Dampa Palutuan in Macapagal Avenue

My boyfriend and I consider seafood as our favorite. We make it a point to go to Dampa Seafood Market and Palutuan along Macapagal Avenue in Paranaque City at least once a month.
When we need to satisfy our cravings for crabs, prawns, salmon, oysters, scallops and other seafood, we drive to this group of restaurants and stalls selling fresh seafood.
Since there's only two of us, we usually just buy a half kilo each of the fish or shellfish we then have cooked by our suki restaurant.
One of the establishments we frequent is Kay Mig. It has three private dining rooms, each has its own videoke system, and a main dining hall. Among the many restaurants here, it is one of the few that has a certain style, as reflected by the interesting bric-a -bracs and decorative items which seems to have been collected by the owner -couple's travels in different countries.
Their sweet chili crab's sauce has the right consistency which not too thick nor too watery. The spiciness and sweetness of the dish is just right. Their butter garlic prawns are also cooked well.
Since we only order crab claws, we get more crabmeat than when ordering whole crabs. But since whole crabs are usually sold alive, whereas crab claws are only sold chilled in ice, the former taste fresher and sweeter.
The garlic rice is served in small bowls and Kay Mig serves the best garlic rice so far.
Softdrinks in can are sold for around 40 php, but fresh buco juice served in coconut shell is also available. Bottled beverages like iced tea, juices and alcoholic drinks are on the menu too.
For those dining in groups, 1.5 liter bottles of softdrinks are sold for 90-100 php.
Service tend to be slow so always follow up your order with the waiters.
Sometimes we have our seafood cooked at Seazar's where they serve prawns in a delicate butter sauce infused with the taste of crushed garlic. We ask the cook to just keep the head but remove the shell from the body so eating this dish would be a breeze,
We also ask the cook to steam or saute the crabs well, so they wont have a fishy smell and to crack the shells thoroughly so the sauce will flavor the meat and we won't have to use crackers to break the remaining shell.
Baked scallops with garlic and butter taste way better than tahong.
Grilled salmon served medium done and dipped in a sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, chopped onions and siling labuyo is a nice light viand.
One can also buy fresh fruits in season from the stalls and have the restaurant staff prepare them. So you can serve sweet ripe mangoes or bright red watermelon or other fruits to your party.
When you arrive at the Palutuan, just tell the waiters who hard-sell their services that you already have a suki so they won't bother you while you're doing the marketing from the fresh seafood stalls.
If you have a party at home, you can either buy your seafood here and cook them at home or just let one of the restaurants cook them for you. You can bring your airtight containers so the inside of your car won't smell and the sauce won't make a mess.
Eating or having your dishes cooked here is less expensive than dining in other seafood restaurants.
There are also tiangge stalls here selling clothes, toys and bootleg dvd. Some restos have live bands or videoke rooms.
On weekends, parking gets full easily so if you'll hold a party here, tell your guests to come early.
If you wish to walk off the calories before heading home, San Miguel By the Bay, across Mall of Asia, can be reached a few minutes away. Here, you can stroll or drink coffee or order drinks from the bars dotting the seaside promenade.
My bf and I usually order drinks at the Manila franchise of Hooters. I was expecting to see sexy, buxom waitresses but was disappointed to see thin women serving the customers. Sure their shorts and shirts were ultra-tight but mostly they were flat chested or had padded bras to fill up their bosom. They also had thick skin-toned panty-hoses beneath their tube socks which would surely merit a citation from the fashion police. The guy having his birthday party there was presented by the waitresses with a lackluster song and dance number.
Across Dampa was a low building lined with hotpot, shabu-shabu, or all-you can eat buffet restaurants.
We've tried eating at Sakuyaki, which is owned by a Korean guy married to a Filipina. Their hotpot set (on the menu, it was showing as good for one person) could feed three to four hungry men. The beef strips, and the three heaping plates full of vegetables were really filling when eaten with a bowl of rice. Meals are served with complimentary saucers of kimchi and coleslaw.
We couldn't finish the set between the two of us, so we asked the waiter to wrap it up. We also asked for extra soup which they added for free. They have free wifi and a frequent diner's discount card.
A few meters ahead is Blue Wave, where there's also an interesting cluster of restaurants, coffee shops and gourmet shops. A live band entertains the crowd on Saturday nights.
Across the Folk Arts Theater in CCP Complex is Harbor Square, which also offers a wide array of restaurants and coffee shops. After dinner, one can check out the stalls in the tiangge near the parking area.
Even if it's a long way from QC where I live, the food served in the different restos in that stretch of Macapagal Avenue is worth the effort.

In Les Caraibes, Laiya on Labor Day Weekend

My family, boyfriend and I went to Laiya, in San Juan, Batangas on the first week of May.

We didn't have anything planned during that long Labor Day weekend so my sisters and I decided to scout among the different websites of Batangas beaches online.

I sent out text messages to several beach resort's cell numbers but only Les Caraibes' (pronounced as 'ley kareib') booking officer replied within twenty minutes. We found their rates reasonable enough and at short notice, we were able to confirm our booking of two rooms without having to pay a deposit.

We left QC just after 8 am, we brought two vehicles and spent one grand for gas for each vehicle which was enough to cover the return trip. At around 11 am, we stopped at Petron SLEX in Sta. Rosa, Laguna for some takeaway breakfast and restroom break. There's a souvenir shop here that sells gaily colored buri hats and woven straw bags from Lucban, Quezon and rattan slippers and sandals from Liliw, Laguna. The prices are within reach and the quality is for export, so it's a good place to shop for your beach hat and tote bag.

We arrived at Les Caraibes Beach Resort shortly before 2pm. It looked better on the photos on their website, the beach front was not very wide, and I was disappointed to see some wrappers floating in the water.

I was excited to check out the Laiya coastline because I've heard rave reviews on many blogs online, but after having been to more secluded resorts in Zambales, Quezon, Puerto Galera and Anilao, and the virgin beaches of Palawan, Pagudpud, Mariveles, Aurora and La Union, except for its oatmeal colored sands and relative proximity to Metro Manila, Laiya pales in comparison.

Nancy, the day booking officer of Les Caraibes, sent us an email so we can select from the menu, we texted her the dishes we wanted to have for lunch so they would be ready when we got there, but two of the dishes we ordered were not available so we changed orders. So much for the pre-ordering idea. But at least she informed us before we got there instead of expecting food that weren't coming.

The rooms we rented for an overnight stay was a kubo and a cottage, both had airconditioning and beddings. Since we didn't have time to do the marketing, we decided to just order from the resort's restaurant. Average bill for a meal with three viands and softdrinks in can, for ten adults and one child is 3k php. The dishes are delicious and servings are generous. When ordering the pancit bihon, ask the french chef to go easy on the soy sauce.Service is prompt and the waiters and chef are attentive and courteous. Sadly, seafood dishes are limited and fruits in season are not on the menu. Bringing purified water is allowed. They also sell ice, but rooms have no ref so bring coolers.

The rooms are charged 1k php higher if you'll bring your own food.Bring your own grill if you don't want to shell out 350 php for rental fee. If you're on a tight budget, it will save you a lot if you just cook or bring your own food. Do your marketing beforehand because the nearest market is a good 30-45 minute drive away. Since the resorts are far from the highway, public transport is hard to come by.

We rented the kubo for 4.5k php for an overnight stay. Check in time is at 12pm and check out time is at 11 am.The room had a bamboo double-bed and a matress for two. It had four pillows but only two blankets. Four people were supposed to occupy it so we asked for two more blankets from their housekeeper, Marilyn. She said we had to pay for extra to get the additional blankets. We decided not to argue with an underling and decided to go to Nancy, who let us have the extra blankets at no cost, which should have been the case in the first place. The kubo has an enclosed veranda, which had bamboo benches, it had a view of the beach. It also had a sink that resembled a rustic batalan, a gas stove and two monobloc tables. It had no bathroom and shower, so one has to use the public shower and toilets. The shower room I got to use had no tiles yet, had a shower heater but no trash bin so empty sachet wrappers were strewn about.

We also rented a bigger room, made of concrete and wood, which they referred to as a cottage, for 5k php, which was a steal. It had four double-deck beds, which eight adults occupied. It had a nicely tiled toilet and shower, with a working bidet and shower heater. Housekeeping should have replaced the bathroom rug, which was dirty. The room was spacious enough, it also had a small lavatory, nice pvc door with a faux stained glass picture of a graceful lady, no tiles on the floor and walls yet, had a nice looking blue glass basin had it not been filthy with grime, the glass ledge was dirty as well. The eight pillows and blankets as well as the bedsheets were immaculate. The room had sliding doors, which could easily be broken into by a determined thief, so don't leave your valuables unattended. The kangkungan in front, (I think this is the site of the future pool) is teeming with frogs, whose continuous croaking at night will disturb you if you're a light sleeper. The low-end beach resort next door also allows videoke singing all through out the night, it was irritating.

We were expecting to take nice snapshots of the sunset but were disappointed to find out that the sun set in the mountains not on the horizon. We frolicked in the beach and donned our snorkeling gear, since there were little or no marine plants, we only found very few schools of tiny fishes. We strolled along the coastline all the way to the rocky formations at the edge of La Luz Resort. The stupid guard wanted to block our path but we disregarded him. Since I've been wanting to stay at La Luz but couldn't get available rooms, we checked out their beach front. The dark wooded cabanas with billowing cream curtains, the bamboo sunbeds and clean beach front were inviting and I made a mental note to try to book early next time and stay at this place instead. My bf, sisters and I had a great time taking snapshots on top of the rocky hill. The waters here are rough and two in our group had nasty abrasions on their legs when they got slammed by the waves in the rocks. Good thing we brought a first-aid kit.

We walked back to Les Caraibes and the number of swimmers had dwindled. The beach was well lit so the ones who were brave enough swam until late evening. After a sumptuous dinner, we arranged to have massage sessions in our rooms.

The local women were well-trained and for a relaxing hour for just 350 php, it was well worth it. We turned off the lights and just kept the bathroom light on so the room was dim and cool. My sister's mp3 player was playing soothing music, we were lying on mattresses, had our eyes closed, as the small aches and pains were being kneaded and stroked away by our masseuses' capable hands. The oil they were using had the scent of citronella.

We went back to the beach around ten pm, laid down a mat and did some stargazing. We took pictures of the red full moon. The people at the resort started a bonfire, so we took some more nice photos with it as the light source.

It was a good thing the outside sounds were muted, after 1 am , I finally went to sleep. We woke up around 7am before the sun became too hot for swimming. We again swam, but didn't dare to go far because the water became deep just after a few meters from the beach. The water was clearer and there were fewer people. We had breakfast at 9am consisting of tapsilog, longsilog and cornbeefsilog meals with coffee or juice. We packed our bags before 11am.We spent around 15k for rooms and meals at Les Caraibes. Too bad for the other resorts who didn't bother to reply.

We stopped by the San Juan Pasalubong house, hoping to take home one of their famous gulok which my mom would've liked to use for gardening, but the salesgirl there said we had to look for them in the town market. There were buri hats, shellcraft, ref magnets, keychains, balisong and other rattan souvenir items.We ended up buying cans of broas, peanut brittle, spicy pusit and kapeng barako.

We also dropped by the Cathedral of Mary Mediatrix in Lipa City. It was the site where it rained rose petals with the image of the Blessed Mary.

We had lunch at SM Lipa then headed to Metro Manila via Startoll.

We got home around 6PM. Not bad for a hastily arranged out of town trip.

My Love Affair With Footwear

I grew up in the 70's. My family lived ( and still does) in Northern QC and the nearest shopping center then was in Araneta Center in Cubao. My father had a law office in one of the buildings along EDSA, then.

During weekends, my Mom and some of my siblings would cram into our light blue Ford Escort and be driven by the family driver to my dad's office. There, we'd wait until after office hours, so that our Dad would be free then to take us to the department store or shopping center. They weren't referred to as malls then, except maybe for for Ali Mall.

I especially liked it when we'd shop for dresses and shoes at Rustan's or the first Cinderella store in QC. It was located then near Farmer's Plaza. In Luth Garda's shop in Farmer's Plaza, we'd stare at the one of a kind, hand-painted, frilly satin and lace dresses, but found them too frou-frou for Sunday mass garb.

If I didn't like the styles in the previous stores, we'd skip over to SM Cubao or scour the shops in Marikina Shoe Expo.

My Mom usually bought me a dress in blue, then buy another with a similar design for my younger sister in pink. So in my younger years, I was programmed to consider blue as my favorite.

We'd find a pair of shoes to go with the new frocks. My Mom usually chose either pastel colored patent maryjanes or black leather maryjanes for me. I loved choosing colorful socks with lace or pompoms in the ankles. I remember having a pair of ruby red clogs with ankle straps. I wore it with just about anything. I had a picture taken while wearing it, and I was in a floor length bottle green and orange striped, spaghetti-strapped gown. I also had a pair of cream sandals made of faux fur, I also have a photo in that pair of sandals. I was wearing a navy blue and red polka-dotted jumper with cherry embroidery in the bodice, and my Mom's evening bag made of pearls was slung across my shoulders.

My Dad used to ask me to bring my pairs of shoes to him so he could shine them while he did his.For school shoes, I had a hard time finding a pair that was comfy and sturdy. I usually chose Otto shoes or Gregg shoes. They lasted for years but my feet grew big fast so we had to buy new ones even though they were still serviceable.

I also remember my first pair of Nike rubber shoes. It was blue and the swoosh was white. Then in my second grade, when Power Rangers was all the rage, I asked my Dad to buy me a pair. When I went up the stage to be pinned for being an honor pupil, five of my friends had the same style of sneakers. When I outgrew it, I bought a pair of Adidas with the thick soles. It was the 'in ' thing to have when I was in sixth grade. I would have bought the red one but the store I bought it from didn't have one in stock so I settled for light blue, which was high maintenance.

It was so durable, I was still able to wear it to my PE classes while I was in college in UP.

In the 80's I mimicked Madonna's fashion. I wore spikes on my hair, with aquanet hairspray to keep it in shape and dabbed on Nenuco cologne. I had lace gloves, jackets or tops with shoulder pads, neon spandex leggings, patterned stocking and velvet boots.Who cared if it were hot, as long as we were trendy, it didn't matter if we sweated buckets. We had house parties, with rented sound system, mirror balls and pot luck food. Eat Bulaga had contests promoting the latest dance craze and the hippest British band's new albums. One was considered cool if you were one of the first to see the newest videos on vh1 and mtv. Cooler still if you could watch Cyndi Lauper, Vanilla Ice, Fra Lippo Lippi, Tiffany, Bon Jovi and other artists perform live in Araneta or Ultra.

I had to have a pair of 50's looking Bla-Blas, and Penny Loafers in cordovan leather, worn without socks, of course.

I was envious of my fellow students and prayer group members (the fashionable Corinthians) who had Tretorns in every color, but instead of joining the Trets band wagon I purchased a pair of leather K-Swiss tennis shoes, which I regretted the moment I took it home. The five-striped style made my feet bigger than they actually were. I wished I'd have bought Trets after all.

After the EDSA Revolution and when Malacanang was taken over by the new administration, when former First Lady Imelda Marcos was found to have left more than two-thousand pairs of shoes, my sisters , Mom and I didn't find anything wrong or shocking about the discovery.

We understood. We loved shoes. We were passionate about all kinds of footwear. And we followed the axiom, if the shoe fits, buy it. Of course, one should also be able to afford it.But with hundreds of brands and styles to choose from, one need not break the bank and grab other people's money to support a fetish for shoes.

So when I started working, on payday, I hied off to the nearest mall or boutique to add to my shoe collection.

I especially like the styles in Janilyn, Charles & Keith, VNC, Alberto, Celine, Nine West, Steve Madden, BCBG.

If I find the prices too steep in the designer boutiques in metro malls, I'd check online stores.

I still can't afford the really chichi brands but I really don't care that much now about the label, sometimes, it's all about the design.

Sometimes they were not just pretty, one could actually walk in them, other times, I just bought them for the sheer pleasure of appreciating the finely handcrafted materials used or the gracious curve of the heel...or just because i saw my favorite celebrity photographed wearing the same style.

On tv and the big screen, I loved watching Carrie Bradshaw running in her pair of Louboutins or Jimmy Choos. I watched Cameron Diaz' movie In Her Shoes, I loved the shoes but the movie was so-so.

I'm now on my comfort before style phase.

I have two pairs of Crocs Sassari, in celery and white, and pink and white, which I love wearing for malling. My feet never hurt in them.

I also bought two pairs of Laney, Juicy sandals, one in red/blue and white, the other in yellow and white, they have comfy footbeds but my ankles hurt because the rubber material they used for the soles were too heavy for the thong straps. Wear it when you don't intend to walk long distances.

I swear by my Rockport leather slides, you can walk for hours in Mall of Asia without getting any blisters.

My pink Ipanema beach slippers, with embossed hibiscus flowers on the straps, which I bought on sale in Orchard Road in 2007, are still usable. They too are a bit heavy so I only wear them when I don't intend to go far walking on the beach.

The violet pair of Steve Madden rubber platforms I bought online are comfy except the size runs smaller than the standard size 8 US, (like I should have gotten the 8.5 or 9) so for long walks, the thong straps would cut a bit on one's foot, after the foot has swollen.

I was interested in getting a pair of sparkly Fit-flops but it looked better online than when I tried them on. And I need to have at least an inch of heel so my feet won't cramp.

For a time, my favorite was my Kenneth Cole pewter colored thong slides with sparkly beads on the straps. Being a mall rat, I think I overused it and the thongs need to be sewed on tighter to the footbed.

I sometimes let my sister use the shoes and sandals I've grown tired of , and then I'd raid her closet too and get the ones she's not fond of using anymore. That's the beauty of having the same shoe size. So usually when we go shopping, we egg each other on to buy instead of thinking twice of buying the pair of shoes we liked enough to try on, especially when we both like the design, knowing full well we could swap anytime.

But aside from looking out for comfy styles, I am still in the quest for nice looking, vavavoom looking shoes. The more fabulous they are, the better.

Need I say more? I HEART SHOES.