wansapanataym in china (town)

i'll be leaving for baguio tomorrow afternoon but i wanted post this entry about my whereabouts for the past few days. it's just the i-have-to-make-kwento thing, and besides, what better excuse to make a picture-happy entry?

last wednesday, i went on impromptu trip to binondo with my mom. there's a strip of road there where one can buy paper and other office supplies for a song. needless to say, it's a sort of haven for a paper-and-crafts nut like me. vip, i promise to take you there and you can go crazy over cheap supplies and chinese food.

at the corner of ongpin and tomas pinpin is an alcove where you can offer incense. i wanted to take pictures but it was raining. a note to people who'd like to visit chinatown: it's interesting to go there on a rainy day but you may want to avoid that because horse shit smells worse when wet.

the shop mart store along ongpin is a must-visit for people on the lookout for new or hard-to-find products. they sell haagen daz, fruits in cream and some korean ice cream there, among other things. hey, not all groceries have them! besides, i think their stuff is cheaper. gotta love them chinees. (that wasn't a typographical error. for example, doug is a prodigal chinee. hehe.)

i was in manila again the next day (thursday) but in the sta. cruz portion, and this time, for a pastry seminar (food galore!). from 9am to 5pm, i did nothing but watch chefs dorothy (ferreria), paolo (lopez) and jun (de guzman, of cafe ysabel) make yummy desserts and sample the said goodies. yippee! and i learned a lot of new recipes as well. hopefully i get to try them out soon. i have a whole box of callebaut chocolate to work with.

i won't bother enumerating every detail (too tedious and boring) so i shall let these pictures speak for themselves. i'm no lori baltazar and my camera can only do so much but these hopefully look enticing enough.

(clockwise, from top left: double mocha pinwheel cake, geisha cheesecake,
chocolate triangle cake, peanut triangle cake)

(clockwise, from top left: napoleon and belgian chocolate cakes, gelatin-based mocha-flavored mousse on puff pastry, my free lunch, chocolate crepe cake with banana buttercream filling with chocolate transfer)