One Fine Day at Hotel Blue Note, Hikkaduwa Beach Resort

As I have featured before, Hikkaduwa (Sri Lanka) is the other beach area that we frequent whenever we have the opportunity and want to relax or dine. While there are so many hotels and restaurants located along the white sandy beach, we always settle to Hotel Blue Note. Aside from probably having the best beach front and cozy environment, their food is fairly appetizing giving enough reasons for everyone to consider a come back. While their menu is relatively limited, the few entrees are quite good and among the best you can find in the whole resort area.

Blue Note is a cabana-type hotel with a pleasant restaurant serving European cuisine. It is equipped with just a few but well-maintained rooms which are always full during tourist season from November to April. Walk-in booking during such period is very unlikely to be accommodated. The same white sand on the beach covers the front yard of the Cabanas. The majestic king coconut trees in and around the place provide the much needed shade keeping the rooms cool and comfortable.

One fine day we visited the place. Since it is just 10:00 in the morning when we arrived and we are really not so hungry, we just ordered sandwiches and drinks. The game plan is to have light snack while heavily enjoying the beach, the water and everything in between.

As always, I ordered my favorite Hawaii Toast, a thick slice of white bread with lots of crispy bacon, thick slice of cheddar cheese, slice of fresh pineapple and some special sauce baked until bread is toasted and finished by topping with sunny side-up fried eggs. Others just ordered a simple Egg Sandwich and lots of drinks. Each order has a side dish of fresh vegetable salad.

Another tasty order which I had before is their Mixed Grill which consists of grilled chicken, sausage, beef and fish along with fried egg, French fries and vegetable salad.

One of the attractions of this hotel, specially their cabanas, is its fantastic view of the lovely beach and crystal blue sea. It is nature at its best, right in front of your room.

Once your eyes are caught onto the sceneries which are charming, enchanting and mesmerizing, you cannot help but take a closer look.

And as you move nearer, the excitement will tend to escalate as you will discover that everything is beautiful. Even the forming and breaking of white bubbles in the sea is such a sight of interest. Even the equally spaced and architecturally arranged pointed grills offer an aesthetic view worthy of an even closer watch.

And you will confirm, the atmosphere is so refreshing. The water is clear. The sand is smooth. The beach is flawless. The waves are voluptuous. Yes, the landscape is spellbinding.

But pardon me, I can’t speak about the tourists clad in skimpy outfit, as I told you before, this is a child-friendly blog. c“,)

Pork Adobo, Pride of Filipino (Ver. 1)

Widely regarded as the Philippine National Dish, Filipino Adobo is by far the most common and most popular way of cooking pork or chicken or a combination of both. The preparation is simple, requires less ingredients and relatively easy for an outcome that is luscious & delicious and a perfect accompaniment for the Philippine staple food that is steamed rice. All together these make the true icon of Filipino Cuisine a constant hit ………. a winner……..for everyone, no matter what their social status is.

Its appeal has transcends through the pork and chicken boundary and led to cooking just about anything to Adobo. From other meat such as beef, carabeef (water buffalo meat) and goat meat, to fish such tuna, catfish and marlins, to seafood such as squid, octopus, shrimps and sea shells, to other poultry such as duck, turkey, geese and quail, to vegetables such as long beans, eggplants and kangkong (water spinach) and even to the exotic foods which others might find peculiar such as dog meat, frog, some reptiles, rabbits and field mice, Adobo offered an endless possibilities.

While adobo is the Spanish word for seasoning or marinade, the Adobo as a dish is not introduced by the Spanish colonizers. Long before their arrival in the Philippines, the indigenous cooking process of stewing meat in vinegar is already being prepared by the early families of the archipelago. The Spaniards only referred to it as Adobo due to its resemblance to their process of marinating, which later became its common name and retained until now. So Adobo is truly Filipino, concocted by their ancestors.

Due to its extreme popularity, Adobo has evolved to so many variations. If there are about more than 2,000 inhabited islands out of the 7,107 islands the Philippines composed of, maybe there are more than 2,000 ways to prepare Adobo, with the vinegar and garlic as the obvious common ingredients. But no matter how Filipinos cook it, the same wonderful, aromatic, garlicky and tangy dish collectively known as Adobo will come out. And one should be prepared to salivate.

To painstakingly explore the amazing world of Adobo, we shall be cooking this dish using different variations one by one from time to time. For Version 1, we shall use the braise type usually done in the Central Luzon areas of Pampanga and Tarlac, where sautéing is the “in thing” in cooking. To cook it, we shall need about a kilo of pork, cut to around 1 x 1 inch sizes.

The other ingredients are basics, 2 tbsp garlic, crushed, 2 pcs bay leaves, 1 tbsp whole peppercorn, ½ cup vinegar, ½ cup soy sauce, 1 tsp salt or to taste and about 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into serving sizes.

Heat a large thick pan (no oil is needed), put all the thoroughly drained meat and cover. Let the meat renders some of its own juice and fat. Give it a gentle stir and simmer on high heat until the liquid is reduced and starts to sizzle in its own fat releasing its aroma.

Add the minced garlic, whole peppercorn and bay leaves on the sizzling meat in the pan. Continue sautéing for several minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients except potatoes and let it boil uncovered. Once it boils, lightly stir to blend, cover and simmer on low heat.

Continue simmering until the pork is tender. Taste the sauce and adjust the saltiness according to your preference. If the liquid is drying up, you can add hot water 1 cup at a time.

Add the potatoes and keep on simmering until it’s done as well, the sauce is reduced and of slightly thick consistency.

Place in a large platter and serve with steaming rice. You can have some chopped tomatoes or “atchara” (pickled green papaya) on the side if you like.

Enjoy, this is one dish every Filipino could rightfully claim as his and should really be proud of. c“,)

Fun Fishing at Tarlac Pay Pond

The legacy of a sport as significant as Angling should be continuously passed on from generation to generation. This has been how it is naturally going on from time immemorial. Probably the reason why it remained one of the oldest forms of sports invented and practiced by our ancestors. It is now our duty to keep the flame burning and that’s exactly what I am doing: I assure that the passion will continue to live on in the heart of my son (and daughter as well) so that he too can do the same to his son………and so on........

Recently my brother Bogs, the most active among the Tarlac Anglers, and my son Naven (the youngest member) decided to do some freshwater fun fishing in a pay pond in Gerona, Tarlac (Philippines). They hoped to catch the dining-table-favourite and ever reliable tilapia, the elusive “hito” (catfish) and the fearsome “dalag” (mud fish or snakehead). The wild pond is a sight to behold for anglers alike. It offers a lot of promises and probably surprises from its looks alone. They were not disappointed. Tilapia appeared to has big appetite that day and is continuously hooked and reeled one after the other.

I can see how my son is enjoying the sports. He has been always like that whenever we go fishing. The joy, the thrill, the excitement and the fun are always mirrored by his eyes and revealed by his smiles.

Since his young age when we started bringing him to important fishing trips, every moment captured in photos will tell a story. Some will narrate about love and bonding.

And some will show priceless moments and fulfilment.

As he grows (taller but slimmer) and further develops his love for fishing, I and the Tarlac Anglers will always be there to support and be part of the fun he has yet to discover.

Paksiw Na Pata (Pork Knuckle Stew in Vinegar)

Next to “kasim” (pork shoulder), “pata” (pork knuckle), especially the front leg, is my favourite cut of pork. Both the meat and fat portion have distinct characteristics and texture making it very subtle and tasty once you are able to tenderize it. It could be prepared in many ways all of which qualifies for special occasions or fitted to be served to special guests. So it should not surprise if you will encounter many entrees here using “pata” in the future.

Let me start with “Paksiw” (Stew in Vinegar). There are so many variations of this dish. Every family has their own way of cooking it. Apart from vinegar, the common ingredient, the rest all depends on one’s preference. From the inclusion of soy sauce, sugar, banana blossom, garlic and to some extent banana, to the consistency of the sauce, differences can be noted from one “Paksiw” to another. Even in one particular region, there are several variations.

I grew up with a simple type of “Paksiw” that is soupy, no sugar, no soy sauce and no banana blossom. My mom prepares that sourly-salty type which is actually very delicious and lethal on rice. For myself however, I developed a type just the way I really like it to be, sweet-salty-sourly in a gravy-like sauce enhanced further by a small amount of lechon sauce and the earthy aroma of bay leaves. This is so good and is a signature dish of this blog. I would encourage you to try it and be the judge for yourself.

The main ingredient of course is one piece of “pata” (pork knuckle) about 1.3 kilos. You should thoroughly clean it by scraping the skin with the back of the knife, rinsing well and draining. For the spices and seasonings, we need 2 pcs onion, sliced, 8 gloves garlic, minced, 3 pcs bay leaves, 1 tsp whole pepper corn, 1 tsp salt or to taste and 2 tbsp fish sauce.

The controlling ingredients here are 1 pack (about ¾ cup) prepared lechon or liver sauce (home–made one is also perfect), ¾ cup white vinegar and 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar.

In a large heavy casserole pour the vinegar, add the onion and garlic and mash by hand. Tightly squeeze the garlic and onion in your palm until mushy and juice extracted is mixed with vinegar. Add the pork knuckle to the casserole and thoroughly slather the vinegar mixture to the meat. Add the whole pepper corn and bay leaves and let it boil on low heat.

Put the lid on, but once the liquid starts to boil, uncover it to let the vinegar vapour escapes. Let it simmer on low heat until the “pata” renders it own liquid to mix with the vinegar mixture. Continue simmering on low heat, just enough for the liquid to gurgle. Flip over the meat from time to time for even cooking. Add hot water if the liquid is drying up, one cup at a time. Simmer until the “pata” is all tender, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Remove the fork-tender meat from the remaining sauce and set aside. Strain the sauce to collect the soft garlic, onion and other spices and set aside. Scoop out the oil that will float on the sauce surface and likewise set aside for sautéing later.

In a thick pan, heat about 2 tbsp of oil collected from the sauce. Sauté strained onion, garlic, etc in the sizzling oil until aromatic. Add 2 tbsp of fish sauce and continue sautéing. Pour the sauce in the pan and let it boil on low heat. If the sauce seems not enough add about ½ to ¾ cup hot water. Add in the sugar and the lechon sauce and adjust the seasonings according to your liking.

Place back the “pata” in the pan with the sauce. Slather and continue simmering until everything is heated through again. Slightly stir from time to time, flipping the meat over and making sure not to burn the sauce.

When the sauce starts to thicken, it’s done. Arrange the meat on a large platter and pour over the sauce.

I have opted not use banana blossom for this recipe anymore. You may do so if you like. But right now, this “Paksiw Na Pata” is already a hit and I want to keep it that way. c“,)

Koggala Beach Park, An Awesome Fishing Site

Koggala Beach Park is just a small ordinary recreational area situated along the beautiful coastline of the southern corner of Sri Lanka, close to the historic city of Galle. I often pass by the park but never really developed an interest to enter and check out the amenities or activities that it is offering. I am more fascinated by the stilt fishing which can be seen not very far from the park as I traverse the coastal road. It is such an astonishing sight with the local fishermen perched atop their stilts on the shallow water while pole fishing for the tiny but tasty smooth belly sardinella and other small reef fishes.

However, when I stumbled upon a UK based fishing website which ran a story about the fishing adventure of a British tourist in Koggala during his short visit in Sri Lanka, my interest was suddenly awaken. He mentioned about experiencing a barracuda bite while shore fishing using a live sardinella fish, caught by the local stilts fishermen, as bait. That part of his short tale is convincing enough for me to consider going to Koggala to verify the fishing activity. And the park, I thought, is a good starting point.

The beach park is clean, well vegetated and properly maintained. It has such amenities as children’s playground, boutiques, bench, tables, rest rooms, gardens, lawn and of course a magnificent beach. And what makes this park a special treat for me is that it is in fact a fishing site. The stilts used for the famous stilt fishing stand right in front of me on the waters.

But that isn’t all. The beach, it appeared, is also a potential spot for one of my favourite passion: Shore Angling. There were in fact about 3 shore anglers busy castings from the beach.

Eager to learn how the locals are fishing from the shore, I immediately approached them to investigate. Probably sensing we are sharing the same hobby, they, without hesitation taught me their method of fishing using small shrimps and sea weeds as baits.

They cast as far as they can and slowly retrieve the offering hoping to get a bite. They can catch several varieties of reef fishes and at the right condition, long nose emperor, trevalley, grouper and barracuda. The condition that day, according to them, isn’t very good for fishing but still gladly showed me some of their modest morning catch.

With fervent desires to learn something about stilts fishing, I decided to wait if someone would come to fish from the vacant stilts. Unfortunately it seems there is no sardinella in the area and thus no stilt fisherman is bound to climb the stilts that day. Not willing to go home without seeing the famous Sri Lankan scene of stilt fishing, I checked the far end of Koggala and found about 4 fishermen sitting atop their stilts and enjoying pole fishing.

I was not able to see the rig and bait they are using but was lucky enough to take photos of their collective fresh catch which they sell from the roadside. Delicious little sardinella. :-)