the gigantic kebab at 3 in the morning

When you travel, you discover food and stuff that locals would probably take for granted, but tourists would swear on their dear life, if it were their last supper. But since I am not going to be executed anytime soon, I would say this could be the best kebab you can munch on, if you want a real meat indulgence, and you are in Hong Kong.

Ebeneezer's Kebabs and Pizzaria is probably the best kebab I have tasted in a long time. Now, it would seem that the place is a mix of sorts of various food cultures, and it is. The kebab they serve is not in a stick. It is hand-wrapped pita bread, stuffed with shredded lamb or chicken with vegetables and the best grill sauce you will taste this side of the world. It looks like a burrito, but it taste nearer to a shawarma. So it's indian, with a mix of mexican and mediterranean all mashed up in one wonderful halal-certified place. And, as they claim, it is healthy food fare (if you eat only one, that is).

We ordered in this branch in Wan Chai which is in the bar district, and is really small, with just 3 small tables inside, so you really have to eat outside, standing or leaning against the railings. I didn't mind. It was 3 am, and all the guys with me were all drunk and loud. I was just sleepy and hungry, and a bit tipsy. You can order your side of beer with your order, and it is a pretty good combination, and it's available the whole day. The bad thing here is that, at 3 in the morning, this branch is packed and there is a long line. Apparently, this is what HK boys and girls munch on after a night of drunkenness and debauchery LOL.

I downed the 6 inch long kebab (wrapped in aluminum foil) with a diameter of a pringles can, in just 5 minutes. You know what? You can do that, because it is that good. What happened after that was a blur. I woke up in the hotel room, all packed up and ready to go. I didn't even remember packing, but my bags were all neatly lined up beside the tv, which was playing national geographic the whole time. Last night was a blur to me, but i remembered the kebab clearly. I would go back to HK, if only for this order of Kebab from Ebeneezer's. Or i could Fedex it to me. I think I can do that...

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taipei food and walking like crazy the whole time

Taipei is a great city in a way that it really has much to offer in terms of sights to see and food to eat. Not to compete with what Manila can offer in terms of cuisine, but Taipei really does have its own identity when it comes to food, never mind that it is heavily influenced by chinese cuisine.

The traditional meal in Taiwan usually consists of 4 bowls - rice, soup, main dish and a vegetable dish. It doesn't matter if it is morning, noon or night, food is always something to behold in this small country, and it also tells of how hardy Taiwanese are and how food really fuels them.

My first day, we went to Hankyu department store to join in the chaos of a Uniqlo store opening. My tripmates were raring for this since Uniqlo is not widely available outside Asia. After the long lines and the not-so-regrettable shopping binge, we settled into the food court, which offers pretty much everything Taiwan.

We had an omelette of something like leeks, finely chopped, and blanched cabbage, with rice and chicken stew in an iron plate. We also had a side order of beef and cabbage stew.

There was literally too much on our plates, it was filling, but it didn't have the heavy fill that we were expecting. The secret, according to my Taiwanese friend, is that they don't usually fry or saute (although you will get much of that from their street foods). This much, and you will have your fill and not be sludgy because of the fat and extenders. None of that on our food. And I think that is healthy and wise. I started to wonder if all traditional Taiwanese food are like these. So we decided to raid the Danshui night market for some traditional street food. We had ah gei and danshui fish balls in soup. The balls are actually a variety of various stuff - mainly pork, fish, bread filled with savory meat, and a mix of pork and fish. The filled bread are like mini siopao. Ah gei is actually bean curd or tofu, stuffed with boiled vermicelli, sealed with a thick fish sauce and doused with chili sauce. I was hesitant to try it. It was really good, AND it also had none of the oil and extenders. I guess traditional Taiwanese food is really healthy.

I wouldn't say the same though for the other fares I saw at the danshui night market - it was a regular parade of deep fried stuff of anything you can think of. I guess, like any other cuisine, Taiwan also has its share of junk food. That probably explains the quietly increasing proliferation of huge Taiwanese men (and some women) in the streets during my trip.

Here are some of their fried food fares:

Taiwanese, like Filipinos, also love their sausages and they have a variety of sausages available, including blood sausage, which is not exotic for us, Filipinos, since we eat every part of the pig, from the tongue to the ears, to the intestines, and yes, even pig blood. 

The night market we went to didn't disappoint us - you will find all things fried, boiled, grilled. you name it, they have it. 

The following night, we went to a restaurant that one of our taiwanese friends said is really popular. And with good reason, we went there, was given a number and had to wait for an hour before being served - were 64 and 35 was being served. At least, we were able to go around the surrounding community, which was nice and quaint, since the restaurant was in a small residential area at the heart of Taipei.

Their signature dumplings actually has broth inside it and they stuff their dumplings with all kinds of good stuff - minced pork, or shrimp, or even vegetables. We ordered the minced pork, the shrimp and the upo, all with broth inside them. The Taiwanese call it xiaolongbao. We dip it in a combination of shredded ginger, black vinegar and soy sauce. They also have the really cool zucchini in chili sauce, which was both hot and cool at the same time. And of course, we can't resist the dumplings in chili sauce, which was way spicy but not irritatingly hot.

The piece de resistance was their beef noodle soup. Now I am not a regular fan of this soup, because it can turn rancid in no time, but the broth it was served with has a clean meaty taste. I think they had to freeze the soup stock and take out the fat to achieve this. It was very good. And once again, despite the cast that we had more than our fill, it didn't give us a heavy feeling.

Din Tai Fung, the name of the restaurant, in Xinyi Road

Taiwanese water cabbage (like our kangkong but thinner and with smaller leaves), 

blanched and served in garlic sauce

I guess I will go back to Taipei, not only for the people, which are nice, the sights, which are nicer, but most especially for the food, good food, that we found in between walking bouts between sights and train stations! Enjoying taiwanese food is the way to end a long walk and mark a good trip.

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RED and the Jamaican pattie on the floor

After a refreshing trip to Taipei, I went back to work today, not so ready. My mind is still afloat, so I had to force myself to make a mental note of everything I had to do for the week. Though overwhelming as it may seem, I think the time off from everything sort of recharged me and despite my floating mind and hesitant disposition this morning, easing into work today seemed to be quite smooth by lunch time. I was on a roll by early afternoon.

One of the things I liked from my Taipei trip was seeing that most of the food i eat is not really good - delicious good, yes, but healthy good? Far from it. I made a mental note today to be conscious of what I eat, and so far it is working - I may manage to lose substantial weight by end of the year. Also, I have to go back to the gym. One week off can take its toll, but as I told my trainer, he has to start being mindful of pushing me too far. He has too or else, I will replace him. Had to check with my doctor before I left for Taipei due to persistent pain in the left calf and leg area. His diagnosis - an over accumulation of lactic acid in my muscles, due to over exertion. I was trying too hard too fast. Well, at least I've rested. And I realized that my extensive, relentless walking in Taipei has made my leg and calf muscle painful at the onset, but bearable after a while. So I guess i have to continue the exercise. But with more caution on over exerting.

Anyway, after work, at around 7, I decided to do some more walking. I don't have my car today since it I can't bring it out on Wednesdays (Manila has a strange way of decongesting traffic - one of them is banning your car one day a week. I wonder if it is really working). So i had no choice but to walk. After a little walking, I realized that the traffic is horrendous (as always), so I decided to see a movie instead to kill time until traffic thins out. I decided to see RED, since I have been seeing huge posters of it in Taipei (and it stars Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Karl Urban, Mary Louise Parker, the great John Malkovich and her highness Helen Mirren so it should be good). Before going straight to the cinemas, I decided to buy two Jamaican patties. I was lucky because I was the last one in line to get the last two pieces (haha, sorry to the two couples behind me).  I realized my last food intake was around 1pm, and it was just vegetables and tofu and a little bit of rice. I was starving! In fact, I was trembling a little. Talk about hunger pangs; I was worried people will hear my stomach grumble. LOL!

Anyway, I went to the cinema with my ticket my two patties, my green tea. I ate one patty at the theater doors, waiting for the cinema empty out from the last screening. I was led to my seat, and as I was settling down, the second patty slipped from my lap and fell into the back of the seat in front of me. There it was, seen only by the light from the projector, naked, out of its paper pouch, in its full naked glory. 5 SECOND RULE,  I mentally shouted and scrambled to get it. Also, it was the last piece in all of Greenbelt, so I had to save it (naks!).

Now this is where it gets weird. As i scooped it out of the floor, I checked to see if it was dirty, using the light from my phone. I mentally noted that it is still alright, and since it was dark and no one was around, I decided to eat it, thinking WHAT I CAN'T SEE WON'T HURT ME.... It didn't. I am still ok now, writing this story. And I enjoyed RED, after all. All the cast members did an acceptable performance. It could be better, but hey, it's an action movie. Helen's fantastically efficient timing and phrasing can only do so much. Though she really was convincing as a retired agent/hired killer. Bruce was his usual self, only older (and yes, he was a retiree in this movie, with pension checks and an empty nest, for full dramatic effect. After the movie, I actually totally forgot that I ate a whole Jamaican pattie that I took out from the floor. There is always a first - this is a first, as far as I can remember.

So there, the moral of the story is - those who try are better than those who plan. I actually got that from the notebook cover of a cigarette/street food vendor who hawks his wares in front of my client's office. Who knew I could connect that to my food-from-the-floor experience? By the way, Taipei is niiiiice. More on that in another post.

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hong kong from a bus

I recently went to hong kong for work, and since it was for work, I didn't really plan to go our since there was not time - we arrived saturday afternoon and were leaving sunday morning so it was a really short trip.

I had no expectations of enjoying Hong Kong, but it was one of the most fascinating trip I had, as it turns out. My only trip around Hong Kong was the trip from the airport to the hotel, in an airport bus.

The only night i had was also one of the most fun I had. The suppliers we worked with took us out after the long meeting that ended at around 1030 in the evening. They took us to the top floor of crown regency - it was an open air bar straight out of the movies. I was half expecting James Bond to land from a plane to the deck bar, in his tuxedo, as he is handed out his signature martini, shaken, not stirred. Or perhaps Batman rushing out to the edge of the swanky bar as he awaits his bat plane to hook him up with his latest criminal in tow, to be handed out to the FBI in Gotham.

But of course, there was nothing of that. We had drinks and a few laughs and an overall pleasant, loud night as we had two nightcaps at two more bars after that.

But of course, before the night out, the best part - as I have mentioned earlier - was the trip in the airport bus from the airport to the hotel.

Here are some snap shots:

hong kong airport

housing projects

cargo bay

mall facade

private sports club with a HK landmark in the background

landmark buildings from a different view

the ubiquitous red taxis - very reliable

funny bewildering hong kong signs and their english translations

views from my hotel room, where i stayed for a record 6 hours, 5 of which is asleep

my name, scrambled and murdered yet again, and i am fine with it. it made me laugh!

Lost tourists

This short trip gave me a glimpse of Hong Kong that, surprisingly, I never enjoyed before. I've been to this route for a few times in the past and it has never been as enjoyable. I guess the thrill of having a short trip forced me to look at Hong Kong with a fresh eye. And I am glad I enjoyed the trip, even if I wasn't able to shop.

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My favorite verse

Rudyard Kipling did not figure much in my early life until college when i first read his work "IF". It moved me in so many ways that to date, I still look at the verses every now and then to check on myself and see how virtue can play a big pivotal, positive force in your life. 
Not surprisingly, I met with "If" again in college when I took a violent undertaking to enter as a "blind beggar" into a prestigious UP fraternity that is both famous and infamous for its members. It literally lifted me up through the harrowing experience and made me finish the initiation and become a "man" in my fraternity brother's eyes.
I am putting it here, so people can read it and be inspired by what it stresses in life. For the evil and mischievous, it might stick a sharp stick into their egos. I only wish that my readers will find this more invigorating than indicting.
Here it is - my favorite verse (which incidentally the Wimbledon and most of Britain also swears by) - IF

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too, If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream–and not make dreams your master, If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!” If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much, If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son! –Rudyard Kipling

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Happy Father's Day!

I might be one of the lucky ones who still has a living father till now. I know of friends who lost their dads at an early age, friends who lost their dads when they were young men and some who even recently lost theirs. It is a humble experience to note that no matter what, you will see yourself in your dad (and in your mom) somehow, even if it isn't something you would care to like.

My dad is cool in a way that he never worries - something that i took early on as a lack of care. Of course, that built in my mind and heart a strong dislike and furstration as I was growing up. I wanted him to be somebody else - don't we all want that?

But as I grew old (and grew in wisdom, I suppose) I realized that changing your parents, or anybody else, is not your business. I have learned to love and respect my dad now that he is old. He has his ways, as everyone else, and most of the time, people misjudge him, especially the very ones that he loves. Yes, he loves us in his own way - in a way that he knows exactly what you want and what you need at any given time, as you grow up. He loves us in a way that makes him wake up early in the morning to take care of the pets that you promised to take care yourself, in the first place. He loves us in a way that he quietly lets you get your way even if it is not right, and will not mumble a word against it, and wouldn't use it against you in the future. He will just keep quiet and move on.

My dad is a cool dad in a way that he was never ashamed to hug us or kid with us, even when we are all fully grown. Most of all, my dad made up for all his faults by giving us what he does best - cooking for us, opening cans and bottles, fixing old furnitures and stuff, opening us to new hobbies and interest, taking the time and effort to like what we like (even when I know he wouldn't do it for anyone else, not even in a million years). He didn't have much to give us in terms of material wealth and didn't try too hard, since he knows he's not good at it. But boy did he make up for it. He can build a house for me, heck, I know he will do anything for me - without so much as a grumble or a word of complaint. In fact, he never complains.

So for all these things, and for all his shortcomings, I wouldn't trade my dad for anyone else, no matter what others will say. I love my Dad! Happy Father's Day, Pops!

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When 40 sinks in

I have been single all my life. I guess it is now just a matter of fact – that I will probably never marry. But I have gotten over somehow, a little I guess, to the worries of not getting married. The wondering and guessing if I am doing right, if I am not being a worthy human being for not procreating, the envious stares at married friends and kids. Then it hit me. The only thing I will ever regret probably is not having a child of my own. Well, there is still time for that, especially since I am male. I guess the pressure for men is lesser for women. The stigma with being single is greater for women and can never be more evident than the names and connections being a single woman are attached to. They call you spinster, for crying out loud. They call me perpetual bachelor. There, the stigma is evident. I guess with men, age doesn't really matter. I can see that I look better now than when I was young - not that i look better in any way. When I was young, I kind of look old for my age. Now it sort of caught up with my age. A few more years and I will probably look young for my age.

My parents stay with me, in a house I bought. I know that to a point, the roles have reversed somehow, but the signs are most appalling in the little things that happen. When we were kids – and I am part of a big family, the third of six children – we would often huddle in one room, usually my oldest sister’s room since it’s the biggest and it smells good there, and we would tell each other how our days went. We could go on for an hour or so, and every now and then, my mom or my dad would run into the room, or pass by or try to eavesdrop. We would shut up when they enter the room, as if grownups are not allowed into our solid clique. It was fun times then. Being a teen with lots of brothers and sisters was probably the best thing growing up. We would share so many things and experiences that no bonding could ever replace. Two weeks ago, I roamed into my parent’s room, looking for something I don’t even remember now. They were inside, just watching TV, vegging out in their bed. They were also talking, since I can hear a small mumble, exchanges of comments that were punctuated with gasps and random laughs. When I opened the door, they stopped and looked at me like I was trespassing or something. It wasn’t a weird, angry stare. It was a languid stare, waiting for me to get out of the room so they can resume talking. Role reversed!!! I have become my parents! I have become the old one who shouldn’t know what my parents are up to!! It was funny realizing that and I realized that my parents have entered a phase where they can enjoy each other and not worry about us anymore.  And I realized – 40 is when it starts.

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