tacloban city food scene

At least I managed to cover some of the restaurants on my list before this trip ended. En route I discovered some more local hotspots that I’d be visiting on my return–Calle Zaragosa, Jose Karlos Cafe, Josephine’s Smoke Station among others. But for those that I was able to visit the last time, here’s my go-to list in order of (personal) preference.

1. Yolanda’s. I stopped by this humble restaurant after stepping off the plane, just a few kilometers from the DZR Airport. While I already grabbed a heavy breakfast at the Manila airport, I was obliged to take an even heavier second breakfast here. Fresh seafood can’t get any fresher here. This is a popular “bagsakan” among local fishers where some tourists stop by for an after-flight meal or buy fresh seafood to take to their vacation place.

DIY party

Uri’s second birthday party was held yesterday and it was a blast! I was so thrilled to have some of the guests thank me saying their kids really had a great time. Almost as rewarding as seeing your child enjoy in his own birthday celebration.

furniture hunt and spicy wings

I went on an office furniture hunt today. Office#2 is having a makeover and I volunteered to help out in the interior decorating, mostly because the boss couldn’t care less while I couldn’t care more about having a nice, productivity-enhancing work environment.

Turo was kind enough to chaperon me as I explored every nook and cranny of Ortigas Home Depot looking for cheap, durable but aesthetically pleasing office furniture. Funny that towards the end of my hunt, I started to wonder why there are so many beds and dining tables and very limited options for office desks and shelves. Then I realized I should have gone to an Office Depot rather than a Home Depot. LOL.

pho’bac fans

I am a fan of Asian cuisine. I love eating and cooking Asian food. If I had a cooking niche, it’s definitely Asian, although Turo always had a penchant for my pasta dishes, and the babies too. When choosing restaurants, Chinese is almost always on the top of our list, followed by the cuisine of other Asian countries. Lately, I seem to also want to explore the French and Spanish ones, mostly because of the wine, but got disappointed by a recent dinner in Hermanos (which was supposed to be an excellent Filipino-Spanish restaurant, but by our standards wasn’t). So now, it’s back to all things Asian.

a writing refuge

The two most difficult parts of finishing a serious writing project is finding the time and a conducive venue where you can conceptualize for long, uninterrupted hours. My usual recourse is to work in the wee hours, or borrow a small corner of my mother’s office, or borrow my brother’s room so I could secretly work while the babies play downstairs. The problem with working at home, especially if you have little kids, is that you can’t help but to want to spend time with them. If and when you resist the urge to be with them, you can’t help but feel a little guilty and won’t be able to focus on your writing.

The best and only solution really is to get out of the house and find a place where you can think and write and think some more. Lucky for me, I have found my writing haven one tricycle ride away from home.