Boracay With Lisa 2017

Every time Lisa comes back to the Philippines every 2 years, we make it a point to go to Boracay.

The last time we were there I was very sick so I was not able to enjoy the beach with her.  I made it up this time and enjoyed the sun, sea, sand and food with Lisa.

We were lucky because it was very sunny when we arrived.  Of course, we had to have our mandatory selfie while riding the tricycle.

Our hotel was Residencia.  It is right beside Ambassador in Paradise near the Discovery Shores area.

I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel.  The rooms were renovated recently, some of which are still undergoing repainting and such.

It was Sia's 1st time in Boracay while it was my 22nd.

Hehehehe Lisa did not want to sleep with my cat.

The menu in the coffee shop was not extensive but it hit the spot.  Most of the time we were too lazy to go restaurant hopping so we had our meals at the hotel.

Breakfast

The few times we went out to have our meals....

Aquafresh Paluto.

The old D'Talipapa burned down last September. My favorite paluto restaurant transferred to Emall, behind Astoria Current if you are on the White Beach and behind Budget Mart, Emall from the main road.  They still remembered me by name! How cool was that!?

Halabos na hipon

Inihaw na liempo

Steamed alimango

Inihaw na pusit

Sauteed Kang Kong

A bottle of Royal.

We ate at Obama Grill on our last night.

Halaan Soup

Fried Chicken.

Ohhhhh bummer! Lisa does/can not eat a lot whereas I could eat lots and lots of "small frequent meals". She did not even finish her quarter chicken.

We had to try the different mango shakes.

Maya's Mexican restaurant. My favorite shake on the island.

Jonah's

Residencia's

Two Season's. It was just in a plain white plastic cup for take out.

So sad because they have my favorite Shrimp and Brie Pizza but I could not eat it.  I am doing wheat -free now for health reasons.  I have a lot of traveling to do this December and I want to be in perfect condition, health wise.

Snacks

Grilled Hotdog and pork bbq!

Human interest story.

Mang Frank was able to send 2 kids to college just by selling bbq in the afternoon.  The kids are now working, one of them in a bank in Boracay.  After work, still in uniform, she would help her father cook the bbq.

I love stories like that. It lifts the spirits and gives hope to people who want a better future for their families and they achieve it through hard work.

Balut!  Hahahahaha Lisa could not eat the balut so I ate her share!

Warning: Graphic content! Close you eyes if you don't want to see the sisiw!

Taho

Mais con yelo

Beef Nachos

"Dirty" ice cream

Loot from the market... sili for Bicol express!

Boracay is famous for its sunset. Lucky me, the most wonderful spot to take a photo is in the Diniwid-grotto area.

There is a new mall called City Mall across Fairways and Bluewater.

I was able to have my Gong Cha fix! But instead of 80 pesos for a medium cup, it was 120 pesos!

Lots of new development on the island. Huge buildings being constructed.  Stores or restos that we have here in Manila are now sprouting everywhere.

Tita Mench would always tell us that Boracay was so much different back then. I understand her now.

When will I be back? I do not know, maybe next time when Lisa is in town again?

Lisa and I have been friends since 7th grade and even if we do not see each other often,  it is still as though we were just together the other day instead of years.

We are nearing the golden years of our lives but when we are together... we feel and "act" like the kids we were 35 years ago.

Thank you for the friendship, Lisa!

PS

I had a dental emergency. I was in pain and could not enjoy my food. But good thing my friend, Lhen, who is a dentist in Boracay was able to solve my problem!!!

Thank you so much, Dr. Lhen! I got the photo from one of my blog posts.

Hello and Goodbye

Hello Lisa! Goodbye Pinky!

It was a Bienvenida and a Despedida.

Lisa just arrived from New York and Pinky was on her way to Los Angeles.  It was their first time to see each other since High Scholl graduation 30 years ago!

We were all "crying" because we will miss Pinky! Very much!

Hahahaha.. well pretend crying only but the sentiments were the same.  We already gave Pinky all our shoe sizes, underwear sizes and clothing sizes. She said she will just bring home "sandok" for everybody!

The group prepared, ordered and bought all of Lisa's homecoming requests.

Cristina and Bernie ordered Pancit Palabok.

Pinky ordered Pork BBQ.

Mona bought ripe mangoes, green mangoes and cuchinta.

Jodie, Gio and Eric brought the Buco Lychee Sherbet.

Ayyyyy... I forgot to take a photo!

Of course, the "Welcome Back" merienda would not be complete without the fish balls!

Hermie bought the Shanghai brand in Guadalupe.

Fried lumpiang ubod.

Boiled white corn.

I cooked my special bagoong.

We all had a fun and wonderful afternoon.

So full from all the "street food".

We even went up to PD's house for photo ops!

Welcome home, Lisa!!! See you soon, Pinky!

PS

More of Lisa's food requests.

She and I would always chat via video call and she said she wanted to try my.....

Adobong  Pusit

Pancit Sotanghon

My original Pork BBQ, the one for business.

Hahahaha but not anymore because I can't sell it at the current market price.  Too costly to make and I'm too embarrassed to sell it at a higher price.

Very Easy Baked Tahong

I experimented with a Baked Tahong recipe tonight.  It only took me 20 minutes from start to finish.

My old recipe is quite time consuming so I am sharing this new one.

It is a very "jeje" (meaning bakya) tasting dish like the ones you would eat at Dampa.  I prefer this taste, though.

Baked Tahong

1 K. large mussels
1/2 C. water
100 gr. Dari Creme margarine, softened
100 gr. Magnolia Quickmelt Cheese, grated
1 head garlic, crushed
1/4 c. fine breadcrumbs

Preheat oven at 350F.
Put the mussels in a large pan with water. Cover and cook until the shells open.  Remove from heat.
Discard one side of the shell and remove the beardlike "thing" from the meat.
Combine the margarine, cheese and garlic in a bowl.
Spread over the mussels and put on a baking tray.
Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake for 8 minutes or until bubbly.
Do not overcook.

Seafood Spaghetti In Tomato Sauce

I saw a picture of a seafood pasta dish and I experimented today.

Kuya had 2 servings, I let Pinky and FGM try a bit.  Pinky said it tasted like the pasta dish she used to eat at Giovanni's, an Italian restaurant in some of the RCCL ships.

I did not like it so much because I only cooked the noodles for 10 minutes!

My normal pasta cooking time is 15-16 minutes.

Hahahahaha. You can imagine my disappointment when the pasta was a little bit chewy. I want my noodles mushy.

But they said it was good, so I am sharing the recipe in my blog.

Next time I cook it, the timing of the noodles will be longer.

Seafood Spaghetti In Tomato Sauce

1/4 K. shrimps, shelled
1/4 K. clams, soaked in water
1/4 K. mussels, soaked in water and cleaned of any part that is not edible (drain before cooking)
2 T. olive oil for the seafood
2 T. olive oil for sauteing
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 T. chili flakes
1 Knorr Chicken cube
1 t. sugar
1 can Contadina Diced Tomatoes
180 gr, spaghetti noodles
Italian parsley leaves, chopped for garnishing

Puree the diced tomatoes with an immersion blender or regular blender.

Before you cook the sauce, start cooking the noodles first.  Sauce and noodles should be cooked simultaneously.

Heat a frying pan. Add 2 T. olive oil. Cook the shrimps for a minute on each side then set aside.

In the same pan, cook the clams and cover it for 3-5 minutes or until the clams open. Set aside.

Repeat the procedure for the mussels then set aside.

*save the liquid from the shellfish

In another pan, heat the olive oil then saute the garlic and onions until soft and fragrant. 

Add the chili flakes then the pureed tomatoes, chicken cube and liquid from shellfish.

Season with sugar.

When the noodles are cooked, save 1/2 c. pasta water.

 Drain the noodles and add to the sauce together with the pasta water and pre-cooked seafood.

Cook until the sauce has been absorbed by the noodles.

And it's done!

I usually follow the no-cheese rule when eating pasta with seafood.

Korean Pork Ribs

I have a small slab of baby back ribs in the freezer and decided to try out something.

The Koreans love cooking with ribs whether it is pork or beef.  I just imagined the ingredients in my mind and I am sharing the recipe!

Korean Pork Ribs

1 K. Baby back ribs

Marinade:

1/3 C. Sempio Korean soy sauce
1/3 C. white sugar
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 T. Korean chili paste gochujang
1 T. sesame oil

Soak the ribs in cold water for an hour then drain.

Cut per rib and remove the membrane at the back of the bone with an ice pick. 

This will ensure the meat will be tender.

Combine all the ingredients in a plastic container, put the ribs meat side down and cover.

Put in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

Put the ribs together with the marinade inside the aluminum foil packet.

Bake at 300F for 2 hours.

Pour the drippings in a sauce pan and reduce until syrupy.

Place the ribs meat side up on a baking rack.

Increase the temperature of the oven to 400F

Brush the ribs with the glaze and put under the broiler for 5 minutes.

TADA! 

Very easy Korean Pork Ribs recipe!

Vinnie's Birthday With The Perlas

We have a group named "Perlas ng Silangan" with FGM Cindy, Tita Mench and Vinnie.

Perlas because we used to go to the Pearls area in Market Market.

It was the birthday of Vinnie last October 21.

She invited us to attend the vigil yesterday in St. Andrew.

Then she treated us to an early dinner at Lugang.

We had Seafood Spinach Soup.

Xiao Long Bao

Steamed Siomai

Vegetable Dumplings in Truffle Oil

Fried Rice

Fried spring Rolls

Birthday Noodles.

We loved the Peanut Shaved Ice!  It was like Peanut Butter Milkshake!!!

Thank you so much Perlas for the wonderful time yesterday and for all the stories we shared.

Belated Happy Birthday, Vinnie!