Black Pepper Udon & God-knows-what-else for Dinner

It was already dark when we arrived at Carlton Hotel Singapore and Jid and I were already very tired and hungry. Zen, our Singaporean friend who fetched us from the airport, suggested that we eat first so that we could then rest.

Finding a place to eat was not a problem because there were a lot of restaurants near the hotel. We did not want to wait long though and so we settled to eating in this place where they served cheap and filling meals. Zen assured us that eating in such a place was safe so I relented. I forgot what the place was called though but if it were here in the Philippines, it would be called a turo-turo. The only glaring difference was that each store had a menu posted on one big board.

I am not really fond of eating Chinese food but I am also not a picky eater so I left the ordering to Zen. I did not know the names of what he ordered but they were all good. Well, except for the pork with broth because it tasted bland and the pork was almost all fat.

This one fascinated me. It’s egg with soy sauce and other seasoning for its broth. It was not as good as our homemade adobong itlog but it was by far the best among those we had.

Though I barely knew what I ate that night, I had fun basically because I view discovering a country’s gustatory delights as another fun part of traveling.

Krispy Kreme "Purplized" Doughnuts

We left the Yahoo! Purple Hunt unveiling at around 9:00 PM. We bid goodbye to Lynn who ushered us out of the venue. Outside, Purple Crew members were given a box of “purplized” Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Awesome!

At home, I immediately opened the box and was delighted to find the purple doughnuts. They looked tempting and yummy!

I offered them to Kat, a housemate and friend. She found it delicious. A photographer, it was Kat who took these pictures. Thanks, girl.

The next day, I brought the remaining doughnuts to the office and my colleagues were all amazed at the “purplized” doughnuts. My boss also liked it, especially because she popped her share into the microwave and afterwards, dug into the soft, chocolate-y, purple-topped doughnuts. As for me, I love everything – from the color and the taste. Absolutely a treat to have!

So for all of you who want this yummy treat, log on to Yahoo! Philippines’ front page and start hunting! It’s so easy and more fun when it’s purple!

Lunch at Sabang Beach

I was so hungry after our trip to the Underground River that on the way to Sabang Beach, I had been munching on some chips and was looking forward to a good lunch. Thankfully, the meal that came with our tour was really sumptuous.

There's inihaw na baboy (grilled pork) that was deliciously done. The meat was tender and succulent. I especially love the taba (pork fat). It was especially savory when dipped in a mixture of soy sauce and calamansi (calamondin or acid orange).

There's Chicken and Pork Adobo (Adobo is a style of cooking that uses vinegar, soy sauce and garlic and is almost the Philippine's national dish) too. The adobo that I had in Sabang went well with rice. It also had just enough saltiness to it. Its meat was also tender. Of course, my choice part of the chicken was the hita (thigh) which I ate with gusto. Yum!

It wasn't all meat though as there was inihaw na talong (grilled eggplant). I am not really fond of eating vegetables but eggplant is one of my favorites.

There's stir-fry kangkong (swamp cabbage) too which was cooked just right that I could hear the crunch when I bite into it.

Lastly, there's grilled fish. I am not really familiar with the types of fish so I do not know what the fish is called (my definition of fish is limited to bangus or milkfish, tilapia, salmon and dilis). What was served to us was really delicious (this is actually quite a compliment from me as I am a meat-lover and have never been fond of eating fish). Unlike most fish menu I had, this did not taste bland maybe because it was cooked fresh.

For my drinks, I had buko (young coconut) juice. It's been so long since I had fresh buko juice that I really relished my drink. I love its taste - sweet and refreshing.

And for dessert, I just ask them to halve the buko where I took my buko juice from and voila, there's coconut meat for dessert. Yummy!

All in all, it was a great lunch. The food was really good and the ambiance was just as appealing - what with our having to dine under a thatched hut with the great view of Sabang Beach and gently swaying coconut trees.

Sigh. I wonder when such a great dining experience will happen again as I'm sure it is impossible to have it in highly urbanized Manila where the view isn't that of trees or the sea but of buildings, skyscrapers and people rushing headlong into their fast-paced lives of meetings and only-they-know-what.

Baker's Hill - Palawan

Baker’s Hill started out as just a bakery but when the business became successful, the owner decided to convert the place into a park. Thus, Baker’s Hill is now included in the itinerary for the city tour of Palawan.

After our Mitra Ranch Tour, I was really hungry and it was thus fitting that our next stop had something to do with food. I asked what their specialties were and was told that it was hopia and choco crinkles. I thus bought 4 packs each to give to my friends back in Manila.

Their choco crinkles were really delicious. It was soft and chewy and tasted like chocolate cake. It went well with the vanilla ice cream I bought from there (no dieting here as I went to Palawan to fully enjoy and indulge my every whim, he he!)

I wonder though why they said hopia was one of their specialties. Some did like it but I still prefer Eng Bee Tin’s.

I also liked their munchies. I especially loved their ube munchies (I love anything purple and ube tops my list!). Their choco munchies and cheese munchies were also addicting. And so was their inipit.

Baker’s Hill was like a theme park. It had life-sized fiber glass statues like the ones below.

This one elicited amused giggles from me.

As we walked around the park, I saw some interesting architectural creations. The house of the owner looked like a castle from a fairytale book.

There were interesting plants too, including some bonsai.

But what really made this tour very memorable for me were the animals I saw there. There was a golden pheasant, a Philippine eagle owl and peacocks. Wow.

Baker's Hill is in Mitra Road, Santa Monica, Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Its contact number is (044) 433-3414.

KFC's Famous Bowl

I’m supposed to be on a diet. I’ve been watching my food intake for two weeks now. But there are some foods that I just can’t say no to.

Yesterday, I was craving for KFC’s Famous Bowl. As their ad says, this has everything that KFC is famous for – their finger-lickin’ good chicken, mashed potato and as a twist, corn kernels and cheese. I just love this one. Mashed potato can be nakakaumay. I don't know the translation of the italicized word in English but nakakaumay is what one feels when the food is too strong to the taste (i.e. when a food is too sweet) that after some servings, one has had enough. With the Famous Bowl though, the umay is taken out by the delicious taste of cheese and buttery corn.

Since I’ve been craving for it, I stopped by KFC last night to buy dinner. There’s no guessing here what I bought from there.

Yup, the famous KFC Famous Bowl. Yum!

a closer look...

KFC’s Famous Bowl is sold for Php50 (snack size) and Php90 (meal size) if ordered a la carte. If one prefers the meal (with drinks), it is at Php60 (snack size) and Php100 (meal size).