Hay Hay I Won! And ate lechon ;)

Hay hay hay! I’ve got some good news to share :) As much as I’d like to be ladylike and sophisticated about it, I just can’t...I’ve won this round of Hay Hay it’s Donna Day!!! YAY!!! The round was themed Yogurt by my SEA neighbour and blogger-friend Bordeaux of Marita Says and I submitted this Chai spiced version you see here. Being a fan of chai, yogurt, and Donna Hay, you can imagine how happy I am :)

A big, fat, chocolate-dipped thank you to whoever voted for me!!! :)

A little Donna side story: A friend’s sister, who lives in Australia (and is one of the sweetest persons I have ever met!), was visiting and I totally plied her with Donna Hay questions. I know I love Donna, but I never realized what a crazed fan I was until I meet poor, unsuspecting M from Australia and burst out with a slightly manic, “OMG! Do you know Donna Hay????” I’m really not this dopey I swear it! Good thing M totally got it ;)

So, not only do I get to waltz around the flat with my HHDD Chai Yogurt crown and sceptre, I also get to choose the theme and host the next round! Watch this space for that announcement very soon!

Meanwhile, here are some photos of what I did over the weekend. Veteran local food blogger Marketman had his annual get-together in Cebu this year and guess what was served? :) Lechon! He had been experimenting with different ways of preparing this local delicacy of whole roasted pig and has come up with a couple of over-the-top delicious versions! Stuffed with various herbs, skin pinpricked before cooking to develop a chicharon-like crackling (as opposed to the regular smooth lechon skin), the newly cooked lechons lovingly rubbed down with olive oil – heaven! And I’m not the only one who loved them...a couple of weeks before we were there, a certain sexy someone thought it was pretty darn great too!


Aside from the lechon we also had the most sublime kinilaw (like ceviche) of fresh tanguigue (with coconut milk, local limes, tomato, red onion, kaffir lime leaves, and chilis – serious yum), chicharon from Carcar (a town in Cebu that some say makes the best chicharon), sisig, grilled prawns, crabs, various salads...check this post to see the whole lovely spread. And the dessert!

Of course, the food wasn’t the only draw. Getting together with other people passionate about food is always fantastic...none of the usual inhibitions apply! It’s all chatting away at 100kph about everything gastronomic (with some camera talk here and there) :)

What a fabulous, albeit much too short (as always!), weekend! Now it’s back to (that mountain of) work for me! The next theme for HHDD should be up by the end of this week so stay tuned!