Bubble Town Tea House

Although it may seem self-serving to be writing about Bubble Town, I think this blog deserves to have a piece (or more) on Naga City's only bubble tea house.

Several other blogs have written reviews on the place and I'm positive that there are a good number of happy comments on Facebook - so, I'll take the liberty to write about BTown from an insiders point of view. :)

Perhaps one of the best things about Bubble Town is the fact that it is a family initiative. My happiest memories of this young store are the first few weeks. Opened in early May (2011), Manay Kat (the owner of the store), Karen and I dove into being baristas - mixing tea drinks, cooking tapioca pearls and brewing tea. JJ and Tom would spend the evenings throwing trash, wiping tables and loading the things that ought to be brought home for refill/cleaning/replacement. The best floor mopper has got to be Tintin. The green tea connoisseur - PJ.

In our previous lives, we were bubble tea lovers. Customers. Happy payers for the refreshing drink. Tom and Manay Kat would frequent bubble tea places in Vancouver. Over the years, as Manay Kat would come home to Naga for vacation, she'd crave for it but not have anywhere to go for it. I have always been a Quickly child (which is not the same, I know) - but being introduced to bubble tea in Vancouver, I made the connection. Then you have the many many milk tea places that are booming all over the metropolis up north in Manila.

So early this year, we all made the transition from mere bubble tea lovers to sharers as well.

Because it's a start-up company, the growing pains are felt in each and every aspect of the work. Labor pains they call it. It's Manay Kat's third child. Or maybe her second - with the third on the way.

The amount of ingredient A into the drink ought to be _____ . The number of seconds the tea should shake. The design of the chair ought to be like this and not like that. Franchising in the future? So many things had to be taken into consideration. But it was fun - amazing to see how someone's dream (or craving) to lead into something like this that the whole family can enjoy (on whatever side of the bar you're on).

We all have our personal favorites. Tom definitely loves his Original Milky Tea with 80% sugar. JJ has been shifting from Mango Green Tea to Lychee Green Tea and I've been following suit. All drinks come with tapioca pearls - just the right texture, made with love, all fresh and newly cooked. And the tea? Brewed every morning with just as much love as the pearls. I can attest to that. :)

For the first time, I tried the Lemonade Jelly with 100% sugar, and I must say it's pretty good. Quite a contender for my number one spot. I'm staring at my empty glass now and thinking of getting one more.

Or oatmeal cookies. Hmmm.

Lemonade Jelly at Bubble Town Tea House

Laksa Restaurant

Tom and I have been wanting to try Laksa for over a month now but never really got to crossing over to Magsaysay.

Because of an intense craving for some sort of noodle soup (initially thinking of ramen or pho) we remembered that we had yet to check out Laksa - what I assume is the only South East Asian restaurant in this side of the country.

Nicely situated next to Chef Doy's (which we haven't gone to yet either), the casual, al fresco dining area boasts of beautiful wooden benches, attractive orange walls and a very unique wooden ceiling piece. All proudly made by a local carpenter, we hear.

We came at around seven in the evening - bumping into a few familiar faces (enjoying their own dates at Grissini and Uncle Johnny's). Surprisingly, there weren't many diners when we came in - but then again, it was a rainy evening. After a good hour or so, more families started trickling in.

We ordered Singaporean Laksa and Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Beautiful presentation and very very tasty. I was so not disappointed. In fact, it was very good laksa - even better than Secret Recipe's! Just the right amount of spiciness, getting better with every bite (or slurp, rather). I don't remember having it with pineapple before, but this one did. And the combination of sweet and spicy was perfect. The spring rolls were excellent as well. I love the sweet sauce that accompanied it. I was tempted to order more for "dessert".

The best part of dinner though was our gracious host, Mr. Johnny Casilang. He sat with us throughout our dinner, sharing stories, photos and dreams.

We talked about moving back to Naga, choosing to raise our family here. He nodded his head in approval. Everything in Naga is seven minutes away from almost any and every point. No stress from traffic, he said. So true! Although a native of Pampanga, this man has had the opportunity to live in the Visayas and Mindanao, carrying with him a wealth of experience. And he too chooses Naga to be his home. :)

We left Laksa with our tummy's full and our hearts bursting as well. Such an affirmation that we made the right choice to come home and settle here. There is so much potential in this little city and we are just beginning to discover the treasures that are hidden here.

On another note though - we are definitely going back to try the Pho and the Pad Thai. It's a good thing we aren't going anywhere - we've got a lot on our check-list of things to eat.

Maki Yaki

If there is one thing we'll miss in Vancouver, it's Japanese food. Almost every weekend, we searched for the best sashimi, gyoza or ramen in town. We were hardly ever disappointed over there - the fish was always fresh and the rolls were always super.

We heard Maki Yaki is the only Japanese restaurant in Naga (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and so we decided to give it a try the other night with family.

Maki Yaki is a cute, clean little restaurant on the first floor of Avenue Square (although there is another branch at SM Naga which I hear has a limited menu). The food is good - of course we cannot say it is the best Japanese food we've ever tasted - but it's flavourful and decent. The pork gyoza was tasty and surprisingly, the sauce had a sour kick to it (much vinegar and not enough sugar but still okay). The miso soup was a little on the salty side (for me, but alright for Tom), but was neutralized with the other dishes we ordered.

The sushi boat was alright. The sushi rice was sweet and moist and quite tasty on its own. Although there was not much variety in the boat we ordered,  we enjoyed it nonetheless (it was mostly tamagoyaki [egg]). There are more rolls on the menu that looked promising, so we'll come back to try them some other time.

The food was served quite quickly but when it was time for dessert, it took way too long. It's possible though that we were there way too late, as it was almost eleven in the evening. They might have had to reopen the whole kitchen. I don't know.

Overall, it was a good dining experience. We will  go back to try the rolls and the sake.

TOM'S GRADE -  3 out of 10
TAM 'S GRADE - 5 out of 10

GAWAD KALINGA 2011

Holy Week

We arrived in the Philippines just in time for Holy Week - our first Holy Week and Easter as a couple. :)

***

Growing up, my brothers and I would spend our summer vacations in Bicol - two months in San Jose (at a time when there were no phone lines, cellular phones or internet). Summers were spent under the sun, on the streets and in the most low-tech ways possible - yet, they were always amazing.

The highlight of our stay would be the Holy Week festivities - going with the processions, watching the caros, the sayos and the rest of the faithful. But the best part would be the production number of the Seven Last Words at the church.

I wanted Tom to see all of this - it would be his first Holy Week back home in 19 years.

I have never really gone on any other Holy Week procession other than the one in San Jose, so I cannot compare this experience with anything else. But, I have heard that this parish does something a little bit more special. With the help of the families that have been in charge of the festivities over the years, the community comes together to reenact the scene on Good Friday. A mountain made out of ferns and other greens are put together to carry the Cross of Christ, the thieves , the soldiers and the Blessed Mother. Ladies and gentlemen from the town volunteer to stand still in the heat throughout the Seven Last Words until the moment that Christ dies at three in the afternoon. This year, the church courtyard was packed with people. We couldn't make our way to the front - but at three, we heard the "rumbling of thunder" (I think it was a motorcycle) and saw the bursts of fire coming from the mountain.

The procession in the evening is no different - the Way of the Cross comes alive with the commitment of those that strike the pose of their station throughout the whole procession. Rain or shine, people walk throughout the procession. Rain or shine, the actors hold their pose - as Christ carrying his cross, as Veronica wiping His face, as Simon helping the Lord. An amazing act of dedication, love and faith for everyone involved.

Reverse Migration

It seems to me as if everyone just wants to leave. People are moving from the provinces to Metropolitan Manila. From Manila to elsewhere in the world - even if it means going back to the very rural (of another country). The grass is greener over there, or so I’ve been told.

The grass is greener, the streets are paved with gold, and there is more of whatever it is we seek. Moving makes sense if what one seeks is opportunity. There are more jobs, better jobs and a better quality of life waiting for us on the other side. There are better benefits, better public transportation and better choices for us out there. Most importantly, there are better chances for our children out there.

All true. Those are all valid reasons to move to a place a bit farther away from home. Moving has always been a part of human history. People move all the time - and people ought to move, ought to grow and ought to learn. Travel allows us to capture the world through a totally different lens. And that in itself, expanding one's world vision, is really quite wonderful.

We Filipinos are not strangers to moving. The Philippines has seen waves of her youth leave the country. Filipinos left for Hawaii in the 1920s, and from there to California and the rest of the west coast. Filipino doctors, nurses and other professionals started to go abroad in the 1960s and 70s. And up until now, our men and women working as nannies, construction workers, caretakers, teachers, technicians (you name it, we got it) are scattered across the globe. We have Filipinos as American Idols, Canadian Idols and in European broadway plays. We are all over.

It is such an overwhelming phenomenon that it has become the topic of academic study, with dozens of journals at the Scalabrini Migration Center in Quezon City attempting to understand the movement and its social repercussions. It is of huge concern to many, so much so, that there are hundreds of organizations that support and protect Filipinos working abroad, like the Damayan Migrant Workers Association in New York. And who can forget Vilma Santos in Anak? Or Claudine Baretto in Milan? Such powerful emotions coming from the most talented of artists in films made to showcase the plight of our migrant workers. I can only imagine how much more is felt among those truly separated from their loved ones because they need to provide.

Clearly, having so many Filipinos around the world can have its pros and cons for the country, for the individuals that leave and for their families. The government has spoken of how it is the remittances of our workers abroad that keep the economy afloat, and yet, you have organizations, films and the academe scrambling to pick up the pieces of what seems to be a social mistake. It is a hot topic with a mixed message – and yet, millions still long for the golden ticket to leave.

What is becoming more obvious is that there is a difference between leaving because one wants to leave, explore and grow - and leaving because there is nothing at home that can allow you to provide for yourself and the people you love. It is heart wrenching to see the reality of separated families because of "better chances" abroad. And it makes one wonder - is there really no chance for those back home? Is the only way up, out?

It makes you wonder doubly hard when you have already made it abroad and then firmly decide to move back home. The first half of this piece has just justified that moving is normal and somehow implies that we have no green grass left. And so, why would anyone want to go back home?

I have yet to see a study on the balikbayans that move back permanently, I believe that there have been waves as well – smaller ones, perhaps just ripples, but I know they exist. My family was part of a little ripple.

After fifteen or so years in the United States, my parents decided it was time to go home. It was the early nineties. There was a new president and there were hopes for political and economic stability. They had their fill of the American dream and wanted to raise their four children where they had grown up, in Manila. Their kids had blue passports - and that was enough opportunity for them already. After college graduation, my siblings and I had choices. To stay, to go. It was up to us. But my parents made their choice - they wanted to go home. After college, I shifted back and forth between the US and Manila - but eventually chose the Philippines as homebase. Then, as fate would have it, I got married last year and moved to Vancouver where my husband works. I was definitely no stranger to migration.

I love the Philippines - but I love my husband too. We knew we were going to move back home eventually (everyone that leaves says something like that, they just can’t say when). We planned to give ourselves a few years to enjoy the number one city in the world and save up. A few months into our marriage, my husband decided it was time to regain his Filipino citizenship (Thank God, for Dual Citizenship) and at about the same time, we decided it was time to come home for good.

Friends and family have looks of shock on their faces when they find out that we are going back to the Philippines. It makes no sense to many of them. Moving from Canada to the Philippines. Moving from Vancouver to Manila and then to Naga. It is some sort of reverse migration. While everyone else seems to be scrambling to get out, there are a few crazy ones who are diving back in. I know we aren't alone in choosing to take the jump. My parents did it twenty years ago.

Going home makes sense to me. There is so much potential for the country. The opportunities are there for those who are willing to take the risk. The "better life" is not as obvious back home simply because you have to put more effort in making it a better life. One needs to work harder and invest more of himself into making home worth staying in. The country won't become a "better place" without people making it what it should be. There won't be better jobs, if people don't create better jobs. The Filipino won't be better educated, if there are no more good teachers. There won't be a better anything, if people don't start to believe they can make it better. With the trickling in of the balikbayans, and with the focus of other friends also on the provinces, I see much hope with this new kind of migration. There is a new movement going on – one no longer driven by desperation, but of a new sense of adventure and optimism.

We see opportunity in the idle land of the countryside. Opportunities exist in the men and women actively searching to be productive. There is opportunity in everything, even in what we think is the most negative aspect of what we have as a people. We have raw materials and raw talent – giving us a million and one opportunities to process and produce whatever it is we want. There is opportunity back home if we're willing to define it ourselves, risk it and make it something fruitful. There is opportunity because we see the beauty of what we have, and the hope that there can be something even more beautiful.

People find it funny how a Philippine-born, Canadian citizen, who has spent more than half his life in Vancouver found his match - an American-born, Filipina from Manila - in San Jose, a sleepy little coastal town in Camarines Sur. In our young lives, we have had the chance to cross oceans, travel the world, work in the West and yet met our destiny where we least expected it: home. Our first meeting is, in itself, telling of the opportunities that can really be anywhere.

People move all over the world in search of many things, they leave the country to find themselves or make something of themselves. And it's great if they succeed. But we believe, it is also okay to go back to ones country, because, in going back to your roots, you may find yourself there as well. You may find success, or, in our case, your life partner.

We know we can find more back home, so we are packing our balikbayan boxes for the last time. It wasn't the easiest of decisions. We could have waited another thirty-something years, growing our pension and retiring comfortably back home. But our youthful idealism started to see something practical and profitable as well. Investing our time and the little that we have now may grow into something not just for us to enjoy, but something the community can share in as well. So we are leaving Canada and moving back home to the Philippines. We are going to live in Camarines Sur - because we know we can make the grass greener over there.