General Info

[QUOTE=Red Kilt;1172347]We have all seen the way they chop up their ice on the pavements next to where people spit and [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] all day.[/QUOTE]I love the way they dry rice in the provinces by putting it out in thin layers on the nearby road to dry. Sometimes plastic goes down under the rice, but not always. Since the rice often takes up half the width of the roadway, drivers will drive into the other lane to avoid it if nobody's coming the other direction. But when they meet another vehicle they just drive right through the rice. The farmers just sweep the rice off the road and bag it after it's dry. Maybe it gets milled again in an attempt to get out chaff and impurities, or maybe not. Helps explain the extra little crunchiness that's sometimes present in rice in Philippine restaurants. But at least it's been cooked, right; so what's the problem?

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1172429]I love the way they dry rice in the provinces by putting it out in thin layers on the nearby road to dry. Sometimes plastic goes down under the rice, but not always. Since the rice often takes up half the width of the roadway, drivers will drive into the other lane to avoid it if nobody's coming the other direction. But when they meet another vehicle they just drive right through the rice. The farmers just sweep the rice off the road and bag it after it's dry. Maybe it gets milled again in an attempt to get out chaff and impurities, or maybe not. Helps explain the extra little crunchiness that's sometimes present in rice in Philippine restaurants. But at least it's been cooked, right; so what's the problem?[/QUOTE]I said "ice" in my previous post Skip, not rice.

What you referred to in your post was the rice on the road side, usually in relatively small amounts for household consumption. It is the palay (freshly harvested grains) that they are drying. I have joined in the chore in my family province on numerous occasions to walk up and down with the wooden spade "turning it over" every 15 to 30 mins to dry it. The large quantities of commercially consumed white rice (that you will eat in restaurants) is more often dried in large drying drums in the buyers' depots.

After drying it goes through an extreme milling process first when they grind the bejesus out of it leaving the tasteless white glue behind.

In my condo we actually eat brown rice all the time, which apart from a superior nutty flavor has at least some nutrition left behind. Slowly but surely the consumption of brown rice is increasing in the Philippines, but it is more expensive than white rice even though white rice costs more to produce.

[url]http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/94/1/Brown-rice-vs-white-rice.html[/url]

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rice[/url]

[QUOTE=Red Kilt; 1172444]I said "ice" Skip not rice.

In my condo we actually eat brown rice all the time, which apart from a superior nutty flavor has at least some nutrition left behind. Slowly but surely the consumption of brown rice is increasing in the Philippines, but it is more expensive than white rice even though white rice costs more to produce.

[url]http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/94/1/Brown-rice-vs-white-rice.html[/url]

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rice[/url][/QUOTE]Try the red rice from Baguio. Very flavourful and obviously as with brown rice, substantially more nutritious.

[QUOTE=Red Kilt;1172444]I said "ice" in my previous post Skip, not rice.[/QUOTE]I know you were talking about ice, but the image of chopping ice on the sidewalk brought up road drying of rice in my mind. Although it has nothing to do with eating, I also wonder at the way construction crews mix concrete on the ground-and no doubt get a bunch of dirt into the limestone, shale, and water that otherwise form a strong chemical reaction and strong building material. It makes you wonder about the strength of building practices in the Philippines. I have friends who are convinced the Mall of Asia is going to experience a major collapse with serious loss of life in the near future--as a result both of shoddy building practices as well as the persistent settling of the reclaimed land on which it was built.

Your explanation of rice drying methods is reassuring, but now how can I reconcile my occasional experiences of crunching down on what feels like dirt or grit when I'm eating rice in the Philippines? The alternative explanations are almost more disgusting than dirt getting in the rice from drying it on the road.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1172429]I love the way they dry rice in the provinces by putting it out in thin layers on the nearby road to dry. Sometimes plastic goes down under the rice, but not always. Since the rice often takes up half the width of the roadway, drivers will drive into the other lane to avoid it if nobody's coming the other direction. But when they meet another vehicle they just drive right through the rice. The farmers just sweep the rice off the road and bag it after it's dry. Maybe it gets milled again in an attempt to get out chaff and impurities, or maybe not. Helps explain the extra little crunchiness that's sometimes present in rice in Philippine restaurants. But at least it's been cooked, right; so what's the problem?[/QUOTE]Well, in Asia, almost everywhere, that is how rice gets treated. People in Asia can't afford to have rice treated like precious minerals. Small farmers can't afford to rent a machine to seperate the rice. And the drivers are expected to drive over the drying rice, to also help to seperate the rice from the stalk.

Go to India, or Thailand.

And the bottom line is, when they mill the rice, of course everything gets removed. And if you cooking, in Asia, people wash the rice atleast three times, before boiling it, unlike Caucasians who believe anything in a pack is clean to eat. (I remember the guy who said Salad is safe, never thinking how impure salad can be, compared to cooked food.)

Actually, good bars don't use Ice makers for the same reason. An unclean iceamaker can host a lot of things, including cockroaches, and even once I fished out a Scorpion

And to add some fire, to whoever said LAC ice is impure. I remember LAC ice being shipped from the Ice Makers, the subsidiary of San Miguel, if I remember correctly. As I had this conversation. About the ice being pure or not.

Now, if San Miguel shipped the dirty bagged Ice, then too bad. After all, everything in Philippines is monopolised, and maybe they have a law protectign ice-makers, by banning Ice Machines. Or, in jest, the bars with ice machines don't get city sanitation permit. How else can the rich families become richer?

[QUOTE=Skip Kost; 1172448]. .

Your explanation of rice drying methods is reassuring, but now how can I reconcile my occasional experiences of crunching down on what feels like dirt or grit when I'm eating rice in the Philippines? The alternative explanations are almost more disgusting than dirt getting in the rice from drying it on the road.[/QUOTE]I an sure there are far more disgusting perils around for mongers who are not highly selective about what they put in their mouths Skip. At least what I am thinking about has not been cooked.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1172448]I know you were talking about ice, but the image of chopping ice on the sidewalk brought up road drying of rice in my mind. Although it has nothing to do with eating, I also wonder at the way construction crews mix concrete on the ground-and no doubt get a bunch of dirt into the limestone, shale, and water that otherwise form a strong chemical reaction and strong building material. It makes you wonder about the strength of building practices in the Philippines. I have friends who are convinced the Mall of Asia is going to experience a major collapse with serious loss of life in the near future--as a result both of shoddy building practices as well as the persistent settling of the reclaimed land on which it was built.[/QUOTE]If your friend is a structural engineer, and has seen the stress / load bearing of MOA. Good.

I have a friend who has scouted a place in MOA, and, he being Singaporean, ran the same process as in Singapore. Check for load bearing / safety etc. He was not stupid to park his 500K US, if it was so unsafe. Sorry.

[QUOTE]Your explanation of rice drying methods is reassuring, but now how can I reconcile my occasional experiences of crunching down on what feels like dirt or grit when I'm eating rice in the Philippines? The alternative explanations are almost more disgusting than dirt getting in the rice from drying it on the road.[/QUOTE]Errr. Pardon me sir, do I get to know in which green-house, climate controlled, and using purified air, and pure distilled water is rice manufactured? !

[QUOTE=Econo Tech;1172614]If your friend is a structural engineer, and has seen the stress / load bearing of MOA. Good. I have a friend who has scouted a place in MOA, and, he being Singaporean, ran the same process as in Singapore. Check for load bearing / safety etc. He was not stupid to park his 500K US, if it was so unsafe. Sorry. Errr. Pardon me sir, do I get to know in which green-house, climate controlled, and using purified air, and pure distilled water is rice manufactured? ![/QUOTE]Thanks for the feedback, ET. Have I pissed you off? Sorry, that wasn't my intention. I was passing along casual observations, not claiming these to be established facts.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1172696]Thanks for the feedback, ET. Have I pissed you off? Sorry, that wasn't my intention. I was passing along casual observations, not claiming these to be established facts.[/QUOTE][url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] me off? Nope. Never.

Well, knowing the Filipino standards, I could agree with you in some places though. Like those precariously placed residential properties that are given certification. As long as built by Filipino Engineers, with a Filipino architect. !

As for the sinking stuff, living in Singapore, well, there is nothing called 'stabilised' land, in my view. After all, about 10% of land, including the site of the Marina Bay Sands and Changi Airport etc are built in reclaimed land. Though I am not a civil engineer.

Then again, MOA is owned by another mega-rich family. You never know how or where they do their certifications. !

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1172696]Thanks for the feedback, ET. Have I pissed you off? Sorry, that wasn't my intention. I was passing along casual observations, not claiming these to be established facts.[/QUOTE]Not to worry, it's a legitimate concern. Having first-hand experience with the highly questionable skill levels of locally-trained engineers here-albeit on much smaller projects-I can well understand the conclusions of your friends. In fact, every time I get to one of the higher floors of a building in Makati, I dwell lightly on the concern about the quantity and quality of the rebar and the concrete that's holding up the floors. My best friend here is a supervising design engineer (American) and some of the stories he tells me about some of the designs he's seen give me pause as well. However, I think MOA is owned by SM and I'm fairly sure I've been told by people who actually know, that their stuff, as well as the buildings constructed by Ayala are actually built to pretty stringent international specifications.

GE

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1172735]Not to worry, it's a legitimate concern. Having first-hand experience with the highly questionable skill levels of locally-trained engineers here-albeit on much smaller projects-I can well understand the conclusions of your friends. In fact, every time I get to one of the higher floors of a building in Makati, I dwell lightly on the concern about the quantity and quality of the rebar and the concrete that's holding up the floors. My best friend here is a supervising design engineer (American) and some of the stories he tells me about some of the designs he's seen give me pause as well. However, I think MOA is owned by SM and I'm fairly sure I've been told by people who actually know, that their stuff, as well as the buildings constructed by Ayala are actually built to pretty stringent international specifications. GE[/QUOTE]Yes, MOA is owned by SM, the corporation formed by shoe merchant Henry Sy, ostensibly the richest man in the Philippines.

Yearly insurance (health) polices anyone with experience purchasing the same in Phil?

Ok I have been reading a lot and trying to get a general feel for pricing as to not over pay when I'm in Philippines. But there's conflicting evidence for me of what the cost is to actually get a girl back with you. I've seen some people say you pay bar fine, around 1500 pesos and then tip the girl at the end which to me a gracious tip would be 500 pesos. But I've seen a lot of break down posts that said 1500 bar fine and 1500 tip, a tip is not double in most cases so I'm curious as to if the word "tip" is actually an agreement so really the price is 3000 or whatever is negotiated on top of bar fine? Some clarification would be great so I don't look like a total noob when I'm there.

[QUOTE=Madisonguy;1173201]Ok I have been reading a lot and trying to get a general feel for pricing as to not over pay when I'm in Philippines. But there's conflicting evidence for me of what the cost is to actually get a girl back with you. I've seen some people say you pay bar fine, around 1500 pesos and then tip the girl at the end which to me a gracious tip would be 500 pesos. But I've seen a lot of break down posts that said 1500 bar fine and 1500 tip, a tip is not double in most cases so I'm curious as to if the word "tip" is actually an agreement so really the price is 3000 or whatever is negotiated on top of bar fine? Some clarification would be great so I don't look like a total noob when I'm there.[/QUOTE]Madison: I can only tell you how things work in Angeles City (A. C.) as that is the extent of my hobbying experience in The Philippines. The barfine is supposed to cover an overnight stay (LT) which could range from 1000 PHP (piso) to 3000 PHP. No extras are implied. You may tip for exceptional service. Most of my barfines want to leave after a couple of hours so I let them and don't give them any additional money. They are fine with that arrangement. The girls only get a portion of the barfine you paid to the bar. This amount is roughly half of the barfine. So if you are ever offered a 'direct' date without involving the bar, offering slightly over 50% of the barfine would not be out of bounds.

[QUOTE=Almotu;1173219]Madison: I can only tell you how things work in Angeles City (A. C.) as that is the extent of my hobbying experience in The Philippines. The barfine is supposed to cover an overnight stay (LT) which could range from 1000 PHP (piso) to 3000 PHP. No extras are implied. You may tip for exceptional service. Most of my barfines want to leave after a couple of hours so I let them and don't give them any additional money. They are fine with that arrangement. The girls only get a portion of the barfine you paid to the bar. This amount is roughly half of the barfine. So if you are ever offered a 'direct' date without involving the bar, offering slightly over 50% of the barfine would not be out of bounds.[/QUOTE]Thanks, that is kind of what I was thinking was going on but have seen some people post a seperate 1500 pesos for the girl. I don't know if they just don't like money or something else is going on.