Kreuter's Travel Blog: December 2013

Catch-up Post: Final Views of Manila

We flew out of Manila in the daytime, which let us appreciate the size of this amazing city.

The Makati area of Manila, looking across the Pasig river from the 17th Floor of Cybergate 2.

Taal crater. The "lake in a crater in a lake in a crater". Not Manila, here just since it's in the panorama family.

The bridge we cross each morning, over the Pasig river.

One of the many skylines of Manila, just after taking off.

Manila harbor, in the distance on the left.

You normally can't see this from Cybergate 2. The framework is for a giant vinyl billboard that was taken down for fear of Typhoon winds.

Northern-most point of Luzon, just before the open ocean to Japan. The island to the upper right is Palaui Island.

Catch-up Post: Food Mug Shots

I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. Perhaps they will give you ideas of you can order the next time you are in Filipino Restaurant.

The now-legendary Crispy Pata (a.k.a, pig knuckles)

I don't remember what this is. But the table shared it.

Squid. Unlike the calamari you get at the bar, it's easy to visualize your appetizer living at the bottom of the sea.

Let's have some crab.

Scallops, cooked and served in their original housing.

What you see is, etc.

Caption as you see fit. I'm not going to.
Note my look of concern regarding the forthcoming lunch.

OK, so when I said I'd let the pictures speak for themselves -- not this one, The photo below is of "chicken and rice" at a friendly place called "Mr. Choi's", which was my lunch order. It is significantly, and perilously, more than a simple lunch order. That black thing you see on the left side of the bowl is called a "Century Egg", and it is indeed an egg (itlog, in Tagalog). If you look closely, you can tell that Once Upon A Time it was an EGG egg. THIS egg however has been soaked in bring and allowed to -- wait for it -- rot. Hence the color, and probably why it's "good for a hundred years" -- there's no other harm that can befall it. But it's good, I am told, and good for you.