Taste-bud Overload !

Okay fine ! I admit it ! I'm not totally okay . . .

The angel of depression is hovering over my head for the passed few days. I know it's overly dramatic to say that I'm devitalize despite having all this "summer time" to relax and unwind. I just can't simply understand myself, all this silence and alone time beats the crap and drama out of me. And therefore I shall call every depressee's best friend - FOOD ! :D (by the way I just made that word out ,depressee ? haha cute ).

My sister (again , I know right ? she's playing quite a big role in my life) invited me to join her in the cooking class that she had been attending  for the past weeks. "So that I'll have a companion cause I'll be going home late" was her first EXCUSE for tagging me along in her agendas. Being a good boy as I am, I let myself be dragged to this sort of thing.

Let's cut to the chase, one day I found myself in this beautiful home of Chef Maricel Sambo where the lessons took place "Miracle's Kitchen" that is. Of course I couldn't just sit and do nothing the whole session , right then and there my career in photography began ( just kiddin' -I just happen to be the one taking all the AMAZING PHOTOS modesty aside ). LOL :)

DELIBERATE ! I mean discuss the menu for the day . . .

How are we gonna take over the world?
with love for food :)

My lens caught them discussing the line up of food that they are supposed to prepare that particular session. It is important to review everything before diving directly into the kitchen to avoid possible mistakes in the process of the actual cooking. Pour your heart into it. 

Time and again I prefer to be a gourmand , takes pleasure on food without the effort of actually making it. I'll be observing everything through my stabilize CANON lens courtesy of ate Giselle. 

PI alert ! they'll be making PI this time. "PI ? as in 3.14159265 ?" silly , stop being an engineering student. It's PIE- a baked dish which is usually made of pastry dough casing  that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. 

Ate Giselle's newest single "Rolling in the Dough" :D

 meet my sister and mr.DOUGH not roll me :P

The crust before it experiences the fires of yumminess :P

 It was an amazing experience being able to witness them make this delightful PIE. And the best part ? I got to taste it when it's done ! What could be better than that?

Chicken Quiche 

Sounds gourmet ? and tastes like it too ...

When they were finally cooked, I took a slice of heaven on earth ! It was that good . Don't want to be biased and all because I personally love savoury pies but this was one is beyond just words can describe. On second thought , hahahaha I need to tell you the details of how it tastes. The crust was crunchy on the sides just the way I want it , and the fillings --- Ugh ! creamy, the chicken's subtle taste gave way to the other ingredients overwhelming flavors. A complete meal as a matter of fact , the crust for your carbs, the chicken and bacon for protein and the veggies onion and bell pepper for vitamins. 

Then we also have ...

Banana Muffins

These not so sweet delectable muffins right here caught me off guard. I don't have a sweet tooth so naturally my tongue doesn't look for this kind of food. But I couldn't help myself , these muffins are truly delicious. I could get use to this :)

Let us just let these photos speak for themselves  --------->

It was a fun gastronomic ride !

I mean seriously these kind of food will take your depressions away.

The angel of depression somehow on a brighter perspective brought me to place where culinary life begins,

"Miracle's Kitchen"

T a s t e  b u d       O V E R L O A D !

Chef Maricel Sambo

Giselle Garces

Jasmin Tupas

Photo Credits : Me Me Me !

Boredom Break-Away

Hola ! this post is actually for last Tuesday's shenanigans but I kinda got tired and lazy writing this post eventually leading to procrastination and late updates but having said that it's still here waiting to be read. 

My summer so far is excruciatingly boring and uninteresting- and so ! every opportunity of an escape from my daily routine is crucial for my well-being (hahaha) . Just last Tuesday I was deeply asleep about 8am in the morning when my sister stood outside my door and asked me casually if I want to come with her just so I can get out of the house for a change. And of course ! what do you except me to reply, "YES" I yelled excitedly. It only took me about 30 minutes to get myself ready which is by the way fast compared to my usual  hour rituals. I took a bath , got dressed and everything that follows it. Fortunately that day we used our car putting a very big smile on my face since my delicate skin( whaaaat?) won't need to battle with the scorching heat of the sun ! and there we GO --- my day finally started with some sense ...

TICKETs please?

You might be wondering why a big logo of Cathay Pacific is on your screen right now , your thoughts exactly. We went to the airlines office somewhere in Torres, Davao City to book a flight for my sister's "migration" to CANADA this coming June. I wasn't expecting that it would take us awhile to book a flight since it's still early ( that's what I thought ) and we were way ahead the flight date. But little did I know, a lot people have booked their flights earlier for convenience , "Hong Kong  to Vancouver" that is. After some hours of tedious vacancy searching we finally landed on the right date and spot, June 14, 2012 yet I'm not pretty certain with the exact time because it's a bit confusing considering that that the flight is a "connecting flight" , by that it's Davao to Manila, Manila to Hong Kong , Hong Kong to Vancouver, and finally Vancouver to Winnipeg Canada. I was exhausted just thinking about the time and hassle of the travel. But wait ! the good thing is, we were able to save money for the fair because believe it or not Cathay Pacific offers a 50% discount on "first land immigrants" ! Amazing eh ? also compared to other airlines Cathay offers less expensive fair rates without compromising your travel needs. Happy and satisfied, we went out to take some lunch.

\

A photo of myself in the airline's office 

The background ? that's Hong Kong

WALKALATOR ? is that what it's called ? . . .

my niece anya on the mighty walkalator

My breaking loose continues as we made a pit stop at Chowking's to fuel ourselves ( fancy way of saying lunch haha ) biologically. Abreeza was our next destination , we headed straight to the mall's parking lot just to park what else ! haha . To get to the building's interior we obviously need to use one of the entrances in the lot, fortunately there was one which was very close to where we parked our car. To my surprise , a moving walkway was right there just feet away to where I was standing. An imaginary voice at the moment was exclaiming at the back of my head " Behold ! the Walkalator ! " .I was fascinated , out of my ignorance surely . You can't blame me , escalators are very common among malls which I perceived as the moving stairs. But this was different, the surface was flat yet design carefully to provide friction between the conveyor and our footwear so as to avoid slipping ( I'm starting to sound very scientific ). My niece and I went up and down the Walkalator just to experience the magic hahaha.

Childhood once again . . . >.<

I'm 19 years old and wouldn't probably fit on a child's play swing. But guess what ? I did! hahaha.

After buying some snacks at Abreeza we made our way to Adams Seventh Day Adventists Church located at Palm Drive, Davao City. I was born Catholic but my in-laws belong to the Seventh Day Adventists Church, which was pretty amazing for me cause we are able exchange ideas about what we believe , our differences and similarities and the like. The Church was currently offering some summer classes for Kid's , my sister grabbed  this opportunity right away to make most of my niece's time this summer. Anya took piano and painting lessons by which she didn't quite enjoy at the first meetings. 

At the Building's Entrance

Let's go back to me , hehe .While my niece was busy with her lessons , I brought myself outside the building and did a little strolling around. The place really is nice I tell you . Then out of the blue I stumbled upon a mini playground just beside the building. A typical child's playground with swings, see-saws, and the ever hair-raising SLIDE. I didn't know what came to me but my ass felt like a magnet and was instantly attracted to the seat of the metal swing. It was a bit of a tight fit but acceptable haha. Foot on the ground , hands on the metal chains , I gave myself a push by kicking the wind . I swung back and forth feeling the breeze of the wind touch my face ( haha way beyond just dramatic ). Sitting next to me was my brother-in-law's nephew Xak. We were both enjoying the swing yet he looks better on it because he's still a 1st grader haha . Anyway, all of a sudden he threw a question at me , "kuya ? kaya lagi ta masuportahan sa bakal na chain ang dagko jud kaayo kaya pud kaya?". And you know what! all of my GENERAL PHYSICS , MECHANICS and STRENGTH OF MATERIAL's lessons came flying into the depths of my mind. Tension, equilibrium, stress, strain and mechanical properties were spinning in my brain's insides. But then again , how on Earth will a 1st grader  comprehend the stuffs which are presently on my mind that time. I eventually just ended up saying " Of course it can support us and even those heavier individuals , simply because it's metal and it's strong" . That was shameful ! hahaha . But that didn't stop me from playing with the see-saw with a twist ! that is STANDING on your end of the see-saw! HOLA ! .. I was even yelling to my 10 year-old playmate  "Get closer to the FULCRUM", and the child was like "HUH ?". Well, I am for a fact an engineering student at that's what we call it. But all in all I had a lot of FUN, playing with the kids in that gorgeous little playground brought back the child in me. It reminded me of how simple a child's life is,needless to say we have to grow up but that doesn't mean we can't bring with us those childlike personalities where we enjoy the best out of very small things. :-)