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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