Online Shopping

For more than a year now, I have been actively buying online. My first purchase was a dinner of different crab recipes for four persons at Clawdaddy. The price that was being advertised was reasonable and coupled by a mouth-watering picture of the big crab garnished with lots of toasted garlic, I didn't think twice on clicking BUY.

My excitement waned when I didn't receive my voucher through email. Ensogo Philippines blamed me claiming that it was not able to receive my order. After a lengthy exchange of postings at their Facebook fan page, it was decided that I will be refunded of the amount I paid through BPI.  Good thing I didn't use my credit card. That incident ended my online relationship with Ensogo: I unsuscribed from receiving emails about their latest promos and unliked its Facebook fan page.

A few months after, a lot of Ensogo clones sprouted like mushrooms. Deal Grocer, MetroDeal, Groupon to name just a few. These three are my most-patronized companies. Buying from any of the three is smooth and seamless. Upon confirmation of payment, they automatically send the voucher to my email address. I print out the voucher right away lest I forget about it. Oh, those senior moments.

My first purchase from MetroDeal.

To date, I have an inventory of more than ten vouchers, from dinners, derma procedures, hair care, airline tickets, tours, gourmet chocolates and others. I am in the market for bags, shoes, more dinners and tours. I guess more items will be put up for sale online as the market matures. Can big ticket items like cars and condo units be far behind?

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

Local Food Specialties

Food and travel always go together.  When one is travelling either on official business or on leisure, he is not only exposed to the different tourist spots that the place is known for but also the kind of food that the place offers.  Filipinos, known for their hospitality, cook the delicacies of their town or province and it would offend their feelings if one declines.

I remember when our family went to Davao in 2009 for a much-deserved vacation, our hosts Edward and Rownee Braceros fed us with seafoods, fruits and vegetables that are synonymous with Davao.  Imbao, a seashell native to the Visayas and Mindanao was cooked tola-style.  Tola is a kind of soup wherein garlic, onions, ginger, moringa leaves and salt are added to the stock and imbao.  It brought out the real taste of imbao, not eclipsed by the taste of other seasonings.  It was the first time for us to eat imbao and we were not disappointed.  It helped that we are not picky with food and are adventurous to try new ones.

Products of Davao - tuna sashimi and tolang imbao

For our mission trip to Western Samar, our hosts from Gandara served us not only fresh catch of the sea but also cottage cheese made of carabao's milk.  Gandara's version is thinner and round compared to the ones that come from Laguna which are thicker and squarish.  I am not a lover of the local cottage cheese but I had more than one serving of this Western Samar delicacy.

Local food helps a lot in learning the history of a place. Just by looking or tasting the different ingredients that go into a dish, one can picture what is abundant and what grows in the place.  The Bicol region is known for its spicy coconut-based dishes.  When you look around the surroundings, you would see tracts of land planted to coconut.  Majority of the dishes, be it seafood, chicken, meat or vegetable based, are cooked in coconut milk.

Bicol Express

Cosmopolitan Manila, on the other hand, has several food establishments catering to the different palates of its residents who come from all parts of the country.  Eateries could either be offering regional specialties like Saisaki and Mangan or could play around a theme like Bagoong Club.  Some restaurants have included in their menu samplers of the different dishes that they are offering.  From one order, one can savor three to four different viands in pint size versions of the original.  When a certain eatery that I go to has a sampler, I never fail to order this.  I am able to taste the best of what the eatery has to offer at a one time visit.

Max's Restaurant's Dessert Sampler

Mangan's Merienda Sampler

Chocolate Kiss' Cake Suite

Truly one has a lot to learn from the food of a certain place.  It not only satisfy one's gustatory cravings but tells a lot about the place where it originated.