More Manila Pics

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! 

The Bottom Line - LDL and Jewellery

No, it's not THAT kind of bottom line. Altho I do love me my cane stripes. 

It's my LDL. It wasn't a problem before because we lived by the ratio. Turns out the medical community is seeing a shift in that it's not good enough to have a decent ratio, they're saying now that the LDL numbers are what affects cardiac risk. 

And my LDL numbers are in the almost high range. Without other risk factors we never bothered about this before because when I did my risk estimation it always came out low. However the (peri)menopause changes things. 

So I can try (harder!) to bring the numbers down naturally or I can turn to statins. 

My boss thinks it's going to be futile. I already don't eat SO many food groups, he looked at me with the most disbelieving expression on his face as he said "You already don't eat carbs, red meat, processed meats... if you cut chicken, what ARE you going to eat?" 

Well, my friends. The research has been done. And I've decided to change over from dark meat of chicken (man... a boneless thigh is soooo juicy) to turkey breast (which has a super low amount of saturated fat); swap out my chips (I'm dying inside a little bit..) for some salted almonds - I have low blood pressure so at least I can still enjoy salted nuts; and I've gotten some flaxseed oil to use as a finishing oil on my veggies / soups etc. 

I'm also gonna try and get the majority of my protein from beans and eggs and incorporate lots more mushrooms into my diet. Because phytosterols here I come! And I have been remiss in ensuring half my plate is made up of veggies, so I'm going to fix that post haste! 

Let's see if things change by the next test!

Meanwhile, have a look at some FOOD WE ATE BEFORE TODAY!

Fried chicken on a chive pancake (it was weird... the pancake I mean)

B/Sprouts & Beet salad with bonito flakes removed to a side plate cos BIKSS can't stomach the stuff

And when I went for dinner with the sister and the cousin to an Indian joint, I was introduced to a naan with dried fruit and nuts! First time ever. 

Kashmiri Naan

And my latest acquisitions from Shein - because I'm all about my jewellery at the moment... 

Look Daddy, I got some statement earrings!
Wow, that's a statement alright!

Vacation earrings, while my actual 18K gold ones sit safely at home 

I'm enjoying my enamel ring from the HCMC thrift store so much that I decided to get another

And now, it's time for dinner. Oh, and before I forget... I'm off to Bangkok next week with BIKSS so I'll load up pics after the trip!

Hue and HCMC - Part 2

Egg cream coffee done right. The raw egg yolk is whisked into the cream then "cooked" into the hot coffee. This way there's extra heat to ensure a lower risk of salmonella. We've had this multiple times, often without the burner at the bottom of the cup, and thankfully have had no adverse reactions. My suggestion if you're in Vietnam and want to try egg coffee is go to a proper coffee house, and best stay away from the streetside stalls.

The offerings at Marou. BIKSS bought some mini chunky chocolate cookies for taking home, and got 2 for me and my caregiver too. We also bought a bunch of chocolate bars to give to friends and family. Thankfully, not as much as we did on our Hanoi trip. 

This is the reason we stayed a night in HCMC. Pizza 4P's. AKA our favourite pizza restaurant.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp Pizza (my new favourite) and Hokkaido Scallop Pizza

Camambert and Truffle Mascarpone

Burrata with tropical fruit salad

In house Kombucha - which was really smooth and had just the right balance of sweet and sour

We also had their home made meatballs in tomato soup. Which BIKSS couldn't stop raving about. 

All this while we've only ever ordered a pizza + salad or side and maybe once we tried a cheese-type dessert, cos we were reluctant to order too much. But this time we were a bit more daring. That was a lot of food for just the two of us so by the end of dinner I had resorted to eating just the toppings on my pizza slices and leaving the crust behind. Which was a pity cos they do good crust too!

A ring I picked up at a thrift shop. BIKSS got a pair of multi-coloured striped socks!

More pizza (this was lunch, what you saw up there was dinner) - 1/2 and 1/2 - a 5-cheese pizza and salami + spicy chorizo pizza. BIKSS wasn't thrilled about the 5-cheese cos it had gorgonzola in it. This is a new addition to their menu - when we were at 4P's last they only had a 3-cheese and a 4-cheese. This is what happens when you get greedy LOL. I didn't mind it one bit tho. I love me my cheeses. They make their own cheeses in Da Lat then ship 'em off to the various restaurants within 24 hours. So fresh. So good. So much carbon saved. You can read about them HERE.

Our last dinner in Hue.  Assortment of Hue specialities - lemongrass chicken, fried pancake, fresh spring rolls, a ton of veggie and rice paper, and peanut sauce. Grilled chicken in a bamboo boat. Fried vegetable spring rolls.

More Hue specialities. This very local lunch was had inside Dong Ba market. Bun Nghe is a turmeric glass noodle dish served with crispy rice paper crackers and mushrooms and veggies- it's usually served with pig intestines and liver, but the version we had was meatless, thank goodness. BIKSS isn't a fan of pig insides. Banh Nam is a 'cake' or steamed dumpling made with tapioca flour and seasoned prawns and/or minced meat, and Bún Bò Huế Chay is the vegetarian version of their traditional beef noodle soup or Bún bò Huế. (Hint : chay anything means vegetarian in most parts of Asia.)

Wandering across the Trang Tien Bridge, white and purple mini brinjals at the market, and the Dong Ba market signboard. (Hint: Cho in Vietnamese is market / shopping centre)

BIKSS and I each picked up a The North Face puffer jacket at one of the shops in Hue. For about 1/10 the original price (in where-I-live anyway) thanks to factory overruns.

The hotel in HCMC - complimentary beverage and tea time snacks while we get checked in. I was annoyed that even tho I used my name to book the hotel, when they registered us they used BIKSS' name instead. And then gave ME the form (cos I was the one who presented the confirmation email and did all the talking) to fill up my fone number and email. And sign at the bottom please. The bluddy cheek. 

I made sure she knew that I was NOT *BIKSS' name* but that my name was in fact *Fondles' name* and promptly scratched out his name at the top of the form before filling in my own before putting in my details and signing the blasted thing.

Last night's attempt at Thịt luộc tôm chua - Boiled Pork with Sour Shrimp Sauce

I boiled some pork and veggies, (spinach, beansprouts, mushrooms) and stuck some tofu in the air fryer. Then diluted the fermented shrimp sauce I bought from Dong Ba market (see previous post) with some lime juice and a generous helping of fried shallots, garlic and sesame seeds. It was a hit with my gal pals who have now declared that whenever I come back from vacation I need to cook up something for them so they can also experience a "taste" of my adventures! While the shrimp sauce is pungent and very salty, the unseasoned pork and veggies made for a great canvas to set it against! I also had rice paper and vermicelli so we'd have noodle and roll options. 

The verdict - delicious. And pretty healthy, considering the lean-ness of the meat and the fact that everything was basically boiled / raw / air-fried with very little oil.

Today I opened a packet of Sesame Candy or Kẹo Mè Xửng Huế after hosting my ex-colleagues for lunch at home. I've seen two versions, this is the thinner one. It's too sweet for my tastes, but it's so interesting to see the reactions of the different ladies. One said, yes, it IS sweet, but it's candy innit? I took one bite then gave the rest to my tenant. Who had finished her half and was reaching for another piece, which is why I offered her mine. And another one who took that first half said yes, she was right to only break off half a piece because she deemed it too sweet for her liking as well. 

And this is the thicker version which me and BIKSS tried while in Hue. I think this version is slightly less sweet and perhaps a little easier to chew. While he's not a fan of sweet treats, I'm certain he liked it because it's got two of his favourite ingredients - sesame seeds and peanuts! Incidentally, these are 2 things I could live without ever eating again.

And that was our trip. 

BIKSS is off to Thailand in about 10 days' time, and if not for the fact that my colleague is on vacation and won't be back before he flies off, I would totally be there too. Ah well, that and I'm going to be on my period... ugh. I'll just sit this one out. I WILL however be ordering some stuff from my favorite Chiang Mai store (see that post for pics of the candles and perfume balms) to have them deliver more goodies to his hotel. And he can mule them back for me Muahahha!