Messin' round Manila, and a lament or two

When we told friends and family that we were planning to spend our long weekend in Manila, most people assumed it was a transit point to more, er, touristically appealing places, like Boracay or Cebu. Our colleagues who had been there regaled us with tales of being scalped by everyone from cab drivers to makeshift tour guides to random people on the street, of gunfights and general lawlessness.

Well, it did happen as soon as we arrived, we paid 3 times more the going rate for our cab ride from the rather shabby airport to our hotel.

Just a few highlights of our trip:




Fried and grilled seafood at the Landmark Mall food court

1) Food here is waaaaay cheaper than in KL. A nice big grilled sotong (squid - super fresh, and charcoal grilled to perfection) in a nice clean mall food court in the heart of Manila (Landmark mall, next to Glorietta and Greenbelt) costs about 700 PHP or about RM4. We feasted on mostly pork (they do very nice lechon or grilled pork), stuffed crabs, and fish. I have to say though, unlike in Malaysia where the flavours are a riot in your mouth and the use of spices and seasonings (lemongrass, tumeric, cloves, chillies, etc.) is more of a commonality than a rarity, Pinoy seasoning seems to be limited to sugar and fish sauce. We also tried pasig (sizzling pork innards - not my favourite), as well as a myriad of desserts - caramel tarts from Goldilocks and suman (glutinous rice with assorted fillings). I could not really eat much though - too rich and almost one-dimensional tastes meant that I gradually ate less and less the more days I spent there.



Above the gate into Fort Santiago is St James, patron saint of Intramuros, defeating his Muslim enemies. Ironic because before the Spanish came, the Philippines was a Muslim state

Entering Fort Santiago

2) Intramuros is the historical former Spanish quarter part of town. Tell the cabbie to bring you to the Manila Cathedral, the tallest monument in Intramuros. It is worth signing up for the Walk This Way (If These Walls Could Talk) walking tour, hosted by the irreverent Carlos Celdran, whose passion for his city is downright infectious. He takes you into Fort Santiago, seats you down on the grass and regales you with tales of Jose Rizal, the Filipino nationalist whose critique of the Spanish friars' abuses in the Philippines during colonial rule earned him the execution squad, and subsequently an overthrow of Spanish rule. He then goes on to American colonism (did you know that the Philippines was once in the running to be the 53rd state?), how American town planning know-how, capitalist philosophies and excellent work ethics helped develop Manila into the most beautiful and advanced city in SE Asia, a true gateway between East and West. Asia's first airline was Air Philippines. Manila housed the first Asian cinema. I didn't know that. Then came World War II and a certain General McArthur, and Manila became the epicenter of the war between the Imperial Army and Navy of Japan and their American counterparts, and her people suffered dearly for it. The second most devastated city after Warsaw, Manila never really recovered after that.

I am so thankful we (I mean I - AK usually leaves the itineraries to me) chose to splurge on the tour (which, at 1100 PHP was expensive by Manila standards - government tours were going for half the price), I never ever knew or even realised how much the Filipino people suffered in a war that they were never a real part of. I don't understand why the Battle of Manila, and the Manila Massacres do not make a much larger part of our local South-East Asian history. Ironic that I know so much more about the Rape of Nanking, of the bombing of Dresden, of the Blitz in London, than I know about the utter devastation of my neighbour. A real shame indeed.

I will also add that at the current moment of writing, Carlos Celdran, the dreamer and leader of this tour, has just been sentened to jail for "offending religious feelings". He mentioned his opposition to theocracy in his tour briefing, and quite openly criticized the dominance and influence of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. I pray that the charges will be dropped, all he did was try and demonstrate against the influence of the Church in local politics. Manila and the Philippines will lose a man who has done more for city and its tourism industry than any of those self-righteous prosecutors ever will.

Chursh of St Augustine, Red Cross headquarters during the war and one of Intramuros's
 few survivors during the Battle of Manila

Festive greetings

Greetings from Penang island!

Double rainbow shot from the living room balcony at my parents'

Obligatory family photo before heading to Midnight Mass

My Christmas present to myself - fierce new heels

View of the waterfall from my room balcony

Gifts of granola for my aunts

Interlude

Even with the barrage of news that hits us daily, this piece really hit a nerve.
I for one try to keep in touch with world happennings as much as possible. I subscribe to the NYTimes, CNN and Bloomberg are among the 2 apps I use the most on my iPhone. I read books about wars and genocide in Iraq, Africa, South America and Cambodia. So you could say that I am no stranger to sensasionalist news.

But these were children (all 6 - 7 years old). What struck me here was the senseless slaughter of innocents that could have been avoided. This opinion piece says everything I feel about guns in America and the policies that govern them. There is a human cost to so-called freedom.

We will forever be moved by the heroic acts of the brave teachers who put themselves in between the gunman and the children. But, tragically, unless something changes, there will always be heroes. There will always be senseless deaths and there will always be the grappling for answers.

My hope is that these women and children will be remembered not for the senselessness of the very act, not for the statistics, but for the begininng of real change in America.

Gifting 2012

Above, an assortment of gifts I have been putting together since November.

I love this time of the year, can you tell?

First of all, though, a little caveat. I write this post from the point of view of a largely bored, cynical and worldly (at least I'd like to think so - do indulge me) late-twenties/early thirty-something who doesn't have kids.

Lots of us love to travel and would consider ourselves flashpackers, so a nod to that love of seeing the world would be nice. A universal adaptor, luggage tags, collapsible travel bag – all infinitely useful and will hopefully remind your recipient of the person who thoughtfully gifted that. One of my brothers will be getting Lonely Planet’s South East Asia on a Shoestring. Hopefully it will inspire him to great adventures.

I have already lined up a box of sketching graphite pencils for A, my art-loving cousin who gifted me with a painting of his own for my birthday last year. Last Christmas I gave him, after much research, this An Illustrated Life. A joyous collection of vibrant excerpts from the notebooks of 50 illustrators, artists, and designers, each accompanied by an introduction by the artist, who shares his or her thoughts when the sketch was being made. In fact, upon receiving the book after ordering it online, I was most tempted to keep it for myself.

This year, I also thought I'd try putting together a simple Holiday Gift Guide of my own.

I do like to keep some simple principles in mind when gift-hunting, like the gift should be something that the recipient will use, but shouldn't be too practical or everyday either. It should still feel like a treat, you know? Also,  I will try to keep most of the stuff under RM50, which in these days admittedly does not get you very far. I mean, I would love to gift Moleskine journals and L'occitane toiletries to everyone (come to think of it., I did gift my three favourite aunts L'occitane soaps last year, but only because I got them cheap(er) from Europe), but I can't afford to.

So without further ado, below is a little compilation of what I have given in the past, plus the stuff I have come up with this year.

I love the Body Shop for (relatively) reasonably priced gifts that spell pampering and just a little bit more luxe than our everyday pharmacy stuff. One can get a nice fruity lip balm for RM19.00, or an assortment of soaps and shower gels, for RM9 - RM29. It's always nice to have a little something scented with say, satsuma (a sweet Mandarin orange-like scent), or one of their gift packs.

Shower Cream and Body Butter sets for RM29 each

3) For that yuppie younger cousin or relative of yours who loves hanging out at places with free WiFi, a Starbucks or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf pre-loaded card is always nice. Starbucks' cards start at RM20 and CBTL's at RM25. They throw in some nice top-ups too (you can a free grande drink with every 10 purchase at Starbucks, for example, or collect "beans" to redeem for drinks and food at CBTL). My youngest brother gifted both his elder brother and me with these sometime back, and we all thougth it was super nice (although ironically the card couldn't be used in Sabah/Sarawak and at airports, which at that time, made it pretty tough for me to fully utilize it).

4) When I am truly stumped, I turn to vouchers. Almost no-fail. The only caveat is the recipient will know exactly how much you spent on them. And you can still sort of "direct" the gift somewhat, say books MPH or department stores - Parkson and Isetan to name a few.

And of course, homemade gifts are always nice.

For the health-conscious, I recommend making your own granola. I made a huge batch - 10 cups of oats in total, 2 cups almonds, 1 cup cashews, whole pack of sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, virgin coconut oil and raw sugar for less RM50 – and they will be divided amongst 3 people. You can bet that I will be doing this more often. Bear in mind mine is a healthier, minimally sweetened version intended for a diabetic relative.  You could of course really schuzz it up (make it sweeter and crisper with more sugar and oil) with maple syrup and brown sugar ala Chubby Hubby or Alton Brown, sub agave nectar or honey even, use canola or olive oil (ala Melissa Clark of the NY Times), add dried fruit, spice it up with cinnamon and/or ginger, the list goes on…

For the bakerina, homemade vanilla extract makes a wonderful gift this side of the woods when real vanilla is truly difficult to locate. Purchase your beans online. Split them open, slice into smaller pieces and place them in a clean airtight jar. Add vodka/dark rum and seal the jar. 5 pods in a cup of alcohol a jar should about do it. It’s a nice way of stretching the beans into a more well thought out gift too.



Lots of folks consider themselves coffee and tea connoisseurs these days. So while a Nespresso machine might be more suited for the wish list rather than the gift one, an Ikea French Press (RM49.90) will do quite nicely I think (there are fancier/more expensive versions available at Starbucks or department stores these days too), or for the folks who enjoy their cappucino caps, a milk frother and jug (RM9.90 and RM9 respectively), would be really appreciated, I imagine.





 

Homemade granola

My first foray into baking since we moved to KL.

My beloved aunt was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. It was scary before she was diagnosed - she was pale and lethargic for weeks. She saw a few doctors (GP's), all who diagnosed the flu, fatigue, infections, and was prescribed antibiotics, Vitamin C, rest.......you get the idea. Not one of these doctors bothered to take a blood sample and do a simple blood test. In the end the entire situation got so worrying (it got to the point that she could not even stand upright during mass) that she finally managed to wrangle a referral to the local hospital, where she was immediately diagnosed with diabetes and placed in the ICU. Her blood sugar levels were that critical.

Suffice to say, our close-knit family was worried sick, with my aunt having to stay in the hospital for almost two weeks. This also got me realizing how essential simple annual checkups are. My aunt never went for one for years. A simple blood test showing increasing blood sugar levels would have saved a lifetime of insulin shots and ban on her favourite foods.

My apologies if the story sounds tragic. I mean, I wish I could say something else inspired this urge to bake.

When my aunt got discharged of course we all wanted to give her something, not only to celebrate her return but also to try and give her a head-start on her new diet.

I immediately wanted to make granola, but my time in Penang was so short, and for the life of me I couldn't find the right ingredients (the health/organic food fad has not caught on in Penang the way it has in KL, I'm afraid - stingy Penangites) to make it. So I put together a care package of muesli, yoghurt and almonds.

But the thought of making ganola never left me. I scoured the Net for recipes. Now, I've had enough granola eating experience to have a very specific end in mind. Crispy, only slightly sweet and most importantly, clumpy. Not too much oil either. So, tempting as it looked, this was ruled out.

I finally stumbled on the secret to clumpy granola clusters - egg whites. Perfect! All protein and practically no fat. I adapted this recipe slightly, omitting the fruit and coconut. Granola, my friends, is all about the following - baking time and temperature (in my oven, 160 deg C for half an hour for sufficient crispness and to reach a lovely golden brown),and amount of oil (the more oil the crispier).

So here's my adaptation:

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large egg whites
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup natural granulated sugar  (substitute honey, maple syrup,or agave syrup as you wish)

Preheat the oven to 160 deg C. Stir the egg whites, oils and extract in a small bowl. Toss all the dry ingridients together except for the sugar. Mix the wet mixture into the oat mixture and stir until well incorporated. Add the sugar and stir again.

Spread the mixture on a flat tray and use your spatula to flatten the mixture together and ensure that they all stick to one another. Bake for half an hour, until the mixture turns a lovely golden brown. Rotate the tray if necessary.

Cool completely and break into clumps before storing.

City on the sea

I like Venezia better at night.

When the endless, sometimes maddening crowd somewhat dies down.

When she puts on her mask, and starts to show a bit more of herself.

Still, there is something to be said about all the shimmering water all around you, reflecting the sunlight.

My biggest gripe about Venezia is the sheer number of people like me. People who flock to her, jostling for her attention.

People who wanna sit at the pier and gaze at the cliche that is those annoyingly loving couples (or nowadays, noisy but well-moneyed Chinese tourists) being serenaded to in gondolas (80 Euros per ride, the last we asked).

I realize now, I could never compete amongst Venezia's many admirers. I just don't have the moolah (or the willingness to spend so much) to eat at Harry's Bar, or buy a few Gucci bags, or sit on at St. Mark's Square at Cafe Florian with a cappucinno. Venezia really made me feel rather poor and unworthy. Well, on the bright side (I guess), I am not the only one.

We did try a gorgeous fritto misto at a little touristy osteria which for the life of me I now cannot remember the name of.

Truth be told, we ate mostly at this little place, mostly Mozzarella in Carrozza. With ham, and plain.

I also knew I had to take home one of these. A lovingly Made in Venice paper mache mask.

Ahh Venezia, we had our little moments. I pray that you'll forever be awash in all that glitz and glamour.

I hope you'll always stay aloof and unattainable, and keep to that little habit of always holding a little something back. I'm pretty sure you will.

 

More BKK Shots



Love the mango lady's hat, just outside Chatuchak Market





Backpacker spotted at Chatuchak



Bar in a minivan @ Sukhumvit 11





At a noodles stall near the Patpong area





Coffee to go

If you're in Chatuchak and find yourself craving caffeine, may I recommend this stall opposite the KK Bank outlet. Best damn iced cappucinno I had in a long time (topped with steamed milk, mind you - not cream). I tried numerous other iced coffees all round BKK (in the most upscale malls, on the streets, you name it) - in vain. I still dream of a cup of her brew in the afternoons.



Art fixture in Section 7 of Chatuchak