Hana Restaurant: Shortcut to Japan!

It was by accident when I found out about this place. I was still with Bestfriend Ep after winning a company badminton game by default. It was about to rain that time—the dark, thick cumulonimbus clouds were now starting to accumulate the sky so we thought about maybe hanging out somewhere where we could eat and relax; predicting that if we would go home now, then we might be caught by the rain.

Suddenly, her eyes widened when she mentioned about this Little Tokyo here in Makati. I was thrilled when I saw this imaginary floating light bulb flashing on top of Bestfriend Ep’s head.

Being so astonished, I asked her more about this place. She started to talk about her favorite Japanese mayonnaise that she usually buys at one of the few all-Japanese grocery here. She also talked about her love of Japanese cuisine. But there is one thing that made me crave for more Japanese and that was when she mentioned about this place here called, Hana Restaurant.

Hana is a Japanese word that can mean a lot of things—from a flower, blossom, sometimes used to say beautiful. Hana also means nose. But I guess the restaurant owner just wanted to emphasize Hana as beautiful.

You cannot find Hana Restaurant just along the main road of Chino Roces unlike some other resto here at Little Tokyo. Hana is like 20 meters away from the welcoming arc. Since it was my first time to see this place, of course, I did grab the chance to take a shot with the Japan-themed arc here.

Bestfriend Ep and I

"Only in the Philippines"

According to the Inquirer News online, the Philippine capital, Manila, is experiencing non-stop torrential to heavy rainfall today brought by the southwest monsoon which was enhanced by the current tropical storm Maring (internationally known as Trami).

Since Sunday afternoon, moderate to heavy rainfall was felt in the metropolitan city including nearby provinces like "Bataan, Zambales, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Northern Quezon", the online report continued.

Adobo Connection: Reinventing the Philippines' National Dish

Courtesy of www.kitchenconfidante.com

Uncovering the Soury, Sweet Adobo Story

I couldn’t forget how my family made such happy hushing noises as we share a plate of this Filipino dish. I, myself, too was like always in a battle just to have the most big and tender piece of chicken and pork. I could remember how we laughed and cherish this joyous moment. And I think there’s this one dish on a big plate that unites us all during meal time—it’s my mom’s chicken or pork adobo cooked in the most delicate and traditional way. Made with just the basic ingredients like chicken or pork, vinegar and soy sauce, its mouth-watering aroma always delights the hungry crowd. (To know how traditional adobo is being cooked, you can click here!)

It might not always true, but a typical Filipino family gathering would be incomplete without adobo on the center of the dining table. It has become everyone’s favorite dish.

Meeting Prony: The World's Largest and Longest Python

Uncle Freddie, my travel buddy, stirred my excitement again when he told me that we'll be visiting a local celebrity. Her name is Prony. She has become the talk of the town since the day when she started to amaze the people—locals and tourist alike.

Who is Prony?

Well, if you expect that Prony would be some sort of another local entertainer who does some nerve-wrecking stunts that usually leaves the audience in high astonishment, no—she isn't. The truth is, she is admired for her great size and length.

Since I don't want to leave you hanging with a dropping jaw, let me tell you this: Prony is considered to be the world's biggest and the longest python in captivity. She is currently caged at the Bohol Python and Wildlife Park in Alburquerque, Bohol owned by Mr. Eugenio Salibay located about 3 kilometers away from the cemetery where Prony was originally captured on October 31, 1996. It was also said that her name, Prony was derived from the capturer's name, Sapronio Salibay.

Each year, Prony is growing bigger which according to snake experts, her growth is considered abnormal. Being fed with white meat like pigs and goats every month, her size and length has grown enormously to 23 feet in length, 34 inches in body circumference and now weighs about 280 kilograms!

In her man-made habitat at Bohol Python and Wildlife Park, Prony is also living with some animals like different species of birds, reptiles and mammals in separate cages. With her in the cage are two Philippine Eagles named after a famous teleserye—they are Agua and Bendita. And, I don't know if Miley Cyrus will be happy too, once she finds out about this monkey in the cage which was named after her!

The two Philippine Eagles named Agua and Bendita

Some other bird species that can be found inside the park

The Closer Encounter with the Bohol's "Anaconda"

"Don't touch her tail" that's the first thing they told me when I was inside the cage of the snake. The tail is the most sensitive part, they said.

Though I don't really have any fear encountering pet snakes, I still took extra care as I touch Prony. She's currently on a hibernating phase where she was starting to regenerate her scales and that process made her a little sickly sensitive.

I have seen some snakes in the past but Prony would have been the biggest of them all. Though her size is really a shocker to anyone who would see her; reversibly, she is a friendly and calm pet snake.

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Prony's Death

I was saddened when I hear about the news on August 15, 2013 that Prony have died. I was a little teary eyed because it was just a few weeks back when I was touching her.

According to one of the owners, Geogia Salibay, the python was 17 years old. Prony, however, is so fortunate to reach that age since Philippine Python could only live up to 15 years in captivity and 40 years if they are in their natural habitat.

At this point, no one know's yet how and why Prony died but the investigation on this is still continuing.

If you have not seen Prony yet, the Salibay family would still want to give you a chance. They want to preserve her body for an exhibit at her cage.

The Amazing Chocolate Hills of Bohol

When I was a kid, I was told that the Chocolate Hills of Bohol were made when huge chunks of melting chocolates dropped on the ground and over time it harden and became hills. It was like a Coco Crunch advertisement kind of thing, I first thought.

Until theories from school said that these hills are product of massive geological formation that resulted from the rising of the ground from the sea.  And with the wind, erosion, and water that made the finishing touches in hundreds and thousands of years, these hills were shaped perfectly like an unwrapped Hershey’s chocolate kisses until it became Bohol's most famous tourist attraction today.

Until I grew up, graduated from college and saw the tourism campaign of “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” regarding the hills, the eagerness in me to see these became stronger.

The "It's More Fun in the Philippines" banner

I can also remember when Ate Marilyn, my long lost cousin here in Bohol (Read how I met her) , asked me what am I going to do here in Bohol, I told her just two things—to see the Tarsiers and the Chocolate Hills. Successfully, I was able to fulfill my childhood dream to see these hills and not just through post cards anymore.

Ate Marilyn (on the right) and I 

Most of the hills accumulated an area of more than 50 kilometers covering some towns located in the center of the province. It was claimed that there are no less than 1268 hills that can be spotted here and around this place. There was a viewing deck that was developed in Barangay Buenos Aires which enables you to enjoy and appreciate the scenic view more.

To get here, there are daily bus trips from Tagbilaran that can drop you off here. This would just take about an hour and a half of travel time. It would also be desirable to get here early in the morning or late in the afternoon since viewing them under a midday sun would be so hot. 

According to Ate Marilyn, the best time to see these hills is during the summer season when they are all dried out. This way, you’ll be able to appreciate the chocolate color better unlike during the rainy season when green grasses grow on these hills—surfacing it; thus, covering the rich brown color. 

Though there is nothing much to do here other than climbing the flight of stairs that has 214 steps up to the viewing deck where you can enjoy seeing the hills and take lots of self shots, this experience is more of an accomplishment for me. I can still remember when I was dreaming to see these world-renowned cone-shaped hills before!

At the foot of the stairs with 214 steps going to the viewing deck

At the viewing deck 

On this experience, I ended up appreciating our Intelligent Creator on how He made all these bumps and lumps popped up the ground. Indeed, this abnormal formation is one of the perfect gifts God has given the Boholanos.

SHELL-SEARCHING. More Fun in Loon, Bohol

“Oh no. It’s low tide.” That is the first thing that came to my mind when Uncle Fred and I have arrived at his relatives’ house here in Loon, Bohol. Uncle Fred too, was a little frustrated about what we saw—the beach was dry and the usual shoreline was now more than a hundred meters away from us.

Originally, the reason why we went here was to do some island hopping. We are about to borrow his relatives’ boat so we could visit this nearby island that Uncle Fred was bragging about. But since the tide is low, I guess we could not run any boat at all on this wide, rough and dry, sandy shore.

Now I could see how Uncle tried to make some twist on this unexpected situation. Well, both of us actually are undecided now. Should we stay or maybe wait ‘til the tide is up again (which is crazy) or we’ll just enjoy this sunset view and go home after an hour?

When uncle saw these kids heading to the beach that looked like on its pre-tsunami stage, he thought something quickly that might also catch my interest.

“Do you want to go with them to pick up some shells?”, he asked.

I paused for a minute to think—What about picking up seashells?

This idea intrigued me so I quickly answered him in a cheerful, certain voice.

“Sure, Uncle! I want to try that too.” Deep inside a little puzzled, I don’t really know what we are exactly going to do there.

Will go shell-picking with the kids

I also met Kuya Julius (Uncle Fred’s nephew). He also tagged along with me to assist and of course, do some sort of a little bit of tour guiding as we navigate the dry shore. Along with the kids, I was so excited on what we might see there. He explained to me that every time the tide is low, people in the barrio usually gather at the shore to pick-up some seashells.

There are quite a few reasons why they pick-up seashell—they gather these for food, sell them in the market, or maybe for any personal reason.

Though Uncle Freddie and I failed to create an epic adventure of island hopping today, I guess this experience was amazing. Though I don’t have any experience of shell-picking before, this activity has given me a chance to see more creatures that I have not seen yet in my entire life!

Sea Urchin

Honestly, we were not serious about this activity; we just want to enjoy the moment together as we explore the ocean bed. For me, it was like scuba diving without literally going down the depth of the sea. Here, I have learned not just the basics of biology but more about the appreciation of God’s wonderful creations.

We stayed here for an hour. I enjoyed this activity with Kuya Julius and the kids, of course. Though the unpredicted low tide was frustrating, I think I must be more thankful for having this to happen.