"Lekker"

Hubby and I drove to Wijk aan Zee last weekend to stay with a Pinoy friend who hosted a despedida party for a Norwegian friend, who is leaving Holland to continue his Phd studies. We always look forward visiting C, not only because he lives near the beach, but because he loves to cook during his spare time (I mean really cook--this is not surprising as his family is in the food business in Manila). C is a highly technical person (I can't even understand what he did for his Phd!), but his real passion is in cooking and organizing parties. For the party, C prepared several dishes to show off to some of the non-Pinoy guests a typical Pinoy/Chinese feast: pansit, chinese spareribs, lumpia, roast beef and pata tim. Hubby and I prepared seafood salad, while our Italian friends cooked up some pasta dish, and a Swedish friend brought some smoked salmon with dill sauce. So typical of a Pinoy hosted party--anything goes on the table. The most controversial dish that night was the Pata Tim. When served to the Dutch guests, they were just so grossed out with the pork's leg and its fatty skin. Not surprisingly, a German guest who is a vegetarian couldn't help squirm as well! However, hubby dared and tried it (without the skin of course) and to my surprise, he munched on it with gusto. Our Italian, Swedish, and Maltese friends loved it as well. Trying the Pata Tim Except for the Pata Tim, most of the guests were just all praises "lekker, lekker" (translation: good/delicious). Since most of us (the guests) are foreigners in this country, whenever we meet up and hang out, we would always say "lekker" to everything as a way of teasing or greeting each other, so I was not entirely sure if they really liked the Pinoy dishes. However, given that most of us were munching all night, I guess the food was indeed lekker for them. The German vegetarian happily settled for the veggie pansit and was obviously contented with his beer. The party was also a time for me to catch up with two other Pinoys I met here in Holland. Hay, ang sarap mag-Tagalog... After a night of food and booze, Hubby and I slept like a log only to wake up to the smell of food again, apparently C prepared a Sunday brunch from the previous night's leftovers. We left C's place after lunch with a pot of Pata Tim as his pabaon. ----------------------------------------------- Side trip to Castle de Haar On our way home, hubby decided to bring me to Kasteel de Haar located in the Province of Utrecht. Originally built in the 14th century by the Van de Haar family, the castle was inherited in 1890 by Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt, and because of his marriage to the French baroness Helene de Rothschild (does it ring a bell? The De Rothschild is a family of bankers), he was able to rebuild and renovate the castle under the supervision of the famous Dutch architect, Dr. Pierre Cuypers. Hubby and I joined the guided tour which was done only in Dutch. I must admit that I was not expecting a lot from Castle de Haar, but after the tour, I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of its interiors and valuable antiques. The tour guide mentioned that until now the baron and his family would come for a visit every September, and most of the 200 rooms are being used to house their guests and staff during the entire month. What a way to party! After walking through the castle grounds, Hubby and I went home to our modest abode and excitedly devoured on the Pata Tim. Mmmm...Lekker!