Sweetened Soy Bean Curd

......or in the vernacular, taho. This is a photo tag from Maiylah. This is the sixth photo from the sixth folder of my picture files. I used this photo as a post for Manila Metro Blog more than a year ago.


I have not tried flavored taho yet but right now I am craving for the good, old taho that I grew up with. :)

Hotdogs

There are three kinds of hotdogs in the supermarket that we buy alternately - there's your regular hotdogs, cheese dog and the latest is corn dog. It tastes and smells like corn with a lot of butter. I don't really like it but my daughter loves it. We have hotdogs for breakfast a few times in a month since I am cutting on processed foods. Hotdogs is a sure winner for a lot of kids though.

Click here for other breakfast hunts. My mamarazzi breakfast photos is at The Mommy Zone. My breakfast and my husband's are posted at Beyond Fried Eggs. Happy weekend!

Dessert

Do you know what this is?


This was what we had yesterday as our dessert after lunch. Pichi-pichi! I love it with loads of cheese on top!



Have a look at other photos at Weekend Snapshot. I have other entries at The Mommy Zone.

Hamburger Steak

They go together. It will be bland without the perennial partner. Husband and I had lunch at French Baker a few weeks ago and we ordered the same food. It's quite rare that we have the same food but due to limited choices at this particular branch, we opted for a hamburger steak. I must say it did not fail us. It was good and filling. The gravy that go with the hamburger is actually creamy.


You may check other 'together' pictures at Photo Hunt site. My other entry is at The Mommy Zone. Happy weekend! :)

Cupcakes

I have not met anyone yet who does not like cupcakes especially if they are so good like what I have here. This is one of the reasons why I love going to Serendra. I do crave for Cupcakes by Sonja. I can only consume one though. One is enough, it's really creamy, really rich in toppings. A Sunday afternoon snack is perfect with my favorite cupcakes.

My other entry for WS is at The Mommy Zone, Liver Spread Spaghetti. :)

Donuts

Hubby went out this afternoon for some errand and have the car cleaned. I was wondering why it took him a little longer than usual. Well, he dropped by Trinoma and got me and our daughter these.


I like donuts especially the honey glazed but I can only consume one. It takes me a few more hours for the next serving. They are just too sweet for me. But I appreciate the sweet gesture.

Hope your weekend is just as sweet. :)

My other weekend snapshot is at The Mommy Zone. Hope you check it also. Thanks! :) Happy WS!

Plated

There are two picture memes today. One's for Weekend Snapshots and one's for the monthly Pinoy Moms Network sharing of family pictures based on a theme. I wouldn't pass up any of these two so here goes.

See the picture below? Can you tell what it is? It's one of the street foods famous in the Philippines. Street foods are those peddled by ambulant vendors or from an improvised stall along the street but of course. The reputation is not so good in terms of cleanliness in preparation and merchandising but there are some who just cannot resist having a bite. Better to prepare it on your own.



This is "tukneneng" (hard boiled egg with orange batter coating). The coating includes flour and chicken cubes. I didn't know chicken cubes are also used for this tukneneng food. According to the neighbor at least that's what she does to make it more palatable.

Over the weekend, my husband ordered this from a neighbor who distributes different kinds of "street foods" to different office canteens in different business districts. Definitely the preparation and handling are HACCAP (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points) compliant. :)

**********
What's plated in the house? Lots. But this one's from a lunch-out with hubby and daughter at Teriyaki Boy a few weeks ago. Teriyaki Boy is one of the fast-casual restaurants that offer really good service and good food.

My favorite dish here is Gyu-Saikoro steak (diced-cut beef in teriyaki sauce and bean sprouts). Now you see it....


Now you don't...


Here are the mommies with their Plated entries:
Pinayhekmi: Scrambled eggs
Ruth: Filipino breakfast
Lynn: Tukneneng
Mommy Chi: Fried rice and beef stew
Ajay: Because pancit is my favorite dish
Julie: PinoyMomsNetwork Fam Pics 3: Plated (On a Plate)
Connie: Chopsticks on a plate
Cookie: PMN Fampics Series 3 : Plated
KK: Eclectic taste
Feng: Plated on a operating table
Raqgold: Schlachtplatte
Vicky: What's for tea?-Lean Pork N Cabbage on Stripey Plate
Rach: My plated collage

Photo Hunt 37: Smelly

Today's hunt is anything "smelly". Let me post something which has a strong, fishy odor. What do you know, it's a fish. Others do not like the smell of this specially while it's being cooked. They find it too strong and the smell lingers and sticks to one's clothes long after the frying is done. Me, I like the smell of cooked dried fish. It wets my appetite.

My favorite part is the head. Eeeeww, I can hear some of the readers saying that :D But well, that part of the fish is the most tasty. I don't have any scientific explanation why.



One of the traditional breakfasts of Filipinos are scrambled eggs, milk/coffee, sinangag (fried rice) and tuyo (salted dried herring). Tuyo is the Tagalog term for dry. There are many kinds of dried fish but tuyo is the most popular for breakfast. I am familiar with tuyo variants such as tonsoy and lapad which I buy in packs in supermarkets. Mind you though, there are pastas which use dried salted fish flakes as one of the main ingredients. My husband loves tuyo in olive oil, garlic and some chilies.

Healthy lifestyle is popular nowadays and that is good. There's fresh fruits, oatmeal, wheat bread for breakfast. But generally, Filipinos are rice eaters that even during breakfast, expect a plateful of rice in most households. And expect tuyo to always be a part of a typical Filipino breakfast.

Left Overs

I was in Baguio for two days last week. As expected, I bought Baguio goodies, primarily vegetables. I bought them thinking of cooking chopsuey. I was able to do that but there were still left over broccolis and cauli flowers.

We still have the pansit bato I bought during my trip to Bicol a month ago or so. A pack of Chinese sausage is sitting on the ref which is supposed to be for Yang Chow. But I was not able to prepare Yang Chow because there was no available frozen green peas at SM Supermarket when I dropped by. A great idea from hubby is to make pansit bato for merienda and use all these ingredients. So that's what we had Sunday afternoon. Brilliant!

Pansit bato got its name because of the place where it is sold - Bato, Camarines Sur. I am not really sure what difference these noodles have compared to other noodles sold in the supermarket. The hubby says there is no aftertaste unlike most noodles. It is also very affordable at twenty five pesos per kilo (roughly .56USD).


Pansit is very easy to prepare and very quick. Saute garlic and onion. Put in bits of pork until golden brown. A little water (depends on how many kilos of noodles you have) and then goes the noodles. My husband puts in shrimp puree as he calls it to create a seafood taste. He squeezes the head of the shrimp to get the juice and pour them in the pan. Put in salt according to taste. As soon as the noodles are tender, put in all the other ingredients - patola (sponge gourd), Chinese sausage, shrimp and last, cauli flower.

After the pansit, a little dessert capped the snack time. My favorite ube (yam) jam straight from the City of Pines. Tantamco's is the most salable brand next to Good Shepherd. Its sweetness is just right and the bits of whole yam are easy to chew. I love it!



Check out other Weekend Snapshots entry here. The guidelines are here if you want to join.

**********
Mood: Geeky.
Music: The Sweet Escape, Gwen Stefani

Quick Breakfast

I chanced upon Weekend Snapshot as I was blog hopping yesterday. Since I love taking pictures, the point and shoot kind, I joined this photo meme. Some participants I recognize in the weekly Photo Hunt too. Don't we just love taking pictures of just about anything? Definitely. :)


Normally the family takes breakfast at home but I had a quick breakfast last Sunday at McDonald's while waiting for my daughter from her Sunday worship service. I only eat at McDonald's when I'm left with no other choice. McDonald's has a very good drive thru service and that's a plus point for this burger chain. But then there are only three food servings from this fastfood restaurant that I order, not necessarily all at the same time - sundae hot fudge, quarter pounder (but this one will soon be off my list), and the picture I posted, longganisa (native pork sausage) with scrambled egg.

Check out other snapshots here.

**********
Mood: Sleepy.
Music: Lisa Loeb, Stay

To the Land of Pili Nuts and Back

I was out of town for several days for a business trip. Since I've been traveling for years already, one would think I am so used to it by now. Somehow I am but there are still "interventions" I do to make my time away from my family more bearable. I have "concocted" plans to make me feel at ease while I will be away for some days and not directly managing the household. I have provided myself three major checklists - pre, during and post activities.

Pre-trip activities include two things: checking the school work of my daughter for the next days that I will be out. If there are major projects for submission, I note them down so I can call her about them and ask how she's doing. I also plan the menu. I make sure everything is on the refrigerator before I leave.

The previous years my list is up to the minutest details but I have to give credit to hubby and daughter and our help. They are able, functioning human beings, as my husband says it perfectly. There is no need to detail everything. Don't sweat the small stuff. Of course, of course. :D For one thing, my husband and I see to it that our schedules complement. We cannot have trips at the same time. That's a cardinal rule.

While I'm away, I call at least three times a day and text several times a day just because. Calling my daughter recharges me. There are nights I find it hard to sleep when I am alone in the hotel room so I also bring the book I am currently reading. Hitting two birds with one stone, I catch up on my reading and it makes me fall asleep faster. I used to bring a cd player (when iPod was still unheard of)/iPod because there are times I want to listen to the music I prefer. But I stopped doing this especially if I am with my team. Instead, I take the opportunity to have some conversation with them during long trips. It used to be that after updates and work related talks while on the way to our destination , I put on my music player. It's worth talking to the people I work with about other things that interests them than plug earphones in my ears.

Needless to say I bring my camera. Even during my pre-blogging years, I am already a picture buff. There are two of us at the department who are snapshot queens. I guess too it runs in the family. I remember an uncle always keep rolls of films so he can take pictures whenever he feels like it. Also, if time permits, while I'm in a certain place, I check out local dining places and their native delicacies. I am so Pinoy - I buy t-shirts and souvenirs the place is famous for.

The post-trip includes mentally accounting how much excess my cell phone bill incurred this time. ;) During the last day of the trip, I can't wait to be back home. I look forward to going home with all my "loots" for my family and friends at the office and having a really good rest. Normally after my trip, I spend a few days off from the office. I eagerly anticipate this. I have things on my mind what I will do together with my daughter - go to the mall, buy her some books, watch our favorite shows, those things.

Some of the goods I got when I was in Naga City and Legazpi City, both in Camarines Sur, Bicol. Pili - the number one commodity of Bicolandia. If I remember my social studies right, pili only grows in the Philippines. I was told the pili nut which is coated with honey tastes better than pili glazed with sugar. How to know if it's honey, it's easier to separate one pili from another. The pili nuts do not stick much.

There are loads of goodies with pili nuts I was able to buy. Luckily, the owner gave us discount and gave us side stories about their products. I bought pili jam which is a very good filling for very hot pan de sal (Filipino bread roll). Remember when we were kids (hello, late twenties and above), we usually have latik (jam) for our breakfast.

Of course, there is pili tart which is a good give away for colleagues and officemates for their dessert. Also the pili pudding which is a mixture of mashed potato, ground pili, butter, milk and sugar. I'm loving the polvoron though as I have always loved this product since I was a child. There are variants - chocolate, pinipig, cashew, etcetera. I like mine simple - toasted flour with butter and milk.

Will I ever leave Bicol without bringing home their famous laing (taro leaves with coconut milk) and Bicol express with its pork bits, hot chili pepper and coconut cream. The hubby loves them with steaming rice! When I am finally home, I set aside work. This is a pact I made to myself for more than a year now. I have been to a work-related trip already. There is no need to carry it back home but I see to it that there are no major concerns hanging. Updates from the team are fine. I have learned to delegate.

I got back last Saturday night after a gruelling traffic at South Luzon Expressway. So far the daughter and the hubby have been enjoying the different pili products and the hubby is feasting on the laing. :)

Turnin' Japanese

After office I planned to pass by the department store to buy my Vegas-based brother some things he requested me to buy for him. I decided to take the MRT instead for a faster commute. As I stepped out of the elevator, I was surprised with the huge crowd of people I saw in the lobby of the station. I asked around. Technical problem. Grumble. As of the moment, no train will be coming by. I don't want to wait. It will take an hour or more I believe. I will take a cab. But there is no empty cab. Every cab that passed by is occupied. Therefore I called my husband to tell him to fetch me.

I ended up at Rai Rai Ken. I realized I have not eaten properly today. Just had half a cup of coffee for breakfast, congee for lunch and two spoons of egg with mayo for snack. I was starving. I am not so fond of Japanese food but Rai Rai Ken is open till nine thirty. It was only seven something on my watch, safe enough to stay at RRK while waiting for hubby and satisfy my hungry stomach.

I had Unagi Don (eel in teriyaki sauce) because it's the softest real food they have. I still can't bite properly because of the recently adjusted braces. I am not in the mood for noodles anymore. The husband and the daughter came in an hour after.



As usual the husband had his Kani salad. This is a staple for him whenever we are in a Japanese restaurant. Hubby made his own version of this using shredded cucumber and crab meat and diced ripe mangoes served with lettuce. Nothing of the salmon roe though. If I was already blogging then, I won't miss taking pictures of him in the kitchen doing his Iron Chef thing. Haha. He made his own Japanese mayonnaise as dictated by a friend of ours over the phone. Very simple, ordinary mayonnaise mixed with ketchup and a dash of salt and sugar and black pepper. Well actually I cannot distinguish between the usual mayonnaise we use for sandwiches and Japanese mayo. I think the Jap mayo tastes saltier.



And our not-so-little-pretty-one had her chicken teriyaki. Normally I would ask for spoon and fork for the two of us so we can eat properly. I can use chopsticks but I don't prefer it when I am really hungry. But according to the daughter, she wants to get used to chopsticks. Okay then. I am not so fond of teriyaki sauce...Or if I may say, I don't like any sauce poured all over my food. I always want it on a separate plate so I can just dip my food a little which is what I did with my Unagi Don. Sesame seeds though makes teriyaki sauce tastes better.

My supposed only expense for the day which is seventeen pesos (.37 USD) for the train ride increased by four thousand percent (the increase was shouldered by the hubby of course, haha). But looking at it, that's better than waiting for the train or the cab that could take forever. Plus dinner with the hubby and daughter and going home with them capped my night very well. :)

Yang Chow That Made Me Feel Good

My braces were adjusted yesterday. I spent forty five minutes or so with my dentist-friend while she's doing some work on my teeth. Eww, it hurt. I was telling myself why did I even think of these adult braces? Why haven't I done this oral rehabilitation when I was a lot younger? But as my friend told me, it will not hurt anymore as much as it did yesterday because the succeeding visits will only be minor adjustments. After a few minutes after the session, the pain went away but I still cannot bite even soft food. I have to chew very slowly.

In a way this is good for my diet. For the past weeks I have not been taking my regular food consumption. My rice intake lessened by more than half compared to what I normally consume in a day. Let me just keep it a secret how much rice I usually have. Also, I was able to save some money since I bring my own food at the office. A lot of savings if I may say because when I buy my lunch or snack, a lot of desserts go with them.

At times when I am not able to prepare food to take with me or when I am in a major hurry, I have salad, congee and pancakes. I learned to love congee and soups. I don't prefer them when I can eat food which are a lot tastier. But I greatly appreciate them now and they will be part of my favorites even after the braces.



I have not been to Wendys for several months now. They don't have the salad bar already. Maybe because some customers get more than they can have - like they get what is good for not just one but five persons. Bad for the profit. They still have the macaroni salad which was what I had. Still great but there is no more hard boiled egg which I prefer more than the red jelly.

I love most servings of North Park Noodle House. It was my first time though to order their congee with bola-bola and egg last Friday. I love it! It's actually good for two. There is no garlic aftertaste.

I am a Pancake House diner eversince. Aside from their taco and salisbury steak, I love their classic country medley - sausage and pancakes with butter or syrup plus coffee or juice. Hmmm, delicious. The pancakes' texture is just right for me.

**********
I was browsing on some nice-to-read blogs earlier tonight when I clicked a link to a blog about a man's chronicles of his life as a single parent and taking care of his only son. There were some posts which touched my emotions, they made me shed some tears as I was reading them. I always want to end something on a good note so I browsed some more of his categories. Good! I was entertained with his choices of music and books. He writes well too.

To make me feel even better, I prepared Yang Chow Fried Rice for dinner. I altered some ingredients I got from Yummy Magazine. Thanks Yummy Mag for being a great part in my kitchen adventures. :) Yes, that's how newbie I am in cooking, I need a recipe for even a simple dish. Anyway, I did not add dried shrimp (hibe) but fresh shrimp. I don't like dried fish much so I skipped adding it. I was not able to eat much but as a newbie in the kitchen, I feel really good if I get compliments for the food I prepared.


They say there are certain foods that make us feel good because of their chemical composition. Like sweets, we experience sugar rush and it keeps us up and about. This one though made me feel good because of two reasons. The hubby and the daughter loved it! And I was able to prepare it without any hitch - no burnt garlic or onion, the green peas didn't fall off as I was transferring them, the Chinese sausage and the shrimps cooperated with me and proved to be good bites. That's my little success for the night. :)

Photo Hunt 20: Creative

My daughter and I have visited Cocorama a few months back. It's a cute dining cafe located at Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City. I find the theme and the decors really creative. The walls are very bright. It has the 70s feel but with 80s color combination. I love the "flower power" mural. Part of the wall decorations are vinyl records I posted in one of my photo hunt entries. There's also a disco ball hanging from the ceiling.


They also have creative names for their menu list. There's Travolta, LSD, Scream and Jackson Five which I took a shot of below. I'm just wondering why there's one pancake which is not supposed to be there. Or is that supposed to be Michael Jackson? No offense to MJ fans out there. :)


A big red VW Kombi serves as a wall separating the kitchen and the dining area. It also serves as the counter. The angus beef cooked and served Filipino style (well-done, with vinegar on the side and garlic rice) is good.

Photo Hunt 17: Fake

My family and I had our dinner last night at the newly opened Lamesa Grill at, where else, the second mall nearest us, Trinoma. As it had always been, I surveyed the interior and these caught my attention, the rain showers in the middle of the dining area and the bamboos which separate one table from another.

But of course, the rain showers are just coming from a shower hidden around the wooden band.


But the bamboo looks for real. Checking it further, the inside is not hollow but solid. It must be made of rattan.



**********
Last night was our second try at Lamesa Grill, owned by the Philippines' mega actress, Miss Sharon Cuneta and senator-husband, Francis Pangilinan. We had lunch at their branch at Mall of Asia a few months back. I would say the interior there is a lot better than what they have here at Trinoma. Here, it's very cramped. They tried to make the place cozy by putting in the falls, hanging veneer lamps, the rain showers, the bamboos but the place is not as comfortable as their first branch. Some tables have an awkward size that three seats make it all boxed in but leaving two seats make it really spacious.

The food is good though. We ordered the Lamesa Combo consisting of lengua, chicken barbecue, pork barbecue, baked scallops and tahong, grilled tanigue and prawns. Just take out those 'deadly black carcinogens' when you have your grilled food. One of our favorite dish is the tortang talong (eggplant omelette) - boiled eggplant with ground pork wrapped in scrambled egg topped with garlic and parsley. Very tasty.

The service is great. The food servers are very attentive and quick to respond to every query. Considering it was peak, it didn't take long for them to get our orders, deliver them to our table and bring in our bill. Normally, in most fast-casual restaurants, these three activities take around ten to fifteen minutes each.

What's good also was the 20% discount they offered for every meal. Just show the Lamesa Grill flyer and that will entitle you to a discount. Good enough. :)

***I'll be out, I will be visiting other photo hunters later tonight. :)

Lakbayan

My Lakbayan grade is C!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out atLakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Got this Lakbayan survey from various blogs. I took the survey four times, weeded out most "just passing through" answers. It's till A+. With Mr. Eugene's comment below, I checked and my booboo, I got them in reverse. Now I'm at ease with my score. Mostly I've been in Northern Luzon and the Visayas. A few places in the south and Bukidnon and Davao in Mindanao. I am in love with the Philippines. Why not? I may not love everything about this country but this is a beautiful place. There are lots of places to see and admire. My trips are both work-related and family vacations. If I may say, it's invigorating to get out of the metropolis once in a while and breathe a different air and see the greeneries.

**********
I was in the far north last week. It was my first time to try a grill house for lunch somewhere along the highway of Nueva Ecija. I always check out whatever local place we can try whether it's famous or not, both for dining and recreation. If my husband's main goal in going out of town is to rest, for me it's it's the excitement of discovering and exploring the places we go to.

My colleagues and I had lunch at Magellan's Grill before leaving N.E. and head to Isabela via the steep and zigzaggy road of Dalton Pass. The road here is referred to as "bituka ng manok" (chicken intestines) since it is shaped like that. That's how curved the pass is.

The eating place is simple, clean enough for our appreciation. The native motif looks nice too. The food is better than in fast foods. I like their pinaputok na plapla. Delicious. I don't know how to prepare this one. Think popcorn...that's how the plapla is served - inside a bloated aluminum foil placed in a sizzling plate. The novelty of it is in the opening of the foil using a knife. The smell of a well-cooked fish with onions, tomatoes, spices gets out of the foil which makes you salivate and devour the plapla at once.

Some pictures of the grill house. They can do away with the plastic cover which serves as table mats.

Photo Hunt 11: Cooked/Cooking

Squidballs is one of the fun foods that I really enjoy. It's popular here in the Philippines. There are food carts and kiosks in almost all of the malls here selling dimsum including fish and squidballs. I read in one website, which I cannot remember right now the address, that there will be a squash-enriched squidball to promote a healthier 'pig-out' food. Most prefer to dip these in chili sauce but some opt for banana sauce which is a little sweet.

These meatballs are of Chinese origin. Fishballs were the first to become popular in this country since it's cheaper and it used to be classified as a street food, meaning, it was peddled by ambulant vendors in various communities like residential areas, schools, even near office establishments. They still do but as its popularity became strong, we saw a lot of improvement as how it was prepared and how it was presented. Squidballs followed suit. It made its entry too in the 'go and grab' food category. As we know these meatballs are often a part of hotpots, it's chewy characteristic is a good match for noodles. There are a lot of things we can do with these squidballs - can be soup or curry, there's even squidball ramen.

One can buy ready-to-fry frozen squiballs in supermarkets. Or you can DIY if you're that patient. :)

-----

I think I have to elaborate some more about squidballs. :) Based on some comments, they are thought of as something else, like literally squid balls. Squidballs are made of squid meat wrapped in flour and egg for some, a little of salt and some spices. This is the generic way to do it but click here for some Chinese Squidballs recipe if anyone's interested. :)

Monday Madness

Today's The Day, Election 2007. The indelible ink, look! It's a mess but I did my duty and practiced my right as a Filipino citizen. My husband and I didn't know that there is a lunch break. We used to be really early when we vote but this morning we woke up a little late than usual so we arrived at our designated precinct around twelve noon. We thought there's shifting.

The whole voting procedure was quick. It's just that it was so hot. Reaching home, there's just one thing on our minds...eat ice cream! I wanted some chocolate but there's none in the freezer so I settled for the mocha flavor. I had a bright idea to have some chocolate taste for it. I used the Hershey's Shell Topping which freezes in seconds. Great! It was a great match for the mocha ice cream. It gave us some relief from the heat. The ice cream shot does not look good but you get the picture of what I'm saying. :)



Just an update, as of this time, 11:20pm, the ABS CBN STI Media Count which shows that Francis Escudero is leading the pack! This is partial and unofficial but I am not complaining with the results so far.

Before Monday ends, let me share my dose of Monday Madness.


Which web browser do you prefer?
I prefer Firefox because so far it does not crash online as frequently as I had experienced with IE before. At the office though, it's IE and I still downloaded IE7. I use it a few times when I have to check if my template is also compatible with IE.

Are you a PC user or MAC user?
I'm a PC user though I'd like to have MAC too.

Will your next computer purchase happen within the next year (do you think)?
I don't think so. I just had replaced my laptop September last year and I have a new company issued laptop and the desktop does not need updating yet.

Will you purchase your next computer at a local store or via the internet?
The last time it was through online shopping. But I guess next time, I'd have it via a local store.

Have you had any experience with Windows Vista?
None yet.

What are your feelings about this new operating system (if any)?
I'm pretty excited about it. I was able to read the new features it carries. And it's just me to be excited and really curious about what is new and something that will be more efficient and effective for me.

**********
Posts to come, my meme from Bonggamom, the Mother's Day piece, the family trip to the north, and my food talk on various restos we visited the past days/weeks. Obviously, I need extra hours for a fair attention to my blogging life. :)