My 21st

It's my 21st year here on earth - so how the world celebrated it?

Since my birthday was in time with this big event which we organized, I had to treat my family in advance. The day before the event, I brought my family to Banana Leaf for a dinner. Sad to say, I was not satisfied with the service and the meals we ordered. The supposed to be spicy rice turned out to be sweet. The minced pork with basil in thai sauce looked so simple but was extremely hot. The moment it was served, we got disappointed. The pork was not minced but rather ground. Well, people must be careful on the use of terms. The clams with special sauce was also sweet with a hint of spice. Darn! Everything was sweet except for that ground pork. The service was not good either. For all these, I had to shell out almost 2,000. For the dessert, we had this banoffie pie from red ribbon - my request from my sisters. I've read that it's Margaret Thatcher and Princess' Diana's favorite pudding. (Kalevel na pala, haha..)
My baby niece liked the pie - lots of cream, walnuts, banana and chocolate gratings.

Then came this 2 day affair. My Gosh, what a grandiose way to celebrate my birthday, I had so much visitors. Haha...The event brought in more than 200 delagates coming from various countries.

On that day, I had a taste of the Kaimunan Festival. In line with the BIMP-EAGA Investment conference, the Department of Tourism sponsored a Kaimunan festival which highlighted the tribe bamboo cooking. The event took place at the Garden tent of Waterfront. We got invited to the affair and so after the 1st day of the conference, we all headed to the venue. We decided to just go back to Marco for the fellowship cocktails.

Upon arrival, guests were welcomed by a cultural performance by the Kaliwat dance troupe. (I'm gonna contact them for future events) What impressed me was the kind of dishes served and the way those dishes were cooked. There I got educated with the tradition of bamboo cooking. In bamboo cooking, food is cooked in its natural flavors using herbs and spices, definitely no oil. Then, a ritual follows. The gathering is called the Kaimunan. There I was able to try dishes which I never heard of - Tuwa na Hipon for the soup, Adobong manok sa lo-ot at pinya. They also had mushrooms in garlic, mixed seafoods, the other one I forgot (It was beef, but didn't try it) -- all cooked in a bamboo roasted on fire.

The soup for me was excellent. It had coconut meat (which I think is the culprit for the sweetness) with herbs and spices. The rice that they had was the brown rice, the one considered healthy. No matter how healthy it is, I still prefer the white one.







At least I learned something for my birthday. After the dinner, we were all served with a glass of red wine. The Kaliwat also entertained the delegates with the portrayal of the kaimunan. It seemed the foreign delegates enjoyed the affair and joined the dance troupe in their performance. In events like this, it's always the foreigners who enjoy much and are willing to dance together with the performers.

After the affair, we all went back to Marco for the cocktails. Well, it was my first time to see the hotel's new function place - The Deck. The place is nice, but heard the cost per head is 1000. Too expensive though. We didn't really stay long during the fellowship, I just satisfied myself with their sweets and refreshment.

Last night, we had this small family gathering in our house. Was it a sort of a post birthday celebration? Kinda..My dad did the cooking as usual. It was really a gastronomic relief for my wormies in my tummy. Haha...Such a week long memorable celebration.

To all those who greeted me, much love...