Thursday, July 03, 2008

Pancakes

[Pancakes with chocolate syrup and chopped mangoes]

Kids are kids, and I am a grown up kid. So my kids and this big kid enjoy pancakes at home for breakfast whenever we can, but regularly on lazy Saturdays and Sundays, along with steaming cups of native tsokolate with scalded evaporated milk, so that we could linger on the table talking about nothing in particular, until it is time to cook lunch.

My children love to stack pancakes on their plates, pour honey and spread butter on them, and cut them to neat triangles, feeling very grown-up wielding bread knives. And I sigh, wondering how time flies by, that they can now slice their own food without adult assistance.

It has become a ritual, this home-made pancake breakfast, that they're not so inclined to order pancakes when we eat out. My son prefers crepes, particularly those at Cafe Breton.

I have never made pancakes from scratch. I have seen guaranteed great flapjack recipes in many blogs, but I am not disposed to try them out, yet.

That is because I've been using this wonderful pancake mix from local food and beverage manufacturer RFM Corporation, and I have never been disappointed thus far. It is sold under the brand name White King, the box emblazoned with a corresponding picture of a king with white eyebrows and white parted beard.

I'm sure those who are now into their adulthood will remember pancakes made from White King mixes when they were still children. I do, and I remember it was the only brand that we used at home.

But more than for the sentimental value, I like White King pancake mixes because they not only result in creamy, delicious pancakes, but they have even improved over the years. The White King pancakes that we make at home nowadays are so fluffy and moist, and so soft I'd like to cuddle them.

White King pancakes now come in three variants (sweetened, complete, classic), but I stick to the classic - the one from my childhood. It is already sweet that I don't need to try the sweetened version, and the complete version (no need to add eggs and butter, just water) is too dry for my taste.

Another beloved home-grown food and beverage brand is now selling pancake mixes, but to me nothing compares to White King.

We make small, thin pancakes and stack them to a tall tower, then top them with whatever fresh fruits are in season, plus sweetened whipped cream or chocolate syrup, or just condensed milk, to make a breakfast special. But plain honey and butter, sometimes with a sprinkling of cinnamon powder, are good enough any morning. As long as the kids keep me company, and I remain a kid at heart.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i love pancakes! i usually top them w/ crunchy peanut butter! yummy treat.. but we buy pillsbury pancake mix. fluffy and tasty!