Food Review: ErMeataño Meats

13 February 2021

Today would have been Patrick's birthday. It's been 2 months since he died. 

We had already planned a small birthday memorial among us but we were surprised when Marco, one of his friends from Top Gear Philippines, reached out to us and sent us this HUGE Smoked Meat dish in Patrick's honor. 

He said that he had always meant to send one to Patrick but after his stroke, he knew that this kind of luxurious slab of meat doesn't exactly meet Patrick's health and nutrition conditions. :)

So, on Patrick's birthday, we received this aromatic, hefty, juicy, flavorful and filling chunk of smoked meat from Marco. He had it delivered for us. It was his new business called ErMeataño and they offer these flavorful meats that have been smoked for as much as 10 hours! Can you believe that?!

I don't do the meats justice with my poor photographs, to be honest. What's funny is that we didn't really know what to make of it at first. HAHAHA I was thinking, "Should I still cook it in the oven? "Can we eat this as is?"

But the aroma really made our mouths water so we immediately put the slab on a plate and started cutting into it. The meat was really tender so even with a normal knife, the meat easily separates. The order also comes with their special barbecue sauce that's a perfect foil for the meat. It's a little sweet but tangy. 

You can't finish this in one sitting! We tried hahaha but it was really filling especially with rice! Patrick would have loved it!

We actually barely touched the other servings on the table, like that Pancit Bihon haha We all went for the meat! :D

While we did receive the meat as a gift, you won't go wrong if you try it yourself. We'll probably order during someone's birthday too :) 

Thanks Marco! Good luck to ErMeataño!

Happy birthday, Patrick!

COVID-19 Chronicles: Celebrating New Year after a death in the family

 01 January 2021

Last year, last month, Patrick died from a stroke, to put it simply. Naturally, our hearts are heavy with sorrow, particularly since this is the season when everyone should be celebrating and being happy. 

However, life must go on. We must soldier on. So while we have him constantly in our minds and in our hearts, we continue to celebrate the holidays and just wish that he were still with us. 

Happy New Year, everyone!

Covid-19 Chronicles: A grief-stricken Christmas for us as Patrick suddenly passes away

2020 December

We didn't think this year couldn't get any worse, but it did.  Patrick died after 2 days in the hospital, not from Covid-19 which was what we were protecting him against but from cerebrovascular disease pontine infarct, an ischemic stroke that affected his pons region of the brain stem.

It was devastating to say the least and my kids and I are still reeling from it even as I type now.

I will only touch on it with just a few details because to write about everything is still too painful.

I will write about the rest of December too, just to cap off the year. 

Covid-19 Chronicles: Start of 2020-2021 classes for Dylan & Other happenings

2020 October to November

Highlights of this post include:

- Start of Dylan's Online Classes

- My Birthday

- Dana's 1Q Online Exams

These may seem trivial but in this new world where Covid-19 rules, these are all milestones of the New Normal.  This is how we cope with being indoors and managing to stay sane despite it

COVID-19 Chronicles: September is Dylan's preparation time for his Online Classes

2020 September

One of the highlights during this month was Dylan getting this Cherry Mobile Magnum 10 tablet from the City of Manila, thru Mayor Isko Moreno.  

All currently enrolled students in public schools in Manila will get one, including a SIM with 10GB of Data.  We received a Globe SIM Card but I don't know if everyone did.

Anyway, more of that in the post so just read on :)