June 2020

I am hugging my coffee right now. Ninety days after the quarantine started, we have changed our season in the Philippines from the hot and dry summer to the rainy and wet season. Ninety days and communities have shifted to a new economy of barter, online selling, and planting.

The search for some local food continues this week and I was lucky to find a wonderful baker who fell in love with Davao just like I did. I was introduced to Mateo’s Cake which is an online store selling delicious pastries and recently moved to Davao from Metro Manila. A year ago, I met the awesome Ms. Tetta who organized a conference on writing for Mindanao culinary history. After our meeting made a trip around the sun, she linked me to her daughter, the master baker of Mateo’s Cake, Ms. Bea. A small world of foodies, right?