Friday, November 30, 2007

Philippines: In the News

It looks like the Philippines made its way to the international news scene again.
Oh well. That's a day in Manila life. But at least, it's always exciting, you'll never know what's going to happen next. Hehehe...
And the best thing about this is amidst all the hotel-door-ramming APC, tear-gas-throwing frenzy, scoop-crazy media, and politician-arresting police officers, there will always be someone smiling for the cameras. :))

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Singapore Adventure: Crisp Outside...

Soft inside. That's how I make my meatballs. :)

Back at home, I have been usually assigned to prepare the meatball mixture. And it's always a hit.
Well, the number one fan of my cooking says it's good. And I must say it's pretty convincing. :) Served best hot with cold ketchup. Yummy!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Singapore Adventure: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Christmas!!!



Oh, yes! The cool morning breeze. The festive decorations. The jolly Christmas tunes. You can really feel it that Christmas will soon be here once again. Which makes you miss home even more as the days go by.


Sigh.


Friday, November 23, 2007

Singapore Adventure: First Lechon Kawali Attempt (Conclusion)


It turned out quite wonderfully. The blisters on the skin were just right. The crunch was perfect. :)




It's just like those Friday nights when you pig out at Gerry's Grill or Dencio's. Garlic rice, sinful lechon kawali, and a nice vinegar dip. And of course, a great date. :)

Where's that To Cook list of mine? I have to scratch out Lechon Kawali because that's done, and I nailed it!



Singapore Adventure: First Lechon Kawali Attempt

Tonight, I will attempt to serve my very first lechon kawali for dinner. I know my Cookie will eat anything and is such a big fan of my cooking, but still the first attempt always drives me nuts!
I got this recipe from an internet cooking blog. And I hope contrary to my sister's advise that not all internet recipes turn out as expected, I will nail this one. :)
I have already completed the first half of the cooking process. Yesterday evening, I already boiled the strips of pork belly in crushed garlic, salt and pepper corn. After letting it cool, I put it in a container and popped them right back into the freezer. It will supposedly make a crunchier skin for the lechon kawali if you do this.
So all that's left for tonight is the (scary) deep-frying part. I hope I see the blisters on my lechon kawali and not on my arm. :P
Wish me luck! I'll post soon on how it turns out.
T.G.i.F. ^_^

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Singapore Adventure: Ikea Dinera Plates in the Microwave

Can you put Ikea Dinera Plates in the microwave oven? Sure you can! I just did. And the output was extremely palatable. ^_^

Just look at the photos I took of the the finished product. Mouth-watering, huh?


It's a variation of my famous spaghetti. We still have some leftover spaghetti sauce, but not enough to make two plates of saucy spaghetti (spaghetti as the Cookies like it). And so, I thought of just putting the pasta, sauce and cheese in layers in my Ikea Dinera deep dish, popped it in the microwave for 8 minutes and served it for dinner.


It was delicious! Very delicious indeed. And this time I have evidence. ^_^




Two happy Cookie tummies!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Singapore Adventure: My First Taste of Chakali

A teammate who recently got back from his home visit brought us some Indian snack treats called chakali.

I dared myself to have a taste, and I wasn't disappointed. It is savoury and crunchy. The experience is like eating french fries. Actually, that's what I told my teammate, that it tasted like french fries. ^_^
Best part is the curry after taste. Or is it really curry? I am not quite sure. But what I am so sure of is my first chakli tasting experience gave me a huge craving for Polar curry puffs.

Got the photo from http://www.sukhadia.com/

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Singapore Adventures: Team Night Out

Friday night, the TTS Development and Business Facing teams with some new friends went on a night out hitting shuttles at the School of Physical Education badminton courts.
I finally got to use my new Carlton racket which just lied around in my room since August. It was a fun night. Though we had some little misadventures, too.
Misadventure # 1
It took us almost an hour to get a ride from the office building to the SPE. We waited at the taxi queue but gave up. And so we called up to book a cab. But after we have booked for cabs, the taxis started to come to the queue. Arrggghh!!! And the cab we booked took longer than the promised 5 to 7 minutes.
Misadventure # 2
After we have successfully boarded the cab, it took us forever to find the place along Evans Road. And so, we were driving clueless what we were looking for. Good thing, the guys who got there first gave us directions and we finally found the place.
Let the games begin!!! :)
Misadventure # 3
2 hours later, at 10 pm, our session ends. And all of a sudden, the lights at the place shut off. It was pitch black. The only sources of light were the lights from outside coming in through the open doors and the backlights from our handphones. Sheesh. They just turned the lights off without notice.
Oh well. Inspite of these, it was still a fun evening. And we all needed the workout... >:)

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Singapore Adventure: Spreading the Word

I chatted with a high school friend and she sent me a link to her sister's blog at the Multiply website.
It is about how her two sisters fell into a prepaid card scam through a hacked YM account of another sister.
Read it so as not to fall into the same trap. And do spread the word as well. Especially with fellow overseas Pinoys who constantly communicate with friends and loved ones through chat.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Singapore Adventure: Day Two @ Marsiling

Yesterday, the initial plan of going to Ikea for houseware shopping, we ended up just exploring the long road that is Woodlands Square and the adjacent Causeway Point shopping complex.
Inspite of the helpful Street Directory, we still didn't manage to locate the bus interchange where we can take bus 168 to Ikea. Tsk tsk. Why didn't they teach us wilderness skills at school in the Philippines???! Bwahahaha... >:)
Anyways, we did manage to get some essentials just to get us through this first night in our new flat - some basic kitchen stuff, toiletries, and lots of food. Hehehe...
Today, we are re-attempting the Ikea shopping dream. There are still a lot of things to shop for. Pocket says "ouch!". Wish us luck. ^_^

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Singapore Adventure: Welcome to Marsiling

At around 1:30 pm today, 3 November, the Cookies have successfully touched down at the Marsiling house.
There are still a lot to unpack, but setting up the internet connection first is a must! Hehehe..
And so, we are wired, literally. The wi-fi router we still need to fetch from the Starhub Center at Funan in 8 days.
Hopefully by tomorrow, all is unpacked and the house more homey.
The kitchen is definitely going to be very busy in the next couple of days. I miss my cooking expeditions. And now with my own kitchen, I can try out new and more exciting recipes. With my Prince Cookie as the guinea pig. Bwahaha... >:)
In the next hour, we need to do a quick trip to Ikea and Giant to get supplies. Whoa! It is definitely a long day.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Wish List: Xtreme Magic Sing X18K



This is what I want for Christmas! This will be at the top of my Christmas shopping list when I get home. Hehehe...

And hopefully, our new neighbors won't mind me belting it out. Bwahahaha...