by Mike Aquino for Yahoo! Southeast Asia

My wife likes to do our household shopping on Sundays. Sunday mornings are the best time to hit the markets, she says, when the items have just arrived from the farms, "bagong bagsak" as she likes to say.

Plenty of other kumanders think the same way; Sunday is a big market day for many other families in Metro Manila, and plenty of weekend markets have sprouted to meet the demand.

The weekend market is a fixture of cities all around the world. In Bangkok, Thailand, the gigantic Chatuchak Weekend Market's 15,000 shops serve about 200,000 visitors each day. In the west, weekend markets in major cities have become the best way for organic farmers to get their produce directly into the city dwellers' hands.

The weekend market is a fixture of cities all around the world and it's no different in Metro Manila

The motivation and the market are much the same in Manila: small farmers and "artisanal" producers use weekend markets to sell directly to customers without the big supermarkets' intervention. One of the first weekend markets to hit it big in

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In this video, Yahoo! Southeast Asia reporter Jason Domantay learns how to make cupcakes for Halloween with the help of Swell Sweets baker Gel Colet. (See the ingredients below)

Chocolate Cupcake

1 pack butter (225 grams)
2 ½ cups white sugar (460 grams)
4 eggs
1 cup cocoa  (100 grams)
1 2/3 cup water (368 grams)
1 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups flour (284 grams)
1½ teaspoon baking powder (10 gms)
1 teaspoon baking soda (4 grams)
¾ teaspoon salt (4.5 grams)

Marshmallow Fondant (for the topping)

16 ounces white mini marshmallows
2 to 5 tablespoons water
32 ounces powdered sugar, sifted (peotraco or penco are good)
½ cup shortening

Prep work: (1) Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave for 2 minutes. Mix until everything is soft and melted. (2) Put the powdered sugar on the table and make a well in the center, where you will put the marshmallow. (3) Spread shortening on your hands, and start mixing the powdered sugar and melted marshmallows together. Keep mixing till

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The street food popular among school kids back in the 1980s has made a comeback with a few extras

By Mike Aquino for Yahoo! Southeast Asia

If you were that kid who bought merienda from the street vendors outside school (more of us than most parents would be comfortable with), the "ice scramble" was likely part of your childhood.

It had immense market share back in the 1980s, though it was nothing more than crushed ice, sugar, milk, a dash of banana flavoring, pink or purple food color, and the finishing touch of powdered skim milk plus chocolate syrup or sago. Simplicity aside, it was magic on hot afternoons after class.

Not everybody saw the appeal, though — parents wary of hepatitis infections would regularly warn their kids from buying ice scramble from the vendors outside the school gates. But the ice! And the sweetness! And the psychedelic colors! The warnings never seemed to work — and if anybody ever got sick off of a dodgy ice scramble, they never seemed to be people you knew.

An ice scramble is technically a slush, a drink composed of a slurry of flavored liquid with

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The Philippines' unofficial national dish

Among Philippine classic dishes, the adobo is often considered the Philippine's unofficial national dish. It's a feast of wonderful Pinoy flavors in one serving—salty, sour, garlicky and sometimes even sweet.

In Spanish cuisine, it originally refers to a marinade or a cooking method of marinating meat in sauce, but here in the Philippines it has evolved to refer to the actual dish of pork, chicken, and other meats or even vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and spices. But it doesn't stop there.

Many families, provinces, or regions have their own way of cooking adobo. Chef Edward Bugia of Brgy. Bagnet prefers to make his adobo with onions, sugar to counter the vinegar, and annatto oil for color. Some add gata or coconut milk for a thicker and creamier adobo. Others like their adobo with a little heat and put chilies or sili.

In this exclusive video for Timpla on Yahoo! Philippines, find out what fellow Pinoys love about adobo and how to cook one version of it. Then

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Among Philippine classic dishes, the adobo is often considered the Philippine's unofficial national dish. It's a feast of wonderful Pinoy flavors in one serving—salty, sour, garlicky and sometimes even sweet.

In Spanish cuisine, it originally refers to a marinade or a cooking method of marinating meat in sauce, but here in the Philippines it has evolved to refer to the actual dish of pork, chicken, and other meats or even vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and spices. But it doesn't stop there.

Many families, provinces, or regions have their own way of cooking adobo. Chef Edward Bugia of Brgy. Bagnet prefers to make his adobo with onions, sugar to counter the vinegar, and annatto oil for color. Some add gata or coconut milk for a thicker and creamier adobo. Others like their adobo with a little heat and put chilies or sili.

In this exclusive video for Timpla on Yahoo! Philippines, find out what

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by Mike Aquino, for Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Pity the dieter who swears off all fried foods for health-related reasons; not only does she cross out the most delicious constituents of any menu, she excludes herself from the best parts of the Filipino food experience, too. Begone, banana-cue and turon. So long, tapsilog and tosilog. Goodbye, kentekoy and kwek-kwek.

No Manila street corner would be complete without a vendor frying local street food

If you're Pinoy, you're likely to start your morning with something fried and continue in like fashion throughout the day. We take comfort in food that's been seared in oil, whether it's a tocino and egg at sunrise or sizzling sisig post-five-thirsty over beer with friends. It's all very natural to any Filipino, at least until heart disease catches up with us.

Frying: a Gift from China
You'd be surprised, then, to learn that frying is a relative latecomer to our tables. Before the Chinese came to the Philippines to trade, the Filipino food repertoire was limited to boiling, roasting, and souring — in short, what we could make

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Tapsilog—one of the many favorite 'silogs'

When it comes to Pinoy breakfasts, the 'silog' is a top favorite.

Tapsilog, longsilog, tosilog—nothing beats starting your day with a plate of hot, greasy sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg, typically fried) to go with your favorite breakfast meat: beef tapa, longganisa, tocino, or even hotdog, bacon, corned beef and a whole lot more.

It's such a Pinoy staple, that every man, woman, and child on the street has a say on their favorite 'silog'. And where do you find the best one?

In this exclusive video for Timpla on Yahoo! Philippines, Yahoo! Southeast Asia reporter Jason Domantay hits the streets to ask where Pinoys go to have a plate of the best-tasting 'silog'. Answers range from a tapsihan in Quezon City all the way to eateries in Parañaque and Lucban, from a fast food chain to the "Batcave". Find out if your own favorite is mentioned. If not, add them to the comments section below and share with us why you love 'silog' as well.

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Where do you go to treat yourself to a juicy, high-quality burger or a perfect piece of steak? How about to satisfy your sweet tooth?

With so many restaurants in Metro Manila catering to our every craving, it's easy to lose track of which ones are actually worth the visit, which ones won't be a disappointment, and which ones are destined to become our favorites.

To help, we at Yahoo! share some of our favorite restaurants, particularly for those special evenings or anniversary dates. Read on about Myron's Steak, Ribs & Seafood, Elbert's Steak Room, and Sweet Bella, and share with us your own favorite dining destinations.

Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Southeast Asia staff

Myron's Steak, Ribs & Seafood
By Charley Braga, Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Myron's Wagyu Black and Blue Burger

Filipinos' palate for a good burger never seems to tire, notwithstanding new burger joints cropping up every year.  But there's one restaurant that goes head-to-head with foreign franchises and big name-brand chains in terms of burger satisfaction —

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