I received an email that my research paper was a finalist at the Second Congress of The Asia Pacific Council on Contraception…

Thanks to Bayer-Schering Pharma who sponsored my registration to the Convention and half of my accomodation for a 3-nights stay at the Venetian Macao…Wohoo!! we are going to Macau.

It was an oppurtunity  for me because I wasnt able to go to Macau last 2007 when we went to HK due to time constraints.

Macau is a 3 island connected by bridges: Macau-Taipa and Coalone.

Whenever I go to a different place I do the following things..to make my life easier:

1. Seach the net for nice places to see..It saves time..Print the Logos of the places you want to see..it helps. Even if they speak in english they will find it hard to understand your diction and grammar..better to show them the picture and off you go. 

2. Study the map online..it will give you and edge ahead than studying maps you get at their airports.

3. Look at their weather so you know what kind of clothes to pack.

4. Study their currencies and the means of transportation..

5. Change your money to their currency..Unlike in hongkong where major establishments accepts USD..Macau only accepts HKD and MOP( pataca)

6. Search for the best places to shop for your money’s worth.

7. Then off you go..

few tips to know about Macau:Buy a card which you can use in major transportations, if not always have coins, busses dont give change, always give exact amountTaxis plug down is 13 Pataca, extra charge for baggage to be put in the trunk, extra charge for making them wait and extra charge if coming and going to the airport.

Places to visit in Macau:not all the nicest places are advertised some of the nicest places are kept secret…sshh..

the best places:

1. The Venetian Macao- where you can ride a gondola and shoppe expensively

2.Macau Fisherman’s Wharf-its a theme park

3. Grand Prix Museum and Wine Museum- 2 sites in one place

4. Senado Square and San Ma Lo–best to shoppe and eat while walking because of the freebies. From here you will see Macao’s world heritage just walk around

5. Red Market- nice prices…really

6. Macao Tower- check their schedules and prices in the net

I hope I helped you with this tips

my profession

What do you want to become when you grow up?( the most common, abused question)

I want to become a doctor( the usual answer of a child)

Medicine the most dignified profession..at least in the eyes of a child.

Why do you want to become a doctor?

I want to cure the sick and help the poor( came the next answer)

I came from a middle class family..we were neither poor nor rich but just in between. My dad is an engineer and my mom a teacher. I am the eldest of 3 children.

I wanted to become a doctor eversince I can utter a word..my mom instilled in my mind that no other profession fits me..I guess my first word is neither “mama” or “papa” but “doc”.. in short my mom succeeded in brainwashing me…it is what you call mind conditioning in psychiatry…now i dont see myself being in any other field.

I believed I am a gifted child… i can draw,paint, write a poem, sing, dance and cook…i could have been a good writer,a cartoonist or a chef..I never thought i could cure people..but once you set your mind into something and put your heart into it you can make your dreams come true.

I dont have a choice but to follow the dreams of my parents for me..My dad wanted to become a doctor but due to financial constraints it didnt push through..so I am here to make the realization of their dreams..little did i know that it has become a dream of my own.

It was hard..the field was much more competitive..sacrifices along the way…missing family gatherings..and friend parties…my life has been frozen for 10 years..

I used to envy teens who enjoyed life. My friends are earning their salary…while Im still asking my parents for allowance.

But everything will pay off when I graduate med school..or so I thought..

It was not easy..when your in Manila…the trend of medical practice is going into subspecialty…so I decided to enter into residency..another 4 years of frozen life..whew..

It did paid off..and everytime I save one life

maria bernadette

I thank my parents for bringing me to where I am now…

Thanks mom and dad.

Sir Thomas Lipton yellow label tea

I have been wondering what’s the real reason for my supple skin..was it really my beauty secrets or was it about this tea which I introduced in my diet 3 months ago.

As an Ob-Gyn i prohibit my patients from taking tea specially in the first trimester because like coffee, tea contains caffeine..

on the other hand there are health benefits one can derive from tea.

tea aids in digestion.

A cup of green tea contains between 15 and 50 mg of caffeine. Certain cognitive benefits are associated with caffeine consumption, such as a reduction in the likelihood of Parkinson’s disease and a temporary increase in short term memory. Further, caffeine consumption has been linked with greater athletic performance, healthy weight loss, reduction in duration and severity of headaches and is effective in treating the symptoms of asthma.

I used to add milk on my tea until i realized that milk depletes the beneficial effect of tea.

Effect of milk on tea

A study at the Charité Hospital of the Berlin Universities showed that adding milk to tea will block the normal, healthful effects that tea has in protecting against cardiovascular disease. This occurs because casein from the milk binds to the molecules in tea that cause the arteries to relax, especially EGCG. Milk may also block tea’s effect on other things, such as cancer.Other studies have found little to no effect from milk on the observed increase in total plasma antioxidant activity. Teas with high EGCG content, such as green tea, are not typically consumed with milk. Previous studies have observed a beneficial effect from black tea which was not attributable to the catechin content Plant-based “milks”, such as soy milk, do not contain casein and are not known to have similar effects on tea.

Milk also binds the tannin in the tea, rendering it harmless.

I am not a water drinker, i admit thats why tea have much benefit on me.

for other health benefits of tea click links below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_benefits_of_tea

“Tea ‘healthier’ drink than water” – BBC article, 24 August 2006

 Milk wrecks the health benefits of tea, New Scientist, 9 January 2007

california maki

Of all makis this one is my favorite and when I learned the art of maki making just 4 days ago I made maki every day. Here is my version of the famous california maki roll.

Ingredients:

sumeshi (japanese rice)

2 cups japanese or short grain rice

3 cups water

5 tbsp mitzukan or japanese vinegar

5 tbsp local vinegar

3 tbsp brown sugar

roll

3 nori sheets (dried roasted japanese seaweed) cut into half 5×3 inch

1 ripe mango or avocado peeled seed removed and flesh cut into strips

1 cucumber cut into thin strips seeds removed

green onion or lettuce leaves

surimi or artificial crabmeat stick

japanese mayonaisse or any local mayonaisse

tobiko(flying fish roe) or seame seed

sauce 

kikoman or japanese soy sauce

wasabi

lemon lime

To make:

1. to make sumeshi or sushi rice, wash rice until clean. cook in a rice cooker with equal part water.Boil the remaining ingredients for sumeshi in a separate pot  then cool down. Mix it with the cooked rice.

2. prepare the roll. Get the bamboo rolling mat. place a plastic wrap then place the nori.Put sumeshi enough to cover the nori. sprinkle the  rice with tobiko( if u are going to use sesame seed dont forget to roast it first  in a pan) then turn it upside down.

3. place a strip of japanese mayonaisse a stip of cucumber a strip of mango or avocado( here i used mango bec avocado is not in season) half a strip of surimi or crab meat a strip of lettuce or green onion then roll it.slice it into eight pieces per roll.

4. serve with kikoman, wasabi and lemon lime. I garnished it with lettuce and japanese spinach

this makes 40 pcs.

in this picture i used tobiko , the sesame seed gives it a different aroma and taste however the tobiko gives it a nice color   

tropical maki

Tropical Maki is the reverse of california maki because it uses the same ingredients except of course the tropical fruit in season as an alternative to avocado. You can use pineapple, mango or ripe papaya and in contrast to california maki in tropical maki the rice is inside the nori sheet hence you dont need to garnish the outside with tobiko( flying fish roe) but you can sprinkle the inside with sesame seeds.

Ingredients:

sumeshi (japanese rice)

2 cups japanese or short grain rice

3 cups water

5 tbsp mitzukan or japanese vinegar

5 tbsp local vinegar

3 tbsp brown sugar

roll

3 nori sheets (dried roasted japanese seaweed) 5×5 inch

1 ripe mango,pineapple or ripe papaya cut into strips

1 cucumber cut into thin strips seeds removed

green onion

surimi or artificial crabmeat stick

japanese mayonaisse or any local mayonaisse

roasted sesame seed

sauce 

kikoman or japanese soy sauce

wasabi

lemon lime

To make:

1. to make sumeshi or sushi rice, wash rice until clean. cook in a rice cooker with equal part water.Boil the remaining ingredients for sumeshi in a separate pot  then cool down. Mix it with the cooked rice.

2. prepare the roll. Get the bamboo rolling mat. place a plastic wrap then place the nori.Put sumeshi enough to cover the nori. leaving 1 inch uncovered with rice(if you are going to use sesame seed dont forget to roast it first  in a pan)

3. place a strip of japanese mayonaisse a stip of cucumber a strip of pineapple, mango or ripe papaya(here i used mango bec avocado is not in season) half a strip of surimi or crab meat a strip of green onion then roll it.slice it into eight pieces per roll.

4. can eat it plain or serve with kikoman, wasabi and lemon lime.

Mixed vegetable tempura and kani tempura

We have excess batter from the ebi tempura we made so we decided to make mixed vegetable tempura and kani Tempura from the excess surimi from the california maki roll

Kani Tempura if different from Kani Furai in kani furai you must cover the surimi with nori dip it into the tempura batter and roll into bread crumbs before deep frying 

Ingredients:

onion rings

sliced carrots

sliced potato

surimi or artificial crabsticks

tempura batter

japanese flour or any superfine flour

water  and ice cubes or ice water

1 egg

tentsuyu (tempura sauce)

1 cup dashi(japanese soup stock) you can buy dashi granules and mix it with water as an alternate to dashi  or just use plain water if dashi and dashi granules not available.

1/4 cup mirin( japanese sweet rice wine)

1/4 cup kikoman(japanese soy sauce)

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 daikon radish (horseradish) grated

ginger grated

To Make:

Dip the vegetable and surimi into the batter and deep fry.

Serve with tentsuyu or tempura dipping sauce( To make sauce, mix all liquid ingredients into a small pan bring to a boil, set aside and let cool then add the grated daikon radish or horseradish and grated ginger)

Best served hot to experience the crispy taste.

ebi tempura

Whenever I eat in Japanese Restos aside from my favorite California Maki and  Angus Beef I always look forward to eating lots of tempura-shrimp(ebi) tempura

When I was a teenage girl until I grew up I often wondered how the shrimp straightened out and how the batter stick to the shrimp.

My dad attempted doing squid tempura but it turned out that the batter separated from the squid and the cooked tempura was soft.totally different from what I ate in Jap Restos.

Early this year, I have asked my doctor friend Bids who loves to bake the tempura questions that I have in mind. She shared me the Tempura secrets:

The batter should be cold i.e once mixed you must put ice in it.

You slice the inside of the shrimp to straighten it out.

To make the tempura flowery or appear larger than the shrimp, you sprinkle batter while frying it

but eventhough Ive learned the secrets Ive never tried it until Jedd a Japanese cook at Tokyo Tokyo helped me with this one in the picture. Its actually easy when you see it with your own eyes and tried doing it rather than reading it in recipe books.

Ingredients:

ebi

shrimps/tiger prawns

tempura batter

japanese flour or any superfine flour

water  and ice cubes or ice water

1 egg

tentsuyu (tempura sauce)

1 cup dashi(japanese soup stock) you can buy dashi granules and mix it with water as an alternate to dashi  or just use plain water if dashi and dashi granules not available.

1/4 cup mirin( japanese sweet rice wine)

1/4 cup kikoman(japanese soy sauce)

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 daikon radish (horseradish) grated

ginger grated

To make:

1. Remove heads and shells from shrimps without removing tails. Devein the shrimps. Make two or three incisions in the stomach sides of the shrimps.Using a knife, remove the dirt from the tails of shrimps.Press the back of the shrimp to straighten it out. If you are in a hurry you can just press the shrimp against a Japanese knife( thanks Jedd for the tip)

2. Make the batter by mixing all the ingredients.

3.Dip the shrimp into the flour before dipping it to the batter

4.Deep fry the shrimp in oil. If you want it to appear a little bigger sprinkle some batter while frying it

5.Mix all liquid ingredients for the sauce.Bring to a boil. Cool down then add grated horseradish and ginger

for best result serve tempura warm

Daigakuimo

I like to give credit to Setsuko Yoshizuka for sharing this Japanese Sweet Recipe by posting it at Japanesefood.about.com. When I saw this recipe I told myself this is easy to make since it resembles the Philippine Kamote Cue. What intrigues me is the soy sauce in the ingredient.So I have to make it myself to find out.

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo sweet potato

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup brown or washed sugar

8 tbsp water

4 tsp kikoman or japanese soy sauce

4 tsp roasted sesame seed

To make:

1. Peel the sweet potato,cube them then fry over medium heat until flesh is transparent or changes in color( raw sweet potato has a white flesh,cooked sweet potato is light yellow in color).

2. Mix the water, sugar, and soy sauce in a pan and bring to a boil until it thickens, turn off heat when the mixture becomes sticky.

3. Add the sweet potatoes in the mixture, then sprinkle with roasted sesame seed.

The soy sauce gives this dessert the distinctive Japanese taste. And it gives it the contrasting salty and sweet taste.Yummy!!

i wouldnt say its easy to lose weight because its not especially for those who enjoys eating..

I have tried the Mayo Clinic Diet and the seven day slimming pill when i was in residency but to no avail.I tried slimmers world but i went on a rebound..I never attempted on a south beach diet though..

the first step is goal setting and the eagerness to lose weight..

My prevous weight 74 kg or 162.8 lbs, for a 5’6″ im indeed overweight. 

July of 2007 I removed rice from my diet..and I lost a magical 10 pounds in a month’s time…when I noticed sags i decided to enroll in a gym to be firm and get toned. Coach Boyet who encouraged me to enroll in Brickroad was pretty much convincing..I signed up for a platinum membership..

I entered the gym at 153 lbs and a 34 waistline..I needed a personal trainor to monitor my gym activities..Rocky Castano helped me through it..a very strict trainor though..he was not contented with the no rice thing and really made me suffer..

my expensive and boring diet for 2 weeks

breakfast: a glass of milk, an oatmeal and a banana

lunch:green salad without the dressing, drained tuna or steamed chicken breast and a green apple.

dinner:2 slices of wheat bread, a slice of pineapple, a glass of skimmed milk, tuna or chicken breast

after two weeks he added organic brown rice or kamote.

plus the exhausting exercises he asked me to do. I lost another 10 lbs in two months.

due to my hectic sked I stopped gym and consumed my membership without thinking of freezing my account(what awaste of money)..I left gym at 144 lbs and a 28 waistline…with a line I developed on my abs

I do went on a rebound after I stopped the gym in Feb of 2008..I ate a lot due to depression…my weight fluctuated..now im eating rice again…the ab lines are little by little fading away…currently im 148 lbs and stayed  at that with waist back at 31…but soon i’ll be starting on my old diet regimen…because this one is proven and tested..what Im lacking now is the goal and determiniation to be into shape again..

june 2007 in hongkong at 162.8 lbs

oct 2007 at 142.8 lbs-after doing the diet regimen and strict gym sessions everyday

june 2008- pity i got fat again..148 lbs see that bulging flabs again?