Say cheese!

Am back from Sta. Ana, Cagayan. Spent some four days there with my son Riv and a couple of friends from the media. More about it in my next entry.
For now, let me share with you my experience at the Belgian Delicacies Night at the residence of Ambassador Vardakis.
Cheese parties are something new to the palate of food-loving Filipinos so just imagine how giddy I was on my way to Forbes Park armed with a big appetite (unfortunately I forgot to bring my cheese knife and a doggie bag).
While cheese parties are not exactly popular in this country, it’s no trade secret that the smellier a cheese is the better it tastes (just like our own.. ehem.. durian).
It was difficult to keep tabs on all the names of the cheeses (all 25 varieties for everyone's picking!) but there were a few really good ones that could compete to the French cheese.
A hands down favorite was the Crotte de Bomal, a raw goat’s milk cheese sprinkled with salted ashes which is said to enhance the taste and the development of the bacteria similar in blue cheese. Hmm. Interesting.
Guests who were after the most flavor (that includes moi) opted for the Bio Bleu Belge, a farmhouse blue cheese derived from raw cow’s milk washed with whisky.
One thing about Belgian cheese parties is that it does not always have to be paired with wine. They actually prefer beer with their cheese. Can't blame the Belgians, they in fact have the best beers in the world with more than a thousand varieties brewed in monasteries.
Beer-brewing in Belgium traces its origins to the Middle Ages and so far there are about 125 breweries that have sprouted in this tiny kingdom.
Unfortunately for us, Belgian beers and even the cheeses are not yet locally available. Until then, we could only hope for another cheese party perhaps sooner rather than later.

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