Hungarian sausage

@ mirandablue

I don't know much about Hungarian food.  In fact, I've never been to a Hungarian restaurant (is there one around here?).  But I love Hungarian sausage.  I get a kick from the combination of spices.  My next foodie project would be---to find a Hungarian resto in the metro.  Wanna join me?

Join us at Food Friday

Signs of times

@ mirandablue

The old and the new, side by side.  Modern signs beside the sinking bell tower in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, built by the Augustinians in 1612.

More about the sinking bell tower here.

Linked to Signs, Signs

Midweek Blues: Blue canoe

@ mirandablue

For hundreds of years, a banca (or outrigger canoe) is a means of water transport in and around the Philippine archipelago.  This banca is paddled and primarily used for fishing by local fishermen.  Big motorized bancas are used to haul cargo and bring passengers to and from the islands.  

Join us at Midweek Blues

Ruby Tuesday: Flower vendors

@ mirandablue

Flower vendors outside the gate of the Basilica Del Sto. Nino in Cebu.

Join us at Ruby Tuesday

Mellow Yellow Monday #25: Hello, gelato!

@ mirandablue
Gelato @ Gelatissimo - Serendra

I am back to my gelato-eating days.  And I don't wreck the heavenly ice cream experience by feeling guilty.  Lost my conscience on the first lick.

Ice cream is exquisite.  What a pity it isn't illegal.  

~ Voltaire

See more happiness at Mellow Yellow Monday

Cockscomb/Today's Flowers #42

@ mirandablue
Cockscomb, Palong-manok
Celosia cristata

My aunt told me of the local name of this strange-looking flower but I completely forgot what it was!  I thought of the human brain and Hannibal Lecter when I first saw this flower. (LOL)  

@ mirandablue

We must overcome the notion that we must be regular ... it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.     ~ Uta Hagan

Posted for Today's Flowers

Bagnet salad

@ mirandablue

Bagnet Salad at Cafe Juanita, one of their best-sellers.  Bagnet or Iloko chitcharon (pork cracklings) was mixed with tomatoes, onions, vinegar and fish sauce.  Ordered this as an appetizer but ended up eating it with rice.:p

Join us at Food Friday hosted by Maiylah

Signs: Historic hot rides

@ mirandablue

Spotted this weathered sign on a gate of a construction site along Ortigas Avenue. It looks like a high-rise is being built here---Team Shobe is history.

Join us at Signs, Signs hosted by Lesley

Midweek Blues: Souvenirs

@ mirandablue

Tie-dyed throws or shawls and hand-woven wall decor at a souvenir shop in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

Share your blues at Midweek Blues

Old and new [Ruby Tuesday]

@ mirandablue

Red vehicles parked beside one of the heritage houses in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

More vibrant rubies at Ruby Tuesday

Mellow Yellow Monday #24: Fading Hibiscus

@ mirandablue

If there were nothing else to trouble us, the fate of the flowers would make us sad.  ~ John Lancaster Spalding

My contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday.  Join us.

Cardinal's Guard/Today's Flowers #41

@ mirandablue
Cardinal's Guard, Pachystachys coccinea

It is sometimes the most fragile things that have the power to endure and become sources of strength. ~ May Sarton

Posted for Today's Flowers

Grilled Stuffed Squid

@ mirandablue
Grilled Stuffed Squid @ Jatujak

Squid is referred to by a term related to the Italian "calamari" (singular:  calamaro), which is English has become the culinary name for Mediterranean dishes involving squid.  Calamari is a culinary treat made of squid that is native to Spanish, Italian and Greek cuisines.  It is generally garnished with parsley and lemon, and Italian restaurants often sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.  In the US, this dish is often served with marinara sauce.  Turkish and Greek culinary traditions pair this dish with cream sauce.

At home, this is how we usually eat squid---stuffed with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, calamansi and olive oil, then grilled over hot coals and served with spicy soy-vinegar dip.

Posted for Food Friday hosted by Maiylah

Sign @ The Rizal Shrine

@ mirandablue

A marker at the Rizal Shrine in the walled city of Intramuros in Manila.  I'm posting this sign to commemorate Dr. Jose Rizal's 150th birthday on June 19th.

Posted for Signs, Signs

It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal.  It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.  ~ Jose Rizal

Midweek Blues: Cocktail

@ mirandablue

No, it's not battery acid.  It's a cocktail called BinLaden---I have no idea why.  Lifted from the tropical cocktail Blue Hawaii, it's a mixture of rum, pineapple, blue Curacao and vodka, blended with ice. It was sweet and refreshing but the vodka made me dizzy.*LOL*

Before BinLaden, we had Hitler---it's blended strawberry, ice and vodka. Then Hussein, an ice-blended banana with vodka.  Good thing there was no hangover---cheers!

"People who drink to drown their sorrow should be told that sorrow knows how to swim." ~ Ann Landers

Posted for Midweek Blues

Tortilla chips [Ruby Tuesday]

@ mirandablue

My takeout a few nights ago ---Tortilla chips and dips from a Mexican bistro.

Posted for Ruby Tuesday

Mellow Yellow Monday #23: Sun Cruises

@ mirandablue

Some yellows on a Sun Cruises ferry side by side the Philippine Navy ship at the pier of Corregidor Island.

More happy yellows at Mellow Yellow Monday

Pink Justicia/Today's Flowers #40

@ mirandablue
Pink Justicia, Dianthera candicans

Simplicity, clarity, singleness: these are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy.--Richard Halloway

@ mirandablue

Happy 113th Independence Day, Philippines!

My contribution to Today's Flowers

Beef with broccoli

@ mirandablue

I'm sure I have posted beef with broccoli before.  It's one of our favorite dishes when dining in a Chinese restaurant.  This one is from Kirin Chinese Dining in Bonifacio High Street...yes, the one with water on the glass wall.:p  

When Kirin opened in BHS, I had an impression that they're pricey--it's probably the water on the glass wall! *LOL*.  So we never went there and stick to our usual haunts when we want Chinese food.  Then another dinner with girlfriends came up recently and we decided to try Kirin.  Delighted that their prices are almost the same as the other Chinese restaurants, and they have set menus for big groups.  The food and service were good.

Posted for Food Friday

Signs: No more bad hair day!

@ mirandablue

This may be the answer to frizzy, dry, stubborn hair!  

I was walking towards the parking lot after midnight, passed a salon and this sign stopped me.  Wow, it this really true? *LOL* I didn't know or hear about permanent blow dry, did you?  

Linked to Signs, Signs

Midweek Blues: Blue door

@ mirandablue

A blue door that opens to a courtyard of an old house in Pasay City.

Posted for Midweek Blues

Japanese umbrella [Ruby Tuesday]

@ mirandablue

At a cafe in the World Trade Center [in Manila]---I had latte under this red umbrella.

Posted for Ruby Tuesday


"A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain." ~ Robert Frost

Mellow Yellow Monday #22: Egg chairs

@ mirandablue

I love these chairs but the price tag is way, way over my budget.  If I'd win the lotto, that would be the only time I can afford these chairs.  The price tag?  It's P150,000 (or about US$3,500)---not sure if it's for a pair or for each chair.  I was too shocked to ask! *LOL*

My contribution to Mellow Yellow Monday

Bleeding Hearts/Today's Flowers #39

@ mirandablue
Bleeding Hearts, Dicentra spectabilis

Beauty and sadness always go together.

Nature thought beauty too rich to go forth

Upon the earth without a meet alloy.

--George MacDonald

Posted for Today's Flowers