Starting with Matutina's Seafood House at Tarlac, of which there is a Facebook Page here.

Matutina's is more or less your average Barrio Fiesta clone, but I don't mean that in a bad way, as I love these types of restaurants selling affordable, recognizable Pinoy comfort food.

We had your standard issue unbeatable combination of Sinigang Soup + Fried Fish, in this case Shrimp and Tilapia. Any combination of that is always a winner. As this was in the middle of our trip we ate light, because I really don't like traveling on a full stomach with its unexpected results (need to go, sleepiness, etc.). Turns out Matutina's is a common restaurant around these parts. We saw at least another one later down the highway.

After 4 more hours more or less of traveling, getting to Baguio and settling into our hotel, guess what: it's time for dinner! Quite happily we were a stone's throw away from Hill Station. They offer Tapas and the like, and we had these:

I'll be honest, the salad and soup were much better than the pork ribs. Which is a pity since I seldom order pork. The setting however is luxurious.

And location can't get any better, at the top of Session Road, right between SM Baguio and our hotel.

Right beside it was a gem of a place in Mt. Cloud Bookshop as well, one of those rare curated bookstores featuring selections from owners who really care about what they sell. If you asked me what is it that appeals Baguio to me most, its places like Mt. Cloud and the hundreds of other little corner stores that bring such character to the place.

I picked up F. Sionil short stories, which were the surprise of the trip for me because I couldn't put it down, while Jill picked up some Chinese - footbinding thing which she ended up hating.

By next morning we were up and ready at Dangwa station to catch a bus towards a trip to the clouds. That's a whole 12 or 15 hour chunk of a nondescript breakfast, ass numbing bus ride, munching on Sky Flakes and sipping bottled water to get by. It was a whole other day before we could start on chowing down again, and we started with Yoghurt House.

We ate here twice, the first time where we had yoghurt. I don't like yoghurt, so that was forgettable and you'll have to ask Jill about that. But the second time, I had a baked chicken thing with potatoes and salad.

It might look simple, but this is The best meal I had in the whole trip, hands down. The chicken was perfect, but that potato thing, which I can only surmise to be shredded potatoes mixed to a fine goo (and binded by egg maybe?) then deep fried into a kind of fried mashed potato pancake, is just WONDERFUL. Plus of course the salad, but any salad in the north is bound to be fresh, crispy and delicious.

Segue to a memory of my youth: It reminds me of egg noodles at the former Schwarzwalder restaurant in Makati. My dad used to go there, and I remember having this dish with egg noodles in it, which I loved. It was a posh place that I couldn't afford for the longest time, but when I finally could, the place moved, and when I found out where it was, it then closed. I can never have that egg noodles then, forever, and I've been to literally hundreds of restaurants and events since then looking for it, with zero results.

For some odd reason those potatoes remind me of the mysterious German egg noodles. They hardly taste the same, but they're both rare and delicious. I've probably had those potatoes at one time in the past and loved it, and here it is again in all places, Sagada.

Another place of course, is Lemon Pie House.

Which as I described in the past, was a mystical place to me, given that I had liked its FB page years ago before knowing about it, and so would get a stream of info about it, only adding to our determination to get over there.

The pie however, was just 'ok'.

Then again I really don't like sweets, pies or tarts of any kind, and the fact people were placing orders to pick pies up the next day (you have to order a day ahead) is clear proof I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Jill also ordered a kind of yoghurt with cookies combination something or other at Yoghurt House, the result of which I've no idea again.

The only other meal of note I can add to this is the quick 10 minute chowdown I had where the bus stopped before heading back to Baguio. I had a fried bangus, rice and some hot piping beef nilagang soup and just inhaled that in. It was delicious partly because I was ravenously hungry from the trip and partly because it was just.. delicious. The place was packed with travelers who would stay there only 20 minutes until their buses went on their way to Sagada, Baguio, Bontoc (the rice terraces), and other places in Benguet, so the canteen's job was to provide 'just enough' good food to get people on their way. The food was everyday Filipino goodness, not worth taking a picture of, but delicious nonetheless.

Ok that's enough eats. I'll finish this up with the rest of my other pics:

On our last day, May 1, we happened onto a Fiesta of some kind at the 'plaza', typically what they call the basketball court beside the church, similar to most other provinces in the Phils., with huts representing different nearby locations and about several hundred people:

It featured of all things, a contest for 'biggest chicken'. Here's one of the entries:

And here's another. The pics probably don't do it justice, but I promise you these guys were MONSTERS.

They were really enormous and kids couldn't keep away from them.

We didn't hang around long enough to see who won as the whole 'event' went on into the afternoon. Besides it was really hot under the sun. I know that sounds crazy in Sagada. It was cool in the shade, but it was still summer and the sun hurts your skin and can get you heat stroke if you don't have a hat (I was constantly in search of a good hat to buy but couldn't find any big enough for my enormous head).

It was fun to see a simple 'event' nonetheless, with nary a sponsor's banner in sight. It didn't even have blaring videoke and hosts screaming into a mic like most province fiestas. It was just a bunch of farmers coming together on Labor Day to have some fun.

Here's some final pics. There's also an SM over there, but not the type we don't like:

I saw a Honda Goldwing. A foreigner we met told me he saw a whole gang of these, driven mostly by retirees. I have to say this mode of transportation has to be the best possible way to enjoy these mountains.

Mountain bikes for rent.

The Masferre Restaurant, which we had read a lot about, but was unfortunately closed that day.

Typical winding, uphill trek.

House across the street from Yoghurt House, declaring how long its been around:

And the fireplace at our Pension house, where we spent several hours just staring at it. In my opinion, every house should have a fireplace, in lieu of a television. Hours swoosh by just sitting beside it. It attracted other guests to us as we sat there, first a British and American couple who lived in Makati and whom shared the restroom with us, a European of yet indeterminable origin, and three dudes from Manila, who were batch mates in College.

Of final note is Villa Cordillera near Camp John Hay at Baguio, which we went to on our final day just before we went down to Manila. This hotel is run by Baguio Country Club employees, and features the chance for non - members to avail themselves of the famous Raisin Bread without the requisite millions needed for membership. We already had lunch elsewhere so we can't judge the food here. It's just an important venue to know if you love Raisin Bread as much as we do.

I can't say enough how valuable this trip, or every trip frankly, is to us. Of all the things one spends money on, the pesos you spend on travel are often the most appreciated. Travel makes memories and opens up your eyes. Everything else in comparison is just clutter. And the overall cost wasn't all that much either (I'll update this with a computation later).

I'm so happy to have a 'cowboy' wife who doesn't mind, say, sharing a comfort room with other guests, and is just as enthusiastic about attacking a trip as I am. We dreamed this up, planned it, and bang, we were finally there! The feeling alone of accomplishment was fantastic. The feeling that we will conquer other places in the future is exciting.

Next stop this year, Tali Beach (if her batchmates can make this happen, which I heard is looking bleaker by the day), and Puerto Princesa!

Here's Mapiya-aw Pension House again, which is actually a very very old hotel.

View from our room window:

There's at least a 50 meter uphill trek from the National Road up to it, rendering the place invisible and quite a hike away from people traffic.

So bright and early we set out to explore, and since we had no car, we walked probably about 3km. from Point A to Point B.

The amazing Yoghurt House.

The Lemon Pie House. Quick story about this. A friend who had gone up here a year or more ago raved over the Sagada Lemon Pie House on Facebook. I checked the link, 'liked' it and thus received updates and such about it from time to time. Seeing it finally in the flesh was fun! The lemon pie though, was nothing to write home about, then again I'm not a big fan of pies, tarts and such things anyway, so don't take my word for it.

It was still hot under the sun but very cool under shade. Being such a nice day we just forged on the main (and only) road.

This building is the tallest structure I' had seen thereabouts. Assuming it's a hotel it would probably be the poshiest over there.

There's a bar / restaurant / cafe / souvenir store at every corner, up to two or three actually. I clambered up these rocks to check out this one which turned out to be closed.

These eerie limestone rocks are everywhere. Even right outside out room window.

Getting nearer the area where the caves are, there's some zipline action to be had if you're into that sort of thing.

At some point between the zipline area and the caves is this stunning view of a valley with the distant sound of a waterfalls somewhere. You can't help but stop and stare while enjoying the 20 degree weather and the can't - get - fresher - than - this air.

Finally, the entrance to the caves! Which we didn't go down to. We had been walking for more than an hour at this point and even if it was all downhill we were bushed, and there were a bunch of tourists besides.

This was the end of the National Road as we knew it, and we felt fine.

We stayed at this cement monstrosity for a few minutes to rest, trying to figure how we were gonna handle the hike back up. Took pics of some interestingly named places:

Finally we had to face the uphill climb. It was doable but it was definitely gonna drain us and would've probably taken us hours. Fortunately a passing jeep gave us a lift up 50% of the way and we had brunch at Lemon Pie House.

After that we hitched another ride from a passing jeep to take us 75% of the way and walked the rest.

We were completely drained when we got back to our place, but were very happy. The caretaker told us she didn't know anyone else who had walked the distance when we told her what we did. That's likely because most people she knew are intelligent and logical, and bringing along a car possibly helped (we left ours at a friend's place at Baguio).

Regardless, I thought what we did was pretty cool. You can only enjoy the town so much riding a car. On foot (or alternatively, a motorcycle) would allow you the freedom to explore and go in and out of shops, cafes and other interesting places quickly. And we definitely did a lot of that.

Next post, Sagada Part III: The Eating!

That's a nice view from the bus going there, approximately 4 hours into the 6 hour trip.

I'll start by talking about our choice of vehicle, Toyang, our cute (and it turns out) reliable Hyundai Getz.

We had a choice of taking a different vehicle, an Isuzu Alterra, and I was going to opt for that except I started to have misgivings when I would hear a high pitched sound whenever we hit 80, which is probably a left rear bearing. After some thought I realized the safest choice was to bring the car I knew I could trust (because I took care of it myself and therefore knew every inch of it), and so Toyang it was.

I'm happy to report it performed admirably, with no mysterious and / or annoying bangs or squeaks at speed and with its tiny 1100 cc never feeling as weak as you might think. The best thing about it is its amazing 15 km/li (city) and 17 km/li (highway) mileage, which might be even better because we only finished off a quarter of a tank all the way to Baguio. I admit it took me awhile to warm up to it, with its pokey performance and dated looks. But you can't deny the savings you get driving a gas sipper like that.

We stayed a night at Bloomfield Hotel, which is at the top of Session Road and a stone's throw from that much hated mall, SM Baguio. It's the first Baguio hotel I've ever stayed in with an aircon, which is unfortunately starting to become a necessity at not - so - cold Baguio. It's a good B&B, especially if you need to do business within the city, and I've nothing negative to note about it. I wouldn't mind staying there next time we're there again.

Day 2 saw us at Dangwa Station which is walking distance from the market.

Our bus is exactly like this one, which is something between a full tourist bus and a mini - bus. There's no a/c and you won't need one.

I had the best seat in the house depending on what you wanted to do, at the right most rear. If you wanted to take pictures, the window is just to your right elbow and it gives a great view. If you want a relaxing trip for taking naps, its awful as the seat is too crowded and you can't lean on anything.

The trip started on time, and the first hour you get a lot of Baguio scenery like this.

By the second hour we crossed sections of the road under construction like these, featuring 100 foot drops just a few feet away:

And by the 3rd or 4th hour you get the jaw - dropping, majestic views like these:

The vistas we saw as we sped away were by far the most spectacular I had ever seen. I had a full jacket on as well, with temperatures somewhere in the low 20s. It was truly nature giving us a show, something none of these images or my words can ever hope to even try to describe. It left us both quite stunned to be honest, and to think this isn't anything special to the people over here.

There were two breaks, one where we stayed on the bus and people sold stuff through the windows.

Despite what it might seem the hawkers were never pushy and quite orderly. The prices were amazing as well, with four pieces good quality kutsinta at only P10.00. In Manila for similar quality that would be P10.00 apiece.

The 2nd stop at 'Morning Star Restaurant' somewhere in Benguet, probably the highest canteen in the Philippines, took 20 minutes and featured more complete meals.

I checked out the food on our way back and it was amazing how much variety and quantity they had for a small and remote space. They had a captive market in the bus passengers clearly, and there was a lot of good, fresh food. I had a simple fried bangus, rice and hot nilagang baka soup. To a hungry traveler who's been sitting in a bus for hours tasted like a grand feast, and for only P60.00.

A few minutes after passing it I saw a sign on the highway the said something like 'highest point in Philippine roads', which we just whizzed by so I didn't have the chance to take pictures. I'm fantasizing we can come back one day via car (or motorcycle) and take a nice souvenir pic.

Anyway after two or more hours of this:

We were finally there!

The first order of the day, sadly, was to get online because I needed to do some work. Which was easy because I quickly found an internet cafe.

It turned out Mapiya-aw Pension House, the place Jill had booked for us was a 30 minute walk away from where we were deposited by the bus. 30 minutes is an easy walk under normal circumstances, but with steep inclines, heavy bags and almost total darkness coming quickly it would've been impossible. Thankfully a guy at the place had a motorcycle which picked us up, one by one, and took us to it.

Jill found the place via Trip Advisor where it had a good rating. I agree it deserved it, but possibly not how you might think. It's a great location, and the accommodations are on the south of adequate. But it's the people it turns out, which set it apart. More about that later.

The important thing though, was we were finally there. After months of hoping and planning, a day at Baguio and a six and a half hour bus trip, we were finally in Sagada!

More at the next post: Day 2 Sagada! Part II - We're Here!

The thigh + drumstick is a good part and is always preferred. Here we get an average serving rubbed with sweet gravy and pilaf rice.

The ends are blackened after roasting, while the rest of the surface is a nice brown colour. I avoid black parts if I can because I was told in the past this is carcinogenic. Its not a whole lot in this case, and is at least a good indication that it's cooked well through with no dubious bloody parts inside.

Overall I give this a 6 out of 10, with 0% chance of me ordering again. The rice was great and so was the sauce. The chicken serving isn't very impressive for P200+, the veggies were composed of carrots and some sayote that looked like it had been waiting in a heater the whole day. Same with the mashed potatoes, which was lumpy and tasted like cardboard. I've had better chicken meals at KFC.

I think the only thing worth ordering at Almon Marina is the barbecued pork and variants of that, if you can take the blackened bits, and maybe a steak and sandwich or two. Since I hardly order those I've always been disappointed whenever we ate there, and only come back every 6 months or so whenever I'd forgotten previous (usually bad) experiences. It's a pity since it has great ambience, giving off an 'old cafe' vibe which is conducive to just sitting there and eating / drinking coffee the whole day.

This is nothing to write home about however. Moving on.

It's also a simple dish. It takes some time to bake, but otherwise all you need is chicken, some herbs, an oven and time. It's hard to get simpler than that.

So I've come to make it a staple, and tried out several already. Today I'm going to review  Amici's.

For approx. P200-250 (sorry I forgot to take a pic of the receipt. Not a good start I know), Amici's will serve you a roasted half - chicken with some veggies.

So let's cut to the chase:

Does the meat fall off the bone? - 'fall off the bone' factor is my top determinant for all roasted / baked food. Amici's is stringy in the breast part, which is acceptable, but still a little tough in the dark meat area.

Taste? - Taste is excellent, and the rosemary really brings it out. The veggies are perfect. The sauce is delicious.

Overall I give this a 6 out of 10, with 0% of ordering again. This is not a reflection of the rest of their menu of course. The pizza we had with pesto on it ranks amongst the best I've ever had. This dish is just not their strongest.

Google Map below. There are no markings on it at the moment so play with the map and you'll get the general area.

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It's your typical working man's restaurant, and as such isn't much to look at. Inside isn't anything to write home about either, with a tired and 'Needs a new paint job' look going.

The menus don't help a whole lot either, with a distinct 'seen better days' look.

They also have a Chinese menu, but we were here for the Indian food so we ignored it. Am posting here anyways:

The place was fairly clean, and didn't smell of anything weird, which is important.

What's really important of course is the eating, which we got right down to after a few minutes wait for our orders, consisting of Mutton Curry With Chapati (P165) for Jill:

and Chicken Butter with rice (P134) for me.

The waiter mentioned three levels of heat, namely None, Medium and Fire Alarms (or something like that). Not knowing what to expect we ordered ours at Medium.

The verdict?

The warm Chapati that came with the Mutton is soft, chewy and delicious in itself, perfect for dipping into the meaty goo or wrapping meat with and quickly shoving into your mouth to avoid dripping any on your shirt.

The Mutton was also good, with soft, tasty meat easily slipping off the bone - always a good sign of well cooked and prepared meat. There was no usual gamy taste of goat and could easily be mistaken for a more sinewy pork or softer beef. Meat portions didn't seem to be cut the same with small pieces of bone coming off, but it was fine. Jill loved it more than I did. I give it a 8 out of 10.

My Chicken Butter seems mistakenly named at first because there's no trace of any type of buttery taste whatsoever, but keep in mind I am an Indian food novice so it's quite likely I do not know what the hell I'm talking about. It's chicken breast mostly, but not any type I've ever tried. I never understood why people liked chicken breast, I always considered it stringy, dry and tasteless, and prefer other cuts like the fattier thighs instead.

This however, is perfect. In fact, I am ready to pronounce this the best chicken breast meal I have ever eaten. It's still stringy and dry, but the sauce makes up for that, plus the spicy taste makes it absolutely great. I will mince no words here. We gobbled up our meals in ten minutes, and didn't waste any time with conversation in between. It was one of those times when you eat something great and totally don't realize how hungry you were. It was divine, and am giving it a strong 9 out of 10.

Other Stuff You Might Wanna Know

I mentioned 'working man's restaurant' earlier and I meant every word. Strictly an 'eat and go back to work' place, it caters to the large Indian population in the Paco, Manila and Unilever area, with similar establishments like an Indian grocery right beside it.

It sells a lot of interesting stuff, not the least of which are goblets with little swastikas.

Jill bought a sweet from it the name of which she forgot. It was recommended by the storekeeper after she asked her what amongst the food there was her favorite. It's sugary and tastes exactly like Yema.

Overall we spent P316.00, a perfectly reasonable sum for the excellent (and I seldom use that word) meal we had. You won't be able to tell that from their receipt however, which lists different items but had the same total nonetheless. We didn't order anything 'vegetarian'.

Chances we'll go back there is 100%. I'd very much like to try a beef or fish dish, and some vegetables. In other words, everything. Go check it out.

So it's hard for me to write about a Tintin movie with complete objectivity. In fact I considered skipping the movie altogether, so afraid am I of watching anything that wouldn't live up to expectation, the only thing convincing me otherwise being the Spielberg name.

It took me awhile after watching to write this too, because I needed to figure exactly what my expectations were. What for example, would make a movie 'worthy'? What did I like about Tintin to begin with? After a while I think I got it. But first, some things I noticed, in bullet points:

Tintin would never get angry at Haddock that way - At some point in the movie, Tintin chided Haddock for drinking again and losing the important scrolls. It's not that he wouldn't do that, it's the way he did it, via a sarcastic side remark, that I found off character. In all the books, I can only remember one significant time when Tintin lost his cool at Haddock, and he did so in a big way, via shouting and screaming at him in 'Explorers On The Moon'. I know its small details, but its important enough for me to notice at least.

Tintin would never boast - Maybe it's a common character trait amongst male fictional heroes in the past, but I couldn't help noticing how Tintin was fantastic with guns and with his fists. I remember wondering why bad guys would even try to beat up on him when I was a kid, considering his Manny Pacquiao - ish fighting skills that see him through encounters with goons twice bigger than him.

At any rate, he's amazing with a pistol too, and would shoot in that odd arms - crossed technique where he rests the gun on the crook of his elbow for aim (which in my opinion guaranteed blindness or at least deafness on his left ear for at least a day). So anyway, he shoots down a plane via one shot on a floating boat. That's par for the course as far as the books are concerned, and hell yeah if anyone can do it, Tintin can. What bothers me is he says something like 'I only need one (bullet)' before he does so. I find that unbelievable, because if I know Tintin, Tintin would never boast.

Tintin does not pursue a story - At some point after they found the jewels at Marlinspike Hall, Haddock (or Tintin, I'm not sure) says something about Tintin finally getting his story. I can't recall any time in the books where Tintin would actually say something like that. His being a journalist always felt like an excuse for pursuing adventure, and he gave the impression he pursued adventure first, wrote later (if ever). I thought that was odd as well.

Incidentally Marlinspike Hall seemed much smaller in the movie. In the books it was far grander, maybe it'll look that way in the next movie.

Technically Superb - The last thing I notice, frankly, in any movie is the quality of the film per se. I really can't care less whether its in 640, 1080p, HD, 3D or whatever, as long as its clear and gets the story across. But I'd like to credit the movie technically anyway because it was just so damn good. Herge drew Europe in a way that sticks in my mind forever, in bold, plain but brilliant color and detail. If someone says Paris, Tibet, South America or anywhere Tintin has been, I think of Herge's books, and this movie delivered. It was wonderful for the movie to at least get that right, but frankly if they could've done it with less tech involved I'd have been just as happy. The last reason you should be watching a movie is for the special effects. It's like liking a gift because you like the gift wrapper, and not what's inside.

Tintin is tough, brilliant, honest, low - key and simple. This is the reason why I immediately notice things like boasting and sarcasm. Americans, or at least American movies, do not understand low - key and simple. They consider boasting as an act of courage, and want their heroes bombastic and larger than life. Tintin is very European in that he pursues adventure for the joy of it (which is why I found the mentions of him doing what he does for journalism odd).

And finally:

There's one aspect of Tintin sadly lacking in the movie, and this is his complete and absolute loyalty to his friends. If you are Tintin's friend, he would fight for you, go to the ends of the Earth for you, defend you, help you, always be patient with you (he has to be with friends like Haddock, the Thompsons and Prof. Calculus) and never get angry at you (unless you really deserve it, and if he did he would be direct, and not sarcastic).

He would be the only level headed person in a group of people losing their cool. There is nothing complex about him, he is simple, clear and single minded in everything he does.

I realize now these are what I expect to see in a Tintin movie, as this is what I most remember about him. After all the amazing scenery, spectacle and adventure, the one thing you will notice about him is the utter lack of a complex. The lack of a personal history or even a romantic interest helps because it keeps everything simple, but it also puts more focus on his one personal trait - loyalty to what is important (his friends, his dog) and complete love of adventure.

Until I see this translated into a movie, I would never find a Tintin movie worthwhile, no matter how intense the special effects.

7 out of 10.

While Annie is no doubt a sad character, and therefore allows the movie the option of becoming a potential sobfest, there is little to make you feel such. This is a comedy after all, written by the people who made Super Bad and 40 Year Old Virgin, so that means the situations and dialogue are hilarious. The fact it doesn't turn into a 'woe is me' is a testament to Wiig, who is plainly brilliant in playing a familiar character to all of us - the 30 - something, down and out, unclear future single woman.

As Annie, Wiig is flawless. You cheer for her during highs and feel anger and pain during her lows. You will empathize with her character more than you have ever felt for another. She is that clueless friend that gets into relationships with the worst possible types of men, makes a scene at parties, battles for Lillian's attention along with bridesmaid - from - hell Helen (Rose Byrne), shuns the right guys and just does all the wrong things. Yet you continue to wish the best for her, and hope that she holds on to her sanity long enough for that proverbial second wind.

The rest of the cast is no slouch either. Rose Byrne plays the manipulative and micro managing Helen who sabotages Annie's plans and steals the role of Maid of Honor at Lillian's wedding. From the first moment she appears on screen, she steals the scene in a black, flowy gown that could not have spelt 'bitch' better than if she had written those letters on her head. I particularly liked Megan, played by an amazing Melissa McCarthy, who performs an unconventional intervention on Annie that proves to be the pivotal scene that brings light to all that is wrong with her. Despite how unique that was it remained believable if not altogether refreshing and enjoyable.

There are hundreds of movies that tackle the same theme albeit with variations. Just now Anna Faris will soon launch her 'What's Your Number?', and the other day I caught Jennifer Lopez's 'The Back-Up Plan' on HBO, which had her lead character pregnant, but still going through the similar 'getting old now what do I do' situation.

It's clear to me no other movie to date has hit the nail on the head as Bridesmaids. Everything clicks here, but none more so I think, than the excellent writing. In real life, melodramatic situations abound, but performances that properly enact these few and far between. This movie is a comedy that happens in and around sad moments. Pretty much like how life really is, and that's what makes it work for me.

To be honest this is a kind of mishmash pot whose ingredients are partly determined by what I'm trying to get rid of from the ref. My way of explaining why there's ampalaya in there.

After simmering 1/2kilo of well thawed out chicken thighs with some garlic and onion for approximately 10 minutes, I add chopped mushrooms, chopped carrots and potato. It is absolutely crucial you thaw chicken well to room temperature if it's coming from the freezer. Trust me it's make or break.

The cooker is on high all this time, and around 5 minutes later I add seasoning like salt and pepper, etc., along with a small can of evaporated milk and of course, the curry.

Here it is boiling up and tasting just like it should (I just checked).

The best thing about the rice cooker is that it's a slow cooker as well if you set it to low heat. Which is perfect if dinner is still an hour or so away. You can't do that on a gas range because it would take too much gas. This way the stuff gets cooked long and thoroughly. And anyone who has cooked stew knows, this is the best way to get the most flavor.

I'm thinking maybe Adobong Bangus next time. I LOVE Bangus and once tried adobong bangus that was absolutely sublime. Or maybe something tomato based. I'm enjoying this. It's fast, hassle free and easy to clean up after. Might not be good on the electric bill though. As a general rule, appliances that heat up take up a lot of electricity.

1. At carpark monthly rate: P3,500/mo. Daily rate is something like P160. We are paying as of this moment 3 days worth, pending results of looking for a better deal. There is an hourly but no weekly rate.
2. If you buy a parking spot at a parking building (currently under construction): P475,000.00
3. Alternative: Wait for someone to rent theirs out, but at the risk of having it withdrawn any time (it's a seller's market), and there's already a long line.
4. Alternative 2: Look for parking at nearby compound and at the shops across the street. So far this makes the most sense.

Those figures are enough to make you think twice about moving at all. The janitor around here, a really nice guy btw, can make a killing if he decides to broker parking spaces, being in the know about these things. Dunno if he already is actually.

I had been thinking about why they cost it so high. It might be because the developers don't want people to make parking areas a cottage industry, in the sense that owners would start selling their rights and it'd get passed on to different owners and onwards. At that price, the only way it would make sense is if a condo owner uses it for their own purpose. If it cost lower, for example, P150k, businessmen would start lining up to buy them and rent them out monthly (at least that's what I would do).

The  downside of course is obvious. If you think for example, that P1m is a fair price for your condo (just an example btw, not the price of ours), that 'fair price' is suddenly not fair any more if you consider the P475k extra you need to bleed out your wallet for parking.

P475k is a large amount of money whether you're buying a P1m condo or a P10m condo. In some areas at Cavite that's already a house! We NEED a parking space though. It is not an option to NOT have one.

And so clearly option 4 needs to be investigated. And guess what? This morning I found one:

Actually, two. Above costs P1k/month, which is absolutely terrific, and with a roof too. Closer still, I found another, at P1.5k/month.

Hold your horses however, there are caveats. Above is a good 12 minute walk away, and I'm not too happy with security measures. 'Del' is actually a lady taking care of a carinderia at the back where a PLDT contractor parks their vans and where the drivers eat. The area isn't cemented, and I'm not too sure if it doesn't flood. A storm is coming soon and I don't want the stress of wondering if the car is floating in a river somewhere when an Ondoy level situation comes.

Option 2 at P1.5k/month, is far more palatable and even closer at approximately 8 minutes away at an adjoining compound. There's no roof but that's ok. It will only be available 2-3 weeks from now because they're using the space for construction stuff at a house being made nearby. A car cover is necessary to keep prying eyes out for either option, and to make the car as un-interesting as possible to potential evil doers.

So the solution is clear: Park at Aling Del's for 2-3 weeks then move to option 2 as soon as it is available.

The plan of action is not to tell Aling Del I'll only be staying 2-3 weeks, and pay her a full 2 weeks in advance to keep her happy. I will also pay 1 week in advance to the 2nd option to guarantee that space goes to me.

So that's it as far as the parking issues are going. Dunno if this story will have a happy ending yet, but at the moment these are the options. Stay tuned.

After:

Yes that's not very impressive to look at and I probably shouldn't upload pics of our place because it's a mess and slightly embarrassing but what the heck. This blogpost will help me look back at it later for my own benefit too.

So anyway tonight is our first ever night to sleep here. The previous days were spent packing and yesterday the movers came at 7am to further pack and finally haul our stuff.

This is my 3rd move in the last 7 years and while this hasn't been the most difficult it certainly was much harder than I thought. Primarily because of the heat, and the fact that I can't believe we have so much stuff. How can 2 people have so much stuff?

We finally got everything together and by 10am we were hauling across the divide between Laguna and Sucat.

We actually went back to get more stuff today and we still need one trip soon to absolutely get everything. Then again that's just as well considering we need to fix up the new place first to make room.

Here's what we've done so far:

Here's the place all new ready to be stuffed with stuff.

Here it is semi stuffed.

I've started on the shelves. I'm hoping Tintin (the bust) will approve.

Jill setting up our clothes.

At some point in the hot, hot afternoon we started to get really tired, so I set up the bed.

We lay in it awhile looking around our new home. It's amazing that a week and a half ago it was completely bare, painted a weird yellow and red and I was making a deal with a guy I just met to get all sorts of stuff done. I'm happy with the result and while it's not perfect, it's done well within my expectations and for a great price. I honestly would've paid a third more.

While we were planning how we would sleep at her parent's house again so we can use their internet to get work done, PLDT people knocked the door and actually installed our DSL and (useless) landline! I set up the router and such and now I'm blogging this, all just 2 days after I paid P2,300.00, our first month's payment. I'm not used to saying this but I gotta give credit where it's due: Very, very Good Job, PLDT!

So what's next? We're going to get some tiling done around the kitchen area. I'm gonna do it myself and it looks easy enough I hope. There's a whole lot of unpacking and setting up to do still, which will probably last a week or two. I've gotten the two tables up and my work area's almost there, but there are still a bunch of boxes and we still have to make one more trip back to Sta. Rosa to get even more stuff.

We're already starting to realise the cost benefits though. While this move has taken a big chunk out of both our wallets (above pic are some of the receipts), the idea is the closer proximity to the city will help us control our costs better so we can set our sights for the big one - our very own house.

Ergo the one step back, two steps forward thing. At this point my wallet has thinned out a lot, but at least this place is ready and we don't foresee any other big cost soon. Soon as we get settled in we can start working again, and now that internet is here it's all green and go.

Can't wait to get started on work as well. That took a step back too and now that I know getting back on track is just a matter of fixing up my desk and getting a few boxes out the way I'm all excited. Clients and partners who are most likely reading this please be informed: I'm ready to get our projects going so bring it on! :)

The wood bits will be white and there will be small metal pegs that you can insert onto drilled holes on either side, 4 each per layer, that will support each layer. Because they're removable you can therefore adjust each layer's height and even add more if you wish, which we definitely plan on doing.

I'll be adding a bar at some point that will allow us to hook our clothes up, which will also be adjustable. There's a .25m deep area surrounding the cabinet that we can also use for hooks to hook various things like belts and bags and stuff.

Here is the door to the right of the cabinet. The light fixture at the top needs to be moved to the center of the room, while a switch to that light needs to be added to the area directly to the left of the door, so that as you enter, you just reach to your left and click. Obviously, door's not up yet. I will likely put a full length .5 by 1.8m mirror beside the switch too, dunno how much that costs though, but I like the idea of large mirrors in small places. I'll either put a mirror there or to the right of the cabinet, which come to think of it, might be a better place because your reflection will be lighted by the window to your right rather than the window behind you. Hmm..

This is a meter wide area between the bedroom and the bathroom that can be used for... I don't know yet. We'll probably put the clothes hamper there or something. We'll see. At the bottom of the pic is a hi tech garbage bin we bought that hopefully can contain the smell of wet garbage.

This is where a corner of the bed will be. That area to the right is being considered for a seat where we can read due to the nice light coming in. At any rate, we're hoping to put in a floor lamp, maybe something like this (clearly we like to think we have a bottomless well of money):

Moving on. Here's my work area again at the window area, where I've had my adjustable shelving installed. Those shelving things have been with me since Cainta and Mandaluyong, and they are awesome. Our TV will be mounted at the center of the green wall, with a couch we will steal from Jill's house to be placed on the right facing the tv.

I'm so glad we got that color green right. It was actually hit or miss, and I made my best guess over some small samples and swatches. For anyone interested, it's Weatherguard Apple 19-634, on the left.

The kitchen cabinets are finally up, looking very rough here, but they'll be fine after a lot of sanding and masilya (dunno the English word for that. Putty?). I'll be adding various hook stuff underneath it to hand dishes, food spices and other stuff. It'll be white.

The L area at the bottom hasn't been started yet, but I've learned to trust my guy, so if he says it'll be finished tomorrow I believe him.

Finally just a few more pics to remind me of stuff to buy. The area around the aircon needs some sort of rubbery, gasket like tape or something to keep outside air from coming in those small cracks in the cement. I'm wondering if we should've made them half an inch bigger to accommodate foam or something, because to my mind that would supposedly help keep it quiet. Doubt if we'd have time to get that done though so we'll just make do.

I also need 3 more pieces of this type of moulding, along with 2 new sockets and 1 light switch.

That's it so far. Outside the room I can hear Jill packing stuff in boxes and putting plates into our plastic Orocans which should keep them safe. We've got so much stuff we need to make decisions on whether we throw, keep, stock at Jill's parent's house or sell.

I'll deal with all that tomorrow morning when it's not so hot. By the way I need to add, the incredible chokingly hot 35 degree heat makes everything 10 times harder. Even driving along SSHway is a chore, with the heat beating down on you making you tired and sleepy, with the constant threat of a headache present via a dull pain between your eyes. I swear it's just as bad as if a storm was beating gallons of rain down on you. Nearly every decision that involves travel is dependent on what measures you take to combat this fantastic white heat.

Typical of this time of year though, are the fantastic sunsets you're 'rewarded' with after you suffer through an afternoon.

Above is my camera's sad attempt to capture the one over at Nuvali over the weekend. If there's anything I'd miss from this place it'd surely be the wide open spaces and the sunsets and sunrise. I hope that wherever we're moving after FB we'll have the chance to enjoy this sort of thing again, a unique thrill for someone who grew up in the city like me.

If it sounds like I wasn't too sure if it'd turn out that way then that's exactly right. I probably delayed the choice as long as I could for fear of getting a wrong shade, so I'm thrilled it's turned out right.

Here's the bedroom area, which is the other side of that green wall.

Here's another view with a better perspective of how small the place is.

The kitchen still needs to be done. The wall will be green too and there will be a cabinet at the top area painted white. They're goin to make an additional shelf area to that kitchen sink making it L-shaped, so I can put an electric range on top of it. I don't cook via a range often so a single range deal will suffice. I cook food usually via steamer or electric oven.

This is a pic of how Jill wants our cabinets to look like, which is so not gonna happen exactly like that. Rather we'll have 2 columns instead of 3 but just as above it will go from floor to ceiling and we'll have adjustable shelves. I'll find a way to sneak in lighting somewhere in the cabinets themselves.

Today being Saturday our construction guy should be finished by Tuesday, and the big plan is to move in the day after. Moving in is the big event that's keeping us from completely finishing up the rest of what we have to do on the place like lighting (we seriously need better lighting and move the existing lighting around), additional electric sockets and a shower modification that Jill is really bothered about.

And also a sofa we need to steal from her parent's house to reupholster plus buy new chairs. All those hundred tiny things need to be addressed but only after, not before, our move, so we need to get it done next week.

So far btw, we've spent 42k and look to be spending a little below 50k at the end. That's cash I never knew we even had, so the bill for these things really does creep up on you if you're not careful. We're putting a lid on it immediately, which is for me, more reason why we need to get that move done ASAP. The longer we delay it the more reasons for spending come up.

Here's where the bedroom will be.

Don't mind the guy eating. I've set the canteen downstairs with funds to feed the workers I hired lunch on my dime, but they still insist on bringing food. Weird (or maybe that's an indication of the quality of the food downstairs? hmm..)

A better look, taken the day before when the wall wasn't put up yet.

Approximately 170cm area where I'll be putting up my desk. Can you picture me sitting there in front of my PC looking out the window searching desperately for inspiration? I can.

Leaky faucet which is one item on my long to do list.

New door that just arrived today (the 12th). I had it copied from this one I found at Home Depot.

The orig cost P10k, while the copied one cost P3.5k. Both have areas for 5 glass panels, which are essential because the area where that door will be facing will be dark. The light coming from the bedroom windows will be able to go through the door to the kitchen and bathroom. I had it delivered without glass for lack of time. We'll just buy pre-cut glass and use either frosted or smoked glass effect stickers on them and slap them on ourselves.

Some wall panels will be painted this shade of green while others will be in white. We were inspired more or less by a pic I got from the brochure:

Yes this is a horrible pic sorry about that, but you get the idea.

Right now I gotta buy 2 more gallons of Weatherkote 'Apple Tree' green and another gallon Gloss white, along with a nice door knob and hinges for that door. We might need a new door knob for the main door too as the new one I bought seems faulty. I hope I still have the receipt for that.

We need new plywood panels for the shelves Jill wants for our cabinet, which I'll buy with my carpenter guy tomorrow. The cabinet Jill will get is gonna be awesome, with enough space for all her boxes of stuff (which of course will probably be filled in no time).

I still owe the Admin a list of all our appliances for them to compute our electrical load. I talked to the building engineer an hour ago and I'm glad he didn't bring it up. I'm glad I got out of their office before he remembered.

Today I got our PLDT DSL and Destiny Cable applications submitted. Yes. Destiny sucks for basketball fans but we've no choice.

On the home front, I gotta find someone to help me disassemble the shelves I drilled onto our walls and get all our stuff into boxes ready for the movers. We should be able to do all that by this time next week. Once the stuff is all boxed up the new place should be ready, it'd be a matter of putting all our stuff into a truck for the trip from Laguna to Sucat.

Alright let's make this happen.

My version though has a caveat. I don't go for white meat so much because pre cut chicken breast is actually far more expensive than the rest of the parts (go figure), and I really like chicken thighs. They're the part near the ass (depending on how its cut), and usually involve only one large bone, making it a quick and easy to cook. And besides it's the best tasting, meatest part imho.

So here's how it looks pre - cooked.

So that's two approximately 6 pieces (I don't remember anymore) pieces of chicken thighs mixed with thinly sliced ampalaya, salt and pepper, cheyenne pepper, worcestershire, some olive oil and tomato ketchup.

My diabetic diet does not allow for the ketchup which has sugar, so I don't put too much. Also, this diet is my method of allowing ampalaya into my diet. Thinly sliced and thoroughly cooked, the bitter taste isn't as strong and is far more palatable. Chicken per se, like all meats, provide a good even taste which you then help along with spices. So pile on the spices, adding just enough of each. I like mine hot and spicy, therefore the cheyenne pepper.

You use two large pieces of aluminum foil, one at the bottom and another on top.

Crimp the sides of the aluminum foil to fold upwards like this, allowing some air inside, forming a kind of bubble.

Crimp them TIGHTLY, because the goal here is to let the chicken cook in its own juices. If there is a hole in the aluminum foil, it will allow the juices to escape, and your chicken will still cook but become dry. A hole at the bottom of the aluminum foil is even worse as the juices will pour out. Good, thick aluminum foil is key. The cheap brands are too thin and easily tear. If you can avoid tearing then I suppose the cheap ones are ok, but the thicker brands are far more forgiving and it's a super hassle to do it all over again if you tear it.

You'll need a kind of container for the whole thing so the juices if any won't spill out. I used a tin round, er.., pan (for lack of a better description). I eventually bought a pyrex one for that purpose as it is easier to clean.

Shove it in the oven for 15 ~ 20 minutes at high, I think that's approximately 250 degrees. Sorry I'm not too exact, but don't worry about over cooking it as baking meat is very userfriendly. Rule of thumb: you'll be able to judge from the smell (and there will be a wonderful, wonderful smell), if it's cooking. Once it smells great, give it approximately 10 to 15 minutes to just keep cooking.

Apologies for the ugly electric oven.

Voila!

What you're going for here is the meat - falling - off - the - bone experience. Chicken must absolutely just fall apart when you tear it slightly with your fork, leaving just the bone.

Here are other pictures of a time I prepared the same dishes with just two pieces for myself:

Just two pieces this time, with the usual salt + pepper, spices, ampalaya and green pepper. No ketchup this time.

Wrapped tight like a burrito. Don't forget to leave some air in there.

Opening it always gives me a rush. Here it is with some of the delicious chicken juices it stewed it. If you're not hungry when you started this you'd be starving by the time you tear the aluminum foil open. Just the smell will drive you crazy I promise.

A slight nudge with the fork confirms the insides free of any red or even pink uncooked areas and therefore thoroughly cooked and clean. Also the meat is just beautiful and tender. I promise you the soup it produces is heavenly. Add the wonderful feeling you get from knowing that no artificial anything is in there, none of that fake 'umami' stuff, bouillons or anything. Just the pure real thing.

And here's the bad stuff you're not putting in your mouth. The black stuff is burnt, cancer causing sugar from the ketchup (this pic is from the 1st batch above), while the yellow stuff is pure melted fat from the chicken and maybe some olive oil. Just being able to separate this from the chicken is well worth the effort.

So to conclude:

• Pros: Absolutely delicious, free of fat and carcinogens that usual pan - frying brings. Easy to prepare and actually easy to clean up after.
• Cons: Takes a lot of time to cook, so is not a 'quick - meal' solution if that's what you're looking for. In other words, not for the lazy. If you order any baked meat at a restaurant, they'll usually say it takes 15 minutes, which is nuts. A properly baked anything requires at least 2x that amount of time. This also requires dealing with an oven, so get your mitts ready and be very careful you don't get singed or burned.

Above left is the original one we found at Market Market's open area, while the Datu Puti version we found at Rustan's Supermarket. Pinakurat has a website! Unfortunately I can't tell which is better since I mixed both into that container at the right, but they both purportedly share the same ingredients.

And those ingredients are:

Chopped onion, garlic, siling labuyo and vinegar. The fact they're chopped, I think, is the big factor here, giving you a super assault - on - the - senses experience. Hot, spicy and all around goodness. And when best to apply?

Yum

Yum

Yum.

Century tuna bangus comes in sealed packs of 4 small to medium pieces either spiced or unspiced. Small to medium is what you want for a per plate situation as mid to large is just too much for a single serving. If this can't get you up in the morning you're probably dead.

I'm big on spices as I cannot indulge in sugar and salt. I even have my own siling labuyo plant.

Which provides me an adequate supply. I grew it from when it was a baby.

And I got a ton of these

McCormick bottles ranging from chopped garlic, a great time saver for when you want to make garlic rice, black pepper and my fave Cayenne Pepper which is just all around good for you.

Link here. Still super fun to see my work on paper after all these years. Online publications can say all they want about being the next big thing but a big national paper with a 25 year history as colorful as PDI still beats it anytime.

Here's a typical meal of chicken with lots of vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, green pepper, parsley and shallots

Before I get to the pic above, I need to talk about my diabetes.

So I have diabetes.

To be honest I had already been suffering the symptoms for awhile. The problem is diabetes symptoms aren't terribly life altering and what I had been suffering from, (ie. worsening eyesight, fatigue etc.), I attributed to other things. But sometime early August my situation was worse than ever. I suffered from unquenchable thirst (and as a result, frequently had to pee), my pee would be covered with ants, and worst of all had severe cramps every night, sometimes waking up 2 to 3 times in extreme pain.

We finally went to a Doctor who prescribed a series of tests. A week later and the results were dire: my fasting blood sugar (FBS) was three times the normal level and had a fatty liver. As a result my bad eyesight could worsen to blindness if I let it, and my cramps were complications leading to nerve damage. The Doctor said however, that she was going to give me a month to lose weight which along with medication, should be able to control it. Her challenge was clear: lose at least 10 lbs., and improve your diet or else she will recommend a lifetime of insulin.

I've seen diabetics. I was vaguely familiar with the hassle they have to deal with, injecting themselves every so often. I do not want to live that way. So for a full four weeks, I ate right and ran or played basketball 6 out of 7 days a week. I now weigh 9 lbs. less, have controlled my cholesterol level, and have lessened by half the fat in my liver. My Doctor has finally loosened up and smiled at me (I think they reserve their affection until they see proof that you're doing your part), and has lessened my medication.

I would like to share my experience with anyone who's interested, particularly those who are in the same boat. I'm the laziest most seriously unmotivated exerciser in the world. If I did it, so can you.

Let's start with the food I eat. Here's a bunch of pics I've taken of lunches and dinners I've had these past few weeks. You'll notice I use either two pieces of equipment: the all - powerful rice cooker with a steamer implement, and the electric grill with food wrapped in aluminum foil.

The food itself is simple. I was required to eat a lot of greens so at any given time I use a lot of pechay, carrots, potatoes, green peppers, chives, onions, cucumber, tomatoes, celery, etc. etc. In other words, any greenery I can put in there (including at one time, ampalaya, but for the life of me I can't stand it so that didn't last long).

I'm not allowed salt, but I can bring on the spices. I use the Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper and especially Italian Dressing and Olive Oil a lot. The garlic, not so much.

Here's a sample bunch of stuff about to get steamed, with the corn in the boiling water for 20 ~ 25 minutes. I place the pechay ten minutes before I stop boiling otherwise it'd wilt too much.

Here's a kilo of Cream Dory I bought fresh from the market the other day for P240.00. It's the fish used in fish fillets.

Although expensive, I chopped it up in several pieces and placed them in separate containers so I can pull one or two out to defrost when I need them.

Here's some of the fish ready to get baked with green pepper, spices and olive oil.

Added some tomatoes and more greens:

Baked it in an electric oven for 20~25 minutes.

My favorite though, is to bake chicken.

It looks like this after dumping all the vegs and spices:

But the food I eat most often, involves using the rice cooker, which (supposedly) maintains the foods nutrients best, and is actually the easiest to do. All you need to do is dump the food into that aluminum steaming gadget, shut the lid, turn it on and you're free to do other stuff for 20 ~ 25 minutes.

It looks like this on the plate. Sorry about the mess:

Finally I always have corn:

And whatever fruit in season, usually these days, lanzones:Some caveats:

• In the mornings and after I take Jill to her bus and run at Nuvali (every other day otherwise I get bored), I have breakfast at an eatery near the wet market. There, I have plain rice (which I usually don't finish), plus a fried egg and usually whatever fish dish they have, otherwise some vegetables. I asked the lady cook there for the fish dishes, and since she noticed I come nearly everyday she made special arrangements for me. I honestly owe her a lot. When I told her my condition improved she was just as happy as I was I think.
• Since I go there everyday, I buy fresh vegetables, some fruit and either fish and chicken daily. I know that's nearly impossible for city dwellers, so I recognize it's nearly impossible to enjoy the same type of freshness I enjoy. But if you can spare the time I think it's the only practical way to eat fresh daily.
• I hardly eat rice anymore, but this is borne from convenience more than anything. Cooking rice just for two people results in a lot of wastage, as anyone who cooks rice in a household will understand. Besides, I do not believe the 'half cup of rice lang' philosophy works. Counting rice intake is almost like counting beans, it's just too time consuming and the more you think about what you're denying yourself, the more you'd just end up pining for it. So I stopped cooking rice at home altogether and only eat rice when outside. I think that's a fair rice diet.
• The key to preparing your own food and sticking to a diet is to think a meal in advance or even a day's meal in advance. If you fail to prepare you will end up hungry and eating anything in sight. Also I get to buy just enough from the market to avoid spoilage resulting from buying too much, or having to go back often from buying too little. I just imagine any of the pictures of food like the ones above. If I have all of the ingredients enough to produce 3 plates of that, then I have enough for a day.
• I've stopped processed foods altogether. A wholesale approach is best when it comes to these things. You cannot say 'ok lang ang hotdog pero no MaLing'. Just like what I think of the 'half rice' idea, just give it all up altogether instead of counting calories. It's just less complicated that way and you don't think about what you're missing.
• Not eating rice and exercising regularly I noticed produces constant hunger. I have either Quaker Oats Oatmeal Cookies or SkyFlakes to tide me over. Just having something in one's stomach is usually enough.
• Finally, I owe any success to my loving wife, who will (well intentionedly) nag me towards the proper path should I dare stray in any way. It's pretty unfair for her really, considering I cannot cook her favorites (menudo, adobo and sweet and sour pork or chicken) as often as I could. Diabetes or any sickness forces one to be selfish, and I know I am with the diet I'm determined to follow.

So that's it. There's no way, of course, that what works for me would 100% work on anyone else, particularly because of the part where I go to the market 6am everyday, but if you can pick up a tip or two or make up your own variation writing this would've been worth it.

Came from here:

who'd have thought these things actually work?

I don't understand the instructions obviously. I was hoping for siling labuyo. I got 'ornamental peppers' and I hope that's the same thing.

Here's day two (today):

It's the guy in the middle, between the basil on the left and rosemary on the right.

Get ready for some more riveting plant action in the coming weeks!

I dunno what possessed me to want to make a ginataang dish from scratch. It's easy enough to buy a can of coconut milk or even already grated and pressed coconut milk from the wet market in small plastic bags, but nooooo, I wanted to do this myself.

Frankly, credit it to Balibago's excellent wet market. It's not dirty or filthy, it's big, organized, and it makes you wanna buy things and be experimental. To wit:

I poured in the requisite 1 glass per coconut and start to squeeze.

Fortunately I've a large enough strainer.

Here's the fresh fish killed, deboweled and scraped right before my eyes an hour ago.

Off it goes into a deep dish with the precious milk.

After which I pour on varied and sundry greenery, including 2 pieces labuyo. There's longer green pepper, chives and other greens, and later on I add carrots and onions in there.

Add more milk (I had far too many, but thats ok, it's delicious).

Then boil very slowly.

Oh my God it's delicious.

You gotta wonder how a country so rich with coconuts that you can't turn your head without seeing one would have hungry people. It makes you wonder how idiotic we are to be wasting / neglecting the bounty we so graciously have in abundance.

Anyway, here's a pic of my coffee cup earlier this morning against a backdrop of the view we enjoy from the balcony.

I was trying to go for a smoldering effect but one can only ask so much from Laszlo my overworked (but trusty) cam.

And here's a pic of what Jill and I had for breakfast the other day.

Every weekend we go back to Jill's house in BF to raid and pillage borrow whatever food is available from the pantry. This week it's cans of tuna.

P2,500 only. I can meet up at Makati or Ortigas. Email me at ghmercado@gmail.com.

moalboal

Moalboal Cebu is approximately 2 hours drive away from Cebu City. This place is kinda like Jill's family's official vacation place, with a house there for anyone to use.

Above pic was taken late afternoon from a pier. At low tide, the shore stretches up to a kilometer away, and the sea floor is teaming with life from crabs to seaweed. It makes you wonder why anyone would wanna leave such a place (and many many other places like it all over the country) for the city. Here, if you go hungry, you can fashion a trap to catch crabs or come out onto the shore such as above to pick food. If you go hungry in the city, you beg, steal or drop dead.

Here's my camera's attempt at capturing the breathtaking sunset. A poor rendition to how amazing it actually is.

We were there during Fiesta season, and like all Fiestas in Philippine provinces there is a ton of food, every house is open to near - strangers and the air is thick with the constant wailing of 36 hour karaoke sessions on every street corner.

We were hoarded to houses that were related to Jill via 3 or 4 levels away (something like, her cousin's paternal cousins, etc.), and were treated to feast after feast. On just that one day:

Then on the day after that:

I can't imagine why we need people like Anthony Bourdain to validate for us how incredibly delicious and special Cebu's lechon is.

Anyone with barely working taste buds and a vague concept of how difficult it is to roast a pig so evenly and so flavorfully, so much that it'd be a pity to put any type of sauce in it such as above, should already understand how amazing it is to begin with.

And so what if foreigners don't get to taste how wonderful it is? More for us, I say. I think the Cebu Lechon is a national treasure we should guard zealously and keep amongst ourselves. What's to gain from sharing it anyway? Some fastfood brand will just package it and sell it in happy meals for their own benefit.

I have tasted authentic, Cebu province Lechon and it's a hundred times better than anything we were ever told. Anything else I've had local or foreign pales, completely and properly pales in comparison.

Ok enough of that. More pics of the beach next time.

Arrived after a veeeerry long '2 - hour' (more like 4 hour) trip after a night at Jill's Tita Baby's house at Cebu.

Pics when available, am at an el cheapo security risk internet cafe.

Anyway, here's some pics, some stolen from Jill's blog.

Fortunately above activities proceeded without a hitch.

Much more difficult was moving the stuff up 29 steps into the 3rd floor of the house, compounded by the fact that the keys to the front door were left inside the other day. I had to drill / pound on the door knob until it gave way (I replaced it with a new one that night, I had a spare doorknob with me, talk about prepared).

We celebrated that evening with our traditional baked porkchops, this time with mashed potatoes and some non-sucky wine for a change.

A closer look.

Day 2 was another whirlwind of activity, highlighted by the use of some much, MUCH appreciated SM GCs, used for buying groceries and kitchenware.

Actually it wasn't so hard if it weren't for the fact I was fighting off a cold that may have come from perspiring so much during the pictorials of our wedding day and just the overall exhaustion of the whole affair, plus of course the mind - numbing 38 degree heat.

Night of Day 2 we had some fried itik bought from a store we pass along the highway. It was our first time to try it after planning so long to buy one. The owners said they boil it in spices, freeze it, then deep fry it when someone buys one. It cost P180 and I give it a 7 out of 10.

Here's our bedroom so far.

Obviously a mess. Here's the kitchen:

My plants:

Jill at work.

View from the terrace (the streak is a passing plane).

I'm writing this morning of Day 3, so a lot more updates more to come. Today we're staying in till I can get rid of my nasty cough and cold symptoms, and I've gotta set up my computer and other stuff (I'm using Jill's laptop).

Good news is: it's nice and windy, and the 3rd floor house is really nice to look at in the bright sunlight. There are also no mosquitoes, and (allelujah) we never had to spend a day without cable and DSL. Cable was transferred promptly on the day we scheduled it and DSL was connected on Day 1, so yehey.

Bad news? If any, it's the 29 steps. A workout especially if bringing in groceries and stuff.

Next week? CEBU!

Try not to notice the filthy stove top. Trust me it's clean now.

Drinking wine from a halo-halo glass with ge bbqing in the background on a super hot afternoon. This image pretty much sums it up.

well, actually there's two houses, #105 and #108. I think these will go low on our priority list, as they offer no specific advantage over previous candidate dwelling #1 (the 3rd floor house). The only thing it has over the 'little house' (the one I live in now) is that these have floor tiles while mine is bare cement, and they have a 2nd floor.

But they require 2x the rent, and they're even farther away from the highway, so I'm iffy at best.

So today I went to the PLDT office where they made me sign a piece of paper that'd make them do a survey if the village where the 3rd floor place can accommodate the all-important DSL. Stupid company will charge you P2,700 'transfer fee' plus disconnect you 2-3 weeks while moving. They should rename that 'incompetence fee' because, really, why should I suffer 2-3 weeks of no connection if all they need to do is disconnect the 1st and connect the 2nd, which can probaby be done in one action?

Ach, whatever. Pending this, Candidate #2 aka 'the 3rd floor' is lookin' good.