Salad Niscoise - Julia Child's Recipe

I decided to skip the rice (which is a must have for Filipinos) and have a healthy lunch.  Well, almost.  I re-heated the left over callos and paired it with french bread.  But, I did prepare Salad Niscoise. My officemate in Vietnam had this everyday such that when he would call and order lunch they already knew what he was having. 

Note that this is a recipe from ochef.com.  What made this interesting was that it's a recipe from Julia Child's book, "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom".  Best to get the freshest ingredients that you can get your hands on.

Happy eating.

The Best Desserts are at the Metropole, Hanoi

Sometime October 2007. I love desserts.  I look forward to having them all the time.  I do not diet and have never stayed away from them.  These were taken during my first trip to Hanoi when I was booked at the Metropole.  Here are snapshots of the desserts at the Le Beaulieu, Metropole's (Sofitel, Hanoi) Sunday buffet.  If you are avoiding sweets, do not read further.

My Other Blog

People, I do have another blog.  Why???  It covers the more personal stuff, home ideas, inspirations, etc.  So I'll be posting there.

Hanoi's Huc Bridge or "Morning Sunlight" Bridge

June 13, 2010. It was a Sunday and I was happy to have some free time.  Even if it had been my third trip to Hanoi, this was my first time to walk on the Huc bridge.  Translated as the morning sunlight bridge, I wonder if the sun's morning rays give a different effect.  It's already beautiful to me even in the afternoon.  I've always called it the "red bridge" since it is painted a bright cherry-red making it stand out amidst the deep-emerald colored water and foliage surrounding the Hoan Kiem lake.  The Huc Bridge is like a demure lady sending signs to the young men to draw near.

Shopping for a Dining Table

I went to one of one furniture shops at Market!Market!

Here is the drawing of the table I may have made.  It's going to be a dark (almost black) finish made from Mahogany wood.  Albert, quoted P15000 for a six seater so I'm thinking it over.  You know budget constraints.  But his store does make lovely furniture.  Their main shop is in Vigan.

I particularly like the legs of the table.  It's English style, according to him. More leg room.

I am also thinking if I should go for a bigger size where the length is 75".

In the meantime, I am thinking of going to Pampanga to check out what they have there. I do want upholstered chairs and according to him, they can do that in Pamapanga.

There's always this desire to rush but I'd rather go slow.  For now, we're using our trusty formica table.  It's been with us for years.

Bursts of Color

Puppets outside Fort Santiago (Intramuros) Manila, Philippines

Paper Lamps at Dong Xuan, Hanoi, Vietnam

Balloons for sale at Pattah market (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

The One With The Mickey Mouse Stamp

Sometime 2006.  This is what happened after "Tutup" motioned me to go to the other teller.  There was a line so I had to wait for my turn.  I handed my dollars to the teller and she closely scrutinized each dollar bill.  She handed back a few bills and was pointing to a stamp on the bill.

"What's this?", she asked me pointing to the Mickey Mouse stamp at the backside of the 100 dollar bill.

"Uhhhmmm, Mickey Mouse," I retorted with a confused look on my face.  I thought Mickey Mouse was known worldwide. 

"Hhmpph, I won't accept that because of Mickey Mouse," the teller said with finality.

Lesson learned when in Jakarta make sure that your dollars are "clean and crisp", no marks whatsoever.  Mickey Mouse not accepted.