It's calamares in the Philippines

Fried squid or calamari is better known as calamares in the Philippines. This is due to the close affinity of Filipino to the Spanish language.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Red-Dyed Egg White

Red Egg from Lola's Kitchen at The Enterprise Center Food Park

For the record, this seems to be the worst red egg I've seen and served to me ever. The red dye obviously seeped through the egg shell resulting in pink spots in the egg white. The yolks, however, look good.

Red eggs among Filipinos are preserved with the use of salt for the purpose of longer storage period. This may be one of the many Chinese influences to Pinoy cuisine. However, unlike the Chinese red eggs, which are believed to symbolize prosperity and happiness are used as gifts for kids birthdays, we just eat them as ulam with rice matched with sliced tomatoes or whatever you find something good to match them with.

I have experienced preparing red eggs in the past back home in Isabela where in we used itik eggs. Itik are a kind of ducks with brown and black feathers. The white ones or what we call pato are very few and I have never seen an egg of pato. Seriously.

Not that they don't lay eggs. They do. I was just not exposed enough.

The basics of making red eggs, according to my mother, is that it should not be too salty and that the dye should only stay on the surface of the eggshell. If it passes through the shell and on to the egg white, it means  something went wrong with the preparation. And that should not be served and eaten because you wouldn't want to eat food coloring.

No matter how much others say that it is safe, pinkish egg white is something I do not find desirable. I am not a heath freak, but I am not going to eat this.
Posted from WordPress for Android

Pan de Sal de Manila

Pan de Manila’s pan de sal is one of the best tasting pandesals I have tried so far in my entire life. If you like your bread hot, this is the right place to go to because they bake every hour. I think it's also a good thing and gives you a good feeling particularly when you chanced upon them coming right out of the oven, which is very often.

I like it that there is a branch in the building where I work. And aside from it, there is also another one across the street, an alternative during holidays when the one in the building is closed.

Different kinds of palaman (fillings) to choose from are also available - dairies and creams and cheese and jams and butter.  Pandesal is salted bread, so having any of these fillings with it makes a good combination.

If you do not want any palaman, they also offer a variety of cheese breads, ensaimadas (glazed spiral pastry), and some herb flavored such as pesto and the likes.

I'm now hungry!

Halloween Crinkle

Got a crinkle cookie treat from Pancake House! Although it was not decorated enough to make it look like it's for Halloween, it's cute. The waiter gave me a complimentary piece because we ate a lot.

Kimbap

According to Koreans I know, seaweed rice or 김밥 (kimbap) is the official picnic food in Korea, and is apparently quite a popular dish even outside of Korea. You can consider them as quick-grab lamang tiyan because they are sliced into bite-size small rolls usually packed in a lunch box that you can carry anytime.

It is made from rice with various other ingredients rolled in sheets of dried laver seaweed. It looks like sushi except the fillings are different - no wasabi and raw fish in it. The most common kimbap is filled with meat, eggs, and various vegetables.

I had this platter earlier. Not sure if it looks aesthetically pleasing by Korean standard. It tasted good though.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Pinoy ZhongChan

Chowking's Chinese Fish Tausi Bowl

The only thing Chinese I can see in this rice topping is the tausi in it. Tausi is Chinese fermented black beans.

I guess Chinese really has done a massive influence on Pinoy cuisine, at least in my home while growing as a kid. This is because I personally do not know the differences between Chinese and Pinoy food. Aside from the fact that they are both oily, all the menus in a tea house or any restaurants with a Chinese hint in them are familiar, particularly the braised and stew recipes. They are not at all look foreign or taste new to me.

Of course any real Chinese would say that Filipinized Chinese or westernized Chinese food is not the same as Chinese Chinese. But still...

Posted from WordPress for Android

Stately Columns

These fluted paired columns are the pillars that buttressed the roof of Quezon Hall in the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman campus.

There are a number of buildings in this school that utilize magnificent beams with  first floors that seem to be quite high. The structures, known as great works of  art of famous local artists, look both classical and modern. I will try to post some of them soon.

Quezon Hall is located behind the Oblation and is the first building that you see upon entering the University Avenue from Commonwealth.

Daytime Moon

The Moon Riding High in the Daylight Sky

It's a little past 4:00 PM and the moon is visible up there, so bright that it penetrates the blue light of the sky.

When I was young, I thought that the moon is always opposite the sun. It rises just as the sun sets, and it sets just as the sun rises. I was the same age when I thought that the moon follows me wherever I go.

This is was taken from The Enterprise Center in Makati. Those buildings in the picture are Asian Mansion II and Shang Grand Tower, two of the row of high-rise condominiums in Dela Rosa.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Dusk over Makati

Ending a very long, tiring day in the office with this view through the window helps you forget how you juggled the day to get things all caught up.

It's been a busy week. TGIF!

Alcapone Happiness

I love this doughnut from J.CO. It's not too sweet, it's soft and chewy and because, of course, it's topped with crunchy Californian almonds. I can go crazy over anything with almonds. The balance between sweetness and crunchiness is just right.

Try it! It's guaranteed to make you feel better from the first bite.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Bisukol

Bisukol in Gata

After an almost half-day heavenly spa, we dropped by the office where Rio spent the last two weeks at Quezon Hill, and they served us this brown-colored snails in gata (coconut cream).

Whew! I remember I hate eating this when I was a kid. Not because it does not taste good, but because it takes sometime and effort for you to get that tiny flesh in it. You have to literally slurp the broth inside the shell to coax the flesh to come out using a fork, a chopstick or a barbecue stick.

Bisukol is chewy with soft rubbery feel against the tongue, and it's delicious!

They thrive uncultured and they are mostly available in the market when it rains. During the rainy season in the Philippines, which is between July to October, the rice fields are usually flooded prompting the bisukol to emerge from the ground.

They are smaller and darker in color than the escargot that we know, but they are of the same species.

Posted from WordPress for Android

Framed

One corner at the second floor of Italianni's, Greenbelt showcases these frames of pictures of popular, old people. These as well as some interesting accounts of historical events and the murals painted on the walls have added to the charm of the restaurant's cozy interior.



Posted from WordPress for Android

Stranded

Trinoma Transport Terminal at the height of Habagat downpour

There is no typhoon but it is flooding everywhere.

Thousands of commuters are stuck at Trinoma Transport Terminal because North/West Avenues, EDSA fronting SM North, and Mindanao Avenue are all waist-deep. No cars can pass, not even the four-wheel drives or buses.

Since there is nothing I can do abut it, I decided to go malling instead.


Posted from WordPress for Android

Pruned

I have a thing for dead trees and dormant plants or those old trees without leaves. But I feel sorry for this just-trimmed pine tree next to a bushy one with a bunch of green needles.

Foggy Afternoon

Baguio in thick fog

One cannot help but feels like an angel on top of a mountain embraced by clouds.

This picture was taken on the same day as when my entry on July 8 was taken. It's amazing how the weather in Baguio changes like bipolar. The sun was shining brightly a couple of hours before this.  In spite of it being unpredictable, I love this place. I call it a second home.

Pond Bridges

Pond bridge at BenCab

There is something about garden bridges that fascinates me so much. They seem to give a touch of tranquility and beauty.

This bridge is over the pond at BenCab Museum in Asin. The view is made more dramatic by the low-lying thick fog.   

Trees of Green, Skies of Blue

Camp John Hay, Baguio City

The blue sky and bright sun with a slight breeze here in Baguio makes anyone feel like staying in this place forever.

Batirol Light

Every kiosk at the Tsokolate de Batirol at John Hay in Baguio has a hanging batirol light in it. I do not really know how they call those light fixtures, I just made that up.

Batirol  is a Cebuano word for a small pot used for cooking chocolate drink, shaped like an urn.

I call it that way because it looks like one, an upside-down batirol. It is creatively painted with the stripe design of the handwoven clothing of the Igorots. It also gives support to the bulb. Although it does not illuminate just like most lamp fixtures do, it provides a great lighting to the kiosk space.

Luneta rides: US-inspired Carruaje

US-inspired carruaje going around Luneta

The Philippines is not under the US rule anymore, but the Americano presence is still apparently found around the corners of this country. This is evident in this carruaje ride in Manila. Well, among others.

Some would say it's colonial mentality, but I do not dare challenge that topic in this blog. It's a trait etched in the culture and most likely it cannot be shaken off even by the most patriotic citizens from this generation to the next.

But today, cuatro de julio, just for fun, I think it's a seasonally-appropriate time to take this US-flag inspired carriage and go around the park.

After the Sun Sets

Diliman Oblation After Sunset

Sitting on the steps of the Quezon Hall on a Saturday afternoon waiting for the sky to turn orange is not at all fun to do, but it is sometimes my craze. It's like elusive bliss. The Oblation is stunning and inspiring to watch after the sun has dipped into the horizon.

This view did not last quite long enough, but it's worth catching and seeing it again and again.