Reacquaintance

After what seemed like a very long day, and a literally scorching one as the summer sun continued to heat things up, it was very refreshing to finally meet a nephew I have never seen all this time. The nephew is the youngest child of my first cousin Rosario, who is the youngest child of an elder sister of my father. Tatay is turning 74 later this year and his sister, Nay Arsen (Arsenia) died a few years back at the ripe old age of 94. I think she could have been 100 this year.

My cousin Rosario (we call her Manang Ayo) studied in the same High School many of my relatives in Iloilo went to, the Cabatuan National Comprehensive High School (CNCHS), garnering the highest average any student has ever had in that school (I think the record stands to this day.). She proceeded to study at the University of San Agustin in Iloilo City and took her graduate studies at the University of the Philippines Los Banos. She eventually joined the government in what is now the Sugar Regulator Administration from which she will soon be retiring from after so many years of dedicated service to the country. 

She and her family have resided in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental where she and her husband, Manong Mike, brought up their two children, Windy and Ariel. Both children eventually studied at UPLB with Ariel being a contemporary of his uncle, my younger brother Rey. Ariel took up Veterinary Medicine while my brother was taking Biology as a pre-med course. They were both in UPLB at the time our niece Christine (Tintin) was also taking Food Technology at the same university. We were happy to know at the time (latter part of the 1990s) that they knew each other and got together every so often to exchange stories. Unfortunately, I and my sister were not able to know our nephew and so today's meeting was a breath of fresh air, particularly in a day that was quite toxic given the confluence of events after lunch.

I learned a lot today including my cousin giving particular instructions to her son that he needs to meet me and his Lolo. Apparently, Manang spoke highly of us to her children and I knew this to be, based on how my nephew related about his intent to meet up. We had a great talk and I gave him Tatay's and my brother's numbers so he could also contact them. Ariel is heading to the US to attend a conference next week and will be staying in California for a couple of weeks. He'll be visiting my parents' home when he comes back from his trip. It turns out that he is currently a tenured faculty member at the College of Veterinary Medicine at UPLB and his practice takes him to Manila quite often as he is literally a "duktor ng kabayo." He specializes on horses and most of his clients are racehorse owners. It was a pleasure exchanging notes about university life, especially from the perspective of teachers.

I look forward to a mini-reunion with them in the near future. I even had the chance to talk to Manang this evening after Ariel called her up to tell her we finally met. It is always nice and feels good to re-connect with relatives whom you seem to easily get along with. There is that light feeling to it, and inside you, you know that the person is indeed your blood and shares much of what you had learned from your parents and elders.

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Melaka Redux: Lunch at the central bus terminal

There's just so many photos taken during our trip to Melaka (just like those we took during our US trip last year) that I keep forgetting posting other highlights on this site. I'm not sure if I can call it a highlight but on our way back from Melaka, we decided to come to the Melaka Central Bus Terminal early so we could explore the area and have our lunch there as well. We ended up buying a few souvenirs including pairs of rubber sandals. Rubber, of course, happens to be of very high quality in Malaysia. I even remember some lectures during grade school where we were taught that one of the products that country was known for was rubber. It only made more sense to get something Made in Malaysia when we inspected the flip flops at one of the many stalls in the terminal and concluded they were top of the line and at very, very reasonable prices.

We eventually ended up looking for a place to eat and there were many choices with the food they offer on display much like the turu-turo eateries we have in the Philippines (there are just so many similarities among ASEAN countries). One thing we have learned from our many travels is to eat where many other people, especially the locals, eat. And so we chose one Restoran Sri Mawar Ria, whose staff got our attention as he greeted us in Filipino. Apparently, there are many Filipinos traveling to Melaka, most of whom were or are probably tourists. Many Filipinos working in Singapore, for example, travel to Malaysia for vacations, in part due to the proximity and the smooth immigration processing between the two countries. Malaysia is a Muslim country so all the food are halal. We had chicken and shrimps for our lunch and this came with soup. I opted for iced milk tea while the Clairvoyant had a Coke to wash down our meals.

Chicken and fried rice

Shrimps and fried rice

The eatery at the bus terminal where some of the staff were Filipinos via Sulu

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Comfort food - Pancake House at T3

After refraining from eating beef or pork during Lent, I had my first meal with either as I was waiting for a friend at the airport. Her delayed flight allowed for enough time to have a leisurely dinner at the Pancake House at NAIA Terminal 3. The restaurant is among our favorites as it some of what we consider as comfort food including, of course, their pancakes and waffles. This time, I chose to order their spaghetti with meat sauce and their house iced tea.

Pancake House's spaghetti with meat sauce with their house iced tea on the side

I am a regular at this branch at T3 whether I am fetching someone at the airport or taking a flight myself. I usually come early for my flights so I am not harried. This usually means I would have enough time to relax and take something before a flight. The good thing with the established restaurants located at T3 is that they retain their prices unlike other restos in the other NAIA terminals that usually have overpriced items on their menus (presyong turista or presyong airport).

Also, on trips to Tagaytay, I remember we usually stop over at Paseo Sta. Rosa to have our breakfast at the Pancake House branch there. What we usually have for breakfast is either pancakes or waffles and a side order of their Country Sausage. The Clairvoyant would usually have her refillable cup of coffee while I would opt for hot chocolate or a glass of orange juice.

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