so what good thing have you done today?

miss iggy at the registry of deeds in the town of binangonan, rizal. she thought the registry of deeds is the place where you register the good things you've done for the world lately. she was surprised to know that the place catered to land ownership in the province. sorry miss iggy!

speaking of land, here she is with the philippine flag and the current slogan for the philippines: Pilipinas Kong Mahal. mahal is the filipino word for love and this slogan can be loosely translated as "The Philippines that I Love". however, mahal is also the Filipino word for expensive and some witty critics have taken it upon themselves to interpret this as the Philippines being the land of expensive things: food, utilities, education, and housing.

which is probably why this jeep hasn't been treated to a new coat of paint lately:

heh.

Our Lady of Light Parish

Miss Iggy was at this church last month to witness a wedding in Cainta, Rizal. It was quite close to where Gingmaganda lives. The motif for the wedding was "pomelo peach."

Does the pomelo fruit ever have a peach hue?

coco jam iggy at Aling Kika's (or vote biko for nation-building)

mr. iggy found himself at Aling Kika's in Cainta, where the town's famous "bibingka" comes from.

there's a wall full of coco jam jars behind the counter. gingmaganda borrowed a jar for a photo op:

and the purpose of the visit:

yummy bibingka. bibingka is usually referred to as "rice cakes" but depending on where you are in the philippines, bibingka can take on many shapes and forms. here in cainta, bibingka looks like this:

the brown part is biko with latik (sticky rice with something only marketman can explain), the orange one is kutsinta and the white one is sapin-sapin (literally means "layer-upon-layer"). birthdays, christmases, new year's eves and other parties are not complete without bibingka from Aling Kika's. Filipinos believe that biko brings good luck to parties. the sticky rice dish makes people "stick" to one another too, injecting a sense of unity in a community. if one is to read this in a larger perspective, or in a metaphorical one, the biko has powers for nation-building, with rice being a staple food for Filipinos from north to south.

an added bonus when you visit their store are the various paintings on the wall. they are of ladies in traditional Filipiniana garb with a bilao of bibingka on top of their heads, ready to be sold to anyone who fancies a slice of the sweet rice cake treat. there is also a painting of the old Aling Kika's store when it was still a bahay-kubo ("nipa hut"). you can also get a peek into their "kitchen"--- where large ovens stand like sentinels and where all the bibingka goodness comes from. a larger-than-life image of the nazarene might also be seen should one of the main doors open, the ones in front of the bibingka counter.

to get your own Aling Kika's bibingka, their store can be found along A. Bonifacio Avenue in Cainta, Rizal, a few meters away from the municipal town hall. give them a ring at 63-2-655-00-29. they also have puto, atsara, peanut butter, and other sweets.

[cainta, rizal is also known as the "bibingka capital of the philippines."]

3 stars out of 5 for 9 waves

miss igorota was lucky to have lived close to a swimming resort when she was at san mateo, rizal in the philippines last month. she was in the mood for swimming in december--yes, december! hey, she took advantage of being in a tropical country at the time. so off she went to "9 waves ciudad christhia resort."

there's a wave pool that simulates being tossed around by ocean currents, aside from a sauna bath (photo above, which was actually COLD), and a giant slide which also disappointed miss iggy because the water flowing in the tubes weren't strong enough to carry you down the slide. the place also offers accommodations for family outings and company meetings.

what impressed miss iggy, though, is that the resort has its own ambulance on-site. they are also strict in inspecting people's food items, because you can't bring anything that's bottled (for safety reasons), or your own soda (bummer! so you have to buy their overpriced soda inside). also, this place is open 24 hours to accommodate night-swimmers!

miss iggy has gone bamboo!

what exactly does it mean to have "gone bamboo" or to "go bamboo"? miss iggy googled around for answers and found out that the phrase originated from western men in the military being sent to bamboo-growing regions in the fareast (such as thailand, vietnam, etc.) and have decided to never return to their homelands and instead adopt a native, idyllic lifestyle in their chosen countries.

coincidentally, it's also the title of a novel by travel channel host ("no reservations") anthony bourdain. miss iggy is excited that mr. bourdain is featuring the philippines in one of the episodes of his new season! according to this one lucky blogger, anthony went to cebu, and he met him in person!

conniechiwa thought this filipino guy blew all chances of the philippines being featured on the show when his video submission lost to a saudi girl. hey, andrew zimmern has been to the philippines for his "bizarre foods" show, anthony should too!

miss iggy is originally from a pine-growing region in the highlands of benguet province. so when she descended to manila and went to all these places, one can say that miss iggy has not only "gone bamboo," but she's also "gone jersey," "gone euro," "gone khmer," "gone outback"...and really, her goal is to "go global!"

easy as "buko" pie!

miss iggy was craving coconuts, so she bought "buko" (coconut) pie at a roadside shop in antipolo city, rizal called "colette's".

"buko" pie is the signature dessert to take back home when you visit the province of laguna. "colette's" is one of the famous shops selling said pie which is based in san pablo city ("the city of seven lakes"), laguna.

here's manong preparing our pie purchases to go. his buko pie shop is a franchise of the popular pie brand from san pablo city.

you have to try their buko pie supreme!

miss iggy is reminded of the song by the erstwhile teenybopper filipino group "smokey mountain" about the coconut called "da coconut nut"...

"Now, the coconut nut is a big, big nut
But its delicious nut is not a nut!

It's the coco fruit (it's the coco fruit)
Of the coco tree (of the coco tree)
From the coco palm family"

an infectious song and at the same time, a lesson in botany! haha.

nangka river

miss igorota looks longingly at part of nangka river as seen from within "9 waves ciudad christia resort." the river serves as the boundary of the municipality of san mateo, rizal and marikina city.