The Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Awards @ Chef Jessie's Place

All those years of living in Seoul and writing about the Korean dishes, and desserts and delicacies I had for lunch or dinner must have prepared me for this writing competition.

Since 2009, the year when I set up this blog, I have been writing about Korean dishes and my experiences with Korean cuisine. From my Korean lunch favorites like soondae, altang, mandu, and buddae-jjiggae, to desserts like hotteok and patpingsu, the flavors of these Korean dishes and delicacies would once more dance in my mouth when I blogged about them.😋

And whenever I was home in the Philippines, I would also write Pinoy delicacies that I missed when I was away from home: chicken inasal, bibingka, Manapla puto, batchoy, and those famous Silay delicacies.

I guess being home now in the Philippines has allowed me to discover the Pinoy cuisine, not just the different flavors of our favorite dishes, but also the history and the evolution of Pinoy food. Thus, this better understanding of our cuisine provided me with a different perspective on how to write about it.

In May 2023, when the winners of the 20th Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Awards (DGF) were announced, I was thrilled and honored (read blog here).

And on November 22, 2023, I flew to Manila to attend  the awards luncheon at Chef Jessie Sincioco's Place in Makati City, Philippines. I told myself I had to attend as this may be my first and last time to win.😁

It was the right decision to travel to Manila because I met the food writers extraordinaire and chefs behind the Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Awards: Ms. Micky Fenix, head, Mr. Alfred 'Krip' Yuson, Chef Myrna Segismundo, Chef Datu Pendatun, Ms. Ana Ozaeta, Ms. Maya Besa, Mr. Ige Ramos, and Ms. Nina Daza-Puyat. Ms. Felice Prudente Sta. Maria and Chef Jessie Sincioco were out of the country that day. Mrs. Clara Reyes Lapus, representing the Mama Sita brand of food products, was also there to share some Mama Sita goodies with the winners. We're grateful to these individuals who organized the DGF in honor of Doreen Gamboa Fernandez, and at the same time, for championing Pinoy food!😋

I was able to meet my fellow winners, Reynadel Cayetano (1st prize) and Kaye Leah Cacho-Sitchon (co-3rd prize), while Jeanne Jakob-Ashkenzi (2nd prize), based in Spain, was not able to attend.

Before I received my award, Mr. Alfred Yuson, one of the judges and a Palanca hall-of-famer, read an excerpt from my winning essay. Having a legendary writer read my written words is an honor and a highlight of my years of writing.😎Thank you, Mr. Yuson!🙏

With treasured book prizes like the Flavors of Iloilo by Chef Rafael Jardeleza, The Ultimate Filipino Adobo by Claude Tayag, Sangkap, Table for Ten, and the brilliantly conceived, bilingual book, Ang Alamat ng Lumpiang Shanghai written by Ms. Nina Daza-Puyat, I am inspired and encouraged to continue writing about our Pinoy food and cuisine, lending my words to the efforts of preserving and promoting our culinary heritage.😊

The link below is the Facebook page of the Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Awards. The deadline for the essay and short video competitions is March 31, 2024.😍

https://www.facebook.com/DoreenGamboaFernandezFoodWritingAward

The awards luncheon was even more memorable with special dishes whose flavors my palate still remembers. The charcoal-grilled lemongrass chicken and the milkfish belly roll were amazing! And the ube panna cotta was sublime! These were all curated by Chef Jessie herself. Thank you, Chef Jessie!😀

Here's the clip where Mr. Alfred Yuson reads an excerpt from my food essay. I was over the moon with pride and honor as he was reading my piece.🙏

Mabuhay ang Pagkaing Pilipino!🍴😎

A Hundred Years of Tita Isa's Dulce Gatas: Sweet Memories of a Sweet History

It was now past 11PM, cold but not freezing. The airport bus finally arrived at Hannam-dong in the Yongsan District, my home in Seoul. My plane from Manila just landed over an hour ago. It was time to go back to work; my Christmas vacation was over. 

As I waited on the sidewalk for the bus driver to pull out my maleta from the luggage compartment of his bus, Seoul welcomed me with a drizzle. 

Wanting to get out of the cold, I started dragging my 30-kilo luggage with my left arm while my 10-kilo hand-carry bag burdened my right shoulder. 

The final leg (pun, intended!) of my journey to my home-away-from-home would require me to walk for 400 meters and traverse two pedestrian lanes that crisscrossed one of the busiest intersections in Yongsan. I was now very tired and hungry.😩

And as I stood alone waiting for the green light at the crossing, the exhaustion from my cargo was too much that I looked up to the dark winter skies, my face wet with mist, and wanted to wail as the honking city buses and cars drove past me.😢

I then realized that, among my clothes and shoes, were the prized contents of my bags: dried mangoes for my Korean friends, homemade brazo de mercedes from Tita Gamay, Salazar hopia from Binondo, Mary Grace chocolate truffle cake (in a plastic container) and ensaimadas from my friend Cielo, piaya from Bailon's, Dolor's sapin-sapin, El Ideal's bread snacks, packs of tablea tsokolate, Manapla puto, and Tita Isa's dulce gatas!😁

Instead of crying, I started to chuckle!😅 I wasn't carrying ordinary cargo. I was carrying goodies from home! These weren't burden; these were delights!😄

           (Tita Isa's dulce gatas from the maleta)

That was how these Philippine delicacies cheered me up in Korea. Even during freezing winter mornings in Seoul, when I couldn't go out because of heavy snowfall, I'd steam a pair of Manapla puto and melt tablea tsokolate in hot milk, and my day would feel warm and better. 

At times, after a busy day in the office, I'd try to forget the stress and irritating office characters with a bar of Tita Isa's dulce gatas! 

These flavors that reminded me of home always made me feel not so far away from home. 

But now that I am, it is a delight to be 'reconnected' again with Tita Isa's dulce gatas!😊 

Right in the middle of the 2023 Kaon Ta Festival at Balay Negrense in Silay City I met Tita Isa's daughter, Mrs. Sonia Javier-Tordesillas who has continued her mom's dulce gatas business. 'Tita Isa's Dulce Gatas' was one of the stalls of other Silaynon heritage recipes at the food festival. (According to my mom, it was Mrs. Sonia Tordesillas who took her orders when she phoned.😊)

And while the Silay rondalla was providing music to everyone, I told Mrs. Sonia Tordesillas that her Mom's dulce gatas was one reason I was at Kaon Ta!

And how did the story of Tita Isa's dulce gatas start?

According to one of her daughters, Sr. Vicenta Eloisa Javier, R.A., it all started with their Lola Hortensia 'Oten' Gamboa who made dulce gatas in the 1920s. With lots of sugar available in Negros plus the available supply of carabao's milk from their hacienda, it was easy to create such yummy delicacy. Back then, Lola Oten used milk cans as her dulce gatas containers.

(If you want to order, these are numbers to call in Silay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines)

In the 1950s, when Lola Oten felt she needed to turn over the dulce gatas business to the next generation, she passed it on to her niece, Eloisa 'Isa' Gamboa-Javier, who also added pili macaroons, merengue, pastel, and barquiron to her sweet creations. 

It was her dulce gatas that stood the test of time and the discriminating taste of her customers. Although branded as "Tita Isa's Dulce Gatas", it is also called "mazapan de leche" when her sewing teacher, Señora Montserrat Viaplana, asked her to make some so she could bring this sweet delight to Spain as pasalubong. Tita Isa named dulce gatas as mazapan de leche for her Spanish consumers. 

With Lola Oten's original recipe in the 1920s up to today, for a hundred years now, dulce gatas has been enjoyed by generations and has been a pasalubong to Spain, to Korea and to many other places and countries, I'm sure.

When I look back now, I'd chuckle again at those funny memories, but at the same time, I now have a bar to enjoy, and I know that any time, I could always order and travel to Silay City for those yummy Tita Isa's dulce gatas. 

How about you? What are your sweet memories of Tita Isa's dulce gatas?😍

#titaisasdulcegatas #dulcegatas #mazapandeleche #Silay #NegrosOccidental #bacolod #pasalubong #pinoyfood #food #foodblog

Restoring History: El Municipío de Victorias

Years ago, my excitement of spending my Christmas vacations in my hometown would be ruined by the sight our historic city hall horribly painted green and white that made it look like it was missing some wrapped gifts for it to be mistaken as a Christmas corner (read blog here). 

(The new look after the 2023 make-over 

of the 1930s municipio)

I later wrote about this in my blog in November 2019 when I featured the history of the município in the chapters I wrote about the History of Victorias City (read blog here). I remember when I was kid I sort of enjoyed looking at its ivory-colored walls that gave out red-orange hues when it was struck by the setting sun as the município's orientation was to the northwest. It was a beautiful sight then; nature taking part in beautifying the elegant município. Today, the tall trees in the plaza, and probably a few structures to the west are blocking the last afternoon rays of the sun before it sets for the day.

So, how was its old glory restored?

Fortunately for the city of Victorias and its people, its new mayor, Javier Benitez, listens. And I, for one, am glad he does.

In February 2023, the repainting of the city hall began with the white paint replaced by ivory, and the green replaced with "plum jam"color. That's the official label of the paint. It's like burgundy from afar.

Day by day, week after week, the walls, the columns, the sharp corners, and the statue of an eagle that symbolizes power, freedom, leadership and resilience gradually changed colors.

Since this restoration was bringing back the historical colors of the 1930s município, I chronicled the work and the workers through these photographs.

(Other than being a good painter, one other qualification for these workers must have been 

being fearless of heights.)

(The workers take an afternoon break 

under the shade.)

(We pay tribute to Raymond and his team of painters from Bacolod City)

(The statue of the eagle that symbolizes freedom, power, leadership and resilience is being repainted before it soars to the Visayan skies.)

I am glad that the colors of the old municipio, the one built during the term of Don Felix Montinola with the help of then President Manuel L. Quezon and the people of Victorias during that time, are back. I pay tribute to Raymond and his fellow painters from Bacolod City. Don Felix and the workers who built and painted the município in the 1930s would have been proud.

I am all for telling the truth of each story, not just through colors, but also through words. 

For the history of Victorias and the truth about the fake history some people in position have been trying to spread, do click and read these Chapters on the History of Victorias City:

• History of Victorias City

• The truth behind the local propaganda 

Let's all help restore truth in our History.😋

#history #VictoriasCity #NegrosOccidental #Philippines

#historian #Victorias #Negros #NegOcc #pinoyhistory

Renewing My PRC I.D. Is As Easy As A-B-C!

As my CPA license was about to expire, I needed to renew it. 

I thought it would be another bureaucratic process like the one I endured years ago when I first had to go through the POEA as an OFW after I was offered a job in Seoul. 

By comparison, it took me about four months to complete the POEA process, including the sending back and forth of documents to and from Korea, while it just took 36 days for the Korean Immigration Office to process my application for a permanent resident visa (read blog here).

But I am surprised that the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has leveled up: it has streamlined the process and provided an online portal for all of its services! This means the only time I had to leave home was to have my 2x2 photo taken, photocopy my old PRC ID and print the application form and proof of payment, and visit the PRC satellite office at Robinsons Mall in Bacolod City to get my new PRC ID!😎

These are the things I did to renew:

1. Visit the PRC portal and register to create an account (make sure you do this on a laptop and not on a smartphone, and have all your contact and professional details on hand).

Here's the official PRC website:

https://www.prc.gov.ph/

If you don't have a computer at home, there are shops with internet services that can help you create an account and process your transaction for a fee.

2. In order to create your PRC online account, you will need a digital photo that you will upload.

3. Create a transaction request for the renewal of PRC ID.

4. Pay the renewal fee of P880 online (I paid through phone banking). Print the ELECTRONIC OFFICIAL RECEIPT (eOR) and submit this together with your APPLICATION FOR PROFESSIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD (PIC) form on the appointed date.

5. Request for an appointment through the portal at the nearest regional office and the website will give you the next available date and time at the nearest PRC office.

6. The PRC website has a step-by-step manual that you can download for detailed instructions.

7. Download and print the APPLICATION FOR PROFESSIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD (PIC) form that includes sections for DECLARATION AND ATTESTATION and UNDERTAKING in case you do not have enough CPD points. Also sign below UNDERTAKING if you do not have enough CPD points.

8. Photocopy your old PRC ID (front and back) and bring it with you on the appointed date.

9. Go to a photo studio for a 2x2 ID photo with white background and in a business attire. You will need to have the photo attached to your printed PIC.

10. If you have a PWD ID or a Senior's ID, include it in your online information, and you can use it to queue at the special lane for PWDs and senior citizens at the PRC office.

My entire visit to the PRC Office was quick and convenient. It only took about 15 minutes since I had all the required documents: the signed PIC with 2x2 photo, eOR, and a photocopy of my old PRC ID. 

I simply queued at the PWD line, submitted my documents, and waited. After the wait, my name was called and the lady gave me my new PRC ID!

Getting my new ID was as easy as A-B-C!😀

Maraming salamat, PRC!😎

(The PRC Office at the 3rd floor of Robinsons Bacolod)

#professionalregulationcommission #PRC

#CPA #Robinsonsmall #Robinsons

A 1937 Medal from the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress in Manila, Philippines

In 1937, when she was 35 years old, Tita Luz (Luz Montinola), the third daughter of Don Felix Montinola (read blog here) traveled from Negros Occidental to Manila, probably with her older sister, Salud, to join the 1.5 million Catholics from the Philippines and around the world, at the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress, held from February 3 to 7 that year.

The first Eucharistic Congress was held in 1881 in Lille, France, 56 years before this gathering in Manila, Philippines. This was its first ever congress in Asia with events held at the Rizal Park and Quezon City with hundreds of thousands in attendance each time. It is also remembered as having the largest religious procession of more than 600,000 Catholics, which must have included Tita Luz and Tita Lud, both devout Catholics. At that time, it was considered the largest Catholic gathering in the only Catholic country in Asia. It was also the first time that a Catholic cardinal set foot in the Philippines. Dennis Joseph Cardinal Dougherty of Philadelphia came; hwas the former bishop of Jaro in Iloilo from 1908 to 1915.

To memorialize the Eucharistic Congress, two kinds of medals were minted and sold to attendees that could be worn by pinning. This is one of the two medals. Its obverse (principal side) features the Manila Cathedral in the middle, and the words "Congressus", "Eucharisticus", "Internationalis", and "Manilanus", meaning, International Eucharistic Congress (Manila) with the numbers 1-9-3-7 distributed around it.

The other side is a depiction of the First Mass in the Philippines with two Spanish soldiers on the left and a family on the right wearing modern clothes. On the background is a sea with mountains. Also featured are a few coconut trees. Sadly, no one in the medal is seen sipping buko juice nor is anyone seen taking a dip at the beach.😃

The number 1-5-2-1 are engraved, and the Latin words are written around the medal: "Praedicate Evangelium Omni Creaturae" - which means 'preach the Gospel to every creature'.

After Tita Luz gave this to my mother, she wore it to honor the giver. It was noticed by Father Bayona, a former parish priest who told my mom that her medal was lovely.

The medal is heavy and is shaped like a cross, and has a witness one of the largest Catholic gatherings ever in Asia.😃

#Catholicmedals #EucharisticCongress #Catholic #Philippinehistory #Philippines #medals #1937 #evangelical #CardinalDougherty

Seoul Shopping: The Issey-Miyake Inspired Blouses of Namdaemun Market!

Every time I flew home to the Philippines, I made sure I bought my mom a few of these Issey Miyake-inspired blouses. I first saw this type of blouses at a store in Itaewon. It was the ajumma-owner who told me they were like Issey Miyake blouses. Of course, these were not original Issey Miyake blouses, but 'inspired' by Issey Miyake designs because of the prints and the pleats. 

The first time I bought my mom these, she was happy because these ones need no ironing. They are wash-and-wear types. And they fit her perfectly!😍

I didn't buy the ones in Itaewon because they were pricey and I knew then that I could get the same type at a cheaper price somewhere.

I was right!

During my wanderings around the Dongdaemun shopping district and in Namdaemun Market, I saw a few shops that sell the same type of blouses. And which one sells the cheapest?

A shop at Namdaemun Market!

There are three shops in Namdaemun Market that I found, but the one that is in the middle of Namdaemun offers the lowest prices. I tried to haggle with all of them, trying to charm the ajummas to give me discounts. But it was the one in right in the middle of one of the buildings, in a tiny corner, that has the prices that ranged from KRW40,000 to KRW 80,000. Probably the low rental rate she paid enabled her to go low.

So, if you're interested in these Issey Miyake-inspired pleated blouses, wander around Namdaemun Market so you can also enjoy these wash-and-wear blouses like my mom does!

Happy shopping!😀

#Seoul #shopping #Namdaemun #isseymiyake #Korea #Seoulshopping #blouses #Koreatravel