Monday, November 8, 2010
To the Market
Here are some beautiful pictures David took of the local market here. This market is right near my office and gym, so its where I buy most of my food.
Giant Siopao
I forgot to include this photo in my previous food entry, but that's okay, this picture deserves an entry all its own. Here is a photo of David's cousin Renato holding GIANT Siopao. Siopao is a Filipino food made of a steamed bun with different meat (or bean?) fillings. Usually Siopao is about a third or half of this size, but this Siopao is famous in Manila for its enormity. This Siopao is so special that the Mayor of Manila, during a hostage crisis a few months ago in the city, a tense situation in which several people were killed and the government was harshly criticized for its poor response, just couldn't resist and slipped away in the middle of the stand-off to go to the nearby restaurant that makes these specialties to eat some famous giant Siopao. Its that awesome...
All Soul's and All Saint's Day
All Soul’s and All Saint’s Day are big holidays here in the Philippines. Usually the entire family gets together and spends either one day or more (sometimes sleeping overnight) at the cemetery. From what I understand some people throw huge parties, but recently there have been some laws and rules put in place to keep the noise and drunkenness down. But most people just spend time picnicking, saying prayers, and spending some quality time with the family. David and I were able to spend October 31 at the cemetery, visiting his grandparents, and multiple aunts and uncles who have died. We also met and spent time with tons of his living relatives.
Manila Memorial Park:
Tents are put up around the burial sites for the family to picnic:
While visiting the cemetery is a Filipino tradition, David's father's side of the family is ethnically Chinese. The red candles and incense represent the Chinese tradition of honoring the dead. Below is a picture of the grave of David's paternal grandparents.
Another Chinese tradition is the burning of paper money, first for the gods, and then for the deceased. Here is what some of the money for the gods looks like:
Burning the paper:
After all the money is burnt, we get to eat!
Manila Memorial Park:
Tents are put up around the burial sites for the family to picnic:
While visiting the cemetery is a Filipino tradition, David's father's side of the family is ethnically Chinese. The red candles and incense represent the Chinese tradition of honoring the dead. Below is a picture of the grave of David's paternal grandparents.
Another Chinese tradition is the burning of paper money, first for the gods, and then for the deceased. Here is what some of the money for the gods looks like:
Burning the paper:
After all the money is burnt, we get to eat!
My Trip to Manila
After getting engaged, David and I jetted to Manila for a week to visit with his family. David's last visit was seven years ago! We were able to visit pretty much every relative David still has in the Philippines. Our schedules were jam packed with travel, good food, fun places, and quality time with my new family-to-be. Here's the week in pictures (David and I took a ton more, they'll be up on facebook soon!)
First, a meal (of course!) with David's mom's side of the family:
We then spent a couple of days touring Intramuros. Intramuros is the old city of Manila, where the Spanish built their fort in the 16th century. Intramuros was almost completely destroyed during World War II, so almost everything is a reconstruction.
This is part of the wall of the old Spanish fort:
Behind these walls is where Philippine national hero Jose Rizal spent time in jail before he was executed by the Spanish. Below is an actual size statue of Rizal (He was only 5'2") in the area where he said his last prayers before execution. The spot pictured used to be a chapel:
The surrounding area of the old city (to the right in the below photo), which used to be a moat, is now a golf course to help pay for the cost of upkeep of Intramuros.
Below is San Agustin church. It is the oldest church in the Philippines and just about the only thing to avoid being destroyed in World War II. The Japanese help American and Filipino hostages here so the U.S. avoided bombing it.
The Manila Cathedral, the second oldest church in the Philippines. This was destroyed in World War II, so the building pictured here is a reconstruction:
Visiting Tagatay, a mountain resort area:
The resort we went to had a small zoo!
Visiting Villa Escudero, an old coconut hacienda or plantation, turned into a resort. One of the attractions of this resort is being driven around by carabao:
This was my favorite carabao, an albino carabao named Pogi (meaning handsome):
Another attraction is eating lunch in a river, at the bottom of a manmade waterfall, which is an old dam used for electricity in the early 1900s.
Back to Davao, land of the Durian!
First, a meal (of course!) with David's mom's side of the family:
We then spent a couple of days touring Intramuros. Intramuros is the old city of Manila, where the Spanish built their fort in the 16th century. Intramuros was almost completely destroyed during World War II, so almost everything is a reconstruction.This is part of the wall of the old Spanish fort:
Behind these walls is where Philippine national hero Jose Rizal spent time in jail before he was executed by the Spanish. Below is an actual size statue of Rizal (He was only 5'2") in the area where he said his last prayers before execution. The spot pictured used to be a chapel:
The surrounding area of the old city (to the right in the below photo), which used to be a moat, is now a golf course to help pay for the cost of upkeep of Intramuros.
Below is San Agustin church. It is the oldest church in the Philippines and just about the only thing to avoid being destroyed in World War II. The Japanese help American and Filipino hostages here so the U.S. avoided bombing it.
The Manila Cathedral, the second oldest church in the Philippines. This was destroyed in World War II, so the building pictured here is a reconstruction:
Visiting Tagatay, a mountain resort area:
The resort we went to had a small zoo!
Visiting Villa Escudero, an old coconut hacienda or plantation, turned into a resort. One of the attractions of this resort is being driven around by carabao:
This was my favorite carabao, an albino carabao named Pogi (meaning handsome):
Another attraction is eating lunch in a river, at the bottom of a manmade waterfall, which is an old dam used for electricity in the early 1900s.
Back to Davao, land of the Durian!
I think all of you who read this blog (unless you are a random stranger) now know that I am engaged. Of course it wasn't official until it was on facebook, and to me its not official official until it makes it to my blog. So here it is internet world -- I'm engaged!
David and I got engaged when we spent some time at Pearl Farm, a beach resort in Davao. David tells our engagement story much better than I do, so maybe he can be a guest blogger here! Mostly we are so excited to be able to gather all of our friends and family members to celebrate our wedding next year. I've just started a bit of planning here and there and I really hope it remains stress free!
So here are a few informal engagement photos/just some nice pictures of David and me for those of you who are interested!
(I know, I know, I'm a terrible friend to you all and have no close-ups of the ring, soon, soon)
David and I got engaged when we spent some time at Pearl Farm, a beach resort in Davao. David tells our engagement story much better than I do, so maybe he can be a guest blogger here! Mostly we are so excited to be able to gather all of our friends and family members to celebrate our wedding next year. I've just started a bit of planning here and there and I really hope it remains stress free!
So here are a few informal engagement photos/just some nice pictures of David and me for those of you who are interested!
(I know, I know, I'm a terrible friend to you all and have no close-ups of the ring, soon, soon)
S & R Warehouse
A Filipino version of Costco! A must visit in Manila!
And it seems I'm not the only person from Minnesota in Manila enjoying this American comfort:
Check out this blog
Seriously though, I don't usually shop at these places in the U.S., but it was fun to see basically the exact same thing in your country (layout, food, brands) in a foreign place!
And it seems I'm not the only person from Minnesota in Manila enjoying this American comfort:Check out this blog
Seriously though, I don't usually shop at these places in the U.S., but it was fun to see basically the exact same thing in your country (layout, food, brands) in a foreign place!
Kaina! (Let's Eat!)
In the Philippines meals are the main event, a race, a feast, and an important social and family ritual. As I've mentioned before most Filipinos partake in 5-7 meals today (three main meals and then several snacks). My impression is that Filipinos have an amazing love of life, which comes in the form of a laidback lifestyle, amazing artistic and musical talent, and most obviously a, perhaps unparalleled, gusto for good food. While in Manila visiting family David and I were busog (full) basically 24 hours a day. Each meal was large and long. The meal was the main activity and space to renew our relationships with our family members. We did other stuff in between the meals, like sit in traffic or visit tourist spots, but it was always clear that the most important time was spent sharing in meals. I myself, especially this past week, have been brave enough to try a lot of new foods while in the Philippines, including, shrimp heads, shark fin, and chicken feet!
I had been wanting to do a food entry for a while (indeed, a whole food blog could be done on Davao alone) but I'm sort of embarrassed to take pictures of food in restaurants. Luckily my partner David lacks this feeling of shame and let me borrow his foodie pics for my blog.
At Pearl Farm, a beach resort we went to in Davao, we had the most amazingly large buffet, which left our plates overflowing:
One day at Pearl Farm, instead of the buffet, I opted for chicken soup. I got chicken soup in a coconut shell, topped with a yummy bread baked on:
At another resort we went to. Villa Escudero, our buffet meal was taken in the shallow river. Here you will see kare kare (the yellow dish, but sometimes its orange too, it is a tasty peanut dish), lechon kiwali (grilled pork), pancit noodles (a common merienda snack) as well as grilled fish. I have been thoroughly enjoying the seafood while I've been here. Its everywhere and its always fresh! Although I haven't been brave enough to eat the fish head yet! Lastly, you'll see some grilled caramelized bananas, one of my favorite desserts or merienda snack here.
My love of Filipino food stems largely from the amazingly delicious fruit available. Mangoes never taste this good in the U.S.! And in Davao, I'm right at the source of the fruit, since banana, pomelo, and mango plantations and farms cover the island of Mindanao.
In terms of dessert, one of the most popular dishes is Halo-Halo. It means "mix mix" in Tagalog. It's basically full of lots of different desserts, including leche flan, jackfruit, banana, gelatin, sago, sweet beans, and rice krispies, topped with ice, cream, and ube ice cream. You mix it all up and enjoy!
I had been wanting to do a food entry for a while (indeed, a whole food blog could be done on Davao alone) but I'm sort of embarrassed to take pictures of food in restaurants. Luckily my partner David lacks this feeling of shame and let me borrow his foodie pics for my blog.
At Pearl Farm, a beach resort we went to in Davao, we had the most amazingly large buffet, which left our plates overflowing:
One day at Pearl Farm, instead of the buffet, I opted for chicken soup. I got chicken soup in a coconut shell, topped with a yummy bread baked on:
At another resort we went to. Villa Escudero, our buffet meal was taken in the shallow river. Here you will see kare kare (the yellow dish, but sometimes its orange too, it is a tasty peanut dish), lechon kiwali (grilled pork), pancit noodles (a common merienda snack) as well as grilled fish. I have been thoroughly enjoying the seafood while I've been here. Its everywhere and its always fresh! Although I haven't been brave enough to eat the fish head yet! Lastly, you'll see some grilled caramelized bananas, one of my favorite desserts or merienda snack here.
My love of Filipino food stems largely from the amazingly delicious fruit available. Mangoes never taste this good in the U.S.! And in Davao, I'm right at the source of the fruit, since banana, pomelo, and mango plantations and farms cover the island of Mindanao.
In terms of dessert, one of the most popular dishes is Halo-Halo. It means "mix mix" in Tagalog. It's basically full of lots of different desserts, including leche flan, jackfruit, banana, gelatin, sago, sweet beans, and rice krispies, topped with ice, cream, and ube ice cream. You mix it all up and enjoy!
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