Ham of Excellente - Beautiful Sunday

Christmas is fast approaching and you can feel the busy and festive air. People doing early shopping for gifts and one of the significant things here during Christmas is Ham. People here in the Philippines love their ham and the Christmas Eve dinner is not complete without it. Two of the popular variants are Chinese Ham and Pineapple Ham. This #BeautifulSunday we decided to go out and get our ham for Christmas.

We went to one of the busiest spots in Manila which is in Quiapo. We decided this year to try out one of the best Ham in Manila the Excelente Chinese Cooked Ham. I have been hearing about this ham from work and always wanted to try it out.

This shop has been hanging around for decades now which proves that their product is superior in taste. I was told by my aunt that my grandpa used to buy ham here during Christmas. They have been enjoying this ham ages ago and I have never even tasted it.

We arrived around 10 am and the place was already very busy. Sometime people would fall in line just to get a hold of their ham. The hams are already tagged with the weight and price and you would just select the one you like. My wife asked me which I wanted. I was busy taking photos and just told her to get what she could afford. She got the Chinese Jamon de Bola which is de boned ham shaped into a ball.

Everyone seems to be shy and I couldn't get them to pose for the photo. I also tried to do a little chat with them but they were just laughing. Maybe they thought I was with some tv channel and was embarrassed.

The supervisor chatted with me and asked which news paper I was with. Maybe it's because of my long hair lol. I said it's for a blog on the internet and I would like to showcase their ham. There was like a question mark on her face and said Facebook? I replied back and said Steemit. The question mark on her face grew larger. The place was getting busier and I didn't have a chance to explain further. I should start working on that business card soon.

Here are the more expensive bone in ham on display. Their ham as I was told was salty , smokey and not too sweet. Maybe next year we'll be able to afford one of these bad boys.

Once you purchase your ham you will be given a stub to claim you ham on this counter.

People are starting to come in and falling in line to buy ham clippings. Sliced pieces of ham already mixed with sauce which you can buy in weight lower than a kilo. They said it was more flavorful.

They also sold different types of sausages and Quezo de Bola cheese in ball shape covered in wax which is also a part of the Christmas Eve dinner.

There are also **Tikoy** which is some sort of Chinese Rice cake which is popular during Chinese New Year. Along with that they had roasted chestnuts which has a pleasant rustic roasted smell. Quite also popular during this season.

We got our ham home finally and I wanted to taste it so bad. The aroma was calling me and I wanted to sink my teeth into a piece and fill my taste buds with flavor. Sad to say my wife said " No one touches the ham until Christmas Eve!" Well can't do anything about it and the ham goes to the freezer.

I hope I stimulated your sight and your tummy with my post. Cheers Steemians!

My Share for #BeautifulSunday initiated by @ace108

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Taken with Lumix GX85