Road Trip to Pampanga's Best (food!!)

With the global warming coming true to form, there's no longer a wet season here in the Philippines. It should be pouring by now but the weather is hot and sunny and good to take a road trip up North and experience the best of Pampanga, the gastronomical delights of the province.
We headed off to “Abe’s Farm” in Pampanga. It is located at the foot of Mt. Arayat, a 3,000-ft inactive volcano. Some friends dared to climb the mountain under the sweltering heat and left Manila at 5am. Its a good way to work up an apetite though and dip in the hot springs. While moi, decided to drive with Clang late in the afternoon to make it in time for dinner.
The farm is a private resthouse of Larry Cruz, famously known as “LJC” of the LJC restaurant chain. According to Evita (Quiambao), this is the first time he opened his farm to ‘non-friends’. He named the farm after his bon vivant and gastronome father Emilio Aguilar "Abe" Cruz (1915-1991).
The dinner was set up in the lower garden, surrounded by three ifugao houses. The blue and green colors reminded me of Provence. Must be from the father's influence since he was also the first pinoy francophile, being the UNSESCO ambassador based in Paris back in the 1970s.
I was expecting something more exotic and exciting dishes like betute (frog), kamaru (mole crickets) or burong talangka (crablets). We were served instead the usual fare – for starters, sisig (Pampanga after all is where Sisig was born!), crispy shrimps and fermented shrimp buro wrapped in mustard leaves.; then fiddlehead fern pako salad, crispy pata, a yummy chicken dish (everybody’s favorite), seafood kare kare and a stewed vegetabled dish; for desert, we had maja blanca, suman in sweet condensed milk and fresh fruits. The cost is P1750 per person for the meal (plus tip). Drinks were water and buko juice. Glen brought the red and white wine.
Another must-EAT reco in Pampanga is Claude Tayag’s Bale Dutung in Angeles City. I’ve been there twice and I assure you its worth the trip. Claude is truly a renaissance man - he is an artist/scupltor, writer and with his resto, he has proven that he can also cook! The place is actually his private home, gallery and studio located inside a subdivision. His wife Mary Ann manages the place and is in charge of setting up lunches and retailing “Claude 9” products –bottled products such as buro, taba ng talangka (crab fat), hot sauce, etc..
Lunch costs P1800 per head and is served buffet style (minimum of 12 persons). The dining area is filled with Claude’s sculptural furniture. His menu is more nouvelle cuisine. For appetizers, a platter of Kapampangan sushi, taba ng talangka (crab fat), fried catfish with fermented rice and shrimps, pindang balaw-balaw (carabeef meet);. The main course is quite a spread : sari-saring pruts (seasonal fruits in a light Thai dressing), sorbets sa dayap and champagne (sherbet), pako salad, lumpiang ubod, seafood kare-kare, 4-way lechon (i.e. crispy skin, fried lechon with soft tortilla, inihaw, sinigang; chiken wrapped in banana leaf and inasal pugo quail egg with mushrooms; and for desert his signature dish called ‘paradiso’ (macapuno, ube and kamote balls with cream of carabao’s milk). Free flowing water, soft drinks, buko juice, beer and wine.
Both places need prior reservations. Book in advance! Contact Merle (LJC) at 0917 899-7731 and Mary Ann (Claude) at (045) 888-5163. Happy road trip!!

Phenomena of Pheromones

“You’ve been feasted on!” exclaimed Dra Roberto Romero, a leading clinical dermatologist in the Philippines and the third doctor I’ve seen in two weeks to treat the insect bites all over my body. The bites have not subsided since my 3-day detox weekend stint at Tiaong, Quezon two weeks ago and in fact, the bites have spread on my face and the ones on my arm turned black and blue.

We were a total of four patients at the Philippine Breast Center Network’s “Tiaong Breast Haven” (photo). Unfortunately, I was the only one bitten! Dr. Romero refers to my case as the phenomena of the pheromones. She said that I emit a particular scent that attracted the arthropods of Tiaong. They left their mark (saliva, even eggs) on my skin. The lumps, itchiness, swelling manifested 2 to 3 days after their sting. We're talking about an anthropod party, lots of anthropods, because my arms, chest, back, legs and face are ridden with bites.

At first I thought I had the ‘shingles’ because it was spreading all over my body. I went to see the first doctor and she said it was an allergic reaction and injected each bite with steroids and prescribed antihistamines (cost me an arm and a leg!). The second doctor also diagnosed allergy and again injected each bite and prescribed oral steroids.

Dr. Romero’s advice was simply to “suffer” and not go back to Tiaong where the arthropods there love my scent. The next bite she said could be deadly! She prescribed a cortisone ointment and to avoid foods that will cause my bites to flare up. My condition will last for another 6 to 8 weeks and meantime I’m wearing long sleeves to cover the bites. Otherwise, will scare some people because it looks like chicken pox marks!

My scent is different from anybody else and I hope this doesn’t deter anyone from going to Tiaong Breast Haven, a two-hour drive from Manila. Danny Meneses set-up the facility as an “alternative venue for empowering women afflicted with the disease - to confront, overcome and live with breast cancer with full honor and dignity.” His wife Rosa who passed away in September 2000, survived 43 months without chemotherapy or radiation. Danny’s protocol is quite intensive and based on the natural approaches of Rudolf Breuss, Max Gerson and Sat Dharam Kaur. This consists of fasting, raw vegetable juice and narra and turmeric tea , and twice a day coffee enema. The therapy is to remove the metabolic waste from the body, free the cells membranes from protein build-up and provide the body with the necessary essential vitamins and minerals while fasting. The coffee enema eliminates estrogen by-products, environmental estrogens and toxins from the colon and the liver. For more info, contact Danny at pbcn@iname.com or visit www.pbcn.org.

Weekend bout with Sacroiliac

Just sharing my wknd bout with sacroiliac dysfunction, low back pain (midline). Man, it was painful to walk or drive. I initially felt pain on my lower back brewing last Friday and the next day (Saturday), after my meeting in the afternoon, headed straight to the traditional chinese wellness center recommended by Zenaida Seva at Ortigas Center called Beijing Tong Reng Tang or TRT (tel# 638-4382), touted as the most authentic herbal pharmacy in China which is now in Manila.
A Dr. Wang diagnosed me by checking my pulse and tongue and assured me that pain will "go away." The treatment started with ox-horn scrubbing (guasha), cupping (ventosa) and then acupuncture with electric current and heat. He then prescribed an assortment of chinese herbs which was cooked in TRT and packed in an airtight plastic pouch (total of 14 pouches); and also prescribed a marble-size medicine called 'Tongren Dahuoluo Dan' to be swallowed whole. The protocol to be taken twice a day was to "expel wind-evil and relax the tendons" and to remove "pains in the limbs and trunk... stiffness of musles and joints, having difficulty getting about."
The first treatment somehow alleviated my lower back pain but it transferred to my right leg, radiating from my groin down my knees to my toes and it was very very painful to drive. So the next day, went back for another treatment. This time, Dr. Wang did acupressure on my back and then addressed the right leg area (groin-knee-toes) with acupuncture and electric current. Believe it or not, the pain instantly disappeared. But he said my lower back may take some time and recommended to have it x-rayed.
I trotted to Medical City right away to have my back checked and x-rayed. The resident said I had degenerative bone (L1-L2) and my problem is just muscular-skeletal and presciibed myonal (muslce relaxant), arcoxia (pain reliver) and of all things Voltaren (!!!) which has been taken off the shelf by FDA because it may cause serious cardio vascular side effects, such as MI or stroke, which may result in hospitalization and even death.
Unfortunately, this is my second misdiagnosis at the Medical City ER department. First time was 2001 when the ER doctor described my stomach pain condition as gastroenteritis and 3 days later, I was opened up for acute apendicitis at MMC. I showed my x-ray to chriopracter Dr. Sonny Uy last Monday who said that the xray indicated sacroiliac and did the usual cracking of bones (aligned my hips, etc). He said that I twisted my hips and need to be bedridden to avoid putting weight on my hips - i.e. no sitting, walking or diving.
The chinese herbs of TRT helped put me to sleep most of yesterday. So, now I'm okay (hopefully) and need one more adjustment with Dr. Uy.
According to Dr. Michael Amaral of back.com, this ailment typically strikes 30s or 40s women who has had children. "It is thought that the relaxation of the sacroiliac ligaments necessary for childbirth does not fully reverse, and that a subsequent minor trauma may sublux (partially dislocate) the joint and cause pain." I'm more of the "younger women may develop sacroiliac problems as a result of sport or other injuries. The condition also occurs in men, but less frequently and usually from more severe injuries, often involving lifting while the trunk is in torsion." Ha ha... I don't know how Liana can bear the pain though. She has a similar problem but I guess more acute.

Salam Malaykum from Egypt

Bettina, Clang, Rae and moi at King Tut's tomb

That's Bettina Go, Clang Garcia, Raeanna Cranbourne and moi outside the tomb of King Tut in Luxor's Valley of the Kings, a vast funerary complex at the West Bank. We finally made it after much visa hullabaloo in Manila. Thanks to Kim Harrington who not only helped us get our 'visa upon arrival' but also hosted us at her place in the hippest Cairo-hood in Zamalek, helped us with our tours and even got us an affable taxi driver, Abdul Amin!

We've seen most of Egypt in a week. First stop was Cairo's Citadel (1176) and An-Nasir Mohammed mosque (1318). It wasn't hazy that day and got a clear view of Giza's pyramids from the terrace. From the citadel, we drove through traffic (the city has 15 million population) to visit one of the seven wonders of the world - the pyramids! There are three structures: the Great Pyramid of Khufu (2750 BC) at 146m high, his son's called Khafre (136m) and his wife's Mankaure (62m). It is indeed amazing to be at the foot of a monstrous mountain life-like size tomb and it makes me wonder if there is any truth to its extra teresstial origin.

the Red Sea

The next day we flew East to Hurgada and drove down the coast to dive the Red Sea. It was a toss up with Sharm el-Sheikh but we were warned that it was very crowded and most of the corals are damaged so we opted for Marsa Alam, a newly built city with relatively less divers. Brrr! It was freezing at 22 degrees! I felt like a 'Michelin' man in a 5mm full suit plus a 5mm shortie! The dive operator at our hotel (Iberotel), Coraya Divers was run by Germans. They were very organized. I'm referred to #164 - for my locker box number, gear, etc. It was quite expensive at 20 euros for full gear rental per day (without computer) and 30 euros per dive (its an extra 3 euros for the guide). The best dive sites require a full day boat trip to "Elephinstone' and "Sataya".

We did another dive (in Sha'ab Marsa Alam) the next day before heading out to Safaga to cross the Red Sea mountains with a police convoy to Luxor. I've never felt secured with checkpoints every 500 meters or so and a police escort. I guess after the bombing incident at Sinai in 2005, the government is trying to protect its US$6B tourism industry. The drive took almost five hours, 2 hours to Safaga and 3 hours to Luxor.

At Luxor, we went first to the West Bank's Colossi of Memnon where we were welcomed by a pair of massive statues (18m high). Then drove to Deir al-Bahri to climb the steps up to visit the mortiuary complex of the first female 'male' pharoah, Queen Hapsheshut (very difficult to pronounce, just say hot chiken soup). Its a limestone monument carved out of a mountain! First sign of vandalism here with coptic graffiti and also where her stepson Tuthmosis III scratched out her face. Then drove to the Valley of the Kings to visit the tombs of Rameses I, IV and VI. There are 700 tombs and only 15 tombs are open for public viewing. Our ticket allowed us to visit 3 tombs. The highlight here would be the colorful painted walls depicting the life of the pharaoh, scenes to help guide his journey through his afterlife, heiroglyphics and the sacrophogaus at the end of the tomb (the contents - mummy, gold masks, etc - are at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo).

Luxor

ancient hieroglyphs

After, we drove through the Tomb of the Nobles and stopped at Deir al-Medina named after a coptic temple built by christian monks. Here we visited two tombs of the workers where for 5-20 egyptian pounds, the guards allowed us to take photos! It was extremely hot in Luxor at 40 degrees, so we decided to break for lunch at a resto along the Nile River. After lunch, we spent the whole afternoon in the temple complex of Karnak and Luxor and in the evening, did the Sound and Light show. (note: we bought tickets through our travel agent only to find out its cheaper and easier to do it on your own).

at the foot of the Step Pyramid of Zoser

After Luxor, we flew back to Cairo and Abdul picked us up and drove straight to Saqqara, a huge cemetery of ancient Memphis where the oldest pyramid is located called Step Pyramid of Zoser. For 5 pounds, we were able to take photos inside the tombs. After visiting the pyramids and the newly built museum, we drove 10 kms away to Dashur where we climbed the 125 steep stone steps of the Red Pyramid and down the 63m long claustrophic passageway down the tomb.

Dashur

The next day Kim drove us to Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander the Great. We walked down the Corniche to Bibliotheca Alexandrina, designed by Norwegian architect Snøhetta, it houses millions of books, 3 museums and a planetarium. Then a seafood feast down at the seafood market and walked down to Fort Qaitbey (1480 AD). Back in Zamalek, we were too exhausted to eat out and decided to watch DVD of "The Yacoubian Building", film adapted from Alaa El Aswany's novel.

The next day, Kim booked us to Wadi El-Hatin (western dessert) on a 4WD with driver Moustafa and his side kick Mohamed, to visit the UNESCO world heritage site for the first recorded fossilised skeletons of primitive whales. The site used to be a vast ocean some 35 million years ago. The topography is likened to the Grand Canyon in the United States. We had a picnic lunch at the nearby dessert Waddi Rayyan. Then before heading back to Cairo, a stopover at Tunis a plush domain-secondaire type village to view pottery. (note: town not recorded in Lonely Planet).

A sea in the desert between 250 million and 35 million years ago

For our last night in Egypt, Kim took us to a walking tour of Islamic Cairo. Our first stop was to a bazaar where locals go to (opposite Khan al-Khalili) and then crossed the street to the famous touristy Khan and visited several shops including the famous Fishawi's Coffeehouse. The nobel peace prize author Nagib Mafouz (Cairo Trilogy) grew up in this neighborhood in Sharia al-Gamaliyya.

I enjoyed my trip and luckily, despite warnings by friends, we didn't get harrassed at all by street hawkers or for 'baksheesh' (tips). The magic word is 'la' shukran' which means "no thank you". Also most earn pathetic monthly salaries of 40-50 pounds (tomb guards) or 78 pounds (military solider). That's why they end up harrassing toursits for tips. I'm quite tolerant and in fact, ended giving tips to everybody!