Manila Cathedral postcard with timbre cote vue cancellation

Manila Cathedral is one of the most photographed and featured cathedral in the country. Several postcard companies had featured this church since photography and postcards were introduced towards the end of the 19th century up to late 20th century.

Prior to the advent of photography, Majority of the early Manila Cathedral feature were drawn by local sketchers and international painters. Some of which are still around collected in different local archives like the one by Intramuros Administration, National Archives , National Library, Ortigas Library Foundation and foreign archives like those in Spain, Mexico, France and some early deltiologist (postcard collector).

Manila Cathedral circa between 1908 to 1910 with stamp in front and cancellation mark- the one on the right side was the Palacio del Gobernador ruins– the main square in front used to be called Plaza Mayor or Plaza Mckinley before it was renamed to Plaza Roma in 1961.

There are flame trees planted in the plaza towards the end of the 19th century and only the facade and pineapple ornamentation on the right side survived the last world war.

Manila Cathedral Postcard

back portion with handwriting and cancellation mark

Manila Cathedral is considered as mother of all churches in the archipelago. It was separate diocese on February 6, 1579 upon the issuance of papal bull.

The cross on top of the the central dome is a reference point of astronomical longitudes of the archipelago. Also it serves as a point of reference or kilometer zero for distances in the country.

Majority of the postcards printed during the American regime featured the 7th Cathedral architecture which is known as neo-byzantine style which only the main facade survived the last world war.

The present cathedral was a Romanesque revival or neo- Romanesque revival which was rebuilt between 1954 to 1958.

Timbre Corte Vue

This is called timbre cote vue or TVC which was normal way to place a stamp and then the cancel were placed on the face or picture side of a postcard. The message from the sender is also written on the front of this card and it is dated on the back by the sender.

There was a practice in the late 19th century to first quarter of the 20th century for early postcards to have stamps posted in front of the view. the cancellation marks also adds beauty to the front side. Unlike the usual practice among present day postcard collectors ( deltiologists) .

It had a 2 centavos Dr. Jose Rizal stamp with cancellation of January 5, 1910 4:30 pm and the postcard was send from Manila, Philippines to Rhone , France . It is an undivided back. The postcard was printed in Germany.

The recipient was Mr. A Rochet from 22 Rue Longue, Lyon, France

The sender or the postcard seller could be Mr. Jose A. Del Barrio with local address from Manila, Philippines.

Glad to have this postcard for a price of a pizza.

References and Useful Links:

Sources and References:

American Regime Manila Thru Postcards (part 1)

American Regime Manila Thru Postcards (part 2)

American Regime Manila Thru Postcards ( part 3)

American Regime Manila Thru Postcards ( part 4)

Personal interview with postcards collectors

Philippine Postcards.com: https://www.philippinepostcards.com/

Ka Popoy’s Bakery: Home of Famous Kalabasha Rolls and Pan de Popoy

Ka Popoy’s Bakery recently opened their store for business within the heart of Villa Florencia Subdivision in Barangay Talipapa, Novaliches in Quezon City.

The bakery name was derived from Ka Popoy, The homegrown bakery attracts several customers, Some are from as far as University of the Philippines , Diliman, Marikina, Novaliches, North Caloocan and even residents of Valenzuela City.

sales clerk with Ka Popoy’s signature pan de popoy and kalabasha rolls

The logo’s color is quite modern and catchy . It had a simple black and orange background. Orange being the color of kalabasa or squash.

Ka Popoy’s Bakery

portion of the bakery

Ka Popoy’s Bakery logo had some similarities with Ka Tunying Coffee and Bakeshop, The sales clerk told me that the proprietor was one of the business partner of Mr. Anthony Taberna.

pan de popoy or squash pan de sal

They had a soft opening held last January 18, 2021, Among the instant favorites were their Spanish bread,kalabasha rolls ( squash rolls) , banana cake, pan de popoy, pianono rolls, ensyamada, monggo rolls, monggo pan de sal, ham and cheese stuffed bread, cheese bread, brownies, crinkles, caramel bars among others.

Aside from pastries, They also have sandwich spread, canned goods,peanut butter, coffee, bottled water for sale.

kalabasha roll or squash rolls

Kalabasha rolls have vitamins A, B6, and C, folate, magnesium,riboflavin, phosphorus, and potassium which is healthy and goof for one’s health.

Their pianono rolls is also good but not baked in pugon style unlike those in Concepcion Bakery in Malabon.

banana bread or banana loaf

One can also pre- order cakes or other pastries. We tried their banana bread for Php 75, pan de popy for Php 29 per pack and their well -loved kalabasha roll for just Php 39.00.

We also have tried their ensaymada, pianono rolls and caramel bars a couple of weeks ago.

Celebrity Customers

Some of the celebrities and well-known personalities who have bought pastries included Coach Misfune Kuribayashi, DOST-NCR Regional Director Jose B. Patalinjug III, sir Voltron “The Barefoot Rock Star” among others.

They can also deliver within a specific vicinity ( usually within 4 to 6 kilometers radius) Kingspoint Subdivision, Goodwill Homes 1, Goodwill Homes 2, Kasiyahan Townhomes, El Pueblo One condominium, San Pedro IX Subdivision, Jem 7, Saint Charbel Subdivision, Congressional Avenue areas and within Barangay Talipapa, Quezon City for a minimum order of just Php 200.00

Note: All price quoted in this blog are subject to change without prior notification.

Ka Popoy’s Bakery

Address: # 3 Lukaria Street, Villa Florencia Subdivision, Barangay Talipapa, Novaliches, Quezon City.

Business hours: Mondays to Sundays. 6am-8pm.Dine in, Take away or if you like it delivered right at your doorstep.

Contact : 0921-3812912 / Landline :7092-1578

Soft Opening of Arid and Aroids Living Gallery in Cavite

It was sunny day on May 29 when we visited the soft opening of Arid and Aroids ( AA) Living gallery in Cavite. Traffic was moderate along Mindanao Avenue exit within Barangay Talipapa, Novaliches, Quezon City.

It took us a little over 2 hours traversing the newly opened Metro Manila skyway en route to the province.

This is one of the three known farm location of Arid and Aroids, San Rafael in Bulacan and in Quezon province.

l-r Dr. Jae Silvestre, Mr. Boyet Ganigan and Mayor Socorro ” Corie” Rosario Poblete of Silang , Cavite province

Arid and Aroids Living Gallery

Arid and Aroid Living Gallery entrance

Arid and Aroids Living Gallery is like a living botanic collection of over 30 years by the dynamic tandem of Mr. Boyet Ganigan, Dr. Jae Silvestre and their families. The rare plants is collected from all over the world and meticulously propagated under their farms.

A lot of their plants are award winning collection and highly coveted by many collectors not just in the country but the rest of the world.

The last time we have visited the farm was for the Christmas salu-salo way back in 2019. The 1 hectare location is slowly being developed into world class attraction ideal venue location for pre-wedding nuptial photo, wedding location, intimate parties, outdoor garden setting, corporate events, product launching, debut among others.

The natural contour and landscape setting makes it different from other venue places in the province.

One of the invited guest suggested at they can also open a bar or an art gallery of paintings. There are also in house promo and raffle draw for those guests and buyers. The overall mood was festive but subtle due to the covid 2019 restrictions under general community quarantine with restrictions at National Capital Region plus Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna area.

Celebrity Guests

Mr. Troy Montero and Ms. Aubrey Miles

Mayor Socorro ” Corrie” Rosario Poblete, Vice Mayor Aidel Paul G. Belamide, some councilors and barangay officials were the special guests of honor.

We also happen to see the well known social media and fellow blogger Plant Chaser ( Atty. Bom Gomez) who went together with his daughter.

Mr. Troy Montero and Ms. Aubrey Santos Sandel, Ms. Gretchen Fullido, Mr. Emilio Yap III of Manila Bulletin were among the special guests during the soft opening.

Mr. Boyet Ganigan along with Mr. Emil Yap III and companion during the soft opening

Since strict protocol and health guidelines were in place, there were few on the guest lists. But this is very promising, The place is located within 20 kilometers from Tagaytay City.

La Dexie’s Catering Services

The guests, buyers and friends of Arid and Aroid were treated to a whole day of fun, camaraderie and food. The lunch meal were catered by La Dexie’s Catering Service from Cainta, Rizal province.

#10 Corona Street, Brookside Hills Subdivision, Cainta, Rizal province

Contact : 0920-919-2033 / Landline 8655-5867 or 8656-3894

AA Living Gallery – Address Barangay Tartaria , Silang Cavite

Operations : Everyday 8:00am to 5:00pm by appointment

Finger Licking Good at Korips Fried Chicken in Ilang-Ilang Street, San Pedro IX Subdivision

Have you ever tried home-made and crispy fried chicken within your neighborhood? A couple of months ago, A restaurateur and friend Sir Alex of Amritsari Biryani told me that there is a neighborhood fried chicken within San Pedro IX subdivision that is usually sold out.

He told me that the fried chicken had a small stall along one of the major street within their area. It number 6 along Ilang-Ilang street.

Korips Fried Chicken

Korips Fried Chicken was the combination of Korean and Filipino name, The recipe and batter mixture is also a combination of Korean and Filipino spices, ingredients and batter mixture. The recipe was the original concept idea of husband and wife tandem of Mr. Charles and Mrs. Glyz Villafor.

They start selling their crispy fried chicken at past 4:30 pm and until past 8:00 pm or until supplies last. Some of the neighbors would order 30 to 50 fried chickens when there are family occasion or just simple viand ( ulam ) for the night.

The gravy sauce is not thick compared to Jollibee, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Mc Donalds. It is light and not salty which complements the fried chicken well. The batter mixture is light and the deep fried to perfection.

For those living within San Pedro IX subdivision within Barangay Bagbag, Novaliches, Quezon City– one must try their fried chicken. They offer FREE delivery within San Pedro IX subdivision, Grand Monaco Villas, Kasiyahan Townhomes for just a minimum order of 6 fried chicken. While those living within Kingspoint Subdivision, El Pueblo One condominium or even Goodwill Homes 1 in Barangay San Bartolome, One must order at least 10 fried chicken in order to avail of the FREE delivery services.

However in other parts of Novaliches and Metro Manila, there is a minimum number of purchase and small amount of delivery fees.

Price is quite reasonable and they also have fried chicken skin, chicken nuggets too. For bulk orders, there they can delivery within Metro Manila with starting order of 30 pieces of fried chicken. Some of their fried chicken made its way to Pasig, Pampanga and even in Fairview.

The price range is just Php 30 per Korips fried chicken and Php 20 for their crispy chicken skin.

Flavors

Aside from their original flavor, They also have salted egg, snow cheese and spicy flavored fried chicken.

Do not forget to message them at their official FB page.

Note : prices quoted are subject to change without prior notification. Delivery time is depending on the stall operation.

Korips Fried Chicken FB page: https://www.facebook.com/koripschicken

Korips Fried Chicken

Address: #6 Ilang-Ilang Street, San Pedro IX subdivision, Barangay Bagbag, Novaliches 1116, Novaliches, Quezon City

Contact : (0956-300-9902 or 0955-5225669)

Operations: Tuesdays to Saturdays from 4:30pm to 8:00pm or depending until the supply last

One Stop Snacks at Juz Tea and Octobites

Summer or Dry season is still lingering in many parts of Metro Manila. If you are craving for milk teas, morning breakfast meal, light snacks there is a food corner at the heart of the Goodwill Homes 1 community.

One can choose from over two dozen flavored milk teas and takoyakis which these stall are offering.

Foodicted stall with Ms. Joi and staff

One Stop Snack Center

Octobites

Juz Tea and Octobites are just two of the three known stalls within the center, there is Foodnatics which offers Korean rice dishes.

staff prepares takoyaki

takoyaki from Octobites

The takoyaki with lots of toppings and had a creamy sauce, This cost Php 60.00

Winter Melon Tea with pearl tapioca

Juz Tea, Octobites and Foodicted had a soft opening last February 23, 2021. The stall used to be the famed Carlito’s Grill and Kitchen in Goodwill Homes 1, Barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City

customer buying at the juz tea

They also deliver within a limited area within the community. For the past few weeks, they had in-house promo for just Php 120 for two milk tea.

Address: 1 Benevolence Street corner Katipunan Avenue, Goodwill Homes 1, Barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City

Contact Number: 0927 155 8587

Operational Hours: 11:00 am to 8:00 pm