LUAU PARTY

Filipino  gatherings are a fun way  to  get out of the stress and meet old friends you haven't seen around for quite some time .

I was  really glad that  I went to  attend tita Carrie's 60th birthday  bash  which  was themed HAWAIIAN LUAU PARTY ( unfotunately not everyone was wearing  Hawaiian  themed dress or shirts ) .


Anyways regardless of not everyone was wearing Hawaiian dress or shirts the party  was still  fun naman of course .


Me, mom and Tita Shonie and Liby  prep ourselves up  in  tita's place and  then went to  drive to  tita Nora's place so  that  we can have convoys  because literally speakign tita Shonie doesn't have any idea hot to get to  Tita Carrie's place.

The  party  started at 5:30  but  we ended  up  arriving  around  6pm  (  30 mins Filipino  time di  ba? :P )

There were lots of people already  at the Alarcon residence  and yummy food everywhere.

The  funny thing I am glad I  brought with  me my  DSLR camera , I  kinda became the  photographer of the party  which  is  nice I  can  pratice more on  my skills  as a photographer yah  know :) (  iphone came , i don't rely some much on it .. DSLR still  the best  )

Birthday  Girl  blowing some candles :)

Mom  with  Tita Shionee 

Soo many  filipino  food yum yum 

Mom with  Tita Joyce

The Birthday  Girl with  the pretty  ladies

Striking a pose 

taken at the beautiful Alarcon Residence

the Lechon  

with my  friend Karen 

with  tita Joyce and Karen

I  was so busog  after eating too  much ,  can I  say  burp  burp  .
We left  the party  probably  around midnight , but hey it  was worth it!

Washington, DC : 1st Day [ A Walk or Two - Dinner Time]

We walked around the city  for awhile then when our stomachs was calling to our attention ... BOOM!
We really had to  eat dinner already  and ended up  chowing down in RICE BAR who is famous for their BIBIMPAP or literally  in English means mixed rice that  is topped out with  namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste) .

We were lucky  that  we are still able to  get something to  eat  because we did arrived in the resto's location a little late and they  are about to  clean up  the place until we showed up  and gladly   we were able to  pick our  food. Kris got brown rice while I  got the white rice topped with  some bean sprouts, eggplant , bamboo shoots and korean kimchi  . We also  ordered some  California Roll  to go with our  dinner .

After chwoing down, we noticed that  it was darker than we entered and we had to   go  back to  our hotel since Kris's  seminar starts at 7:30ish  in the morning. As we hurried down the blocks and blocks and block of street while looking for the nearest  Metro station , we ended up  taking the Metro from  Foggy  Bottom  Station  .

This is like the rush  hour because we had to literally  stand up  in the train and  smelling everyone's armpits! ( or as we say it in tagalog KILI KILI ) . With  our  hand numbing ride to  our hotel  as we got off in  Rockville Station, we noticed that  our hotel can't be found anywhere (  literally it is a 8 minute walk  from  the station to  the hotel ) ... as we walked thru  and cous searched where the hell are we already  it turned out that  we are like  10 blocks away  from  our hotel according to her iPhone !

We decided to  get a taxi instead of walking because there was too much walking already  just  on  the 1st  day  in DC. As we tell the driver where are going he then mentions that  we got off the wrong station,  we got off at the 2nd last  stop  for the metro. It was supposed to  be in  WHITE FLINT and not in ROCKERViLLE!

The driver then adds that  it is confusing because the 3 stops before the last  stop  is considered as ROCK VILLE  (Rockville, Twinbrook and White Flint ).

As we are near our hotel it was a sign of relief and can't wait to get a hot shower and get some rest  for tomorrow's adventure . The ride with the taxi was fun and was a reminder that next time I take the Metro I have to get off the WHITE FLINT station and not Rockville and as parting gift  with the driver I  gave him the rest  of the change as his tip  for getting me and my  couz safe in our temporary home , our hotel .

Snagging a photo of moi before going off to  bed 

Old FAshion Country Breakfast

After church  ,   we  decided  to   eat  some old fashion  brunch  in  iHOP  =) it's been  a long time that  I'm   craving for those warm delicious  velvitty pancakes  ^_^

these are one of the best  pancakes they serve and can  I  mention  mouthwatering strawberries? yum yum

After eating with my  relatives, we then decided  to part way and ended up  going to  the Hong Kong supermarket in  the city.

Chào Vietnam

NAM VANG RESTAURANT

We are on our way  for  our monthly   grocery  thingy for all our Asian  cooking ingredients that  we needed which  was nice way   to  bond with my mom again .

As we approach  Hong Kong International  Supermarket which  is located in the famous Roosevelt Blvd. 

and as always  the place is literally packed with people .  I was getting a little but  hungry, so   I asked mom  if we could eat some lunch  right there before our grocery  shopping and besides I'm a little bummed lately .

famous condiments in any  asian cuisine

She hasn't had a taste of  any  Vietnamese and Cambodian food beside a bowl of Pho Hoa , so  it was time for me to  at least show her there was more than a bowl of  hot bowl of the famous Vietnamese Beef Stock  Soup . So  before we continued with our grocery  shopping , we stopped by  in NAM VANG RESTAURANT which is located inside the supermarket.  As soon  as  the waiter took us in our seats, i started scanning thru  the menu  and looked for that  famous dish  that  my bro  had brought home one time ( this was 4 years ago *_o ) . As the waiter took  my order my  mom was still  undecided what  to  get ( everything is in Vietnamese language with tiny  english  captions )

I ordered the Cold Vermicilli Vietnamese Salad ( called in Vietnamese  as Bun ) while the waiter brought as a very  hot Jasmine Tea. And mom ended up  ordering the same thing as I  have ^_^. She was curious with the cold noodles.

Bun ( Cold Vermicelli Salad)

Bun is served cold , the soft rice noodles sits on a bed of cool, crunchy bean sprouts, cucumbers, lettuce, and mint, and they're topped but with a little stash of garnishes and warm topping such as spring rolls, vietnamese meatballs, honey grilled beef , chicken or shrimps  . And yes don't forget that  there's a little bit of the shredded carrots and singkamas  with  grinded peanuts to  be put as toppings also  ( I am so hungry  while describing this)

Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce)

To add a lick  kick  of    flavor , it is eaten by mixing all these in  your  bowl and splashing it with the famous Nuoc cham sauce ( fish sauce or  patis in Tagalog , sugar, fresh lime juice, and shredded carrots with a little bit of chili paste )


Mom and I both enjoyed our lunch  and we didn't noticed it took us almost  and hour to dine out.The experience was satisfying, and will definitely eat here again if given a chance .

All I can say  was busog!

After dining out it was time for our grocery shopping . I  remembered mumbling to myself walk it out walk it ( power walk mode ^_^)

          NAM VANG RESTAURANT 

(215) 742-9488

              Category: Vietnamese  

571 Adams Ave

Philadelphia, PA 19120

Happy Mother's Day 2012

There are so  many  ways how  to say I LOVE YOU mom ,

 and ONE way  to do this ,  is to treat her in a good  Sunday lunch .
Since Mother's Day ended up  on a Sunday , me and my cosuins decided we would eat some yummilicious dimsum Chinese food.



Mom  loves seafood so here she is as we enter WOKANO  Restaurant

mom is having fun withe the Crabs 

        Mom  waiting  for our food :)

 Mom & cuz Maybelle 

The best way  to  enjoy a good  lunch is to start  with  HOT JASMINE TEA

 ( this is  one of the best  Jasmine tea I had , I mean brewed to  perfection )

He Fen (Rice Noodle Sheets) stuffed with shrimp

the ohh so crunchy  Jiao Yen You Yu (Fried Pepper Squid)

Roasted Peking duck

Shrimp balls

Fried noodles

After finishing our  lunch  we were headed to get some dessert @ and that  is the famous Bubble Tea 

this is what  we got  

WATERMELON : MOM

JACKFRUIT: TITA MINDA & CUZ KRIS

MOCHA:  MAYBELLE

TARO: ME 

While we got our drinks, I was amazed with this  cookie shaped like a flower 

and seems so  yummy  . I couldn't resist I had to  snap a pix of  it .

the food  was great and the dessert was fantabulous ... we will surely eat in this place again .

WOKANO RESTAURANT
 1100 Washington Ave, Philadelphia, PA

Salmon Steak

Since I'm the cook right now @ home , I prepared dinner that my mom & brother would like to munch on ... Grilled some Salmon steaks dashed with Herbs de Providence and Olive oil 
And to add   that  sauteed some green beans and brocolli crowns and a home made Manga Acchara :)

OH MY PUTO

Mom made some dinugaan so  what is the best partner of this Filipino  dish than   munch on some PUTO , so I decided to  make some from scratch . 



INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 6 eggs
• • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 2 1/4 kraft cheddar cheese, grated

THE BATTER

STEAM IT UP

CLOSED ENCOUNTER OF MY HOME MADE PUTO 

HOW TO  MAKE AND COOK PUTO 

1. Grease small cake, puto molds, or ramekins for use in a steamer. Mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder together in a bowl. In a separate, large bowl, scramble the eggs with the evaporated milk and water. Fold the dry mixture into the eggs until evenly blended. Fill the prepared molds 2/3 of the way up with the batter and top with shredded cheese.
2. Fill a wok or a sauce pan that will hold a steamer basket with a few inches of water. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Place the molds into a steamer basket and place over the boiling water and cover.
3. Steam until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the putos comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Another family  day  with mom and aunts satisfied with my  home made cooking =)