Session 7.1: Good Morning Manila

Written by Helen Sneha
Pictures by Jonathan Lim, Sarah Chong and Melissa Chia

2. The Big Binondo Food Wok >>

The architecture of the church is gorgeous

     We headed out into Manila on our first day feeling fresh and upbeat after a short, comfortable flight, a breakfast at Jollibee's, and a few hours of shut-eye. As we took a drive around the city, it gave us great pleasure to point out and compare jeepneys, various words, and buildings with the ones we had grown familiar with in Iloilo. We stopped by The Church of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, and spent some time inside marveling at the architecture and the grandeur. I, for one, had not been aware of what the Black Nazarene was, and learned about it for the first time in the church on that day. It is a statue of Jesus Christ that had apparently turned dark when it survived a fire on its way to the Philippines, and is believed by many to be miraculous. We also spent some time looking upward at the panels on the ceiling depicting the birth of Christ on one hand and his crucifixion on the other.

Session 7.2: The Big Binondo Food Wok

Written by Gwyneth Liew

Pictures by Sarah Chong, Gwyneth Liew and vivafilipans.tumblr.com

<< 1. First Morning in Manila                                    3. Same same but different >>

      The Big Binondo Food Wok is one of many tours offered by the Old Manila Walks tour company that provides tourists with an experience of the rich histories of Manila which include areas like Intramuros, Binondo, San Miguel, Quiapo, the Chinese Cemetery and more. Although our pathfinder, Dr. Yeoh Seng Guan had originally planned for us to go on a different tour; it was switched to the Binondo Food Wok by popular vote when the original tour became unavailable. Our tour guide for the day was Mr. Ivan, a local who is of Chinese and Filipino descent. He is also a friend of Mr. Eugene Jamerlan, our previous tour guide who brought us to the magnificent and historic mansions in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

Session 7.3: Same same but different

Same Same But Different: Close cultural proximities of the Chinese in Malaysia and the Philippines 

Written by Low Jia Wei 

Photographs by Jonathan Lim, Sarah Chong and Melissa Chia

<<  2. The Big Binondo Food Wok                             1. First Morning in Manila >>

      It never fails to amaze me how the Chinese diaspora in all parts of the world manage to maintain their unique cultural heritage amidst the assimilation and acculturation processes that usually consume minority cultures into mainstream ones. However, the Chinese culture proves to be a resilient one, bending and adopting other cultural practices into its fold, rather than breaking and becoming absorbed. Of course, I realize that China is a vast empire and as such its culture varies greatly from region to region, but for the purposes of this article, I refer to culture that originates from Fujian in China, a region from which the Chinese communities of Manila and my hometown, Penang, hail from.

A familiar sight

Daily Diary Day 10: Cultural Night and Karaoke

Written by Helen Sneha 

Pictures by Jonathan Lim 

     On the tenth and final night of our stay in Iloilo, we held our cultural night performance. Attendees included our host from the University of the Philippines Visayas, Dr Rosalie Arcala-Hall, and many other individuals to whom we owed the success of our trip. Everyone gathered in the foyer of the UPV Cinematheque (where we had had our first international film screening a few nights prior) to mingle with one another and partake of some Malaysian snacks and finger food which we had brought with us. After dinner, which we spent chatting with our guests on the one hand and conducting hushed last-minute-preparations on the other, we all headed into the cinematheque for the cultural night performances to begin.

Interview with Dr Rosalie A. Hall

Written by Low Jia Wei 

Photograph by Melissa Chia

     The success of our trip to Iloilo is in no small part thanks to several key individuals, one of whom is Dr. Rosalie A. Hall, our host and organizer in the Philippines. The energetic professor and Chair of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of Philippines Visayas (UPV) was an instrumental figure in the Philippines side of preparations for the trip. An undertaking done for the sake of friendship with our own intrepid pathfinder, Dr. Yeoh, she agreed to help with the planning and preparation of our stay here with the university which included securing permission from the Chancellor of UPV (which hit some snags along the way, with the transition of a new administration), planning our stay at the dormitories, liaising with speakers for our sessions and looking for able and competent student guides to show the way. All of which Dr. Hall has done a stellar job with, if this writer was to judge.

Iloilo Street Food

Written by Kushmin Perera

Photographs by Melissa Chia and Emily Choong

     As we embarked on our journey to the Philippines one thing all the travellers had in common was FOOD! This meant we were all eager to try anything and everything Iloilo had to offer us without any restriction and Iloilo did in fact have so much to offer. From the aromas of the many meats marinating in the streets to the juicy mangoes and buko (coconut) shake- we tried and enjoyed them all! 

     We had already heard about the very famous balut, which is an 18 day old chick/duck egg, (not for the weak stomach), a challenge we were willing to accept. On our very first day just outside the University we were able to see the many vendors selling all types of food ranging from the oh so SWEET Guimaras mangoes to chicken intestines, balut and lechon (BBQ pork) and so much more! Everything was basically at our door step.

Dancing till the sunrise

Written by Emily Choong

Photographs by Emily Choong

Background

     Iloilo Esplanade was originally an alternative route for bikers to ease the traffic during peak hours. This 1.3-kilometer long stretch, completed in August 2012, became a popular spot for locals to jog and do aerobics. It has also become a popular area for tourists to take a stroll and appreciate the view of life along the riverside. According to one of the student guides, dragon boat practices are also held at the river nearing competitions.

The morning crowd at the Esplanade

In Search of the Perfect Polvoron

Written by Maxine Lim

Photographs by Maxine Lim

     Everyone has that one special thing that ties them to a certain place. Philippines for me is Polvoron. So what exactly is Polvoron?

Polvoron 101 
     A local delicacy and popular childhood treat, Polvoron is everything that a comfort food should for someone with a sweet tooth. Polvoron (or Pulburon in Tagalog) is a powery, heavy milk shortbread and its origins in the Philippines can be traced back to the Spanish, where it is commonly found in Andalusia.

    My love affair with Polvoron started in 2007, during the Monash University study trip to Baguio and Sagada where I chanced upon Goldilocks, the famous bakeshop/restaurant there and bought my first piece of the buttery, sugary goodness. Six years on, a trip to the Philippines as an Alumni student presented a chance to rediscover this local delicacy.

   Such is life, that when you put your mind and thoughts on a particular subject, you start seeing it everywhere. Manila, Boracay and Iloilo 2013 – I was Charlie in a veritable Polvoron factory.

My quest to find Polvoron begins here.

Operation STOM: Editor's Note

To adequately cover the parade route on the Dinagyang Festival weekend, travellers broke up into four smaller teams inspired by James Bond films- Skyfall, Thunderball, Octopussy and Moonraker. Tasked with recording the festival, team members filmed, photographed and interviewed the people and the things they encountered. Some of these encounters have been reproduced in the Operation STOM articles that follow, while still more are to be used in the making of our documentary.

Operation STOM: Octopussy Dinagyang Field Report

Written by Lestari Hairul

Photographs by Lestari Hairul and Emily Choong (collage)

     The Octopussy team was assigned to cover the Dinagyang Festival on the ground over the two days we were there. We were a roving team of one videographer, Anis, impromptu photographer, Emily and a motley crew of girls and a guy excited to experience the festival (Andrea, Tracey, Gwyn, Paolo and myself).