mama's birthday at mann hann and wee nam kee

 My mom's birthday was going to be on a Sunday but mama wanted to spend it on a Saturday so we would have a longer time bonding since it would be my day off. But that meant we'd have to go to megamall in Pasig since Twinx and her hubby had to go to nearby Robinson's for a seminar after lunch. We'd also get to play with baby Alex while his parents were out. So I asked around and finally settled on Mann Hann, a chinese restaurant which also owned a Filipino restaurant beside it called Mannang. Megamall, though is not our usual hangout so we got a bit lost finding the parking area and finding the restaurant itself.

Papa's recipe for mechado

Ingredients:
1 kilo beef ( kalitiran or kemchi or boneless meat)
1 big onion(red)
1 head garlic crushed
3/4 kilo tomato
3/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon paminton
1/2 teaspoon pepper crushed

1. Slice onion and tomato. Remove seeds and mix in blender till they become liquid.
2. Slice beef into cubes 1/2 inch thick
3. Place beef and tomato mixture in pot
4. Pour enough water to cover meat and tomatoes
5. Pour soy sauce and paminton. Mix
6. Bring to a boil.
7. In a pan, saute garlic in oil till golden brown
8. While beef is boiling, stir in garlic and cook in low heat till beef is tender stirring occasionally.

mojacko at the movies: Cinemalaya 2011 part 1: Ang Babae sa Septic Tank

I'm lucky my job lets me see indie movies that I might have missed because it's too much of a hassle to go to UP or CCP.

finally, i won! i won!

After years of trying to win one, I finally won an ipad 2 with wifi and 3G!  Remember how I said that the ipad is the best and worst gadget of the year? Well, the ipad2 is the best especially when it's free! I love all the free apps and free downloads!

mojacko recommends: cake planet!

  Dessert comed first blogger Lori wrote about a new discovery here  so I just had to rush out of work and try it out myself. Not only was it so near where I live, its weird shop hours (1 pm to 1am) were just perfect for my schedule!

Omakase

For Ma and Pa's anniversary, we went back to Ayala Triangle to try out the japanese resto Omakase. While Mama simply enjoyed the sushi boat, I found what we ordered too delicately flavored, too subdued for my taste. I hesitate to call it bland for my Pinoy taste but I do think all the dishes left me unimpressed. Maybe we should have ordered other stuff. My mistake it that I didn't order the tempura or the western dishes like the rib eye steak. Well, Ma wants to go back there on her birthday so we'll be giving Omakase another chance!

mother's day at North Park and father's day at Conti's

 I got so busy with my Davao post I forgot to post a few photos of our Mother's day lunch at North Park, a chinese restaurant. The food is always very good but a bit expensive for everyday meals. We order from this place at work when it's somebody's birthday.

Ampalaya con carne (P177). Jon forced himself to eat the bitter melon fear factor style. I should have taken a picture of his face!

Wow Davao! Part 3: Where to go and some thoughts

This eagle is named Sir Arny. He is the only eagle not cooped up in a cage but one of his talons is tied to his perch so he doesn't fly away.

Since Davao City is so huge, it would be better to hire a taxi for a whole day to take you around the tourist spots of Davao. 

Wow Davao! Part 2: Where we ate

Davao City is huge! It is said to be one of the largest cities in the world in terms of land area at 2,443.61 square kilometers. And 4 days are not enough to truly get to know this vast city, especially if you spend 2 days at the Pearl Farm. That's why I did not write authoritatively  "Where to eat in Davao", rather where we ate, though we did not have a bad meal anywhere there except at the airport.

We arrived at around 7pm and after checking in at Ponce Suites, the nearest restaurant I wanted to go to was Ah Fat, behind the Victoria Plaza mall.  Writer and blogger Margaux Salcedo recommended it. As I wrote on my Facebook post, the place has zero ambiance but the food was delicious! Ma says it's like a Binondo Chinese restaurant. No frills, no pretensions.

Steamed crab in garlic(P350)

Wow Davao! Part 1: Pearl Farm

I am so proud to say that I have finally gone to all the major islands of my country, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao!
I chose Davao for our trip this year because I got jealous of my balikbayan uncle and cousin who lived most of their life in the US but got to Mindanao before me, a Filipino who was just an hour and 40 minutes (by plane) away from Davao. Luckily, I got half-off my plane tickets and also got discounted gift certificates at Davao's very chic Pearl Farm.