crispy kare-kareng bagnet

crispy kare-kareng bagnet with bagoong rice

this is one really delicious dish! first time that i eat kare-kare where the meat is not included in the peanut sauce... really really delicious the bagnet is so crispy and it matches with the bagoong rice.  if you want to have a taste of this, check out casa reyes restaurant at greenhills.

ps. paid for this food and i was not paid by casa reyes to do this post, just found this dish really delicious and ought to be shared to the public :)

Casa Reyes Restaurant
Greenhills Shopping Complex
Level 1 Connecticut Carpark,
Ortigas Ave., Greenhills
San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines
Phone Number: (632) 721-1358

sm megamall

the metro manila and i guess the whole archipelago of the philippines is dotted with sm supermalls, these structures has sprouted over the metro one after the other and some of the sites where the sm malls were erected have been controversial because some of the sites where the put up their stores are historical which is kinda sad to think that the sm management and the mayors who allow this huge corporation to tear down our history.  im afraid there would come a time that the whole philippines will be one big huge supermall!

anyways this sm megamall is located in and is the third sm supermall developed and operated by SM Prime Holdings, the largest mall operator in the Philippines owned by Henry Sy Sr. The mall occupies a land area of approximately 18 hectares and has a total floor area of an estimated 348,000 m², making it the third largest shopping mall in the country and seventh largest shopping mall in the world by area. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

pista ng nazareno

Today is the feast day of the black Nazarene at Quiapo and it is expected that thousand of nazareno devotees will flock the quirino grandstand and the quiapo church. wishing that everyone will be safe and get blessed.

maligayang kapistahan mahal na poong nazareno! 

for nympha

for Nympha, 

the generous and warm hearted soul who has a ready smile for everyone, 

you will be missed and your memory will live in our hearts forever. 

may you rest in peace.

LRT rush hour

“Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?”

buntot pagi

Buntot pagi or sting ray tail is used by Filipinos as a weapon... it is also believed that buntot pagi is a good weapon to combat aswangs and other engkanto, these are sold near the Quiapo church among with other amulets and herbal concoctions.

DOT: Kay Ganda

No, this has nothing to do with the infamous DOT's failed logo and slogan - Pilipinas Kay Ganda but rather i just want to say that i really really like the lighting of the department of tourism's building located at Agrifina circle in Rizal Park. The building is swathed in Philippine flag.

I'm not sure if this lighting going to be a permanent building fixture at night or this is just because of the holiday season. i checked the DOT's website but found nothing, anyone knows?

rizal park's musical dancing fountain

to attract more visitors, rizal park administrator have added an "attraction" and launched the musical dancing fountain last dec. 16, 2010.  but to those who doesnt know, this fountain is not new, it has been a main feature of the Rizal Park / Luneta as far as i can remember... and how happy i was when they started renovating around the fountain (i think that was way back in 2007) which prompted me to do a nostalgic post about this fountain, only to be disappointed when nothing seemed to happen (because whenever i visited Luneta then i was never lucky to see the fountains at work, just there but not working, like this old post from 2008).. and now finally it was magically restored! :)

my nephews has been begging me to bring them here when they saw the fountain featured in the television (how media really plays a big part in giving information) and even though there were lots of people visiting on New year's day, we have braved the crowd just to see the dancing fountain because there will be school and work on monday already. 

and boy the crowd was really huge! the last time i saw Rizal Oark this crowded was during the 1995 World Youth Day in Manila.  every square inch of the park is full of people, some even brought tents!

Data from the Park admin showed that almost 500,000 Filipinos gathered at the park to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas day of 2010 and about half a million was there as well in welcoming 2011.  a good times indeed at Rizal park, and i hope this would continue and tourist (and yes that includes ever filipino) to visit Luneta. 

here's a short video of the dancing fountain, sorry about the quality and the audio, the music playing was "Manila, Manila ... i keep coming back to Manila" :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy New Year to all. Happy 1.1.11

Welcoming 2011 with lots of hope. May we all receive abundant blessings and tons of happiness.

"pangpaswerte" = 12 round fruits on your table on new year's eve

So what are your new year's traditions and beliefs?

peace on earth

the nativity scene at ayala triangle.. i've missed taking picture of the grand display at this heart of makati the previous years when i moved out of working in makati, but hey to make it up here's different images of the belen this year, made more special with the ayala light and sound show

just a few more nights and it's christmas again :D

to view previous nativity scene photos click here