The best friends head to Bangkok, Thailand

Summer last year, me and my best friend talked about traveling to a foreign land together with nothing but cameras and maps in our hands. We wanted to travel without the pressure and time constraints from the money-sucking tour guides. Amazing how we were able to actually make that plan happen. Oh I'm glad that my best friend is a doer and not just a planner.

Amidst the severe flooding in Thailand late last year, we did not stop planning. We bought tickets when 2012 opened and booked our hotels a month earlier. We were just excited. 

Here's what we did at Mactan International Airport while waiting for our flight to Manila..

We studied our route.

I would like to express my gratitude to Frommers and Lonely Planet for making us wiser and

We pretty much did this most of the time during the whole trip.

What I wore: Sweatshirt from Topshop| Jeggings from Zara| Bag from Louis Vuitton

We have finally arrived in NAIA at 12mn.

We still have a couple of hours to spare before our BKK trip, so we head to Resorts World for some very early breakfast at 1am! haha 

Passports?Check!

Pink Passport Case? Check!

As we waited for our flight, we took advantage of the wifi and Instagramed our wait away!

And here's my gorgeous best friend who doubles as my travel buddy. 

Did I mention that my best friend is a closet photographer? She's a natural and I realized that during our trip, one of the many discoveries. :)

Welcome to Suvharnabhumi International Airport!

I was sleepless but the words written in Thai just ignited me like I just drank ten espresso shots. Oa comparison noh?haha

At the time this photo was taken, all we wanted to do was get into the hotel,change and explore Bangkok. We were that excited.

Gliding down the walkalator at Suvharnabhumi towards the City Link. Yes, we took public transportation when we arrived. We didn't have fancy hotel service to pick us up, we opted to experience Thailand just like how locals do it. It involved a lot of luggage-carrying up and down the stairs from one station to the next as we had 2 connecting train rides. We had to carry our luggage from the station to our hotel, it was so fun to search for our street--makes you feel like a real tourist!

Welcome to Ramada Encore Hotel at Sukhumvit Soi 11. A very sleek and modern hotel with the warmest hotel employees. 

When we got to the hotel, we didn't plan to sleep the afternoon away, we just had a power nap then we took a shower and off we go! 

On to my next blog for the beginning of our adventure!

Bleeding Love for something Sweet, Spicy and Grilled!

One day in our International Cuisine class, we made this lovely dish..

A composed dish of 

Grilled Chicken with Plum Chili Sauce, Southwestern Potato Salad and Tomato Provençal.

Grilling is probably one of the simplest cooking method. So the critical part should be making the sauce that would best complement your grilled food.  Here's a look at the plum sauce as it is slowly cooked. The name doesn't sound complicated but my my my, the ingredients are quite a lot; and it doesn't sound nor look Asian, but palate embraced its flavors with much familiarity.

Here are the two main ingredients for the sauce:

Plum.

Here in Cebu,we rarely find fresh plum and I guess we got lucky because ate Iba, our purchaser, was able to buy some. So,yey! We always use dried plums as substitute, it being dried sometimes tastes too sweet and sometimes almost tasting like prunes. I'm just glad Rustan's had plum that time. 

I recall my weekends at Power Plant in Rockwell. My eyes wouldn't blink as I pass by and be amazed by the produce they sell. They'd have plums,cherries, blueberries, grapefruits, passion fruits, strawberries and blood orange all fresh and looking gorgeous. As I move from one stall to another, I die of envy and wishful-thinking -I wish Rustan's would have those fresh fruits too. I wish I can carry all those fruits from Manila to Cebu without it spoiling nor bruising. Oh well, gotta use and make good food out of local ingredients-as what my mentor always say. So this rant has got to stop now. On to the next!

Thai Chili.

This second main component of the sauce, is a great compliment to its overall sweetness and tartness. Some call this the Bird's Eye Chili and locally, this is called Siling Labuyo. As a chili-lover that I am, I added more to my pleasure.

Tomato Provençal 

This one is a French Classic and I always make this whenever I am uninspired in making a side dish. Why? Because I can make a good one anytime. 

The tomatoes right out of the oven.

 The scrumptious side dish plated.

Southwestern Potato Salad

One of the easiest potato salad that you can make, and this one I got from Bobby Flay. This is one of the few good recipes that he has on his book. I wouldn't recommend Bobby Flays books, if you ever plan on purchasing one. 

Grilled Chicken with Plum Chili Sauce

The star of the plate. Tanen! Oooh,look at that love dripping out of the chicken. Yummeh! I love this dish, probably one of the most unforgettable food I made in school because not only is it very simple to make but it is also very good. 

One thing I have learned in the culinary world is, it's not about the food being simple or complicated or molecular. What matters is the taste, if it is good or not. However, I also know that learning doesn't stop. So if you find a way to refine and apply some modern technique to that already good food, that would be better. 

Well, well.. This blog has got to end my night in a very inspired mood. I am in for some new lessons tomorrow. Good night!