This is our Philippines – Northern Luzon Road Trip – Eating at Robinsons...

While on our Northern Luzon Road
trip, our first stop for food was at Robinsons Mall in Tuguegarao. The food
court there has a large variety of food to choose from. It is a good place to
get food for everyone and not just have to all eat the same thing.

The one group likes to eat the papaitan.
The name of this dish was derived from the Filipino word “Pait”, which means
“bitter”. Papaitan is one of the famous dishes of the Ilocanos which
consist of different goat or beef innards such as tripe, liver, kidney,
intestine, pancreas, and heart. Originally, the goat innards were used for this
dish but because of the introduction of cooking variation and substitution,
beef innards were also used. Nope, I did not try this!

The kids relied on their usual
Jollibee chicken. Who can blame them with everyone else eating the papaitian. This
would be their last Jollibee visit for a few days, so they were glad we
stopped.

I had a sizziling sisig that was
just right! Mixed with the rice, it made a perfect dinner for me. I also added
a plate of the BBQ pork as well. It is a treat I look forward to whenever we
stop here at the Robinsons Mall in Tuguegarao.

Before getting on the road again,
we walk the mall to go to Watson’s. This is a local pharmacy in the
Philippines. It is just a short impromptu tour of the rest of Robinsons Mall.

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This is our Philippines – Northern Luzon Road Trip – Cagayan Chocolate H...

Rain or shine, we are going to travel! We had planned this Northern Luzon trip and were not gonna let a little storm keep us from going. The rain was not to bad going up to Tuguegarao which would be our first stop for food on the way up.

As we come through the Cagayan Valley the views are just awesome up through this route. I often refer to this section of the country as the Chocolate Hills of the Cagayan Valley. The perfectly formed round tops and the green pastures make them very beautiful to view. If it would not have been raining, we might could have gotten some better views than we did. Even then, a camera just does not do justice to seeing it on your own.

As we come into Tuguegarao, we must cross the Buntun Bridge. Buntun Bridge is a river bridge that stretches from Tuguegarao City to Solana in Cagayan and spans the Cagayan River, the largest river basin in the Philippines. It is the second longest bridge in the country, after San Juanico Bridge, and forms part of the Santiago-Tuguegarao Road, a major junction of the Pan-Philippine Highway.

A popular belief is that the bridge is long enough for a person to recite the entire Philippine National Anthem while traversing it. Anyone care to try?

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This is our Philippines – Ilagan Japanese Tunnel – Kimono and Pictures

The outside garden of the Ilagan Japanese
Tunnel has been designed to look like the parks of Japan. Outside is a Shinto shrine similar to those in Japan and a
replica of an old Japanese jet plane. Just to the other side of the road is a
small zen garden. The landscaping around it gives a peaceful vibe and makes a
great place to take photos.

For photo taking opportunities you are able to
rent a Kimono and roam around the area for just 50 pesos. You can take awesome
pictures whilst in a Japanese Traditional Dress carrying a Japanese umbrella
for a more authentic feel. You can have your hair styled as the Geisha’s as
well. Just check out some of the pictures we took while there!

How to Get There:

Take a bus or van to Ilagan or Tuguegarao City
if you’re coming from Manila and alight at Bonifacio Park in Ilagan. There’s an
Information Center at the park where a guide can take you to the Ilagan
Japanese Tunnel.

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This is our Philippines – Ilagan Japanese Tunnel Ilagan City, Isabela

The Ilagan Japanese Tunnel was built during the
Japanese colonization in the Philippines. The Japanese used many tunnels that
were built for defensive purposes. Mostly, the Ilagan tunnel served as
headquarters for Japanese soldiers and as an arsenal of the Japanese Imperial
Army during World War II. Inside this Japanese tunnel in Isabela, you'll find
machine guns, bombs, explosives and different ammunition. The tunnel is divided
into chambers or compartments that acted as makeshift offices or quarters of
Japanese soldiers and sometimes used as dungeons for prisoners of wars. This
tunnel is also believed to be a place where Yamashita treasures such as Golden
Buddha replicas, gold bouillons, coins, diamonds, platinum and other vintage
items that survived the war were kept. 

Although there may be a majority who think that
the Ilagan Japanese War Tunnel is a cave, it is actually a man-made tunnel
constructed by imprisoned local Filipinos. Because of their sweat and blood,
this Japanese war tunnel in Isabela came to being. 

How to Get There:

Take a bus or van to Ilagan or Tuguegarao City if you’re coming from
Manila and alight at Bonifacio Park in Ilagan. There’s an Information Center at
the park where a guide can take you to the Ilagan Japanese Tunnel.

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This is our Philippines – The Road Ahead – Wednesday Update

Wow, thanks to all those who are
subscribers and those that just watch our channel! We really enjoyed seeing all
the views this week and the comments that were made! We really hope you enjoyed
the past two videos. As we grow with the store, we hope to have some more
videos to show how we manage a sari sari store in the Philippines in the
future.

It was also great seeing all those
that commented on our video on how we met. It may have not been a Cinderella story
from Disney, but for us it was an interesting time. We have enjoyed each moment
we have been together since that day we met.

Upcoming videos! Did you know there
are Japanese Tunnels in Isabela? We will bring that video to you this weekend!
We had a wonderful drive up through the country side to Ilagan. The tunnel tour
was short and no pictures were allowed, but the ladies had a blast as they got
to dress in the traditional Kimono and walk around and take selfies! Hope you
will watch those videos this weekend!

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smash the BIG thumbs up down there! We challenge you to share this video with
1, 2 or even 3 friends! We are working our way to 2 thousand subscribers and
hope you will help us reach that goal!

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This is our Philippines – How I met my Filipina Wife – A Filipina Love S...

How did I actually meet my beautiful Filipina Wife?
This is our Filipina Love Story! This is how an American and a Filipina met and
fell in love while thousands of miles away from either of their homelands.
Thank you for watching our love story!

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This is our Philippines – Stocking the Sari Sari Store

If you find yourself walking down the rural
streets of the Philippines, you are likely to come across a Sari Sari Store.
What is a Sari Sari Store? In Tagalog, Sari Sari means “variety” or
“everything”. These are usually a family run convenience store found on almost every
street corner in the Philippines. Most houses on a main street might have one
of these sari sari stores attached to the house.

Our store is a little different in that we
built it for people to actually come in and choose what they want without handing
it through a little window. Not only are we a one stop shop providing the local
barangay with everything from daily food necessities to cleaning supplies but we
tried to maintain a colorful, cultural icon that brings together the community.
We wanted a welcoming place, unlike many of the stores in town where it is
filled with people standing in long lines to get their groceries. 

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This is our Philippines – Filipina Tries EXPAT’s Lechon Manok

Lechon
Manok has a distinct taste in the Philippines. Deviate from that and you might
find yourself in an awkward situation while asking someone to do a taste test
for you. Filipinos can be very particular with what they like. Lechon Manok is
no exception. If it is not done to the standard of Sr Pedro or Andok’s, they
are not likely to say it is good. 

Maly
is the approving authority for all that I try to cook. If it is not to her
standards, it might not ever see our stove or grill again. I thought this came
out pretty good, but do agree if we had marinated the chicken longer it might
have been even better. The chicken did come off the grill nice and moist
inside. The outer layer was cooked like it should have been. I will say there
are a few tweaks I could make to have this taste even better.

All
that said, just check out who is still snacking on the lechon manok at the end
of the video! Left overs were never a question!  

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This is our Philippines – EXPAT Cooks Lechon Manok – Cornell BBQ Style

Lechon
Manok or spit-roasted chicken is a Filipino favorite. If you are in the
Philippines, you can bet your last peso you will find some, because lechon
manok is available almost everywhere. Chances are (unless you live way out in
the province) that there are several stalls near your place that sells this delicious
food and they all compete with each other in terms of quality and price.
Andok’s, Sr. Pedro, and Chooks-to-go are just some of the more popular names
when it comes to lechon manok.

But
what if you were from the US? What are your options if you start to crave for the
taste you remember from buying a BBQ chicken plate on the side of the road? I
am not sure what your favorite chicken was, but you will just not find it here
in the Philippines. It may not be as convenient as buying cooked lechon manok
in Cauayan, but I think I have found a great way to make it. Any volunteers for
a taste test? 

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This is our Philippines – Bricks, Thirdy, a Hotdog and Chicken Feet

It may not be the most exciting
evening, but an evening at the house is never boring. There are always people
stopping for the Filipino BBQ, completing school projects or just sitting
around chatting.

Bricks is one of our neighbor’s
kids. His mother Beth is overseas right now. I hope she will get to see this
and maybe enjoy a little view from home. We look forward to when she will be
able to come back home and visit us at the store again as well.

Thirdy is another one of our
neighbors. His mother, Vina, has been a tutor for our family now for several
years. When she comes to teach the kids, sometimes Thirdy is along as well. He
enjoys the hotdogs off the grill.

If you have never tried a chicken
foot, you might be in for a treat. They are not the common BBQ you would find
in the US, but they are on every street corner in the evening in the Philippines.
Would you eat one? Do you think I would? Check out this video to see!  

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