Misua: A Favorite Comfort Food

I wasn't feeling well the whole day today.  I don't know why but when I woke up this morning, my head was throbbing with pain.  I took some paracetamol and decided to go back to bed.  I woke up before noon and my headache was still there, and I already have a stuffy nose.

I asked our house help to cook some misua, a soup with pork, Chinese noodles and a vegetable called patola.  I don't know the exact English name for patola but its fruit slightly resembles a cucumber with ridges.  I think this is the same vegetable which, when fully matured,  is dried and turned into a cleaning sponge for bathing called loofa.

Anyway, misua along with rice porridge are two of my favorite comfort foods. I can still remember that when we were still small children, our mother would cook either misua or porridge whenever we have fever and have no appetite to eat.  Back then, mother would put dried shrimps called hibe instead of pork and patola to put a little flavor to the soup.  The belief then was not to give sick people oily food or they will throw up.

Later, I found out  that most of my friends and other people of my age were also given either misua or porridge when they were sick as children.  Perhaps this is why many of us, consider these two food as food for the infirm.

But I love  misua, especially when it is prepared with patola.  The vegetable adds a sweet flavor to the soup.  The secret of course is not to put too much water while cooking and let the juice of the fruit come out and mix with the broth.  I enjoy this soup especially on cold rainy nights and if there are still enough soup left, I still have it as breakfast the following day.

That is why when I was not feeling well today, I had several bowls of the soup throughout the day.  Every bowl made me feel better as the level of my headache and stuffy nose was relieved.  I think I will have another one before I go to sleep tonight.

Amici

My friend and I had a wonderful merienda at Amici in SM North EDSA Annex building. This Italian pizza and pasta eatery was used to be owned by the Salesian fathers at the Don Bosco Makati compound and it was then called Amici di Don Bosco (Friends of Don Bosco, in English).  

The ownership was transferred to a private firm in 2007 with the agreement that owners kept the things that worked well before. Food servings also remained generous.  The new Amici though looked more modern, spacious and bright.

This afternoon, we ordered the Pasta Pomodoro and Tutta Carne Pizza.We were first served the pizza, Amici's version of all meat pizza.  The thin crust was very crispy and the sauce just right.  The meat was just the right amount although those who are more acquainted with other "meat lover's" pizzas might get disappointed with the absence of the mini meat balls.  What I like about it was the generous amount of cheese that went into the pizza.

We were already half-way through our pizza when the pasta was served.  Once again, the serving was more than enough for the two of us and the sauce was really creamy and enough to cover all the pasta.  The sauce was not as tangy as those in other eateries and the basil was not overpowering either.  I think some additional Parmesan cheese would have made it better to my taste although my friend said that it was already okay since more cheese could make the dish a little salty.

The price for the  soda was  a little steep though.  Considering that the place is self-served, one 1.5 liter bottle of Coke Zero cost 80 pesos.  The only consolation we got was that we were allowed to use as much ice as we wanted.  Water was also served by the pitcher.


Overall, though, as I said at the start, we had a pleasant experience eating at Amici.  Perhaps next time we will try the Four Seasons or the Quattro Formaggi Pizza.  As the Italians say, "Buon appetito"!

My Alkansya

Hidden deep in my closet is my alkansya (piggy bank).  I can't call it a piggy bank because it does not look like a pig at all.  It looks more like a teddy bear although its Japanese manufacturer labeled it as a little dog.  It is made of blue transparent plastic so I could see my money filling the body of the little dog.   

Everyday, I set aside 5 and 10 peso coins I receive as change so I could put them in my alkansya.  Sometimes I put in as much as 100 pesos in one day.  But there are days when I could only manage to put in 15 pesos.  When I couldn't get any coins for change, I ask my officemates to trade in their coins  for my 20 or 50 peso bills so I could put them in my piggy bank later.

Although it is only around ten inches tall and maybe a circumference of around four inches  in its widest part, my alkansya can keep a decent amount of money.  In fact, when I opened it in December the total savings amounted to some three thousand pesos (roughly  US$64 at that time).  Not bad for a two-month savings effort.  It was enough to buy myself a nice Christmas gift.

I already started saving coins again in my little dog alkansya when the new year started.  It is now almost half full.  Not to worry because when my friends learned that I was saving 5 and 10 peso coins, some of them gave me  alkansya for a Christmas present last year.  Now I have more piggy banks to put my coins in.

It is disheartening to know however that our country has one of the lowest savings rate in the Southeast Asian region. A study showed that the average household saving rate was at 16.36% of annual gross domestic product.    In contrast, Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan all have savings rates over 30%.  In fact our savings rate puts us in the same category as Bangladesh and Myanmar. 

Savings are also important to shore up the economy.  Perhaps we should teach and encourage future generations to save money.  Although some kids do save money they don't usually keep it in banks but use it to buy things they want.

I don't know what grade I was in then but when I was still in elementary school, our teacher gave our class  a project to make piggy banks out of cardboard boxes. Maybe it was also to teach us a lesson on saving our extra money.  My classmates and I tried to out do each other with the design of our piggy bank.  I don't remember what design I made.  After our recess break every school morning, we put 25 centavos in our piggy banks and then got excited when it began to get heavy.  

One Monday morning however, we found out that thieves got inside our classroom during the weekend and found our piggy banks.  Our savings were all gone and all that remained of our piggy banks were torn pieces of cardboards and paper that were scattered on the floor.    I remember we were all upset but not as upset as our teacher who cried because she felt sorry for all of us.  I can't recall if we made another piggy bank to replace what was lost after that incident.

Maybe that's the reason why I keep my alkansya deep inside my closet.  I am just making sure that no one gets to my coins before I do.

Giant Squids and A Man Who Acts Like One

 I read a really strange news article when I went online this morning.  The report said that giant squids suddenly surfaced in waters off the coast of California.   In fact, the picture that accompanied the article was a scene straight out of Animal Planet.

According to a report by the AP, the squid also known as the Humboldt, weigh between 20 and 40 pounds, but some fishermen have caught  60-pound giants.  The report further stated that this animal can grow to as much as 100 pounds and up to 6 feet long.

The first thing that came into my mind were calamares.  Imagine how much of this stuff can be made out of these giants.  It would make a lot of beer drinkers very happy.

I just wonder if these creatures also squirt ink when agitated or cornered.  I know one giant squid who did just that when he tried to defend himself this afternoon.

The man was accused of unethical conduct for approving a road project that will benefit his businesses.  For days, he refused to answer the accusations hurled against him and just let his lackeys do the job for him.

When he finally spoke this afternoon, he denied everything  and instead called the hearing a political harassment because he was running for president of the country.  Well, he’s second in the running and if surveys are to be believed (they could sometimes be commissioned), he’s gaining ground against the front runner.

All through out his speech, he had his head bowed down, not looking straight at his accusers. After squirting ink, by saying that he is being pulled down by the Filipino’s crab mentality,  the man left his accusers and refused to answer questions.

Between him and the giant squid though, I’d pick the latter anytime.  At least I can make crispy fried squid out of them.

Coming Soon: 3D TV

While High Definition TV (HDTV) has not even taken root in the Philippines, guess what those people behind TV technology are thinking of. Yes, a 3D TV!

In fact just this morning (Sunday afternoon and evening in other places) two events were beamed in 3D.  One was a football match between Manchester United and Arsenal in the United Kingdom (which was won by ManUtd by the way 3-1).  The other was the tribute to Michael Jackson segment of the 52nd Grammy Awards show which featured a 3D music video of MJ's "Earth Song".

The football match in UK was broadcast in specially equipped pubs but reports indicate that a 3D channel will soon be launched in the UK.  According to online reports, those lucky enough to watch the broadcast thought that the technology has a future in sports broadcasting, however it will take a little getting used to.  Some of the audience also noted that pubs should be more lenient with their customers who may leave their stores still wearing their 3D glasses.

Meanwhile, I wasn't able to get the full 3D experience of the Michael Jackson tribute because what was broadcast here was more of the performance of the artists who joined the singing of the Earth Song.  Reportedly, Target department store distributed 3D glasses weeks before the broadcast.  In fact some members of the audience were shown in  red and blue carton glasses used in the early days of 3D movies.

Speaking of movies, I must say that the 3D technology in movies are far ahead than that of TV. The movie AVATAR for example was an awesome experience.  I am afraid that I am getting addicted to those 3D movies because just last week I watched "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and now I am planning to watch Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D.

Back to our original topic, 3D TV, I don't have the technical knowledge about how this technology works but  it looks promising.  I personally think that  we might be needing bigger TVs to fully appreciate the technology.  Aside from that, we should all get used to watching TV wearing what look like dark sunglasses even at night.