Lists for me are really fun.  My dear five readers, urge you to try these things at least once in your life, because I cannot imagine my life without them:

1. Uni sashimi- basically sea urchin that is raw, and served with good soy sauce and citrus (calamansi is my favorite). Smooth, melting in your mouth and basically tasting like the sea, this indulgent treat is a must for any sashimi lover. The best one I’ve ever tasted was from Hana in Little Tokyo, like buttah, but better. For the good stuff, you don’t need to dip it into anything, or do anything but take it out of the shell and eat it. For inexpensive uni by the bowl, try Tokyu in Pioneer or Panay Avenue, it’s a favorite place for fresh, good stuff.

2. Bone marrow- Whether eaten on its own, roasted in an oven, or like any normal Filipino, in a fresh bulalo (beef stew), bone marrow is sinfully delicious. It is high in cholesterol, delightfully addicting, and for me, best with bagoong balayan and calamansi. Bone marrow should be enjoyed while you can. Best place to get it? Behind the Mahogany market in Tagaytay, where it’s guaranteed fresh, and very simply prepared to show off its incredible flavor.

3. Vigan empanada- Dastardly deceptive, the orange crust on this Ilocano treat masks three simple ingredients. Shredded monggo sprouts or papaya, egg, and Vigan longganisa in a simple rice flour shell deep fried till golden, this is my Sunday treat. Why Sunday? Because the best I’ve tasted in the metro of this Ilocano merienda is at the Eton Sunday market, with real Vigan longganisa and the freshest eggs. Every other place I’ve tried this in the metro is a pale comparison, but okay to bridge that craving gap. Get it at Ilocos Empanada at Katipunan, or other Ilocos Emapanada branches at other locations.

4. Chicharon bituka- Crispy fried, cleaned out pork or chicken intestines make up this simple and sinful treat. Introduced to me by my dad one morning when going through Laloma to the province, I ate and fell in love. Dipped in spicy vinegar, the umay to this sinful treat is cut with a the acidity of the natural cane vinegar, while adding another layer of interesting flavor. Get it fresh and best at Laloma, where they fry the intestines from the lechon they just roasted (cleaned of course, i hope).

5. Isaw– Another way to eat animal guts, isaw is basically intestines cleaned out, looped on a barbecue stick, roasted on an open fire. One can usually find this treat in outdoor stalls in the afternoon. You can’t have just one, as these things are addictive, dipped in a spicy vinegar. I like the one from Mang Larry’s stall in UP, where it’s P2 a stick, plus P2 for spicy vinegar. I usually get fifteen sticks to justify the one hour usual wait from the time we park, to the time we settle to eat.

6. Lugaw– Whether with chicken (arroz caldo), or my favorite beef tripe (goto), lugaw is the perfect hangover cure. Hot, comforting, and simple, lugaw is a simple meal for anyone and everyone. The foamy stuff on top that accumulates as it cooks even serves as a milk alternative for when people cannot afford milk. I may be staunchly Filipino since I love lugaw more than its Chinese counterpart, congee.

7. Durian– Strange, smelly and absolutely polarizing people when served on the table, durian is a sweet, creamy fruit ensconced in a stinky, spiky outside. It’s quite expensive for fruit and is a bi+ch to open, but for us who love it, is worth all the trouble. The flesh melts in your mouth and offers layers of flavor you cannot find in any other fruit. Somehow it’s as creamy as frozen yogurt with a fruity layer. The best and worst part of it is that the stinkier it is, the sweeter the taste will be, so when you smell it from two aisles away from the supermarket, prepare yourself for the best (or worst) experience of your fruit consumption. For those who have never tried this because of the smell, I urge you to try it twice and see if it changes your mind. Most of us had adults give us a taste as a joke, but maybe you’ve grown to like it between the years.

8. Carabao milk– Full fat, creamy and best bought from your provincial market, carabao milk is a sin and a piece of heaven at the same time. The humble Philippine carabao, in my opinion just produces the best milk I’ve ever had (I had to drink goat milk as a child okay, and it still makes me gag). My aunt used to buy it at the market at 5 am for us to mix in with rice and eat with dried fish. My grandfather used to have bottles of it in the ref, and I would always beg for them when I went home to the province. Until now, the best carabao milk is the one from the neighborhood carabao lady at the palengke and not the one you can buy (so expensively) at the mall. Just remember and heat it up first to make sure it’s pasteurized, as most are sold untreated and straight from the teat. Also, if you’ve ever had pastillas from Bulacan, the creamy, pillowy treats, you just might be interested to know that those are traditionally made with carabao milk to achieve the creaminess from all its natural butterfat.

This is not my first food list, or my last. This is just what I can remember today. Count on a part 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the future.

Ever since I can remember, ice cream has been one of my favorite things to eat. For this girl growing up in a third world, tropical country when airconditioning was still a novel thing, ice cream was a liberator to sweltering days where it doesn’t matter how much fans were turned to you, you still felt like a sticky, sweaty mess.

It did help that I had a grandmother who sold it, from Magnolia in its heyday, to Nestle when it took over the national (well provincial) market. I remember being able to finish off a Twin Popsies before even a drop even melted, and a pint of Double Dutch in one sitting. One of my first memories is stirring at a cup of ube ice cream until it melted and drinking it like soup. I remember the most luxurious thing I had as a child was the Nestle Mega, which I now realize was their version of the Magnum, at P20 per stick, the most expensive thing on the menu (excluding pints and gallons). I literally ate away my grandma’s profits for the day, and it didn’t even matter (Sorry Lola) since I was hungry for sweets and a release from the sticky heat, compounded by blackouts in our provincial town.

It took years for my mom to allow us to eat street ice cream, not trusting the street vendors to be sanitary enough (to be fair we all had weird digestive systems). What she didn’t know was, every time we were somewhere for a school field trip that had no chaperone I had my wallet ready to buy an avocado, cheese, ube cone from Manong Sorbetero. Family occasions we bought a whole canful (almost as tall as me) from the neighborhood ice cream maker, and 2 grocery bags full of cones. I was always first to check what flavor was available. When we went to SM North Edsa, it was a huge treat to share a cone of Better Than Ice Cream, a frozen yogurt treat in such an exotic flavor, Mint Chocolate Chip. My dad, when he was having a great night, would bring home cans of Selecta (Oh don’t tell Lola) of Keso, his favorite flavor. When I was a little older and had a bit of control with my allowance, I spent it on Dippin’ Dots, these weirdly small globes of ice cream that just melts in your mouth.

As I grew up, my taste in ice cream evolved. I found Fruits in Ice Cream in UP Diliman and gorged on cones of Green Tea. I giggled at the thought of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Sebastian’s. The weirdest flavor I think I love is the Bleu Chese from Sebastian’s, with whole chunks of blue cheese topped with walnuts and Palawan Honey. I finally got to taste Cherry Garcia earlier this year, with it being my current favorite flavor.

Later on I came to realize what a relief these soft, sweet, cooling bites were. Until now, when I get annoyed, want to have dessert, am a little angry at the world, I still reach for the freezer. Especially now, with this unbelievable sticky heat, I am keeping my freezer well stocked.

What is your favorite food? Or summer food? Or comfort food?

 

If you have not been under a rock the past few months, you’ve surely heard of the Game of Thrones. This HBO series had a Sean Bean headed f (pun intended) first season of incest, betrayal and the lust for power in a glorious maze of characters. Several months late in reading the books (I read Jessica Zafra thought it slow moving, and I value that woman’s opinion ever so highly) I find myself excited for the hour when I get to curl up to this 800+ page tome, and the next few books after it. Truth be told, I did have the same reaction, the first several chapters progressed too slowly for my taste, and I was having trouble keeping track of the multitude of characters that reside in the Seven Kingdoms. However, as this book unfurled figuratively in my head, I grew more fond of each and every character I loved in the television series, and loathed the detestable, sick personalities I came to be more familiar with.

Truly, as other people will tell you about any book turned into a television series, the richness of the story, the full maze of events in the books will never be captured in celluloid, as your imagination will never be satisfied with what a director can weave with actual people and costumes. My most favored character of all, Tyrion Lannister, is much more witty and crafty in the book, and it seems, more flawed physically than the actor Peter Dinklage, cast in the HBO series as the Imp. The trials of Jon Snow at the wall more tense, the weakness of Robert Arryn more pronounced.

Truly, if you are a fan of the show, you must try and read these books to fully grasp the intricacies of the Seven Kingdoms. I have to admit I began to read it when the second season started and I could not begin to point out who was who from the new characters and the old. Or maybe just have someone who knows the books right next to you when you watch it.

And here I am hoping the cold described in these books would just creep into the weather, which is as sweltering as it looks from this photo of my nook. I just want to bathe in ice cream right now.

To have all these for not just a birthDAY but a birthweekend celebration. What started as a day I was dreading for 2 reasons:

1. I was moving into my LATE twenties.

2. It hit on a Friday, and let me tell you, the last two times my birthday hit a Friday, they sucked big time.

So I hoped for the best and expected the worst, not planning anything more than dinner with the family and a celebration with the boyf as well. Let me just say, all the things that I did not expect to fall into place did, by way of:

1. I was supposed to be off that day, but since my siblings’ schedules would not permit it, had my family birthday dinner moved to a belated lunch. So I told my supervisor I could work, and we met for a catch up meeting of sorts. This saved me from working the day after, and gave me a sort of 3 day weekend (since I finished my other tasks in advance.).

2. I would be able to see a few of my work friends, whom I always love seeing, and get me outta the house.

3. Since my sister wasn’t going to be around for dinner, she took me to breakfast instead, and took me to my work meeting in Makati (on a Friday what a godsend).

A few highlights of the weekend:

• Starting the day with an epic breakfast at Stacy’s, this Sonja’s looking place in Capitol Hills with all day breakfast, and they gave me a free cupcake.
• Getting the Bench coke shirts for presents (If you know me even a little, I have a Coke collection of sorts all from friends).
• Getting to work early and seeing friends, with one offering to bake me chocomint cupcakes (which imma claim soon, they’re tooooo delish to pass up).
• Eating at Som’s for lunch (I needed Thai food, okay).
• Getting to our futsal game on time.
• Having dinner at Bellini’s and getting my gnocchi and sweet wine fix at last.
• Getting the lappy bag I was ogling at Crumpler for a present.
• Finding this amazing chrysanthemum tea drink thing at the divisoria food court, and getting the squid thing for breakfast.
• Going to Dong Bei for the best dumplings ever for lunch.
• Getting two cakes, one from Estrel’s, the other from Xocolat from such epic people.
• Going to Poco Deli for dinner and having a round of Hoegaarden.
• Winning my first bet ever.
• Getting such fun birthday greetings from the most unexpected people.

Tell you the truth, this was one of the best birthdays ever, and I didn’t need to throw a party to enjoy myself. It just reminded me how lucky I am to be where I am today, and be with the people I’m with to enjoy it.

So how was your Friday the 13th?