DAYS 3-6 Philippines Trip, Dec. 19-28, 2008

Saturday early morning, we headed to my parents' house in Caba, La Union - a 4 hour drive north of Manila. We were going to spend 1 night in La Union and 2 nights in Baguio.

By the time we arrived in Caba, it was breakfast time. We got there around 7.30 in the morning.

My parents' beach house

I miss this kind of pinoy breakfast - eggs, "tuyo" (dried fish) and pork longganiza (sausage)

Later that afternoon was my parents' annual charity gift-giving to the less fortunate people of Caba. My mom used to be the President of the Rotary Club in her district and she continues to participate in charitable events.

My stepdad, Bob

Ham Dinner

I made those burrito wraps from scratch!! (with the help of Mom haha)

Booze time!!!

One of the most favorite filipino pasttimes - Karaoke!

(From L-R) Johann, Victor (Brett's friend based in New Zealand), Brett, Mike, Alvin and Q.

Angelo, the spoiled dog

Rusty

Mom and her dogs

Longboarding in Camp John Hay

Figaro with my twin bro, Johann

My aunt's log house in Baguio, super quaint and cute!!!

They rent out this 3 bedroom house for 12k (est S$400) a night, quite reasonable I think.

More booze in Nevada Square

Good Shepherd goodies (near Mines View Park)

Alfajor rules!!!

Gerry's Grill, SM Baguio - spectacular view!

Spicy Sashimi (P200, around S$6.45)

Moldy chopsticks, GROSS!!!

"Tinomok" (P160, around S$ 5.16) - this is like "laing", a filipino dish made of taro leaves & coconut milk, stuffed with pork

"Crispy Pata" (P415, around S$13.39) - Crispy Pork Knuckles, very crispy and yummy! A great way to neglect your diet haha!

Adobo Seafood Rice (P135, around S$4.35) - black paella sauteed in squid ink. This was bland. Not recommended.

Garlic Adobo Shreds (P185, around S$ 5.99) - crispy pork adobo flakes. Very nice!

"Chicharon Bulaklak" (P180, around S$5.81) - deep-fried crispy pork intestines. We returned it because it tasted a little to burnt. Besides, its really bad for you!

Another round of Booze

"Kinilaw Tanguige" (forgot the price) - tanguige fish cooked in onions and vinegar.

"Sizzling Bangus Sisig" (P165, around S$5.32) - milk fish on sizzling plate. Really good and healthy!

View of the mountains. Reminds me of Genting in Malaysia.

Baguio is the summer capital of the Philippines. The city is at an altitude of approximately 1500 meters (5100 ft) in a moist tropical pine forest.

On our way back to Manila, we stopped over for a quick bite at one of the gas stations.

One of the lousiest philly cheese steak sandwiches I have ever eaten. Waste of money and saliva.

This was suprisingly good. It tasted like homemade burger with real beef and wheat bread. Highly recommended!

Read the next entries for more on my Philippines trip...

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DAY 2 - Philippines Trip, Dec. 19-28, 2008

On my 2nd day in Manila, we first went off to the uber posh Greenbelt 5. As expected, the stores were mostly uber expensive so I didn't really end up buying anything. We took this shot with a very jovial santa claus at one of the shops.

As consolation, we treated ourselves to a snack at Cafe Breton. We planned this day as a food trip day. Basically, eat everything I missed in Manila, haha. Cafe Breton was definitely one of 'em.

It was amazing to watch them prepare the crepes with perfect precision. It actually looked quite simple but I'm sure it takes a lot of experience.

Johann ordered "Neptune" (P165, around S$ 5.32) - tuna, dairy fresh cream, tomato, onion & mushrooms. This one tasted ordinary. Nothing special. Next please...

I ordered a dessert crepe "Le Magnifique!" (P192, around S$ 6.19) - banana, nutella, whipped cream and almonds. This was quite good but I felt there was a little to much going on. I realized (and prefer) that crepes are better when they're simpler.

We ordered another dessert crepe with nutella. I forgot to take note of its name and price. But it was really good. Simple but good. I loved the texture and consistency of the crepe. Chewy and thin.

Our hands-down favorite was "Dracula" (P110, around S$ 3.54) - cheese, tomato and garlic. It was the cheapest and most basic but the best! It was so good that we ordered another one, haha.

On our way to S&R at the fort, we spotted the "Shop@the fort bazaar" at the NBC tent and decided to drop by.

Sadly, the selection wasn't as diverse and unique as the previous years. There were too much clothes everywhere as if everyone decided to sell clothes unanimously. The only thing I bought were scented oils.

There was Old Chang Kee at the food area and of course I had to try it and compare. Unfortunately, it pales in comparison to the original here in Singapore.

I still love S&R. I love the fact that they have so many imported goods that you couldn't find in regular supermarkets. We were going on a road trip to La Union & Baguio later that night so it was the perfect time to grab some munchies.

Can I just say that we saw Kris Aquino shopping in S&R... I don't have anything against her and I'm sure she's a wonderful person but I just found her a bit too loud. She was talking to her baby quite loudly for everyone to hear. Oh well, she is Kris after all.

And how can you not have S&R pizza when in S&R.. It's like going to Krispy Kreme and having coffee instead of doughnuts.

Last stop was Sonja's Cupcakes at Serendra. I saw a local filipino blog about one of their cupcakes and I just had to try it.

Their packaging is really pretty. Cupcakes individually packed in tiffany-blue boxes.

This cupcake is called "Dracula" (P100, around S$3.22). It was more like a mini-pie because the bottom portion was like oreo-crust instead of the usual "cakey" cupcake. Those are reese's cups on top. YUMMY!!!

This one is "Choco Cream Pie" (P100, around S$3.22), also very good and sinful. Too sinful that we all just had a taste of the cupcakes then gave them to our househelp :-)

See the next entries for more of my Philippines Trip...

Read more on "DAY 2 - Philippines Trip, Dec. 19-28, 2008"!