Boracay! We're back!

This is my 27th visit to Boracay.

I was with my friends.  

We call ourselves Baliws!

Why? Because we are funny and crazy.

We are a bunch of happy people. 

We feed on each other's positive vibes.

Always a feel good moment when you are with the Baliws.

We actually crave each others company.

After 2 years, we are finally back! 

Our Happy Place.

But I think it is everybody's "happy place".  I have some friends who just got home from the island and told me they want to go back again.

I wonder what makes people want to go back again and again?

We stayed at Fat Jimmy's Resort this time. 

It is a small hotel but the staff is so good and nice. Especially, Arlene.

We booked this hotel in 2019 for our 2020 trip but the pandemic happened.  They allowed us to rebook it again until we were ready.

They even decorated the room because Cristina asked them to prepare it for Pinky.

Pinky celebrated her (post) birthday with us in Aquafresh (036)2881048, 

our favorite seafood paluto restaurant. 

Halaan Soup

Butter Garlic Shrimps

Grilled Pusit

Calamares

Stir-fried Kangkong

Thank you, Pinky!

Then, in the evening, we had dinner at Ole!

HIHIHI a Mexican restaurant but we ordered Filipino food!

Crispy Pata

Pancit Guisado

Sisig

When we got back to the hotel, we surprised Pinky with a birthday cake!

Sophie wanted to come with us but I told her we only eat and swim. The next day, true enough, as soon as we woke up, we went swimming already.

Lunch was at Congas, Thai restaurant on Bulabog Road A. 

 They specialize in red curry.

Massaman Beef Curry

Red Chicken Curry

Pad Thai - 2 kinds, shrimp and chicken

Lemongrass Chicken

Pork with Basil

Mia, my friend and neighbor, who is also in Boracay even joined us for lunch!

She told us to visit Bulabog Beach because the roads are fixed already and they even have a boardwalk.

This tree is famous for photo ops.

Swimming at Station 1 was the next activity. It was time for sunset merienda of chori burger and hotdog near the Grotto. 

We met up with Kuya Nap and Ate Ime, the relatives of Doc Bernie.

Dinner at Aquafresh again. 

It was Doc Bernie's birthday celebration with his family. Older sister Ate Ime, her husband Kuya Nap, Hannah- daughter and Nicole, friend of Hannah.

Doc ordered steamed crabs.

Halaan soup again because it was really good.

Butter Garlic Shrimps because it's everybody's favorite.

Grilled Liempo

My ultimate favorite, Steamed Lapu Lapu.

Thank you, Doc Bernie!

The next day we woke up early so we could go to Puka Beach!

So beautiful!

And the best thing about it? There was a manong who took our pictures! OMG! What a great photographer! He made me look so tall and slim! 

No filter, just his amazing skills plus Cristina's Iphone 12 something something. Hahaha I can't remember the complete name of the phone's model.

After the photo ops and swimming at Puka Beach,

we headed to Angol Point to eat at my favorite Japanese restaurant called Nagisa.

I ordered mix tempura and so did Cristina.

The rest had ...

Gyudon

Gyoza

Tonkatsu Curry

Other Asian food...

Kimchi Rice with Fried Chicken

Calamares and Camaron Rebosado

More swimming then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our sunset merienda.

One of the best places to wait for the sunset is at the rooftop of The District Hotel.

We had Pizza...

Sausage and Mushroom

Hawaiian Pizza

We also tried their Kalamansi Muffin.

I think it tastes better than the more famous one which tastes like "kababayan". But other people like it. I guess, to each his own.

Chori burger, bbq, isaw and hotdog!

Before the evening ended, we all went to my most favorite place in Boracay....

Ice Flakes!

Jodie treated me! Thank you! I had the Coconut Shaved Ice.

They ordered Halo Halo.

I ate shaved ice everyday. Mango Shaved ice on my first day and last day.

Watermelon Shaved ice on my 2nd day.

I also tried Coco Mama coconut ice cream.

It is also famous, quite Instagramable, but it is not my favorite.

And the next day, we headed back home.

I wish we could have another trip to Boracay with my Baliw friends.

I am glad that we are always making memories.

Thank you Pinky, Mona, Jodie, Eric, Cristina and Bernie!

I always enjoy traveling with them.They are the best Baliws ever!

Back To Salcedo Market

I went to Salcedo Market today after one and a half years! I haven't been there since lockdown of March 2020.

The Jaime Velasquez Park is under renovation so all the vendors are situated around it.

The reason why I went to Salcedo market is because I am craving for native kakanin! Tricia "toured" me around while I was buying my loot.

I am already fully vaccinated.  I felt safe because it was open air and so many tanods to remind people to put on their face masks.  I sprayed my hands with alcohol and I did not eat nor drink anything there.

But I made up for lost time! Upon reaching my house, (after showering, of course) I started going through my food buys!

My sister in law asked me to buy some food stuff for her so everything is not mine.

My favorite is the tamales from Pampanga.  I ate it with sugar.

I also ate the corn dog, 1 stick of bbq, fresh lumpiang ubod and the list goes on....

Tricia got puto for PD. I also tried it.  

Soooo good because it was made from real rice, not from rice flour.  It was soft, moist and it kinda stuck to the roof of my mouth! Perfect! Just the way I like it.

Black Cuchinta from Baguio!

That is my craving at the moment.

I even bought one liter of fresh buko juice.

I ate all of that for brunch!! So full that I had to take a short nap.

I set my alarm at 4 pm.  Time to wake up so I can cook Spaghetti Vongole.  Tricia bought us big clams and flat leaf parsley from the market.

I asked my neighbor, Vinnie, to open a bottle of white wine because I needed 6 tablespoons.

I followed a very simple recipe online.

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/spaghetti-clam-alle-vongole/?fbclid=IwAR3znkFgxhzYG6GU8661zO_lMrIHf27KxFZEd71t1csmwVdmK7fyt0IZ1ew

It was so easy and I really loved it.  It is my most favorite Italian Spaghetti.

I used the clam juice for the sauce.

Spaghetti Vongole

500 gr. spaghetti noodles cooked for 10 minutes

2 kg. clams, cleaned and drained

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

4 T. extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

clam juice

6 T. white wine

4 T. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

freshly cracked black and red pepper flakes

Heat 2 T. olive oil in a pan.  Add the clams and cook covered over high heat for 6-7 minutes. Discard the clams that did not open.

Drain and save the clam juice.

In the same pan, heat 4 T. olive oil then add the garlic. When soft and fragrant, add the clams, clam juice and white wine. Let it boil then add the cooked spaghetti noodles.

Garnish with flat parsley leaves.  Season with black and red pepper.  Drizzle with additional olive oil.

PS. You may add salt if the clam juice is not salty enough to your taste. 

I had it for dinner together with the crumpets I bought from Madge.

It was my first time to eat it! The lady vendor instructed me to toast it then slather a lot of butter on top.  Then my choice to eat it with jam, honey or even leftover curry! 

I can't wait to go back to Salcedo Market again to buy my new favorite food.

The World Just Lost A Fairy God Mother

Do you believe in fairy tales? I am a pragmatic person.  I don't believe in happily ever after.  I don't believe in fairly tales until the day I met my Fairy God Mother.  Everybody knows I call her FGM.

Her name was Cindy.  

She was an avid and faithful reader of my blog.  One time, she approached me in Powerplant mall to say "I am your follower." I said "Hello", smiled at her and that was it.  Fast forward to several months, I discovered we were neighbors here in the village.  I met her again for a meeting in Vinnie's house but I just smiled shyly and said hello, as usual.

We then started saying "Hi!" frequently whenever we would bump into each other in Powerplant mall.  I invited Cindy and Tita Mench, another neighbor, to have lunch in my house.  

That started our wonderful friendship.

We would always chat online and learn more about each other.  One time I was whining in FB that I wanted to eat bacon but it was already midnight I could not go out and buy in the supermarket.  A few minutes after posting, my doorbell rang and Lo and Behold!, Cindy was there bearing gifts, a pack of bacon, sausage, juice and chips! Since then, I started calling her Fairy God Mother.  She indulged my cravings and sometimes after doing her grocery shopping in Unimart or S&R she would knock on my door and give me my pasalubongs.  

Always food.

Food was something we had in common, our love for it.  She was my eating partner in crime.  We would set dates and eat whatever we had in mind.  

Most of the time it was just the two of us but sometimes we would enjoy food with our fellow Perlies.  That is the name of our group.  We all live in the same village.  Occassionally, Mona would join us also when she is in Makati.

We started traveling together.  The first time was in Cebu.  Mona and I tagged along for the day while FGM and her friend, Cherry, spent several days in Cebu.

Next was in Iloilo with Vinnie and Mona.

FGM and I were room mates. Hihihi let's just say after a night with me, she never ever wanted to be my room mate again. Ever.  I offered to get a room of my own. I was really tired because I  just got back from Bangkok and I knew I was going to snore loudly.  She was not able to sleep at all! So I got up at 5 am and started wandering around the city and ended up at the public market to eat batchoy. The next night Mona was my room mate and FGM got her own.

Our 3rd trip was in Bangkok with Vinnie.  

Lesson learned, she got her own room but we opened the connecting door between the two rooms.

Our last trip was in Vietnam with Vinnie and Ninong, FGM's husband.

When you travel with friends the bond gets stronger and you get to know them on a more personal level.

I am really going to miss FGM.  When she was still living in the village, we had a 5 o'clock date.  She would pick me up then go to Powerplant mall for a couple of hours then go home in time for dinner.  Sometimes, we would just drive around the village and chat for hours on end.  When I am hungry I would call and ask her, "What's your food and can I eat there?"

June 3 was a sad day for me and for the "world", as well.  FGM was generous in heart and spirit.  She loved giving joy to people she like and love.  Low key is the term I would describe her generosity.  She helped so many people but never announced it to the world.  

She is gone too soon, she could have helped more people but God said,  "It is enough already.  You have done more than I could ask for."

My friends have been calling and texting to ask if I am alright.  I said I am ok but I am just so sad.  I still can't believe FGM is not here anymore.  My only consolation is knowing that she was so happy to be back in Powerplant mall before she took her last breath in her happy place.

She is survived by her husband Richard a.k.a Ninong to me and my friends, older brother Billy and the daughter of her heart, Cha Cha. (Got the photos from FGM.)

Her last words to me yesterday while chatting online was, "Eat well!"

FGM, my fairy god mother, made me believe in fairy tales again while she was still here on Earth.  

For that, I would forever be grateful to her.

11 years of LFJ

Time flies so fast! 11 years ago I started my blog as a means of communication with my friends who were living abroad.  Then eventually it became a repository of the recipes I concocted myself.

I started adding bits and pieces of my life which revolved around food and then traveling to my favorite destinations eating my favorite food, of course!

But these past couple of years I'm very sorry I haven't been posting much.  I usually just follow recipes  from the net. I do not want to post something not created by me.

I stopped counting but I think I  have shared more than 400 recipes already.  I'm not the type to count things,  whether my recipes, posts, likes or how much money I have. 

I was just surprised that after 11 years I have 1,015,504 pageviews.  

It may not be a lot to some but for me it is already a gift I am most thankful for.  

Thank you so much my dear readers!  I promise to share more recipes in the future.  It inspires me that I am touching the lives of a lot of people and hopefully my posts have helped you with your cooking and baking skills.  And most importantly, to love cooking as much as I do.

And let's not forget my love for "eating" that's why I cook!

 

Fresh Chinese Lumpia 2020

 Fresh Chinese Lumpia 2020

1 head garlic, chopped then divided into 4

1 onion, sliced then divided into 4

2 C. carrots, grated

2 C. singkamas grated

2 C. cabbage, shredded

1 C. Baguio beans, julienned

1 square tokwa, chopped

fine salt

1 small sachet Magic Sarap

Cooking oil

Saute the carrots, singkamas, cabbage, Baguio beans in oil with garlic and onions one at a time. Season with a pinch of salt and Magic Sarap.

Set aside after sauteing each vegetable in a bowl.

Cook the tokwa in a little oil until light brown.

Add all the vegetables and cover.  Let it cook over slow fire for 10 minutes.

Adjust seasoning if needed.

Sauce:

2 C. water

6 T. brown sugar

4 T. soy sauce

2 T. cornstarch dissolved in

2 T. water

Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan except the cornstarch slurry.

Let it boil then add the slurry.  Stir until slightly thick.

Lumpia Wrapper 6-8 pcs.

1/2 C cornstarch dissolved in

1 C. water

2 eggs

1 t. salt

1 t. cooking oil

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Use a non-stick skillet.  Add a little cooking oil to the pan then wipe with paper towel.

Pour 1/4 C. (depends on the size of your pan)  batter and swirl the pan. Cook until the edges separate from the pan. Flip the pan over a plate.

Other ingredients:

1 head garlic, minced finely or use a garlic press

20 g. sotanghon noodles, deep fried, crushed and combined with

2 T. hoti (dried crushed seaweeds)

1/4 C. peanuts crushed mixed with

1/3 C. sugar

green ice lettuce leaves

few sprigs of wansuy

Put one wrapper on a plate then add a few pieces of  lettuce leaves.  Add a small handful of the crispy noodles and hoti mixture.  Add 3/4 C. cooked vegetables.  Sprinkle 1 T. peanut/sugar and add one sprig of wansuy.  

Roll the lumpia.

Pour sauce and add some minced garlic.