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Published: December 28th 2010
Christmas Dish
Baked fish with chinese broccoli, onions and mushrooms.Our Christmas schedule in Manila was very nice and low key. We spent Christmas Eve at the residence of Maria's uncle. The kids opened gifts after a very nice dinner of Pancit(a local noodle dish), barbecue, two kinds of adobo (which is chicken, beef or pork cooked in vinegar and soy sauce), fish with Chinese broccoli and mushrooms, pasta salad and steamed veggies. Oh yeah! I forgot to mention rice, plenty of cold San Miguel beer and yummy desserts. Maria and I stayed over night there and the kids went for another sleepover with Maria's cousin's daughter, Amber.
Uncle Romy had breakfast ready for us on Christmas morning and we spent a couple hours enjoying some adult time. Maria's cousin Tricia, who flew in from the midwestern US was leaving the next day and we hadnt seen her in a while so it was nice to spend time catching up with her. We picked up the kids and headed to Araneta Center Coliseum to see The Grand China National Acrobatics circus. Maria's cousin got us awesome seats and we watched a great show featuring good music, dancing and compelling acrobatics.
Sunday, we went to Berto's Palisdaan (fish pond). Unknown
Brazo de Mercedes
yummy meringue christmas dessert to me during prior visits, another of Maria's uncles, (Uncle Berto) owns about 2 acres of land right down the street! On this property, he maintains a large pond and keeps it stocked with Tilapia. The family reserved it for the day, had a great picnic with 30+ cousins, aunts and uncles, and spent the day helping the kids bait hooks with live worms while teaching them patience. Though the pond was stocked, there was a recent bloom of small shrimp-like things that provided the resident fish plenty of food, so the fish were unimpressed with our offering. I think our entire group only netted about 5 or 6 fish. The one I caught I threw back, though it was large enough to eat. The kids got tired of fishing but there was plenty of space for them to run around and explore ducks, geese, and several dogs including a great dane. Despite my prediction, neither of the boys ended up in the pond.
Since we are on the subject of circuses and ponds, this is a perfect segue to my final round of golf at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Club on Monday. General Emilio Aguinaldo (for which this camp
is named) is a national hero known for, among other things, leading the revolution in the late 1800's and solidifying Philippine independence from the Americans. And so it went for this American...I was unable to challenge this course and spent the last 9 holes consuming a few cold San Migs, talking with my caddie, enjoying the company of Uncle Romy and his longtime friend and looking forward to a relaxing lunch at the 19th hole. I brought my clubs over here but I definitely left my swing somewhere else.
I met up with the family after golf and we visited with Uncle Boy and Aunt Mila who have had their 'grandparent' card punched again recently. We got to see the new baby, 3 week-old Izzy, and visit with cousins that we don't get to see very often. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, Aunt Mila and Uncle Boy laid out some more yummy food for dinner...and a case of San Mig on ice! My Filipino family, and Filipinos in general, have a special knack for hosting parties and putting out great spreads during celebrations...the food never runs out and usually you get sent home with
some!
Today we took the kids to the nearby SM Mall to do a little bowling. Uncle Romy treated the kids and myself along with cousins Steven and Amber to an afternoon of bowling and late lunch at Shakey's Pizza. We handed the kids off to Maria's cousin Ger, who has 4 kids, for a sleepover across town. As I type, Joseph just called trying to negotiate a 1 am bedtime. I think he senses this adventure is coming to a close...and lax bedtimes along with it.
This may be my last log as we will be heading home soon. It has been fun putting these stories together and sharing them with everyone. I hope you enjoyed reading them.
Here's to a healthy, happy and successful 2011!
Cheers!
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