2015 Spring Festival

The winter is not yet over but the summer is nearly approaching here in Qatar. And while the weather is still good and people can still enjoy to stay outside, Spring Festival was given way.

Its my second time to witness the Spring Festival. Last  year I visited SF also but evening with friends, actually we didn't know that Souq Waqif is holding SF that time. And since I was informed this year, I asked my cousins to spent our weekend pasyal in witnessing the 2015 Spring Festival.

SF starts at 3:30 p.m. so if you want to witness the parade I suggest to you to go early. Though they have several sets of parade in the evening, it would be better especially for kids to see them in light. 

They painted the Waqif in different colors! Colors really boosts happiness kahit nga nanonood lang ako yung feeling na natutuwa ka and you even want to follow them for no reason or just to have a picture with them.

 

Everyone are enjoying the colorful costumes and the joyful faces of the performer kaya naman bata man o matanda sinusundan sila.

They are also giving away freebies like kite. You can just go to the information center and ask for it. Unfortunately, we're not able to get but according to the staff everyday they are giving 100 pieces. 

Since SF inside Souq Waqif, hindi kayo maiinip. They have several coffee shops and restaurants kung nagugutom, pwedeng pwede ang food trip, I suggest try their "isaw". If you have budget, Souq Waqif is the best place to shop for souvenir items from key chains to ref magnets, accessories and shawls, house decors and more.And since its festival, you can see also food carts around and some vendors of balloons and other stuffs for kids.

 

The parade continues in the evening until 10:00 pm if I'm not mistaken.

They have also some rides that will test your heights power, wala akong lakas ng loob subukan kaya we just remained in the ground and enjoy what they have.

So if you don't have any plan yet this weekend, visit Souq Waqif and enjoy the Spring Festival. Spring Festival will be until February 6, 2015.

The "isaw" like Food Trip

If there's one kind of food I miss being away from home, that is "isaw" and other street foods.

Isaw is a street food from the Philippines, made from barbecued pig or chicken intestines. The intestines are cleaned, turned inside out, and cleaned again, repeating the process several times. They are then either boiled, then grilled, or immediately grilled on sticks. They are usually dipped in suka/sukang pinakurat (Filipino term for vinegar with onions, peppers, and other spices) then eaten. They are usually sold by vendors on the street corners in afternoons. (from Wikipedia)

Every time I will be coming home in Philippines nakaplano na ang "saw" food trip ko with friends, isama mo pa ang ibang street foods like "balut" "addidas" or chicken feet and "helmet" or chicken head, fish balls, kwek-kwek, etc. Though hindi na lang sila sa kalye makikita ngayon, there are several restaurants na rin that's offering isaw and other street foods on their place kaya kung even ang mga maseselang na tao na ayaw kumain sa tabi ng kalsada they can still enjoy it.
Here in Doha they have different version of isaw, e sympre walang isaw dito kasi wala namang pork dito or kung meron man frozen talaga and you need license pa to avail it and additional factor lahat ng mga food vendor dito need ng health license as a proof na nakapasa yung store/ restaurant or yung food brand mo sa health ministry, pero meron pa rin namang nakakalusot kaya lang illegal yon and definitely hindi pwede itinda publicly.
I heard it several times from my cousins that I should try the "isaw" version in one place in Souq Waqif, and since I'm with them last weekend, we did.
We don't know what exactly the place open so after we roamed around Waqif, we go directly to the place bu its still close. But good thing tables and chairs are not fully occupied yet, we had a chance to take some rest after walking around.

We are informed by the staff that they will open at 4:00 p.m.; we are an hour early so after some rest we walk around again and return after.

Though more seats are occupied on the second time we get back, its good thing we still get a good seat. Near the place were we eat is a bakery. They are selling "pita" bread or what they called here "kobus"; it is a soft, slightly leavened flat bread baked from wheat flour.

 One order consists of 5 pieces big round pita bread which only costs QR1.00. Most of the pita bread now are baked in some automatic machines but in Waqif they are still using the traditional method, if you watched some movies na may mga old Arab settings na isinusuot ang mixture sa isang made of stone na pugon then that's it.
They also have with filling too, usually its filled with greek yogurt or cheese. It only costs QR2.00 per 6 slices.

These breads are good to eat while they are hot, you can feel the difference in taste talaga if it baked in "pugon" or if its done thru modern oven. Kaya kahit di pa namin turn na magorder at least di kami nainip masyado at may pampawi gutom na rin.

And here we are, its our turn to order! Check their menu prices, isn't it so so so affordable?

 

While we are waiting I noticed na padami ng padami ang tao sa sidewalk yun pala they are all waiting for vacant seats, buti na lang talaga maaga kami. I didn't expect na ganon kadami ang kumakain sa restaurant na yon kasi maliit lang sya then sa mejo tagong place sya ng Waqif  - Europeans, Arabs and of course Asians.

So after few minutes of waiting our first set of order is here!

We ordered plate of kebab meat and chicken and plate of kufta. Kebab is skewed in metal kaya reminders kahit anong gutom nyo wag basta basta hawakan ang skewer kasi mainit, pwede nyong gamitin ang kobus or the pita bread na kasama ring iseserve along with your order, may kasama din itong fresh green leaves with lemon, I forgot the name of the leaves pero usually natitikman ko yon sa mga salads, mejo mapait pero masarap. And since we know na baka abitin kami, we order another set. 

For the two sets of kebab and kufta, drinks, humus (made of garbanzos and looks like yogurt that serve as a dip) we only paid QR 112.00.  Busog- lusog na naman kami in very affordable price pa. Imagine each of us paid only QR 14.00.

Until we left Souq Waqif super busog pa rin.

I suggest to you na itry nyo rin, isama ang family or friends and enjoy the taste of Arab authentic food in affordable price.

Contagious Joy

How's your holidays guys? Hope you had a great one. 

I had a busy holidays from organizing the parties, meeting friends and spending holidays with family. Though I really feel that my body wants to give up, thanks be to God I was still able to go up and not spent the holidays on my bed. Never mind the after shocks cos while I'm writing this post I have with me a roll of tissue for my flu.

Just want to share with you my holidays with these photos. Photos will speak by themselves how happy I am being with my family, friends,colleagues and brethren.
Happy Birthday Jesus!
Christmas is one of the most festive occasion we celebrate not only as Filipinos but as Christians. Being an OFWs even we're away from our immediate families, we still really tend to enjoy Christmas season. More than any gifts you give and receive during this season, its the gift of LOVE must be on the top of your list.

Noche Buena
Its been our tradition to our family to welcome December 25 together; to set the table even we have only simple dishes on it, the important thing for us is we are together in welcoming the Christmas.

 Thank you Lord for all the blessings. Its Your birthday today but yet You are the one who still giving gifts to us.

 Christmas selfie taken after our prayer

 Me and my brother, Bjay

 Merry Christmas everyone! - from B2F12

Carrying with me our little elf - meet our baby Kiel (my cousin's son) its his first Christmas!

Christmas Day
Its been years since I used to spend Christmas day in the office. Though I really miss being home and spending the day with the whole family, eating together, "kwetuhan" and sometimes going out of town together but it doesn't mean I spoiled my Christmas.
We want to be happy and spread the joy of the season and we started it by wearing a happy color - Red! We asked one restaurant down our office if we can occupy their place at lunch time, and here we go...

 Meet my Filipino colleagues

 Smile is really contagious...

Don't ask me why Jane is in yellow ^_^

 Going back to office, see the happy faces...

 Until inside the elevator, notice the smiles...

Until going back our home after  work, we're all smiling and happy!

Christmas Dinner
After work we decided to have dinner outside. Since we are not familiar to the location it took us an hour I guess to reached the place.

It is not important where we celebrate the Christmas or whom we are with, what matter is we know the reason why we are celebrating the season.
The essence of Christmas is about love and joy, let these things be contagious everyday. Lets make our everyday like a Christmas day!

"Mamamaysan" Team

Hello August!

August is one of the memorable month for us as a family, its my Mom and Dad's month. They'll be celebrating their 34th years together this coming 23rd. But before we celebrate their union, another milestone will happen in our family, our cousin JEP (Joseph Emmanuel Perez) will be getting married on 20th to JHO (Josephine).

Even its not our first in Doha family na may ikasal dito, first was Sze and Shawn then Peach and Glen, iba pa rin talaga siguro yung sa Pinas. Of course here limited lang yung invited I mean we're from a big family pero since dito kung sino na lang ang nandito. Second, kapag dito sa Philippine embassy not in the church, the solemnizing officer will be the consul and not the priest/ pastor unlike in other country na kahit expatriates ka pwede, here in Qatar hindi pwede. Third, the preparation - siguro mas less pressure and stress lang dito ng konti kasi nga since the wedding will be simple, hindi naman nga ganong kadetalye, all you have to have is time to prepare and money to pay.

Last Friday, we agreed to meet up to discuss the details of the program and to know our "role" and responsibilities at the wedding reception...kapit bisig Doha Family! We didn't invite the couple to join us. We called the meeting as "Mamamaysan Meeting"

Meet the "Mamamaysan" Team

I am not sure if all of you knows the term "mamamaysan". Mamamaysan is a tagalog word for groom's family and friends who will do all the chores and preparations before the wedding day. Here's what I found from one article regarding the usual things that mamamaysan and its duties the night before the wedding day:

"At the break of dawn, the groom's family is abuzz, preparing the sundry of things that will be hauled to the bride's place. Vehicles are borrowed and hired –jeeps, jeepneys, tricycles–to haul the kith-kin-and-caboodle, literally. Kin, friends, neighbors, wedding attire, bridal gown, pots, pans, plates, utensils, are crammed inside and atop the vehicles. A single pig will fit in a tricycle. A few pigs, for the occasion of a grander wedding, will need an elf or jeepney. The side of the vehicles is decorated with fresh fronds of coconut leaves (see insert). The jeepney is loaded with passengers to the rooftop, and although illegal, the coconut fronds identify it as a wedding vehicle, and local police usually just turn their heads away.

Arriving at the bride's house, welcoming starts with the "tasting of the kalamay." Each side tastes the others' kalamay' concoction, with the usual exchange of praise as to whose tastes better. Meanwhile, the bridal gown is taken to a designated room in the house; no fitting is allowed for fear that the wedding might not happen.

The kitchen has started to buzz alive. Preparations slow to start, pick up into full swing. On one end of the bilik, a pig is being slaughtered. The blood is collected for the preparation of the "dinuguan" dish which will be the traditional dinner entree. The rest of the pig will be divided and amounts allotted for the preparation of other foods for the traditional wedding feast: embotido (finely chopped meat), apritada (catsup based) and menudo (pineapple based). And if the pig meat supply will afford, the additional dishes of ginulayan (milk), pochero (banana) , sinantomas (bone-based) and rebosado (fried pigskin in batter)."

Nowadays, only few people practice that customs. There are a lot of wedding sites and coordinators that you can check and hire to lessen the pressures and stress in preparing for the big day.

We created our own version of "mamamaysan" since the groom is from our side.

 

That's one of the joy of having a family despite of being away from home, may susuporta even not financially ^_____^ and there are someone who can help you to do some errands on your day, less stress na rin yon di ba?  There are some changes on that list that we did during our meeting. Preparation for a big and important occasion is a bit stressful  here compare to Pinas in a sense na hindi ka basta makakapagfile ng leave of absence sa work mo, kaya you need to maximize all the time you have in arranging everything to your suppliers minus the bridal gown naman kasi since hindi naman church wedding mas simple lang. 

We also discuss the reception program in detailed. And since we're not in Philippines, very limited lang ang mga resources na pwedeng kuhanin namin to execute some of the customs in a Filipino wedding. Just to clear out guys I'm not into "pamahiin" or superstition, of course ang pagsasama ng dalawang tao is depende yan sa kanila, it should be triangle nga di ba - the husband, the wife and GOD. 

We Filipinos have a rich customs and traditions and even in wedding celebration there are some practices that's already part of culture. Hope we can have some of those at the reception program, but first we need to check where to find suman and kalamay ^_____^

I advise you if you are planning to get married, have at least one (1) year of planning ahead. Its better na mahaba yung time ng pagpla-plan kesa naman ngaragness ang beauty mo on your wedding day. 

Wedding is milestone kaya dapat lang pinagplaplanuhan at pinaghahandaan. Di ba mas maganda if you'll have a memorable wedding and a happy marriage? so ngayon pa lang if you have plan to get married next year, start to plan now.

B2 F12 Boodle Fight

Friday for us is sacred. Sacred in the sense that its the only day for us to do whatever we want to do without minding that there will be work in succeeding hours. 

Living here in middle east where every tick of the clock matters taught me how to value each second, and mostly every moment I'm with people who are dear to me And since Friday lang ang no work day, we're trying to make it special as we spend the day with each other.

While everyone in the Philippines is celebrating holidays - food trips and grand vacation in different places; we tried to at least incorporate some of what we saw on social medias here in Doha....mga feelingeras lang sa sobrang pagka miss sa buhay Pinas.

Its been our plan since then to have our "boodle fight". Sounds your in military right? or your thinking a bloody fight? Nope guys.

Filipino loves to eat, I didn't meet any of my race who doesn't love food.

Boodle Fight as defined in an "urban dictionary" is a military style of eating where long tables are prepared and food are on the top of banana leaves.

Unlike sa Pinas na kahit saan makikita mo ang banana leaves, dito sa Doha yan ang unang challenge to have your boodle fight. We got ours at Food Palace in Al Sadd. And since imported pa rin kung saang bansa, hindi lahat ng leaves is green, some are yellow pa. 

We missed pagkaing Pinoy, although there are lots of Filipino food here, you need to find yung tamang timpla. I am blessed with a family who cooks well.
And since its summer at namimiss na namin ang mga pagkaing Pinoy, we had these foods for our boodle fight.

Every summer kasabay ng mangga season sa Pinas ang pagka-miss din namin ng mangga dito. Thank you sa mga Pilipino stores sa Souq na nag-i-import ng mga fruits directly from Philipines, yun nga lang may kamahalan, pero just to satisfy the cravings ok na rin.

 Iba't ibang klase ng fish at luto ang meron kami :-) may prito at what we called "sinaing" in Batangas. samahan mo pa ng "pajo", sibuyas at kamatis ang patis.

And since we have steamed veggies perfect to match naman ang manamis-anghang na "alamang" or shrimp paste. May soysauce din with onion and chili.
We decided na ilipat muna ang dining table namin sa living room para mas maluwag and since we ate by using our hands mas madaling makagalaw.
Tara, kainan na!

And para kumpleto ang drinks namin malamig na melon juice :-)
Hayysss dagat na nga lang ang kulang talaga parang nasa Pinas na rin...

"Oh ang mga bata tingnan nyo baka mamaya malunod" my cousin Shiella, hahaha feeling talaga nasa beach lang sa Pinas.

Nasaan kaya si "muning" hindi naman kasi kumakain ng ganito ang pusa namin dito na si Bella.

Busog lusog na naman ang B2 F12 family.

Guys try nyo rin aside sa mabubusog kayo sure ako mageenjoy ang bawat family or housemate members nyo from the preparation until sa pagliligpit after.

And another thing, what we love about the boodle fight? konting konti lang ang mga hinugasan naming wares, o di ba tipid na sa tubig tipid pa sa dish washing soap...hahaha

Till next B2 F12 moments!