Yesterday as I am getting ready to go to church, two women passed by carrying large round tub on their heads. When they noticed me, they called out for my mother thinking it was me. It turns out they were my mother’s acquaintance and when they came down from the mountain they always to go to our house to sell their root crops. To cut the story short, we bought a pile of newly harvested cassava for ₱20.00, it was very affordable isn’t it?

My father and sister cooked the cassava in coconut milk, we have plenty of coconuts from the hill that my uncle owned, my father gather some so we can use them for cooking.  My uncle lives in Manila with his family and his land was taken care by my father while they are not using it, unfortunately some people and  relative herd their cattle in the banana he planted  so there are times the bananas end up leafless. We also seldom gather coconuts because we don’t owned them and we are not the only one who knew how to harvest and the coconuts doesn’t always have fruits.

Anyway, it was been a long time since I have cassava cooked in coconut milk, it was like back the old days when our grandma cooked some and give us a serving.

I was feeling hungry last night and there is nothing else to eat at home so I ask for my mother and sister to go to town and order pancit from Aruba, before doing it we first went to the old market to get something and then headed to new market to buy fish for our viand and for our cats. Then we went to Aruba which is just around the new market, we ordered and left, instead of waiting we decided to get gas at the gas station, when we returned we waited a bit and it was ready. The moment we arrived I immediately eat because I am really starving and exhausted from thinking too much.

The pancit we ordered cost Php80.00 or $1.77, it is only one serving but it was also good for 2-3 people if necessary. The pancit last night was good despite the noodles are over cooked compared to the pancit we ordered last time which is flavorless and blunt.

Now a days, it is wiser to have a  catered wedding reception than cook at home for the guests. A week ago was my older cousin’s wedding and after the wedding ceremony the reception follows at Hiland Beach Resort. It was my first time to visit the place but I have heard already that the resort is quite small to accommodate a lot of people and it was indeed very small for hundreds of guests but quite big enough for more than 50 people; the reception hall wasn’t well ventilated  there were only few stand fan around that the guest can’t eat properly and enjoys the cold food in the table,that’s right the food in the table were already cold because I guess they were served in the table before the guests arrives since the serving of sweet and sour meat balls was already being feasted by black ants who are known to infest sugar jar in most homeowner’s table, we have to return that particular food to the food server.

The groom family was the one responsible for the reception venue since the bride was the one responsible for other wedding details, church and etc. Anyway, Hiland Beach Resort reception hall was too  narrow to move around freely, the tables and chairs were too near into each other that it was even hard to get out if you seated in the middle of the long table. I think their yard and car park was more spacious than the reception hall.

The more I look at it the hall looks like a bigger breakfast hall for a hotel. Anyway, there was plenty of food left in the table I think because it was too uncomfortable to eat, it was quite hot and it is hard to move around with their table arrangement shown above and below.

What is also disturbing is the column in the middle of the reception hall that if you are seated farther back you can’t see what’s happening at the front where the groom and bride and their respective parents were seating. There’s not much space for the newly wed to make the first toast and traditional cake cutting.

Hiland Beach Resort has a longer hall but not spacious enough, it is a good wedding reception venue if you only have a small guests but if you are planning to invite 200 guests think twice about it. The lightning wasn’t that great too where the newly wed couple was seated, it is quite dim I wasn’t sure if it was because of wedding theme or simply because there was no enough light coming from the outside. The food was nice and tasted good the only down side they were not warm when we have them.

Wedding reception wasn’t the only one being catered at Hiland Beach Resort, they also accept bookings for birthday, school acquaintance, reunion parties and other special event you would like to be celebrated with your friends and families, their beach shore is ideal for beach wedding as well. You can reserve a booking at –

HILAND BEACH RESORT
Brgy. Budiong, Odiongan, Romblon
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005710756471
Mobile No. –  09395477009 or 09219908806.

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. Above written post was my own personal opinion and experience and might be different from yours.

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I am procrastinated to blog these past few days I have nothing really much to say or I really don’t know what to write. Anyway, Valentines Day just passed by, how’s your date or did you have a date? My husband and I didn’t go out for dinner, we just had a simple dinner at home after going to the gym. He cooked chili con carne from the ingredients left in our kitchen, instead of using crushed tomatoes he used corn and food turns well out of his expectation.

I also got down to the ground floor to buy cheese sticks, but knowing me, I will always get extra something on my shopping bag aside from the food or item I was told to buy, but of course I have to expend my own money, spending his money is a big no no. Well, unlike the past years we didn’t buy a cake this year as we are too full to have a cake and we didn’t agree what cake to buy, if you will ask me I am always into chocolate cake but my hubby says it is already tiring eating chocolate flavor, we should get something fresh.

Well, that’s how we celebrated our Valentines date this year simple and sweet.

We had Korean street food last night, it was been a long time since we had them, way back in downtown we have street food every week but since we moved here we always have BHC chicken.  Anyway I went to the nearby canteen where street foods are sold, there are already plenty of customers most of them are students buying their snacks before heading home.  I waited for my turn to give my order, with the help of a tong I am able to add the food I like when the owner can’t figure out how many I wanted.

Cheese sticks are my husband’s favorite, we usually buy bags of cheese sticks in supermarket and we cooked it ourselves but when I discover that cheese sticks were also sold in the street and they taste better than the cheese sticks in the supermarket we stopped buying bags of cheese sticks and if we are craving for it we just head to the nearby canteen. I also bought 2 sticks of fried tteokboki.

Aside from cheese sticks I also bought fried sweet potato, stuffed peppers and dumplings (mandu) as it was already getting late only few are left in the tray so I took them all, my husband told me not to get over board but dunno if I did.

Last night my husband asked me to get him a pepperoni pizza but when I went to Pizza school they are already closing so I went to 59 Pizza which is about 5-10 minutes away but the latter was already closed. It seems both pizza place closed early because of the Lunar New Year which is celebrated in Korea.

Going home I passed by the new shops around the street and I have seen that GS25 sells New York Hot Dog, so I went inside to give it a try and to look for pizza as well. I took picture of the banner so I can show it to the sales clerk but it still took long time before she could understand that I want to order each kind.  I have waited for my order but I was surprised to received the hot dogs without a wrapper just  a piece of cartoon to hold them. The hot dogs comes with free can of Pepsi and when it was handed to me I let the sales clerk to put it on my cross bag as my hands are holding the hot dogs.

When I reached home I can’t open the door so I called for my husband and he was disappointed that I was not able to buy pepperoni pizza and he didn’t like the hot dog as well. So I went to GS25 where we usually buy snacks to look for pizza, and gladly I was able to find pizza for him.

When living abroad one of the things we missed is food aside from our love ones. In Korea there are few Asian stores that sell Asian food items you can mostly find them in a place where there’s an Asian community.  Anyway, while working with my documents to be notarized I have decided to pay a visit at the KC Filipino store just beside the Han Bi Sa notarization office. It is not my first time in the store, my friend and I already ate there when I did my passport renewal.  I think this was my 4th time at the Filipino store, the third time was when I bought polvoron the other day, but this time I want to eat local Filipino viand.

I was happy to see that there’s cooked vegetables left “pakbit” so I have ordered for takeout and it cost ₩5, 000 for a small serving, it  doesn’t even meet the ₱10. 00 cooked vegetables in the Philippines but it doesn’t matter because this is Korea so the price is different.  I’ve ordered one serving of “papaitan” too which I forgot to ask how much. Seeing buko salad for sale I have asked and ordered 2 servings, ₩5, 000 each per serving. It was been a long time since I had this dessert and I just want to treat myself for a job well done in document notarization and one step closer to travel to Europe.

[Pinakbit and 1 serving of buko salad]

Well, looking at the Filipino local items in the store the impulsive shopper me just ask and buy items that I think to be useful.  I have bought a PH Care Feminine wash for ₩12, 000 a little expensive than the ₩8, 000 PH Care Feminine Wash in an Asian store in Itaewon station exit 3, if I am not mistaken about the exit. I have bought my last bottle from there with the help of a friend and I am little lazy to drop there or in the Asian store in our place. I saw Victoria’s secret cologne as well, but when I asked it is kind expensive for me I can buy them in less amount online or in Hyehwa.

Anyway, I was asked what is my job just to start a  conversation like if I am a factory worker, I laughingly replied I am PAL (read palamunin), I am not allowed to work because I am in dependent visa.

[Papaitan before and after removing the soup]

When I saw Ponds facial foam I have bought it too for ₩10, 000 although I knew I can buy them in gmarket for 1+1 in the same price, I am just in a happy mood because I can finally apply for Schengen visa.  When I pay at the counter the total cost of my order is ₩48, 000 so it seems one serving of “papaitan” cost ₩11, 000.  Exiting the door, I saw monggo beans and I bought one for ₩5, 000 I have thought of cooking monggo beans at home.

That’s my shopping haul a little bit pricey,  probably if I bought Korean food, there’s more food in my bag, but Filipino food is a food I can’t eat every day in Korea so I have no choice but to spend and Hyehwa informal Filipino market is only around on Sunday and Wednesday is far over to Sunday. So when my husband asked me how much do I spend on my shopping loot, I didn’t tell an amount I just said cheap, I might get scolded or be called crazy for spending too much despite it is my own money and not his.

Well, I have read once from online community of Filipinas in Facebook that it is a bit expensive to buy in KC Philippine store , I guess because of its location and it is a restaurant with a store unlike in Hyehwa informal market (see Hyehwa shopping here) where viand only cost ₩5, 000 per serving is a market and only open during Sunday. Not sure how much does it cost to dine in Kusina Filipino Restaurant in Seoul, I should try it next time.

One of our favorite restaurant to dine in is VIPS Steakhouse but since we moved outside of Seoul we are out of chance to go to any VIPS outlet because it was not around our place. The other day my husband asked me to treat him some nice instant meal from the convenience store and I was ecstatic when I saw fried rice by VIPS, there’s only two boxes left so I took the two of them on the counter, I am thinking my husband will like it.

As I also bought an instant meal and other food items in the convenience store we are not able to eat shrimp fried rice, I ate mine after two days when I came home hungry from Seoul. I just heat the rice in the oven for 1 minute and it didn’t turn out well, when my husband ate his fried rice he told me that I should heat it for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. I didn’t see the instruction on the front of the box that’s why my rice taste like misty and raw.

Spaghetti is everyone’s favorite, a dish that has many variants. In the Philippines, spaghetti is sweet and meaty with cheese toppings. So when I first ate spaghetti from Italianni’s I can’t even finish one serving, since then I vowed not to eat on Italianni’s again but when I arrived in Korea there spaghetti is not also the spaghetti my tongue used to know.

So when my husband and I decided to cook spaghetti at home, it doesn’t attract me at all. Spaghetti is my favorite but eating sour  salty taste spaghetti killed my appetite. My husband educates me that’s how spaghetti taste like, savory with tomato sauce and the sweet spaghetti I am talking is  a crap.  As day goes by I have been used to eat spaghetti with a sour salty taste as I named it, I can even eat two servings with black olives in it, so I think I am ready to eat in Italianni’s restaurant again.

Well, when we craved for spaghetti and cooking is impossible we run to 59 Pizza or Pizza school to order spaghetti. The photo above is cheese oven spaghetti from Pizza School, it cost ₩4, 000 while the white cream oven spaghetti cost ₩4, 500.  It is chewy, a little bit salty and meaty goodness.