Food

I think I mentioned that we went out to eat a while back, and had lechon and lumpia. The day we went to the temple we had to stop and eat on the way, so we went to a Robinson's mall ( I mention these names because Maria will probably recognize them.) There we decided to try Max's--"The house that chicken built."  It is a local Manila restaurant with many branches, that we thought was fast food. Once we got in and sat down, we learned that it had a full menu, and offered many Philippine dishes. One was Pinakbet, and vegetable and shrimp dish that included ampalaya. Maria had loaned us a children's book that told the origin of this vegetable, a long, green, cucumber-looking one with ridges that are wrinkled in between. According to the story, it is very bitter, so I anticipated that.  I had bought one the first week we were here, but really had no idea how to cook it, so ended up keeping it until it spoiled.  They are reputedly very good for diabetes. The waitress encouraged me to also try some Creamy Chicken Tinola, which was a very tasty cream of chicken soup.  She must have gotten credit for selling it to us because her name was beside it on the bill. The Pinakbet was very good, except for the ampalaya which was just as bitter as anticipated. I'm glad to say I've tried it, but probably won't again! I asked a Philippine elder later if he really liked it, and he said he did. An acquired taste, I guess, but I don't plan on working too hard to acquire it!

Ampalaya