Trade Secrets

Merchants abound, indeed, in this city that inspires all, from Third World tourists to the English literary master himself, Shakespeare.

 Picturesque buildings and gondolas along its famous canals. Photo by Homs Santos.

Contrary to popular belief, a romantic gondola ride is not the only way to tour this Italian masterpiece. Especially if a gondola ride costs just about as much as a pound of flesh. Even Shylock would have flinched.

In the Realm of the Diwata

She reclines, centuries upon centuries of noble guardianship taking its toll upon her delicate, yet inimitably strong, frame. Her long, flowing dark hair cascades gently behind her weary body as she lowers herself to the gentle earth. We tread softly upon her bosom, and we pass by the wondrous creatures that sought her refuge and care. They seek it still, in her and in us.

The mountain that is Mariang Makiling. Photo from this site.

Mariang Makiling lies, a deity in graceful repose, but she has yet to rest in peace. There is still work to be done.

Nostalgia: Freshly-Baked and Ready to Serve

“Do you know what makes San Francisco’s sourdough bread so special?” my host asked somewhat conspiratorially as we traipsed along Fisherman’s Wharf, the sea-salted wind blowing our loose hair into each other’s excited faces.

Fisherman's Wharf, brimming with nautical allure.

As it turns out, salt isn’t the only thing floating around in the San Francisco air. A culture of lactobacillus bacteria that thrives exclusively in the climate of the San Francisco Bay Area works with cultivated yeast to form San Francisco sourdough. A French baker by the name of Isidore Boudin used the ancient bread-making technique of local Gold Rush miners and merged it with his home country’s baking traditions to create a culinary masterpiece that has been around for more than a century.

Where's Fairy Godmother When You Need Her?

Donald Duck welcomes you to Disneyland!
Photo by Kris Pullante

Kowloon in an atypical December: the sun was shining as though its greatest desire was to greet the coming New Year with a strong glow fit for the summer. Hong Kong mainstays, crisply dressed and predominantly clad in clothes hued in dark palettes, were out and about in the streets.

It might have been a bit chillier to tropic dwellers like us, inured as we are to a slight breeze and cardigan weather during the last month of the year, but my family thought nothing of it as we looked forward to a magical day at Hong Kong Disneyland. And indeed, our first look at the theme park was nothing short of magical: a steady drizzle of ice-cold droplets of rain coupled with a frosty wind gave us a rather unexpected welcome, to say the least. How could the weather change like that so quickly and drastically? It was the magic of Disneyland, I guess.

A Healing Confluence of Then and Now

A few blocks away from the whitewashed walls and blindingly bright fluorescent lights of a famous drugstore chain lay a row of decrepit-looking, dimly lit stores lined with dingy glass cabinets. These are crammed with a plethora of small bottles and boxes similar, but not quite the same, as the ones in you see on the shelves of the ubiquitous drugstore chain. But the more curious aspect of these stores is the area entirely devoted to traditional Chinese herbal remedies. There, glass jars and red tubs are labeled with characters mostly alien to the average Filipino, its names and purposes decipherable only to the Chinese-speaking dwellers of Manila’s Chinatown.

Chinese patent medicine, which are mass-produced, packaged, and sold in several Chinese drugstores around the world. Photo from this blog.

Travel by Gastronomy

I can hardly think of better ways to whisk yourself off to another country, without stepping foot on an airplane and denting your wallet in the process, than by immersing yourself in its culture through samplings of its local cuisine. I have yet to experience Malaysia; this is perhaps the reason why I was especially eager to try out the Malaysian dishes at Penang Hill, one of the few restaurants in the metro that serve Southeast Asian food. 

The minimalist facade of Penang Hill at The Promenade, Greenhills, San Juan. Photo by Jorica Pamintuan

The first thing one would most likely notice is the name of the restaurant. After all, to the Westernized Filipino ear, it sounds decidedly foreign—exotic, even. Penang Hill, or Bukit Bendara for the locals, is a hill station in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Like most hill stations, it is a renowned tourist spot characterized by cool weather, an interesting array of flora and fauna, and several parks and resorts packed with activities for those who seek adventure. Hill stations are considered remnants of the Age of Imperialism, because they were developed by the colonial rulers as places to which they can escape when the heat from the lowlands gets too unbearable for them. (Sounds familiar? The Philippines also has its own famous hill station: Baguio City, the Summer Capital.) Now, they connote something more pleasant: a haven to all who are looking for a much-needed respite, foreigners and locals alike.