Food Trip Frida 009: Taro spring roll

My favorite snack - taro spring roll. Wonderful blend of shredded taro, pork, and shrimps with secret spices, fried and dipped in Khmer sweet and sour sauce.

Food Trip Friday 008: Malpuwa Khuwa

This week, dessert is on me; this time it's Nepali:

Malpuwa Khuwa, Nepalese mini pancake topped with Khuwa

It was, about two years ago, in Nepal that I had one of the most delightful dining experiences of my life. Come with me as I relive my old-world dining experience in Nepal.

Food Trip Friday 007: A slice of carrot cake

Dear FoodTrippers, please excuse my absence. I snagged a short-term consultancy work with an international NGO for some health campaign. While I enjoyed doing the work, my blogging duties had to be given up temporarily. However, now that the first phase is done, I have free time to do some food-tripping! Yay! One afternoon, while having a relaxed YM meeting with my boss, I suddenly had a craving for carrot cake. With the meeting over, I raided the fridge to see what I had and voila -- the carrot cake from scratch was made!

A slice of yum!

Food Trip Friday 006: Fresh Spring Rolls

Fresh Spring Rolls
Boat Noodle Restaurant
Corner Streets 294 and 9
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

These fresh spring rolls from the Boat Noodle Restaurant are a favourite and they were gone in a few minutes! They are a refreshing, and healthier, change from the usual fried kind. It is never served without the accompanying dipping sauce which helps bring out the flavour. Served in a boat, don't you think they make a pleasing and appetizing presentation with the colourful filling? :)

Just about 200metres away from the Philippine Embassy, you will find the Boat Noodle Restaurant. Set in a beautiful and charming wooden house and a sprinkling of wooden artefacts and decorative flowers and plants, Boat Noodle Restaurant is the favourite of many, locals and ex-pats alike. My husband and I have tried other restaurants with similar offerings but we keep on coming back to the Boat Noodle Restaurant. And who wouldn't? The food is spicy (you can ask the waiters to "de-chillify"), authentic and tasty, and the prices are low. Whenever I crave for food - spicy mango or green papaya salad, fish amok, my favorite fresh spring rolls, and many others -- this is where I go.

FoodTrip Friday 005: Ginger and Scallions Chicken

Back in my university days in Cebu City, there was this Chinese restaurant in downtown Colon Street where my roommates and I were regular customers. This unassuming restaurant, dark on the inside with nothing much but rows of tables and chairs, arthritic ceiling fans, and grumpy ladies in cheap cheongsam attires pushing food-carts. To the newcomers, the sight was a disappointment. To us, old-timers, it looked basic but the lip-smacking and cheap food, albeit oily at times, more than made up for the oh-not-so-fantastic interior.

My regular order was the chicken-rice topping for only P12 (about US$0.30) at that time. So when I found a chicken recipe resembling this from Rasa Malaysia, I wasted no time in trying out the recipe... and voila!

It has the same taste, the ginger is not overpowering and just enough hint of Shaoxing wine. Memories of my university days flooded my consciousness! Back in the old days, it's serve in a small bowl and topped with the chicken dish and we downed it with a glass of softdrink. Aah, those were the days.

You can get the recipe here or here.

Happy Food Trip Friday!

Blue Man Group show in Las Vegas

I have friends who have visited the US and a lot of them have been made it a point to go to Las Vegas - and who wouldn’t? Las Vegas is an amazing place and to me, the very name evokes an image of bright lights, fun entertainment, vibrant life... among many others. Rightfully so, Las Vegas is dubbed as the entertainment capital of the world!

My friends were amazed at the diversity and variety of entertainment offered in Las Vegas. Some shows have lavish production numbers, complete with Cancun dancers ala Moulin Rouge; others are simple musical concerts of popular artists, grand magic or circus shows ala Cirque du Soleil, or the awesome Blue Man Group, to exciting boxing matches like the Hatton-Pacquiao fight that happened just awhile ago. Literally, there are hundreds of choices every single night for every person’s preference and there seems to be no need to sleep while you are there!

The hottest show in Las Vegas these days is the intriguing and awesome Blue Man Group. Need Blue Man Group Tickets? Buy now as ticket prices tend to go sky-high – even if there’s so much competition. And with an in-demand show like the Blue Man Group, ticket prices could go even higher and they go very, very fast! Buy tickets as early as possible. You might even get a huge discount if you reserve early with your friends.

Pacquiao-Hatton fight in Phnom Penh

Dear Pinoy Friends in Phnom Penh... do you want to chase homesickness away, or, are you looking for something new to do this weekend?

Check out the Winking Frog in Sothearos Blvd. They are airing the Pacquiao-Hatton fight as it happens in Vegas. For $10/person, it includes buffet lunch (with lechon!) and 2 bottles of SanMig beer. As of this writing, Pacquiao downed Hatton two times already just into 2mins of the first round.

Later, in the evening, head over to Meta House. Meta House will be presenting NU PHILIPPINE CINEMA, featuring not one, but two Filipino (Indie) films back to back:

7PM - CAVITE (2005, 80 min.)
The breathtaking feature CAVITE by Ian Gamazon/Neill dela Llana focuses on terrorists and proves its mettle and drawing power by its searing and intense representation of a cityscape in the clutches of violence, poverty and globalisation.

8.30PM - PI7ONG TAGPO (2007, 130 min.)
Director Rahyan Carlos puts together seven films about seven lives, seven struggles, seven decisions, seven realities — all shot in one take.


Don't let the rain spoil your weekend. Call all your friends now and set a date for tomorrow night. Let's watch Indie Pinoy movies at Meta House. See you there.


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META HOUSE
Street 264, #6
Sangkat Chaktomuk, Khan Daun Penh,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia

Meta-House is Cambodia's first art/communication/media center just a few minutes away from the riverside and Royal Palace. Know more about the Meta House and their work here.


UPDATE!
Pacquio defeated Hatton via a TKO on the second round. Hatton was definitely stunned not knowing where did the left hook that knocked him out come from!