Barbecue!!! in Ormoc

Our Tuesday badminton session was canceled so of course -- is there anything better to do than eating barbecue on a Tuesday afternoon when your badminton session is canceled? Well actually, there are a lot other things, but we refused to think of these others. When I pitched the barbecue idea to Maica, it was clear she was already thinking of barbecue because she said an instant yes. We called up Iana and told her to get ready. This girl diets like crazy, but even she can't say no to barbecue. We called up our favorite neighbor, Alyssa, and thankfully she was home and excited to go, and what-a-surprise, Kuyahhhhhng was home as well. Whee!

SO this is what happens when your Tuesday badminton session is canceled. Here we go!

There are only two places in Ormoc where you can expect good barbecue: at your own homes and at the P10m barbecue-han in the city plaza. (P10m!?!? Tell me about it.)

In this barbecue-han, everything is barbecued: chicken chicken, chicken gizzard, chicken heart, chicken blood (yummy!), chicken liver (atay!), isaw (or chicken intestine), chorizo, fish. It reeks of carcinogen, really. But the doctor says it's okay as long as you don't go everyday.

There are a lot of manangs to choose from. We don't have a suki yet so we just approach any of the manangs selling close to the entrance. We can never be too sure about the freshness of the meat, but certainly, we can tell which ones are appetizing and which ones are not. It's also easier if the manang you choose offer all the goods you want, so you don't go through the inconvenience of paying different vendors after eating. But if you're nicer and you want to split your generosity, it's your choice.

The fan is the coolest technology in the area; keeps the langaws away with no effort from manang. I don't think Cebu's lartian even have it. (They don't have a P10m budget, I suppose.)
The best barbecue is grilled the old fashion way.

The dining area is a long hall, but you have to sit in the tables owned by the manang grilling your barbecue, which are always just beside their stalls. There are two dining halls: one is bordered by the river and the other hall, by the skating rink. If you are especially sensitive to smell, I don't suggest sitting by the river. It can get very smelly. You wouldn't want that with your isaw or atay!

Over barbecue, they bond.

Kuyahhhhhng is back!!!... For 2 weeks anyway before summer school starts. Alyssa will join him in Ateneo starting this year and them two shall be bestfriends in no time. (Already, they're cringing at the thought :D


Make-all-you-can sawsawan! Iana nearly blinded herself with all the sili she squeezed and forced into that bowl.

P2 puso, which is a very sad thing because that's not too heavy to shell out. Your mentality would hypnotize you into eating all you can as it is that (so-called) "reasonably priced". Gr (wait 'til it adds up). And that it is that small would fool any dieter into thinking, 2 small pusos plus 2 small pusos equal to 1 cup of rice. Yeah, right.

Chicken Barbecue, P25-P30.
Batikun (Chicken Gizzard), P15-P20.
Chicken Skin (a must!), P2-P4.

(Price range given as I'm not sure what the exact price is. I did not bring a wallet to our barbecue session so I had no business joining in the calculation and anxiety over the total bill. That's how I get away, which they call mean ;)

What's barbecue without isaw? P3-P4.

Happy face. After the meal, we counted how many sticks each of us finished. Shamefully, I came up with the biggest number, at 15.

Busog faces. 2 bottles of 1L Sprite (but ofcors!). 20 pusos. 2 sticks of Chicken Barbecue. 30 sticks of Chicken Skin. 20 sticks of isaw. 6 sticks of Chicken Gizzard. Whew.


Must-visit in Ormoc: barbecue-han at the City Plaza. Ditch your diet and see what P10m supposedly looks like. That is, if you're not already a P10millionaire.

~~~
Special request.

Stations of the Cross

(It's not quite right that the name of the priest integral to this post, and even the name of the Hermitage, escapes me now, so I apologize in advance.)

So the story goes that an Italian priest touring the country paid a visit to the Hermitage in Kananga, Leyte and fell in love with it. When he went back to Rome, he sent over money to the sisters in the Hermitage to have sculptures built in the forested area next to them chronicling the Stations of the Cross. In local currency, the money totaled a million, and back in Rome, the depletion of his entire life savings. Humbly, he told Mother Tita, the Mother Superior, "Sister, I'm a pauper now."

Last week, pop invited all of us to the Hermitage, for our yearly homage to the walk that Jesus was made to do to His death thousands of years ago. The construction was recently finished. I found that the life-sized structures are not without flaws. They are not works of art. You will likely spend a lot of time studying the curves dulled or overdone by the concrete works.

But the generosity was not made in vain. At the end of the homage, I was slightly reeling from the resonance of the meditation that pop read before each Station. The significance after all is in these meditations. It is after all, in our remembrance of the sacrifices that Jesus walked through, and not in the aesthetics of the commemoration.

Thank you, to the pauper priest from Rome, whoever you are. By giving these gifts so we will never forget, I believe you will always have your mark in this Hermitage, as it had left its mark on you.

The last Station.Each Station is enhanced by a landscape. There's a paved pathway that follows these Stations along the perimeters of the area. In the middle are grown gemelina trees, a collection of which imbue an enchanting atmosphere. It was a long but meaningful homage we did; and visually dramatic with the splendid natural landscape of fields and mountains, and not to mention the glorious sunset that visualtracked our own walk.This collection of gemelina trees is enchanting. I bet at night, it is enchanted.The hills are alive.Last note (by the toilet).

BTW: the Hermitage is very strict now. Ladies in jeans are not allowed, whoever benefactor you are.

~~~
(These photos are not very good. In my next visit, I'll dare to take out my camera more.)

Camote with Ginamos

My mother eats a lot of weird stuffs. Individually, these stuffs are not weird, but when positioned together to be eaten as one, it sounds weird, it looks weird, it must taste weird. What do you think of boiled camote (sweet potato) and ginamos?

How to make ginamos:

Again, our dearest manang, nang Boning cannot name the fish she used for the ginamos. She attempted a dire guess: small libud, but I wouldn't suggest to trust her on this :D I would however suggest to go to the fish market yourself and ask what small fish can be used for ginamos. Anyway, on to the ginamos recipe care of nang Boning:

Give the small fish (fresh preferably) some washing.
Saute onions in a hot pan with oil.
Add the small fish, including their natural juice.
Saute until ready (er, i'm not really sure when it is; until you get this gray color i guess)
Put out the fire.
Pour in a small amount of vinegar and mix. Don't be too harsh though or you'll break the weakly-boned small fish.

Ready!
Get weird!

Of course, like a seasoned eater who is ready to tackle anything (except for eggplant in any way, and maggot ala Fear Factor), I tried this myself. I find the ginamos too dominating to the unwanted sensation of dank and unpleasant -ness in my taste buds. The sweet potato is pointless. I should have tried the ginamos with rice, but didn't because I already decided the ginamos is not for me.

Badmintoning in Ormoc

If there's one thing that makes the sport, badminton a winner, it's its establishment among Ormocanons as a hobby. Every new trend that succeeds in permeating this sleepy town's consciousness has first to see itself through a phase to determine if this sleepy town's inhabitants would want to integrate it in their lifestyle, or simply to dip their toes for a test in its curiously interesting waters. Badminton has long passed this phase and thus, is no longer a trend. Given the Ormocanons' notorious brand as a fickle bunch, that's an accomplishment. Rarely does any trend make it through halfway.

Case in point: the bike shop tito Rex, a biking enthusiast, set up. I think it continues to draw people, but it wasn't it used to be at the peak of the biking craze that hit mostly married men in their 30s and 40s in 2007 & 2008. Even my sister got into it with tio Perok and tita Rina. Group sessions and fun races were scheduled almost every week, to Isabel or to Lake Danao or to where-have-you. During that time, it was regular to see a couple of them hunched on their bikes taking the Ormoc streets on. In the middle of last year, my sister has to quit biking when she moved to Manila for a 6-month course in Fashion Design. Fast forward to the last few months: Tio Perok has no more mention of a bike-a-thon to anywhere. It was cool while it lasted though.

Biking of course is not a lone case. According to cousin Monic, even dancing apparently was just a trend among the Ormocanons. She is one of the trio that owns Ormoc's only happening bar, Dustriya. People who used to hit the dancefloors are either tired of dancing, have gotten married and pregnant and too heavy to do the basic sway, or are convinced they have two left feet and cannot do a decent dance even if it would save their lives (these are not Monic's observations, but my wild guesses :). Of course, it all boils down to that it has ceased to be cool. Her trio, she mentioned, is even considering of turning it to an extension to their more successful venture, the dining haunt, Pardy's.

~~~
So lately (like months ago, with a lot of absences in between), my sister Maica and I got into badminton with friends Ate Vans and tita Baday and cousin Mady. The only place to be seen playing badminton at is Badminton City in Baranggay Linao. I say this with no bias (the owner is my cousin's boyfriend -- now ex -- and a very nice guy at that); Badminton City is the only place in Ormoc that has genuine Taraflex courts. Frankly, I don't know what that is and can't even feel the difference in playing on concrete, but that's what the pros say (so i agree). Even the owner of the only other place that has a badminton court (IS) plays at Badminton City.

Our group-imposed schedule that we successfully followed only once in our entire badminton career (that's only 3 months in the going if you want to be exact) is on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Beginners will be comfortable on Thursdays and Saturdays because the pros don't play these days and generally, these are not badminton days for many. The pros, if I have to define them in Badminton City context, are those who can block a smash, who move in a graceful, speedy gait, who don't notify the entire place of their scores after every update, who you don't want to play next to. So there.

Charge: P160/hour (I need to double check if they still offer the P25/head all-you-can-play on Sundays)
Best time to play: 4-6 pm (especially on Tuesdays, before everybody arrives -- don't ask me about the other days)

Other comforts:
There are comfort rooms and shower rooms to shower and change in.
There's a cafeteria and a Japanese Restaurant (the only one that survived in the city, therefore the best).
There's a small shop where you can buy anything that you will need for play if you left all your equipment at home: fast-dry shirts, shorts, gummy-soled shoes, rockets, shuttlecocks, etc etc. There are pingpong tables.
There are computer games (for the kids).


Badminton City has 8 courts with Taraflex floors. Frankly, I don't know what that is and can't even feel the difference in playing on concrete, but that's what the pros say (so i agree).


Air-conditioned lounging area.
The mini shop where you can buy anything for play if you left your equipment at home (and too lazy to pick it up).
Yummy Japanese! Must-orders (pardon, the Japanese names escape me): tempura (with bread crumbs), chicken teriyaki, salad (with the mangoes, crab meat), California Maki.

A coffee shop will soon open beside this restaurant. Coffee after badminton?

My playmates: Ate Vans, Micachoo, and Mady (plus Bien, my willing model)

Sariling Sikap Meals

I am very proud to share the recipe of a salad dressing I made yesterday. I searched the internet for inspiration, specifically one that does not require what we don't have in our kitchen. Apparently, that's too much to ask, even from Google, since there's not a lot in our kitchen to start with.

However, I have Olive Oil, an ingredient that's magical in the sense that it makes almost everything taste better since on its own it tastes good. We have two brands in the kitchen, Dona Elena's Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Turkey, and the one my Sydney-based cousin-in-law Phuong uses, the Wollundry Grove Olives, grown and bottled from an estate in Wagga Wagga, NSW. I use the one from Sydney for special preparations like salads and baked chicken for three reasons: 1) it smells significantly better 2) the bottle is really chic 3) it was a gift from Phuong, with whom I cooked a lot while I was in Sydney. The other, Dona Elena's, I use for frying. :D

So anyway, here's the only salad dressing recipe that I felt confident with, despite the meager resources. I didn't add the lime and berries as it had suggested, but only the base ingredients:

chopped, minced garlic
vinegar
olive oil
black pepper

I didn't mind the measurements though. Just pour it all in until you make the mix edible, or shall we call it, dressingable? :D

Salad dressing mix: minced garlic, vinegar, olive oil, black pepper.


I loves lettuce!
To make easy eating, tear the lettuce into small pieces. Fork in a few leaves, dip in the sauce, coat with parmesan cheese, then fork in strips of chicken. I used the leftover chicken adobo (with no sauce) from lunch. We Filipinos love making adobo recipes our own way, but nang Boning's (our cook) is excellent, let me spread some love (and excellence) by sharing it as well.

Chicken Adobo:

Marinade the chicken with garlic, salt, soy, and sugar. Fry.
Yup, this is it. Did I surprise you?

I find it stupid that croutons are sold off the shelves in the grocery since it's the easiest thing to prepare. Slice the sandwich bread into these tiny cubes then toast. So simplicity! I use wheat bread.

Lettuce love -- goody and healthy!

~~~
Alyssa and I finished the last two heads of lettuce last night so I made Lerma, pop's secretary, buy two more from the grocery store this morning. For lunch, I wrapped the fried fish nang Boning made with a leaf of lettuce then dipped it in American Garden French Dressing which smelled and tasted of too-much mayonnaise. I abhor the smell and taste of mayonnaise so I added Nestle Full Cream to the dressing to make it less mayonnaisey. Still did not work. As a result, I did not have 3 servings of lunch, which is always good.

In the afternoon, I made a sandwich before Iana and I jogged like our lives depended on it (well, not exactly our lives; but definitely the weighing scale's).

I shall call this, well, a yummy sandwich. I'm sorry it does not really look nice, I already had 3 full bites before I took these photos.


What's inside: nang Boning's fried fish, lettuce, parmesan cheese.

Nang Boning's fried fish:

Marinade the fish with salt and garlic. Wait for a few minutes. Before frying, coat in egg and cornstarch.

Nang Boning apparently doesn't know fish talk as she's clueless as to what kind of fish she had just cooked for us. Well, for a start: it has to be boneless. You really couldn't see what you're biting into with the yellowed cornstarch, right?

That work in the middle? That's what our sandwich maker does. We loves it. :D

~~~
Sorry for the hazy cooking instructions. I got these instructions from our equally hazy cook, our dear nang Boning. God bless her!

Bihud for Lunch

My mother stole the leftover bihud mamita had prepared for our family dinner last night. She served it on the lunch table today, but when I was about to scoop a spoonful for myself, she snapped at me, instructing me not to get too many since it was supposed to be for her, and her alone. I ignored her and hurriedly scooped several spoonfuls into my plate. I could feel her glare seep through my skin. Sorry mother! So for the first time ever, I had bihud for a meal. Spontaneously, I realized a bihud meal is not a bihud meal without rice.

YUM-MY!

I called up Nang Inday, one of mamita's cooks to ask where I can buy bihud and how bihud is prepared (for future meals, when I feel like preparing). She explained that they got the bihud (fish roe) from the belly of a big fish they bought fresh from the market. She's not sure if it's sold on its own. The bihud is contained in a sac. Before she takes it out from this sac, she first boils the sac in vinegar and garlic. When it's ready, she squeezes the roe out and sautees it with chopped onion and garlic. The last step is to boil it in tomato sauce, thus giving the bihud (at least, in the above demonstration) the orange glow.

Loves it, reminds me of a meal by the beach.
And I miss the beach :D

Family Dinners

Mamita called everyone to her house in Bonifacio Street for dinner last night. She is leaving for Cebu this afternoon, and then for Beijing on Saturday to visit tito Papao, tita Chona, and the kids a second time around in 6 months.

Gatherings at Mita's house is something we all look forward to almost every week. She is a perfect host. There's always fish and chicken on the buffet -- fish for those on a diet (and in this Lenten Season, there are many of us in the family abstaining from meat) and fried chicken for the kids (which, ultimately, the adults finish).

For dessert, she usually gets candy or chocolates from the little fridge she keeps upstairs in her room (which is loaded with so much goodies, I want to call it the Witch's cottage, with reference to the classic storybook, Hansel & Gretel). However, she came from Tacloban on the same day so she served us instead, one pack of pastillas she bought from Carigara. Now, the pastillas from this little unassuming town some 45 minutes away from Tacloban is so good, I wonder why it's not heaping loads of money for its recipe makers. While it's very good, it's also very elusive. You can't buy it anywhere but only at the home/store/carenderia of the one who makes it; and you can't buy it at any time of the day. I wish I can tell you how to nail them at the right time, but I'm not sure. I guess, you'll just have to be lucky.

The best thing about the gatherings at Mita's house is of course, each other's company. We (by this, I mean Mita's Ormoc-based sons and the families) actually live within a [scream's] earshot away from each other in Cogon. But we take this nearness for granted that we never really take the time out to see each other. Mita's beck and call to her home or to the beach in Seguinon, Albuera or to tito Bingcol's resort is a break from our respective bubbles. Over food (lots of food) and chatter (lots of that as well), we gather our individual lives and piece them back together like a puzzle. When it's complete -- oh look -- we are family again.

The Ormoc-based brothers tito Lito, tio Bingcs, and popsy (sans the roadtrip manager, tio Perok who disappeared out of the evening's blue) discuss our upcoming roadtrip in the northern part of Luzon in April with Mamita (whee!).

The in-laws: mother (married to Mayong), tita Rina (to Perok), tita Judy (to Bingcol), and tita Ems (to Lito) have a discussion of their own.

Gotcha mother! Always eating :DIf you excuse from your diet to eat pastillas, better make it Benny's Special from Carigara to make the fresh calories worth an add to your scale. (Benny Monte Alegre, Brgy. Binongto-an, Carigara, Leyte, #09205660603)

That's how it looks before and after I shove them up my mouth. (Carigara's pastillas are my favorites sweets; I don't eat it menudo style.)Tita Rina and her baby Ben.Two-year-old Ben, lost in the midst of women talk (I understand Ben, they don't exactly speak your mumble-jumble language noh?). Menu for the night: dinuguan (Pork Blood Stew), kilawin (bold guess: pork and beef rind?), spare ribs (which I didn't get to enjoy in virtue of my no-pork-no-beef Lenten promise), bihud (fish roe sauteed in onions, garlic, and tomato sauce), grilled fish, and Nang Inday's pancit.

Nang Inday, mayordoma of Mita's Bonifacio Street abode, and cook of my favorite versions of dinuguan and pancit!

The kids: newly-freed from school and ready to live it like how it should be at SUMMERTIME!!!Peter, Bieni, Andre, Rica, Kyra and Josh (and Maica -- NOTE: no longer a kid.)I hate doing this, but my feet always lead me to Mita's scale each time I find myself in its presence. (Last night, it read 135 lbs)
Marvin -- who just had his first prom and first prom dance with Alyssa -- and Alyssa, soon-to-be high school graduate (and a valedictorian(!!!) at that). In June, she's off to the blue courts of Ateneo.
Mita's Massage Chair (we loves!!!)... And here is the famous Witch's cottage. My current favorite from this trove is a chocolate-coated biscuit from Marks & Spencer. Wherssit?
Toys generally are a load of fun and make full of sense (if not always to adults, then at least to kids for whom they are made). This one, which baby Ben brought to dinner last night, tops my list as of the moment. It's a plastic box with 4 rectangular blocks each reflecting four different images of either the head, the eyes, the mouth or the body of a cat. You can twist and turn the blocks to create a cat that is friendly, angry, nervous, amazed, or (supposedly) 196 other states of emotions.
This one looks like it needs to poo.