in search of a favorite noodle dish

i used to work for Malaysia Airlines and yes i had a couple of opportunities to go to Kuala Lumpur [KL] on work assignment.  It was there where i discovered what i consider to be one of the best noodle dishes in the world. Char Kway Teow.  In KL, this fantastic fare is sold in hawker stalls.  i would go out and look for a stall during mealtimes.  the preparation alone is an interesting and entertaining experience, and it makes you hungrier as you wait for your order to be ready.

a friend used to bring me or send me a serving of Char Kway Teow via the flight crew whenever the craving striked.  it was one of the best things about being an employee of MH.

fast forward to more than 10 years later, meaning 2009, i discovered another noodle dish, this time vietnamese, Nam Thit Heo.  it reminded me a lot of my beloved Char Kway Teow that i searched it on the net to try replicating it.  MH has not been in davao for the longest time now and the friend is no longer a friend. =P

i was so craving it that i asked a friend who just came back from singapore if she ever came across this dish over there, and she simply said, but they serve it in Banana Leaf Asian Cafe. HWAT???

i go to Sales St.  atleast once a week and not once did i even think of checking out this Asian fusion restaurant.  How was i to know that they served Char Kway Teow?

The next day, i invited the parents to have an asian fusion lunch with me.


The verdict:  their version looked different from what i remember.  it had too much brown sauce and the noodles were a lot fatter than the ones they served in KL's hawker stalls.  and sadly, it did not taste the same. Our other choices tasted a lot better.

oh well, i guess, i'll never find it here in davao.  anyone, wanna prove me wrong on this one?

*hawker stall picture from here

chinese comfort food

chinese fastfood outlets are a dime a dozen here in davao city.  From dimsum stands to noodle houses to restaurant-style set-ups, you are sure to find one in every street. but only one stands out the most because there is not one time that their branches are not busy and bustling with hungry customers.  Mandarin Tea Garden

whenever i am out on solo flight at meal times, i look for the nearest Mandarin Tea Garden outlet.  i can enumerate a string of their reliably delicious offerings but i almost always end up asking for the same thing: Ravioli Noodle Soup and Fresh Fruit Salad.  the combination doesn't sound so great but i tell you, the first one makes up for the fact that i'm eating out alone and the latter is a very healthy dessert choice, just try not to devour all that yummy cream.

so, the next time you catch yourself out on the street and hungry, head to the nearest Mandarin Tea Garden.  Try out my favorites and experience the satisfaction only comfort food can bring.  Slurp!

happy feet

my feet are smiling again. well, they would if they could. after two weeks of looking like they belong in the dark ages i finally had the time to go to the salon and have them scrubbed, massaged and pedicured to perfection. don't get me wrong, my feet aren't pretty. i would have posted a picture of them if they were. but at least now, they look like they are appreciated and loved.

back when i was still on solo flight, i brought my feet to my favorite manicurista, Ate Celia, at least once every 2 weeks. foot spas are my thing. all that scrubbing, foot and leg masks, yummy smelling creams being massaged into my skin and the icing on the cake, a great pedicure, just simply feels like heaven on earth.

i love foot spas so much i even opened a day spa [along with other spa-lover-family and friends] once upon a time. our foot spa was i think the best in the city. not only did you get well deserved indulgence from your knees to your toes but you were assured of the most hygienic treatments in town. at the start, your feet are washed with soap and running water, not the typical soak-in-the basin washing, but heated water from the tap. all our instruments were sterilized after each use. the scrubs, masks, and creams were slathered on generously, and the nail colors were of good, mostly imported, brands. plus the ambiance was very cozy and restful. too bad we had to close it down last year. the really bad location took a toll on it and after much denial i finally had the heart to let it go.

so now i'm on the hunt for a spa or a salon that could match the kind of service we gave. so far i've visited ELEMENTS salon at the Holiday Gym and Spa twice. Fe, was my manicurista again today. I give her an 8 [rating from 1-10, with 10 being the highest], the salon was clean enough, and the chair i sat on was also comfy. they did not have the same hygiene policy as we did though. and their towels looked like they should already be turned into rags, blecch =P. next time, i'll go back to Ate Celia over at HairStudio in SM. they should have services which might make my feet happy again. i'm hoping that someday i won't miss our beloved Spa anymore.

virtually losing weight

since eating is a major part of my happiness, i have had to try all kinds of diets back when having a great body mattered. from the three day diet, to the cabbage soup diet, to the no rice diet. all these diets had one common thing in particular. they all drove me to such anger, i was ready to kill anybody who crossed me. so i decided to count calories one day and wrote everything i ate in a notebook. i managed to fill up 3 notebooks [i think] but it was the best thing i ever did for my body. i finally achieved a dream: look fit and trim and wear the clothes i wanted to wear.

after my first baby, i did not try to get back to the pre-baby body. nothing motivated me, not even the sight of all those women who so have-it-together. you know, the ones who have toddlers in tow but still look like they came right out of a fashion magazine page. i saw one such 'hot momma' in my little girl's school today, i wanted to rip her head right off. =P

anyway, a few days ago, while i was reading a blog i happened to click on, it was about grungy mommies [ this one got my radar blinking on overdrive], i came accross a link about tracking your calories. and since then i was hooked. it's precisely the reason why i have not been blogging.

fitday.com, i was happy to discover did not only automatically compute my calorie intake but it showed me graphs of my nutrition or the lack of it, activity level and calories burned, and more. call me weird but i finally found something to motivate me to lose all the weight and get moving.

so i'm on my 5th day today, and so far, i am happy with what i've been posting. i'm taking it slow but with direction. and i'm being realistic. there is a downside though, it takes a while for each entry to be uploaded. and not all the food i eat is in its database. but tonight i found redemption. i was able to finish with my inputs faster by opening multiple tabs and working on the different pages one after the other. and checking out calorie equivalents is a breeze if i just google the ones they don't have.

so if you are like me, a person who finds satisfaction and motivation in a planned, methodical, and detailed weight-loss regimen, fitday.com is for you. i'm sure the simple, clean and straightforward interface will excite you. do i hear "obsessive-compulsive" just yet? =P

here's to finally finding my motivation! bottoms-up the diet cola!