A bit exotic

It been a while since i've posted some of our adventures. Well, last January 12 we decided to just stroll around Marikina Heights and try to discover any hidden treasure (good food) in there. First, we wound up at an off road bike course which was really great...well maybe except for me because after trying a high jump I ended up with a few sprains and a bruised ego. Anyway, it was really cold and all the roads seem to go up so we worked up an appetite for some hot noodle soup. And surprisingly enough, we found a perfect spot in Parang, Marikina.

This small, jolly jeep like carinderia is named Bat and Balls. Doesn't seem too food like ain't it? In ordering their special noodle soup, you will discover that the name of the place is very appropriate as they serve Soup Number Five! For those who are not familiar with that, it is a soup with cow balls and testicles. Yes, that was not a typographical error, its actually what we ate.

Priced at just 25php per bowl, this exotic dish is really very good. The sauce is similar to the beef pares sauce used in most carinderias, the noodles were nicely cooked and the "bat and balls" tasted like braised beef. If you love to eat beef tendon, then you will really appreciate this dish. It also has some "isaw" or intestines in it. Overall, the price and taste merits a solid 8 out of 10. The ambiance however(since it is just a road side stall) scores 5.

Ivan Bomb and Eros Bomb enjoying their

Bat and Balls

Farm in the City

A personal favourite trip of mine was one of our earlier trips as a group. Since we were still starting out we were content with riding to the parts of the Marikina River which was seldomly visited by other people. Here, we find farms by the river and some huts perfect for relaxing which you could only get in far away provinces; this was different since it was only 10 minutes away from the centre of Marikina city.

Anyway, we brought along some food from the famous restaurant in Marikina known as Luyong restaurant. We had Lumpiang Shanghai (spring rolls), Canton (Cantonese noodles), Sweet and Sour Chicken and enough rice to feed a battalion of soldiers coming home from a week's battle in the forests of Mindanao. We stayed in one of the huts along the farms and there we met Mang Ener, the caretaker of a fielf of corn and other vegetables. We all ate together in the hut, with a nice fresh air breeze. We placed all the food on a mat made of banana leaves and ate with our hands which is a great way to eat with friends.

Let me just say that the Lumpia was addictive and the Canton, priceless. The same goes for the Chicken. To make a long story short, all the rice was finished and it took us about 45min to an hour to ride our bikes again. Overall, 9.5 out of 10.

Educational Trip

Too bad there aren't any pictures for this one. Anyway, we usually go to the University of the Philippines, it is a nice destination to work on biking skills due to its uphill terrains.



We start off by going to the Marikina river first. From there, we end up in a subdivision called Grand Villas. This subdivision is just filled with dreamhouses. Some are big while others are plain huge. The size and beauty of these houses could make anyone envious.

After a long climb up a gentle slope, the saying that what goes up must come down comes into play as we embark a long decent at high speeds (which is actually a dumb idea). After that, we exit the subdivision and enter a small community which is the exact opposite of where we just came from known as Tumana. Here, we find the infamous and trecherous Tumana bridge and the climb known as mini Bagiuo because it is an extremely steep climb and its a zig zag road. Every cyclist would agree (and even some cars if they could take) that this is a tough climb. Forunately, we were able to conquer it in the end. After that, climbs seemed so easy. Except for the sudden blood rush I experienced after that last climb.

We now enter the grounds of the University of the Philippines. Since it was a sunday afternoon, a lot of other people were either jogging or also riding their bikes around UP. After a few minutes of taking in the sights and challenging the other climbs in UP, we find a small commercial building with different stores and restaurants. Alas, a chance to eat! We find a Korean restaurant in the building which we tried. I forgot what the names of our orders were but they included a bowl of spicy chicken, a plate of green korean noodles and some beef. Compared to other, more famous Korean restaurants, the cooking here was able to capture the essence of this cuisine. Aside from Korean dishes, they also had Japanese food so we ordered a plate of Gyoza which was also good. Overall, we give this restaurant 8 out of 10 and we recommend it to those who would want to try Korean food which closely resembles the real deal. The price is reasonable and we spent around 150 each for the four of us. Please note then when we eat, we eat like there's no tomorrow.

Of course, since we're in UP already, we also tried the famous Mang Frederick's isaw and barbeque. I have to tell you, there reputation preceeds them. It is simply delicious and a must have for anyone in the area who loves street food. I especially liked the balat or pig skin; the cuts were perfect making it juicy and full of flavour.

That's all for now. DropBomb! Kabooooooom!!!

The start of the BombBombs!

Let me start out by introducing ourselves first. The four of us are amateur cyclists from the city of Markina. In this picture, starting from left, that's half of my face(Chino bomb). The guy on my left with the bandana and shades is Eros bomb. On the far right we have Ivan bomb, the leader, since he started it, of the group. And last to his right with the fuzzy hair is Dek bomb. In this picture, we are joined by a couple of kids we met in one uncharted town. This was one of our first trips and I will tell you all about it later.

The four of us share the passion of just going out, not knowing where you're headed and eating at different and unique places. Our first trip, like most of our trips, was unplanned. We simply mounted are bikes and pedalled. Eventually we ended up along the riverbanks of Marikina River, which is actually a known spot for joggers and recreational cyclist. We then decided we wanted to bike somewhere different, and so we did. We ended up reaching the end of the paved road and found ourselves at a dead end, but we did not let up. Ivan found a narrow dirt road leading into the hills and mountains. It was a carabao path and the rain the day before did not help the biking condition of the road. It was tough to say the least. We persevered until we can see nothing but trees around us. Then, we reached an opening. It was a town in the middle of an uncharted territory which none of us knew! Hence, the picture of us with a happy (at first shocked) group of kids who were playing a game of ball.

In our first trip, we brought along some home cooked food and strips of banana leaf to eat "budol-budol". After eating and asking for some directions , we continued our journey and after two hours of pedalling through mud and water, we finally reached home.

Triumph atop the hill (Ivan bomb and Chino bomb, Dek taking the picture Eros somewhere behind him)