CNNGo

Go see the skyline.

asiannhoney — Mon, 14 May 2012 01:14:04 GMT

Aside from the food the skyline's the best!

Comfort Food

tumba24 — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:04:18 GMT

Filipino Foods are known for it's simplicity and yet mouth watering flavour and fine texture. Usually these comfort foods can be eaten any time of the day be it for breakfast , before noon or can be considered as meal. What makes the food more special is it brings good old childhood memories, comforting and soothing. One of the best Filipino comfort food are "mami" (flour noodles with beef and beef broth with chopped scallion) and "suman" (rolled rice cake).

Five Inimitable Dishes at the Best Hole in the Wall's in Hong Kong

levenglick — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:24:20 GMT

As the most prestigious chef's have developed a presence in Hong Kong, the city has dramatically closed the gap with London, Paris and New York as the finest purveyor of divine culinary artistry in the world. While prominent chef's including Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon and most recently Mario Batali serve some of the finest food at their highly acclaimed restaurants, Hong Kong boasts an abundance of praiseworthy "hole in the walls" serving sumptuous epicurean delights at excessively modest prices. Among a plethora of exquisite hole in the wall's, Butao, Mak's Noodle, Temple Spicy Crab, Tim Ho Wan and Dumpling Yuan serve five of the finest and most palatable, inexpensive dishes in Hong Kong.
King Ramen Noodles @ Butao:Over the past two years, Butao has quickly emerged as not only the most sought after destination for Ramen but also one of the hottest restaurants for lunch. Serving only the first 200 bowls of succulent Ramen per day, Butao typically requires a minimal wait of at least thirty minutes. The dish embodies sumptuous noodles in a flavorful zesty broth that integrates the ideal combination of oil, onion and garlic that creates the consummate spice needed for the perfect soup. At only $78HK ($10USD), the minimal price does not accurately reflect the peerless value of one of Hong Kong's most extraordinary dishes.Flat C, Wo On Building, 11-12 Wo On Lane, Central, Hong Kong, China
P: +852 25300600. Hours: Daily from 11 A.M until the last bowl is sold.
Pork and Chive Dumpling @ Dumpling Yuan:Physically, Dumpling Yuan exemplifies the term, "hole in the wall," located on the highly recognized and busy Wellington Street, the restaurant's inconspicuous awning can make the storefront relatively easy to overlook. Once inside, the Pork and Chive Dumplings are easily one of the most delectable Cantonese dishes in HK. Buttery, flavorful and flawless texture accurately delineates the dish. While Hong Kong is inundated with exceptional dumplings, Pork and Chive Dumplings are worth the visit.
Wellington Street 69, Central, Hong Kong, China
P: + 852 25259018 Hours: Daily 11A.M-11P.M
Wonton Noodles @ Mak's Noodle: Located in the heart of Lan Kwai Fong, Mak's Noodle is known for serving one of the most succulent Wonton Noodles in Hong Kong. While the portions are minimal, the dish exemplifies some of the finest epicurean eats in Hong Kong. In addition, at only 30HK ($3.70USD) the minimal portions are mitigated as one can seamlessly enjoy up to three servings for a bargain.
麥奀記 Wellington St., Central, Hong Kong, China
P: +852 2854 3810. Hours: Monday-Sunday 11 A.M–8 P.M
Spicy Crab @ Temple Spice Crabs:
Although this may be the most ubiquitous "tourist trap" in Hong Kong, Temple Spice Crabs' food justifies the hype that has led to several television appearances, most notably on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. Temple Spice Crabs is located in the profoundly touristic Temple Street Market in Mongkok. Considering this outdoor "hole in the wall" is named after the dish, the eponymous Spicy Crab is the preeminent dish on the menu. Spicy, savory and fresh, the Spicy Crab is exceptional. While 200 HKD ($25USD) may seem prohibitive for an outdoor "hole in the wall", the crab remains a fraction of the price of a formal restaurant, despite being superior in taste.
Temple Street Night Market: Kansu Street and Jordan Road, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China Hours: Daily from 4P.M-Late.
Beef Balls @ Tim Ho Wan: While palatable dim sum restaurants abound in Hong Kong, none delineate the range, depth and rewarding epicurean experience that Tim Ho Wan embodies. Averaging $19 HKD ($2.50USD), Tim Ho Wan is easily the least expensive Michelin Starred restaurant in the world. Among a plethora of mouth-watering dishes, the Beef Balls are sweet, savory and highly succulent, and thus, one of the most divine dishes in Hong Kong. 2-20, Kwong Wa Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.P: + 852 2332 2896. Hours: Daily 10 A.M-10P.M

Disneyland Hong Kong (part2)

JherryPhons — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:13:42 GMT

These images were captured on April 06, 2012 in Disneyland Hong Kong.

Travelling to Hong Kong is not complete without spending a day or two at Disneyland. There are many unexpected activites anywhere you go. This is not only for the kids to enjoy but for the whole family, too. I enjoyed our trip because I had the chance to mingle and see the Disney characters seen on TV. It nice to feel young once in a while, LoL.

Disneyland Hong Kong (part1)

JherryPhons — Fri, 11 May 2012 06:53:42 GMT

These images were captured on April 06, 2012 in Disneyland Hong Kong.

Travelling to Hong Kong is not complete without spending a day or two at Disneyland. There are many unexpected activites anywhere you go. This is not only for the kids to enjoy but for the whole family, too. I enjoyed our trip because I had the chance to mingle and see the Disney characters seen on TV. It nice to feel young once in a while, LoL.

Mong Kok : The Most Crowded and Busiest Place on the Planet

JherryPhons — Thu, 10 May 2012 09:03:40 GMT

Mong Kok is the most densely populated place not only in Hong Kong but on the planet. In Cantonese, the meaning of this place is “busy corner”. This is one of the city’s liveliest districts, full of shops, street side stalls and this is where you can find the famous Mong Kok Ladies Market. Tens of thousands of local and foreign visitors flock to this place despite the traffic and intense crowds because everything is cheap from electronics gadgets, souvenirs, accommodations and variety of Chinese food. Everything is almost here including free music played live in the middle of crowded street.

View this ireport to see some of their products captured in Mong kok:

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-776029

These images were captured on April 07, 2012 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.

Topiary Animals

JherryPhons — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:18:40 GMT

These photos of beautiful animal topiary were captured on April 06, 2012 at Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

This is an added attraction inside the park complex. Many people stopped and took photos with this cool and stunning art. If you take a look at the images, all of the art forms are smiling and they are happy to see you.

Thanks for viewing guys.

Now serving: Pig blood

mutyang — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:23:39 GMT

It runs in the Filipino blood.

In a typical street food scenario, one will always be greeted by swirls of white smoke dancing to the animated movements of makeshift fans keeping the coals of grill stands burning.

A Pinoy vendor stand is home for foods like the popular isaw (pig or chicken intestines), tenga ng baboy (pig’s ear), adidas (chicken feet), and the semi-popular dugo ng baboy (pig’s blood) more popularly christened "betamax" taking the shape of the 80’s version of Blu-Ray discs.

It’s literally made of pig’s blood cooked and hardened to a solidified state to fit the skewering requirements. Its partner – the sawsawan – a concoction of onion, garlic, tomatoes, soy sauce, and vinegar among other invisible things to satisfy the salivating palate.

It’s not as popular to the religious as isaw. Not because of the lack of passion for anything physically unclean, but the reason is beyond the call of sanitation. It’s often spiritual.

There are those who skip the betamax for religious reasons, another testament to the mixed up Filipino beliefs that alter the common notion of the Filipino society.

But regardless of any spiritual constraints, most Filipinos still find the betamax gratifying, making it a homestay in the Pinoy street food menu.

The Hong Kong Park

JherryPhons — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:40:35 GMT

These images of Hong Kong Park were captured on April 06, 2012 in Central, Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Park is a gorgeous public park located in the Hongmian Road in Central. It is surrounded by tall buildings in the highly urbanized central business district. It is also a perfect place to take a break from the high rises and hectic streets of the city.

Filipino Food with a Difference. Binalot the fastfood with a Heart

Masterwraper — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:47:52 GMT

In a developing economy like the Philippines, a small-and-medium enterprise (SME) has shown that one does not have to be a big company to go into a meaningful Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. It just has to have its heart in the right place.
Binalot Fiesta Foods has demonstrated that the private sector need not depend on the government alone to uplift the lives of its countrymen. Like other like-minded SMEs, they have taken it upon themselves to help out by establishing many social initiatives, especially those that would benefit communities where they operate.
As a result, the Philippines has become the poster child for CSR in the region. Although CSR can just be relegated to the public relations or corporate communications departments of huge multinationals, in the Philippines, it is fast becoming mainstream undertaking. Case in point is the Asian Forum for CSR which originated in the Philippines, making it apparent that the country leads Southeast Asia in CSR programs and initiatives.
Binalot Fiesta Foods is a small Filipino fast food restaurant chain which uses the biodegradable banana leaves as its primary form of packaging. Despite its small size and limited resources, it has set up a noteworthy CSR program.
Rommel Juan, president of the Binalot food chain, recognized that there is a need to help develop and give livelihood to the poor families in rural communities, particularly the subsistence banana farmers of Nagcarlan, Laguna where Binalot sources its banana leaves. The result is the DAHON Program (Dangal at Hanapbuhay para sa Nayon or Dignity and Livelihood for the Community). Incidentally, “dahon” also means leaf in the local dialect.
Under the program, the men of the community plant banana trees and harvest the banana leaves from the jungle for the elderly women to cut and clean to Binalot specifications. This gives livelihood to some 30 families in the area, assuring them of a steady source of income. A day care center and a chapel were renovated. A composting facility was installed to ensure proper disposal of wastes.
The benefits under the DAHON program are many. For Binalot, it assures them of a secure and reliable source of banana leaves for its operations. For the banana farmers and their families, they are assured of a steady flow of income for their daily sustenance. For the community, it benefits from amenities provided for. For the environment, it is an assurance that it will be preserved and protected.
Due to its success, Binalot wishes to replicate the DAHON program in other areas as it opens more new outlets across the country.
Today, Binalot not only promotes its CSR programs but also helps preserve the environment by using biodegradable materials for its packaging and operations. It also uses eco-friendly electric bikes to deliver its food.

As a result, Binalot was awarded the once-in-a-lifetime Centennial Prize in the worldwide 2007 UPS Out-of-the-Box Small Business Contest commemorating United Parcel Service's (UPS) 100th year of existence. The special award honors Binalot as it "best exemplifies the end-to-end service theme of UPS's Centennial Celebration".
It has also been honored by Entrepreneur Magazine with a special citation for CSR, the PR Society of the Philippines has given it the prestigious Anvil Award and the AFCSR and Intel-AIM both gave Binalot awards for Best Corporate Social Responsibility Program in 2010.

Read Between the Lines

RomaniaScene — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:28:39 GMT

Many times in your travels (not just in Hong Kong...this photo was taken in Brussels, Belgium!) you may see a sign which isn't quite correctly translated. So disregard this confusing faux pas and go ahead and try that delicious asian fare anyway. It's sure to "floor" you!

Tuyo (Dried Fish)

mckittinn — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:28:39 GMT

Tuyo (dried fish)..it's a common breakfast dish for Filipinos. It is best accompanied by a saute’d tomatoes, onions and eggs and off course the fried rice. :)

Beef Salpicao

JRBustamante — Sat, 05 May 2012 11:28:39 GMT

One of my favorite Filipino dishes, a dish that I can never get tired of is beef salpicao. This menu classic has a Spanish influence in it (not surprising since we had 300 years of Spanish colonization). If you are not sure of what to order in a Filipino restaurant, go for this dish as its simplicity and staple ingredients may cross all international taste buds' appeal.

This stir-fried garlic beef, cooked with olive oil and oyster sauce, is best eaten with garlic rice and perhaps alongside ceasar salad and a mango shake for a perfect dinner meal.

Gigil Tart

JRBustamante — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:48:40 GMT

A modern fusion on native offerings.This is a new dessert creation by LJC Chef George Lizares which has an interesting taste combination of salted eggs (preserved fresh eggs in a damp salted clay mix) and buko (youmg coconut). Salted eggs are usually eaten as a salad or side dish in combination with onions and tomatoes, and even better with green sour mangoes.

When used as part of a sweet dish, it results in a unique but appealing flavor. Though it may not be a traditional dish, the taste is unmistakeably Filipino. "Gigil" is tagalog term for an "uncontrollable urge".

Overcast Day in Hong Kong

JherryPhons — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:33:40 GMT

These images were captured on April 24, 2012 from the top of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. It was overcast on that day but the panoramic view of the city was still awesome.

Hong Kong Transport

JherryPhons — Sat, 05 May 2012 09:03:40 GMT

These images of Hong Kong Transport were shot on April 04, 2012 in various streets in the city.

Public transport in Hong Kong is one of the world's most efficient, safe and affordable. The easy and most convenient way of using the transport system is by paying through Octopus Card. This is available at the arrival area of the international airport and you can refund the amount left when surrendering the card. Aside from paying your fare, it can also be used to pay your other purchases.

taho

pinaytravel — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:03:40 GMT

taho as popularly known in the Philippines or soya pudding is one of the best here. In baguio city they put a twist in their taho since they have a lot of strawberry they added it in to make a strawberry taho instead of the usual brown sugar syrup

puto

pinaytravel — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:33:39 GMT

puto or rice cake is a popular thing here in the philippines especially in binan, laguna. i did attended one activity and tasted a lot of puto during the said event. they are very much creative in doing the puto lots of colors and toppings to enhance the taste

Halo Halo (A Cool Dessert)

Diosa30 — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:08:30 GMT

Halo Halo (from the root word 'halo', roughly translated as 'mix) is no doubt one of the most popular desserts in the Philippines. It can be found in most parts of the country, each town and restaurant, with their own version of this cold dessert.

It's popularity soars as the temperature during the summer season rises.

It is a mixture of shaved ice and evaporated milk with a sweet merry mix-up of mung or white beans, gelatin, tapioca, nata de coco, jackfruit, banana, sweet potato, rice crispies, small pieces of fruits in season among others--based on one's taste or sweet craving. To make it extra special, it is often topped with scoops of ice cream, caramel flan or purple yam.

Bas-oy (Carabao Beef Soup).

kantilang — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:33:31 GMT

This recipe is famous in the southern parts of the Philippines. It is a brownish carabeef (carabao beef) soup primed with a handful of ginger, chili pepper (siling labuyo), onions, cabbage and spices. The best among the ingredients that gave a rambling aromatic flavor are the lemongrass and herba buena.

Filipino HUMBA (Braised Pork Belly Recipe).

kantilang — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:53:31 GMT

The Filipino Humba is a sweet pork dish that resembles the famous pork adobo. This recipe is popular in the southern parts of the Philippines and is considered as one of the delicacies of the region. This dish uses all the ingredients of pork adobo but the cooking time is much longer than the pork adobo and some ingredients are added such as brown sugar, salted black beans, and banana blossoms to make this dish stand out. Some also add pineapple juice.

Humba is the most common recipe served during fiestas, birthdays and other occasions. For me, I enjoy most eating the leftover of this recipe after a couple of days. We put the leftovers in a bottle and store it in the refrigerator.

Laing Pizza

kormenSDiego — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:28:31 GMT

Had the tastiest Laing Pizza during a trip to CamSur (Camarines Sur), Bicol Region, Philippines. This is a great example of fusion food which combines an Italian pizza with a very local Filipino dish called Laing.

Laing is a dish made of gabi (taro) stem and leaves and coconut milk, which originated from the Bicol Region. Since Bicol is one of the few regions in the Philippines that love to eat spicy food, Laing is heavily spiced with siling labuyo (red hot chilies). Different versions have come about adding a bit of bagoong (fermented shrimp) or meat to the dish.

With the Laing Pizza we ate, the spicyness of the Laing combined with the gooey cheese of the Pizza simply wakes up those taste buds! I would definitely want to go back for more :-)

In Lantau Island

alamelu — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:13:32 GMT

Come to Ngong Ping plateau to visit Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. The Bronze Buddha seated on a Lotus is one of the biggest outdoor images of Buddha. Po Lin stands for Sacred Lotus. The ride to the spot on the Ngong Ping cable car gives us a chance to admire the green slopes of the Lantau island and the coastline.

Tapsilog, Longsilog, Tosilog

kormenSDiego — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:13:32 GMT

While I don't normally eat a heavy breakfast when I'm home, when I travel locally within my country, I'm always excited to wake up to a full Filipino Breakfast. My excuse is that I need the energy for a full day out :-)

A typical Filipino Breakfast would consist of some meat, garlic rice and an egg. The meat would be a choice of Tapa (Dried or Cured Beef), Longganisa (sweet or salty pork sausage spiced differently by each region), and Tocino (Sweet Cured Pork). For folks who don't eat meat, it is replaced by Tuyo or Daing (Salted Fried Fish). The meat or fish is then paired with Sinangag (Garlic Rice) and Itlog (egg usually cooked sunny side up).

Filipinos love to shorten names and so even with food dishes, there are short names which use one syllable each from the name of the ingredients. Tapsilog is TApa, SInangag and ItLOG. Longsilog is LONGganisa, SInangag and ItLOG. And lastly, Tosilog is TOcino, SInangag and ItLOG.

The Peak Tower

JherryPhons — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:38:31 GMT

These images of the Peak Tower were captured on April 04, 2012 at Victoria Gap in Hong Kong. This tower is one the most beautiful architectural masterpiece in this city.

Sea Grapes Salad and Grilled Rabbitfish

JherryPhons — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:53:31 GMT

The sea grapes salad combined with grilled rabbitfish is one of my favorite meal in the Philippines. This was the last dish I have eaten before flying off to New Zealand.

These images were captured on April 27, 2012 in the Philippines.

Culinary Mishmash

ElBar — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:23:33 GMT

It's true - there's more to Filipino food that balut.

Photograph 1 shows some classic Filipino dishes such as Aligue Rice, Monggo with Chicharon, and Tilapia with Coconut Milk. The last picture is a new take on the classic Kare-Kare (Crispy Pata was used instead of the usual beef shank and tripe).

Photograph 2 is Fried Frog Legs and Ilocano Longganisa, both of which are specialties in the northern province of Ilocos.

Photograph 3 is a collection of seafood delights from Cebu - Adobong Pusit, Chilli Shrimps, Giant Clam in Soup, Butter Garlic Clams, and Sweet and Sour Fish.

For food worthy of a heart attack, photograph 4 shows Crispy Pata, Chicken BBQ with Java Rice, Chicken and Pork Issaw, Grilled Squid, and Pusit ala Pobre.

If photograph 4 wasn't enough to stop your heart, check out photograph 5 for different variants of Pork Sisig.

Pancit Palabok, Assorted Seafood (fresh from Dampa), Mechado, and Beef Salpicao are some of the food shown in photograph 6.

And finally dessert on photograph 7. On the left is the locally-famous mango crepe with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup from Cafe Breton called La Pinay; and on the right is probably the best Halo-Halo in town from Razon's.

Told you there's more to Filipino food than balut.

Fragrant Huo Guo

alamelu — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:43:31 GMT

Bamboo shoots, bean curd, leafy vegetables, mushrooms and other delicacies are cooked in the pot filled with spicy hot water that is set at the table where you dine. The pot is heated by coals in a chimney core. The cooked pieces of food are dipped in sauces and eaten.

Hong Kong Highlights

HOLadd1 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:23:33 GMT

I figure anyone contributing to this story will provide the usual striking skyline shots from Victoria Peak or Kowloon so I'll attempt to show "my Hong Kong" in a slightly more intimate way.

The pictures come from a recent trip to HK:

#1: Cargo ship plying the waves of HK harbor.

#2: Peninsula Hotel elegance at its finest: stoic doorman with the hotel's signature Rolls Royces in the forecourt.

#3: Western Market

#4: Quiet HK side street

#5: Where the real business of the day's decided: old men in animated conversation at a tucked-away playground.

#6: It's not a sidewalk unless there's dung drying in the sun. Dried dung has many uses in HK, in this case medicinal as it's at the back of a traditional Chinese medicine shop.

#7: Fishing in Kowloon.

#8: HK cemetary. Note how the rows go up the hill (space as you can imagine is at quite a premium in HK).

#9: Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, a 30 min ferry ride from Central HK. Often overlooked by tourists but very much worth a side visit.

#10: Okay, so I lied. Here's my one skyline shot of HK at night taken from Kowloon.

Kare-Kare

Sunsetlady — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:24:29 GMT

Kare-Kare is a traditional Filipino stew with peanut sauce, ox tail or pork, and vegetables.
This dish isn’t complete without the shrimp paste, that compliments the peanut flavor.
It is best served on a clay pot.
A popular dish at Filipino restaurants, and my personal favorite.