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...

Paul Williams

I've been busy preparing the house for some lengthy repair work, and in the process of moving around the furniture, I came across an old cassette of Paul Williams, who penned some of the memorable songs of the seventies: We've Only Just Begun, Rainy Days and Mondays, An Old Fashioned Love Song, You and Me Against the World, Evergreen, Rainbow Connection and The Love Boat.  Some of his songs evoke deep emotions, and were staples of our high school memories--

LET ME BE THE ONE

Some sleepless night, 

If you should find yourself alone,

Let me be the one you run to,

Let me be the one you come to 

When you need someone to turn to, 

Let me be the one.

To set things right 

When this old world's turned upside down,

Let me be the one you run to,

Let me be the one you come to 

When you need someone to turn to, 

Let me be the one.

For love and understanding, 

To find a quiet place;

For silent understanding, 

A loving touch.

Come to me when things go wrong 

And there's no love to light the way.

Let me be the one you run to,

Let me be the one you come to 

When you need someone to turn to, 

Let me be the one.

Sisa's Secret

On our way to Batangas, we took a pit stop at the South Super Highway (now called SLEX), for brekky at Sisa's Secret, which is part of the culinary group of Chef Florabel.  I find it interesting that most of their restaurant names come from the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo novels of Rizal, and I struggled mentally to figure out who Sisa was.  Of course I still don't remember, hahaha....

The place is actually a glorified karinderya, with several types of pre-cooked meals available at the counter.  Service was pretty slow, however, and I just had to attribute the staff sluggishness to the fact that we walked in at 6am.  

Maxene and Diana joined me in having a quick meal, we had longganiza and adobo; nothing fancy, but prepare something like P300 per person for a quick meal.  Marina, however, had a fun-filled time picking pasalubong goodies at the side counters.  She gets thrilled doing the grocery list.

Diane

Darling Chicharon

Darling Chicharon is also known in Cagayan de Oro, and we tried their version too.  Also very good!  I can't make up my mind which is better!

SLERS Chicharon

Vicky had a quick trip to Cagayan de Oro and she brought home a pack of chicharon from SLERS, a specialty product of the city.  Crunchy, rather large pieces, seasoned slightly spicy.  Delicious.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Our trucker's meeting started late.  We had a little difficulty looking for Buffalo Wild Wings at the ground floor of the Estancia Mall, so we started the meeting at almost 7pm.  

Chicken wings, salad, wraps, sandwiches and pizza!  Mostly snack food over beer and soda; prepare around P700 per head in order to have some variety.  Remember to wash your hands before digging in.  Just in case there's an interesting game to watch on the wide-screen TV, better get your seat early, as the place fills up fast.