Summer in Agno

When we were younger, summer was a time when children would go to their parents' hometowns to spend time with their grandparents and other relatives residing in the province. Last summer, my parents, some of my siblings, nephews, nieces and I had a rare chance to go back to my mother's hometown  for some recreation and to visit her relatives in Agno. Agno is a little agricultural town on the west side of Pangasinan facing the West Philippine Sea and is near the towns of Bani, Alaminos City, and Burgos. Farther to the north is Bolinao. 

My uncles and cousins are farmers and so naturally, my city-dwelling nephews had fun chasing their chickens and chicks, riding on the back of the carabao, and harvesting mangoes from the trees. These plus the vast rice fields and the nipa hut were a refreshing sight, an alternative to the concrete jungle back in the city. But an even more pleasant sight are the faces of relatives we haven't seen in a long time who welcomed us warmly in their house and served us with a feast of karamakam (crablets), tinolang manok (native chicken stew with ginger and papaya), shrimps, pritong bangus (fried milkfish), and buridibod (an Ilocano dish made of camote, eggplant, malunggay, and stringbeans). We all ate in my uncle's nipa hut as the hot, summer wind blew and joined the sounds of our stories and laughter. 

If you have relatives in the province, why not find time to visit them this summer?

Old Houses and New Restaurant in Balayan, Batangas

Before we went to Balayan, Batangas for an overnight stay with friends, my knowledge of the place was limited to its popular fish paste bagoong Balayan and the Parada ng Lechon festival. After a visit to its poblacion, we discovered something old and something new about the place.

As we passed by several streets, we saw old houses that still stand, a reminder of the long history of this municipality which, I learned later on, is one of the oldest towns of the province of Batangas. There was even a time when the entire province of Batangas was known as Balayan. As our van was passing by, I noticed a huge old house with windows made of capiz and with a historical marker near the door. Our local host said that it's the house of Don Sixto Lopez, a friend and supporter of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal. I wanted to take a look at the centuries-old house, but unfortunately, it is only open  on Fridays. There is another two-storey house near the Lopez house, with huge capiz windows and red wooden gate. After checking out other blogs about Balayan, I learned that it is the ancestral house of actor Leo Martinez. 

The old house of Don Sixto Lopez

The ancestral house of Leo Martinez

Another pleasant place we discovered is this new Italian restaurant in the heart of the town along Fe Street. The place is called Chez Deo Ristorante Italiano @ Gliceria. The restaurant has a small up-and-down building (its design inspired by the town's old houses) and a spacious ground for dining. The prices are reasonable and the taste is truly satisfying. 

Pane rustico and insalata

Polpete

Other than visiting old houses and the Italian restaurant in Balayan, you can also enjoy swimming at the resorts along Balayan Bay, buy fresh seafood at the local market, and watch the sunset at the Balayan Baywalk. 

Underwater Spectacle in Simlong

One Saturday morning, we brought my parents-in-law to the coast of Brgy. Simlong in Batangas City for a breath of fresh sea air. A young local fisherman was in the area and he gladly took us for a quick boat ride. I never thought that we would see such spectacular corals beneath the sea. The water was clear at that time and even at five meters away from the shore we could view the multi-colored and variedly shaped corals. There were corals that looked like mushrooms, a human brain, a broom, broad leaves, and stones. Small and medium sized fishes playfully swam and hid in the crevices and holes formed by the corals. I hope we would all take care not to destroy the coral reefs. They're part of the underwater ecosystem that eventually affects us human beings. When we leave coral reefs untouched, we are allowing fish and other sea creatures to flourish because the coral reefs serve as their habitat and protection. Eventually, that means food on our plates. Corals also provide a spectacular view for those fortunate enough to venture into the sea. Let's all preserve the spectacle under the sea. 

Melaka of Malaysia

Melaka is a historical town 148 km south of Kuala Lumpur, about two hours drive from Malaysia's capital. Melaka, or Malacca in olden days, has been inscribed in 2008 as a UNESCO World Heritage City because of it rich historical and cultural value. During the 15th century, Melaka was under the Malacca Sultanate, but was later colonized by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British.

Today, Melaka has many places of interest including the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum, the Portuguese settlement, the Dutch or Red Square, St. Paul's Church, and the ruins of the Portuguese fort called A Famosa among others. When visiting Melaka, one should not also miss the Jonker Walk, a street lined with antique stores, souvenir shops, restaurants, fashion shops as well as old businesses and buildings. If you're planning to visit Melaka, be sure to have comfortable shoes on your feet so you can explore the area the whole day. 

Baba and Nyonya Museum

Jonker Street

Red Square

St. Paul's Church

Pasar Malam

After window shopping and eating at Suria KLCC, my companions and I dropped by a local pasar malam or night market at Ampang. Pasar malam are held on certain days during the week where vendors can sell foods like vegetables, fruits, fish, nasi lemak (and its varieties), satay, popiah, other dishes and snacks. Goods like shoes, clothes, and accessories are also sold. Sometimes, food that are not usually sold elsewhere, especially in malls, can be found in these night markets. Vendors come in vans and display their wares on the street on makeshift tables. Each stall is lit by portable lights powered by noisy generators. 

My eyes feasted on a lot at the night market--blue rice, yellow rice, dark purple plums, pink dragon fruits, green rice cakes, nasi goreng in large woks, nasi lemak wrapped in triangular leaves. Looking at all these colorful food made me feel full already! The only one I bought was something which looked like okoy (shrimp and squash fritters) from the Philippines. I'm not sure how it's called in Malaysia, but above the mound of these fried  fritters with shrimp was a sign that says "udang" so I figured it must be called an udang.

A trip to a pasar malam is an opportunity to have a taste and feel of the local community. When you're in Malaysia, try to ask a local to bring you to a pasar malam. 

Food Trip in Malaysia

Because Malaysia is multi-ethnic, it offers a wide variety of food. Food of Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Thai, and Portuguese origin are available in this country.

On my first night in Malaysia, I was treated to barbecue chicken rice by my friends. The chicken rice was also served with sliced cucumbers as side dish, chili sauce, and chicken broth. I liked the sweet taste and tenderness of the barbecue chicken but the broth was too salty for me.

Barbecue chicken rice

For breakfast, I had nasi lemak which consisted of rice, chicken (which looked red), boiled egg, anchovies, peanuts and sambal (a chili-based sauce). My friend told me this is a traditional breakfast for Malaysians.

Nasi lemak

I was also served with roti canai which, I was told, is a dish from Southern India. The roti is a thin bread, some parts crispy, some parts soft and lumpy, and is eaten by first dipping it into the thick spicy curry sauce for flavor. I also enjoyed the roti canai.

Roti canai

While in Melaka, my hosts and I ate a quick lunch in an out-of-the-way eatery which serves Nyonya snacks. Melaka is a city known for its rich historical and cultural background and has been the dwelling place of Chinese-Malays called Peranakans. The male Peranakan is called Baba while the female is called Nyonya. I had my taste of Malaysian laksa in this place and I loved it! My host was worried that I might not like the spicy flavor but I was daring enough to try it and I never regretted every slurp. This curry laksa has shrimp, spongy tofu squares, cockles, egg noodles, vermicelli, bean sprout and other herbs.

Laksa

To complement the laksa's spicy taste, we also ordered popiah and pai tee which both contain chopped turnips. Even the popiah has shredded chili in it--proof of the Malaysian's love for spicy foods. While eating the popiah, I recalled the Filipino lumpia, a similar fresh spring roll except that ours is not spicy.

Popiah

Pai tee looked dainty, delicious, and obviously delicately prepared as strips of turnips are placed in tiny, crispy, molded cups.

Pai tee

To finish the meal and wash the spicy aftertaste, I had cendol. It's similar to the Philippines' halo-halo, except that cendol only has two ingredients on top of the shaved ice with coconut milk--sweet beans and green jelly-like strips made from green pea flour.

Cendol

We ended our tour of Melaka with dinner at one of the open-air restaurants at the Portuguese settlement. The open-air restaurants were beside the placid Strait of Malacca and as the sun set, we ate Portuguese baked stingray smothered with chili sauce, scallops in butter and garlic, and lady fingers with rice (okra). It was my first time to eat scallops in shells and I liked the creamy flavor brought by the butter.

Portuguese baked stingray

Scallop with butter and garlic

Lady fingers

I also tried eating a Bengal food combination of dal, nan, and mutton masala at the Suria KLCC food court. I had yee wat mee (noodles) at a Chinese restaurant frequented by Koreans, tried the famous yong tau foo of Ampang  (tofu or tokwa) which was surprisingly firm and silky, and of course, I sampled street foods like fishballs and soya pudding (taho). Their fishballs were big and firm, with a consistency like a squid ball. On my last day in Malaysia, I picked up some bread to eat while at the airport. And though I wasn't able to eat bak kut teh while in this food haven, I bought a pack of bak kut teh mix to make this dish back home.

Truly, there's so much to savor in Malaysia!

That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil--this is the gift of God.                 Ecclesiastes 3:13

A Visit to Malaysia, My First in Asia

Last week, I was in Peninsular Malaysia and this was my first trip to an Asian country outside of the Philippines. Malaysia is indeed a melting pot of cultures--Malays, Chinese, Indians co-exist in this country. During my trip I also saw Africans, Afghans, Iranians, Pakistanis, and even Koreans. 

Together with my Malaysian friends, I visited the historic city of Melaka, inscribed on 2008 as a UNESCO World Heritage City. I was impressed with the various designs of the buildings and colorful bridge at Putra Jaya, a planned city that serves as the federal administrative center of Malaysia. Of course, the iconic Twin Towers of Kuala Lumpur was something I didn't miss as well as Merdeka Square with its fascinating buildings of colonial architecture. Merdeka Square is also known as Independence Square because this is where the country declared its independence from British rule decades ago.

Melaka

Putra Jaya

Merdeka Square

While there I ate in restaurants and sampled street foods. I experienced buying at pasar malam (night market). I strolled in Suria KLCC (Malaysia's premiere shopping center) and dined at the food court, but bought goods at the community convenience store. I moved from place to place on foot, by LRT, bus, and car. 

Pasar malam

In a sense I felt like I never left the Philippines. I saw Filipinos in different places; heard words I use everyday like itik (duck), kambing (goat), bangsa (nation), siopao (steamed bun), siomai (dimsum), tikoy (glutinous rice cake), misua (thin noodles made of flour); took off my shoes before entering a local home; and ate fishballs and taho (soya pudding) on the street. I saw the physical features of the Malays and I think I could pass off as one of the locals. Of course, there were obvious differences between Malaysia and the Philippines, but I took more delight in the things that we share. With this visit, I realized that yes, I am a Filipino, and yes, I am an Asian too.

Taho on the street