Waldorf chicken salad

 Here's an easy Waldorf chicken salad recipe. The ingredients and procedure are quick and easy: 4 pieces red delicious apples, 1 pack (200 g) walnuts, 1 pack (200 g) raisins, 1 cup Mayo with olive oil reduced fat mayonnaise (50% reduced fat from regular mayo), 1.5 cups diced boiled chicken breast, 1/2 lemon and a pinch of salt. If desired, you can add 2 more apples to this recipe.

Core the thoroughly washed apples and dice. Squeeze the lemon to avoid discoloration. Add all other ingredients to the diced apples -- salt, chicken, raisins, mayo and walnuts. Mix and chill. Enjoy.

Izakaya Kikufuji in Little Tokyo, Makati

Trying out Japanese food in Little Tokyo with my son. Little Tokyo is a cluster of Japanese restaurants along Pasong Tamo (Chino Roces St.) in Makati, next to the old Makati Cinema Square. Skipped lunch as I went to Divisoria so this dinner more than compensates the missed meal. We had not anticipated the big servings and the prices are reasonable for a highly recommended Japanese restaurant. Will be back to try the other items on offer or the Shinjuku Ramen House next door, known for its ramen and gyoza.

Seafood tempura bento 

Gyu kushi

Ton katsu

Spicy tuna sashimi

Chiropractic, physical therapy & acupuncture

Has anyone tried a naturalistic health care approach to seek relief from pain in the lower back, neck, arms and legs? I have started this approach this week and will update you on my progress.

Chiropractors use hands-on spinal manipulation and other alternative treatments, the theory being that proper alignment of the body's musculoskeletal structure, particularly the spine, will enable the body to heal itself without surgery or medication. Manipulation is used to restore mobility to joints restricted by tissue injury caused by a traumatic event, such as falling, or repetitive stress, such as sitting without proper back support (WebMD, 2016).

Manual alignment is done while one is lying face down or on one's side on an examining table. My chiropractor said relax and with his hands, used a controlled sudden force to improve my range and quality of motion. The whole procedure only takes less than 10 minutes and it makes you feel lighter afterwards.

Must-eats in Honolulu

Carrot pancake with breakfast combo, IHOP on Kuhio Ave.

Leonard's Bakery signage on Kapuhulu St.

Leonard's Wagon at the Waekele Premium Outlets

 
When in Honolulu, there are must-eats worth the time and carbs for. In late September 2012, my son and I were in Honolulu for a 10-day vacation. While there, we made sure we had the local favorites of Leonard's malasadas, the Shorebird buffet breakfast, breakfast at Orchids restaurant  at Halekulani Hotel and Eggs N' Things.

Leonard's masaladas, both at the original bakery in Kapahulu and at their wagon at theWaekele Premium Outlets. Leonard's malasadas are Portuguese donuts with no hole in the center. You can choose from orginal with white sugar, cinnamon and those with custard filling. Inside the Kapahulu store are a wide range of baked products. Another popular item is the sweet bread or pao doce. I brought one home. You can also order hot and cold drinks and sit on the benches outside.

Leonard's Bakery show case

Macadamia pancakes & Portuguese sausage at Orchids Restaurant, 

Food in My Tho, Tien Giang, Vietnam

Vietnamese sour fish soup - canh chua ca



Vietnamese braised fish in claypot - ca ro kho to

On March 27-31, on our way to An Giang province, Vietnam, we stopped in My Tho for lunch with our Vietnamese research partners. These two dishes were among several we ate but my favorite is ca ro kho to, braised fish in claypot (see picture above). It is a tasty fish and the tamarind sauce makes it a perfect dish any time of the day.

The first picture is sour fish soup or canh chua ca. The fish is simmered on the table and the vegetables are added when the fish is nearly cooked. It has a sour and sweetish taste from ripe pineapple, spring onions, shallots, fresh root ginger, lemon grass and tamarind paste. Click the link for the recipe of canh chua ca.

Fruits from our farm

After a 2008 hiatus, our small fruit farm in Ormoc City has a bumper crop of tropical fruits -- Bangkok santol, mangosteen and lanzones (see photos above). It is a joy considering the extreme weather events of early rain and wind that have ran havoc to the fruits in Davao this year. And my sisters flew in from San Francisco this morning for a visit but primarily to pick lanzones. This lanzones picking has been two years in the making. First, my sister wanted to come over in 2007 when she learned about our fruits. I told her that it will be a case of delayed gratification because the trees only bear these fruits every other year. I'm so thrilled our fruit trees did not disappoint this year

On the phone, my sister said she will only eat fruits in Ormoc. I dangled other irresistible goodies -- lechon, Queen pineapple, langka, dried danggit. I have also arranged trips to our hometown, Carigara, to visit the market on market day, eat kinilaw, dilis fritters, bibingka, lupak na saging & balanghoy, rattan fruit, mala-igang, palawan and saba bananas. Such luxuries can only be found in one's hometown.

Dining in Hangzhou

On June 30 -July 4, I was in Hangzhou to conduct training in Jinhua. Hangzhou food is superb, never the greasy food laden with MSG that is often associated with Chinese cooking. The pictures above are just some of the dishes served at dinner I had with friends in Zhejiang University.

The first picture is a fish dish which is reminiscent of the Thai fried fish with soya bean paste, ginger and chilli. The next one is an eggplant dish sauteed in soybean paste and it is so delicious.

Irresistible Thai desserts

I was again in Bangkok in January and April for a workshop and I had time to sneak to the Chatuchak market. In January, the climate was quite pleasant but when I was there last week, the heat was rather extreme and I would describe it as "biting the skin". As I walked around thirsty and hot, I stumbled on a Thai dessert roadside stall which was just too hard to resist. Reminiscent of the halo-halo in the Philippines, this Thai dessert is also called ruan mitr or tab tim grob (red rubies), depending on the mix of goodies inside. I always like ruan mitr which I often order after a meal at MK restaurants.




































At a field visit in Nakon Nayok province, we were served this sticky rice with coconut milk and banana and taro filling wrapped in banana leaves. The sticky rice part tastes like the Philippine suman but it is the filling that sets it apart. The piece de resistance was the ripe sweet tamarind (see photo below):



Last week, when I was in Bangkok, I had memorable meals, even those cooked in the countryside where we had our focus groups with farmers. Will post some photos in my next post.

Don't blink when you buy in Divisoria streets

Just as I thought I was street smart as far as navigating around Divisoria was concerned, I've been had. A few weeks ago, I was shortchanged when I bought some round onions on Sta. Elena St. The price was cheaper than the supermarket and the round onions were of good quality -- shiny skin, no rotten parts, uniform medium sizes. But when I got home and started to put the onions on our small native basket, I found them to be of larger sizes and three pieces were even peeled. I stared at my purchase in disbelief. How could I buy large onions and choose peeled ones? Then I realized I've been had.

The modus operandi is for the seller to quickly switch the plastic bag of items you bought with another pre-packed bag while your eyes shifted from the weighing scale to your purse. You only discover this when you reach home and remove the contents from the bag.

Lesson learned -- In Divisoria, don't buy from the streets or roadside unless the seller is your suki. If you must, stand close to the weighing scale, keep your eyes on the scale, and grab the items first before handing the payment to the seller. That won't give the seller a chance to switch bags.

Marketman's Lechon Eyeball in Cebu

Photo credit: Marketman's Lechon (www.marketmanila.com)

I've been so remiss in updating this blog as my time was diverted to Devcompage. I've been to Penang, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City in the past few weeks and I will share with you my food trips to these places in another post. But today, let me tell you about marketmanila's Lechon Eyeball in Cebu City that I had the great pleasure of participating in.

About 50 or so guests attended the marketmanila eyeball, There were three lechons made byMarketman's crew, one using the traditional Cebu style and two using his Accuchon style. Visit his blog for details of the lechon and his journey to a perfect Accuchon. The lechons were excellent and full of flavor that a crushed garlic-chili-vinegar dip was the perfect accompaniment to it. There was also a lot of lechon skin for everyone.

Besides the lechons, Marketman also laid out a tempting spread of several types of native salads -- guso, lato, eggplant, langka, green mango with sauteed bagoong -- crabs, prawns, lechon paksiw, kinilaw nga tangigue, grilled sweet corn, puso (hanging rice), budbud kabug (a suman made of millet, coconut milk and sugar), Mrs. U's silvanas and tocino del cielo, torta, small blueberry cheese cakes, biko, native ice cream and fresh fruits -- mangosteen, mango, pineapple.

Besides the scrumptious food, new friendships were made and a sense of community among kindred Marketman's fans pervaded the eyeball atmosphere. There were VIP guests too who were so unbelievably down-to-earth: Margarita Fores of Cibo fame, Frank Borromeo, the artisan chocolatier from Cebu, Mrs. U, the silvanas queen of Cebu, Joey of 80 Breakfasts, among others. It was a splendid Saturday indeed.

Where to eat in Binondo

When in Binondo, the non-Chinese among us are often left in a quandary on where to eat without being challenged by price and menu choices. Our Chinoy friends who live right on Benavidez St. have long ago tipped us on where they go when the cook is on his day off. Here is a rundown of restaurants and food shops worth visiting.

Hopia. The most popular Binondo street is Ongpin and many would start their food buying spree at Eng Bee Tin for hopia. It seems to be the best-selling hopia in town and it has blazed the trail in making hopia ube, hopia pandan, and many other irresistible goodies. But a best kept secret among hopia connoisseurs is Holland Hopia. While on Ongpin Street, turn right on Nueva St. and walk for about 10 meters. There you will find Holland Hopia. This was the hopia lovers' favorite before Eng Bee Tin entered the scene. I like Holland hopia because it's less sweet than Eng Bee Tin's. Back in Ongpin Street, walk farther until you cross a bridge then turn left on Salazar St. A good landmark is the appliance store at the corner of Salazar and Ongpin streets. At the end of Salazar Street is Diao Eng Chay hopia factory. Besides hopia, Diao Eng Chay sells peanuts with garlic flakes, siopao, and many other delicacies. Cross the street enter Benavides Street where a row of Chinese restaurants await you.

President Restaurant. 746-750 Ongpin St. (near corner Salazar St.). Now under renovation, this could easily be the most upscale resto in Binondo. According to many accounts, most Philippine presidents have dined here, which perhaps explains why it is called President. President Restaurant and Waiying have the same owner but these two are miles apart in price, size of sevings, interiors, and ambiance. At President, there are so many items in the menu which are so scrumptious but our favorites are the white chicken (or Hainanese chicken) and hot prawn salad. The resto serves so many items, including those that are not on the menu. For instance, pancit canton is not on the menu but you can ask the waiter that it's what you want.

However, President Restaurant is closed for renovation.

President Teahouse - 809 Salazar St. Just around the corner from the President Restaurant is this tea house which serves excellent dimsum and noodles. Prices are cheaper than President Restaurant. There's also a pay parking opposite President Teahouse. Next to it, there's a Taiwan food store that you might consider dropping by as it has so many high quality Chinese food items (wife cake, husband cake, moon cake, etc.) that are so exquisitely wrapped, like Japanese stuff. For photos of the facade and goodies of President Teahouse, visit Wanderlust and Wish You Were Here.

Sincerity Restaurant - 497 Nueva St. (now Yuchengco St.) - opposite Trinity (an office supplies store) Order fried chicken, their famous specialty.

Golden Fortune Teahouse - 927 Benavidez St. Great food, newly renovated, comfortable and prices are reasonable. We used to go there quite often to order almond milk with ice, special tripe, beef brisket, mapo tofu and spare ribs, until it was renovated and the renovation took a year.

Wan Chai Restaurant - 918 Benavidez St. (opposite Golden Fortune Teahouse). The resto offers all the traditional Chinese dishes at reasonable prices. Try their dimsum, prawns or crab with sotanghon claypot, mapo tofu, mixed roast platter, and steamed fish head dimsum. As it gives good value for your money, you won't regret it.

Waiying Fastfood. This is one of our favorites. It is air conditioned but it's not for those who want peace and relaxation. But if you consider the food quality and reasonable price as a good tradeoff, then this place might just be for you The prices are very reasonable and the dimsums are so good. You can also take home all sorts of dimsum (siomai, hakaw, beef ball, etc.). Go upstairs (2nd floor) to avoid the chaos of a busy restaurant. When you go to Waiying, don't expect a fancy ambiance but think about the food and price. Based on the number of customers, this seems to be the favorite of the Chinoys. Here is where you will get the best value for money. Waiying sells a wide range of congee, chong fan, vegetables, dessert and drinks. Consider these prices: roast duck/asado rice - P120, roast duck/chicken rice - P120, lemon chicken rice - P100, yingyong rice - P100, steamed minced beef rice - P90, steamed chicken mushroom rice - P90, curry beef brisket rice - P90. For dimsum, here are the prices for 1 order: beef ball - P50, siomai - P55, chiu-chao dumpling - P50, hakaw - P60, kutchai dumpling - P50, vegetable dumpling - P50, etc. For drinks, Hong Kong milk tea - P40, HK milk tea cold - P45.

Hainanese chicken rice at Portico

For Sunday lunch yesterday, my son took me to Portico in Serendra, Fort Bonifacio. Besides its culinary delights, the restaurant's best asset seems to be its interiors -- warm yellow hues on the walls and china, high ceiling, and a glass wall separating the kitchen from the dining area.

My son had chicken extravaganza (P470) and for appetizers, we had spring rolls (P300). I ordered the house specialty which was boxed and had a check mark on its menu -- Hainanese chicken (P410). I was torn between having a fish dish or chicken but since fish was not available, it made my choice easier. The shrimps and salmon spring rolls were yummy and crispy and one order could feed four persons.

I love chicken rice and I've had quite a taste of Thai, Singaporean, Malaysian and Filipino versions. In Singapore, Boon Tong Kee at Balestier Road is a popular destination for foodies. On my last trip to Singapore, I took a cab from my hotel all the way to Boon Tong Kee to try out what was purported to be the best chicken rice in Singapore. It was good but did not measure up to the best chicken rice I had in Bangkok. The chicken stall is at a roadside of Phaholyothin Road opposite the Kasetsart University-Department of Agriculture complex, outside the Maruay Garden Hotel. In Hainanese chicken, there's nothing fancy about the chicken as it is just simmered for 45 minutes or so in boiling water so the piece de resistance is the sauce. That Thai version I love and crave for is served with a unique spicy hot sauce made of preserved yellow beans (tao hoo yee) and chicken soup, a bowl of piping hot chicken soup, and a plate of fluffy jasmine rice cooked in chicken broth, pandan and ginger.

Given this backdrop of chicken rice experiences, the one I had at Portico was an utter disappointment. The pieces of Hainanese chicken were served on a large white square plate. On the plate sat the bowl of rice, chicken soup, ginger and chili sauce. The soup was not gingery at all and it tasted like it was made from a bouillon cube. What made it even more disappointing is the fact that it is featured as the restaurant's special (boxed and checked!).

If like me, you hanker for true Hainanese chicken rice in Metro Manila, don't drive all the way to Serendra. It is a waste of time and gasoline. On a Saturday morning, hie off to the Singaporean food stall in Salcedo Market. The food stall is on the left side from the main entrance to the market, near the roasted calf. An order of chicken rice which costs only P150 comes as a big slab of chicken (drumstick and thigh), a bowl of chicken-flavored rice, ginger sauce, and chili sauce. It is real Hainanese chicken rice that never disappoints your taste buds and gives good value to your money. While at the stall, you can also buy laksa -- a spicy Malaysian noodle dish with spicy coconut milk soup, chicken meat, and prawn. I usually take these goodies home and eat each slowly to savor the flavor of true Hainanese chicken rice.

Beef tapa

The only recipe that I tacked with a magnet on my son's refrigerator door is for beef tapa. It is so yummy and easy to make especially for breakfast that there's hardly any need to buy it in the wet market or supermarket if you're in the Philippines or at Filipino stores if you're overseas. If you aim to eat healthy and do away with preservatives, MSG, etc. the best way is to prepare food from scratch.

I got the recipe from my sister but I tweaked the measurements to make sure my son won't screw it up. Since we hardly use sugar if we can avoid it, we use Splenda instead to give the beef tapa just a hint of sweetness. You can also substitute beef with pork. Try the recipe below and your family will love it. Here's my kitchen-tested recipe:

Beef tapa

1/2 kg sirloin, thinly sliced
2 tbsps vinegar
2 tbsps soy sauce
1/2 tsp white sugar (or 1/2 sachet Splenda)
1/4 tsp black or white pepper poweder (3 shakes)
3 segments garlic (pounded)

Mix all the ingredients and marinate for at least 30 minutes. In a skillet, put 1 tbsp. cooking oil. Stir-fry the marinated sirloin until cooked. Serve hot with steamed rice and sliced fresh tomatoes.

Shoyu Chicken

Shoyu chicken

When I was a student at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, one of the first local dishes I learned to cook was shoyu chicken. It is yummy and the gingery taste is a reflection of the Japanese influence in Hawaiian cooking. Of course, there are hallmark Hawaiian dishes like poi and kahlua pig but those were more difficult to prepare without the proper equipment. You can't miss with shoyu chicken and it will always draw raves when you bring it to potluck parties or picnics. Once I visited my older brother in L.A., and his family liked my concoction a lot that they named it "ginger chicken." Shoyu means soy sauce so the dish may be called soy sauce chicken but calling it shoyu chicken is being true to its Hawaiian roots. Here's my kitchen-tested recipe:

Shoyu Chicken

3/4 kg chicken thighs
2 tbsps soy sauce
1-inch ginger (peeled and pounded)
1 tbsp cooking oil
¼ tsp sugar
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 star anise
½ cup water
½ tsp crushed dried chili

Marinate chicken in soy sauce and ginger for at least 1 hour. Add oil to skillet. Pan fry marinated chicken and ginger until light brown. When chicken pieces have turned light brown, pour off excess oil. Add marinade, oyster sauce, sugar, star anise, water and crushed dried chili. Simmer for 30 minutes or until sauce thickens. Discard fried ginger before serving. Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.

Banh xeo and banh canh

Banh xeo - Vietnamese crepe

Last week (5-10 January 2008) I was again in Ho Chi Minh City so I went to 46A Dinh Cong Trang Street in District 1, the place for banh xeo and banh canh. It is on a road opposite the Tan Dinh Catholic church on Hai Ba Trung Street. Banh xeo is one of the landmark Vietnamese dishes that you must try when you're in Saigon. The Vietnamese pancake is filled with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts which is served with lettuce, sprigs of mint and Asian basil leaves and other herbs. To eat the pancake, take one of the larger leaves and use it to wrap around pieces of the pancakewith some of the smaller leaves thrown in, before dipping it all in a bowl of fish sauce, water, chili, lime juice, a little sugar, and garlic.





















Banh xeo is cooked on a large flat skillet on an open fire. When the pan becomes hot, shrimp, fat pork and bean sprouts are added. A thin layer of batter is then poured into the pan and covered. After just a few minutes, it is ready to be folded in half and served.























An excellent noodle dish to accompany banh xeo is banh canh. As you eat the short round noodles (bee tai mak) , you can't help but make a slurping sound. The soup has a lot of flavor which comes from pig trotters boiled and simmered for a long time. Banh canh is essentially a noodle soup with a chunk of boiled pork and finely chopped green onions and coriander leaves added to the bowl of noodles.

Divisoria's best kept secrets

I started going to Divisoria when I was a UP Diliman student more than 30 years ago, so in all these years, I have discovered the nooks and crannies of Manila's biggest market. To start the new year, I have decided to share with you what I have learned on where to buy the best stuff. It will be a long list, so for starters, let me begin with a few ...

Curtain materials - Larry's Curtains on Recto near the corner of J. Abad Santos Avenue. Larry's has a wide selection of drapes and curtain materials and all the fittings and accessories to install curtains -- rods, hooks, pins, etc. Name it, Larry has it. Most curtain makers in Metro Manila (notably Julie Habacon, tel. 63-2 658-7560) go to Larry's for fabrics and accessories. If your requirements are upscale, I suggest you go to the main store of Larry's Curtains which is on the South Superhighway, right side facing south. In the main store, you will find imported textile fabrics, rugs, etc. But the shop in Divisoria has a lot of stuff to choose from too.

Beddings - Aling Ising's is near Security Bank on the ground floor of the A. Ledesma building on Tabora St. To get there, walk through the Ilaya alleys (pasilio) until you come out to the street parallel to it. Enter another block and find your way to the Security Bank area. Behind it you will find Aling Ising's. It is a maze and if you get lost, don't fret. Just ask the nearby shops for directions. At this store, you will find a wide range of bed sheets, bed spreads, comforters, pillow cases, blankets, pillows and towels of every size and color imaginable. It is a great place for buying wedding presents. The prices are fixed and many traders and retailers from nearby provinces buy their stuff from Aling Ising's. My favorite buy here is Serene pillows. A 20 x 30 inch or XL size costs only P230. The pillow contains 100% hypoallergenic polyester fiberfill which doesn't flatten even after years of use.

Plastic bags - For your plastic bag needs, head to Carmen Planas St. Why this fuss about plastic bags? Well, my son lives in a condominium unit in Makati where recycling and segregating is the way of life. Consider these: Recyclable bottles, soda cans, and plastic containers go into a transparent plastic bag; non-recyclable poisonous wastes like batteries, chemicals, acids, etc. must go into a red bag and placed on the floor of the refuse room. Food scraps, kitchen refuse and leftover should be placed in a plastic container and picked up from outside the door of one's unit at 0600 to 0900 every morning, etc. I know that my son will just buy plastic bags in his favorite supermarket and not mind the price. So I make sure to stock up on these.

Parallel to Ilaya St., Carmen L. Planas St. is where you will see atis trees growing near the top of some of the buildings. Just look up and if you see atis trees, this is the street. Go to Tong Yak Grocery & Gen. Merchandise at No. 811-813 of this street. Telephone numbers are 02-241-9086, 241-9088. It has no sign board but it's the third shop on the left side of Carmen Planas St. coming from Divisoria Mall. It displays the different types, colors, sizes, and thicknesses of plastic bags and food containers that they sell. Based on my own canvass, it offers the cheapest prices in Divisoria.

No-battery flashlights - I first bought this type of flashlight in Yiwu in Zhejiang province. This small hand-pressing flashlight can be quite handy, especially during a power outage, when you frantically search for a candle or a flashlight whose batteries may have been drained. As the name suggests, this type of flashlight doesn't need any battery for illumination. All you need to do is to press it a few times. It runs pretty much like the way dynamo bicycle lights work. You can find this in 168 Mall in Divisoria. If you buy one piece, the Chinese seller would usually quote 50 pesos but many shops sell it for 35 pesos or 3 for 100 pesos if you buy wholesale (read: at least 6 pieces). When you buy it, test each one yourself. Don't leave the testing to the salesgirls because they can slip in a defective unit.

Fabrics - Ilaya still remains as the place to go for good quality fabrics, usually imported from Japan or Korea. For men's fabrics, go to Benson's in Ilaya. To find it, enter the alley just under the Divine Mart signage. On the other side of Recto Ave. , there are also textile shops worth exploring. Look for the "Carolina's Lace" signboard and walk through the narrow alley. Unless the seller is your suki, be extra alert as some sellers may shortchange you and shave off an inch or two from the fabric you bought. A good deterrent is either to ask if their measurement is accurate (Tama ba ang sukat nyo?) or show the tape measure you brought and say that you will measure it again after the fabric has been cut (Susukatin ko uli kung tama ang sukat.).

Mugs and decorative plates - Here's reader Jojo Agot's tip: i found a place where you can order mugs and decorative plates with your name and personal messages handwritten on them. The artists are so good that you can order as many mugs as you want without ever having two identical designs. Perfect for giveaways to friends and officemates. it's found below Carriedo Station of LRT1.

To be continued .... In the mean time, tell us about your favorite shop or suki in Divisoria and share it with us.

Biko for the New Year

In the run-up to the New Year, you might want to cook something sweet and sticky and the easiest dessert to make is biko for Visayans or sinukmani for Tagalogs. Each one might have his/her own recipe for biko but the recipe below is so scrumptious it will make you forget your low-carb diet. Adding finely chopped calamansi peel, which I learned from my Bol-anon students, will give it a lemony tang which is a good counterpoint to the rich coconut milk and brown sugar taste. Try it and I'm sure you will like it.

This recipe serves four hungry persons so you may need to double or treble the measurements if you're cooking for a bigger group.

Moni's Biko

2 cups malagkit (preferably tapul or black)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 big coconut, grated
1 1/2 c water
1 tbsp finely chopped peel calamansi or grated lemon rind
2 tbsps pounded ginger

Put 2 cups malagkit or sticky rice in rice cooker pot or thick pot using an equal amount of water. Add salt and pounded ginger; push the ginger to the bottom of the pot. Cook until done. Add 1 1/2 cups water to the grated coconut and extract the milk. Mix coconut milk, 3/4 cup brown sugar and chopped calamansi peel in a wok (kawali, kawa). Bring to a boil, then put in medium heat and keep on stirring until the mixture is thick. You need to stir continuously to prevent the coconut milk-brown sugar mixture from curdling. [To test the mixture for thickness, put a drop of the coco milk-sugar mixture (latik) in 1/4 cup water.] If it dissolves in the water, it isn’t ready yet so continue simmering until it is thicker. Stir in the cooked malagkit and mix thoroughly with the latik.

Divisoria before the New Year

I went to Divisoria after lunch yesterday and realized that it was much too late in the day to go to a crowded place. But in the morning, I had to wait for the aircon technician to install a bigger drain pan to the bedroom aircon as it was leaking. Two nights before I could hear the water dripping on the aircon one floor down from my son's condo unit and I didn't want the resident to complain again.

Upon arrival, I avoided Divisoria and instead headed to Ongpin and Benavides St. to buy Zhen de shou for my son and two packs of black bean bread at Xinyilong and two taipao from Masuki. I escaped immediately afterwards and I was grateful to the pedicab driver for taking me to the area near Sta. Cruz church where traffic was surprisingly flowing at 3:30 p.m.

This morning I decided to return to Divisoria to buy a few items like the no-battery flashlights at 168 shopping mall, a batik malong and Caruso handkerchiefs in Ilaya, seedless navel oranges at Sto. Cristo, etc. Being the wholesale fruit center in Divisoria, Sto. Cristo was teeming with wooden crates of pomelo and guava and boxes of oranges, kiat-kiat, Fuji apples, etc. Piles of wooden crates and boxes of fruits spilled into the streets and this has caused a huge traffic jam.

Many Filipinos believe that having 12 round fruits on New Year's eve will bring them good fortune in the coming year. Round fruits are said to resemble money. Kuya Kim (Kim Atienza) was about to give the trivia surrounding this practice but I didn't get to hear his story. No wonder, fruit buying in Divisoria in the days leading to the New Year has become a frenzied madness. Many buyers, rich and poor alike, bought kiat-kiat, chico, grapes, dalandan (native orange), pears, longgan, guava, watermelon and apple. Someone on TV suggested yesterday that the 12 fruits need not be imported. One should consider aratilis or manzanitas (Singapore cherry), tomato, singkamas (turnips), mangosteen, santol, macopa (tambis), and mabolo.

Still, it is hard to resist the bargains that beckon everyone in Divisoria. It is a place where one's money will go a long way. Large seedless navel oranges were being sold at 3 for 50 pesos. I quickly calculated the price difference between the oranges I bought in Shopwise in Makati the week before and I succumbed to the bargains. Lugging back a dozen navel oranges was a challenge as I had to weave in and out through the sea of people, pedicabs, porters hauling boxes of fruits, and delivery vans.

For the uninitiated, Divisoria may not be the place to be during the holidays because the crowds and traffic jam will defeat you. But for the brave at heart like me, Divisoria will always be a special place.

Who are my readers?

It warms my heart to see an increasing number of readers from the Philippines, U.S.A., Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Germany. Google Analytics, which provide the stats, showed that in the Philippines, an overwhelming majority of my readers come from Batangas. Interesting. So far, very few has ever left a comment in my posts. Comments and posts make up a blog so I would appreciate it if you could leave some feedback -- a question, a comment, perhaps another twist to a recipe or a travel experience I have ranted or raved about.

I hope the lack of comment does not reflect a lack of trust in the writer of the blog. To find out more about me, you can check out my other professional blog -- devcompage -- in which I write in my own name and the About section describes what I have done professionally. Happy holidays and let me hear from you.

Moni's roast pork

Since it's Christmas eve, this is a good time to cook this special dish. This is my favorite and although the basic recipe is Chinese pork asado, I spent years modifying it while we were living in Kauai, Hawaii in the 1970s. It is so easy to make and it has always elicited raves from our dinner guests. Besides cooking it for formal occasions like dinner at home, I also bring it to picnics where the preferred potluck dishes are not the soupy ones.

The spices -- Chinese five spice powder and star anise -- can be found in Chinese grocery stores, supermarkets, or even wet markets. If buying these spices in a wet market, the key is to use their local terms.

If you have queries about the cooking procedure, please leave a comment to this post and I will get back to you quickly.

Moni’s roast pork

2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 pcs star anise
1 head garlic, crushed
1 ½ cups water
2 kg pork ham (pigue) – whole with bone removed, tie with cotton string (crochet thread)
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/3 cup water

Mix the first five ingredients in a thick cooking pot or Dutch oven. Add whole pork ham (pigue). Cover and simmer in low fire for about 1 ½ hours or until tender when pricked with a fork – you may have to add more water to avoid drying up; make sure there’s about 1/3 cup liquid left in pot when pork is cooked. Remove pork from pot, cut string, and slice thinly (like ham). Thicken the remaining liquid in pot by stirring in cornstarch dissolved in water. Arrange the thinly sliced roast pork in cascading style on a platter. Drizzle some gravy on top of sliced roast pork, but keep a gravy boat nearby.