A good reason not to finish your round of golf....

"Ulang"grilled in rosemary and olive oil

My 80 year old dad and I teed off at 6:30 a.m. this Sunday morning hoping to redeem ourselves from our golf game yesterday. The weather was perfect, a bit hazy and not too hot. Dad was playing a decent even bogie game. My only goal was was to work on my short game. Up and down, pitch and putt, bump and run was my mantra for the morning. Walking the first 9 holes, I started to get a wee bit hungry and brought out the fresh figs I had brought with me and shared some with my dad. It was then that we started talking about the wonderful Sunday Sidcor market which was a short 5 minute drive from Aguinaldo Golf club where we were playing.

I told him how the fresh river water shrimps were abundant and all his favorite Ilokano cooked foods would be readily available. “Dinuguaan” or “Dinardaraan” just the way my mom used to make it would surely be there. My mom made a mean “Dinuguan” which was dry and had just enough “sili” to spike it up. I told him about the freshly grilled “hito” and  “bacalao” which I like to saute in lots of garlic, sun dried tomatoes and black olives. I just kept going on and on until my dad said... “ Why don't we just make this our last hole and head to the Sunday market.” Hmmmmph. We were only on hole 14 and I was making good use of the practice round so I wasn't quite sure I wanted to stop and go to the palengke! But the thought of being able to get some “Diwal” (angel shells) that I could bake in garlic and butter and Portabello mushrooms which I could marinate in a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar then grill got me salivating. 

"Diwal" 

Dried bisugo 

 What the heck. Golf can wait another day. So we ended our game right there and off we went to the Sunday Sidcor market. Dad ended up buying “kinilaw na Kambing”, “Igado”, “Dinuguan” and his favorite “pukpuklo” seaweeds. According to him, “pukpuklo” was abundant in Ilocos when he was a young boy. Sadly, it is quite rare to see it in Manila markets today. I ended up buying fresh river prawns “ulang” and “Diwal”.   My favorite baker (Gng. bukid) had the 10 grain multi bread which would be lovely with the fresh white cheese from Laguna. I loaded up on dried “bisugo” which would be great after i deboned it and cooked it in olive oil, garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Perfect for my pandesal which I love to bring with me when I play golf.

So if there is a good reason not to finish your round of golf, it's because it's a Sunday and you can hop on to the SIDCOR Sunday market. Sidcor is located near the Lung Center area in Quezon City by Eton Centris Walk  at EDSA, Quezon Avenue in Quezon City and open from 6:00 am. To 2:00p.m..

Philippine Ladies Federation Golf League season

It's Golf federation season!

Yes ladies, the 2011 Ladies Federation Golf League of the Philippines is on. There are two groups this year. Group one composed of : Alabang, Orchard, Riviera and Valley Golf. Group 2: Forest Hills, Sta. Elena, Tagaytay Highlands, Manila Southwoods. The first game starts this February 24, 2011 with Alabang (Home) vs. Valley and Orchard vs. Riviera (away). Games for group 2 begins on February 25 with Manila Southwoods (home) vs. Forest Hills and Sta. Elena vs Tagaytay Highlands (away).

Exciting. Let the games begin!

Forest Hills Federation players (L-R) Tess Staub, Marichi Ojeda, Irene Chua, Jonah Ilagan, Nelda Roguel

Thrilling Golf and exotic spices = Thailand

Thailand is one great golfing destination.  There are just so many golf courses located throughout Thailand.  From Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hua Hin and other provinces. 

It is no wonder that this month (Feb 17-20) the Siam Country Club in Pattaya will play host to the LPGA  Honda 2011.  Expected crowd-pullers  are Paula “Pink Panther” Creamer and Michelle Wie plus other top Asian players are expected to bring lots of excitement to this beach city.

Then there is Thailand’s golfing pride - Thongchai Jaidee. A former para trooper in the Thai army, Thongchai didn’t start playing golf until he was 16 by tying the discarded head of a 5-iron to a bamboo stick. Now Tongchai holds the record for the most career victories and most career earnings on the Asian tour.  Just last November I followed Thongchai’s flight with Phil Mickelson  and Matteo Manassero in Singapore and admired how cool he was amidst all the pressure.  Tongchai was recently quoted as saying that “Asian golfers will buzz around golf's leaderboards in 2011 and can be expected to make a serious assault on the majors”. (SINGAPORE Jan 31 Reuters).

So while Thailand is a haven for golf because of its superb courses and luxurious clubhouses there is also much more to see and experience other than golf.  There is that vibe and character in Thailand that makes it such a great destination. Thai food for one! The aroma from kaffir, lime and lemon grass in their famous fiery Tom Yum soup is just heavenly. Walking through the streets of Bangkok and looking at all the appetizing street food  being offered is an adventure in itself.

So if you plan to watch the LPGA Honda 2011 this month, stay a few more days to savor the sights and experience all that is magical in Thailand.