Meal Feast

Getting exiled in a private island, I thought of being transported to the beautiful island of Palawan! It’s a coincidence that I saw this picture from an article on Yahoo News while doing this blog post.

Ariara Island, Palawan

As for the five foods I wish they supply me with, I would mostly choose mouthwatering seafoods as my viand such as calamares, grilled fish, shrimp then eat them with salted eggs and fresh tomatoes. And how can I not forget to request a cooked rice as my fifth dish to complete my meal for the day!

UL-Calamares, LL-Grilled Fish, LR-Shrimp, UR-Salted Eggs

Cooked Rice

Food Adventurous with Champorado

Champorado (Photo credit: joshwept)

Thinking more about being local, the first thing that comes to mind is eating a champorado in the comforts of our home! Champorado or chocolate colored rice porridge in the Philippines has also become one of my favorite comfort food especially when it’s a rainy weather. I tried eating one in a local restaurant but nothing beats a home cooked champorado. It became my preferred snack during rainy days because I find it easy to prepare and cook it! I would only need the excess uneaten rice from a previous meal, unsweetened tablea or cacao chocolate, and brown sugar. First I will cook the excess rice with water in a rice pot then mix it with tablea which I let it melted. Afterwards, I will add some sugar depending on my taste bud and I prefer champorado to have just enough sweetness. When it’s already cooked and served in a plate, I top it with powdered milk but some put evaporated milk instead. Well it really depends on anyone’s preferences. In our province, I even tried to include fried shrimp in my champorado which I also found tasty and delicious!

Strawberry Sweet Thoughts

Strawberries remind me of one of my favorite places in the Philippines I’ve gone to – Baguio City! I even went there for like three times in a row within a year and my former officemates even teased me for going there often.

The first time I went to Baguio, I was with my college friends and we stayed in my friend’s rest house. The second time was when my parents had a weekend retreat and my brothers and I went there by riding a bus. It was a memorable ride especially for me since it was our first time to leave home just the three of us. We were like crazy like adventurers having a sibling bonding in a bus. It was such a great joy to be reminiscing those momentous experiences with your siblings. We also had a feeling of excitement knowing that we will also meet up with our parents to bond as a family.

The third time was the coldest experience I ever had since the last time I went to Baguio, there was an International Conference for CFC Youth for Christ. I was a youth then! During one of the evening sessions I was feeling cold and I was like wondering why I did not bring a much thicker jacket. And knowing Baguio City the cold temperature could go lower. That is why the city was called as the summer capital of the Philippines because of its cold weather.

And of course how can I ever forget my favorite food in Baguio. I love strawberries though they look so sweet they actually taste sour but when you dip each strawberry with a salt it tastes better. Just by looking at the picture, I feel like eating them because they look oh so appealing in my eyes.

I was also grateful that on my second visit in Baguio, my family had an opportunity to go to a strawberry farm to gather some ripe strawberries very early in the morning. I also got the chance to eat a strawberry flavored taho! Taho, according to Wikipedia, is made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (brown sugar and vanilla syrup), and pearl sago (similar to pearl tapioca). A strawberry flavored taho is something different for me because instead of the usual arnibal, I was able to taste the sweetened strawberry. Just by thinking about these, I am craving to eat one all the more!

Food Love: Kinilaw

Fresh from the fisherman, take out the head and tail, this is the local sashimi. Fresh fish in coconut milk and vinegar plus hot chili. My fave, as I am the one doing it. As the congregation is having a picnic at Danao. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From time to time, I check my yahoo mail accounts to see if there are new emails. And then when I logged out in one of my accounts, I saw this article Making a Kinilaw via Yahoo Philippines!

It is an article about making kinilaw or raw fish in English.  Kinilaw is one of the favorite delicacies here in the Philippines especially to people who are mostly living in the Visayas and Mindanao region. Since my parents are from Surigao del Sur, a province in Mindanao region, they love eating it.

I found eating such food odd for me since I am really used to eating foods that are cooked.  Like how can my stomach take it? My mom even told me that the fish is cooked since it is dipped in vinegar. But lately I don’t know what pushed me to really try eating it. I got curious how it tasted since my younger brother eats a lot of bits and pieces of kinilaw though he was never an eater before.

At first bite, I got conscious when I tried to eat the part which is the edge of the fish. When it’s fried, I love eating that part especially when it’s crunchy! But then I still ate despite thinking that it’s raw. Guess what?!  I ate more but not a lot. At least I can manage to eat it now especially when the mix of other ingredients is tasty. I do not prefer it when it’s too sour as it taste vinegary.

The best thing about eating a kinilaw is to end it by drinking a dark colored softdrink called Coke. I’m not endorsing the product but more like it’s the brand we’re used to drinking after eating a kinilaw. And it’s something to look forward to which is great! Eating kinilaw is my way of appreciating my parents’ roots as well. A tasty dish. Happy eating!

Ice Cream Please!

What a great way to delight one’s afternoon by eating a cup of ice cream!  For me eating an ice cream either in a cone or in a glass brings so much joy and relaxation to my senses. What more when it is shared with your great family and friends!

I remember I ordered an ice cream before with almost the same toppings as shown in the picture below. Though the cost appeared pricey to me I ignored it. Since I traveled far enough to a particular place I went to, why not treat myself an afternoon snack.

Eating ice cream feels like heaven to me. As I love and enjoy eating, I ordered an ice cream right away in the first store I entered to. Now I start to wonder where I placed that picture of the ice cream I ate.

Anyway, I also enjoy eating ice cream with fresh fruits like strawberries, mangoes, peaches, kiwi, etc. Hence, I chose the picture below from among the images I found in Google. And I am starting to crave just by staring at the picture of this ice cream.

As I end this post, I am now thinking of going to the nearest store. By the time you read this, I am already done. Happy eating! =)