When In Hong Kong...

Spent the Holy Week with my family in Hong Kong. It's been years since I'd been there and on the day we arrived, I was such a tourist taking pictures of everything while I utter a few "Aww I remember this" and "OoOooh I miss this place."
I definitely enjoyed that train and bus ride from the airport to the hotel.

Aside from the fact that it's only an hour and a half away, I love Hong Kong not because of the shopping but because I enjoy getting lost in the city. It's always fun getting up in the morning, putting on your jacket and scarf (we were lucky 'coz on the week we arrived, the weather got cooler), having congee and dimsum for brunch, and starting the day without any plans at all.

Even if my feet would start to hurt, I really wouldn't mind walking the streets of Hong Kong the whole day-- and night!


On our first night, we opted for the good ol’ congee and rice roll across our hotel.


Rose Petal Gelato. I’ve always liked flower scented desserts. (Try the Sampaguita Ice Cream at Ilustrado—if they still have it- and Max Brenner’s Lavender and Orchid dark chocolate pralines.)


Everything’s just an MTR ride away. It’s much more fun standing up!


New discovery! Japanese chocolate Royce’…currently tops my list.

Hello, cholesterol!

Please mind the platform gap! Waiting for our ride.


Bought this from Wellcome on one of our midnight walks. It’s unfair how milk always tastes better abroad.

You can’t go to Hong Kong and not try their staples!

Milk tea: the bitterer, the better!

Favorite part about Hong Kong: randomly walking around the city late at night.

Two things, though.

A good, sturdy pair of walking shoes.

And an empty stomach.

That's all you really need. :)

Pucker Up!

No one likes to have chapped lips.

I'm not a lipstick/gloss girl (hate the sticky stuff) but I occasionally use lip balm when my lips become too dry. I have tried quite a few: cream, gloss, stick, balm, from the more affordable ones you can get from drugstores to dermatologically-tested lip products from high-end department stores. And from experience, I would say that MAC is the only one that really works.

MAC Lip Conditioner SPF 15

I've heard raves about Kiehl's but when I put it on, the balm didn't last longer than I expected it to. Probably because the viscosity's too light.
Philosophy's felt a little oily for me.
Lip Smackers, though they smell yum, didn't do the job, either.
The Body Shop's (the one in the lipstick tube, not in pot) was good, too, but only lasted a few hours.
Clarin's gloss was a little thick and heavy.
Clinique's All About Lips (cream form) made my lips sooo smooth but was too expensive.


My sis-in-law Chiz gave me a pot of MAC Lip Conditioner as a gift (they also come in different hues if you want a hint of color) and from all the ones I've tried, it's the only one that lasts for HOURS. I usually apply it at night-- right before sleeping- and would wake up with the product still on, and my lips would be soft the whole day for sure.
Its pot is bigger than the usual lip balms so it'll last quite a while-- truly worth it. And it smells (and tastes) great, too, kinda like vanilla frosting. :)






sMAC your lips!

Har har. Somebody had to say it.

Fresh Pasta, D'OH!

So it's my first time making Ravioli (last Friday) and Lasagna (Saturday) using fresh pasta and I have to say, I didn't exactly pass with flying colors. I got mixed reviews, but overall, I did okay...I think.

The Good:

(1) Bitin! (Not enough!)

(2) Sarap ng filling sa ravioli! (The ravioli filling is yum.)
(3) Okay yung sauce! Masarap siya. (The sauce tastes good. Yummy.)

The Bad:

(1) Regarding my Ravioli: Mas malaki pa sa spam 'to ah! (These are even bigger than spam!)

(2) Ang kapal naman nito, tagal nguyain! (These are real thick, and they take quite a while to chew.)
(3) Regarding my Lasagna: Para akong kumakain ng tinapay. Parang sandwich na may palaman na ground meat. (It's as if I'm eating bread /sandwich with ground meat filling.) (Delicious! :D )

I actually think it's not that hard to make your own pasta especially if you own a pasta machine. But for the cheapskates (I prefer the term frugal) like me who's hesitant to shell out thousands of pesos, as long as you have a good rolling pin, you'll be fine. (Just make sure you've eaten carbs that morning!)

BASIC RAVIOLI DOUGH (can also be used for LASAGNA)
***Recipe from ISCAHM (International School For Culinary Arts And Hotel Management)

Yield: 8-10 servings (For Ravioli) / 2 Pyrex Loaf Dish Bakeware (For Lasagna)

Ingredients:
360 g (≈ 2 ¾ cups + 1 tablespoon) White wheat flour (All Purpose Flour can be used)
3 Eggs
30 ml (≈ 2 tablespoons) Sunflower oil
60 ml (≈ 4 tablespoons) Cold water

(1) Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the eggs, sunflower oil, and cold water.
(2) Knead the mixture thoroughly until dough turns smooth and elastic.

<3

(3) Let the dough rest for 1 hour in room temperature.
***Make sure it is covered. For the ravioli, prepare the filling then let cool for a while.
(4) Divide the dough into 2 equal parts.
(5) Roll the dough with rolling pin or pasta machine.
***For Lasagna, go straight to (10).

(***Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures. For the O.C.'s reading this, let me assure you that the thermos was cleaned thoroughly and I made sure the bottom didn't touch any part of the dough. :) )

Mental note to self: Buy rolling pin.

(6) Place filling in equal amounts on the first dough sheet. Filling should be separated from each other.
(7) Between filling, brush dough with egg yolk mixed with a small amount of water.
(8) Place second dough sheet on top.
(9) With a towel, press down between fillings to seal.
(10) Cut (between fillings) into desired shapes with a pastry wheel or a sharp knife.

(11) Add salt and oil to ample amount of water and bring to a boil.
(12) Drop in ravioli into boiling water and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
***You can boil them longer if you don’t like your pasta al dente.


*Notes:
· The purpose of kneading the dough is to develop the gluten in the flour which makes it elastic.
· Pasta and ravioli dough are not salted because salt would make the dough brittle.
· When preparing dough with a mixer (but where’s the fun in that?), all ingredients are combined and with a dough hook, mix at low speed for at least 5 minutes or until thoroughly kneaded. This dough can be used right away.

The recipe suggested Spinach and Feta Cheese filling and for the Ravioli sauce, Tomato Concasse. I was thinking of changing it to Spinach and Mushroom but discovered that afternoon that we just ran out of Spinach. Mushroom alone is still tasty so I made the filling with not just one, but two of them! I chopped button and shitake mushrooms along with onions, sauteed them in a little bit of butter and added a can of Cream of Mushroom.

It would have been great with Tomato Concasse but after rolling the dough for what felt like forever (a good exercise for the arms), I was too tired to make anything from scratch. So I opened a packet of Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce in Parmesan Cheese flavor (and added a few tablespoons of cream) instead. Tasted good; although the sauce could have done without the cream to build contrast.

The first Bad comment says it all! Haha.

With Mushroom in Cream Sauce as filling.

And for the Lasagna, as expected, it called for the basic Bolognaise Sauce. I wanted to make 2 sauces-- Tomato and Creamy White (alternately over each layer)- but I had been in the kitchen from 2-7pm baking (Bread and Butter Pudding-- recipe to be posted soon) and handrolling pasta and the thought of having to stay there for another hour didn't exactly excite me. So I chose the easy route: I sauteed some chopped garlic, onions, ground meat, and sliced mushrooms, poured in the Hunt's Spaghetti Sauce (same flavor), and added just a small amount of cream. I would've put fresh basil leaves if I had some. They always make tomato sauces extra tasty.

"Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it."

- Madeleine L'Engle

You know the feeling when you're about to do something and the lack of preparation sort of thrills you? And you still go through with it even though you have no clue how exactly you'd do (or get away with) it?

It was like that when I tried to make my own pasta. I started making the dough knowing I didn't have a rolling pin, didn't have the complete ingredients for the filling, and had still not figured out what sauce I would make for the Ravioli (and Lasagna).

Messy messy! My first handrolled pasta turned out too thick so I had to slice them off.

But I believe it's the challenge that keeps us interested and motivated. Although part of the unknown scares us, the idea of figuring things out halfway through the process is the one that makes the whole thing fun and exciting.

So don't be afraid to experiment and try things for the first time. Have fun, make mistakes, learn from them.

And enjoy a good upperbody workout while you're at it! :)

Updated April 28:

I just finished making Lasagna for my brother's birthday party.

And the difference with this pasta?

- I didn't make my own dough.

- I added fresh basil.

- I layered Bechamel Sauce on top of the Bolognaise.

- Sprinkled generous amounts of Parmesan Cheese over the Bechamel and on the final layer.

- It definitely looks more presentable! Haha.

Hope 2nd time's a charm!

Sooo Cute! (And The Bear Ain't Too Shabby Either)

Knut!

Awww. *pinch*pinch*



And just when you thought it couldn't get any cuter...

Knut + Stephen Colbert



***You can watch the second video here if it doesn't load. :)

My Very Own Snoopy

Well, actually, from what we've been told, Doggie (how very aptly named, eh?) is half Poodle and half Japanese Spitz. (We're 90% sure about that..)
But he's no mutt. He's WAY too cute to be called that! :P


I had a dream about him (maybe it was because of all those videos of pet birds and dogs I was watching on YouTube late last night) and in the dream, he just had a haircut and was no longer sporting his usual naturally messy (just like mine!)-- and tangled (yeah...just like mine.)- wavy hair...uhh...fur. (I personally prefer him with longer fur-- Super cutie!)








We got him in 1998 while I was in 2nd Year HS. I remember getting a call from my sister/ brother telling me that they had just bought this cute little beigish puppy from a small pet store in Virramall. And funny thing was, it was NOT planned at all.
They were just there on a Friday night doing an errand when they passed by the pet shop and became smitten with these 2 pups caged near the window. (They had them at "Arf!")
They were arguing which one was cuter-- one was white, the other beige. They finally decided and chose the beige puppy and the rest, as they say, is history.

***Well let me explain as to why he got named Doggie. When he was younger, we were still undecided on what to name him so during the brainstorming process, we called him that temporarily. Well who knew what a smart cookie he was and picked up on it real quick. So really, it wasn't his fault. Nor ours. Well, maybe ours. (This explanation also applies to our Siberian Husky named Husky.)

Doggie was with us for almost 6 years and he was my absolute favorite. Still is.
He's definitely quite a character and we always find it amusing how he has these different kinds of facial expressions (see pics): from indifferent to excited, sad to happy, and even interested to confused. ("Eh?")
He's scared of the candle, loves to chase our pet chicken (who eventually flew over our walls in search of greener pastures), and has a fang bigger than the other (he lost his old one from intensely gnawing on a bone).
He loves, as all dogs do, getting a belly rub and whenever he's hyper, he runs amok around the house and it's always funny to see him stop, catch his breath, and then start to run again.

I especially love it when I'm sitting somewhere giving him a head-and-temple massage and if I stop, he would position his head under my hand as if saying, "Heyyy...!"

I remember one time, I was in our den when I suddenly had an allergy attack and started sneezing nonstop. I think I was on my 15th sneeze when I felt like someone was watching me. Then I noticed something in my peripheral vision and saw that it was Doggie (who came all the way from the kitchen-- I must've been a little loud) standing near the door, giving me this "What's-that-sound-Was-that-you-Are-you-okay-I'm-kinda-confused" look.

Sorta like the one below. (Except his head was tilted a little to his left).
Aww. Cute. :)
Although Doggie's always friendly to us, he definitely enjoys scaring relatives and friends. As soon as he sees an unfamiliar face, he would start barking at them-- get this- while hiding under the cabinet. Someone's not much of a toughie after all.

But he was getting grumpier for a while and had already bitten two of our maids (innocent 'til proven guilty!) so my mom decided it was best that he be given away. And who better to take care of Doggie than our cook who's been bathing and feeding him since he was a pup. (At least I know he's in good hands.)

I was so sad the day he left us especially when he looked real happy and excited because he thought he was going for a short walk outside. I can still vividly picture in my head Doggie walking away. Somehow that day, the house, and everything else, was somber.

Doggie is now in Bohol, (I always knew he loved to travel, walking around the village whenever he got the chance to slip past the driver and the houseboys-- although he never got more than a few yards away from the gate) and apparently, he's always in vacation mode! His temperament has changed and from what I hear, would gladly tag along with any stranger, leash-free!
Definitely a far cry from what we (and our occasional visitors) were used to.

Well, our cook tells us that he's Mr. Popular in their town and loves to play with everyone, and anyone who's willing. And whenever they go to the beach, Doggie would always run excitedly to the water and swim on the shallow area by himself.

Awww...I miss my Doggie.
I'm just glad to know that at least in Bohol, he now has a bigger playground, an even bigger bathtub (although salty), and more than enough poultry to satisfy his inner bully. ;)