Gingoog's Best

From Davao City, we flew to Cagayan de Oro and dined with Bobby's younger sister and family.  The following morning, we headed to Gingoog City to visit his older sisters and their families. In the evening, dinner was spent at the local grill for his 51st birthday.

I'm truly thankful for the promo airfares because we get to visit Mindanao more frequently. We broke our once-in-every-four-years record.

Of course, the visit wouldn't be complete without seeing the gigantic fruits at the city plaza, reminiscing the good old days as we passed by his workplace when he was still a working student in high school, and eating the famous Mariet's halo-halo and Bobby's all-time favorites: marang, durian, mangosteen, and lanzones. For the first time, we missed the chance of going for a swim on the beach.

It always feels good to visit Gingoog City and we'll do it again while we can.

Paradise Beach Resort, Samal Island

Bobby and I took the first flight to Davao City and from the airport, we hailed a taxi to go to the pier in Sasa which is the exclusive port for the guests of Paradise Beach Resort. The boat ride took a few minutes and we were among the early birds for the day tour of the resort. It was just past 7 a.m.

Tables, benches, and wooden lounge chairs lined the shoreline which was covered with canvas as roofing material supported by bamboo posts. The water was crystal clear but we were dismayed to see floating garbage from the mainland as the tide rose. The scene improved at around noon when the tide started to recede.

We enjoyed the seafood dishes we ordered. Bobby savored the durian shake. At past 2 p.m., we were off to the city to meet a friend and fellow scholar during college days.

No Sweat Bread

The secret of delicious pan de sal comes from the sweat of the baker who patiently kneads the dough. That's what they say. Hmmm.

I just baked a loaf of bread with no sweat. Right. Thanks to the breadmaker we bought from the surplus store. No sweat indeed. I just put all the ingredients in the accompanying pan as instructed and turned on the machine. After three hours, here's the output. What's the verdict? It's a bit crusty (which is good) but coarse-grained and tastes like wheat bread. Nonetheless, baking was a breeze. I'll try other variations next time.

Baking Time

We're home because of the stormy weather. There's no typhoon but the inclement weather is due to the strong southwest monsoon rains.  Classes and work have been suspended.  As expected, everybody just loved to eat. Bed weather.

As they were glued to the TV set watching closely the situations in the nearby places, particularly the flood-prone areas, I decided to bake something for the rainy days.

When it comes to baking, one of my specialties is banana cake. Want some?

Sweet Life

Today is just like any other day. No birthday celebration. Nothing special but Ate just came from Elbi for a short visit and bought our favorite chocolate cake as pasalubong. Wow! This cake really beats the popular commercial cake. It's moist and not too sweet. It tastes just like Brand RR but it costs less.

Thank you, Ate.  How sweet of you!