Adventures in Asia

Warning: Picture overload

This post is way overdue but things come up all the time and I forget, plus uploading picture takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r! So anyway, we went on a 3 week vacation to Taiwan with a 5 day side trip to Manila last October. Our itinerary was full packed but nevertheless, it was fun and we had a great time seeing our families and friends.

We stayed in Taipei for a night and my in-laws met us there. After checking in at our hotel and freshening up, we walked around the night market and ate some street foods.

Then we went to Taipei 101 the next day before heading to Kaohsiung where my in-laws live.

View from 89th floor which took us 37 seconds to get there :)

The Damper - used to withstand strong winds and earthquake

After a night in Kaohsiung, we flew to Hualien the next day and spent 3 days in the island. We visited Taroko gorge, ate sumptuous meals at the hotel, went to night market and walked around the city.

Hotel food

Taroko Gorge

Staircase inside the Pagoda 

We rode one of these boats and got a good leg work out!

After getting back from Hualien, off we went to another island called Little Liuqiu about 45 minute ferry ride from Donggang Station. This island is small that you can explore it in one day riding scooter. It was a fun day for us :)

Vase stone - Little Liuqiu's famous landmark 

Good place to chill after riding the scooter under the scorching heat 

Our adventure continued with a side trip to Manila, Philippines and spent 5 hectic days between meeting family and friends, eating, shopping, getting massages and trips around and outside the metro. Hubby wanted to see Jose Rizal's monument so I took him to Intramuros then we got stucked in so much traffic. I felt bad but at least he was able to see his monument! :))))

Kalesa

Was looking forward to eat barbecue in UP but hubby and I ended up eating dirty ice cream instead. He was not up to the 'balut challenge' either haha!

Overlooking Taal Lake while having lunch at Josephine's

Puzzle Mansion in Tagaytay

One of Ms. Gina Lacuna's puzzle collection, such a nice lady!

We had few days left in Kaohsiung before heading home so we went and checked out Lotus Lake, hung out with family then it was time to get on the plane yet again.

Before we left Taiwan we went to Din Tai Fung for the second time to carry with us the memory of their delicious food.

You had me at xiao long bao :)))

8 plane rides later, we got home safe and sound.

Until next time. Cheers!

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Spaghetti with Red Kidney Beans

After slaving myself in the kitchen from the holidays I wasn't in the mood to cook, but for tonight's dinner I made some pasta. We haven't had pasta in a while and hubby wants to have soup with beans in it but I made spaghetti instead.  I  tweaked it by adding red kidney beans just so he can have his craving. Yeah, I'm that good of a wife haha! 

Spaghetti with red kidney beans and garlic bread on the side

To make:

Boil the pasta with some salt and olive oil for 8 minutes or according to the package until al dente. Drain and set aside when done.

Heat a pan and drizzle some olive oil. Add the meat (I used Jimmy Dean's breakfast sausage in maple as it didn't took long to thaw but you can use ground beef if you like) chopped salami, minced garlic, chopped onions, half of chopped fresh basil, season with salt and pepper and saute until meat are browned. Into the pan, put the chopped tomatoes (I used a can of tomatoes), a can of kidney beans and saute for few minutes then add the pasta sauce. I also added some DelMonte spaghetti sauce Filipino style to add a tad of sweetness. Let it simmer until the sauce thickens. I like to add spice so I sprinkled some pepper flakes to the sauce (this is optional if you're not into spicy food). Adjust the seasoning if need be. When done, add the pasta to the sauce and mix, top with the rest of the chopped basil. Transfer to a plate and add grated Parmigiano reggiano cheese.

As always, I had a satisfied customer with 2 servings of this pasta:)




Until next time. Cheers!

A Year That Has Been

2013 has finally ended and a new year has come. It was a year full of blessings, hopes, heartbreaks, adventures and trials. Being grateful for the gift of life is still one of the most precious thing in the world I can ever have. 

Some of the highlight of our lives for the past year :

*  Became Godparents to a baby girl named Hikari (half Japanese/half Filipino) born few weeks early. Few months after, her mom was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and the next months that followed was hectic -- from all the doctor appointments, to taking care of their two daughters to just being there to give support and love when her family can't. I've never been to a hospital so much in my life until this. It was a tough 6 months while she went thru chemotherapy and loosing majority of her hair but there's always light at the end of the tunnel and when December rolled in for yet another round of checkup, cancer is gone! She's stronger more than ever and her faith did not failed her. 

*  In between our busy lives, we were able to travel and explore a little bit more of Europe when time permitted us. We've been to 5 countries in Europe, 2 countries in South East Asia and just traveling around Germany.

*  Hubby made his next rank but won't get promoted until April or May of  2014, that's almost a year of waiting ha!

*  We furnished our temporary house with new furnitures and made it a nice place to come home to.

*  I improved my baking skills, I enhanced my cooking skills.


That's about it. Time flew fast and by summer next year we will be heading out, no idea yet where we're going. We still have a lot of traveling to do this year and to start off, we're going to Belgium this weekend! :)


Looking forward to another year with hopes of fulfilling our dreams.






Until next time. Cheers!

Weihnachsmarkt

This will be our second Christmas in Germany and before it gets here in 9 days, we wouldn't miss a thing of not going to Christmas markets! So off we went with our friends to Stuttgart this time  (a little over 2 hour drive from our place) and wander around the market. The weather was a little crappy and the rain made it colder but we still had a good time. 

Sweet tooth store

All kinds of bread and cookies! Store smelled so good!

Potato cakes with applesauce

Schlossplatz Stuttgart

At one point we were stuck while walking in one of the alleys as people kept coming from every direction, somebody farted, and an old lady was holding hubby's waist for a good 10 mins maybe so he can guide her along-- it was that bad.  Our trip wouldn't be complete without going shopping which for the first time I didn't get anything, yay me! I'm doing good with my goal towards unnecessary spending. Also, I didn't get to take a lot of pictures as I wanted to because my handy dandy camera's battery was dying on me and my big one was left at home uncharged. 

It's really a nice experience going to these places and this is one thing I will miss when we leave. 

Until next time. Cheers!

Salami fried rice

I had some left over slices of salami that I put on my sandwiches and I decided to add them on my fried rice. This is an easy and delicious recipe you can prepare any time.

To make: 

Heat oil in a pan. Add beaten eggs, when cooked, set aside in the pan. Saute chopped onions then add sliced salami, mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, green peas) and cook for few minutes. Put the left over rice in the pan, season with some oyster sauce, maggi seasoning, sprinkle of salt and pepper. Adjust flavor to your liking. Top with chopped green onions when done.

I don't do measurements, I eyeball everything when I cook. This fried rice is good for 2-4 servings.



Until next time. Cheers!

O Christmas tree!

I had to convince hubby that it's ok to put them up early even before Thanksgiving, it actually added a nice touch to the house when we had our Thanksgiving dinner. I changed my color theme this year to silver and red and was thinking of adding more decorations but decided against it, maybe next year. Still have gifts to be wrapped! 

I'm sure everyone had their trees lit up, decorated and gifts placed under the tree :) 17 more days until Christmas!





Until next time. Cheers!

Of cupcakes and bread

When you look around your kitchen or pantry and you see something that's been sitting there for awhile now, what do you do? Me, I stare at it for a little bit and quickly get the pans ready, turn the oven on and start prepping up for some afternoon of deliciousness! :)

From the left over lemons came lemon cupcakes! 

From the left over apples came apple cinnamon cupcakes!

From the left over bananas came banana bread!

When I make these, half of it are eaten at hubby's work since there's no way we can eat all of it at the house.

Until next time. Cheers!