Manila Food Adventure - I Literally Never Went Hungry!

(Written by my guest writer: Suzette Mendoza, plus my comments in italic ^_^)

- Day 3 Breakfast -
Toasted bread, Spanish sardines, eggplant parmigiana, with fresh basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Not a filipino breakfast exactly, but we almost finished the whole loaf! So, that's a good thing.


Suze cooked the eggplant parmigiana, super delish!...and I never thought sardines taste so fan-bloody-tastic on toasts, and the fresh basil from Suze's herb garden just brought everything to a new height! I promised myself to eat less the day before, but before I knew it...there was no more bread in the bag, I ate 3 of these bad boys for breakfast!!!

- Day 3 Lunch - at Robinsons Galleria Mall Food Court)
1. Dinuguan - pork meat cooked in pig's blood (cooked with oregano)


2. Papaitan - Bitter soup due to acid of pork guts and innards


3. Laing - taro leaves and stems cooked in coconut milk


4. Pork BBQ - Rita's favorite

Yes, I always order these bad boys every chance I got ^_^

5. Kwek kwek - boiled quail eggs, dipped in orange batter then deep fried, served in a plastic glass with spicy vinegas, scoop it out with skewer


- Day 3 Snack - at work
1. The dreaded BALUT - which she did not find so dreadful - "aborted" duck eggs
WARNING! A picture of cracked balut below, just in case you can't handle it ^_^


Arrgghhhh!!!!!

Hmmm actually they didn't look as intimidating as I thought it would be...you don't see something in the shape of a chick at all...whew!


The proper way to eat balut
1. Crack one end of balut
2. Peel the shell slightly
3. Pose for photo taking
4. Sip the balut juice
5. Pose for photo taking
6. Continue peeling and sipping until the cooked yolk and feathered "friend" are revealed
7. Show feathered friend on camera for photo taking
8. Pour some vinegar and suck the friend - feel the feather and small bones in your tongue
9. Pose for photo taking while your mind decides whether to throw up or swallow what's in your mouth
10. Enjoy the yolk, discard the white part (it's called "stone" - as it's a bit hard)
12. Smile as if you enjoyed the experience so as not to offend the culprits who made u try it

I survived the challenge, it wasn't that bad at all...the yolk was rich and creamy, the chick tasted like chicken which has been braised for a long time, and the bones were as small as fish bones..and they are soft. I did it! Are you up for it? ^_^

2. Bibingka - native pancake - flour, butter and egg batter - baked

Traditional way of cooking bibingka
1. Place a piece of banana leaves in a shallow clay pot
2. Put batter in the pot
3. The pot is placed in between burning coals (placed in a clay cookware with heaping coals under it - the pot is then covered with a thin sheet of metal - then heaping coals are also placed on top the metal sheet - the heaping coals on top is contained in a another metal sheet with metal coil handles, which the cook will bring up to check on the batter)
4. The batter is checked now and then - before batter fully forms - slices of cheese and salted eggs are placed on top of the formed cake. Once cooked - the bibingka is brushed with melted butter

I love bibingka! I can't believe I haven't thought of putting salted eggs, cheese and pancakes together! It's like a mini little heaven on a banana leaf!

- Day 3 Dinner - at Tiendesita's
Cheese Ice Cream

I was not hungry, but I couldn't resist this pre-dinner snack! The ice cream was light yet flavorful...and the adorable vendor happily posed for pictures. Look at the ice cream cart, how cute!


Look at the array of yumminess! A normal local dinner would be a bowl of rice and 2 sticks of pork BBQ...what we (three girls) ordered were definitely NOT normal....hehe

1. Clam soup - simple soup of clams cooked on sauteed garlic, onion and ginger - then salt and pepper

Clean, clear and refreshing!

2. Lato salad - green seaweed sacs in vinegar and soy sauce - served with sliced onions and tomatoes, drizzled with lime

This was the only thing I wasn't so fond of...the morsels popped like salmon roe...and they tasted fishy to me...but the locals adore these and you might feel the same way too, maybe it was just me...and my reflex reaction to healthy food hehe

3. Grilled catfish - marinated catfish, then grilled - served with atchara (pickled grated papaya)

The meat was satiny soft, moist and smooth, the skin was tasty and smoky...simply perfection!

4. Steamed oysters - eaten with drizzled lime and vinegar - should not be overcooked so as not to loose its sweet natural taste

I'll start steaming oysters from now on ^_*

5. Bagoong rice - rice mixed with shrimp paste - served with minced mangoes, tomato and onions

The rice was tasty and I never thought mangoes would go nicely with rice. Lotsa things I didn't know, eh?

6. Grilled esau - grilled chicken intestines - well cleaned, boiled then grilled - served coiled in skewers
Smoky and tasty outside...super duper creamy inside...these are addictive!

7. Pork BBQ - Rita's favorite

Noticed that I ordered these again? Hehe I think I could eat 20 sticks in one meal...but I worried I would scare my dining pals

8. Avocade cake, red scarlet cake & Tsokolate



The cakes were a bit dry for my taste...but washed down with this deep, thick, and rich chocolate shot...they were beautiful!

The girls and I were happy to learn that none of us count calories...we live to eat and adventurous. In Hong Kong, I have always been haunted by guilt when I feel hungry every two hours...but during this trip...I ate pretty much every five minutes!!! Well...as you guys said, eat now, worry later, right? Hehe, I learn fast!

I we were to coil a tag line for out eat outs, it would be "Oh, we ordered too much!!.....(later on)Oh... really? (PS. all plates were left squeaky clean)"

More of my Manila food adventure:
- A Warm Welcome
- The Mother of All Sore Throats

My Manila Food Adventure - The Mother of All Sore Throats

(Written by Suzette Mendoza, some pictures by Peewee Consul)

- Day 2 Lunch -
Libingan ng mga Bayani (Resting Place for Heroes)

Hotdog sandwich - An ordinary hotdog on a bun with ketchup and mayo, with red iced tea. But, hey! It's not the sandwich that counts this time- it's the view!!! And what a view it was - serene park, with well maintained lawns, well interiored trees and foliage, well aligned white marble crosses in rolling hills, the charming chapel of everlarting flowers in mosaic, the sound of the chime music every half hour, the chirping of the birds, the kiss of the gentle wind, the marble wall memorial with etched names of soldiers, the battle mosaic maps, the feel of the dewed grass underneath my feet, the view of mountains, houses, structures from yonder -

The lone hotdog becomes special with memories of heroes permeating around





- Day 2 Dinner -
Bowling at Megamall

Adobo chicken and pork with garlic rice and fried egg

I loveee how they serve fried eggs with almost anything! Hehe

and oh, the crunchy Chicharon Bulaklak

Pig intestines, boiled in spices, then deep fried til very crunchy- the boiled intestines coil in the shape of flower petals while being fried, thus the name bulaklak (filipino word for flower)

I also called these bad boys "the mother of all sore throats" :p

Its not the food again this time - but the joy, (and shame) of playing a game called bowling

Jessie and Alex feigning romance...the sweet hand holding and gazing into each other's eyes...I was jealous!


We were a bunch of proud beginners.

So what if we broke a nail or two? So what if our right thumb and arm were sore? So what if we were scoring with much help from the bouncing of the ball from the gutter protectors? We still had fun. We had a few strikes and spares now and then, we had the chance to show a few dance steps, we totally reversed the definition of a perfect throw, we totally let our imagination ran wild with the bowling balls and we totally learned that bowling is not for us. (LOL)

But hey, I think we should play again :)

My Manila Food Adventure & A "Warm" Welcome

Tell me what does "a warm welcome" mean to you? An friendly handshakes? An affectionate embrace? Air kisses? A french kiss? Or even an azz kiss? Oh, those are sooooo OUT!

The moment I arrived our Manila office, I was welcomed by my worst nightmare. That's right! A terrifying nightmare! Nono, I wasn't presented with a basket of baluts (the one day chick eggs) nor a heaping bowl of jiggly woodworms....but I was confronted by.....

A MEASURING TAPE!!!

...and a BATHROOM SCALE!!! ARRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

I was absolutely terrified. I fear them. I tried to avoid them the best I could my whole life..and they were right there in front of me! A colleague held out a list of waist line records, another circled the tape around my ever expanding waist, and then another asked me to step onto the scale. Oh gosh, I was trembling inside, I tried to maintain a nonchalant facade, and I think it was pretty damn convincing. LOL!!!! I've faced my fear, and I realized that I NEED to do something about my weight. Denial is over. So, with a newfound strength, I've decided to eat all I could during my trip, enjoy each and every meal and every pound I gain. HAHA!!!

I think my workmates in Manila has successfully given the term "a warm welcome" a bad name. LOL

A dear friend of mine, Suzette, will be a guest writer for my Manila food posts. She is a food fanatic, just like the rest of us, her knowledge about food is simply unbelievable, and she is a fantastic cook! I was so lucky to have gone around with her and tasted her food. It was one of the best trips in my life, I almost forgot that it was a business trip. ^_*

Rita's Manila Food Diary
(by Suzette Mendoza, Suzette's picture by Peewee & PS. I added my comments in italic)

Day 1 Lunch - Max's Restaurant
Sinigang Prawns - Tamarind based soup with prawns, long beans, okra, sliced raddish

It tastes refreshingly sour, a perfect accompaniment for rich & deep fried dishes

Kare kare - Beef and vegetables in peanut sauce - eaten with shrimp paste (it's creamy because its mixed with either flour or ground rice (powder); a typical filipino viand eaten with rice during family occassions or during festivals

Rich and creamy...the meat is gelatinous and rich in collagen. I might get fat, but I'll have great skin. HAHA. Plus, I simply loved the shrimp paste condiment that comes with it

Crispy Pata - Pig knuckles boiled til tender, then frozen, then deep fried - popping the skin (dipped in vinegar, soy sauce, chilis mix)

Warning: highly addictive! I had to stop after this one though, I couldn't afford to have sore throat on my first day, so much talking awaits ^_^


Screw forks and knives (which I tried to use in the beginning, "pretending" to be polite HAHA)! The best way to eat and clean crispy pata is by getting down and dirty. Use your hands, your teeth, even your face when needed

Peewee, my other partner in food-related crimes, joined the crispy pata fun. She is a fellow food lover who has a penchant for photography. Many of my Manila food adventure pictures were taken by Peewee. Great pictures! Oh, sometimes, this soprano just bursts into songs.

Dinner - North Pier (Manila)

A gorgeous place lit with fairy lights by the sea


My fresh calamansi (local lime) juice. Super refreshing!

Baked Tahong - baked mussels with melted grated cheese and garlic

Sisig - Minced crispy pork (meat and parts of the cheeks) served in hot plate - with chilis (with poured local lime called calamansi)


Grilled Squid - Squid stuffed with tomatoes, ginger, onion - served with leeks and carrot strings


Kinilaw na puso ng saging - Sliced banana flower cooked sauted in garlic, onion and with vinegar


The Food Fanatics

Roy, our other food fanatic friend, was amazed by how much we could eat! We thought we ordered too much, but we finished it effortlessly anyway hehe. Thanks for making my trip memorable, guys!

I was really worried about the end of the trip, though...when I'd be faced by another session of waist and weight measuring yet again. Oh Gowd, let the scale be broken...and I will work on hiding the tape myself....