkle a little caffeine powder on that Jolly Spaghetti and swap out the Guava Quencher with a cup of BT Fountain, and you will have attained true Cafe Anne synergy.
Yup, the Fibisco (Filipinas Biscuit Corporation) Hiro😋. Oreos are overwhelming popular here that every Asian country has their own local version. I’ve seen Japanese brands in local groceries here in the Philippines. Oreos are so yummy it is almost worth it to be colonized for those😂✌️😇
We do have a sweet tooth so there are sweetened tomato ketchup available. But banana ketchup is the best - sweet, salty, and spicy, in a word, umami!
Seems like you’ve tried puto already😋👍 It is a cake but a bit different from the Oreo crème in that it is rice-based instead of flour. The texture is grainier too, unlike the chewy smoothness of Oreo.
Confirming that I did, in fact, have a jolly day after our meal. I'm pretty sure it also stopped raining after we ate though, like the pique powder, that may or may not have been connected.
I am still sorting this all out myself, Eden. I've been enjoying a nice jolly streak in general and would love to keep it going. Maybe it's the cocaine?
Tried Jollibee in Chicago. Mostly trying from other's plates. The chicken was excellent. One and done unfortunately. We read a great history book about the US and the Philippines. Probably the very best example of the US behaving like a European nation as a colonizer. Glad we seem to have given up on the habit and hope we never become that again. Probably the biggest asterisk for the great President Teddy Roosevelt.
There is simply no topic you cannot make interesting and fun. It's a gift as your joy and sheer inquisitiveness always percolates through. Have a great week.
My history knowledge is terrible so I had no idea before delving into this story that we'd done the colonizing thing in the Philippines. Complicated world!
A pretty awesome record for our country. Your Jollibee habit will be similar perhaps. Try anything once. We will know when fastfood is awesome when you share that you will definitely go back! TR was an AWESOME President and got a lot of things right! Loved your memory of Chef Boyardee and your grandma
Yes, it’s an awesome record and no sarcasm, I mean it. You guys were the best colonizers. I mean, just look at what Japan and Great Britain did to China - the opium, the economic and social abuse! We negotiated for our freedom in 1946 and when you left, it was like an honored guest leaving. Note that we had peaceful negotiations while other Asian countries fought bloody wars for their freedom.
Thanks for the kind words Raquel. I help run a history bookclub. We often can get 20-30 in attendance to discuss the books. I enjoyed learning about the Philippines. I've read the impressive 3 book set by Edmund Burke about Teddy Roosevelt who was part of the complex story in the Philippines. The book we read in club, The Imperial Cruise is highly recommended. One of our seasoned members often says a good history book needs (a) a good map (b) needs to teach us something we didn't know (c) needed to be well written and extremely well referenced and footnoted. The Imperial Cruise was great. I have a close family member who served in Asia. He ended up learning a bit of Tagalog and speaks highly of the Filipino culture.
The books you mentioned sound so interesting, far from the dry history lessons in school! I want to read The Imperial Cruise and searched in Amazon, and is it by James Bradley, not Edmund Burke? So cool you have a history book club! I like the 3 necessary points of a good history book, which are important for any book actually. Except maybe for the maps unless you’re reading fantasy like Lord of the Rings😄
Oh you have close family who learned some Tagalog. Hope he understands a saying we have, “Lahat pwedeng pag-usapan” - meaning, “all can be discussed.” Everything, problems and issues, could be handled by sitting down and talking, without resorting to violence. It’s a generally pleasant way to live but of course, everything has its bad side. Some problems here are still being “talked” about, long after the persons involved have died. Court cases running to the decades, they are still talking about it . . . 🤷🏻♀️
I led you astray Raquel -- so sorry! My memory is not as good as I thought it was. Edmund Morris wrote a famous series of books about Theodore Roosevelt. He genuinely lived such a remarkable life that it probably deserved three books. You are correct about the Imperial Cruise author though. If you decide to read it. The Morris books captures (1) the challenges TR overcame as a child and a young man (2) his Presidential years and (3) the life he led thereafter. Quite a life. I will ask about the saying. I will probably practice it in Google translate and impress him :)
In my work career I worked for a company that did all sorts of scientific and government work. The Marcos and Aquino years were definitely a topic for some of my colleagues crossed into at times.
If you decide 3 books is over the top, "Mornings on Horseback" by David McCullough was excellent re: Teddy Roosevelt. He is only somewhat contemporary President who made it to Mount Rushmore. He was probably deserving :)
In fairness the US did a bit of economic colonization in Central America and beyond. All in all, I am glad we never went down the colonization rabbit hole as many other countries have. After reading more than ten years of history books, British history of colonization has been brutal and left some very horrible legacies. Sorry to British readers also.
For some reason, economic colonization here was a lot gentler. Sure, the American nabobs got the lion’s share but the economic trickle down to the general population was pretty good. We had a thriving export of coconuts and pineapples long after the end of colonial rule. Until it stopped in the 1980s because of rising heart disease and clogged arteries in the United States and our coconuts were demonized for them!
Now that really was a major sore point, far worse than anything that happened in the colonial era, including sporadic battles in far-flung barrios here and there. Coconut plantations and smaller farmers bankrupted, together with their creditor banks. Hectares of unwanted coconuts! To this day, the coconut rejection still out-trumps (haha) Trump’s 20% tariff on us.
As a final note, I just want to say that we’ve been cooking with coconut oil for centuries and we’re fine. Our coconuts are innocent😉😇
Awwwww it’s ok, no need to apologize, it’s not your fault. Unless you’re a direct descendant of those guys😉😆 But even then, if you’re a descendant of Lord Wellington, all is forgiven because of beef wellington 😋👍
We do make a mean beef wellington here, right at par with whatever you got in the UK including Gordon Ramsay’s. Well, almost. And the sauce? Made from banana ketchup😳😂
Honestly, this type of advertisement AND the fact that Pique was ok with it make me much more inclined to try it than I would have been otherwise. It's refreshing to be made aware of something in the Cafe Anne way, rather than to be sold something.
That's great to hear, SG, thank you. If I'm going to do this sort of thing I want it to be in line with everything else I do, and it's helpful to get your feedback.
I confess that Will and I skipped the paid promotion section, but after reading all the positive comments I went back and read it. Just as entertaining as the rest of your post (not surprising). I wonder, will you try anything someone pays you to sample? I was actually inspired by your protein bar article a while back and have been experimenting with recipes, so if I get one produced and packaged maybe I’ll send it your way…
I like stevia as a sweetener. I’m trying to make a bar that doesn’t taste like dessert, is high in protein, low in sugar and fat, and doesn’t taste too bland. Also doesn’t have a ton of carbs. It’s nearly impossible to do!
Love the no-frills photos of the food. I'm not a huge fan of the fast food, although a Filipino McD version sounds intriguing. You don't wash the face? Like ever? Not even with water? I'm having this convo with the teenager who lives here and I wonder what's the trick from the expert to look fresh when there's no washing of the face. Speaking of eating out, yesterday we had a Japanese and Chinese food combo, a bun from the Chinese stall and an avocado sushi from the Japanese. It was really good. I just tried a new food court in a new neighbourhood. Loved reading this and your experience on trying new foods.
WPSO, I might wipe my face with water if its actually grimy, which can happen in the city. But that's it! And I've never had skin problems.
I've also tried not washing my hair, thinking that if it works for my dog, it will work for me. but I can't really recommend that. After a few days it's quite unpleasant.
Well the no hair washing is different! It takes time to get used to. If you aren’t seeing people. I tried it for almost a month. Not a good idea. I also think it’s hard when you’ve got short hair as it requires more styling whereas long hair works in a bun. But I read about a lady who stopped washing it completely… It’s working for her… 🤔🤨
There's also a big difference in hair texture. If you have thick, curly hair, you can go a lot longer without washing. Thin hair (like mine) can get oily quickly.
The hair conversation needs its own page. You're absolutely write. Different textures last less or longer. I haven't thought of adding that in. Curly hair can go longer? Hmmm I need to do some research on that. Hahahahaha
Thanks for the shoutout, Anne. Perhaps I was mistaken - if I am stabbed in the eye, I think I should ask for a lift to Jollibee to dig in on that banana-ketchup.
Once a week, my wife and I go to McDonalds and we each order the kids Happy Meal. Scoff all you want but it is delicious.
Pro Tip: Tell them instead of the apple slices, you want extra french fries. The hamburger, 2x french fries and diet Coke add up to 470 calories. If you use their app, your Happy Meal will cost about $2.50.
I spent almost two years living in, and traveling around, Southeast Asia. And every time I walked past a Jollibee (of which there are many), I'd always say the same two things: (1) that BEE!! and (2) I've got to try Jollibee! And yet, I never did. And now, Anne, I will. You had me a Spaghetti-O's nostalgia!
Oh this post also made me realize I have seen a DIFFERENT naked cowgirl, who is substantial older than the woman pictured in the article. Which led me to wonder how many naked cowpeople there actually are in Times Square and the rest of the world....
Okay Ms. Groveman, I thought this was an excellent question for my friend Ray, and here is his response:
Times Square
The consistent, “official” naked cowperson is the original Naked Cowboy, Robert Burck, who performs in Times Square regularly.
Beyond him, there have also been licensed/“franchise” Naked Cowgirls and other Naked Cowboys over the years, and you’ll sometimes see more than one performer in the same general Times Square ecosystem, but there’s no reliable public count for “how many are there” on any given day.
The rest of the world
The best documented “how many exist” figure is the size of the Naked Cowboy franchise at different moments in time: one public-radio report in 2013 described “eight different cowboys and cowgirls,” and an Oprah/OWN segment described a franchise that “includes 11 naked cowboys and cowgirls.”
So, depending on the year, the Naked Cowboy universe has been described publicly as roughly 8–11 total branded cowpeople (across locations, not just Times Square). Outside of that franchise, the number of imitators worldwide is basically unknowable without defining terms and doing original reporting.
What, there’s no coffee in the US Jollibees? That’s too bad. I usually have coffee or hot chocolate with my Jollibee meals here in the Philippines as I can’t take cold drinks.
Had to laugh when you mentioned how creepy the Jollibee mascot is. When I was a young mom (a long long time ago in a country far far away), every children’s party (except mine) would feature a Jollibee mascot who would appear in the midst of the festivities and dance to the popular tunes of the day. Then it would go around and shake hands and give hugs. At that point my sons would fly to my arms terrified!
They are both grown now and are in a study-and-work program in the United States. One of them is in New York and is the current holder of the forever potential Scratch & Win lottery ticket winner😉
We still laugh at how creeped out they were at the Jollibee mascot. But they would go to US Jollibees whenever nostalgia and a bit of homesickness hits them.
I KNOW Raquel. It was HORRIBLE eating the super sweet peach mango pie without the hot coffee to cut through it. Very interesting you can get a coffee at a Philippines Jollibee and not here. Maybe they are punishing us for that whole colonization thing.
Fun to hear about the mascot at the kids parties. Ronald McDonald is also terrifying, come to think of it, but at least we don't invite him into our homes.
I’m so glad this isn’t a food blog. I was cramping just looking at those food pics.
Your skin does look more evened out! You’re Adorbs in both pics tho.
Thank you CK! I do love writing about food though. Or maybe I just love to eat.
Eating is good. The devil is in the ingredients.
Had the same reaction to the food, Carissa, but the way you said it made me laugh!
Sprinkle a little caffeine powder on that Jolly Spaghetti and swap out the Guava Quencher with a cup of BT Fountain, and you will have attained true Cafe Anne synergy.
Will be sure to consult you before my next field trip, Mr. Stephenson!
You better! But it has to be vegan…
I like the idea that synergy is actually a euphemism for when you’ve had so much caffeine your mind folds into infinity
wow missed opportunity to use the caffeine powder for sure!
I want to know if there is a Filipino take on the Black and White cookie?
Yup, the Fibisco (Filipinas Biscuit Corporation) Hiro😋. Oreos are overwhelming popular here that every Asian country has their own local version. I’ve seen Japanese brands in local groceries here in the Philippines. Oreos are so yummy it is almost worth it to be colonized for those😂✌️😇
We do have a sweet tooth so there are sweetened tomato ketchup available. But banana ketchup is the best - sweet, salty, and spicy, in a word, umami!
Oh wow, I didn't know the Philippines had a Nabisco/Oreo counterpart!
I feel like texture-wise puto might be similar to the black and white cakey base?
Seems like you’ve tried puto already😋👍 It is a cake but a bit different from the Oreo crème in that it is rice-based instead of flour. The texture is grainier too, unlike the chewy smoothness of Oreo.
Confirming that I did, in fact, have a jolly day after our meal. I'm pretty sure it also stopped raining after we ate though, like the pique powder, that may or may not have been connected.
I am still sorting this all out myself, Eden. I've been enjoying a nice jolly streak in general and would love to keep it going. Maybe it's the cocaine?
Tried Jollibee in Chicago. Mostly trying from other's plates. The chicken was excellent. One and done unfortunately. We read a great history book about the US and the Philippines. Probably the very best example of the US behaving like a European nation as a colonizer. Glad we seem to have given up on the habit and hope we never become that again. Probably the biggest asterisk for the great President Teddy Roosevelt.
There is simply no topic you cannot make interesting and fun. It's a gift as your joy and sheer inquisitiveness always percolates through. Have a great week.
Thank you Mr. Dolan!
My history knowledge is terrible so I had no idea before delving into this story that we'd done the colonizing thing in the Philippines. Complicated world!
A pretty awesome record for our country. Your Jollibee habit will be similar perhaps. Try anything once. We will know when fastfood is awesome when you share that you will definitely go back! TR was an AWESOME President and got a lot of things right! Loved your memory of Chef Boyardee and your grandma
Yes, it’s an awesome record and no sarcasm, I mean it. You guys were the best colonizers. I mean, just look at what Japan and Great Britain did to China - the opium, the economic and social abuse! We negotiated for our freedom in 1946 and when you left, it was like an honored guest leaving. Note that we had peaceful negotiations while other Asian countries fought bloody wars for their freedom.
Thanks for the kind words Raquel. I help run a history bookclub. We often can get 20-30 in attendance to discuss the books. I enjoyed learning about the Philippines. I've read the impressive 3 book set by Edmund Burke about Teddy Roosevelt who was part of the complex story in the Philippines. The book we read in club, The Imperial Cruise is highly recommended. One of our seasoned members often says a good history book needs (a) a good map (b) needs to teach us something we didn't know (c) needed to be well written and extremely well referenced and footnoted. The Imperial Cruise was great. I have a close family member who served in Asia. He ended up learning a bit of Tagalog and speaks highly of the Filipino culture.
🥰🥰🥰
The books you mentioned sound so interesting, far from the dry history lessons in school! I want to read The Imperial Cruise and searched in Amazon, and is it by James Bradley, not Edmund Burke? So cool you have a history book club! I like the 3 necessary points of a good history book, which are important for any book actually. Except maybe for the maps unless you’re reading fantasy like Lord of the Rings😄
Oh you have close family who learned some Tagalog. Hope he understands a saying we have, “Lahat pwedeng pag-usapan” - meaning, “all can be discussed.” Everything, problems and issues, could be handled by sitting down and talking, without resorting to violence. It’s a generally pleasant way to live but of course, everything has its bad side. Some problems here are still being “talked” about, long after the persons involved have died. Court cases running to the decades, they are still talking about it . . . 🤷🏻♀️
I led you astray Raquel -- so sorry! My memory is not as good as I thought it was. Edmund Morris wrote a famous series of books about Theodore Roosevelt. He genuinely lived such a remarkable life that it probably deserved three books. You are correct about the Imperial Cruise author though. If you decide to read it. The Morris books captures (1) the challenges TR overcame as a child and a young man (2) his Presidential years and (3) the life he led thereafter. Quite a life. I will ask about the saying. I will probably practice it in Google translate and impress him :)
In my work career I worked for a company that did all sorts of scientific and government work. The Marcos and Aquino years were definitely a topic for some of my colleagues crossed into at times.
If you decide 3 books is over the top, "Mornings on Horseback" by David McCullough was excellent re: Teddy Roosevelt. He is only somewhat contemporary President who made it to Mount Rushmore. He was probably deserving :)
No offense to our British and Japanese readers. Peace to you, friends😇
In fairness the US did a bit of economic colonization in Central America and beyond. All in all, I am glad we never went down the colonization rabbit hole as many other countries have. After reading more than ten years of history books, British history of colonization has been brutal and left some very horrible legacies. Sorry to British readers also.
For some reason, economic colonization here was a lot gentler. Sure, the American nabobs got the lion’s share but the economic trickle down to the general population was pretty good. We had a thriving export of coconuts and pineapples long after the end of colonial rule. Until it stopped in the 1980s because of rising heart disease and clogged arteries in the United States and our coconuts were demonized for them!
Now that really was a major sore point, far worse than anything that happened in the colonial era, including sporadic battles in far-flung barrios here and there. Coconut plantations and smaller farmers bankrupted, together with their creditor banks. Hectares of unwanted coconuts! To this day, the coconut rejection still out-trumps (haha) Trump’s 20% tariff on us.
As a final note, I just want to say that we’ve been cooking with coconut oil for centuries and we’re fine. Our coconuts are innocent😉😇
Thanks. Sorry about the hateful foreign policy, Lord Palmerston, Wellington and those guys.
Awwwww it’s ok, no need to apologize, it’s not your fault. Unless you’re a direct descendant of those guys😉😆 But even then, if you’re a descendant of Lord Wellington, all is forgiven because of beef wellington 😋👍
We do make a mean beef wellington here, right at par with whatever you got in the UK including Gordon Ramsay’s. Well, almost. And the sauce? Made from banana ketchup😳😂
I’m no scientist, but how do we know your vibrant skin is a result of the supplements, and not the banana ketchup?
Lucy, others have suggested it is the result of all the caffeine!
Unlikely, I’m not sure if caffeine has any nutrients. Bananas and tomatoes however, have heaps.
😂😂
Such a quintessentially elegant Cafe Anne way to mention/endorse a product. Full disclosure/ judge for yourself. Actually quite powerful/
Thank you David! I was pleased that Pique was okay with me doing it this way, because I couldn't have done it any other way!
Have you considered your skin is looking radiant from all the caffeine?
LOL
Honestly, this type of advertisement AND the fact that Pique was ok with it make me much more inclined to try it than I would have been otherwise. It's refreshing to be made aware of something in the Cafe Anne way, rather than to be sold something.
That's great to hear, SG, thank you. If I'm going to do this sort of thing I want it to be in line with everything else I do, and it's helpful to get your feedback.
I confess that Will and I skipped the paid promotion section, but after reading all the positive comments I went back and read it. Just as entertaining as the rest of your post (not surprising). I wonder, will you try anything someone pays you to sample? I was actually inspired by your protein bar article a while back and have been experimenting with recipes, so if I get one produced and packaged maybe I’ll send it your way…
Yes Jimmy, I will absolutely try anything someone pays me to sample. But if I don't like it, I will say so. All publicity good right?
I love that you are making your own bars, btw. Any special ingredients?
I like stevia as a sweetener. I’m trying to make a bar that doesn’t taste like dessert, is high in protein, low in sugar and fat, and doesn’t taste too bland. Also doesn’t have a ton of carbs. It’s nearly impossible to do!
Love the no-frills photos of the food. I'm not a huge fan of the fast food, although a Filipino McD version sounds intriguing. You don't wash the face? Like ever? Not even with water? I'm having this convo with the teenager who lives here and I wonder what's the trick from the expert to look fresh when there's no washing of the face. Speaking of eating out, yesterday we had a Japanese and Chinese food combo, a bun from the Chinese stall and an avocado sushi from the Japanese. It was really good. I just tried a new food court in a new neighbourhood. Loved reading this and your experience on trying new foods.
WPSO, I might wipe my face with water if its actually grimy, which can happen in the city. But that's it! And I've never had skin problems.
I've also tried not washing my hair, thinking that if it works for my dog, it will work for me. but I can't really recommend that. After a few days it's quite unpleasant.
Your Chinese/Japanese meal sounds pretty great!
Well the no hair washing is different! It takes time to get used to. If you aren’t seeing people. I tried it for almost a month. Not a good idea. I also think it’s hard when you’ve got short hair as it requires more styling whereas long hair works in a bun. But I read about a lady who stopped washing it completely… It’s working for her… 🤔🤨
There's also a big difference in hair texture. If you have thick, curly hair, you can go a lot longer without washing. Thin hair (like mine) can get oily quickly.
The hair conversation needs its own page. You're absolutely write. Different textures last less or longer. I haven't thought of adding that in. Curly hair can go longer? Hmmm I need to do some research on that. Hahahahaha
Thanks for the shoutout, Anne. Perhaps I was mistaken - if I am stabbed in the eye, I think I should ask for a lift to Jollibee to dig in on that banana-ketchup.
That is step two, Mr. Southern.
I can’t stop thinking about the fact that you don’t wash your face. I have a lot of questions!
Day 13,140 and counting, Annie!
helluva a "mug" shot to go with the caffeine theme....also glad to see you are back in the high life but yeah keep pestering you are more than worthy
I am surprised by how well the pestering is going, AK Another good week this week for new paid subs!
haha excellent!! 👍💪
Once a week, my wife and I go to McDonalds and we each order the kids Happy Meal. Scoff all you want but it is delicious.
Pro Tip: Tell them instead of the apple slices, you want extra french fries. The hamburger, 2x french fries and diet Coke add up to 470 calories. If you use their app, your Happy Meal will cost about $2.50.
And our grandkids appreciate the toys.
Wow
Now that is a good deal, Mr. Greenberg. I appreciate the pro tip. Why would anyone get apples when you can get FRIES!!!
I spent almost two years living in, and traveling around, Southeast Asia. And every time I walked past a Jollibee (of which there are many), I'd always say the same two things: (1) that BEE!! and (2) I've got to try Jollibee! And yet, I never did. And now, Anne, I will. You had me a Spaghetti-O's nostalgia!
It's so funny, Amanda, all the little things we mean to try but don't. Hope you have fun at Jollibee!
Oh this post also made me realize I have seen a DIFFERENT naked cowgirl, who is substantial older than the woman pictured in the article. Which led me to wonder how many naked cowpeople there actually are in Times Square and the rest of the world....
Okay Ms. Groveman, I thought this was an excellent question for my friend Ray, and here is his response:
Times Square
The consistent, “official” naked cowperson is the original Naked Cowboy, Robert Burck, who performs in Times Square regularly.
Beyond him, there have also been licensed/“franchise” Naked Cowgirls and other Naked Cowboys over the years, and you’ll sometimes see more than one performer in the same general Times Square ecosystem, but there’s no reliable public count for “how many are there” on any given day.
The rest of the world
The best documented “how many exist” figure is the size of the Naked Cowboy franchise at different moments in time: one public-radio report in 2013 described “eight different cowboys and cowgirls,” and an Oprah/OWN segment described a franchise that “includes 11 naked cowboys and cowgirls.”
So, depending on the year, the Naked Cowboy universe has been described publicly as roughly 8–11 total branded cowpeople (across locations, not just Times Square). Outside of that franchise, the number of imitators worldwide is basically unknowable without defining terms and doing original reporting.
This is the kind of hard-hitting journalism that keeps me coming back to Cafe Anne!
Haha branded
THE FASTER YOU SHAKE THE SMARTER YOU THINK and also the skin care routine seemed to be so effective, it even straightened your vajra necklace!
LOL I guess I'm stuck taking these supplements the rest of my life!
What, there’s no coffee in the US Jollibees? That’s too bad. I usually have coffee or hot chocolate with my Jollibee meals here in the Philippines as I can’t take cold drinks.
Had to laugh when you mentioned how creepy the Jollibee mascot is. When I was a young mom (a long long time ago in a country far far away), every children’s party (except mine) would feature a Jollibee mascot who would appear in the midst of the festivities and dance to the popular tunes of the day. Then it would go around and shake hands and give hugs. At that point my sons would fly to my arms terrified!
They are both grown now and are in a study-and-work program in the United States. One of them is in New York and is the current holder of the forever potential Scratch & Win lottery ticket winner😉
We still laugh at how creeped out they were at the Jollibee mascot. But they would go to US Jollibees whenever nostalgia and a bit of homesickness hits them.
I KNOW Raquel. It was HORRIBLE eating the super sweet peach mango pie without the hot coffee to cut through it. Very interesting you can get a coffee at a Philippines Jollibee and not here. Maybe they are punishing us for that whole colonization thing.
Fun to hear about the mascot at the kids parties. Ronald McDonald is also terrifying, come to think of it, but at least we don't invite him into our homes.
😄😄😄