Cut-rate memory madeleines: Egg pie
Egg pie! We haven’t had egg pie since the school cafeteria. When we spotted this at the supermarket we had to get it.
It tastes exactly as we remember: the slightly cloying flavor of custard encased in cardboard. We took a bite and remembered the small stationery store on the ground floor of our grade school building, where we went almost everyday to sniff erasers. And the chaos at the canteen at recess time, when hundreds of little girls would shout “Manang manang manang” at the beleaguered attendants behind the snack counters. And the ire of the teacher when we corrected her spelling of “yacht” and she tried to intimidate us by summoning the dictionary.
Other cut-rate madeleines: Hi-Ro, Hello, Mallows, Flat Tops, Curly Tops.
Actual madeleines are sold at Brasserie CiCou in Greenhills. Butch says there’s a Japanese bakery near Metropolitan Avenue Makati that makes madeleines, but they’re more Murakamian than Proustian.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
February 15th, 2013 at 10:33
Will always love eggpie – this was my high school and college entrance exam go-to snack. And Mallows, Curly Tops, and Flat Tops. (What IS the difference between Curly Tops and Flat Tops, taste-wise?)
February 15th, 2013 at 13:18
Ang sarap tingnan!!! :)
February 15th, 2013 at 15:32
There is no difference between flat tops and curly tops when it comes to flavor.
Actually, there seems to be no difference between curly tops and flat tops at all, since very often the curly tops are actually also flat.
February 15th, 2013 at 16:50
@Ejia I’m asking because there’s the Curly Tops in the box and yellow wrapping, and there’s the Curly Tops with the similar plastic/foil wrapping (but it’s gold, compared to the silver ones for Flat Tops). It’s just weird and I don’t see the point: if there’s no difference, then why are they marketed as separate products?
But then I enjoy both, so no complaints.
February 15th, 2013 at 21:00
I’m not sure if anybody else noticed, but I think there’s a difference in texture. Flat Tops is smoother, compared to Curly Tops which feels a little grainy. That’s why I prefer Curly Tops over Flat Tops.
February 16th, 2013 at 12:43
Iced Gems, too.
February 18th, 2013 at 10:08
All those goodies can be found in Pasig Mega market. I went there a few Sundays ago and I saw Curly Tops, Mallows and Iced Gems.
Although, I only see Mallows in a 2 pc. pack nowadays. No more of those 6 pc boxes?
February 19th, 2013 at 18:20
I frequently still see Chocolate Mallows in six-pack boxes in supermarkets.
Chocnut is another old-time favorite — also still available in supermarkets and sari-sari stores.