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

Perfect McDonald's Hotcakes

Here are two hotcakes ordered at a MacDonald's branch at a mall in Quezon City the Philippines. It's rare, but hotcakes can sometimes be so immaculately perfect in shape and color that you just have to take a picture of them. These hotcakes only have a slightly darker and mottled center, which make the one on top look like an eye. But that's okay, it still tastes like a hotcake!

Pancakes or hotcakes, as they are called by McDonald's, have become a popular fastfood breakfast item in the Philippines. They are served with thick syrup and a sachet of Anchor butter. Each order has got a good serving of sugar and fat so you do have to watch your diet if you decide to order some hotcakes. This serving of hotcakes comes with a plastic fork and spoon and placed in a styrofoam container (like the one shown at left). Some years back, the food court of the mall had stopped using regular washable plates in favor of styrofoam and plastic utensils.

Picture Perfect Pancake Pan and Omelette Pan - Omelette Maker / Pancake Maker (2 Pack)

Holy Week Catholic Procession in Quezon City

Holy Wednesday night at a church in Sikatuna Village in Quezon City (earlier photo, top and left). The procession of the holy icons is ready to begin as the mass inside concludes (photo; bottom). Such processions are held all over the country during Lent in the Holy Week. Procession like these go around the community of the church with the participating parishioners carrying candles and praying in recollection of the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ as the savior of humankind. In some processions, the faithful also sing, even when the usual church songs are sung in a different tune.

Unfortunately it is also during the Holy Week that Filipinos also flock to the beaches to unwind and spend time with family in outings planned months ahead. For many Filipinos who have to work, the four days of holy days are the only time in summer that they can have a break apart from any leave of absences they may still have left. It's a commpn quandary in the Philippines, whether to focus on the spiritual first or to satisfy the needs of the body and mind in order to recuperate from the stresses of work.

The Incorruptibles: A Study of the Incorruption of the Bodies of Various Catholic Saints and Beati

Ocean Adventure Animals Entertain Visitors at Subic Bay

At the Ocean Adventure marine park in Subic Bay in Olongapo City in the Philippines, animals like the trained and talented sea lion above never fail to entertain visitors. This sea lion show (top) gives a message of conservation to visitors by emphasizing to the audience the importance of recycling and proper disposal of trash which can be harmful to animals, especially those that live in the sea.

Discarded nets, for example, only become death traps for mammals like dolphins and other whales when they become hopelessly entangled and fail to surface to breath. The result is that they drown in the very element that they live in. For those of you who are unaware, dolphins breath air through their blowhole. The can hold their breath for a long time underwater, but they still need to go the surface to breath.

The small photograph (left) shows one of the Ocean Adventure dolphins performing for students and their parents on an educational field trip. The fish fed to the dolphins every time they perform is one way to keep them satisfied and make sure they are well rewarded for a job well done. Visitors can have their photos taken with the seal lions and dolphins at very affordable rates.

Schleich Sea Lion Cub Toy Figure

Aetas Perform Native Dance at Zoobic Safari in Olongapo

These are Aeta performers (top) doing their native war dance with their hunting bows and arrows. Usually meant for hunting small animals, these weapons are nevertheless effective and dangerous. Here, they are merely props for a cultural presentation meant for entertainment.

After the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, many Aetas were displaced from where they used to live away from the cities and the old way of life that they've known for so long suddenly vanished. Gone are the old days when they're ancestors lived at peace in the forests. These days, they're now part of mainstream society and work for a living just like other Filipinos.

The Aetas played a vital role in the training of American soldiers in jungle survival when the Subic Base was still an American enclave. Now, they still take people on tours and do demonstrations on how to make fire and cook using nothing but a machete and bamboo (above, left). Knowing what they know, it's really easy to be comfortable in the forest and live in it for days, months, even years! It's interesting to know that an environment that may be seen as hostile by many is actually a very homely place where everything you need to survive is provided. The Aetas have known this for a long time. Let's hope their knowledge and culture is not lost as their society changes.

The black and white classic photo (below, left) is from The Philippine Islands, by John Foreman; from the Gutenberg ebook files.

Living with the Pinatubo Aetas: A Peace Corps Philippines Journal

Hamsters Are Furball Pillows

Hamsters are strange rodents. In their cages in pet stores in Metro Manila, they are often seen clumping together in a corner among the wood shavings. They'd usually be lying on top of one another either curled up or on their backs. Apart from eating peeing, pooing, and scratching, sleeping is practically all they do day in and day out and still we humans love to watch them. It's why they are so popular.

Hamsters really don't do anything interesting, but some people like it that way. Take one look at these pictures of hamsters for sale at a pet shop in Metro Manila and a lot of you would love them... or hate them.

Plush Brushy Hamster 5"