Happy Fiesta to me!

It is our annual Fiesta in Bel-Air called PASINAYA. The whole day was a Fiesta Celebration for me. It started with a very happy Saturday morning. I woke up early and for breakfast, went to Salcedo Market to buy.......

My favorite lumpia. This time I got 4 pieces!

The empanda "kaliskis"

Tamales from Pampanga

I had to rush home because my family was having lunch at my house. I cooked the favorite of my niece, Gilly, Nilagang Baka. She only eats the soup with rice.... so I always have to cook that for her. I even went to Robinson's Pioneer yesterday just to buy the Premium Beef shanks. Really tender and lots of marbling in the muscles.
I made Chicken Relleno, it's just the everyday kind of relleno.

Everyday Chicken Relleno

Ha! You thought my Fiesta is over already, huh???? Not by a long shot!
After lunch, Ate Gina, Gilly, Tita Portia and I decided to go to Shangrila Makati for the Afternoon Tea. We listened to music at the Lobby Lounge and ordered 2 sets, Chocolate Afternoon Tea and Classic Afternoon Tea.

Chocolate scone with clotted cream, chocolate macaroons, fruit tartlet, lemon/almond square, peanut butter cookies, 2 salmon sandwiches and roast beef sandwich and served with a pot of Tea.



Scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, flourless chocolate cake topped with cream, brownies swirled with ganache, white chocolate filled with caramel, watercress cucumber with cream cheese sandwiches and salmon sandwich. Served with a pot of tea.



It was fun and relaxing to hang out with my family. We should do that more often.
Finally.... it was time to go to the park and check out what they were selling! There is the bazaar area where you can buy RTW, accessories, pet stuff, etc and there is the food area! Tita Portia and I went around and we saw the LECHON table! It is the same vendor from Salcedo Market. He let us try first, after chopping the skin, he was strating to scrape off the fat when I suddenly screamed "No! Do NOT scrape off the fat!" That's how Tita Portia likes her Lechon skin. It has to have a layer of a quarter of an inch of fat! He was such a nice guy and gave us the "batok" part.
When we got home Gilly asked us what is our criteria for judjing a good lechon. I told her the skin should be crispy and layered with fat that when you poke through the skin, it is as though you are poking through a piece of japanese paper. Then the meat should be moist and white as opposed to dark and dry.

We only ate the skin and a little meat. That's how we like our Lechon!

So..... Happy Fiesta to me!!!!!

P.S. This is the last time I am going to do this to myself! It's 3:30 am and I am feeling the after effects of what I did yesterday. Oh... No moreeeeeeee I will admit and surrender ... it was just too much eating. My stomach told me so! I think I have a hangover. Is that possible????