Author: ajay

A fiesta of designs and colors! This is my short description of the San Isidro Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon which I was finally able to attend with a tour group this year. Unlike last year when the event was spoiled by rains, this year’s fiesta was blessed with eternal sunshine and was crowded with visitors, more than ever.

It was simply amazing to see the creativity of the town of Lucban on this occasion, and if only for this, they deserve to be flocked by people from all over who see in the Pahiyas a showcase of the ultimate Filipino fiesta. With the Pahiyas, town natives give thanks for a bountiful harvest and pay homage to their patron saint San Isidro de Labrador. This explains the presence of design elements like vegetables, fruits and grains being stringed together to create delightful artworks!

A recurring theme is the use of the “kiping,” often shaped like a leaf. The flattened “kiping” is made from ground rice flour and then dyed into assorted attractive colors like fuschia, red and yellow. Look at the lanterns, petals and leaves in the photo below…that’s kiping.

The “peek-a-boo” window theme is also a favorite of the Lucban fiesta makers. Visitors always have fun having their pictures taken by the makeshift windows…..

Elbow-to-elbow crowd during the festival. It’s good how much Pahiyas has boosted the town’s tourism. Tourists like us got the chance to sample Lucban’s numerous offerings like the pancit habhab, their beautiful woven hats and other attractions.

More pics in my Flickr photoset

With the word “recession” dominating the news, it seems criminal spending $40 on a hotel buffet or $20 on a lunch out with friends. I still have those days when I’d happily swipe the husband’s debit card, but I’d rather be Little Miss Self-Control.:P

Something happened in the past few months, and it’s the fact that I’ve joined the legions who bring their lunch boxes to work. I found out that this is the greatest money-saver ever, plus you’re spared the trouble of lining up in the crowded cafeteria. It’s an added bonus if you have a microwave oven in the office pantry to have piping-hot “baon” but in case you don’t, those insulated lunch boxes will do the trick.

Just a note: making bento with all those cute characters is painstaking and simply won’t work with me most days, as I always wake up late and only have time to shower. Here are some pics of my baon when it was me who prepared, and not our dear househelp (who also cooks well) :

Spaghetti, ham pinwheel sandwiches, Babybel cheese and crackers. A snack you’d love to keep, and great for kids!

A Filipino packed lunch of steamed rice, bistek, fried lobster balls and grapes. The colorful divider box is priced so cheap in SM (below P50) while the spoon and fork were from Japan Home Center.

This is what I’d call my easy-peasy baon consisting of cherry tomatoes, sliced red salted egg and mini-Hungarian sausages bought from S & R.

Via the Wholesome Lunchbox monthly food blogging event of Coffee and Vanilla.

Hubby and I went to Island Cove Hotel & Leisure Park because we were suddenly too tired to drive as far as Tagaytay. Coming from our place in the south, this resort near Bacoor, Cavite was only an hour away. First impressions: the place was really huge! It was also a good deal that we got a two-bedroom cottage for P4,500, although it seemed strange that it didn’t go with free buffet breakfast. Anyway, more on that later. Here are some pictures of the place I unearthed from my archives.

The giant chessboard in Island Cove is a bit of a landmark. The kids would also be delighted with their Oceania water park and the zoo called Animal island. That is, if they’re the types who prefer to commune with nature, and not electronic games

It was a good enough location, so much so that we chose it as the site of our prenuptial photo shoot last January. Here’s one taken by their wharf….. (photo courtesy of our wedding photographer, RedSheep)

It seemed obvious during our visit that the Cove is a popular place for seminars, weddings and other special functions. One thing that this place really failed in was the FOOD. It seemed to be the consensus of my friends from Manila who’s been there too. The average cost of our family meal while we stayed there was $60, P2,500 or so and there was nothing outstanding about it. This place needs to overhaul their F & B asap, or at least make the items in the menu palatable, if they are to remain expensive. It was nothing to crow about, and it is for this reason that we will probably take a long time to go back here again.

And this ends my (belated) review

Island Cove Hotel & Leisure Park
Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite
Tel. no. (632) 810 7878

So the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter went home to a triumphant welcome as he toured key cities in Metro Manila yesterday. As officials scrambled for their own chance to share in the Pacquaio limelight, at least one piece of news caught my eye: youth party list Representative Raymond Palatino proclaimed Manny Pacquaio as the “Pambansang Hinlalaki.” A bit awkward sounding and the direct translation is “National Thumb.” Anyway, this was all meant to underscore Pacquiao’s role in encouraging people to vote in the 2010 elections (i.e. use their thumbs to register), a move that should complement Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan’s RV caravan.

Totally unrelated:, here’s one Pacquaio feel-good joke I got from my inbox today, courtesy of my friend Issa from Switzerland. Apologies to my British/Britain-based readers

What is the relation between Pacquaio and yoga? Indian yoga is an exacting discipline and takes one to three years to achieve.

While Indian yogis go into the ’stream of consciousness,” Mexicans lose consciousness by drinking too much tequila. Unknowingly, they imitate the classic yoga pose:

British yoga is the easiest of all.

It only takes six minutes to achieve.

Tawa naman dyan! Mag beer muna tayo!

A trip to Mt. Pinatubo wouldn’t be complete without sampling a ride in locally-assembled 4 X 4 jeeps, also known as four wheelers. In fact, they’re your vehicular gateway to Pinatubo. Riding these sturdy vehicles of metal and steel makes the whole trip half-fun and half adventurous. Seven of us were able to squeeze in one jeep (including the driver) and our guide was seated by the hood, for lack of space.

Anyway, I couldn’t help but be amused when I asked the driver about the make and assembly of the jeep. The body was like a surplus Willys jeep, while the engine and chassis are either Toyota or Mitsubishi. I really don’t know what kind of quality control our local mechanics imposed on the jeeps, but their performance sure looked impressive as we climbed the famed “Skyway” (shortcut to Pinatubo) with its rough roads, steep climbs, rocky surface, and lahar-laden territories.

If, as a tourist, you’re amazed at the colorful Philippine jeepneys, the Pinatubo four-wheelers are another incarnation. As they say, iba ang Pilipino….. Only in the Philippines!