UK-style U-kay

UK? United Kingdom. At U-kay:-)

Car boot sale ang tawag nila sa ukayan dito. Apart from the usual charity shops where you can buy used items, one of the more popular destinations for bargain hunters are car boot sales, the 'British form of market' where people sell both used and new items from the 'boot' ('trunk' in the US) of their cars.

Yesterday, with the perfect weather (16 C) on our side, my flatmate and I went to Grangetown where the biggest carboot sale in Cardiff takes place. You can find all sorts of interesting items, from this cute personal 'Playboy' water dispenser



to this assortment of saws



yes, even antique radios and a camera!



And one seemingly happy bargain-hunter checking a piece of linen.



The place was packed with people at 11 in the morning it was so much like our very own tiangges. British couples with their babies in carriers, Indians and Pakistanis, Africans, Malaysians - you can find all sorts of people haggling, turning over items, or just eyeing some interesting item.

Although tired from all the walking, I went home happily with my £20 used bike purchase.

Comfort Food

If you've been eating one type of food for almost all your life, you're certainly bound to crave for it when you go to another country. More than missing speaking Tagalog, Ilocano and Kankana-ey, it's really our foooood that I miss most. I guess because food engages all your senses: sight, taste, smell, touch, and yes, even hearing. And all these senses somewhat evoke memories of cold, rainy days (arroz caldo!), late evening with friends (sisig), hot summer picnics with the family (grilled pork chops), six-hour bus trips to Manila (a pack of hot sweet corn), etc.

And so you go on a mission to find Filipino food where you live. Thank God for Chinese and Asian stores because they do sell a number of Pinoy brands. Some items I recently bought:



Bagoong! This particular brand lacks the sweet-salty taste I'm used to but I guess some manufacturers have to suit not just Asian palettes but British consumers as well. The Brits prefer a low-salt, low-fat diet.



Mestizo na itlog na maalat :-) Despite its Chinese brand, these salted eggs are 'made in the UK'. Unlike our 'red eggs' which have been previously boiled before they are sold in the market, these mestizos are sold raw so that you have to boil them first before you can eat them.



And the most important of all, RICE! Amazingly, Thai products such as jasmine rice and chili sauce are available in the grocery stores. You don't even have to go to an Indian or Chinese shop to buy rice here in the UK. It so frustrating that the Thais, who used to come to the Philippines and study at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), are now one of the leading rice exporters in the world with Vietnam while poor Philippines is experiencing rice shortage. And the saddest thing of all is that this rice shortage is actually due to corruption and bad governance, as with almost all the ills that plague the country. Billions and billions more are being pocketed by a few at the expense of taxpayers. And we are Asia's only Christian nation? Tsk tsk tsk. Now that isn't a comforting thought.