Pawty Bakes by Pawty Pack

 

Happy Birthday Sister!

It was Sister Erika's birthday and an impromptu celebration was held at the office cafeteria.  Nadia decided to put her baking skills to the test and whipped up a lovely pink chiffon cake.  Absolutely a perfect ending to the Japanese menu!

Happy Birthday Sister!

Casa Kalinaw

The annual summer family outing started out in the early seventies when we were still kids.  It was either the beach or the mountain, and by early February, we'd already be arguing about where to go.  This year we decided early on to make a booking for a house in San Juan, Batangas; after all, the extended family has slowly morphed into what can be named "a clan."  Having a big group of 20 people just needs advance planning.

We were lucky to find Casa Kalinaw online.  It's got enough room for all of us.  The interiors are spacious and the vibe is certainly relaxing.  Parking was secure and the place was easy to find.  While the house was a big hit, the beachfront area was disappointing though.  I found several plastic bags and soda cans littered about, and it made me stop to wonder why some other visitors don't bother to clean up.  No wonder there were a few packs of stray dogs loitering around the area, scrounging for food scraps.  Other than that, it was a good 2 night stay, and the the bonding time needed to recharge with the kids was well worth the effort of the 3 hour drive!

Good Shepherd Convent (QC)

Flying Mozart

The Moon Cake Dice Game

Dani's Cookies

Pre-War Mabini

Firestone

* image from Wikipedia

Wherever wheels are rolling,

No matter what the load,

The name that is known is Firestone

Where the rubber hits the road.

The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, together with Goodyear and BF Goodrich, dominated the global tire industry in the sixties and the seventies.  They were the Big Three. Vicky's dad was the country sales director of Firestone at that time, and it did seem that the hold of the Big Three would never be broken.  I can remember driving from Baguio to Manila along the Capas area in Tarlac, and the huge Firestone signage would be prominently visible.  The radio and TV jingle of Firestone was heard everywhere, and the tire brand was sold in every city. Today, however, Firestone has been bought up by Bridgstone, the Japanese tire company, and the market local market is flooded with tires from all around the world.

Halelani

Road trip: off to Halelani!  We took the new Forester of Anita & Tony for a spin in Batangas, and found ourselves at the doorsteps of the of cousin Alexis in Mabini (dubbed Halelani, or Sky Home).  The five hour trip (one-way) was a leisurely drive, and we were met at the front gate by her wonderful hubby Jefferson, who had cold beer in the fridge, just the thing to melt our fatigue away.  Thai chicken and laing for lunch, apple pie for dessert... Yum Yum! So so relaxing, this place, I could sleep at the front porch all afternoon...

Rich Man Poor Man

We spent a good part of our childhood weekends in Sampaloc, gathering around my grandmother's RCA television set to watch shows with the whole clan.  Gwammy was particularly enamored with Rich Man Poor Man, one of the first TV miniseries that was culled from the book by Irwin Shaw.  The drama was pretty much a shortened soap opera, following the lives of two brothers, well played by now veteran actors Peter Strauss and Nick Nolte (this was was in the mid-seventies, and at that time, they were just starting their careers).  We didn't dare miss an episode, and instead of merely watching at home, Gwammy made it a point to make an appointment with the whole clan to follow the series en masse. The plot was discussed, analyzed, argued over, rehashed, and predictions about the ending were made.  Talk about wild and crazy fans!

Audrey Hepburn

"How shall I sum up my life?  I think I've been particularly lucky." she says.  The bigger truth is that we are the lucky ones, having had the pleasure of watching her performances in Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and My Fair Lady, among others.

* photo from the movie Roman Holiday, via Wikipedia

Audrey Hepburn is almost universally regarded as the most naturally beautiful woman of all time, and I have been madly in love with this Hollywood screen icon since I can remember.

* photo from Wikipedia

Right after our ramen dinner at Roku, Korina showed me her sketch of Audrey Hepburn (top picture), and memories of my childhood longing just came back.  In torrents.  I think the sketch is so wonderfully done, specially considering that Korina has no training whatsoever in art, and that this is one of her first attempts in creating her portfolio.  Korina will do wonders in art, I can see.  She not only draws well, but also chooses the most wonderful of subjects! Look at the eyes of Audrey Hepburn--absolutely enchanting!  I am in love all over again!

* with her then husband, Mel Ferrer, on the set of War and Peace, 1954, via Wikipedia

"Pa-Banjing-Banjing"

I was reading an article about the top new words of the year, which include "selfie" and "twerking."  See how a language evolves so fast--new words are added everyday!  This made me remember something; if you hear the phrase "pa-banjing-banjing" in the Filipino vernacular, it just means that someone is taking his or her sweet time in accomplishing a task.  The expression is very common, and used in everyday language. The word does not come from anywhere, it was invented by my Tito Jay, an older brother of Gwammy, who was a radio announcer in the fifties.  As he used the words on-air, the expression caught on, and now has become part of the Filipino language.

Pearl Harbor Day

* photograph from Wikipedia

Pearl Harbor Day (December 7) came and went without much ado, with just a small mention in the local papers.  It so happened that during family dinner last week, we talked about "the Date of Infamy," and Gwammy went on to relive her memories of World War II.

She distinctly remembered that once the news of the Japanese attack spread like wildfire, the American military ordered that all the warehouses at the Manila Port Area be burnt, as the "scorched earth" policy.  President Quezon had declared Manila an open city, so that wanton and needless destruction could be avoided.  Civilians were allowed to cart away food, medicine and whatever supplies were stocked at the pier before the burning started. Gwammy's family was living in Mabini St. in the Ermita area during peacetime, and my uncles Jesse and Jay were able to retrieve a large bottle of sulfanilamide tablets.  These tablets became increasingly precious as the war raged on, and several offers were made to my grandfather for the purchase thereof (with Micky Mouse money, of course).  In the days leading to the Battle for the Liberation of Manila, every time an offer was made to purchase the bottle, my lolo would increase his price, and the bottle was never sold!  Aw shucks, the story has been a standard family joke, and every time greed sets in, we'd always say--remember the bottle of sulfanilamide!

Gwammy was a little child of 10 in 1941, but she can still remember the parade of the Japanese captain riding horseback, as the Japanese army marched into Mabini St.  The family was very afraid when the procession of military cars suddenly stopped in front of their house!  It so happened that right beside them was the garage of Yellow Taxi, and the garage was turned into a military depot, due of the presence of the gasoline pumps.

During the months before liberation, Gwammy's sisters and brothers would then lie atop the roof of their house, watching the dogfights of the zeros and the American planes.  One day, a bomb fell right into their house, knocking off my lola's kamagong pedestal.  They were so lucky that the bomb was a dud!  It did not explode, and no one was hurt.  The Japanese at the next door garrison, were still afraid though, (any future explosion could ignite the stored gasoline), and immediately a bomb squad entered the house to dismantle the bomb, even though it was a dud.

Truly, music soothes the savage beast.  Throughout the war years, my grandmother, who was a concert pianist, would play her piano by candlelight (my mom recalls Moonlight Sonata and Dance of the Demons, and plenty of pieces by Franz Lizst), and those who lived along Mabini St. in Ermita could have sworn that the Japanese soldiers next door were lenient to the neighborhood because my grandmother would play the piano at night time.

Gwammy and Kong Kong have so many wartime stories, and I'll be mentioning some of them as I get some time to do so.

UST

* photo courtesy of Wikipedia

It's rainy season again, and we just heard of several flooding related anecdotes from the boys studying in the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, which is the Catholic University of the Philippines. My two nephews are currently enrolled there--Mikhail is taking up Architecture, while Miguelito would like to be a teacher, and is working on his Education degree. Located along Espana St. in the Sampaloc area, it is the oldest university in Asia (established in 1611), and probably has one of the most awe-inspiring building facades among the local universities (see picture above).  Many years ago, both Gwammy (Liberal Arts) and my late Uncle Benigno (Medicine) studied there.  Quality education with a solid Catholic background.  My recollection of UST?  I had to conduct an experiment for a Psychology class sometime in 1980, and my classmate Tina and I spent a couple of days around the UST campus asking random students for assistance in breaking up a P20 bill into loose change.  We found out that women help either men and women 50% of the time, and men helped men 50% of the time, but men helped women 90% of the time.  Hehe, the joys of being a student--carefree chitchat with random strangers was already part of studying!  And as Miguelito says, the joy of being a student in UST includes having classes called off when a heavy downpour occurs!

Enderun

We were very happy to learn that Deannie just got accepted at Enderun Colleges, a hospitality and culinary school located at Fort Bonifacio.  This move will set her on the course to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a world-renowned pastry chef.  Naturally, fondant cakes (like the one pictured below) will be the staple of her kitchen!  I first heard of this school because my cousin works at the HR department there, and we've all been told of how good the food is at their in-house restaurant.  Congratulations, Deannie and more power for our home-grown restaurateur!

Habitat

Gwammy's kitchen is finally operational, and I must congratulate Michaela and Anita for their painstaking work of love in the three-month long renovation project.   Both have been  so efficient in clearing out the construction debris at the main house, and the items they have uncovered bring back so much memories of our youth.  For instance, they found a paper bag from Habitat, the furniture store of Uncle Alex, and Gwammy went on to point out that our current dining chairs were supplied by the said store. That brought back memories; Uncle Alex was the cousin of Gwammy, and he grew up in pre-war Shanghai.  After WW2, he was a radio announcer for DZRH for a while.  He went on to become the head honcho for P&G's South American operations and came back to the Philippines after retirement to set up Habitat.  He taught us how to play trumps, he was a particularly strict game-master!  He got me started on colognes; I distinctly remember he gave me my first bottle of Aramis in the late seventies--I was so happy and proud to have that bottle.  He was a brilliant marketing man, and you can see above that Habitat was a "Lifestyle Center" rather than  just a store selling furniture.  He had a mind of his own, and was very vocal about the way things should be run.  I even remember him appearing on Channel 4 during the glory hours of the EDSA revolution, welcoming the change of administration on national TV.  He passed away several years back, due to lung problems (I guess this runs in the family).

Tito Jesse

Last March 7, I remembered that it was the birthday of Tito Jesse, Gwammy's eldest brother who passed away from a stroke in the early eighties.  The picture above was taken in the late fifties, and a lot of my relatives say that I look a lot like him.  He was around 5"10" in height and was a holder of a black belt in judo, having competed in the Asian Games after the war.  During our childhood, I remember him to be the ice cream man--when it was time to distribute ice cream, he would gladly scoop for us, and we'd fall in line to get our cones from him.  Whenever we'd have out of town beach excursions (those wonderful summers in Hundred Islands) in the early seventies, he'd take charge of the whole clan.  He taught me self-defense judo, basic kendo and even some no-nonsense street fighting moves.  During the war, he was a messenger for the guerilla forces, and he was also part of the Ateneo teen-age contingent that helped out at the Philippine General Hospital.  My mom recalls that Tito Jesse was lining up for water at a pozo along Padre Faura when a bomb exploded and flying shrapnel felled the three gentlemen in front of the line.  Since the family was so desperate for drinking water, Tito Jesse had to push the bodies aside in order to get some water.  Since everyone was frantic and looking for cover, he was only able to get half a pail of fresh water that time, but it was enough to keep the family alive.  In the early eighties, he was a ranking officer at the Civil Aeronautics Authority, and his job kept him busy giving technical assistance to airports abroad (Lagos, Nigeria).  Just before his passing, he headed the management team at the Lahug airport in Cebu. I miss him a lot.

Gloriamaris: Louise's Graduation

Louise is finally out of high school, and come June, she begins her college life working her way around the kitchens of culinary school!  We took some time to celebrate her graduation in Gloriamaris Greenhills, and we spent the night tasting the delicious preparations.  The wide assortment of cold cuts came in a large tray, and even had some sushi!  The hot prawn curls were served with wasabi mayo, and we all agreed that this was a good example of Chinese-Japanese fusion techniques.  This kids couldn't resist clamoring for dimsum treats, and the steamed siomai balls were just perfect for them.

Peking Duck was served two ways.  The first style was artfully presented--the skin was carved off by the skillful food attendants, and this would be wrapped in flour wrappings, topped with a slice of green onion and some hoisin sauce.  You can see how the duck ends up served the second way--chopped and re-fried as crispy bite-size bits.

Other highlights of the meal?  Crab stuffed with mushroom rice, Lapu-lapu, and a hot pot full of mushrooms, sea cucumber, abalone and veggies.

While Louise was accepted at the HRA course of UP, it turns out that her inclination for baking and the culinary arts is very strong, and that the course offered at Enderun is better suited for her.  We wish her all the best in her college life, and hope that new this will be the start of a good career in the food industry!

More yum yum treats ahead, next time courtesy of Louise's kitchens!

Chinese New Year!

This report on our Chinese New Year dinner is probably much delayed because I've been gaining weight and I haven't had the guts to complain.  Upon the urging of Erica, we combined the occasion to celebrate Gwammy's birthday too.  The food was simply delicious!  Erica ordered most of the food from Tanabe, a famous Japanese restaurant located at the Remedios Circle in Malate, Manila (I understand that they also have a branch at the SM Mall of Asia).

We started off with cold soba noodles

Sashimi platter was very fresh and appetizing!

Sushi came with lots of variety--unagi, salmon, crab roe and ebi

If I remember correctly, this is grilled pork

This lengua dish was ordered by Anita--who says everything has to be Japanese?

Gindara!  We love black cod

Vietnamese spring rolls, crunchy appetizers

Asparagus stalks wrapped in bacon--yum yum!

Ebi Tempura--kids just love this, and it was gone in 15 minutes

My favorite--Wagyu teppanyaki!

Birthday Noodles!  This came in from the old reliable Savory

For dessert, the birthday girl made the ever-present ginataan

What were we doing celebrating Chinese New Year with Japanese food?  I guess that defines the family menu--doesn't have to be coordinated, as long as we long for the stuff!  In addition, Gwammy loves Japanese food--she turns 82 this year, and as she is strong and healthy, we all wish her many many more years to come!