A Fiesta

July 26, 2009

I never could understand why people would spend so much and would borrow money just so they could have a big spread on the fiesta. It’s a waste of money, in my opinion.

Last month, was our town fiesta. My sister had some friends over the day before and she cooked this spread.

dinuguan

ananakla

red rice– para healthy and to erase any guilt in eating the above

The crabs were bakla. They were so fat, so sweet and succulent, you had to cross yourself before eating and pray that you do not suffer a heart attack while eating it.

Hangin

July 20, 2009

Babala: Maaring hindi nararapat ang nilalaman ng entry na ito para sa mga sensitibong tao.

 

Bigla na lang ako nagising kaninang madaling araw. Di ako nagising dahil sa maaga ako natulog. Hindi ko rin ugaling gumising nang ganoong oras. Nagising ako dahil sa napakasakit kong tyan. Correction, hindi pala sa tyan. Sa bilbil pala. Sa kaliwang bahagi.

Pinakiramdaman ko ang sarili ko. Kung hindi ako gagalaw, walang sakit. Pero pag gumalaw ako ng kahit konti, nandoon  ang sakit. Naisip ko, hindi naman siguro sumasakit dahil sa appendicitis. Nasa kaliwa ang sakit. Nasa kanan ang appendix. Teka, nasa kanan nga ba ang appendix? Leche, nasaan na ba ang appendix ko? Hindi naman marahil sumakit dahil magdamag akong natulog sa kaliwang tagiliran ko. Kung ganun, dapat sumasakit ang balikat ko. Sa may puson naman ang sakit. Bakit kaya sumakit? Dapat ba akong pumunta ng ospital? Ayoko pa naman sa mga ospital dito.

Sinubukan kong tumayo. Sobrang sakit talaga. Nahiga na lang ako ng patihaya. Hmmm. Hindi masakit kung nakatihaya ako. Malamig na sa kwarto. Dapat na yatang i-off ko na ang electric fan ko. Unti-unti ako pumusisyon sa kanang tagiliran ko. Hawak ko ang puson ko at sumasambit ng “Aray ko!Aray ko!Aray” habang pumupwesto.

Matapos akong tumagilid, nagpahinga muna ako bago tumayo. Mayamaya, naramdaman ko na. Parang hinuhugot mula sa tyan ko, palabas. Isang napaka-haba at napaka-lakas na utot. Prroooooooooooooott. Aba, medyo napabawasan ang sakit! Tumayo ako, pinatay ang electric fan, at bumalik sa kama. Pooooooooot. Aba, nawala na ang sakit!

Hangin lang pala.     

 

Ambos Mundos

July 15, 2009

The oldest restaurant in Manila. With pot-bellied pigs outside. Who can resist such a come-on? From the moment I heard of Ambos Mundos (Both Worlds, in Spanish), I was intrigued. So one hot day, B and I hied to off to Florentino Torres St, just off  Recto, by the MRT stop. The place lloked like it has several decades under its belt. The decor was a mishmash of Filipino/Spanish/Chinese, with an incense altar in a corner, bullfighting posters and carved thingies on the ceiling, evoking an old Filipino house.

The menu was decidedly Spanish Filipino, old world style. The prices were definitely modern.

 

 

Since we just came from Divisoria, Where we had a mini food tour, we decided to have just two dishes. The paella manilena and the callos.

paella manilena

callos

The paella was excellent. Rich, sticky, filling, and with lots of “sahog” in every spoonful. The callos was like a dream. Tomatoey, with lots of cheese. The chorizo gave it a smoky flavor. The meat was so tender, it practically melts in the mouth.

The meal was excellent. The resto was not. The washrooms are in great need of renovation. Or a serious clean-up. One of staff was smoking a cigarette while inside the kitchen. One was using a chorizo to repeatedly poke a fellow staff in the head. It was off-putting to say the least and did not add to my enjoyment of the food experience.

When B and I were on our way out, we espied a large potbellied pig lying tiredly on the hot sidewalk. It was a sad sight.