Baguio is calling

The other day, I dreamed that I went to Baguio with my family. And then I woke up and remembered that due to the pandemic, unnecessary travel is not allowed. 

So since I cannot go to Baguio now, allow me to reminisce. 

I was a university student when I first went to Baguio. I remember that Baguio was just a side trip at that time. It was the last stop after going to Ilocos. And I think we sped walk along Session Road just so I can say that I've been there. It's like being a contestant on  The Amazing Race, and I didn't have time to enjoy the view because I have to do my task fast. 

As a member of the workforce, I was able to go back to the City of Pines four more times. There's always something fun to do in Baguio. It's just that the place is quite far from Laguna. About a decade ago, buses do not have their own comfort rooms. So long-distance travel meant learning to hold your pee or not drinking a lot so there's no need to pee until you get to a pit stop. Thankfully, some buses now have comfort rooms so there's no problem if you have a sudden urge to pee. 

Although I still believe that it is very far, the new expressway somehow makes the trip easier. When you get to SCTEx, it's only a few more hours before you get to Baguio.

A piece of advice though. Make sure that the bus is still along the expressway when you use the toilet. It can be challenging to use the toilet when the bus is already on the national road because of the frequent need to step on the breaks.

I'm going to leave the first part of my post with this photo from Baguio City Guide:

(Watch out for Part 2!)

Malls, malls, malls Part 2

So I guess I saved the best for last.

City Center is the first mall I have visited in Doha. It was also the nearest. When I got there, I looked for Max, the clothing store. I am familiar with it because I have seen some pasalubongs from Max in the past. I loved browsing the children's clothes.

I told you I liked the children's clothes

Also, it was in City Center where I discovered this Chinese restaurant called Golden Dragon. Up to now, I can still remember how yummy their stir fried noodles is. I also had lumpiang shang hai (or whatever it's called), but it's the noodles that I love so much. I was actually supposed to order at Burger King because I also like to compare how fast foods' taste varies in different countries. But the people next to us at the food court were eating this delicious looking pancit canton, and it looked so much better than a burger. I'd like to think that choosing the pancit was one of the best decisions I have made in my life :)

Villagio Mall is so far from where I stayed. But it was worth the travel because the place is awesome. There was a gondola inside the building. And the ceiling was designed to look like the evening sky. If you are into buying high end items, there was a portion of the mall for that. I noticed, though, that not a lot of people go there. Most of the foot traffic where in the affordable section. I liked their Marks and Spencer boutique, though.

The ceiling in Villagiio

Let's go to the supermarket!

I have been to five supermarkets in Doha. Technically, it should be four because the other one seems more of a convenience store for me. And it the smallest in floor area.

FFC (or Family Food Corporation) is the one nearest the apartment. It was the smallest, but it had most of the things we need. They even offer free delivery. But there was one incident where I was dismayed by the attitude of the delivery boy. Maybe he didn't understand what we said, or maybe he doesn't want to do it. But if he were a kabayan or if we were in the Philippines, I know that we wouldn't be refused.

Al Meera is a bit further, where I also had to cross a busy highway. You could say that it was a challenge going there because I am not familiar with how the Qataris and other nationalities deal with pedestrians. The Al Meera branch near us is also a bit small. But there are other bigger branches located in malls. When I first went there, I looked at all the aisles, just to soak up on the experience.

Dairy products in Al Meera

Kabayan Supermarket is where we can buy tomato sauce. The lack of tomato sauce in other supermarkets highlights the fact that I was really in foreign soil . But I digress. At first, I thought that Kabayan Supermarket only carries Filipino products, including seafood. Thus, only the Filipinos shop there. So imagine my surprise when I saw Caucasians and Indians in the check out counter. 

Maybe it's a Filipino thing, where we buy fish in the market. And we can request the vendor to clean the fish for us. It wasn't like that in Qatar! We buy fish in Kabayan, we clean it at home. 

Carrefour has a large floor area. One corner carries electronics, another section for clothes, and so on. Since it was already evening the first time I (with other expats, of course) went there, I didn't have time to browse all the aisles. One important thing to remember about Carrefour is that you bag your own groceries. I didn't know that, so I was just looking at the cashier while she does her work. And then my companions started bagging my purchase.

Lulu Hypermarket is even bigger. When I went there the first time, one hour is not enough because I also went to the department store. And everyone knows that you do not browse for 30 minutes in a department store because you need to try on the clothes, too. I wasn't able to go through all the aisles in Lulu during my first time there. Good thing that there was a second time! Lulu always has something on sale. I especially like the 10QR items that are good for pasalubong. 

Also, if there is one thing to love about Lulu, it should be their blueberry muffin. The muffin is soft, and the blueberry has just the right amount of sweetness. Is there a similar tasting muffin here in the Philippines?

Pinoy food for the soul

One of the dilemmas during my visit is choosing where to eat. The expats wanted to eat in one of the Filipino fast food. But they worry that I might want to eat somewhere else because I just came from the Philippines and have been eating these food all the time. At this one time, we ended up eating in Max's because of its sinigang.

The menu is mostly the same, but there is no pork. They have sizzling tofu, and it was ok. Do we have sizzling tofu in the Philippines? I better go to a Max's restaurant tomorrow to find out. I also want to know if we can buy the caramel bar in a box. If I remember, there are 12 slices in the box.

And this entry won't be complete without mentioning Jollibee. We go to Jollibee for the spaghetti because I keep forgetting that McDonalds only offer spaghetti in the Philippines. It would have been so convenient because there's a McDonald's near the apartment where I stayed.

So red!

I noticed that the chicken in Jollibee are darker, and the explanation was that the chicken are frozen. I didn't try the Chicken Joy. And I'm kind of glad that I didn't because they say that the taste is different from the Chicken Joy in the Philippines.

It is worth mentioning that the set up of Chowking Qatar is fine dining. I loved the siomai and lumpiang shanghai.

Galaxy Chocolates

I am familiar with Galaxy (not Samsung) dairy products because I always get Galaxy chocolates as "pasalubong" from somebody who has been to the Middle East. And though it was cold in Doha when I went there, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try this Galaxy Ice Cream.It tasted great. Fortunately for me, I can still eat sweet foods so I get to enjoy this chocolate ice cream. 

I wonder, though, why the supermarkets in Doha only carry the Galaxy milk chocolate variant? It seems that in UAE, they have Galaxy chocolates with rice crispy. 

I checked the ever-reliable Wikipedia to know more about the Galaxy chocolates. And I was surprised to find that these are available in UK as well. Wow, I better visit UK as soon as I can to compare the chocolates' taste there :)

For posterity, here are other Galaxy products that I have at home (Disclaimer: This is not a paid advertisement. I am just fond of Galaxy Chocolates).

This Galaxy Minis pack was available in all the supermarkets that I visited.

On the other hand, I didn't see this hot chocolate in the supermarket shelves. It was ok. The taste reminds me of Milo.