Day 16, Thu, June 26, 2014
So I'm starting to really enjoy eating lunch with the team. I'm trying out new dishes and learning more about traditional Filipino food and culture. Despite growing up in the states, I still have a lot of the same eating habit as the locals. Today one of the guys, Rey, brought in jackfruit for me. We had talked about jackfruit the day before and I mentioned how it was my favorite fruit. So we all shared this slice of jackfruit as part of lunch today. I feel totally spoiled here and of course, loving it! I do see a trend with everywhere I go. I tend to bond with people quickly over the topic of food. Maybe it's because I get a little too excited when talking about anything food related? The team treats me really well and mana or Sheila is always making sure I get my lunch. So this is what it would feel like to be a true princess huh? Maybe I should move to the Philippines...
Today I had teriyaki chicken and some tofu and beef dish, and of course, with a bowl of rice.
And here's the LEGEN wait for it, DARY fruit, jackfruit. If you haven't had jackfruit before, be very careful in how you open it to get to the fruit. Although it looks very similar to a durian (spikey with a brownish green color on the outside), make sure you're opening a jackfruit and not a durian, or prepare your nose for the most potent smell in the world (see previous post). There are a couple of ways to remove the jackfruit from its shell. The first is underwater and the second is brute force. Similar to sap on a tree, jackfruit excretes an extremely sticky latex substance from the rind and fibrous parts of the fruit. As seen in the photo below, these scissors are screwed, but I'm not complaining since I got to enjoy the fruits of its labor. =)
Speaking of jackfruit, the guys at work told me that I could get my hands on some fresh turon at the SM mall in Olongapo. Olongapo? You mean I have to go to that side of town? Apparently there's a bridge I could walk across after parking in the Harbor Point mall parking lot in Subic Bay. It's kinda sad, but I was asking them on exact directions and was like, are you sure I can walk it? It's only a pedestrian bridge, so unless I'm willing to drive in Olongapo (which I'm not), this is my only option to fresh turon. Turon is a sweet dessert, made up of a lumpia wrapper, banana, and my favorite of all, jackfruit, all put together and deep fried. I may have a sweet tooth, but I've found my match. If there's one culture that loves sweets, it's the Filipinos. Their ketchup isn't regular ketchup, it's banana ketchup. And their spaghetti (think Jollibee's) is a sweet marinara sauce, because they're not consuming enough sugar in their daily meals as is, why not add it to every savory dish possible?
I was good today and worked out again. But since it was getting late and was raining (again), I too lazy to leave the hotel for dinner. Thank goodness for "The New Feng Huang Restaurant" (in a fake posh Chinese accent), as I always hear it on 96.7, Olongapo's local radio station. Dim sum for one again? Yes please. So I've been craving lumpia since I got here, and besides the lumpia I had at the KTV bar in Olongapo, I had yet to find any in SBMA. So I took a chance and ordered it tonight, along with the shrimp dumplings (loved it so much I got two orders), and the mango shake of course. To my disappointment (I should really have this phrase copy and pasted since it's used way too often), the lumpia had potato or some starchy vegetable in it, and was NOT lumpia. Why do you gotta skimp on the meat? What was I thinking I could get lumpia at a Chinese-style restaurant? They didn't even taste like traditional Chinese egg rolls either. This was one dish I did NOT finish, for once. FAIL.
Day 17, Fri, June 27, 2014
On my way to work today, I took an alternate route to avoid both the police at the stop sign nearby the airport and to beat the slow Jeepneys and buses at the next intersection. It's a little scary that passing them on the road has become second nature. Let's just hope I don't maintain these driving habits when I get back to the states or I'll have some explaining to do.
So today was Mike's birthday. Unlike in the states, when it's your birthday, you have to treat others. So in traditional Filipino custom, Mike stopped by Dunkin' Donuts to get donuts for the entire team at the site. He mentioned that he had gotten a row (meaning 5 seats) at the Harbor Point theater to see Transformers for his birthday that night. He had mentioned to me that the first time he went to the movies here, because you bring in any type of food or drink that you like, by the time he got to his seat, all of the cup holders were taken. And that when he asked people to move their drinks from his armrest, they totally ignored him. So he now buys at least 3 seats every time he goes so there's no one there to steal his cup holder. Well, because it was his birthday, he decided to buy the entire row, and had extra tickets. And since I had no other plans, I got one of his tickets! C'mon now, me and plans in Subic? What could I possibly be doing on a Friday night? It's kind of sad that my response to "what are you doing tonight" is always, nothing, of course. This is definitely a 180 from my go go go lifestyle at home.
After the Transformers, which may I add has the worst acting in the world but cool effects, we headed to Paddy's for drinks. Apparently Simona was waiting anxiously for Mike to arrive so she could bring out his birthday cake. There were a few familiar faces and locals there celebrating his birthday. The entire Paddy's crew, including Simona, came out to sing and wish him a happy birthday. And yes, I got to enjoy the cake as well. And also ran into Kace and Ruth, my local friends there as well.
Day 18, Sat, June 28, 2014
Today was my first day to leave the Subic area. I rode along with Mike to Pampanga to run some errands. He mentioned there was a store there was very similar to Costco where I could buy some snacks from home. Costco? You don't have to ask me twice! The Costco equivalent is called S&R.
Pampanga is around a 1 hour drive away, which is technically the furthest I can be from work since I'm on call. I have to be able to report into work within one hour if there was an emergency. This rule does suck for the weekends since I haven't been able to go anywhere really. If this rule was levied, I would be off to Boracay in a seconds notice! The drive to Pampanga had like 5-6 different bridge tolls. It's strange though, because at some of the tolls, you only pick up a receipt, only to give it to the next toll person a couple of minutes later. Way to be efficient...I would never do this drive myself after seeing what the traffic was like once we got to Pampanga. Pure chaos. Several different lanes merge into one from all directions including a roundabout. And it's basically whoever is the most aggressive wins the race. No thank you!
Before heading to S&R, the Costco equivalent, we stopped by the SM mall (a chain like Westfield) to pick up some random items. I had to take a picture of the Mr. Clean equivalent here, because yes, muscles are what get the job done! I wonder who would win in a battle between Mr. Clean and Mr. Muscle?
So we finally got to S&R. It WAS just like Costco, even with Kirkland branded items. So, like everyone else who shops at Costco at home, I got carried away and filled my cart with more items than I could probably consume in a few weeks. But since I knew I wouldn't be back here again, my natural hoarding tendencies got the best of me. One of the items that I got here was longon. This is a fruit that is very similar to lychee on the inside, but is more sweet and less tart. Again, I'm quickly brought back to childhood memories of this fruit. Though, since it's rare to get fresh longon in the states, I grew up mostly eating these from a can.
So just like the Costco at home, the S&R has a food court with a variety of items for cheap. Unfortunately I had already eaten lunch, so didn't get to try any of these delights.
Day 19, Sun June 29, 2014
Today was my final day at the Subic Bay Venezia Hotel. I had been staying here for the past few weeks, but was on my way to Poco A Poco Hotel (2 blocks away). When I originally did my hotel booking, I was supposed to book Poco for the entire duration. However, it was not available for a few of the nights during my first two weeks here in Subic and I honestly did not see a reason to jump hotels every few days. Subic is okay and all, but sold out? This is by no means a hot travel destination. I found out later that there was a triathlon on Saturday, which brought in a lot more folks than usual to Subic. These people are CRAZY though. A triathlon in this weather and climate? These are some true athletes!
I probably should've taken photos when I first got to the hotel. In any case, here are a few photos of my home for the past few weeks. Please ignore the mess (I didn't make my bed since I was on my way out...then again, I never make my bed, it's a hotel)!
I will miss this room. It sucks having to pack up every few weeks, but what's done is done. Onto Poco A Poco, which is supposed to be more modern.
So this hotel is famous for their Japanese-style accommodation. Aka, hello bode I won't be using! The whole concept is still too weird for me.
So although this hotel is newer, it also opens up to the outside. Outside to an abandoned lot. It's a great view I have from my room!
So after I checked into Poco, I headed to Mike's for a BBQ. He was hosting a BBQ at his place for coworkers and friends. That was the purpose of the S&R trip the day before. He needed to get supplies for the party, including steaks and burgers to grill. Mmm, steak. Oh, and yes the red wine was mine. One of my purchases from S&R.
So I don't normally drink tequila, but I did make an exception for this bottle of Tequila Rose. It's basically strawberry milk with a hint of tequila. Yum!
For dessert, Mike's daughter Lauren made rice krispy treats. The folks here have never heard of them before and kept calling them crispy rice. And I'm like, no no no! It's rice krispies (like the cereal)! And since they don't use knives here, they were also somehow able to cut up the rice krispies using only a fork. Now that's skill!
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