Happy 47th Birthday Singapore!

Singapore's National Day is celebrated every year on 9 August, in commemoration of Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965. It is a glamorous birthday celebration,   a birth of a nation.

I had the pleasure of attending Singapore's National Day celebration, for the first time. This holiday features a National Day Parade, and fireworks displays. It also features acrobatics by police on motorcycles, the customary display of Air Force might and Navy boats weaving their way in the water.

The theme for National Day Parade 2012 is “Loving Singapore, Our Home”. “Loving Singapore” encourages Singaporeans to reflect on what it means to love their country, what they appreciate about Singapore, and how each individual can express their love for their nation. It is an invitation for all Singaporeans to join the NDP 2012 journey to rediscover and remember what they love best about their country.

photos above from  http://www.straitstimes.com/

It is envious to see Singaporeans gathered together to celebrate the birth of their nation, no rallies just pure celebration. I can't help but envy them for a while. I haven't seen something like that in my country, in our country. If only Filipinos have the same sense of National Pride as them, we would be a great nation.

I celebrated the holiday with Jai, Austin, and Mark C by watching a movie (Magic Mike) at Golden Village Marina, and later on Joey and his girlfriend joined us for dinner. It is simple but it's worth a celebration. 

Before going home, we dropped by The Fountain of Wealth and made our wishes. :)

again, Happy 47th Birthday Singapore! Majulah Singapura!

The World's Most Famous Filipino Dish

Adobo is Philippines national dish, at least, for me. Adobo is a tasty dish that leaves everyone, Filipinos or non-Filipinos, craving for more.  It is, indeed, "The World's Most Famous Filipino Dish".

Chicken adobo is the most well known, adobo can be made with pork, beef, fish, or other types of meat. Vinegar and soy sauce are the heart of adobo. You can't cook adobo without it. Some varieties include coconut milk, which mellows the strong flavors of the vinegar and soy sauce. Others include sugar or honey to add a touch of sweetness and an almost teriyaki like characteristic. The flavor of adobo can also be varied depending on the type of vinegar used.

Filipinos has a lot of ways to cook Adobo. In the Philippines, almost all provinces has their own version of Adobo. We have Adobong Tagalog, Adobo Flakes, Adobo Americano (CamSur) to name  few. 

But here's my special and tested way to cook pork adobo, guaranteed to have your family, friends and guests raving on their way out. 

Ingredients: 

2 lbs pork loin

2/3 cup soy sauce

2/3 cup vinegar

1/3 cup oyster sauce

10 cloves of garlic, crushed

Salt to taste

1 Onion bulb

1 bay leaf (known as a dried "panakot" leaf in Filipino)

Black pepper

Sugar

Steps: 

Cut 2 lbs , cut 2 lbs of pork loin into 2-inch cubes. Marinade it with soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, onions, bay leaf, salt and sugar for about 2 hours.

Fry the pork until golden brown then set aside. 

Place fried meat in a dutch oven, or heavy-bottom pan.

Add the water, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cloves of garlic, black pepper, and bay leaf.

Bring to a medium boil for 15 minutes. (do not stir. according to the experts stirring it wont cook the vinegar.)

Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes or until sauce thickened. Stir once in a while to avoid burning the bottom.

It's best served with steamed rice. 

I think Jai (@jaizrc) and Austin (@austinUtal) enjoyed my Pork Adobo. It was a success! *smile*

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."