Posts Tagged ‘Manila’

San Sebastian Church

The San Sebastian Church is located in one of the older districts of Manila, Quiapo. The church was originally made of wood but was burned by the Chinese in 1651. It was later rebuilt with brick but was destroyed by earthquake in 1859, 1863 and 1880. It was Spanish friar Esteban Martinez who commissioned Genaro Palacios, a Spanish architect to design it.

A lot of people say the church’s steel structure was designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the person responsible for the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris and Statue of Liberty in Liberty Island, New York. Some say it’s just a legend but looking on the church’s structure, one can say that it is really Eiffel’s work. The church is the only all-steel church in Asia that was made from pre-fabricated steel imported from Belgium. It was enormous that it had to shipped here in 8 instalments.
It was constructed like making a structure from Lego.

Unknown to many, the church today is suffering from decay, considering its steel structure and old age. Some people are raising awareness on the current situation of the church to save it. I hope the government can do something to save one of the historical structures in the country that is currently in dire need of help.

 

Kare-Kare (Pork Stew in Peanut Sauce)

It was a Saturday again and I was able to influence my lunchmates (classmates) from my graduate program to eat where I like to eat. I was able to lure them this time to an eatery I just discovered the last week. It looks just like a normal sari-sari store in Valencia St. at first glance, but if you’ll look closely, it has an eatery inside. The name of the place is 100820113383 Pampanguena’s Eatery (the name suggests that the food they serve is inspired by Pampanga’s cuisine.

I ordered, as the title suggests, a kare-kare or a pork stew in peanut sauce. 100820113388

It was good. What made it more special is the shrimp paste that came with it. It was prepared with chunks of meat in it. Although it can stand on its own as a meal, it made the kare-kare taste better.

Overall, it was good. Although the kare-kare had only a few pieces of vegetable on it, I still enjoyed my lunch.

 

Weekend treat (part 2)

Last Saturday, I was able to convince my classmates (Kat and Tina) to eat at lunch at mommy’s (Naty’s Kitchenette).

082720113186 copy

This is an eatery located at Valencia St., Sta. Mesa, Manila. It was a typical eatery near a university, crowded during lunch time. We even experienced eating on the third floor of the building (the owner’s dining room) because the mess area was already full of patrons. But it was a different situation last Saturday, some areas in the Philippines were even put under signal #4. We were the only customer when we arrived.

I ordered a serving of Pork Sinigang (pork in tamarind stew). It was 30PhP/order and a cup of rice (7PhP). My tab was 37PhP. 082720113193 copy

It was a great lunch, as I haven’t tasted sinigang in a long time. I even ordered my second cup of rice. My classmates ordered estofado and breaded prok chop.

Overall, we give it 8 stars out of 10.

 
  
WP-Backgrounds Lite by InoPlugs Web Design and Juwelier Schönmann 1010 Wien