Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Binge - Part 1

2 of the more fantastic weekends of my year just passed.

A couple of besties and I made a visit to Manila for a friend's wedding and on the following weekend, my colleague and I made a road trip up to Penang.

What's so fantastic? Well... Put it this way, it was like an orgy in my mouth for those 2 weekends. :D

So, who were the orgy players? In the Philippines, I never, ever pass up the chance to eat sisig. You don't want to know what's in sisig. You just want to eat the fatty goodness that's in it. It's that awesome.

Next on the list is a certain specialty belonging to only one geek bar called the Last Home. They humbly call it Seafood Rice, but really, it should be called Atlantic White Gold. In a state of drunken stupor after only one beer and a Long Island (yes, I'm that weak), the rice was shimmering in the dim light of this cozy little bar. I figured they had to have some form of cream in it because the rice felt like it was melting in my mouth. Ooooh....

What's more? Chicharons. Deep fried, mass produced, crunchy pork rinds. An American heritage, I would say. It's like prawn crackers in Malaysia but you get the distinct pork taste instead, and a lot less salt, but a lot more animal fat. It's normally dipped in white vinegar. Great bar snack. Heck, great snack.

Bagoong rice should be right up there with the rest, but this one's the town whore to me, because she just needs to partner up with anyone else. Be it Mr Sisig, Crispy Pata, Lechon, Panga, Bangus, Liempo, Adobo chicken, or any other sensational main man of the dinner table, Bagoong rice goes perfect with it. It's rice fried with shrimp paste, if I recall correctly.

The rest of the list sits right next to the yummy bagoong rice mentioned above. Some I've savoured during the trip, and others were sorely missed. But all just as good and memorable of this hustle and bustle of Metro Manila.

Before I finish up this post and reminisce about Penang for the next post, let's have a few special mentions.

The sweet, sweet desserts must never be left out, and should always be provided a space in my seemingly infinite bowels. Firstly, Turon. Boy did I miss this one, and I did :( because the store wasn't open in toy centre Greenhills. In Malaysia, we have bananas. We have banana pancake with maple syrup - sweeter. Then we have banana fritters - fatter. Then there's turon. It's banana fritters. CARAMALISED. I don't suppose people say the words Sweet Heaven for nothing. This would probably be it. Another good mention would be Halo-halo, although I would contest that this is our Ice Kacang equivalent. Further down this sweet roster would be Polvoron, dried mangoes of Cebu, and a special place for my dear friend KC's wife's cupcakes.

On a separate note, I wish Malaysia brought in Sisig Hooray!, Jolibees and Gerry's Grill. Super non-halal but excellent food. Sure make money.

Dedicated to food, as always,
D

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Devising

Just thought I'd give the blog a little twist.

I check every so often on the availability of the blogspot domain for Deicidal. It's finally available.

The next step would be a design, or as bloggers would, a skin, for my blog.

So, let's just see how it goes.

Deviously Designing,
D

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Companionship

This is not another emo post. This will NOT be another emo post.

I had just visited this link on Shocking Collars for dogs. While, I acknowledge that disciplining dogs will be physical in nature (both my dog and I were steeled through caning ;D), this crosses the line for me. :( Those items should be banned.

So for a while I reminisced of my late pet dog, Fluffy (this will NOT be another emo post). For 14 years I've had this little extra member of my family, and he's always been there. Longest relationship I've had outside my family. He never fails to cheer me up. :)
But it's time to move on.

So... the options now are for me to find myself a cute guy... or a cute pup. I've had my eye on someone (smart, cute, funny, you know the drill. I think it's just my crush taking over, though) but since I'm getting the "He's Just Not That Into You" vibe for now, ima take a step back and go pet hunting. I'm thinking of a Welsh Corgi.... but it's too expensive. Perhaps I'll just be kind and go find one in SPCA. Sigh, if only hunting guys were this easy.

The companionship that this wrong mind has experienced is only that of man's best friend. But that's alright. It's companionship nonetheless.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

The Games We Play

I'm a gamer. Mostly PCs nowadays. Still a fan of RPGs, and loving the substitute satisfaction of a sure win at the end of it all. I'm pretty good at games. Most games. Like badminton, or chess, or scrabble. But there are some games that I'm not so good at.

One of these games is the game of fitting in. Where peer pressure is abundant, accepted, and constantly pressing on my feeble head every day. I've been going out of character trying out new experiences in my social circle. Well, trying out would be a nice way to put it. Conforming to the social norm is more like it. I feel like I gave in to that notion, just to feel that sense of belonging. I went to the clubs and bars to meet new people; I went drinking so I could be hang the cool gang; I went to the gym to workout my eyes more than other parts. These are common agendas nonetheless, yet something still felt amiss. There are other ways to win in this game, no? Yet I chose the path most trodden. I'm sorry, Mr. Frost.

Then there's the dating game. As much as I've discussed with so many people about it, I can't seem to get it right. Geez, what's a boy to do to get your attention? After numerous hits and misses, the one common conclusion people seem to draw to is that there's no better guide than experience. Gotta get out more, I suppose.

They're all games, or at least, I see them as such. And they're all part of the big game of life. Maybe it's easier for me to accept these experiences that way. That there are rules, players, goals, limits, visuals, explanations, or no explanations, and progress, codes, cheating, but most pertinent of it all, that it should be fun, and that it ends somewhere, sometime.

It's a large, complex and comprehensive game.... Nothing a wrong mind can't handle. It's just not so good at it.... yet.