Clarisse here, a “professional busy bee” flitting between my day-job and my numerous passions in life. Most days I’m half-crazed from exhaustion, but the thing that keeps me going- and who cares if this is going to sound a tad cliche- is love. I love being able to do them all. (Yes, including my day-job.) What you see on this blog represents just a part of me, but it’s a big part of my life at present. I think it is also a reflection of the kind of time and devotion I willingly give to something I genuinely enjoy and love.
I like to think of myself as a friendly neighborhood recipe tester. In the last few years, I have been spending most of my free time in the kitchen trying not to make a mess (which I have discovered is hard to do when you love to bake). The rest of the time I’m taking pictures of carefully arranged food, though I do spend long hours in front of my computer writing, editing food videos, and searching for inspiration (not necessarily in that order, but usually all at the same time). I also love to travel quite a bit, and you’ll usually know what I’m up to through my Instagram.
Just some random things about me:
- I don’t know if this is going to sound bizarre but I don’t super like to eat sweets even though I like to make them. I generally gravitate towards spicy and sour foods.
- Asian noodle soups are my ultimate comfort food.
- I will devour any chocolate 72% and above, so be careful when you have them around me. 👀
- I love coffee. I drink it everyday.
- Apart from writing and photography, I am also obsessed with reading fantasy novels, watching volleyball games, and doing watercolor illustrations.
- When I’m extra tired, I either go on a Netflix marathon (K-dramas!) or answer Sudoku puzzles until I fall asleep. 😆
- My main inspirations for starting this blog are Lori Baltazar (The OG Pinay food blogger of Dessert Comes First) and Dorie Greenspan.
Now for some blog stuff:
This blog is all about sharing the food and travel related things I enjoy. That’s it!
I am a 100% self-taught kitchen experimenter, and therefore I know you don’t have to be a professionally-trained chef to be able to make food you enjoy. You certainly do not need to be any sort of special traveler to appreciate the wonderful things the world has to offer. This is my belief and the reason why I decided to start this blog.
At the end of the day, this blog is still my big ole diary for all the recipes, food brands, and adventures that have made a mark in my life. It’s as simple as that!
The story in the name
The name The Tummy Train is actually a combination of the two main things this blog centers around: food (tummy) and travel (train).
TUMMY. This blog is first and foremost about the exploration of food, and I like to do that inside and outside my kitchen. You can expect lots of posts about recipes, restaurants, and products.
I would like to mention again that I am not a food expert nor have I ever been trained as a chef. I don’t have an elder who teaches me stuff in the kitchen, and I have only attended classes informally here and there. But I do love experimenting in the kitchen, and that’s where all my learning has happened. I started baking cupcakes for fun when I was 16 because I thought they were cute, but it wasn’t until after graduating from college with an unrelated degree that I realized how much I actually enjoy baking. There’s more to it than cupcakes apparently, though they are a pretty good place to start.
I really enjoy recipe testing and learning new things in the kitchen. I make it a point to chronicle only the recipes that have made an impression on me. Occasionally I try to tweak them to spice them up a little more. I am also somewhat obsessed with replicating delicious things I’ve tried from restaurants, or during my travels. Currently, I am obsessed with pairing stuff with drinks. (Go figure!) Through this blog, you can also get a glimpse of my inner thoughts when I’m learning a new baking or cooking technique for the first time. (I can get pretty chatty!) I guess I just hope that someone could benefit from my trials and errors.
At the moment, most of the recipes on this blog are dessert-related since I really have a special love for baking. Ironically I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but there’s something about turning flour and eggs into beautiful baked goods that makes me feel like I’m doing magic. Since I like spicy and sour food the most, I’m slowly trying out more savory dishes and adding them into my “repertoire”. I couldn’t be happier about becoming more well-rounded as a home cook! And to think it all began when I went into the kitchen one day with zero experience and just decided to make something! I am hopeful this blog also encourages others to take that step. I try my best to share tips based on my experiences, as well as process photos and videos where necessary.
Outside my kitchen, I enjoy seeking out unique dining experiences and trying products that are new to me. (More so if they’re local products!) It’s also been a pleasure to get some behind the scene looks into famous international food brands. What started out as a diary for my kitchen trials has evolved into something more multi-faceted, and I’m still continuously trying to develop concepts for the blog that will make all the foodie things I share more interesting for all of you. 😉
TRAIN. Is there still anyone out there who hasn’t been bitten by the travel bug? It’s the age of affordable flying and wanderlust after all. The world is too fascinating a place to miss out on. I have a love for learning about cultures and histories other than my own; and of course, we must not forget the cuisine!
I believe that travel and food will never be mutually exclusive, because the cuisine is simply too big a part of a country’s identity to ignore. So in the travel visual diaries that I write, I always try to capture the essence of a country’s culture and cuisine as much as I can.
Most of my travels are broken down by blog posts, but I very much enjoy making Travel Videos as well. My enthusiasm for traveling has opened doors for me I never expected, but more importantly, I hope it can help you see a tiny bit of what you can expect out there.
Well this has turned out longer than I expected. I certainly hope that you find the trip with The Tummy Train worthwhile and fun! 🙂
If you have specific questions about the recipes I’ve shared or the places I’ve been, feel free to e-mail me at clarisse [at] thetummytrain [dot] com OR thetummytrain [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also just leave a comment on the individual post. I’ll try my best to help you out!
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PS. I put a lot of thought and effort into coming up with my content and photos, so please please please do not take them without proper credit or permission. Thank you!
-December 2021
28 Comments
Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide
Your photos are just gorgeous and I think it’s great you’re developing your passion so young. Although, I guess at your age I was inflicting some pretty bad experiments, and some decent ones, on my college roommates. Good luck with your journey. You’re off to a great start.
Clarisse Shaina
I can absolutely relate to the experiments bit. My victims are always my three younger brothers. Haha! And thank you so much! Your comment means a lot. 🙂
Casey
Love the name of your blog!! nice pictures too, I wish i had that talent!
Clarisse Shaina
Aww thanks for the lovely words! I love the variety of recipes on your blog. 😀
Lisa O.
Great site. Just made the banana bread! De-lish!
Clarisse Shaina
Awesome! Thank you for visiting. I’m glad you like the banana bread! 🙂
Lizzy
Hi, Clarisse! I’ve been on the hunt for local baking and/or food blogs to follow and am I glad I stumbled onto yours. There’s plenty of stuff out there, but not a lot that’s as thoughtfully expressed or put together. It’s now my new favorite blog. Definitely looking forward to your next baking experiments!
Clarisse Shaina
Wow thanks for the compliment! It means a lot. 😀
Jean Alaba
You have a knack for photography, looking forward to seeing more of your posts. Cheers!
Cla Panuelos
Thank you! Just visited your blog too! It’s awesome. 😀
chefgusto
We are crazily similar O_O
Cla Panuelos
I just checked out your blog. Nice to meet another Filipino food blogger! I love how your recipes go around the world. The Indian food is making me crave! The variety of your recipes is inspiring for someone like me who has been trying to cook more but ends up baking way too much instead haha! XD
chefgusto
Thanks! My first love is baking and cooking is a close second. I started with a dessert blog first but then I decided to broaden the horizon of food and venture off to cooking as well.
Cla Panuelos
I’m still trying to do the cooking part haha! I have a ton of recipes lined-up but somehow I always prioritize the baking recipes. 🙁
chefgusto
You’ll get to it! I started the same. I have index cards of recipes to try and I tend to put all the baking ones in front but eventually, I learned to mix and match. Pairing is the way to go 😉 Btw, I have been browsing through your blog and my gosh, the photos are just on point! Copied a few links of your recipes to make as well. Thanks in advance for those!
Cla Panuelos
Awesome! Let me know how they go. 🙂
And thanks for the tips!
jackiesdelights
You have a super amazing blog! I was just wondering, what widgets do you use for your sidebar? I’m just getting my baking blog started and am looking for ways to improve its appearance.
Keep up the good work, your photography is amazing!
Jackiesdelights.net
Cla Panuelos
Hi thanks for visiting. Congrats on the new blog! My widgets are mostly just text widgets. I simply code in a combination of pictures and HTML. 🙂
Enzo
Hi! What camera do you use in your photography? Your pictures are amazing! 🙂
Clarisse
Hi Enzo! Thank you so much. I use the Canon EOS 7D. 🙂
Rice N Dine
Amazing blog you have in here and your talent is very admirable! More powers to your blog and have a lovely day! 🙂
Clarisse
Thank you so much! 🙂
padmaja
Hi, you have an amazing blog and i actually stumbled when I was looking for Dubai spice market research. Your photos on your blog looks amazing. What camera do you use to shoot the pics and also mention your favorite photo touch up tools that you use often, for editing pictures.
Once after i am back from my holiday . I am going to bake some lovely buns and breads from your recipe index. have a wonderful day!
Clarisse
Hi there! Thank you for your kind words! For the Dubai trip I used my Fujifilm XE2. And then I used Photoshop to post process a little bit. 🙂
Mia Amor
I love your blog and especially on how you take your pictures its just “perfect”
Clarisse
Thanks, Mia! 🙂
Stephen Garelick
We like the blog but not the pop under ads
Clarisse
Thank you and sorry about that