THE BASIC CHIFFON CAKE RECIPE

                 I used to watch my Aunt, Elsa Cruz, baked her delicious chiffon cake when I was young. I was inspired by her that when I was in High School, I attended a baking class offered free by the local government. The use of so many utensils of baking however discouraged me to make it as a hobby.  I thought then that it was better to buy cakes from bakeries or bake shops than to make one. Besides, nobody in my immediate family knows how to cook any dish more specially baked stuffs which means, all the needed pans, mixers and measuring utensils were not available in the house.            

                When I was already working, I also attended a baking class intended to employees who wanted to make baking their business upon retirement. Still, it took so long for me to realize that I could make money out of it. Today, I already concocted and designed hundreds of cakes for children’s party, debut or wedding using only the basic chiffon cake recipe which I got from the back of cake flour box. This is because of my friend’s Party Needs Business of which the cake is one of the most important items in any celebration.

                Those who want to make it a try, here is the basic chiffon cake recipe that I’m sure your family will love and can be use for business.  Marshmallow icing  (boiled sugar) is perfect for this recipe  because it won’t melt even in hot weather.

2 ¼ cups               Cake Flour

1 Tbps                   Baking Powder

½ tsp.                    Cream of Tartar

8 pcs.                     Eggs (separated)

½ cup                    Vegetable Oil

¾ cup                    Orange Soda (I use Tru-Orange or orange flavouring)

¾  cup                   Sugar for the batter

¾ cup                    Sugar for the Eggwhites

Line an 8 x 12 inches rectangular pan or 10 inches round pan.  Pre-heat the oven at 345 degrees Celsius. Sift the together the cake flour, baking powder and sugar three times, set aside. Separate the eggwhites from the yolk. Be sure to use a smaller bowl or container first in separating the eggs one by one to avoid mixing spoiled eggs from the rest. For the batter, mix all the ingredients together except the eggwhites, the ¾ cup sugar and cream of Tartar.  Beat the eggwhites with the cream of Tartar using a handheld or stand mixer until frothy. Slowly add sugar and continue beating until stiff but not dry.  Pour the batter slowly using a spatula into the eggwhites. Transfer the mixture to the baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until done (insert toothpick and see if it has no crumbs).   Invert and cool before taking the cake out from the pan. TIP: Line the pan but don't grease.  

EL NIDO, PALAWAN

When the Underground River or St. Paul’s Subterranean River National Park of Puerto Princesa City in the province of Palawan, was declared as one of the World’s New Seven Wonders of Nature, a hundredfold increase in the number of tourist was noted as compared to previous years. The entire province and the city have never been busier, including two of Palawan’s  popular towns of El Nido and Coron. These places are among the country’s must-see destinations famous for their breathtaking limestone rock formations, their enticing crystal-clear waters that are best for snorkelling and scuba diving and the powdery white sands.                    

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the government agency that manages all ports nationwide, said that El Nido experienced the surge in tourism gauging from the influx of tourists who were mostly from European countries. Tourism, aside from the increasing volume of cargoes (basic commodities) to and from Manila and an aggressive port collection contributed to the remarkable increase in port revenue from Php 3.4Million in 2009 to Php 15Million as of December 2011.

The port has recently been rehabilitated with improved port facilities which include a new passenger terminal, concrete pavements, installation of lights and fencing for security.  It could not, however, accommodate bigger vessels especially the Roll-on Roll-off (RoRo) type of sea crafts because of its low water draft. The PPA’s plan in 2009 to dredge the area at the cost of Php 29 million was met with stiff resistance from local officials and community groups because of environmental concerns. After a series of consultations and with the affirmation of the local authorities to go ahead with the dredging, the budget already ballooned to Php120 million. RoRo vessels would definitely bring in more tourists as these would lower the cost of travel to the island just like what has happened in Puerto Galera in Mindoro and Boracay in Aklan.
At daytime, guests may hire a "banca" for P250,00 per person and tour around the nearby islets, chose an island to while away the time and go snorkeling. An island with a cove for me was the best. Going back late in the afternoon though is not advisable because waves already get bigger.      

At night time, pub houses and bars in El Nido teem with foreigners that local visitors might think that he or she is transported to a foreign land if not for the nipa house façade of the establishments.

Ms. Nerissa Dado, the manager of El Nido’s cargo handling operator Bacuit Arrastre Association, Inc., said that the El Nido port community is all-out in supporting the activities that would ensure the cleanliness of the port and the environment and the safety and security of passengers. She opined that it will be for the benefit of the townspeople to always present the best of what the place could offer. 

The welcoming atmosphere of the port was enhanced with decorative and edible plants in its surroundings.  The PPA’s terminal port manager,  hopes for a much bigger port of El Nido in the near future so that bigger vessels could be accommodated and bring in more Filipinos to marvel the beauty of their own country and at the same time, meet the demands of increasing foreign tourist arrivals.     

Water Camp Resort

One of the best Resorts in Cavite is the Water Camp Resort located in Kawit. There was no wave pool the last time I went there but I recently saw one of its billboards advertising a wave pool.  That I'm going to see.

The Small La Laguna of Puerto Galera

When I first set foot on the black sands of Small La Laguna in Puerto Galera, more than 25 years ago,I was in awe. It was so pristine and fishes of varying colors were swimming around giant corals just even under a 4-feet deep crystal clear water. I couldn't help writing on the sands, "thank God for this paradise!". Small  La Laguna, was practically unexplored with no big establishments except for the small hut owned by one of my co-workers Ernie Silla. The hut at that time was the only place to stay although I heard that its most popular neighbor "White Beach", which is kilometers away, was already teeming with vacationers, mostly foreigners because aside from its white sand, it had more facilities such as cottages and bars.  It is also the most ideal place for swimming. Sabang, on the other hand, which is just beside Small La Laguna was practically unheard of.  

After so many years of spending my summer vacation (at least six times) in White Beach, I recently decided to see what has become of Small La Laguna. After half an hour jeepney ride from White Beach, we reached the drop off point, Sabang, now the most popular part of the island for its nightlife activities.  I could no longer recognize the once unspoiled place. There was no shoreline or sands to walk on, except for the concrete pathways of the various resorts and establishments built along the shore.   Treading to an almost one person at a time walkway, we reached Small La Laguna. The coconut trees that once dotted the shoreline was already replaced with concrete edifices.  We rented snorkels for Php150.00 per hour and took a dip in its limited swimming area. Although my friends still enjoyed swimming near the rocky areas, gone was the aquarium-like experience I had when I took a dip even in waist deep water.

VOLET'S RESORT

Every time we plan for an outing, I always consider Volets Resort, in Dasmarinas Cavite, as one of our choices. For one, it is near our place as I hate to spend more travel time going to a resort  because of the distance and traffic that goes with it and back than the time spent in the pool no matter how enticing the feedbacks were of the said place. Second, it had 8 pools, including a wave pool and slides for kids and adults.

The last time I checked, I was disappointed because the wave pool was closed and the Lifeguard said that it's open only during the summer months of  March until June 15. I was there with my family June 20, 2011 which was a holiday. It's maybe because the resort's income during off-summer season is no match to the wave's power generation charge.  We rented a "cottage" which could accommodate 20 people for Php700.00. The Nipa Hut type also cost 700.00 but could only accommodate around 10.   Entrance by the way on weekdays was Php200.00 for adults and 150.00 for kids below 4 feet. There was no entrance fee for babies. The entrance fee for weekends was Php220.00 for adults.

If you want to grill all your food, I suggest to bring your own as we have to wait for one family to finish grilling their stuff and when it was our time, the same family, which had to cook another dish had to wait longer for us to cook our barbecue. There were just three families at that time so just imagine if this happened during summer.

What quiet turned us off was the swarm of flies on each table everywhere which gave an impression that the area was not being cleaned. We had to wash the table ourselves with soap while our neighbor had lighted candles. (Update: Last May 2012, My family and I, more than 10 of us, went to Volets and I noticed that there were already several grilling areas, the facilities were improved, new walkways, and the entrance was renovated. The entrance fee though also increased.

Palawan's Underground River

One of the must-see places in the Philippines is the Underground River in Puerto Princesa, Palawan which is among the top finalists of the  New Seven Wonders of Nature for 2011. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is 50 kilometers away from the city, and it took us about two hours to reach  the place. I'm sure, information on how to get there is readily available in any hotel as even in the lodging house where we stayed, we got flyers for package tours from its coffee shop. For the more adventurous, jeepneys or vans for a more comfy ride are available and are stationed near the city but visitors must be there very early morning because at the Sabang fish port, they have to get a number and pay for the permit from its tourism booking office. It is not advisable to go there late morning especially during the summer months of March to May because of the influx of visitors. The boats, motorized or paddled, are limited so the time of waiting might turned off one's excitement. 

From the fish port, we took a motorized banca because it was easier to reach the entrance of the cave rather than take a mountain trek. The sight was already breathtaking along the shore going to the cave with white sand and mountain formation which reminded me of Jurassic Park. We were advised not to bring food while passing the jungle trail going to the cave as monkeys in the area  have a bad habit of snatching anything worth their fancy. I haven't seen one though except a monitor lizard.  Greeting us after the short monkey trail was a green lagoon where paddle boats good up to six persons were waiting.

Entering the "bat cave", was eerie as it was so dark except for the car-battery-operated spotlight used by the boatman cum tourist guide who was joking and sharing anecdotes all throughout the 45-minute ride pointing at stalagmite and stalactite formations resembling fruits, vegetables, people and saints. Being fond of horror movies, I imagined a big creature under the river would suddenly appear and eat  us alive. 

Matabungkay Resorts

Here comes the rainy season and surely beaches everywhere will not be so crowded unlike during the summer months of March to May.  If you want to take the chance of dipping into the sea all by yourself during this season, one beach getaway that is fairly clean near Metro Manila that I could recommend is Matabungkay in Lian, Batangas. The area is popular for its floating cottages  (shown above) rental of which ranges from Php500.00 during lean months to Php1,500.00 during peak season.