salted red eggs (itlog na maalat)

Wishing you a very merry Christmas...may you

enjoy the blessings of the holiday season!

salted egg with it's traditional red color
is best eaten with rice and sliced fresh tomatoes

Two years ago when I came to visit with my husband, we missed the opportunity to visit my mother's hometown. Pateros is a small town in Metro Manila that's well known for balut (a duck egg delicacy) and itlog na maalat (salted red colored eggs). This time, I made sure that we stopped by the old church there and pick up some of the egg specialties afterwards.

the salted egg store is located just across the old
church of  Sta. Martha in Pateros

Filipino favorites

the best Philippine mangoes

sliced and ready to eat mangoes

suman or glutinous rice cakes wrapped
in coconut leaves then steamed





local buko or young coconut vendor goes around the village
selling fresh grated buko for everyday eating
and taking orders for the holiday season

buko or young coconuts from the vendor cart



banana vendor biking around the village



lakatan ~ a sweet banana variety

pinakbet (mixed vegetable dish)

We came home with cut up and ready to cook mixed vegetables from our market visit yesterday. This is the Filipino version of convenience food :-) Cut up vegetables can be seen all piled up in big baskets around the marketplace. The concept is time saving but I find them lacking some bitter gourd that's essential to the dish. I learned that it's best to just get the fresh vegetables needed for the dish then cut them up myself at home. The unique flavor of this dish comes from the addition of "bagoong" or shrimp paste, a salty Filipino condiment. Salt or fish sauce may be substituted for the shrimp paste. Sliced pork may also be added for another variation of this dish.  

vegetable mix consists of local variety of squash, eggplant, yard long beans
and another vegetable called "sigarilyas" (from the green beans family) all cut up and ready to cook

mixed vegetables cooked in garlic, onions and sliced tomatoes seasoned
with "bagoong" or shrimp paste, a salty Filipino condiment



breakfast bread (pan de sal)

I'm still waking up before sunrise most days trying to adjust to the time change and recover from the jet lag. Traveling for about 27 hours to get here was the most difficult part of the journey. Apart from that, I'm happy for the opportunity to visit most especially during the Christmas season. I hope to savor everyday of my stay here from watching the sunrise (shown below) to having a breakfast treat of hot pan de sal, straight from the corner bakery.

(above) pan de sal from the local vendor selling these warm breakfast rolls

hot and fresh pan de sal from the corner bakery

Pan de sal for breakfast from the local vendor who bike around the neighborhood early in the morning everyday and from the corner bakery...served with fried egg and red hotdogs...a well loved pairing (shown below).

bangus (local fish)

My first visit to our favorite local market was with my brother & sister in law. We set out to buy whole pieces of one of the most popular local freshwater fish here called "bangus" for "paksiw" and "sinigang". Both dishes have characteristic sour flavors. Paksiw is cooked with white vinegar while sinigang (this version has miso or salty soybean paste) gets its acidity from tamarind and local lemons or packaged sinigang mixes for a more convenient option.

deboned bangus or milkfish in sour broth with sliced ampalaya or bitter gourd

sinigang sa miso ~ cooked in miso with local variety of mustard greens (shown below)

it was hard to resist the native kakanin or rice cakes at the market so we got some for dessert



holiday travel

The early morning hustle and bustle...roosters crowing their hearts out...tricycles zooming off to their school day pick up tasks...students busy getting ready and cramming to get started with their day...pretty soon the regular pan de sal vendor will be biking around rousing the entire village with it's loud honking...oh yes...I'm back in the Philippines once again! I'm spending the holidays here with my family this year. It has been 10 years since I spent Christmas and New Year here with my family and I'm looking forward to experience the season's religious traditions as well as the familiar sights and sounds of this busy city once again. I will try my best to document the highlights of my visit in the coming days but in the meantime...enjoy the holidays!