I have visited both Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok and it’s fair to say both cities offer tourists enough sights to see and experiences to…erm, experience. But if you were to ask me which destination I prefer and why? My answer would be Bangkok over KL. And here’s why:
Shopping
Both Bangkok and KL have their share of big malls, but that’s not why I like to shop in Bangkok. In fact, branded goods (clothes, luxury goods and cars especially) are more expensive in Thailand as taxes on them are very high. But what I love about shopping in Bangkok are the street markets!
Platinum Fashion Mall — seven floors of air-conditioned shopping. Amazing variety of clothes in both single pieces as well as for wholesale purchasing. So come prepared with a big shopping bag — like some of them do 🙂
Bangkok is in my opinion the best street shopping destination in the world! JJ weekend market, Platinum Fashion mall, MBK… these are some of my favourite places to find, great, hip clothing at very affordable prices. In fact, the more you buy, the cheaper you get the clothes. Many shops at these markets not only sell individual pieces but also offer wholesale purchases. Women obviously have way, way more choice than men, but isn’t that the case everywhere? Aside from clothing, electronics are often cheaper in Bangkok compared to India — especially if you buy from authorized dealers who issue the VAT refund form for tourists. Continue reading “Why Bangkok beats Kuala Lumpur” »
Roasting, baking… whatever you want to call it, this is how I cooked a whole chicken in my convection grill microwave. To be specific, I have an LG convection microwave at home. It has a rotisserie but I decided to bake/roast it on a non-stick, baking pan.
I’ve always wanted to try roasting a whole chicken at home because I got increasingly sick of buying roasted chicken from restaurants — or “grilled chicken” as it’s more commonly called in India. It’s not charcoal grilled, but cooked in a rotisserie (fired up using LPG). Not only were they getting expensive, but the chickens used were small — or they over-cook them so much that they suck the very life and soul out of the poor bird leaving you behind with a very shrunk chicken. Some of these restaurants even use food colouring to make the end product appear more red than required.
I on the other hand, longed for the kind of roast chicken I grew up eating in Bahrain. Simple yet spicy (but not chilli) and generally not a whole lot as far as the marination goes. I looked up a few recipes online, mostly using the keywords “Arabian” or “Lebanese” and got the gist of what the common ingredients used were. I then read up on the simple Western baking recipes for chicken and how the marination was to be done.
Once I had a fair idea, I went out to buy me a whole chicken with skin. You would think it would be an easy task but considering most Indian cooking involving chicken uses skinless chicken, it proved to be rather difficult. After trying the local chicken vendor, I went to HyperCity which is a well stocked, big supermarket in Meenakshi Mall (Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore). They had everything but a whole chicken with skin. So I rode all the way to Auchan (formerly known as Spar) on Bannerghatta Road. They had much better variety and stocked a lot of chickens for sale with the skin intact. All cleaned out and retailing for a very reasonable Rs. 139 a kilo, I bought a bird that weighed about 1.2 kilos (2.6 lbs).
Back home, I washed the chicken at least twice and left it in a bowl so as to drain out as much water as possible.
You’ll be surprised how much water is still left in the chickenNow smear some olive oil and rub it all over the chickenSeparate the skin from the meat by gently pulling it apart. You may need to use a knife to make cuts so that your fingers can be inserted in between the skin and the flesh.
The whole point of doing so is so that you can marinate the flesh with the spice mix under the skin and on to the meat itself and not just smear it all over the outer skin.
My spice mix consisted of chilli powder, pepper, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, and some oregano
I’m not mentioning how many spoonfuls of the above spices because it all depends on how spicy you want your chicken. Also, depends on the size of the bird. I wasn’t seeking ‘hot,’ but enough of a spice mixture so as not to end up tasting bland.
I then smeared some ginger-garlic paste along with the spices all over the chicken. Be gentle when using your hands marinating the chicken. Especially under the skin, which can tear easily. I turned the chicken over and got my fingers in as I far I could so as to properly spread the spice mix.
I then rubbed some salt all over. Note: Olive oil, ginger-garlic paste and condiments like oregano already adds a bit of saltiness. So be careful not to over-do it with spoonfuls of salt.
I cut up some capsicum, baby potatoes and onion, and even stuffed the chicken with the same (and a few cloves of garlic). The rest covered up the space on the pan face down on the buttered surface.
Now back to the microwave. Whether you use a convection microwave or a conventional oven, it still needs to be pre-heated. In the LG microwave, that means clicking ‘Mode’ and then turning the dial to the ‘fan’ symbol on the display with the symbols indicating ‘Pre-Heat’ function. Enter, and when you get to the temperatures, it begins at 180° Celsius (356° Fahrenheit) and goes all the way up to 220° Celsius. I always believe slow cooking ensures uniform cooking right through, so I set it to 180° and pre-heated the microwave. When the microwaved “pinged” implying it was now ready, I placed the pan on top of a stand and put it in. I set the timer for 45 minutes and pressed ‘Start’.
At the end of 45 minutes, I took the chicken out and used a knife to poke through the skin and meat. The meat was still a bit pink around the legs, which tends to be the case when roasting a whole chicken. I then flipped the chicken around on its back because the juices that flow out of the bird while cooking made the base of the chicken quite soggy. I didn’t drain the juices from the pan because it’s full of flavour and I have use for it.
I placed the turned chicken back inside the microwave and cooked it for another 30 minutes. By the way, your cooking time will depend on the size of the bird. Larger the meat, obviously the longer its going to take.
All said and done, this was the end result…
Voila!
I cut a sliver and it tasted great! (If I may say so myself)
I made the above chicken for a few friends who had come over and a group of five ate devoured the whole bird leaving behind only bones in such a condition you probably wouldn’t have guessed it was a chicken.
I’m quite happy with the way the microwaved chicken turned out. A few months prior I attempted to cook tandoor chicken (yoghurt marination and all) in the microwave and it was… no, it didn’t quite work. There are some things you just need the right utensils for.
None the less, the success of this led to more attempts and trying different recipes for marination. Like, I mixed the spice powders (not as much though) with dollops of barbecue sauce (brand: American Garden). Logic being, the flavour of hickory is only better accentuated by hot charcoal, something that’s missing when cooking using electricity. So I figured the spices would sweeten the chicken less had I only smeared the chicken with barbecue sauce.
I also tried an even simpler marinate of olive oil, ginger-garlic paste, chopped coriander leaves and salt. Came out swell — jut not something your average Indian will like.
I wanted to roast chicken myself because in Kannur, we now get locally made Lebanese bread (Rs. 20 for 5 pcs) and I had a can of hummus and baba ganoush lying around in Bangalore. Instead of adding more olive oil to the hummus (as is the norm), I use the juices left in the pan and mix it. Dip the Lebanese bread in hummus, dig in to the chicken and… mmmmm.
The success of roasting at home has meant I no longer buy “grilled chicken” from restaurants such as Empire and other places like that. Not only are their food dripping in oil, the quality of their chickens (read: age) leave a lot to be desired.
So there! If you ever thought about roasting an entire chicken at home, let me tell you, it’s do-able if you have a proper oven or a good convection microwave. Have fun cooking!
I arrived at Legazpi city around 7:45am. I then crossed the road over to the jeepney terminal and boarded a jeepney going towards Albay Cathedral. I was in Legazpi for two things: to see Mt. Mayon and to get to Donsol from here.
I didn’t expect to see Mt. Mayon this soon! It’s got amazing presence doesn’t it?I got down at Albay Cathedral and followed the instructions the hostel had put up onlineBut when I stood at a junction looking confused, a kind man through his house window called out to me and just told me right away “Mayon backpackers hostel is that way”. He knew just looking at me where I was headed 🙂Like many hostels, Mayon Backpackers Hostel is another home-turned-hostelIt wasn’t a hard choice. This was pretty much the only hostel listed on hostels.com for Legazpi.The mixed dorm room was clean and the air-conditioner worked well. Not that I needed it right now. A single bed here cost me ₱900 (Rs. 1300/$20/€15) for three nights.
I hadn’t slept well the night before because of how freezing it was inside in the bus. Add to that the slight cold I already had got a little worse because of the lack of the sleep. So I freshened up, switched off the aircon and went to bed after taking some medicines Janet had bought for me.
I woke up in the afternoon and decided to step out for lunch.
Albay Cathedral is the big landmark near the hostelI had seen enough churches on my last trip to Philippines so I avoided them this time aroundPopularly called Albay Cathedral, but it’s really St. Gregory the Great CathedralSaw quite a few Bajaj motorcycles
I took a jeepney going to Legazpi City as I didn’t feel like having lunch nearby. Plus I wanted to see the main town area. Legazpi City is barely 20 minutes by jeepney.
It was pretty sunny, so I entered a nearby mall and had a burger meal at JollibeeI just walked around aimlessly as it’s something I like to usually do in new placesLegazpi city felt more like a town; picked up some Dunkin’ Donuts for tomorrow’s breakfastFor saleThis seemed to be the most popular mall in Legazpi CityThere she is againThe most perfectly coned active volcano in the worldPlanned to get much closer to Mt. Mayon day after tomorrow
After a while, I got bored as there was little else to see or do in Legazpi City. So I took a jeepney back to Albay.
There were a bunch of boys skateboarding and trying to pull off all sorts of tricks
I went to City Hall and found the local tourism office. I asked them about how to get to Donsol.More Bajaj bikes. This model, Rouser, is considered quite hip in Philippines. I think it’s a re-badged Pulsar.
I had dinner with a hostel mate from India who was in Legazpi on business. We sat down at a Japanese restaurant near Albay Cathedral.
Fairly inexpensive, so don’t expect much in terms of authenticity. Whole set meal cost ₱200.An art shop I saw on the way backI went back to the hostel, and went to bed early after taking the medicines
Date: 28th May, 2013
Today morning I woke up early and took a jeepney to the bus terminal, from where I would get in a van taxi going to Donsol.
Legazpi city’s main transport terminalI boarded the ‘express’ van going to Donsol; one way ticket costs ₱75
The van left the terminal only after they could fill it with as many passengers that could fit inside. Thankfully they had functioning A/C.
This journey was going to remind of my home state of Kerala a LOTPilar port was one of the stopsAn hour and half later, I was in DonsolButanding, it’s what the Filipinos call whale sharks
I hired a tricycle taxi to take me to the whale shark center (cost ₱40).
It was a 15 minute ride to the ‘butanding’ center
It’s humiliating to admit the roads in the villages of Philippines are better than most roads in India’s citiesThis would look like any village in Kerala……except for the concreted roads and footpath!This is where tourists need to come to begin the whale shark sighting tourThis was yet another very remote destination for meI went inside and it was raining in the distance… which was disappointing to seeBut even more disappointing was the fact there were barely any tourists there — just me 🙁
Granted, I chose to come early because I read they only have 2-3 tours in a day and some bloggers said going for the early morning tour has the best chance of seeing the whale shark. But the fact there were only cleaning staff there and one tourist — me — I took that as a worrying sign.
They had monthly charts declaring when the whale sharks were spottedThe season when whale sharks sightings are usually high is between February to MayBut looking at this, looks like even during peak season there’s no guarantee of seeing the whale sharksAnd this is the month I’m in. No sighting yesterdays or the day before.I sat there hoping there would be other tourists. After not getting a chance to do the Mt. Pinatubo trek in Angeles City, the last thing I wanted to hear was that same shit about paying a huge sum and renting a whole boat for myself if other tourists fail to show up.I passed some time by reading up on whale sharksFor those who are worried about swimming with sharks, don’t worry…whale sharks don’t have sharp jaws, and largely feed on planktonWhale sharks are the largest fish on the planet, and their mouths look like thatGood thing was the clouds cleared up and the sun was out againI wonder what hills were in the distanceThe beaches here at Donsol have black sandA result of volcanic activity?
After an hour or so of waiting, and just as my hopes were getting dashed, an American family walks in saying they were here for the whale shark tour. Phew! My day was saved — for now.
The office staff finally showed up and told us since it was going to be a total of 5 people in one boat, the cost per person would come to ₱1000 person — which is what I was hoping to pay. But I also had to pay ₱300 extra for I had no snorkel mask or flippers with me.
The staff were insistent on reminding us there is no guarantee we would spot whale sharks. I paid up knowing the risk — as this is common place anywhere you go to see wildlife in their natural habitat. This isn’t a zoo, no animal was going to pose for our cameras.
At least the tour was happeningAs soon as we set off, the skies turned grey againIt didn’t seem to stop these fishermen. In fact our guide asked them if they had spotted any butandings today. They said ‘no’ 🙁
The water did get a bit bumpy under the grey clouds. I looked down at the waves and wondered how would I even see the whale shark in such grey waters. I wasn’t going to get in the rough waters without a life jacket of course.
They had a spotter up on a pole like thisMt. Mayon from sea
The seas eventually calmed down a bit, and the sun even came back out again. We went deep into the sea, more than 2kms from the coast. An hour of going left to right, going around in circles, speeding up, speeding down… nothing.
Sunshine didn’t put a smile on my face
Some of the Americans dozed off as this was turning into one boring boat ride. I know I agreed to take the risk… but this sucked.
Our guide too was bored, and I sensed he knew there wouldn’t be any whale shark sightings todayThere was a spotter up on the roof of the boat as wellI’m guessing this guy was bored as wellAfter more than 1.5 hours of cruising, eventually the guide gave up and told us all that there wouldn’t be any whale sharks today.It was time now to go back
Back on the shores, I returned the snorkel and flippers I paid for but didn’t use and just left the tourist center disappointed. For those who are wondering what it must be like to spot the whale sharks in Donsol, watch this:
I was pretty hungry as I left Legazpi pretty early in the morning.
I went to a restaurant next door and had a Filipino prawn curry and rice mealThere weren’t many tourists today. Another sign I was “late” to visit Philippines.
I hired the same tricycle taxi to take me back to Donsol. I told the driver I needed to get a jeepney going back to Legazpi.
The tricycle dropped me hereAfter a bit of a wait, I boarded a jeepney leaving for Daraga — which is the jeepney they told me I had to board to get back to Legazpi cityThis journey reminded me of what it’s like driving through Kerala’s narrow highways more than everCoconut trees, banana plantations, and rice paddy fields — reminded me of homeThe only difference was the concreted roads and the fact most drivers were slightly better than the Indians at maintaining lane discipline
One odd observation along the way was that the jeepney would be stopped at different towns by people who would collect some money from the driver. Now I assumed the jeepney would drop and pick up new passengers along the way. But the men who would stop these jeepneys would make the guy wait for quite some time before the jeepney could set off again, and the guys who stopped the jeepney looked a bit, well, menacing.
I knew I was nearing Legazpi when I saw the incredible sight of Mount MayonThe driver saw me taking photos and told me there was another spot that would give me a better view of Mt. Mayon. So he stopped here and I took a photo using my DSLR. I didn’t take long because I was NOT going to hold up the other passengers just so this one tourist could take a photo!I finally reached Daraga after nearly 2 hours on the road.I got down and boarded another jeepney going to Albay CathedralPassed by the famed Bicol UniversityI finally reached Albay Cathedral at around 5pm. Delica is the Japanese restaurant I dined at yesterday night.I walked back to the hostelHow fish was sold at the villages. I inquired about the prices (out of curiosity) and found the prices to be way higher than what the same breeds cost back in Kerala.This reminded of walking through Chala, my parents’ villageBack at the hostel, I went upstairs to the open terrace to take some photosI could show you a similar hill-scape back in my village. Funny to think I came this far for ‘home’ 🙂
Even though I had wasted nearly ₱1500 for practically a bunch of joyrides, when I could saved it and slept in… oh well. What’s done is done. Next time, I decided I would rather go to Oslob in Cebu where it’s easier to swim with whale sharks.
I went out at night for dinner alone as the other Indian who was staying at the hostel had to return to Manila. And there was no new guest in my room.
A local basketball match being played at nightI ended up eating at Mang Inasal. I was still feeling slightly under the weather and I drank quite a lot of the hot clear soup (sinigang?) they served with every meal. It really helped warm up my body.After that, it was back to the hostel for some work before catching some sleep
So far my visit to Legazpi was turning out to be a dud. So I had my hopes up high for tomorrow, when I finally get to go up close to Mount Mayon.
