Mary, Mother of God

There has been several theories on the significance of the relatively large number of titles given to Mary. Some titles grew due geographic and cultural reasons, e.g. through the veneration of specific icons. Others were related to Marian apparitions.

Given the large spectrum of human needs in varied situations, Mary's help was and is sought for all of them. This led to the formulation of many of her titles. Moreover, meditations and devotions on the different aspects of the Virgin Mary's role within the life of Jesus led to additional titles such as Our Lady of Sorrows. Still further titles have been derived from dogmas and doctrines. Example of these are Queen of heaven or the Immaculate Conception.

Mary's cultus or "devotional cult" consolidated in the year 431 when, at the Council of Ephesus, "Nestorianism", which asserted Christ's dual nature, was anathematized and the Theotokos, or Mary as bearer of God, was declared dogma. Henceforth Marian devotion - which centered on the subtle and complex relationship between Mary, Jesus and the Church - would flourish, first in the East and later in the West.

The Reformation diminished Mary's sole in many parts of Northern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Council of Trent and Counter Reformation would intensify Marian devotion in the West. Around the same period, Mary would become an instrument of evangelization in the Americas and parts of Asia and Africa, e.g. via the apparitions at Our Lady of Guadalupe which resulted in a large number of conversions to Christianity in Mexico.

Following the Reformation, as of the 17th century, the baroque literature on Mary experienced unforeseen growth with over 500 pages of Mariological writings during the 17th century alone. During the Age of Enlightenment, the emphasis on scientific progress and rationalism put Catholic theology and Mariology often on the defensive in the later parts of the 18th century, to the extent that books such as "The Glories of Mary" were written in defense of Mariology. The 20th century was dominated by a genuine Marian ethusiam both at the papal and popular levels. The 20th century witnessed significant growth in Marian devotions and dramatic rise in membership in Marian Movements and Societies.

Thai Cuisine

Thai meal typically consist of either a single dish or it will be rice or khao with many complimentary dishes served concurrently and shared by all. It is customary to serve more dishes than there are guests at a table.

Thai food was traditionally eaten with the right hand but it is now generally eaten with a fork and a spoon; this was introduced as part of Westernization during the reign of King Mongkut, Rama IV. It was his brother, Vice-king Pinklao, who, after watching a demonstration of Western dining etiquette by an American Missionary, chose only the Western-style fork and spoon from the whole set of table silverware to use at his own dining table. The fork, held in the left hand, is used to push food into the spoon. The spoon is then brought to the mouth. A traditional ceramic spoon is sometimes used for soups. Knives are not generally used at the table. Chopsticks are used primarily for eating noodle soups, but not otherwise used.

It is common practice for Thais and hill tribe peoples in north and northeast Thailand to use sticky rice as an edible implement by shaping it into small, and sometimes flattened, balls by hand which are then dipped into side dishes and eaten. Thai-Muslims frequently eat meals with only their right hands.

Thai dishes use a wide variety of herbs, spices and leaves rarely found in the West, such as kaffir lime leaves (bai makrut). The characteristic flavor of the leaves appears in nearly every Thai soup or curry from the southern and central areas of Thailand. The Thai lime (manao) is smaller, darker and sweeter than the kaffir lime, which has a rough looking skin with a stronger lime flavor. Kaffir lime leaves are frequently combined with garlic (krathiam), galangal (kha), lemon grass (takhrai, tumeric (khamin) and/or finger root (krachai), blended together with liberal amounts of various chillies to make curry paste. Fresh Thai basils are also used to add spice and fragrance in certain dishes such as Green curry, of which kraphao has a distinctive scent of clove and leaves which are often tipped with a maroon color. Further often used herbs in Thai cuisine include phak chi, cilantro or coriander, rak phak chi (cilantro/coriander roots), cilantro (phak chi farang, spearmint (saranae) and pandanus leaves (bai toei). Other spices and spice mixtures in Thai cuisine include phong phalo (five-spice powder), phong kari (curry powder) and fresh and dried peppercorns (phrik thai).

After sharing a few things about Thai cuisine, I also intend to share a simple Chicken recipe that they will surely love it.

Thai Chicken Basil

In a wok, put 1 ½ tablespoon oil. Sauté 2 tablespoons garlic, 1 ½ cup red onions, 1 cup red bell pepper that is sliced into strips and 2 tablespoon green finger pepper, seeded and sliced. Add 1 kilo cubed chicken breast fillet and cook until color changes. Add ½ cup oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 cup water and2 tablespoon soy sauce. Stir in 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro and 1/3 cup chopped basil. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 ½ tablespoon water then simmer for 1 minute. Serves 6-8.

Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception of Mary is, according to Catholic doctrine, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of Original Sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology. Under this aspect Mary is sometime called the Immaculata (the Immaculate One), particularly in artistic contexts.

The doctrine states that, from the first moment of her existence, Mary was preserved by God from the Original Sin and filled with sanctifying grace that would normally come with baptism after birth. Catholics believe Mary “was free from any personal or hereditary sin.” Mary’s immaculate conception should not be confused with the Incarnation of her son, Jesus Christ; the conception of Jesus is celebrated as the Annunciation to Mary. Catholics do not believe that Mary, herself, was the product of a Virgin Birth.

From early on in the history of the Catholic Church, in numerous places in the writings of the Church Fathers, the belief is implicity stated. In various places the feast of the Immaculate Conception had been celebrated for centuries on 8 December when, on 28 February 1476, Pope Sixtus extended it to the entire Latin Church. He did not define the doctrine as a dogma, thus leaving Roman Catholics free to believe in it or not without being accused of heresy; this freedom was reiterated by the Council of Trent. However, the feast was a strong indication of the Church’s traditional belied in the Immaculate Conception. On 6 December 1708, Pope Clement XI decreed that the feast of the Immaculate Conception by a Holy Day of Obligation throughout the entire Catholic Church.

The Immaculate Conception was solemnly defined as dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus on 8 December 1854. The Catholic Church teaches that the dogma is supported by Scripture as well as either directly or indirectly by the writings of Church Fathers such as Irenaeus of Lyons and Ambrose of Milan. Catholic theology maintains that since Jesus became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, it was fitting that she be completely free of sin for expressing her fiat. In 1904, Pope Saint Pius X also addressed the issue in his Marian encyclical Ad Diem Illum on the Immaculate Conception.

The Mother of All

It came as a spark while I sat here in front of my computer writing nothing but blogs about certain topics. I just realized that I was getting nowhere with all this crap I laid in my blog site so I decided to divert from the common to the far-out different. Browsing through different entries in my blog made me think about something: I have written a lot out of my imagination but did I ever write an entry about Mama Mary? Just then, thoughts came flooding in my head being a devout follower of The Virgin Mother Herself. Then, here it goes...

As a Catholic, my day will never be complete without praying the rosary to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Her Son, Jesus Christ. Lately, we've been through trying times and in those times, I can honestly and safely say for myself that the Virgin Mother had been there with us, guiding us tirelessly as we tread on the path that only a select few choose. This path involved immense sacrifice and incomparable suffering, much to the suffering Christ had painstakingly endured on the cross to save all of mankind from God's Hand. When I was a kid, I always thought that I was in no need of praying the rosary and just content with praying directly to God and Jesus Himself. I mean, I knew the Virgin Mother but little did I know of the powers she had possessed to redeem mankind not only as Mediatrix but also as Co-Redemptrix, meaning She also had the potential to save mankind from sin.

One particular trip to Lipa City in Batangas drew me closer to the Blessed Mother even more, after having known her in different names and...if I may say...dress codes. Now, in Lipa, it had been rumored that the Blessed Mother had made Herself known by showering rose petals way back during the 1900's during a time of uncertainty and doubt. I wouldn't know anything about the witness statements but being devout made me realize that it was indeed not a trick made by the eye but a miracle commenced by indomitable trust and faith in the Blessed Mother's will. This particular apparition had been declared open for belief by the Church of Lipa, meaning that people are no longer proven wrong or misguided because of these apparitions by the Blessed Mother. 

She would be named Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (also named after the church I sing in), Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Perpetual Succor and lots of other names, dressed in fine garments along while carrying the baby Jesus in her bosom and paraded during feast days or those days wherein that particular image was founded. Songs about her radiance and glory were written and sung in churches. While choirs sung the high-pitched antiphons and songs of her magnificence as Mother of Christ, the elderly would just sing hymns but still laud over Her for Her blessedness. Even the Beatles' Sir Paul McCartney wrote a song about lifting all the sorrows of the world to the Virgin Mary. Each individual had his own way of praising the Blessed Mother. While some would hang sampaguita necklaces over her, most would pray the rosary for TWENTY STRAIGHT DECADES involving THE FOUR SACRED MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY!! I got to try that with my mother and it really dried my mouth up. But what came back to us was immeasurable...something that a mere person could never count.

Amidst all the trouble of going through those names, garments, rosaries, novenas, devotion prayers, I still consider her as a simple Person, a simple Being that God chose to bear His Son, the Savior of Mankind. This form of simplicity in the Blessed Mother leads me to two simple versions of the Blessed Mother. The simplest of them all was the Mary Mediatrix of All Grace found in Lipa and the second was the Our Lady of Medjugorje, who looked on at Her children with the utmost care, concern, love and sympathy for their sufferings and sacrifices. Sometimes, it brings me to tears whenever I'm in trouble and I look at the Blessed Mother in the eye and tell her everything or cry out everything to Her because I couldn't do anything about my dilemmas or problems. I just prayed hard, cried hard and let everything out. The next minute, I let everything go and left everything in Her care. Days pass and miracles happen. That's how much She loves us if only we knew how to beseech Her grace.

Before I end this entry, I'd like to leave this simple yet very effective prayer that's said as the rosary nears its finish. I hope you all have time to take a little breather from whatever it is you're doing and give yourself a little pat in the back that says, "Take it easy for now, your Mother wants to talk to you." Here's the Memorare:

THE MEMORARE

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

Pancit Molo

If you crave for a heart-warming soup and an enticing pancit dish in a sunny day, then Recipe TV introduces to you a simple but unique Filipino recipe that can bright up your day, the Pancit Molo.

The Pancit Molo is unique and distinct dish made famous in a town called Molo in Iloilo City. Unlike the usual pancit dish that is dry, with noodles, vegetables and meat that Filipinos are used; the Pancit Molo does not have noodles in it instead it is made up of the Molo dropped into a hot broth

The Molo or also known as the noodles of the dish is made up of ground pork and shrimp mixed together with vegetables such as garlic, onions, carrots or parsley. The mixture is then bound with eggs and seasoned with salt and pepper before being wrapped in wheat of rice or also known as a molo wrapper.

The broth often uses chicken as its base, but in some cases they also put pork meat and ribs to make it more savory. It is also cooked with cut open or sliced wanton or molo wrappers. Often served with a garnish of fried garlic chip and sliced chives.

In Most cases the Pancit Molo is known to be a wonderful merienda dish accompanied with toasted bread, but it can also be a starter soup for regular meals and one of the best soup dished served in fiestas in Iloilo.

Ingredients:

½ g chicken

½ g shrimp

400 g of ground lean pork
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1/8 c. of finely chopped onion leaves
1/4 tsp. of finely grated ginger
1/2 tsp. of soy sauce
1 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp. of pepper
1 egg, beaten
6-8 c. of meat or chicken broth
1 tbsp. of cooking oil
1 tbsp. of minced garlic
1 onion, sliced
chopped onion leaves for garnishing
salt and pepper to taste
50-60 pcs. of wonton (siomai) wrapper (sizes vary)

Procedure:

1. Sauté garlic, onions, shredded chicken or pork and shrimp in cooking oil.

2. Put water until it becomes broth and the shrimp, pork and chicken are already cooked.

3. Let it boil for 20-30 minutes under moderate fire.

4. Mix the ingredients well.

5. Put seasoning and salt (to taste)

6. Put the wrapped Pancit Molo balls and cover the casserole and let it simmer for 10 to 15minutes until the Pancit Molo balls are tender and cooked.

7. Put black pepper and onion leaves for garnish.

Nothing Beats The Extraordinary: Street Food

Filipinos enjoy eating three meals a day plus snacks in between. One of the qualities that Filipinos can do is to make out from scratch, creative yet cost effective and that includes food.

Street food is basically attainable from street vendors. Street vendors are business people who sell their wares in the open air rather than in shop or store. In many cases, the vendor either has a small stand that can be secured when not in operation, or makes use of a cart that can be removed from the street at the end of the business day. Sometimes referred to as peddler, the street vendor is commonly found in metropolitan areas, outdoor conventions and events and sometimes at public beaches.

Some street foods are regional. Some are not. It is intimately connected with take-out, junk food, snacks and fast food; it is also distinguished by its local flavor and by being purchased on the sidewalk, without entering any building. Both take out and fast food is often sold from counters inside buildings. Street food is also considered as one of the Philippine food we have today.

Below is a list of Philippine street food with descriptions that are commonly sold in the streets.

• Abnoy - unhatched incubated duck egg or bugok which is mixed with flour and water and cooked like pancakes

• Adidas - chicken feet, marinated and grilled or cooked adobo style

• Arroz caldo - rice porridge or congee cooked with chicken and kasubha; see also Lugaw.

• Atay - grilled chicken liver

• Baga - pig’s or cow’s lungs grilled or deep-fried and served with barbeque condiments.

• Balat ng manok - see Chicken skin and Chicharon manok

• Balun-balunan - grilled chicken gizzard

• Balut - hard-boiled duck egg with fetus

• Banana cue - deep-fried saba (banana) covered with caramelized brown sugar

• Barbecue - marinated pork or chicken pieces grilled on skewers

• Batchoy - miki noodle soup garnished with pork innards (liver, kidney and heart), chicharon (pork skin cracklings), chicken breast, vegetables and topped with a raw egg; origin traced to La Paz, Iloilo.

• Betamax - curdled chicken or pork blood, cubed and grilled

• Bibingka - glutinous rice flour pancakes grilled with charcoal above and below in a special clay pot.

• Biko (also Bico) - glutinous rice cake with grated coconut topping

• Binatog - boiled white corn kernels, sugar, grated coconut and milk

• Bopis - minced pig’s heart and lungs sauteed with garlic and onion and seasoned with laurel, oregano, bell pepper and vinegar.

• Botsi - chicken esophagus, deep-fried or grilled

• Buchi – sweet mongo paste in fried dough, usually on sticks.

• Calamares - deep-fried squid in batter

• Calamay (also Kalamay) - glutinous rice cakes; varieties all over the country

• Camote cue - deep-fried camote (sweet potato) covered with caramelized brown sugar

• Carioca (also Karyoka, Karioka) - deep-fried glutinous rice flour cakes served on skewers

• Cheese sticks - deep-fried cheese wrapped in lumpia (spring roll) wrapper

• Chicharon baboy - pork skin cracklings, made from pork rind boiled and seasoned, sun-dried and deep-fried.

• Chicharon bituka - pork or chicken intestine boiled, seasoned and deep-fried

• Chicharon bulaklak - pork omentum boiled, seasoned and deep-fried

• Chicharon manok - chicken skin cracklings

• Chicken balls - balls made with chicken meat, deep fried and served in skewers with a sweet, sour or spicy sauce.

• Chicken skin - chicken skin battered and deep fried

• Cutchinta - see Kutsinta

• Day-old chicks - literally day-old chicks deep-fried to a crisp, served with sauce or vinegar.

• Empanada (Batac) - pork longganiza, egg and grated green papaya in a rice flour shell, deep-fried and served with vinegar.

• Fishballs - balls made with fish meat, most often from pollock, deep fried and served in skewers with a sweet, sour or spicy sauce.

• Goto - rice porridge or congee cooked with beef tripe

• Halo-halo - translated as “a mix of many things” or “an assortment,” it is a dessert topped with shaved ice that may contain sweetened saba (banana), camote, macapuno (young coconut), kaong, nata de coco, pinipig (rice crispies), gulaman (agar), sago (tapioca balls), brown and white beans,garbanzos (chick peas), ube (purple yam), and leche flan (creme brulee), with milk and sugar; Pampanga has three popular versions in Guagua, Arayat and Angeles which may include pastillas, crushed white beans and corn.

• Helmet - grilled chicken head

• Hepalog (also Toknonong) - hard-boiled duck eggs dipped in orange batter and deep-fried.

• Isaw - collective term for different types of grilled chicken and pork innards; varieties include isaw manok, isaw baboy, atay, goto, botsi, balun-balunan, and tenga ng baboy.

• Isaw baboy - grilled or deep-fried pork intestines on a skewer, served with sweet, sour or spicy sauce.

• Isaw manok (also IUD) - grilled or deep-fried chicken intestineson a skewer, served with sweet, sour or spicy sauce; also referred to as IUD because it resembles an intra-uterine device

• Iskrambol (also Scrambol) - frostees; shaved ice, diced gulaman, sago and condensed milk

• IUD - see Isaw manok

• Kakanin - collective term for snacks made with kanin (rice), particularly malagkit (glutinous) rice; varieties include puto, kutsinta, calamay, sapin-sapin, suman, palitaw, biko or sinukmani, and espasol among many others.

• Kalamay - see Calamay

• Kamote cue - see Camote cue

• Kikiam - the special ones are made of ground pork and vegetables wrapped in bean curd sheets, deep-fried and served with sweet, sour or spicy sauce; those in the street are seafood-based, usually made of fish meat and cuttlefish.

• Kudil - deep-fried pork skin

• Kutsinta - steamed bahaw (boiled rice) with lye and brown sugar; has a gelatinous consistency

• Kwek kwek - see Quek quek.

• Lomi - noodle soup made with thick fresh egg noodles or lomi

• Longganiza - pork sausage grilled or fried on a skewer

• Lugaw - rice porridge or congee; varieties include arroz caldo (with chicken and kasubha) and goto (with beef tripe)

• Lumpia - spring rolls; varieties include lumpiang basa; lumpiang hubad - fresh spring rolls without the wrapper; lumpiang prito; lumpiang sariwa - fresh srping rolls; lumpiang shanghai; lumpiang ubod; and turon

• Mais - boiled sweet corn seasoned with salt, butter or margarine

• Mais con yelo - sweet corn, milk and sugar topped with shaved ice

• Mami - noodle soup

• Manggang hilaw - green mango served with bagoong (shrimp paste)

• Mani - peanuts either boiled, roasted or deep-fried and seasoned with garlic and salt

• Maruya - banana fritters

• Nilupak - mashed kamoteng kahoy (cassava) or kamote (sweet potato) with brown sugar and served with butter or margarine

• Palitaw - glutinous rice flour pancakes topped with grated young coconut, sugar and roasted sesame seeds

• Panara - deep-fried crab and grated green papaya empanda sold in Pampanga during Christmas season

• Pancit - noodles; varieties are batchoy (Iloilo) - see Batchoy; batil patung(Tuguegarao) - local noodles topped with hot dogs, chicharon, ground meat, fried egg, and vegetables; pancit bihon; pancit canton - a kind of pancit guisado flavored with ginger and soy sauce; pancit guisado, pancit habhab(Lucban) – sautéed miki noodles served on and eaten straight from banana leaf sans utensils; pancit lomi - see Lomi; pancit luglog (Pampanga and Tagalog Region) - it has a distinct orange shrimp-achuete sauce and is topped with chicharon, tinapa, wansoy and shrimp; pancit malabon (Malabon) - made with thick rice noodles tossed in shrimp-achuete oil topped with shelled oysters, squid rings, suaje or hipong puti and wansoy; pancit molo (Iloilo) - clear chicken broth with wonton, garlic and crushed chorizo; pancit palabok; pancit puti(Manila); and pancit sotanghon among many others

• Pandesal (also Pan de sal) - breakfast roll; rounded bread

• Pares - translated as “pair,” means the pairing of rice with beef; beef pares is characterized by very tender meat, usually with a lot of litid (ligaments)

• Penoy - hard-boiled duck egg without fetus

• Proven - hard portion of chicken entrails that is either marinated and grilled, battered and fried or cooked adobo style.

• Pusit - squid grilled on skewer

• Puto - steamed rice cake

• Puto bumbong - purple glutinous rice snack cooked in a special steamer

• Quikiam - see Kikiam.

• Quek quek (also Toknanay) - hard boiled chicken eggs dipped in orange batter and deep-fried; also used for quail eggs but some say the correct term for the quail egg version is tokneneng; the balut version is sometimes referred to as hepalog

• Sapin-sapin - layered glutinous rice and coconut milk cake usually topped with grated coconut and latik (residue from coconut oil extraction); different flavor per layer such as ube (purple yam), macapuno (young coconut), kutsinta and langka (jackfruit)

• Scrambol - see Iskrambol.

• Sinukmani - see Biko.

• Siomai - steamed pork dumplings

• Siopao - steamed pork buns

• Sisig - roasted pig’s head, chicken liver, onions and chili, chopped and flavored with calamansi served on a hot metal plate.

• Sorbetes (also Dirty ice cream) - street ice cream made with local fruits and ingredients; common flavors include ube (purple yam), mango, avocado, queso (cheese), chocolate, langka (jackfruit), buko or macapuno (coconut); strawberry is common in Baguio City.

• Squid balls - balls made with squid or cuttlefish meat, deep fried and served in skewers with a sweet, sour or spicy sauce.

• Suman - glutinous rice snack steamed in banana or coconut leaves; varieties include binagol (Leyte) made with glutinous rice, gabi (taro), coconut milk and chocolate; budbod sa kabog (Tanjay, Negros Oriental) which uses millet instead of glutinous rice; Taho - bean curd snack topped with arnibal (liquified raw sugar similar to molasses) and sago (tapioca balls).

• Tenga ng baboy (also Walkman) - marinated pig’s ears grilled on skewers;see also Kudil.

• Toknanay - see Quek quek.

• Tokneneng - hard boiled quail eggs dipped in orange batter and deep-fried; also called kwek kwek by others.

• Toknonong - see Hepalog

• Tupig (also Itemtem) - glutinous rice, grated mature coconut, coconut milk and molasses rolled in banana leaves and grilled; varieties in Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte (Batac) and Isabela.

• Turon - saba (banana) with with sugar and sometimes langka (jackfruit) wrapped in lumpia (spring roll) wrapper and deep-fried.

• Ukoy – pronounced as Okoy. Is a batter-based, deep fried street food in the Philippines. It is dipped in a combination of vinegar and chili.

• Walkman - see Tenga ng Baboy.

The handling, preparation and storing of food must go through food safety. It shows that we must observe certain food regulations. If not, it can transmit disease from person to person as well as serve as a growth medium for bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

Concerns of cleanliness and freshness often dismay people from eating street food. Lack of refrigeration is often explicate as a lack of cleanliness or hygiene; on the other hand, street food often uses particularly fresh ingredients for this very reason.

With the increasing pace of globalization and tourism, the safety of street food has become one of the major concerns of public health for governments and scientist to raise public awareness.

Street food is the best among common food we see everyday. Nothing beats the incredible.

Pinoy Food At Its Best

The Philippines is a country that’s known not only for the tourist spots and attractions but also for the innumerable delicacies you’ll get to taste once you get off the plane. In almost every part of town, you will find yourself trying things you never thought possible. While most of the commonly known recipes such as tinolang manok and nilagang baka (beef stew) headline the viand menu, there are others who would settle for old-time carinderia favorites such as fried fish, chop suey, pochero and a yard full of other viands that go well with a piping hot serving of white rice.

Many of the tourists that come and go really can’t get enough of the food that the Philippines perceive. Most of the ex-pats that I’ve seen strolling the streets of Makati Avenue can’t get enough of the Pampanga-made sisig that becomes a common bar and pub favorite once the drinks start pouring in. In fact, sisig had become a typical Pinoy favorite that most students and employees claim it to better with rice as well. Then, there’s the balut, a duck (or chicken) egg that’s a few days old that is cooked in a broiler and served hot. This is common at night, especially when you hear the vendor call it out in a sometimes distinct tone. It’s eaten as is and most would say that it ‘strengthens the joints’; you can guess for yourselves what they meant about that. You can also go for the chicharon, dried pork skin deep fried to a crisp. This is mostly fancied with a liter of beer or if the kids are around, a liter and a half of Coke.

You have the sinugba, which is another delicacy from Pampanga. It’s steamed milkfish, or bangus as it is popularly called, and stuffed with relishes. It comes with a sauce that’s also used for siomai and pancit canton. Speaking of pancit, these are also merienda (snack) favorites that won’t fade out of the Filipino menu. Pancit is a dish that’s got noodles in it and is mixed with a ton of toppings you could sink your teeth in. There’s liver, fish balls, cabbage, carrots, chicken strips, pork fat, you name it. 

On a Sunday, if you feel like going for something tangy rather than something oily like nilagang baka, the sinigang is something you’d probably be looking for. The sinigang is made from the extract of the sampaloc (tamarind), which grows from the tree of the same name, broiled with water and has pork and veggies to go with it. There are actually a few variations of the sinigang. You have the original sinigang-sa-sampaloc, the sinigang-sa-miso, sinigang-sa-calamansi which I found a wee bit weird and the sinigang-sa-bayabas, which I didn’t expect to taste real good while sinigang-sa-strawberry is very famous in Baguio considering strawberries are the main products they manufacture.

Finally, when you’ve had your fill of the feast, you can go for desserts. There’s leche flan, macapuno, sapin-sapin, puto (rice cake), espasol and the ever so sweet peanut brittle or panocha. Desserts in the Philippines are sometimes found to be too sweet but hey, who ever made dessert with salt? It’s something that we can be proud of and even the customers will agree most of the time. Clearly, Filipino food had gone a long way since its comprehension. Depending on who cooks or how it’s cooked, it’ll always taste good. And if it tastes great, just remember where it came from because if the food satisfied you and filled you up, then it’s a sure bet it came from the Philippines.