beef! beef!

the japanese know their beef...

one of my fave ways to eat it -- shabu shabu!

super thinly sliced quickly boiled and dipped in yummy sauces.

here's twinpophub pulling out a cooked one.

teppanyaki...

when beef is that good-a-quality, best to eat it medium rare... melts in your mouth!

here's a newly discovered way to eat it -- sooooo good....

first place a dallop of fresh wasabe on the piece...

then add salt.  then dip in sauce (miso or ponzu or both).  THE BEST!

another fave way:  japanese beef cooked korean barbecue style. 

 i love eating this wrapped in sanchu (lettuce!)

a little less fancy but just as good... mos' rice burger!

it's small so makes a perfect snack.

this is our favorite thing to order there -- rice burger w/ shredded rib meat (or yakiniku beef).

mos is #2 to mcdonald's in japan...  they have rice burgers (others have veggies and seafood)

they have normal burgers too...

and they have these burgers that look like the ones in sango but haven't tried them!

yummmmm!

shswsswsswsssss

japanese (girls, at least) are quite shy when it comes to "wee wee sound" -- so a lot of their public toilets have these speakers on them.  they make a fake flushing sound as you pee, so that no one can hear the "wee wee noise".

some have a button with a note on it, and when you press it, it'll make a fake flushing sound.  you can even adjust the volume...

then of course, you can control the temp of the seat, the water spray (if from bottom or from behind -- just use your imagination...) and the strength of the spray itself.

hihihihihi.

berry berry!

hi sis!!!!  happy new year!!!!!!!!  i'm back!

wow, we've both been gone quite long, and in two velly different worlds.  i have a slue of stuffs to show you... but let me start of with the last photo i took...

didja get to eat berries in the mountains?  i know you love 'em! 

but anyway, i brought these home!  can't get any sweeter than japanese strawberries...  they're HUGE and SWEEEET.  

they actually come in 2 kinds -- "hard" or "soft".  i prefer the softer one (cheaper too!  approx P300 per packet).  so if you want some, come over before i finish them all!

couldn't get enough of them... this one i bought in a mini mart... it looks like a small siopao -- it's actually mochi wrapping with sponge cake + cream + strawberry.  their version of the shortcake!  mmm!

then this strawberry tart in a cafe...

these i ate already....

oishi des!

northern exposure

hi sis! :) happy new year!!! i am finally back from 4 days of trekking around ifugao, ending with a night's stay in batad and new year's at sagada.... it was a loooong trip but worth every minute :)

day one brings me to banawe where we take a 2-3 hour jeepney ride to our jump-off at barlig. its actually my first time in banawe, so i took some snapshots of the view (only to realize these would not compare to what i would see later on in the trip)



because its the holiday season, there were some delays in our road trip which delayed our trek start to 3pm.




7 wet, muddy, steep, ladder-like uphill hours later, we reach the peak of mt. amuyao - cold and tired....but the 360 degree view in the morning was definitely worth it....





the next day brings us into a mossy forest trail ALL the way down the mountain.... parts of the trail are so narrow (even for my very small feet!), you could easily fall off the side of the mountain with a misstep. i had to "wall climb" down a pile of rocks at some point too. and if that wasn't enough, there was an erosion in the usual trail to Pat-yay village - which meant we had to go around through rice terraces and rocky rivers, IN THE DARK. at least we were able to stay in one of the family homes for the night. it was warm and cozy :)

mossy forest trail




our hosts for the night





sunrise at pat-yay





the third day is another intense uphill and then downhill trek, through rice terraces, to the next village of cambulo.... my legs have died at this point and each step was beginning to be a struggle, but i make it (barely!)... and i get to enjoy the fresh veggies, ifugao rice and an assortment of canned goods. and i whip up my usual dessert (oreo cream pie this time) to cap the night off.

views leading to cambulo...



cambulo...


the trek officially ends in cambulo but i decide to push on to batad (a place i've been wanting to see), which is just about 3 hours away. half of the group trekked up to kinakin road all the way to banawe, while some of us go on to batad. i slowly make my way, taking my time, now officially a tourist (and not a mountaineer! hehe).

and the place is as magical as everyone claims it to be.








first stop, tappia waterfalls - i took a dip in the "invigorating waters" with my 4-day-old pants hoping to wash away some of the seemingly permanent mud stains and to ease some of my aching muscles... before the uphill trek to the inn where i'll be spending the night.



needless to say, the view from the rita's inn was breathtaking....




all in all, i don't think i have ever felt as spent and exhausted as i have in the past week ... but it's an experience i would never trade. i probably would never do it again (haha! - at least not in the near future!) but am super glad i did it!!!