5 Best Aquatic Plants For Your Goldfish.

Every beginner goldfish parent needs these five beginner-friendly aquatic plants for their fish tank or bowl.

In the world of taking care of fish, goldfish is perhaps the most beginner-friendly of all the pet fishes out there. People who want to start raising fish friends will need to set up their fishbowl or aquarium to raise happy and healthy goldfishes.

Even young kids can easily take care of a goldfish.

While plastic fish tank plants are affordable and easy to get, they can be toxic for your fish. Don’t fret because there are affordable aquatic plants you can put in your goldfishes’ tank. Here are five of them: 

Anubias

Anubias plants are one of the easiest aquatic plants to take care of. They have bright green leaves and can grow on driftwood or rock. However, you can find unique aquarium planters to secure them and prevent your fish from digging into your plants.

Anubias.

These plants are low-maintenance as they can grow with low light. In turn, you don’t have to worry about installing pricey tank lighting to keep them alive. While they are hardy and easy to care for, anubias plants prefer environments with little to no algae. Regularly clean your tank to keep your fish and plants alive.

Marimo Balls

Marimo balls are cute, puffy green mosses that are popular as pets for some people. While you can raise them as aquatic pets/plant babies, they are great companions for your goldfish. Just place them in your fish or tank to let them grow with your fish.

Marimo Balls.

Marimo balls are pretty small and grow slow. Due to their size, they are suitable plants for smaller fishbowls. People renting apartments in Parañaque can now raise goldfish with a few Marimo ball friends without taking up a lot of space in their bedroom or living area.

Java Fern

Java ferns are another beginner-friendly plant you can put in your goldfishes’ habitat. Their leaves look similar to anubias plants but are longer and slightly narrower. Attach them to driftwood, rocks, or special planter to keep them from moving around your tank or bowl.

Java Fern.

You can also propagate your java ferns to create smaller plants for when you expand your tank. Trim off a leaf or two, let them float in your water vessel, then wait for plantlets to sprout from the ferns’ black spots. You’ll never have to buy new java fern plants for your other goldfish tanks or bowls.

Amazon Sword

If you plan to grow your goldfish in a TV-sized aquarium or a pond, amazon sword plants are excellent greens as decoration and habitat.

Amazon Sword.

Their tall green leaves provide aesthetics and protection for smaller fishes. Note that these plants are pretty tasty for your fish; however, amazon swords grow fast and have a stable root system that prevents any fish from nibbling on them.

Bolbitis Fern

Most aquarium plants have tall, bright green leaves. So if you’re looking for greeneries that look different from the usual fish tank plants, consider getting Bolbitis ferns. They have textured, emerald green leaves, making them unique decorations for your goldfishes’ habitat.

Bolbitis Fern.

Bolbitis ferns require higher water pH and hardiness to thrive. You might also have to invest in tank lighting as these special ferns prefer low to medium light to grow beautifully and healthily.

Overall, choosing the right plants for your goldfishes’ habitat is crucial to their health and survival. These five aquatic plants provide shelter and nutrition for your fish and water and aesthetics for your tank. Check your local pet store and see which plants you can get for your new goldfish kingdom.

Tuna Recipes for Lent.

Canned tuna is perhaps one of the most versatile ingredients I have cooked with ever. I'm sure most homecooks would agree. Aside from being shelf-stable, it's also budget-friendly, easy-to-find, and best of all, heart-healthy.

If you're a Catholic and a staunch follower of the 'Fish Friday' tradition, here are some tuna recipes that you might want to try. These are all made with San Miguel Del Mar Tuna, from one of the leading food companies in the country - San Miguel Foods.

EASY TUNA TACOS

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup MAGNOLIA REAL MAYONNAISE 

2 tsp chopped garlic 

6 pc small flour tortillas or pita bread, lightly warmed or toasted 

1/2 cup shredded lettuce leaves 

1/2 cup sliced cucumber 

1 (100 g) pc tomato, sliced 

1 (185 g) can SAN MIGUEL DEL MAR TUNA CHUNKS IN OIL, drained 

 

Procedure: 

1. To make garlic sauce, mix mayonnaise and garlic then set aside. 

2. In the center of each flour tortilla, place 1 to 2 tablespoons of lettuce leaves, cucumber slices, tomato slices, and tuna. Drizzle with garlic sauce. 

3. Fold tortilla to secure filling. 

Tip/s: 

• Keep tortillas in the refrigerator for up to a week and freeze for up to 3 months. 
• To warm store-bought tortillas: (1) heat in a dry hot pan over medium heat for about 30 seconds on each side, (2) wrap stacked tortillas in paper towel, then wrap in aluminium foil and bake at 300°F about 10 minutes and (3) cover tortillas with damp paper towel and microwave for 1 minute. 
• Buy salad greens that are bright in color, leaves crisp, free of blemishes and smell fresh.

TUNA ONIGIRI (Japanese Rice Balls)

Ingredients: 

1 (185 g) can SAN MIGUEL DEL MAR TUNA CHUNKS IN WATER, drained 

1/4 cup Japanese mayonnaise

5 cups sushi rice* 

10 pc nori wrapper sheets, 1”x 4” in size 

*Sushi rice – is steamed rice flavored with vinegar and sugar 

Procedure: 

1. In a bowl, combine tuna and mayonnaise. Set aside. 

2. To make the onigiri, place 1/4 cup of rice on a surface covered with plastic wrap. Flatten rice then place 2 tablespoons of the tuna mixture in the center. Cover tuna with another 1/4 cup of rice. Form into a ball, and then shape into a triangle. 

3. Place onigiri at the center of a nori sheet. Fold sides to stick to the rice ball. Repeat procedure for the rest of the ingredients.

TUNA PESTO PENNE PASTA 

Ingredients: 

1 (180 g) pack store bought pesto sauce 

1 (185 g) can SAN MIGUEL DEL MAR TUNA CHUNKS IN OIL 

1/4 kg penne, cooked according to package directions 

Procedure: 

1. Heat pesto sauce in a pan. 

2. Add tuna and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. 

3. Toss in cooked pasta. Serve.

Cooking with my Air Fryer | Baked Salmon.

Born and raised as a Catholic, I've always followed the "Fish Friday" tradition for as long as I can remember. It's when (most) Catholics abstain from consuming meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday in Lent, and eat only fish and/or vegetables. I reckon I learned this practice from my great grandmother, who would also diligently sing the "pasyon" during the Holy Week, year in and year out. 

Before I got my air fryer, our Fish Friday meals would either be bangus (daing, bistek, sinigang, or tinapa), tuna (stir-fried or eaten straight from the can), or good ol' pan-fried tilapia.  Now that I have an air fryer, I have even more options such as Tuna Rice Casserole, Cheesy Baked Bangus, and even the quarantine-famous Sushi Bake. 

Recently, I've learned how to make Baked Salmon (yes, Conti's style), and it's the recipe I'm sharing with you today - just in time for another Fish Friday. :)

Baked Salmon (ala Conti's)

Ingredients:

500 grams salmon fillet

5 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 1 lemon

salt & pepper

1/2 block cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsps mayonnaise

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup parmesan cheese

For the side dish:

1 pack mixed vegetables 

2 Tbsps butter

Procedure: 

1. Preheat the air fryer at 190° Celsius.

2. In a bowl, marinate salmon with garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, minced garlic, and parmesan cheese.

4. Remove the salmon from the bowl and pat dry with a paper towel.

5. Place the salmon in a baking pan and spread the cream cheese mixture on top. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top if desired.

6. Set your air fryer to Bake mode and bake at 170° C for 30-25 minutes or until the top is golden.

7. While the salmon is baking, prepare the side dish by melting the butter in a non-stick pan.

8. Once melted, add the vegetable mix to the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender crisp. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. 

9. Serve with the baked salmon.

Foodie Goodie| Lemon Butter Tilapia.

It's Fish Friday once again - that time of the year when we'd abstain from eating meat every Friday during Lent. This is a common tradition for Catholics, and although I'm not the most devout person in this side of the planet, I still pretty much adhere to certain Holy Week practices.

I know some of you are doing the same thing, so here's a fish dish that you can serve during the Lenten season. This one's made with tilapia, my son's favorite fish! :)

Lemon Butter Tilapia

Ingredients:
1 pound tilapia fillets
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon butter

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped (optional)
A dash of pepper

Procedure:
1. Coat fish on both sides with flour. Shake off excess.
2. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add fish; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Turn and cook 2 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove from skillet, and set aside on a serving plate.
4. In another skillet, melt the 2 tablespoons butter.
5. Add lemon juice to the butter and warm briefly.
6. Add Worcestershire sauce and pepper to taste
7. Spoon the sauce over the cooked tilapia, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

A Visit to the Manila Ocean Park.

Weekends are usually crazy fun whenever Mum is home. It's either we're out of town, or out of the country if the time and budget permits. As long as we're out of the house, that's fine for us wanderlusts.

And so three weeks ago, my family and I visited the Manila Ocean Park as Mum's treat to all the September birthday celebrants in the family. There are four - my brother, my sister-in-law, and my niece, as well as my brother-in-law. (If I were to include my cousin, who's currently living in London, that would be five. It's like having a birthday party every week of September!)

The little man has landed!

Our little wanderlusts.

The country's first marine theme park, the Manila Ocean Park first opened to the public in 2008. (I can't believe it took us six long years before we finally visited, lol.) This 'integrated urban resort' features marine life attractions, educational facilities, shopping and dining amenities, as well as an aqua-themed hotel.

The Manila Ocean Park is open daily, all-year round. They operate from 10am to 9pm on weekdays, while on weekends, they're open from 9am to 9pm. Ticket prices range from Php 400 to Php 1100, depending on the attractions included in the package. Out of the six packages available, we chose the Deep Sea Rush package (Php 550) which includes five attractions - the Oceanarium, the Jellies Exhibit, the Sea Lion Show, the Fish Spa, and the Penguin Talk Show.

Fambam! There were ten of us, including my brother who took this photo. :)

Our first stop (after what seemed like a thousand photo ops in the entrance and at the lobby) was the Jellies Exhibit, which features various species of these so-called 'dancing sea fairies'.

Jelly fish galore!

This exhibit is like a scene from a sci-fi movie, with those huge cylindrical tanks and multi-colored lights illuminating the jelly fish. There's even classical music playing in the background which makes this attraction even more enchanting, as if these delicate sea creatures are actually dancing to the music.

Fascinated!

After being wowed by the jelly fish, we headed outside for the Sea Lion Show, which I reckon is my little man's most favorite attraction. The show, which runs for about 20 minutes, features the adorable sea lions from South America.

Basking in the sun while waiting for the show to start.

With the help of their individual trainers, the sea lions performed in front of the crowd, showing cool tricks such as clapping their flippers, shaking their head, playing with balls and water guns, and covering their faces as if to hide embarrassment.

The sea lions and their trainers.

These smart sea creatures can also stand straight and salute, and 'dance' by wriggling their back flippers and spinning round and round. The little man enjoyed the sea lions so much that he wanted to stay and watch the next show. That wasn't possible, of course, as re-entries are prohibited in all attractions.

Salute!

We were famished by the time the show was over, so we decided to have lunch first before visiting the other attractions. From the numerous food options at the Manila Ocean Park, we chose Liquid Pool + Lounge for their Eat All You Can offering.

Liquid Pool + Lounge.

Now priced at Php 230 per person, the buffet features a variety of dishes for a full course meal. There's soup and nachos for starters, and noodles and pasta, too. For the main course, there are fish, chicken, pork, and vegetable dishes to choose from. And for dessert, you can choose from a variety of fruits in season, or the usual buko pandan and fruit salad.

Burp! :)

I must say, we enjoyed our dining experience at Liquid. The food was great, and the price was pretty reasonable, too. Definitely not bad for Php 230.

After our tummy-fill, we made our way to the Oceanarium, the most popular attraction of the Manila Ocean Park.

These trailing vines greet you as you make your way inside the Oceanarium.

Home to 14,000 marine creatures from more than 200 species, the Oceanarium is a stunning underwater adventure, a walk-through of the depths of the ocean.

Underwater adventure. :)

At the heart of the Oceanarium is the main attraction - a 25 meter long, 220° curved walkway tunnel with a spectacular underwater view of amazing sea creatures swimming overhead.

Stingray.

We were all in awe of these sea creatures, especially the sharks and the stingrays. The kids, on the other hand, loved the little fishes especially the ones that they were most familiar with - Nemo (clown fish), Dory (blue tang fish), and Sheldon (sea horse).

Shark.

Spine fish.

Dory!

Piranhas!

We were supposed to watch the Penguin Talk Show afterwards, but decided to skip it after realizing that it's just an animated lecture with no live penguins. And after seeing the long queue at the Fish Spa, Mum decided to skip that as well, and go souvenir shopping instead.

Duty Free Philippines at Manila Ocean Park.

We went to the souvenir shop located at the second floor, where we bought plushies, tees, and fridge magnets. Their merchandise are reasonably priced, with tees ranging from Php 250 to Php 350, plush toys from Php 200 up, and fridge magnets for as low as Php 30. 

Shopping for fridge magnets, shirts, and toys. :)

Our visit to the Manila Ocean Park was definitely fun and very educational. Next time we visit, I'll make sure to include the Trails to Antarctica in our package. I know my little man would love to see the real-life penguins up close and personal. :)

The Manila Ocean Park
behind Quirino Grand Stand, 
Luneta, Manila, Philippines
(02) 567 7777
inquiry@manilaoceanpark.com

Foodie Goodie | Fish Katsu.

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word "katsu"? I bet the image of a breaded and fried pork cutlet will usually come to mind. You might not know it, but there are actually a variety of ways to cook and enjoy this popular Japanese dish.

For starters, there's tonkatsu - breaded pork cutlets with the fat intact. Then there's hirekatsu, which is also pork, but with the fat trimmed before breading and frying. And then we have katsudon, one of my favorite Japanese dish. It's katsu served over rice, topped with egg, onions, and sweet sauce. (You can view the recipe for katsudon here.)

Also in the list are gyukatsu - which uses beef, and chicken katsu - which, as the name suggests, uses chicken. There's also fish katsu - and yes you guessed it right - this one uses fish. This dish is quite popular in South Korea, and has been adapted into Korean cuisine. They call this 'saengsun katsu', and if you're following me on Instagram, you might have seen my bento from last week which features this dish.

I'm sharing the recipe for my fish katsu, as requested by my mommy friends. This dish is very easy to prepare, and even easier to cook, and is a big hit with kids. I know, because my son and his friends are crazy about this dish! :)

Fish Katsu

Ingredients:
500 grams cream dory (or other white fish), cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp sesame oil
4 Tbsp calamansi or lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking oil for frying

Procedure:
1. Marinate fish in calamansi juice, salt, and pepper for 10 minutes.
2. In a bowl, add the eggs and sesame oil. Whisk well, then set aside.
3. Dredge the fish in flour.
4. Dip the fish in the egg mixture.
5. Coat the fish with Panko bread crumbs.
6. In a frying pan, heat the oil over low heat.
7. Place the fish in the pan, and cook until the panko bread crumbs turn light golden brown.
8. Turn the fish over, and cook until the underside turns light golden brown as well.
9. Remove from the pan, and drain the fish on paper towels.
10. Serve with fry sauce* and shredded cabbage on the side.

*Fry sauce is a simple combination of ketchup and mayonnaise, a condiment for dipping french fries. 

Foodie Goodie | Hap Chan Restaurant.

It's our anniversary today! Can't believe my husband and I have been together for 11 long years already. And to celebrate the occasion (despite the husband's physical absence since he's still working overseas), we decided (and by we I mean my son and I) to have lunch at Hap Chan Restaurant. Oh yes, we actually have Hap Chan in San Pablo City. The branch is located at Ultimart, the very first mall here in my hometown.

Hap Chan San Pablo.

The little man and I arrived at the restaurant around 2 pm. A crowd of ten people had just finished eating and was about to leave the restaurant as we stepped in. And within minutes, Yue and I had the place all to ourselves.

Inside Hap Chan.

You get an Asian vibe from the lighting and fixtures - after all, this is a Chinese restaurant.

Bamboo mural and red lanterns.

And like most Chinese restaurants, they served us a complimentary pot of their house tea before our meal.

Jasmine tea.

The little man asking for his cup to be filled with tea, too. :)

Hap Chan has extensive food choices on their menu - dimsum, congee, soup, noodles, vegetables, and classic Chinese dishes. They also have a variety of drinks and desserts, set menus, and rice toppings. I ordered two bowls of rice toppings - one for the little man, one for me - instead of ordering rice and viand platters separately.

Buttered Chicken, Php 130.

The little man had Buttered Chicken - chicken pieces fried in butter, served with vegetables on the side. Yue likes anything chicken, so this dish passed his taste. 

Fish Fillet with Corn Sauce, Php 130.

I, on the other hand, had Fish Fillet with Corn Sauce. While I do appreciate the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness of the fish fillet, I can't seem to fathom the taste of the corn sauce. I was expecting it to taste like creamed corn, but this seemed like it was simply drizzled with Knorr's Crab and Corn soup. 

Hong Kong Lemon Iced Tea.

Good thing I made the right choice of ordering a separate plate of Soyed Tofu. Soft tofu soaked in light soy sauce, this simple yet flavorful dish made up for the somewhat bland taste of my fish fillet. 

Soyed Tofu, Php 80.

By the way, rice toppings come with a free glass of Lemon Iced Tea and a small bowl of Ho To Tay soup. Not bad for Php 130 per order, eh?

Ho To Tay soup.

 The little man loved the soup a lot. He even asked for a refill, much to my surprise. Haha!

Enjoying every slurp. :)

For dessert, the little man ordered Chilled Taho with Sago. He loves 'taho' (silken tofu) just as much as I love regular tofu. Well you know what they say, the apple doesn't fall from the tree. :)

Chilled Taho with Sago, Php 45.

I ordered Butchi, but here's what they served me instead - Bichu ala Mode. Their Butchi is one of the reasons why I wanted to eat at Hap Chan today (I've been craving for Butchi since last week), but alas, our waiter wasn't paying attention and mistook butchi for bichu. 

Bichu ala Mode, Php 75.

I could have refused this bichu and demanded for my butchi, but since the waiter was very apologetic, I let it pass. I shared the ice cream with Yue, and had the bichu wrapped for take-away.  

Selca after our tummy-fill. :)

Despite the order mix-up and my issue with the corn sauce, I can't say the dining experience was bad. Mostly because the little man enjoyed his food at Hap Chan. Halfway through our meal, he was telling me that he'd like to eat at this restaurant again and try the other chicken dishes. Haha! Here's hoping there won't be an order mix-up next time we visit!

Hap Chan San Pablo

Ultimart Plaza, M. Paulino St.,

San Pablo City

(049) 572 3300