Mmmmmmmmmango

Okay, so I absolutely love mangoes anyway, but after a so-so breakfast of fried rice, sunny-side-up eggs and adobo, I had a crepe filled with some yellow jam, which turned out to be mango. Well, the crepe is not your usual crepe. The texture is more gelatinous than regular pancake-type crepes. The texture is kinda fun, although the taste is a bit bland. But when I got to the mango filling, mmmmmmm-mmm! It was by far the BEST mango filling I've had. (Dianne, if you're reading this, this is me trying to make you envious. ;) )

Anyway, yesterday afternoon, I got somewhere with my phone calls and spent the afternoon drafting a proposal just so I could send it by email before 5pm. Then I headed up to the rooftop restaurant only to find that there was some event going on, so I went back down and asked the hotel clerk named Ratz, who checked me in when I got here and remembers my name now, although he remembers my married name which is in the front page of my passport. *sigh*

Ratz said that, for Filipino food, I could turn right outside the hotel and I'd find two Filipino restaurants. One of them was Barrio Fiesta on the other side of the street. I can't even remember the name of the other restaurant he mentioned. So, off I went to Barrio Fiesta.

Barrio Fiesta was the premier restaurant chain when I was growing up. If you had a special occasion, you celebrated at Barrio Fiesta. I think they only had two big restaurants in Metro Manila when I was a child, but it looks like they've become a chain with several smaller restaurants, including this one. Barrio Fiesta was well-known for their kare-kare, a peanutty sauce with tripe, oxtail, eggplant, banana hearts, and other odds and ends, and then served with salted brine called alamang. It's a traditional dish, but what makes it special at Barrio Fiesta is that they serve it in a clay pot on top of a little clay cooker with some charcoal inside to keep it warm.

Anyway, I asked for a half-order of that, some rice, and sago at gulaman which is a sweet caramelly drink with pieces of gelatin (gulaman) and tapioca (sago). Mmmmmm!

Meanwhile, a man was playing the guitar and was soon joined by a very friendly young lady wearing traditional costume and she sang some covers from the 70s. Anachronistic, yes, but very much the Filipino way. She had a wonderfully full voice, but she sang the songs as though she were singing with a karaoke machine. On the other hand, I admire her for being able to project her voice in a noisy restaurant without a mic.

Walking back to the hotel, I passed by a street vendor roasting barbeque pork on a stick over a portable pit. Mmmmm... I was so tempted to buy some to take back with me.

In a sense, I'm glad I've been on my own during this first week. It's different when you're alone. Your senses are heightened and you become more open to happy accidents.