Guacamole

Mexican food! We've been eating lots of it in California and surprisingly in Manila. Currently we're at the airport waiting to head out to Saigon.

As soon as we got to Manila we were exhausted, and therefore were perfect targets for the taxi drivers to rip us off. I have to say that was our only barely negative experience. I say that because we had no idea we were being overcharged by 1000% (not exaggerating) until today. So we were blissfully ignorant. Otherwise we've been perfectly happy. Everyone has been very kind to us and a lot of people here speak English which makes it easy. In fact, all of the signs are in English. I think the American occupation had a large impact on the country.

We rented an apartment in a high rise right near a park and overlooking the Manila Bay. Right by our apartment was Starbucks, Seven Eleven, McDonalds, etc. I couldn't believe the amount of chains around us but they're pretty popular here. We did our research and found some great Filipino food (also spaghetti is popular here) which is similar to Vietnamese cuisine. You can basically find whatever food (like cupcakes and Mexican food) you want here at any hour of the day since it is the 5th largest metropolitan area in the world. This also means traffic all the time.

Guacamole, at last!

3 ripe avocados
1/4 red onion
1 small tomato
1 lime
1 clove garlic
1 pinch cumin
1 jalapeño
1 small handful cilantro

Cut the avocados in half and scoop out the flesh using a spoon. Reserve one of the pits for storage (I once heard it helps keep the avocados from browning). Mash the avocados using a fork until they meet your desired consistency. Then juice the lime and add half the juice to the mashed avocados. Then dice the onion, tomato, garlic, jalapeño, and cilantro. Add to the avocado and season with more lime, salt, and pepper.