Money Burners: The 40th Figure

A most appropriate 40th figure (not the 40th in all - I've sold a number of figures to fellow collectors - but the 40th to stay in the collection). Gurren Lagann was one of the best anime series I've watched, and Yoko contributed a lot to making it a very memorable show. This Gift pvc figure happens to be the best Yoko figure out there. Been wishing for this for some time now.

Blue Beer That Won't Cause The Blues

Chimay Blue
Trappist Beer
The logo "Trappist" certifies that this ale was brewed
within the walls of an existing trappist monastery
under the control of the trappist community.
A major part of the sales revenue is used by the monks
to support charitable works.
Chimay Blue is a powerful and complex beer.
It is best enjoyed at a temperature of 10 C to 12 C.

A win-win indulgence, if there ever was one. You buy and enjoy it, and you support Belgian monks with their charitable projects.

The first thing you notice about this brew is the fierce head retention. The glass shows a pleasant brownish / burgundy-ish liquid.

I can't recall any other beer giving me the sensation of flavors gushing all over. I chilled this beer in the freezer first, and the first sip gave an unmistakable jolt of alcohol that went to the top part of my mouth. There's a welcoming but subtle sweetness of raisins and grapes. The mouthfeel is very clean and smooth. This early, I regret getting just one bottle. This beer has it all -- high alcohol content, deep desirable flavors. An advanced beer drinker's brew, best appreciated by those receptive to the subtleties of excellent elixirs.

I've tried the challenging Chimay Red and Chimay White before. This Chimay Blue is, hands down, the best and smoothest of the Chimay trimvirate. I'm thinking this beer is best paired, if need be, with subtly-flavored food. Strong spices would kill the beer and dilute the enjoyment of this superb Belgian brew. A big round red wine glass is preferred for this Chimay, but even taken on a straight glass, this beer is among the best there is.

Con-Con Rating System: F=forgettable; G=good and will drink if available; D=desirable, will opt for seconds or more; and W=wow, would go places just to seek out this beer

Chimay Blue: Rooftop W, alcohol a manly 9%

*click on the label "beer philippines" below to see other beer reviews

The Obama Effect

Despite his domestic troubles in the US, Barack Obama is not without his fans -- in the Philippine Congress, no less.

Was at the House of Representatives yesterday for some research. An office of a certain representative, the very first door on the ground floor of Congress' North Building in fact, has this Obama cutout prominently placed. Weird.

Puerto Sights and Scenes; Kinabuch’s Tamilok

The fish section of the city market offers a selection of fresh produce you don’t normally see in your local grocery’s wet section. It’s no secret that I gravitate towards markets when I get to travel (this, this and this are examples). Groceries and markets are de rigeur destinations wherever I go.

Dried fish and squid are popular pasalubong from the province.

It’s the rusticity of many provincial capitals in the Philippines that make them unique and endearing. Puerto Princesa is no exception. All pictures taken along the main Malvar Avenue.

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I first came to know of tamilok’s existence, ironically, from a foreign show. Bizarre Foods’ Andrew Zimmern went to Palawan and savored a kind of long, slimy worm found inside trees. As it turns out, it was not a worm at all but a mollusk, quite related to oysters. Zimmern just dipped it in calamansi and slid the thing slowly into his mouth.

I don’t know if our guide in the Underground River tour was joking the other day, but he said the name “tamilok” is a local bastardization of “Tammy, look!” which was the expression a foreign tourist blurted to his wife in the 80s when they saw the thing during a visit to Palawan.

Kinabuch Bar and Grill is a tourist institution in Puerto Princesa, known for Filipino fare. Tamilok is a regular menu entry. Pinoys and foreigners alike seem to gravitate toward this place for good eats, cold beer and its easygoing atmosphere.

We ordered the beef ribs, grilled blue marlin, gising-gising (a mix of vegetables, shrimp and pork bits cooked with coco milk and chilis).

The highlight, however, was raw tamilok. The texture was soft, softer than oyster. The taste was something I had not experienced before. It was salty, sea salty (tasted very much like the ocean), with a very distinct and quite clingy wood aftertaste. No amount of spiced vinegar or soy sauce laced with wasabi could mask the funky taste.

Tamilok isn’t pleasant taste-wise, and the appearance and firm-but-gooey texture would turn off most diners. Glad to have tried it though. Partaking tamilok in Palawan is one of those memorable destination-food combos, much like eating sushi in Japan, crepe in France, frankfurters in Germany, milkshakes in the US.

Palawan Underground River

The Underground River trip is quite mandatory, as far as first or second time Palawan visits go.

Two rides to go there from Puerto Princesa city proper. A 45-minute drive through mostly cemented roads, with little portions acquainting one to the Palawan Massage experience – stretches of bumpy, unpaved road that shake and rattle you in your seat. And a 15-minute boat ride to the smaller patch of beach where the cave is located. Both not advisable for those prone to motion sickness. The land portion in particular was endearingly called “abortion road” years back when there were longer strips of dirt roads along the route.

Our tour package included a sumptuous lunch of binakol soup (highly-peppered, slightly gingered chicken broth with small pieces of chicken meat and strangely, coconut strips) roasted pork and fish, and adobo of chicken and kangkong. Washed down with juice from coconuts freshly picked from nearby trees.

Total darkness was broken only by the beams from the bangkero’s search light (held by whoever was seated at the boat’s snout). And what the light shone on were spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations. The Underground River was claimed to be the longest navigable subterranean river in the world.

The Ranger station had other regular visitors as well --a monitor lizard (it climbed up the tree to eat baby mice) and the endemic Palawan peacock (quite unafraid of people, you could really get close to it).

The Underground River is among the frontrunners in the internet voting for the New Natural Wonders of the World. It’s head to head with the Amazon River in South America, which, with fingers crossed, I also hope to visit someday.

IBP's 19th House of Delegates Convention

Puerto Princesa City pulled out all the stops, so to speak, in welcoming lawyers who trooped to the Palawan capital for the biennial event. A marching band, local beauty queens and an army of chapter members and volunteers met the Integrated Bar of the Philippines contingent at the airport.

The Legend Hotel was equally generous in its welcome.

Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn was a real hands-on host. He sponsored dinner for more than a hundred delegates at the Legend Hotel. He made a Powerpoint presentation about the city's achievements, personally preparing the slides himself. The guy even sang a song about unity with the local ethnic band. But what impressed me most was, he greeted all the VIP guests by their names from memory, without resorting to notes. How's that for doing your homework? No wonder Puerto Princesa is a much-awarded city. Mayor Hagedorn exudes "smart."

The night's honored guest, Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno, summed it best -- Mayor Hagedorn himself was Puerto Princesa's top attraction. It's fairly obvious from this post that I've suddenly become a fan.

To top the evening off, he gave everybody bamboo rainmaker souvenirs, made by indigenous craftspeople whose livelihood the Mayor is helping uplift.