Christmas Chocolates

Christmastime is certainly the time when people eat the most amount of sweets they can eat. Here in the Philippines, it's really typical for people to send and receive all sorts of sweet foods - pastries, candies, chocolates...

This box of assorted chocolates were given to mom by an office mate whose wife has a pastry business in their house. Mom ordered crema de fruta for sister's birthday and this came when the cake was delivered. The box had 6 small chocolate cups, and I only got to taste one cup - the one with the wafer ball in the middle. I ate it before I took this picture. Hahahaha.

The rest? Well, they were eaten by brother.

*** Jenn ***

Beer and Sisig

I was on a self-imposed Christmas break from blogging (though not really), but I am back now! =)

On Christmas day, us three siblings (sister's the one who took this photo) visited our next door neighbor because brother still hasn't seen Precious Meciel, 'te Cielo's daughter. When she called out to say that Meciel was already awake, we all went to pay the little angel a visit. 'te Cielo's husband kuya Mel offered brother a bottle of beer and Charmy's husband Jay offered sisig to go with his drink. It was quite a different scene, I think it was the first time I see some beer in their house, but they said that the two husbands had some bonding moments the night before, and their beer hasn't been completely consumed just yet.

Jay's sisig tasted good, although I think he should chop it more and grilled the pork pieces until it's a little crispy. But of course, it was really good. The taste can match up to the sisig I have tasted in restaurants.

I also had a bottle of beer, but I gave the last quarter to my sister. I am not really a beer drinker - I am more into hard drinks - because I think beer tasted way too bitter. I still go for tequila! Sharing stories and laughs was so great that day. They have surely become more than just neighbors for us. Thanks for the kindness!

*** Jenn ***

Bacalao with Hollandaise Sauce

Just to rewind a bit... I shared a picture of my breakfast at the airport going to Bohol, I overlooked that I still haven't shared all the foods from Vigan! Sheez.. sorry!

Anyway, let me go back to the Vigan foods we've eaten. This is the Sizzling Bacalao Fish with Hollandaise Sauce, our dinner on our first day there. Around 8PM, K felt a little hungry, so we went out to go look for food. We were supposed to eat again at Max's Restaurant, but we saw that Cafe Leona had available seats outside, so K suggested we check out their foods so we can taste their food, too.

Cafe Leona serves foods in sizzling plates outside the restaurant - which was a much better place to eat in Vigan - seeing the surroundings at night time.. the lights and all that - so we checked for the price. K said it's pretty reasonable, so we ate there. K had the sizzling sea bass, and I had this. It was love at first taste, basically speaking... this one was so delicious that I ordered a cup of rice so I can enjoy it more! The sauce was perfect, and even though the sides of the fish (the skin) was very scaly, I have loved eating it!

It was a big fish (taking up all of the space in the plate) and we got up very full, so we decided to roam around and enjoy Vigan, which made me love the place more because it's not everyday that I could get to walk around Calle Crisologo or seeing the Plaza Salcedo at night time. Each and everyday, I am just practically shouting my big thank you to the Lord for letting me be there at that time.

*** Jenn ***

W = Wine Bottles

These images were taken during the QC Na! Kulinarya, Talento, atbp. event held last August. I am not really a wine drinker, but I was so interested with the bottles that I took pictures of them. Some of the wines were expensive, while some were cheap. The kiosk owner told me people can have a free sampling of the wine so they would know if they would like the taste of not. If only we had more money, we would surely buy one of those Paul Masson wine (the white one) because not only it was tasty, it was cheap, too! One bottle cost around 165 pesos (3.50USD), and it would also make a good water pitcher. Sadly, even if it was cheap, we still cannot buy it, or else we can't eat dinner and pay for the bus fare going home. =)

Are you a wine drinker? What's your favorite?

*** Jenn ***

Cake!

A picture taken off the cake decorating competition from the QC Na! Kulinarya, Talento, Atbp. event. The theme was "Filipiniana," and I guess the decorators of this cake hailed from Cebu City, because it is where guitars are prominent. "Atin Ito" means, "It's Ours."

*** Jenn ***

Breakfast at the Airport

To continue my posts about the foods I ate during my holiday last November...

... this was what I had for breakfast the time we went to Bohol. It was day five of our holiday, and from Vigan, K and I head straight to the airport where we await our flight. Our flight was at 12 noon, yet we were already in the airport at 7AM. Our last meal was at 4PM the previous day, so the time we checked in our luggage, I felt really hungry.

At first, I bought tuna turnover and coffee from Mister Donut, but it wasn't enough. So I went to the Jollibee kiosk to buy their chickenjoy. The foods are pricey here and the Jollibee meals don't go with free drink, but it's basically the only place where you can eat at the airport, so it's still okay.

*** Jenn ***

Food Choices - 121808

Eat like a king during lunch!
1. What time do you usually eat lunch?
>>> It's either 9AM or 2PM.

2. Do you combine breakfast and lunch together – brunch? What is usually the reason?
>>> Yes. I usually eat my brunch at 9AM or eat lunch at 2PM. I just got used to it... I sometimes would just sit in front of the computer and forget the time, so I just eat 2-in-1 meals so I won't eat that often.

3. What do you usually eat for lunch?
>>> If I have time to cook, I would cook rice and viand. Otherwise, I'd go for a quick cooking food like spaghetti. If there are left overs from last night's dinner, I would just reheat it.

4. Do you eat like a king or a pauper during lunch?
>>> Pauper. I eat like a king for dinner.

5. Do you eat dessert after eating even if at home? What do you usually take?
>>> We're not really dessert eaters, but if there are fruits, that's what we eat.

Fear Factor:
Durian or Balot?
>>> Balot. I really cannot eat durian. I can take the smell of durian, but the taste, I really CANNOT take.

Tell Me:
What one dish are you dying to eat that is usually just served during the holiday season?
>>> Spaghetti with Two Sauces. It's not a typical Christmas dish, but here in our home, I started cooking this for Christmas sometime ago, and it was a hit with the family, that we only serve it during Christmas lunch. I am now looking forward to eat it again.

*** Jenn ***