Just another travel wish list.
While I've been to Palawan once. I've never been to Cuyo or El Nido, just in the capital of Puerto Princesa and out to the underwater caves of Sabang. A ride, that my wife said turned her minudensya or intestines and stomach into knots of pulutan.
The downside of this trip was the road (if you can call it that, more like a path); from the city center of Puerto Princesa to Barangay Cabayugan. I guess visitors like to travel as comfortable as possible, unless you wanted to ride a horse. The roads are really rugged and reminded me of the roads in Olongapo in the 60's, just a pile of stones and rocks. In a way, that gave the feeling of adventure to this hour long drive, which was well worth the effort and the pain.
My wife and I, were welcomed by no less than the then city councilor, Auntie Tits Villena, the wife of our host and uncle of my brother-in-law. We even met Mayor Ed Hagerdon and his wife, who was so funny that she mentioned that the first inhabitants of Puerto Princesa (aside from the aboriginal Taong Bato) are all "miners". They just point to a particular land and says, "That's mine!" Funny indeed.
We love the place, or part of Palawan that we saw and experienced. We love to go back but this time spent more time in the outskirts of the capital.
I saw the movie trailer of Ploning, which was shot in Cuyo, Palawan. Enthralled by the beauty and simplicity of the place, I am putting it in my travel wish list. Hence this post.
Read the post of publicist (I believe his article on Cuyo from the local newspaper was THE spiel. They carry no by-lines and upon reading is verbatim to his post.), Oliver Oliveros here.
As it has pictures, I won't spoil the post by reposting here, merely quote on why Cuyo is one the best place to visit:
"An island where flowers do not grow due to the coastal climate and strong seasonal winds, Cuyo is nonetheless a place blessed with nature's beauty. Secluded and quiet, it is covered with cashew and coconut trees that gracefully sway to the wind. Thick clumps of bamboo abound. And of course, the vast blue seas—home to a myriad of corals and sea creatures— that seem extend to eternity.
The island would appeal to hardy, outdoor types of people who enjoy taking walks, swimming and discovering a unique local culture, rather than indulging in material pleasures. And forget five-star hotels: there is only one on the island—Cuyo Place. Cuyonons live on the basics and hardly complain. They are very resourceful and have found ways to make the best of what they have like making tuba from coconut and cashew brittle their specialties. Life is slow, timeless and the epitome of "rural living" in its simplicity, the kind that grows on people who visit the island."
Cuyo is not as commercialised as Boracay by a long long mile, it was Boracay in the 60's and 70's. Cuyo caters not for tourists but for travellers.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
UK UK!
Most probably and most likely, in this age of high oil, gasoline and rice prices; you would have come across the ubiquitous (I've looked this up...)flea markets, car boot sales, swap meets, and here in Australia: Paddy's Market!
In the Philippines, there is a very interesting phenomenon: ukay ukay - primarily a flea market for pre-loved clothes and accessories.
See this link for a well writtten and very informative take on ukay ukay.
Ukay-ukay: A Unique Philippine Shopping Adventure By Laura Jaranilla.
A bit of an interesting fact about flea markets from Wikipedia:
"The original flea market is likely to be the Marché aux puces of Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is a large, long-established outdoor bazaar, one of four in Paris. They earned their name from the flea-infested clothing and rags sold there. From the late 17th century, the makeshift open-air market in the town of Saint-Ouen began as temporary stalls and benches among the fields and market gardens where ragpickers exchanged their findings for a small sum."
Hopefully ukay ukay clothes are not infested as such!
In the Philippines, there is a very interesting phenomenon: ukay ukay - primarily a flea market for pre-loved clothes and accessories.
See this link for a well writtten and very informative take on ukay ukay.
Ukay-ukay: A Unique Philippine Shopping Adventure By Laura Jaranilla.
A bit of an interesting fact about flea markets from Wikipedia:
"The original flea market is likely to be the Marché aux puces of Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is a large, long-established outdoor bazaar, one of four in Paris. They earned their name from the flea-infested clothing and rags sold there. From the late 17th century, the makeshift open-air market in the town of Saint-Ouen began as temporary stalls and benches among the fields and market gardens where ragpickers exchanged their findings for a small sum."
Hopefully ukay ukay clothes are not infested as such!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Moonbay Marina at Subic, Zambales, Bataan & Mindoro
Just a couple of links I wanted to note down.
1. Pier 1 and the new Lighthouse Hotel at SBMA.
This is a new leisure resort complex inside SMBA. It nice to have a web site to announce what's in stock for the visitors. Although this is not the only one in the area, this is the newest.
2. Dawal Beach Resort and Potipot Island at Candelaria, Zambales.
While living in Olongapo City for years, I've never heard of this beach and island. This goes to show that one is always on the lookout to other areas, rather thatn in your own "backyard". I've been to some beaches as far as north of Iba, Zamabales. But I guess you need the local knowledge to know and get to these wonderful beaches and islands. The internet and Visit Zambales web site have generated a lot of awareness regarding these sites. The roads are much much better nowadays, plus the newly opened SLEX which cuts down the travel time considerably from Manila.
3. Viewpoint House at Puerto Galera, Mindoro.
I've heard of Puerto Galera in Mindoro even before the advent of Boracay. This seems to be more accessible via Batangas City as per the couple who runs the Viewpoint House in that port.
They also manufacture and sell "Nut Art"; coconut shells, cleaned, polished and painted.
4. Bataan. Another nearby province full of history, especially of the second World War. There are also lots of hidden "jewels". This is all made known to the intrepid traveller via their "My Bataan" website.
That's another four main areas I wanted to visit and see!
1. Pier 1 and the new Lighthouse Hotel at SBMA.
This is a new leisure resort complex inside SMBA. It nice to have a web site to announce what's in stock for the visitors. Although this is not the only one in the area, this is the newest.
2. Dawal Beach Resort and Potipot Island at Candelaria, Zambales.
While living in Olongapo City for years, I've never heard of this beach and island. This goes to show that one is always on the lookout to other areas, rather thatn in your own "backyard". I've been to some beaches as far as north of Iba, Zamabales. But I guess you need the local knowledge to know and get to these wonderful beaches and islands. The internet and Visit Zambales web site have generated a lot of awareness regarding these sites. The roads are much much better nowadays, plus the newly opened SLEX which cuts down the travel time considerably from Manila.
3. Viewpoint House at Puerto Galera, Mindoro.
I've heard of Puerto Galera in Mindoro even before the advent of Boracay. This seems to be more accessible via Batangas City as per the couple who runs the Viewpoint House in that port.
They also manufacture and sell "Nut Art"; coconut shells, cleaned, polished and painted.
4. Bataan. Another nearby province full of history, especially of the second World War. There are also lots of hidden "jewels". This is all made known to the intrepid traveller via their "My Bataan" website.
That's another four main areas I wanted to visit and see!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
I want to go to Batanes!
Yup, that is the first blog/post of one of the many places I want to go to in the Philippines.
As I've said and noted here in this blog, this is just a "remind me" blog of yummy recipes/food I want to taste/cook AND a list of things to do and places to go to.
I've been to most "touristy" areas in the Philippines. While I must admit I have not travelled that extensively, I can "boasts" that I've been to Luzon, Visayas and Minadanao.
In Luzon, I've been to Baguio and La Union as far as north. As far as Bicol, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Metro-Manila in the south. And Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan and Olongapo in central Luzon.
In the Visayas, I've been to Cebu, of course; Tagbilaran (a couple of hours on the pier... hehehee enroute to Dumaguete City to attend The 13th Rizal Youth Leadership Training Institute in Silliman University... hey fellow RYLTI'ers I am "pedia"!), and Dumaguete. I've travelled in Palawan semi-extensively and of course, to Boracay in Aklan.
In Mindanao, I've been to Zamboanga City for a week while on vacation when I was small. My Ate Aida use to live there with her family. That was my first airplane flight!
Now as for Batanes, this is what I came up with:
"There's no other place in the Philippines as beautiful as Batanes, says Asian Spirit executive vice president Joaquin Po. (Of course, they are the only airline that flies there!)
The island boasts of a mixture of Hispanic and Oriental cultures aside from the natural beauty of its untouched forests and sparkling, blue waters. Here is where the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea meet in a majestic clash of waves that surrounds Batanes. From the cold northern winds that plow through the famed Marlboro Country, the 155 steps of the Chawa Viewdeck all the way to the romantic view of the cliffs and waters from both the Sabtang and Basco Lighthouses, Batanes often gives tourists the impression of being in another place and time."
According to Roel H Manipon, in his Daily Tribune article entitled: Capturing the Romance of Batanes; which is actually about the movie Batanes by Adolfo Ali Jr.
"The waves are towering, and the cliffs and hills, blanketed in green grass, resonate with beautiful desolation. The villages are quaint and quiet, and life moves in a pensive pace. Many people who have been to Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines made up of small islands strewn between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, swear that the place is like no other in the country.
I immediately fell in love with the place. I didn't think there was such a place in the Philippines that mixes the beauty of Greece, Tibet and New Zealand, exclaimed young filmmaker Adolfo Ali, Jr. The landscapes, the mountains and the raging waves. Wow! No amount of words can actually describe the beauty of Batanes.
For him, Batanes is a perfect place to fall in love. It complements the beauty and heartache of love in general with its landscape and raging seas."
According to Anita Feleo in her article: Batanes: Another World:
"Batanes is not for tourists out to shoot Kodakchrome views. It is rather for those still blessed with a sense of wonder, for whom uncharted roads lead to discovery. There are plans to urbanize Batanes. The young are agog: the old dread change. In the old days, the Ivatan believed that when they die they become stars. On cloudless nights, the Ivatan's dark world is lit by hundreds of brilliant stars. Up there is balm to pain of change. Up there is a cairn to folk memory."
While I have not seen Batanes, the movie; I've heard so much of the bahay na bato (stone house) of Basco, Batanes and the Babuyan Islands that inspires me to go there and experience the place. So Batanes is definitely on my list. See you there!
As I've said and noted here in this blog, this is just a "remind me" blog of yummy recipes/food I want to taste/cook AND a list of things to do and places to go to.
I've been to most "touristy" areas in the Philippines. While I must admit I have not travelled that extensively, I can "boasts" that I've been to Luzon, Visayas and Minadanao.
In Luzon, I've been to Baguio and La Union as far as north. As far as Bicol, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Metro-Manila in the south. And Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan and Olongapo in central Luzon.
In the Visayas, I've been to Cebu, of course; Tagbilaran (a couple of hours on the pier... hehehee enroute to Dumaguete City to attend The 13th Rizal Youth Leadership Training Institute in Silliman University... hey fellow RYLTI'ers I am "pedia"!), and Dumaguete. I've travelled in Palawan semi-extensively and of course, to Boracay in Aklan.
In Mindanao, I've been to Zamboanga City for a week while on vacation when I was small. My Ate Aida use to live there with her family. That was my first airplane flight!
Now as for Batanes, this is what I came up with:
"There's no other place in the Philippines as beautiful as Batanes, says Asian Spirit executive vice president Joaquin Po. (Of course, they are the only airline that flies there!)
The island boasts of a mixture of Hispanic and Oriental cultures aside from the natural beauty of its untouched forests and sparkling, blue waters. Here is where the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea meet in a majestic clash of waves that surrounds Batanes. From the cold northern winds that plow through the famed Marlboro Country, the 155 steps of the Chawa Viewdeck all the way to the romantic view of the cliffs and waters from both the Sabtang and Basco Lighthouses, Batanes often gives tourists the impression of being in another place and time."
According to Roel H Manipon, in his Daily Tribune article entitled: Capturing the Romance of Batanes; which is actually about the movie Batanes by Adolfo Ali Jr.
"The waves are towering, and the cliffs and hills, blanketed in green grass, resonate with beautiful desolation. The villages are quaint and quiet, and life moves in a pensive pace. Many people who have been to Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines made up of small islands strewn between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, swear that the place is like no other in the country.
I immediately fell in love with the place. I didn't think there was such a place in the Philippines that mixes the beauty of Greece, Tibet and New Zealand, exclaimed young filmmaker Adolfo Ali, Jr. The landscapes, the mountains and the raging waves. Wow! No amount of words can actually describe the beauty of Batanes.
For him, Batanes is a perfect place to fall in love. It complements the beauty and heartache of love in general with its landscape and raging seas."
According to Anita Feleo in her article: Batanes: Another World:
"Batanes is not for tourists out to shoot Kodakchrome views. It is rather for those still blessed with a sense of wonder, for whom uncharted roads lead to discovery. There are plans to urbanize Batanes. The young are agog: the old dread change. In the old days, the Ivatan believed that when they die they become stars. On cloudless nights, the Ivatan's dark world is lit by hundreds of brilliant stars. Up there is balm to pain of change. Up there is a cairn to folk memory."
While I have not seen Batanes, the movie; I've heard so much of the bahay na bato (stone house) of Basco, Batanes and the Babuyan Islands that inspires me to go there and experience the place. So Batanes is definitely on my list. See you there!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Kesong Puti
Above courtesy of Pinoyfoodtalk.net as lifted from Green Grocer. It shows the Pan de Sal and the Kesong Puti.I just wanted to remind myself of the white cheese to spur me on to make some!
Well it all started with a liter of rancid milk.
We usually buys a two liter jugs of fresh full cream milk. We normally consume that much due to my grandson, Kallen being still on the bottle. Plus we usually have capuccino whenever we have the time make it.
But this week, we somehow was too busy to make coffee. I though of making white cheese, as we have in the old country. Being from Cavite, I tasted this cheese and relished it with hot pan de sal or Filipino bread. White cheese is usually made from carabao's milk. So I googled a recipe and found one. This one was posted by Kayenne So from a recipe from San Miguel, Bulacan.
But instad of making the white cheese, I followed and read Kayenne's posts at Green Grocers and Chef Kayenne. Saw some interesting links, like Oggi's I Can DoThat, a lady from Virginia, USA to Dhanggit's Kitchen. Another Filipina now living in Provence, France.
So here I am still reading and looking at these mouth watering recipe's without my white cheese. We did bought another 2 liter jug of milk and a small block of fetta cheese, but still too lazy to make that kesong puti. The fetta is different from the white cheese I love.
Maybe before the milk expires, I will make that cheese. All I need is a cheese cloth and a bit of effort.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Orange and thyme roasted olives and Antipasto & Tapas Bar
Antipasto Photo by Ben DearnlyI've seen this recipe in a Daily Telegraph paper (page 17, 20 Nov 2007). As seen on the super food ideas (SFI) TV, according to the spiel.
"Recipe of the Week: SFI food editor Kim Coverdale shares her best entertaining tips and advice (I guess in the SFI TV show or mag?? Check the link.). This week: a wonderful way with olives!
Serves 8 to 10
1 orange, rind thinly peeled with a vegetable peeler, juiced
375g jar Green Valley Greek pitted kalamata olives (or whatever brand kalamata you can find, obviously!), drained
350g jar Green Valley Spanish pitted black olives, drained
450g jar Green Valley premium stuffed queen olives (no nationality! :)...), drained
or 460g Green Valley stuffed olives, drained
10 sprigs fresh thyme
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 cup Moro olive oil
Assorted antipasto ingredients (see you local Italian or any Deli), to serve
1. Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Combine orange rind, orange juice, olives, thyme, garlic and oil in a large ceramic baking dish (How easy is that!). Roast for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Remove from oven.
2. Serve olives warm as part of an antipasto platter."
I love antipasto and tapas. Whenever possible friends, families and I go out in a nice Spanish restaurant and just order tapas. Here in Sydney, some of my favorite Spanish restaurants (which I can afford!) are in the "Spanish quarter" in Liverpool St in the city CBD.
One of the first ones I've been to is Miro Tapas Bar. Also I've been to a couple of times to the oldest and original in that street, Capitan Torres.
In Don Quixote Restaurant just off Liverpool St on Kent St, they make a mean lechon de leche or roasted pork yearling... very very tender you can cut the meat with an ordinary plate!
Like Thai retaurants, they are sprouting all over the place now, Newtown, Darlinghurst and Newtown to name a few. There is also this one in Glebe Point Road with a Filipino cook. Maybe its time to get re-acquainted with tapas again! With a nice Spanish sherry or a cool Sangria. Salud! Ola!
Welcome to my Yummy recipe collections.
Well it's not my recipes, its just recipes that I collected so I can make them (or ask the wife to make them for me!) one of these days.
Until that "time" comes, at least I know where they are. You are most welcome to try these recipes and if you find them yummy or whatever, please leave a comment or something.
Better still you can invite me and we will try them together :)...
I am a foodie, or I try to pretend to be one. I love eating food (which I think makes me a foodie pretend to be, I got to start somewhere!) and I am one to try at least one dish or food. I am that adventurous when it comes to eating, nothing goes to waste.
Love watching those food and travel shows... it makes sense. You are in the comfort of your own home and it's not expensive. You do get all the good tips and when you do have the time and budget to go out, then you are at least prepared.
From time to time I will also post places I would love to go to and places I've been. At least I can give back to you tips of what to watch out for or what to look for. In short travel tips.
Until that "time" comes, at least I know where they are. You are most welcome to try these recipes and if you find them yummy or whatever, please leave a comment or something.
Better still you can invite me and we will try them together :)...
I am a foodie, or I try to pretend to be one. I love eating food (which I think makes me a foodie pretend to be, I got to start somewhere!) and I am one to try at least one dish or food. I am that adventurous when it comes to eating, nothing goes to waste.
Love watching those food and travel shows... it makes sense. You are in the comfort of your own home and it's not expensive. You do get all the good tips and when you do have the time and budget to go out, then you are at least prepared.
From time to time I will also post places I would love to go to and places I've been. At least I can give back to you tips of what to watch out for or what to look for. In short travel tips.
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