Mornings at camp
Early mornings are quiet at camp, depending where you are. Here at 300 man camp its the smells that wake you, especially if you’re billeted right next to the mess hall. This row of accommodations where the satellite radios are perched sit right beside the mess hall. How delicious can it be to wake up to the aroma of spam in the pan in the morning 
Street Delicacies
All class distinction aside, I think one of the best sales jobs is selling something you made yourself. When you sell your own product you can honestly vouch for its quality, which makes you a more effective seller. Home made products also have that individualized appearance, where no two products look exactly alike. It makes choosing more interesting for the buyer. Besides this way you can also engage in a bit of chitchat with the seller.
Taken on A. Santos Avenue, near the ATO compound.
Places in my past (Part 2)
Was in the QC area again today, in the Retiro area where an old aunt lives, and where we used to be every Sunday when I was a little girl. The Lourdes Church was where we went to hear mass decades ago. My aunt and I would head out from the house in Cabatuan just off A. Bonifacio, pick up her sisters who lived in an apartment on A. Bonifacio, drive up Mayon St and then turn left on Retiro. My aunt would park her Ford Taunus on one of the side streets a block away from the Lourdes Church and then we’d hear mass. This was usually followed by a trip for groceries at Century Grocery (now the Metrobank at the corner of Mayon and Retiro).
Sam and I stood at the intersection of Mayon and Retiro around noon this Friday. The area looked different to him as well. After we saw my aunt we walked up Retiro (now N.S. Amoranto) towards Banaue. What used to be a quiet, even sleepy district was now a bustling area with banks and mini-malls at every corner. When we reached the corner of Banaue where the jeepney terminal was, we got on a jeep going up to Quezon Ave. The final destination?
Ma Mon Luk, Quezon Avenue. This place is a classier version (and the only other branch) of the restaurant in Quiapo but the food is the same yummy and very filling walang kamatayang mami and siopao. The pictures here are from my camera phone hence the poor quality. We had the special and regular siopao and the small mami and softdrinks and the final bill was a teeny bit over P300 (under US$6.00). Now that’s a good meal.
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- Ma Mon Luk, Q Ave
Two weeks in culinary heaven
The best thing about my two weeks at the FRC-MAS Compound in Aroroy, Masbate (well, other than the fulfillment of having completed the School I.T. Project training courses) is the food.
There is absolutely nowhere I would rather be than in Chef Tony Simmons’ mess hall, under the care of his generous and accommodating staff. The food is always heavenly, the mess hall itself is replete with modern furniture and is always bright and deliciously cool.
The pictures here do not do justice to the numerous nourishing meals I have had in the past two weeks because of them. And no amount of thanks can equal the care they have given me, the whole Imaginet crew, and almost a hundred other people who come in every mealtime for sustenance.
I left Masbate in the wee hours of the morning today, but last night as I said goodbye to the kitchen staff, telling them I was leaving, the first thing they told me was “Ma’am, mag baon ka para may makain ka sa biyahe.” (Ma’am, please pack some food so that you will have something to eat during the trip.)
I’m sure going to miss them.
About Me
