Elusive Mayon Volcano, Part 1

When we arrived at Daraga Airport, we knew that we could not get a view of Mayon Volcano. There was supposed to be an excellent view at Daraga Airport (Bicol International Airport) but the inclement weather meant clouds everywhere and covering the volcano. 

After having a late lunch, our friend drove us to one of the vantage points for the volcano. Somewhere in the middle of vast rice fields was an unfinished road project where we could have had a nice view of Mayon. Unfortunately, Mayon didn't show itself that afternoon.

A friend described this project as a road to nowhere. There is a roundabout with the image of Our Lady and nothing else. Mayon Volcano was supposed to be a backdrop for this photo if it were visible.

You can only see the base of the volcano in this photo. The inclement weather made sure the volcano is covered by clouds.

More on Mayon Volcano in the next posts!

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Gourmet tinapa from Bicol

The hotel where we stayed at was selling bottles of gourmet tinapa. You can get something like these at the supermarket just like the bottled sardines. But there is always something about local bottled products like these that I like to take home as souvenirs. I did so for Alavar Spanish Sardines from Zamboanga and Victorias sardines from Negros Occidental. And so I instantly had interest in the gourmet tinapa at the hotel.

Tinapa is actually a generic word for smoked food (from tapa). In this case, it is the fish, which is likely to be herring or sardine.

There are two variants - the regular one and the extra spicy

This was a product of another Albay town to the west of Legazpi City and beside Donsol, Sorsogon. Donsol, of course, is famous for whale shark watching.

I got four bottles of the gourmet tinapa - two of each of the regular and spicy variants. We've opened a bottle of the regular one after some craving on my part. The tinapa in corn oil was really good. You can enjoy it for any meal with rice (breakfast, lunch or dinner). I thought it can also go well with pasta. I would surely get a few bottles the next time I see these.

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A very late lunch at Four Seasons, Legazpi City

Our flight to Daraga, Albay was delayed for about 1.5 hours. Instead of arriving at 1PM, we arrived around 2:30PM. Our friend picked us up at the airport and we dropped off our bags at the hotel before heading out for a late lunch, which we enjoyed at 3:30PM. He took us to Four Seasons in downtown Legazpi where we could have a nice meal enjoying catch-up kwentuhan over Chinese food.

Our friend took us to the Four Seasons restaurant in downtown Legazpi for a very late lunch.

There were few customers when we arrived. Some eventually trickled in as it was actually merienda time when we had our 'lunch'.

Their special Seasons Chicken

Seafoods with century egg soup - perfect for rainy days

Chopsuey guisado

Yang chow rice

Needless to say but we had a great time catching up on current events and reminiscing about college life at UP Diliman. Nothing like the combination of good food and good company to brighten up a gloomy, rainy day.

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Bicolano food for dinner

On our first night in Legazpi, we decided to eat at the hotel. The weather was really bad and we didn't feel like heading out. We didn't have our own transport so we figured we were better off having dinner at the hotel instead of spending time waiting for a ride and travel. The hotel's kitchen did not disappoint and we had a very good meal after ordering Bicol dishes for dinner. Consider this sampler of Bicol dishes: Pinangat, Bicol Express and Adobo sa gata.

The hotel's version of bicol express had pineapples

The hotel's version of pinangat

Adobong manok sa gata

More on our Bicol trip in the next posts!

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Guinobatan Longganisa

A close friend had told me about the longganisa (local sausage) in Bicol, particularly the one from Guinobatan, Albay. The real deal was supposed to be 100% fatty and used intestines. The regular variant you can get at restaurants or eateries are usually a mix of fat and laman (meat). And then there's a special variant that's mostly meat and lean (not so fatty). As like other longganisa, these are fried and for the Guinobatan longganisa, to a crisp.

Guinobatan longganisa for brunch (longsilog)

We had our brunch at Dad's in Camalig, Albay. This was after a quick tour of Cagsawa in Daraga town where we had hoped to see Mayon Volcano in her full glory. This meal had to be one highlight, food-wise, of my recent travel to Legazpi. I thought that Guinobatan Longganisa quickly came up my rankings for longganisa. My only regret is that I couldn't bring some home as I didn't find ones that were packed, frozen and ready to take home.

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Lunch at Elephant Grounds, The Podium

We originally wanted to have some ramen at The Podium but ended up having lunch at a cafe we haven't eaten at. From the menu, we thought they were more a coffee or merienda place but they did have some interesting meals that convinced us to eat there.

Truflle fries

Karaage don - a nice kinda fusion take on a classic Japanese dish

I wasn't able to take a photo of the hamburger the wife ordered but assure that it was good. I also wasn't able to take a photo of the gyudon our daughter ordered but since she finished her food, it means she liked it. I thought the karaage don was excellent and enjoyed this lunch. The cafe adds to our options of places to eat at whenever we are at The Podium.

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On stray dogs in the neighborhood

There are many stray dogs in our village right now. Many are dogs left by construction workers who raised them from puppies when their projects were starting and then left the dogs when the projects were completed. Other dogs are actually attributable to informal settlers in the periphery of the village (gillage - "sa gilid ng village") who typically leave their dogs to mate and multiply. There are also dogs that are let out by their owners to do their stuff (defecate and urinate) so they don't have to clean up after their so-called pets. All these dogs just roam the village and cause trouble in the form of poop on the roads, sidewalks and gardens, and spilled garbage from bins they manage to topple.

Strays at one village corner

More strays

 

While there has been initiatives to drive them away or even capture them (c/o the barangay and the city), these appear to be unsuccessful as the same dogs are still very much around. While it may be humane to feed them, that means tolerating their presence and nuisance in the neighborhood. What can be done to address this concern without hurting these dogs?

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Venchi at the Podium, Ortigas Center

The first Venchi store in the Philippines opened recently at The Podium in Ortigas Center. The last time we enjoyed Venchi was in Singapore in 2023. We had ice cream and I purchased a few bars of chocolate that we've consumed by now. It's good to have a Venchi branch here at least for when one has a craving for really good chocolates and have the budget for it.

Venchi store at The Podium

There were long lines before at the store as people bought mostly ice cream. I thought that while they had really good gelato, the other restaurants at The Podium weren't far behind in quality and were less pricey. The next time we were there, the line for the ice cream was shorter and there were a few looking at the chocolates but I saw none actually buy some. Yes, their chocolates were a bit pricey so you really had to be a serious chocolate lover or perhaps thinking of gifting chocolates to someone dear to purchase some.

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Chocolate review: Hawaiian Host Founder's Collection Dark Chocolate covered macadamia

I have a backlog of chocolate reviews not because I've slowed down in sampling, buying and eating chocolates but because there are other things to write about. Since today is Valentine's Day, I decided to mark this date with a post on chocolate.

We got this box of Hawaiian Host chocolates as a pasalubong last May 2024 and kept it on reserve for a few weeks before opening the box.

The dark chocolate variant of Hawaiian Host's chocolate cover macadamia nuts

Details at the back of the box included a brief history of the chocolate covered macadamias.

Nutrition information

Expiration date and ingredients - We ate this way before the 'Best Before' date. There is no information on the minimum cacao content of the chocolate.

When you open the box and slide the tray, there is still this cover to protect the chocolates.

Each chocolate sits on a slot. Without the cover, they can easily get dislodged.

We enjoyed eating this. The less expensive but usually available at supermarkets are the milk chocolate and dark chocolate variants of chocolate covered macadamias from Meiji. I thought Hawaiian host is just a bit better than Meiji's but you won't really be able to tell the difference when you're eating them. Will I be buying this soon? Maybe, but there is no urgency given there are many other chocolates out there to enjoy.

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Scallop King from Ramen Nagi

We sort of had a lot of ramen last January. It was the birthday month of the wife and daughter so we took advantage of the birthday promo at Ramen Nagi to enjoy their ramen. A basic rule is to have two companions pay regular on their order of ramen. Proof of the birth date is requested from the celebrant so be sure to bring a valid ID to avail of the promo. In one of those dinners at the restaurant, I ordered this special ramen that was on limited offer. I wanted to try something new and different from the usual Butao I order for my meal.

Scallop King featured a lot of scallops and a broth thick with what looked like powdered nori.

I remember the shots they usually took of food in Japanese TV programs to show how delicious the food would look like. This was an attempt to do something like that. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to include the smoke from the ramen as I lifted the noodles for the photo.

This is one of the best ramen's I've had. My only 'complaint' if I can call it that is that the soup or broth is quite thick that you get quite full even before finishing the bowl. So a recommendation to those trying this ramen to eat your noodles and scallop first before indulging in the broth.

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Paalam Nay Paring, October 24, 1928 to February 1, 2024

Last February 1, 2024, a beloved aunt passed away. She was 95 years old. She had been ill for quite some time and in her old age had become senile. I was sad the last time I saw her and she could no longer recognize me. Nay Paring was my companion for several trips via sea when I traveled back to Manila from Iloilo during my childhood years when I took vacations in Cabatuan. We always took a Negros Navigation vessel in those days. She was like a mother to me along with Nay Nene who passed away in March 2017.

This weekend marks the anniversary of her passing and burial. The last surviving sibling is my father. Tatay traveled to Iloilo yesterday to join our relatives including my cousin who is the only surviving child (Manong Joam is the eldest of two brothers but the younger Manong Edgar passed away about 3 decades ago.) in celebrating Nay Paring's life. While I was not able to join them, I look forward to visiting Cabatuan on my own like I did last year.

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Enjoying a Zamboanga treat -- Knickerbocker at Max's

We had Sunday lunch out a couple of weeks ago and decided to eat at Max's. We had not been to a Max's restaurant for a while and we usually ordered chicken from KFC or Kenny Roger's so it was nice to be seated and be able to order and enjoy their fried chicken plus other items of their more diverse menu. Upon dessert time, I was pleasantly surprised they had this classic Zamboanga treat in their menu alongside the typical halu-halo, leche flan and buko pandan.

Max's version of the Knickerbocker

Their Knickerbocker is really good and I thought was better than their halu-halo. I'm looking forward to the next visit to Max's to order this again for dessert.

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Looking for a comet after sunset

I was looking forward to catching a glimpse of a comet that's supposed to be visible to the naked eye after sunset. Unfortunately, the weather had not cooperated and it was usually cloudy during and after sunset when the comet was supposed to be most visible. Still, the sunset provided this splendid cityscape.

The photo was taken from one of the remaining vantage points from our village. Soon, the place may no longer accessible. I saw the adjacent lot was already being cleared and probably for construction of a new house.

 

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Do It Yourself (DIY) Krapao

I bought a pack of Krapao mix last April when we were in Bangkok. I finally was able to prepare the Krapao last December for one of our dinners during the break.

I got this pack from the airport prior to our travel back from Bangkok last April.

We just followed the instructions for cooking the Krapao. I made sure we had all the ingredients.

The result was actually good (not to be too proud of it) as we all enjoyed this for dinner.

And so I asked my brother to get me a few packs of Krapao mix when he traveled to Bangkok last December. I now have my Krapao mix to satisfy my cravings for what is probably my favorite Thai food.

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Morning photos at the marina

Last December, I was a bit early for an event at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). The venue was a bit far from home and even on a Saturday, it tool more than an hour to get there. And so I usually factor that distance and left early so I won't be late for the event. We arrived early as traffic was light and there was more than enough time to have a decent meal in the area. We decided to stop by the Harbor Center where I knew we can get a nice breakfast (we only had our hot drinks when we left our house). While waiting for our food, I took the opportunity to take the following photos.

Various vessels at the Manila Yacht Club. The conditions that morning gave a mirror image of the buildings and boats. It was cool but not windy or breezy so as to cause ripples in the water.

These sailboats were probably the same ones I also saw around the same time last year.

I was wondering if this was one of those migratory birds that were typically in the country while it was winter wherever they came from.

 

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Ice cream from Cabanatuan City

We enjoyed this ice cream from an small company out of Cabanatuan City last Christmas Day. It was my sister who discovered the ice cream as she shared that her staff were the ones who 'discovered' this.

Six flavors in 6 pints that my brother ordered for our dessert last Christmas Day

Puno's Ice Cream is from Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija

I liked best the Avocado Macapuno and the Salted Caramel Pretzel flavors. I tasted the others, too, and they are okay including the Coffee Crumble that I would have likely to rate as my number 1. That doesn't take away the pleasure of enjoying these frozen delights from Cabanatuan via a store in Marikina.

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Pine trees from Benguet

Our souvenirs from our recent trip to Baguio included a couple of plants, trees to be exact. I was already eyeing the plant shops along Marcos Highway when we came upon a small one by the roadside in Tuba. This wasn't one of those more commercialized shops but rather a house selling some fruits, vegetables and plants. Another vehicle stopped ahead of us but I got to the shop first to inquire about the pine tree saplings on display. The other guy inquired if the trees could grow in Bulacan. The lady selling them replied that they will with proper care. Bulacan, of course, is in Central Luzon and mostly plains, and therefore was of a much lower elevation than Baguio or Tuba where these trees have thrived. I thought if they can grow in Bulacan then they will definitely survive in Antipolo, us residing in the upper part of the city.

And so I ended up getting a couple of pines to take home. Here they are:

The pine tree saplings the morning after we returned from Baguio.

This is before we transferred them to pots. These are not the actual pots as we bought larger ones. We plan to grow them there and perhaps have them as a sort of bonsai at home.

 

We actually have 3 pine trees in pots near our front door. These have not grown taller than our garage ceiling. I assume that keeping them in pots over 10 years have stunted their growth at least in terms of height. We hope to have similar results with the two we got from Benguet.

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Salad suggestions for lettuce and strawberries

We had enough lettuce and strawberries to have them for salads with our lunches and dinners for several days after we returned from Baguio. Here are some of the salads we enjoyed this first week of January.

Coral lettuce and strawberries from La Trinidad, Benguet

Lettuce and strawberries with cantaloupe melon

Lettuce and strawberries with Fuji apples

I usually eat my salads without any dressing but if I did use dressing, I would usually go for balsamic vinaigrette or sesame soy dressing.

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Salad ingredients from La Trinidad, Benguet

We decided to go to the Strawberry Farms in La Trinidad, Benguet. The last time we've been here was in 2017 when our daughter was 3 years old. She didn't have a good memory of that trip and wanted to go to see for herself the farms. She was also eager to get some strawberries and eat strawberry flavored taho there after we related to her that she like strawberry taho when she first tasted this 7 years ago.

The Strawberry Farms are in La Trinidad, which is the capital of Benguet province and just next to Baguio City. The farmers are assisted by Benguet State University, which is just across the national highway from the farms.

Rows of strawberries and lettuce are planted side by side in La Trinidad.

Newly packed strawberries

Farmers packing the strawberries before selling taking them to stores for selling.

Farmer selling lettuce at the farm

Lettuce soon to be harvested

We ended up getting lettuce and strawberries for us and my parents. We requested the farmers to separate the strawberries that we can already enjoy while in Baguio and packs to bring back to Antipolo. I will post about the salads we've been having the past week that were mostly composed of the lettuce and strawberries from our recent trip.

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