Marikina footwear at an OTOP shop at Ayala Feliz

Our Christmas shopping brought us to Ayala Feliz. There we found an OTOP (one town, one product) shop selling mainly footwear made in Marikina City. Marikina, of course, was and is well-known for shoes and sandals made in the city. They were handmade and popular because of their quality including their durability. Here are some photos of the shop.

These men's shoes are on sale. I inspected the shoes and they're made of genuine leather, and the stitching was of high quality. I was informed these were handmade and not the mass produced type.

Various footwear and bags made in Marikina are available in this OTOP store.

Products are from various micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME's) in Marikina. Many are of familiar styles like loafers, dress shoes, boots and topsiders.

The prices are very reasonable and actually inexpensive if you compare these to the more established and commercial brands.

 

The wife and I bought a few pairs as gifts and for ourselves. I will write about these in future articles. So far, I've worn the pair of driving shoes I bought almost immediately after I bought them. It was comfy so far but that was only last Monday. I have yet to use the pair on a more regular basis. I've bought a pair of leather shoes many years ago in a shoe bazaar at Marikina City Hall. They were a good fit but I found the cushion to be an issue. My feet hurt after half a day of using the shoes for my daily office routine. And I ended up using it sparingly when I need to wear them instead of my usual sports or driving shoes. The jury is still out there with this new pair.

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Comfort food breakfast at Pancake House

We were very early for an event I was attending last December 21 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) so we decided to have a quick breakfast at the Harbor Center. I knew that the Pancake House branch there was already open and already knew what I would have.

Waffle and country sausage for a quick breakfast

This is probably my go-to meal at Pancake House. I actually prefer the cheese waffle that used to be on the menu. Some branches still oblige my request if ever I ordered the cheese waffle. Last Saturday, however, the staff were a bit direct when they said they don't have it so I didn't push. The NAIA T3, The Medical City and Sun Valley branches usually accommodate my order. I have to see if other branches will indulge me for this. :)

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Maligayang Pasko ngayong 2024!

It's been a challenging year for many especially those who were affected by the various calamities - natural or man-made. We've had typhoons, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions this 2024. There were also fires, epidemics, crashes, and other incidents that caused so many fatalities and injuries that were life-changing or altering. And yet there are still so much we should be thankful for. We should count our blessings and never lose hope that things will be better, that we will soon get a break from these challenges. While we continue to pray for forgiveness, healing, wisdom and prosperity, we should also strive to live as a light for others!

Maligayang Pasko!

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Lunch at Tim Ho Wan

This is actually from an old draft from before the pandemic. I assume there hasn't been much change in the menu. We had this lunch at Tim Ho Wan at the Uptown Mall in BGC after what was probably an event there. I took these photos of the food we ordered and ate. At the time, Tim Ho Wan had just opened their branches in Metro Manila and it was difficult to get a table (one had to line up and there were long lines during lunch time). It was similar to when Din Tai Fung also opened their initial branches. Fortunately, we were able to get a table fast as we had a late lunch.

Steamed shrimp dumplings (hakaw)

Rice with chicken, sausage and mushroom

Steamed spinach dumplings

Pork buns

Braised beef over noodles

Pork siomai

 

I cannot remember exactly how the food was but we enjoyed our lunch. Later, in Singapore last year, we also ate at a Tim Ho Wan near our hotel. We found the menu to be somewhat limited compared to the branches in Manila. Perhaps the ones in Singapore were like express ones? This was certainly not the sit-down restaurants in Manila.

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Chocolate review: Wawel Dark 70% cocoa

I interrupt the Baguio articles with this post on a chocolate I purchased at Clark. We haven't been to Clark for some time as well. The last time would also be before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Puregold store is still there and we got a few items including chocolates and juices. I got a few bars of this chocolate that turned out to be from Poland.

Wawel had this 70% dark chocolate that was an easy pick for me over the milk chocolate variants that were also available.

Details on the chocolate at the back of the packaging.

This chocolate is manufactured in Krakow, Poland. The name Wawel actually refers to 

The chocolate claims to have a minimum of 70% cocoa or cacao solids.

The chocolate was surprisingly smooth and more on the bitter side rather than sweet. We thought this was good to pair with some cheese (we got some sharp cheddar to eat with this), and eat with some nice wine after dinner. I will definitely get some more of this the next time we are in Clark.

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Closed - Mile High Outlet shops in Baguio

What was the Mile High Outlet shops at Camp John Hay in Baguio City closed. I just found out for myself while taking my morning walk last week. Here are some photos of what was a shopping and dining option in Baguio.

What was once a vibrant commercial area is now like a ghost town.

Mile High used to be lined with shops and restaurants that people go to and out of their way as this is located in Camp John Hay.

The place is practically deserted and cordoned off. The van's driver probably is resting here after a long drive and waiting for his passengers who could be having breakfast somewhere.

Took this photo of one of the horses headed to the horseback riding area beside our hotel

I assume there is another one like this somewhere in the city. Down the road from the place is a techno hub that also has restaurants and shops. It's a newer place with familiar restaurants and shops. Mile High probably was a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.There are many other options so its closure is not a total loss.

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Stopover tupig in Pangasinan

Tupig is a rice cake delicacy you'd find in many places. Made from glutinous rice, coconut milk and (prefereably) muscovado sugar, its origins are supposed to be the Ilocano provinces as well as Tarlac. On our stopover at Sison, Pangasinan the stop had a tupig station. I wanted to buy some but unfortunately, it was still a couple of hours on our way to Baguio and dinner was also waiting for us at the hotel. I didn't like my tupig to be cold or eaten the next day without being heated.

This tupig is branded to be identified with the province.

Tupig fresh from the grill

I will return to Baguio very soon and perhaps will be able to get some tupig on the way back home.

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Back in Baguio after 8 years

I'm back in Baguio City after more than 8 years. We vacationed here in June of 2016 when my brother-in-law was visiting with his wife after not being able to come home for many years after he emigrated to Canada. So we took advantage to take a break from work and typical daily routines. This time, I am in Baguio for work again. All of my previous trips here were work trips whether these were for workshops or for projects. My first project after graduation was here for the city's first flyover that eased travel to and from La Trinidad. That's a story for another article that I hope to be able to write in much detail one day.

Here are some nice night shots of the surrounding area from the balcony of our room at the Le Monet Hotel:

We are staying in the Camp John Hay area so the surrounding forest is still preserved.

The photos were taken with the night mode of my iPhone. I thought they were pretty decent shots considering the lack of lighting.

I will share more photos I took around our hotel, which is near The Manor. I already took some walks and got to take photos of the area including The Manor.

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A vintage Ricoh World Timer

There are a few watches that I consider to be like grail watches. These are not luxury watches that I cannot afford in the first place but certain models that are within reach if reasonably priced. These include the Vulcain Cricket (I currently have two), LeCoultre's PowerMatic and FutureMatic (I have one each), Seiko GS and KS watches (I have a few of each), vintage Glashutte divers (I have two), and Philippine Edition watches from Seiko (I have all with the exception of the last one that was supposed to have been inspired by the Banaue Rice Terraces. The latter's design just wasn't my type.).

A rare Ricoh World Timer automatic watch

Side view

Side view showing the unsigned crowns and date adjustment button. The crown at 4 o'clock is for adjusting the time while the crown at 2 o'clock is for adjusting the inner bezel. The first variants of the watch had signed crowns (R).

Case back - the first variants of this watch had a mispelled 'Warld Timer'

Close up of the dial and the outer bezel. Note the Japan and model number indicated above the 6 o'clock. Notable, too, is the 'Manil' beside H.K., making this one of a few world time watches (vintage or non-vintage) featuring Manila on the bezel. This is actually one of the reasons I considered this a collectible.

Another close-up showing the raised R and printed Ricoh below the 12 o'clock. Other models have the R printed and the Ricoh raised.

Wrist shot - I replaced the old strap the watch came with with a rally strap from Hirsch.

Wrist shot after I changed the strap. I thought he rally strap from Hirsch was suitable for this big watch.

 

Wrist shot - the first time I wore the watch, I decided to use it almost everyday for a week straight. It ran continuously and kept decent time, losing only 1 minute over about 3 days.

I did my research on this watch before I finally pulled the proverbial trigger. I am very happy to have acquired one in good condition. It is not mint and you will probably be suspicious if you one that is claimed to be like new or new old stock. 

 

Perhaps on top of my list now is an Enicar Sherpa. I saw a few ones on sale but they were priced beyond my budget.

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Pasta or noodle sauce from Japan?

I was looking for some pepperoncino pasta sauce but the Japanese and other Asian stores do not carry or are out of stock. My brother checked out a store near his workplace that he said had a good selection of products from Japan and got me a couple of packs. One of them is this sauce packet from Yamasa. While it looks like tomato based meat sauce for pasta, it is actually for udon.

Sauce from Yamasa

Details on the sauce at the back. There is no English translation so I had to dig deep in trying to understand how this sauce was used and for what recipes.

The pasta came out to be on the spicy side. We used linguini instead of spaghetti. And no, we had no udon at home so we improvised with pasta as substitute for udon.

 

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Ishiya Shiroi Koibito

One of my guilty pleasures will have to be something I started enjoying while in Japan. My first taste of Shiroi Koibito (White Sweetheart) was probably a souvenir from a friend who traveled to Hokkaido in northern Japan. These where white chocolate sandwiched by a couple of biscuits (butter cookies to others). Later, I discovered they also had the more typical chocolate instead of the white that defined the "White" part of the name of this product.

The packaging is practically the same as I remember from over 25 years ago when I first tasted this treat. I placed a pen beside the box as reference to its size.

Details on the chocolate at the back of the package. Since this was sold in Bangkok, Thailand, there is already an English translation. I thought perhaps there is none in the ones sold in Japan.

Unwrapping the box shows a more familiar design.

Opening the box reveals 24 pieces of dark and white chocolate varieties of this favorite of mine. There is also a picture of what the biscuit looks like.

Whenever I go to Japan, Singapore or Bangkok, I try to get a box of these to take home. There are Tokyu stores in Bangkok and Takashimaya in Singapore where I can get Shiroi Koibito. So far, I have not found a store that sells this in the Philippines.

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