tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155402122024-03-07T15:00:44.677+08:00bucaiofood to sweeten lifeKaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.comBlogger470125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-81799293468185804482017-04-16T17:21:00.001+08:002017-04-16T23:49:07.097+08:00Pancit En Su Tinta Choku
Bernie's
This pancit - stir-fried noodles - has been featured countless times in Philippine published media and television programs that I may not have anything more interesting to say about it.
For those who have come across this only now, this is pancit dyed and flavored with squid ink and soft slices of squid, then topped with fried garlic bits, crushed chicharon, spring onions, and Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-10883274072875550702017-04-15T02:34:00.000+08:002017-04-16T16:00:56.129+08:00Labahita Bacalao a la Ciudad de Cavite
This is the first time we spent Lent in Cavite that I dropped by the public market during Holy Week. And so it was my first time, after living here for exactly ten years, to see the tumpok of fleshy daing na labahita (salted, sun-dried surgeon fish or unicorn fish) fronting almost every other stall, perfuming the blistery air with their briny scent.
I have an aversion to any fleshy salted Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-53363596246437097972017-01-21T17:03:00.000+08:002017-01-21T17:11:53.057+08:00Advent Crabs
There are blue crabs, and there are red crabs. Even purple crabs. But I have never heard of, nor read about, any violet-legged crabs, let alone see one.
Until that fateful weekend not too long ago at the Cavite City public market. I was late, as usual - it was already nearing noontime, and there were not that many vendors at the fish and seafood section. Needless to say, there Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-59231076276684065662015-05-17T13:10:00.001+08:002015-05-17T13:10:19.459+08:00A Year's Worth of Eating
An Ifugao tending to his cooking, in Batad, Banaue, Ifugao
No, let me correct that. I have more than a year's worth of eating - three years maybe, but five years is closer - that's been waiting to be written about these past several years, but somehow have been languishing in my head and in my external drive for an era. I lost my handbag recently, along with my identity (all IDs, cards,etc.Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-91448687112707993592014-12-25T11:48:00.000+08:002014-12-25T11:48:39.241+08:00Ebai's Apple Walnut Cake
I try to shun away from walnut cakes, for all those I've tried were parchingly dry. But when we were in Baguio for a much needed pre-Christmas vacation, the head of our office branch in the city handed me a small box of what she labeled as Ebai Cafe's best.
I accepted gratefully, but reserved judgement on its reputation. Ebai's owner had been a client of the agency I work for, and we Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2Baguio, Benguet, Philippines16.4023332 120.5960070999999516.2804717 120.43464559999995 16.524194700000002 120.75736859999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-69144458249979773642014-05-14T20:05:00.001+08:002014-06-10T16:43:18.239+08:00Japan: Rokurinsha
My arrival in Tokyo was a protracted one, despite being on an on-time, 3-hour direct morning flight. I dutifully went to the airport a full four hours before the ETD, which meant I had to leave home around 2AM. As usual I had not slept doing last-minute checks, and I had failed to expect that the budget airline I had chosen to take me to Japan had seats that did not recline (I am never taking Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-34349255389945670492014-04-15T19:14:00.001+08:002014-04-15T19:58:11.280+08:00Bisita Iglesia 2014: Central Pangasinan
For this year's Bisita Iglesia we go to the central part of my home province, spanning the third and fourth districts of Pangasinan. It includes one of the country's oldest pre-colonial settlements, my hometown, the province's oldest church, and the province's main pilgrimage town.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Parish Church of St. Vincent Ferrer
Bayambang, Pangasinan
We start at the border Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-84313904499836977892014-04-12T17:03:00.000+08:002014-04-12T17:03:00.525+08:00Hong Kong: Tsui Wah
A hot cup of nai cha or milk tea and a couple pieces of sweet buttered toast from Tsui Wah, plus a bowl of fish noodle soup, were the last things I had upon leaving Hong Kong.
Tsui Wah’s buttered toast was one of the things that made an impression on Anthony Bourdain during the Hong Kong episode of The Layover. I found the shop by the busy Des Voeux Road Central, on the other side ofKaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-77560263716709279622014-04-11T12:18:00.002+08:002014-04-11T12:21:07.495+08:00Hong Kong: Cliftons
The seminar I attended in Hong Kong was held at a Cliftons training venue right smack in the middle of Queen's Road Central. The venue provider also catered the three-day event, providing breakfast, lunch, and mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.
Before the seminar I wasn't at all happy that I will be provided most of my meals for the day. I envisioned lackluster Western dishesKaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-33894832610719604132014-04-10T13:39:00.003+08:002014-04-11T12:20:37.190+08:00Hong Kong: Hotel Breakfast
Because there were a lot of interesting things to eat around the area where my hotel was located, I had been tempted to forego the free breakfast included in my hotel package. But I inspected the spread on my first morning, and found it equally interesting so I had breakfast there. And I got hooked that I ate breakfast there for all the days of my stay in Hong Kong.
It had the usual Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-40126301727846778272014-04-08T15:37:00.002+08:002014-04-11T12:21:57.305+08:00Hong Kong: Sheung Wan Strolls
Because the dried seafood market of Sheung Wan opens late and closes early, my three-day early morning strolls, before I headed to the hotel cafe for breakfast, had been limited to the "normal" market stalls. By normal I mean the usual market produce, and nothing of the dried kind that Sheung Wan is famous for.
It was a liability that my hotel featured free buffet breakfast, and Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-91212267119370057842014-03-28T15:57:00.001+08:002014-04-11T12:23:21.731+08:00Hong Kong: Sheung Wan Dried Seafood Market
When I was booking my hotel for my four-day stay in Hong Kong, a major part of the reason I decided on one in Sheung Wan, apart from its price, was its being located amidst the famous dried seafood market in the island.
The reviews weren't that great, from a non-Asian point of view. The main drawbacks, according to the reviews, were that the subway doesn't service the area, and theKaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-62841006802042312352014-03-18T15:37:00.005+08:002014-04-11T12:23:18.817+08:00Hong Kong: Lin Heung Kui
Tourist and foodie brochures in Hong Kong recommend Ling Heung for traditional yum cha dining. Lin Heung not only serves authentic dim sum and Cantonese fare, it also offers the real yum cha experience – roving dim sum carts, loose leaf teas, huge kettles that must contain at least a gallon of hot water, ceiling fans, liveried old gentlemen who are at least seventy years old as wait staff.
Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-20844039692061555432014-03-10T17:08:00.002+08:002014-04-11T12:24:16.272+08:00Hong Kong: Yung Kee
Yung Kee is a restaurant in Hong Kong island famous for its roasted goose. The resource person for the training-seminar I attended, who was an American married to a Hong Kong local and has lived in the area for fourteen years, declared the best roasted goose was in Kowloon, but that Yung Kee’s was just as good.
The night I went there I was told that the waiting time for a table was about anKaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-87219573924994007152014-03-06T20:23:00.000+08:002014-04-11T12:24:21.742+08:00Hong Kong: Tim Ho Wan
I was in Hong Kong island for a three-day training program. Half of the seminar participants were Hong Kong residents, and right in the morning of the first day, during mid-morning break, I asked the natives where an out-of-towner might eat dinner.
As it was, the training program practically took much of the day, since we ended at five o’clock daily. Meals were provided, so that it was Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-53421460491125629592014-03-05T18:34:00.000+08:002014-03-05T18:34:00.075+08:00Cleansing Time
I am undergoing a kidney and gall cleanse, and I thought it
fitting to start today, Ash Wednesday, so I will have outstandingly fulfilled
the fasting and abstinence requirements. The cleanse goes for a full four days,
so it takes care of the first Friday of Lent, too.
This wasn’t pre-planned, though, just coincidental. I had
come across this cleanse around twenty years ago, and had been Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-35676444011703408822014-03-04T21:38:00.000+08:002014-04-11T12:25:02.196+08:00Hong Kong: Sheung Wan
I arrived in Hong Kong famished. I had made the mistake of
assuming that, since my flight was noontime and because my booking had said I
would be served a meal, I’d be served lunch. It turned out a meal on a one-hour
lunchtime flight was just a small piece of pork bun.
But it was just as well. I make it a habit to eat very light
before I arrive at my destination, anyway. The stomach Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-31826585180982182662014-03-03T17:18:00.003+08:002014-03-04T13:39:58.774+08:00Fishing Village at Island Cove
One of the water parks we had ignored since it opened was Island Cove. We became practically neighbors when we moved to Cavite City seven years ago, as it was just a thirty-minute drive from our residence. But its being located amidst Metro Manila’s sewer that is Manila Bay deterred us from enjoying its attractions.
It was the best place to go to, though, during the holidays when we could Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-83915146382380133982014-02-21T16:39:00.000+08:002014-03-04T13:39:14.866+08:00Sagobe Cafe at Tanza Oasis
I had taken a long break from work starting a few days before Christmas until the New Year, and I couldn’t sleep thinking about all the places the family and I could go to for a long vacation. But the husband, who was home only on the eve and on the day of both Christmas and New Year and had to work in-between, forbade us to go out of town. So instead of a tan and the general feeling of Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-82861542915209825592014-02-20T16:05:00.000+08:002014-02-20T16:05:24.359+08:00Legend Hongkong Seafood Restaurant
Legend combination platter
To continue with my Chinese restaurants series, this one also occupies a stand-alone building, but shares it with the Pasay outlet of The Wensha Spa at the Boom na Boom grounds. It sits on a lower rung compared with Golden Bay, with its smaller dining space, and a not-so extensive menu – by which I mean most dishes are more or less familiar.
Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-80898758583612567512014-02-11T18:39:00.000+08:002014-02-20T16:07:58.011+08:00Lugang Cafe
3-cup chicken
I have barely scratched the surface of Chinese cuisine and I am confronted by permutations of it. And permutations of it run wild all over the world, as active trade from before the 10th century and migration from the mainland ensured the scattering of seeds of it on foreign soils, where they took root and grew according to the natural climate.
spinach with preserved egg inKaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-27661553857532714282014-02-10T18:21:00.002+08:002014-03-18T15:41:39.708+08:00Golden Bay Restaurant
For the first time in Philippine history, the Chinese new year was declared a non-working holiday. It wasn’t surprising, as the president of the republic is of Chinese ancestry, and much of the Philippine economy is controlled by Philippines-born Chinese, although it was rumored that Chinese businessmen themselves groaned about another non-productive day.
spinach beancurd seafood Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-15060055152389205512013-12-18T01:06:00.003+08:002014-02-20T16:14:33.198+08:00Casa San Pablo - Breakfast
There’s something about Sunday mornings that just begs one to laze around, take it easy, stretch out each activity as if to make it last the day. It’s the last day of the weekend, after all, and the day after it’s back to the reality of tolling for your bread. So you savor each moment, loathe to hurry, wishing to draw out every second and every minute.
Casa San Pablo is the Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-25507685725162607892013-12-18T01:02:00.000+08:002014-02-20T16:15:38.097+08:00Casa San Pablo - Dinner
Dinner at Casa San Pablo was a grand affair, in the context
of a grand meal at home. During fiestas, or perhaps an important guest, or a
revered relative, has come to visit.
Providing warmth to the rather chill evening – it rained
hard in the afternoon dissipating to a shower – was what I know to be bulalo,
but which I also know as a proper Tagalog nilagang baka. Bone-in beef shank Kaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15540212.post-11673828783331286282013-12-18T00:32:00.002+08:002014-02-20T16:16:37.482+08:00Casa San Pablo - Lunch
I never had any second thought about getting the full-board
package at Casa San Pablo. I was there for relaxation and rejuvenation, so I
didn’t want to be out in the city looking for food during mealtimes. And it’s
most economical, too. The overnight charge includes breakfast, but for just an
additional P200 per person lunch and dinner will be included. That’s an
unbeatable deal, considering aKaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00819864338904805544noreply@blogger.com0