Philippine House Lizard Learns to Eat Rice Lightning-Fast

We all know that house lizards eat insects, and house lizards in The Philippines (known as butiki) are no exception. But there was this particular lizard that we had at the old house we used to stay in that preferred rice. We had noticed how it would linger be our table after having a meal and then right afterwards, it would scour the table for scraps of food, often rice and would grab what it can with lightning speed and then hide behind the oven toaster. It would then stealthily peek out again for another bite. It was a good thing it made a habit of waiting at the table to get his share of our meal because it was such a fascinating thing to witness.

So we thought it would be great if we could capture what it does on video and that's exactly what we did using an old Samsung digital camera. We were amazed at how the lizard, which we had named "Bart" was able to "stalk" a clump of steamed rice and grab a few grains with lightning speed. He was so fast that the frame rate of the camera was unable to capture the exact moment it bit into the rice! It was like he had the super speed of a biting snake (maybe even faster) You can watch the video and see for yourself how it played out. I hope you enjoy it.

BUY on AMAZON: 

Alamat Ng Butiki - The Legend of the House Lizard (Modernong Alamat - Modern Legend) Paperback by Rene O. Villanueva; illustrated by Joel O. Chua

Fruit Shake Refreshment Stand near the Zip Line and Mangrove Paddle Ride in Puerto Princesa Palawan

WATCH a fruit shake being made with a fruit blender at a fruit shake refreshment stand.

If you're going on a trip to visit the Underground River of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, you'd likely be given the choice of a side trip between the 800-meter zip line and mangrove forest paddle boat ride. One can make your heart race in anticipation (not for the faint-hearted) and the other can lull you to dreamland. What's common for both is that these rides can make any tourist thirsty and hot, because after a few hours of being under the sun, well, let's just say you'd be in desperate need of cooling liquid refreshments.

So once you've screamed your heart out zipping over the sea hanging from a cable or tested the limits of your patience while languidly floating through mangroves, the most obvious thing to do is to buy some refreshments and waiting for tourists with parched throats at the beach, are a number of colorful fruit stands, ready to serve you a cold fruitshake or two, like the one in the video. There's no lack of refreshing drinks in Puerto Princesa, because with all the tourist spots that one can visit, they're really a necessity.

BUY on AMAZON: NutriBullet 12-Piece High-Speed Blender/Mixer System, Gray

Puerto Princesa Palawan Baywalk Seafood Restaurant Walkthrough

WATCH THE VIDEO AND EXPERIENCE THE PUERTO PRINCESA BAYWALK.

Puerto Princesa, Palawan is a city known for being a city in a forest, but its also famous for its seafood and the Baywalk, near the docks, is where you can get your fill of local seafood fare to your satisfaction.

There are stalls that sell seafood from one end to the next and if you don't know what you're looking for, you might have a hard time choosing what to order. If the vendors see your confusion, though, they might offer you the delicacy that Puerto Princesa is famous for, the tamilok mollusk, also called a woodworm (although it's NOT A WORM) It's found inside decaying wood along the beaches, especially where there are mangrove forests. Locals swear it's tasty like oysters, perhaps even more so. It might not be for everyone, but if you do happen to be on a trip to Puerto Princesa, do check out the Baywalk and order some tamilok. You won't find it as readily available in Metro Manila so don't miss the opportunity.

BUY from AMAZON: Step by Step Cooking Filipino by Arlene Diego

Kinamat Resto Bar Silog and Budbod Menu (Angono, Rizal)

"Fi-fi-fo-fum. I smell a hungry customer. Solve this riddle to enter..."

Kinamat Resto Bar in Angono, Rizal is a simple native eatery with a band area for guests to experience a little live music while dining or drinking with friends and family. It has a rustic ambiance with all the natural materials like wood, bamboo, and nipa, used in the building structure. Outside, traditional masks used in festival parades look out to welcome diners. One could easily pass by this restaurant without noticing it. There's just a gravel driveway where guests can park, but apart from the sign hanging from a bamboo post and what's painted on the front wall, one would think that it's not a restaurant at all, but people do frequent the place and word-of-mouth gets around. When kids hear about the shark lamp, they all want to see it with their own eyes, though it's only made of fiberglass, maybe.

Sink your teeth into this crispy Kinamat pork chop.

Kinamat Resto Bar is simple, informal, quaint, and a local favorite, which means tourists have nothing to lose by checking out the place and ordering local food favorites like budbod, which is similar to Spanish tapas but with fried meat that's heartily mixed in with rice and slivers of scrambled egg. There are different kinds of budbod available. There's Shanghai (lumpia or egg roll as it's called by Americans), Pork, Beef, and Mixed, Of course, where there's budbod, there's also likely the silog dishes which are essentially fried rice (sinangag) with ulam, which is the meat you eat with the rice, like fried beef, pork, longanisa, chicken, bangus, hotdog... all served with fried egg, tomatos and your choice of either vinegar (suka) or fish sauce (patis). It's like breakfast at any hour of the day! there's also the popular breaded pork chop that is crunchy on the outside and juicy in the inside. Most of what's in the menu would complement a bottle of cold beer, as the locals would prefer it. But just as the restaurant is simple, so are what's in the menu, but it's all good. Kinamat Resto Bar is located along 1342 Col. Guido St. near the Manila East Rd. Tricycle and jeepney drivers can tell you where it is.

Kinamat Resto Bar's Beef Budbod.

Kinamat Resto Bar's Menu. Click to read.

The Filipino Cookbook: 85 Homestyle Recipes to Delight Your Family and Friends

How to Cook Tinuktok; Easy Shrimp Recipe from Bicol, Philippines

Tinuktok (Tinuktuk) as prepared in Iriga, a Bicol province.

This dish is called Tinuktuk in Bicol.

In the Bicol Region in the Philippines, one can expect food to have leaves of the gabi (taro) plant, be spiced with chili, and infused with coconut milk. Tinuktok or tinuktuk, a native food of the region, uses these basic ingredients, which makes it characteristically Bicolano.

Tinuktok is what is known as pinangat in the Tagalog part of Luzon island. Tinuktok may use specific seafood ingredients like shrimp, fish, crab, or even non-seafood meat like beef, pork, and chicken. Shrimp recipes for tinuktok are very popular. Any of these may be used, but they must first be mixed with minced young coconut meat before being wrapped in gabi leaves and cooked in boiling water with coconut milk, called gata in Tagalog. The ideal recipe shrimp tinuktok is usually served spicy, but some people may prefer the non-spicy version.

Watch and listen to how tinuktok is cooked in the Philippines

Ingredients

• Your choice of shrimp, fish, crab, or a favorite meat (raw; minced)
• Coconut Milk
• Gabi (taro) leaves big enough to use as wrapper
• Minced young coconut meat
• Salt
• Pepper corns
• Fish sauce
• Red chilli
• Grass strings for tying

Procedure
Harvest your taro leaves. Ideally, they should be fresh, but if you do not have access to a taro plant, you can buy dried leaves from a Filipino store, which should have them dried. Clean the leaves before you use them. Prepare the easy shrimp recipe to be wrapped inside the taro leaves. Place three spoonfuls in the middle of a leaf. Add fish sauce or salt and pepper to taste. Wrap the taro leaf around the meat patty tightly. Use grass string to tie the preparation before cooking. To help identify the spicy wraps from the non-spicy wraps, tinuktok cooks usually tie the leaves of the spicy ones using two knots. Each shrimp recipe tinuktok should look like a little pillow.

Recipe Cream Dory Fish Sinigang with Lemon (Bicol Iriga Style)

Make as many  of these little pillows as you like. When you have enough, prepare water that's been mixed with coconut milk. The thicker it is (with more coconut milk), the more coconut flavor will be absorbed by the tinuktok. Pour this mixture into a deep pan placed over a low flame or heat source. Put your tinuktok in the water. Make sure they are submerged, but it should only be shallow. Wait until it comes to a boil. Reduce the liquid a bit until the tinuktok dish is done. You can add some color to the tinuktok by adding some chili when you plate. To really enjoy this wonderful recipe shrimp tinuktok (or any of it's seafood, beef, pork, or chicken variants), you must eat it with hot white rice.

Memories of Philippine Kitchens

Bibingka and Puto Bumbong: Philippine Christmas Sweets

When it's Christmas in the Philippines, it's the time of year when you can buy lots of bibingka or sugar-glazed rice cakes baked under hot coals and puto bumbong, a pasty snack made from glutinous rice cooked inside pipes or tubes (traditionally made of bamboo). These two traditional foods are served and eaten hot, often served with shredded coconut. If you go to a local cathedral, you will likely find them being hawked in the streets in stalls with makeshift ovens that make use of hot coals on galvanized plates placed over either clay or concrete stoves.

Shown here is a bibingka and puto bumbong stall near the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Batangas City. Cooking bibingka cakes must be done carefully; in other words, it has to be timed. Otherwise, the cake can get burned and the customer may end up with one or two with blacked sugar glazing. Puto bumbong, on the other hand, must be cooked just right or it will turn too sticky and harden quickly if served too soon or too late.

If you are visiting the Philippines this Christmas season, getting a taste of these delectable and tasty treats is a must. Ask around so you know where you can get the best of these treats.

Delicious Tuna Egg Foo Young (Philippine torta)

Little girls can make their own sweet treats with this Girl Gourmet Cake Bakery Cake Maker kit. Yes, this will get your little doll on the right path to being a baker. Click here to order your Girl Gourmet Cake Bakery Cake Maker Kit!

Longganisa of Taal, Batangas in the Philippines

Pictured here are longganisa, a native sausage from Taal, Batangas in the Philippines. Here they are as they appear after cooking. Stir-fried, they serve as a satisfying meal, especially when served with rice. Different regions in the Philippines are known for their own version of longganisa, which originated from Spain centuries ago. As a former Spanish colony for 300 years, the Philippines adopted Spanish cuisine and longganisa is one prepared food that's kept its popularity over the centuries.

Longganisa is basically ground meat which may be pork, beef, or chicken stuffed inside intestines which are tied at the ends with a piece of string or reed. The size of the longganisa depends on the kind of animal intestine used. Tradition dictates whether each will be long, short, or balled. In Taal, Batangas, the longganisa sold in markets are dry, chunky, and meaty. They are sought by people from all over the Philippines for the distinct sweetness.

This is a t-shirt inspired by Abe Froman Sausage King of Chicago, from the classic movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. If you're a fan of sausages, hotdogs and Ferris Bueller, then order this fine cotton shirt here!

How to cook Ilocano Lauya beef broth dish

Cheap Visitors will get you more web sales!

Popular Vegetable Stall in Taytay Market

There’s this vegetable star in a corner of the Taytay public market in Rizal that’s a favorite of vegetable buyers. It’s tucked in a lonely and less crowded corner of the market where few buyers go, but for those in the know, the prices of vegetables here are actually lower than what’s set by the other stalls. It’s near the fish stalls (left), so it’s not that hard to find.

If you happen to be buying your food at the Taytay palengke, then why not drop by this stall and see what cheap veggies you can buy for your lunch or dinner meal. The walk to the stall may be muddy, but it may be worth it, if you want lower prices. Note that the stall may move in time, so if it is not there, you may look around and simply compare prices before buying. It may take more time, but that’s just the way to go to get the best products that money can buy in a market in the Philippines.

  

Filipino Kitchen Library (Salads & Vegetables)

C2 Restaurant's Traditional Filipino Cuisine

There's a restaurant at the SM Megamall called C2 that serves traditional Filipino cuisine. C2 means Classic Cuisine, so don't confuse it with the iced tea product. Anyway, eating here can be a treat with the friendly waiters and colorful seventies-inspired light fixtures (left). The restaurant is all about Filipino food, and they serve their own jazzed up versions of classic dishes like the Philippine chicken adobo (shown below with the crispy tilapia) and hubad na lumpia (top).

If you eat here, you may be pleasantly surprised at how old-time favorite dishes can give a different experience to the Filipino palate with added ingredients in the preparation and presentation. If you're already familiar with the usual taste of traditional Philippine food, you will find the versions served at the C2 a delight, tickling you with new twists to old tastes. Even familiar drinks offer new tastes for your buds. If you're lucky, you may run into a friendly waiter who knows a lot of trivia on food and history.

The C2 restaurant mentioned here is found at the Atrium section of the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong. It's menu specialties are Ensaladang Prutas at Lato, Guinataang Puso ng Saging, Crispy Squid, Cirspy Tilapia, Prawns in Aligue Sauce, Boneless Crispy Pata, Pork Humba, Tinolang Binakol and Tokwa't Baboy.

UPDATE: This C2 branch at Megamall has closed.

 

Philippines - FREE Travel Guide & Offline Map

Kubo ni Ka Ipe: A Quaint QC Restaurant with a Creeping Plant Growing on the Nipa Ceiling

There is a quaint and small restaurant in or near Teacher's Village in Quezon City. It's called Kainan sa Kubo ni Ka Ipe. It's near Kalayaan Avenue and Malingap Street - 89 Malumanay st., to be exact, and it's interesting because it's got a creeping vine growing on the ceiling (see pictures on the left and below). It's said that the plant just crept inside and started to grow and it's now the main attraction of the eatery. It's got a nipa roof and wooden furniture which gives it an airy and refreshing nayon ambiance, especially with the wind chimes, seashell chandeliers, and big windows. It definitely has a rustic Filipino charm that's adorable.

The Kubo ni Ka Ipe is run by Nida Najera and was borne from her efforts catering food to her tenants. This led to the establishment, and turned space in her residence into something useful. The standard menu has the usual Filipino toppings like the "silogs" (rice meals with egg), but they also have house specialties like the dinuguan. Lunch "turo-turo" meals are also available. The restaurant caters to nearby offices and bilao pancit orders are popular for corporate events. Once you see the vine on the ceiling (left' below), you will really be impressed. Yes, it's the conversation piece on every table and you'll likely look at it more than the History Channel show on the television set in the corner.

If you're in the area, you might want to check out Kainan sa Kubo ni Ka Ipe with your friends, stay for a while and soak in the Filipino eating experience.You might even be able to identify the plant, if you're into botany or agriculture.

 

Manila Travel Guide (Philippines Insider Guides Book 3) 

Slice 'N Dice Steakhouse Rice and Gravy Meals in Quezon City

Slice 'N Dice is a steakhouse in Metro Manila that's getting to be popular because of it's gravy rice meals. There's one along Kalayaan Ave. in Quezon City. People often pass by it but seldom take the time to check what it has to offer but it has its gravy rice meal that come with sirloin, pork, and chicken sliced and diced toppings mixed with the rice.

The meal comes with a generous helping of gravy, which is something that Filipinos have grown to enjoy with chicken as a dip instead of as a side to rice. The gravy with the rice meals of Slice 'N Dice is to be poured on top of the rice while it's still hot. Then, you eat! The rice meal of your choice is light yet filling and its simplicity makes is a quick meal of choice if you're in a hurry or need a quick fix to get you going. If you wish, you can order one with fried or even scrambled egg. The gravy goes well with the diced and sliced beef, pork or chicken, but some people may simply prefer it with the chicken.

  

Lundberg White Jasmine Rice, 32 Oz

New Species of Giant Tree-Dwelling Philippine "Bayawak" Lizard Confirmed

There's a six-foot-long dragon in the Philippines and Science was only able to identify it as an unnamed species only now. Back in 2001, scientists first saw the skinny but long lizard in photographs. It had brightly-colored skin which differentiated with from a ground-dwelling lizard that's also eaten but less sought-after. People like to hunt it for its delicious meat in the northern part of Luzon island. No one really knows why it tastes so good but it's probably because it likes to eat pandan fruit (left), the leaves of which are used as an aromatic flavor enhancer of steamed rice. Now it's called the forest monitor lizard of Northern Luzon and is of the genus Varanus.

In a quest to find the creature, Rafe Brown of the University of Kansas set out with graduate students to the Philippines where hunters heard of their interest and brought a male that's barely alive. It was then that the team confirmed that it was a new species through genetic testing. Brown commented on how timely the discovery was since the team was already short on money and food.The tests showed the wide genetic gap between the forest monitor lizard and its closest relative, Gray's monitor lizard, which lives in Southern Luzon. This one is what most people there would likely identify as a bayawak (left).

In Southern Luzon, like in Batangas and Quezon provinces, bayawaks are sold by roadsides as a delicacy. The eggs are also cooked. At $4 per egg, this is a meal you can pass. Bayawak eggs are strange in that they will not solidify 100% if you boil them. But those whove tasted boiled bayawak eggs say that it's really delicious. You can also scramble or fry the eggs. For the courageous, other recipes can be tried. But sticking to chicken and duck eggs will probably help save the bayawak lizards from extinction - unless a way is found to farm them or they are already farmed and harvested like chicken eggs. The image at left is from a post in the MacGyver's Kitchen blog which describes one Filipino's experience in boiling the eggs. There are more photos of bayawak eggs being cooked here.

Anyway, back to the forest monitor lizard of North Luzon (top; left). So it lives in trees and is being hunted for food likely made it elusive enough for biologists to realize they've been missing something all these years, or at least that's what Brown concluded. Brown also theorized that the lizard does not grow as large as the Komodo dragon of Indonesia because it likes to live in the trees, which needed it to be light. The locals only see it as food. With the forest habitat of the lizard already shrinking with the encroachment of people, it easy to say that this poor lizard is already in danger of being extinct.

Philippine Lizards of the Family Scincidae