The King of All Corned Beef

How does one make a review of a certain brand of corned beef?

This question has had me mildly stumped for a while, and for once, I found myself stretched out in between the two opposing sides of whether I should write about it or not. But my inquisitive instinct has got the better of me and I thought that, maybe, a short, but a straightforward write up of my own observation would suffice.

Back in the Philippines, Filipino families of all means are blessed with an equally comfortable opportunity of buying canned foods in the consumer market. And having experienced life both being in the poor sector and in the middle class,  I don’t quite remember of having known a particular brand of tin food, like corned beef, for instance, being produced for the upper-class alone.

But perhaps, there exists a brand that is virtually accessible only to the rich ones and such closely guarded existence that has eluded my awareness for years may allude to a possibility that being unaware of it all my life is a proof that it does exist.

I’m probably watching too much movies.

Anyway, in Papua New Guinea, there is a locally produced brand of corned beef that is really nice. The brand is Ox & Palm. It’s so nice that I now consider calling it, the “King of all Corned Beef.”

But how does one arrive at such hasty conclusion, you ask?

I think that a good corned beef is like the product of a good marriage. The perfect balance in the marital mixture of soft beef, salt and sweet produces a unique taste that only Ox & Palm, at the time being, can deliver.

I’ll probably buy a couple and bring it with me to the Philippines so my relatives could try as well.

A Filipino Dish

Papua New Guinea has hundreds of acres of viable soil well suited for cultivating vegetable farms, but in the conurbations like Port Moresby, modernization has caught on to it like an emblazoning fire slowly sweeping across a vast dry land, much to the delight of everyone who finds modernization as a welcome excuse to turn everything into glistening concrete pavements.

While a modernization could sometimes mean goodbye to green scenery, that's not necessarily the case for Port Moresby and I would like to take this opportunity to express my admiration to the NCDC, the governor and the Prime Minister for putting up these tree boxes in the middle of most highways around the city. These trees are superbly helpful to the people who loves to go out on foot. 

A better way to make use of an old and rusting metal drum that has seen better days is to turn it into a plant box. A few months ago, a co-manager of mine has planted sweet potatoes (kaukau) in it and this is what it looked like now. She even put up a mesh grill to keep our housedog from burying chicken bones into the potting soil.

I have been asking our local staffs if they know that Kau-kau sprouts are an edible part of the plant besides the root, and the widespread reply is that they had only been consuming the fleshy roots, all the while ignoring the leaves. Just to be on the safe side, what we're actually picking off the stems are the young leaves growing at the endmost part of the stalks. 

The leaves that have gone bigger kind of leaves an aftertaste in the mouth. 

Last Sunday, we thought it was about time to harvest leaf sprouts for breakfast. I snipped off some of the leaves and a lady co-manager provided the perfect recipe for it. Another recipe that has withstood the test of time is to simply put these leaves in a boiling water for a few minutes. 

As what the picture suggests, sweet potato leaves are best served with anchovies (bagoong).

And if you try and add fried Matang-baka (Eye scad fish), fried Okra (ladies finger), fried Ampalaya (bitter gourd), a few slices of mango and rice, like what we’re having for this breakfast, you are about to experience one of the typical dishes that, we Filipinos, have come to love in ages.

Okra

One of the few things being in the bilum bags of the few elder people who come to visit our place of work on some random days to peddle various home-grown vegetables is okra. Surprisingly, when I asked for okra's local name from the two of our staffs on separate occasions, none of them knew because neither of whom had tried it yet, which seemed odd to me because there was always an okra on the market stalls anywhere here.

The street sellers who come over here to sell call this the lady finger. Wikipedia, on the other hand says that most English-speaking countries call it the ladies' finger. One can probably surmise that naming it after a lady's phalanges is unquestionably deliberate because of its shape.

But an okra can also grow longer than 4 inches, and with such length, one cannot help but think of a movie character with which we can imagine of having such a humongous finger. My imagination has led me to think of Neytiri of the Na’vis from the movie, Avatar.

The okras in the picture are what I bought today from a persistent but polite street seller. They only cost K1.00 a bundle and by some Papua New Guinean standards, 1 kina is neither expensive or cheap, but is rather affordable. I bought five bundles, not because it was my favorite number, but because a K5 note was the only money left in my wallet.

While I’m not an expert on nutrition, I can cite out some of its benefits that I've read from Wikipedia. But why Wikipedia, you say? Because that website is pretty cool! 

Just kidding! 

It's probably tempting to discuss about the advantages of trusting Wikipedia but i'll make my reason simple for now. Contrary to other informative websites of the same category, Wiki has many anonymous contributors  and the articles are always updated to the current events. These contributors mainly consist of professional editors and amateur writers and they write collaboratively  within the boundaries of Wikipedia's Five Pillars by which it operates.

Not sure if I'm clear enough.

Anyway,  let's go back to our topic. According to "them," okra is rich in essential things that our body needs to keep it in good health, having 20% more of the daily value in dietary fibre, vitamin C and vitamin K.

Another source on the internet also talks about okra’s wonderful benefits, saying it is good for preventing and improving constipation, lowering cholesterol, reducing the risk for developing some forms of cancer like the colorectal cancer and improving energy levels due to its high carbohydrates and vitamin contents.

One must also learn to keep in mind that okra is a functional food. That is, it's a disease-preventing food. In Papua New Guinea, when we buy an okra from street sellers, we are not only supporting the local communities but we are also packing in some good stuffs to our own health once we eat it. 

Coffee, Anyone?

When one's life finds itself in a similar ride like that of a roller coaster rides, the constant vicissitudes are wearing.

But the wearing does not always result to exposing the boundaries within, sometimes and probably most of the time, what ensues is a lesson learnt. Therefore, the person bearing that life may mystically morph into something else in the end like a determined butterfly emerging from its deep slumber in a claustrophobical cocoon.

Hopefully, into a wiser person.

To honour those who persevere in the difficulties of life, here is a brittle biscuit and a cup of coffee to cheer you up in a true Filipino fashion of consuming both. Yes, I think you may find it a bit odd that I dip the biscuit into the coffee but I guess that's one of the peculiarities we Filipinos have that can be easily forgiven.

Enjoy your coffee!

Gutpela Dei!

Hello long ol man meri!

Disla dei, mi laik traim long writim wanpela post
long tok pisin.

But tok pisin bilong mi, em no gutpela yet so mi tingim
mi bai writim short post tasol.

Anyway, yupela olgeta husait ridim disla blog,
mi laik toksave long yu na gutpela dei!

Tenk yu tru long ridim!


For all those who may have knitted their eyebrows for trying to understand what I just wrote, it was my another attempt to write a supposed-to-be form of English-Tok Pisin hybrid. But before I posted it here, I had asked Rodney, one of my staffs, to check the Tok Pisin grammar for me. To make things easier, I sent him an English version of my originally written thoughts and told him to translate it in a conversational way.

My original sentences in English:

Hello everyone!

Today, I like to try and write one post using Tok Pisin.

But my Tok Pisin isn't good yet so I will just write a short post.

Anyway, all of you who are reading this blog, I'd like to say good day!

Thanks for reading.



Here's Rodney's own translations:


Gutpela dei long yupla olgeta ridim pos bilong mi.

Tete mi laik raitim wanpela pos long Tok Pisin.

Tasol Tok Pisin bilong mi i no gutpela tumas olsem na mi bai mekim sot.

Gutpela dei long yupela olgeta ridim pos bilong mi.

Tenkiu long ridim.


His translations seem to suggest that Tok Pisin is probably easier to convey in words than in writing. I believe I was able to get some of the words correctly but I still think that my skill in Tok Pisin is still in its infancy.

But learning Tok Pisin is fun and it comes with an ocean of intangible benefits. While majority of  the nationals are known to speak English fluently, some will still uphold the colloquial way of verbal communication by letting Tok Pisin be the language of choice for any given situation. I have once been confined in a situation where a national assumed that I knew the local language very well and spoke to me in pure Tok Pisin without prior hint of hesitation. My immediate reaction was to explain to him in English and in the politest way possible that I didn't know his language yet.

Perhaps by some humanitarian reason, he said, "You should learn Tok Pisin while you're here."

Since then, I realized how important it was to reflect on proverbial things I initially thought I never had the need for, like learning Tok Pisin for example. Adding Tok Pisin to my vocabulary arsenal marked yet an another turning point in my life here in the land of the unexpected.

I have since acquired a considerable number of Tok Pisin words that I am still figuring out how to use effectively in times necessary. As a man of patience, given how patient I am on being patient, I worry not about not getting it right for most of the time. For I believe that there comes the day when one shall reap what one has sown. 

Feel The Love with Christian Bautista

“The only thing better than singing is more singing.”

-- Ella Fitzgerald

In general, this quote holds true in some degree. And while I think that voice quality isn't an issue on premises that singing is for everyone and most of the religions known to men require singing at some point during a congregation, we still prefer to listen to someone who can sing better than what we can do. Someone who can serenade us with soul-soothing love songs, if that's your genre.

For example, I sing like a frog. Even if I try hard and sing better, I'd still sound like a frog--although, it might be a different kind of sort; like a bullfrog or a toad. I'm not sure how many people in this world are a fan of a singing froglet but I reckon there's not so many.

Hence, on 11^th of this coming March 2017, FAPNG will bring us singers from the Philippines namely Christian Bautista, Sheng Belmonte and Richard Villanueva, to give us a chance to see them perform live and entertain us with post-valentine love songs at the Dynasty Restaurant, Vision City.

While I’m not particular about who’s coming in to sing, I still appreciate it that Christian Bautista will take his time off to visit Papua New Guinea.  I’ve known in the past that he was kind of well-known in Indonesia for his talent in singing and his cool looks.

One of my favorite songs from one of his albums is Hands To Heaven.

This is the poster that Levi was carrying around this morning and he was supposed to post it outside the shop that we are working with. The smiling woman is one of our staff who happily held the poster up for me.

 As what it says on the poster, part of the proceeds that will come from the show will go to the Tembari Children Care. The picture above is the Center itself. (photo credits to: http://tembari.blogspot.com)

The Tembari Children’s Care is a day care facility at ATS Oro Settlement at 7-Mile, outside the vicinity of Port Moresby. According to Tembari Blog, the facility has taken care of more than 200 former street children in 2015 alone. Taking care of the children means giving them meals at least twice a day and providing them an early education. (photo credits to: http://tembari.blogspot.com)

All of the street children being are comprised of orphans, abandoned and the unfortunate ones.  While the Filipino Association of Papua New Guinea is an avid supporter of the Tembari Children Care, significant assistance in terms of food and money are also coming in from other groups and individuals.

I’m not a fan of watching concerts but perhaps watching a concert for a cause is something that is worth considering.

Spread the Red

Lately, the company that I work with has received a request from the Port Moresby General Hospital asking us for volunteers. PMGH has an ongoing program they call “Spread the Red,” and its aim is to encourage the healthy younger generation to donate blood to assist those who are in need of it. The donated blood will go to PMGH Blood Bank where it undergoes a screening before it gets stored. As blood can only be stored for a certain time, the blood bank team is urging blood donors to donate regularly to prevent a dwindling supply of safe blood.

I guess that with more people stepping up to donate blood, the chance of getting the right blood type prior to transfusion increases and the result of which is more lives saved.

This is the roll-up banner that they put in place to easily let anyone know there’s a bloodletting activity going on. If you notice the Brian Bell logo in the banner, it’s because Brian Bell is an active partner for this project and this particular PMGH drive has been receiving a good funding from the Sir Brian Bell Foundation.

Our staffs took turns donating blood with the blood bank team systematically assisting them. The person wearing a blue shirt is our staff, and his blood pressure is being taken. I’m a bit concerned about the fact that some people are scared of needles. And when someone gets your blood readings while you‘re in the middle of imagining things involving a large hypodermic needle puncturing your skin, you may get really nervous and the readings from the sphygmomanometer can make the examiner think you have hypertension.

On the other hand, I have seen children who cried their hearts out in the mere mention of “injection.”

Our staffs seemed not bothered by an impending pain from the sharp tips of hypodermic needles; perhaps they had become more like responsible adults who were able to trade away the sensation from a stingy injection for an ant bite.

People can actually donate up to 350 ml of blood every three months provided that the donor is somewhere around 18 and 60 years old and not physically malnourished.  Within 24 hours, your body replaces the amount of plasma in your blood that you lost during the donation. In case you’re wondering, the plasma is the clear and watery portion of your blood after some quintessential parts are removed, e.g. platelets or the red blood cells.

In about a month or more, the red cells in your blood will have completely recovered in number. Just to be on the safe side, the blood bank team may not allow you to donate again until at least it’s been eight weeks since your last donation.

The company that I work with has assigned a space appropriate enough for the blood bank team to perform their duties like interviewing the donors and physically checking them up. There’s also an allocated space for our staffs to undergo blood extraction and those purple curtains are up there to give them an adequate sense of privacy.

There are many reasons as to why a patient may need a blood transfusion. For example, if someone has had an injury that resulted to severe bleeding, his or her body may not be able to reproduce enough blood to recover the loss in just a short while, especially if it was excessive. Usually, we can lose about 450 ml of blood without an adverse effect but losing 900 ml of blood may flip a switch to compensate for the loss.

At that rate, our brain will know that there's just not enough blood circulating throughout our body. It will then instruct the heart to increase its heartbeat output in an attempt to restore normal blood flow. But again, 900 ml is just too much of a loss and with not enough blood to pump around, most cells in our body will start losing oxygen. To compensate for the oxygen loss, the subconscious part of our brain will command our breathing mechanism to collect more air by speeding up our breathing pattern. During this time, we may appear to be desperately gasping for air from someone's point of view. 

Since oxygen is carried out by the blood, and in which case, it is the blood that we were lacking of in the first place, there would not be enough blood to transport oxygen around. As a result, blood pressure will decrease below the safe levels. All the cells that don't get an ample supply of oxygen will begin to die off, including the organs that they comprise. The organs will be affected and may fail. For example, if the kidneys fail, the body will stop producing urine and if the brain cells fail, the patient may fall into comma. All of which can be alluded as symptoms of shock from losing about 900 ml of blood.

If we lose about 2,300 ml of blood, which is about 9 cups in layman’s term, we could usually die. This is why it’s important for the blood bank to have as many blood donors as they can get to keep a steady supply of blood so that those in need can be attended to immediately rather than wait up for possible donors.