It was the last day of Surf Break 7 at San Juan, La Union... but instead of going to the surf site, I decided to come with my Aunt Julie to a party - a reunion with High School batch mates. At first I wanted to come with her to check out the location and eat free food... but as the day progressed, I realized me attending the party allowed me to learn a lot of things.
Mushiness aside, the party was held at a resort owned by one of Aunt's batch mates. She told me this would be the fourth time for them to get together this year - they often organize a get together party whenever one batch mate comes home from abroad, but I forgot who among her batch mates arrived that time.
Most of the food were provided by the Julaton family - who I first met in 2008 during a road trip (we stayed at Mrs. Julaton's hometown in Tuao, Cagayan after a day of traveling in Banaue and across Cagayan Valley). Some of the batch mates were welcome to bring food should they wish, and for this party, we had:
Grilled Food. Wasn't able to take a picture of the grilled food from the table, but they did serve milkfish, pork chops, and tilapia. I didn't taste the tilapia, but the milkfish I loved a lot! I was raving about how delicious it was even the day after the event.
Kalderetang Kambing. I heard the family bought a goat for this event, and when one speaks of goat, automatically it means "Kaldereta." This one wasn't spicy at all, but the sauce was superb!
Kilawing Kambing. Another typical goat dish served in Ilocos Region. It might be "kilawin," but it wasn't really raw - the meat had a good sear on it - so I was able to eat some.
Come lunch time, everyone gathered to the table to get some food, so I wasn't able to photograph each of the dishes. Aside from the dishes mentioned above, we also had:
- Grilled Eggplants
- Goat Pinapaitan
- Laing - which Aunt Julie provided
- Bamboo Shoots Meatballs - which Aunt Julie provided
- Pickled Ampalaya - which Aunt Julie provided
- Boiled Vegetables (String Beans, Katuray, and Okra)
- Bananas
- Cup Cakes
- Macaroni-Fruit Salad
- Pineapple Juice
The cake was provided by Mrs. Calub, who is the wife of one of the batch mates. She baked this cake as well as the cup cakes, and both tasted really good. The icing on this cake tasted like melted marshmallows.
It was a fun-filled day. They may be in their late 50s and I am in my early 30s, but I was "at home" with them. They are such fun people to be with - I laughed a lot during the party, and I learned a few things, one of which was something the owner of resort (Mr. Espe) said - that we might not become who we wanted to become while we were in High School, but whoever we turn out to be, we just have to enjoy life while we still have it.
I come from a family who loves cooking and eating. I never had any formal training in cooking and that I taught myself how to cook based on the handed down recipes, but I could say that I can cook good food. In 2008, I started documenting my food trips for my