Yesterday, we had the best organic vegetables delivered to our house, thanks to my aunt. We usually go to Atrium or SM City for our weekly supply and although we are OK with the quality of vegetables that they sell, they don’t offer enough variety of native veggies that will remind me of my late grandmother’s cooking. So, when my aunt said that she knows of a lady who sells vegetables from her own farm, I asked her if she could bring us some. The best part is, the lady doesn’t use fertilizer to grow her produce.

As expected, everything was cheap. A bunch of fresh tangkong (kangkong in Tagalog, swamp cabbage or tropical spinach in English) costs P10.00, a bunch of balagay (winged beans) is only P7.00, patola (Angled luffa, Chinese okra) for P10.00 a bunch, talong (eggplant) for P10.00 a bunch, one whole kalabasa for P10.00, balunggay (malunggay in Tagalog), radish (English)) and many others.

My aunt cooked linatik nga kalabasa with balunggay (mashed squash in coconut milk with radish) and I requested Ruth to cook apan apan (swamp cabbage cooked in vinegar and shrimp paste). My husband, who knows nothing about Ilonggo food (he’s Cambodian), couldn’t get enough of both dishes. Of course our meal was not complete without a bottle of Coke.

It’s great to cook vegetables straight from the farm. We wouldn’t have to worry whether what we got is fresh or not. Best of all, the price is unbeatable.

I’m thankful that having enough free time enables me to blog again. Thank you for all your comments and emails, they are greatly appreciated.

Our conjugal blog has been around since 2006 but it’s not until recently that my husband thought of blogging, much more writing a series about his Iloilo experience. What can I say, he’s learning the ways of Ilonggos although he doesn’t have a drop of Filipino blood in him. Except for his Asian heritage (Cambodian), he’s American in every way.

Today, I’ll write a series about our tip to the historical Malacca. I would consider Malacca a must-see destination for those who love to know more about the rich Asian civilization. As we all know in our Asian History class in high school, Malacca was the major strategic base for Portuguese expansion in the 1500s.

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Our trip to Malacca was unplanned. We originally wanted to spend our full 10 days in Singapore but later on we were told that we could actually go on a day tour in Malaysia. Because price was very reasonable, we grabbed the opportunity to visit another country even for a day. So, without much discussion, we booked a trip to the great Historical State. Read more »

Excuse me for taking so long to post Part 2 of the Expat Guide to Living in Iloilo City. My excuse is… I have no excuse other than the fact that there are people to meet, things to see, and obligations to fulfill. After all, Iloilo City is a vibrant city with many great eye candies. What can I say, I love Iloilo.

Before I tell you about the many great distractions here in Iloilo City, allow me to introduce you to Ebon L. Thea, Sheryl (more on Sheryl and her husband Patrick in my future blog) and I met him last week. Ebon L. is a professional poker player from Kansas. He moved (yes, moved) to Iloilo City because he can earn more here than in Kansas. I wish I could reveal his poker secrets, but I took a vow of secrecy. But, trust me, they are great secrets. Let’s just say that I would hate to be the ones playing poker against Ebon.

Now, on to the many great distractions in Iloilo City. I’m going to focus on food, drinks and entertainment this time.
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