look who's cooking & not just eating ;p

does it look appetizing? i've to learn foodphotography ;p

tapang beefsteak with a twist anyone? yes, i cooked this mucho deliciosso dish today. really yummy! you can't argue with me. you didn't taste in the first place. in the second place, this is my blog ;p


the name? the 1st time i tried my hand on this chow was just last week. it came out a bit dry & salty. i had to mix vinegar & pepper for dip. that's why i'm calling it tapa ;p this one i cooked today is not dry anymore but still a bit salty but very tasty ;p i've to learn to mix soy sauce & vinegar next time. good thing, there's still uncooked meat to experiment with.


i didn't do it on my own, by the way. i got help from 2 experts, my dad & my good friend donch thru mobile texting. i got good sense enough to ask.otherwise, i wouldn't have put vinegar at all & stirred it a lot. i never would've guessed there's vinegar in it. take note, i sent my query simultaneously to them thinking i'll choose whoever gives me the easier way. good thing, i did for if only asked dad, i would still have missed the vinegar.


here's his text: marinate the beef then fry with onions. he forgets his daughter is a nincompoop in the kitchen. instructions should be clear & detailed.


donch's is detailed, knowing her, & with commentary pa ;p
thaw the meat first then marinate in soy sauce, chopped garlic & calamansi.
what i did: rubbed salt on the beef thinking that's how you clean it. &maybe i didn't rinseenough so that explains the salty taste. the 2nd time i did it, no more rubbing salt so it came out less salty.

fry the meat slices until brown & set aside. you may need to do this in batches depending on qty. some people addthe marinade but i don't dothis because it's contaminated with raw meat. (another long sentence of commentary but for katamaran, i won't type anymore.)
what i actually did: i threw away the marinade, i think it's dirty too. the frying was easy.

put everything back in the pan & for sauce, put soy sauce& vinegar.
my say: ah, there's vinegar ;p

it's important not to stir the dish at this point.
what i thought: no stirring???!! my idea of cooking is stirring. think witches stirring their thick porridge ;p so i didn't.we have to abide by the expert, so i texted. wrong decision. continue reading.



you will have to wait until the vinegar is cooked. you can tell if it is if it doesn't smell too sour anymore. it takles 5-10mins.



my advice: don't text while cooking. give your attention to what's on the stove.sending one message is ok but what if your textmate replies right away? before you know it, your meat is burned. that's what happened to my 1st. it wasn't really burned but dried up completely. where'd the sauce go?

cut onions into rings. place on top of the dish.remove from fire.
what i did: i forgot & sliced the onion in half. so i had half-rings the 1st time. i got it correctly the 2nd time. she didn't clarify if the black pepper is powdered or whole. no time to make a call. i had to make a fast decision. i tried recalling the beef steaksthat i've eaten, whole or powdered? can't remember, so i put my favorite, powdered.


the twist by the way, is eggplant. starting about last year, i consciously added fruits & vegetables to my diet for a healthier me. i should at least eat 5 different fruits & veggies daily. it's the only one i had the fridge that seemed puede. i don't think okra & tomatoes would make a good match.


i'm really new in this cooking thing. i only started this april. before that, my idea of cooking involved the microwave. if i used the stove, it meant frying hotdog, preparing instant noodles & knorr soup...just add 1 egg ;p.


well, if you'd like to know, about 2 years ago, i started really cooking. i taught myself by asking
& observing those who i know are good cooks. i think a lot of my watching cooking shows helped condition me. so now, when i cook. i explain what i'mdoing to an imaginary camera ;p


i learned how to make tortang talong & chicken sotanghon pepper soup & my special fried rice. special ingredient: small cubed carrots & egg. my godson matti, 6, liked it & was quite amused with the carrot bits.


yes, i invited friends over to try my cooking. i'd prepare green salad & buy dressing in the grocery, knorr soup, special fried rice or just plain rice, main dish limited to 3. the third one is actually daya. i'd buy roasted chicken from rustan's & claim it as mine. i bought it so it's mine. good thing, nobody bothered asking how i did it. (maybe they were just happy they're eating something edible.) because frankly, i don't have a clue ;p

we'd have red wine (jinj likes bringing a bottle) & chocolates (sunny's fave dala) or cake (gen's) or ice cream (mine). my guestlist is limited to 3. my place is small & i'd get stressed preparing for more than that.


my experimenting in the kitchen was cut short when my cousin got backfrom his sabbatical. my kitchen is apparently his turf.

why bother when he's willing. it's much more convenient to come home with food ready on the dinner table.


but when les left for good this april, i started learning adobo (thanks, zen!), sinigang na baboy (i did this on my own, not asking anyone. wrong move. i've learned to ask since then. long story short, genna thought i cooked nilaga. haha!) sinigang na hipon (one of my favorite dishes. i did this on my own.), sinigang nacorned beef (i copied from genna's.), sardines with sotangon soup, steamed chicken with ginger, pinakbet (i'm an ilocana, i should know how to cook one. it was easy, common sense lang, naks!), arroz caldo (my comfort food), & spaghetti (favorito!!!) in red (i use real tomatoes, c/o of manel) or white sauce or olive oil & top it add basil or parsley. for meat, i'd use ground pork or beef, longganissa, tuna or sardines, whatever's available. with carrot bits or eggplant, all good! i now have quite a variety of dishes i can cook.


this is quite a big leap for me. bru & i are now thinking of taking short courses. rhea is more advanced, she's into baking already. i realized, cooking is a cinch! if you know how hehe. as donch puts it, it's just a matter of experimenting. & let me add, finding people willing to eat it.


keep in mind, presentation helps. visualfor adults like table presentation. more of audio for kids. at least in my family that's how it worked. my dad, i remember when we were kids, he'd bring in his dish, while we're all seated & excitedly awaiting his surprise. he would exclaim while putting the dish down on the table, wow, ang sarap nito! champion to! in a booming voice, then we would all agree & eagerly dig in ;p

in the land of the maharajas

Going to India for the first time, I expected to hear flutey music & Indian women clad in colorful sari greeting us at the airport. Like when I watch Disco & NG channels, images of India never fail to flash before you without that hypnotic swirly tune & some belly dancing. So I was quite disappointed when instead of that, we were greeted by mosquitoes, dark & healthy. Not just one or two but a platoon.

Outside, the place swarmed with dark-skinned men with fierce eyes staring at us like we were from outer space. I'm not used to people like that. From where I come from, people are friendly & smile at you in a snap. I was in the middle of a foreign land surrounded by turbaned men in all-white ensemble. Are they going to break in to a dance routine or something? Where are the women? I felt intimidated & out of place. I didn't belong, I couldn't blend with the crowd. Not this crowd.

Though late, the place was still busy, teeming with cab drivers & porters. Not to forget the mosquitoes competing for my attention. Noisy, the place was noisy, full of energy, honking of impatient drivers, gruff talk, bargaining for cab fares perhaps. I felt like I was in a marketplace.

I craned my neck to find our driver. How on earth am I going to find him? Before my wild imagination got the better of me, I found our driver bearing a cardboard "St.Mark's Hotel". Turns out he's a friendly guy. He told us to wait for him in the corner while he get the car, in English & mostly sign & body language.

While waiting for him, I looked around & couldn't quite believe I'm in Bangalore, in India. I needn't pinch myself, I felt a sting from one of the mosquitoes.

Just a year ago, my friend Donch & I were feeling like Kate Moss-ish & were contemplating on vacationing in India. (This, however, by some twist of fate is a buisnes trip. What could be better than free plane tickets & accommodation.) We searched the web for pictures & places to see. It's way different of course, when you set foot. So much better.

The car was small like most cars there. While Pinoys pattern after the Americans, Indians to British thus the European-sized cars. I wondered how our pieces of luggage would fit plus the 4 of us incl.the driver. I think Mr. Friendly Driver is such an expert in car stuffing, we did fit in!

The drive to the hotel was short. The city was still wide awake at almost midnight. The streets were well-lighted. Roads & fly-overs were quite new, some under construction. Same for some buildings.

This is another right-hand drive country like Thailand & HK. I have to be careful crossing the street lest I lose a limb. It's confusing, having grown up in a left-hand drive country.

(In my first visit to Bangkok, I was quite surprised why my supplier, Pawinee, brought a driver & yet chooses to drive the car. I thought maybe she brought him so she'd have somebody carry my luggage. This thought was running in my mind as I saw her walking to the left side of the car while I was already seated in the back. When I found out, the steering wheel was on the other side, I told her about it & we ended up laughing. We instantly became friends, to this day we correspond thru FB ;p)

A few days later, as I was really observing everything & trying to enjoy every experience in this beautiful & magical country, I saw a stat board saying some 4k people died in that major highway the previous year alone. (It was Mahatma Gandhi ave. I think. They have M.G. roads all over the country, I was told. Just as there are Rizal blvds & aves & highways all over the Phils.) That's about 10 a day. What a shock! And my Indian colleague, Ashutosh added that that's only the no. that gets reported. It could be more. What?! I consoled myself that maybe that's all over the country & not just that highway. Anyway, I have to take this crossing the street seriously, otherwise, I might end up going home with a missing limb or not get home at all!

In one of our factory visits, another Indian colleague of mine who drove me to the supplier's office could've just dropped me off on the other side of the road to save time & effort. But no, he drove all around & made a U-turn from afar just so he could drop me off to where exactly the bldg. was. At first, I protested. I said, I can cross the street, there's a traffic light anyway. He said, Indians don't follow traffic rules & regulations. Oh.

Yeah, they drive like crazy. Motorcycles weaving thru traffic is quite common & a headache I suppose for car drivers. Like those in Manila, only here, there's hordes of them. Even yuppies own a motorcycle.

On our first day after a business meeting, we figured in a road accident. Our driver, not the hotel driver, I think watched too many James Bond movies. We were weaving the streets like snakes, swerving left & right at a speed of a cheetah. Are we in a movie? Are there villains chasing us? Can the director pls. say, CUT!!!

We did stop because we hit a cab & our rogue of a driver tried to run away from it with us of course in the car. So, another round of swerving & chasing. Only this time, we were surely being chased by an angry cab driver. Why, aren't we stopping? I asked Ashu, I don't recall his response. Anyway, I thought to myself, Weeee!!! I'm in the movies! Where's James Bond???

The furious cab driver caught up with us, darn that red light. Next thing you know, our car was surrounded by onlookers. And the last to arrive, as in the movies are the police. I couldn't understand anything they were saying, of course. But both drivers were hostile at each other.

Anyway, we ended up taking the auto rickshaw to my delight. They're like Philippines' tricycles & Thailand's tuk-tuk. Enough road adventure for the day.

Yes, there were cows everywhere. Grazing on the side of the street, standing guard by the traffic light, taking a nap at the pharmacy store, checking out the rowsof restaurants. They're holy to the Indians so they're allowed to just wander around. Interesting.

Having had idle time before the trade show, we went outside the city to visit the guru at the Art of Living Temple. On our way, we passed by countryside scene including trucks decorated with garlands, with pop art like this one:

Anwhere we go I can't help but marvel at their colorful costumes, even old men wearing fuchsia, emerald green, turquoise blue. Wow!

At the temple, we had to take off our footwear as we were standing on holy grounds, not to mention, scorching hot. We sort of danced like birds on the hot red bricks as we sang, ouch, ouch in different tones on our way to the temple for photo op.

Lucky for us, the guru was there that day. I got really close to him as I waded in a sea of adoring pilgrims. I got to shake hands with him & I felt like I sort of received some positive energy of sorts from the universe. He looked amiable & at peace despite the chaos. I would later tell my Indian suppliers about my encounter but not too many were amused. Maybe they're just envious.

Driving back to the city, we feasted our eyes on the august European-style judicial & legislative structures surrounded by huge, ancient-old trees. I felt like I was home. Like UP Diliman.

I hope they take care of their trees. I love trees. I almost wanted them, every Indian I encounter, to pledge to protect their trees. I decided against it last minute ;p

Bangalore, by the way is the City of Gardens. They have some beautiful well-maintained gardens in the city. I was surprised to see a lot of birds. I was rather envious. You don't see that many in Manila. Not as big & black. Are those crows? OK, now I'm scared.

One of those perched on my window one morning. On my first morning in India. Imagine my shock, when I drew the curtain & the first to come to view was a big shiny black crow. I think I yelped. I got the hang of it later. They liked visiting me for some reason.

There were other places we went to like the Brigade Road where KFC was. Where people were more modern, mostly wearing jeans & t-shirts. Not too many were wearing traditional clothes, which to me was rather boring. I mean those wearing modern clothes are kinda boring. There were a few malls. Coming from a country with big malls, I wasn't impressed.

There were a lot of different temples in the area with idols of different shapes, sizes & colors. The men & women in their wonderful & vibrant hues of flowing saris & its beautiful contrast on their brown to olive skintone. The ladies actually adorned themselves with leis on their neck or on their hair. So pretty. The aroma that's disctinctly Indian. Is it curry? Chili? Turmeric powder? Or all of the above? All these add to the image that I have of India. And the pesky mosquitoes which were present even in the offices. Glad to note, none in the hotel.

Too bad for me & my companions, we didn't have much time to go around. We came here for work after all. We were camped in a beautiful exclusive resort off the city for about a week for a trade show. I wonder when I can go back to India again. Despite the chaotic streets, frenzy atmosphere, & scary birds & mosquitoes, India remains my favorite among my foreign travels for its unique charm.

I first visited India in 2006. This was initially posted in my other blog at traveljournals.net.

hot forever 21 fever

i've been hearing from friends in the fashion industry about the invasion of the real forever 21 to manila & finally last fri, it has landed. i planned to go on its opening day to make ush-show-sow. (alright to be honest, i wanted to get a gc, as i read from chuvaness that they're giving away such for early birds. i love freebies!)

for some reason, i forgot about it & good thing i did cos my good friend jinj told me the place was packed. there was no way, i could've gotten a free voucher she said. & peeps were shopping like there's no tomorrow. everybody stylish & nagpapanggap na stylish were there. designers & merchandisers including their mm's & probably even their vp's opted to go on field that day & do competitive check. read: shopping ;p

so i said, curious me will go when the curiosity is over. so tonight, since i was around mega, i thought it's been a week & it's a thu so maybe there won't be too many peeps & i was wrong. they had like 10 or 12 counters & yet the queues are sooo loooong. henry sy's magic in the works again ;p

dreamy-eyed women & gays (probably envisioning how to wear their new outfits the next couple of days) & not-so-happy men (probably fielded in by girlfriends/wives to line up for them while they're in the dressing room or checking out the fancy accs.) were braving the loooonng lines with, i would say, 4 items ave. per customer. mr. sy must be very happy. hurray!

i'm happy for sm. i heard they were eagerly anticpating to bring in h&m about 3 years ago. (hence, the specualted reason behind facelift of sm mkti & sm dept stores.) at around the same time, rustan's peeps were saying, they will bring in h&m. why it didn't come to pass, dunno.

i'm happy for the fashionistas on a budget & me-self. they don't have to contend with vintage (read: uks) products. not a fan. alright, i did buy a few items but eventually stopped. i didn't like boiling clothes.

i wonder how this will affect brands like mango, zara & even local brands. f21 has very affordable items. the night before f21's opening, i happened to take a sneak peak at zara sale at gb & as usual, ladies & gents were grabbing items like mad. i wonder if it's still the same story the day f21 opened its doors. are they hurt by the new kid in town? i wonder what happened to old (fake daw) f21 here in manila before.

worth noting are the trendy & pretty shoppers in the "candy store" for fashionistas. those that i only used to see at shang are here. sm seems to be attracting more upper class clientele. they started with m&s, then the block, mega atrium, to which i have to ask, is it working? are the tenants making money? doesn't look like it. except forthis latest venture. let's see if it holds.

while i was doing all these wondering & scanning the huge & expansive fashion store, to be efficient, i was also picking up a striped knitchambray combi mini-dress, cute bandeau, jersey shortalls, plain v-neck tee, true blue jeans, silver loop earrings to try on & welcome to my wardrobe. but i wasn't brave enough to wait in line for the dressing room so i said i can't go wrong with my choices. & given the inexpensive prices, it won't hurt if later, i change my mind. like i don't like the fit or it doesn't look good on me. besides, i can always wrap it for christmas gift to friends (oops, there goes my secret.). it's fast approaching anyway. by now, some brands are already brainstorming for their concept for christmas. they might also want to start plotting how to conquer or tame this latest entry to the roster of fashion brands.

so, i told me-curious self, i'm going to buy these stuff right away, no need to fit. i showed my true color & my real nature came out of its shell, shopaholic sachi emerged. i have to buy these now! i have to get my shopping fix now! i've tried it on the mirror, i justified. but then, i look at the box office hit line, & i say, forget it, i'm hungry. it's a little past dinnertime.

what??!!! me, getting hungry while shopping? i can't believe it! in my whole shopping life, this is a first! i don't get tired or hungry when shopping. i've shopped long & wide, sometimes even in heels, sometimes with a slight fever & flu, during sale in metro manila malls, in flea markets, in hk, in bkk. i don't get tired because i'm in my element. up until tonight.

what happened to me? this is so not me. i have changed! i'm free, i'm liberated from the shackles of commercialism & instant gratification. i'm no longer a shopaholic! i'm released of my vice... should i be scared? ;p

anyway, i left the store without any goodie (sorry to the sy's, i'm not parting with my moolah tonight. so what, for definitely sure, they're not the slightest bit affected.) but i didn't feel that bad. huh? i don't know me anymore. i've matured ;p but i swear, i'll be back, better prepared. i'll go when the office folks are still trapped in their cubicles so i'll have a grand time hehe.

f21, i'll be back with a vengeance & shop like crazy. friends, let's sugod! ;p

take a pic (meet the queen of pictures)

I've never met anyone so into pictures, until I met my good friend & travel buddy, Bru. Our first local trip together was in Bohol some eons ago. There she bared her true color. She made me or the rest of the group take pics of her every step! ;p which was actually fine with me because I like taking pictures. Plus, she makes a good subject- beautiful skin, perfect set of teeth, ever pleasant countenance, charming smile. No need to prod her, all smiles & camera ready all the time. She has this radar that can detect if a cam is pointed at her.


We get along well during our out of town trips, she likes smiling in front of the cam (need I repeat myself again?) & I like shooting.


And I thought, Bru is camera-hungry & almost awarded her the title of Queen of Pictures. I changed my mind when I met her sister, Tripod Girl & relegated her to a runner-up. TG got her monicker from fellow Pinoy oldie tourists, who were so amused at her resourcefulness & diligence in carrying her digicam & tripod wherever they go. They were also amazed at the huge no. of photos she took of herself (& some with her family) when they toured South Korea . Every half-step maybe. With her tripod, she didn't bother anybody/didn't need their help & got all the good shots she likes.






Thanks to Tripod Girl, we got this jump shot! Timer lang pala ang katapat!







Our friendly tour guide Steph asked me,"ma'am, nag-work ba kayo sa studio?" Huh??!!

"Kasi po ang hilig ng grupo nyo magpa-picture."

She thought we were colleagues. She said she's been in the tourism industry for 7 years now & she's never met a group like ours, taking about 4 shots (we have 4 digicams) for every pose & so many poses for every inch of scenery.





She took, or should I say, we made her take most of the underwater shots while we were busy swimming, snorkeling, feeding the fishies






just plain enjoying the water







posing like Dyesebel.

Thanks to Ate Steph for our attempt at synchronized swimming was captured in photo.

But she's no perfectionist. She said she got a good shot and yet this.

But we loved her just the same. She was more than a tour guide, she was our fotog & videographer & PA rolled in one.

I didn't get to shoot a lot of pics of Bru because I had a new subject, an Aspiring Queen of Pictures. AQP is their sister also. It runs in the family ;p

But to her dismay, TG will not be dethroned.

Better luck next time, girl.

Addendum:

We made a new friend there, Koreano ;p

The next night, he brought his girlfriend Koreana ;p

We also met Lolo Nonoy of Lolo Nonoy's Resto. Can he be mistaken for P-Noy? Nah, he has more hair ;p

Another personality worth mentioning, the hero of the seas, the protector & caretaker of corals & fishies at Siete Pecados. Oops, I forget his name. Should you see him, pls. ask naman & let me know.

By the way, these were all shot at beautiful Coron, Palawan.

the most beautiful story i ever wrote (& so far the only)

I'm writing again. It's something I know I'm good at. I should know I'm my no. 1 fan. I keep re-reading my stuff & enjoying it! Haha!

I remember my lolo, Tatang Biano admiring my letter to my auntie Linda who works abroad. He said, you write well. I was about 9 then. I was like, you should read my essays, lolo. But of course, I just smiled politely and I was itching to show him my formal theme notebook so he can heap me more praises. Why did I not bring it with me on my vacation at lolo's house kasi! ;p

Among my talents, I always put "writing." It's something I like doing & why I don't do it as often, I don't know. I do have a journal but I don't have as many entries. I always find an excuse like I'm busy with this & that. Always procrastinating.

It's one of my childhood dreams, to be a writer. In fact, I told myself then that Iwill have my first book published by age 27. I remember telling myself that. Oh well, I'm super late. I did have 2 articles published though at Twentysomething column of Inquirer. Not bad? That was eons ago.

The other dream is to become the first lady president of the Philippines ;p When Tita Cory became one, I lost heart. She stole my thunder, so to speak. Anyway, I have many others that I am still pursuing. Plus this writing thing.

I have attempted writing short stories early (so did my sister, Jelen. I don't know if she remembers.) and continued on but never finished any. An unforgettable story I wrote when I was in grade school was for Gospel Komiks.

It was about a new little girl in school. Being new, she had no friends. Her new classmates didn't like her because she was new, poor, plain Jane or with disability or all the above, I don't recall exactly. After a while, she gains friends because she's apparently nice but still there were those who teased & ridiculed her, for drama hehe. They are the villains- rich, pretty, sassy girls. Then came a swimming excursion and the plot thickens. (Now why would the teacher bring her class to swim, you might ask. I was in grade school ok. And why the school approved? And the parents? Wherever did I get the idea? ;p) Tragedy strikes, the Leader of the Clique who belittles Plain Jane drowns & everybody froze in fear. The teacher was nowhere in sight or maybe she got cold feet or doesn't know how to swim, we don't know. (Then why bring a bunch of kids to the beach? Same excuse, I was in grade school, ok.) So now it's our heroine's time to shine, without hesitation & forgetting the hurts she received from LC, showing forth her golden heart & true color, dives to the water and rescues her. LC is saved & lives. Then they become best of friends. The end.

I wrote this not only because of the cash of 100 pesos but because I fancy myself a writer & my name will get printed in the religion comics that everybody is required to read in my school, Sacred Heart. I remember writing my story in a grade school pad paper instead of coupon bond because it was so beautiful & well-thought of that the editors might not believe it was written by a kid. Whoa, loaded with confidence huh!

I didn't tell a soul & mailed my letter myself at the post office in our subdivision. And waited months. I was going to surprise my mom & dad & sibs & friends & teachers & classmates. To my chagrin, it didn't get published as is.

Oh, and did I say I named my characters after my friends? PJ and her friends were named after my friends, while the "bad" girls after my classmates who weren't my "bati" that time I wrote it. Told you, so grade school.

Anyway, then one day, I read it on the same Gospel Komiks, MY STORY, only it had boys instead of girls as characters. They made the new boy, Muslim. Same storyline, Christian classmates hate him, stupid teacher brings class to the beach. Christian boy drowns & is saved by Muslim boy. Then they become friends. To this day, I vividly remember the frame-by-frame pics. It was MY STORY and yet no credit to me. Some guy's name was featured on the "written by," who I think if I remember correctly, was the editor. He stole my story!!!

I didn't tell anybody. Who would believe me, I thought. But I think I wrote the editorial board about it. Not so sure if I got to mail it though. I did think of hiring my dad's lawyer. But since I didn't have proof I just let go. I remember thinking I should've xeroxed it.

I got frustrated & didn't bother sending them another story. But I must say this, some stories that were sent by students like me & appeared there were copied from our Reading book, duh! But that didn't stop me from writing because around grade 6 till high school, I made attempts of writing novels ala Sweet Dreams. But I never got to chapter 2. I did write for our high school paper at Lourdes.

When I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez, I fell in love with his works. I must have read his, "One Hundred Years of Solitude," twice or thrice completely and about 5x partly, and devoured his other novels & short stories. I dreamed of becoming like him a Nobel Prize winner for Lit minus the cancer. And told myself, one day, I'll put the Philippines in the literary map. Right. Nowhere near right now. As my latest attempt to write my first novel is nowhere near chapter 2. For now, my most beautiful story is about the girl with the golden heart.

these (chinese) eyes of mine

They say our eyes are the windows to our souls. Is that why people who do no good avert their eyes when you talk to them? Like liars can't look you in the eye. Like I can't look at people straight in the eye if I don't like them. Or when they have something stuck between their teeth(ew!).

It took an old cheerful Chinese lady miles away from home to point out what to her and probably to most people I meet was seemingly obvious -my Chinese eyes and eventually my lineage.

(Mind you, it's rare to find one in HK. Cheerful Chinese, that is. Like a needle in a haystack. Smile is a precious commodity in the land of Jackie Chan. Hehe)

I was shopping along the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui after my business meetings when something caught my fancy in one of the narrow alleys, where I usually get my good buys.

I wasn't my usual jolly self that night & I was determined to be just that so I was just ignoring the lady vendor when she was talking to me in Chinese. You see, when I'm in a foreign land, I feel like I have to be extra friendly & be Ms. Congeniality as I am representing my country. I feel like I'm obliged to be an ambassador of goodwill & promote my country, culture & products etc. Haha! So normally, I'd smile my prettiest like beauty pageant candidate & say,"Hi, no Chinese. English please. Philippines," short of a curtsy. But not tonight, I didn't feel like talking or smiling. In fact, I just wanted to stroll away. But then I thought the jade pendant would look good on my plain knit top that I'm wearing the next day. Therefore, I had to talk to her. If only I could just snatch it & run away.

So I looked at her friendly eyes & before I could say anything, she asked, "are you Chinese?"

Here's how our poor English conversation went with lots of body language in between:

"No, Philippines."

"Ah, Philippine. Philippine-Chinese."

(I don't know why but Thais & Chinese no matter how many times I say "Philippines" couldn't quite get the"s" at the end & would still say "Philippine.")

"No, Philippines only."

"Sure, not Chinese?"

"Yes, sure."

"Those eyes, Chinese eyes," She said pointing at my eyes then at hers and smiled.

If you should know, I got the jade tiger pendant & got to wear it the next day & the next couple of weeks. Soon after, I got tired of it & hasn't worn since. This was in 2005.

Back in the Philippines, a year or so after, in one of our visits to Isabela, my mom's home province & my birthplace, I was telling the story to amuse my grandparents & a bunch of relatives. They were all laughing including my mom & dad, as if they were hearing it for the first time. Then they looked at me,as if seeing me for the first time & agreed that I did have chinky eyes. (Oh really??? You don't say!!!) And we started enumerating family members who are "singkit." Then my lola spoke, "you know my father, your lolo is Chinese. We used to..."

We all looked at her in disbelief as if asking, and you never mentioned this because? Then laughter as she started telling stories of the old days.

Fast forward to 2008, I am sitting in front of my first cousin Lisa, who doesn't have a hint of Chinese features in her. She's a Pinay beauty - beautiful brown skin, long black hair & her eyes are black & medium-sized.

I tell her, did you know we have Chinese blood? And she goes, what?!!! And I so narrated to her the whole story from Hong Kong to Isabela. Then I reminded her, remember Tatang Anghel, my lola's father, with his white shiny hair,short stature and the eyes! And she said, so that's why he looked different! She added, come to think of it, if you put him among old Chinese men, he belongs!

She was quite happy tofind out she's got a spit of Ming blood running in her veins. Maybe because who doesn't want to be related to Yao Ming nowadays? Now that the Chinese are one of the superpowers. Or simply because she's an OFW working in Taiwan & knowing that she has somehow that "connection" with her bosses is a good thing for her maybe.

It's just that it's probably hard for people to understand or accept her Chinese lineage because she has no visible proof. Unlike me, with my Chinese eyes.