Dubai: My Home Away from HOME


Living away from home has got to be the most heart-breaking and life-changing decision that I ever made. But please don't get me wrong. I've been living in Dubai a little over two months now, and so far, I'm very much okay with my life here.


I have a nice house, I still get to buy things that I want, I eat good food, and Mark has been taking very good care of me here.

I also have nice neighbors, it's safe everywhere, there's no traffic, and I get to visit different places.


Surely life here may be easier, but as I've said before, it's actually my first time in 28 years to be away from my family, and that for me is the hardest part. Although I'm not the very sociable type, I'm also not used to being alone. Yes, I have Mark with me, I have neighbors around, I've already made friends here, but I'm sure you'll agree with me that nothing really compares to the bond that a close-knit family has.


If there's one consolation, I just love how I can still communicate with my family and get updated with them through the internet. And because of having been away from them, I now appreciate and miss even the littlest things.

A photo posted by kriska marie (@kriskamarie) on

I miss how my dad would enthusiastically greet me whenever he comes home. I miss how he always checks on me when I'm out. I miss morning chikahans about Zumba stuff over breakfast during weekdays with my mom.

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Kriska Cooks: Chicken Cacciatore over Whole Wheat Fusilli



Chicken breasts are mostly what Mark's diet consists of. Whenever he's at the military camp, he usually eats boiled (or sometimes steamed) chicken breasts without even a pinch of salt or pepper. I can just imagine how sad his meal times are. So whenever he comes home on weekends, I make sure that he gets to enjoy what he eats without having to compromise his healthy growing body. :p

I've cooked grilled chicken for him several times already and I prepared Chicken Broccoli for him just recently, so those were definitely out of my list. I remember him requesting me to cook something with tomatoes and  so Chicken Cacciatore was what topped my head.

Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian. In cuisine, it refers to a meal prepared "hunter-style" with tomatoes, onions, and herbs, and is popularly made with braised chicken. Chicken Cacciatore is a dish in itself, but it may also be paired with pasta or even with rice. Fancy and complicated as it may seem, Chicken Cacciatore is very easy to make. Let me share with you guys my version. :)

IMG_3009Chicken Cacciatore over Whole Wheat Fusilli

Ingredients:
IMG_29772 450g-packs boneless skinless chicken breast halves
IMG_29828 pcs medium-sized ripe tomatoes, cut into cubes
IMG_29802 tbsp ground black pepper (for sauce) and another 1 tsp (for chicken)
1 tbsp olive oil for frying
IMG_29812 tbsp fresh parsley, finely-chopped
1 250g-can whole button mushrooms, thinly-sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium-sized onion, chopped

2 tbsp dried oregano
2 tbsp honey

whole wheat fusilli or brown rice

Kriska Cooks: Chicken Broccoli



I've been living away from home for almost a month now.  It's actually my first time in 28 years to be away from my family. And because of that, I have no choice but to do everything, house chores specifically, all on my own. If there's one chore that I love doing the most, it's definitely cooking! And even though I'm not accustomed to being alone and doing everything by myself, I still find joy in it because I get to cook every single day, especially on weekends when I get to cook for Mark. :D

While cooking is really a no-brainer task for me, cooking for a bodybuilder is another thing. I always have to improvise and know healthier alternatives to usual ingredients that 'normal' people eat. :p Here's one of the 'healthy' dishes that I've cooked for Mark. :p

IMG_2818Chicken Broccoli
Ingredients:
IMG_2860 IMG_2862
450g chicken breast fillet, cut into strips
IMG_28592 cloves garlice, minced
1 medium-sized white onion, cubed (red onion may also be used)
1 can button mushrooms, drained and sliced
1 medium-sized broccoli, cut into florets
IMG_28612 tbsp honey
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp ground black pepper


Hong Kong City Tour


After our breakfast, we went back to our room to gear up for our day activities and then went to the hotel's lobby to wait for our bus and tour guide.

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The weather was a little gloomy when we left the hotel and then it started to rain on our way. I was just not sure if it was because of the weather, but we just stayed on the bus while it roamed around Hong Kong.

It was also a bit foggy which is why we weren't able to get a nice view of the surroundings while we were on the bus. Good thing I was able to take note of a few destinations which I thought we can go to on our own. These were the shopping areas in Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon, and the night market in Mongkok. Thanks to our tour guide, Kristi, for the info. :D

IMG_9447Kristi, Our Tour Guide

Photo Diary: Hong Kong City Tour



Date of visit: April 8, 2014

Read full story HERE :)

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Breakfast at Cafe de Coral, Hong Kong


We had our dinner the night before at Cafe de Coral. And because I enjoyed our dinner and I already knew that we'd also be having our breakfast there, I somehow scouted the menu and took note of what I'd be having for breakfast. Haha! Apparently, they serve different sets of dishes for breakfast, just like what most restaurants do. And why haven't I thought of that? Haha!

IMG_9557Bun with Butter, Twisty Macaroni in Oxtail Soup, and Scrambled Egg with Milk - HK$ 22.00
with Freshly-brewed Coffee,  Tea, or Soda - additional HK$ 3.00

Our hotel accommodation in Hong Kong came with free breakfast for each guest...or so we thought. Well yeah, the breakfast wasn't totally for free unlike what usual hotel accommodations offer. We were just given HK$ 20.00 coupons per person per day which we may use in Cafe de Coral for breakfast on each morning of our stay.
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