Soms Noodle House

The well kept secret
Now out in the open
Soms Noodle House
A frequent diner's recluse

It was a long journey
We tried so many times
We failed miserably
Getting a seat when lunch on the way

Today we came back
Knowing it's way beyond lunch
Glad to find out its deserted
Just a few diners left

Banana Leaf

Banana Leaf has opened its branch in Greenbelt 3. It is the usual full fledged dining resto that offers a la carte orders, just like how this restaurant started in the old Greenbelt. However, I do miss the 4 kinds of mushroom specialty that it used to have and now visibly taken out from its menu.

Banana Leaf
An asian resto in contemporary design
A fusion of indian, thai & malay cuisine
Often referred to as Singaporean's own
Both spicy and sweet, you can't go wrong.
Borrowed curry flavor leaves the mouth wanting
With intense chili and spice, you know its thai
Complementing better with nan or roti channai.

The group decides on an easy diet
Some meat, some fish and veggie please
All agreed to try the roti but order some rice
Forgo a separate curry suace on the side
Pick instead a green or red curry dish
Never the beef but may the chicken thai
Just to break the monotony the last time we tried.

Indeed its harder to choose the fish
For we are constrained by our budget's purse
The sambal looked appetizing in pictures
Not knowing for sure what's coating its exterior.
Informed we were, it will take awhile
Considering that the fish gets fried
Polished in the oven it gets some better pride.

The veggie was a trick at first
Undecide between the water spinach
Versus the malay noble leaves
Getting adventurous we often missed badly
Half expecting the vianed that came our way
Sated we were, glad the noble veggie
Sauteed in garlic, indeed it was healthy.

We came too hungry, any food well done
The fish cracker - an on the house welcome
Consumed fast, we could have wanted more
Discouraged only, the next serving not free
Pondering on what our bill would be
No one budged to spend more on appetizer
As we often go over our Php150 buzzer

The sambal fish was a big hit
Despite the long wait, its crispy and sweet
A certain smell emanates from its skin
No wonder - it was shrimp paste within
We never knew just by the picture we viewed
For sure it was tasty like we envisioned
Any day, we knew, this fish will be consumed.

We came famished, we left satisfied
A meal not too expensive with Gentley's card
Glad there's promo,there's more discount
When divided, we cannot help but smile.

Chicken Bacolod

September 11, 2007

Our lunch was taken at Chicken Bacolod in Greenbelt 1. Gentley was kind enough to drive us to the mall today, as the Company vehicle was banned from the streets on a Tuesday. We decided to eat cheap today and we picked Chicken Bacolod.

Chicken Bacolod serves the ever famous chicken inasal or grilled chicken marinated in yellow ginger root extract that gained prominence in the Manokan Country somewhere in Bacolod City. Aside from the grilled chicken, it has the ever tasty and delicious La Paz Batchoy, a noodle stew served with lots of garlic, pork skin and whole egg.

I would always order the chicken breast at Chicken Bacolod with garlic rice. Today, however, I cajoled the group to try out the crispy crablets as a side order. Mimi did order the chicken leg and a bowl of hot La Paz batchoy, which she willingly shared with the group. I opted not to partake of the batchoy as it is cholesterol laden and I am on a quest to lower my cholesterol as I'm feeling the dizziness and symptoms of high blood pressure this past week.

I did enjoy my grilled chicken breast but the crablets was a disappointment. I did expect the crablets to be baby crabs, but these were a bit bigger already. It did not came out as crispy and crunchy any more. The claws were a bit bigger and harder to munch on. This sentiment was shared by the group and we vowed not to order this again in the future.

I was amazed when Gentley made a confession that he had not tried making the calamansi - soy sauce dip before to go with the grilled chicken. As filipino as we are, this is almost disfunctional as we filipinos are so used to having this dip with lots and lots of chili to spice up the dip. Anyways, Gentley never claimed to be a fan of grilled chicken and he found the chicken and the dip to be a good complement.

I paid only about Php130 for my meal, including the soda which I also ordered.

Afterwards, I went out to Ace Hardware to buy some knick nacks, some screws and other stuff. Maidette, Mimi and Gentley however, went to Razon's to get some desserts, the ever famous halo-halo of Razon's.

Yum Yum Tree

I missed to update my food blog for the past two weeks. However, today, I will try to update my blog just as I had done these past two months.

September 10, 2007

We had lunch at Yum Yum Tree in Rustan's Supermarket in Glorietta. We me during the lunch were Mimi, Gentley, Maidette and Chay.

I ordered the sizzling bangus steak (milkfish steak). What came out was a huge bangus fish split open and served in a hot sizzling plate. Loads of tasty mushroom gravy were spread on the deep fried fish. It came served with carrot sticks, baguio beans and corn bits.

It was a heavy meal indeed. I liked the way it was cooked, I almost licked my fingers while devouring the entire fish. I could described the food as something that goes well with rice. In fact, one could almost consume two cupfuls of rice servings because of the saucy fish viand. I had one good lunch that I cannot complain about. I believe, if I remember right, I paid Php300 for the fish and a can of soda.

After lunch, we went out of our ways for some shopping. I chose to go with Maidette as she went shopping for baby things. You see, here sister is delivering her baby in Toronto, Canada and she has been tasked to source the baby needs here in the Philippines. Maidette's mom is leaving a two week's time for Canada and her mom will be bringing all the baby things with her.

Today, Maidette was looking for that stove-top feeding bottle sterilizer. Her sister was quite specific about getting the non-electric variety as gas prices are cheaper in Canada and the bad reviews of the electric variant. They tend to break down easily after only several months use. And the sterilizer are a constant need to a family with a new born baby until about two years thereafter. Hence, the need to have a reliable sterilizer is a must.

Me and Maidette went to Rustan's department store to see if the store carried the stove-top sterilizer. We learned that not much inventory is carried for this type as people tend favor the electric powered variety already. We went to Landmark, on the other side of Glorietta which Maidette knew for sure would have lots and lots of choices on baby products. Maidette was right. She found what she has been looking for. She bought it at once while I shopped for breast pads and baby bath tub screen. I could have bought the sterilizer then which I would be needing soon myself, but I hesitated as Lani would not be too excited for me to be shopping for more baby stuff this early.

Anyways, my plans to the afternoon to get some fruits did not push through. We spent a lot of our time in Landmark, it was time to return to the office. Alvin picked us up in G4 entrance and drove us back to the office.

Mongolian Stop

Alvin, our Company driver had asked for a vacation today. He went over to his family in Bicol for his usual coming home schedule as it takes about 10 hours by bus just to reach the place where he took up residence.

We decided to have our lunch at RCBC Plaza as it was a walking distance from our office. We trooped out early as Maidette had early afternoon meetings. Me and Rene meet up with Mimi at the RCBC Tower lobby as she was at UCPB bank earlier. Maidette and Chay went ahead to withdraw money from the bank as well.

Upon seeing most of the restaurants were full with diners, we decided to have our lunch at Mongolian Stop. Mongolian Stop is the franchised version of the origina Mongolian Barbecue, a joint that serves eat-all-you-can mongolian food. Mongol food is a combination of rice, noodles, vegetables, meats and spices and sauteed in very hot oil and served in a deep bowl. A diner can choose how to spice up his food, by adding more chili, sugar, garlic, ginger or the mongolian hot suace or the sweet and spicy sauce. It is one truly simple meal where all the ingredients are dumped into one dish and one can savor the melange of flavors infused in one great meal.

I ordered the mongolian bowl single, where I had the freedom to choose what food ingredients goes into my meal. I chose a spoonful of rice, some heap of vermicilli noodles, egg noodles, chinese pichay, cabbage, young corn, a good amount of carrots, some shallots, ginger and garlic. I also added some chicken meat, beef and what remained of the sliced squid meat. The lady who assisted me asked for my flavor and seasoning, so I told her to make mine, sweet and spicy. She took care of adding the different spices and seasonings to make it sweet and spicy as I took my place in a nearby vacant table.

We all got settled down and my food was served first, freshly cooked from the kitchen. The clear soup with noodles was bland but, this one was served on the house. My Mongolian food came and I thought it was too sweet for my pallet. I guess, their standard for adding sugar was a bit more than what my serving should have considering that I only took too few of the cooked rice. I don't want to add more rice in my bowl, hence, I was not complaining anymore for the sweeter taste than what I had expected it.

Mimi relayed her reunion practice the other day where some jubilarians, especially those celebrating their Golden Anniversary were septuagenarians already. She told us the concept of their presentation where the older ladies will be singing and dancing on the Alphabet song with words all associated with later years in life. For instance, A will stand for Arthritis, while B will be for Bones and C for Cancer, etc. These ladies even have Hot flashes for H, imagine that, at that age, they still experience hot flashes, or may be imagining it altogether, hehehe.

I paid Php145.00 for my meal today.

Terry's Selection & UCC Vienna Cafe

This is not one of those lunch escapade blogs, but, nonetheless, I am including it here as it involved a best friend's birthday treat to me.

Allan's birthday is on September 7th but his schedule will be toxic he decided to treat me on the day before instead. It was a good coincidence as my wife will have a late video conference meeting in her office, hence, I'm free for the evening to dine away for Allan's birthday.

After a quick haircut at Ystilo Salon on my way home to pick up my car, I drove to Allan's flat in Valle Verde. You see, it's Thursday, my carless day, can't drive my car until after 7pm. Allan decided to try out Terry's Selection, a wine shop that's noted to serve sumptous meals in Podium. This was our first time at Terry's so Allan asked for the shop's specialties. We tried the fabled cheese croquettas, the pumpkin soup while I had lamb stew for my main course. Allan, in keeping with his stricter plans to lose some poundage, ordered the solomillo fish.

The cheese croquettas were good, it oozed with gladness and hints of blue cheese. However, we waited for the mayo herbed dip that came later. Thank God, the croquettas were served really hot, we can't bite until after we passed sometime catching up on what had happened lately with our lives. The soup was a bit salty and no amount of pepper could save it. Then my lamb stew was served. It was cooked in some iron pan and the tomato base sizzled as it was served to me. Oh how tender the lamb meat was, it almost melted in my mouth. I love the way it was cooked, the creaminess of the tomato sauce, the slices of potato, the garlic, bell pepper and other ingredients, all enhanced the distinct taste of the lamb. Had I not been watching my blood pressure lately, I would have ordered a cupful of rice and wipe away the stew sauce in the iron pan with rice. I was able to consume the served mashed potato in no time at all. That's how delightful this dish was.

Allan's solomillo fish tasted salty because of the generous capers put into the dish. Nonetheless, it tasted good and fresh. It was a truly refreshing meal especially with the lemonade drink that were squeezed fresh that I had. I did not check the cost of this meal. Allan collected the tab as it was his birthday treat.

We walked to the lobby side of Podium to get our coffee and dessert at UCC Vienna Cafe. We knew we could not eat more after the heavy dinner we just had. But we need to pass time and wait for Lani to be off her meeting. We settled to order the Velvet Coffee cake while Allan ordered the decaf coffee. I got myself a Havanna Blue soda. The Velvet Coffee cake was more mouse than cake. And we had a great time devouring the mini cake. It cake was as soft as the angel cake while the mouse tasted coffee cream. It was nicely presented and it never failed to give our thumbs up for a superb dessert.

I picked up Lani thereafter at the World Bank.

Suzukin & Cheesecake Melliza

It was a quite Thursday morning. Just one uneventful day at the office. Maidette went on a personal errand to fetch the TMX toy for her son, while Mimi was out on leave. That left me, Gentley and Chay as lunch buddies for the day.

We all love cheap and good food. Hence, today, although we originally planned for Fat Micheals to try out for lunch, we decided against it becuase our group was not complete. Instead, we wanted to be adventurous and eat at Suzukin.

Suzukin is a little known Japanese kitchenette in the area of Makati. It used to be the unique hole in the wall type of dining place, where good, authentic japanese cuisine is served day-in, day-out. I've known the place since 1995 when my friends from La Salle introduced me to this place, and since then, I have been a diner on occassions. Gentley has also been a patron for quite some time now. He claims to have admired a pretty waitress in the place, sometime ago.

Anyways, we all ordered the lunch specials. It included a soup bowl of japanese miso, shrimp tempura, chicken tonkatsu, tuna steak, pork teriaki, bean sprouts and dilis on the side. It's like a sampler of certain japanese cuisine that's adapted to filipino pallets.

The miso soup, according to Gentley, traced its origins to provincial japanese cooking. It included cubes of tufo, eggplant cutlets, hints of nori and the miso. It tasted good and everyone seemed to be agreement. I traded my chicken with Gentley's tuna steak and I had one good meal of the day. I finished early the bowl of rice and downed in no time, the bottle of soda that I ordered, as well.

We casually talked about the bickering in Couples For Christ and how certain christians behave - seemingly becoming more self-righteous than their catholic brothers. Gentley talked about the indoctrination in Iglesia ni Cristo, whereby, it was taught that in the end of days, its members are taught to rush to their churches or temples, as literally, it becomes a spaceship and will fly the devouts to heaven. In fact, the spires architecture of the Iglesia churches have a reason - in the end of days, these spires are supposed to pierce through whatever may hinder, block or stop the churches from flying through the heavens. I was dumbfounded, I never realized that the Iglesia's were taught this doctrine of flying churches.

Then we talked about ghosts and spirits. Everyone seemed to agree that ghosts and spirits are real and nothing but manifestations of the devil himself. However, Chay respected the fact the dwarves and spirits are there but could not harm human beings provided you are strong in your faith. Then we talked about life after death. Chay and Gentley were in agreement that a man's soul leaves the body, right after death and goes directly to either heaven or hell. I seemed to disagree on this. To me, there is life after death. However, the soul or spirit, does not get judged and face God, not until the end of days or Judgment Day. Hence, the heaven and hell thingy does not happen until the judgment day comes. Chay will not believe that at some point, the soul or spirit will be left in limbo. She planned to consult her christian friends on this one.

Anyways, we settled our bill and I paid Php125.00 for my meal. We left for Cheesecake Melliza, a pastry shop some two blocks away. Gentley was delightful enough to treat us for desserts.

Cheesecake Melliza has a wide assortments of cheesecakes and pastries. However, we ordered the Caramel Walnut Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake and the Triple Chocolate Cheesecake. Alvin was invited by Gentley to join us for desserts. Of the three cheesecakes we tried, I liked the Caramel Walnut the most. It was creamy to the taste and easy on the pallet. It didn't hit me like those cheesecakes with soury taste when the creamcheese gets heated in the oven and mixed with sourcream.

It was a beautiful ending to our lunch escapade for the day.

Luk Yuen

Maidette had some purchases to make at Babyland, hence, our choice of lunch place came back to Glorietta. After going through the list of places to eat, where Mimi voted off the suggestion of Wok Inn, we settled on having lunch at Luk Yuen.

Luk Yuen is one of those chinese noodle houses that started way back in the early 80s. Its quite known for its noodle dishes, congee, taro puff and some dimsum. However, it was not able to differiate a lot its offers from other noddle places like Hap Chan, North Park or Mann Hann. While North Park continued its expansion and re-invention, Luk Yuen seemed on the verge of folding up with only few dining places that's left in operation.

Mimi did not want to order for the group today. She wanted to have her own food, that of her liking. She was traumatized by the kind of pasta that was served the other day in Pizza Hut Bistro, which was not to her liking.

Me, I ordered for myself the lapu-lapu fillet in bitter gourd rice. While for dessert, I had momo chacha, some kind of sweetened rice porridge with lots of yams, tapioca and coconut milk.

The lapu-lapu fillet was cooked crisp and served with generous amount of rice, slices of bitter gourd with black bean sauce. The black bean sauce lent a lot of its flavor to the fish and the rice. In no time, I was able to consume it all. Maybe, I was hungry as well. Maidette had offered her siopao - asado to the group, as well as her taro puff. But I was excited to have my momo chacha more than anything. It came hot from the kitchen this time. The porridge was thick with lots of purple and sweet yam. The ground rice which we call "galapong" in the local dialect, was rolled in egg shapes and colored red, green and yellow. When Maidette saw it, she asked for asked to get one. I am not a fun of "galapongs", especially when its rolled into shapes, I liked it added as is in the porridge, unprocessed. Maidette loved it a lot and Gentley was tempted to get the other "galapong". In the end, Gentley had the other one that left on my plate.

We paid Php200.00 each, as well for this meal today. Still, really cheap. Maidette went out to Babyland to shop for some blankets, diapers and flanel sheets for her sister in Canada who is about to deliver her baby. I went to scour the shops for a decent desktop picture holder for a gift to Allan. He will celebrate his birthday this coming Friday, September 7th, and I have not thought of anything better to give. I know, he was building up his picture frame collection, I might as well add a piece. Hopefully, it gets his appreciation.

We were driven by Alvin today to Glorietta, me, Chay, Mimi, Gentley and Maidette.

Pizza Hut Bistro

We could not agree where to eat to today. Although, Gentley was kind enough to drive us to Glorietta as Mimi and Chay have some shopping to do at Shoemart.

Along the way, we settled to come back to Pizza Hut Bistro. Well, it has only been me and Gentley who had tried the place. Mimi, Chay and Maidette have seen place but did not have the opportunity to actually try out the new Pizza Hut concept restaurant.

Maidette had only begun her reading of the Harry Potter book - the Deathly Hallows. She's tugging along the book, and would continue to read even in the hallways, in the car and even in the restaurant. She was oblivious of the noise, the conversations in the table but would only stop and ask about what's the thing we laughed about when she couldn't resist the temptation. I know, the true Harry Potter fanatic would even postpone sleep just to get to the last part of the book and these people refused to listen or read about the reviews and spoilers that came out. Good thing, the mania had started to wane.

We went through the entire menu of Pizza Hut, and Mimi and Chay have some favorites. However, I chanced upon the promo of group dining, where a certain menu of Ceasar salad, pasta, Pizza and soda - good for a group of 4 people can be had for Php699.00. It was glad to know from Marilyn, our waitress, that we can actually substitute the pizza flavor by anything that we choose from the menu. It was not a hard sell to the group, we settled for the group menu offering.

Gentley suggested to change the cheesy pops pizza to a seafood pizza. No one objected. I wanted to try out their steak french fries, as an additional appetizer and we had it. The fries came in some mustard, ranch flavored dip and everyone liked it. The Ceasar salad was not as good. The dressing was a little bit too much while the lettuce was not fresh anymore. The cheesy pops seafood pizza came. Oh, I love the cheesy pops. It came with two cheeses, the mozzarella and cheddar and it literally pops in your mouth when you take a bite off it. The seafood flavor though wasn't a hit. The pizza tasted more sweet and flavorful. I think it was the shrimp and crabstick that lend more its flavor than the cheese base. Besides, the pizza wasn't prepared with the usual tomato sauce base. Other than its sweet taste, the pizza was ok.

What came out most disappointing was the spaghetti pasta. It just didn't taste right. Since there were two platefuls of pasta, barely less than one half of one plate was touched. We have to have it wrapped, the leftover pasta, as no one cared to touch it anymore.

We contemplated on having our dessert. We joked about how much our bill would be. We often see on the computer screen a very similar amount of billing to what we think our food should cost, and this made us hesitant to buy any more dessert. In the end, no one objected as I ordered the dessert sampler. The dessert sampler is a combination of panna cotta, the lava cake and brownie ala mode. Every one had their opinion on the lava cake and we agreed this lava cake could not hold a candle flame to Global Cafe's lava cake that oozes with chocolate and melts in your month texture.

Nonetheless, the panna cotta had some mixed reviews. Maidette loved it while most of the group did not like the idea the the panna cotta was not a jello like. It bordered on being a harder refrigator cake, more ice cream like than soft and gelatinous. The brownie ala mode was more ice cream and it melted as no one cared to try it that much.

Anyways, we only paid Php200.00 each for this meal. Really cheap lunch indeed.

Brother's Burger

Maidette was M.I.A. for lunch today. Chay begged off to attend a cooking class with Heny Sison in Quezon City while Gentley did not report for work. Rene also, picked up earlier, his lunch for the day. That leaves me and Mimi as lunch buddies for the day.

We decided to eat at some place near the office. I mentioned Max's Restuarant and she was ok with the place. We walked to Convergy's for our lunch. We were badly disappointed to see a long queue of diners on the outside of the restaurant, patiently waiting for a table to clear. I was not in the mood to wait nor did Mimi. I suggested we take Brother's Burger instead.

Althought, it was against my stricter healthy diet, I thought, one meal would not hurt my cholesterol by as much. So I ordered by Big Brother's Burger, Onion Rings and a glass of lemonade. I am not a big burger fan but Brother's burgers are a class of their own. McDonald's Big Mac pales in comparison this Rolls Royce of burgers in the Philippines. The burgers are just plain good to eat, freshly broiled, slightly burnt on the outside with juices packed in the inside of the meat. Maybe its the sheer thickness of the burger patties because the patties here in Brothers are nowhere near thin like their lesser known cousins in McDonalds and Burger King. And the store has this certified black angus beef burger, imagine that. But Brother's is not for kids at all. All burgers are at least in the range of Php100.00 which is quite steep when compared with the burger meal version of the other chains that included already some soda and french fries.

I don't feel short-changed at all when dining at Brother's Burger. Whenever, I'm at it, I always order on the side the fabled onion rings which are crisp on the outside and sweet and juicy on the inside. And if you feel there's some space left in your stomach, the choco ice cream is to die for. It's formulated especially for Brother's Burger and made by a local firm that market's its own brand, Arce Dairy.

I had this conversation with Mimi where she asked for suggestions on OrgDev programs suited to her client that wants a management activity for one night only. I suggested the concept of having a chef invited in to their party, while the mancom participants would help in their appetizer and cocktail drinks preparation. Having a common activity lets the mancom members to bond and talk about non-work ideas and things. Mimi had other ideas such as video singing, playing poker, reverse role playing which I voted off all out. In the end, she was sold on my suggestion but needs to coordinate with Antonio's in Tagaytay City because that's where the venue would be.

My lunch cost me Php213.00 and we went back to the office thereafter.

Marina Seafood Restaurant

Although its midnight madness sale in Glorietta, we braved the flock of shoppers that normally trooped to the malls at this time. Indeed, people came in droves and it became a happy please to be.

We never had a plan for a restaurant today. Along the way, Mimi suggested to try out the Isabella's Chicken at Chicken Inasal. This chicken is a product of a telenovela (soap opera) on local television about a certain chicken recipe that's stolen from its rightful creator and marketed in a successful chain of restaurant by the stealer. That's how powerful television is in the Philippines, it can prompt people to do things, even try out some chicken preparation. I was glad Chay was not happy at all with Chicken Inasal. She prefers the other Bacolodian chain, Chicken Bacolod. Apparently, these two chains have different recipes for their flame broiled chicken in yellow sauce.

We compromised on Marina Seafood Restaurant. This is a filipino restaurant that serves seafood like yellow fin tuna, squid, shrimps, crabs, clams and others. Of course, one can still order such food as chicken, pork or beef in various preparations. Marina is a great place for value for money dining and its seafood is always fresh.

We ordered the sinigang na ulo ng maya-maya (stew of fish head - soured with tamarind), grilled tuna belly, grilled aubergrine salad, and adobong kangkong (water spinach). The sinigang na maya-maya was soured to perfection. The soup was steamy hot where leeks of string beans, slices of raddish, aubergrine, onions and tomatoes. The fish tasted good and fresh. The tuna belly was truly a headliner. It was juicy on the inside that came great with the local lime dip with soy sauce and lots and lots of hot, hot chili peppers. The salad was as appetizing as it looked on their menu. Grilling the aubergrine lends it a distint aroma that sizzles in the mouth when combined with julienned tomatoes and white, sweet onions. The fish sauce that came with it was a delight as well.

We had a wonderful lunch and we paid Php210.00 each for our meal. We lingered for a couple of minutes inside Glorietta trying to window shop on the on-going sale of midnight madness. If clothes where a need, a lot of choices can be had scowering through the shops that priced down its goods to as much as 70% reduction. Me, Gentley, Mimi and Chay all went back to the office thereafter with Alvin driving the van.

The Soup Kitchen

It was a late lunch and Maidette wanted to hit the department stores of Shoemart and Landmark to shop for her choir outfit. This decided it all, we need to be in Glorietta for our lunch.

Maidette is a member of Couples for Christ and they have a planned "Praise and Worship" this coming Friday in a church in BF Homes. She has been practicing with the choir as one of the participants who will lead the service that night. She was kind enough to extend an invitation to all of us in the office to come and witness and have fun and the praise and worship service. They are not calling it concert, for it it lose its banality in being in communion with God, but rather a service wherein, it not only the choir that sings, but rather the entire congregation as well, in glorifying God.

I begged off from going to the south on a Friday, as traffic will be terrible and I believe, Mimi will not be able to make it as well. Chay does live in the same village as Maidette, but she is sure to miss it as well. Gentley is not positioned to be there either, more so with Rene who lives in the opposite director, way up north in Marikina. We talked about what sort of shirt does Maidette hunt for as a costume. She mentioned some shade of orange, be it Ponkan, salmon, crimsom, afternoon sky or oranged orange. As color blind as a cow, I cannot seem to fathom the depth of the discussion on color shades of orange.

Maidette decided to skip lunch altogether to devout more time for shopping on the right outfit. That leaved me, Mimi and Chay to go on for lunch. As I was on a healthy diet nowadays, we settled for The Soup Kitchen, instead. The Soup Kitchen serves nothing but soup. Of course, an assortments of bread with butter, or sandwiches in ham, chicken or tuna go with it. Dessert fares like tiramisu, pastries and fresh fruits also are a staple.

I got myself a Clam Chowder soup and a tuna sandwich. Clam Chowder is always a heartly meal and it was a cold day, I needed something comforting. The Soup Kitchen have better than ordinary soups. You can never go wrong on any of their soups, be it the Mexican, Italian or pure western type of soup, it sure will delight the diner in you. As a simple meal, I paid Php135.00 for my half soup and sandwich. Really as steal for lunch.

Alvin did the driving to and from the mall for us.

Banana Leaf

I missed the conversation topics for this day as I was remiss in blogging on time. I know, most of the conversation were centered on PIM II problems in the office as it began UAT with US Foods.

The group that went to lunch included Mimi, Maidette, Chay, Rene, Gentley and me. We chose Rockwell Center as it's been a while since we last had our lunch there. And I know for a fact, that Mimi will go shopping for her costume dress for their upcoming Maryknoll reunion sometime early September, hence, the choice of Rockwell.

While we were strolling towards Banana Leaf, I saw this red and yellow bread in The Kitchen. The Kitchen is a gourmet shop that sells deli, cheeses, spreads and breads. The red and yellow bread is a reminder of our youth. Bakers don't make these nowadays. While I gawked at my new find, everyone went to crowd around me and imagined the good ole days with this bread. I was hesitant to buy one, although, I really like to have one, as it's priced overly expensive. A bag of the duo bread, in red and yellow, would cost Php70.00. Little did we know that Maidette had purchased a bag as she loved the bread so much she just can't help herself not to buy one now.

Maidette had opened the bag and shared the bread with everyone. We agreed, the bread tasted great and very much like what it used to be. It's like the comfort food of youth and almost heaven. We do remember how we used to run to a neighborhood shop or baker to purchase one, and it was so cheap way back then. We emptied half of the bread in the bag as we settle in Banana Leaf.

Banana Leaf is an Asian Cafe. It serves curry dishes, both Singaporean & Malaysian dishes, all influenced by its Indian heritage. Naturally, most of its offerings are on the spicy side. The roti channai is always the favorite together with an order of any of its chicken, beef or seafood curry. Today we ordered the steamed hainanese chicken, the beef curry, the adobong kangkong (water spinach), the yangchow fried rice and the roti channai. I had the sweet lemon grass tea to complement my meal.

The hainanese chicken is served with dips of ginger, hoisen sauce and soy sauce. As an unadulterated cuisine, meaning, the chicken is steamed by itself with no more than ginger and shallots, it was easy to the pallete and enhanced when the chicken was freshly dressed. It tasted superbly and everyone seemed to agree. The beef curry, however, came with a lot of extenders. The curry sauce was good, but the beef was wanting. It came with a lot of sweet potato chunks just to volumize the serving. But, the curry sauce had another purpose, as the dip for the roti bread. No restaurant can seemed to bastardize the adobong kangkong as no matter how one cooked it, the kangkong will turn out well. It is so versatile as a vegetable and loaded with vitamins and nutrients too.

We had a good lunch, although, Gentley was half expecting to get the last round of order for roti channai. The kitchen was not able to deliver it on time, it was decided, it's not prudent to wait for it any longer. It costed me Php220.00 for that lunch.

While Mimi shopped for her dress, the rest of us went to Rustan's Supermarket. I went to purchase some fruits and carrots. I felt like my cholesterol's building up and pushing my blood pressure to abnormally high side, I need to go on a healthy diet. I got myself some Fuji Apples, Yellow Pears, Mandarin Ponkan Oranges and almost a kilo of bright orange carrots. I need to prepare some carrot-apple juice in the house soon.

Alvin drove us to lunch, as always.

Cafe Bola

We went to Greenbelt 3 for lunch today. It was a easy choice as Gentley took us driving there. Feeling a little sick with flu like symptoms, I opted for some hot chicken soup meal, the sinampalokang manok (chicken in tamarind broth). The order was quite huge, I shared the soup with Maidette and Gentley. Mimi was happy with her adobo flakes, she didn't care to try out the soup any longer.

Cafe Bola is a mid-priced restaurant by Gaita Fores whose italian chain restaurant, Cibo, was more than popular with the high end market. Cafe Bola specializes in filipino cuisine with a twist, presenting the usual home cooked fare in a restaurant setting. It has its own unique clintele, although the diners have dwindled over the years.

We ordered the usual favorite starter, the bangus mouse (milkfish pate). The meat of the milkfist is cooked and spiced-up and processed into a pate like consistency. It is served chilled with freshly toasted bread slices. The group so loved this starter.

My chicken meal tasted good. The sourness of the tamarind was just enough, any discriminating pallet would have likely agreed with its taste. Chicken breast meat was so tender, it tasted sweet and juicy when chewed in the mouth. Slices of Okra, raddish, string beans, aubergrine and onions were in abundance. It melts my heart out and made me break a sweat or two as I gulped on the hot broth.

I paid Php280.00 or US$6.22 for my meal. That too bad, considering that I had some freshly squeezed local sweet orange frapped, to accompany my meal.

Sebastian's Ice Cream Studio

Yesterday was a holiday in the Philippines. One of the "monday celebrated holiday" laws of GMA, in lieu of the National Heroes Day.

I went with Tita Amy to Grace's place in Antipolo. We had some family time together - RJ, Mari, Ronnie, Grace and Tita. Ronnie prepared some grilled pork liempo and chicken barbecue for lunch, while Grace cooked some shrimps and squash with coconut milk. It was a hearty meal indeed, even the kids had a blast. We ate some ice cream too while Tita feasted on sweetened white yam with coconut milk. Despite the rain, the kids were in a good mood. They played with the yo-yos that Tita brought as pasalubong for them. Another toy, mickey mouse on surf board with candies inside was also played at.

Late into the afternoon, I showed the kids my camera phone and they had fun taking each other's pictures and the pictures of the stuff toys. Good thing, I had with me my Ixus camera as well, so both of them had a camera. It was a riot indeed, until we bid goodbye.

I dropped Tita near SM Megamall so she can take the bus to Novaliches while I drove to Podium for some washroom break. As Lani was not done yet with work, I did some window shopping.

In the third floor, a new ice cream stand had opened. It's called Sebastian's Ice Cream Studio, an outlet for premium ice cream. I couldn't help myself, I really need to try out this new ice cream stand. A good assortments of flavor, all very appetizing and creamy to my eyes were on sale. I tried the Dublin Fudge, Chocoholic and another flavor that was the bestseller. All of them tasted heavenly.

Dublin fudge is the personal favorite. I loved its creaminess and not too sweet taste, I could probably eat a pint without thinking about calories. The Chocoholic is for the chocolate addict. True to its name, its made of dark, bittersweet chocoloate. It's not only its main ingredient, large chunks of it are mixed in its creamy form, you would almost die savoring its richness.

There are too many ice creams in the world, all of them special, in their own kind. I would pick Ben and Jerry's as my ultimate favorite. Sebastian's could come in at second choice, then Dippen' Dots, then Dryers, then Haggendaz, the Amici Gelato, then Selecta, then Magnolia and then Nestle. Oh, I'm so craving for ice cream right now.

Inihaw

It was just like one of those days, it started slow and easy. Maybe because it was a Friday.

Before I came into the office, I went out to check some houses at Greenwoods in Pasig City. I meet up with my realty agent, Eva, inside the village. The first house we checked out was located in Durian Street in Phase 7. It was an old house, that used to be occupied by a some lady married to a foreigner. There were 3 rooms in the second floor, while another room was constructed downstairs for the house maid. What I didn't like in the house, was it looked pretty cramped. All the rooms in the second floor were like attic rooms, where the ceiling would slant on one corner, anyone can get hurt hitting it. The master's bath was terribly designed where the shower can be used as only by a toddler because of the really low, slanting ceiling. It was delapitated and all, I can't see myself occupying that place.

We went to another house, this time, its a bungalow type and for sale. It was poorly designed, with no room for air ventilation, I didn't even care to get in to check it out. We went to another house for sale, this time, it was duplex house. There can't be any garden left, however, the three rooms were decent and large enough, I almost liked it. It was on the brink of completion, and the fresh paints were so inviting knowing you will be the first ever occupant whose gonna spoil the place. But I resolved to myself, I need a house with a garden, even though it would just be a small garden. Nearly accross the duplex house was another bungalow type, also for sale. When the owner came with the keys, we went in to check out this newly built, ready for occupancy house. Everything was clean and nicely done, the sala and the dining area were well appointed, the house even provided for a dirty kitchen and laundry area near the back of the house. The maids room was spectacular, I must say, with its own bath and 2 entrances. Eva even joked that the maid might overwhelmed with her accommodation she will not ask for a single salary increase thereafter. I like the coziness of the house, its small garden with blue grass landscaping and those white-flowered plants, these all looked dainty.

Everything was a good thing, except when we check out the 2 appointed bedrooms. The master's bedroom was really small, a king sized bed could not even fit in its designated corner. If I say the master's bedroom was small, the other room must be more midget in size. That really cut-off the whole deal.

I drove off to the office thereafter. Before I know it, it was lunch time already and Mimi has asked that we now have to go for lunch. Chay and Rene joined us to Glorietta 4. We hit Food Choices again as we were on budget.

I went to see Inihaw and ordered the stuffed grilled squid. Inihaw means grilled, so most of its menu are grilled stuff, like seafood, pork ribs, ang barbecue and the like. The squid was a bit big in size, stuffed with cubed tomatoes and onions. It was topped with roasted garlic and served on special soy sauce dip with green lime (or calamansi). The squid was tender and nicely cooked, I was totally satisfied with my meal. With a glass of soda, I paid some Php137.00 or US$3.00 for my meal. Though I was full, I craved for ice cream to wash off the fishy taste in my pallet, I went to get a double dutch ice cream from Selecta. I paid Php20.00 for a single scoop of ice cream. That was my lunch escapade for the day.

After window shopping, the group meet up and Alvin brought us back to the office. As it was the promised day for the camera to get fixed, I asked Alvin to drive me to Canon's Service Center in Pasong Tamo. It took a while to fetch my camera, but I was more than happy to see it finally fixed. I took a couple of test shots and was satisfied that indeed, it's back to its normal operating mode.

I went back to the office with Alvin.

Thai Pad

I went to lunch alone today. Mimi was meeting someone, Gentley could not make it lunch as he was busy with certain deliverables, Maidette was absent today, Chay packed her lunch while Rene was not joining as well.

I decided to call Canon Marketing Corp. for my camera sent for repair last month. After more than a month, I was informed by the customer agent that finally, my camera has been repaired and is now ready for pick up. Although I was disappointed that it took too long a time than their guarantee of 14 days, I was glad to have my camera back. I asked Jimmy to drive me to Marvin Plaza so I can pick my camera and take my lunch at Thai Pad that happenened to be located within the same building.

Today was also the last day of Jimmy with the company as he is taking a month off. Per his representations, his gonna go home to Pampanga to help transfer his family as their home was severely flooded during the last two storms that visited his province this past two weeks. I don't know if I'm too jaded already, as I am not convinced by his reasons. But, I gladly accepted it and looked forward to meeting the reliever from the agency where we contracted our driver/messengerial work.

I meet in the van the reliever. His name is Alvin Mendoza. According to him, he hailed from Bicol, Naga City to be exact. He has been with SL Temps - Searchers & Staffers for quite a time and his last posting was with Jollibee Foods Corp in Ortigas Center. He lived near Bel Air, Makati. In my mind, I thought, good for this guy, his address is Bel Air, hehehe.

I reached Canon and was glad the queue was not too long. I got called up at once and eagerly waited to be handed back my newly restored Canon Ixus camera. After about 5 minutes, my world fell apart. You see, when the Customer Assistant put on the battery, and turned on the unit, some hissing noise could be heard emanating from the unit. The lady who assisted me excused herself and brought back with the camera to the service center room. I waited some minutes and was told, another problem needed to be attended to. She can't give my camera just yet, as they have to solve the hissing sound. I was advised to come back the next day. I wanted to be furious. I wanted to scream. I told the lady, it's been more than a month,yet my camera's not working. She apologized profusely and promised to call me the next day. I told her back, that I had been promised a lot that somebody will promptly call me to inform me on the status of the repair, yet, I never heared from anyone from Canon. It has always been me who needed to call them.

Anyways, I came down the building depressed. I went to Thai Pad and had my lunch. I ordered the Thai Pork Adobo and Spring Rolls. Thai Pad is a small hole in the wall type of restaurant. It claims to be offering the menu of the once famous Sukhothai Restaurant. The pictures that lined its walls where food offers of Sukhothai. Whether its true or not, Thai Pad's food can never compare by a mile with its predecessor that it claimed to associated with.

The Thai Pork Adobo was tender and the generous springkling of roasted garlic put a smile on my face. Just like any adobo, a hard boiled brown egg was quartered and served with the rice. The spring rolls was good and served hot from the kitchen. I can't imagine it without the sweet and spicy dip served with the rolls. Though it is a far cry from Sukhothai, for the price I paid at Php128.00 or US$2.84, I don't deserved to even compare it. It was very cheap a lunch I had today.

Jimmy drove me back to the office thereafter. Alvin was riding with him so Jimmy can orient him on the ins and outs of his new posting.

Tuna Town

We left earlier than usual for lunch today. Gentley was prodding on taking a quick lunch but was suggesting to hit Glorietta. This was kinda ironic, considering that the Glorietta's not a destination for quick lunches. Anyways, it's just that Gentley had some errands at Glorietta, hence, a good lunch destination choice.

It could not be decided where to eat, hence, it was decided we pick the Food Choices in G4, instead. I saw a new outlet towards the end of the Food Choices stretch named Tuna Town. I thought, this place must be specializing in tuna cuisine. I decided to try it out, no harm there, I liked tuna very much. Tuna Town claims to have grilled seafood and sizzling plates. One can order the sinigang sa miso tuna (miso stew blue marlin), all sorts of the tuna fish, be it grilled, sizzling or whether it's the tuna belly, tuna head or the jaw. Other orders can be had for squid, pork barbecue and other a la carte menus.

I ordered the grilled tuna panga (blue marlin jaw) with a side order of garlic kangkong (water spinach), a cup of rice and some soda. The price was pretty cheap, I paid Php136.00 or about $3.00 only. The tuna jaw was grilled just right, although, it wasn't as freshly cooked as I want it to be. I believe, it can't be called fastfood center if you can't have a faster service, hence, most outlets tend to pre-cook their fares and just re-heat it when a customer orders. Hence, my tuna jaw was not a perfect as I envisioned it to be. Nonetheless, I thought it was some fresh tuna indeed. I was able to sample their miso stew and it paled in taste when compared with Sizzler's (another joint offering a pretty similar menu). The water spinach was a welcome side dish though, it's garlic toppings are superb to counteract the tuna taste. Tuna Town is just an ordinary joint, nothing spectacular about the food they offer. I doubt very much if they thrive for long in the competitive food section at Glorietta.

In the end, I was longer for a dessert. It's been two days straight where I have fish for lunch. I decided to get some funnel cake at The Funnel Cake Factory. For Php70.00 or US$1.56, one can have an order of Chocoloco Funnel Cake. It's basically, cake butter funneled into some super hot cooking oil. When cooked, it gets a sprinkling of some confectioner's sugar then drizzling of black chocolate, then some slivered almonds and another round of the black chocolate syrup. It smelled good and tasted even better.

I shared the funnel cake with Maidette, Mimi and Chay. It was one perfect ending to an ordinary lunch I hade. Gentley had scrambled ahead to do his errand. We parted ways as Mimi and Chay proceeded to Shoe Mart for some shopping, while Maidette went on her own and me had to visit Sanry's for money changing. While waiting for the troop, I walked around the appliance exhibit in the activity center for some refrigerator hunting. I also saw LCD TVs made by Syntax, a china company that retails their TVs at only Php50,000.00. Prices for flat screen TVs have continually dropped significantly and the resolution have grown better and brighter. I wonder, when can I buy my own. hmmmmp.

We converged at the lobby of G4 where Jimmy once again picked us up and drove us back to the office.

Azure Cafe

It was an unfortunate day in the office, all internet connections were down and the employees are agitated as they can't do any work. The funny thing was, all of our services, be it data, voice or internet were carried through one-single local loop carrier,which is Bayatel. Although, we subscribed to different service providers, like having 2 T1 lines with Verizon and an E1 line with Asianet, both of these companies are using Bayantel to connect us to the world. This is a class act of stupidity - where we ascribed to the fact that we wanted different service carriers for redundancy purposes, but was held hostage by one single local loop carrier.

In an act of tryng to hide its fault, Bayantel initially told us that the problem was not in the local connection, but in the Philippines-Taiwan line. It was even told that, some shark bit off the fiber optic cable bringing the service down. This explanation was so lame, I dismissed it simply as "passing the buck". Later in the day Verizon and Asianet tested their lines, and it was found out that all their connections are up and running from the Philippines to Taiwan to the US. So, it must be a Bayantel's faulty local connection that's causing the problem. We never had a restored service until the following day. We were given a temporary back-up line later that day, but the service was very intermittent, it's almost useless. That's one day lost in man hours and productivity.

We wait at Azure Cafe, me and Mimi. Maidette begged off as she was scheduled to visit the doctor for her son's consultation on some coughing. Rene was found nowhere and Chay had her packed lunch.

I ordered the special lunch for the day which was the Red Snapper with marsala wine sauce. I always liked fish, hence, whenever I saw one on the menu, if it's not priced exorbitantly, I would always take it. I thought, I saw it bony when an order came out for another customer. Nonetheless, this did not convince me to change my mind.

When Mimi's order was served (we ordered the same fish), we could smell the fishy taste. Mimi was ready to return it to the kitchen and order another meal instead, but I told her, the staff will probably not like us anymore. I was able to convince her that we knew that at some point, the fish may really smell fishy. But we knew, that the fish was not a fresh catch, hence, the fishy smell.

I was not as excited anymore to get my order. When it came, it did smell fishy and tasted fishy. The saving grace was that the marsala wine sauce was great. We ate half satisfied that Mimi suggested we need some desserts to wash-off the fishy taste from our pallets. I ordered the Rhum Cake which was heated a little thereby warming the rum and giving it a kick that almost always, is pleasant to the taste buds. We devoured the cake and had at least one good ending to our Azure Cafe dining experience. Don't get me wrong, I love Azure Cafe, and its menu. The fish today, was just not right.

I paid Php330.00 for this meal, including a can of soda and the rhum cake.

Annabel Lee

It was a holiday in the Philippines. Because of the new law signed by GMA, all holidays are celebrated on the Monday closest to the holiday to give the filipinos, a long weekend to be with their families and explore the countryside. The holiday we celebrated today is Ninoy Aquino Day, which generally falls every August 21st, but was commerated instead today, August 20th (as it is a Monday before the actual holiday). There are exceptions to this shifting to Mondays law on holidays.

One bad about working with the World Bank is that the employees in the Manila Office are limited to 11 holidays per year (to follow the same number that the US HQ has) and the Ninoy Aquino day is not one of the holidays that World Bank Manila Office honors. That's unpatriotic, huh!

So,even though it is a holiday, my wife has to go to work. I decided to see and hang-out with Allan instead. We planned out to sell my extra phones in Greenhills, before these units become worthless and obsolete.

I sold my P910i, a Sony-Ericsson unit, that's both a phone and a PDA hybrid. I also had an earlier model of the Nokia 6600, a camera phone. You really can't bargain much in Greenhills as the shops there would take your camera at really low,low prices. Anyways, better to convert it at a loss than not recover at all.

Me and Allan decided to eat at Annabel Lee restaurant in the Prominade at Greenhills. The restaurant is known for gourmet and the finest cheesecakes in town. This is my first time at Annabels and I have no inkling what their food would be like. I ordered the Scallop and Pomelo Salad for starters. We had pasta for our main course, mine was the beef stroganoff with shitaki mushroom while Allan ordered the seafood pasta in crab fat. As dessert, we ordered the best selling cheesecake of the shop, the baked double dutch pecan cheesecake. I also had my Coke light fix for this lunch.

The salad was great. I never thought, scallops would be great additions to romaine lettuce and pomelo. Scallops were sauteed in oyster sauce and quite tasted good and tender. Scallops are harder to come by, as they tend to be rubbery and chewy if it's cooked too long. I would rate this salad four spoons out of five.

The seafood pasta was served next. It was spicy and colored orange because of the crab fat. I thought I did not like it much, althought the prawns were extraordinarily large and quite tasty. I think, I was not expecting an orange colored-pasta, hence, my apprehension. But the more I get some servings, the taste kinda grown on me and was liking it at the end of the meal. The stroganoff came at a much later time. The beef was mild and tender but I thought, it tasted bland. I asked for more parmesan cheese and it lifted the flavor a little. It didn't fit well the pasta, I thought it was more viand material, than a pasta dish. I would have ordered a cup of rice to go with the beef instead of the pasta. Allan though, preferred the stroganoff over the crab fat pasta. He isn't a fan of spicy dishes, I guess, that was the tipping point.

We were so expectant of the cheesecake. You see, Allan does some baking as a hobby and just like me, he can opinionated about his desserts. The double dutch pecan cheesecake was a choco cheesecake. Hefty chocolate shavings can be found as toppings. Crushed pecans were peppered on the sides of the cheesecake. It tasted heavenly and almost light. The choco flavor wasn't as strong, I thought, I can finish another slice in an instant. As a baked one, it didn't have the something like soury taste thingy when eaten, which is a good thing. I loved this cheesecake, and I think, I will come back to Annabels' without hesitation.

As a gourmet restaurant, Annabels' menu include steaks which are price mid-high and am not willing to spend at this time, hence, I opted for their pasta dishes. I paid Php1,043.00 (US$23.18) for this meal or close to US$12 per person. This is a bit steep.

Barrio Fiesta

Student classes were called off the night before and the rains by the storm "Egay" that turned into a Super Typhoon dropped more rainfall into the wet and dripping metropolis. I went to Ford Global City for my car's periodic oil change and check-up.

Chay and Maidette were not joining us for lunch. Mimi has not arrived yet so, me, Rene and Gentley agreed to eat by our threesome at Barrio Fiesta. Barrio Fiesta is a filipino restaurant that specializes in Kare-Kare (beef in peanut stew) and crispy pata (pork leg). We thought, we should load up on cholesterol for once and enjoy our lunch.

As it was raining outside, we planned to eat in our building's food court at the second floor. It seemed everyone had the same plans as ours when we saw the very long queue of people trying to get their food. We abandoned the idea and decided to fetch our umbrellas as we tropped to the nearby Barrio Fiesta. I warned Rene and Gentley that we may be "too early" for lunch yet, it may take us a while to secure a table at the resto. True enough, the place was packed with diners and we were third in the wait list.

After about 20 minutes of waiting, we got to our table. As we have pre-ordered our food, it did not take much time to get served. We digged the crispy pata, it was so crunchy, so tasty, we forgot all about the bad cholesterol it harbored in its skin and meat. The kare-kare was not spared as Gentley asked for separate servings of the sweet and spicy shrimp bagoong (shrimp paste) to complement the stew.

We came out of our meal quite sated and happy. We paid Php230.00 each for this trip to Barrio Fiesta. It was a steal of a meal indeed.

Amici de Don Bosco

Yesterday, we felt sad for Tony's loss. His father died and we don't know what happened yet. Boyette was kind enough to inform me through text message of the sad news. We agreed to visit the wake later today. This was the reason why we need to eat our lunch at Amici though, we have had one the previous week. Amici is located inside the compound where the Don Bosco Church is located and we have to buy a mass card for Tony's father.

The group was almost complete today except for Gentley who skipped lunch to check the progress of his car's repair at Honda. Me, Maidette, Mimi, Chay and Rene were together with Jimmy driving the car to Don Bosco.

I ordered Tangigue steak for lunch. I was not excited to get a pizza because the Sunday before, I had a bad experience where the pizza I ordered came in too late. The fish steak was peppered with crunchy, browned garlic in olive oil. It tasted so good, the lemon zest has taken out the fishy smell altogether. I always like the Amici as anytime I felt like eating a rice meal, they do have it in their menu. Or, if I felt like eating some good ole pasta or pizza, they do have an extensive listing. Not to be forgotten is the assortment of gelato flavors and cakes that tastes decent and really cheap.

We picked out the Mass Card from the church office. You see, in the Philippines, it has been customary that you gave the love ones of the dead, a perpetual prayer card for the eternal repose of the soul.

We agreed to leave at 4:30 pm and journey towards Loyola Memorial Park where the wake for Tony's father was arranged. Eric came to join our group while Gentley stayed in the office to finish some deliverables. Jimmy drove us to Marikina as we meander in the Marikina river banks. It was my first time to see the River Banks and the mall beside it. The park in the river bank was clean and green, with bike lanes, skating rink and lots of park benches to sit on. I also get to see the mall with lots of shops selling the famous Marikina shoes and the once Guinness Book holder of the world's largest leather shoes. I thought the extra large shoes were clumsy looking and plain ugly. Though, I have to credit the designer of that shoe for selecting the more conventional bostonian design because of its universal appealand recognition.

We reached the memorial park and Holy Trinity Chapel in the middle of the cemetery. I felt quizzy being surrounded by thousands of graves and stately mousoleums. The utter emptiness and silence of the place made numb and speechless. I thought, it must be sacrilegious to even shout, laugh or carelessly step on someones resting place.

We immediately saw Jocelle after our second pass on the chapel. Tony meet us in the corridor of the triangular edifice. I didn't feel right inside the chapel. First, I know I was supposed to see a dead body somewhere in the room. However, the shape of the room reminded me of the pagan past where rituals and human sacrifices would have been performed in the presence of hooded individuals chanting in unison. In the middle of the room was a mable table that resembled like an altar. Had there been a spot light on the apex of the room, I could be run straight away really scared and breathless. These strange visions were compounded by rows and rows of crepts where human remains of powdered bones and flesh were intered. It was eerie, cold, and totally a scary place to be alone.

Tony talked about his father's fight with the big C. We were quite surprised that the remains of his father had been cremated already. He also talked about the family's last moments with his father before the coma.

We said our goodbyes and bought flowers at the entrance of the memorial park. Jimmy drove us back to Makati until it drizzled a little. I had to ask Jimmy to drive me home as its my carless day and with the weather getting bad, my probability of getting a cab at this time was getting slimmer.

Burger King

It was raining hard this morning. The storm "Egay" was making its wrath felt in Metro Manila causing a lot of flooding and the suspension of classes. However, the call to suspend classes came in too late and the students were in school already. I was early too, as my wife was scheduled to have an early morning meeting at work. Driving our way to Ortigas, we felt the storm winds get stronger, with a heavy downpour and scary thunderstorm this early morning. Visibity was reduced to less than 5 feet while we drove slowly in the Rockwell area. It took us longer to reach Ortigas as motorists were cautious with the driving speed and as streets got flooded faster than the clogged drainage could empty.

I took me more than 3 hours to reach my Makati office. And that's because, I was caught in a traffic jam at the Saint Paul College - Pasig when students where scrambling to get to their school service vehicles as classes were called off too late. It was only me, Chay and Gentley from among the managers who were able to brave the flooded metropolis. Rene was circling a couple of times his Marikina neighborhood and eventually gave up when flood waters reached non-passable levels. Maidette was on the Skyway ramp but was forced to turn-back as the exit was flooded. No vehicle was allowed to exit and all traffic eventually counterflowed back to Paranaque. Mimi was the last to venture out from the comforts of her home. She waited for the flood waters to subside in her neighborhood until about 10 am. Traffic was getting to a stand still that she change routes a couple of times until she reached the San Juan area. She eventually gave up, when at around 2pm, she was still in the vicinity of Shaw Boulevard. Feeling hungry, she stopped by Chow King to get a fix of hot noodle soup.

That left me and Chay as lunch buddies for the day as Gentley begged off as he needed to check out his car at Honda. Having paid a bigger lunch bill the day before, I suggested to Chay that we hit Burger King this time. She readily agreed as she needed to drop by Shoe Mart and Burger King is situated near SM Makati.

I ordered a double burger with bacon and mushroom. It was a set meal with drinks and french fries. Chay ordered a Whopper Meal that came with drinks, fries and sundae. She was not interested to get the sundae but was rudely told by the counter food server, that she has to take it or leave it. Huh!

I gladly accepted Chay's sundae and I had a great meal indeed. The double burger was good, but I liked BigMac better. The bacon and mushroom, I believe, could not even save Burger King's version. But at Php155.00 for the meal, why should I be complaining.

Sumo Sam

We felt like adventurous today, in terms of food and the place to dine. Gentley was excited too, to drive us to where ever we intend to eat.

I suggested we take a look at the new resto in the Rockwell Mall called Sumo Sam. I saw this foodie place weeks back when I was window shopping for some baby things. I thought the place was interesting, and its japanese cuisine, so, nothing could go wrong.

Mimi, Rene, Gentley were all thumbs up for this lunch adventure. The 3 of them went down ahead to fetch Gentley's car while I stayed in my office to fix that check that I needed Jimmy to present to HDMF for my usual monthly amortization. It was going to fall due the following day and Jimmy wanted to make sure I'm not gonna miss it. Interesting enough, while I was rushing out to the elevator lobby to catch the next lift, Mimi gave me a ring. Apparently, Gentley forgot to bring his car keys with him and its lying somewhere in his desk. So to save on time, I fetched the keys while they waited for me in the main lobby.

Gentley drove us to the mall and feeling excited on what to order in this new resto. We reached the 3rd level of Rockwell a little past 12:30 in the afternoon and the place was packed. We decided to wait while we browsed through the menu. Gentley could not decide between getting the group sampler bento or ordering a la carte. When we had our table after about 15 minutes, we decided to pick our own individual orders instead.

Sumo Sam's specialty are steaks and sushi. The menu includes wagyu beef as specialty, but the prices are a bit prohibitive to try out today. Appetizers are quite extensive, and so are the sushi, sashimi and the yakitori fares. Other than the wagyu beef, the a la carte orders are reasonably priced at mid-range. Its price is relatively comparable with Teriaki Boy.

I ordered the set menu of beef with japanese fried rice, a cup of miso soup, a lettuce salad, california maki and teriaki salmon. The miso soup was quite good and hearty I emptied my cup in no time. Mimi seemed to fancy the salad, so I offered her the lettuce instead. I tackled the california maki and it was so fresh and the mango tasted sweet, I just cannot complain. Gentley had the privilege of tasting the fried rice first, and he approved of its taste he's recommending Mimi and Rene to try and taste it. I ordered my steak medium-well while Gentley fancied a really well-done beef. Gentley was not satisfied with his beef as he saw some pink flesh, he asked his beef to be cooked further.

I was happy with the beef. I thought it tasted good and tender. However, the steak sauce of gravy with mushroom tasted burnt and that's my only bad review of my food.

My lunch meal was a bit pricey as it was a bento meal. I paid Php575.00 for this meal but I'm not complaining as it was so worth it.

We strolled the mall after our lunch and I had this chance of looking at what Rene has called the Rolls Royce of baby strollers. You see, it was the first time I ever saw a baby stroller priced beyond US$1,000.00, I thought, it was rediculous. Rene mentioned that I must be too lucky as Hobbes, the shop that carried the brand, is the exclusive distributor in the Philippines. I told him, I wasn't filfthy rich to waste my money on that brand of stroller.

Gentley drove us back to the office thereafter.

Yellow Cab

In that fateful Saturday, me and Allan went to Salcedo Market in Makati City and shopped for baby stuff in Divisoria near Binondo in old Manila. Traffic was quite heavy that day while we were on our way to Divisoria. We passed by La Salle on our way as the South Super Highway was packed with motorist. It was almost noontime when we reached Juan Luna. We were quite lucky that we found an empty parking space in Juan Luna street, a good number of blocks from Divisoria.

It was a long walk through the crowded streets leading to Divisoria Mall as I let Allan shop for music CDs first before we hit the stalls in Ilaya. I quickly got interested in DVDs as well, at the top floor of the mall as they were selling the pirated stuff at Php40.00 (less than a dollar)for new movie releases. Being a fan of the Heroes series on TV, I purchased the DVD title for the complete season 1, Die Hard 4.0, Simpsons the Movie, Blades of Glory, Rush Hour 3 and another title I can't remember anymore. Allan found a shop that sells music CDs at Php100.00 for 5 CDs. Can you imagine the prices they were selling these pirated stuff? I wonder what the Optical Media Board is doing to stop this trade.

Having bought our movie and music disks, we took some browsing around for picture frames. Allan just came from a trip to the US and he's got some pictures that needed a permanent home and we were hunting for these at the mall. Allan failed to choose what he liked and we moved to the Ilaya side. I asked him to try out the Flea Market on the third floor which Grace had described as a haven for smart buyers where branded goods are sold at specially marked-down prices. Allan was game but we did not fancy anything worth buying.

We went through the stalls in Ilaya and looked for a baby shop. We found one and we never moved away from it until I got all that I've needed for the trip. I bought new born baby clothes, cloth diapers, flannels, mittens and socks, diaper bag and even a baby toy. I spent close to Php5,000.00 for the baby stuff and I was stopped by Allan from buying the crib beddings as well, as we were pretty packed already and it sure was a long walk back to where we parked our car. He volunteered to make it his baby gift instead and he is buying the beddings from a Makati mall.

It was a long journey back to our car. Droves of shoppers came into Divisoria as the weather was better compared to the wet and rainy early week that passed by. The foot traffic was slow and we can feel hunger already. I saw a Yellow Cab near the place where we parked the car and we agreed to have a late lunch.

We ordered a Charlie Chan pasta with chicken and a small pan pizza of pepperoni and mushroom. I loved Charlie Chan pasta, but Allan did not expect it to be hot and spicy. After the first serving, he moved to the pizza right away. I guess we were too tired to taste the pasta and pizza to form an opinion of whether it was a good lunch or not. But, for sure we could not eat a lot, we have to pack the rest of the pizza and past for take out. We consumed though our drinks to their last drop, mine was a Coke Light while Allan content himself with iced cold mineral water.

Allan would drop his laundry in Tayuman and take the long route from there back to Makati where I lived. We passed by the old Mola flat so I can feed the gold fish left in the acquarium. I reached home too exhausted to relate my ordeal for the day to my wife and mother in-law. However, they were excited to eat the pasta and pizza left-over from our lunch and to check out the shopping stuff I brought in from Divisoria.

Salcedo Market

Allan has asked me to accompany him to the Salcedo Market in Makati last Saturday. Without any lined-up early morning commitments, I agreed provided he accompany me to Divisoria so I can start my shopping for my baby stuff.

We planned to take some brunch at Salcedo Market as it is known to have an assortment of shops selling roast pig, spanish paella, cakes and pastries and various organic fruits and vegetables. We were not disappointed to see the whole Salcedo Park crowded with shoppers and diners. The first shop we saw at the entrance was selling french crepes and we agreed to buy a mango crepe and an apple variety. We walked around, saw several stores selling paella and we got an order of the Valenciana type. We were informed by the stall owner that the Paella Negra was quite popular with the kids because of its pecular black color from the squid ink that's used to darken the paella. Roast calf, roast chicken, roast pork and grilled seafood were all over the place, but we settled for pritchon, it's suckling pig, roasted and dip fried to perfection. It is served in bite slices and wrapped in pita bread with hoisin sauce. Allan wanted to try the lasagna, but the stall he chose ran out of the meat variety and we couldn't wait for another 15 minutes. We went to a french shop that offers several quiches, other french cuisine and baguettes. We bought a cheese quiche and some fresh daladan juice from another staff to complete our brunch feast.

We settled in some corner where the dining area was set-up and had a hearty meal. The paella was not as good as what one can sample from Cocina de Tita Monings or from Senor Alba, but it was tasty nonetheless. The pritchon was tender and crunchy at the same time we came short of our order wanting for more. The crepes were as delectable as what one diner had described it to us while we were placing our orders then. You see, the secret was in the crepes sheet, where it was cooked fresh and sprinkled with some sugar-cinnamon combo before adding the fruit chunks and marmalade. The quiche was good and quite filling to eat. I can't be sure why it is supposed to be eaten as an appetizer.

We had a heavy brunch and we browsed through the shops some more. Allan was about to order some wagyu beef, but stopped himself as he cannot be home until late in the afternoon and the fresh beef will naturally spoil by then. He bought some tortilla, italian panini, some fruits like cherry, bangkok lanzones and langka (jackfruit) which we ate some more along the way to Divisoria.

We must have spent close to Php1,000 or (US$22.22) for that morning trip to the Salcedo Market. It is indeed a glamourized flea market of sorts which boast of organic fruits and vegetables, showcase of some philippine handicrafts, plants, flowers and an international array of food and cuisine. It attracts mostly expatriates and the alta sociedad of the Makati's elite considering that the venue of the market is where some upscale condominiums are situated.

Allan was convinced his not gonna visit Salcedo Market for quite some time.

Azure Cafe

I went to Azure Cafe by my lonesome today. Mimi has been busy and Eric, who was visiting us and processing his clearance, was not also ready to take lunch yet.

I ordered Chicken Relleno, one of the lunch of the day. It's basically, chicken with stuffings where ground pork, and chicken meat are mixed together with bread crumbs, onions, pepper and carrots. When it is served, some mushroom gravy is poured on top to enhance its flavor. The lunch of the day included a cup of rice, sauteed vegetables composed of baguio beans and carrots and a dessert, a banana cake.

The Chicken Relleno was quite good and tasty. Chunks of chicken, the white meat portion remained intact and cooked soft and flavorful. The accompanying vegetables were cooked medium rare thereby keeping the crunchiness of the carrots and beans. While browsing through todays newspaper and having my lunch, Mimi and Eric followed me in Azure. They ordered their lunch and came to sit with me in one corner of the cafe.

The banana cake was not as good as I thought it should be. It was plain and dry. It could be saved if some cream or icing where drizzled on top of it. But, why should I complain, it was a freebie with the lunch menu.

Mimi talked about her bitchiness with Jimmy, our company driver, last Friday when Jimmy failed to give back to Mimi her car keys. Jimmy was already in Bulacan when he realized he got Mimi's car key with him. He called to tell Mimi and if its possible to drive her car to her place the following day instead. Mimi refused to take Jimmy's offer and asked Jimmy to come back to the office right away to return her key. Poor Jimmy!

Eric talked about his new job and its new challenges which he found quite interesting. He also related to us, which of our employees are currently active in searching for opportunities outside so we have a good heads up who are in danger of giving their resignation letters soon.

We ended our lunch while I pay Php210.00 or US$4.66, with a can of soda to accompany my lunch meal.