Chinatown part 1

Being part-Chinese, I consider Binondo, Manila's Chinatown area, my second home. I went there yesterday just to browse on new stuff, and I landed in a meat shop.... kinda like a Chinese-type deli.

Here are the pictures that I took...




Manong chopping some Chinese ham....
Ham wrapped in paper.... I always love old-fashioned methods...

Prices posted near the counter Minced meat wrapped in thim tofu wrapping and seaweed....
sticky rice with meat shaped in triangles and wrapped lotus leaf the sweet version of that sticky rice triangles my personal favorite, stuffed pork knuckles....

Surprise surprise

There are circumstances that catch us off-guard. That kind of moment got to me one fine day in Sonia's B&B (near Tagaytay City).

It was a crisp cool afternoon when I decided to head to Sonia's Bed and Breakfast to visit the gardens and relax at the spa. The massage, which lasted for about one hour, was simply divine. (Am I sounding Martha Stewart-ish?) I was lounging on a nearby sofa when the masseuse gave me a warm cup of tea.

It was made from dalandan, a kind of lime. The tea was not too tart, not too sweet... just perfect. But then, a new taste just appeared just when I was about to swallow the tea. Since the room I was hanging out in was very dim, I was surprised to see leaves in my cup. At first, I shrugged it off, enjoying the very much surprising taste of lime, syrup and the mystery leaves. When I downed the last drops of tea, a leaf just ran straight into my mouth, and I inadvertantly chewed it. Aha! The mystery taste! It was basil leaves on my tea.... Yes! Basil! I was mentally berating myself on not distinguishing the taste of one of my favorite herbs.

Well, what the heck, so I took a picture of my almost-empty teacup. After that, I gulped it all, including those basil leaves.... My day seemed complete........

My Stab at a Food Blog

Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between culture and food.It is often thought erroneously that the term gastronomy refers exclusively to the art of cooking, but this is only a small part of this discipline. Gastronomy studies various cultural components with food as its central axis. Thus it is related to the Fine Arts and Social Sciences, and even to the Natural Sciences in terms of the digestive system of the human body.Etymologically, the word "gastronomy" is derived from Ancient Greek gastros "stomach", and nomos "knowledge" or "law".

Everything about the previous paragraph is just tosh, plain ol' tosh. For a simple, bordering on ignorant, person like moi, all of those very technical stuff is very off-putting. I have been a foodie all my life (very obvious rotund-ish figure), ate gourmet food, drank wine, etc etc; I have never described them in technical terms. Basically, my eyes just go bigger and rounder than usual (see dilated pupils), do a bit of a wiggle on my seat and then go for a second (,third, fourth, fifth) serving. Whenever I taste (or chug) wine, I don't go all "peach bouquet, smooth finish". If I like the taste, I go for another half-glass and then find something that could go perfectly with it.

Food is very vital (duh....), and good food? Good food is the balm for the weary souls, wounded hearts, very much scattered brains, and hungry stomachs. I often eat out (and basically live in the car) so my range of taste is a bit broader than the usual simpleton. Hence, the birth of this blog.

I am not attempting to imitate Chez Pim in any way (God bless her.... she's everything I fantasize a foodie should be!) I don't have an SLR camera either, and I fried my digital camera, so pardon my humble N95 camera phone for the images I will upload. Sometimes, I won't even bother to upload photos together with the post! Feel free to comment, share recipes, and chastize me!

XOXO,
Eira