Viva los churros!

"C" IS for "churros" and "C" is for "chocolate." Both make up the charming combination of comfort food offered by C's by L' Fisher Hotel-churros in three flavors. One order gives you four pieces of golden-brown Spanish crullers that are crunchy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside, plus the dip of your choice.

They said that churros was invented centuries ago by Spanish shepherds high in the mountains, and named after the churra sheep these herders watched over. It was considered a simple treat convenient enough to make away from a conventional kitchen. What's more, after being fried, the churros could be easily transported and did not spoil quickly. Oye! Oye!

Also known as the Spanish doughnut or French fritters, the churros is popular in Europe as breakfast or snack food and can be bought even just from the street. C's brings us the churros freshly cooked before our eyes with a choice of chocolate, caramel, and sugar in cinnamon.

"We try to keep it fresh," says L' Fisher Hotel chef Pancho Bringas.

Churros are fried only upon order and at the end of the day, old dough is discarded.

How long will you wait when you ask the waiter for churros? Will five minutes be too long for you? A churros machine that extrudes pre-mixed dough into the waiting vat of hot oil below assures that not only will the wait be short, but it will also be sweet. You'll know that the fritters are a-cooking from the pleasant odor wafting through the air. Ah, muy bien!

The churros that I had came with a thick chocolate dip. It's tsokolate "e" from cocoa powder (not the traditional tablea) so that the sweetness can be controlled. You see, chocolate in tablea form is mixed beforehand with sugar and this Chef Pancho found too sweet already. Muchas gracias, Pancho!

Should your sweet tooth demand to be satisfied, C's is the only outlet in Bacolod that sells Arce Dairy Ice Cream. The menu shows an extensive list of flavors and has something for every distinctive palate. This brand has sugar-free, sherbet, classic, supreme and regular. Excellente!

My partner in crime Virna Tan and I had avocado ice cream. It was so much like the real thing that Virna quipped, "all it needs is the lanit-lanit" or the dark fibers usually found in the fruit.

Arce Dairy is famous for its quality products, and excellent quality always demands a price. The ice cream is made from fresh carabao's milk which to health practitioners is healthier than cow's milk. In 2007, this brand was voted Best Sugar-Free Ice Cream Manufacturer. It is a Hall of Fame awardee as "Outstanding Ice Cream Manufacturer" by the Philippine Consumers Union in 2002. This feat was duplicated in 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2001; in 2001, it was given the Millennium Excellence Award by the Philippine Consumers Union.

Atis ice cream has the gritty texture of atis but since it naturally has a mild flavor, cleanse your palate first with a sip of water before moving on to this flavor. Then, you can isolate the atis taste. Pastry chefs should create desserts out of this in lieu of vanilla.

I find atis ice cream delightfully delicate and elegant. Now, just imagine it served on fine china and a silver teaspoon with a lace table napkin on hand to dab on the corners of the lips. Sariling atin! After all, we're the only country that served ice cream from a root crop (ube), and coconut of a different species (macapuno).

Arce dared to come out with who-would-have-thought flavors such as choco peanut, nanca, sweet corn, buko lechias, and buko among so many. However, you can go continental by choosing Almond n' Chips, Blueberry Cheesecake, Pistachio, Dark Chocolate, Cappuccino Lite, Mandarin Orange from among so many.

I go to C's for their New York Cheesecake. It is dense, not foamy and light, and delivers a strong cheese flavor right at first bite. I think C's has the best NY cheesecake in town. Now, I have three reasons to go to C's: The New York Cheesecake, Churros con Chocolate, and Arce Ice Cream. Vamos a comer, todo el mundo!