Advertisement
Published: August 8th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Fruits Galore
Taken at the fruit stand near Xandra's house. Yum yum! Table time, until the game comes on Having made the transition from Parañaque, where Jamie lives, to Marilena Gardens, where Xandra lives, we quickly settled into our new home for the next 8 days. I must say, a true highlight of being in the Philippines for me is the fact that we have meals together at the table at least twice a day with everyone, and sometimes for all three meals, that is when we are not out. It is only when we sleep-in that Meli and I end up eating breakfast alone. By the way, having an in-house maid who does all the cooking for you further facilitates this process!
We wake up and have yet another mouthwatering Filipino breakfast—yes Brandee, we are grubbing!—me, Meli, Mamu, Tita Reena, Xandra, Oliver, and Terran. Myriad subjects fly across the table, from philosophy, to politics, to planning for the week, to comparing the refreshing, succulent, flavorful, smooth juice of the tiny, unassuming calamansi to the lemon. The conversation is at times shared by all, at other times a particular topic is dropped by the group only to be continued by two or three on the side.
WAIT!!!
I apologize to
Feast #32
Another Bacchanalian day (but G-rated). Feast at Tito Raffy's house in BF, my childhood home. Crabs, veggie meat sauce, and rice. everyone at the table, but I need to be excused. The NCAA Final Four is about to come on and there is cable in the house. Florida versus UCLA. In vain, I root for UCLA as they try to avenge their NCAA championship lost to the Gators a year ago. After Afflalo picks up two fouls in the first 5 minutes, I declare the game over. And I am pretty much right. The Ohio State vs. Georgetown game came on at 6am, but got no love from us. Afterall, Greg Oden is not on par with Ronaldhino! I sulk for a moment and alleviate my distress by taking over the world. Global domination has a way of cheering me up. Meme has spent the past 90 minutes online browsing and chatting with Alan, who is a freshman at UCLA and feels my pain.
The Gauntlet Is it lunch time already (Brandee that’s two shout outs already and counting)? We ordered food for delivery from North Park Noodles and it just arrived. There is “Wok Fried Lapu-Lapu Fillet in Superior Sauce”—just yesterday while playing basketball, Oliver happened to be talking to his buddies about what exactly is superior sauce
Feast #32
Shrimpies! and questioning is superiority—vinegared tofu, fried beancurd skin with shitake mushrooms in oyster sauce. Aren’t you getting hungry just reading? Brandee, how can you NOT eat??? (That’s now three Brandee, and I haven’t even gotten to the feast we had for dinner with crab, pork, clam soup and tuna testicles, not to be confused with fish roe).
The gang makes a trip to the mall after lunch; I opt out because I am not Filipino and simply can’t go to the mall that much. We were at the mall on Friday, so my quota has been filled already. Terran is supposed to pick up his Lego pieces if he wants to accompany the departing crew. Being 3 years old, he chose to operate on his on time schedule. He also solicited help from mom and the yaya. This is a task that he is told to do on his own and expeditiously, as the car is running and people are filing out. Xandra threw down the gauntlet, Terran picked it up…only to quickly drop it. Tears and wailing. Drool and screams. He knows that he simply will not finish in time and begs for help. Xandra holds her ground.
Feast #32
They're making me work! Terran is left behind. For the next 40 minutes he cries and protests non-stop. With my attention turned to taking over the world, I am able to successfully tune out the noise. A.D.D.I.C.T.I.O.N. Knowing that he would try to get the yaya to help out, Xandra phones home a few minutes after they leave to specifically tell her not to help him. The clean up challenge remains because he has to pick up his toys if he wants to go with us to Tito Raffy’s later for the BBQ. One by one, he puts away his Legos. I suggest using two hands to speed up the process, which he does for a little bit. It takes him an hour to pick up about 150 Legos. He had to pee, something fell in his eye, he was itching. This kid had a plethora of excuses to keep him from the task at hand. Child development is fascinating and entertaining!
BALLS! I ATE BALLS! When the crew returns, I give them the play-by-play. Terran has accomplished his goal, so we all pile in Oli’s car and head to BF for the evening feast. And a feast it was. The menu:
Feast #32
Moe on the grill with the pork! crab, shrimp, liempo and pork chops, veggie meat sauce, clam soup, tuna salpicao, tuna testicles (bagaybay), pancit malabon, suman with langka, sapin sapin. When we arrive, Tito Raffy is in the kitchen in his boxers hovering over the stove, cooking up goodness. Tita Jenny is preparing everything to be transferred outside to the tables; I help her out. And Master Chef Moe is working the grill like a part-time job. He is trusted with the task of grilling up the tuna balls, in addition to the other meats. Sam and Baba also help set up. Sam notices that we are without drank and offers to hook it up. We first call Jamie to see if he can pick up something on his way, but he is a few blocks away. Sam comes through.
Mamu and Meme can’t wait. There is crab in front of them and they go to town. The crabs here are smaller than in the USA, and much tastier. However, the size creates more work and I deem the effort not worthwhile. I resort to stealing from Meli because she doesn’t mind putting in work. Everyone, except Ogoy, is present: Tito Raffy, Tita Jenny, Jamie and
Feast #32
Leroy and his laban move. He is wearing a t-shirt with the portrait of Jose Rizal, the Philippine national hero. Vit, Moe, Sam, Baba, Mamu, Meme, me, Tita Reena, Oliver, Xandra and Terran; later Calpito and his wife plus another friend (Tito Raffy’s peeps from back in the day) swing by. In a Barry White baritone, Tito Raffy calls out, “LEROY! Tonight we are having a special dish, a delicacy that you have to try…tuna testicles.” Gulp! When in Rome right! I saunter over to Moe who is grilling up them balls. “What does it taste like, Moe?” “Balls, I guess…probably chicken.” Bagaybay (the balls) are not round like testicles. Think about it, fish reproduce, but all the organs are internal, no sweet chariots swinging low. Before being cooked, it is pinkish and white with a dark vein going down the center, looks like fish and is filleted. With the aid of some sawsawan, it is surprisingly good. I enjoy two pieces with Tito Raffy during a moment of guy love. Unfortunately, I can’t get over the fact that I’m eating balls and I bail.
We wrap up the night with an intense game of Taboo. I had downed a few cubalibres and was in full aggressive, competitor mode, ala Robert Weir. At times, I was even a bit
Feast #32
Father (Oliver) and son... and way too much Coke Lite of a jerk to Meli. I’m sorry baby. She knows that I compete hard, no matter what. It’s in my blood. We are on opposing teams and her team H.T.A. Congrats to Meme, Moe (who at one point got 8 points on one try!), Baba, Mamu and Vit. Until the next game…
Advertisement
Tot: 0.052s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 6; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0207s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
bett
non-member comment
tuna balls?
that's a first.