FOOD: Bicol

When husband goes to Bicol, I would usually ask him to bring home a jar of Bicol Express (Pork+TONS of Chilies + Shrimp paste + Coconut milk) and Laing, too.

But I found out there's a huge difference between those which are in jars and that which is packed in a food plastic container. The latter tastes more like home cooking so I now ask for it.

I love Bicol Express much that I want to achieve its authentic taste when cooking at home. Husband said I'm almost there :)

Authentic: you can see generous amount of shrimp paste. Coconut milk was cooked too well that all you can see is oil.

Home cooking: me, so glad husband allowed to have lots of chilies ;) He doesn't like to eat anything spicy except Bicol Express. But no shrimp paste for this though.

 

I added green beans to make it healthier. They say cooking coconut milk too much could cause an upset stomach so I just had it boiled for about 20 minutes.

 Long have I tried experimenting different methods just to get closer to its authentic taste, and this time I finally found what's missing: GINGER.

FOOD: Kidapawan/Davao

Husband travels a lot. I take pictures of food items that he brings home but my blog can't keep up. So, I might post those from his previous travels. Recently he went to Kidapawan, North Cotabato via Davao City. Here's what we got:

Chines Pomelo @ 100/kilo. I can finish 1-2 fruits a day. But now, I'm stopping myself from peeling the last one. I want it to last longer.

 Toddler is on the move. She loves playing with the last Pomelo.

 Mango Rolls @ 150 from and Durian candy @ 65 from the airport. Talking about "Smells like hell, but tastes like heaven", how I missed Durian candy!! I personally think it smells good :) 

 

Scrambled Egg with Tomatoes: Chinese

When I went out of cheese for my daughter's meal, she refused the scrambled egg+tomatoes that I prepared. I don't use salt for her food because she's too young for that so I use cheese instead. She's okay with scrambled egg minus the cheese, but mixing it with tomatoes is too much for her; most probably because of the sour taste.

Gladly I was able to find a Chinese recipe for scrambled eggs with tomatoes, though I missed some instructions, still it worked well for her. 

1. tomatoes

2. beaten egg. *DON'T ADD SALT*

3. let the beaten egg set first. 

you need approximately 2 tbsp of oil, 

a little bit more than the usual.
it's for tomatoes to cook well. 

but don't worry this won't turn out oily.

4. add tomatoes on the side. and a pinch of salt

5. let tomatoes cook under low heat. juice them out. 

the juice should dissolve the salt.

6. once tomatoes are soft, gently mix it with the egg 

and turn off heat.

This recipe brings back childhood memories. This is how my mother's cooking tasted like. 

No MSG!! 

I was surprised to totally loving how it turned out even with no onion, garlic, and black pepper powder. I'm a huge SPICE lover, you know..

Ratio for this by the way is 1 egg to 2 tomatoes

You could enjoy the natural taste of egg and tomatoes because the salt was dissolved and evenly mixed. Plus it's cheaper since you don't throw in spices. I can't wait for my tomatoes to grow fast!!

Chef Laudico: Guevarra's

In summer, we went to Guevarra's -commonly known as 'Chef Lau'- for a lunch date; a buffet date! So we had to ready our tummies. It was a treat by my husband's friend. All of us were excited to go there not just for the food but also for the place itself. It used to be an ancestral house turned into a restaurant. Plus, Chef Lau is one of the youngest and best chefs in the Philippines.

We came early, around 10.30am, so we had to wait for half an hour :) As expected, a lot of patrons were there since it was a Saturday.

Good thing they have a little garden (grounds).

I didn't intend to take any picture at the waiting area. This is just random showing how the garden was landscaped. Just imagine those chairs having a tent.

and a sofa (at the entrance), too.

This is my girl comfortably sitting after screaming inside the restaurant :)


 With golden plates just right above you. (Oh earthquakes!)

I wasn't able to get much picture inside since she was cranky.

But as you can readily see in the picture below, Spanish design accents all over the building. There were different halls in the restaurant. Each has historic name. Historic "Mabini" surname was posted on the first hall (right)

  I'm not sure if you can reserve a particular hall.

*******************************************************************************
Hispanic Ambience- I say 'Hispanic' because it reminds me of Americanized Spanish buildings.
Delicious Filipino Cuisine- Except that I was looking for more variety. Dessert was extra special
Just Price- Affordable on weekdays. Prices are slightly higher on weekends and holidays.But given it's buffet, I would say eating there is worth it.
                    For updated prices click here
Enough Parking Space- You won't have a hard time finding one since guards can assist you. And the area is relatively big. 
*******************************************************************************

Its location is not that accessible unless you have your own car, or would brave heavy traffic (at times) with your taxi meter running.
...But a good place for family affairs. They collect no payment for infants :) (much better than Tramway) So my 1 year-old daughter ate a lot of dessert for FREE.

Chain reaction

It was in September when Mr. Lucas started getting site visit assignments which required him to be away from home for several days. His first destination was Dumaguete City in Negros Island. You might have heard of it because of Silliman University, or because it is where you take ferryboats to go to Mindanao (through Dipolog City), well at least in my case.

Mr. Lucas brought home sweet and delicious Silvanas and Brazo de Mercedes from the famous cake and pastry house Sans Rival. I couldn't eat all of the Brazo de Mercedes or else I would get diabetes (psychological diabetes). He brought me a large box of  brazos.

He came up with the idea to give some to our neighbors. That was a great opportunity since we didn't know them that much. At first I was hesitant because I was shy. I was afraid they would think I was just pretending to be nice. But I told myself that it was a leap of faith. I knew it was the right thing to do and my pride to be misjudged shouldn't get in the way.

Exchanges of hi's and hello's aren't enough if you want to make real friendships.

It was Sunday morning and we were in a hurry so we wouldn't get late for church service. I came knocking on their doors with some slices of Brazo de Mercedes.

They were very surprised to receive something from me, especially because they don't see us that much; only when buying groceries or going to church. I survived that morning. I felt good; certain that they didn't see the gesture as pretending.

After two to three weeks, one of them gave me pieces of dried fish and guava from Banate, Iloilo. It was a delight! I knew those dried fish were clean, since they were from the province, near fishing areas. That was also the time I learned that the family came from Iloilo. The bond was established since I also lived in Iloilo for a few years.

And this afternoon, another surprise knocked on my door. The other neighbour gave me a plate of spaghetti and a slice of sandwich; from her sister's birthday. It was really delicious, topped with some dried pepper leaves. And of course, I knew the offer was sincere.

I couldn't believe such act suggested by my husband would have a chain effect among us. If I turned back and became a coward, I wouldn't have enjoyed good morning talks with them. The ice was broken and we have to keep each other warm.

Taho in the morning

This month, I and Mr. Lucas are going to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. Looking back, we were really different individuals to who we are right now.

We always like to tease each other before he leaves our home for work. Whenever our daughter is awake, she would look puzzled at how we say goodbye. We laugh a lot... I would pinch his nose.

This morning a taho vendor passed by and I asked Mr. Lucas to buy me a serving. It wasn't because I was hungry, just that I wanted him to get something for me.

Taho is made of silken tofu, sago pearls, and melted brown sugar. It sells for 5 to 15 pesos depending on the serving size. 

It felt like we were on a date :-) We go on a date about 2 or 3 times a month, usually when we have some shopping to do (groceries, supplies, etc.).

I feel happy because we are still able to do these things considering our 10-month-old baby. I hope we would still able to even when another little one adds up.

That taho was "um-mee" and was even more special because I knew he was in a hurry (he would still travel for about 2 hours),  but he didn't hesitate. He was cheerful.

Macaroni Salad: Will Post Recipe Soon!

Will post its recipe soon!!

Tagalogs are not familiar with Macaroni Salad. I've read from online cooking websites that they do not know how to make this. I'm craving. Hope I can make this again for my 25th birthday.