happy birthday, daddy!

My father's birthday was on 29 October 2012, but we celebrated the day before which was a Sunday.

La famiglia sempre, Oct 2012. The youngest member was upstairs, playing.

I have given up trying to organise the food during family occasions. My father wants to eat what he likes to eat. Best not to argue.

Same old, same old from the reliable Red Palace Seafood Restaurant. All yummy except for the bland, mushy noodles.

he's coming

I collected the tickets of all the concerts, plays and assorted live performances that I've seen in Manila this year. Well, all except one which I remember chucking into a filthy public bin and then yelling, "No-ooo!"

best chocolate soufflé ever

A couple of months ago, I bought a discount coupon for a three-course meal at Prince Albert Rotisserie at the InterContinental Manila. (The price was 1,250 pesos, knocked down from 2,500 pesos supposedly, but who knows really?) I had a specific goal in mind-- to eat a hunk of beef after my trip to India.

Oh yes, I went to India. More about that soon.

The Intercon opened in 1969 and is the oldest chain hotel in the Philippines. In the Manila of my youth, Prince Albert had always been synonymous with "fine dining". Nowadays,  it's typically called "old-fashioned".

Well, sometimes old-fashioned is good. Sometimes it's a blessed relief.

Bread basket and a hockey puck-sized portion of French butter, all for me. 4.25/5

Every major city in the world has at least one restaurant like Prince Albert. It's very, very civilized and it positively reeks of old money. Within its walls, nothing ever really changes. Not the food, not the staff. The furniture and decor, sometimes yes, but nothing too modern.

Amuse bouche: smoked salmon, prawn mousse, pesto, toast. Fork not necessary. 4/5

balinsasayaw vs. kinabuchs

The best thing about our B&B, One Rover's Place, is its location. There are over a hundred hotels and inns in Puerto Princesa, but for exploring the city, I don't think any of them can beat One Rover's Place as home base.

I mean, all the restaurants I wanted to try were within spitting distance. Isn't that what's most important?

Our receptionist recommended Balinsasayaw's grilled chicken for lunch. Not bad for a quick, wallet-friendly meal. It wasn't as tasty as Bacolod's heart-stopping cholesterol-injected inasal but it was much better than Davao's disturbingly sweet and dry version.

Chicken barbeque with rice set, 79 pesos. 4/5

We didn't know that balinsasayaw meant "bird's nest" until our waiter, Renger, told us. So then of course we had to order it. For fans of bird saliva, at that price it was practically a steal. And it was obviously very fresh.

Bird's nest soup half order, 200 pesos. 4.25/5

DIY tour of puerto princesa

So what else is there to do in Puerto Princesa?

The welcome sign at the city's main thoroughfare, Rizal Avenue.

Well, most people go island hopping at Honda Bay. I'm sure it's very nice, but since I live on an island, I wasn't too excited about doing that.

What really interests me is urban development, and what especially feeds my fire is unusual architecture.

Behold the Palawan Provincial Capitol!

Easily the most impressive government building I've ever seen in the Philippines.