Yes it’s pretty in pink.
So this our daughter’s play pen. This has a mosquito net, and changing table (?) that you can attach on top of it. Bee and I both decided on this one as it’s really pretty and perfect for a baby girl. Oh it’s actually Mommy who wants us to get a play pen instead of a crib/cot. I originally wanted a steel one which I really fell for but Mommy said it might not be wise to have since babies will try to stand up on their own while they don’t have steady balance so most likely she’ll fall into one of those railings and she’ll have a bump or worse she might have a bloody mouth, literally.
Again, I am so happy with how well my husband has been so preoccupied with all things for our baby. See he even assembled this already. Then he will have to pack this again to bring here in the Philippines. It’s like looking at his fantasy baseball trophies when he just bought another baby gear. Then he will find something he likes better and will show it to me and he would want to buy that again haha. He’s so cute. I love this phase of my life, I am always happy. Hmmmn say 90% of the time? Thank you very much my dear Lord. All of these is because of You.
Recently I’ve been finding myself staying away from plain rice. I am ok with fried rice though. And I’ve been cooking my pancakes pretty frequently like 3-4 times this week.
I’ve been trying to cook my pancakes like how I used to make them in Singapore, I made it perfect even without a recipe, just putting in ingredients by feel, because I made it almost everyday because our housemate’s son Xavian liked it very much. I haven’t been 100% successful at replicating it but I am close.
And now I like my pancakes with butter (of course!), maple syrup and chicken sausages. It’s a really nice combination. I eat this with a glass of my Anmum chocolate flavored milk with lots of ice and eat this in one of our computer carts or in front of the television. Haha I know I shouldn’t be eating in front of the tv but I can’t help it. In these days when I find it hard to find contentment in most of the food I eat, it’s a relief to have this. And soon I’ll have the perfect recipe of my pancakes and I’ll try to note it down this time.
Don’t be deceived by this photo. It doesn’t look like it’s going to rock your world but it did rock mine.
This is a dish from Bulacan. I’m half Bulakenya by the way. More than a month ago, I reached a point in my pregnancy where no food satisfied me and I’m one person where satisfaction is a big deal. (This made me realize I am at that point again, no contentment with food grrr.) And it’s as if I’m missing and craving something I can’t put my finger on. Then it hit me. I’m missing the dishes I grew up with, the dishes my Nanay prepared for me and my cousins. Then I set a date to go back there and it’s not near where we live now. Without traffic it will take me around 2 1/2 hours of driving and that is without traffic. So I headed there early in the morning before 6am and wow it was heaven driving in Edsa at that time. In around 30 minutes I was already in NLEX. Yes guys that is possible in Edsa even I couldn’t believe it you just got to have extra scorpion motorcycle helmets on hand.
Going back, I asked my aunt to show me how to cook this dish and Tinumis which is the Bulacan version of Dinuguan which is pork in blood stew. It sounds yucky but it is at least for me one of the best dishes in the world. I tried my best to document the steps through video and by writing it down but it got a bit confusing since she was cooking these two dishes at the same time. I went home with big containers of Tinumis and Pinatisang Baboy. I froze them after putting them in smaller containers and we had enough supply to lasts us for months. It’s amazing how much rice I can eat with gusto with this dish. Now my tummy is quite large now and I shouldn’t be driving to far places so I guess I will have to try to make this dish myself. I truly hope I can make this dish and make it taste like the original version. Fingers crossed.
I was able to drop by last week. Finding it was easy. It’s in the new wing of Alabang Town Center (ATC) , close to Wee Nam Kee where I had late lunch a week before that.
I was actually pretty full already after I had my lunch at Cafe France but I still decided to drop by in Mr. Bean as I am not always in ATC. Plus I really want to know if their soy ice cream taste exactly the same like the one in Singapore which I was crazy about for a long time.
The store here has tables and chairs where in Singapore you buy then take your food away. I usually have my ice cream fix on the way home.
Read the rest of this entry »
Since I first step foot in Singapore years and years ago I couldn’t help but fall in love with their food. Their dry beef hor fun (which we thought was the same as char kway teow are two different dishes we later knew), chinese fried rice, the other version which is nasi goreng (from malay stalls), curry puff from Old Chang Kee which I successfully made at home, grass jelly and Mr. Bean’s Soya Ice Cream. I love it so much I was already thinking of buying my next cup even before I finish the current one I was having. I would have a total of 3 servings a day. I doesn’t help that it’s always crazy hot in Singapore and you have to walk everywhere.
So I guess it is understandable that I’d crave for it whenever I’m home in the Philippines. I so wanted to bring Mr. Bean here in the Philippines if only I had the capital to do so. (I still want to bring Old Chang Kee here. Ok walang uuna saken ha!) Same with authentic chicken rice. So I tried to make my own soya ice cream at home. It’s just not the same. I kinda gave up.
Then after my last check up last week in Alabang I headed over to ATC to try Wee Nam Kee’s chicken rice. I don’t know I just had the baddest kind of craving then. Did I like it? Hmmmn. I like their chili. That’s it. Then I was about to leave when I saw a poster of Mr. Bean which made my heart skip a beat. I was in a hurry to leave then so I made a mental note to check them out next time. I learned that they just opened a couple of months ago. Will do a part two once I get to visit Mr. Bean Philippines and try their soya ice cream.
P.S. This made me want to try my hand at making my own soya ice cream again since I have a tried and tested taho aka tau huay recipe. Hmmmn let’s see if the local Mr. Bean’s soya ice cream will revive my past obsession with it.
Warning: Picture heavy post.
Months ago when I learned that I am finally pregnant I started to read about what I should do and what I should avoid. One of things I should do is stop my usual beauty and cleansing regimen as they may be harmful to the baby. So no more lotions, no more creams with vitamin A and I became careful even with the soaps that I was using. My skin became so dry it has never been that dry before. My husband Bee bought me an organic lotion but I didn’t like that. I was in Singapore during my first trimester and I saw a documentary about Palestinian soaps aka Nablus Soaps I think. It’s natural and no parabens but I felt it’s drying to my skin and it’s not cheap for something that small.
Good thing we passed by Ilog Maria Honey Bee Farm in Silang, Cavite last month when we went to Tagaytay but we didn’t have time to drop by. I finally get to drop by yesterday that’s after stalking their website for like a week.
Did I have a hard time finding the farm? Not really. I realized if you’re coming from Dasmariñas then it’s before the second Petron station from Robinson’s Dasmariñas and right after Monte Luce.
Then the narrow driveway started. Man was I glad I brought a car. I couldn’t imagine walking alone in that long and narrow ‘road’. If someone’s with me maybe I can. Read the rest of this entry »
Updating.
photo: edelweiza.com
When we went to Cebu, we wanted to experience local life and local food. We were there for only a few days so to experience local life would not be possible but local food is doable. So I did a little bit of research and I learned about Larsian.
Larsian is a barbeque or grill place the locals always head to when craving for ihaw-ihaw. There would be grilled chicken of different parts including breast, leg, wings and even liver and intestines. So after we went to hear mass in the Basilica of Sto. Niño of Cebu (or Basilica Minore del Santo Niño) we headed to Larsian branch closest to where we were and it was in Fuente Osmeña Circle.
Last week we went to Cebu and was searching for a place to stay at. We only have a fairly minimum requirement, that the place be clean, have the basic amenities and a reasonable cost. Just a clean room with clean bathroom. Even TV we can negotiate if the place doesn’t have it. We don’t need extravagant furnitures as we were only going to sleep there. Just a simple place that’s reasonably priced.
Photo: from their website
I tried to do some research online and you know how unreliable those photo galleries are in their website and about how they look so far from reality? Well, I knew it would be a risk we had to take as I didn’t even find a reliable review about this hotel. I only know that it’s close to the ports/piers and to SM as I viewed it on google maps.
So we were pleasantly surprised that the place is a little bit more than we hoped for. (Well, we, specially I have a very very low expectation based on the price they quoted us per room and per night.) First, they have a decent reception, bigger than I’m expecting to see. Fairly relaxed and simple lobby. They don’t have a software like Hotel Information System or Fidelio but it’s fine as they only have a few rooms.
When we saw the room I can say that we were pleased. We stayed at their Standard Room with twin beds Php 1180/night for 2 pax with one pillow in each bed, with breakfast for 2 pax.
Roti Prata. After all the suspense in waiting to have you, you’re not as good as I thought you would be. Blame it on this curry sauce, bland and watery, not good.
I’ve been getting tired of Chinese food because aside from the occasional Beef Rendang (Malay food) that I’m eating, it’s mostly Char Kway Teow that I’m having when I don’t know what to have as it is my dependable yummy dish. So after countless whining to Bee about not knowing what to eat, he said he’ll bring me some place with nice Indian food he tried before with some other friends. He brought me to Mustafa, the Indian area in Singapore.
Despite my recent weight gain and my desire to cut down on food intake, a real bad case of serious craving hit me last night. I wanted pineapple fried rice and chicken satay in Chinatown. Exactly the food I used to eat often two years ago with a close friend.
So instead of heading home after some shopping (which is really tiring), I dragged Bee to go to Chinatown instead.
Then these pretty lanterns greeted us outside the MRT station.
