2.123 Chicken and Pork Adobo

2.123

8 (Sun) May 2011

Chicken and Pork Adobo

2.5

at Kilimanjaro Kafé

(Plantation Bay Resort & Spa)

-Mactan Island, Cebu, Philippines-

with W and DJ

Research Trip to WHO + First Overseas Family Vacation (Day 5 of 6)

In Cebu.  During the week, I participated in an expert consultation on public health law at WHO WPRO in Manila.  Now in Cebu with W and DJ for a weekend holiday.

Kilimanjaro Kafé is the resort’s “international” restaurant that offers a hodgepodge collection of American (e.g., steak), Italian (e.g., pasta), Korean (e.g., bibimbap), Japanese (e.g., teriyaki), Chinese (e.g., spring rolls), and of course Philippine dishes. Again, we stuck with the local fare. It was all rather blah. And overpriced.

Pancit Canton (1.5): curiously, for a dish that is Chinese in name, it was made with Japanese udon noodles.

Adobo is a Filipino dish.  It’s a stew of meat, usually chicken and/or pork, simmered in vinegar and soy sauce.  One of the Philippine national dishes.

It reminds me of Korean galbi jjim, but tangy, not as sweet.

The salt-water lagoon, located just ten steps from our room and the reason we had come here in the first place, left us smelling not entirely pleasant.  We ventured out to the main swimming pool located in the center of the resort, but the winds were a bit too cool for our youngster to stay in the water longer than 20 minutes at a time.

At lunch earlier in the day, DJ presented his first culinary creation: the french fry hot dog.  Noting that both french fries and hot dogs require ketchup, he topped his hot dog with french fries so that they could be consumed together in one bite, with ketchup, efficiently.  This makes so much sense that it’s genius.  To a father whose ultimate vicarious aspiration is for his child to become a chef, it was a proud moment.

Savannah Grill is adjacent to one of the swimming pools.

By mid-afternoon, the wife and I gave up the notion of providing fun for our child and instead took turns watching the kid and getting spa treatments for ourselves. The treatments were fine, as were the young lasses giving them. But the prices were outrageous, in Philippine terms: 2,000 pesos (about US$50) for a basic 1-hour massage, more for anything involving aroma or oil, compared to around 500 pesos on the outside.

(See also FOODS.)

(See also PLACES.)

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