Petnames

Why do we have petnames for babies? I really don’t know. The funny thing is they come out so naturally and in many variations. So far we have these for Marlie: Kookoorichkin (sometimes Kookoorich), Niknak (sometimes Niknakniknaknik), Marliemar (sometimes Marliemar aaaahhh – think Marimar’s theme song), Baby Girl, and Little Girl. In this photo, Marlie is 5 mos and 3 weeks old. Time flies!

Curious

Whatever I hold these days, Marlie quickly grabs: telephone cord, cell phone, glass of water, notebook, pen. Recently I got an electric breast pump and was trying to read the manual. It's funny how she seemed to be reading so seriously. But Marlie was really figuring out how she could "taste" the pages. True enough, part of the manual was in her mouth a few seconds later.

Binondo food tour

That's our guide Ivan Man Dy. Thanks to him, we were led to quaint, simple stores offering the best siopao, dumplings, and lumpia I've ever had. Our group was pretty big - about 30 people. Payment is P850/person, including the food. The tour took almost 4 hours, started promptly at 9:00 am at the Binondo Church.

Lots of fruits on Salazar St. where I got sweet and beautiful plums for a steal - P170/kilo. You won't believe how expensive they are in Metro Manila groceries.

Highly recommended dumplings along Yuchengco St. New Po-Heng Lumpia House is along Quintin Paredes, and the siopao stall (tsk, I forget the name) is along Benavidez. We even met Jerry Chua, the owner of Eng Bee Tin. Guess what he gave us? Hopia, yey! They have a new flavor - mochaccino, and Bebert says they're pretty good.