ipo ipo

what a nice picture, the blues compelled me to take this picture. the blues are already enough, i do not need the rain with it. it is really unfortunate night, i could have a long walk, but i guess that will have to be cancelled. i just love the blue hues of this picture, please forgive me though if my colorblind eyes do not agree with yours.

now here is the main plot of the night.

it was our first time in this filipino restaurant, located in just a few minutes walk from kinshicho station. it was @appleeatingapple 's idea, she knew of my plans to have a long walk and kinshicho was at a comfortable distance for a nightwalker like me. the restaurant was a bonus, win-win for both of us.

together with four other housemates, we stormed the very cozy restaurant. we came quite early, immediately found an empty seat for us 6. checked the menu and ordered festival food. quite typical of filipino restaurants in japan, they had an open mic karaoke service. my friends sang some songs while waiting for the food to be served. @appleeatingapple did not hold back at all. those who sang after her would surely feel the pressure to sing better. good thing that the food arrived and the karaoke session ended abruptly.

lechon kawali - it was one of the crunchiest pork i have had in a while. that sauce was also one of the best.

sinigang - quite a staple in philippine cuisine, that sourness surely had a kick.

sisig - not quite sure which part of the pig they used in this restaurant but the original used pig's face and liver. this was a best seller for sure.

bistek - a philippine version of a beef steak, with onions and a sweet umami sauce.

pinakbet - a vegetable dish with shrimp paste for taste. i certainly miss the shrimp paste taste.

and do i need to introduce rice? that is a staple in a filipino feast.

overall, the restaurant had a decent serving for its price, we paid a bit over 2000 yen each for these shared food. and everyone had full belly on the way home.

we finally headed out after singing a couple more songs. patrons from the other table started singing as well so we could no longer hog the machine to ourselves. it was time to head out to the side quest.

by the way, ipo-ipo meant whirlwind in tagalog; thus, the title of this post. but on second thought, their is also a japanese word 一方 (ippou) which means "one step" so this restaurant name could also mean "step by step". i really don't know, so i'm sharing my confusion with you.

tapsilog convenience store and restaurant

we asked the store owner of the previous shop if they sold philippine food products of which they politely referred us to head to this other store. it was around a 100 meters away, and it was also a restaurant with a karaoke machine. this said so much about how we filipinos love singing. but we were no longer in search for a meal, but we were looking for snacks to bring home. it was fun seeing common filipino grocery items sold in this shop. that chicharon never looked so tasty. it was a cash only shop, and that significantly affected how few items i bought.

finally heading back to the station but the rain still won't stop. this was really a bummer. this nightwalker would have wanted to walk towards home. we even dawdled at an electronic shop beside the station, but it was definitely still drizzling when we got out. no luck there, we rode the train back home.