2005 October | Ajay's Writings on the Wall

October, 2005

Lasang Pinoy 3: Quiapo Street Food

October 24, 2005 by ajay

Quiapo2

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

The Pinoy food blogging event Lasang Pinoy focuses this month on “street food” and I thought what better way than to focus on one of my favorite public places in Manila: Quiapo. Although the nouveau riche would rather hang out in the sanitized confines of Greenbelt, I agree with Carlos Celdran when he said that “Quiapo shows you what Manila truly is … dirty, noisy, colorful and full of soul.” Maybe because the place is so rife with contradictions. As I’ve said before: where else can you find a Church where they sell abortifacients outside and tell fortunes like it was Gospel-truth? Catholics flock here on Fridays and yet the Muslims rule via their temptingly illegal pirated DVDs trade. Maybe Quiapo’s appeal to me lies in the fact that there is a secret waiting to be unravelled in its every nook and cranny. In any case, it is a bargain shopper’s paradise. My friends would say I court an element of danger everytime I go here but danger is exciting and I get to love Manila all the more because of it.

Quiapo1

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

In Quiapo, street food is a given. There are vendors on every corner and young kids never fail to badger you to buy their plastic bags for so-and-so. The energy begins in the area around Plaza Miranda with its countless stalls selling flowers, candles, all kinds of novelty items and of course food.

Even though my digital camera was in danger of being snatched anytime,I had a heyday documenting the extensive variety of street food, as the pictures would show.

sinaing na tulingan

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Whenever I am in Quiapo, I never fail to buy the sinaing na tulingan sold by the vendors coming from as far as Laguna and Batangas. This one is great as a dish paired with rice or flaked to make an excellent topping for tulingan pasta. The laing and ginataang hipon they sell is also great and cost only from P25 to P30 per order.

pansit

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

The vendors from Bulacan, on the other hand, have two tents full of their culinary specialties on Hidalgo St. going to the old SM Shoemart.Here, they sell all sorts of lumpiang prito, kakanin and assorted pansit for as little as P15 per order. Street food never came this cheap.

Category Munchin', My Manila | Tags: | 22 Comments
Pictures from the past

October 20, 2005 by ajay

Holland mosaic

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Going through one’s past albums can be a therapeutic activity. And from my colorful life, one thing that stands out was the time when I first set foot in Europe. I was 23. relatively young, single, carefree, and very much eager to see the world for what it’s worth. Looking back at my two years’ stay in the continent, I feel bad that I wasn’t able to immerse myself in all the sights (the Stonehenge for one, and all those museums!) However, Holland is one country where I have fond memories. They say a place is simply good by the many things you can associate with it and when you say Holland, so many things come to my mind: the canals, the bikes, the cheeses, all those tall people, the windmills etc. The Dutch countryside is quiet but truly picturesque and beautiful.

with dutch maiden

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

A visit to the Keukenhof gardens in Lisse remains one of my most treasured experiences ever. We were toured there by Fr. Willy, a Dutch priest, and seeing the perfectly-landscaped gardens with all those colorful tulips in bloom was the closest thing I felt to being in paradise.No kidding, it simply was.

Madurodam

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

One of the most popular attractions in Holland, especially during the summer, was Madurodam in The Hague. The place means “Holland in Miniature” and I must say it’s really cute with every tourist spot, including the airport,replicated on a 1:25 scale. One can just imagine the keen attention to detail that went into each piece.

Delft

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

One of my favorite “pa-cute” pictures taken in Delft, the quaint Dutch town famous for its expensive blue pottery. Wouldn’t you be in love if you were in this place?

Kinderdijk

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Holland is famous for its windmills and what better place to view this than at Kinderdijk which has 19 well-preserved windmills dating back to the 1500s.

in York

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

In England, I had two nice bosses in the persons of Debbie and Ann (bless her soul!) Even though we were not allowed to have boyfriends (he!he!) Debbie wanted me to marry an Englishman so we can be neighbors near her village in Humber Bridge. Hmmm, I just couldn’t tell her that I couldn’t stand the lousy English weather and the food! This pic was taken during our trip to the York Minster. Debbie also made it a point to tour us to London during our breaks where we watched Miss Saigon, posed outside Buckingham Palace etc. I thought one of the best parts was simply hanging out in the houses of Filipinas married to Brits. They were so accommodating, took us around and cooked so well. We were more than glad to partake of these feasts which reminded us of the food back home.

With Lei, Brooklyn

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

Ligaw na picture! This is a shot of me and my close high school buddy Lei in Brooklyn, 1998. I was only in NY for only three or four days (can’t remember now) but I stayed in three places: the Hotel Intercon in Park Ave., a friend’s spacious digs in Greenwich Village and Lei’s flat in Brooklyn. Being a first-timer in the Big Apple, everything was a big deal to me and I thought, this was my city if only I was single ( I already had my son by this time). Digicams were not yet in vogue and the World Trade Center was still standing. I also had a heyday shopping at Century 21, which is their version of an outlet shop.I couldn’t understand Lei when she decided to relocate to Canada, would love to go back to NY again. Maybe there’s such a thing as being overwhelmed by the city spirit.

Category Road Adventures | Tags: | 12 Comments
A book for the wanderlust in you

October 11, 2005 by ajay

1000places

Originally uploaded by annalyn.

If I had my way, I’d give this book to all my “wandering” friends this Christmas. But for now, the honor goes to my editor Art, a real kewl guy who is one of the easiest persons to deal with on the planet. What better gift to give to someone who hauled me off to Japan and who hauls himself to HK/other countries every so often that you’d think these were provinces of the Philippines?

At the risk of salivating, I only browsed through several pages in the book – mainly to see if some of the places I’ve been to made it and what places in the Philippines were included in the list. Of the latter, the author Patricia Schultz recommended only three: Banaue Rice Terraces, Taal Volcano and Amanpulo. Which is quite a shame since Thailand and even Vietnam had quite a dozen or so to their name. And who, but the creme de la creme, goes to Amanpulo anyway? Ordinary mortals like you and me die without setting foot on any of those super-exclusive, pricey Aman resorts which are liberally mentioned in the book. And of course, I was aghast to find that I’ve only been to 15 o so places out of the 1000 mentioned which means…I need to expand my horizons and travel more, hehe. Geez, I haven’t even been to Banaue Rice Terraces though I’ve been fortunate enough to go to some of the must-see’s in the book such as Delft, “the 17th century Dutch town;” the York Minster, “largest medieval cathedral in Great Britain,” Amsterdam’s red light district (the one with scantily-clad women by the windows, the window closes when a customer comes in); Bruges, Belgium ( site of the Church of our Lady which houses Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child); London; New York; Philly and its food; Ayutthaya and Chatuchak Weekend Market in Thailand, among a few others.

Issa did rave about Saint-Petersburg and Anna Lyn’s Norway has several entries devoted to it such as the Northern Lights, Viking Ship Museum, the North Pole, and the breathtaking fjords. Hmmm, despite reading about Timbuktu, Sweden’s Ice Hotel and Count Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania, Romania, I am still in an “Asia mode.” Visiting Singapore, Vietnam, Penang and Laos seems more realistic now with these budget airlines around.

Overall, the book is well-researched and eye-opening lesson in world geography. It should be consulted by every avid traveller before embarking on that all-important journey. However, it would be foolish to go “by the book” because as I’ve found out from gallivanting all these years, what’s more important are the friends you meet/friends you are reunited with and the personal discoveries you make along the way.

Category Language & Lit, Road Adventures | Tags: | 21 Comments
Sweets for My Sweet Tooth

October 4, 2005 by ajay

Somebody at work asked if dinner – namely the food laid on our table – was good and I had all energy to reply: “Masarap sya. Tikman mo! ” (It’s delicious, taste it!)

After which a colleague of mine teasingly said: “Pleaaaase. Don’t ask Annalyn anymore. Everything with her tastes good.”

Hehe. I have to admit she gave me some food for thought there. I am actually wishing I was taking an appetite suppressant or something. My consolation is the fact that am not gaining weight (sexy pa rin daw..hmmp!), maybe because of my freakin’ work sked and all those late-night shifts. On the other hand, am not a complete glutton since there are some food I won’t eat for the life of me. These include dinuguan, papaitan or anything with innards (except sisig). I do not even eat the tuwalya in kare-kare.

I am also not fond of sweets. So when my officemate John told me that he’s embarked on a second career as a pastry chef, cake-maker (whatever you call it), I was secretly impressed. After all, he has a steady job with our company and happily married with a kid. How many people are there who pursue their passions and turn it into a business? And how many guys do you know can actually bake cakes?

Apparently, John now has a thriving career supplying cakes to selected coffeeshops in Makati and Metro Manila. So when he invited me to sample his creations at the Coupe Coffeeshop in Better Living Subd., Paranaque City, I gave it no second thought. Thankfully, my buddy Notty was game enough to drive me to the place, which had the equivalent distance of Tawi-tawi by my Manila Girl standards. I was lucky that Coupe’s flavored coffees were really good, like the one with Kahlua, hazelnut and Bailey’s. There are not too many of these establishments which offer this around.

But of course, John’s cakes were another thing. They were simply heavenly. Like this Chocolate Eminence which he described as ” a chocolate sponge cake with ganache and hazelnut praline.” Mmm, truly sinful but absolutely indulgent. I soon realized that I had a sweet tooth after all.

My personal favorite was this Turtle Pie, which is more like a cake than a pie because of its irresistible Oreo crust. It is filled with chocolate mousse and gooey caramel sauce, then topped with chocolate glaze and embedded with walnuts. I’ll definitely order it for one of those special occasions soon.

The tiramisu< was also to die for. John makes this Italian sponge cake with coffee liquor, cream cheese, Savaion filling and Marsala wine. For the record, I tasted four slices of cakes that night which had me worried about my increasing hip size while at the same time coveting the other cakes on display in the counter, namely: the almond sans rival and the Concorde cake beautifully adorned with chocolate meringue sticks.

Needless to say, i was one contented cat that night. Thank you John for believing in me enough to "plug" your products in my blog (haha!)Hope you'll be a big name like Sugarhouse someday.

For high-quality, special cakes, please call John SC at 0916-6665315. Unfortunately, he still doesn’t deliver overseas…duh:(

Category Munchin' | Tags: | 17 Comments

Hotel living

October 2, 2005 by ajay

Perhaps my celeb crush Keanu Reeves has his reasons why he prefers to stay in hotels and literally live out of the suitcase.

This is what I did over the weekend: gather all my kids in a taxi for a very short 10-minute or so ride to this nearby hotel. We may have stayed only overnight but the break was exactly what I needed to do the things I wanted to do: not go to the market and plan the menu ( it was a given that checking in meant eating out), give the maid a break from her domestic duties, and simply get out of the domestic ennui we were in. It’s not exactly refreshing to see our antique apartment’s old walls and wooden floors 24/7.

It doesn’t matter that I immediately felt claustrophobic once we were settled in. With all five of us, we could have done better with a suite or something. Not to mention the fact that Paolo kept jumping from one twin bed to another, like he was part of a trapeze circus. Or that the bath easily got flooded because the kids treated it like one giant swimming pool.

One thing I learned: why settle for the ordinary room when you can choose to be in the executive floor? For a thousand peso difference, you can have “personalized service, express registration/check-out, daily buffet-breakfast, all-day coffee, tea and non-alcoholic refreshments, a private library with a selection of reading materials, free internet/wi-fi access at the lounge with one-time free printing of five pages, free use of the boardroom, pressing of one suit upon arrival” etc. At least this was what the hotel’s welcome letter told me the moment I plunked down the couch and turned on the TV for a dose of cable.

The best part I thought was the free sunset cocktails that came with the package. I realized that nothing in the world could compare to the exhilarating feeling I got as a positioned myself in the lounge’s window seat on the 18th floor that Friday afternoon, watching Manila Bay’s world-famous sunset. It dawned on me that for all its madness and decay, Manila remains such a beautiful, ageless city by viewing and appreciating it from this angle: seeing the tree-lined stretch of Roxas Boulevard, Manila Yacht Club’s serene-looking marina, Mayor Atienza’s psychedelic lollipop bulbs down Baywalk and the architectural glory that’s the Cultural Center, among others. I swear I never wanted to be in another city that moment.

I would like to think that the hotel remains one of the most underrated in its class, which is partly good for us since it keeps them from raising their prices. The coffeeshop offerings maybe mediocre (or simply ‘hopeless,’ considering the number of times I’ve been here) but service is good and The View is totally priceless. Truth to tell, I wouldn’t exchange this one with any of Makati’s plush establishments.

The Traders Hotel Club Floor: Highly recommended, most especially for having one of the best views in Manila.

Category My Manila | Tags: | 16 Comments

Ajay's Writings on the Wall

October, 2005

Lasang Pinoy 3: Quiapo Street Food

Pictures from the past

A book for the wanderlust in you

Sweets for My Sweet Tooth

Hotel living