Another unagi don at ABCT, Sakura Circle

Our daughter asked me what was my favorite Japanese food. I replied unagidon. Unagi, of course, is eel. I first ate this while in Japan and that was definitely a good meal. Unagi can be tricky and I've tried maybe twice in local restaurants with one being somewhat malansa while the other was overcooked. They also didn't get the sauce right. Fast forward to a lunch a ABCT's East Ridge branch and I found authentic and delicious unagi don. Since then, I've enjoyed this meal from time to time at their Sakura Circle branch (we don't go to East Ridge often and it is a bit far).

Unagi don at ABCT is prepared by a chef trained in Japan

I will definitely come back for more of this dish!

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Farewell furry friend - Mocha, 2014-2024

We are saddened by the sudden passing of our beloved dog Mocha. We loved to call her Mokey and she responds to both names, wagging her tail wildly as she approached us. We always joked remembering how she and the wife immediately bonded when we picked her up from a backyard kennel.

Mocha liked to cuddle up close to us and appreciated a good scratch or rub.

This is her bored look. This is also her tired look (e.g., after a long walk). And also her exasperated look (i.e., when we're not giving her attention).

 

Mocha always sleeps like this anywhere she is at our home. They say it shows that she knows she is in a safe place and trusts those around her. She is survived by three of her children who remain with us. All three are mixed and fathered by Boots during the pandemic. We had Boots and the 2 other male dogs 'fixed' after that.

This is Mocha with her 'partner' Boots, a maltipoo given to us by a good friend. These two were partners in crime, so to speak. Boots misses Mocha and seems to be looking for her. I imagine he probably thinks she's at the vet or somewhere and will be returning home soon.

Mocha during her younger days.

Mocha and our daughter practically grew up together. They played together, walked together and goofed around together. Mocha survived a tumor that we had surgically removed almost a year ago. We had thought that she would live longer than our former lab Troy but it was not to be. Though we weren't able to bring her to the vet (who were also surprised by her sudden passing) after her demise, we suspected that perhaps she had a heart attack or a stroke. There were no signs that she would pass last Monday. I was sorry that I was not able to walk with her one last time or give her the scratches and massages that she liked so much. She will definitely be remembered.

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Undas 2024

This weekend we remember our beloved who passed away. I am sharing recent photos from my visit to our departed relatives at the Cabatuan Catholic Cemetery.

Main gate of the Cabatuan Cemetery

The Cabatuan Mortuary Chapel is a heritage site

The view behind the chapel near where our relatives are interred.

Inside is a simple altar aside from the tombs

Many of our beloved relatives from my father's side of the family rest here at different locations around the cemetery. The main tombs are near the mortuary chapel. Their names are listed there:

Nay Andang, an uncle and other aunts whom I have no memory of.

Tay Adoy is the first cousin of my father and Nay Vacion is the sister of my mother. My parents met at their home in Manila when they both lived there while studying in Manila.

Nay Agrong, Nay Pilar and Manong Edgar

Nay Paring who passed away early this year

Nay Nene, Nay Idad, Tay Puren (the Korean War veteran), my Lola Pinac (mother of Tatay) - Nay Nene's name is mispelled. It should be Enriqueta. Lola's date of passing is also incorrect. It should be December 23, 1983. I still remember us receiving the telegram informing of her passing on Christmas Day of 1983. That was devastating news for us then.

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Ippudo's Zero Ramen

We had a nice lunch at Ippudo a couple of weeks ago and the staff offered their Zero Ramen as an option as we were browsing their menu. This tuned out to be one of best ramen we've had.

A bowl of Ippudo's Zero Ramen was just perfect and satisfying for lunch.

The wife and I got one bowl each (bowls 6 and 7 of 20 they prepared).

The card reads: 

"A year before opening Ippudo in 1985, founder and "Ramen King" Shigami Kawahara crafted this rare ramen in Fukuoka, Japan.

Zero features our signature tonkotsu broth; authentic Hakata-style noodles; tender, slow-cooked salted chashu; green onions; ajikijurage; and sesame seeds. Experience the origins of Ippudo's #WorldFamousRamen with this flavor-packed bowl. 

Loud slurps encouraged."

As this is a limited edition ramen, I'm not sure we'll be able to enjoy this again soon. I hope they serve this again at least during their anniversaries.

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Dessert cum merienda at Mary Grace

We are patrons of Mary Grace Cafe. We are regulars of the branch at the mall near our home but also found Mary Grace as a go to place for when we want to have a good familiar meal and we don't want to risk having a bad one. Whether its a full meal like breakfast, lunch or dinner, or merienda, we have our favorites in the menu. Here are a couple of items we like for afternoon merienda.

Three-cheese ensaymada

Brownie a la mode

 

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On the night sky and chasing comets

This month, there were opportunities to see a comet without the aid of any telescope. The last time that happened was during the peak of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020. Unfortunately, this was not to be again as we had mostly cloudy skies and I just couldn't have it clear enough to see the comet. Instead, I got these photos of the sunset and clouds shrouding the super moon.

Sunset and the western sky

Super moon a couple of weeks ago - obscured by clouds

Pecular clouds surrounding the super moon framed by our Narra and Mango trees

I am not certain there will be another opportunity to see a comet in the future but the night sky has always been fascinating and has provided unique images such as these photos.

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Gumamelas at our office

I've been posting mostly about chocolates this October. Here's a little change of topic. I don't usually post about flowers but the gumamelas or hibiscus growing at the garden at the front of our office building is worth writing about. The flowers are from a senior faculty member, Dr. Mark Zarco, who is an avid collector of hibiscus. He said he wanted to show that they can be planted and nurtured here and specifically on campus. The results are the following that are growing at the island in front of our main steps and driveway.

Cassandra Lippey

Another photo of the Cassandra Lippey

Valentine's Day

Tarrantela

Isobel Beard

Some Like it Hot

I have yet to get all the names of these varieties of gumamelas. I think our friend Mark started posting these on FB so I will try to update this post from time to time to include their names.

 

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Chocolate review: Lorenzo Farm 70% Dark Chocolate

We finally tasted one of the chocolates I bought in Iloilo. This is a dark chocolate from Lorenzo Farm tagged as Iloilo Premium Chocolate.

The wrapper for this 70% dark chocolate features Iloilo's Dinagyang Festival.

Details about the chocolate

Information on the maker - Lorenzo Farm - which is located in the town of Dingle, Iloilo. Dingle is located to the north, northeast of Iloilo City.

Nutrition information and manufacturing information. They claim to have only cacao, cacao butter and sugar as ingredients. These seem too few (Mayon Gold claims only two!) so you wonder if this is correct or perhaps they're not disclosing all the ingredients that went into this chocolate.

I thought the chocolate is better than the Mayon Gold chocolate. It is smoother in terms of taste and texture. However, I would say it is a regular or ordinary chocolate. I would buy it for novelty like the Mayon Gold chocolate but that's basically it. The chocolate retailed for 130 pesos and I thought that was expensive for a 56g bar. Perhaps I will try this again after a year or so to see if there's an improvement?

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Chocolate review: El Corte Ingles Negro Almendras Enteras

I have a backlog of chocolate reviews and I found drafts of chocolates we ate last year still unfinished. So here goes to reducing that backlog...

I was pleasantly surprised to see this bar in our cache. This is a chocolate from Spain and I don't exactly remember how we came to have this. I assume this is a souvenir or pasalubong from someone.

The translation to English is there in the label - Dark chocolate with almonds.

The detailed information about the chocolate is at the back of the package.

Nutrition information

The chocolate is Made in Spain and is Gluten Free.

The chocolate was smooth and the almonds definitely added to enjoying this. The almonds were not crushed (roasted whole as stated in the package) so there's substantial chewing involved after you bite into the bar. I don't know how much this chocolate retailed for (though I guess you can Google it) but I thought based on us consuming the bar that this had bang for the buck for a 200g bar. I wouldn't mind paying 200+ pesos for this and will surely pick it up if I see this on the grocery or store shelf.

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Chocolate review: Mayon Gold 60% Dark Chocolate

The first chocolate from Bicol that we tasted is this 60% dark chocolate from Mayon Gold. The chocolate comes from Camalig. Albay, which is near the famous Mayon Volcano.

Mayon Gold markets this as a hand crafted chocolate.

Details about the chocolate at the back of the package

There's a story behind this chocolate. That was covered by the price tag, which I removed to show the work and advocacy of the Muravah Foundation that produced this chocolate.

Nutrition information. Note the emphasis on this chocolate having only 2 ingredients: dried fermented cacao and coconut sugar. They seem to have forgotten to declare others that would have rendered this product easily spoiled?

Revenues from the chocolate will go to the improvement in the lives of people in the communities supported by the foundation.

The chocolate was okay considering they used only 2 ingredients (as they claim). We thought the use of coconut sugar as sweetener affected the overall taste and texture of the chocolate. I am not sure that this is the taste and texture desired by most chocolate lovers though. And in the end, to be honest, the chocolate will not be judged by the maker's objectives and advocacies but by its qualities as compared (or benchmarked) with other, more superior products. The chocolate retails for about 140 pesos for this 50g bar. I would not mind paying for a bar or two the first time but have to reconsider a next time. There is definitely a lot of room for improvement for this chocolate if they want to get to the level of the Auros and Malagos chocolates.

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Chocolates from Bicol

Traveling through NAIA Terminal 2, I was browsing the shelves of the duty free store there and found these chocolates from the Bicol Region. Bicol, of course, is located in the eastern part of the country and mostly is on the island of Luzon. The provinces comprising the region are Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, and the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate.

An assortment of dark chocolates from Mayon Gold

They also have the larger boxes featuring the pili nut, which is probably among the products Bicol is known for. The pili is supposed to be endemic to the region and is not usually found elsewhere in the country.

Variants with turmeric and ginger, and chili. Bicol is also well known for food using chili and coconut milk (gata). They also have the 100% dark chocolate but I thought these were more suitable for cooking or perhaps crushed and toppings for dessert like ice cream.

Pilinut cruch and 90% dark chocolates

I will write a review of the chocolates I bought after we've eaten them. I did not buy the turmeric and chili variants as well as the dark chocolates with more than 80% cacao (too strong or bitter from my experience). But the quality of their 60% and 76% cacao chocolates should suffice in comparing them with the Auro and Malagos chocolates that I think stand out among Philippine chocolates.

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Street food in Bangkok

The trip last Holy Week holidays to Bangkok provided us with new experiences especially for our daughter. It was her first time in Thailand so she enjoyed the travel including our trip to an elephant sanctuary outside of Bangkok. While in Bangkok, we also tried some streetfood. I remember buying some snacks and fruits before during previous trips to Bangkok. This was the first time I got something to eat for breakfast or morning snacks.

Chicken or duck on display at a streetside shop in Bangkok

I saw this vendor from the local coffee shop where the wife was buying some coffee. He's grilling and selling what appears to be a familiar food.

This turned out to be what we would call a variant of kakanin or rice cakes.

The vendor

Deep fried bread like the donuts you can buy at the market but without the sugar coating.

The vendors have Buddhist monks as 'suki' or regular customers.

Deep fried delicacy fresh from the street vendor that morning.

The rice cake to me was a bigger version and serving of what we typically call 'tupig'. This made my day as part of my breakfast and went really well with my hot chocolate.

 

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