Lomi and Japanese Siomai

I was hoping to enjoy some sunshine in Cebu last week but the rain seemed to follow me down south.  Late afternoon rains got me craving for something hot.  These were my snack-cum-dinner at Big Mao in Ayala---Japanese siomai and steaming hot Lomi.

Lomi is a hot, sticky soup made of egg noodles, a medley of veggies (carrots and cabbage), slivers of meat, shrimps and kikiam (a mixture of ground pork, shrimps and vegetables wrapped in bean curd wrapper), topped with fried garlic and slices of spring onions.

Anything warm and flavorful on a wet, rainy afternoon is a comfort food for me.

Linking to Food Friday and Food Trip Friday
Monday Mellow Yellows

Cozy garden/Our World-Tuesday

 Growing up in a place surrounded by trees and flowers, I miss having my own garden, which I never have in over 20 years of living in the city.  So I was delighted when I got invited to this "weekend home" in Tagaytay.      

  Tagaytay is about 52 kilometers south of Manila, and its high altitude gives the place a cooler climate.  

The city is lush---flowers and fruits are everywhere.

It was about a two-and-a-half-hour drive---the long and winding road brought us to a house at the end of a dirt road in the middle of a pineapple plantation.  

This chair was calling my name!

I love the verdant foliage and cozy nooks surrounded by flowering vines.
Anthuriums graced the pathways around the garden.
Various species of orchids and other tropical flowers filled the property.  

The garden set provides a casual yet intimate space for new friends to get to know each other.

Tucked behind the cascading white and purple Angel's Trumpet vine is another set of garden table and stools.

A retired wooden cart  sits in the garden surrounded by orchids and bougainvilleas.

Linking to Our World-Tuesday

Ships at sunset/Skywatch Friday

The compass rose is nothing but a star with an infinite number of rays pointing in all directions.

It is the one true and perfect symbol of the universe.

And it is the one most accurate symbol of you.

Spread your arms in an embrace, throw your head back, and prepare to receive and send coordinates for being.

For, at last you know---you are the navigator, the captain, and the ship.

~ Vera Nazarian

Ships and a mellow sunset 

 Manila Bay, June 12, 2013

Linking to Skywatch Friday

Abstract 24/NF Abstract

Russel Hotel in London, 2005

"It is the eye of ignorance that assigns a fixed and unchangeable color to every object; beware of this stumbling block." 

~ Paul Gauguin

Linking to NF Abstract

Pond/Watery World-Wednesday

A small pond at the pastureland we passed by on the way to Monasterio de Tarlac.

Linking to Watery World-Wednesday