Bicol is one of the country’s most popular tourist destination especially if you’re into surfing because they have the most popular Camsur Watersport Complex. The world most perfect cone shape Volcano can be found in Bicol as well – the Mayon Volcano. Gota, Matukad and Caramoan are three of the most famous beaches in Camarines Sur.

Bicolanos are known for their spicy delicacies including the most popular Bicol Express. Bicol express is a creamy stew of pork and coconut milk, it has plenty of long green chilies making the dish very spicy.

Aside from the Bicol Express, they are also known for their Laing. This traditional dish contains Gabi or taro cooked in Gata, with a dash of Pork  and shrimp to taste. So if you’re planning to visit Philippines, make sure to include Bicol in your Travel list.

I have a sensitive teeth and I’ve been complaining about this painful sensation every time i drink or eat something extremely cold and hot.
Just like last time when my mom bought us an ice cream. I just can’t eat it because my teeth is reacting so fast and it’s really painful. Actually even when i drink a cold water, sometimes, i have to take a straw to sip it just to avoid that painful teeth reaction.
The only way to keep myself away from that painful reaction is by using this special toothpaste made just for sensitive teeth. Right now, I’m using this Colgate Pro-Active which is quite expensive compare to the normal brands, (And i think Colgate should commend me for promoting them in this blog LOL)
Anyway, it is really effective though the result will not last for long and i have to brush my teeth again after it loses the effect. This kind of painful sensation started when i had this pasta (it’s more like teeth jacket) . I think I better consult dentist for a permanent solution for this.

Who loves Cucumber? Some of us eat them raw or included them in our vegetable salad. Some including it in their recipes while other use it as a natural beauty product. Cucumber actually had many benefits. It is a great natural diuretic food which is good for our kidney as it elevates the rate of urination. It is a very good source of potassium and it contains unique anti oxidants as well. It helps prevent Kidney, Urinary bladder, Liver and pancreatic diseases. Cucumber juice is also valuable for helping diseases of the teeth, gums, especially in cases of pyorrhea. It’s beneficial for diabetes too. I prefer to eat it raw and fresh but sometimes mom including it for her Misua and meatballs soup.
Misua and Meat balls with cucumber

Oh God, i’ really craving for Halo Halo today. I know it’s kinda inappropriate to crave for an icy treat like this knowing that the weather is quite cold and it’s been raining heavily these past few weeks but I just can’t help it, I want Halo Halo and I want it now hahaha. Well, the name literally means “Mix-mix” and is a traditional Filipino treat consisting of a blend of fruits, sweet preserves, evaporated milk, and shaved ice. If you buy Halo Halo from a fast food or a resto, they used to top this dessert with ice cream but if you’re going to buy it from somewhere in the neighborhood, they usually toppped it with Leche plan or Ube. The picture above is a Halo halo served at Chow king. So what are the common ingredients for this icy treat? They are Kaong (sweet palm fruit), shredded coconut (macapuno), sweetened jackfruit, mung beans, Corn, slices of Saba (plantains), Nata de Coco, and pinipig or dried rice. They used to include Sago and Gulaman (gelatin) too. Oh isn’t so tempting? Waaah where’s my halo halo?

Indian mango is quite a seasonal fruit here. The peak season is probably every summer. Yup! As in you can see a bunch of them falling off the trees and of course, you are free to grab them since there are Indian mango trees almost everywhere. Believe me, i can eat a dozen of these in one sitting especially if there’s our so called “Bagoong” (shrimp paste). Sometimes, i eat them with rock salt or dip them into fish sauce. I actually prefer the semi ripe ones because they are much sweeter.  Errr, Summer is already over and i can’t find any Indian mangoes on the market which means i have to wait for the next peak season waaah!

Pork Sinigang is one of the most popular dishes her ein our country. It’s a tamarind based soup and known for its sour taste. We Filipinos are more into sweet dishes (count the Adobo, Paksiw na Pata and the Filipino style Spaghetti) but Sinigang is one of the few exceptions along with Paksiw na isda and Balut. Oh well, Preparing Sinigang is not that hard. You just have to boil everything together. Boil the pork until it is tender, add the vegetables ( Kang kong, Straw beans, Eggplant, Okra, Radish and taro). Well, you can have the real tamarind if you want but you can always use those commercial souring seasoning as a substitute. Others make use of Camias or Guava to substitute tamarind.

Most of y blogger friends especially my Malaysian blogger friends used to know me as a Balut Lover. For them they find Balut as a very exotic Dish and something that they cannot take to eat haha (except for Foongpc who already tried Balut after he went here for a visit). Well, Balut is one of my favorite Filipino delicacies and every time i see Balut Vendor roaing around our place, i just can’t help but to buy 2 or 3 Balut. hahah And i can eat them all in one sitting haha. Philippine is not the only country who has this Balut but unlike other countries, we simply prefer salt, vinegar, chili or pepper to season our Balut. Actually, if you go somewhere in baclaran, you’ll see sidewalk vendors selling Balut done in Tukneneng  way. How bout you? Will you dare to eat Balut too?

I’m sure most of you are aware now about the massive fish kill recently happened in Batanggas right? Well, we ca do nothing about that as of this moment knowing that the massive killing is caused by the sudden climate change. Let the government do their jobs to clear this issues. But then we can’t deny the fact that there are some people who are taking advantage of this situation. They still sell this double dead fishes over the market. The worst, they are distributing this over the country. And so we have to be aware. As a shopper, you should know how to determine whether a fish is double dead or not.

You should doubt when the gills are paled in color. Remember that fresh fishes usually has red gills. Don’t buy if the eyes are reddish or blur in color. The scales of double dead fish are no longer shiny. You can also determine if the fish is double dead or not by pressing it. If the flesh is soft, then it might be double dead fish. ‘

Eating double-dead fish can cause diarrhea and food poisoning so we have to be aware. As much as possible try to avoid eating fish as soon as the issue about the fish kill resolved

Coffee Anyone? I really prefer coffee than tea and actually, i am so addicted to it and I just can’t start a day without drinking a cup of it every morning. The picture shown in left is the typical one that i used to drink everyday. Sometimes I want it really creamy but I don’t mind drinking brew coffee as well. Though i am very much picky when it comes to brew. As much as possible I want a freshly made one. I know there are so many commercially  produced ones today but i still love those freshly brewed from our home coffee grinders. Using these coffee grinders are the best way to obtain superior quality brew since they offer fresh grind and also the right taste and mixture. I hate my brew coffee when the taste becomes too bitter! Well, even though we have coffee grinder at home, all i know is to brew my coffee (the typical one) and other than that, i knew nothing! I don’t even know how to make a perfect espresso, well, unless i have one of those commercial coffee grinders that are widely used in almost all coffee shops. Does anyone know how much does it worth? Well, i better check it online too. Anyway, I wish you all have a great morning!

Summer is officially here and guess what? This is also a perfect time to hit the beach and also the shopping malls. Right now, i am craving for mangoes. Mangoes are so in demand every Summer season and you can see them almost every where especially at malls. Oh God, i am really craving for that juicy and fleshy mango that i saw from a magazine awhile ago. I better hit the mall tomorrow and buy some. It is actually perfect to add to my salad and also for a great-tasting mango chilled shake.

See how bulky and fleshy these mangoes are? Yummy!

Aside from these yellow mangoes, Indian Mango is also a big hit here in the Philippines! You can see all those Indian Mango fruit bearing trees alsmot everywhere and you can get them all for free unless the owner of the lot forbid you. You can find them all in the market and you can purchase them in a very low price.

Indian Mango with Bagoong Dip sauce

Well, African Mango is a different thing! It is kinda rare here in our country but you can see those African Mango extract pills in some reliable drug stores. Based on some african mango reviews, the pill is said to be an effective weight loss supplement. Though there are mixed reviews about the product whether it is really effective or not. But the good thing here is the fact that African Mango diet pills are made from natural ingredients, thus no harmful side effects.

Okay, now i’m drooling! I should give my friend a call now and ask him to buy be some mango before he drop by here.