tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74579438145560273322024-03-26T00:25:58.490-07:00A Geek Wearing Make-upOompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.comBlogger228125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-74597128586819006232022-09-09T18:55:00.007-07:002022-09-09T19:21:05.757-07:00Lessons from C1. In the months when I was getting treatment for cancer, I was always the youngest one in the waiting rooms. There were days when I almost felt ashamed. <i>Maybe it was my fault I had cancer. How come I am the only one here below 50? </i> But a few months ago, on a visit to my oncologist, about a year and a half after my cancer diagnosis and after getting a clear scan (Yipee!), I walked out of the oncology hall just as young lady in her twenties was walking with her companion. It was obvious from her frail frame, and the cropped hair that she just finished a chemo session. I wanted to hug her, tell her<i>, hey it's going to be okay! </i> Living with cancer,and getting treatments really pushes one to rely on once's inner strength. The pain from the treatments are sometimes too much that you question yourself if it is better to just let the disease run its course. But then you think about the things that matter - family, the longing to be with them longer, the adventures still waiting for you, your dreams. And you go back again the next day for the next session, and grit your teeth through it. You do it, day after day, despite fears, frustrations and sometimes, despair. You see, every cancer patient is a warrior.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>2. I am mighty proud of how I drove myself to my radiotherapy sessions. Most days, my husband drove me, but in the last weeks of my radiotherapy, when he was inundated with work and meetings, I drove myself to the hospital. It did feel weird, waiting there on my own for my session, surrounded by patients and their carer. I was the only one without a companion. But it also felt liberating. Having cancer, you basically have to depend on a lot of people -- doctors, nurses, therapists, family. Cancer treatment becomes this big blanket that cloaks all else. Those 90 minutes of driving time gave back a sense of self, that, I am still me somehow. How I could still be independent, and braver.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. I went back to work six weeks after my surgery and worked 50% of my normal hours. So when I was having radiotherapy,I worked in the morning, and drove myself in the afternoon to the hospital. Four months after my surgery, I was back fulltime at work. Looking back, I wondered if I should have taken it slow. But I also knew this. Work was the one thing that made my post-operative routine feel normal. Even though I was still suffering from brain fog and fatigue due to the post-surgery treatments, knowing that I had to do tasks everyday, with deadlines looming allowed me to not be overwhelmed with morbid thoughts about cancer. I just had to focus and do what was needed to be done. Work was the perfect distraction.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-44387579296257633492015-11-03T20:37:00.001-08:002015-11-03T20:45:20.363-08:00[Visit Ph] Three Days Out of Manila, Part 1 of 3Hello there! I´m back from my two weeks vacation in the Philippines! It was a short break, and although I was tempted to cram those two weeks with trips around the islands, in the end, I decided I wanted it to be a very laidback experience, one that would allow me to enjoy the everyday moments with the family. <br />
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Of course, being travel-crazy Pinoys who wouldn´t stay put, my family and I decided that a short weekender in Calabarzon would not be too much of a hassle, so that´s what we did! Calabarzon, if you do not know, is the region just south of Manila made up of 4 provinces - Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon.<br />
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Our Base: Ricarte´s Hill , Batangas via AirBnB<br />
I rented <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RicartesHill">a small vacation house in Airbnb</a> in Nasugbu, Batangas. It was the perfect location, since it was just 10 minutes away from Tagaytay city center, but it was far enough to be really peaceful and provincial. The two bedroom resthouse with a wading pool and a kiddie pool was inside the owner´s mango farm, so the location was very rustic and full of trees.<br />
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itsy bitsy spider in the garden<br />
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The house was just big enough for the six of us, with two rooms, one with a queen sized bed and another with 2 double beds. There were foldaway mattresses and extra pillows available.<br />
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The house itself was spic and span, the pools were cleaned daily and there are helpers who can assist you. The cooking area itself is separated from the house by a few yards, but that´s okay. We didn´t cook at all haha! We did avail of their cooking services and had one breakfast and one dinner catered. For breakfast we had <i>garlic fried rice, tocino, tapa, longanisa and ham plus putok pandesal. </i>For one dinner we had <i>kare-kare, laing, inihaw na liempo, rice, leche flan and buko pandan.</i> The food while not stellar is full of that homecooked goodnes, like something an auntie would cook for you. For our three day stay inclusive of the two catered meals, I paid only 250€. Truly value for money!<br />
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Because our rented flat was right smack in the middle ofNasugbu and Tagaytay, we could, if we wanted, enjoy the beaches of Nasugbu and the cool highlands of Tagaytay.<br />
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We decided to forego the beaches and instead went on a trip to a hacienda in Quezon, visited a bee farm in Cavite and went around Tagaytay for some fun and food trips. Details on my next posts!<br />
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<b>Ricarte´s Hill Garden Resort</b><br />
<a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6330430?s=pykJ6qDH">Book through AirBnB </a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/RicartesHill/">FB Page</a><br />
<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-41776958163445715482015-06-20T23:44:00.002-07:002015-07-04T12:26:31.778-07:00 Beauty Haul: Foreo Luna Mini, Elizabeth Arden Intervene, Chanel Vitalumiere CompactI spent a little over 250€ last Friday for this beauty haul. It is certainly extravagant and somewhat excessive for my ordinarily thrifty lifestyle, but my skin´s been pretty bad lately, so bad that even my ever-reliable Guerlain Lingerie de Péau foundation could not cover the red splotches around my mouth and the tired pallor of my face.<br />
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And then there is the fact that the sale season in Europe has began, with 30% to 50% markdowns on goodies. And so I got a little crazy and bought goodies which will hopefully help me in my beauty battle against stress and ageing.</div>
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The Haul: Foreo Luna Mini, Chanel Vitalumiere Compact Powder, Elizabeth Arden Intervene Products (Anti-Fatigue Eye Cream, Time FightingRadiance Serum, Skin Tone Perfecting Capsules), and my freebie of Smashbox Makeup Pouch </div>
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<b>The Luna Mini</b></div>
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The Foreo Luna Mini( €120.00, regular price. No sale discount )</div>
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The Foreo Luna Mini is a facial cleansing device that delivers controlled pulses to the skin. If you are familiar with the Clarisonic system, then it is sort of similar to Clarisonic. The good thing with the Luna is that unlike Clarisonic which requires one to replace the brush heads ever so often, the Luna is a wash-and-go thing, with no need for replacements. I figured that instead of buying facial scrubs for exfoliation which usually costs 10-15€ per tube, buying the Luna would be more cost-effective, and will pay for itself if it lasts for at least a year. I have been using the Luna for two days and I am liking it so far. It does make the skin feel ultra-clean and refreshed, and I kind of enjoy the pulsing sensations on my skin. Of course, it is too early to say if the Luna will make good on its promise of helping one get clean and radiant skin. In a month or so, I´ll write a in-depth review of this product.<br />
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If you are interested to learn more about the Luna, check out the video below:</div>
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<b>Elizabeth Arden Intervene </b></div>
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Intervene Timefighting Radiance Serum (63.50€, On Sale for 18€)<br />
Intervene Skin Tone Perfecting Capsules ( 45€, On Sale for 23€)<br />
Intervene Anti-fatigue Eye Cream ( 50€, On Sale for 18€)<br />
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I have yet to open this serum as I am still finishing up my serum which I got from a derma in the Philippines. I might give this to my mother instead.</div>
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The Intervene Capsules contain pure vitamin C for brightening. These are to be used as night treatment. One capsule equates to one application, and a bottle of the serum has 31 capsules. I used one already and it went well, not sticky at all, and is absorbed fast by the skin, but for the brightening effect, well the jury´s still out on that. Maybe in a month´s time when I finish the whole bottle, I´d be able to confirm its effectivity. Truth was, I only set out to buy the Luna Mini and a good eye cream. I have noticed that the dark circles around my eyes have become more pronounced. I still try to sleep at least 7 hours a day so this is not for lack of sleep but due to the ageing factor and stress at work. I sure hope that The Anti-fatigue Eye Cream would help with my dark circles.</div>
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<b>Chanel Vitalumiere Compact</b></div>
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Chanel Vitalumiere Compact ( 53€, On Sale for 42€)</div>
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I asked the salesperson in Douglas, the beauty shop where I bought the Luna, to help me find a light, powder based makeup to keep away the shine. We checked out Shiseido and Chanel, and in the end I bought the Chanel Vitalumiere. I like how it´s very light on the skin (just like Guerlain´s Lingerie de Peau) and how unlike Lingerie de Peau which has no oil control at all, it does help keep the shine at bay. And that 11€ discount from the normal price sure meant a lot too!</div>
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For my purchases, I got some nice freebies from the folks at Douglas:</div>
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A Smashbox silver makeup kit, Smashbox red gloss which I love! Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream sachets, sample vials of Chanel Chance Eau Vive EDT and Cartier Baiser Vole EDT.</div>
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So now I am totally broke! No, just kidding :-). After this spree, I promise not to buy any new cosmetic and beauty care products for myself in the next three months. I have my Luna, new skincare products and a good powder, that should be enough to help me make it through the tempting sale offers of the summer months. ^^</div>
OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-83723615495282752742015-06-07T10:53:00.002-07:002015-06-14T10:59:28.330-07:00A Spring of Tulips in HollandAh, spring! The season of beginnings. The earth resplendent in a robe of colors, and for those of us who lived through the darkest of winters, spring means a sigh of relief, a promise of light. Spring holds with its arrival the promise of rebirth, of beautiful blooms, of nature being at its flirtiest.<br />
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It was my first spring in Holland. And like most first-timers, I marked it with a rite of passage. In Japan and Korea, spring is a time for <i>hanami</i>, the annual flower viewing custom to enjoy the pristine and ethereal cherry blossoms. In Holland, the gray landscape is cracked open by a carpet of unfurled bulbs.<br />
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<i>Tulips: From bulbs to blooms</i><br />
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To honor our first spring in Holland, a friend and I went to the Keukenhoff Gardens and walked around a field of tulip beauty. Here, let me share with you our experience of this springtime ritual. <br />
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<b><i>Tulips come in all colors:</i></b><br />
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<i> Yellow</i><br />
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<i> Orange and Maroon</i><br />
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<i> Red</i><br />
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<i> Black and White</i><br />
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<i> Black</i><br />
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<i>Purple and Light Pink</i><br />
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Keukenhof Garden is in Lisse, to go there, one can take buses from the Leiden or Haarlem bus station. The catch is, it´s only open for two months each year, from mid-March to mid-May when the tulips are in bloom. The garden covers about 32 acres so visiting Keukenhof is a whole day affair.<br />
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B, my workmate, who loves posing for the camera, became my willing model for my Keukenhof <i>vistas.</i></div>
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I hope you enjoyed the view! Till next spring!OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-38131338637527967822015-05-31T10:29:00.004-07:002015-06-14T10:57:20.360-07:00Cochem, Germany: A Castle, A River, and A Fairytale Town<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i><u>Warning: THIS POST IS PREGNANT WITH PHOTOS!</u></i></b><br />
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Cochem, Germany is an insider´s secret. Most people who come to visit Germany target the bigger cities --Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Dresden. And that is understandable, with limited time, we choose the cities with the biggest media mileage. What, in the age of social media, is deemed as brag-worthy. But Europe, being a traveller´s dream, offers so many landscapes. Just as there are different sorts of tourists --backpackers, those in search of romance, those who want to hit all the iconic cities, those who want to forget--- Europe has as many cities and towns to cater to every traveller´s preferences. Last year, I embarked on a solo trip to Dusseldorf, Cologne, and Hamburg, and early this year I visited Berlin. And how I enjoyed Germany! Next to Spain, where I lived, it is Germany that made me feel so comfortable and safe -- the germans are unmatched when it comes to friendliness and even in the big cities, it always felt safe to roam around alone.<br />
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And yet even though I enjoyed my past trips to Germany, it was only when I went to the little town of Cochem that I was dazzled, so dazzled that I uttered with hope and longing, ¨<i> I wish I could live here!" </i><br />
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Cochem does not have an iconic monument to boast about and it´s not that popular outside Europe, but I have never seen a town so picturesque, so beautiful it was other-worldly. Cochem looks like it was sketched right out of a fairy tale.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of Cochem from the Count´s Castle</td></tr>
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We rented a house through Airbnb up in the hills, about a ten minute drive away from the town centre. The house was beautiful, complete with all the modern convenience yet retaining a rustic, log cabin feel.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our rented log house</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the log house veranda </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kitchen and breakfast nook</td></tr>
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<b>So what really makes Cochem special? Let me count the ways:</b><br />
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1. The beautiful and multi-colored timber houses<br />
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2. A castle overlooking the town<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A castle with a vineyard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The castle during the day<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">At night<br />
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3. The river Mosel<br />
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4. The vineyards and the sweet white wines at amazing prices! ( 4€ for a bottle of Riesling made in Cochem. That´s only 200 pesos!)<br />
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5. Good food at reasonable prices and restaurants with great ambiance!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Breakfast with a view of the castle</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> ´Wurst and bread</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Eating under a canopy of grape vines</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Good rustic food: grilled pork, sauerkraut, fries</span><br />
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6. A laid-back vibe<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Beer, people watching, chatting with friends. </span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">A family enjoying their ice cream</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Look-out point: we spent an hour or so just sitting here, mulling over the beauty that was before us</span><br />
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7. The cool sightseeing choo choo train that goes around the town every 45 minutes<br />
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8. And all that greenery.</div>
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I have visited quite a number of cities and towns in Europe, but it was only in Cochem that I felt, wow, I could live here. Perhaps it was the view --- picturesque, surrounded by valleys, greenery and a great river. Or the seemingly slower, simpler life in a beautiful town, the kindness too, how despite us being the only Asians roaming around Cochem, the locals were nice, accommodating, smiling at us, teasing us even, and always answering our queries with warmth.</div>
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<i>Ah Cochem,</i> now that I think about it, your beauty reminds me of another place I have visited years ago, one that I think I should revisit soon. That magical upland town in my country which is as enchanting, as laid-back, as rewarding a destination --- Sagada, up in the mountains. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Kiltepan Viewpoint in Sagada. <i>Image from philippinebeaches.net</i></span><br />
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Because really, nothing makes us feel small yet awed, nothing makes us realise how beautiful life is, how spectacular, than being right there, smack in the centre of nature´s master strokes ---valleys, mountains, oceans and sands.OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-71887448061427541462015-05-15T13:05:00.004-07:002015-06-14T10:58:03.390-07:00Mussels and Waffles and Laughter in GhentI am truly getting older. My equally-single friends and I are now talking about mid-life crises, about (not) coming to terms with living alone, about past loves, hopes and frustrations. The Polish friend and co-engineer, older by close to five years and prone to drama, sighs why the Lord has not blessed her, and enumerates her ¨misfortunes¨. By that she refers to her still being single, a few months shy of forty. She then points to her perfectly okay figure and complains of weight gain, and points to her clear face and her little laughlines in despair. We tell her, <i>come on, B! You are so blessed! You´re still pretty and you have a good job, yes?</i> And then of course, she talks about the enemies she´s made at the work site. I think she really wants to anchor her life now with something, she wants to get rooted to a life and stop the traveling. She is ready to buy a house, but she doesn´t know where. She just wants to not be alone anymore.<br />
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Ah, the travails of being a thirty-something woman, living on her own in a foreign land. I, for one don´t share her desperation yet. I still don´t feel old. And, having come from a long talk not too long ago with two Christian elders who fundamentally counselled me about my life direction, I am not worried at all about my life path. But, B surely needed some cheering up so yesterday, we went on a road trip to Ghent for a day of waffles and mussels and laughter.</div>
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Ghent is a city in the Flemish region of Belgium, about a two-hour drive away from my place in Rotterdam. M, my college best friend and also former workmate of B, was our designated driver.</div>
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Ghent is full of canals and ornate buildings<br />
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A shop along the canal. See the windows under ground zero.<br />
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Locals were kayaking along the canals<br />
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One of Ghent´s many churches<br />
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The most picturesque and atmospheric parts of Ghent are along the canals<br />
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After walking through Gent, we decided we needed a waffle break. Because, of course, when in Belgium, one has to have some proper waffles!<br />
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The pretty biscuit that came with my sencha tea<br />
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A true-blue Belgian waffle with chocolate syrup, cream and vanilla ice cream. The waffle was light, crisp and slightly salty, which bode well to the sweetness of the chocolate and ice cream. Really good, but I personally still prefer Liege waffles (another variation of waffles from Liege, Belgium) than these batter-based ones.</div>
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The count´s castle<br />
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There were a lot of chocolate shops in Ghent, but we were not interested to try.</div>
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For lunch, we had mussels in white wine sauce which was supposed to be Ghent´s specialty. The white wine sauce was good but the mussels weren´t that fresh so it was just an okay dish.<br />
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B, M and I doing some much-needed catch up. See, seven years since the three of us worked together in the UK, we found each other working in the same country, with B&I working in the same company! Talk about the world being small!<br />
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A stall of Cuberdon, a traditional sweet in Ghent<br />
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The cuberdons are triangular candies filled with fruit jam. We bought a few to try and oh boy, was it really sweet!</div>
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The Cathedral<br />
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A view of the beautiful Ghent buildings</div>
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Ghent was a small but lovely town, close enough for a day trip from Holland, small enough to be easily navigable by foot ( we parked in a garage, then just walked around) and its canals and the castle offer picturesque vistas. It isn´t earth-shatteringly beautiful but the place is quietly pretty. A fitting backdrop to the three of us catching up with news and stories from the past seven years. I personally like this kind of outings, totally laidback, with good honest food and equally great and honest friends.</div>
OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-5373686548656506442015-05-15T10:48:00.001-07:002015-05-15T22:18:34.075-07:00My List of Things To Do in Madrid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Lavapies: one of Madrid´s older, working class areas</i><br />
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For those who don´t know, I lived in Madrid for two years until late 2014 when I got a seemingly better work offer in Holland. I figured, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to work in an environment where I can learn aspects of my industry that I can never hope to get exposed to in my (then) current job. So when 2015 came, I jumped ship and am now living in The Netherlands.<br />
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I have been in NL for a mere four months, and to be honest, I am still adjusting to the culture and to the perpetually cold weather. Call it foresight, but a couple of months ago, I chanced on cheap fares to Madrid and told myself that it would be the perfect getaway from the cold dutch weather so I booked myself and the Madrid-crazy GBF tickets for a four day Madrid stay.<br />
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My great Madrid getaway weekend happened two weeks ago. I am back in the Netherlands, but my mind is still preoccupied with warm memories of Spain. Before I went back to Madrid, I thought it would be weird to visit the city I considered my second home and see it through an outsider´s (or tourist´s) eyes. I fully expected a bad case of ennui, that feeling of becoming a stranger looking in, that sense of in-between, savouring what was once so familiar and realizing that I was no longer part of it. Can you imagine my surprise when the first thing I felt when I landed in Madrid was a great bubble of joy. I kept exclaiming how it was oh so good to be back!<br />
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I only had four short days in Madrid. So I did all the things I loved, which is basically, eat and eat and eat! I suppose I wanted a part of my old life back, even if only for the weekend. I met up with friends, caught up with the latest news about people, ate the food I missed, walked through my favorite paths, and I even found time to act as the Madrid tourist guide of a good friend´s sister and her family who were visiting Europe for the first time. It´s was funny how in Madrid, I felt so energized and I am able to do a lot of things in a given day. But where I am now, the time seems to move too fast. <br />
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Even in Holland, people ask me the perpetual question: which city is better, Madrid to Barcelona? My answer is always the same. My opinion will invariably be biased because I lived in Madrid whereas I only visited Barcelona. For a tourist who wants the sights and attractions, Barcelona has a lot more to offer --- there´s the beach, there´s Gaudi, and there´s the beautiful and truly spectacular Sagrada Familia. And maybe because it is more touristy, I found Barcelona more expensive, the people a little bit more reserved. Madrid has no beaches to boast about, there are areas where you could see that it really is a working city (like the Bronx in NY), but for me it is like a second home. We all know that Spain is still experiencing the after-effects of the recent economic crash in Europe, so yes, you can feel that. But what I find amazing is that it never made Madrid feel unsafe. Paris and the big cities in Italy is way scarier with a lot of suspicious souls haranguing you in th evening. In Madrid, I used to walk or jog in the late evenings, as late as 10 PM, and I would meet people in the street doing the same thing. In Madrid, going to the city center at midnight is normal. There will always be people in the streets, and if you want to party, the crowds come in at 1 AM. I always say, Barcelona is the city you go to if you want to dazzle people with selfies, but if you want to have a feel of the city, to interact more with locals, I say, Madrid is the city for you.<br />
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So what did I do during my short trip to my beloved Madrid? Here. I crammed them into a list so that just in case you find yourself in Madrid, you can use this as a handy reference:<br />
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<b>(1) Have Churros con Chocolate at Chocolateria San Gines</b><br />
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Churrerias are a dime a dozen in Madrid and every respectable bar and eatery in Madrid offers churros for breakfast, but the best thick chocolate to dip your churros in can be had at Chocolateria San Gines. It is very easy to find as it´s very close to Puerta del Sol, which is considered the epicenter of the city.<br />
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<i>A breakfast of Churros, thick delicious chocolate and freshly squeezed orange juice is a cheap and perfect way to start the day.</i><br />
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<b>(2) Visit the Puerta del Sol early in the day and late at night</b><br />
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<i> Puerta del Sol in the morning before the crowds </i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Photo from photolibra.com</span></i><br />
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Puerta del Sol is the most famous meeting point in Madrid because of its proximity to all the central attractions -- La Latina, Chueca, Lavapies, the Gran Via shopping street, and the museum district. Here, locals out for some shopping therapy, tourists out to have their picture taken at the Bear and the Tree statue, those who are passing through on their way to the Plaza Mayor, and those going on a tapa crawl at the nearby La Latina congregate. From noon to the late evening the Plaza Mayor is buzzing, always teeming with people. It´s nice to sit by the fountain and people watch, listen to the cacophony of sounds, smile at strangers but I like Puerta del Sol better in the early morning when it is still clean of both litter and people, where you can better appreciate how big it is, how grand.<br />
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<b>(3) Visit the El Rastro</b><br />
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<i>El Rastro </i> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Image from cityturtle.co.uk</i></span><br />
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El Rastro is the biggest flea market in Madrid. It is open every Sunday from early morning to about 3 in the afternoon. It is a long strip of stalls selling everything from antiques, clothes, souvenirs, to homewares and second-hand stuff. Even if you don´t plan to buy anything it is a nice experience to walk through the Rastro and watch how the Spanish haggle (the people chat a lot with the vendors!) and you can take vivid photographs of the market for keepsake. The weekly rastro is spread along the Embajadores district which is in the city center. One can walk to the Rastro from Puerta del Sol or La Latina. Last April, I scored a maxi dress and very boho blouse for very affordable prices<br />
( 10€ for the blouse, 15€ for the dress).<br />
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<b>(4) Shop Spanish</b><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b> </b> Image from tiendo.com</span></i><br />
Of course you are familiar with Zara, Mango and perhaps Desigual. These are the Spanish high-street brands that have become worldwide retail giants. To a lesser extent, Pull&Bear, Bershka, and Stradivarius are also slowly slowly getting into the global retail map. So in Madrid, GO! Shop to your heart´s content! But hey, there are other brands that are worth looking into. My personal favorite among the Spanish brands is Sfera. Sfera´s sensibilities are close to Zara´s design with prices that are at par with Mango, which is to say that for me, Sfera is the cheaper alternative to Zara. Other brands to check out are Pimkie, Springfield, Massimo Dutti and the inhouse brands at ElCorte Ingles, Spain´s version of Macy´s.<br />
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There is of course the luxury leather brand, Loewe, but for mortals like me the go-to brand for quality leather goods from Spain is Bimba y Lola.<br />
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There are some big malls in the city, but my favorite places to window shop are the shops at Orense in Nuevos Ministerios, and the more tourist-filled Gran Via Shopping street close to the Puerta del Sol.<br />
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<i>The Style Outlets as SS De los Reyes.</i> <i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Image from thestyleoutlets.es</span></i><br />
There are also factory outlets for these Spanish brands, the closest to the city center is The Style Outlets at SS De Los Reyes, about an hour from the city center.<br />
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<b>(5) Have a Bocadillo de Calamares at one of the shops near Plaza Mayor</b><br />
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Fresh-tasting, delicately breaded squid rings sandwiched in crusty buns, have them with a tall glass of Tinto de Verano or Sangria, and while you´re at it, order a side order of pimienton de padron, fried peppers. The cost? Only about 7€ per person.<br />
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The bocadillos de calamares (literally translated, squid sandwich) is Madrid´s favorite sandwich. You can find this sandwich in most bars around the city, but to get the most delicious iteration, head over to one of the shops specializing in this sandwich around the streets circling the Plaza Mayor at the city centre. Look for a shop with lots of Spanish people queueing for their bocadillos.<br />
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<b>(6) Walk your way to a food adventure by venturing out of Plaza Mayor to the Mercado San Miguel, then to the restaurant caves, towards Botin and finally to Cava Baja for some tapas</b><br />
A food adventure is never too hard to do in Madrid, where good food at better prices is of utmost importance for most people. Even at the city center, where the prices are relatively higher, the food are still good quality. I toured a friend´s American sister for a day and because her family of three really wanted to go into a food adventure we followed this route:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Bocadillos de Calamares near Plaza Mayor, then snapshot-taking at the Plaza Mayor</li>
<li>A two minute walk to the Mercado de San Miguel, Madrid´s gourmet food market<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Where they had a fill of tapas: pinchos with bacalao and anchoas, croquetas, a plate of jamon and a serving each my favorite food in the mercado: a big blob of burrata cheese on crusty bread topped with homemade preserves.<br />
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<ul>
<li>A walk passing through the cave restaurants below the Plaza Mayor </li>
<li>A short stop at Restaurant Botin, the world´s oldest restaurant, for some pictures<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOfRwTTTFyYMdS2n7M6cJlyiVxUuDAlorj7GMTq6xRqyMwJoCFCEteuqaTOtfnI24KS-6tIB92w1fzVYM4RPtUWjZ-KG8RYCQuXwYwYiF25xeSjqJ28Qjqx92mNlAPrLtsqY1zBiqLo0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-15+at+18.46.34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOfRwTTTFyYMdS2n7M6cJlyiVxUuDAlorj7GMTq6xRqyMwJoCFCEteuqaTOtfnI24KS-6tIB92w1fzVYM4RPtUWjZ-KG8RYCQuXwYwYiF25xeSjqJ28Qjqx92mNlAPrLtsqY1zBiqLo0/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-05-15+at+18.46.34.png" width="400" /></a><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image from botin.es </span></i></li>
<li>We walked further to <i>Cava Baja </i>for to show them where one can go on a tapa crawl with the locals. The plan was for them to have at least one tapa but by then they were already full so we just walked through the street, so they can see how the tapa bars were as they planned to do the tapa crawl the next night.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</ul>
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<b>(7) Take the time to enjoy your awesome two-course lunch for only 12€.</b><br />
Lunch is an unhurried affair in this city. At my former company in Madrid, we had the option to extend our lunch hour up to two hours. And why not? The lunches at restaurants in Madrid are awesome. Imagine for only 8 to 12€ you get to have a basket of delicious bread for your appetizer, a first course (usually a choice of either a salad, a pasta dish, paella, a cooked vegetable dish or soup), a second course (where you get your protein. it can be steak, fish, stew, chicken or pork served with potatoes or salad), a dessert (flan, pudding, cake, ice cream or fresh fruits, your choice) and oh, a glass of wine (or juice or mineral water) with your meal. It is so easy to eat well in this city. And that is what I miss the most about Madrid.<br />
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<i> The free bread and wine</i><br />
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<i> My spectacular salad with membrillo (quince cheese) and what I assume is feta cheese</i><br />
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<b>(8) Walk through the picturesque Banco de Espana Avenue towards the Museums and to Retiro Park</b><br />
The tree-lined avenue from the beautiful Banco de Espana building towards the museum triangle is my favorite walking spot in Madrid. It is beautiful and cool even in the summer, the building architecture is classically Spanish. You can walk your way to the big three museums in Madrid -- The Prado, the Reina Sofia and my favorite museum of the three, The Thyssen.<br />
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<i>Banco de Espana</i> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image from vozpopuli.com</span><br />
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Walking through the avenue will reward you with a view of Atocha Renfe Station, Madrid´s central train station.<br />
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<i> Atocha Renfe Station</i><br />
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A few more steps and you can take a splendid respite at Madrid´s own version of Central Park, the expansive Retiro Park, which you must absolutely visit when you are in Madrid. See #9 below.<br />
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(9) Spend a few hours at Retiro Park, enjoy the view, find a bench, take a nap, read a book, reflect, walk through the greeneries, watch the locals paddle through the manmade lake, or visit the Palacio de Cristal.<br />
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<i> Entrance to Retiro Park</i><br />
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<i> A bench to sleep in. Yes, I took an hour-long nap in this bench.</i><br />
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<i> One of the gardens inside Retiro</i><br />
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<i> The Palacio de Cristal</i><br />
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<b>(10) Say hello!</b><br />
My last to-do in Madrid, and in Spain in general, is very simple, and that is to say hi to the locals! Often, you would hear strangers greeting you with hello <i>(hola)</i>, don´t hesitate to greet them back, say <i>hola! </i>Don´t hesitate to ask for help too if you need it. Smile and enjoy the vibe. Madrilenos are a gregarious lot, they stare right back at you when you look at them, they talk and chat endlessly, but if you smile back and say hello they will warm up to you too. When the streets are full of people expect the staccato of conversations to fill the air, but that is what you came to Madrid for, right? To discover its spirit, so sit back, enjoy the somewhat noisy vibe of this lively city.<br />
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<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-72412665335429158362015-04-25T02:37:00.001-07:002015-05-15T13:41:00.555-07:00 Eleven Things To Eat in IlocosIt is summertime in the Philippines! The streams on my facebook is filled with images of our tropical brand of happiness! Here I am cocooned, sweatshirt and all, watching the gloomy Saturday run its course, my mind miles away filled with a longing for...<br />
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Halo-halo - the quintessential Filipino frozen dessert<br />
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<i> (Image from nytimes.com)</i><br />
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Green Mango and Bagoong<br />
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<i>(Image from www.cammyaioki.com)</i><br />
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And the sea, our glorious tropical sea<br />
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<i>Saud Beach, Pagudpud (Image from travelandtourphils.com)</i><br />
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I Imagine myself enjoying these summer treats while the breeze slaps me into a state of languor, my feet warmed by pearly white sands, skin marked golden by the eternal summer sun. <i>Haaay</i>, what more can I possibly want?<br />
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But I am halfway around the world, where although it is spring and the tulips have began to bloom, it cannot measure up to my tropical islands´ beautiful summers.<br />
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So I write this sort of paean instead. My brother just came back from a road trip to our province in <i>Ilocos</i> with his friends from work. I saw Facebook pictures and I am filled with envy, the kind that has a little bit of smugness: <i> It´s beautiful, no? </i><i>Yeah, I know, I´m from there. </i><i> Ilocos is spectacular, the highway to the North are tiptop, our beaches are great, and we have more stuff to offer than beaches! The sand dunes, our old Spanish churches, and yes, even the very touristy strip in Vigan, Calle Crisologo has its charms. And best of all, it has not been commercialized to death like Boracay. </i><br />
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But this post is not about the places to visit in Ilocos, that´s easy enough to google.<br />
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This is about food, glorious Ilocano food I love. Food that you must try if you really want to explore Ilocos, learn its taste and nuances. Some of the food here are borne out of the homecooking of my relatives, dishes that my Lolas, Aunties, Mother and our Ilocano helpers cooked for our daily meals. Some are food that have become so famously connected to our region. While a few may not yet be as familiar to you , but here they are, I share them with you, in the hopes that you would be enjoined to discover a little bit more of Ilocos. Go and visit the North, enjoy our sun and delight in its culinary offerings. Know, that somewhere in cold, rainy Europe there are GIs (Genuine Ilocanos) like me, who yearn to have one perfect sunny summer day back home.<br />
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11. Here are eleven Ilocano food I recommend for you to try when you find yourself in Ilocos. I am biased of course, as these are my comfort food. But just in case, you want my small advice, here they are, the eleven things you must eat in Ilocos.<br />
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<b>Pinakbet, the Ilocano way</b><br />
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<i>Ilocano pakbet: </i>No <i>kalabasa( squash)!</i> Stewed not sauteed! <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Image from beatingheartbaby.com)</span></i><br />
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Fact: The <i>Tagalog Pinakbet</i> that we all know could not be more different from the <i>pakbet (short for pinakbet)</i> I grew up eating. Truth: the first time I ate <i>pakbet tagalog</i>, I was perplexed! What they labeled as <i>pakbet</i> was nothing but <i>guinisang kalabasa</i> ( sauteed squash) with a few other vegetables thrown in! I am not saying that the <i>Tagalog Pinakbet</i> is bad, it´s not, I enjoy it too. But to my mind it´s<i> ginisang gulay (</i>sauteed vegetables) and not <i>pinakbet. </i><br />
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The <i>Ilocano pinakbet </i>is not sauteed but stewed. The vegetables are layered in a broth of water, tomato, f<i>ish bagoong,</i> and onions. The vegetables are layered and the pot is covered. When I was younger, I would watch my grandmother shake the covered pot halfway through the cooking time. I suppose that´s to meld the flavors of the dish. At our home, my mother still does that, potholders and all, giving a vigorous shake to our pakbet a few minutes before serving. In Ilocos, the pinakbet can have a variety of vegetables depending on what is available. It usually has sitaw <i>(string beans)</i>, okra, talong <i>(eggplant)</i>, sigarilyas<i>(winged bean)</i>, ampalaya(<i>bitter melon)</i>, <i> siling haba</i> (long chili), tomatoes, <i>malunggay</i> fruit (<i>moringa fruit)</i> and<i> kamote</i>(sweet potato). But never with kalabasa (squash). The pinakbet is usually topped with leftover broiled or fried fish or chunks of <i>chicharon</i> (crispy fried pork). Every Ilocano has his own ideal pinakbet. I am a purist when it comes to my pinakbet, so my ideal pinakbet has no meat at all, just veggies cooked with just fish bagoong and a bit of patis, the vegetables stewed in tomatoes, allowing their own natural sweetness to develop. My favorite meal growing up was a bowl of all my all-veggie<i> pinakbet, unlimited </i>rice, and of course, a side dish of<i> Chicharon </i>chunks.<br />
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Visitors to Ilocos can try Pinakbet in countless eateries, but really, if you are so lucky to be invited to an Ilocano home, go, ask them for Pinakbet. Because when it comes to savouring Pinakbet, the home cooked version is always tops.<br />
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<b>Chicharon (Bagnet)</b><br />
I don´t exactly know how the term <i>bagnet</i> came to be. All my life, I called it <i>chicharon</i>. That´s how everyone in our small municipality in Ilocos called it. But chicharon by any other name is still the same unctuous, life-changing food that is decadent, sinful but unrelentingly tempting --- that crisp porky skin, the strong unmistakable yet clean porcine flavor, and those meltingly soft layers of fat in between strips of lean meat. Ay! I can live my days without <i>lechon</i>, in fact, aside from the skin, there´s really nothing I like about l<i>echon baboy</i>. But give me <i>chicharon</i> every day and I will be happy for the rest of what would possibly be my hastened but decadent life.<br />
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Image from daybreakembers.blogspot.com<br />
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<i>Chicharon </i>is always available at any Ilocos wet markets, but note that not all wet markets in Ilocos are open daily. To ensure you´ll have your fill of bagnet, go buy them at the Laoag or Batac markets. In our town, the market isn´t open everyday and there is still what we call <i>aldaw ti tienda ken uraga</i>, roughly speaking, it translates to market and butcher day, the day when one of the town´s butcher does his thing. Of course part of what is butchered is made into <i>chicharon</i>, and there is nothing as delicious as freshly made chicharon, skin still blistering from the heat. We´d usually we´d reserve a kilo or two of this freshly cooked chicharon. Chicharon, while great in itself, served as is, is really more of an ingredient in Ilocos cooking. We portion cubes to add to our <i>pakbet</i>, chop it up, mix it with papaya and pig blood for <i>dinardaraan</i>, or as a side dish to our mostly all vegetable dishes of <i>dinengdeng </i>and <i>inabraw</i>. Yes, Ilocanos are <i>matipid </i>(thrifty)<i>,</i> even when it comes to chicharon :-)<br />
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<b>Inartem (Pickled Fruits)</b><br />
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All sorts of<i> Inartem</i>: <i>Manga,</i> <i>Singkamas, </i>and my favorite, <i>Balayan</i><br />
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If you love sour stuff you will be addicted to <i>Inartem.</i> Inartem literally means "pickled", and in Ilocos, we pickle everything ---- mangoes, turnips, <i>karamay</i> (asian gooseberries), <i>santol</i> (cotton fruit), <i>balayang </i>(wild banana), doused in a potent mixe of <i>Ilocos vinega</i>r , pepper and some sugar. <br />
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Every summer until high school, I was sent off to Ilocos to live with my grandparents. Those were the happiest days of my life, afternoons spent with my cousins doing stuff that I could never do in the city ---- we climbed and fell off trees, went to small adventures to the nearby river trying to gather freshwater crabs, we fearlessly walked through farmlands, helped plant peanuts and corn, and when the rain came, we ran outside and looked for frogs under the rocks, poked them and watched with glee as they jumped like crazy away from us. It was during my summer stay in Ilocos that I developed my love for <i>inartem. </i><br />
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My cousins and I are mad for <i>Inartem. </i> It is sour, tart, sweet, with a hint of spice, and made with all natural ingredients What´s not to like? How much do I love <i>Inartem</i>? So much, that one christmas, a couple of years ago. I asked for a big jar of <i>Inartem na Balayan (pickled wild bananas)</i> as a gift. And ate it all myself, <i>mwahaha!</i><br />
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<i>Inartem na Papaya</i> is mouth-puckering delicious!<br />
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When I was younger, <i>Inartem</i> was always available at our town´s market but now it´s a bit harder to find. However, if you are in Batac, there is a row of <i>Inartem </i>stalls close to the Marcos Museum. Every visit to our hometown always requires a trip to Batac, if only to hoard on jars of i<i>nartem</i> and eat <i>Miki </i>and <i>Empanada </i>at Batac´s Riverside stalls.<br />
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<b>Royal Bibingka</b><br />
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Royal <i>Bibingka </i>(rice cake) <i> </i>is our favorite pasalubong from Ilocos Sur. These small round golden disks of slightly burned, melt-in-your-mouth soft, cheesy-sweet deliciousness will always be my idea of the perfect bibingka. It is sooo good, I can eat six of these in one sitting. These goodies are the specialty of the towns of Bantay and Vigan in Ilocos Sur. The two most famous brands of Royal <i>Bibingka</i> are Sisters´ and Marsha´s. I personally prefer Sisters because they´re softer but the rest of the family likes Marsha´s better because they´re a bit sweeter. The shops of Marsha´s and Sisters´ are along the National Highway so if you are coming from Ilocos Norte going to Manila, you will pass by their stores. Most Northbound buses also pass by one of these stores to give the passengers the opportunity to buy <i>pasalubongs </i>(gifts).<br />
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<b>Dodol</b><br />
The first time I tried <i>Dodol,</i> I was still a child. My grandma and I went to a small town party. In our town, at least in the late 80s, a party meant that the women and men of the town would gather together at the party venue hours before to prepare for the celebration, each helping in some way ----the men would butcher the pig and chickens, the women would prep the vegetables and ingredients, some would, others would gather plates, pans, glasses, and some would stay behind after the party is finished to help with the washing of dishes and aftercare. Looking back, I realize now that it was a beautiful form of <i>Bayanihan</i>, that Filipino trait of helping each other, that belief that there is immeasurable strength in numbers.<br />
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At that party, I became engrossed with watching two women take turns mixing blobs of brown goop in a gigantic <i>kawali</i> (Filipino wok) over slow fire. I remember getting bored watching them after a few minutes. And then when it was time to eat, these women took the cooled <i>kawali</i> filled with a delicious-looking caramel colored mass, and began cutting squares of the brown stuff for us. It was the first time I tried <i>Dodol,</i> and oh man, it was like the best native sweet I have ever tried. It is so hard to describe the mouthfeel. It´s similar to <i>maja blanca</i> but a little bit firmer. It tastes of coconut, <i>panocha</i>, and burnt caramel. There is nothing like it. When I lived for a few months in Malaysia, I discovered that they also had <i>Dodol</i>, and it was similar to the <i>dodol</i> of my beloved Ilocos, except that the Malaysian <i>dodol</i> I´ve tried had a bit of a bite compared to the silky texture of my Ilocos <i>dodol.</i><br />
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Because making <i>dodol</i> is difficult and time consuming , finding it can be a challenge. Most big markets in Ilocos would have it, displayed with our other native sweets --- <i>patupat </i>( a sort of rice suman) and <i>tupig </i>(sweet rice logs). Among these three, I like <i>dodol </i>best.<br />
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<i>Brown Squares of Dodol: Delicious! (Image from pixgood.com)</i></div>
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<b>Igado (The Ilocos version of Menudo)</b><br />
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While most kids in Manila grew up eating and loving menudo. My brother and I lived for <i>igado. </i>And if I think about it now, <i>Igado </i>is like the Ilocano version of menudo. And even now, grown up that we are, it is <i>Igado</i>, together with <i>pinakbet </i>and <i>chicharon,</i> that I request for my first meal at home every time I go home to the Philippines.<br />
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<i>Igado </i>is made of pork tenderloin strips and liver, green and red bell peppet, and green peas. The way my mother does her<i> Igado,</i> she soaks the pork tenderloin in <i>patis </i>and pepper for an hour or so in the ref, and then sautes the meat and the liver in onions and garlic, then she pours a measure of ilocos vinegar, pepper and patis and cooks the dish with veggies (green peas or sometimes chickpeas, bell pepper). Igado is slightly sour, peppery, and full of pork <i>umami</i>. It is for me a robust, hearty fare to be eaten with cupfuls of rice. <br />
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<b>Miki </b><br />
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<i>Miki</i> with its nuclear orange colored broth is the <i>Ilocano</i> version of Chicken soup. It´s freshly cut miki noodles in a thick broth of chicken. That nuclear orange color is due to the <i>atsuete(</i>annato)<i> seeds</i>. Shredded and cooked chicken meat is sauted in atsuete-infused oil and lots of garlic, then cupfuls of chicken broth is added and finally the noodles. If you eat Miki in restaurants or eateries, it is often served with a boiled egg and topped with crushed <i>chicharon</i> <i>(bagnet)</i>. But in our home, we prefer the basic chicken soup without the egg and chicharon. We also add a spoonful of I<i>locos vinegar </i>and a dash of pepper to the Miki. It´s weird, but I grew up eating miki like this.<br />
Some people expect this soup to taste like chicken mami and get offended when the anise-like flavor of a<i>tsuete </i>hits them, so here´s a warning, although it looks like mami, our <i>Ilocos miki</i> tastes totally different. And for me that´s a good thing.<br />
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<b>Empanada</b><br />
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Ah Empanada, these fried orange shells made of ground rice are the quintessential Ilocos snacks . We love them. If it was up to me, I´d eat these goodies every single day. Filled with <i>mongo </i>sprouts, <i>papaya </i>slivers, an egg, and l<i>ongganisa</i>, this is not the empanada of Spanish lore. This is our own super Pinoy version of <i>empanada</i> using the ingredients that are abundant in Ilocos --- rice, mungbeans, papaya, eggs and off course, our native sausages, what the rest of the Philippines call as <i>Ilocos longganisa</i>. These empanada stalls are ever present in Ilocos towns, congregating near the town Plazas. My Ilocos memories are filled with empanda eating. When day after day, we would flock to these stalls in the late afternoon for our daily fill of Empanada, a perfect merienda to sustain us before dinner. Decades of eating empanada and I still love it to bits. Proof? The in January, when I went home to Ilocos, I ate at least three empanadas each day.<br />
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<b>Dinardaraan (Dry Dinuguan)</b><br />
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<i>Dinardaraan </i>literally means ¨bloodied" or cooked with blood. It is called by its tagalog name, <i>dinuguan</i>, in other parts of the Philippines. One thing that set´s apart the Ilocos version is that our dinardaraan is cooked dry, until the pork blood coagulates into a sort of mushy pudding consistency. Eversince I can remember, I have preferred my <i>dinardaraan </i>this way. The pork in the dinardaraan sauteed and pan fried until crispy or sometimes chunks of <i>chicharon</i> is used, the dish into cooked until the blood turns into mush--- good, velvety chocolate colored mush enveloping chunks of crispy pork. Is it any wonder why I got a little bit surprised when the crispy <i>dinuguan </i>from a popular restaurant in Manila became such a big thing, like really? I´ve been eating crispy <i>dinuguan</i> all my life! So yes, it is delicious! And so good, that it is the only type of d<i>inuguan </i>I like. </div>
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<b>Ilocos Longganisa</b><br />
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<b> </b><i> Image from taraletseat.blogspot.com</i><br />
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One of the favorite pasalubongs from Ilocos is our famous<i> Longganisa</i>. Ilocos is garlic country, we plant garlic year after year, it´s a good cash crop in this part of the Philippines. And our love for garlic certainly shines through in our favorite homegrown sausage. Our <i>longganisas</i> are garlicky, with no hint of sweetness. I actually love my Ilocos <i>longganisa </i>with visible chunks of fat that´s redolent of garlic. Plates of this <i>longganisa</i> plus <i>sinangag</i> (garlic rice) and eggs is our version of a hearty breakfast.<br />
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<b>Chichacorn</b><br />
Not all <i>chichacorn</i>(cornicks) are created equal. You will see a lot of chichacorn on offer at the pasalubong centers all over Ilocos, but believe me, nothing beats the crunch and clean flavors of <i>Nana Rosa Chichacorn</i>. I don´t know their secret. Is it their drying and frying method? Or is it the type of corn they use? But they have the best chichacorn in the world (including those produced in Spain, which I´ve snacked on for two when a craving for <i>chichacorn</i> ensues in faraway Europe). Nana Rosa´s store and factory is in Paoay but there are some pasalubong shops in Laoag and Batac which carries them too. At only 40 pesos for a 160 grams packs, it´s an awesome, guaranteed delicious and inexpensive pasalubong. When in Ilocos, drop by Nana Rosa´s in Paoay and hoard on these delicious snacks!<br />
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So that´s my list of the foods you should try if you do find yourself in Ilocos. I hope this little post made you want to go to Ilocos. Go, discover Ilocos, our food, beaches, our heritage sites, the smiles of Ilocanos, go! Race through our sand dunes, eat pinakbet, walk through a time bubble at our Spanish age churches and buildings. And while you´re at it, remember, there´s be one girl in faraway NL who´s wishing she were in your shoes!OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-85442837975298514452015-04-19T12:36:00.001-07:002015-05-15T13:42:02.831-07:00That Green Gunk!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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See that slimy green gunk on the left? The one that looks like<br />
a) radioactive waste <br />
b) something that´s meant for the garbage can or<br />
c) something that´s ermmm, too gross to mention.<br />
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Well, that green gunk is the one food that I love above all else in The Netherlands.<br />
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My love story with the green <i>hunk</i>, I mean green gunk began two years ago when I first visited The Netherlands. On the first day of my visit, my host-BFF introduced me to HEMA, a chain of stores that is often touted as the Dutch version of Ikea. Like Ikea, the big Hema stores usually have cafeterias where one can have hot meals, sandwiches, pastries, cakes and well, soup.<br />
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That particular day was a bit cold, and so I decided to have soup. There were two choices; a rather anemic-looking chicken soup and a green gunk called <i>Erwtensoep</i>. Of course I chose the weird looking food! And thus began my love for the <i>Erwtensoep.</i><br />
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<b>What is Erwtensoep?</b><br />
It´s the Dutch version of split pea soup. That green coloring? That´s from the chlorophyll of the peas, dear. The soup according to google, usually contains carrots, potato, leek, onion and of course some seasoning. But for me, the icing on the ermm, soup, are the chunks of smoked sausage called <i>rookworst </i>mixed in. Those meaty chunks add ooomph to the decidedly mellow flavor of the veggies.<br />
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Fast forward to now, and through a strange twist of fate <i>( or actually my desire to get out of what has become a bit of a monotonous existence in Spain),</i> and here I am now living and working in The Netherlands. I have a bit of a personal attachment to this soup, and it is a bit shameful really, but during my first few weeks, while I was grappling with a lot of challenges in my relocation, I found solace in eating bowls upon bowls of Erwtensoep. If I was hungry and too tired/sad/stressed about life here, my automatic response was to heat up a pack of the soup to carry me through. You could not have imagined how many times I berated myself during my first month here. How I second-guessed my sanity for coming here when I was just doing fine in Madrid. It was awful really, so awful that I cried some nights, and made a plan to talk to my former manager in Madrid and ask her if I can come back. I was so close to running back to Spain. For weeks, I had this internal diatribe:<br />
<i>Are you crazy? You chose to leave a stable job, that beautiful city with great food, gracious people and unending happenings for this cold land and those pushy people who don´t care what happens to you as long as they get what they want?</i><br />
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And truly, in my first few weeks here, each grocery visit would find me with cans and tetrapaks of <i>Erwtensoep</i>. It was my comfort food, the one sure thing I knew was good in this place. <br />
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I think I have tasted all the brands of E<i>rwtensoep</i> available. There´s Unox, the market leader in ready made hearty soup in Holland, Konig which is a bit more expensive than Unox, and then there were the house brands of the different supermarkets. I´ve tried Hoogvliet´s, Dirk´s and Lidl´s versions of <i>Erwtensoep</i>. And so far, this brand is my favorite:<br />
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This is my favorite Erwtensoep.<br />
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I like this the most because the soup has chunky bits of veggies, and thus more texture. The taste, to be honest, is all too similar among all the <i>Erwtensoep </i>I´ve eaten. It´s the texture that makes this soup better than the rest.<br />
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<b>More Soup</b><br />
Spring is coming, and with it the tulips and sunshine, and me slowly getting used to life in this land. I still miss Madrid. But I realize, at least for this year, I need to see myself through and learn everything I can here and make all the challenges and hassles I´ve gone through in the longest three months of my working life worth it. So yes, my emotional need for my favorite hearty soup to comfort me through the cold days is waning. But I still keep a few packs of the soup, just in case. It is still the perfect dinner on nights when I am too tired to do anything and when a sandwich just<br />
won´t cut it. It is still the one small good thing that I seek for nourishment, even as I slowly slowly get used to the routines of my life here in The Netherlands.<br />
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OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-18207892235567299162015-04-18T03:33:00.001-07:002015-05-15T13:42:20.835-07:00An Almond A Day...I just realized that I have been eating a lot of almonds these past few weeks. I always thought of almonds as these nubbins that´s supposed to be a healthier snack option to chips. <i>Rich in Protein! Food for the Brain!</i> Well, you know the drill...<br />
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On days when I get into one of my get-fit-or-die mindset, I do turn to almonds to carry me through my snack cravings. Although to be honest, I do get bored eating almonds after sometime, because let´s admit it, absolutely nothing is as satisfying and guilt-inducing as munching through a bag of lipsmacking Ruffle´s Cheddar & Sour Cream potato chips!<br />
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<b>CHOCS</b><br />
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And then there´s Almonds with Chocolates, or is it the other way around? Let´s just say that whoever discovered this delicious combination is a food hero. Because let´s admit it, life, hard as it is already, would just be a bit harsher if there were no chocolate-covered almonds in the world to perk us up! <br />
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Meiji Almond from Japan<br />
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<b>ALMOND MILK</b></div>
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When I came to the Netherlands, I discovered that almonds can come in the form of...Milk. Yes, milk, the kind you drink from a cup. And so, intrepid food discoverer that I am, I took the bait and bought myself some.<br />
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The idea of nut milks is a bit weird, I reckon. See Almond Milk, and other nut milks for that matter, is entirely devoid of dairy. At first I thought, perhaps these Almond milks are diluted in a soya-based milk, but turns out that no. These milks really get their creamy taste from the nut itself.<br />
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If you have a gut that´s utterly sensitive to lactose, and if you also have some intolerance to soya-based products, then hello there! We´re kindred spirits! These nut milks may just be our kind of milk!<br />
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The first Almond Milk I tried was the Dark Choco variant.</div>
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The Almond Dark Choco Milk was pretty good! It is barely sweet and has a rich chocolate taste. The first time I tried it, I thought, this tastes like Ferrero Rocher in drink form, although Ferrero is really made from hazelnuts not almonds :-) </div>
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The past week though, I´ve been trying to cut down on calories, so I shifted to the unsweetened pure Almond milk. See, the Almond Dark Choco has a little over 100 kcal for a 250 ml glass, whereas the Almond milk has only 50 kcal for the same serving.<br />
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The Original Almond Milk has a very mild nutty taste but it´s creamy enough to make a good alternative to milk. I think this milk would be good for milkshakes ( Chocolate Almond Banana milkshakes, anyone?) or even as milk substitute for pancakes and maybe for cake batters. One of these days, I promise I will experiment using Almond Milk for baking.</div>
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<b>COOKIES</b></div>
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I now live in the land of Cookie Butters otherwise known as Speculaas. Sadly I have lost my taste for them. Maybe its because they are so readily available here, like you can even find these Speculoos biscuits and spreads in convenience stores. But even though my cookie butter phase has gone kaput, I still buy packs of these cookies for my mother who loves them with her tea. Me, I´d rather have something else.<br />
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I found my current cookie favorite just a week ago, and guess what, it is Almond flavored!<br />
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Bastogne Duo is an almond and vanilla flavored cookie that goes perfectly well with hot drinks ---<br />
coffee, hot choco or tea.<br />
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I prefer my Bastogne cookie with tea.<br />
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These cookies have two distinct flavors. The brown parts are almond flavored while the center cookie section is vanilla flavored. It has a nice sort of candy almond flavor which I like,and the crumbly buttery texture is similar to that of Speculoos cookies. Not too sweet too, just a sharp almond flavor and a vanilla undertone, perfect for tea time and coffee moments. <br />
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So between my almond milk in the morning and these almond cookies during coffee breaks at the office, I say, I get more than my daily dose of almonds in a day. Now if only a handful of almonds a day can keep some <i>nega</i> people away. <i>* wistful thinking!*</i><br />
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<i>Happy Weekend!</i></div>
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OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-82744355301256064962015-03-29T09:05:00.003-07:002015-05-15T13:43:34.547-07:00A Sweet Hello to Gu´s Delicious TreatsHello! How are you? Sorry I´ve been quiet for some time. I just moved countries and although The Netherlands is only an hour and a half away from Madrid, my base for the past two years, there were still a lot of things to get used to. The weather, for one thing. It´s always cold and drizzling in Holland. But the past few weeks there have been pockets of sunshine. People are all looking forward to spring and the tulips in full bloom! and the sun! How I miss the hot scorching rays of the sun! I never imagined I would say this, but there are days when I miss Madrid so much. I miss the mild weather and the good, inexpensive food that can be had at the restaurants all over Madrid. Here in Holland, the groceries are not really expensive but eating out is. I miss Madrid´s 10€ two course meals with dessert and wine! Ah but that´s life. One has to make do with what is on her plate at the moment.<br />
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One good thing about Holland is the plethora of grocery goodies from Belgium, France, Germany and the UK. Take for example my super delicious find this weekend. It´s a brand called <a href="http://www.gupuds.com/">Gu</a> from the UK founded after the owner got inspired by the desserts he tried in Belgium.<br />
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The first time I tried this was on a brief trip to Paris. I remember I bought a chocolate pudding and it was delish but relatively expensive at about 2€ for a small ramekin. Imagine my happiness then when I saw packs of Gu at my local grocery today and they were on sale! From 3.5€ for a double serving pack, they were only 2€ a pack!<br />
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Look what I bought:<br />
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Each Gu cheesecake is in a beautiful clear glass ramekin.<br />
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Mmmmm! Who would have thought that a speculoos crumb crust goes oh-so perfectly with the tartness of cream cheese. I´d say, I like this speculoos crust way better than the usual graham cracker crust used for cheesecakes! Using Speculoos cookies instead of graham cracker for the crust is a wonderful way to make your cheesecake a bit different! The speculoos crust lends a cinnamon and nutmeg flavor that´s a perfect foil for the silky, slightly sour flavor of the cheese.<br />
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After enjoying this Gu dessert, I wanted to try making my own speculoos-crusted cheesecake ASAP! Good thing the grocery shops close at 5 PM on sundays haha! No chance for me to buy the ingredients I need to satisfy this new food obsession.<br />
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So yes, basing from the desserts I´ve tried from Gu, I could say that this seems like an awesome dessert company. The taste is topnotch and way above the usual sweets one gets from the grocery dessert section. It is a bit expensive, though not ridiculously so. Just pricey enough for me not buy these treats every weekend. Oh I hope they go on sale again next weekend! I want to try more of their goodies like these yum-yums I saw from their site:<br />
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So if you are lucky enough to discover Gu desserts at a supermarket near you, Go! Try it and let me know if you love them as much as I do.<br />
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Cheers! May we be filled with grace this coming week. Have a good holy week!OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-61619073036069139662015-01-13T18:08:00.001-08:002015-01-13T18:55:43.567-08:00Going Home To Ilocos #1: Playing With Frogs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Ilocos landscape</span></i><br />
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Five years. It's been five years since I've gone home to my parents' hometown in Ilocos Norte. I really have no excuse --- life just buzzed by and with my meager vacation days, I could not find the time and the willpower to go home. I figured it's enough that my mother goes home every couple of years or so, and that I did see my nieces three years ago when they came to Manila while I was on vacation. There's facebook and phone conversations to keep us connected.<br />
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But who am I kidding? The truth is that going home to Ilocos somewhat made me uneasy. It's a mixed bag of joy and frustration, of belonging and not really fitting in. It was easier and far more comfortable for me not to go.</div>
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On the one hand, Ilocos defined my childhood. My happiest memories as a child were the two months of summer spent with my mother's parents, Nana and Tata. This went on every year until I was fifteen when Tata died. </div>
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My brother and I have not much to bank on when it comes to love between our parents. I am luckier perhaps, because the seven years gap between my younger brother and me meant I had the gift of time to spend with my grandparents. Since I was six, I have spent my summers nestled within the loving adoration of Nana and Tata. They were the sweetest couple ever, my Tata would arrive from his day at his farm and he'd holler to Nana, <i>Good evening, Darling ko! </i>And kiss her on the cheeks. And then he'd tug me and give me a warm embrace.</div>
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Despite the simplicity of life in Ilocos, I thrived, and at the end of every summer I'd come back to Manila healthier and livelier. In Ilocos, I could not be the picky eater that I was in Manila, I could not demand for hotdogs and all those processed foods so readily available in the city. Instead, my Nana taught me a love for <i>pinakbet</i>, to eat <i>malunggay</i> soup, enjoy <i>adobong saluyot</i> and enjoy the clean taste of <i>ukyang</i> soup --- river crams in a clear broth of ginger and sliced tomato.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <i> Walking through farmlands</i></span><br />
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In the city, I was a quiet kid who filled her days reading Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twins detective stories. In Ilocos, I learned how to climbed trees, joined my cousins in the afternoon walking through farmlands, picking tomatoes and uprooting a few of the peanut plants we passed by for our snacks( which is bad, now that I think of it), and when the wet season came at the tailend of the summer I ran with them to welcome the rain. <br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <i>Image from amigurumiisland.wordpress.com</i></span><br />
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We'd play in the mud, overturn stones, and poke little crevices with <i>walis tingting </i>sticks (broomsticks) in search of ...frogs. Yes frogs. We never did anything to the frogs we found except gather them and throw them back on the wet earth. It was their croaks and the crazy hops done in panic that amused us, how foolish and funny these creatures were, how totally different from us. I suppose in this time of political correctness, our innocent joys of torturing these frogs, plucking them from their hiding places for our amusement, well the high and mighty they might say we were cruel, but for us kids, those were precious moments, there was something elemental with our happiness as we watch in amazement how these little creatures scrammed away from us, mere kids. Perhaps to them we were big forces of nature who could if we were so mean, squash them in a single stroke. But to us, they were these emerald, bug-eyed creatures, our precious pets at least until we got tired of them, until we are called upon to wash up our muddy limbs. Until the lure is called on by Nana, an invitation for a bowl of hot steaming <i>Royco,</i> the chicken noodle soup we so loved as kids. Food or frog? So easy a choice, with that we leave the frogs be to their croaking.<br />
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<b>UP NEXT: </b> <i>What to Eat and Buy in Ilocos</i></div>
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OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-85971975467024093692015-01-10T01:45:00.002-08:002015-01-10T02:48:08.597-08:00Brunch at Baguio's Most Loved RestaurantA last minute decision to make a side trip to Baguio on our way home to Manila from Ilocos found us in Baguio's most loved restaurant for brunch. It's been years since we went up to Baguio, and despite the new restaurants popping up in the City of Pines, I wanted something familiar and comforting, like how Baguio is to me even after years of not visiting.<br />
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First we tried to find Star Cafe which to my memory was the best Chinese eatery in Baguio only to find out that it has closed. Thankfully, my other favorite Baguio eatery, what many consider as Baguio's most loved restaurant, is still standing tall. Like a serene and regal beacon amidst the crazy commercial buzz that has overcome the once genteel Session Road.<br />
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<b>Cafe By The Ruins</b> is still as beautiful as ever.</div>
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That bamboo canopy at the al fresco dining area<br />
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Proudly Filipino interiors</div>
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Part of the experience of dining at Cafe By The Ruins is being surrounded by its old world Baguio charm --- wooden Filipino brickabracks everywhere, capiz shell lights, dark wood furnitures in traditional Filipino designs. There's even an igorot <i>dap-ayan</i> which can be used for small parties. A dap-ayan is a filipino version of gazebo, made usually of wood and stone with thatched cogon grass for the roof. <i>Dap-ayan</i> being the Ilocano term for gathering place.</div>
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It is this that I love about Cafe By The Ruins, it is unapologetically Filipino in design and sensibilities yet it is not bold nor brash. The tables, the bamboo canopies, those beautiful tea lights, and the native woven table mats, these are the exact things I'd have if I were to build an airy bed and breakfast place in my hometown in Ilocos. This is a place that allows you to dawdle. In the hours before lunch, it is less harried and people come here to have their coffee or hot chocolate, relish a breakfast fit for a queen, read a paper, catch up with friends, or doodle on theirs journal at a leisurely pace.</div>
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The Cafe is famous for its delicious breads. </div>
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The famous kamote bread is still as pillowy light as I remembered it and pairs perfectly with the country-style liver pate.</div>
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Soft and crusty jumbo pan de sal with artisanal jam and a flowerette of butter. The pan de sal was huge! Almost the size of a hamburger bun. It is a good pan de sal, not outstanding, but good enough.</div>
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My plate of Beef Tapa with upland rice, egg with onions and tomato</div>
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My mother's Embutido with upland rice and roasted pineapple<br />
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My cousin's Ilocos Longganisa with upland rice, sunny side up egg<br />
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Beef Stroganoff with pasta and garlic bread for my brother</div>
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The dishes served by Cafe by The Ruins are a mix of Filipino and continental comfort foods. I, for one, love their breakfast plates. What can be more comforting and more nourishing than a hefty plate filled with slabs of beef tapa, a generous serving of the local upland rice and eggs done the way I want it ---scrambled with caramelized onions and tomatoes.</div>
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The prices of the dishes are close to Manila prices, with the breakfast plates averaging at PHP 340.00 each, but the servings are hefty with a complementary fruit bowl at the end of the meal. And the food, while not worth any Michelin stars or rave reviews, are good and comforting. And that's what Cafe by The Ruins promises to offer, a comfortable and authentic Baguio experience.</div>
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<b>Cafe By The Ruins</b></div>
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23 Chuntug Street, Baguio City</div>
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OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-75835942086099361532015-01-08T19:13:00.001-08:002015-01-08T20:14:54.651-08:00Happy New Life 2015 Item 1: Driving for DummiesHello! I hope you had a blast celebrating the New Year! I hope the holidays have energized each of us for the challenges ahead.<br />
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Of course we don't forget 2014 entirely, that we might take stock of what was good, what made us sad and what we could do to make things better from this point onward.<br />
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While most people are back to their normal routines, to their jobs and joys of daily living, I am still on vacation in our tropical paradise.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> The road to my hometown in Ilocos Norte</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ilocos Pride: Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte</span><br />
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And how I love being in the Philippines--- being with my family, going on roadtrips, visiting Ilocos and seeing my nephews and nieces all grown up. Nothing, absolutely nothing can replace the bliss of being home.<br />
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<b>NEW LIFE</b><br />
In a few days I'd be off again to Europe and back to being on my own, but I have small secret and I am pretty excited about it. There's a new, challenging job waiting for me in a new country. I've said my goodbyes to Madrid and took on an opportunity which I feel will test my mettle as an engineer in The Netherlands. A new culture, new faces, new cuisine to gobble up this year! It is exhilarating, and a bit scary, to tell you the truth. But, hey a little fear is always good. Everything that's truly worthy is always hard in the beginning.<br />
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<b>DRIVING </b><br />
Is one major life skill I have to relearn in ten days as it is a requirement for my new work. Driving, ha! Anyone can drive, you say. And one of my friends laugh at me incredulously when I made the confession: I am scared shit of driving and parking in the Netherlands! <br />
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You see I haven't driven a car in five years. And even when I drove in Manila I never learned how to park correctly, I am the<i> balagbag</i> queen who usually asked Kuya Willy, our family driver, to do the parking for me.<br />
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But as in all things, when your life depends on it, you have no choice but to rise up to the challenge. So I have tried to drive everyday for thirty minutes to an hour to regain that much-needed confidence.<br />
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<b>BAD HABITS HAVE TO DIE</b><br />
Truth is, I have some bad driving habits I need to kill. Like sometimes using two feet for the levers. And being impatient. I am not scared of narrow spaces between vehicles, and in the past, this has resulted in a few close calls. These bad driving habits might be okay in Manila where we are admittedly prone to circumvent the driving rules, but in a country that's a stickler for rules, these most likely cause me a ticket. So everyday, I try to relearn driving, this time the correct way. The old hag trying to learn new tricks.<br />
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<b>BAREFOOT ON THE PEDAL</b><br />
I still do this to this day. There is something comforting about my foot directly on the levers, skin to machine. It makes me feel more in control. But while this is a habit that's not bad at all, it might well be a bit inconvenient considering I will be driving in a country with a winter season, with my foot shod in thights and winter stockings so I've been on the lookout for good and affordable driving shoes.<br />
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To be sure, those with considerable driving experience can drive with any footwear, but being a noob and still not too confident about my driving, I need shoes that are lightweight and has soles that are specifically made to have better grip at the heel section of the foot. I do think most moccasins and loafers with a good, not so thick sole will do, so I have been checking out online stores for good driving shoes.<br />
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I'm thinking of getting this from <a href="http://www.zalora.com.ph/women/shoes/sneakers/">Zalora</a> because it's cute but understated and is currently 45% off:<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <a href="http://marketplace.zalora.com.ph/Appetite-Shoes-Justine-Blue-Ribbon-Leather-Driving-Shoes-233821.html">Appetite Driving Shoes</a> from Zalora Philippines</span><br />
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But I am still looking around. <i> Do you have recommendations for good driving shoes that's not too expensive? Do send me a comment!</i><br />
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<b>GOALS AND SUCH</b><br />
Finally driving around the streets and roads of Europe is perhaps one of the immediate milestones I shall have this 2015, whether I like it or not, hahaha!<br />
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On New Year's Eve I actually jotted down four non-work related personal goals for 2015. Just four, because really,I don't want to make a lot of promises I can't keep:<br />
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1. Drive around Germany and France<br />
2. Save up and invest in a real estate property this year<br />
3. Get a feature article published . More would be better, but even just one puny published material would be enough.<br />
4. Add a certain amount to my stock investments in the Philippine Stock Exchange.<br />
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So those are my goals, small as they may be. Of course I also have the usual small goals (eat healthier, sleep better) but those four above are my ultimate measure for success in 2015. What are your plans in 2015? Have you written it down? Would you care to share? <br />
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P.S. If you like some practical tips about our so-called daily small goals (eating better, sleeping well, drinking less etc.) , you might want to check this feature about how to ensure that we accomplish our small goals: <a href="http://greatist.com/happiness/ultimate-goal-guide-new-year">http://greatist.com/happiness/ultimate-goal-guide-new-year</a><br />
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<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-74792436063459975342015-01-06T06:50:00.003-08:002015-01-08T20:15:56.141-08:00Sweet Treats: Why You Should Try Nestle UK's Caramac Caramel Bar <b>One reason: It tastes pretty close to Nestle's Alpine White Bar</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> </i></span><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> The much missed Alpine White Bar </span></i><br />
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The Alpine White Bar is a discontinued but much loved white bar of deliciousness. It was my, and I suspect most of my generation's first and most pleasant encounter with what is now known as white chocolate.<br />
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My love for Alpine White is deep as it represented my childhood summers.<br />
I, a city child, would go to Ilocos every summer to spend two months with my grandparents. And often, my parents would send me off on my summer adventures with a six-pack of my beloved Alpine White bars. Thus these white bars wrapped in shiny silver paper marked the start of my carefree summer days, away from school, away from the city, nestled happily within the indulgent love of my grandparents.<br />
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Sadly, Nestle discontinued the Alpine White Bars in the 90s.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTekXnTb3-sbmuY87WdhO9x0LXW-yYR0NFNdK6YEe1elEHYObLBuRzHGGwhwBTqnJZ39NxgcLDUZmh29kSOO4uUFFc9j6vMpy0jncHjgv5nV1KtvEr9F4HHzIlEUZJ9Kd7omE5MYZxH0/s1600/Caramac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTekXnTb3-sbmuY87WdhO9x0LXW-yYR0NFNdK6YEe1elEHYObLBuRzHGGwhwBTqnJZ39NxgcLDUZmh29kSOO4uUFFc9j6vMpy0jncHjgv5nV1KtvEr9F4HHzIlEUZJ9Kd7omE5MYZxH0/s1600/Caramac.jpg" height="303" width="400" /></a></div>
The Caramac Bar<br />
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Enter <b>Caramac</b>, described as a caramel bar made of milk and caramelized syrup. I do think the name is a misnomer, because Caramac's dominant flavor is creamy milk. It does not have that strong, overly sweet, burnt sugar flavor we have come to love in caramels. It really is a milk bar with a subtle caramel undertone, and the truest description I can offer is that it is creamy, sweet, and really tastes like Nestle's long gone Alpine Milk Bar.<br />
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A Caramac bar containing six portions has only 174 kcals compared to the 250 kcals of a Mars, Twix, or Lion Bar. So it is a good choice for a sweet to indulge in from time to time. The downside is that this sweet is a bit hard to find as it is only available in the UK and its commonwealth nations ( Australia and Canada ).<br />
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Still, for those who, like me, once enjoyed the creamy milk flavor of Nestle Alpine White or those who prefer white chocolate over milk or dark, Caramac is a perfect addition to our arsenal of sweets. Don't pass on it if you get the chance to try Caramac.<br />
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<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-49214448650331058962014-12-06T08:20:00.003-08:002015-01-08T20:15:37.373-08:00Simple UK´s Mint Shower Gel is a Freshness Bomb<b>2009, Manila. </b>My friend Di raved and raved about this amazing mint body wash she got from the UK. <i>It´s so refreshing, it leaves you tingly!</i> And so being the great friend that she is, she transferred a not inconsequential amount of her prized stash into a 100 ml container and gave it to me to try.<br />
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<i>My friend Di´s fave: Original Source Mint and Tea Tree Shower Gel</i></div>
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<b>It.was.so.icy.cold.on.the.skin.</b> In a good way. Actually, that´s an understatement. It was more like, holy cow, this is amazing! Mint in a shower gel! This is perfect for the Philippines! We loved it so much we even hatched a plan of distributing these products in the Philippines. But then, as most plans go, we got waylaid to other things, and I went back to Korea.<br />
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<b>2014, Madrid. </b> I was out on a girl talk session with A, a friend who, before meeting her in Madrid, was a client of TLC Shop way back in 2009. We were talking about travel, online shopping and such, and she mentioned in passing how she loves Simple, a UK skincare line which she orders from the UK. <br />
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So two ordinary events years apart. Nothing to it, except I remember them now, silvery threads of happenstance leading to this post. Which is essentially about Simple and mint. Or to be blunt, this is a rave about a new product I bought a week ago from the Madrid branch of <a href="http://www.dealz.es/">Dealz</a>. <br />
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<i>My two good finds from Dealz</i><br />
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There were Original Source shower gels on hand but only in the Pink Grapefruit variant. Of course, I bought one to try. My verdict: while it smells great, it didn´t have that freshness factor of the Mint variant. <br />
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The Simple brand was better represented with a number of variants available. Of course, the first one I grabbed was the Invigorating Shower Gel in Fresh Mint.<br />
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But first, here´s a short backgrounder on Simple UK. It´s a UK skincare brand for sensitive skin. Its products have no artificial perfumes, lanolin, and dyes. Most of the items are suited for vegans, meaning it does not use animal-derived ingredients. The packaging is sparse too. The best part? These products are not expensive!<br />
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Now how about the Invigorating Shower Gel? It lived up to its promise. Invigorating. An awesome, tingling shower gel to be used in the morning to wake up my skin and senses. I like that though there is that tingly mint afterfeel, it smells not too strongly of it, in fact there is more of a subtle lemon scent. And at 1.5€ for 250 ml, a steal too!<br />
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I loved this Simple product so much that the next time I went to Dealz, I hoarded other Simple goodies.<br />
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My Simple haul</div>
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My second haul of Simple products: Another bottle of the Invigorating Shower Gel, Nourishing Body Wash (enriched with Chamomile), Refreshing Shower Gel (enriched with Cucumber) and a two-pack of their Simple Pure soap. All items were just 1.5€ each! Cheap, no-frills, simple and certainly smile-worthy. :-)</div>
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<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-17103596821459094932014-12-06T03:13:00.004-08:002015-01-08T20:16:52.296-08:00Sweet Treats: Screw KitKat, I´ll Take Tunnock´s Anytime<i>Dear Kitkat lovers, </i><br />
<i>This a biased opinion. I do not hate Kitkat. In fact I do enjoy a Kitkat moment once in a while. Milk Chocolate, wafers, chocolate creme? Who wouldn´t enjoy that? But it´s like this. Sometimes you get a glimpse, a taste of something better and you know that´s it, you´re ruined for anything else. You can never go back. That´s how it was for me. Kitkat was good, comforting, delicious in a boy-next-door kind of way. </i><i>But then I discovered Tunnock´s Caramel Wafers. And by God this was the bombshell, the ingenue of chocolate wafers! Like the goddess of all chocolate wafer bars. And so now, although I wouldn never say no to an offer of Kitkats, it is Tunnock´s Caramel Wafers that has captured my idea of a blissful break.</i><br />
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I first tasted Tunnock´s when I lived in London seven years ago. To most, British chocolates are synonymous to the more commercially famous Cadbury, Thornton´s and Aero bars. But for me, Tunnock´s Caramel Wafers was and is still the embodiment of all that´s great and delicious in British chocolates. But alas, like Prince Charming or the Lady in Red, these bars are so hard to find outside of UK and the commonwealth states.<br />
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But then last week, I espied a newly opened <a href="http://www.geekwearingmakeup.blogspot.com.es/2014/11/shopping-high-finally-uk-treats-on.html">Dealz Store </a> here in Madrid. The store, an overseas branch of a big UK retail chain, offers all sorts of British goods. And lo and behold, I saw shelves of Tunnock´s goodies on offer!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0loX3hGlWnmKOVhZiFXOVPZc8stE8cPZXyv-cTmzj1C_RrP6BEqzWn0kXXbyvC9xvneCFa-dZe1Z3-nOXQorbP1d51DyqCkMA4jFMIU5WYlgNhMfrZfca5IiDfi8m-_yIaXL8Ya43Wwg/s1600/IMG_1640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0loX3hGlWnmKOVhZiFXOVPZc8stE8cPZXyv-cTmzj1C_RrP6BEqzWn0kXXbyvC9xvneCFa-dZe1Z3-nOXQorbP1d51DyqCkMA4jFMIU5WYlgNhMfrZfca5IiDfi8m-_yIaXL8Ya43Wwg/s1600/IMG_1640.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<i> <b> My Tunnock´s Caramel 6-pack</b></i><br />
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<b><i> A Tunnock´s Caramel bar.</i></b> Still the same size and packaging<br />
as when it was first introduced in the 1950s!<br />
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Tunnock´s is a family-owned bakery in Uddingston, Scotland and they have been churning out some of the Brits´ favorite treats since 1890.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyZaWawSLv3MdfzrX9spU-KtxZsyjYUGE4m_37gzH8iXryFIWu7dWn2aVhJRgT1lRtup8AObePkDDJYy_Ut6Kpnw21eYc8PVxa6AwrGi7qSfv52XohyNc5c8HMZaLdVP4S1ongHWFhpU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-06+at+11.36.52.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvyZaWawSLv3MdfzrX9spU-KtxZsyjYUGE4m_37gzH8iXryFIWu7dWn2aVhJRgT1lRtup8AObePkDDJYy_Ut6Kpnw21eYc8PVxa6AwrGi7qSfv52XohyNc5c8HMZaLdVP4S1ongHWFhpU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-06+at+11.36.52.png" height="261" width="400" /></b></a></div>
<i> <b> Tunnock´s Treats </b> </i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Image from tunnocks.co.uk)</span><br />
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Among their offerings, it is my favorite Caramel Wafers that´s their No. 1 bestseller. Why? Let´s do a show-and-tell.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdwHLyOEhP4L0e71PJL4ZPX9DIAUlU_wicvux49gsJXgoLLTp3ZFkc5ic08TX9ER0rqcH1kIvMqTNb_spcypCVqVCCeY0Ha5xSF43CykYn3eO_IxwEfC0CRLn9bZB4XtgANhoT9Bu_OQ/s1600/IMG_1645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdwHLyOEhP4L0e71PJL4ZPX9DIAUlU_wicvux49gsJXgoLLTp3ZFkc5ic08TX9ER0rqcH1kIvMqTNb_spcypCVqVCCeY0Ha5xSF43CykYn3eO_IxwEfC0CRLn9bZB4XtgANhoT9Bu_OQ/s1600/IMG_1645.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b> <i>Caramel Wafer Unwrapped</i></b></div>
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The size: It´s a hefty bar. Thick but not too big. Just the perfect size for my ten bites of bliss. It is slightly smaller than the usual Snickers bar.<br />
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<i><b>The cross section</b></i></div>
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Five layers of vanilla wafers, four layers of caramel, real milk chocolate. The surprise? It´s not that sweet! <i>Huh? A caramel filled bar and I am telling you that it´s not that sweet? </i>Yes, it has that perfect balance of sweetness and burnt sugar flavor. This is not one of those sickly sweet treats that make your throat burn.<br />
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<b><i>See those wispy, honey colored caramel layers?</i></b></div>
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Ah Tunnock´s. I have finished my six pack of wafers in less than a week. Not to be a total glutton, but I did share a bar to my workmate for her to try. After eating her bar, she remarks, <i>Wow it´s delicious! </i> And she asks, <i>Where is this store again? What metro station? </i> And so I knew it. It´s not just me. <b><i>Have Tunnock, Take a Break. </i> </b>:-)</div>
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<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-72157086862746117992014-11-29T12:53:00.002-08:002015-01-08T20:19:56.968-08:00Shopping High: Finally! UK Treats On The Cheap in Madrid!<div class="p1">
I woke up to an aubergine sky, perpetually wet streets and this mist-filled air. <i>Hello, dreary saturday! You remind me so much of London´s bed weather.</i></div>
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I was tempted to stay under the covers all day, catch up on Homeland, my current series obsession, order greasy Chinese food and be the sloth that I am. But N, my cheery and very reliable Pinay friend who comes to my flat twice a month to clean, reorganize and straighten my stuff messaged me that she was arriving at half past two, so I had to move my lazy ass off the bed and get out of the flat while she did her cleaning magic.</div>
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I walked the cold, drizzling streets with a few tasks in mind. First, get a replacement sim card for my phone, next, window shop for a pair of winter boots. I wasn´t in the mood to ride buses or the Metro so I just walked to the nearest mobile phone shop. Closed. Hmmm, okay, I suppose I have to go to the mobile phone shop´s bigger branch at the city center tomorrow. And <i>sige</i>, I´ll do the window shopping for boots tomorrow <i>na lang din</i>. Didn´t I tell you I am the laziest sloth ever? </div>
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Instead of going off to accomplish the tasks above, I decided to just walk ahead and find a coffee shop where I can have a hot cup of tea and a soft couch to laze on while I pass the time. So walk I did and that was how I stumbled upon a shop called Dealz.</div>
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Dealz? with a Z? Isn´t it a bit lame for a shop name? In Filipino lingo, it is <i>ohmygawd jologs! </i>But then I saw something that made me stop. <i><b>Dealz, Part of the Poundland Family</b></i>. Huh? Poundland UK? And my memory turned to that delightful Poundland discount shop in Hounslow, London which I visited without fail every weekend in search of great deals. I recall buying a lot of Neutrogena items, Toffifee, shortbread biscuits, and other sweets there on the cheap! I peeked inside Dealz and saw a lot of people shopping, so of course, my bargain hunter Amazonian self went in and attacked!</div>
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The first thing that´ll make anyone happy at Dealz is the price. A<b>ll items are just 1.5€ each!</b> The pricing makes sense since one British pound is roughly 1.3€ and in the UK, the shops are named Poundland. Sure, there´s a bit of a price adjustment but 1.5€ is still cheap since it´s less than 100 Philippine Pesos!</div>
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Tempting Sweets at Dealz <span style="font-size: x-small;">Image from economica.es</span><br />
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I learned that this is the first Dealz shop in Madrid. Lucky me as it´s just a twenty minute walk from my flat! The store is spanking new and looks very inviting with wide aisles, still immaculate walls and gleaming metal and wooden shelves. </div>
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Now for the products. I am happy to discover that Dealz is the place to go for people who long for british sweets and treats! Like any other discount stores, it offers a mishmash of brands and product lines: grocery items, health and beauty, household stuff, DIY and craft items, and even party favors.<br />
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I saw Imperial Leather, Simple, Dettol and Original Source bodycare products. There were also english language books for kids. A happiness-inducing range of Cadbury, Tunnock's , Rowntree, Aero and Kitkat sweets, english spreads, A1 sauce, english mustard, crisps and a whole load of british treats. There are a few Spanish goodies too, but really, I would come back here for the British treats that I couldn´t find anywhere else in Spain. Even the Spanish folks were excited with their finds. Case in point: while I was checking out the Cadbury treats, one Spanish lady literally swooned when she saw Cadbury Milk Trays on offer at 1.5€ each and then proceeded to load four boxes into her shopping basket.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image from economica.es</span></div>
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There were a lot of Filipinas in the store too. I think I saw ten while I was there. A group in particular were congregating around the stack of giant Toblerone bars. One lady was asking her companion if it was possible to fit 20 of these bars in her carry-on bag. She´s focused on buying gifts now for those who are in the Philippines. There was the other Pinay lady who was confused on what english book to buy for her kid in Pinas. Or the two younger Pinays who were ratting on their pretentious friend while sniffing out the body lotions on offer and discussing how many bottles of lotions can they fit in their baggage. How sweet, <i>no? </i>At sales like these, us Pinoys would usually hoard goodies not really for us but for the people we love back home. Moreso now because it´s Christmastime, the happiest holiday for us Pinoys. And that is why for the thousands (or perhaps millions) of Filipinos homeward bound to the Philippines this holiday season, the buying of gifts and small keepsakes for their loved ones is a task that´s taken seriously. </div>
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Now back to Dealz. So what good deals have I got from my first visit to this UK discount store?</div>
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A set of three ramekins, 1.5€ per set<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1P3jCgpat4ajqRq7cTqGfNU76-9Bkw1UJT-ltZ0_1yWbp5PJQ1wtmckIAHybUEBeYQvZZPCVaNBhHGJeg4MvCH7O6mxlrMdx-x7WfMOkDreBhDqAwyULsSBUM0fVJPpqI0P1CQ0ezUJU/s1600/IMG_1616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1P3jCgpat4ajqRq7cTqGfNU76-9Bkw1UJT-ltZ0_1yWbp5PJQ1wtmckIAHybUEBeYQvZZPCVaNBhHGJeg4MvCH7O6mxlrMdx-x7WfMOkDreBhDqAwyULsSBUM0fVJPpqI0P1CQ0ezUJU/s1600/IMG_1616.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Coley & Gill of England Toasted Marshmallow Candle, 1.5€</div>
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Oral-B Sensitive Mouthwash, 1.5€</div>
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Original Source Pink Grapefruit Shower Gel, 1.5€</div>
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Simple Mint Invigorating Shower Gel, 1.5€</div>
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Heinz Baked Beans with Pork Sausages, 2 for 1.5€</div>
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Snacking Essentials Healthy Snack Packs, 1.5€ per pack</div>
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Cadbury Goodies! Brunch Bar, Dairy Milk Caramel 4-pack, 1.5€ </div>
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Tunnock´s Caramel Wafer Biscuit, 6-pack my favorite UK choc treat ever! 1.5€ </div>
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Terry´s Chocolate Orange Bars 4-pack, 1.5€</div>
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Now, just so it´s clear. No, I do not plan to stuff my face with chocolates until I die or turn into a female version of the Michelin Man. Most of the sweet stuff, I´ll bring home to the Philippines for the fambam. See, I am an OFW through and through! My family are chocolate fiends and I so enjoy hoarding chocolates and sweet treats for them. I know they will love these UK sweets, especially my mother who still keeps the tin can of Terry´s Choco Orange I brought home from the UK ages ago. </div>
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So definitely, I will drop by Dealz again soon. Ermmm, perhaps tomorrow, when I do my Sunday morning jog :-) Will post my new finds again soon!</div>
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<a href="http://www.dealz.es/en/">Dealz Madrid</a></div>
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Calle Bravo Murillo 192</div>
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Metro Station: Estrecho</div>
OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-43258354645872306092014-11-23T10:01:00.006-08:002015-01-08T20:21:14.868-08:00Guerlain Cosmetics: Indulgent, Pricey and Oh So Precious!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Guerlain´s candy colored Meteorites</span><br />
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Ah Guerlain, you, the queen of ultra-expensive french luxury beauty brands, you have been on my <i>must-try-at-least-once-in-my-life</i> list for some time now. But for years I have felt that you were really out of my league. I´d like to think that I have always tried to be a practical person, and so in a sea of affordable and pretty Korean beauty products, it seemed blasphemous and too <i>pa-sosyal </i>to try you out at uber-pricey Seoul prices.<br />
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To be honest, I was scared too, what if I tried your products and became hooked? How sad would that be knowing that at your prices in Seoul, I would be reaching way beyond my budget. Because you see, in Seoul a precious pan of your Meteorites costs 80000 KRW which is roughly 59€ or PHP 3,500. How can I, in all my practicality, pay for a highlighter that expensive when I can buy a highlighter of the same shimmery effect from Skinfood for only 5000 KRW(PHP 250.00) ?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Guerlain Meteorites Blossom Price in Korea</span><br />
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But here I am now in Europe, where somehow, it feels okay to finally splurge with your products.<br />
It also helps that Guerlain products here are almost 40% cheaper than in Asia. And what excuse do I have not to buy you and satisfy this secret longing when even my <i>Pinay</i> hairstylist at my favorite salon in Madrid brandishes her Meteorites Blossom Pearls and gushes about them like a secret love?<br />
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So one day, while I was particularly feeling blah, I walked and walked and walked until I found myself at my neighborhood Bodybell shop. And what do you know, there was an additional 10% off all Guerlain products ! The Goddesses of All Things <i>Kikay</i> have conspired! A sign, a gentle push, a whisper: <i>Go</i><i>, bumili ka na ng magtigil ka na sa obsession mong yan!</i><br />
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<i> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> My overused Guerlain Meteorites Blossom Pearls in Medium</span></i><br />
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And so here is what I think of you Guerlain four months after I first purchased your much-vaunted Meteorites Pearls. My imperfect skin, scars and all, yes even my <i>never going to be flawless</i> skin lights up with your magical mystery pearls. It could just be me, deluding myself, <i>no</i>? But truthfully, I sometimes use nothing but sunblock and then dip my foundation brush into your magical Meteorites pan, fluff them on my forehead and cheeks, finish with a swish of Skinfood Peach Sake Powder and I feel that´s good enough.<br />
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Yes, yes, Guerlain, your Meteorite Pearls are totally worth it. Looking at my pan, I think this will last me another six months. So not too bad, really. Your Meteorites are very high CAPEX (Capital Expenditures) for sure, but for me, they are worth it.<br />
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After that, what was I to do? Of course, I set my sight on another of your highly rated products. Ah, the problem with discovering a brand so expensive yet so totally worth it is you slowly, slowly think of building your own little treasure box of Guerlain.<br />
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I have tried, really tried buying affordable skin foundations but no, not even Kiko, seems to totally agree with my crappy skin. So I have considered splurging again, putting my faith in you and your Guerlain Lingerie De Peau Skin Fusion Foundation. But a 30 ml costs 52€! And again, my practical side reigned in the hopeful, starry-eyed Guerlain groupie.<br />
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Everyday mantras are thrown at us from all sides purportedly to help us live more meaningfully:<br />
<i>Life is Short, Do (and Buy!) What You Love</i><br />
<i>There is Virtue in Being Thrifty and Frugal</i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;"><i>It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">Ah, this modern life, it will never be black and white. If we listen to all the supposedly life rules that are pushed to our faces we´d certainly go crazy. And so I have always looked inward and listened to that secret voice, what others call as intuition, a gutfeel. And at that price, my heart tells me, that my Lingerie de Peau was just not that smart a buy.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">But four weeks ago, while I was loitering at the Dutyfree shops waiting for my flight to Istanbul, I found myself staring, stupefied at the Guerlain counter: Lingerie De Peau Skin Fusion Foundation for only 32€! This was it, my chance to buy what I have longed for at an amazing price! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Guerlain´s Lingerie de Peau Foundation in 03 Beige Natural</span></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">While the Meteorite pearls was lovely, the Lingerie de Peau is staple-worthy. So cheers to you Guerlain, when you placed that<i> invisible skin fusion</i> label on your foundation, you weren´t hyping it up at all! This foundation is watery and oh so light! It does not cover really dark spots, it has a light to medium coverage, but how amazing it feels on the skin! It somehow evens out the skin without that telltale makeup look. And yes, a couple of times, due to my laziness/tiredness, I have even slept without washing it off from my face, a bad thing definitely, and one which, with other brands, has often caused me a zit or two the following day, but with Lingerie de Peau, no zits or itchiness at all. And so I at the moment, I have deemed Lingerie de Peau, my holy grail of foundation.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: xx-small; line-height: 20px;"> My Guerlain loves</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">So truly, there is truth about your greatness, dear Guerlain. I have only two of your products but these are the two beauty products I love the most at the moment. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 20px;">And I am counting the days (exactly 30 from today), itching for my next luxurious buy. In 30 days, I shall be off again on a long trip home. And by fate, I hope to pick up a Guerlain classic which I shall keep close to my heart at the moment at the dutyfree shop in Barajas.</span><br />
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<i>Au revoir!</i><br />
<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-52828256566547687572014-11-16T07:13:00.002-08:002015-01-10T16:17:47.462-08:00Istanbul, Turkey: Kibbles, Kebabs and All Things Delish!<div>
At the time I booked the flat for our Istanbul trip, the only considerations were that it was relatively cheap and should be near a Metro station. I found one in Beyoglu, just a five minute walk from Taksim Square. It turned out that Beyoglu is not only the city center of modern Istanbul, it is also considered as the culinary center of the city with the most concentration of restaurants, bakeshops, cafes and bars. Were we happy with our stay in Beyoglu? Suffice to say that we never went hungry in Istanbul!<br />
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<b>Simit for Breakfast</b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image from Simit Sarayi</span></i></div>
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I was made to believe that Simit, some sort of sesame-encrusted pretzel, is the traditional breakfast of choice in the city. Luckily, a <a href="http://www.simitsarayi.com/en_US">Simit Sayari shop,</a> Istanbul´s famous Simit chain, was right next to Taksim Square in Beyoglu, a mere five minute walk from our flat. So on our first day in Istanbul, after depositing our bags at the flat, we eagerly embarked on the short journey to our first Turkish culinary experience: a Simit breakfast.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image from sambapos.com</span></div>
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I had the Cheese stuffed simit while my friends had the simit sandwich with feta cheese and tomato.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The cheese filled Simit tasted like a nuttier version of Cheese filled soft pretzels. The cheese was pretty mild.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Simit with feta cheese and tomato tasted like a typical bagel sandwich.</span></div>
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There was really nothing extraordinarily delicious about Simit, but is something of a comfort food, like a Turkish version of bagels and pretzels, good and filling but not really that much different from the usual breakfast breads in other parts of the world.</div>
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<b>Stumbling upon Selvi</b></div>
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On our first day in Istanbul,while walking towards Taksim Square for some window shopping, we passed by this small eatery.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image from tripadvisor.com</span></div>
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A window showcasing delicious-looking viands- roast chicken, roasted eggplants, multicolored vegetables and stews had us salivating. The small eatery had this busy vibe which made us think that this was perhaps a favorite local lunch haunt offering traditional Turkish dishes at good prices. And so we had our first Turkish proper meal at Selvi.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image from tripadvisor.com</span></div>
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Selvi is a self-service restaurant, what in Filipino is known as a <i>turo-turo. </i> One gets a tray, and choose from the array of dishes on display, points to a dish, and the kind server then scoops out a serving for you, aside from the viands, there were an array of traditional Turkish desserts on display. One can also get as much free bread as he wants from a big basket of bread near the till or concoct his sauce from a pretty wide selection of sauces, dips and spices available at the counter.</div>
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These were some of the delicious food I had at Selvi.</div>
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Roast Chicken with roasted tomato and peppers and rice pilaf. So flavourful and tender that I ordered it again the next time we ate at Selvi.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">Eggplant and Ground Beef Musakka</span></div>
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My favorite Turkish Dessert is Kazandibi, a silky smooth pudding with a subtle cinnamon flavor<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image from tripadvisor.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span> Rich and unctuous Tulumba. Golden fried dough coated with delicious</div>
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golden syrup. This was definitely sinful, but sooo good!</div>
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Selvi´s food were awesome and cheap! We loved it so much that we ate there twice on our three day stay in Istanbul. Both times the place was filled by locals but the restaurant servers were always very accomodating to us, spoke good english and answered our questions about the dishes.</div>
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Most dishes cost only 10 TL each and the servings were pretty substantial. Two can share a vegetable dish, a meat dish and an extra order of pilaf and the bill would perhaps cost only about 25 TL. We always ordered one meat dish, one veggie dish, and one dessert each and then tasted each other´s dishes, because well, we were gluttons on vacation, and we only paid about 20 TL per person. That´s just 7€ for a delicious, authentic Turkish meal!</div>
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Selvi, it turns out, is a much loved <i>Esnaf Lokantasi</i> in Istanbul. An <i>Esnaf Lokantasi</i> is, translated roughly, a tradesman restaurant. A traditional restaurant catering to office workers and locals, usually family run, and serving traditional Turkish dishes. </div>
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How lucky we were that we had our first meal at one of the most recommended <i>Esnaf Lokantasi </i>in Istanbul!</div>
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<b>Bambi for Pide and Kebabs</b></div>
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Going to Istanbul without trying out Kebabs is like going to Brussels without indulging in Belgian chocolates. So on our first night in Istanbul we decided it´s kebabs for dinner.</div>
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Again, thanks to our flat´s location, we had numerous Kebab eateries to choose from. We settled on Bambi because unlike some of the kebab stalls which were mostly takeaway counters, Bambi was a full service restaurant and also because it has Pide among its offerings.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image from www.bambicafe.tr</span></div>
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Did I not mention that the Turkish people are really happy and gregarious? Look how game our server at Bambi was:</div>
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Most meals in Istanbul are served with a complementary basket of delicious flat bread</div>
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My Kebab: Iskender Kebab</div>
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Long, fat yet paper thin slices of lamb meat basted with rich tomato sauce served with cubes of delicious crusty bread and a tangy sauce of yoghurt and cheese. Yuuum! This kebab has ruined my once devoted longing for shawarma, or what is known in Turkey as Durum. It might be the delicious counterpoint of flavors : the definitive gamey taste of lamb, the slightly sweet yet mild flavor of the tomato sauce, and the creamy, slightly sour cheese and yoghurt sauce. These components came together oh so perfectly and now I have my standard of the ultimate kebab experience.</div>
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It turned out that an order of Kebab at Bambi are hefty and can be shared as what most of the local diners did but we were gluttons so we each ordered a kebab (at a super reasonable price of 15 TL each) and then decided to share a Pide for good measure.</div>
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Pide or what most tourists call as Turkish Pizza. </div>
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In some ways, Pide is similar to pizza. It is a flat bread with a sort of tomato sauce base and a sprinkling of veggies. The Pide we ordered had thin slices of lamb instead of pepperoni and ham. It was pretty good, but between Pide and Iskender Kebab, I´d go for Iskender Kebab any day!</div>
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<b>Kofte at Omar Sultanahmet</b><br />
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<i>Oy, </i>we teased our friend, <i>you didn´t tell us, may restaurant ka pala dito! Libre! </i>while we were looking for a place to eat after touring the Basilica Cistern. Of course, we ended up eating at Omar´s. Sadly, the BFF could not be persuaded to treat us at his namesake restaurant haha!<br />
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The main draw of this restaurant is the view from the terrace.<br />
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The majestic Hagia Sophia<br />
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Our complementary flat bread<br />
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We shared an order of fried calamares<br />
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My order of kofte. Lamb meat balls served with rice, fries and roasted tomato and peppers. Good and tasty but nothing memorable.<br />
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My favourite part of the meal was this tall glass of freshly squeezed lemonade with mint leaves. Refreshing!<br />
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For the same kind of food and service, restaurants around Sultanahmet are usually pricier compared to those in the Beyoglu area because of the tourist attractions in Sultanahmet ( Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace). To be fair, even with the slightly jacked up prices, the food was still reasonably priced at about 15 to 20€ for a meal with drinks.<br />
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Sultanahmet has that byzantine old world feel to it. But I was glad that even without meaning to, I booked a flat in Beyoglu not in Sultanahmet. We wanted the freedom to roam around even at midnight, and Taksim in Beyoglu is always bustling with people. And if you are like us where the partaking of local food is an important part of the experience, then my advice is to stay in the Beyoglu area where there are 24 hour kebab shops, a diverse array of restaurants to choose from, and yeah, numerous cafes, bakeries and bars open until the wee hours.</div>
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Helpful links about the restaurants:<br />
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<a href="http://www.simitsarayi.com/">Simit Sayari</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.selvirestaurant.com/">Selvi Restaurant</a><br />
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<a href="http://bambicafe.com.tr/">Bambi Cafe and Kebabs</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.omar-restaurant.com/index_eng.htm">Omar Restaurant</a><br />
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OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-91938449417840567052014-11-10T10:25:00.003-08:002014-11-10T10:48:44.911-08:00Istanbul, Turkey: Bazaar Fever and Baklava<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is true. Istanbul, with its history, beautiful mosques and palaces, is captivating. </div>
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Sultanahmet, Istanbul´s old town will not let you down. A day can be spent just walking around Sultanahmet. There is no need to feel harried here since the great Istanbul structures are located close to each other.</div>
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<i>The Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet</i></div>
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<i> Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet</i></div>
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<i>Basilica Cistern, Sultanahmet</i></div>
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In between these grand architectural and historical marvels are parks, open spaces, eateries and benches to sit on.</div>
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<i>Green spaces around Sultanahmet</i></div>
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But here´s the truth. What we enjoyed most about our trip to Istanbul were the bazaars and the delicious, inexpensive food.</div>
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We were in Istanbul for only three days, and because this was really more of a <i>chill, explore leisurely and bond with friends trip</i> we didn´t want to cram our schedule with so many activities. But on top of our to-do-list in Istanbul was to visit its famous bazaars.<br />
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<b>The Grand Bazaar</b><br />
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<i> One of the five gates of the Grand Bazaar</i><br />
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The Grand Bazaar is the queen of indoor markets in Turkey. Even the term grand seems to be an understatement, it being a whopping 30.7 hectares complex of shopping and entertainment. There are five gates and thousands of shops, which for a shopping connoisseur, must be heaven on earth.<br />
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Truth: I was a bit scared about the Grand Bazaar. I have been to a souk in Fes, Morocco and was aghast at how rude and persistent the touts were. I was afraid that like the souk experience in Morocco, my Grand Bazaar would let me down. It however turned out that the bazaars in Istanbul play to an altogether different melodic tune.<br />
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<i> The beautiful painted walls and ceilings of the Grand Bazaar</i><br />
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First, the Grand Bazaar is an indoor market housed in a spectacular structure. The ceilings are curved and intricately painted. And while there are touts all over the bazaar, these were not the pushover types I´ve encountered in Morocco.<br />
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As they say, anything you need, you´ll find at The Grand Bazaar.<br />
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<i> Silk Scarves and Pashminas</i><br />
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<i>The kid on the left has the most beautiful bone structure I´ve seen!</i><br />
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<i> Blings</i><br />
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<i>Turkish tea sets</i><br />
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<i> Ottoman style figurines</i><br />
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<i> Turkish lamps</i><br />
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<i> Carpets and Beddings</i><br />
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The key to buying success at the bazaars is to haggle hard, something that we Filipinos, veterans of <i>Divisoria</i> and <i>tiangges</i>, are good at. The sellers will often give high initial prices. If you stand your ground and maintain your indifference to the item they will eventually lower the price into something more palatable. Case in point, a friend successfully haggled for a silk hand embroidered beddings set from an initial price of 1500 liras to only 300 liras (about 6000 PhP).<br />
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One can spend a day at the Grand Bazaar and still not see half of the stalls. There is however a sort of camaraderie /symbiotic arrangement between the stall vendors: Once you enter a shop and buy something, the seller would most likely gently recommend you to another shop selling other types of wares. One can also easily ask the seller for their recommended shops and they´d happily point you to a shop of their friend or relative. I feel that as long as you have great haggling skills, this setup bodes well for shoppers who might otherwise be overwhelmed by the vastness of the bazaar.<br />
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One good thing about the sellers in these Turkish bazaars is that they do not resort to hard sell. They are pleasant and solicitous even if you don´t buy anything from them.<br />
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<b>The Spice Bazaar</b><br />
The Spice Bazaar despite being one of the larger bazaars in Istanbul is tiny compared to the Grand Bazaar. And that´s sort of a good thing. It is still the centre of spice trade in Istanbul with stalls upon stalls offering spices, dried fruits and teas. Perhaps to cater to tourists like us, there are also stalls offering jewelry, leather goods and cheap yet pretty souvenirs.<br />
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<i style="text-align: left;">Cinnamon, Saffron, Curry Powder, Paprika and strange unfamiliar spices are spread out in a tapestry of colours</i></div>
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<i>Dried fruits and vegetables, teas and more</i><br />
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<i> Teas and spices</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42qlW2_Yb3IDJugADj4gnwHxMutiYRDyTqA8Qe3zhOh_FFO3pdJFERBnzJX3aqREGTxyEPPYo5LTB7592Qk3PZyYkdFlUV8-VJuWP5g6TUz_mLS-z5YmieZ225HRqG0l0H0SbvtdfI1s/s1600/IMG_1502.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42qlW2_Yb3IDJugADj4gnwHxMutiYRDyTqA8Qe3zhOh_FFO3pdJFERBnzJX3aqREGTxyEPPYo5LTB7592Qk3PZyYkdFlUV8-VJuWP5g6TUz_mLS-z5YmieZ225HRqG0l0H0SbvtdfI1s/s1600/IMG_1502.jpg" height="350" width="400" /></a></div>
<i> All sorts of olives</i><br />
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Walking through the Spice Bazaar, one is offered free tastes of all kinds of goodies : teas, turkish delights, olives, candies, dried fruits and such. It´s not a bad thing to try the goodies and not buy anything . The touts don´t force you to buy and truthfully most of the goodies are delicious! But apparently the prices of these goodies are about 20% higher if you buy them inside the Spice Bazaar building. Outside, in little alleys crisscrossing the main bazaar building are where most locals get their spices and sweets, so that´s where we bought our stash of nuts and sweets.<br />
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<b>Lokum and Baklava at Hafiz Mustafa 1864</b><br />
Every little corner in Istanbul has a sweets shop selling Lokum (Turkish Delight) and Baklava<br />
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<i> Halva</i><br />
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<i> A Baklava Shop</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Before coming to Istanbul, I searched the web for a bakery where </span><span style="text-align: left;">we could have great Turkish sweets and saw the great reviews for </span><span style="text-align: left;">the century old traditional bakery Hafiz Mustafa.</span></div>
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As luck would have it, our rented flat was just a few minutes' walk from the Hafiz Mustafa shop in Taksim Square. So on our first night, after dinner, we dropped by the shop for desserts.</div>
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This well known Turkish patisserie is a beautiful yet chaotic place. It is always full of customers but because of the gilded gold walls, the beautiful soft lights, the mountain of sweets on display, and the pleasant service offered, this is a not to be missed experience in Istanbul.</div>
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Here are some of the goodies on offer at Hafiz Mustafa. Prepare to drool!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqM4ZCdjOdo6Z2N24Kj3uZTvexqRmpu7UY5hiUT3uoX9DxaS8bHmJOIIcD2fZf43qQ1jtR0Br1I7pd1dK6A5yXXznwo2vQBBg6ZtgOhaxxceDQlJ1rcLycdXZrwRfV_KrYN35z37n83s/s1600/IMG_1257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqM4ZCdjOdo6Z2N24Kj3uZTvexqRmpu7UY5hiUT3uoX9DxaS8bHmJOIIcD2fZf43qQ1jtR0Br1I7pd1dK6A5yXXznwo2vQBBg6ZtgOhaxxceDQlJ1rcLycdXZrwRfV_KrYN35z37n83s/s1600/IMG_1257.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<i> Dates filled with nuts</i><br />
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<i> Turkish Delights</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNL7JjRoysjnkAcA_vN52ztnD1nZC1qR5WHTLzwPinPaeisDhHj5k8Uf_1EMDeLdeAarLQw2fnHyF8eCq6KROy3XvJ21c6rJlrZPD392k2nw48B58Kdftb4OPxHDugREgf0VytKh34kXg/s1600/IMG_1261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNL7JjRoysjnkAcA_vN52ztnD1nZC1qR5WHTLzwPinPaeisDhHj5k8Uf_1EMDeLdeAarLQw2fnHyF8eCq6KROy3XvJ21c6rJlrZPD392k2nw48B58Kdftb4OPxHDugREgf0VytKh34kXg/s1600/IMG_1261.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<i> More Turkish Delights</i><br />
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<i>Chocolate and Nut-filled Turkish Delights</i></div>
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<i> Baklava in various forms</i><br />
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<i> More Baklava!</i><br />
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<i> Rice Pudding</i></div>
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<i> Our desserts: Pistachio Baklava, Chocolate Baklava, Lemon Turkish Delight and tea</i></div>
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All the sweets were delicious. The pistachio baklava while rich wasn´t as overly sweet as we have feared. I personally liked the lemon turkish delight just because I love anything lemon flavoured but the truly unforgettable treat for us was the chocolate baklava. Rich chocolate flavoured flaky pastry interspersed with caramelly sweetness and the nuttiness of pistachio. It was a baklava like no other. </div>
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At about 15€ for our orders, these are not cheap by Istanbul prices, but still reasonable considering the hefty servings and nice ambiance. Plus the fact that our leftover sweets were packed prettily in a bag for us to take home.</div>
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Our doggie bag of scrumptious sweets</div>
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<i><b>Coming up next: Turkish Kebabs and All Things Savoury</b></i><br />
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OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-28120440274338256482014-11-10T01:54:00.003-08:002015-06-28T10:28:52.717-07:00Istanbul, Turkey: Kindness is Key<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Istanbul, the ancient city straddling two continents, is arresting. It may not be as aseptic nor as outwardly wealthy as the rest of Europe, but its people´s warmth is extraordinary.<br />
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<i> Monument of the Republic, Taksim Square</i><br />
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The experience began as I got off, bleary-eyed from the airport bus in Taksim, Istanbul´s modern city center. As per all my trips, I have mapped the apartment´s location on the iPad but sadly GPS was not working. Armed with an offline google map, I asked a taxi driver for directions to the AirBnB flat<br />
I´ve rented, more than willing to take the taxi but the honest driver waves me off, <i>You walk, only seven minutes from here</i>. And so I walked trying hard to follow his directions and found myself in the middle of Taksim Square. <br />
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At twenty past six in the morning, the square was largely deserted, with only a few taxis and a handful of youths on the street. The square, it turned out, radiates outward to at least five streets. I tried to remember what the taxi driver told me, <i>Turn right at the square.</i> <i>Huh, which right?</i> I tried calling my friends, who arrived an hour earlier from Holland and who are now at the flat, so they could meet me at Taksim Square, but they were not answering.<br />
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<i>The ancient tram to Taksim Tunnel</i><br />
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So off I went and harangued a youth to ask for directions. Now, of course, I had to admit, I got a bit scared when the youth offered to walk with me to find the apartment. My skeptical mind was working, <i>Oh man, here I am a bumbling oriental woman, an easy target for mischief.</i> But the boy seemed kind and so for the ten minutes we walked looking for the flat, we chatted a bit. He was 19 and a university student. <i>Oh, you are so young! </i> I complement him on his good english, he laughs. It turned out that almost like in the Philippines, people around here are conversant in English. There was not much of a language barrier here. He asks, <i>How old are you? </i> <i>I am in my thirties,</i> I tell him. He kept looking at his iPhone, I was suspicious, is he texting his cohorts? And then he tells me, I am meeting a friend at 7 AM in Taksim Square. <i>Oooh, sorry.</i> Instead of waiting in peace for his friend, I dragged this young man around in search of a flat on top of a gastrobar. And then as we turned the corner,I saw them, my two friends from Holland off to go to Taksim Square to meet me. I tell the young man,<i> Those are my friends! I think I am okay now! Thank you very much! </i> He looked at me, smiled, and stepped back. Looking back, I should have expressed my gratitude better. Kindness in the morning to a somewhat scared yet demanding stranger is not easily found in the world these days. Perhaps I should have given him something as a token of thanks, perhaps<i> five liras </i>for a cup of coffee but he waved off as I looked back and smiled in thanks. In my excitement seeing my two friends, I dismissed his kindness so easily.<br />
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Perhaps I have done a disservice, not having thanked him enough for his help, but I found in the three days I spent roaming around Istanbul that the Turkish people are preternaturally kind and helpful. They do not have the kind of practiced and breezy <i>hola, buenos dias, how are you? </i>charm of the Spanish people but when approached, they are more than willing to help.<br />
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<i>A kid selling sweets. People do not shy away and get offended if you take pictures in Istanbul</i><br />
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At the bazaars, vendors would offer us turkish delights, halvas, dried fruits and all kinds of sweets to try. They tell us, <i>Just try! No need to buy!</i> They seemed to be offended when, having tried so many free sweets, we´d regretfully resist their offers. They´re proud that way, standing by the quality of their goods. Perhaps because we too, as Pinoys, are naturally cheerful, we chatted a lot with the sellers at the bazaars. One vendor showed a beautiful and expensive carpet, I uttered, <i>Oh but I am poor! Ah but you are rich in spirit, </i> he says and taps me on the shoulder, being kind despite not having gained any commission for his efforts.<br />
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<i>These kids saw us and shouted, Selfie, Selfie! So and here they are happily posing for us.</i><br />
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There is a certain understated natural joy among these people which connects with our own happy spirits. One time, as one of the friends, the bagaholic, was choosing which bags to buy at his shop, the seller remarked, <i>You Filipinos and us, we have similar cultures, that is why it is easy for us to connect. Unlike the _____(some European countries whom we shall not name) who thinks so highly of themselves and too low of us that they feel we are always out to cheat them. </i> It was touching really, how halfway across the world, even if partly, it was to sort of stroke our ego, something in his words rang true. In Istanbul, how nice it was to be struck by reality, how in everything, it is kindness that binds us closely.<br />
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OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-20759684255176409802014-10-24T18:40:00.001-07:002014-10-24T19:19:13.874-07:00Baking At Midnight and Other Crazy Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Busy</b><br />
Work has gobbled me up the past few weeks. This week in particular has been, to use my teammate's term, <i>"hellish"</i>. I know, I know I have no right to complain. I should count my blessings and all that schtick. It´s just that most days I am just too tired to do the things I used to have time for. I no longer do my evening walks. I can´t find the energy to write, and worst, I even sometimes sleep through Skype calls from family and friends. And I have not baked in close to a month. My current place in the sun is a tiny bubble crammed with work and to-do lists.<br />
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<b>Some Sort of Pampering</b><br />
My one small indulgence the past month is a weekly massage session at a salon and spa owned by a Filipino couple in Madrid. The massage therapist at the Spa is actually the wife-owner who was once a religious missionary. She has that refreshing kindness that makes one open up to her. But of course, her best feature is those utterly nimble hands which knead unfailingly to untangle tight muscles and ease my usual complaint of sore back muscles. She uses hot stone massage and oh, it is heavenly! The spa´s massage room is soothing and conducive to relaxation: a table top water fountain provides the calming sound of water streaming down . The lighting is muted, scented tea light candles providing both atmosphere and aromatherapy. There´s instrumental music too, toned down low enough to not be intrusive. At 30€ a week for 70 minutes of bliss it is a splurge, but then it is the one thing that I look forward to week after week. I tell myself, I earned this. I need this hour of pampering to help me prepare for the week ahead.<br />
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<b>Blasted Good News</b><br />
This week´s high point is the blasted good news I got which will definitely change my plans for the next few months. For fear of jinxing it, I shall keep mum for the meantime, but it surely helped me deal with the week´s stress and put things in perspective.<br />
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<b>Down with Sleep</b><br />
Fridays correspond to spending only half a day at the office. Today, feeling unusually tired, I went home at 2 PM and went straight to bed. A friend I have wanted to meet up with for a month or so now, asked me if we could finally have our girl talk moments, and I said, <i>Sure, but just let me get my much needed sleep first</i>. But I proceeded to sleep for five straight hours and woke up at 8 PM! Too late to go out, considering that I have to be up by 7 AM tomorrow for a trip with another set of friends, and so while most people were readying for bed, I was doing my weekend chores -- laundry, folded my clothes, washed the dishes and amazingly I still had enough energy and time to bake.<br />
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<b>Midnight Baking </b><br />
Midnight. I realised, hell, this is the perfect time to bake. A check in the pantry yielded an opened pack of dried cranberries, some leftover toasted almonds, an opened pack of chocolate chips, flour, sugar and exactly two eggs. Perfect! Just the ingredients I need to make <b>Chocolate Chip Cranberry Muffins.</b><br />
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Here´s the recipe I used: <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-cranberry-muffins-196225">Chocolate Cranberry Muffins</a><br />
<i>(Of course,as expected, I tweaked the recipe, using water instead of milk, because I had no milk. Milk chocolate chips instead of white, and topping the muffins with some toasted, caramelised almonds. This is what I love about baking and cooking, the freedom to tweak and make do with what´s available. BTW, the muffins still turned out great. )</i><br />
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I have always thought of muffins as one of the least fussy things to bake. Most often, you only need two bowls ---one for the dry ingredients (flour, leavener, salt) and another for the wet ingredients (oil/butter, eggs, milk/water, flavourings such as vanilla or lemon juice). You also don´t need an electric mixer to make muffins. A whisk and a wooden spoon would do just fine. It´s easy peasy. The only thing to remember about baking muffins is to only mix the dry and wet ingredients until combined. The science geek explanation is that overmixing muffins will overwork the gluten in the flour making the muffins denser. To be honest, it will not really change your muffin´s taste but the texture would vary. Just mixed muffins will have a more tender crumb with small uniform holes while an overmixed muffin will be denser and will have usually big irregular holes.<br />
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So anyway, I baked a batch of muffins to give away. Truth: I do not eat wheat-based products at the moment because my food intolerances have flared up these past few weeks so most of the goodies I bake, I give away to friends, officemates and to my apartment building´s guards. Half of these muffins I´ll bring with me tomorrow on a trip for our snacks. The rest I have set aside to give to my favourite massage therapist on Sunday.<br />
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<b>Make Time</b><br />
So there. Nothing much is happening in my life at the moment. Some great and possibly life changing news, lots of work, a weekly pampering session, and sometimes, when I find time, little spaces to do my passions --baking and yes, blogging.<br />
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So Cheers! I hope that despite life´s buzzes and demands, you´ll find enough interstitial spaces to do what you love most. Let´s find time to do the little things that make our lives happier. Enjoy the weekend!<br />
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<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-63777064189690254612014-10-12T03:31:00.002-07:002014-10-12T03:31:19.777-07:00Churros con Chocolate at Chocolateria San Gines <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Image from http://guias-viajar.com</span><br />
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Ah <i>Churros con Chocolate</i>. The quintessential Spanish breakfast of fried dough sticks and rich, spoonable hot chocolate. <br />
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The first time I had <i>churros con chocolate</i> in Spain, I had a mild shock. The <i>churros</i> was bland with just a hint of salt, and yes it was greasy. This was not the cinnamon-powdered sweet dough sticks I have learned to think of as <i>churros</i>. So I do understand how tourists are divided after they try their first truly Spanish version of <i>churros con chocolate</i>. It´s a love-it or hate-it thing but definitely something one must try at least once when he finds himself in Spain.<br />
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The past month, I´ve had a couple of people visiting me in Madrid. My brother came for a two week European vacation, and then just last week, one of my best friends from Holland came for a weekender. Of course, they had to have the <i>churros con chocolate</i> experience.<br />
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And what better place to have <i>churros</i> than at Chocolateria San Gines, the most famous <i>churreria </i>in Madrid. San Gines is just a five minute walk from the <i>Madrid Puerto del Sol Metro</i> station, right in the city centre. Thus a breakfast at San Gines is a perfect start for a day of touring Madrid since it is close to most of the usual tourist spots --- Plaza Mayor, Mercado San Miguel, Cava Baja (the street famous for their tapas), and the Gran Via shopping street. It is also open 24 hours, so you can drop by whenever you want. In fact it is a favourite after-gimmick stop of revellers from the clubs and bars nearby.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A chocolateria with more than a hundred years of history must be doing something right. </span></i><br />
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San Gines, despite its popularity, is quite small and the place can get really busy. On weekend mornings the queue made up of both tourists and locals ambling for their morning treats can get very long and the place becomes a bit frenzied with the store staff whizzing through with plates of fried doughs and cups of hot drinks. If one wants some quiet with his <i>churros</i>, then visit San Gines at off-peak hours, say after lunch or at dinner time when most people are preoccupied with other things.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Chocolateria at a busy time</span><br />
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Despite its fame, <i>San Gines</i> is in essence a very down-to-earth establishment. The ordering process is simple, you go to the till, order your treats, get the receipt, find a table and wait for a waiter to check your receipt and serve you your <i>churros</i>.<br />
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<i>San Gines</i> only serves <i>churros, porras</i> and a cake or two, though why one would go to San Gines for cake is beyond my comprehension.<br />
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<i>Churros</i>, I am sure, you are familiar with. But <i>porras</i>?<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Photo from www.minube.com</span><br />
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<i>Porras </i>is the big, bulky brother of <i>Churros</i>. Think c<i>hurros</i> but heftier, like three times the girth of a regular <i>churro</i>s. Because it is thicker, it has a more bread-like texture than <i>churros</i>, but the taste is the same: the slick, salty, bland flavour of fried dough.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> My brother and his churros</span><br />
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Although tourists troop to San Gines like ants to sugar, it is definitely not a tourist trap. The staff aren´t artificially cheerful nor condescending. Sometimes, when the place becomes busy, they might even be mistaken as rude. But don´t take offense and just enjoy the busy atmosphere. <i> Madrilenos</i> also love the place. Because, what´s not to love? A plate of six <i>churros</i> and a cup of thick chocolate costs only 3.80€. Beware though, six pieces of <i>churros </i>might be too much for a single person to consume. Those dough sticks are pretty heavy on the gut. What we usually do is order a set of six<i> churros</i> and a cup of hot chocolate and one additional cup of hot chocolate (2.5€ a cup). At less than 6€, a pretty inexpensive yet filling breakfast for two.<br />
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So how is the <i>churros</i> at San Gines? Well, they are freshly fried, clean-tasting and crispy. Nothing to complain about, really. But to my mind there´s a limit to the deliciousness of fried dough sticks. There´s not a hint of sweetness to them, they are bland and greasy so after a few sticks, the novelty wears off. Of course, that is why <i>churros</i> is partnered with thick hot chocolate. Dip the sticks into the cacao liquid and you get the sweetness and chocolate richness you long for. And that is what makes San Gines a cut above the rest. Their <i>churros</i> is good, albeit I think not the best, but their hot chocolate is liquid gold. You dip a spoonful, take a lick and it is the full on chocolate flavour that dominates, not sweetness, not vanilla, but bold chocolate goodness.<br />
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Image from <i>www.foodsherpa.com</i><br />
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I can go without the <i>churros</i> from San Gines, not because they´re bad, but because I personally do not like <i>churros </i>that much. But their hot chocolate, now that´s something worth coming back to. And so, really I think <i>Chocolateria San Gines</i> is aptly named. It is first and foremost a place to get a cup of the thickest, most delicious hot chocolate in Madrid. While it is the <i>churros </i>that draws people to visit San Gines, I bet that for most, it is the thick, delicious chocolate that they remember most, the <i>churros</i>, while good are secondary: long fried sticks used as edible vessels to carry forth thick chocolate goodness.<br />
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<a href="http://www.chocolateriasangines.com/Chocolateria_San_Gines/Chocolateria_San_Gines.html">Chocolateria San Gines</a><br />
Pasadizo San Gines, 5 Madrid<br />
Walking Distance from the following Metro Stations ( Puerta del Sol, Gran Via)<br />
Open 24 hours<br />
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<br />OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457943814556027332.post-37464763474547571702014-10-04T03:01:00.001-07:002014-10-05T05:16:28.162-07:00Pork Knuckles Like No Other at El Chacon Madrid<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>The tourist leads the way to great food.</i><br />
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One of my BFFs, Liz, is in Madrid for the weekend. I was a bit stressed on how to fill her three days in Madrid because <br />
a) This isn´t her first time, she´s visited Madrid thrice in the close to two years that I´ve lived here.<br />
b) We didn´t want to go bar hopping<br />
c) I wash´t able to plan for a day trip out of Madrid. <br />
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Of course, being the good friend that she is, she kept reminding me that all she wants on her trip was to eat good, relatively cheap food, hoard on <i>jamon iberico bellota</i> and to spend some precious bonding time with me. I thought, wow, I really have great luck when it comes to friends! I am drawn to people who are meant to be friends for life!<br />
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Well, it turns out that she came prepared with a list of must-eats based on the recommendations of her Spanish colleague, Enrique. Enrique, it turns out, is a certified foodie who used to run their family restaurant before becoming an engineer. On top of Enrique´s list for Liz is a <i>codillo completo</i> meal at El Chacon.<br />
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So yesterday, a Friday, Liz and I decided to have lunch at El Chacon.<br />
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Located on a quiet street just a few minutes walk from the <b>Puerta del Anghel</b> metro station, El Chacon looks a bit rundown and tiny. It is a small restaurant with only six tables and a small bar. Liz, who arrived a full thirty minutes before I did, had a quick reconnaissance and saw that all tables were taken. By the time I arrived, at quarter past 3 in the afternoon, the restaurant was still full and we were actually willing to have our <i>codillo completo</i> meal standing by the bar, but luck was with us, as a couple was just easing out of their tables when we ushered ourselves in. We got a precious table to ourselves with no waiting time!<br />
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El Chacon is a restaurant for the locals. This is not a restaurant you´d choose based on a quick browse through Trip Advisor, although it is there, ranked #719 out of 6, 516, with only 19 reviews, mostly in Spanish. One may of course stumble upon it along aimless walks, trying to discover the streets of the real Madrid, but because it does not really look that pretty from the outside and is almost always packed, outsiders like Liz and I will most likely hesitate to enter the premises.<br />
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But the god of foodlovers have seen us fit to discover it through a kindred soul. And oh! what delicious pork knuckles we had! At prices that made us sing with happiness. Yes, Madrid is relatively inexpensive, but even I, who have come to expect reasonable prices and good food in Madrid, was pleasantly surprised by the prices at El Chacon.<br />
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El Chacon´s interiors are a throwback from another era. I imagine that this is as what a tavern would be in cowboy country: burnished brown tiled floors and ceiling, chocolate coloured chairs and tables, big paintings, and this mule´s head as its centrepiece.<br />
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The bar at El Chacon is lined with traditional Spanish decorative tiles.<br />
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El Chaco specialises in Galician cuisine. Galicia being a Spanish province in the northwestern part of the country known for its seafood and for a dish called <i>Lacon con Grelos</i>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Photo from www.cocinarecetas.hola.com</span><br />
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<i>Lacon con Grelos</i> is boiled pork shoulder (<i>lacon</i>) and turnip tops (<i>grelos</i>) served with boiled potatoes and chorizo. El Chacon serves a variant of <i>Lacon con Grelos</i>, using the knuckles (<i>codillo</i>) instead of pork shoulder, but really, to my untrained eye they look practically the same.<br />
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El Chacon´s <i>Codillo Completo</i>: shredded, tender pork knuckle meats, <i>chorizo</i>, <i>grelos</i>, and boiled potatoes topped with <i>pimenton de la vera</i> (Spanish paprika).<br />
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This hearty platter supposedly serves two. It comes with Galician-style crusty bread<br />
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And a big serving of <i>Patatas Alioli</i>, which is my favourite side dish in Spain. It is really potato salad stripped down to its essence: cubed boiled potatoes drenched in garlic mayonnaise and herbs. Hearty and comforting!<br />
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<i>Ah</i>, but it is the pork knuckles that deserve the gold star in El Chacon.<br />
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This is the superstar of pork knuckle dishes. I have never loved pork knuckles. Not in <i>humba </i>nor in <i>pata tim</i>, typical Filipino preparations of pork knuckles. My mother even makes pork knuckles into some sort of <i>lechon paksiw,</i> drowning them in a sweet, vinegary sauce. Yet as much as I love her, it is one of my least favourite dishes Only the thought of fried, crispy, fatty knuckles in <i>crispy pata</i> form can convert me into a knuckle lover. But then, everything fried, fatty and crispy is transformationally delicious, so that says more about the magic of frying than the deliciousness of knuckles.<br />
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But the knuckles at El Chacon is transformational. Clean, barely salty, tender and with just the right interlayer of fats. <i>Oh la la! </i>This is a dish reminiscent of unexpected love. Pure, no-frills, not the most enticing to look at, but if you just dare, you will be rewarded. For the taste is so simple, so right in its porky essence, it is enthralling. The slices of <i>chorizo,</i> boldy spiced and peppery, provides the perfect punch, an intense sashay of<i> umami </i> in between the relatively mild flavours of the pork shreds and veggies.<br />
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We loved every component of this meal. And we ate and ate until we were afraid we could no longer stand, but even then the waiters, perhaps intrigued by us two outwardly non-Spanish women venturing into their tiny restaurant, they laughingly shook their heads when they saw what was left of our platter after we had our fill.<br />
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Yes, we just barely ate through our <i>Codillo, </i>the serving was just so large! So the kind waiters packed the leftovers up, including their wonderfully crusty galician bread for us to bring home. Now, that´sA++ for graciousness!<br />
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And how much did we spend for our meal? That huge platter of <i>Codillo</i> costs only 15€. We had two tall glasses of <i>Tinto de Verano</i> with our meal ( though if you prefer, you can ask for a pitcher of water for free), yet the total cost was still less than 20€. A delicious food bargain even by Madrid standards!<br />
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Truly, sometimes, the best things in Madrid cannot be gleamed from trawling the must-visit lists in the web. El Chacon is an anti-thesis to all these must-eat restaurants. It is small and in a nondescript neighborhood. Its exterior does not look too inviting and because they only have six tables, they do not take reservations. But if you want that local experience, and the most wonderful boiled knuckles in Madrid, do drop by. It is worth the hassle.<br />
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<i>***El Chacon Madrid is a three minute walk from the Puerta del Anghel metro station</i><br />
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OompaWoompaGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164096492726526236noreply@blogger.com0