Chinese New Year 2012

So, how was everyone's Chinese New year?

2012 is the year of the Water dragon. As per my chinese fortune horoscope, 2012 will be a great year for me. (lots of opportunities coming my way). To view your chinese horoscope click HERE. 

I have a whole lot of things already penciled in my calendar. (got a really cool planner FREE from my local supermarket.- I really loved the way they styled it.--with wide blank columns. Aside from this,  it has recipes at the back too)

inside the planner

So, back to my 2012 adventures. Right before Chinese New year celebrations, I had the chance to attend the HK international licensing fair. It also coincided with 3 other fairs and I had 4 days to finish all of them. WHEW.-- an can I say... whew again? WHEW. - was tired from looking, walking and all that stuff that I didn't care to EAT anymore. (and in HK... you would definitely EAT)..

I also had CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS!!! (and had a chance to take a picture with them too.-- )

hahahahaa.... with me are--- zombie (from plants vs zombies, MR BEAN, and DORA).. ok, maybe they are NOT celebrities but hey, it was fun being silly with them. It was shame I didn't get to have a picture with OPTIMUS PRIME (from transformers)... as I saw him leaving the venue... I guess his time was done and he was "on break" -- but he had on a really COOL costume though. 

mahjong looking cookie collection

So, HK always has something new for me every time I go there. This time, I saw some neat stuff they offered in the coming new year celebrations. If you are familiar with MAHJONG, (see above pic)-- you are familiar with the characters above. These are actually COOKIES that they shaped into mahjong tiles. the money chips are made out of chocolate. (cool eh, was really tempted to buy them for my mother... who, by the way, plays mahjong EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK.).. they say people (esp old ones) who play mahjong reduces their probability of developing Alzheimer's disease.  (so that's why my mother is still very sharp in math!!!)

I also saw this pair of magnets -- you gotta love the humor.....

Of course there is the influence of those birds.... (ANGRY BIRDS).. to those who don't know what they are (probably living under a rock)  click HERE

These are red envelopes (ANG PAO) filled with money. A traditional gift by elders to younger kids (or unmarried children) during New years celebration... I asked the bookstore where I saw these on what the envelop says (I had the misfortune of buying some envelopes before where it was saying something else... )

These translated says, "more success in your job"& "may you go up and up" (ok ok... my chinese is NOT good. sue me)

I was wondering why you would give an ang pao to someone who already has a job.... my understanding was that you only give these to kids.. (hmmm..... ) So I just bought the second one. Maybe I would have an opportunity to give one to one of my nieces and nephews. The store clerk told me it would be good to give students. (I am guessing they would need the money)

Hoping every one had a good one. So, to all.... HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!   kong hei fat chai!

Tita Monings- Part deux

After the encounter with the "clinic".. I could not wait to get upstairs to the dining area. Walking up the stairs, you can feel the aura of the house from the various family photos lining the walls. The top of the stairs opened up to an upstairs living room. (still filled with photos)

top: painting of daughter, bottom: original Juna Luna

We slowly made our way to the main living area as she directed us to various paintings that dot the house. One of the more amazing ones was the ORIGINAL JUAN LUNA (wow. it's like having a MONET in your living room).

We also toured the rooms which they had converted into private dining areas (2 rooms) except for the room of the daughters.

This room was one of the creepy ones. It had a vanity were you can still see the various collections of perfume still in them and as with affluent people of the time, they had ballet lessons evidenced by the old tutus and ballets shoes in display in the room.

On the vanity, they also displayed the personal items of the girls. like baubles and necklaces. This room was adjacent to the main dining room where we were going to have our dinner.

All throughout the house, you can see a lot of family phtographs from the 1930s to the 1970s and you really feel like you are walking inside someone's (OLD) home. I was half expecting Don Alejandro to come bursting in any moment. (thankfully.. none of that occurred)

daughter's room. vanity and cabinet

ring if you want service.... murano vase.. paella

The table setting was very nice. They even laid out a menu (with burnt edges) in a scroll. I quipped to the maid... I used to do this with a lighter when I was in high school... she giggled and said, "me too!"

 They even had those BELLS were you can call the "help". the table top also had a MURANO vase from the collection of the original owners to keep you company

The dining area also had original plates from the collection of Tita Moning. It is said the plates are now scattered in different descendants.I am told they are heirloom collectibles. Each plate was hand painted in Europe and no two plates are the same.

SABA banana... plate presentation... menu at the table..

Since we were required to choose our menu beforehand, I chose Menu 3

Here's what I thought of the food:  (note, there was a deviation from the original menu. were were served caramelized banana and then TURON -- w/c is banana too-- more on that later)

The appetizers were VERY good. Loved the papaya and eggplant. It was fresh and light. A nice start to the meal. For the second course, I liked the baked fish very much. One of the best I tried. The pancit (noodles) was ok. By the time the main course 2 was arriving, I was already half full. I did not even get a chance to really dig into Paella Valenciana. The pork was ok too (hubby had seconds and thirds)  The sweet yam added to the flavor of the pork. I did not have any room for either the ubod (young bamboo shoot) and the brown rice (I passed on this one-- was too full)

service deluxe

What was really striking was that they were serving the food in platters and you would have to serve yourself. If you ever watched "The princess diaries" were they were serving the royals, the servers were on the side while the royals got a share of the food. Its the same here. You get the feeling that you are somebody quite important. If only we could dine like this everyday eh? ---come to think of it.. the Legarda's dined like this everyday!!!


I am really such a dessert person... but their dessert is kind of... well... not memorable. We were served the caramelized banana (twas ok)-- I rather like my banana on the firm side (not too ripe) and this was nearly too ripe for me. Then they served TURON. What can I say? The turon was not crunchy (makunat) and banana on top of a previous banana dish was a bit too much. I just tasted one bite and left the rest. The bread pudding was not too die for either. (sorry. I failed to see how it was a specialty of Tita Moning as it failed to blow me away.- also left the dish at one bite). I, however really enjoyed the hot chocolate that came with the bread pudding. It even had a cinnamon stick as a stirrer. (I asked the girl if I could take home the cinnamon stick)

They know how to treat guests for sure. They even took our pictures for their website and had us fill a survey form (customer satisfaction gauge) and we also signed a guest book. To top it off, they even gave me a free gift (a bottled sauce they sell downstairs). Wow. They really made me feel so special. One tip... if you are going, be early. When we arrived, we were the only ones there. Once it reached 8pm.. more people were arriving and the tour got shorter. (due to the number of guests). Being the first ones, we had the whole house to ourselves and had ample time to ask questions, take pictures (without other people being in the way.. etc).

All in all, I loved the experience. The food was not mind blowing but with the ambiance of the house. It was really a MUST SEE. I already booked another dinner for my parents and in laws. I am sure they will have nostalgic moments there. I also highly recommend this for romantic dates. (it's like taking a girl to the haunted house...  with dinner of course)

(side note: I had to use the toilet... which was located inside the girls room... the one which felt a bit eerie.... I had to ask our tour/maid if she had any "sightings" inside the toilet. -- you know, I want to be prepared... she laughed me off... and said it was safe... w/c did not lessen my anxiety... went in and out in record time.. not even wanting to look in the mirror lest I see something other than myself. LOL)

Visiting Tita Moning

Deals are just cropping up everywhere. similar to the US (like groupon) where you get deals from different companies, we have also experienced an influx of deal/coupon sites. Some of these are DEAL GROCER, ENSOGO, PAKYAW, METRODEAL.

I have personally tried ensogo and deal grocer and got a deal for a dinner at a colonial house. It's called LA COCINA DE TITA MONING. (the kitchen of Tita Moning). This is actually a 1930s art deco  house of an affluent family (the Legardas). Over the years, the descendants have moved and the once exclusive area of the rich became a commoners area. The house actually is in the compound of the Presidential palace.

legarda house circa 1930s. (photo from concina website)

We actually went early (actually straight from my office). It is not easy to find and I had to navigate with a map to get there. Weaving our way thru the old streets of Manila, I was surprised that we had to go through a guard house of Malacanang palace (the presidential area). I also noticed we passed through  a street named Legarda st. (which is quite indicative of how influential the former owners of the house were)

The restaurant is really a house. A very old house. Except for the sign, you wouldn't know its the place you were looking for,

We were ushered into the long driveway ( the lot area was probably 2000 sq meters) into a patio. The patio actually reminded me of our old 1970s bungalow with it's stone washed out floor and river stone clad walls. even the garden furniture was very 70s. Waiters served us lemongrass iced tea (w/c in my opinion was a bit strong.. but my husband liked it) and some bread with a homemade cheese (quezo de bola) spread.


We were the first ones there (it was after all only 6pm) and we had the whole patio to ourselves. The "maid"/waitress came in a short while to usher us inside the house for the house tour. The meal we booked (you have to call at least a day in advence to book a preset menu as they do not accept walk ins) was for the whole shebang.. meaning you get to experience what it was to be living in 1930s with maids in uniform serving you at a very manor like house.

The first thing you would see when you walked into the foyer is the staircase and a grand painting by ZALAMEDA originally bought for 3000 pesos in the 70s (about $80-) and now fetches 1 million pesos ($22000)

 Dr. Legarda was also a collector of cameras and radio equipment evidenced by his vast collection.

camera collection of Dr. Legarda, the library

The waitress/maid/guide was very knowledgable in the history of the house and would answer all our quieries whenever we asked them. We were then led to the library of DR Alejandro (who was a noted OBY GYN) and the shelves were filled with very old first edition encyclopedia britannia. yYou could really feel the "old manor" type vibe from just this room. We perused all the antique books, keys and tables. Looking at these kind of gives you an eerie feeling.

Going down the hallway, we could also see old antique waffle makers and hairdryers (photo bonanza!!) which gave me a wow feeling... coz it was after all the 1930s. They also had a collection of antique electric fans, tea servers and telephones.

telephone, radio equipment, hair dyer and old key

electric fan, tea server and key again

waffle maker and paper mache box

The most "eerie" part is the clinic. Since Dr Aljandro was a gynecologist, he had a clinic inside his house.... with an actual human skeleton hanging from a hook (probably purchased from some local morgue)... spooky.... kindda reminded me of HH HOMES (the murder he committed in 1893 chicago world's fair. and selling skeletons to medical schools).. eeewww... I couldn't get put of there fast enough.

It just gave me the heebejeebees..... I was afraid if I stay a little longer, I would lose my appetite.
So off we went to the second floor. (my husband actually quipped that he didn't "feel" anything in the clinic but actually had a hair raising feeling in the library... an my husband can "feel".. if you know what I mean.)

the antique bonanza continued upstairs.... (to be continued on next post)

Giving and Receiving

So, what did you get this Christmas? Well, for the most part, I would like to say I gave a whole lot of quirky gifts.

For my closest friends, I love shopping unique gifts for them. I would "tune in" to things they particularly like... or need.

for one friend, who was going on a Europe trip, I bought two travel guide books. One for each city she was going to- London and Paris.

Others, I just went with unique gifts.. I gave my blog partner this... its a long pillow shaped like a PRINGLES can. It says... TO FIND A PRINCE, YOU'VE GOT TO KISS A LOT OF FROGS.... mwahahahahaha (see bottom part)

I gave my friend who has a teenage daughter this... (and some banana cupcakes- her favorite)-- it's says... I'M A PRINCESS-- SO DO WHAT I SAY!!!  --- in the bottom, -- DO IT NOW!!!
-- it's so funny and cute.

I also bought other designs, like this one shaped like a soda can. The original is called ROYAL TRU ORANGE... (ORANGE FLAVORED SODA).. they played around with the words.

I also have this LAYS look alike pillow---the kids loved this one... I never got a chance to give it. It got kidnapped.... (way too lazy... to get out of bed)

I also gave a lot of notepads... one is shaped like a camera, one is a NOTELLA.... and the other is a BLAHBERRY..... (most of those who got these were bank employees I usually do business with)

What I got---

my blog partner gave me a cute apron and some salt and pepper shakers. (I am starting a collection)

I also got some books from two friends. One is an inspirational book, and the other a travel book.-- I love checking off all the places I have been to.-- see all the markers... (the other places just give me ideas on where to go to next!)

I also got a mini bunt pan from my friend... love it too... just got so cooked out this season. not sure when I'll be able to use it.. It also came with an apron. (very useful)

These are my amazon wishlist... and some of the items I am eyeing (wishing for) are:

ink, nibs, sealer....

this whole calligraphy set... although, I still have to learn to write calligraphy.... or if not the whole set, maybe just a pen....

this murano glass pen is so exquisite. I have illusions of being in the 1800s and writing letters.... hahahaha. (Jane Austen)

ok... I would be happy with this... it matches perfectly with my froggy stapler and froggy tape dispenser

froggy timer

Well, maybe next year!!!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

Artsy Craftsy

Christmas is just the time to bring out the "Martha Stewart" in me. If you want to know, I have been baking my ass off. -- at least the kiddies are loving what I bake!

I used to be afraid to try my hand at sugar cookies but what the heck. It's Christmas and what better time to try it? I bought some awesome cookie cutters. One was gingerbread man and the other was a snowflake.

Honestly, when I start something, I get so obsessed with it. I started baking with small cuto outs, then I bought some more food color to tint the royal icing...

and now, I want to make more complicated designs for the sugar cookies!!!

Everyone is winding down for the holidays. Business is slow at the office....most of the time, we spend giving company gifts and receiving gifts.


One day, I was looking for some templates for envelopes. I can across this website by CANON. click HERE for the link

I downloaded a bunch of envelopes with Christmas designs. They have others too for spring, autumn etc etc...
 
don't you think a personalized gift (even a cheap one) is better than a gift that was not well thought of? i really appreciate gifts that the giver has taken the time to think about. Not just pulled out of some store (generic) to give to a person.

personally made and homemade is so rare these days.

I put a envelope insert on this one.

don't you just love the wrap around design of the envelope?

Christmas town version... can you see santa?

They also have templates for calendars and pop up cards. Its the pop up cards that really got me.... Its a very complicated set of cut outs that you have to assemble. If you download it, it is approximately 10 pages of letter sized paper. It had a detailed (dowloadable) instructions too..... wow.--- you would really LIKE the person to attempt to make this card.!

I think I'll stick with the envelopes for now.

Conquering THE ROCK

Joining the 2nd corregidor international half marathon was exciting to say the least. For those who know corregidor, it is one of the last strongholds of the US and Philippines forces during WWII.

Most of us learned about it during history class in high school. I actually love the sense of history this run gave me. For more info click HERE. I ran a 10k. I had no expectations of running fast whatsoever. I have heard that they have the steepest hills you can run. (it was actually like climbing up a mountain)

We woke up about 3am Dec 10. We had to catch a ferry going to the island at 5:30 am. The trip took about 1 1/2 hours. (it gave me an opportunity to take a nap on the boat). I surveyed most of the runners there and noticed they were very experienced runners by the way they were preparing for disembarkation.
Some had full on compression suits and were putting on several globs of sunscreen. By the way they looked (very lean and fit) and the gear they had on (very "runner"), you can tell they were serious.

It was humbling.

I was glad I was running only a 10k.

The 21k runners were the first up. All in all, I think the total runners for both events were about 387.

The 10k runners were so few, I had a chance to run in FRONT.  (I think most of the people were afraid to position in front.. maybe pressure to run faster?).. I checked later on and discovered we were 98 runners in total.

The start of the race went with a loud honking of the bull horn. I ran a faster pace at first because I knew I had to slow down when I got to the "killer" hills. I needed to gain more ground. About 100- 200 meters from the starting point, we were going to do a turn. This turn was going up an 45 degree uphill incline.

pretty hard to take a picture of yourself while going uphill!

This incline went for about another 1.5km!!! I tried running, well, for the most part, jogging.. but I was afraid I wouldn't last the rest of the 8km that I still had to go. --- at least most of the 10k runners did not attempt to run uphill too. I was not alone!!!

I took several shots of the ruins and the scenery while jogging.

used some artsy effects...

loved this part of the run. very relaxing!

I took opportunities when the roads got more even to run a bit. One thing about his run is you get to see a lot of sights. Like ruins (see above) from world war 2. At some point during my 3rd kilometer, I got into a conversation with a fellow runner. Her husband is a serious runner and left her (he was going for a fast time... I eventually found out that he was the first place finisher in the 10k at 49 minutes...wow!)

So, Michelle (that's her name) was grumbling how it was so hard to take pictures when you are alone. Echoing her sentiment, I offered to take her picture if she would take mine. So I had a running/picture taking buddy from 3km onwards.

It was quite fun after that because we took turns taking each other pictures and babbling about our running experiences. (we both were recreational runners). I found the time and the kilometers went by quickly. We also found ourselves in some "jungle-like" conditions in one part of the race. Thankfully, no rain for that day or we would have been crawling over mud. (the day before saw a heavy downpour and flooding that I was worried we were going to swim our way to the island)

The sightseeing runners just had to take a picture with the antique gunnery

I think doing this run is the best ending to the year. I really enjoyed this most of all the runs I have attempted. WHY?

1. the route was challenging and yet enjoyable at the same time. You get to see history and nature and get fit too.

2. the limited number of runners made it extra special. As I was running towards the last 200m, I was cheered on by the volunteers and was actually all alone on the route. It made me feel like I was the FIRST one coming to the finish line. The announcers was calling out my bib # as I was running towards the finish and they even had a ribbon for me to cross! wow. unbelievable feeling!!! Made me feel like a winner all the waaayyy!~~~ (unlike other runs where participant number by the thousands, you get lost in the crowd coming in)

3. They handed me a rose and a medal.

We had a nice lunch (which was included in the race fee)-- my husband and friend said they could not taste the food from being so exhausted -- they ran 21k and were cramping so bad during the last half of the race. (most were hills). I was thankful I had a more enjoyable run and had time to even take pictures..! (but honestly, I could really feel the downhill on my knees)

We also took the tour after since our boat ferry back was at 5:30. The tour guide was a elderly white haired gentleman who amazed me with his encyclopedic knowledge of history. He even recited the farewell letter of the admiral who surrendered the island to the Japanese. It was like a Filipino David Attenborough and I was watching the history channel without the guy having a script. To think he looked about 70! WOWZER. If you are interested in doing the tour, click HERE

The pictures from the event are not yet available. I am excited to see the picture they took as I was crossing the finish line. (imagine me... arms up leaping over the ribbon... hehehe) will update this blog when it comes out.

Even with all the picture taking, I managed to finish 48th place out of 98 runners. Not bad eh? 1:34 mins. upper 50th percentile is not bad for one who has no training and was taking pictures.