Collectible Asian Games 2018 Stamps

Pos Indonesia has issued a special series of stamps  few months ago to commemorate the 18th Asian Games.  This is the second time Indonesia that hosted the event.

“To enliven the 2018 Asian Games held in Palembang and Jakarta from Aug. 18 through Sept. 2,23018 with 40,000 postage stamps to mark the sports event have been released nationwide,” Hasnan, the deputy chief of Pos Indonesia in Palembang, South Sumatra, said on Saturday.

According to Hasnan, the special stamps of the 2018 Asian Games have been issued in limited numbers and will not be reprinted when sold out within the next few days.

Philately enthusiasts are advised to head straight to the nearest post office to get their hands on the limited edition stamps, only 2000 of which have been distributed in Palembang, one of the host cities of the Games.

The special Asian Games stamps bear pictures of athletes in action in sports such as soccer and volleyball.

Stamps serve to commemorate Indonesia’s role of playing host to the 18th Asian Games, thereby preserving the memory of the historic moment in postage form.

As of press time, the limited Asian Games stamps had been sold out in many Indonesian post offices.

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Amazing Health Benefits of Clitoria ternatea

Clitoria ternatea is commonly called blue ternatea, blue ternate, Asian pigeonwings.

Clitoria ternatea growing as hedge plant

It may sound funny or vulgar, But in Tagalog / Filipino language this is called pukingan, pukinggan, samsamping ,puking-reyna and puki ng reyna.Sometimes called by different common names such as Darwin’s pea, bluebellvine, blue pea, butterfly pea, cordofan pea. There are some local growers who sell seedling from between Php 50.00 to Php 75.00.

Etymology:

The genus name, Clitoria was derived from the Latin word, clitoris, that was coined from the ancient Greek word kleitoris, meaning little hill.  The flowering plants thus named as the Clitoria flowers somewhat resemble the clitoris, female sexual organ.

These flowering plants are distributed in most tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world.

Economic Uses: 

The flowers are named as such because they looked like parts of female genitalia. The flowers can be used as natural food coloring, syrupy blue drink, blue ternatea tea and garnish in salad. The young seeds can be boiled and eaten during its early stages as used as vegetables in many parts of the world including the Philippines.

This can be grown as hedge plant or ornamental flowering plants in the garden. The vine can also be planted on a  fence or train on a trellis, arbor or archway.

In Malacca, Singapore and Indonesia, the flowers are also used as food coloring in Nyonya cakes.

At Moca Farm in Batangas province, The flowers are used as natural food coloring for their rice.

Clitoria ternatea is also a nitrogen-fixing legume and can be used as a ley legume and as green manure and used for feeding livestock. It is also useful in revegetation of coal mining sites in central Queensland (Australia) (FAO, 2012; Cook et al., 2005).

Propagation: 

 There are flat pods with six to ten seeds in each pod.  After gathering, One can soak the seeds for 1 to 3 hours before sowing them in pre-mixed soil in seedling tray.  Seeds will germinate within 1-2 weeks, with flowers as early as 4 weeks after planting.

Fertilization: 

One can also use cuttings that root readily. Do not forget to fertilize the plant every week with a combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers. Do not use other home style remedy fertilizer mixture like msg, vinegar, beer and skim milk.

 

Clitoria ternatea

Medicinal Uses: memory enhancer, brain booster, anti-stress, calmative agent,  there is also wide spectrum of neurological benefits and many beauty products have also been derived from the flowers.

References:

USDA  https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CLTE3

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274419962_In_vitro_Propagation_of_Clitoria_ternatea_L_A_Valuable_Medicinal_Plant

Feedipedia: https://www.feedipedia.org/node/318

A Visit to Behrouz Persian Restaurant

Behrouz had been serving authentic Persian and halal food for over 30 years. The restaurant which is located in 63 Scout Tobias Street, Laging Handa in Quezon City.

different kind of Persian foods and yogurt shake

beef kebab with grilled tomatoes and onion

hummus with pita bread

beef liver

Among the specialties included beef liver with sauce which is good with rice or flat bread.

Kashke Bademjan is an eggplant dish

This eggplant dip is usually served as an appetizer though  it as a main dish. Kashke bademjan is usually served with bread like lavash, pita or naan.

different kind of menus posted on its wall

The Scout Tobias branch had a sitting capacity of between 80 to 120 people with an outdoor atrium. Several local celebrities and important people would dine in at this restaurant.

The restaurant is also listed in popular zomatoph and other review sites.

Operations : Everyday 

Operational Hours: 12:00 noon to 5:00 am 

It had 4 other branches located in San Juan, Pasig and Parañaque City. 

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BehrouzPersianCuisine/

 

Great Asian Dishes at Crustasia Seafood Market

Great Asian seafood and featuring dishes inspired by the best of Thai, Malay, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Singaporean cuisines at Crustasia. This restaurant had just opened last June 29, 2018 at Newport Mall within Resort Word in Pasay City.

crispy catfish salad with sauce and kaffir lime juice

Crispy catfish salad with sauce is not your typical catfish salad which originated from Thailand. This is commonly called ( Yam Pla Dook Foo ). The catfish is carefully selected and carefully deep fried and neatly flaked. It is then presented with chopped red onions, sliced mangoes, coriander leaves, chopped green spring onions, pomelo,bird’s eye chilies with a slice of lemon.

chicken satay with peanut sauce

Chicken satay is another MUST Try dish when you visit this restaurant. The chicken is well marinated and grilled well.  The chicken satay is topped with finely crushed peanuts and chopped spring onions.

bagoong rice with slices of mangoes

Bagoong rice flavor is balance with with generous slices of mangoes, chopped onions, tomatoes, sliced scrambled eggs, crispy dried shrimps, marinated slices of pork ( similar to tocino) and topped with coriander leaves.  One may opt to order some red bird’s eye chilies for added kick. The combination is not too salty and this dish combines several flavors like sweetness, salty, spicy, umami and savory.

deep fried chicken wrapped in pandan leaves with sweet chilli sauce

Deep fried chicken wrapped in pandan leaves – The chicken is well seasoned and wrapped in pandan leaves before deep frying. This adds more flavor and aroma to the meat. The dish is flavorful even without the sweet chilli sauce.

steamed grouper in superior soy sauce

Steamed grouper or locally known as lapu-lapu is one of the best tasting dishes that this place had to offer. The grouper is fresh, not too salty and retained the natural taste. This was carefully seasoned with soy sauce topped with chopped onion leeks, sliced ginger.

roasted garlic crab with noodles

Roasted garlic crab with noodles is another MUST TRY when hanging out . The mud crab is fresh and topped with roasted garlic and noodles.

Javanese beef rendang

Javanese beef rendang dish is cooked with carrots, bell pepper topped with sliced green spring onion leaves. The beef meat is tender is with thick sauce. This is best accompanied by white or jasmine rice.

mixed seafood tom yum

Mixed seafood tom yum soup is well seasoned with clams and giant fresh water shrimp (ulang) topped with coriander leaves. The broth is savory and one can request for additional red chilies for additional spice.

Pad thai

Pad Thai is a specialty stir fry noodle dish which originated in Thailand. This dish can be shared between 2 to 4 people. This had a generous ingredients like mung bean sprouts ( toge), carrots, fried scallions, sliced red bell pepper, scrambled eggs, shrimps ,crushed peanuts with chopped onion leeks.

claypot catfish in Vietnamese fish sauce ( photo courtesy of Ms. Mariel Pares)

Claypot catfish is cooked in Vietnamese fish sauce with lemon grass, chopped onions and topped with basil leaves. The catfish meat is tender and had no after taste. The sauce had a sweet, savory and mild taste.

ice kacang

Ice kacang is like our own halo-halo. This is not too sweet and can be shared with at least 2 people.

Guyabano tropical

Guyabano tropical is like the ice kacang with guyabano fruit added into the ice cream. Topping like sweet corn, beans, slices of gellies, slices of cantaloupe ( melon ) adds more flavors and colors to this exciting desert.

 Chef Peter Ayson together with vloggers, bloggers and media

I must recommend the kaffir leaves juice ( Cabuyao). Cabuyao is the local name for kaffir lime. The leaves and fruit is extensively used in Southeast Asian dishes.

Note: Please refer to the website and FB page for the prices and promos. Some of the menus posted are seasonal.

Website: http://www.crustasia.ph/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/crustasiaph/

Address: 2/Floor Newport Mall, Resorts World Manila, Pasay City

Contact : 0945- 463- 9248/ 0966-4059829

Operations: Everyday

Operational Hours: 12:00 pm to 12:00 midnight ( Mondays to Fridays)

10:00 am to 12:00 midnight ( Saturdays and Sundays )

How to commute: There are several ways on how to get there.

1.) From LRT-1 EDSA and MRT- 3 Taft station.

2.)  From MRT -3 Taft station -Try to go down the stairs at Saver’s Square at the North bound side of the station (this mall connected to the terminal) via passageway.

3.)There is a pedestrian passageway in between McDonalds and Chowking. Go straight in and look for white Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal (NAIA) 3 Loop shuttle public commuter bus. Beep Card is used in this bus and fare only cost Php 20. The buses leaves every 30 minutes.

4.) The NAIA 3 Loop shuttle commuter bus first stop is at the departure area of NAIA terminal 3, then will make a 2nd stop at the corner of the Steel Parking at Resort Dr. cor Andrews Ave. You can go down there and walk straight towards your destination.

5.) EDSA northbound lane near MRT Taft Station in Pasay Rotunda with Baclaran- “Nichols” signage. Fare ( Php 9.00 minimum)

 

 

 

 

 

Heirloom Family Dishes of Teresita’s Halo-Halo

Teresita’s of San Fernando is known for their family heirloom dishes from Pampanga.

We visited Teresita’s -Waltermart branch which is near LRT Roosevelt station and near Muñoz public market. The restaurant had a sitting capacity of about 30 people. The branch opened in 2012.

Pancit luglog

Pancit luglog noodles is thicker compared to the ordinary palabok. There is not much shrimps and the sauce is rather bland. The serving is large for its price. Overall, The taste is not bad.

Halo-halo

Teresita’s own version of halo-halo is quite different from Razon’s of Guagua halo-halo.  This is much sweeter and the leche flan is more stiffer. The shaved ice is perfect.

There are two types of halo-halo in their menu, The ordinary which do not have sweetened jackfruit that cost Php99  and the one with sweetened jackfruit (langka/ nangka) which cost Php 115.00.

Teresita’s menu board

One must try their all day breakfast value meal which includes skinless longaniza, garlic longaniza, tapa tocino, chicken tocino.

pasalubong items

There are also pickled papaya ( atsara ), bottled sardines and bottled tinapa near the cashier.

Address: Ground Floor,Waltermart North EDSA, North Edsa 8001 A. Edsa Veterans Village Quezon City, 1100, North Avenue

Website:http://www.teresitasofsanfernando.com/

Operations: Mon – Sun
Operation Hours: 10:00 am – 11:30 pm