Foot and Fire

Victory Fly with the Philippine Eagle in the Philippine Eagle Center, Davao City. 1. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PLACES APPEAL TO ME. I love culturally and historically rich places. I love temples, churches and prayer hills. I love the outdoors and walking. I love the streets and discovering nooks and crannies. I can skip malls and swimming pools as well as boutique spas for all of these ancient glories. 2. DON'T BE LATE. It is better to be early than to be sorry is a good travel policy, especially if it is about the airlines and sticking to the organized tour schedule. Waking up early also has an advantage for photographers and early morning walkers like me. At the Fruit Stand in Davao City 3. BE ORGANIZED BUT BE READY TO DETOUR. Not that I am a control freak but it pays to be organized. Upon arrival in the airport, secure some local currencies first before hailing a taxi. Or better yet, secure an airport pick up. But if anything goes differently as expected, pursue pla

For this beef soup, use beef with bones which carry the marrow. This is a no-sweat beef soup. The trick is to quickly boil the beef and remove the froths and sediments forming above the water. Put more water and bring to boil until the meat is tender (This is the waiting part especially if there is no pressure cooker in the house). While boiling, put the Chinese Five Spice (Please see earlier post ). I have Cinnamon sticks and star anise in the house, so aside from the powder, I put some of it as I love the woody and earthy aroma of these two spices.  If the meat is tender, adjust taste with pepper and salt. When done with the taste, put the trimmed native pechay  and let vegetable cook covered for one to two minutes . Serve piping hot.   

This packet is a gift from a good friend who now works in Beijing, China. It says "Ginger Poweder" but from what I can understand from the photo, it is more like what we came to know as Chinese Five Spice. I wonder why they did not name it so. I googled and found these suggestion on how to make your DIY spice combination. This is perfect for beef stews and beef soups and stocks. Here are the varied stuff I found and brace yourself as I will post the ingredients which were posted at the back of this luckily in English: It is not five only. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted and ground 1 teaspoon ground star anise 1 teaspoon szechuan peppercorns, toasted and ground *** 1 tsp. ground Szechwan pepper 1 tsp. ground star anise 1-1/4 tsp. ground fennel seeds 1/2 tsp. ground cloves 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper *** Anise, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Cloves, Ginger *** 2 tablespoons ground star anise 2 ta

As a support to the Filipino community in Germany, I am again running the topic on this photo that launched many opinions, most of them are resigned to the fact that poverty is a reality in our country. But no matter how few and wide is the voice that clamors for under representation (or misrepresentation), it is still a national concern that Manila is represented by poverty ALONE in an exhibit in a foreign land entitled Mega Cities. Singly, the photo actually has, admittedly, its strength as a message to the Philippine Government in getting its efforts together in eradicating poverty in the country. However, let it be remembered that this photo is exhibited together with other photos under the title MEGA CITIES, and the exhibit is not about poverty or about poor governance.  The exhibit is about culture and progress as shown in other photos included in the exhibit.  All photos are  here.   Any professional curator will reconsider balance in deciding what to include, and sadly

         If we are to adjudge what Manila is from the lone photo in a photo exhibit entitled, "Mega-Cities" mounted by Turmforum and the Stuttgart-Ulm Rail Project Society at the Stuttgart rail station in Germany, poverty is the only representative of Manila.        The lone photo above that represents Manila was taken by German photographer Stephan Schubert and is supposed to embody Manila as a "Metropolis" or one of the big "Cities of the World."             Most Filipinos in the Philippines won't mind clamoring about this photo being singled out as the best representative of Manila because it is more of a reality check. However, when one is in a foreign soil, one needs to clarify things. This is what Naomi Billard did in our behalf.          In an earlier related  story , Naomi's grounds in asking for the removal of the poster are: One, it is the invasion of the privacy of the person doing his thing at the edge of the concrete

      Pacific War Memorial was erected to honor of the Filipino and American servicemen who participated in the Pacific War. Financed with an appropriation by the United States Congress, it was completed in 1968. The major memorial structure is a rotunda in which a circular altar falls directly under the dome's open center through which light falls on the altar during daylight hours. The altar symbolizes a wreath of victory with the following words inscribed on its rim: "Sleep, my sons, your duty done, for Freedom's light has come; sleep in the silent depths of the sea, or in your bed of hallowed sod, until you hear at dawn the low, clear reveille of God." The memorial also houses a museum which serves as the repository of relics and memorabilia related to the history of Corregidor. (Taken from a comprehensive Corregidor website  called corregidorisland.com.) Please check my earlier post here. *** These are the war history in tablets at the War Me

      As the tour progressed from the dock (Please see prior post ), we were heading to the central area of the Island. After the guide pointed to us the sports area, the water reservoir, cinema, swimming pool, the battery, and so much more, we were led to a more-than-a-kilometer long barracks and we headed to the Spanish Lighthouse just before lunch.       After lunch, we headed to the Pacific War Memorial with the Museum  and the Eternal Flame of Freedom, an admirable red orange-painted large steel sculpture which symbolizes the Flame of Freedom burning eternally. Located at the back of the Pacific War Memorial dome, its raised platform provides visitors a breathtaking panoramic view of Manila Bay, the Bataan Peninsula, and the coastline of Cavite. Designed by Aristides Demetrios, the sculpture commemorates the sacrifices, hopes and aspirations, and the heroic struggle by the United States and the Philippines to preserve freedom for future generations. The sculpture stands a