Indulgence: Junk/Fast Food and Party of Parties

Hey Readers,

With waning funds and one last chance to try something different and difficult to find outside the Philippines, it's no-brainer why I'd splurge in junk and fast food in my last week here in P.I.

Monday: Shopping for pasalubong can be tiring so to recharge, we ate at a Japanese restaurant in the SM Mall of Asia.  We ordered the set for 4, which included appetizers and dessert ( coffee jelly with ice cream ).  One cousin was teaching another cousin how to use chopsticks.  He was too hungry to have the patience ( next time na lang ).  It was funny how we were the last customers in Penshoppe ( clothing store ), and my cousin kept changing her mind.

Tuesday: I didn't finish shopping, so the next day, I recruited another cousin to go with me.  For merienda, we just went to Jollibee.  I liked their slogan: "I am young, I am pinoy, I yum."  I ordered a jolly spaghetti with yum.  My cousins ordered the big burgers.

Wednesday: After helping my cousins with their new home, we had lunch in Chowking.  We ordered a set again, and added sago't gulaman and pork tufo.  At times "Bahala na" could be trying, but I never forgot to "enjoy it".  Instead of waiting in traffic/in the rain, we stopped by SM Mall of Asia.  We ordered the Supreme Overload thin crust pizza with Pineapple juice at Greenwich.

Thursday: I went to the mall again to buy the other things I forgot to buy.  In between shopping sessions I had an energy drink consisting of natural sugar cane juice.  I passed by Red Ribbon and remembered: when my aunt and I had ube mamon and a mocha frap; my cousin and I had lunch of crispy chicken with s'mores cake after hiking; my cousin and I ate macapuno, pastilias de leche, and Braso de Mercedes in the bus.  Thinking about these experiences made me hungry so I ordered fried icecream ( pandan with chocolate and mini-mallows ); the only thing fried about this dessert was the way it was cooked ( look lang ).

Friday: After the gym, I did "Chocomania" then I ate at Inasal.  Before leaving the mall, I bought polvoron from Goldilocks.

Saturday: I was more tired than I thought so I drank a protein shake ( mango yogurt flavor ).  First thing in the morning my aunts are running around buying ingredients for the dishes, which would be eaten for the night's Party of Parties.

Originally I was going to help cook but I became tarantacious ( distracted to the point of confusion because I had to pack my luggage making sure I didn't forget anything / any pasalubong ).

We had spaghetti, rice, Chop suey, shanghai, squid, pork in a broth, and hot dogs on sticks with pineapple bits and flower mallows.  For desserts we had Black Forest cake, Braso de Mercedes, Gelatin, and Leche Flan.

This party celebrated all types of party one can think of ( Bon Voyage, reunion, congratulations, new job, etc. ).  It was one last get together before I return to the States ( my home? ).  We had shots with chasers ( fermented coconut juice ) while we watched a talent show and a scary movie.

Some cousins couldn't make it; nonetheless, I was grateful for those who came.  In the words of Carly Simon ( ? ): "We can never know about the days to come ... [but] I'll tell you how easy it is to be with [them]."

One sweet chocolatey day

Que Pasa Readers,

A favorite food and pasalubong for Pinoys is chocolate.  Chocolate rice ( champorado ) is eaten for breakfast.  Chocolate blood ( dinuguan ) can be served for lunch or dinner.  Chocolate cupcakes, cakes, and ice cream are popular merienda and desserts.  So when I saw a promotion using chocolate in the spa, I was intrigued; I had to try "Chocomania".

I was greeted by my masseuse, and -- I'm not kidding either -- her name happened to be Candy.  Low lights, piano music, and decor with earthy textures ( pebbles, tiles, banana leaf, bamboo, and others ) made the environment serene.

The session started with a body scrub.  After it dried on my skin, it smelled like hot chocolate powder.  Then I rinsed, and the chocolate wrap was applied.  I always had this image that the wrap, which the spas used, was banana leaf.  However, this spa just used a sort of plastic and this thermal blanket, as heavy as those X-ray blankets used in a dentist's clinic.  The wrap supposedly helped the skin to absorb all the antioxidants from the chocolate.

The pampering ended with a massage and tea ( flavored lightly with chocolate ).  "Chocomania" was a good way to unwind from all the eating and adventuring ( who knew that such activities can be tiring ;).  My cousin was right: "Good chocolates only come by once in a while [so] enjoy them!"

Relax...

Home is where the stomach is

Hi Readers,

While my relatives are moving into their new home, I'm being busy finishing last minute business before I return "home".  Growing up bilingual and bi-cultural, questions about home surfaces every now and then.  Like Disney's Belle, I wonder where home is: "Am I here for a day or forever?"

1:30 am.  A few more hours/minutes and the new moon would disappear.  Cooler weather and less traffic were good reasons to be moving in at this time.  Convenience and tradition were others.

My aunt was adamant about keeping alive lola's beliefs.  The first person[s] to enter the house should bring with her a lighted lantern, a crucifix, a pot brimming with rice grain, and a jug filled with water.  After the ritual, I was instructed to turn on all the lights.

Then the rest of the stuff followed.  Hours passed by.  Snacks were given to the movers.  Refurbished dining table set arrived ( table inherited from lola ).  Cable TV was installed.  Showering, napping, and babysitting.  The 2 breathing native chickens were killed.  Their blood sprinkled in strategic spots around the house ( as an offering ).

I helped my aunt make Bilo-Bilo ( consisting of glutinous rice flour, pearls, and coconut milk ), and questioned her about this custom.  With a Mona Lisa smile, she said: "It's good to eat this sticky and sweet dessert so family will stick together."

Our Bilo-Bilo didn't turn out as planned ( nature of improvisation ), but we ate them still after a dinner of rice and tinola (  consisting of the cooked native chickens, green papaya, ginger, and a leafy vegetable in a broth ).

I've been here in the Philippines for almost 6 weeks; I feel at home here and there, where ever my stomach gets filled with deliciousness.

Left: Lantern, crucifix, dining table set, pantry filled with cooking accoutrements.

Music and Plenty of Pasalubong

Thanks Faithful Readers,

How does one entertain oneself for an 8 hour bus trip from Bicol to Manila? By listening to music and eating snacks!

Music plays a vital role in daily living here in the Philippines.  In fact singing is highly revered.  Singers are idolized.   In a mall, a great voice singing simple karaoke songs can stop people from whatever they're doing.

In my cousin's neighborhood, some extreme singers will sing karaoke until the late hours; then they'll take a nap, and sing again before the sun rises.  Whether they can hit the note or not, is another matter itself.

I remember hearing my godchild singing "Nothin' On You" ( by B.O.B. ) in the bathroom; some of the lyrics are slurred, but she's got the tune and melody down.  I sing in my head and in my own time.  As I bob my head to the songs in my playlist, coconut trees blurred into rice fields and other vehicles.

In every stop, a vendor would hop in the bus to sell goodies.  He'd yell: "Buy your pasalubong!" According to a source, giving pasalubong helps take the guilt away from having a fun trip ( in a way, a pasalubong is a way for the receiver to share in the giver's adventure ).  Generally, items, which are bought as pasalubong are food.  The destination traveled is usually short so the food wouldn't perish.  With technology and global expansion, the idea of pasalubong started to incorporate souvenir items, such as key chains and magnets.

I munched on peanut tarts, oranges, and boiled quail eggs leaving enough for my cousins to give as pasalubong.  I'd fall asleep and I'd wake up to the soothing voice of Jack Johnson singing: "And this moment keeps on moving, we were never meant to hold on ..."

Food perishes in the present moment ( unless jacked up with preservatives ), and maybe this transient quality makes food as pasalubong a sweeter treat: glad for a safe return and a happy reunion.

My Playlist

Hello Readers,

Music is crucial, and throughout my trip, the songs below helped me to remember special moments and delicious food I ate.  You can say it's a soundtrack to my trip.

"Home" ( from Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical )
"Airplanes" ( B.O.B )
"Somewhere" ( Lena Horne version )
"Sunrise" ( Brandon Heath )
"Listen" ( Charice version )
"Till We Run Out of Road" ( Jewel )
"Telephone" ( Lady Gaga and Beyonce )
"Singin' in the Rain" ( Lena Horne version )
"Walang Iwanan" ( 6cyclemind )
"Poker Face" ( Lady Gaga )
"Adrift" ( Jack Johnson )
"Chances" ( Kirby Heybourne )
"Alive" ( Leona Lewis )
"Daydream Believer" ( Susan Boyle version )
"Everything Goes" ( Natalie Imbruglia )
"What a Wonderful World" ( Louis Armstrong )
"Rosie's Lullaby" ( Norah Jones )
"Lifetime" ( Chris Allen )
"Up in the Ladder to the Roof" ( Sherie Rene Scott version )
"Cosmos" ( Florence and the Machines )
"Someday" ( Pete Yorn )
"Already Gone" ( Kelly Clarkson )
"Sunlight" ( Natalie Imbruglia )
"Looking Up" ( Paramore )
"Losing Keys" ( Jack Johnson )
"Dog Days are Over" ( Florence and the Machines )
"Why" ( Sheire Rene Scott version )
"Who I was Born to Be" ( Susan Boyle version )
"The Time of My Life" ( David Cook )
"Better in Time" ( Leona Lewis )
"Anticipation" ( Mandy Moore version )
"Let it Rain" ( Chris Allen )
"Sweet Dreams" ( Beyonce )
"Alapaap" ( 6cyclemind )
"Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" ( Coldplay )
"Up to the mountains" ( Susan Boyle version )
"Bring Him Home" ( RyanDan version )
"Goodbye" ( Spice Girls )
"You Can't Always Get What You Want" ( Glee version )
"Mothers of the Night" ( Moby )
"L'Infinito" ( RAF by Picotto )
"Kailanman" ( 6cyclemind )
"Never Say Never" ( The Fray )
"Good Day" ( Jewel )
"Enjoy it" ( from In Search of the Castaways )
"Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" ( Edith Piaf )
"Thank You" ( Charice )
"A World to Believe In" ( Celine Dion )
"Welcome Home" (?)
"I Hope You Dance" ( Lee Ann Womack )
"I Got You" ( Leona Lewis )

Lounging with Lola: Memories

Hola Readers,

We are now in Camarines Sur, in the Bicol region, where my mother and her siblings grew up.  On our way to my relatives and grandparent's graves, we picked up a person familiar with the prayers for the dead.  My aunts cautioned me not to take random pictures in the cemetery.

My lolo ( grandfather ) died approximately one month before I was born, and my lola (grandmother ) and I share the same birthday.  One time, she ordered the killing of a chicken for our party.  We had tinola.

I remember waking up early to go to the coconut tree field.  We rode a bamboo cart pulled by a kalabaw ( water buffalo ) in the dark.  The sun hadn't risen yet; the roosters crowed as if racing each other to see who could crow the loudest.  We ate buko ( coconut meat and coconut water ) under the shades.

One hot summer day, my cousins and I wanted halo-halo and mais con yelo ( shaved ice, sweet corn, and evaporated and condensed milk ).  Our lola didn't want us to eat the because we'll get a cough.  We disobeyed her, and we paid a price for it ( in bamboo ).

The prayers ended.  My aunt swept the scurrying ants decomposing plants, dried twigs, and other debris off the concrete floor.  We said goodbye and left the candles burning.