sure i always eat more when i'm in Baguio, but this is ridiculous...

since we were cooking our meals at the condo, we would often just buy rice to go with the vegetarian sausages and chicken nuggets we brought up.

the first time we bought rice was from Ebai's - the restaurant attached to Narda's handicrafts. this place was on the way home so it was the logical place to stop. i ask, "ilan cups sa isang order ng kanin?" answer: "isa." fine, 2 orders then.

we get home, open the container and stared. what cups exactly were we talking about? each order was about a cup and a half. we had to keep one order in the ref for the next meal.

but the next time took the cake. this time we headed to Brod Pit - again on the way home. i asked the usual question: how many cups in one order. usual answer: one.

we get home, open the container and this time just burst out laughing. i don't think they used big cups to measure. nah. they used bowls. or maybe that was one cup of uncooked rice. whatever it was, it was just silly. yummy, but silly. 

when the bee stings, when i'm feeling sad. i simply remember my favorite things, and then i don't feel so bad... 

i treated myself to 2 bags of this for my birthday  

"The 3 MUSKETEERS® Bar is made of chocolate-flavored nougat covered with milk chocolate. The nougat center is first formed into very large slabs, which are cut to size, and after the centers are formed they are coated with thick, rich milk chocolate, through a process called "enrobing." The actual enrobing process begins when the centers pass through a continuous curtain of liquid chocolate, which coats the top and sides of the bar. At the same time, a rotating chocolate covered wheel beneath the mesh belt coats the base of the bar. To ensure an attractive, glossy, smooth coating, the chocolate must be just the right temperature. The fully enrobed bar is then cooled and prepared for wrapping. The complete bars are inspected and packed in various ways."

"i can't believe we went all the way to makati for a scoop of ice cream."

but that's where cold rock is, and that's where we will go.

go where there are around 20 flavors of ice cream that can be combined with a dozen mix-ins including fruit (like banana, strawberry, boysenberry - the taste of which which i still have to figure out), chocolate bars (such as tim tams, snickers, butterfinger - alas no musketeers), candy (like gummi bears, choc nut)... ahhh.

the way it works is that you choose anywhere from 2-4 scoops of ice cream (composed of at most 2 flavors). these are then placed on a frozen granite slab and patted down. your mix-in of choice is then placed on the ice cream and the whole this is smashed together with spatulas. your newly-flavored ice cream is then re-scooped into a cup. 

the first time we went, it took a full 10 minutes to figure out a combination. the next times we already had the recipes pre-planned. one combination of mine that i liked was 2 scoops of ice cream - peanut butter and vanilla - with choco mallows mixed-in. *smacks lips*

joanna's recent creation was really good: 2 scoops of ice cream - strawberry and white chocolate with bananas and oreos as mixers.

it didn't look all that hot but it tasted out of this world, a fact that inspired a contect for our next trip. come up with the grossest looking combination that has to be really yummy. so it's time to pull out all the culinary stops. i'm thinking some greenish ice cream (hopefully mint or pistachio) or yellowish ice cream (butterscotch?) mixed in with fudge brownie.

i love indian food. but for a civilization that's been around thousands of years and has such exquisite cuisine, you'd think they'd get their dessert right, but noooo...

had lunch in bollywood and tried the vegetarian thali - a traditional south indian set meal. what i got was a salad, a samosa, a potato and cauliflower dish cooked in tomato sauce, a chick pea dish cooked with lots of chili, papad bread and dip, basmati rice and... dessert.

as soon as my tray got to me, i poked this round pinkish ball. i tried piercing it with my fork and felt an odd texture - close to rubberized sponge. but i put it aside and finished the rest of my food. soon enough it was time for the pink ball.

i sliced it open and found that it indeed had a spongy bready look inside. i cut of a tiny piece and ate it. it was awful.

what i had was gulam jamun, indian milk fritters. the dough was made of milk powder, flour, baking soda - balled up and deep fried. the cooked dough ball was then soaked in a syrup infused with cardamom and rose water. cardamom is a ginger-like spice commonly found in india and is supposed to have a citrusy, eucalyptus flavor. tasted like cough syrup to me. or was that the rose water? 

the taste was such that i had to dare joanna to eat it in exchange for a shirt. this she did albeit followed by many swigs of calamansi juice.

so there.

indian food is truly lovely, and bollywood a lovely restaurant. just stay far far away from the gulam jamun. 

learning a bit of italian for 3 reasons. one, have a trip lined up this october (hooray! can't wait!); two, have to pass a goshdarned language exam for the degree; three, have some comic books in italian that have been sitting unread for 3 years now.

as for that trip (did i mention i can't wait?) i figure i should learn some phrases even before learning the ropes of the language. at the top of my list of essential lines to learn are:

1. Where is the bathroom?

2. Where am I?

3. Help, we're lost!

4. I'm from the Philippines, you seriously think you can mug me? And get what?

5. Please don't kill me.