kidd's breakfast

(Puto is the yellow one, Kuchinta is the brown one, and Niyog is the white stuff)

Puto is Philippine steamed rice cake prepared practically all over the country and eaten alone, with butter or butter substitute and/or grated fresh coconut or as accompaniment to a number of savory dishes for breakfast (most notably, with dinuguan). - from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puto#Variations_of_Puto

Kuchinta is another delicious steamed cake made of rice flour, sugar and water. The ingredients may sound so simple yet tastes excellent especially when topped with shredded coconut. - from http://www.filipinodesserts.net/quick-desserts/kuchinta-recipe-filipino-steamed-rice-cake

I normally have Pandesal for breakfast, but on days that I'd catch a mobile vendor of puto and kuchinta, I'd have them instead. See, these are some of the things that I like living in the province. Traditional food like these are easily accessible at the right time. There are times that I'd wake up at the sound of the vendor yelling "puto, kuchinta". For me, morning is the best time to eat them. For eight years that I stayed in Manila, I can't remember ever eating puto or kuchinta for breakfast, unless I would eat out.

They are best accompanied with niyog (grated coconut). I think for a couple of years we stopped buying from the mobile vendors because part of the cost cutting strategy of the owners was to eliminate the niyog. They're just not the same without niyog, but this morning, there's a vendor and my mom asked me if I want it for breakfast, and the first thing I asked was "may niyog ba?" (is there grated coconut?). And she said, yes. So I was in for a great breakfast! Ittadakimasu!