How to eat the infamous Philippine balot

Traditionally, balot is carried around by travelling vendors in baskets like this, with the chicharon tied too. But nowadays, I pass around 5 of these on the way home at their regular spots.


Lately I've been frequenting a good old guy who keeps his balot in a styrofoam container.


Used to be they were wrapped in paper from newspapers or phone directories. Does anyone see those anymore?


Determine the broader bottom (of the egg). This part has more space and would be easier to peel.


Rap smartly on a decrepit desk.


Peel off a little. Careful not to spill the liquid (juice?). Traditionally vendors give you rock salt to go with your purchase, but table salt works too. Sprinkle alittle on the juice and sip (suck if you like).


Keep sucking and peeling off till the yolk and chick is exposed. A vendor who sells balot with a chick as small as this is worth returning to.


Don't eat the hard white stuff.

Trinoma Landmark Grocery Japan Foods section

Alice-sensei's Afinite lecture a couple of months ago was about using stuff from Japan as teaching material (nama-kyouzai or rearia). She mentioned some local Japanese grocers one can go to, most of them are in Makati. But Landmark in Trinoma carries some stuff as well. Admittedly I wouldnt have known about it if not for Kubo.


The Japanese staple diet: Curry Rice.




The college student staple diet: ramen.




More noodles: udon.

Seasonings:


Karashi (mustard) and wasabi. I don't know why some people think it's spelled "wasabe".



Soy sauces. Kikkoman at the left, I know. Yamasa, never heard.



Sake for cooking. I once bought drinking sake on a whim, but never got around to drinking it. Doc warned me that once it turned yellow it'll only be good for cooking.



Kewpie mayonaisse. I'm guessing because the squeeze bottle feels like a kewpie doll?

Garnishes:


Furikake you shake over rice. But I like the salty flavor so much, I eat it straight from the sachet. Left is a mixture of egg and seaweed. Right one I can't make out but it's proud of it's "color and material harmony".



Flavored seaweed strips. I blame Violy sensei for making me addicted to this for a time. Just like furikake, it's usually to add flavor to rice, and again, I take it raw.

Beverages:


Tea, Calpis water (Kubo's favorite, you can guess why) and Milk tea.



Sushi mats, without the sushi. The only unedible thing in the section.

Foreign brands:


Label says it's delicious due to the bitter and sweet taste.



Doc told us it's 300 pesos per cup at the cafe. Which is almost the price of this entire package.



It's funny that at the local brands aisle, Pocky from Thailand is available, and the label says licensed from Japan.

My sirens don't sing, they smell

I am always tempted by the odors coming from the adjacent Goto eatery everytime I go to Greenhills Booksale. Truth to tell, I have trouble distinguishing Goto and Arrozcaldo from one another, so I just point to what I want. All I know is they're both a sort of salty rice porridge. This one is topped with chopped fried garlic, onion leaves. Usually chicken is included, but I like this one because it has a whole hard boiled egg (somewhere). People like to season it with patis, a salty liquid made from fish. The green round thingey is calamansi, a citrus like lemon, you're supposed to squeeze the juice over. I usually leave it untouched, too sour for me.

Taho

Taho is hot soybean curd mixed with sago (jelly pearls) and caramelized syrup. It's usually served in plastic cups like this one for 10 pesos, but street vendors won't mind pouring it into your own cup or bowl if you brought one. It's commonly thought of as a breakfast item. One of the pleasant surprises that my Tita had when she stayed at the Crown Plaza, was that the predominantly Western styled breakfast buffet also served taho, but they were served in Marie Antoinette type glasses. However, nowadays one can spot vendors at any time of the day and in the most unexpected places, like Ayala, Makati.



Street vendors usually carry the makings in 2 steel canisters such as these, held together by a wide slat of bamboo on their shoulder. They usually troll neighborhoods at morning, crying, "TAhooooooo." Woe is the one who thinks trying it now and again is enough. The taho vendor will certainly be back under your window same time next morning, and will keep crying "TAhoooooo," for 10 minutes or more. And even if you don't buy this time, they'll be back again next morning.