10 Crowd-Pleaser Potluck Dishes to Order From Makati’s Private Kitchens

(SPOT.ph) Must admit the holidays can be the most stressful time of year.

Traffic backed up for miles, malls packed like fish in a tin, nerves frayed till breaking point.

And then there are those multiple holiday parties scheduled on the same night—on opposite sides of the city.

Thank goodness for old reliable neighborhood home kitchens with old reliable dishes that make hostess gifts and potluck contributions a breeze. That’s one less holiday stressor to deal with.  

Just make sure you have cash on hand because some of these kitchens are still traditional that way.

Also read: 
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The SPOT.ph Early 'Ber Gift Guide: Gift Sets Edition 
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These potluck dishes from Makati neighborhoods are tried-and-tested for a reason:

Lechon from the Lechon Diva of Pepita’s Kitchen

Lechon diva Dedet dela Fuente first became known for her degustacion dinners and boodle fights at her own home. Now anyone can order the best of her dishes for dinner anywhere you want it.  Her lechon are the stars of any meal—my personal favorite bursts with spicy laing rice that is the perfect complement to the roast pork. Other options are her original truffle rice, shrimp cooked in crab fat, or aligue rice with chorizo, among others. Outside the roast porcine, other must-tries are her hiplog or large shrimp with salted egg; or her Eight Treasure chicken with Chinese sausage, salted egg yolk, dates, cashews, sticky rice, and other good things.

For orders and inquiries, contact 0917-866-0662. You can also check out Pepita's Kitchen's Instagram page.

Strawberry Shortcake from Baby Yulo

Bakeshops have come and gone, with fancy sweets galore. But our family’s favorite celebratory cake has always been Mrs. Yulo’s Strawberry Shortcake, with layers of old-fashioned chiffon cake baked in a tube pan plus whipped cream and fresh strawberries. It comes as a sheet cake too that is easier to slice and more convenient for groups, but we’ll take the original one any day.

For orders, contact 8812-4961.

Paella from Ditto’s

Ditto Lesaca slow cooks his paellas over a charcoal fire, following a family heirloom recipe that’s over a hundred years old. He does the market trips himself so he can choose his own fresh ingredients for its generous toppings: large crabs, prawns, squid, and wedges of salmon. And oh, all that chorizo!

For orders, contact 0918-963-4886. You can also check out Ditto's Paella Valenciana & Negra's Facebook page.

Pasta alla Gabriela from Xancho

Consider it a feast of flavor and color. Marco Rodriguez learned this dish from a friend’s grandmother in her kitchen in Tuscany last summer. The pasta is boiled in chicken broth, flecked with ground pistachios, and crowned with mortadella and basil tomatoes. For a party for just two or four, you can pick up frozen tubs of his popular dishes anytime. Spiced short ribs with chicken and figs, beer-braised short ribs with mushrooms and root vegetables. Or how about his Turkish chicken with apricots, almonds and grapes?

For orders, contact 0917-830-7020. You can also check out Xancho's Instagram page.

Butter Cake from Vargas Kitchen

This one is popular with kids and adults alike. A sheet of moist cake with its trademark lines on top, it always hits the spot on its own for merienda or as an ending to a delightful meal. Lola Mameng’s kitchen has since expanded from its home down our street to branches across the city, and its menu boasts of many other delights. Still, the original buttercake remains top of mind.

For orders, contact 0917-811-0712. You can also check out Vargas Kitchen's website.

Spreads by CC Table 

We always keep jars of Carole Cuasay Tagle’s chunky three cheese pimiento, spinach artichoke dip, and organic chicken liver pate on hand in the fridge in case unexpected visitors pop up, or when we feel like snacking at midnight (which is rather often, to be honest). They’re also easy to pack and carry to a friend’s home. Transfer to pretty bowls, open a pack of melba toasts, and voila, an instant prelude to a meal.

For orders, contact 0917-589-6222. You can also check out CC Table's Instagram page.

Sushi from Bambi’s Gourmet Kitchen

An invitation to Bambi Reyes Javelosa’s home is always a treat. She began cooking sukiyaki and tempura on her own when she was nine years old and never lost her love for Japanese food preparation. To this day she works with ingredients delivered fresh to her home daily. Her platters of sushi and sashimi will make any host happy, and if you want something different, try her homemade salmon cake, layered with spicy mayo, topped with kani and two kinds of roe.

For orders, contact 0998-881-4272. You can also check out Bambi's Gourmet Kitchen's Instagram page.

Hainanese Chicken from Stevie’s Hainanese Chicken

Everyone loves a good Hainanese chicken tinged with the essence of ginger and scallion. Stevie does it just the way we like it, a whole chicken,tender and juicy, with a nicely salted skin. It’s served with rice steamed in chicken broth, and comes neatly packed with a topping sauce, plus sauces of sweet soy, ginger, and chili. Steve Villacin’s Vietnamese springs rolls with shrimp are always a hit, too.

For orders, contact 0906-508-4155 or 8896-8940. You can also check out Stevie's Hainanese Chicken's Instagram page.

Chocolate Cupcakes from Dimpy's Kitchen

When we’re in a crunch, we call Dimpy’s. They usually have a dozen or two shiny frosted cupcakes on hand any time of day, perfect for last minute pickups on the way to school parties or picnics. The banana muffins make a nice present too, for the host’s breakfast the next day.

For orders, contact 0915-634-6799. You can also check out their website.

Cakes from Costa Brava

Talk about a throwback to our childhood. A white chiffon cake with marshmallow icing, and we don’t have to wait for our birthday to have it, because now we can afford it any time of the year. For some reason, the cakes have now taken a life of their own with another purpose, as message boards. Ask artist Tammy David who photographs cakes with her witty, bitchy one-liners such as one that said “DID I ASK TO BE BORN?” What would you write on your custom cake?

For orders, contact 8896-1267. You can also check out Costa Brava's Instagram page.

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