Sweet Reunions

Christmas is that time of the year when you just have to set aside a day for reunions.Last Christmas, I did not expect to have booked not only one day, but lots of days for sweet reunions.

Here is a picture of me with my cousins. At last, they invited me to join them on their night out...Actually, I invited myself...hehehe. It was a Saturday night. I attended our high school alumni homecoming when I saw my brother at the school. He told me that after the homecoming he will join my cousins for some cocktails at Catribo. Since I don't have a ride home, I joined them. Wow...I did not regret my decision. Being the eldest among all cousins present, I relegated myself to being an observer and let them run the show...With our generation gap, I find it strange that they enjoy this kind of entertainment. My brother warned me beforehand, no comment please. I would have nejoyed a more relaxed and quieter ambience. Oh oh..I am getting older...hahaha.

How about this picture, minus me, of my high school classmates during our alumni homecoming. I was the one taking the picture. I like it that way...just a wallflower, a casual observer, taking it all in in my little corner of the world...I can't express the happiness I felt when I spent some time with my high school pals. We will host our alumni homecoming six years from now. We have lots of plans and hopefully we can make it happen when our time comes. Hello to Maxxy who came all the way from Kuwait just to be with us and her family this Christmas season. Thanks for sharing your time with us Mems.

Here's another picture of my high school pals this time at 3rd Cup with Jerico Marcos, who have resided in Davao. He was in town to attend his brother's wedding and we could not pass the chance to meet him. It has been six years since we had been together. Four hours lounging in a relaxing atmosphere is not enough when conversations are full. We can;t seem to run out of topics to talk about. He's planning to migrate abroad with his family. It seems to be the trend these days. Much as we like to do the same, we just don't have the financial edge to go for it.

Well, this is a sum of my reunions with my family and friends. No matter how short the time that we spent together, it's much better than not having spent time at all. To my family and friends, thanks for making this Christmas season one of the most memorable time in my life.

Cebu Adventures Part 1

I have been to Cebu last July. It's my first real vacation for a long, long time. Actually, it was a business trip. The first food trip that I wanted to do was eat dimsum and pasta. We arrived in Cebu at around 5:30 p.m. It took us nearly an hour to get to out hotel at Colon Street. We were tired from the flight so going to the mall was out of the question. After dinner, we went to see the bustle of activities at the Colon Night Market. I did not take any picture for fear of snatchers. They are known to snatch your celfone away...hehehe.

The road was filled with makeshift shops selling everything from clothing to accessories, from kitchenwares to all kinds of food stuff. I saw a vendor selling qwek qwek, quail eggs coated with orange colored coating. wow sarap...my two companions did not dare eat it. Oh well, they missed this delicious street food delicacy. A few years back, when my whole family was vacationing here, we bought qwek qwek from a vendor in the middle of the road. At the same time, the traffic enforcers were rounding up illegal vendors. The vendor ran, along with our purchase. We ran after the vendor and got our precious qwek qwek. Hahaha...what a happy memory. After that, we went to Gaisano and window shopped. I made a mental note of what I will buy there in case we would go back the next day. Then we headed back to the hotel and rested.

During my second day in Cebu, we attended the opening program of the conference and then headed off to Chong Hua Hospital, where my boss looked for an Eye doctor to have his eyes checked. We did not know anybody and so we asked around. The hospital staff were courteous enough to make suggestions. We decided to return in the afternoon. Then we went to Ayala Mall and ate lunch there. These are photos of several food stores at the food court. I ordered rice toppings at Dimdum Break and my boss ordered lechone and dinuguan at C n T Lechon. Mmmmm...delicious. C n T Lechon serves the best lechon in Cebu. I even saw Koreans and other foreigners sampling their delicious lechon and rice wrapped in coconut leaves.

Then we went around the mall. I bought a few things for pasalubong. We headed back to Chong Hua Hospital. I waited while he had his eye checked. The check up lasted for two hours. My butt was numbed from sitting and my back was aching from the air conditioned environment. The hospital has first class amenities, just like a five star hotel. My boss had eight kinds of equipment check his eyes. And he paid P1,000 for all the tests. After that, we headed to SM Mall. We troured the mall first before eating dinner. Time is just too short to enjoy a leisurely tour around the mall. Maybe tomorrow we can have the time.

blur...

happy 35th birthday...this was what's left of my birthday cake from red ribbons, a gift from my mom. next to the cake is a number five candle which i saved from my son's 5th birthday last april 20. it took me this long to write about what happened during my birthday. it was a birthday celebrated with mixed feelings. i celebrated my birthday with my extended family the day before my actual birthday, which was a holiday since the independence day was moved to this day, because of the holiday economics proclaimed by the president. my brother was leaving for Pagadian City the next day, that's why we decided to celebrate it a day before. For my actual birthday, I filed a privilege leave from work and spent the day with my husband and children.

the two days seem like a blur, just like the photo of my birthday cake. the day before my birthday, i had a vertigo attack. i had these attacks before but this one was worse. i felt my head spinning and losing my balance. i went to store to buy my son a bag for school. the good thing was my father was in the same store. he took me to my cousin, who is a doctor. after a thorough check up, she concluded that i had benign positional vertigo and i had to see an EENT doctor for further test. in the afternoon, my husband was free, so we went to a specialist. after the check up, he gave the same conclusion and prescribed SERC for two weeks. since we didn't have time to cook, we just ordered take out for the party.

it was a simple party. we had beef with broccoli, seafood roll, buttered chicken, pansit canton, fruit salad and the birthday cake from my mom. my mom was not able to attend because she was not feeling well. my father, sister, brother and cousin were there. we took pictures from my father's digicam and ate the simple feast. i forgot to take a picture of the food. all i had was the picture of the cake.

it seems that the cake symbolized what i felt that day. i can't believe that i've reach 35 years. i thank God that I'm given another year to celebrate life, to share my blessings and love to my family and friends.

on the day of my actual birthday, i wen to to mass at the Cathedral and spent some time at the Blessed Sacrament. in the evening, my family had a simple dinner. i started writing in my journal, but up to now i only have two entries since that day. it seems i just can't make myself to write in my journal often because of the hustle and bustle of everyday life...

i just hope that everything will be clear in God's time...and with God's grace, the truth shall set me free...

xxxoooxxooxoxo

yummy seafood

On a recent trip to Dipolog City for an official travel, our team was fortunate enough to dine for lunch at Ann's Seafoods. We were actually planning to eat at Grandma's, another cozy resto that serves continental fare such as pasta and sandwiches. Upon the insistence of our teammates and hosts, they took us to Ann's. The place at the ground floor was full, as it was past 12 noon when we arrived. We headed upstairs to their conference room.

Our group ordered grilled blue marlin, kinilaw, calamares, chopsuey, and fish tinola. It took a while before our orders arrived but it was worth the wait. I even forgot to take pictures before we devoured the food. Boy, were we hungry. I can see by the look on my friends' faces that we were more than contented. Thanks Mam Evelyn for bringing us here. Thanks, also, Mam Meriam for the libre.Hehehe...

For all you travelers out there who will pass by Dipolog City, do try Ann's Seafood. It's the best tasting, freshest seafood dishes I have ever tasted. Bon Appetit.

happy birthday...no rice?

happy birthday placido...hehehe. last april 21, my eldest son doldy celebrated his 4th birthday. my mom and i planned the occasion weeks ahead. placido is an endearment we gave him since he was born through ceasarion section due to placenta previa totalis. his birthday is actually the day before. we attended mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral after having lunch at McDonald's. he asked me to buy him the teenage mutant ninja turtle toy.

since the party was set at 4 p.m., we had plenty of time to prepare. i helped my mom prepare the ingredients while she cooked the dinuguan, indulsao (humba type of cooking pork), and fried the fish for the fish fillet. then i went home and prepared the utensils, tables and chairs. i headed back to my parent's house, since it was just walking distance from us. my mom then cooked the spaghetti, fish fillet, friedn chicken and squid balls. i went back home to finish arranging the tables and chairs, and utensils. since i thought there was plenty of time left, i fried the hotdogs and cheese sticks.

the menu was simple : spaghetti, fried chicken, hotdogs on stick, squidballs, cheese sticks, chocolate cake for the kids, and dinuguan, fish fillet, indulsao, rice, fruit salad for the adults. we invited around fifty people composed of his playmates from our neighborhood, his ninongs and ninangs, a few of our officemates, and our family. i prepared assorted candies for the kids and some balloons.

it was nearly 4 p.m. and i was still frying the cheese sticks. my brother helped me finish the rest as i rush to dress doldy and his little brother, kyle, with their new tshirt courtesy of their papa don, my brother. some guests started to arrive and i was waiting or my mom to help me plate the dishes. she was so exhausted, so i had to do it myself. my sister in law, angging, helped me. lo and behold, as i was putting the food in their serving platters, there was no rice. aarrgghhh...we forgot the rice!!! hahaha...i instructed my father in law to cook rice and told my husband to buy some at the nearest restaurant. as i completed the buffet table with all the food, i mingled with the guests. it was nearly 5 p.m. when the party started. so far, so good.

i entertained the guests while refilling the serving platters. the children got their bag of goodies and balloons. my husband was watching over them. he said that the children were chanting, 'vote doldy for vice-president.' they gave candies to the other children who were playing outside. the party mellowed down at around 8 p.m. although very tired, i was so happy since the party was a success and my child was happy...well, time to prepare for the next party.

WELCOME to My City, My Kitchen...

Hello, dear friends. Welcome to my city, Zamboanga City, Philippines, the City of Flowers; and to my kitchen, the World...

I am a thirty something working mom who is passionate about food and travel, thus the name d' hungry traveller. I am always hungry for new tastes and new places, and would love to be adventurous without breaking the bank.

I hope to share with you my food and travel experiences, and anything under the sun, which may either interest you or bore you to death. Having a blog is life saving since I can share my mundane experiences which helps me cope with everyday life and may save me from being depressed. (What? Me, depressed?) I know others my age are experiencing it so I might as well prevent it before it happens...

So, my friends, here's to a journey full of unexpected and wonderful experiences. Take care and Godbless...