THE PHILIPPINES
SWEET TREAT: PUTO BUMBÓNG
A Filipino holiday street food, puto bumbóng is usually served outside church after Simbang Gabi, a mass held on each of the nine nights leading up to Christmas. A sweet purple-rice cake, it gets its colour from dark rice that is soaked and then ground. Cooks in search of a shortcut, however, simply add purple-yam flavouring to rice flour. It’s then poured into bamboo cylinders, steamed, topped with butter, grated coconut and sugar, and served on a banana leaf.
CLASSIC DRINK: TSOKOLATE
A popular treat during the holidays is this hot chocolate, made by dissolving tablets of pure cocoa in hot water, adding sugar and either milk or cream, and then frothing the mixture with a whisk called a batidor. It’s a constant on Christmas morning or alongside puto bumbóng after mass.