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January 2011 Editorial Ring out the old year, ring in the new! Welcome to the New Year - and the New Angeles Xtra. This year we are shaking off the last of our old print ways, moving to new technology; retaining all the features our readers enjoy - and adding many more. As you can see, we have changed the zine layout this month, so while it loads quicker, we have extra features such as; 'quick links', up to the minute exchange rates and local weather details, but also lots more articles, photos and graphics. Over the next couple of months as we load up our new templates and add more for you, such as a regular local business feature and articles, we hope that you help our improvements and expansion. A publication like Angeles Xtra always needs good readership numbers to encourage advertising - our life blood. So, if you like what you get from Angeles Xtra, please tell your friends. Pass on our web address when social networking on line, and please give the Angeles Xtra a link from your Facebook and Twitter pages. Every link helps us to get more readers - and so helps us to add more free features for you to enjoy. Editors New Year Message With the constant workload through 2010 I felt I hardly had time to catch my breath. In fact, it wasn’t until I could finally sit here writing this editorial - with Able-Ads e-books finally ready for full release and 2011's first Angeles Xtra almost ‘put to bed’ - that I could seriously review events of the past year. As the Xtra's Editor-in-chief, my 2010 began with a promise that “this year I’m going to stick to my resolutions” and only work the shift hours a sensible person would work. Sadly, as in all previous years this failed to fully work out. But, it makes me wonder how many of our readers feel the same way - looking back at their own year thinking ‘was all my time and effort really worth it?’ When I look back over the last year, being honest, I must admit that while I did not meet all my planned goals I still believe my efforts were worthwhile. Although like ‘Del Boy’ Trotter on ‘Only Fools and Horses’ I’m yet again starting another year saying “this time next year I’ll be a millionaire”, the truth is that I’m now happy at my work, financially stable, fit and healthy (ish) and, rather importantly, I’m still able to learn from my mistakes and experience - so can realistically hope for a better 2011. Who could honestly moan at that? So, whether you are reading this while nursing the mother of New Years hangovers, quietly contemplating life, or just bored and wanting something to read, try to remember that no matter how good or bad 2010 was, it could have been worse. And if you set your mind to it, 2011 can be much better. Here’s wishing everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.
In this months zine... And don't forget to check out this months new articles!
Chatting at the bar...
…we got to talking about events over the last year. Friends come and, sadly, friends gone; the changes around the town and the many little things that remain constant. Here at Able Ads we have had quite a fewchanges of our own over the last 12-months. We celebrated the anniversary print issue of the Angeles Xtra in July 2010, then as part of our transfer to new technology, at the close of the year, our transfer from local print magazine to world-wide e-zine. Sadly, the move from print to web meant local job cuts, and I lost my three ‘Tom’s Angels’, hoping they find pastures new while I now perform their legion of small, troublesome tasks myself. However, one bit of knowledge I relearned from experience last year is that, (trike drivers aside;-), racial stereotypes and perceptions can be very wrong. I found some wonderful, trustworthy and hard working Filipinos, and some lackadaisical talk-the-talk expats who failed to walk-the-walk. From our chats in the bar, putting the world to rights as any group of drinking men should, we all agreed that there are good and bad in all nationalities, and it is only by luck, trial and error that you can sort the wheat from the chaff, not by stereotyping. Two expats overheard at a local Angeles restaurant last week, one saying, “To get ahead in this town you have to duck and dive, trust no one, dodge every creditor and be prepared to stab anyone in the back”. The response, which gets my award for the year’s most succinct retort, was simply, “bollocks!” Well said that man ;-) Only in the Pampanga Having long used DHL as a shipper to and from different parts of the world, I have to wonder why their service, excellent elsewhere, fails so miserably here in Pampanga? In the last year I have had three shipments from DHL, two of which took longer to be delivered from San Fernando to Angeles than to be picked up, ground transported, flown in from the other side of the world and sent up from Manila. DHL then add a custom duty charge on boxes of used personal and household good all clearly marked as such. I guess in the future I’m going to have to forget quick deliveries and stick to the slow but always reliable balakbayan box. Having had more than 70 of these in the last 10-years they have always proved a hassle free way of bringing things in. They may take a month, but everything always arrives when due, without customs duties on non duty items – and cost literally hundreds of dollars less per box. I guess it is a case of Balakbayan boxes being a Filipino set up using Filipino time, methods and prices, while DHL San Fernando uses Filipino time and methods, but charge American prices. Just a pity they can’t provide the customer service that goes with these prices, ah well, only in Pampanga I guess.
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As an added extra for this month's New Year zine, as well as a delicious Lechon Kawali recipe, we have a short article on the background to Lina's Kitchen.
For my first Filipino recipe of the New Year, I’ve decided to cover what is probably my husband’s favorite meal – Lechon Kawali. A lovely dish but one I must admit that I don’t like him to eat too often. Tasty as it is, much of this comes from high saturated fats. Long a Filipino favorite, Lechon Kawali is relatively easy to cook. Preparation is a little time consuming for the meat, but the sauce I list here is extremely quick and easy to make. The ingredients are readily available everywhere in the Philippines and, with the possible exception of calamansi (which if needed can be replaced with lemon), worldwide. It is a wonderfully tasty and truly original Filipino meal for even novice cooks to make. Note: If you are a novice trying this dish for the first time, please take care when deep frying as the meat tends to spit during cooking (and I have the burn marks to prove it!).
- 1kg of strips of pork belly (liempo) - 2 tbsp. salt and a pinch of black pepper - Water (for boiling) - Cooking oil (sufficient for deep frying) - ½ cup Soy Sauce (toyo) - 3-5 calamansi (or 2 small lemons) Optional 'Taste Tips' - 1-2 cloves of garlic (crushed) - 2-5 chilies (finely chopped) Preparation Rub pork belly strips with a little black pepper and salt. Place the strips into a big pot, cover with water and add remaining salt. Bring the pot to the boil, then lower heat and simmer slowly for around an hour until the pork is tender. When tender, remove from heat, drain off excess water, and allow the pork to air dry for at least an hour. In a deep pan, heat sufficient oil to deep fry the pork strips in small batches. Allow the oil to get really hot before placing in the pork. TAKE CARE doing this as the meat will cause the oil to spit as the water left inside boils out. Remove each batch as it becomes golden brown and the surface fat blisters. Allow to drain and then chop the pork into approx. 1 inch chunks. To make the sauce, place soy sauce in a small bowl and add the calamansi juice. If you want extra flavor or more spiciness, also add a little crushed garlic and chopped chili to taste. Serve with fresh, plain boiled rice – masarap! Next Months Filipino Recipe: Carabo Adobo in Coconut Milk Background to Lina's Kitchen
This is how Lina introduced herself and began her first ‘Lina’s Kitchen’, a Filipino cooking web page back in the mid 1990s. Fifteen years later she is still going strong with one cook book written, two on the way, and her monthly recipes a big hit with readers of the Angeles Xtra. But, how did the recipes of a Pampangan girl with no formal culinary training become so popular? Like most Filipinas, Lina originally learned to cook the traditional way by helping her mother. This meant she learned the methods and recipes her mother had learned from her grandmother, who had learned from her mother and on back up the line. Although a wonderful grounding, this meant that all the recipes and methods learned were traditional to Pampangan cuisine. The thing you must understand about Filipino cuisine, and probably the reason it has not found the same world wide following as other Asian cuisines, is that the same dish is prepared differently in each province. So the adobo people love in Pampanga can taste and look like an entirely different dish when cooked in Samar, Manila, or Bicol. Another reason Filipino cuisine has little following abroad is that many Filipino foods are, by western standards anyway, thought of as rather unhealthy because they are often very high in salts, sugars and fats. As with many Filipinos, Lina had a strong conviction that her local foods were the best. However, unlike many Filipino cooks, Lina was prepared to try food prepared in different ways, experiment with new recipes, and try out variations of her own. After her marriage she lived and traveled overseas with her western expatriate husband. Through the various OFW communities she met Filipinos from many different provinces – and learned some of their many variations to her ‘traditional’ dishes. She also learned that while her husband and his friends enjoyed eating Filipino foods, a western palate is different. Not only do they prefer different presentations and tastes, but from a much wider range of dishes. Following her husband developing diabetes, she also learned how to be more health conscious in the selection of recipe ingredients and cooking methods. It was by drawing upon and learning from these experiences that Lina’s recipe ideas grew to be more than simple regional listings of Filipino foods. While still drawing from traditional Filipino food, they took on a new slant with regional variations, suggested ‘extras’ or changes to accommodate different tastes and lifestyles; Health Tips’ – methods of cooking the recipe with less fat, salt, or sugar, but without loss of flavor; ‘Taste Tips’ - little suggestions for those like a dish with a little more zing or bite, and of course as people may be using her recipes anywhere from Australia to Zululand, information on different ingredients that could be used if the original Filipino fruit / vegetable / sauce is not available where they live. Make sure you catch Lina's recipes every month - only here in the Angeles Xtra Zine
Ever notice that when the doorbell rings, the dog's the first one to the door, but it's never for him? 10 Things NOT to say to the Police
We bumped into some old friends yesterday - my wife was driving. Bar Nuts A man went into a bar after work and ordered a beer. As he started drinking, he heard a female voice saying seductively, 'You've got nice hair'. The man looked all around but couldn't see where the voice came from. A minute later he heard the same voice saying, 'You are a handsome man.' The man was really puzzled by this so he asked the barman what was going on. The barman replied, 'It's the nuts - they're complimentary.' My dog is very obedient. When I say 'heel' that’s exactly where he bites me. Brown Trousers A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom saying "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and therefore we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now, please sit back and relax... Oh my god!" The passengers sat in silence, waiting for terrible news. Eventually the captain came back on the intercom and said "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier, but while I was talking, the flight attendant brought me a cup of coffee and spilled it in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Coach said, "That's nothing. You should see the back of mine!" Did you hear about the blonde secretary who cut her fingers off so that she could write short hand? Redneck's Proof of Origin If you believe in creation as espoused in the Bible, then Adam and Eve's children would actually have had to have sex with one another for the earth to have become populated. Surely proof that Alabama was at one time the Garden of Eden. If it takes an IQ of 60 to tie shoelaces, why do so many Australians wear thongs? Aussies: Dislike being mistaken for Pommies (Brits) when abroad. Americans: Encourage being mistaken for Canadians when abroad. Brits: Can't possibly be mistaken for anyone else when abroad. What's an Australians idea of foreplay? -- You awake? And a Tasmanians idea of foreplay? --mum, you awake? More next month
Apart from finding that reservations are not needed, I learned that we had a choice; we could either choose food from Clearwater’s own menu, or bring our own meat and have them season and cook it for us. We decided to bring our own food and acquired some lovely thick steaks, spiced chicken quarters, and a stack of big English pork sausages for the meal. We arrived a little after 4 p.m. on a warm Sunday afternoon and found the staff very friendly and courteous as they greeted us and led us out to the dining area. After sitting in the open air dining area were very glad that we had decided to dine late in the afternoon - while the evening sun was pleasantly warm, the direct sun earlier in the day would have made the dining area a little too hot. After settling in and handing our food over to the waitress, for drinks we could have tried one of the many bottles of fine wines available, but instead opted for a mixture of beers, a cocktail or three, and delicious, fresh-made pineapple juices. It was very pleasant being able to kick back and chat while enjoying the quiet, clean, and immaculately clean surrounding of Clearwater resort – and watching the fish (some seriously big specimens) jumping in the lake a hundred yards away. We were pleasantly surprised when Chef Trixi came over and asked how we wanted each person’s steak, chicken and sausage cooked and seasoned. As each of the different meats also required different seasonings and cooking times, I was a little worried that it would be like so many restaurants in the Philippines - where different dishes are served piecemeal over a period of half and hour or so – but I need not have worried. When Chef Trixi asked if we were ready to eat, everything was served immediately – and we found that the steaks, chicken and sausages were all cooked perfectly, and all exactly to our individual preferences. Our only gripe was that while there was a goodly selection of condiments and sauces, it would have been nicer if there were some side dishes, such as coleslaw or potato salad readily available. We all enjoyed the meal and the service at Clearwater and would certainly go back again – although due to no cover or table umbrellas in the dining area would again opt to eat in the late afternoon after the sun’s heat has passed.
Evidence of her obsession is quickly understood when, after learning her father’s insurance won’t cover his medical bills, instead of considering using her savings, she lets him die and quickly grabs his death benefit. Money in hand she makes the long-awaited deposit on her dream home – only to have her dream turn to a nightmare when the stock market falls and the sellers up the price. She quickly decides upon a novel way to drive apartment prices back down – via a killing spree in the block.
However, better known for his biting satirical comedies, director Pang Ho-Cheung first movie of this genre does have a good storyline. Most of his plays of black humor work, and apart from some flashback scenes that appear more for edification than clarity, the movie is a cut about the usual slasher flicks.
Though not a classic Chinese beauty, Josie Ho who both stars and is a producer of Dream Home, is certainly attractive on screen, though her portrayal of Cheng Li-Sheung would be better described as a dark and deadly attraction. Pretty she may be, but I certainly would not like to find her wandering around my house at night. Obviously this movie is for fans of violence, spilt blood and horror, but Dream Home has more heart than usual in this type of movie. This may be due to Dream Home trying to be something more, but it doesn’t quite manage the transition. This said, Dream Home is an enjoyable if violent romp, and if you enjoy seat squirming terror from a movie, well worth watching.
For Sale This Years Best Bargain!
Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Edition
Great looking car inside and out. Expat owned, long registration/insurance, fully serviced. No mechanical or body problems, dints or scratches. Good air conditioner (fully serviced two weeks ago) and all the usual electric controls (windows, seats etc.) - also all fully working. Great tires (and spare), 4 liter straight-6 engine - smooth, powerful and economical. For sale at only P250k (negotiable), you need to see to appreciate what a bargain this is! Call/text 0915 545 9348 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
FOR SALE
Expat owned Red KIA Pride 5-door Hatchback. Great little runaround - very economical. Good body and paintwork, cold a/c, serviced 6 weeks ago, mechanically sound, reliable daily runner, nice looking, comes with clear title and almost a full year’s Rego for the bargain price of only P90K (negotiable). Phone Tom on (045) 322 6473, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
FOR SALE - GOOD MODERN COMPUTER SYSTEM Package includes: Pentium Dual-Core E5200@ 2.50GHz, 2.50GH 2GB RAM, DVD read/write, 150GB hard drive, also included are a 16” flat monitor, keyboard, mouse, external voltage regulator and pair of speakers. Computer is loaded with original MS Office Student edition and original MS XP Pro (and comes comes with XP Pro disk & sticker). Less than a year old, these top speck machines are being sold at half the original price. Two systems available, P15,000 each, or take both for P29,000. Phone/Text: 0915 545 9348
How did you do this month?
Don't forget to check out this months new articles!
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Ingredients
Mabuhi! - Welcome to my kitchen. Here I will not only show you recipes and ideas for many different Filipino foods, but I want to introduce you to some of the wonderful variations you can use to make Filipino food so very special.
With my family over for a holiday and all of us enjoying dining out, I was looking for a Philippine 
Dream Home is based around the single-minded obsession of Cheng, a Hong Kong yuppie who has dreamed long and worked hard chasing her dream - a sea view apartment in a block opposite her childhood home. 
Well planned and shot scenes of naked violence abound as Cheng does her thing to deflate the housing market, and as this really does include naked ladies and violence, the movie should be a hit with slasher fans and most adult males. 
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