I've been drinking lemon juice in the morning for several years now but I stopped for sometime when I noticed that my teeth has become sensitive when I eat ice cream or eat something extremely sour like green mangoes or vinegar.
Apparently, when we consume foods that contain citric acid such as lemons, they weaken our tooth enamel. To prevent this, you can do things: (1) use a straw to minimize contact between lemon water and teeth and (2) don't brush your teeth immediately after drinking lemon water.
With this, sharing with you my updated cheat sheet on the proper way to drink Lemon Juice -
1. Brush your teeth before drinking lemon juice. This is optional depending on your preference whether to brush your teeth before and/or after breakfast.
2. Squeeze 1/2 lemon into a glass of water (I use room temperature water).
3. Drink through a straw to minimize contact with teeth. I use a reusable glass straw.
4. Rinse mouth right after drinking lemon juice (or any drink/food that's acidic to prevent the weakening of tooth enamel).
5. Avoid brushing teeth for the next 30 to 60 minutes after drinking lemon juice (or any drink/food that's acidic). This waiting time would allow calcium in our saliva to re-mineralize our teeth.
My mom recently celebrated a milestone birthday. But nope, no party. We didn't organize one for 2 reasons:
Reason #1: No one in the family likes to host parties. 😬 I am an introvert and just the thought of entertaining guests already drains my energy. 😨😰😱 I did attempt to organize a surprise for her in an earlier milestone birthday but I made a mental note not to do it again. Actually, it might not even qualify as a party coz there was no program, not even a single speech... it was just a plain get-together lunch for about 50 pax. That's what happens when an introvert organizes a party. 😂 😂😂
Reason #2: You've probably heard of several incidents wherein celebrants who are given parties in their milestone years pass away within the same year. We don't believe in superstitions at all but this occurrence may have some scientific basis. I remember reading an article (or was it in a book or a conversation with a doctor? Can't quite remember ...) which mentions that when one is given a party (especially a surprise one) at an old age, it could take a toll on the person's heart because extreme emotions are triggered when one sees family members and friends he/she hasn't seen for years, or even decades such as high school or college friends. Even if the party isn't a surprise one, the anticipation alone could cause anxiety for the celebrant too.
This is also what I learned from doing volunteer work at a home for the aged. According to the nuns who manage the institution, when talking to elders, you should avoid asking about a person's birthday coz once he/she realizes that his/her birthday is coming soon, the person won't be able to sleep well until the day arrives. There's not even a party to anticipate in this case. Just the thought of one's birthday arriving causes restlessness and anxiety among the elders.
Thus, given the 2 reasons above, we told our mom that because we care about her so much (and for selfish reasons because don't like to entertain guests 😜 ), she should not expect any birthday party from us in her lifetime. 😂😂😂 Good thing she doesn't like parties either as she doesn't want to be the center of attention. So she's also an introvert! Whew! 😅😊
So what did we end up doing for her birthday? Because I know she reads the newspaper column of Chef Claude Tayag and Ms. Mary Ann Quioc-Tayag, I thought it would be a great idea to have a private lunch at Bale Dutung, the couple's residence in Angeles City, where they accept guest reservations. I had to double-check if Chef Claude and Ms Mary Ann would be there on the date we we were eyeing as it would make it more special if she gets a chance to meet them.
What does Bale Dutung mean? "Bale" is the Pampanggo word for house and "dutung" means wood so Bale Dutung means wooden house. It's a house which Chef Claude built and designed. Some of the materials came from old houses and churches. Check these out -
Notice the lighting fixture above? Can you guess what Chef Claude used to make it? Carabao neck braces. Amazing, right?!
Did you notice the beautiful collection of bottles at the end of the table? The big bottles (as tall as 2 feet high) contain various kinds of vinegar for aging.
Here's one of the oldest marked bottle - vinegar from 1999! Wow...
There are lots of antique items around the house too like these metal tools on a frame. Can you guess what they are?
Antique egg beaters.
How about these metal contraptions below? What do you think they are?
Ice crushers to make halo-halo.
And how about the animal-shaped sculptures below? I actually thought they were just animal sculptures but are apparently they are antique items with a function.
Give up? They are coconut meat scrapers! Just put a blade in the head of the sculpture, put a bowl on the floor right below the head (to catch the shredded coconut meat), sit on the sculpture and start scraping the coconut meat.
How about these wooden sculptures beautifully put together in a frame? What do you think they are?
Antique cookie molds!
Such beautiful and intricate designs. 😍
Bale Dutung has beautiful greenery too. It would make you forget that you're actually inside a city subdivision. Check these out -
And now for the most important highlight - the food! 😋
We had the 6-course Gallery Co-Op 2 Menu (with slight changes on the menu based on the availability of ingredients). Why is it called the Gallery Menu? Coz usually it's served in the Gallery Room but on the day we booked, Silong (the main dining hall) was available so lunch was served there instead.
Presenting the Gallery Menu (brace yourselves for mouth-watering dishes) -
Hors d'oeuvre: Basil leaves, kesong puti, toasted pili nuts and tomatoes (left),
Aromatic duck pancake with hoisin sauce (center) and
Sisig cup (right)
1. Creme of Tinapa - Smoked milkfish chowder with guava and smoked tanigue
and fresh pineapples, accompanied with local greens.
3. Bringhe Cakes - Adlai rice cakes topped with crabmeat and crabfat aioli
4. Pork Belly Adobo Confit - slow-cooked belly served with
grilled eggplant and mango salsa
5. Duck and Onion - Pan-seared duck breast with onion puree,
pickled onions and onion ash.
6. Pastillas Cheesecake - light cheesecake topped with
pure carabao's milk pastillas and caramel sauce.
Everything was yum! I don't know how many times I said "manyaman" and "kanyaman" (Pampanggo words for "delicious") throughout the meal. Haha... But if I were forced to pick the top 3 among the 6, I have to say that would be the Creme of Tinapa, Pork Belly Adobo Confit and Pastillas Cheesecake. Just thinking about them now makes me drool. 😋😍 Haha...
Ms Mary Ann and Chef Claude are the most gracious hosts. Ms Mary Ann even joined us for lunch - that made my mom's birthday lunch more special! 😊 And in addition to the 6 courses, Ms Mary Ann had extra dishes served - Pitichian (home-cooked chicharon), taba ng talangka with rice and tibok-tibok made from carabao's milk with HBD formed by the latik for my mom. How nice! :) Super, super yum!!! 😋😍 Burp, burp, burp... 😍
Pitichian - home-made chicharon
BTW, this is my third time in Bale Dutung (I tried the Kapangpangan menu and the Anthony Bourdain menu before). But I have to say that in all my 3 visits there, what always makes it special (other than the great food) are the conversations you have with the gracious hosts of Bale Dutung. This time around, I didn't just learn about food, Pampanggo culture, but also life lessons as Ms Mary Ann shared a lot of inspiring personal anecdotes.
My mom was super happy and so were all our tummies! 😊 It was a stress-free, quiet celebration for an introvert celebrant organized by an introvert. 😂😂😂
If you're looking for a place to visit less than 2 hours' drive from Manila, you might want to check out Prado Farms in Lubao, Pampanga. I stumbled upon this place while I was researching online for a place where we could celebrate my mom's birthday. :)
The place where Prado Farms is used to be an LPG refilling station - check out how unique their gate is - it's made up of empty LPG tanks in various sizes. Nice piece of functional art. :)
Even inside the farm, you'll see traces of its LPG history like this nativity scene. :)
By the entrance, Prado Farms has a store selling assorted home stuff and antiques. Here are some of the photos I took inside the store.
The store also sells food items like organic longganisa, tsokolate, kesong puti, etc.
BTW, if you intend to visit, you need to pre-book because sometimes the place is booked for retreats, seminars or corporate training.
There are 2 packages you could avail - (1) Hacienda Day which is their day tour package or (2) if you wish to stay longer, you could opt to stay overnight.
What's in store at Prado Farms?
Hacienda Day, the day tour package (11am to 5pm), covers AM snacks, lunch and PM snacks.
The meat and veggies they serve are all organic - right from the farm. Here's what we had for minindal (AM snacks) -
Ground organic pork with longganisa and pandesal with kesong puti
Fried suman and tsokolateng batirol
Merienda is served in this aquamarine-themed veranda just near the entrance.
Opposite the dining area is the fishing pen. Yes, fishing is one of the activities you could do while at Prado Farms.
Fishing pen
From veranda, you could start exploring the farm. It's a total of 5 hectares but I think only half has been developed so far.
There are a handful of old houses that were transported and reconstructed in the farm (which would remind you of the houses at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan). Check these out -
Here's how the house looks inside - it's an open space layout.
And here's the Farm's library -
Here's how it looks like at the ground floor. Nice color and interiors. :)
You'll find the library at the second floor -
Anyway, since we knew that lunch was going to be buffet, we had to starve ourselves. Haha... What better way to burn calories than to swim! :)
They use saltwater for the pool.
Lunch is served in a restaurant called Mangan Yaman. In Pampanggo, "mangan yaman" means "masasarap".
Dishes are all organic!
What's for lunch? There's salad (I don't usually eat patis but I love their patis with honey salad dressing!), pork rendang, chicken steamed in lemongrass, daing na bangus, steamed kangkong and steamed alugbati. All healthy and yum! For dessert, coffee jelly was served.
BTW, you could also pre-order an organic arugula-fed lechon for Php7,500 (good for 15 pax) but nope, we didn't have one. But we saw the place where they roast lechon when the staff gave us a farm tour -
Roasting spot for their organic lechon
After the buffet lunch, chances are you'll feel sleepy. Guess what? They have a room called "Kera-kera" where you can lie down, relax and take a nap. "Kera kera" in Pampanggo means "pahiga-higa". Don't you wish all the buffet places have a room like this?! Haha...
Other things and activities you could do -
The farm has a chapel if you want some quiet time for reflection -
You could also feed the pigs -
Enjoy a carabao ride or go biking (yes, they have bikes you can borrow) -
Or if you're game to learn how to make kesong puti or tsokolateng batirol, you could also pre-arrange it with the farm staff.
Tsokolateng batirol-making
For more info about Prado Farms, you may check out its website at http://pradofarms.com/.
Iceland has a lot of exotic foods. Rotten shark, mink whale, sheep head, ram’s testicles - those are what I found out online from people who visited Iceland.
But while in line at the Copenhagen airport check-in counter (on our way to Reykjavik), the people in front of us were Icelanders so they gave us some useful tips.
We gathered from them that locals don’t really eat the exotic foods promoted in blogs. It was more common during their parents’ or grandparents’ time. They said that the only time they eat traditional Icelandic food is during their annual food festival.
This was also validated by our city tour guide when she shared that only her mom in the entire clan likes to eat sheep head especially the sheep's cheek and eyes, and that she doesn’t understand why she likes it so much. When she said "sheep head", I didn’t realize it’s literally a sheep head until one time, we were at the BSI Bus Terminal cafeteria waiting for our tour bus and I saw it on the menu!
Here’s how a sheep head looks like - I took a photo of an ad I saw in one of the travel brochures -
How can you eat that? :(
But I did some research and apparently there’s a good reason how eating a sheep head came to be. It originated at a time when Iceland was still a poor country and the farmers would make the most of anything they could eat. They couldn't afford to let any part of an animal go to waste. That's also the reason why they also eat ram testicles.
Anyway, here are some of the foods I tried in Iceland - from regular to exotic ones:
1. Skyr. This is Iceland’s version of the yoghurt but it's creamier and even thicker than Greek yoghurt. They say it has the highest amount of protein among all kinds of yoghurt. It comes in different flavors and also has a drink variant for those who prefer it as a beverage.
2. Hotdog Sandwich. There’s this very popular hotdog sandwich that everyone raves about online. It’s called Baejarins Beztu Pylsur which translates to “The best hotdog in town”.
The original stand of Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. Expect long lines.
I asked the Icelander at the airport if it’s really, really good and he goes - All hotdogs whether in Copenhagen or Iceland are good! Hahaha…
Because of that, we ate hotdogs in every place we went to including the airport. Haha… But we did try Baejarins Beztu Pylsur (ok, I can’t even spell, pronounce or remember it so let's just stick to calling it the popular hotdog in Iceland! Haha… ).
Classic hotdog sandwich from Baejarins Beztu Pylsur with everything on top.
The verdict? The Icelander was right. All hotdogs in Iceland and Copenhagen are yummy. Haha... I think what makes the hotdogs yummy there are their cronions (fried onions) and their special sauce that blends well with mustard and ketchup.
3. Rotten Shark. The nearest cafe from where we stayed is Cafe Loki (just across the Hallsgrimskirkja - the famous big church landmark in Reykjavik). Cafe Loki specializes on traditional Icelandic food. Here’s how one of their Icelandic Plate sampler looks like -
Icelandic Food Plate
What's in the plate? Rye bread, mashed fish (upper left), smoked trout (upper right), smoked lamb (bottom), dried fish and rotten shark. Yes, the small chunks below are rotten shark. Well, the flesh isn’t technically rotten, it’s just fermented. Very strong taste. It has a kick to it.
Rotten shark
You could also have chaser - Brennivin or Black Death - when you eat rotten shark. Brennivin is Iceland's most popular alcohol drink. It's made from fermented potatoes and caraway (a kind of cumin). Nope, I didn't have it - its alcohol content is more than 30%. Wahaha...
Notice that underneath the fish and lamb in the Icelandic Plate sampler, there's some dark bread? That's Icelandic rye bread. It's eaten not as a pastry but usually with fish or meat or plain butter. Sometimes, Icelanders cook rye bread underground. They put the dough in a wooden container and bury it underground close to a hot spring (see photo below). It's baked the next day. :)
Underneath this mound is rye bread being cooked.
4. Dried fish (usually cod or haddock). This is how their dried fish looks like - it's like fish jerky. It's best lathered with butter.
Dried Fish
When you initially put it in your mouth, it feels rubbery and hard to chew. But as it stays longer in your mouth and with the help of the butter, it becomes softer and easier to chew.It tastes good!:)
5. Lobster Soup. In one blog I’ve read, it says that this is considered as street food in Reykjavik but we had a hard time looking for eateries that serve it. We only found it in one seafood restaurant by the harbour. Super yum!
Lobster Soup
6. Icelandic Meat (Lamb) Soup. I totally fell in love with this soup. It's commonly available in restaurants and I had it every lunch and dinner everyday. Wahaha...
Icelandic Meat/Lamb Soup
As I mentioned in my earlier post, the lamb in Iceland is super good because they are free range - roaming on hills. One of our tour guides said - You know why our lamb is good? Because our lamb eat a lot of grass and herbs so they are seasoning themselves while they are still alive. Hahahaha....
7. Sheep head jelly. If you cannot stomach eating the real sheep head, this is an alternative - sheep head jelly (the 2 jelly strips in the middle). They just mixed whatever you can eat from the sheep head (eyes, cheek, tongue) and served it in jelly form. It's eaten as a bread topping.
Sheep Head jelly
8. Peppercorn Minke Whale Steak. Based on information online, the minke whale is not an endangered species - at least not yet. But here's how they serve it in Iceland. No need to put any sauce because it's super tasty already. I read you can eat it raw too.
Peppercorn minke whale steak
Just remember, if you want to eat like the locals, remove all the exotic foods from your list and stick to skyr, hotdog, rye bread, regular fishes like trout and salmon, lamb, and of course the yummy lobster soup and Icelandic meat soup. :) Check out my other posts about Iceland:
