Mango and sticky rice from Thailand

My brother traveled to Thailand and arrived before New Year's eve. I asked him to get me some mango sticky rice at the airport. I knew this delicacy was available at Suvarnabhumi Airport and if properly handled will survive the trip back to Manila. Instead of buying just one though, my brother got three packs.

Three packs of mango & sticky rice from Bangkok

This is the regular variety with white sticky rice.

This one's got pandan flavored rice.

And this one's got taro-flavored rice.

I ate the pandan stick rice pack first and enjoyed this as my New Year's Eve dinner.

The pack comes with pinipig (or rice crisps) and sweetened coconut milk.

As I could not finish all 3 and I estimated they will probably spoil soon, I shared the other packs with our staff as it seemed I was the only one in our family who enjoyed the mango and sticky rice. I usually order this as dessert whenever I'm in other Southeast Asian cities. We have our version here and usually with 'suman' but its 'biko' that should be the equivalent of the sticky rice as shown in the photos above.

-

New Year 2025 Smog

We woke up to a thick smog yesterday. The smog is a product of the New Year fireworks the night before and the rains and clouds brought about a shear line and the inter-tropical convergence zone currently affecting the Philippines.

The view from our extension deck

The view at street level at 6:30AM

The smog persisted until the noon time. I advised our staff to wear masks in order to reduce their ingestion of the polluted air. I myself canceled my usual walk and mid-morning could feel a slight sting to my eyes when I did some work at the garden. We had to get the air circulating inside the house with our fans as we also had to open windows for ventilation.

-

Binge watching: Midnight Diner

Last Christmas eve and New Year's eve, I was binge watching on Netflix. Perhaps among my favorite series is another one I discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic along with Ted Lasso, which I like to rewatch. Midnight Diner is about a small restaurant in the Shinjuku District of Tokyo that's open only late nights to the early morning (hence the title). The central character is the owner, "Master", who only has few items on his menu but will make whatever you request He has some regular patrons; various characters including a bar owner/manager, a photographer, a group of single women, several salary-men, policemen, a sports enthusiast, a stripper, a mysterious fellow (who's usually cracking nuts or eggshells) and Yakuza gangsters. Each episode features a new or old patron with their favorite meals. The stories often are about their meals, why they eat them, why they like them, what they associate the food with. The Master has a soft spot for those who are often underdogs or who experience hardships or challenges with their personal lives.

Screenshot of the two series currently on Netflix but is said to be gone soon

It is easy to identify or associate with one or more of the characters in the series. Perhaps my familiarity with Japan adds to my connection with the series and its characters. Midnight Diner is probably among my current top five together with Seinfeld, Frasier, For All Mankind, and Ted Lasso. Sadly, it is supposed to end its run on Netflix so I am rewatching the series maybe for the last time at least on this platform.

-