Fun Friday

Phoebe and I were going to meet her friends Chatchie and Lexi to foray at Quiapo for some precious videos. The meeting place was at Jollibee between the church and Mercury Drugs after lunch . We get off the Carriedo station and started walking to the direction of the Quiapo Church. There were quite a lot of people because it was the first Friday of the month..... and many devotees of the Black Nazarene were there to hear mass. When we got to the plaza in front of the church we started to survey the area to look for the Jollibee in between the church and Mercury Drugs. After some minutes of craning our neck and squinting under the 12 noon sun we finally found the Jollibee restaurant.... it was located at the 3rd floor of a building at the left side of the church. There we found Chatchie waiting for us.... we waited some 15 more minutes... before Lexi arrived...while waiting I took some snapshots of the devotees below.... they already spilled at the side of the minor basilica... because there were so many devotees hearing mass.

When Lexi arrived we immediately proceeded to the video enclave.....We spent more than 2 hours and loads of money scouring the area. Afterwards we decided to head to Cubao for dinner... good thing there is the LRT2 line.... the commute from Quiapo to Cubao only took us a couple of minutes. We had our dinner at Hap Chan... as usual it was a very dependable resto for a decent chinese food and it is very affordable. After our sumptous dinner we decided to stretch our legs and head towards Cubao-X (Marikina Shoe Expo)... there is an attempt since last year to revive the place and turn it into some eclectic mix of art galleries, shops, and cafes.


The first shop that we visited was a store carrying mostly graphic novels.... Frank Miller's, Neil Gaiman's, etc... Actually I found a graphic book of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and I promise myself to comeback and buy myself a copy before Neil's visit here in the Philippines this coming November. I really need to save myself money to be able to buy this book because it is quite expensive.... donations accepted :-) The person who owns the place and tending the shop was a young man possibly in his late 20's.... and he was very engaging to talk with. He really knows his merchandise and his shop is definitely a good source for hard to find graphic novels.

The next shop we entered was Heritage... the place is filled with Filipinianas... and I tell you the place is filled with various artifacts, curios, trinkets, publications, prints, artworks, sculptures., etc. The collection also comes from various circa such as pre Spanish, Spanish, Japanese, American, 60's, 70's, and even 80's. Looking at the various artifacts and whatchamacallits is such a source of fun and even information. You can find yourself lost with amazement with the various things you will find in this shop.

The next shop we entered is quite colorful... the name of the shop speaks for itself "Vintage Pop" so as expected there were lots of items from the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's... This is a pop culture collectors' haven. Looking at the items on display brings back fond childhood memories. The owner was even there and gladly answers inquiries.

The next shop we entered was Halo.... the place is on their first day of soft opening. And I tell you the owners of this cafe/resto is the most friendly and accomodating host I have ever met. Just look for Ces.... then again you don't have to look for her ....she will definitely greet you once you entered their cafe and really make sure that you get the coffee or slice of cake that you want immediately. The nice thing about Halo is that all they serve is organic... they even have a vegetarian burger....nah not the TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) variety... it's made of something else and it is very filling. Their cakes and patries are all sugar free .... the coffee they serve came all the way from Bohol...

After all the walking that we did our feet finally started aching...we dont have to look far because right next door is a brightly lit cafe "Happy Turtle". The decor was fantastic.. they have two big aquariums mounted on the wall and an aquarium in the counter. They serve coffee, tea, fruit shakes and cakes. I decided to have fresh strawberry shake....and dude it is really fresh.. not the creamy milk shake with a tinge of flavor that you'l find in most cafes these days... The place is really such a treat to sip coffee or fruit shake ....because the aquariums dude... they really RAWKS! especially the turtles... watch the video I recorded and embedded in this blog to see what I mean.



The shops here are usually open between 6pm until 9pm... I am a bit tired of going to posh shopping places like the Bonifacio High Street in Serendra... well... hmmmm... not really... but you see... Cubao-X is a definite welcome change... the owners are very accomodating... and the place has a lot to offer... there were some art galleries and cafes that we have yet to visit... plus there's also the ever dependable Bellini's if you are into authentic Italian food at a very affordable price.

Opulent Dining Experience

I received a txt message from my friend Cat asking me, Alma, and Jtt to join her and hubby Thierry to a dinner date. Cat just got married 9 days ago and had just been back from her honeymoon in Boracay. Thierry will go back to France on Saturday hence Cat would like to have a get together before weekend. We are supposed to meet around 530pm at Galleria. Unfortunately because of the heavy traffic towards NLEX I was only able to arrive at Galleria around 730pm. They were all waiting for me at Figaro, Cat told me that we should just have dinner at any resto within Galleria since it is already a bit late and they still have another commitment to attend to. I said NO I did not travel all the way from far North and endured more than two hours of traffic just to eat at some restaurant I can find in every mall in the metropolis. And yeah I am fully aware that she is going to foot the tab. Cat and I were arguing as usual and I forgot that her French hubby was with us.... I wonder what he must be thinking? har har har.....




Anyways, I won the battle..... all five of us crammed inside Jtt's Toyota sedan and off we went to a place I have no idea where.... The resto we are supposed to go to is just nearby according to Jtt, only Cat and Jtt had the pleasure of dining there...for what I can remember Jtt's been raving about the place years and years ago..... but we have not gone there as a group until now. When we get off the car I immediately noticed that the restaurant's facade was not very impressive... however... once you stepped inside you'll be in for a big surprise. The place is teeming with curios, trinkets, antique furnitures, potteries, chinas, and much much more. It is like inside a huge kaleidoscope and the burst of colors is simply overwhelming.... in a very nice way.



We came there primarily because according to my companions the food in this restaurant is really good. Cat and Jtt were the ones who took the reponsibility of placing the orders to the waiter. The first food to be served was the Catfish with Mango salad and boy oh boy the catfish is like a swirling flake of a snake.....it looks soooo good and taste equally good as well. The catfish is crunchy and the dressing and mango compliments the taste of the cruchy fish very well.




The shrimp dumplings is also very good...... it tasted great and I had mine without dipping it in chilli sauce. The wrap almost melts in your mouth and the shrimp is very succulent.




The shrimp gambas is also good...... the spiciness is not overwhelming... just enough to enjoy the heat without scampering for a glass of water.


When we were still on our way to this restaurant Jtt mentioned to me about this particular sinigang that they serve at this restaurant. At first I find the main ingredient to be a bit weird and I am a bit unconvinced about the whole thing. However, the moment I tasted the Corned Beef Sinigang I realized that using corned beef makes sense if not a genius of an idea. The meat as expected was very tender and the soup was sour enough to make one cringe in delight.



The spring rolls' wrap was crunchy and the filling was nice and chewy, also the dip compliments the taste of the spring rolls.




Cat was looking forward to tasting again the Lechong Kawali with Bagoong and I can't blame her. The pork was crunchy yet it was not dry and the bagoong had an equal balance of sweetness and saltiness that enhances the flavor of the deep fried pork.

The Fettuccini and Maya-Maya with Pesto Sauce was likewise excellent.... the fettuccini was al dente and the fish was neither rare nor overcooked. The pesto sauce was creamy and flavorful.

The only entree that did not impressed me favorably was the Osso Buco. I've heard so much about this Italian dish and I was looking forward to tasting my first Osso Buco. The meat was very tender but the taste was so bland. From what I've heard it should be a braised veal in olive oil, white wine, stock, onions, tomatoes, garlic, anchovies, carrots, celery and lemon peel. Well I guess I'll have to try my next Osso Buco in some other Italian restaurant.


The last entree was the Bistek Tagalog and it tasted great.... the beef was very tender and the flavor of soy sauce is very mild that allows you to taste the beef.

We were all quite full and not sold to the idea having any dessert.... however there was one small voice in our group of five that insisted that we should try even just one dessert that we are going to share to complete the whole dining experience. I don't remember who it was but it was definitely not me. Anyway, we decided to have Creme Brulee in honor of our French host. As we all know creme brulee is a custard with caramelized sugar crust. Thierry took the first crack and tasted the creme brulee.... and he said it was excellent... just like what he usually have in France.
To quench our thirst we either had Dalandan Shake, Dalandan Juice, Watermelon Shake, or Beer.

My dining experience in Cafe Juanita was a great adventure..... it was a visual and gastronomical delight. I will definitely go back there over and over and over again.

Standard Room

I was at Shangri-la Makati yesterday for the send-off/slumber party of my former colleague in Quorum. Che is going to try her luck in Israel, we all wished her bon voyage but more than anything else we also prayed for her safety once she is already in this unstable country. Quite a number of my former colleagues in this IT company are already scattered around the globe in pursuit of better living condition. Some are in Europe, Middle East, but most are in the US. I hope that they are all in good health and doing well in their new endeavors.

Anyways, I had lots of fun. It is always great to get in touch with friends and former colleagues. This particular group that I had party with are from the "Archive Dept." It also helped to make it more memorable that the venue for this get together is the posh Shangri-la Hotel in Makati. I now rarely step inside the 5 star hotels of this archipelago, unlike before or some 4 years ago when I was still connected with Quorum. I was then usually the one tasked by my superior to the guest relations assignments for our counterparts from the US. The task usually involves touring the guests in and out of the metropolis, dining with them, and doing activities even as mundane as taking a dip in the hotel pool. Our guests are always billeted in EDSA Shangri-la and I had the opportunity of soaking up on all the amenities the hotel provides from having daily breakfast at the cafe to having a chauffeur driven car take me home.

The slumber/send-off party was held in a "standard room" which is quite impressive in size. The room has a bed that can accomodate 7 people, it has a shower and tub, pretty decent bar, and a nice view of the Makati Shopping Center. The party started around 630 pm and ended in the following morning. Shalom ;-)

Slumber, Organic, and the Reaping

Last thursday Cat told me that we are going to sleep again at jtt's place this weekend. I was a bit surprised because we were just together last weekend for three days. This time the plan was jtt will cook us dinner then slumber then wake up early because we are going to take a dip at the clubhouse's swimming pool, visit the organic market at Salcedo Village and then go to Quiapo. The meeting place is Rob's Galleria around 6pm and I came around 7:30pm :-) As usual there is a change of plan and a telltale sign of what will happen to our planned itinerary. We decided to just eat at Chef d' Angelo because jtt is already too tired to cook for dinner. After gobbling a tummyful of pasta and some small talk we headed to jtt's abode. Before I knew it I found myself again snoring at this bedroom.

I woke up early and started surfing the net...... jtt's uber house is wifi hotspot...did I say it right? I am not a tech geek. Anyways around 8am I went to take a bath and by 9 am jtt took her turn at the bathroom and afterwhich went down to prepare our breakfast. Cat was the last to wake up and bathe. We went downstairs to find the dining table with eclectic mix of corned beef sauteed in garlic, onions, and potato, Japanese rice, and Soba. After breakfast it was already past 10am hence we decided to scrap the plan to take a dip at the pool because we dont want to miss the organic market at Salcedo Village. So off we went to Salcedo Village around 10:30am. The place is teeming with vendors with all kinds of trade. I particularly enjoyed gawking at the vegetable produce for sale.

I noticed that there were a lot of expats hanging around the market and the place is filled with conyo people. Well at least my presence have turned the conyo barometer a notch lower :-) Anyways, other than fruits and vegetables, there were also some cooked foods, pastries, breads, spices, fish, meat, plants, and various crafts and trinkets for sale. I ended up buying a butter cake, suman of various flavor (i.e. mango, cassava, langka, etc.) and vegetables for salad. One stupid setback though.... I later realized that I forgot to buy lettuce.

Around 12 noon the heat was already so intense that we immediately decided to go inside the nearby Starbucks. Fortyfive minutes later and after guzzling my venti vanilla drink we decided not to continue the trip to Quiapo because of the intense summer heat. Left with nothing else to do we decided to watch a movie, we then drove to the nearby Greenbelt 1. Cat suggested that we watch The Reaping with no other options available and a bit apprehension we ended up watching The Reaping. My initial inkling about this movie did not prove me wrong. I can't understand why Hillary Swank did this movie in the first place. The two Oscars she have garnered should make her more choosy with the kind of films she makes. I dont like this movie at all. It has its share of scare but that is all it has to show. After the disappointing movie Cat suggested that we look for a wedding dress.... she plans to get married this year and would like to have a wedding dress off the rack. After doing the rounds in all the boutiques and department stores in Glorietta and Greenbelt. Cat ended up realizing that the options is probably not even better off from what she would find in Divisoria. She resolved then that she would either just buy from Divisoria or Hong Kong for her off the rack wedding dress. After this we all felt so tired and decided to go home.

Good Friday at Baywalk

Last night we decided to go to Baywalk just to walk about and resolved to wake up very early the following morning (4am) . Very typical of my family..... around 6:30am my mom woke me up and I hurried up to fix myself for the supposedly very early morning walk ;-) The four of us haven't "done" Baywalk for almost a year already... we usually just pass by the area on our way to Makati or MoA. We arrived around past 7am and the summer sun is already brightly shining.

There were quite a lot of kids and adults bathing along the breakwater. A couple of minutes later came a policeman and he asked the people to stop swimming for obvious reasons like.... dude the sea is polluted. He pointed out that the bay serves as a sewage dump and it is not healthy to swim at the sea. The people grudgingly obeyed him and this just made me feel sad. Here we have a shoreline and good beach front that should serve as a recreational paradise for everybody but because of our neglect and stupidity to take care of our natural resources we cannot enjoy what we have. Just imagine how cool it would have been to live in Manila because just a couple of minutes away is a beachfront..... just imagine that.

Anyway, kudos to Mayor Atienza there is still something worthwhile to do to enjoy Manila Bay. I really liked what he did for the place. I think the Shark and Dinosaurs are great new attractions and its pretty cool to see these things up close. After my mom complained that she can't do any more walking we decided to have brunch. Fortunately Aristocrat is open even on Good Friday! So we had a hearty brunch and went home with a full and happy tummy.