Fresh Fruits for Dessert

Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food such as cakes like banana cake and chocolate cake, cookies, pastries, ice cream, candies, puddings, chocolate bars, sweetened fruits like “banana que” and sweetened banana, sweet delicacies and my favorite, fresh fruits. Dessert is an important part of a meal as it enlivens the eating satisfaction to a higher level. Sort of completing the food intake to a point where taste buds will attain a state of pure pleasure and will temporarily shutdown in craving for foods or anything. :-)

Fresh fruit is my preferred dessert for every meal. With so many good things being attributed to fruits I guess no elaboration is really needed. However, it is worth mentioning that fruit provides energy in the form of natural sugars which our body can extract without even feeling fulfilled. Said sugars are digested in a short period in a chemical process with no toxic waste byproduct. Fruit also contains substantial amount of the important fibers and high percentage of water which is almost the same water percentage of the human body at 80%.

Being in a tropical country like the Philippines, we are blessed with many varieties of fruits available to everyone at a relatively low cost here in Sri Lanka. I have featured before some of the local harvests of fresh fruits in season as well as the remarkable king coconut and banana which we enjoy all year round. There are many more which I hope to post one by one or in groups in the future.

For dessert we usually have, as shown above, pineapple. It is the crunchy-sweet variety which is also a favorite of our Japanese friends.

For very good source of natural sugars + water, we have water melon and melon which provide a refreshing dessert at the end of a satisfying full Filipino meal during weekends. :-)

Imported fruits also make a good dessert although not quite cheap here. Grapes, apple, oranges and seedless water melon are perfect at the end of a sumptuous meal during special occasions.

As we get old, our interest in nutrition increases and we are getting more conscious about what we eat. Consequently, our interest in fruit and its contents grows. As expected, more and more people are now eating fruits for dessert. c“,)

Office Meals Can Be Good

Being assigned in our Colombo City (Sri Lanka) office even for just a short period somehow excites my palate. Not just because of the many restaurants that I could visit for a rendezvous with the different varieties of foods but for the meals that are being served in the office. You see, in our satellite office, Japanese and Filipino expatriates eat together during lunch and dinner over meals prepared by local cooks. The theme is, of course, Japanese cuisine which we Filipinos have embraced and learned to love over time even back in our homeland Philippines.

The preparation, I should say is quite good. I can see how everyone enjoys the meals composed mainly of either meat or fish entrée for the main dish and vegetables and pasta or both for side dishes. At times noodles are also served which are equally delicious and appetizing. Regularly accompanied with stimulating “miso” soup or some other oriental soup, a bowl of exquisite Japanese steamed rice and fresh fruits for dessert, office meals can be surprisingly good.

I will not be describing each meal I had anymore. I thought it would be better if you will try to figure out the composition by yourself through the photographs. Not a single meal is repeated within a week, but there were times that the work load is just too much making us very hungry. And yes, during those times we immediately devour the food and totally forget taking photos resulting to only having 7 images. :-) Enjoy the tour though.

Meal 1

Meal 2

Meal 3

Meal 4

Meal 5

Meal 6

Meal 7

To finish every luscious meal off, fresh fruits in season such as melon, pineapple and sometimes banana, watermelon, mango and papaya is always provided.

If you would like to know whether Filipinos are happy with such meals? Well, the photos below could provide you with a clear answer. c“,)

For every smile of a happy and satisfied eater, there is a greater happiness and fulfillment being felt by the chef behind.