So last night I made a dinner of Filipino fare for my besties to sample. One of the things we've enjoyed doing after my trips is cooking up a food-from-there dinner for the girls to partake of on a Saturday following my return. My tummy, thankfully, is all better so I was able to enjoy myself too.
One of the things I tried making was leche flan aka creme caramel. Except the Filipino version is a lot sweeter and richer as it uses condensed milk and only egg yolks in the recipe. While the caramelised sugar didn't look great in the ramekins the steaming of the custard kinda coaxed it into an even layer and it turned out looking not half bad in the end. I was also pleased that it had a perfectly smooth consistency, with the custard turning out evenly set and nary an air bubble to be seen :)
Dinner proper (clockwise from left) was chicken and mushroom adobo, turkey breast kare-kare and ginisang monggo (sauteed green beans) with vegetables.
All in all a success. The girls were happy, I was happy, and altho I'm not the hugest fan of Filipino food, I think with some of the recipes if I can make my own substitutions (I'm not a fan of pork!) I'll be quite satisfied.
Speaking of food, we did go to one fast food restaurant, only because they're pretty famous, specialising in grilled pork and chicken, Mang Inasal. We had some grilled chicken (nothing to crow about really) but what amused me was that they had soy sauce and 'chicken oil' on the tables. I guess it's savoury flavoured oil but what a name for it.
Back to sightseeing. Rizal park was basically a lot of green space peppered with ornaments. It was kinda hot (sweltering!) so I didn't bother to venture up close and personal for photos. The entrace had a rather nondescript gate with a concrete slab announcing the name of the park.
One of the monuments taken from far away where I was hiding under the shade of some huge trees.
There was a section of park with some pigeon homes :)
From the park we decided to head to the museum of natural history. It had a LOT of halls. But this was the thing that fascinated me the most. The story of
Lolong can be found here.
[TL;DR - Lolong was the largest crocodile ever held in captivity. He was a saltwater crocodile measured at 6.17 m, making him one of the largest crocodiles ever measured from snout to tail, and weighing 1,075 kg.]
There were also lots of stuffed eagles. And I realise I enjoy looking at birds of prey. Something I have in common with my niece. This is the Philippine hawk eagle.
We also found the malls to be pretty boring, similar to malls anywhere else in the world, I suppose. So we did our shopping at the ukay-ukay (thrift shops). They're not usually found in the busier sections of the city, and we didn't bother to travel to the outskirts just for that, but we did come across two.
These bits of jewellery were got for under 10 dollars, from one of the street vendors at the riverside market. We selected a pair of earrings each, and they allowed us a free ring from a tray for every pair purchased.
This was the first ukay-ukay we came to. Everything was displayed in a very orderly fashion. I didn't buy anything from here, but did pick up 3 bags for a bestie who had asked me to keep an eye out for her.
At the second store I found this puffer vest. For $3. I was thrilled at finding something so inexpensive that I could take with me for our upcoming London trip (November). I didn't want to have to to spend too much on winter clothing seeing as how I live in the tropics and don't often find myself in cold countries.
The puffer is mine. The two tees on the left are CG's and the HP tee was for a friend. Total - less than $10. Score!
We also went to Mall of Asia or MOA as it's commonly referred to. We met up with CG's sister and son, and had dinner there together.
One of the cool things about the malls in Manila is that dogs are allowed in as long as they're on a leash.
Macaroni salad - it turned out to be a dessert! Milk, cream, macaroni, fruit and cheese. I didn't get any because I've tried it once before and it is NOT my cup of tea.
The famous lechon - aka pork. Roasted pork to be precise. That's stuffed pork belly. My goodness but when I saw that all I could think of was how much 'good' it would do my cholesterol readings.
We also popped into a local goods shop where I got me a bunch of snacks, some locally produced essential oil liquid soaps and mango rum for BIKSS and my boss.
The next day we ventured to Our Lady of Guidance church where we attended evening Mass. It was lovely, not at all like the 'popular' touristy churches we had gone to a couple of days before.
Some of the cheap finds we purchased from the drugstore. I'm always stocking up on sunblock, and one of the things Asian countries does well is SPF50 sunblock. These were on special - 2 for 1- even tho they're not anywhere near the expiration date (2027!). They're lightweight, smell faintly of melons and sink into the skin in no time flat. I'm glad I bought a bunch. (This stash was split between me and CG.)
More snacks - those little parcels on the bottom left are
ensaymada. My new favourite Filipino snack. I must have brought home 2 dozen. I haven't gone thru the lot yet. Savouring them slowly. Delicious!
A red bean filled ensaymada.
Actually, I think I'll go have one now. I'll be back with more photos!
