Filipino Cooking, The Garandee Way

Ok, looks like she's gotten more serious now.

Garandee decided to put more focus on Filipino dishes in her blog. So what's great about that?

1) She hopes to increase awareness of Filipino dishes for the Japanese community both local and abroad.
2) That tells me I'll have more variety of Filipino dishes to eat at home to satisfy my cravings.

And it looks like she's off to a good start because the first couple of dishes she whipped up and featured were her favorite ones.


Pinakbet
This dish contains an assortment of healthy vegetables: pumpkin, onions, string beans, tomatoes, eggplant and okra, all chopped, boiled then sautéed in traditional fermented shrimp paste.

The usual chopped pork belly that goes with it was a definite "NYO! Japanese are healthy!" But after much begging she agreed to top it with some crushed pork rinds. It turned out to be even better.

Shriveled veggies were also a definite "NYO! Japanese loves texture!" so she took extra care not to overcook 'em. The vegetables maintained a firm texture, giving it that nice feeling of freshness.



Kalabasa at Sitaw sa Gata
A rather "simpler" cousin to the Pinakbet, this dish only contains pumpkin (kalabasa) and string beans (sitaw). Both chopped then boiled before reaching the wok for some sauté action. Instead of shrimp paste, coconut milk (gata) was addded.

This time around she added meat when I wasn't expecting it! She secretly sautéed some minced chicken, onion, ginger and garlic before adding the vegetables in. The coconut milk concealed the meat perfectly. Sneaky!

I can say that both are still "Japanized" renditions of these traditional Filipino recipes, but the new ingredients worked like a charm to enhance the flavors and bring the dishes to new heights.

Now I can forgive her for putting condensed milk on our Adobo.


Garandee mode:
It's Garandeelicious!

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Manila Cashiers & Star Wars

Garandee: "Garando, why do the cashiers in Manila always ask me for more money even if I gave them more than enough cash??"

Garando: "You'd better give them what their asking for dear, or you'll regret it. They're actually doing you a favor."

Garandee: "I already gave them more than enough and they ask me for 3 Pesos more."

Garando: "I was asked for 1 Peso once, because the chocolates cost Php 51. Sucks for me because I didn't have a single coin in my pocket. When I told her I didn't have any, she put her P50 bill back in the register and gave me 8 pcs of 5 Peso coins and 9 Pcs of 1 peso coins.

Can you imagine how heavy that is?? Being stuck with those coins for the entire day was agonizing... what made it worse is that it was one of those days when I forgot to use a belt. I had to balance the coins on each pocket because if I put them all in one pocket my trousers would droop so low on one leg it looked like I had polio!"

Garandee: "I see... Japan is more simple."

Garando: "By the way, did you also notice that cashiers around here are big fans of Star Wars?"

Garandee: "Star Wars?"

Garando: "They do Yoda talk:
- P300, YOUR CHANGE.
- SIR, SM ADVANTAGE CARD YOU HAVE?"

Garandee: "Who's Yoda?"

Garando: "Never mind...."

Garando mode:
Just had a nice Shiatsu massage! Read More......

Communication Breakdown #1 - Kayumi Lotion!

Garandee is lucky communication is never a problem here in the Philippines. Almost everything is in ENGLISH! It's actually the main reason why we now bump into South Koreans in every corner. ANNYONG HASEYO!!

I wish I could say the same whenever I visit Japan though...

When I went to Kobe on business trip, Garandee asked me to buy an anti-itch lotion to bring back to Manila. So I went over to the pharmacy, and when I was about to ask the lady pharmacist... I totally forgot the brand name!

I remember Garandee wrote it down on a torn McDonald's receipt and put it in my wallet. But she put it between the bills and not in the more secure pockets at the front. It was destined to get lost!

*gulp* I am so in trouble...

Close to panic, I can only remember one Japanese word that was most relevant to what I was trying to purchase... kayumi = itch

Garando: "uhhhh... annnnoooo..... kayumi bye-bye kudasai?"

Pharmacist: "huh?"

Garando: (let me try again...) "ehem, kayumi bye-bye kudasai??"

That did it! The pharmacist walked to the back, looks like she was off to get the lotion.

But when she came back, she now had a colleague with her... to help decipher what the hell I was talking about. I watched them talk to each other:
Pharmacist 1: "bla bla bla bla bla bla bla kayumi bye-bye?"
Phramacist 2: "eeeehh???"

Still no luck, they called in the heavy artillery: a 70 year-old bald man in a white lab coat, who can be either a mad scientist or the store owner himself.

Store owner: "I'm sorry, what is problem please?"

Problem?? I had to think fast before they finally decide to call the police...

IT'S TIME FOR CHARADES!!
1) I pulled up my sleeves and scratched the hell out of my left arm and said "kayumi!!"
2) I acted like I was putting some kind of lotion on it....
3) I put the invisible lotion in my pocket, used my right hand to wave goodbye to my left arm and said, "bye-bye!!"

Pharmacist 1: " ... "
Pharmacist 2: " ... "
Store owner: " ... " (insert cricket sound here)

another 3 seconds pass...

All three of them went "Ah!!" and burst out laughing. The store owner ducked under the counter and pulled out one, glimmering bottle of anti-itch. "650 Yen please..."

Mission accomplished!



edit: Garandee told me that there's actually an itch lotion brand called "Kayumi Bye-bye". Cool.

Garando mode:
...going to office on a Monday

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Let's Go Garando!

5:15 am

Garando: "zzzzz...."

Garandee: "wake up, Garando...."

Garando: "5 more minutes pleazzz....zzzz..."

5:30 am

Garandee: "Garando, wake up already...."

Garando: "wake me up again when you're done changing....zzzzz"

5:50 am

Garandee: "GARANDO! GISING IKAW!!!! (wake up already!)"

Garando: "HAI!! I'm up, I'm up! see? heading to the bathroom now..."


It's 6:00 am and all is ready....

Garandee: "do you have our sandwiches?"

Garando: "HAI!"

Garandee: "do you have our drinks?"

Garando: "HAI! water, tea, and more tea!"

Garandee: "do you have my..."

Garando: "Yes, yes, i have all your cookbooks."

Garandee: "OK!! LET's GO BEBE!"

Garando: "...AGH!!!! Don't lock the door yet!"

Garandee: "?"

Garando: "I don't have our house keys..."

Garandee: "ai naku..."



Garando & Garandee: We're going somewhere for a couple of days... We'll see you when we get back!



Garandee mode:
Let's GO Garando!! Chop chop!!

Garando mode:
Why do we have to leave so early....



*photos courtesy of Garandee.

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The Tabo

I dread the days when I get some really tough questions from Garandee that I normally would not have to deal with if we were of the same nationality. Take for instance the first time she used the toilet in my apartment...

She came out of the toilet holding something in her hand and asked me, "what is this?"


Garando: "uh, that's called a tabo"

Garandee: "I see. What is it for?"

Garando: (sigh, i knew that was coming....) "it's uh... used for a special purpose."


Garandee: "Oh really? like what?"

Garando: "You don't have those in Japan do you? Well, that comes in handy whenever my ceiling leaks during the rainy season".

Garandee: "Oh i see...but you don't live on the top floor."

Garando: "uh, right. Well, I use that to water plants too."

Garandee: "but you don't have any..."

Garando: "Let's go, we're going to be late for the movie!"

I can't blame her for being overly curious about that mysterious plastic artifact we filipinos keep lying around our toilets because when I used her toilet in Tokyo I found this...




Neat...the higher models might even have a button for automatic tampon removal.


Garando mode:
I love weekends!!

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Christian Ito and Hideaki Bautista

Two weeks ago we breezed through another Jdrama, "Umizaru Evolution". We enjoyed the drama so much that we ended up watching the two Umizaru full length movies too. The nice story and suspense kept me hooked, while Garandee drooled over the main character played by Hideaki Ito...

Garandee: "Wow, he is sooo KAKKOII (handsome)!! And so macho with those abs, so opposite of Garando's stomach!! *hint* *hint*

Garando: "Big deal. Did you know that behind the macho image, he comes to Manila often to sing really cheesy 80's love song covers?"

Garandee: "Eeeeeeeehhh!! Maji de?? I don't believe you, that's not even possible!"

Garando: "Oh, you want proof? take a look..."



Garandee: "NYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! What happened my Hideake-kun!?!?"

Garandee Mode:
NYOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

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"Signature" Restaurants in Manila: Conti's

I have this thing about popular "signature" restaurants in Manila: Alba's, Antonio's, Abe, Som's, Razon's, Amicci's, Sango, etc. All do exceptionally well in setting high expectations for food bloggers/connoisseurs by serving outstanding grub! No matter how simple or fancy their menu is, you'll always find yourself leaving with a bloated stomach and satisfied burp.

Now there's Conti's... Garandee and I would always find one around the corner whenever we'd go shopping, and the place was always packed during lunch & dinner. Did it make it to our list of ICHIBAN "signature" restaurants? Here's what we ordered...



Garandee ordered:
Chicken Roulade with Saffron Mushroom Risotto - P145 + P25 (upgrade)


Despite the generous serving of gravy, it doesn't connect with the taste of burnt, blackened chicken skin. It seems the chicken was grilled enough to achieve just the right bitterness. And the risotto, oh the risotto. I never knew you can actually mold it! kewl, but you're better off with plain rice. trust me.

Garando ordered:
Pastel de Lengua (ox tongue) - P210


What's a coaster doing on top of my lengua? Oh! It's the baked crust! I moved that out of the way and I was delighted to see at least 3 chunks of lengua under all that potato and mushroom. Taste was ok, but nothing to write home about. IMO, P210 was way too much for 3 chunks of lengua, a coaster, and 2 tiny scoops of risotto (probably cost me P80 each). So mahal, but why so Conti?

Dissapointed: Maybe we ordered the wrong entrees because I heard some good things about the Baked Salmon and the Mango Bravo. I guess we'll probably visit Conti's again someday... I kinda feel guilty for stealing that coaster and was thinking of returning it.

Garando mode:
I have a bad cold... Read More......

Shini Gan

After living in the Philippines for over 5 years, Garandee has learned to love classic Filipino dishes. At the top of her list is Pork/Prawn sinigang.

Dee: "Garando, I made my first Shini-Gan!!"



Do: "...uh wow, that really looks and smells like Sinigang! But did you forget to put the meat in?"

Dee: "Nyo! That's healthy Shini-Gan!! I put more focus on vegetables! Japanese really love to eat healthy you know..."

Do: "Oh. (hmmm... can hardly wait 'till she learns how to make healthy bulalo)".

Sneaked in a few pieces of pork while she was watching NHK, and voila! Sinigang.




Garando mode:
Getting ready for work! Read More......

My Blog Title

Balut & Natto is probably the best way I can describe Garando & Garandee. We both come from completely different (and sometimes clashing) cultures!

This blog captures the interesting adventures coming from a "Filipino - Japanese" partnership (or a "Japanese - Filipino" partnership if Garandee had anything to say about it).


Garando mode:
Lo batt. 2AM still catching up on work... Read More......