Isang mapaya, maligaya at masaganang bagong taon para sa lahat.
A map showing a network of flight destinations that a certain airline company offers has caught my attention while browsing an old issue of a travel magazine. Inspired by the concept, I thought of creating my own map showing the places where I had been outside my beloved country. Using a combination of MS Visio and Photoshop; here’s the final product. I hope to update this image at least once or twice a year.
Halo-Halo stands as one of the iconic symbols of summer in the Philippines. This tempting dessert or snack comes from the Tagalog word “halo” which means “mix”. And true to its name, this popular concoction is a mixture of various native ingredients with shaved ice and evaporated milk.
Generally sweet and preserved, the ingredients includes red beans, macapuno, banana, pinipig, camote, langka, nata de coco, sago, gulaman and many more. Usual servings come in perspiring tall glass or clear bowl. Special version is often topped with ube, leche flan and ice cream.
Our home version of halo-halo is unique neither because of the colorful ingredients it contains nor the creamy brand of milk we use. It is extra special because of the classic tool we use that is manually pushed in a block of ice to produce the shaved ice. This metal ice shaver is one of those few kitchen tools left to us by our late grandmother. Indulging on it, our own halo-halo brings back good memories of our ”lola” and the summer we spent with her in the province.
Early this year, Starbucks announced that they are changing their logo. The company has decided to remove the words “Starbucks” and “Coffee”. Hence, leaving the mermaid to stand-out. Oh, by the way, it is not a mermaid. They consistently refer to it as a “siren”. Now, you must be thinking of coffee when you see “Mutya”.
Tia Maria’s is one of my old-time favorite place because of its quesadillas. This Mexican appetizer is made from freshly-baked flour tortillas stuffed with cheese and jalapenos. It is not complete if not served with a luscious blend of salsa and sour cream. Estuvo delicioso!
Summer is here again! A simple way to beat the scorching temperature is to indulge one’s appetite in cold snacks. Aside from the more famous ice-crumbles; predominant nowadays are popping stalls of frozen yoghurt. This ice-cream-like mixture is made of milk curdled by bacteria and flavoured with fruit, chocolate, candies, gummy bears, jellies, etc. My favorite combination is either mango with melon or a melon with watermelon. This one I got from an outlet named “redmango”.
It’s been a while since I last took a bite in a one-of-a-kind burger made of fresh mushroom and beef. Mushroomburger in Tagaytay is some minutes-drive from our place. Dati may branch ito sa Greenbelt-Makati. Kaya naman sa bawat pagkagat ko sa burger ay marami akong naalala na masasayang sandali. Minsan na ring naging regular na bahagi ng aking lunch, merienda at dinner ang burger na ito. Tunay na classic!
Ayon kay Mr. Thesaurus, ang ibig sabihin ng “bread & butter” ay financial means whereby one lives. In short, ito yung source of one’s livelihood. At ito rin ang kailangan gawin at paghirapan para kumita. Pero saan ka pa kung ang bread & butter ay ibibigay ng libre. Eto yun … complementary freshly baked bread with butter on the side at Tony Roma’s.
