Book Review - 2015 EAT OUT NOW!

2015 EAT OUT NOW! by Alicia Colby Sy

          We Filipinos LOVE to eat. We always find an excuse to anything in order to eat. Anything from home-cooked meals, to eat-all-you-can style buffet in fiestas, to the savory and cheap meals in the nearby carinderia or karenderya, and to the delectable eats we find in restaurants, we always appreciate it if good food is served in front of us.

             So for foodies, gourmets, and gourmands out there, this guide is for you! 2015 Eat Out Now! by Alicia Colby Sy is a very handy guidebook to the best places to eat your heart out! Covering Philippines' three major cities that are famous for giving gastronomic proportions of deliciousness to people who are willing to explore its tasty aspects, even the most picky can certainly find a niche.

            From Manila's haute international flavors to Cebu's famous crispy, juicy lechon to Bacolod's honest-to-goodness savory chicken inasal, this guidebook has you covered for your next food trip!

           What I love about this book is that it is FULL of pictures! Trust me, it will make you drool. Also, it is very organized, the Table of Contents is written according to the needs of the customers, ranging from what kind of food they serve (American to Continental Modern European), to which restaurants are good with kids or for date nights, and which restaurants are lifestyle-choice friendly (Vegetarian-friendly to Carnivore's delight). Also, each restaurant has a little description about it, their bestsellers, how expensive or cheap it is, and where their location is. 

            All in all, this is a must have for everyone, not just foodies. This guidebook will surely show you the way to food paradise! Enjoy!

"Your diet is a bank account. Good food choices are good investments."

- Bethenny Frankel

Book Review - RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid Of World War II

"Pray for Eternal Peace"

RESCUE AT LOS BAÑOS: The Most Daring Prison Camp Raid of Wold War II

by Bruce Henderson

          As the liberation of the Philippines by the Americans is drawing to a close, civilian prisoners, majority are Americans, suffered greatly from the hands of cruel Japanese soldiers in a desperate attempt to break their spirit. Starvation, beatings, and killings of internees did not dash their hopes that one day, they will be rescued.

       In an exciting, dramatic accounts of life told by numerous civilian survivors, author Bruce Henderson creates a splendid masterpiece, weaving together the emotions and memories that will surely make you root for the American 11th Airborne Division paratroopers and their comrades, the Filipino guerrillas, in a deadly race against time.

A sketch of the interment camp.

          The book is written through the victim's point of view. It contains stories about their suffering, survival, and happiness they have experienced inside the camp. At first, the camp was a GOOD place for the internees, because the first two commandants are empathetic towards them. They have experienced good health, camaraderie, and order. 

        Everything changed when at August 1944, camp quartermaster Sadaaki Konishi arrived together with the third camp commandant. The commandant is not interested in running the camp, so the sadist Konishi enjoyed the power he got in torturing the internees by cutting their rations in half, inducing power outages, and killing the prisoners.

       Because of a "bootleg intelligence", Lt. Col. Henry Muller, together with Maj. Gen. Joseph Swinger's command staff and Lt. Col. Gustavo Ingles, hatched a four-phase plan to rescue the civilians. And on February 23, 1945, the raid happened, and it was one of the most successful rescue missions in modern military history.

         For me, it was one of the best well-written collection of memoirs I have ever read. It made me excited while I was reading it. It was clear, and it did not go off the track. The book has stories that are well-connected to each other. And also, as someone who loves reading historical memoirs, too many dates and jargon are the things I hate the most, and this book has less of it! The author just wrote the important dates and the jargon is easy to understand, so this is also a book I can recommend even to teenage readers.

“Life did not stop, and one had to live.” 
― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Grandma's 80th Birthday Celebration

           My grandmother is one of the nicest people I have known. Although sensitive at times, she can be really sweet when it comes to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She always has something for us, and makes our favorite snacks like her famous biko and kumbo. So in her 80th year, we took her to a restaurant called Roz & Angelique's, to show her that we love her very much.

           Hubby and son. :)

            My grandmother. :)

            The family that eats together, stays together. 

            Here comes the food. 

            Steamed Rice. My grandma loved this! :)

         Pork Spare Ribs with Mashed Potatoes. I'm a potato girl, so I LOVE mashed potatoes. But what happened was there was some stuff in it that I found, it looks like it came from the grater, so the server took it back to the kitchen and gave us another another batch of potatoes. 

           Chicken Cordon Bleu.

          Crispy Pata.

          Seafood Chowder. This soup is good. Filling too.

          French Fries. Yum!

           

          All time favorite - SISIG!

           And for dessert, Mango Crepes with Homemade Mango Ice Cream! (I know, the table is messy lol)

        My grandma had a great time. She said that she loves the food. Seeing her happy on her birthday is enough for us.

        How do you guys celebrate a birthday in your family?

Boracay For A Day

          Every summer, thousands of tourists, both local and foreign, flock in this tiny little island called Boracay. It is famous for its stunning sunsets, white sand beaches, and also for its night life. But this place is also good for family bonding trips, water sports activities, and watching people getting burned to a crisp under the sun. 

           So on a special summer day last April, my family and I went to Boracay. This trip is also special because it is our son's first trip to the popular island destination. We usually don't stay there overnight because we live in Kalibo and it is just an hour and a half away from Caticlan, so we end up just chilling and watching people by the beach. Enjoy the pictures. 

              My son :)

            My family ate lunch at a beach-side restaurant called PAMANA. The restaurant has a vintage decor, and they serve Filipino food. But do not expect this place to be air-conditioned. Lucky for us we got there before the lunch crowd, so we got the place to ourselves for a while.

             Here comes the food!

             Adobo Flakes. Yum! This is one of their best appetizers. My Dad and I keep on eating this but my son did not like it though.

             Pancit Buko. This is my parents' favorite. I did not eat this because I find it weird. My dad keeps on getting seconds from it though, so does my mom.

             Spicy Caldereta. I was the one who finished all of it. Hehe.

              Ensaladang Bagnet. Another favorite of my parents. My husband did not touch this because he hates the bagoong. But the pork was deep-fried to perfection, it was crunchy and not that salty.

             Crispy Turon with Cheese-flavored Ice Cream. The ice cream helped because it was so hot back then. But I did not eat the turon because that is my mother's favorite dessert.

           After a wonderful lunch, my son slept in his hammock under the shade of the coconut trees, swayed by the ocean breeze. 

            We stayed until 4 in the afternoon because we have still have to drive back to Kalibo. Our trip was nothing but grand but it sure was memorable.