Aglio Olio at The French Baker

We had an early dinner today at The French Baker. My daughter loves their soup in a bread bowl so that was what she had. There's a new item in their menu though and that is the aglio olio. They have two choices on the menu - one with chicken and another with shrimp. I tried the one with chicken and it was really good.

The French Baker's aglio olio with chicken includes cherry tomatoes and garlic bread on the side

The chicken was right on the button so to speak and my daughter who got some was definitely pleased with her portions of the pasta. I will try the version with the shrimp the next time we have a meal there.

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Lunch at Gaisano food court

On some trips, we don't have the luxury of time to have a meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) at one of the recommended restaurants in the area. Some times, you just want a quick meal, even from a mall. Fortunately, in our recent trip to Davao, there was a mall near our hotel. Instead of going to a restaurant there, we decided to have lunch at the food court.

The selection from one stall alone is excellent. Others have similar if not more variety. There are, of course, others that are more specialized like one offering Korean food and another lechon.

I got some comfort food for lunch - tolang isda and giniling na may patatas at carrots.

The tolang malasugi was really good! The taste brings back happy memories of travels to the provinces.

We had good meals at the mall's food court. These were relatively cheap compared to if we ate at a restaurant. They sure beat fast-food in terms of quality and taste. Of course, this is not always the case as other malls might have anchor tenants for their food courts.

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On abandoned watch restoration projects

The past month, I was able to unload a couple of watches that I initially bought to restore them. Both were collectible models but I had to eventually unload both as I couldn't find time and the parts to restore them to the condition that would satisfy me. Restoration here doesn't mean making them look new because that would mean I had to get aftermarket parts to replace the originals. The collector in me didn't want that and I've always held that vintage watches lose value if they were mostly composed of aftermarket replacements.

This Seiko 6119-7173 Sports Rally was in decent condition as far as the dial, hands and case were concerned. The movement was also original - running well and keeping time. It was a reliable piece as far as telling time was concerned.

The main issue was an incorrect case back. This meant the back was probably lost and replaced by something that resembled the original watch. The value for this watch was significantly less than if all parts were original and correct.

I also acquired this 5126, which is another collectible 'rally' model thinking only the dial needed some work (don't need to do a full restoration that will involved replacing original parts) but the movement had some trouble so I also decided to unload this.

This watch had its original case including the back. Unfortunately, having a bad movement was a no-no for me considering my experience in trying to get parts for vintage watches.

 

I still have other watches needing some work but for now they will probably be retained. These include a several Seiko 6138's like one bullhead and a sliderule. Again, its the parts that are difficult to get despite some help from my go-to watch repairman. More on this in future posts.

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Lunch at Ma Mon Luk

Coming from UST, we decided to have lunch somewhere along the way home. For some reason, the wife and I though about Ma Mon Luk, which was just along Quezon Avenue. Both of us had not eaten there despite frequently passing the area. Since we had a driver, we didn't have to worry about parking (parking was limited to maybe 4 or 5 slots in front of the restaurant).

Ma Mon Luk has a very simple menu. Don't look for fancy stuff here.

The interior looks like a flashback to old times. There's no aircon. The furniture is probably what was there since the 1970s or 1980s.

Ma Mon Luk's original mami is the go to item here

Their siomai are bigger than the average siomai. We almost couldn't finish the two orders of two pieces of siomai each.

You can't say you went to Ma Mon Luk without having the other iconic item on their menu - their siopao.

They serve extra soup in case you're able to finish the soup in the mami you ordered.

There have been lots of stories about the restaurant and certainly you've heard or read about the urban legends that have circulated about it. The negative stories are false and you should try to eat there. Are the noodles (mami) the level of the Japanese ramen that you now find all around? It is not. You go here certainly not for ambiance but to have that filling, satisfying meal that tastes like it was home-cooked. I think that's what people go there for especially those who value not just the nostalgia but the taste of a home-cooked meal.

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A quick visit to the University of Sto. Tomas (UST)

We were at the University of Sto. Tomas last Saturday to attend the recital of our daughter's voice teacher. I have not been to the UST campus along Espana for maybe almost two decades.

The main building that houses the admin offices and the UST Museum

Museum lobby featuring paintings with Roman Catholic themes such as the Crucifixion of Christ

The museum has many old art work such as paintings that have darkened over time.

The venue for the recital is the section where the museum holds its taxidermy collection.

The number of species of birds, mammals, reptiles and marine animals preserved here is impressive.

Our daughter was much amused to see the items on display around us. Here she is during the break at the recital. Note the various fishes at the lower display.

Different kinds of turtles including those often referred to simply as pawikan.

Saltwater crocodile, reticulated python and other reptiles were also there.

I took a photo of this map showing the locations of national cultural treasures and important cultural properties in the Philippines.

The statues of saints atop the building stand as if they were sentinels.

These statues were witnesses to a lot of events including those during the Second World War.

If these statues can only speak then we will have much to document and add to written history.

Despite its location and the pressures of development, UST maintains green spaces including its Open Field. The campus provides the remaining wide green spaces in this part of Manila. If you look at the map of the Sampaloc District and its adjacent areas, most are practically built up.

The previous photo and this shows Plaza de Benavides, which I think serves as the campus' lungs. It may also be the lungs of the district and a big part of the U-Belt.

It would be nice to go to UST again sometime soon and to see the collections in their museum. Aside from religious artifacts, there should be more to see and marvel at the museum. UST, after all, is the oldest university this side of the world. And they would have been collecting stuff for hundreds of years of their existence.

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Chocolate review: revisiting the Malagos 72% Dark Chocolate

A trip to Davao will not be complete without getting chocolates from there. As I've written before, Davao produces what are arguably the best chocolates of single origin cacao in the country. Malagos, I think, led the pack in making really high quality chocolates that are comparable with the established ones from abroad especially from Europe. They've also won many awards for their chocolates, which are testaments to their quality. Here's one of the few variants they have of their chocolates:

Malagos 72% Dark Chocolate is for me the best among their chocolates. It is just the right blend of sweet and bitter.

Details on the chocolate at the back of the packaging.

Details about the cacao used in the production

Nutrition information as well as information on the manufacturer. Malagos actually refers to a Barangay in Davao City.

While Malagos has maintained its high quality chocolates, they have produced fewer variants compared to what I think is their closest competitor (if you can call it that) in the Philippines. Auro chocolates seems to be more aggressive in producing variants and have caught up with Malagos in terms of the quality of the chocolates. Of course, this is still very positive and excellent in terms of the collective direction of Philippine chocolates. Everyone ultimately benefits from the healthy competition and these two should be the benchmark for other Philippine companies that have gone into chocolates.

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What to bring home from Davao? Seafood!

We had a great time dining at a friend's place in Obrero and ended up ordering tuna and pompano to bring back to Manila. There were many of us so we ended up with 20kg of tuna and 20kg of pompano to be split up among more than 10 people. Note to those who want to bring seafood from Davao and other cities - do have them packed well and placed inside styro boxes that you must seal to make sure any liquid (water and others) will not seep out of the box. This is true whether you're checking-in a big amount or just a small package with a few items.

Tuna is very much in demand and costs perhaps 1/2 or 1/3 of the prices in Metro Manila. This tuna panga was priced at

Pompano is also much in demand as you can cook it many ways. These cost also 1/2 or 1/3 of the prices in Metro Manila.

As it is only a week since our return from Davao, I'm not sure if my colleagues have already cooked their share of the fish. We certainly did last weekend when we grilled some of the tuna panga for Sunday lunch. I didn't get pompano as this was coveted by most and I also had my source of pompano at the Antipolo Market. Nevertheless, I think my colleagues are planning to order these on a more regular basis but they have to go through the freight terminal, flown in perhaps on a morning flight and picked up by someone at the terminal. Of course, we are already looking forward to the next trip to Davao and bring home more of these fresh seafood.

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Back in Davao (since 2023)

I was back in Davao last week after 1.5 years. That time I attended a convention and had, on the side, a meeting in UP Mindanao. We had a tight schedule so I didn't have time to go around. This time it was all about UP Mindanao and the programs we were establishing there. And we had some time to go around so I did so given the opportunity to take my usual walks in the places I go to.

Arriving at the baggage claim area

There were only 2 carousels for arriving passengers on domestic flights.

Our group had to wait for our checked-in luggage to come out after our flight was delayed for about an hour.

Hotel counter at the airport

I will be posting soon about many things from this trip including the night market and the food. 

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Onigiri dinner at Botejyu

I wrote recently about onigiri and that I usually bought them for lunch when I was a student in Japan. Here is a recent light dinner I had at Botejyu. It is much satisfying to me and I will probably order this if I am not so hungry.

Botejyu's version of the tuna onigiri

A close-up of what is regarded as Japan's version of the sandwich

 

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Walking around Cagsawa

I just recently arrived from a trip to Davao City. But before I post something about the Davao trip, I might as well post this one about our travel to Legazpi last February. I still have a lot of material on that trip but the following photos taken at Cagsawa are

Souvenir shops greet the arriving visitors

A view of the cone of Mayon Volcano was elusive the whole time we were in Bicol. Here is our first view of the ruins of the church.

This was supposed to be the spot where you can get an excellent postcard shot of Mayon Volcano.

There are many covered seating areas for visitors. This is good to have areas that provide shade from the sun or protection from rain. Bicol, after all, is usually rainy so covered areas benefit visitors.

A closer look at the remaining bell tower of an old church. Recently, there have been posts clarifying that this church was abandoned rather than buried by lava from the volcano. We were taught as schoolchildren about these being the ruins of a church damaged by volcanic eruption.

What is still on the plaque should now be revised rather than maintain the myth of being buried by lava from the volcano.

The rocks around the area are probably authentic in that they may have been from one of the eruptions of the volcano. Yes, the volcano can throw up rocks with enough force to cover this distance from the volcano.

Behind the tower are other ruins of what was probably the main church building.

You don't usually see these photos

There seems to be several places for photo ops that they built in the area. There is this large statue of sili (chili) that you can use as part of the background with the volcano. Bicol food is famous for using chili and coconut.

Elusive Mt. Mayon - we could only imagine the cone that made this volcano famous

Another view of the ruins

Another view of the ruins of the bell tower from the back (facing the entrance to the area)

Another view of Mayon Volcano a few minutes after that previous photo - note some of the clouds had moved. Unfortunately for us, this remained even until our plane took off from the airport.

One underrated souvenir are volcanic rocks that you can use for exfoliation (pang hilod).

I will try to share more stories and photos from the trip to Bicol soon!

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