"Pork and rice... and juice?"
In a humid 30 degree, city heat, jet lagged and hungry, I liked the look of every single food stall at the market. Cane sugar drink, barbecued or kebab meat, exotic fruit of every shape and size! The decision making was bewildering but Mel's cousin and his wife saved us, bringing: roast pork belly, fish stuffed with tomatoes and other vegetables, rice, semi- dried beef strips and fresh juice.
Pork for breakfast is easily the most triumphant start to the day.
Coffee adventures were less successful, but we did source a macchiato from Coffee Bean, and find that a Breve was "like a latte but more creamy".
Jollibee was an immediate hit. Burgers were familiar, 'one piece and rice' (fried chicken) is a combination that should be served everywhere and the proper cutlery would almost convert my Mother to fast food! Sarsi, beloved by Mel as a fizzy drink of her youth, tasted like cola mixed with TCP. Strangely medicinal.
New (to me) fruit: custard apple, their armadillo armour pulled away to eat the snowy flesh inside; mangosteen, with their deep plum case and soft segments within; small, green citrus fruits, like baby limes with orange inside (calamansi) make delicious juice; sweet, clear lanzones with thin skins to peel away. And the sweetest, ripest baby mangos I have ever met!
Holidays with Mel are always delicious.
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