Roadtrips with Mamu

Our Awesome Planet TV!

2010-11-08T19:38:00.000+08:00

Just a preview of why I've been too busy to blog lately.

Hello Childhood!

2010-10-03T01:23:00.000+08:00

Remember that scene in Ratatouille when Anton Ego took one bite of Remy's Ratatouille and immediately the most feared food critic remembered his mom's cooking and was immediately transported to his childhood. This week I had a ratatouille of sorts, not from Mamu's cooking, but from all the "street food" that I had. If you must know, like any other good intentioned parent, Mamu forbade me from

Goodies from Vigan

2010-09-17T23:43:00.001+08:00

One of Mamu's friends who's from Vigan gave us some goodies from her recent trip home. Chichacorn is a snack made from a special variety of corn then popped making it very crunchy. It comes in a variety of flavors like garlic, spicy, adobo, barbecue and cheese. I prefer the classic garlic. Believe me, once you start popping, you just can't stop. It's that addictive! Perfect with a glass of

Pinoy Care Box

2010-09-14T19:23:00.002+08:00

When my brother came home a few months back, we welcomed him with a care box of Filipino grocery items. It contains his favorite chichirya, Boy Bawang, Century Tuna, Lucky Me Pansit Canton, Purefoods Corned Beef, Taba ng Talangka, Reno Liver Spread, Chocnut, Flat Tops, just to name a few. It's practically a sari-sari store in a box. Long story short, he wanted to travel light and decided to

Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm

2010-09-13T21:42:00.000+08:00

We wanted our roadtrip to be not the usual Tagaytay trip where a view of Taal Volcano along Taal Vista is always part of the itinerary. Ilog Maria Honeybee Farm seems like a break from the usual so we decided to go there. This is my first time in a bee farm, so apart from seeing a lot of bees, I really didn't know what to expect. The farm is a huge and except for the name post pictured above

Manos Greek Taverna

2010-09-09T18:12:00.000+08:00

Driving along Tagaytay-Calamba Road, Manos Greek Taverna is pretty hard to miss. The blue and green facade sticks out like a sore thumb among it's neighbors. Inside, Manos is quaint. The blue and white theme continues, reminding me of the movie Mama Mia. Wine bottles are displayed in one corner and little mementos from Greece are scattered here and there. The menu reminds me a lot of

Superhero for a Day

2010-09-07T00:41:00.002+08:00

During a trip to Tagaytay, we decided to check out Tagaytay Zipline at the Picnic Grove. I decided to include this in our itinerary because I had this childhood dream of being able to fly. While the zipline is only 250 meters long and 300 feet off the ground, I figured it's the next best thing. After we paid Php200 (2-way weekday rate), we were strapped on a harness (belongings included) and

Sunset by the Beach

2010-09-05T19:27:00.001+08:00

Don't you just love sunsets? That time of day when the sun changes from bright golden yellow to a fiery orange ball as the darkness slowly creeps in. Puerto del Sol, Bolinao, Pangasinan I think the beach is one of the best places to be when the sun bids it's adieu for the day. There's nothing like salty breeze on your face as you watch the sun slowly disappear, hearing the waves, basking

An American Choir Sings a Filipino Classic

2010-09-04T18:28:00.008+08:00

Don't you just love it when a foreigner tries his best to speak Tagalog? So imagine my reaction when I saw this video on YouTube. Don't let the title fool you though, this video has nothing to do with Glee and don't bother waiting for Charice to appear, wala siya dito. Aliw no?

Cape Bolinao Lighthouse

2010-09-03T23:55:00.000+08:00

Next stop on our land tour is Cape Bolinao Lighthouse. The imposing structure sits atop Piedra Point, Baranggay Patar and is the second tallest lighthouse in the country, next to Cape Borjeador in Ilocos. The is one of the "worth it" stops in the tour. Though we did not get to go inside the lighhouse, Piedra Point gave us a very scenic view of Bolinao. The blue color of the sky is a

The Enchanted Cave of Bolinao

2010-09-02T23:27:00.000+08:00

Part of our Puerto del Sol package is a land tour of several attractions near the resort. Our first stop is the Enchanted Cave in Baranggay Patar, Bolinao, Pangasinan. After what seemed like forever in a long rough road, we were welcomed by a giant fossilized clam. A few meters away we were at the entrance of the Enchanted Cave, a coral cave with a fresh water pool at the bottom. This cave

The Gem that is Puerto del Sol

2010-09-01T21:36:00.002+08:00

To say that the Puerto del Sol is not the easiest place to get to is an understatement. It is seven hours away from Manila. Dadayuhin mo talaga. But my stay at the resort more than made up for that. Photo by Jasper Buenavista My five-day stay there was very hectic, in fact, I was not able to take pictures of the resort. But take my word for it, the place is picturesque in a rustic sort

Conversations Over Cherries

2010-08-31T17:24:00.000+08:00

Until recently, I never saw or tasted fresh cherries. I'm used to the bright red bottled kind that is a constant garnish on ice creams and cocktail drinks. Seeing one for the first time resulted to some funny conversations. C: Gusto mo? Me: Ano yan?C: Hulaan mo.Me: (looking at a dark looking fruit) Ay duhat. Di ako kumakain ng duhat.C: Di yan duhat. Tikman mo.Me: Ayoko nga. Duhat yan, baka

More is More!

2010-08-31T00:20:00.001+08:00

Growing up Brazo de Mercedes is my least favorite dessert. That light brown and white roll with a yellow custard center. While I like the yellow yema-like center, I don't care much for the white soft meringue-like outer layer. My idea of a good brazo is less of the mushy white part and more of the yummy yellow part. Imagine my delight when I saw the words "Overstuffed Brazo" at Greenwich. I

My (sort of ) Weird Guilty Pleasure

2010-08-24T02:15:00.004+08:00

Let me share something weird about myself. One of my favorite cheap treat and guilty pleasure is Sky Flakes and Reno Liver Spread (with ice cold Coke, thank you). I know that doesn't sound too weird but other than with Sky Flakes or mixed in Kaldereta, I don't really like Reno or any liver spread for that matter. Case in point, if you give me pan de sal, or tasty or any other bread with Reno,

Contest Alert!

2010-08-22T14:35:00.004+08:00

Manila Blogs, one of the go to sites for Manila's blogging community is celebrating their 5th anniversary with a bang. They're giving away a brand new cellphone! The Nokia C3 is designed with the blogger in mind. The full QWERTY key makes typing easier. Nokia Messaging also gives 1-click access to e-mail, chat, and social networking platforms. It also has WIFI which means you can be

My Favorite Siopao

2010-08-21T02:26:00.000+08:00

I grew up eating Kowloon House's Jumbo Pao since forever and to this day I still love it. Why, you ask? First, there's the fluffy white bun, the texture of which I can't really describe but it's something I associate with my old siopao eating days. Then there's the tasty bola-bola filling, the saltiness of which is complemented by the slight sweetness of the bun. It contains two of my

Patupat

2010-08-19T03:19:00.002+08:00

My latest discovery during my last trip to Manaoag is Patupat, a native Ilocano delicacy made of glutinous rice and coconut milk cooked in sugarcane juice then hung out to drip. This rice cake is quite popular during summer or whenever it's harvest season for sugar cane. I also saw a few patupat vendors at the Mangaldan Public Market. The most challenging part of eating this kakanin is

Spur of the Moment Craving

2010-08-18T01:29:00.001+08:00

I was craving for something sweet, tart and fruity. I looked inside the pantry and the fridge but nothing fit the bill. I know a cup of yogurt would do the job but we had no yogurt and it was almost midnight. In the end, I came up with this... Tada! Green mango with a sprinkling of salt and lots and lots of sugar. After about 15 minutes (I had to wait for the sugar to melt), the mango was

Bacalao

2010-08-17T02:22:00.000+08:00

It just started with a conversation that went something like this: Friend's Fiance (FF): Are you familiar with Bacalao? Me: Yeah, salted cod. FF: No. The fresh one. Me: No. FF: It's my favorite fish and that's what we're having for dinner. Fresh bacalao, as it turns out is one of the oiliest and tastiest fish I've tried. Apparently it's so oily that bacalao attack (the kind that ends in the

Instant Ramen Fix on a Rainy Night

2010-08-16T01:37:00.000+08:00

I have a thing for instant ramen noodles. It started with those instant Japanese ramen noodles given to us regularly by a tito who used to work in Japan. Then there's Nissin's Instant Ramen Noodles, the blue one that has real sesame oil. My current instant ramen favorite is Shin Ramyun. This is one spicy ramen, in Mamu's words, "nakakasipon sa anghang", which somehow masks that "instant

Barquiron de Casoy

2010-08-10T16:34:00.002+08:00

We had visitors from Guimaras over the weekend. One of their pasalubong is Barquiron de Casoy, an Ilonggo delicacy of mini barquillos filled with pulvoron. Maybe it's the combination of the wafer thin barquillos and the powdery sweetness of the pulvoron that make these little babies are so addicting. Case in point... A little over an hour after opening In the words of a famous TV

Arroz ala Cubana

2010-08-07T23:17:00.000+08:00

I've been having an Arroz ala Cubana craving for weeks but never really acted on it. Then one day a neighbor gave us saging na saba (native plantains), I took this as a sign to hit the kitchen. My version of Arroz ala Cubana: 1/2 kilo ground beef 1/2 T crushed garlic 1 medium onion chopped 1 medium bell pepper chopped 1 medium potato cubed green peas (optional) 2 cups tomato sauce fried saba (

Living on the Edge

2010-08-06T01:52:00.001+08:00

One of my best adventures in Cebu happened at The Crown Regency Hotel, the tallest structure in the province, but the real adventure happens at the two top floors. The Skywalk Extreme Adventure is a 15-minute walk. What so extreme about a walk, right? Well, the walkway area is at the edge of the 37th floor on a platform with no railing. First, we were asked to sign a waiver that basically

I Say Bulalo, You Say Pochero

2010-08-03T00:58:00.002+08:00

I grew up thinking that pochero was nilaga in tomato sauce with saging na saba and kamote (lately we mixed in chorizo de bilbao and ganbanzos), not bad but we prefer nilaga. But in Cebu, at Abuhan Uno in particular, pochero (with the addition of bamboo shoots) is bulalo, long cooked beef shank in that flavorful and comforting broth. What makes bulalo better than nilaga is the utak, that marrow