No-Oil-Burst Crispy Deep Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

4 pcs. quarter-cut chicken
500 mL cooking oil
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tbsp. ground dried basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Procedure:
1. Wash chicken cuts and season with salt and pepper.
2. Combine breadcrumbs and basil, set aside in a plate for breading.
3. Dip each cut into beaten egg and roll over the plate of breadcrumbs and basil mix. Make sure the chicken is fully breaded.
4. Heat cooking oil in a deep pan and set the fire on low heat before putting the breaded chicken. TIP: Instead of covering the pan with a usual enclosed cover, use a strainer instead so it won't build up any steam that can produce water and cause the oil to burst.
5. Deep frying chicken can take about 20minutes. Place it in the strainer to drain excess oil.

Mad Day.

I was 20 minutes late for work today even though I left the house almost 1 hour before my shift and the train usually just takes 15 minutes. Today, however, the train decided to malfunction and took almost an hour to travel from North Avenue Station to Araneta Center Cubao Station which is only 4 stations away.If I'm still in Singapore, an hour train ride can take me from east coast all the way to the west. (See green line) I wanted to get out of the train station and get a cab but I was trapped inside the train with other senior citizen passengers and the train was stucked for more than 30 minutes in North Avenue Station and another 20 minutes or so in GMA-Kamuning Station.

When I arrived in the office, almost everyone is aware of the train trouble and another trouble just beside the North Avenue Station that involves demolition of the slums in the area that started at around 9am today.

[caption id="attachment_554" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Photo courtesy of http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article786444.ece"][/caption]

News online says various things about what happened and the details uncluding the number of the population living in that location. I pass through this area everyday and I am always amazed on how huge they became. Even the police will be afraid to enter the vicinity. I just wonder how the illegal settlers reached thousands in number without being asked to move out when they're still manageable. Where are they from and who told them that they can build their houses in this government-owned land in the first place?

The Original Manila Scramble

Today was another busy Sunday for us. Prince and I went back to Photo Concept Digital at Hidalgo in Quiapo to pick up the Samsung L73 because the owner told us yesterday that it's already fixed but to our disappointment, after leaving the digicam in there for more than two weeks, it's still not fixed. It even got worse than before because initially, the only issue is that it's showing lines when you take a picture but now, it totally won't turn on! I was furious and they asked if we can return some other day and leave it there again as they might need to change some other parts, I was doubtful and don't want to leave it there again for a long time so I agreed for them to just give us a refund and we'll just return in there if we have time to get it fixed that we can get it on the same day.

We tried our luck to get the digicam checked by Samsung Service Center in Robinson's Galeria but we found out that the service center in there only deals with mobile phone issues. The staff said that the service center for digicams is located across Virra Mall and it closes at 5pm during weekends. It would've been a really bad day but it was saved when we tried out The Original Manila Scramble.

Scrambles are pink iced sweets topped with powdered milk and choco syrup usually found outside the school gates along with other street food that's very much patronized by the students more than the food in the school canteen. I don't remember how much it was sold during my grade school days but here's the mall food cart's price list:I had a medium with extra milk and it made me feel like a kid again - away from the bad things that I had to go through with the digicam repair.Sometimes, small things can just make a difference. Now, however, I just know I need a new digicam and I can't get over it unless I can have a medium sized scramble with extra milk everyday, hehe. ;)

Random.

There are a lot of things I need to be thankful for as the week is about to end (again). Pardon me for I will be using random pictures from the net for this blog entry. I don't have any digicam to use at the moment and I've been eyeing on getting another Samsung (I already gave up on the L73 and had it swapped for the Squier P-Bass). This time, I'm thinking of getting the WP10 model, either black or blue.Aside from getting comfortable in using this brand, I must say that the deciding factor is that the Samsung WP10 managed to be a waterproof camera and look sleek at the same time. Gorgeous. :)

I finally decided to sign up for Twitter. It's good to use if you want to keep posted about the latest happening so I decided to follow GMANews. Sometimes, I still get scared to read the news as majority of them are not good news. :(

ANTM Cycle 15 is SUPERNOTHERLEVEL! This cycle, my favorite is Kayla and I really hope my bet wins this time!

And I finally got to eat Ginataang Halo-halo today! Yey!I can't remember the last time I ate ginataang halo-halo (it's been a couple of years) and I've been craving for months. I texted Prince to buy and bring to my office before he go to the studio for recording today in case neighbors happen to cook some for merienda but I was so surprised to find that they decided to sell it in the office pantry today! I didn't wait for Prince's reply and grabbed myself a serving during my first break. Prince texted an hour later to say that he already bought one for me. I'm just so eager to have more so I asked him to still bring it to my office and I ate it during lunch break. Talk about a "Ginataang Halo-Halo Galore Day"! hahaha ;)

Rants (Part 2)

I was on VL (vacation leave) last Friday and yesterday so no work for me for the past four days. I've been having colds since Friday though so it's really annoying that I wasn't able to maximize the VL's as I needed to rest most of the time. We were able to have the baby shower last Saturday, it was really nice to bond with friends and I'd like to thank everyone who managed to squeeze it into their schedule.

Yesterday, I went to see my new OB and it's beyond disappointing. I arrived at the hospital around 9:30am and the doctor's secretary said I should come back at around 3pm as the doctor is in the OR. I told her I wasn't feeling well (I have terrible headache due to colds) so I'm just going to rest in the waiting area instead as it would take about 2hours to travel back and forth . Little did I know, I waited for more than 7 hours! The doctor arrived in her office at past 4pm and entertained more than 5 med reps before starting to take in patients at almost 5pm while her clinic hours are 9am-6pm Mon-Sat and 9am-11am Sun. I finally got checked to make sure that there's no complications in my lungs, that my baby's heartbeat rate is normal, weighted and BP were also checked, then she prescribed paracetamol (for headaches), Vitamin C (for colds, I guess) and for me to continue taking in Hemarate - and it all took less than 15minutes! :x

I was really in a bad mood as my whole day was spent waiting and I'm feeling worse than ever. I feel guilty that my health is not at it's best for the past weeks and I fear that baby might get affected by all these. Like I can't do anything no matter how hard I try to stay healthy. Good thing Prince stayed beside me the entire night and his experiment on mixing calamansi and sweet tea is really good, enough to make me feel better.

Happy Birthday Prince!

Dear Prince,

Remember when we used to look like hippies?Until we decided to look like kids and both our hair was cut short..So you see, it's not really obvious how old we are. You look gorgeous to me no matter what. ;)You make me proud all the time. You make me feel safe, happy and satisfied. I thank God for He gave me the person whom I can trust everything with. I'm grateful that this partnership is taking our individuality into the next level.

To the most special man in my life.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Love,
Princess

I thank God EVERYDAY.

I thank God EVERYDAY.

I thank God for Mondays as it reminds me that I'm blessed to have a job that I enjoy and that I'm with the great people I work with in most days of the week.

I thank God for Tuesdays because it is another day for me to have an opportunity to take chances.

I thank God for Wednesdays for I survived halfway through the weekdays because of His amazing grace!

I thank God for Thursdays because I know that great challenges are being given to those who were trusted to do His will.

I thank God for Fridays as it ends my week of work and starts another blessed weekend.

I thank God for Saturdays that I can do the house chores and enjoy the peace inside our home at the same time.

I thank God for Sundays as it is another day to give glory and praise to Him who make everyday possible.

Prince's G.A.S.

Once upon a time, we wanted to learn how to play a certain musical instrument. We used to borrow gear from people until such time that we acquire our own. Then there's this certain urge to buy another one, and another one, and another one.. and so on..

G.A.S. or Gear Acquisition Syndrome is contagious and this year, Prince was badly infected. He's been using an ibby for the longest time and it's been good enough for the past years.Until he told me he needed a short scale and bought the Badtz-Maru.Then he thought a p-bass would sound nice and found a nice deal for a Japan copy of p-bass. Mang Max did a hell of a job in it's pick guard, truss rod, fretboard, body paint and pickups! We just got it back last Saturday, good as new.

Lastly [and STRICTLY, this will be the last], Prince scored this deal for a really nice Squier P-bass Special.The black and chrome looks really good. I know I'll be able to use all of these as well but I begged Prince to stop GAS-ing for now as we need to save up for baby. I promised we'll get a Jazz bass and a custom Tele bass next year though. ;)