Orchid Scripture: So Much Food, So Little Time

I just returned from a whirlwind trip back to Asia. Flew to Singapore, but the main purpose was to make it to Manila to celebrate my grandmother's 96th birthday (and see her since she was unable to travel for our wedding in June). I was gone for 8 days, but taking travel time into account and being home in Singapore for a full day on each end of my trip, I had less than 4 days in the Philippines. My family knows how to pack in a lot of food into a short period though, much of which is documented below.

My mom and I arrived in Manila in the early afternoon on Friday and after checking into our hotel we headed straight over to the nearest Via Mare branch for merienda (afternoon snack).

A tangy salad with greens, tomatoes, red onion, crispy pork, and a salty bagoong (translated as shrimp paste) dressing. The salad makes up with flavor what it may lack in healthiness.

Pancit Luglug (round rice noodle smothered with a thick shrimp sauce with pieces of squid, chicharon, and hard boiled egg)

My favorite part of this meal - hot corned beef (left) and queso puti/white cheese (right) pandesal sandwiches

Got to have your condiments - this one is patis (fermented fish sauce) and kalamansi

A couple hours later we met up with friends for dinner at a new homestyle Filipino food restaurant

Ensalada Talong - eggplant salad. It's served as shown above for you to personally mix to your liking (below). Items in this version of the salad included salty duck eggs, red onion, tomatoes, green (unripe) mango, okra, eggplant, and bagoong.

Soft tofu with a shrimp and chili sauce. A bit of a Filipino-Chinese fusion dish (of which there are many)

A variation on the typical pork adobo. This one is made to have a crispy outer skin and served with roasted garlic.

Back: Eggplant and ground beef omelet
Front: rilled boneless bangus (milk fish) belly

We accompanied our meal with two types of rice. Jasmine rice topped with dried salted fish (above) and fried garlic rice (below)

Condiments at this meal: bagoong and vinegar

On Saturday morning we drove to Tagatay, a highlands region about an hour and a half outside Manila, to spend the weekend with my grandmother and other immediate relatives. First order of business: lunch

The lunch spread (there were six eaters)

Another version of the ensalada talong (no okra in this one, but I liked that the tomatoes were shredded - made mixing it all up easier)

sinigang (traditional Filipino soup with a characteristic sour taste)

Sizzling pork sisig (dish made with head meat and liver flavored with kalamansi and chilis). It's good despite the ingredients...both Owen and I will vouch for it

BBQ squid

A whole array of condiments
Liquids on the left: patis, vinegar, soy sauce
Right: crushed garlic, ginger, chilis, and red onion

The majority of our meals in Tagatay were home-cooked at my uncle's home. This is the best type of Filipino food, especially when the produce comes from your own garden and chicken coop.