AHA Moments

We had a day away to do maintenance check amongst the team members. New year, new team, new challenges..Had a great session with our core generating demand team today. Lots of AHA Moments emerged within the team which allowed us to understand each other fully. 

Teambuilding activities provided by Convergent Team our HR Consultant was so apt given our unique team dynamics. They showed great examples through videos, wonderful team exercises which in effect translated to positive reactions amongst team members. I was glad that the team members were so open, accepted and gave necessary feedback. I am confident that this will gradually translate on how we work and run the business as a team.

We are ready to face as one team the business challenges that will come our way. We are all set to make a difference sooner or later within the team, within the business unit, within the company and hopefully within the nation.

Tikoy Festival Recipe

As Chinese New Year draws near, I received lots of Tikoy (Glutinous Rice Cake) from my Chinese friends for good fortune.

My favorite is the one from Salazar - brown and heavy!=) I'm the only one in the household who is a Tikoy fanatic. My husband doesn't eat it, my daughter ate a few and found it too sticky for her taste. Yaya takes a few bite every so often.

 

The first time I received Tikoy was about 7 years ago and I thought it was eaten raw as it is. I found it too hard and gummy then. I was told the following day that it was supposed to be fried in cooking oil, with an option to dip it in scrambled egg before frying. 

I received a fabulous tip lately from a Chinese colleague that it can be wrapped with lumpia wrapper before frying it.

I tried the recipe the minute I got home and I instantly loved it! Tastes like Turon in fact! Yaya also tried it and liked Tikoy in lumpia wraps. My daughter who rejected Tikoy not cooked this way considered trying Tikoy once more since she found it crispy to the bite.

Crispy! Sticky! Lovely! Yummy! Looking forward to my next Tikoy fest!

Questions for Moms

Do you really know how much of the important nutrients your child gets from his milk?

Do you really know what's in your child's milk?

Do you know how much you are really paying for?

Do you check the label?

Some intriguing questions I've been meaning to ask all of my mommy friends.. Answers would most likely be a "yes" or "no" or "I think so". 

For moms, who answers either of the last 2, it's time to check the label!  

Comfort Food

Food for the Soul list:

• Ice Cream - Yum! Yum! There's a new product from Nestle - Heaven's ice cream that enables me to indulge some more! My Old Time favorite is Nestle's Double Dutch flavor.
• Chocolate Cake - always put a smile on my face regardless of the source - may it be the one in our office canteen, at Red Ribbon, Starbucks, Pepper Lunch or homemade.
  
• Mr Chips - I'm not much fond of junk food but I cannot resist Mr Chips whenever wherever I see a bag of it!
• Green Mango with bagoong - If bagoong is not available, soy sauce with sugar will do.
• Yogurt - There's something about yogurt especially the Strawberry variant made by Nestle that simply relaxes me. For the past 10 years now, I've added yogurt as one of my comfort food.

List of food above always give me a certain high whenever I have a chance to savor them!

Davao's Best Dining Places

During the holidays we were able to go around Davao and discovered a few great dining places mostly with families..Some are quaint while most of them are ideal for families.. Here are a few of my favorite dining places in random order:

• Paparazzi - A great pizza place near Mabini St. I loved Papa's Pizza! I was disappointed when they closed down their Ilustre branch but was ultimately pleased when I found out that makers of Paparazzi pizzas are one and the same of Papa's Pizza. I loved their Prego Pizza so much!
• Sugarmunch - A great dessert place tucked in Marfori Subdivision. You won't miss the gold and white stripes beside Gigz party shop. Most coffee shops in the city serve Sugarmunch delicacies. I would recommend to try their Dark Moist Chocolate Cake. Its super delicious and easy on the pocket!
• Papa Ching's - If you loved Molave's Chicken recipe, then you would definitely love Papa Ching's greaseless chicken. I couldn't believe I finished an order of half-sized chicken by myself!
• Aseya - A door away Humberto's place, one would love their own version of fusion dining of Thai, Indian and Malay cuisine. Check out their Aseya salad and their version of spring rolls and Pad Thai. Their chocolate cake is a must try in which my lovely guess would come from Sugarmunch.
• Hola Espana - Finally, an authentic Spanish cuisine in Davao City! One should try their Paella dishes and steak! Be prepared to shell out some money though.
• Tadakuma - It used to be situated at the back of Chowking Bajada. I loved how fresh their makis and sashimis are! I frequent their place near Central Bank. I recently learned that they opened a site in Damosa.
  
• Harana - a nostalgic place for me! We used to spend our childhood playing in their big playground. Now, its our children's turn to play. We never got tired of playing that we dined out here twice during the holidays.
  
• Sarung Banggi - we normally have dinner at this place to celebrate my parents wedding anniversary. This time around we had lunch here during my birthday. I loved all their steaks - Pepper Steak, A la Pobre, Porterhouse are a few of my favorites.
• Banoks - We are Colasa's lovers but when I observed that Banoks almost became ubiquitous in the city, I got curious and tried out their Chicken Barbecue. We dined in their Torres branch. Loved the chicken (but not as much as Colasa's) and downed it with fresh buko juice. I got extra curious with Allegro' s ice cream freezer standing nearby and tried out the Durian Ice Cream. Yummy for a non-durian lover like me.

There are still a lot of great places to dine out in Davao. The list will continue hopefully in my next visit!