Paella in Valencia!

Where else to have paella other than in Valencia where it's from! That's right, paella is a Valencian rice dish which is quite popular here in the Philippines. They say the traditional Valencian paella is not made with pollo (chicken) but with conejo (rabbit). Yes, you read right, rabbit!

We were looking for a great value restaurant to savor paella in Valencia since it's quite pricey given that rice here is expensive. And we finally found our restaurant called NECO Buffet de Cocina Mediterranea. Not only did they have two kinds of paella served in humongous paelleras in their buffet. They had a host of other Mediterranean dishes and desserts as well, all for the price of 10€, not bad given that in most restaurants, paella could go as much as 15 to 20€. And that's just one serving! So the buffet was a great deal.

Have you tasted Filipinos?

It was amusing to find out that in Spain, there is a commercial brand of biscuits called Filipinos! The standard Filipinos biscuit is ring-shaped and coated in either white, milk or dark chocolate. It is said that the biscuits were inspired by the rosquillos of Iloilo and Negros hence the name Filipinos. Its manufacturer added a twist by coating it with different kinds of chocolate.

They also sell Filipinos Agujeros or the holes of the biscuits coated in dark or white chocolate, as well as Filipinos Bigsticks. I found it equally amusing that Filipinos are sold alongside popular cookie brands such as Oreo and ChipsAhoy! But it was not amusing that a former administration made a big fuss out of it by filing a diplomatic protest saying that the use of "Filipinos" for a commercial brand was insulting. The Foreign Affairs secretary reluctantly filed the protest saying that he saw nothing wrong with the use of "Filipinos" as a brand name and pointed out that Austrians don't complain that small sausages are referred to as Vienna sausages! I'm actually happy they chose the name Filipinos since the biscuits are really good! What do you think?

Romblon's food surprises

Romblon still had more surprises. After climbing down from Fort San Andres, I proceeded to the Romblon Shopping Center to shop for marble souvenirs. But since I was starving, I had some halo-halo in one of the carinderia in front. As soon the shopping was done (since I still had to return to Tablas, I had to shop wisely or face the problem of carrying a heavy load), I returned to the hotel to get some rest before dinner.

I was resigned to the fact that I had no choice but to pick another of the usual turo-turo at the Romblon Shopping Center. But I decided to walk around a bit and remembered passing by a cafe called the Romblon Deli from the pier. And I easily spotted it a few meters away from Freedom Park.

Who could imagine that this laidback town of Romblon would have restaurants serving international cuisine? Indeed, Romblon Deli Coffee Shop & Restaurant was a bold experiment as the owner Dave Kershaw explained to me. There are two such restaurants in fact located beside each other, the other being Republika Bar & Restaurant (formerly Jack’s Restaurant which Dave sold to his friend three years ago).

The items in the menu are chalked up on a black board and change every now and then. Most of the perishable ingredients are imported such as the steaks, lamb and cheeses, brought to Romblon via a complicated supply chain from Manila, Batangas and Puerto Galera. The dry ingredients are sourced locally.

The restaurant was established to cater to up market visitors, hoping to pull in the “right” kind of tourists. Most of the clientele that night were foreigners many of whom were working as volunteers in Romblon. But there were the occasional locals. Though the selection is quite pricey for most locals, imagine getting steak for PHP250. Not bad at all! For the night, I got myself a medium deli pizza topped with salami, olives, onion, tomatoes and bell pepper just for PHP200.

Romblon Deli Coffee Shop & Restaurant
Menu includes deli pizza (depending on size between PHP180 to PHP280), fillet steak (blue cheese, peppered or New York style with fries and salad at PHP250), bangers and mash (PHP160), roast lamb with toast, potatoes and peas (PHP250), and sandwiches (from PHP105 to PHP125).

Republika Bar & Restaurant
Check out their rib-eye steak with French fries (PHP250), beef goulash with mashed potatoes and veggies (PHP170), pork schnitzel with fries and salad (PHP170), and chicken paprika with rice (PHP140).

Part 1: Romblon is more than marble
Part 2: Romblon, Romblon is a heritage town
Part 4: Aglicay Beach and Trangkalan Falls in Tablas

Romblon, Romblon is a heritage town

All I knew about Romblon was that it was literally sitting on marble and that its cathedral is a National Cultural Treasure. But little did I know that the town's historical fabric was very much intact and if you compared the center of town to postcards from the prewar years, nothing much has changed. Walking around the streets of Romblon, Romblon was indeed a blast from the past! You could already see Fort San Andres as you enter Romblon Port.

From the port, I walked towards the Romblon Shopping Center in from of Freedom Park where all the marble souvenir stores are clustered. There are a lot of really nice souvenirs but they should improve the ones with engravings which usually say "ROMBLON SOUVENIR." The way they engrave and paint the words in most of the souvenirs, in my opinion, cheapens the marble. Anyway, I decided to purchase souvenirs after I dropped off my stuff at the hotel.

I was looking forward to seeing the Romblon Cathedral which is a National Cultural Treasure. But I did not expect the entire town to be a heritage treasure! Around the plaza are most of the elements of our old towns, including the church and convento, the municipio, a Gabaldon schoolhouse, old houses, several colonial bridges and a charming Rizal monument in the center of the plaza.

The Cathedral of St. Joseph was one the 26 colonial churches declared as National Cultural Treasures in 2001. The church, dating back to the 15th Century, was constructed by the Augustinian Recollects, and its interior features several Baroque-style retablos. Behind the church is Fort Santiago, one of the two forts in Romblon, Romblon. But I didn't climb up since the locals said there's nothing much left.

But Fort San Andres on the opposite hill is a lot more intact. Built at about the same time the church was constructed, its main purpose was to alert the town about the arrival of Moro pirates. A 210-step stone stairway will bring you up to the fort where a PAG-ASA station is located.

Where to stay
There are a lot of standard accommodations in Romblon which offer both electric fan and air-conditioned rooms.

Blue Ridge Hotel
Gov. Fetalvero Street
We stayed in this inn and got a really good deal. Non-aircon rooms have TVs and start at PHP700. While air-conditioned rooms with TV start at PHP800.
+63 919 3819393
+63 921 3748717
+63 920 8712643

Romblon Plaza Hotel
Pres. Roxas corner Fetalvero Street
This seems to be the best hotel in town. Ordinary fan rooms start at PHP550; while air-conditioned rooms start at PHP1000.
+63 42 5072269
+63 42 5072277

Parc Bay Mansion
This inn seems relatively new and is conveniently located in front of the ferry terminal and offers air-conditioned rooms for as low as PHP650.
+63 9215757760

Part 1: Romblon is more than marble
Part 3: Romblon's food surprises
Part 4: Aglicay Beach and Trangkalan Falls in Tablas

Lunch at Balaw-Balaw Restaurant in Angono

As part of Havila's tour of the Angono area, we visited the Balaw-Balaw Folk Art Museum of the late Perdigon Vocalan for lunch. It's more known as the Balaw-Balaw Restaurant which serves both local specialties and exotic foods. For the brave, try ordering uok (larva of beetles that are found in coconut trees cooked as adobo or steamed in tamarind fruit and tomatoes just like escargot), nilasing na palaka (frogs marinated in wine and cooked as adobo), kamaru (a popular Kapampangan cricket dish), Soup No. 5 (cow butt and balls), bibingkang abnoy (aborted duck eggs cooked in banana leaves) or palos (freshwater eel cooked as adobo).

There are also unusual salads such as rose petal salad, rose petal tempura, bougainvillea salad, or crispy alagaw leaves (like crispy spinach or kangkong). But for today, they served us the traditional foods.

If you're a group, you might to their Minaluto which is a little of everything such as chicken and prok adobo, various seafoods and vegetables, steamed with a heaping mound of rice and served in a large bamboo container lined with banana leaves. Minaluto is another term for binalot or a meal with rice packed in banana leaves. It's a little over PHP1100++ if I remember it right.

Above and around the restaurant are paintings and sculptures of Vocalan, a lot of them! Indeed, the place was a feast for the eyes, mind and stomach.

Part 1: Art gallery overload in Angono, Rizal
Part 3: Nemiranda and the Blanco Family Museum

Related entries
Viva San Clemente! Higantes of Angono, Rizal
Angono is the Art Capital of the Philippines
Angono Petroglyphs in Binangonan, Rizal

Around Taal Lake

I visited several towns around Taal Lake yesterday. Our first stop was Club Balai Isabel in Talisay, Batangas. It's probably the best residential resort by the lake.

Club Balai Isabel has one of the best views of Taal Volcano. At the moment, many parts are still under construction. But the reception area, club house, and several hotel rooms are already complete and ready to accept visitors. We had lunch there as well and ordered some bulalo, fried tawilis, ginataang kalabasa and fried chicken.

We then headed off to Tagaytay en route to Taal. But we stopped by Bag of Beans to check out their bread shop. I had a chicken and mushroom pie.

As soon as we arrived in the heritage town of Taal, we went straight to the Taal Basilica to check it out. Since we didn't have much time, we made a quick drive around town to check out the wonderful heritage houses.

Although relatively intact, there seems to be a lack of continuity in the town since the new structures stick out like sore thumbs in between the charming heritage homes. The local government should do something about these newer structures.

Our last stop was the Church of Caysasay and the miraculous well of Sta. Lucia also in Taal. We didn't stay too long since we wanted to be back in Tagaytay before dark.

On the way back, we made a stopover at Sonya's Garden. I was tempted to have a meal there since I simply adore their salads and pasta. But we'll have to save that for another day. Dinner was at the garden restaurant of Bag of Beans. Then it was back home for us.

Club Balai Isabel
Brgy. Banga, Talisay, Batangas
Mobile +63 918 8473619
Manila +63 2 7761521
Batangas +63 43 7280307

Sonya's Garden
Buck Estate, Alfonso, Cavite
Mobile +63 928 5073302
Landline +63 46 4132081

Bollywood serves great Indian food!

I'm a big fan of Indian food. So when I found out we were eating at Bollywood in Greenbelt, I did not have any second thoughts. And everything we ate was great. We started with the papadums, which are thin wafers made from lentils, accompanied by mint, ginger and yogurt dips.

There were also stuffed papads, which are papadums stuffed with shrimps, potatoes and fresh herbs; spicy lamb dumpling called momos; and rogan josh which is mutton with a red curry sauce filled with Kashimiri spices.

We also had Star Pizzanaanas which are pizzas with a naan bread crust named after various Bollywood stars. We were served ShahRukh Kham or four-cheese pizza topped with cheddar, ricotta, mozarella and paneer cheese; and Aishawarya Rai which has ham, pineapples and capsicum for toppings. Of course, we had tandoori chicken and biryani as well.

For dessert, we had gulab jamum which are fried milk balls in really sweet rose syrup; and Bollywood mafiosi or pannacotta with fresh mangoes and rose water. They have a daily dinner buffet during weekdays and it's just PHP450 per head! At least I know where to go now when I'm craving for Indian food in Makati.

Bulalo in Tagaytay is available 24 hours a day

One of those rare times I got to go out. I've been so busy with school, I haven't been able to travel. Poor me! That's why the few hours that I got to go out last Saturday night was a breath of fresh air.

I had dinner with brods at Brittany Bay in Sucat. We had pizza and Czech beer at Grappa's before transferring to Dencio's for more beer, sisig and sari-saring sinugba. We transferred back to Grappa's for even more Czech beer until a weird idea came up. And we ended up having coffee in Tagaytay!

But I guess the highlight of the evening was the bulalo we had at 3 a.m. served at a 24-hour restaurant called GreenATS. Yes folks, bulalo is available in Tagaytay City 24 hours a day!

The Garden Room is Pasay's best kept secret

This nondescript entrance gate gives no hint of the treasure one can find inside. In fact, I got lost looking for it. 2650 Zamora Street is the 1940s residence of Pablo S. Antonio, National Artist for Architecture. It's now open to the public and is Pasay's best kept secret!

The house plays host to The Garden Room, a by-reservation dining haven run by his family. Every room of the house has been converted into a dining area and it can host several groups at any given time. It was a perfect venue for our HCS board meeting yesterday.

The Garden Room has a refreshing ambiance owing to Antonio's "green" design for his residence. The whole house seemed to be shaded by trees and other plants. Small pocket gardens can also be found around the house. And what is nice about it is the consistent use of natural lighting in the different rooms.

There are five set menus ranging from P700 to P900 per head. All set menus come with fresh fruit juice, fresh green salad with oil and garlic dressing, and assorted dessert tarts. The guava juice they served us was rich! All the food was great and the cakes were heavenly!

MENU 1 (P700) - Mustard chicken, seafood pasta and melanzane
MENU 2 (P700) - Roast chicken, pasta with black olives, anchovies and mushrooms, and melanzane
MENU 3 (P700) - Roast rosemary chicken, putanesca, and melanzane
MENU 4 (P800) - Tenderloin, chorizo pasta, and mustard chicken
MENU 5 (P900) - Roast leg of lamb, pasta with pesto sauce, roast chicken

On EDSA, if you're coming from Makati, make a right at Zamora Street (it's the street before the LRT and there's a Watsons store at the corner). Then watch out for the house. It does not have any signage outside so you'll have to look for the house number.

How to get there
From Makati, take EDSA. The street before Taft Avenue is Zamora Street. There is a Watson's store at the corner. Make a right there and just go straight until you reach No. 2650.

Contact numbers
The Garden Room
2650 Zamora Street, Pasay City
+63 2 8318407
+63 2 6315054
+63 917 6008886

Related entries
Architect Pablo S. Antonio to be given state funeral
National Artist Pablo Antonio’s work to be demolished

Cold Spoon serves the best frozen yogurt!

I was told that the best frozen yogurt in the country can be found in Angeles City. And Cold Spoon did not disappoint. It's along Friendship Highway at the corner of the Carmenville Gate 3 access road.

There were just so many toppings to choose from. For my pick, it was Butterfinger bits. If I only could have another one, I would have tried out Comstock blueberry, Oreo, Maltesers or muesli! Yummy! And hear this, they have a drive-thru window for those on the run!

C' Italian Dining is simply superb!

We went to the 12th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta late Saturday afternoon hoping to see the night glow. But just like the hot air balloon events that morning, it did not push through since the winds were just too strong. People were joking it was all hot air but no balloons.

But that wasn't much of a setback since the highlight for the night was dinner at a by-reservation restaurant called C' Italian Dining, one of the best Italian restaurants not just in Angeles City but in the entire country. It was twice named Best Restaurant by the Philippine Tatler. We had a four-hour, 10-course dinner that night!

Chef Chris Locher prepared for us a special menu with the theme, "Chris, I'm hungry! Feed me!" And here is what we got: (1) panizza selection, served with arugula and alfalfa sprouts; (2) fine carved goose salami and tripo fino from the Piedmont presented with our special ricotta cheese enticed with lemon and virgin olive oil; (3) assorted garden green with balsamic cream; (4) spaghetti bottarga di tonno (a true gift from the gods)

(5) grouper fillet baked with virgin olive oil, tomatoes and fresh basil presented on white truffle oil enriched polenta and Italian broccoli; (6) wood fire roasted chicken with green baby asparagus; (7) pork shoulder braised with black olives and fennel served on butter whipped potatoes; (8) grilled Angus flank steak "the C' classic" served with whole artichokes; (9) lemon cheese cake and (10) chocolate panna cotta.

We were also given a wonderful white wine called Corvo Glicine right before the grouper fillet was served. I also got some kiwi and apricot-flavored Italian soda. It was no surprise that after dinner, we simply could not move!!! Indeed C' Italian Dining is worth the visit!

C' Italian Dining
Don Juico Avenue (Perimeter Road)
Brgy. Malabanas, Angeles City
+63 45 8924059
+63 45 8926993

Armando's Pizza at the Historic Camalig Restaurant

Now have you ever heard of Kapampangan pizza? If not, then you must visit Armando's Pizza at the Historic Camalig Restaurant, the old Nepomuceno rice granary in Angeles City, that had been converted into a restaurant. And what toppings might one find in Doy's Kapampangan? Longganiza, ebun buru (salted duck eggs), onions and pickle relish! It sounds nasty, but tastes heavenly!

I've always been a fan of pizza at the Camalig. The crusts are baked to a perfect crisp with a generous serving of toppings. And if you choose to bring some home to your friends and family, the packaging is a novelty as well since the pizza is placed in a bilao and wrapped in Manila paper like pansit. Well, we're passing by the Camalig after our tour on Sunday. Yum!

Historic Camalig Restaurant
292 Sto. Rosario Street, Angeles City
+63 45 3225641
+63 45 8881077

Are you going to the 12th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta?

There may not be any slots left in our second tour at the Hot Ait Balloon Fiesta but I'll be updating everyone about it anyway. It was an overwhelming response since we already have 35 reservations for the day tour. Unfortunately, we can only accept 30 people at most for both the day tour and overnight. There's a wait list if you are still interested and if those who reserved do not confirm their reservations by paying on or before January 31, then you might just get that slot.

Good news to those who will be joining us. While the entrance fee to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is P100, this will only give you access to the general viewing area where you can see the hot air balloons from a distance. They issue 100 photographers' passes per day so that you can have a close encounter with the balloons. The passes are sold out and we managed to get passes for all those who will be joining our tour! And to those asking whether you could ride the hot air balloons, it's US$150 per head.

Also remember, we are opening up the overnight option. Aside from the day tour package, overnighters will go the extra mile and start a step ahead, spending a night in Pampanga. The overnight tour leaves Manila at 3 p.m. on February 9 and as the sun sets, you'll get to watch the colorful hot air balloons illuminate like giant light bulbs during the night glow.

If you choose the overnight package, you won't miss out on the dinner we planned for you. We'll be hosted by Chef Cris Locher at C' Italian Dining, one of the Philippines' best Italian restaurants according to the Philippine Tatler. We'll spend midnight at the Oasis Hotel, Angeles City's serene garden hotel. And to top it off, a one-of-kind walking tour as we bare it all and take down one of the country’s most famous red light districts... Fields Avenue! Package price for overnight trip is P8,888 all inclusive. For bookings or more information, e-mail me at info@ivanhenares.com. So are you going?

Related posts
Up, up and away in Pampanga!
An afternoon in Abe's Farm
Day 3 at the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta
Day 1 at the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

Up, up and away in Pampanga!

After the success of the Ultimate Kapampangan Show-off, we now bring you our second tour offering: Up, Up and Away!!! Huffing, Puffing and Pumping in Pampanga on Sunday, 10 February 2008.

Really, another way to pump up your boring weekend and get your spirits soaring as we conquer the high and mighty in Pampanga! Gawk at the giant hot air balloons at 12th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta! Conquer and hike up the mystic and majestic Mount Arayat! Finally, we'll rest our weary feet over a sumptuous Kapampangan feast by one the country's most artistic restaurateurs, while soothing the afternoon away at a rustic, relaxing retreat! A feast for the body, mind and soul.

This tour leaves Makati at 3 a.m. and includes the 12th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, breakfast at the VFW Outpost, a five-hour hike up mystic and majestic Mount Arayat (optional), lunch at Abe's Farm owned by Larry Cruz of Cafe Adriatico, a massage at Nurture Spa Pampanga plus more surprises. Package price for the day-trip is PHP4,800 all inclusive.

Overnight Package
Go the extra mile by taking our overnight package from 9 to 10 February. We leave Manila at 2 p.m. and as the sun sets, you'll get to watch the colorful hot air balloons illuminate like giant light bulbs during the night glow. If you choose the overnight package, you won't miss out on the dinner we planned for you. We'll be hosted by Chef Cris Locher at C' Italian Dining, one of the Philippines' best Italian restaurants. We'll spend midnight at the Oasis Hotel, Angeles City's serene garden hotel. For bookings or more information, e-mail me at info@ivanhenares.com.

Cocomangas Boracay delivers pizza!

I was quite worried that I could not get a midnight snack from where I was. It was raining and walking to White Beach to get some grub was out of the question. The restaurants in Diniwid Beach were closed by this time as well. But there was no reason to fret since Cocomangas delivers pizzas up to 2 a.m. anywhere in Boracay!

There were so many kinds to choose from. I asked the lady taking my order to give me a sampling of their best-sellers. But when I found out that their pizzas were the same price for all kinds (XL - PHP482, 16 slices; L - PHP360, 8 slices; and S - PHP228, 4 slices), I got an XL-sized Halo-Halo which was everything on it! And no, I didn't eat the whole pizza. I shared it with Abe, Anton and Lauren.

Cocomangas Pizza
Tel No. +63 36 2884455

Seremban stopover

Since we're on the topic of Malaysia, I realized that I still have some pending entries from my June trip to Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. One of the cities I got to visit was Seremban, the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan south of KL.

It was my second time here. The last time was during SSEAYP 2002 since my host family in Malaysia was from there. This time, my host family insisted that I visit them before I returned for the Philippines. So I took a 10 a.m. bus from Singapore and arrived in Seremban at about 3 p.m.

I was met by Darryl Chan, my host brother in 2002 who himself joined SSEAYP in 2004. On the way to Seremban, during the bus stopover, I had Ipoh kway teow for lunch. In Seremban, we had some Indian bread which we dipped in curry. I also had the chance to walk around a part of old Seremban. Like many Malaysian old towns, the buildings in the historic core are preserved and are reused for modern needs.

In the evening, we had dinner at Darryl's place and met up later with my China-ASEAN batchmate Derek Low at a nearby cafe. I didn't get much sleep since I had to be at the airport by 5 a.m.

Mamak food rocks!

As the rest of the group left for Klang, we motored back to KL for even more food. The night wasn’t over since we were meeting up with Rostam, another SSEAYP batchmate. It was my last night in Malaysia and there was no way I was going to miss the mamak food!

Mamak stalls have become an important part of Malaysian culture just like the kopi tiam. The term has refers to eateries operated by Indian Muslims that have become popular hang-outs for Malaysian youths because of the affordable food and beverages plus the fact that they are open 24 hours a day, 265 days a year.

A typical mamak would serve roti canai (flour pancakes which is served with curry sauce for dipping), roti telur (roti canai with egg), teh tarik (milk tea), murtabak (minced-meat flour pancakes also served with curry sauce dip), nasi lemak (Malaysia’s unofficial national dish which is rice soaked in coconut milk usually served with chicken and sambal sauce), mee goreng (fried noodles), and tandoori chicken (marinated in spices and yogurt) among many others.

I got myself an order roti canai as always and a tandoori chicken with had mint. It had a funny green color that looked so artificial, it didn’t look like chicken anymore. But it was definitely tasty especially with the chutney dip that accompanied it. I had fresh sugarcane juice to go with my food. And with that settled, my Malaysian food adventure was complete. If only I had some more days in KL, the choices at the mamak stalls were endless!

Old town kopi tiam of Ipoh

The third largest city in Malaysia and the capital of Perak state, Ipoh is known far and wide for its cuisine. And we drove all the way to Ipoh just for the coffee!

Except for the modern roads and signage, driving through Ipoh old town was like a walk in time since most of its colonial buildings and shop houses are still standing. We went straight to the kopi tiam, traditional coffee shops that have left coffee lovers raving. We were out to seek the legendary Ipoh white coffee at Jalan Bandar Timah, the famed white coffee walk of Ipoh with over half a century of history.

Traditionally, black coffee roast in Malaysia (refers to the beans and not the style of serving coffee without milk) is produced by roasting the beans with sugar and palm oil margarine. On the other hand, white coffee is processed with the same Robusta beans and margarine, but without the sugar, making it less dark, thus the term white coffee.

They say the undisputed king of white coffee shops is a corner-lot kopi tiam called Old Town White Café (Nam Heong). But the other shops are equally fabled. We had some iced coffee at Sun Yuan Foong just across the street. The coffee, which you can get for a little over a ringgit or fifteen pesos, goes well with homemade peanut butter or kaya (coco jam) on toast, or caramel custard. We also got some bak chang, Chinese glutinous rice dumplings we all know as machang.

We still had one more stop in Ipoh. The group had made reservations at a popular seafood restaurant which has brought denizens as far as KL driving three hours north just to savor their delectable freshwater prawn dishes. Indeed, reservations are recommended at the Pusing Public Seafood Restaurant if you want to make sure you get a table.

Our group was after the crabs as well so the first and last dishes they served us were crabs! As an appetizer, we had a shredded crab meat and vegetable dish which we wrapped in lettuce. Then they brought in a dish of large freshwater prawns with a sweet and spicy sauce. We also had bean curd and fish cake floating on a pool of light soy sauce, as well as ginger chicken. But what kept the group eating for another 45 minutes or so were the huge steamed crabs everyone had been anticipating.

For Ipoh cuisine, the restaurant is a bit on the pricey side. But the fact that it’s never empty is a testament to how good their food is. We spent about 40 ringgit per person, roughly 600 pesos, which was not bad for the five-course dinner.

Klang's legendary bak kut teh

Today was Hari Raya Aidiladha, a public holiday in Malaysia. And my SSEAYP batchmate Kenneth invited me to join their road trip to Ipoh in the state of Perak, some 205 kilometers north of Kuala Lumpur. With so much chocolate tickling my taste buds yesterday, the food trip today was a most welcome sequel.

Kenneth passed by for me in KL then we motored back to Klang where the rest of the group was meeting up. And as soon as we were complete, we had the local specialty called bak kut teh. He has always been raving about the bak kut teh of Klang, widely believed to be the home of this Hokkien-style herbal pork broth which translates as “pork bone tea.”

It’s a complex mixture of several herbs and spices, about ten I was told, boiled with pork ribs for hours! They served us youtiao (strips of fried dough) which was so tasty especially when dipped in the soup. The dish which is served in a claypot had other ingredients such as mushrooms, tofu and lettuce. And it’s eaten with rice.

We also tried out the dry bak kut teh which is less common but equally tasty. That is stir-fried meat with okra, dried chilies, and dark soy sauce. But the unique ingredient in this dish is dried cuttlefish. After that sumptuous breakfast, we were off.

Road travel in Malaysia is very convenient since there is a complex network of highways linking peninsular Malaysia from north to south and east to west. So the drive to Ipoh, roughly the distance between Manila and Dagupan, can be completed in less than three hours. And since it was a smooth drive, I was able to cat nap. And the next thing I knew, we were already exiting at Sungkai, a small town south of Ipoh.

We drove several kilometers further through vast palm oil plantations before reaching our destination, the Sungai Klah Hot Springs Park, said to be one of the best managed hot springs in Malaysia.

A healing center nestled at the foothills of the Titiwangsa Range, the park attracts both locals and foreigners who seek a cure to various ailments such as skin disease, rheumatism, arthritis, insomnia, respiratory troubles, and blood circulation. Being a popular destination, it gets crowded on weekends and holidays. And since we were there on a holiday, it was jam-packed with people. I was not able to pack my swimming gear since it was a business trip after all. So I was content with dipping my feet in 50° Celsius sulfuric water.

The temperatures in the different pools varied and were clearly marked since areas where the hot water bubbled up from the ground can reach a scalding 102° Celsius! In fact, those areas have been designated for boiling eggs. The hot water is said to emerge from 500 areas in the complex. A boardwalk was built parallel to these boiling streams so that people could enjoy the sulfur-rich steam that seeped through the gaps in between the planks while walking along the path. I was also tempted to try out their spa which offered the traditional Ayurveda treatments. But I didn’t want to get too oily since we still had a long day ahead, so I had to pass.

I actually skipped lunch since we were still full from the late breakfast we had in Klang. Although I had a cendol drink while in the park. After a few hours, we were off to Ipoh.

Chocolate overload in KL

I'm in KL for a business trip. So the only place I got to visit today, aside from KLCC of course, was Beryl’s Chocolate Kingdom where I had a chocolate overload! The factory churns out over a hundred varieties of high quality chocolate candies at prices cheaper than those in the same quality range. They use beans from Ghana, a recognized source of high quality cocoa beans. And since there are just so many kinds of chocolate candies from durian to tongkat ali, coconut and tiramisu, they give visitors samples to help you pick!

After resting a bit, I went around nearby KLCC to kill time. I wasn't in the mood to buy anything so I just enjoyed taking photos of the Petronas twin towers.

After strolling around KLCC, I met up with the rest of the group for dinner at the Pacifica Bar and Grill of the Mandarin Oriental. For my meal, I could not resist the temptation to order Wagyu beef! So I did! Yummy!

Ciento Comico
The night before we arrived in KL, I watched the hilarious Ciento Comico, a comedy show produced by the UPAA for the UP Centennial. I had complimentary tickets since many of my brods were major sponsors.

It was a great show! Willie Nepomuceno spoofed Erap and did it so well, you couldn't tell the difference. And little did I know that I would meet the real President Estrada later in the evening at a party of a brod. Yes people, that's really him!