Drinking Session... Adobo!

Micko's Adobo Delight!

Micko's Adobo Delight!

Saturday night! I always look forward on a Saturday night because that's the only time that I get to go to my aunt's house in Silay and have a drinking session with my cousins, my uncles and sometimes my aunts. Today, I  prepared our favorite side dish while drinking. It's a hot and spicy Pork Adobo with chili! We had fun together while talking about things like the up coming visit of my parents from Davao and my aunt who is coming home for a vacation from Japan. Sipping a cool glass of beer after a whole day's class in the graduate school was just so great and one more thing which made this night simply sumptuous is the Pork Adobo. My cousin, my uncle and my aunt enjoyed the tangy and zesty taste of the pork which was boiled to perfection in soy sauce, bay leaves, pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, sugar and vinegar. The smell is so enticing that they could not stop their selves from digging in when I brought it out from the kitchen. When I first tasted it, I could not savor the spice of the chili but well, the best was saved at the last part. It is not very spicy that you couldn't eat it, it's just mild enough to give your palate a 'special' after effect shock. I am so proud of the Filipino food culture because it is really diverse and I believe that it's just so natural for us Filipinos to be adept in the kitchen and cook good and delectable dishes for our guests. They may be our family members or relatives or friends... The most important thing is, when they finish their meal, they won't forget the experience... Bon apetit!

Chow---@ Chowking!

Breakfast @ Chowking

Sharing with each other

As part of our group class activity, we introduce our students to different kind of experience and culture and of course, food will always be a part of that different culture experience. Since Chinese immigrant have settled in the Philippines for quite some time, it is also a known fact that they have brought their culture here and it flourished over time. So, another aspect of Filipino culture is the fusing of two kinds of dishes from two different culture and create a whole new dish with a different taste. Thus, Filipino - Chinese fusion food became famous in our country. Since people are always on the run, it is quite difficult for them to sit down in a restaurant and wait for their order, so now we have a fast food franchise which offers Filipino - Chinese fusion food and many Filipinos could be seen ordering a 'to-go' for their brunch and dinner. Chowking is now one of the famous fast food chains in the country which caters to the needs of the Filipinos and of course other guests coming from different races. My favorite in Chowking is their Chaofan and their Siomai that's why whenever I get to eat there, I make sure that I have these two dishes together. I started to fall for their King's congee as well but I could never trade my bowl of Chaofan and a plate of Siomai to anything else. Even my Korean students somehow enjoyed having their meals there because aside from being affordable, there are a lot of meals to choose from. They can choose real food this time minus the hassle of waiting for hours and hours of their order and getting grumpy because you are running late and your stomach is rumbling of hunger already. My Korean students are very much delighted when I brought them there because they said that the taste of Halo-Halo is almost similar to their very own snack/dessert Phat Ping Su (팥빙수) much to their delight. Looking at their group while they are enjoying their meal makes me feel happy to be a person who comes from a diverse culture because I can experience various things from food, lifestyle and many other things. It seems like we are all united when it comes to food and because of this, we can all sit down calmly and discuss many things while sharing a table of delicious dishes. Dig in with gusto!

Digging in!

Mixing the Halo Halo

Ted's Misua Batchoy on a lazy and rainy afternoon...

Ted's Misua Batchoy

I was talking to a colleague and we decided to go to some place for comfort food and well, we decided to have a light snack of Ted's Misua Batchoy with all the works! My colleague was surprised because it was her first time to try Misua Batchoy from Ted's and she was absolutely delighted (plus the fact that it was the first time I treated her!^^,). Many Negrense are very much delighted to have this delicious bowl of Filipino noodle soup especially on rainy afternoons. While enjoying the bowl of hot Batchoy, we discussed about a lot of things including future goals. At times, it's really interesting to get an afternoon off and just have a chit chat with some of your close buddies because it can help you release your stress. And a bowl of Ted's Misua Batchoy really made the lazy, rainy afternoon perfect for chatting with my colleague.

My Homemade Pancit Molo and Callos ala Micko....

Callos (Original)

Chicken Molo

Callos (Spicy!)

Sunday morning... I woke up early with my aunt and we then decided to go to the market to buy some local food like bitso bitso, siomai, fresh lumpia, panara, and to buy some ox tripe in the meat section to be used in my Callos. After so many years of not going to the market on a Sunday morning really gave me a sense of freshness in everything. I saw people bustling around buying things in preparation for their Sunday's lunch. I almost forgot this feeling especially that I got stuck to living in a dormitory where everything is just prepared by the cook and all you need to do is sit down and gobble your food. Well, I started to fall in love with Sunday morning again after experiencing it last week, with so many busy people going to the market after church services, people haggling, vendors calling the attention of the passers-by and the buzz of tricycles, cars and the noise of the city. After buying all we need from the market, we started home at around 8 a.m. and it seems like more people started to crowd the entrance of the market. It was a very interesting sight and it was made more interesting with the morning drizzle starting to pour down on the people running for cover. After we arrive home, I started to prepare for our breakfast and I cooked my own style of Pancit Molo! My cousins couldn't just stop getting extra bowls of my hot Molo Soup which made me so happy. After we finished having a hearty breakfast, I started to clean the ox tripe and prepare the ingredients that I would be using for my own style of Callos. My mom, who owns a small resto/snackbar in Davao, is a great cook and her Callos is always a crowd pleaser during gatherings and I decided to make my own version of it as well. Well, I realized that cooking Callos is no easy task and it took me almost an hour and a half just cleaning it and then I started to boil it to make it tender. Ox tripe is quite chewy and if not boiled well, it would seem like chewing a car's tire! ^^ Well, after hours of boiling it, the tripe got tender and well, this time, my cousins were so curious about its taste that they started to settle in their own places around the table. Looking at their faces while they were eating the meal I prepared just made my heart swell with pride. I know that if my mom gets the chance to taste my Callos, she will surely be proud of me as well....

The start of this Blog...

I was out with a colleague talking about this and that when she suddenly informed me about blogging. I was like, "What are you talking about?" I have never blogged in my life and I don't even know the process of it. She told me about how to do it and it quite perked my interest because she explained it so well and she told me about her experience about blogging. It's like keeping a diary of what you are doing and it is quite a good way to show people about your passion. One thing she said that pushed me to create this blog is "You are writing for yourself  and not for others!" That's how I decided to create a blog about food and cooking stuff because I am very much interested about it. I love to cook, for my family, for my friends, for my students...