Street Art ( Penang Malaysia)

George Town (Penang Malaysia)

George Town is amazing. They were able to preserve this place very well. I was fascinated seeing the old buildings. It has a unique architectural and cultural town scape that is very difficult to match. Most of the thing I saw is incomparable with the countries, the East and Southeast Asia.

Coastal Cove Resort ( Aurora Dingalan)

Looking for a place to relax and enjoy your weekend? Try Coastal Cove Resort located in Brgy. Butas na Bato Dingalan, Aurora. We wanted to celebrate my dad's birthday and we decided to have a get away from home. Dingalan is 2 hours drive from my hometown.

On the way to the resort we drove at the foot of hills and mountains.

This is the view form our room, it's called View Deck.

Photo taken from the right side of the beach.

Photo taken from the left side of the beach.

Front view.

Open Cottages.

Entrance from the beach.

After sunset.

Coastal Cove Resort Dining ( Dingalan Aurora)

Coastal Cove Resort dining is awesome. I really miss home cooked foods and their kitchen really satisfied my cravings.

Fried Galunggong (Mackarel)

Buttered Shrimp

Fried Calamari

Blue Marlin Sashimi

Bite size pork chop

Grape Seaweed

Hapag kainan

Fresh coconut

Inihaw na Isda

Kutchinta

Bochi bochi

Suman

Putong Puti

Pandesal

One of my favorite during my childhood days is Pandesal. I love my pandesal with fried egg filling, mayonnaise and banana ketchup. By the way banana ketchup is widely available in Philippines. I prefer banana ketchup than tomato. At times I also wanted Tender Juicy hotdog in it.

Pandesal. Recipe from Panlasang Pinoy.

 

Pandesal Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 5 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 cup fresh milk, warm
• 1 pouch rapid rise yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 piece raw egg
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Cooking Procedure

1. Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm milk and stir until the yeast and sugar are fully disolved
2. In the mixing bowl, combine the dry ingrdients starting with the flour then the sugar, salt, and baking powder . Mix well by stirring
3. Add the egg, butter, cooking oil, and yeast-sugar-milk mixture in the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients then mix again until a dough is formed. Use your clean hands to effectively mix the ingredients.
4. In a flat surface, knead the dough until the texture becomes fine.
5. Mold the dough until shape becomes round then put back in the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with damp cloth and let the dough rise for at least 1 hour
6. Put the dough back to the flat surface and divide into 4 equal parts using a dough slicer
7. Roll each part until it forms a cylindrical shape
8. Slice the cylindrical dough diagonally (These slices will be the individual pieces of the pandesal)
9. Roll the sliced dough over the breadcrumbs and place in a baking tray with wax paper (makes sure to provide gaps between doughs as this will rise later on)
10. Leave the sliced dough with breadcrumbs in the tray for another 10 to 15 minutes to rise
11. Pre heat the oven at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 10 minutes
12. Put the tray with dough in the oven and bake for 15 minutes
13. Turn off the oven and remove the freshly baked pandesal.
14. Serve hot. Share and enjoy!

Siopao

I love steamed buns and siopao is one of them. For filling I love asado. Asado litterally means cooking meat using grilling technique. These days siopao evolved so much that you find various filling like bola-bola or combination of both.

Siopao Asado

Try the recipe below from Panlasang Pinoy.

Siopao Recipe

Ingredients

Dough:

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 ½ tbsp sugar (added to yeast mixture)
• ½ cup sugar (added to the flour mixture)
• 1 pouch dry yeast
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 ¼ tbsp baking powder
• 6 tbsp shortening

Asado Filling:

• 2 lbs pork, chopped into small pieces
• 3 tbsp lard or shortening
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, minced
• 2 tbsp cornstarch, diluted in 1/4 cup water
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

Cooking Procedure

1. Cook the Asado filling by heating the shortening in a pan
2. Saute the garlic and onions
3. Put-in the pork and cook until the color of the outer part turns light brown
4. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, and sugar then mix well. Simmer for
5. 40 minutes
6. Put in the corn starch (diluted in water) and mix until the texture of the sauce becomes
7. thick then set aside
8. Make the dough by placing warm water in a bowl then add the yeast and sugar and mix well.
9. Leave the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes
10. In a mixing bowl, put-in the flour, baking powder, shortening (or lard), and the yeast-
11. sugar-water mixture then mix well (bubbles should have formed on top by then).
12. Knead the combined mixture until the texture of the dough becomes fine. Let the dough
13. rise by setting it aside for at least an hour (place in the mixing bowl and cover the top ).
14. Knead the dough again then cut into individual slices (this will be the dough per
15. individual siopao).
16. Flatten the dough until a round shape is formed using a rolling pin.
17. Put the asado filling on the middle of the flattened dough and wrap. (refer to the video for the technique if interested)
18. Place the siopao in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes.
19. Serve hot. Share and enjoy!
    

    

    If Im not cooking I'm buying at Hen Lin

Egg Pie

Have you tried Egg Pie before? This dessert is very rich and tasty. I did try making it couple of times but I guess I still have to practice more.

Egg Pie. Try the recipe below from Panlasang Pinoy

 

Egg Pie Recipe

Ingredients

Pie Crust

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 tablespoon granulated sugar

Filling

• 1 3/4 cups evaporated milk
• 3 pieces raw eggs
• 1 piece egg, white separated from the yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar

 Cooking Procedure

1. Create the crust by combining the flour, sugar, and salt then mix well.
2. Add the butter in the middle and mix using a pastry mixer.
3. Gradually pour the cold water while mixing the ingredients. Continue mixing until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
4. Gather the dough and mold it into a ball-shaped figure.
5. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes to harden the butter.
6. Sprinkle flour on a clean flat surface and flatten the refrigerated dough using a rolling pin. The flattened dough should be wide enough to cover a 9 inch circular baking pan.
7. Arrange the flattened dough on top of the baking pan and cut the extra edge using a pair of scissors.
8. Refrigerate while doing the filling.
9. Start making the filling by scalding the evaporated milk. This is done by heating it in the microwave oven for 2 minutes.
10. In a large mixing bowl, combine the 3 raw eggs and the separated egg yolk then whisk.
11. Gradually add the granulated sugar while whisking.
12. Put-in the vanilla extract then whisk until every ingredient is properly distributed.
13. Pour-in the scalded milk then mix thoroughly.
14. Beat the separated egg white using an electric mixer until it forms soft peaks.
15. Fold the processed egg white in the milk-eggs-sugar mixture.
16. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
17. Pour the filling mixture on the refrigerated pie crust.
18. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit then lower the heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes.
19. Remove the egg pie from the oven and let cool.
20. Serve for dessert. Share and enjoy!

My Batis (Aurora Dingalan)

" My Batis" is sister company of Coastal Cove Resort. This place is very relaxing. If you are looking for a place away from home but still have the feeling of backyard comfort, this is the place. The "My Batis" has natural water coming form the mountains. You can feel the freshness and crisp sound of the gushing water. The surrounding is covered with luscious trees and manicured lawn. Most of the plants are wild. They have lots of ferns and colorful wild flowers.

La Paz Batchoy

Today I went to SM Mega mall food court. They got lots of food stall serving fast food, comfort food and regional delicacies. My choice for today is called LaPaz Batchoy. This deli is basically noodle soup with with pork organs, crushed pork cracklings, chicken stock, beef loin and round noodles. I have eaten this in Manila but if you really want to taste the original one visit Iloilo.

La Paz Batchoy

Ted's La Paz Batchoy at SM Mega Mall food court.

Kare-kare

This dish is very tricky to make. I always feel like it has so many ingredients that prevents me from making it often. These days you will find Kare-kare ready mix on every supermarket but making one from scratch is still the best.

Kare Kare Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 lbs oxtail (cut in 2 inch slices) you an also use tripe or beef slices
• 1 small banana flower bud (sliced)
• 1 bundle of pechay or bok choy
• 1 bundle of string beans (cut into 2 inch slices)
• 4 pcs eggplants (sliced)
• 1 cup ground peanuts
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup shrimp paste
• 34 Ounces water (about 1 Liter)
• 1/2 cup annatto seeds (soaked in a cup of water)
• 1/2 cup toasted ground rice
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• salt and pepper

Cooking Procedure

1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil
2. Put in the oxtail followed by the onions and simmer for 2.5 to 3 hrs or until tender (35 minutes if using a pressure cooker)
3. Once the meat is tender, add the ground peanuts, peanut butter, and coloring (water from the annatto seed mixture) and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes
4. Add the toasted ground rice and simmer for 5 minutes
5. On a separate pan, saute the garlic then add the banana flower, eggplant, and string beans and cook for 5 minutes
6. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the large pot (where the rest of the ingredients are)
7. Add salt and pepper to taste
8. Serve hot with shrimp paste. Enjoy!

Max's Restaurant

I love chicken and as a chicken lover Max's has a special spot in my tummy ;-) Amongst many other restaurant that serves chicken I love to frequent Max's. Their chicken is cooked to perfection until golden brown, so crisp, juicy and tender. They also serve well loved Filipino dishes like kare-kare, lechon kawali, sinigang na hipon, boneless bangus plus many others.

Max's quarter fried chicken that comes with choices over Fresh or Fried lumpiang ubod and Steamed rice, a piece of Caramel Bar and a refreshing drink.

Kare-kare

Mangan Restaurant (Mall of Asia)

Looking for a place if your missing Filipino classic food? Visit Mangan at Mall of Asia. I enjoyed eating this time specially because I was so hungry...

Sisig

Sinigang

Fried rice with alamang

Beef Tadyang

Mais con Yelo

Halo-halo