Chewing the Fat

A Night With The Noodle Boss

2012-02-04T12:13:00.010+08:00

We love noodles, in any form, shape, or application.

So it was with great excitement that we recently got to try a new Japanese noodle place not too far from where we live.

Moshi Koshi Noodle Boss is a compact-sized dining place along Shaw Blvd, corner Ideal Street, in the same building where a Red Ribbon is located. I remember this area used to have a Chinese restaurant a long time ago, so it was quite a surprise that we found ourselves back, this time to try out something new.

Admittedly, I wouldn't have known about Moshi Koshi if my friend hadn't told me about it. She gave me a postcard GC worth P500 so that we could try it out. The postcard was ingeniously designed to look like a Japanese noodle stall that popped up into a standing 3D counter.

The theme is focused on Japanese Koshi noodles, the kind that many Japanese are passionate and crazy about. Koshi, which means "that sweet state of a noodle that is tender and chewy, firm but not hard, with resistance to the bite."

Happy noodle time is the theme that Moshi-Koshi wants to prevail. All dishes are prepared by The Noodle Boss, who is "master of the bowl." We saw him inside the kitchen, busily directing all food preparation. He's as authentic as the noodles, you can't miss him!

The restaurant is simply laid out, Japanese in its austerity but thoroughly modern in execution. A no-nonsense dining place if ever there was one. I like its straightforward interiors, with walls that are clean and neat, and subtle lighting that's quite pleasing, and not tiring, to the eyes.

The servers are keenly attentive and are able to answer the most complex of questions, like, "what noodle should I get?" Kidding aside, it is quite a challenge to choose any one kind of noodle when faced with a plethora of varying choices.

To think that they offer the three main kinds of Japanese noodles -- ramen, udon, and soba -- the difficulty came from selecting a particular dish to try out. Do we go with beef, chicken, pork or shrimp?

Since my wife and I were in the midst of our non-meat phase, we opted for Ebi tempura Teishoku, which was a set meal that consists of Ebi tempura, Japanese rice, a side of kani salad and miso soup. We also got Ebi Tempura Soba, a side order of Agedashi Tofu (actually 2 side orders of this!), and an extra pair of Epi Tempura.

This was more than enough for a two-person spread. Since we love noodles and soup, the udon was just the right concoction to end a busy Saturday. That's my new comfort food, I think, along with ramen. The soup was flavorful and rich, so I didn't need to add more soy. I merely sprinkled some hot chili powder sauce on it coz I like my noodles hot and spicy!

Moshi-Koshi also has bento meals with Chicken Teriyaki, Kara-age and Shogayaki choices, consisting of rice, miso soup and 4 special sidings.

We couldn't finish the rest of the tofu and extra tempura so we just brought them home for the kids. At least we still had space for a tub of Green Tea Ice Cream. Our total bill was about P650 only! Unbelievable!

I don't want to say that the food was great, only because I wouldn't want it to be too crowded when I come over again. But that wouldn't be fair, would it?

I love my noodles koshi. And for that, its a sure bet that I'll go back to Moshi-Koshi.

Its best if you try Moshi-Koshi yourself because I'm not really a food critic. If you love Japanese food, especially noodles, then you'll probably enjoy this place, too.

Hopefully, other branches will be opened soon, so that you don't need to drive all the way to Shaw Boulevard.

Moshi-Koshi Noodle Boss is located at 431 Shaw Blvd., cor. Ideal St., Mandaluyong City, M.M. Telephone 72-MOSHI.

www.moshi-koshi.com

More Fun in 2012

2012-01-11T10:27:00.003+08:00

Here's my contribution to the Department of Tourism's new campaign to attract in-bound visitors to the Philippines.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T23:08:00.003+08:00

We say goodbye to 2011 with renewed hope of better days ahead.

2011 was rough, no doubt about it, but through our resilience, courage and faith, we were able to weather the storm, face the challenges and surmount obstacles both natural and man-made. We welcome 2012 with much excitement and eagerness.

Here's wishing everyone all the blessings of the coming year! Peace! Joy! Love!

Season's Greetings

2011-12-24T21:15:00.004+08:00

Sounds Like Christmas

by Sabine Antigua

Listen,
Can't you hear it?
It's there--
Though you may not see it.
Strain your ears
You'll catch a sound
Each note floating
Up and down.
What is it
You're trying to perceive?
You won't hear it
If you don't believe.
Not just the catchy songs on the radio
Not some SM Santa going 'hohoho'
Not only the carollers on the street.
Not the tapping of dancing feet.
But something else,
An evanescent tune
Riding on a frequency as high as the moon.
Some catch it too early
Some catch it pretty late
It's the sound of the season
But it's there every day.
The song gets louder
Like bells in your ears
When Christmas is coming
And it's that time of year
You'll hear it in kindness,
And friendship and such
As well as in empathy
And generosity and love.
Once you hear the music
Get up and dance
It happens once a year,
So now is your chance--
Add to the tune,
Contribute to the song
Follow the beat
Make it last twelve days long
Till you hear the sound fading,
As we reach the new year
And you hit the 'play' button
For a new song to hear--
Wherever you are,
Be it home or abroad
You'll hear the music
And you'll give a nod
Time will stand still--
And the stars will shine bright
And you'll realize that--
It never WAS a silent night.

HK Holiday, Part 1

2011-11-21T22:53:00.013+08:00

Off to Hong Kong we went right after the semestral break, a well-deserved vacation for all of us.

We kept the trip a surprise from the girls, merely telling them we were heading to Davao. Up until the day we went to the airport, they still had no idea of what was in store.

M. broke the news to them right before we checked into our CebuPacific flight, and boy w

ere they surprised!!! They were so happy they were not going to Davao, haha!

So, we checked in to our flight using the special counter for CebuPac's web check-in facility.

Terminal 3 is really a far cry from the old, dilapidated Terminal 2, which rightfully earned its inclusion in CNN's "World's Most Hated Airports." Terminal 3 is more spacious and new, although it still isn't up to the same standards as the airports abroad. A big improvement, yes, but definitely needs constant improvement just the same. But it was all good, coz we were going to be in HK in a couple of hours.

Since we were already checked in quite ahead of schedule, we had enough time to catch a quick lunch from a ramen place. We then called my Mom, who was also in on the surprise, so she could be one of the first to talk to the girls as soon as they found out.

This was their first ever visit to Hong Kong, so they were full of excitement as the plane took off. About two hours later, we were landing in HK's luxurious airport considered to be one of the world's favorites.

It was already past 7pm when we got out of the airport. We took a red taxi to take us to our hotel on Hong Kong side. The weather was not too cold, unfortunately. But it was quite comfortable, not too warm, with the occasional gust of wind.

The long taxi ride from the airport in Chek Lap Kok on Lantau Island, through a long bridge that traversed a small channel, and on to a longer bridge that brought us to Kowloon, and then a few more kilometers through a tunnel that passed under the sea, emerging in Sheung Wan on the western side of Hong Kong island.

The girls didn't believe me when I told them that the tunnel went under the ocean, until I asked the cabdriver for confirmation. They were elated to find that out!

After a 45-minute ride, we stopped outside our hotel's main doors. I had booked a three-night stay at the Hotel LBP, in Sheung Wan, near Central, after negotiating with their staff via email on the kind of room that we required.

The hotel was located just a short walk from my brother's flat on Queen's Road West, so it was ideal for us as we were scheduled to transfer to his place after three days. He found it while walking in the neighborhood some weeks back. They checked out the place and found it suitable; quite new as it had just opened for business last September; and pretty decent and clean, with spacious rooms compared to the usual HK budget accommodations.

The staff were pretty attentive, and quick to provide us with sundry little items that we needed: extra towels, adaptors for our mobile phone chargers, among other things. They gave us an upgrade to a bigger room layout that had a living room area apart from the bedroom, and free use of an extra bed during our stay, all at no extra charge! Plus, we also had free in-room WiFi.

A few minutes after we had deposited our luggage and got settled into our room, my brother arrived and warm welcomes were handed out to everyone. We then headed to his flat he shared with D. and they served us a great dinner that both vegetarians (me, M. and youngest) and meat-eaters (eldest) enjoyed!

We then marveled at the spectacular view of the HK skyline from their 31st floor balcony, with the many glittering lights emanating from the skyscrapers and buildings that stood in the dark night.

We made it to Hong Kong, and the next six days would promise to be an exciting adventure for the whole family!

Next: Day 1, The Peak

***

Here are more photos of our hotel.

Celebrating Steve Jobs Day - 10/14/2011

2011-11-16T07:17:00.010+08:00

Last month, we went to Rockwell Tent to celebrate the life of Steve Jobs - Visionary. Innovator. Icon.

Organized by the Philippine Mac User's Group, the event became a tribute night for the man who created the most valuable tech company in the world.

All things start and end with Apple for many of the people who were present that night, us included. The general mood was festive, even if everyone seemed to be carrying a heavy heart and deep sadness over Steve Jobs' passing. Most of us managed to smile and keep the joy in our hearts.

A huge wall poster with the famous photo of Steve Jobs was set up near the wall after the entrance, on which people could write down their dedications, wishes and whatever they felt like writing.

The stage showcased a simple backdrop of the Apple logo, with the bite cut out in the silhouette of Steve Jobs. It was more akin to an altar on which many of us would be paying our respects to on this special night.

Some Apple users gave brief speeches on what Apple means to them, on how it has changed their lives, improved their work and inspired them to think different.

There were musical performances, some fun and games, and trivia contests that asked interesting questions on Steve Jobs' life and work.

T-shirts bearing Jobs's famous quotes, printed white on black, were handed out to the attendees. One said, "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." Another was, "Why join the navy when you can be a pirate?" While another set printed, "I want to put a ding on the universe."

On the far end of the tent was displayed some old, vintage, Apple and Mac computers that allowed everyone to gawk at, inspect and take photos of.

The highlight of the evening was a song tribute that encouraged everyone with an iPad or iPhone to display the candle app on their screen while the music blared John Lennon's "Imagine."

It truly was an amazing night to celebrate the man who gave us magical devices that made our lives a little bit more bearable, easier and fun!

Here are photos from the Steve Jobs Day celebration at Rockwell Tent.

Steve Jobs Day - 10/14/11

2011-10-14T07:25:00.004+08:00

Today we celebrate the man who changed the world and "pushed the human race forward."

Head on over to the Rockwell Tent at 5:30 pm and join the celebration. Here's the invite from the Steve Jobs Day Facebook page:

"We take this day to honor and say thank you to the man himself.

- wear the trademark turtleneck-Levi's-sneakers attire in honor of Steve Jobs

- come and pay tribute in any form, be it in written or spoken word, song, dance, imagery or video. Artists, musicians, writers, DJs, businessmen, secretaries, students and housewives--anyone who was touched by Steve, are all invited

- join the iPhone-light vigil (or iPod, or iPad, or MacBook)

- Bring your old stuff to display in the museum of Apple artifacts

- write in dedication postcards that will be sent to Cupertino.

Please send an email to philmug_mail@mac.com if you wish to be included in the roster of tributes/performances. Let us know what you'll be doing (please limit to 10 minutes) and what you'll need.

*Disclaimer: This is purely a tribute organized by the Philippine Mac Users Group (PhilMUG.ph), with support from some local businesses who wish to be a part of and ensure the success of SJD Philippines. No one at Apple is in any way involved, nor have they contributed anything to this event."

There'll be meet-ups in other countries as well! Check out the Steve Jobs Day website created for this.

See you later!

In Memoriam: Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

2011-10-07T08:41:00.001+08:00

Antonio's Fine Dining

2011-06-03T15:36:00.011+08:00

Last February, we celebrated M's birthday by going out of town to enjoy the cool Tagaytay weather!

To commemorate the special occasion, I made reservations for lunch at Antonio's Fine Dining and the girls couldn't believe it! First of all, this place has been known to be quite expensive. Second, we weren't sure if the servings were worthy of the price, or if the kids would find it to their liking.

But when we got there, we were happy to find that the overall ambiance of the place was really pleasant and quiet. Tucked in an almost very remote section off the main highway in Purok 138, Barangay Neogan, Tagaytay City, Antonio's is all that its cracked up to be: quiet, simply laid out, and no nonsense when it came to the food.

As a family, we've been to quite a few dining spots, but we try to focus on places where the ordinary Filipino family of four can well afford. Its only during special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries that we get the urge to try out something more posh and EXPENSIVE!

And the girls noticed, too, the prices on the menu. They said they don't mind being in a nice formal place, but that they hope that we won't do it too often.

Ah thank God, my girls, they still enjoy the home-cooked, caveman food variety!

Upon arrival and a bit of confusion with regards to my reservation, we were sat at table not too far from the windows overlooking hills of Tagaytay (or Cavite, as the case may be).

We ordered fresh mango juice for the four of us, and this was served on a nice carafe that guaranteed refills for all.

Looking at the menu, we ordered some of the best items on the menu: Herbed Roasted Rack of Lamb w/ Cardamom Beurre Blanc for Sab; Grilled Beef Fillet Gratinated with Wild Mushroom on Mashed Potato for Alf; I ordered the Chilean Sea Bass, foil Baked w/ Tomatoes, Olives, Parsley Pine Nuts on Mashed Potatoes, and the birthday girl got Schwein Haxen (Roast Pork Knuckle), sauerkraut, chateau potato, cabbage.

Each set menu includes the house salad, soup of the day, dessert and coffee or tea, with the choice of entree determinining the price of the meal.

That day's house salad consisted of arugula, sun-dried tomato, Gorgonzola and glazed walnuts. The kids didn't enjoy the arugula that much, but they did try to finish as much as they could. Our soup was a creamy pumpkin soup that was really good.

Then our orders arrived. The rack of lamb looked scrumptious, but I had to control myself coz I didn't order that. Sab didn't mind sharing a morsel or two, but she did look forward to devouring most of it!

My Chilean Sea Bass melted on my tongue, and Me-Ann's Roast Pork was also good. We all ended trying out each other's dish. Surprisingly, it was quite filling!

We capped our meal with a great dessert selection: Yugurt Panna Cotta w/ Lemon Curd, Chocolate Terrine w/ Double Cream and Roasted Pistachio, Dark Chocolate Souffle w/ Cardamon Creme Anglaise and Flourless Chocolate Cake. We just managed to finish half and kept the rest to take with us.

The dining experience at Antonio's is something one needs to experience to truly say that he has enjoyed the finer things. I'm just glad we had the opportunity to do so, and that my daughters had the chance to sample fine dining without the pretenses, without the "stiff upper lip" and with all the best ingredients, great food and exceptional service.

Total expense for our party of four = P8,085.00! I guess I have to say that the whole meal was worth this price, and I'm glad its not very difficult to do so. In this instance, you get what you pay for!

We might just be back sometime in the near future. Maybe we'll try the breakfast next time. We'll see.

My All-Time Faves: Torta de Cebu

2011-03-12T14:22:00.005+08:00

Here's a quick post on my all-time fave pastry from Cebu, the torta, which is a home-made version of something akin to ensaymada w/o the excess cheese.

I remember snacking on these every time my Mom would come home from her usual trips to Cebu. My relatives from my Dad's side of the family used to always send these as "pasalubong" to us here in Manila, alongside the sweetest mangoes and the freshest crabs!

Now that I've grown up, I make sure I get my torta fix every chance I get. Last year, I went to Cebu for work but right before I landed, I made sure to send word to my cousin there to order me a box of torta. True enough, she delivered the box to my hotel a day before I was set to leave for Manila.

I still don't really know what ingredients went into this delicacy, and I sure don't care now. All I know is each bite I make makes me feel real good. It tastes like heaven!

I'm sure not everyone will take a liking to it, but who cares? Its a home-made delicacy, though I'm not sure who's home it was baked in. All I know is I just order a batch from my cousin and she makes sure it gets to me, freshly baked!

I've tasted a local (Manila) version a couple of years ago. It was at the weekend pastry fair at Rockwell's Power Plant mall. I saw one of the stalls selling a familiar-looking pastry and noticed that it somewhat looked like the torta I love. I bought a couple of pieces and took a bite on one, but noticed that it didn't taste the same. The consistency was different; it felt like a bit more "refined" and processed than the real one. It was more like mamon than torta, a lame representation if ever there was one.

I knew that the best and only torta I should look for is the one from my hometown of Cebu. No imitations whatsover.

Recently, my Mom went to Cebu and I made sure to tell her to bring a stash of the delicious torta for me! And so she did, along with Cebu chicharon and the famous lechon de Cebu! Hooboy!

I've been snacking on my rations this past week, warming a couple of pieces in the oven toaster and finishing it off in the car on the way to work.

Now I'm down to my last piece, and I'm not sure when I'll get a new batch again. I don't mind, coz the brief moment of bliss I experience each time I take a bite all the more makes up for the long time between the next "shipment."

I'm so glad my wife and kids are not too keen on it, yet, so I don't need to share it with them. Yeah, I'm selfish when it comes to my torta!

Toast Box in Greenbelt 5

2011-02-26T07:32:00.005+08:00

LEFTOVER FOOD TRIP

Here's something I failed to post last year, as we got quite busy with all the yearend preparations of the holidays and whatever.

But just wanted to post here my experience at the newly opened Toast Box at the 3rd level of Greenbelt 5. You all know how I love Toast Box ever since I tried it in Singapore last year. Glad I found the branch in Trinoma and it eventually became one of first places I go to whenever I'm there.

Anyway, the Toast Box in Greenbelt 5 is obviously run by the same group. I sometimes see the same staff behind the counter at the Trinoma store.

When I found myself in Greenbelt one time in the days leading to Christmas, I just had to partake of the Kopi and kaya toast. It was on soft-launch and not everything on the menuboard was available yet.

I went back the weekend after, and still it was on soft-open mode. However, a long line for the counter could be seen. I wanted to have lunch there, but we didn't have enough time to wait in line.

Then a few days later, while my wife and kids were off watching a Repertory play at Greenbelt 1, I opted to hang out at Toast Box. It was late Sunday evening, and not many people were in the mall. So I ordered the Hainanese Chicken Rice, with a drink of Barley juice.

The HCR came out okay. But when I started slicing and digging into the meat, it still had some blood on it. So I asked the staff to bring it back to the kitchen to have it well-done. I tried not to let it damper my mood. When the chicken came back, it was in better shape, and I finished the dish.

Although I still had mixed feeelings about the quality and taste of their HCR, I didn't let it get to me. The presentation wasn't well thought of. The service wasn't top-notch yet, coz they were still on newly opened mode then. The dipping sauces and the soup didn't come with the dish, I had to ask the staff to bring them to me. But I'm sure over time, they're gonna get better at it.

Toast Box has other items on the menu, like the laksa which I haven't tried, and the breakfast set meals which I have yet to consider.

At least now, I know of a place in Makati where I can get my kopi and toast fix!

Happy eating!

New Year 2010

2011-01-01T16:15:00.006+08:00

And so 2010 came and went, bringing with it a lot of unexpected happenings, surprises, tragedies and little successes.

Its been a busy and challenging year, but we were able to get through it all. Like us, we hope you all can also look back at 2010 with great memories of significant achievements, successful undertakings, and learning more about the things around you.

May the coming year bring us more challenges that allow us to continuously learn and grow in faith, strength and hope.

A close friend sent us back some good wishes as well, and I am borrowing her greeting since I find it really appropriate for all that has happened.

Keep the smiles, leave the tears.
Embrace joy.
Let go of fear.
Hang on to laughter.
Release the pain.
Wishing you all the blessings
of a bright New Year!

Here's how 2011 was welcomed as viewed from the balcony of our 4th floor condo unit in Quezon City.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T23:14:00.001+08:00

**a break from all the eating, to give way to that one day in the year when most of us eat more than twice our body weight! Cheers!

Random Bites: Wasabi KitKat

2010-11-22T11:23:00.003+08:00

A friend of ours came back from Japan recently and gifted us with a box of Wasabi Kitkats!

It came in a nice green box with Japanese characters on it, so I'm not too sure what the ingredients are.

It tasted like wasabi, what else? But its not very hot. Quite good, actually!

The whole box got wiped out in a matter of days. Its a nice break from the usual chocolate Kitkat that we have locally.

Here are some pics:

At The Ramen Bar

2010-11-07T14:59:00.009+08:00

A couple of weeks ago, we tried out this new ramen place in Eastwood City called The Ramen Bar, and it was a great new experience for us.

We haven't been to this mall for the longest time, probably because its not within our usual stomping grounds. And I don't find any "pull" to bring me to this part of Quezon City when I feel like window shopping or eating out. Its such an effort to drive down Libis, which is oftentimes backed up with traffic in all directions.

But it was a good thing we made this trip, giving us a chance to check out what this mall had to offer, apart from the new dining places we've heard that opened up here recently. And the Ramen Bar is one of these new places.

We found Ramen Bar easily, as it was located at the ground floor of the mall, facing the new condos. The place looked clean and comfortable, something that's conducive to eating, of course.

The items we ordered were the Shoyu Ramen, which contained hearty soup topped with beef meat and various veggies. I ordered Spicy Karaage Ramen, made with the same rich soup broth but topped with chicken and just little more spicy than the usual. We also got fried chicken (Karaage) for the eldest daughter and Chasyu, which grilled pork belly, topped with rice. As appetizer, we ordered Kakuni Buns, a siopao kind of sandwich with a beef filling. Really tasty!

The ramen, as advertised, were pretty good! The spicy broth of my Spicy Karaage Ramen was just right, although after a few minutes, I could feel my mouth getting numbed out. The servings were pretty big, so I'm sure light eaters can share a bowl, giving everyone a chance to try many varieties of ramen. For those with big appetites, it won't be difficult to finish one big bowl.

This is what my wife and I did a week later, when we returned for dinner and shared the Spicy Karaage Ramen. We tried something new, the crunchy shrimp on Kakuni Buns and it was flavorful, a great counterpoint to the spicy ramen soup.

For dessert, we ordered Tempura Ice Cream, a novel combo of ice cream wrapped in batter! You have to try it to believe it! And you'll find it quite agreeable!

Its great to find eating places like the Ramen Bar because its like comfort food, yet with quality still a notch higher than the usual Japanese restos. Its a simple operation, yet you can see just how much effort goes into each bowl of ramen, quite a complex noodle soup if you ask me!

We've made this one of our favorite places to go to, and a huge, huge reason for us to make the trip to Eastwood, because at this point, I still can't find any spiritual connection to that mall.

Toast Box Treat

2010-10-27T22:15:00.007+08:00

We were at Trinoma Mall last Sunday and managed to sample one of the things I missed most about Singapore: Toast Box!

Located inside the Bread Talk store at the ground level, I was excited to get my Kopi fix at Toast Box, along with reminiscing about my recent Singapore trip. Its location is perfect coz while the kids went to Fully Booked next door, I had enough time to relish my kopi and kaya toast!

I was telling my wife and kids that the Toast Box here looks similar to the one I went to in Singapore: the white chairs and tables, white-washed counter with a view of the preparation area, utensils and a huge mound of butter!

I ordered the simple Kopi and kaya toast combination but not the set menu that came with soft-boiled eggs. I still can't imagine downing those along with the toast!

At the first taste of the kopi, I was disappointed that it didn't taste quite the same, a bit bland. Turns out I never got to mix the kopi with condensed milk. By the time I realized this, the cup was down to its last 1/4th! So I had to just drink up all the condensed milk that settled at the bottom. Yeah, I'm so dumb.

The kaya toast tasted the same, of course, despite the bread getting a wee bit over-toasted. Maybe the toaster oven wasn't quite the same as the one they used in Singapore. Nevertheless, you get what you expect of a Toast Box branch: the same kopi goodness and the same great kaya taste!

Oh, I will be back for more!

Singapore Food Trek (Pahabol)

2010-10-22T14:12:00.003+08:00

DESSERT

After our lunch of Chili Crabs at No Signboard Seafood, Mai treated us to mid-afternoon "dessert" at this cafe and cake shop inside Wheelock Center.

Unfortunately, I forgot the name of the coffeeshop we went. Must be due to the extremely delightful cakes and desserts that we had.

I don't even remember the name of the chocolate cake I ordered, which referred to something really sinful. Mai had something like banana on waffles with lots of syrup, while Kannitha had blueberry ala mode on waffles!

Anyway, here are the drool-worthy photos:

Singapore Food Trek (Part 2)

2010-10-11T07:20:00.017+08:00

My gastronomic adventures continue in Part 2 of my Singapore Trek!

BAK KUT TEH
On the Friday I was there, I tried something new after little prodding from my Singapore friend Peng, who took me to Arab Street.

The dish he was letting me sample is called Bak Kut Teh, an aromatic soup brewed from pork ribs, spices, pepper and garlic, served with a bowl of piping hot rice and sliced red chilies in dark soya sauce.

We met up at the Bugis MRT station, then proceeded toward Beach Road, where a small little corner place with the name "Leong Lee (Klang) Bak Kut Teh" offers one of the tastiest versions of the dish.

This is what is called as the Klang version, where the pork ribs are simmered in a broth enriched with dark soy and various Chinese herbs like dang gui, anise, ginseng and cinnamon. Swimming in the broth would be the pig skin, with a minimum of fat, along with beancurd skin, giving it its aroma. Mushrooms and fresh lettuce are added for garnishing. Overall it looked like really tasty dish that's balanced and a lot more complex than the usual bowl of soup and bones ala bulalo style in Batangas.

The side dishes were braised peanuts, dough fritters and pickled vegetables. The hot broth was very tasty and the meat was perfectly stewed to a lovely tenderness! We didn't mind the heat and humidity even if our table was located outside near the curb. The whole ambiance of the place (or lack of it) was excusable once you start focusing on your meal.

Peng says he comes here often, maybe a couple of times a month, for lunch. Its also a cheap way to get a hot filling meal. I must say it was one of the most interesting dishes I've tried in a long time! Thanks to Peng for taking me to this place!

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE
When you talk about Singapore cuisine, you can never fail to mention the very popular Hainanese Chicken Rice, a real good, authentic version of which has been hard to come by in Manila.

But this dish can be found everywhere in Singapore, and most people have said one of the best places to try this is at Wee Nam Kee. Since this information came to me too late, I had to settle for someplace else, nearest to where we were at the time of our craving -- outside Raffle City Mall right after the F1 Friday Practice Session.

We had just come out of the Marina Bay Circuit and found ourselves following the crowd through the MRT tunnel and out to Raffles Place. I quickly texted Mai on where we can find Hainanese Chicken Rice for a quick late dinner nearby and she directed me to a small place near Purvis Street and along Seah St., within the proximity of the Raffles Hotel.

We easily found the place which was called (Zheng) Swee Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice, and it had a full menu of chicken and pork dishes cooked the Hainanese way.

We ordered two dishes of roast chicken and one order of the regular white chicken rice. The accompanying ginger, soy and chili sauce were pretty good, too. I guess we were just too hungry to decide whether it was the best or not. It was good enough for us! We also got a couple of dishes of Pechay veggies, pretty good and fresh tasting!

After we finished off our plates, we met up with Anmar at Clark Quay, a popular nightspot in Singapore. Clark Quay was alive and kicking, it being a Friday night. The bars and pubs were all full of people unwinding after a long workday. Most of the people were expats, a smattering of locals, and some tourists (like us).

Instead of heading to a bar to drink, we just had coffee and dessert at a coffeeshop called TCC. Like everyplace else, this cafe was packed, and it was just pure luck that we found a table just vacated.

BREAKFAST AT WILD HONEY
The next morning, Mai took me out for breakfast at Wild Honey, a place she raved about as having some of the most scrumptious breakfast offerings ever! And all the place only has breakfast dishes throughout the day! Me being a "Breakfast Guy," I couldn't pass it up! Since the place didn't accept reservations, we decided to head on out as soon as we got ourselves ready.

So, we took the cab to the Mandarin Gallery, went up to the third floor and got in line outside the door of Wild Honey. I didn't know what to expect, which was good, coz it meant i can easily be satisfied! Surprisingly, the line wasn't very long and we easily got a table for two.

"Inspired by the vast array of ingredients, recipes and breakfast traditions you can now travel to a different destination everyday. From Tunisia to Mexico to New York to Calfornia," it says on Wild Honey website. The style here is you go up to the counter to give your order, then they'll take it to your table as soon as its ready.

We looked at the list of breakfast dishes from different parts of the world on a blackboard style menuboard mounted on the wall. It also helped that there was an iPad on the counter containing photos of the dishes, making it that much easier to make a choice!

The sweet and entertaining counter guy helped us make our choices: Mai chose her all-time favorite Canadian Breakfast of pancakes and bacon, and I chose the Tunisian, "a sizzling pan of red pepper, onion and tomato concise (stew) studded with sliced chorizo sausage and crowned with two fried eggs." A real killer of a breakfast, if you ask me!

The food came and we didn't waste any time digging in. My order would fall under the category of "Breakfast of Champions" - quite filling, but tasty all the way through. I was hoping this would last me the whole day, although I had another lunch get-together planned out with some SG-based friends.

Thanks to Mai for taking me to Wild Honey! We definitely need to go back and finish everything listed on that menu board!

MEGAMAC
That same night, we stayed up late for the F1 Qualifying Sessions that started at 1opm. Nappy and I decided to meet at the Gate 3 entrance of Marina Bay Circuit by 9pm.

Earlier, I spent the afternoon visiting the Mint Museum of Toys http://www.emint.com/, located right beside the Swee Kee restaurant we had dinner in the other night. I spent about an hour there, looking at the vintage toys and stuff, then did a little bit more shopping at ION Orchard, then went back to the flat to rest and change into more comfy gear.

By the time I got to our meeting place, we just had less than an hour left before start of Qualifying Sessions! Nappy texted me to say they'll wait for me at the McDonald's right outside the mall near Gate 3. When I arrived there, I was surprised by what I saw: a burger meal appropriately called MegaMac, consisting of four all-beef patties sandwiched amid three soft buns! It was paired with a giant cup of soda and a large box of french fries!

This burger is probably one of the heaviest, by virtue of the four patties. But when you really look at it, the single patty isn't really a big deal. But its the fact that you get the four instead of the usual two in a Big Mac meal means you're doubling your chances for a major infusion of meat!

Well, that didn't deter me as I slowly and methodically picked thru the MegaMac until nothing was left. And we had just about enough time to go into the Gate 3, and find our seats before Qualifying started!

LAU PA SAT
The Qualifying Sessions ended late, almost midnight, and it left us hungry again. Our friend Anmar said he was on his way to where we were and he would bring us to Lau Pa Sat, a popular food center with various food stalls of different cuisine.

A quick search in the Internet brought me to a website that said, "Lau Pa Sat in the Hokkien dialect is 'old market,' and it was Singapore's first wet market that dates back to over 150 years ago to the time of Sir Stamford Rafffles, the founder of Singapore. It was converted to a gourmet paradise and has been gazetted as a national monument since 1973."

Inside were stalls of various food hawkers, offering an eclectic mix of cuisine from Singapore and neighboring countries. We even saw the Tapa King stall from the Philippines, and one named Happy V that had a menu closely resembling that of a popular fast-food using a bee as its image.

Since it was already past midnight by this time, the place was almost empty, save for a few tables with customers here and there. As soon as we found our table, a guy with a laminated menu board approached us. We ordered pork and chicken satay, roti prata, nasi goreng, kallang with garlic, a clam dish which I forget the name of, and the various dipping sauces that came along with the dishes.

The nasi goreng was pretty good, just rightly cooked and enfused with a great harmony of flavors. The roti was perfectly toasted, and on its own it was already tasty; with the peanut-chili sauce, it blew our minds! The satay, of course, was top-notch, and this was the best place to sample this dish!

We finished off everything that we ordered! How's that for a midnight snack!

CHILI CRABS
What would a trip to Singapore be without sampling the famous chili crabs? This prompted us to have our last lunch at a place that served the best chili crabs in Singapore!

It was our last day in Singapore, and the F1 Singapore Grand Prix was happening on this last night. So a lunch of chili crabs would be a most ideal final hurrah for our gustatory adventure. And for this, I decided to book a table at the No Signboard Seafood for the best chili crabs in town.

The branch we went to was in Geylang, which wasn't very far from where I was staying and quite near to Nappy's hotel in the Geylang area.

We ordered White Pepper Crab and Chili Crab (S$45/kilo), Drunken Prawn, Sambal Kangkong, then some Hokkien Mie noodles and steamed rice. The crabs were just as advertised: really juicy and perfectly cooked! It was really fresh coz it didn't stick to any of the hard parts. My companions loved the chili crab but I found the white pepper crab much to my liking!

For three people, this was a huge feast! But we got down to business and consumed almost all of it, especially the crabs. No Signboard has been in business since 1981, and they've got several branches all over Singapore! Good thing we went to the Geylang branch coz they say the prices here were much lower than other branches!

We felt good after this meal, a fitting exclamation point to our crazy food trip in Singapore!

I'll be back for more of the same next time!

Singapore Food Trek (Part 1)

2010-10-02T21:28:00.017+08:00

Every visit to Singapore always ends up as a food trip for me. What else can you do in a "foodie haven" that offers an eclectic mix of cuisine that's bound to fill up your gustatory wish-list for years to come?

My 'mission' on this trip was the 2010 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix, an event I had looked forward to for a long time. I purchased my tickets in April, booked my airline in May, and waited it out till this time of year. A good friend and officemate was coming along, but he would be staying with his girlfriend at a hotel not too far from the city centre.

On the side, I imagined I would be sampling some good food at the many hot dining spots in Singapore. Though I did promise my wife that I'd keep as close to my diet as possible, I guess all hell broke lose as soon as my plane landed in Changi airport!

For this trip, I stayed with my good friend Mai. My wife and I stayed with her two years ago when we got to Singapore as part of our cruise package with Star Cruises. Mai and I used to hang out during our college days in UP, and we still had that same kind of wacky yet sincere friendship that didn't miss a beat throughout the years. From Changi airport, I took a cab to her office to pick up the keys to her flat. I got to her flat, got settled, rested a bit, then headed out the door.

XIAO LONG BAO
Mai insisted we go out to dinner on my first night in SG, so we decided to meet at the ION, a glitzy, new high-end mall on Orchard Road, and take it from there. It took me about a 45-minute walk from the stop where I got off the bus, coming from Mai's flat in Upper East Coast Road, and that helped get my appetite going.

After we found each other, Mai led me to Din Tai Fung, at the food court of Paragon Mall. To say I was hungry was an understatement, and Mai herself was high-beaming it all the way to that place for our dinner.

Din Tai Fung is an award-winning restaurant of Taiwanese origin, specialising in xiaolongbao (small steamed buns, marketed as "dumplings" in the West). Outside its native Taiwan, Din Tai Fung also has its restaurant chains in Australia, China, Hong Kong,Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States. This branch is just one of eight in Singapore, and it was good timing that I was in town to try it out.

After getting to our table, Mai did all the ordering, which consisted of steamed shrimp and pork dumplings, steamed vegetable and pork dumplings, fried rice with shrimp and egg vegetarian delight in special vinegar dressing. The dumplings were great! Perfectly steamed, and it seemed to melt as soon as you put it in your mouth.

We were catching up on each other's happenings for the last two years and pretty soon, we had consumed almost everything served on our table. Which is a normal occurrence when you have me and Mai, and a table full of food, and no one to stop us. Good thing we had some Chinese tea to help keep our stomachs warm.

SNOW ICE
Later in the evening (which was about 15-minutes later), we met up with Rhea, Mai's sister, who works at one of the newly soft-opened boutique hotels along Orchard Road. Then we proceeded to this dessert place at the Food Court somewhere beneath the ION Mall. Mai said she just wanted to let me try some "snow ice" for dessert. You may not be able to lead a horse to water, but you can always drag me to hell and back with the promise of dessert!

After five minutes of looking for it, allowing me to take a trip to the loo (and a very stylish one at that!), Mai found the place called Mei Hong Yeun, got a table, and placed an order.

When it arrived, it was heaven on ice! Literally a little mountain of shaved ice, flavored from the inside out! This was Chendol Snow Ice, with a taste that I can't exactly place although it hinted of coconut and pandan. Mai added a huge dollop of gula melaka to make it just a tad more tasty! It's an acquired taste, but not off-putting as you would think. The green trimmings would be the pandan-flavored bits, or something like it. It wasn't really very sweet, so you can actually bear to eat a big portion of that serving.

Then came this big yellow sculpture, which turned out to be Mango Snow Ice, topped with more mango sauce! Really refreshing to the taste, and quite appealing in taste. These desserts really turned out well as a counterpoint to the heavily soy- and vinegar-based dimsum meal we had earlier -- a perfect ending to a great evening!

Disclaimer: We didn't finish both desserts. Left them with a bit more than a third left on the bowl. Honest!

CRYSTAL JADE
The next day, I found myself in Holland Village, quite a ways off of my usual route in SG, but a locale that's teeming with great new finds, including a row of gadget shops that offered one of the best prices in town! It was my first time here and I wanted to check it out.

Holland Village, as defined by Wikipedia, is a small commercial enclave near the Buona Vista MRT Station close to the Queenstown area in Singapore. A popular venue for younger Singaporeans and expatriates, it is dominated by and often visited solely for its eateries and watering holes, along with some specialist shops selling non-traditional wares

Some of the stores and dining places were still closed when I got there, so I just surveyed the place. It really looked like a great hangout for drinks and cocktails. There was a couple of food courts, a shopping center and the Holland V Shopping Mall, with a windmill fixed on the roof of the building structure. The open dining spots were Crystal Jade, BreadTalk, The Coffee Bean, Subway, Indochine and Häagen-Dazs, and a Ya Kun Kaya place.

Since it was already close to noon, I decided have my lunch at Crystal Jade.There were two Crystal Jade places in Holland V: one is a dine-in resto and the other I think served dimsum and bread to-go. I just ordered steamed chicken and noodle soup, and it was one of the best ones I've had in a long time!

KAYA TOAST
From Holland V, I headed back to Orchard Road to do some more window shopping. After walking for most of the afternoon, checking out the malls while waiting to meet up with my friends, I started to get hungry (how come this is becoming a regular thing?). In fairness, I only had chicken noodle soup for lunch, so obviously, I would be hungry by 4pm!

I then found this neat-looking place that served Kaya toast and Kopi! I haven't really tried this one yet, even if a place called Kopi Roti already opened in Manila. I've heard of it though, of the coffee laced with condensed milk, called Kopi, which you pair with a toasty bread filled with butter and a delectable spread!

Kaya toast is a popular snack amongst Malaysians and Singaporeans where kaya is a local favourite spread eaten on toast, fresh bread or cream crackers. Kaya is made of eggs, sugar and coconut milk and flavored with pandan.

The coffee in Singapore is not just your plain old coffee as it is know in other parts of the world. While "Kopi" is the direct translation of "coffee" in Malay. When you say kopi, that means coffee with condensed milk. If you want it just black with no sugar, then that's Kopi-O. Here's a complete list of terms and what they mean to help us out next time we have a coffee break in Singapore:

Kopi-O: Coffee without milk and only sugar
Kopi-C: Coffee with evaporated milk
Kopi-gau: Coffee (strong brew – “gau” is “厚” in Hokkien)
Kopi-po: Coffee (weak brew – “po” is “薄” in Hokkien)
Kopi-C-kosong: Coffee with evaporated milk and no sugar (‘kosong” means empty in Malay)
Kopi-O-kosong: Coffee without sugar or milk
Kopi-O-kosong-gau: A strong brew of coffee without sugar or milk
Kopi-bing or Kopi-ice or Kopi-Peng: Coffee with milk, sugar and ice
Kopi-xiu-dai: Coffee with less sugar
Kopi-gah-dai: Coffee with extra sweetened milk
Kopi-Di-Lo: All coffee, no water

Source.

The place I went to was called Toast Box, and what attracted me was the white-colored theme of the shop, with rustic wooden furniture, white-washed counter and walls, and employees in white uniform! I ordered the set meal of two kaya toasts and a cup of Kopi.

At first bite, it really got to me. I liked it. The spread inside the perfectly toasted bread tasted much like coconut jam, spiked with pandan. The melted butter added the necessary kick, and then made more interesting when you drink the coffee after it. Sarap!

There were other, more eclectic, dishes on the menu like Laksa, Peanut Thick Toast, and a combo meal that includes half-cooked soft-boiled egg, which I'm not really fond of.

The Toast Box experience was a good one for me, opening up a new craving for kaya toast. Later that same evening, after we had our dinner, I brought my friends to the same Toast Box branch to get some coffee and more toast! Anmar, one of our former engineers during our old Airborne Access days who is now working in Singapore, explained to us the different coffee varieties, then proceeded to order several toasts for our after-dinner treat! Just look at how Nappy relishes his first bite of kaya toast! Adik!

And it was surprising for me to find out that Toast Box is owned by the same owners of Bread Talk. Another surprise for me, which I just found out as I was writing this blog entry, is there is a Toast Box in the Philippines! Its first store is in Trinoma, which opened back in 2007! Wow, where have I been?! Thanks to Anton of OurAwesomePlanet.com for writing about this when it was newly opened.

*Succumbing to my addiction, I ended up having more Kaya Toast and Kopi-C at the Ya Kun Kaya stall at Changi Airport while waiting for my flight home. I even bought a gift box that contained two bottles of the kaya spread - a great 'palaman ng pandesal' option for breakfast.

**Here's a fair warning from the Health Guru on the regular consumption of Kopi-C. As is the case w/ rich foods, moderation is key. Now let me check my dictionary for the meaning of that word...

END OF PART 1.

Head on to PART 2!

Rodic's 4Ever!

2010-09-09T11:23:00.006+08:00

Anybody who spent their college years at the University of the Philippines in Diliman will surely sit up and smile at the mere mention of the name 'Rodics'!

Ensconched in one of the many stalls inside the UP Shopping Center is the little tapsi place where many college kids first began their love affair with the tapsilog. You go inside the "carinderia" which hasn't really changed much since my college years. The same square formica tables and stacking chairs are the only furniture in sight.

The Rodic's version, while common among local UP folk, seems to be unique from all the other tapsilog dishes on offer in other eateries. The tapa is shredded and the eggs simply done sunny fried up, on a bed of garlicky sinangag rice, then you shower it with table vinegar and fish sauce (patis) until its salty/sour enough to satisfy your tastebuds.

I spent most of my UP college life in abject poverty, so to say that I regularly patronized Rodic's is an understatement. Its cheap, tasty and fast!

So fast-forward to 20 years later, and here we are back in Rodic's, introducing my kids to the delectable tapsilog we all love so much!

It's a perfect Sunday lunch meal after logging some mileage around U.P. for my long runs, and after my daughter's arnis lessons at the lagoon. The girls love the tapsilog, but we try not to make it a regular treat since its not quite a healthy dish to be consumed on a regular basis.

Nevertheless, you haven't found bliss till you've tried Rodic's Tapsilog! You can also order for take-out, in which they'll place the meal in a box for you to bring home!

A few months ago, I discovered it had a branch in Makati, along Salcedo street! I haven't ordered for lunch there yet, but I sure as soon will do this! I might have some delivered to my office on Ayala, although minimum order is P300. That's a lot of tapsilog!

UP Shopping Center - Tel. 920-7668.921-7361, 920-6980
Salcedo St. Makati - Tel. 994-2272

Life Goes On: A Taste of Portuguese

2010-08-15T14:54:00.007+08:00

Back to regular programming...

My brother-in-law was in town the other week and he invited the family to Sunday lunch prior to his departure back to Florida. Days before, he was asking which resto would be good to try out. We've been to various places in the Greenbelt area, Power Plant Mall, even Serendra and Bonifacio High Street. But we wanted to try something new, something we haven't been to before. My brother-in-law's only qualifications would be good and affordable.

Well, guess where we ended up? At O'sonho Portuguese Fusion along Jupiter Street! I wasn't sure if it was in the "affordable" category but I guess this item would be relative, seeing that the place offers something quite unique since this is the only Portuguese restaurant in Manila. Its not that difficult to find. It was smack dab in front of my favorite car wash place along Jupiter Street in Bel-Air Village, Makati.

We ordered Portuguese Gambas (P240) for appetizer. The menu said this was "prawns bathed in a medley of garlic, olive oil, Portuguese herbs and spices. Served on a hot plate." And it pretty much came as advertised.

Prior to that, we ordered the house greens (P200) just so we could start off our meal with a fresh salad plate. Again, it came out quite well; fresh mixed vegetables and delicately topped with O'sonho's special Portuguese dressing.

My eldest daughter ordered the Beer Battered Fish and Chips (P160), her usual dish when going out to such places. She's not fond of rice so she usually picks a dish from the list of appetizers. But this one was quite filling, as it had huge chunks of crunchy fish and deep fried chips! The younger daughter, on the other hand, is known as a pasta monster so she ordered the Spaghetti Bacalhau (P290). I sampled this one and it tasted good, up to the last morsel of fish bits bathed in olive oil that I scooped up with my spoon.

I chose the famous Peri-Peri Chicken (P280), as did my brother-in-law and my Mom. Each order consisted of two portions of tender, juicy butterfly-cut chicken thighs, marinated in O'sonho's own peri peri sauce. We would have wanted to order the Whole Roast Peri-Peri Chicken but balked at the long preparation time (45-minutes). Little did we know...

The wife ordered Espetada de Carne (P390), two large skewers of delicious shrimps, scallops, US tenderloin cuts, and succulent vegetables seasoned w/ O'sonho's own herb paste. It was quite filling; the meat and seafood were tasty, not too overdone. And that herb paste was unforgettable (although I don't really remember much of it. It disappeared quite fast!). Will have to try this one next time.

I would say that the food was just right. Nothing too great, but at least they delivered what was expected. Since my only encounter with Portuguese cuisine was a trip to Macau back in 2001, and what we had there was a mix of Macau and Portuguese cuisine, called Macanese.

Perhaps our only beef was the slow arrival of our Peri-Peri Chicken. Maybe it was due to the fact that a slew of other diners had already come in by that time. But then that shouldn't be an issue, right? Any professionally run kitchen should be able to cope with the influx of orders from the sudden arrival of customers at any given time! I guess we should have just ordered the Whole Roast Chicken then!

I would recommend people try out O'sonho at least once. It's pretty well set-up, and if you get in early enough, before the Sunday lunch crowd, you could get a good table. Better yet, call +632 896-3289 for reservations.

Milestones

2010-08-06T16:33:00.005+08:00

We often think of the things we need to do -- plans that have yet to unfold, occasions we need to observe, and tasks that cannot be set aside anymore.

But sometimes, things happen where you have to put everything on hold. Last July 24, a Saturday, we just had to stop for awhile, coz my mother-in-law, after a long, lingering respiratory ailment, passed away. She left peacefully, although we were not at her side when her time came.

She had been bedridden for a year and a week. She had been sick for even longer than that. It was almost similar to what happened about a year ago, when she had to be rushed to the ER due to respiratory failure, also on a Saturday.

In a way, we knew the time would come. We just didn't know when her time will run out. That one year extension gave us enough time to be with her, to care for her. She tried to get better, but everytime she'd get a little stronger, another infection will come in, keeping her in bed and negating almost all of the progress she had so far made.

Life can usually throw a fastball at you, and you have to think fast to either catch it with your hands or duck to avoid being hit. Catching it might be painful, and you feel hurt for a long time. But if you fail to duck, its gonna hurt even worse. And you carry that hurt for a much longer time.

But then again, time will heal the hurt. It has to. Its not actually the hurt, but the infinite sadness. Mother-in-law lived a full life. There may be parts where she could have done differently, but that is not for us to judge. All we know is that she tried and did her best. And we love her for it.

FroYo For Yo!

2010-07-18T00:49:00.011+08:00

The FroYo (Frozen Yoghurt) craze has been getting "hot" of late, and we've tried many kinds among the newly opened froyo stands all over the metropolis.

One of our recent top faves -- and where we keep coming back for a wickedly awesome froyo experience -- is Frutti Froyo.

First off, I'd like to declare that the taste of the yoghurt here is not like most other froyo shops. Its not too sweet, and not too sour, either. It offers several frozen yoghurt flavors, from the fruity varieties to the chocolate and vanilla ones, or any combo from among the various flavours. But what makes Frutti Froyo really stand out is its vast array of toppings to choose from. Part of the novelty is the fact that these toppings are encased in fat glass cylinders that you open via a faucet-like knob. Quite a fun experience, really.

They advertise 30 toppings in all, and this is a pretty lot! Off the top of my head, there's crushed graham crackers, Oreo cookie bits, Chocnut blocks, choco chips, fudge brownies, rice krispies, various cereals, trailmix, raisinets, sliced almonds, walnuts, gummie bears, sprinkles and marshmallows among others. And then some fresh fruit, like mangoes, peaches, grapes, strawberries, lychees, kiwi, pineapples, among others.

You also get to choose a syrup to top your original concoction with, namely chocolate or white chocolate syrup by Ghirardelli, and dark chocolate by Monin.

After all of that, you get to the pay counter, where they weigh your magnificent creation. For heavy hitters who want almost everything on it, bear in mind that you'll pay P18 per oz., so the heavier your cup of FroYo, the more you'll have to pay. At the start of the whole assembly line, the first thing you'll decide on is the size of the cup. Obviously, if you get the large size, you'll be encouraged to load it up with yoghurt and toppings.

But that's ok. Frozen yoghurt is a safe indulgence, and this is one of those instances where its nice to get your money's worth.

We'll be back!

Not so Chicken Little...

2010-06-24T19:25:00.006+08:00

I love chicken. Its probably one meat that I can eat everyday, in varying flavors and manners of cooking.

Having said that, I decided to try the new Max's Chicken-All-You-Can promo to celebrate 65 years in the business. Now, I like Max's, and my family grew up eating Max's Chicken. I have an uncle based in LA who makes sure that each time he comes to Manila, he makes sure he gets to eat at Max's, whether take out or dine in.

Lately, though, I haven't been visiting Max's. My kids have probably eaten there only once or twice in the past 2 years. Its not exactly our first choice when dining out, ever since we adapted a healthy diet of fresh veggies, low-fat, no oily, no fried and no fastfood dishes.

But this promo I just had to try -- all the chicken you can eat for only P165, from 6pm-10pm!

So, me and two other colleagues of mine trekked to the nearest Max's restaurant near our office, at the Convergys Building in Ayala. We had to wait about 5-minutes for a table to free up. Once seated, we each ordered the "Chicken-All-You-Can" promo, plus one rice each, and a side dish of Pancit Canton.

Each chicken order comes in 1/4th servings, so its not one big whole chicken served at your table in one go. We were eager to get into our chickens fast!

At first, the pieces were not that big. On the second and third orders, each quarter chicken seemed larger than the first. Maybe its just our imagination and the fact that each order became a chore to devour as our tummies got filled and our mouths got used to the fried, oily and crispy flavors. Masking it in Jufran ketchup and hot sauce helped, though.

The orders came in quite quickly as waiters were always going around the floor with a tray of freshly cooked fried chicken quarters, ready to slap them down your table as soon as you signal for a "refill." That's bottomless chicken at its best! We opted for the leg/thigh combo since that was the better one, compared with the mostly white meat wing/back/neck portions.

After three orders each, my friends and I gave up. It was a good run, but for me, I started getting tired of the taste right in the middle of my third piece. Maybe its just me not getting used to deep fried taste of Max's Chicken, or my tastebuds just lost its "gana" midway. The thought of chicken deep-fried in oily pork fat does have a way of influencing the mind to think "this is not getting any good."

But three orders for P165 is a good enough deal, if you ask me. This promo, though, is ideal for really hungry individuals who love chicken and don't have to keep tabs of their cholesterol levels.

Maybe next time, I'll bring a larger appetite.

Will have to burn all this chicken with an early morning run tomorrow.

In the meantime, keep chewing the fat guys!

*Poster photo swiped from the Max's Restaurant website.

LX3 Images: Summer and then Some

2010-06-10T17:07:00.005+08:00

Aside from the trips to the beach, we had quite a busy summer, beginning with (from bottom to top): a family day at Alfie's Class 6 Greek Olympics; fruit spread during the Greek lunch at the Greek Olympics; my new Casio G-Shock Mudman Military; coffee at Cafe Breton; hanging out the Shangri-La Hotel Makati; a shot of my iPhone that I sold to my cousin last April; M. and I at Enchanted Kingdom last May.

Mid-Year Musings

2010-06-10T10:41:00.004+08:00

So it's June 2010. Six months into the year, we find ourselves huffing and puffing at all the work, play and everything in between that we need to do.

Awkwardly, everything is in static mode. The weather isn't sure if its ready to shift from the warm summer months to the humid rainy season. But rains have started falling, with the sun still heating up the place in between downpours.

Everyone's waiting for "the big one" as predicted by weather authorities. There'll be 20 storms this year they say. Well, I hope we get through them unscathed.

Good thing we've been to the beach more than a couple of times this summer. I guess that will have to do. Time to take stock again and replenish for the next half of the year.

Let's see how it goes.

Hit The Beach (again)!

2010-05-22T13:07:00.008+08:00

Another long weekend, another trip to the beach!

We took advantage of the long weekend coinciding with the Philippine National elections. Good time to hit the beach and celebrate Alfie's 12th birthday with close friends, the sun, the sand and the sea!

We first went to Kawayan Cove in Nasugbu, an exclusive residential resort community nestled in one of the many coves of this part of Batangas.

Since we couldn't bring in any food, we just ordered from the beach-side restaurant, and it was a semi-feast with grilled bbq, pancit, pinakbet, lumpiang shanghai, and pork sinigang. Then we had halo-halo later in the afternoon. All this while the kids and their friends enjoyed the cool, clear waters.

At day's end, we hied off to our friend Isa's house in Punta Fuego, for a quiet evening highlighted by our home-cooked dinner: pasta with cream sauce, fresh salad greens, lots of refreshing fruit juices and cold water.

Early next morning, I made sure to log in a quick 5km run around Punta Fuego and the uphill roads turned out to be quite a challenge. But the clean, clear and crisp seaside air made the early morning heat a bit bearable.

After some breakfast (tinapa, garlic rice, scrambled eggs w/ cheese, corned tuna) we all went down to the beach where we stayed till about noon. The girls took turns riding the banana boat, and they caught a couple of baby jelly fish which they placed in a small "pool" made out from a ditch in the sand then filled with water.

Pretty soon, it was time to pack up and head for home. The fun and cool weekend was brief, but it was just enough for us to recharge, celebrate a birthday and spend time with good friends.

Closest Thing To Heaven

2010-05-13T09:34:00.012+08:00

Tears For Fears Live in Manila | 2 May 2010

When Tears For Fears came to town, almost everyone who grew up in the 80s made sure they were there to witness history unfolding.

It's been over 25 years since the duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith first became popular with their brooding, melancholic lyrics wrapped with a synth-laden sound. The style was New Wave, and Pinoy kids in Catholic schools made sure to include their music in their playlist of long-playing vinyl records and cassette tapes.

Yep, I admit, I’m an old fogey. In high school, me and my mates listened to this kind of music. We all had more hair back then. No bulges in our guts. No worries about cholesterol and other uric acid levels. We all could fit in our "baston" jeans (with the zippers!) and colorful Polo sportshirts.

1985 was a time for change, both in music, culture and the political scene. Our generation listened to Tears For Fears and the other bands from the UK and Europe who spearheaded the New Wave in the rock/pop scene. We hummed to their music, memorized all the lines, danced to their synth-pop beats and even copied their hairstyles and fashion.

Today, 25 years after, we still listen to 80s music and we feel good. But we know those times were long gone.

Until Tears For Fears decided to swing by Manila to do a concert as part of their Asian leg of their tour.

Tickets easily sold out weeks before the show. Good thing we have some cool friends who invited us to join them. It was an event we looked forward to! So imagine our surprise when we found out we'd be sitting at the Patron section, right on the same level as the stage, about 5 rows near! My wife and I were giddy with excitement!

The concert was a blast! Like most of the people in the audience, the duo of Roland and Curt looked older, more weathered, but still retained the slight youthful exuberance that they possessed during their heydey. Performance-wise, the talent was still there: Roland's voice is still as thick and powerful as ever, while Curt's voice brought back fond memories of high school and how we'd try to hit the same high notes.

That night, Araneta Coliseum was full to the brim! When Tears For Fears hit the stage, to a stirring choral/orchestral rendition of "Mad World," there was wild applause and cheering. Then Curt Smith took the mic to sing the first part of that song, until it suddenly segued to "Everybody Wants to Rule The World," the duo's breakaway hit in 1985.

The whole place was singing along with them for most of their old hits, and we noticed that both Roland and Curt and the rest of the band seemed to be shaking their heads and smiling in disbelief at the way the Manila audience was reacting. I'm sure they were pretty bowled over by this whole spectacle!

They also did several songs from their reunion album, "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending," which I started listening to a few weeks before, as soon as I found out about the concert. This album takes off from where "Seeds of Love" ended, a bit more mellow, not as New Wave, but well-written and arranged like the rest. Later, our friends mentioned that the new material made them sound a bit like The Beatles.

All throughout the show, my wife and I, along with our friends, were all ecstatically going crazy at seeing TFF in the flesh! We couldn't believe it, I had to pinch my wife's arm several times!

We left the concert happy, with smiles on our faces. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'm glad we got to see Tears For Fears perform live! We saw a lot of familiar faces, from high school and college. Some of my friends even said the concert was like one big high school reunion.

Here's the set-list for that night, and it was all good!

1. Ingress: Mad World
2. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
3. Secret World
4. Closest Thing To Heaven
5. Sowing The Seeds of Love
6. Call Me Mellow
7. Mad World
8. Memories Fade
9. Raoul and the Kings of Spain
10. Quiet Ones
11. Floating Down The River
12. Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
13. Seven of Sundays (from Curt Smith's solo album, Halfway, Pleased)
14. Billie Jean (Yes, great arrangement of Michael Jackson's hit)
15. Pale Shelter
16. Break It Down Again
17. Head Over Heels
18. Encore: Woman In Chains
19. Shout

We just felt a little disappointed they didn't do "Change" and "Advice for the Young at Heart." Maybe next time, which Curt promised won't be after another 25 years!

I'm sure not everyone will understand this "seemingly over-the-top obsession" with a New Wave group that ruled the airwaves over two decades ago. But I don't care. This is the sound of my generation, my growing up years, when being "deeply troubled and confused w/ puberty and adolescent angst" wasn't yet branded as "emo." Lots of people my age remember mostly the good and the bad things we went through during those years. And throughout all these experiences, Tears For Fears -- and the rest of the New Wave bands of the 80s -- provided the fitting soundtrack.

As I recall one of my favorite TFF songs, "I Believe," I remember these lines,

"I believe that when the hurting and the pain has gone
We will be strong, Oh yes we will be strong."

Thanks for coming over, Tears For Fears!

Here's a video I took during the concert, when Curt Smith re-did "Mad World" in its original version:

LX3 Images: Tears For Fears Live in Manila 2010

2010-05-08T01:00:00.003+08:00

Complete set of photos here:

LX3 Images: Palm Beach

2010-04-10T09:14:00.004+08:00

Laiya, San Juan, Batangas

Our last pre-summer trip to the beach was at Palm Beach Resort in Bo. Hugom, Laiya. It was bit further than the row of resorts found in Laiya. The 4-hour drive from QC ended with the final 1km or so drive up a mountainside on a rocky, dusty road. On the side of the mountain, in a cove with a rocky clearing facing the ocean, is where Palm Beach is located.

The amenities were pretty good: big beds in spacious rooms on a three-story casita, ample bath amenities, a TV and DVD player, and a balcony overlooking the beach. Food was plentiful and inclusive of the overnight package: lunch, afternoon snack, breakfast then morning snack.

The shoreline itself was nothing spectacular. Instead of sand, the beach was made up of crushed corals and small rocks. It was quite difficult to walk on the beach with bare feet. The water was fine though, but we didn't see any signs of marine life in the shallow waters.

"Timothy Where You Been?"

2010-03-28T07:10:00.003+08:00

Changing Lives: Shock Value II Tour!
With Timbaland and Jojo, plus the special participation of Justin Timberlake

27 March 2010, SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds

LX3 Images: Summer's Here!

2010-03-17T13:57:00.005+08:00

Right before things got any hotter in the city, we decided to do some advance summer trips right before summer actually came around.

So we scheduled trips to the beach over back-to-back-to-back weekends last February, making sure that we'd get a jump on everyone else who've been planning their great summer beach getaway!

We all know how crowded all the beaches become during the height of summer. When we went there, though, there weren't that many people yet. On Valentine's Day weekend, we went to Canyon Cove in Nasugbu, Batangas, with some of our friends. The location is great coz its not too far from Tagaytay, and its a great drive down. The resort was adequate: with big rooms, clean facilities, and overall good service. It had a big pool facing the beach, so one can take a pick of either sand or tiles! The shoreline itself was ok, mostly crushed corals and small rocks. Saw some Clown Fishes when I went snorkeling so that means there are signs of life underwater.

The weekend after, we went all the way to Laiya, in San Juan, Batangas, with another group of friends and their kids. We stayed at Palm Beach Resort, in Bo. Hugom, quite a bit further from the line of resorts in San Juan. This one had nice big rooms overlooking the beach, but the beach itself wasn't too nice. Instead of soft sand, it was mostly dotted with medium-size rocks and crushed coral that made it difficult to walk barefoot on. The waters were not to clear, too, although we couldn't see any living coral or marine life underwater. Looks like the owners/operators just blasted the location from out of the mountainside to make way for a flat space for the resort by the beach. But at least, the food served was very good!

Here are some pics of our trip to Canyon Cove!

LX3 Images: Mactan Trip

2010-02-20T00:51:00.006+08:00

Had the opportunity to visit my Dad's hometown of Mactan in Cebu early this month and it was good to be able to get out of Manila even for just a couple of days.

The last time I was in Cebu was in 2007, when we attended one of my cousin's wedding. My trip this time was work-related so I didn't think I'd get the chance to see the sights, much more enjoy the beach. I did get a chance to meet my cousin for dinner on my first night there. As for my aunts and other relatives, a quick phone call was all they got from me.

Despite the hectic schedule, I had just about an hour or so to lie on a beach chair and soak up the sun with a bottle of beer, before packing up and getting ready for the flight back. Sometimes we look for long holidays spent lounging about, seeing as much sights as we can, not realizing that we're just delaying the inevitable -- that of going back to reality (and the daily grind), albeit somewhat tanner, heavier, and mostly poorer.

But this time I realized that any kind of downtime is good enough -- as long as you relish the moment, no matter if its just a couple of hours or less. So I grabbed an empty chair on the beach, ordered a bottle of San Mig Premium All-Malt Beer, and stared out to sea, beyond the crisp, white sands of Mactan. And it was one of the best 70-minutes of my life.

Here are some choice shots taken with my ever-reliable LX-3.

www.chewingdafat.blogspot.com

LX3 Images of 2009

2009-12-31T21:31:00.004+08:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T02:11:00.001+08:00

Here's our annual Christmas message, written by Sabine:

On this day many winters ago
the Holy Family to Bethlehem did go
Baby Jesus was born beneath the light of a star
Which drew many visitors (shepherds, etc.) from near and far.

Now we celebrate Christmas the way they have done
With our friends and our family and almost everyone
Sharing our love and holiday cheer,
And our hopes and ambitions for the bright new year.

Oh, and the presents absolutely
I can remember quite resolutely
The many gifts I was given and gave
(A book, a gadget, a fashion rave)

So to all people below or above (like, you know, in airplanes?)
Christmas is now so let's LIVE LEARN and LOVE!!
And to everyone that we hold dear
I shall loudly announce, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
But remember to say when we've had our fun ---
And that's 'God bless us, every one.'

(www.chewingdafat.blogspot.com)

This One Goes Out To The One I Love

2009-12-19T08:26:00.005+08:00

Today I celebrate 15 years of marriage to M.

It was a bright clear day back in 1994 when we exchanged vows at the Malate Church, oblivious of anything and everyone, yet aware that we were embarking on a great adventure that only two people can share.

Its really great to have someone to share a life with. You become responsible, confident, secure, stable and fulfilled. You try to do better, work harder, act more proper, think more serious and have more fun, when there's someone beside you.

I remember a scene from the movie, "Shall We Dance?" where Susan Sarandon's character was talking to a private investigator she hired to track her husband, Richard Gere, whom she thought was having an affair due to his late nights coming home. Turns out he enrolled in dance classes with Jennifer Lopez.

Susan: "Why is it do you think that people get married?"

P.I." "Because we need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet, what does any one life really mean?"

"But in a marriage you're promising to care about everything; the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things. All of it. All the time, everyday.

"You're saying, 'your life won't go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness.'"

That was a great movie, I think.

We've seen a lot of movies together, M. and I. And we still enjoy each other's company. Fifteen years is not long when you consider it, but its long enough for most married people. For me, its just right, because we live it one day at a time and try to relish all the little moments that add to the years. We make sure we keep our humor intact, so that in the face of adversity, we are able to weather it and handle it without much stress.

Happy Anniversary, luv!

LX3 Pix: 19th NU ROCK AWARDS!

2009-11-25T13:55:00.013+08:00

Was able to watch this year's edition of the NU107 Rock Awards, held last October at the World Trade Center.

As in years past, the show was rocking and rolling, with some of the best-sounding, loud-playing local bands in the country! There were a lot of first-time performers this year, and surprisingly for me, most of them had a strong following among the kids in the audience. I guess us old farts will soon have to let go of the usual "boss" bands that we normally see in each Rock Awards show.

The party started with Kamikazee dishing out one of their noisy numbers that got the crowd going wild! These boys know how to rock, and they've happily matured into confident young guns who have amassed quite a lot of hit songs and albums, as well as rock awards, under their belts. From that rousing opening act, the awards night was off to a rousing evening, despite the strong rains that suddenly started falling outside the venue.

Some of the highlights of the night were: Franco's gritty performance as it made its name known to a rock-hungry audience; Kjwan's solid performance led by front-man Marc Abaya; Juan Pablo Dream's club act complete with cage dancers and mini-skirted back-up singers; Up Dharma Down getting the loudest cheers as well as the Artist of the Year award; Razorback's in-your-face performance, showing that Pinoy rock is still very much alive; the induction of the late FrancisM to the Hall of Fame; Ely Buendia performing "Higante," the fruit of his collaboration with FrancisM, with Elmo Magalona filling in capably for his dad.

Lots of the usual characters and movers and shakers in the rock scene were present and accounted for that night. Rock still lives, albeit in many forms.

Here are photos I was able to take using my Panasonic Lumix LX3, a nifty device for dark, crowded places and a rocking audience! See you again next year!

More pics and stories here

Food Shots!

2009-11-23T12:25:00.004+08:00

We tried out Circles at Shangri-La Hotel Makati a few weeks ago, and truly enjoyed their breakfast buffet spread!

Here are some pics!

Changing times, varying climes

2009-10-15T18:39:00.005+08:00

LOOKING BACK AT COASTAL CLEANUP DAY, 09/19/09

In the past two weeks, we've come face to face with major calamities that changed the way we think of, and perceive, our world and the way we live in it.

Ondoy and then Pepeng proved that man is still a poor victim to nature's fury. Nobody could have prepared for these two major weather disturbances and their after-effects.

Maybe its Earth's way of saving itself from further destruction by man. Its not really an Act of God, as some would easily want to say. It's an act of nature, a way of preserving itself from all the harmful things that man has done to it.

About a week before the Ondoy event, we joined the Ocean Conservancy's Coastal Cleanup Day, upon the invitation of a friend who works at one of the corporate sponsors. The event encourages communities and individuals to clean up the coast from debris, garbage and other waste brought about by man's progress and seeming lack of care for the environment.

We brought the kids along to help out in the cleanup. The site was in the Paranaque area, along the Coastal Road. The shoreline was literally made up of trash: plastic bags, wrappers, old rubber tires, anything and everything one could think of throwing out to sea.

While the whole exercise showed us in plain sight the amount of damage man's careless attitude towards waste disposal can cause, it also demonstrated man's willingness to try to reverse the trend and avert complete destruction.

A big crowd of people helped out that day; individuals, the military, government units, local authorities, schools and private corporations all banded together to cleanup the coast. This, no matter how late in the game it seemed to be. The Ocean Conservancy website stated that, "At last year's Cleanup, nearly 400,000 volunteers collected more than 6.8 million pounds of trash in 100 countries and 42 US states — the largest volunteer effort of its kind."

The two supertyphoons that made its present felt made sure we heard the call, loud and clear. Its about time we do our part. We can start with each trash that we put away properly. We encourage others to do the same. Its a monumental sea change of the way we take care of our surroundings.

In these times when we start to notice that the earth's climate has begun to exhibit obvious changes in its usual behaviour, so too must we begin to modify our attitude and behaviour towards taking better care of our planet. When the climate begins to change, we also must change our ways. Before it's too late.

Celebrating Michaelmas

2009-09-29T22:22:00.008+08:00

It's the feast of St. Michael and I wonder sometimes why I was named after him. I mean, I was born in February, not September.

I always thought it was simply because Michael was the leader of the Archangels, and he led all the other angels in the fight to cast off Lucifer and his minions to hell. And maybe my parents decided I could eventually be a lot like St. Michael when I grew up. When you're a kid, you'll believe anything.

Although this info is true, it was only when I got older did I learn about the other things that St. Michael stood for. Not the beer, or the clear, 4-cornered bottle of gin with a picture of St. Michael slaying a dragon on its label.

The school where my children go to always celebrate festivals like these, and most especially Michaelmas, where the story of St. George and the Dragon is retold.

I'd like to share this bit of information from the book, "Festivals, Family and Food" by Diana Carey and Judy Large.

"September 29 is the Feast of St. Michael, patron saint of the sea and maritime lands, of ships and boatment, of horses and horsemen. As Michael nam Buadh (Michael the Victorious), he is known as conqueror of the powers of darkness; the Angel who lured Lucifer down from heaven for his treachery.

"This festival was important in Celtic Christianity, particularly for the dedication of churches... He is usually portrayed riding a white steed and carrying a three-pronged spear in one hand and a three-cornered shield in the other. Because of the strong good versus evil theme in this heritage, the story of a similar figure, St. George and the dragon, is appropriate at Michaelmas."

Researching more on Michaelmas led me to this entry from Historic-UK.com, which said,

"Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on the 29th of September every year. As it falls near the equinox, the day is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days; in England, it is one of the 'quarter days'.

"There are traditionally four 'quarter days' in a year (Lady Day (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th Spetember) and Christmas (25th December)). They are spaced three months apart, on religious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes.

"St Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, protector against the dark of the night and the Archangel who fought against Satan and his evil angels. As Michaelmas is the time that the darker nights and colder days begin - the edge into winter - the celebration of Michaelmas is associated with encouraging protection during these dark months. It was believed that negative forces were stronger in darkness and so families would require stronger defences during the later months of the year."

During the celebration of the festival at my children's school, they usually sing songs related to the festival theme, and then the bigger children would re-enact a play depicting St. Michael (or St. George?) and the Dragon. The younger children also go through a playful obstacle course, at the end of which a "dragon" comes rushing to them, encouraging the kids to learn to face their fears and "slay" whatever dragons (or challenges) they may be facing, internally and externally. It is a celebration of inner strength and courage.

The children and teachers also bake bread and loaves, sometimes shaped like dragons or St. Michael, to welcome the Harvest Season. At the end of the play, the whole school community shares in the festival table of baked bread, fruits and other pot-luck items brought by parents.

Here's a sample of one of the songs the children would sing for the festival. It's a round song in three voices:

"Michaelmas, Michaelmas, the time to show both courage and form;
Look well around. Inside you must wake!
Trees may shake, I shall stand the storm."

Here's another song titled "Michael's Sword"

"Michael's sword flames with the last flourish of summer,
Cools, gleams flashing with stars.
As winter awakens, awakens."

This is usually the time of year that we all make ready for the coming holidays, or in other countries, wintertime. We let go of the stuff we've collected in the past months, to make space for the things we need to prepare for December.

Is it a surprise that the Philippines usually experiences extreme climatic changes at this time of year? I recall the great Typhoon Milenyo that hit the country on September 29, 2006. Back then, it was billed as "the strongest typhoon to hit Metro Manila directly in 11 years.. brought down trees and billboards, caused flash floods and landslides, closed offices and the financial markets, and caused a Luzon-wide power outage."

This latest one, called Ondoy, was a bigger deal. It hit hard on Saturday, September 26. Its after-math is still very evident as we mark the Feast of St. Michael.

We have faced our fears: losing a friend or relative, damaged property, seeing our homes underwater, seeing our friends lose everything they own. But we will bounce back. This festival calls for us to be strong, to surmount the challenges that come our way. To fix what needs fixing and to clean what got muddied and wet. To start all over again.

My kids' school was supposed to celebrate the Michaelmas Festival this Tuesday, September 29. With the suspension of all schools for the rest of the week, the children will have to wait a little while longer before they can slay the dragon again.

My Mom @ 75

2009-09-13T07:41:00.007+08:00

To describe my mother is often an exercise in futility. For how can one describe a person who has given so much of herself to so many people, even those outside her immediate family?

Widowed at the prime of her life and career, with five young children to look after, Mom devoted herself to work and making sure the children had a happy and stable childhood.

Mum had a great medical practice, and I don't think she can count how many babies she has delivered throughout her career. She was also active in the administration side of the medical field, making full use of her excellent skills in managing people and organizing tasks.

She now enjoys life as a retired senior citizen, tending to her garden and her newfound hobby of crafting greeting cards. At one time, her cards were selling at Rockwell’s Power Plant Mall in Makati City and now at the Gift Shop of a posh hotel in Makati. When she’s at her worktable, she is lost in the thing she loves to do.

I’m sure she herself will say that there’s nothing better than being a grandmother to seven lively grandchildren (three boys, four girls). She says that they are her pride and joy, and nothing can pry her away from them during the few and rare chances all seven are together with her.

Friends are important to my Mom and she enjoys the company of two of her closest friends from UP Med school. Even if they don't get together as often as they want, they're just a phonecall away from each other and try to fully enjoy the few occasions when they can be together, be it dining out or going to garden exhibits.

It’s great to see her taking it easy and getting pleasure from simple but meaningful activities that only retirement can offer. I remember back in the old days when she'd wake up in the middle of the night to rush to the hospital for an emergency C-section. I also recall when we’d spend about three afternoons each week in her clinic waiting for her to finish her consultations. And then there were occasions when she’d go out of town or out of the country for medical conferences and trainings.

Throughout it all, we, her children, didn’t complain nor did we take it against her for working so hard and leaving us to the care of our househelp and sometimes close relatives. In a way, we all understood why she did those things. She did it for us and other people who depend on her. She was a doctor and a good one, too!

We did have summer vacations and out-of-town trips. Mum even managed to bring each one of us, one at a time, to the U.S. to spend the summer there with our aunts, uncles and cousins.

While all five of us siblings were growing up, Mum always talked about our Dad, about their UP medical school days and their early married life. She made it a point that we knew what kind of person our father was. She became a widow seven years into their young married life. We grew up without a father, but Mum more than made up for it.

We transferred to Manila in 1969 after my Dad died and Mum started work at the Family Planning Clinic of the Philippine General Hospital. From part-time physician she rose to Chief of the Clinic.

Then she transferred to another assignment as Deputy Project Director in the Sterilization project. She pursued her career while dividing her time between raising us and attending to her private practice as obstetrician-gynecologist. She also found the time and energy to finish her Master’s in Hospital Administration from the Ateneo Graduate School in Makati during this time.

During her free time, she conducted seminars with a religious group on various topics about psychosynthesis, human sexuality, body, mind and soul issues and the mid-life crisis. They were invited to many places in the Philippines and even to Hong Kong to deliver these seminars.

By this time, she had served her alma mater for 18 years. After resigning from PGH in 1989, she was appointed to head the NGO project on sterilization training funded by USAID. Four years later, she finally became Philippine Country Director heading an office in Metro Manila. In 1995, she decided to officially retire due to health reasons but was doubly blessed with the coming of grandchildren.

These days, Mum is kept busy by the day-to-day activities that she fully enjoys. She divides her time between family and friends, and still enjoys the times when she can be alone. She’s also an active member of the Senior Citizens group in Bel-Air Village where she resides. She still drives her own car, which allows her to get around on her own, giving her the sense of freedom and independence she has maintained all her life.

She always has a grand time every time because she’s the type who enjoys life and loves “admiring the roses along the way.” All five of us believe that she is an extraordinary person, and the good health and wealth in friends and experiences she enjoys today are fruits of the seeds of hard-work, perseverance, faith and love that she planted along the way.

Today, my Mum turns 75, a great turning point and an achievement in itself!

Happy Birthday, Mum!

Missed August

2009-09-02T11:03:00.004+08:00

Neglected to update this blog again for the whole of August! What's happening here?

Either I'm too busy or too lazy. Can't have both, although it may be closer to the truth. Well, the dirty honest truth is, it was a hectic month of family gatherings, family emergencies and other such matters.

In late July, my siblings from the U.S. and U.K. came over to surprise my Mom in celebration of her 75th birthday.

We hatched the plan late last year and decided it would be a fitting way to mark my Mom's 75th birthday -- for them to come home all at the same time and be together, something that hasn't happened in the past 15 years!

Actually, Mum's birthday is in September, but since my U.S. based sister can only schedule the trip during her children's summer vacation, we agreed to do it in August, even if our kids here will still be in school.

So one by one they arrived, and Mum almost couldn't handle the surprise! Good thing they didn't all come at the same time, otherwise it would have been too much to handle. First to set foot in Manila were my sister, her husband and three children, who came from Fort Myers, Florida. A week later, my brother and his partner came all the way from London. Then a few days after that arrived my Chicago-based brother and his wife.

In lieu of a big party at a posh hotel, we just decided to hie off to somewhere far, and spend more time together, just us. Through the help of my sister's close friend, we were able to get weekend accommodations at the posh Anvaya Cove, a luxury residential resort property in Bataan, near Subic Bay. It was raining the whole time we were there but that didn't put a damper in our activities: swimming and more swimming in the resort pool!

The days before and after that were just as busy for everyone, with dinner out, a small birthday dinner at home, and the usual mall trips with the kids. Mum was tickled-pink from all the attention and the fact that the whole family was complete. We decided this would be a good tradition to uphold at least for every 2 years.

HEART MATTERS

This past July also brought some not-so-sunny news to me, health-wise.

Part of our company medical benefit is a comprehensive executive check-up. Since this is my first year in our new company and my last check up was a year ago, I decided to avail of it. So, off I went to the new Medical City, with its posh lobby and spic-and-span facilities.

Due to my age, I had to mandatorily check-in to the hospital for an overnight stay, which I didn't mind at all. The room they put me in was really nice, almost like that of a hotel, with a 24-inch flat-screen LCD TV, a nice automated hospital bed with remote controls, and great picture window overlooking the residential area behind Meralco complex.

After underoing my routine annual physical exam, the results showed I had arrythmia -- specifically sinus pauses of at most 2.5 seconds! This means, my heartbeat pauses for that short period of time. This didn't show in my stress test but in the ECG and 2D echo they put me through as part of the routine. I was advised to go for a cardio consult, who then recommended I wear a Holter Monitor to record my heartbeat over a span of 24-hours! And so I wore the thing.

The results showed that my heart paused four times during a 24-hour period, between the hours of 6pm and 5am. When the cardio saw this, she said I was so close to having to wear a pacemaker, the thought of which dreaded me! On the bright side, if it assured that my heart would beat more efficiently, then I welcomed the idea. At the back of my head, I was thinking maybe I can have something similar to what Tony Stark had in Iron Man...

Anyway, it turns out the sinus pauses weren't that significant for me to have to wear a pacemaker. The doc just prescribed some pills to increase my heartrate, and advised that I can still do some cardio workouts provided I monitor my heartrate. So that's what I'm doing now as I resume my running routine.

EMERGENCY

Another big event that occured in the last weeks of July was an emergency involving my mother-in-law. She was rushed to the ER one Saturday in mid-July due to respiratory failure. She's been on the respirator ever since.

For most of July and August, we had to make daily trips to Paranaque Medical Center to visit her. We thought we were gonna lose her during the first two weeks after the incident, but she miraculously pulled through, with all her vital organs stabilizing one after the other within a couple of days.

For this we thank everyone -- family, friends, acquaintances and other people we know -- for all the prayers and positive energy that were sent our way. She's still in the ICU now, after five weeks, since she still needs to be hooked up to a respirator, but we continue to pray for the best.

And that's why I failed to update this space in August.

Lost July

2009-07-31T06:43:00.002+08:00

I haven't been able to post anything here for the whole month of July, and this will be the one and only one, posted on this last day of the month!

I'm doing this just so there'd be an entry for July 2009. Sometimes, the old feeling of not having the gana to write comes back. Sometimes, there's just nothing to write about.

I don't like posting stuff that's too personal, maybe. Or too emo. Not that I'd care who'd read about it here. Still, that's not why I have a blog.

I've tried to start preparing a new blog, one where I can post my runnning-related activities. But I haven't even moved to the next step of actually posting something on it.

So I won't announce it here muna till that site is good and ready.

Or till I'm good and ready.

Over. And out.

Change

2009-06-27T19:29:00.005+08:00

Some thoughts for St. John's festival. My daughter, Sabine, was inspired to write her own poem on Change. Here it is:

CHANGE

Change is Obama's favorite word
The one he wants unignored and heard.
Change are the coins in your pocket
Change is the peso in your wallet.
Change your clothes
Or change your shape
Change your hair or change your drapes.
But most of all,
Change your ways.
Change it, change it, change it right away.

SEASONS CHANGE

Leaves fall, pumpkins grow, trees become red
everywhere the world is changing in autumn.

Snow flies, the sky is grey, water becomes hard
everywhere the world is changing in winter.

Grass grows, flowers bloom, baby animals play
everywhere the world is changing in spring.

Sun shines, waves break, school's out
everywhere the world is changing in summer.

So why don't you?

She wrote these on a yellow pad and folded it into an airplane. She then tossed it over to my wife and asked her to read what's inside. :)

**The photos are also by Sabine. She took them during our recent trip to Baguio City.

Father's Day Memoirs 001

2009-06-21T08:47:00.014+08:00

A Father’s Love

Marcial Y. Antigua, Jr., or Boy to family and close friends, had lived a full life when he perished in a plane crash in 1969. He was 36, a well-loved son of Mactan, an up-and-coming surgeon, and devoted husband and father.

As a boy growing up in Opon, Cebu, Boy was the apple of his father’s eye, coming in the heels of three older sisters ahead of him. Naturally, he grew up to be a well-loved young man, up until he graduated from UP Medical School and practiced medicine in his hometown.

He met Nelie G. Arao at the UP College of Medicine. He invited her to be his partner to the Medical Ball during their second year. Back then, it was just an innocent invitation to dance the night away, nothing more.

Towards the end of their third year, Boy started visiting Nelie at her boarding house. To make a long story short, their courtship lasted for five years. Two years after graduation, they got married after which they had five children, born between 1963 and
1969.

After his training years at the Philippine General Hospital, Boy wanted to set up practice in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, to serve his town-mates. At about the same time, he was accepted as Philippine Airlines Retainer Physician at Mactan International Airport. By then, the young married doctors had already started a private clinic in Lapu-Lapu City, with occasional trips to Cebu City for surgery.

During his stint with PAL, his selflessness and compassion came to the fore when he solely handled the evacuation operations of survivors in a plane crash in Lapu-Lapu City. He spent 48 hours in the operating room, continuously attending to those who needed surgery. Simply put, he saved lives.

He became an active member of the Lapu-Lapu Chapter of the Philippine Jaycees where he led an Operation Barrio Clinic in the island.

On that fateful September day in 1969, Boy was in high spirits as he boarded the plane in Mactan. The PAL flight to Manila would take no more than an hour or so, thus he couldn’t help but be excited to get there.

Dad and Mum loved to dance!

Right after the funeral. Guess which one I am.

Leaving behind four children to the care of relatives and friends in Cebu, he looked forward to seeing the new addition to their young family, another boy born just a few days before in Manila, where Nelie had decided to wait out the final days of her pregnancy. He brought with him a birthday gift for Nelie who was celebrating her birthday the next day. He never arrived. His plane crashed in the hills of Antipolo just before landing. He never saw his new baby boy.

At the time of his death, he was president of the Lapu-Lapu Jaycees and faculty member of one of the medical schools in Cebu City. His active private practice with Nelie had also grown by then and many of his patients lamented his demise.

It was indeed a short seven years of marriage, but according to Nelie they felt just like sweethearts all those seven years. Boy never missed sending her red roses on special occasions and making every single moment count.

He loved the beach and they both enjoyed dancing. He was so proud of their children and even if he did not see the last one, he was so attentive to it, waiting for its arrival. He even sent the name for the baby to Nelie who planned to baptize him before going home to Cebu.

Boy had dreams for his family and he was excited before boarding the plane because hollow blocks would be delivered when he came back to the site where they planned to build their first home. He also planned to annex a 10-bed clinic to the house. This (left) is the last photo taken of Boy right before his death.

To show how thoughtful and loving Boy was, he sent a social telegram to Nelie from the airport with the message “Happy Birthday to the best mother in the world,” signed by the four children who were left behind. The telegram arrived the next day, on her birthday, the same time Nelie also learned of the sad news.

It was a terrible blow to the young mother of five. But Nelie picked up the pieces and carried on. She moved the whole family to Manila, where she began and maintained a strong private practice in obstetrics and gynecology, and later worked at the Family Planning Clinic of the Philippine General Hospital.

I am the fourth child of Boy and Nelie. Many family and friends have their own story to tell about my Dad, each one full of affection, respect, adulation, love and humor. Our childhood was full of these stories, told to us by aunts, uncles, friends and colleagues. Each story is a memory, a beautiful gift that endures today; a fitting reminder of my Dad’s love for my Mom and for their children.

By Michael Antigua

**We'll be commemmorating my Dad's 40th death anniversary this September.

LX3 Images Part 6: Rain on my window

2009-06-18T23:44:00.001+08:00

The rains have come. I gaze out my 25th storey window and see gray sky, almost zero visibility, and raindrops holding onto the glass, as if afraid of being whisked away by the winds from whence they came.

This is the reason why I haven't run this past week.

Baguio in Black & White

2009-06-17T06:05:00.008+08:00

Baguio Journal

2009-06-13T00:14:00.004+08:00

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Before the summer season finally makes its complete farewell, let me tell you about our recent trip to Baguio City. It was the perfect time to go up the mountains to cool off coz that was when Manila registered what could be the hottest weekend of the year!

This was the very first time we'd be going up to Baguio City as a family, although we had plans as early as December 2008 to spend some time in the City of Pines. However, my Lola's passing last Christmas prevented us from pushing through with our holiday plans. This time, nothing could stop our plans, no matter how short-notice it was.

The drive up was uneventful, as is usually the case. We took the fast and new Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) from NLEX, exiting in the Hacienda Luisita area of Tarlac. That was a fast first leg of the trip. After that we encountered normal traffic along the highway in Pangasinan province.

I decided to pass thru Kennon Road, just so that the girls can experience the zigzag road network that American military engineers took years to construct on the mountainside. It was easy going in the first segment of Kennon, but once we got past the Lion's head, traffic slowed to almost a crawl going into the city proper.
I booked us a room at the AIM Igorot Lodge, located smack dab in the middle of Camp John Hay. Its a cozy lodging house a stone's throw away from the posh The Manor Hotel. The room rates were reasonable, and I took advantage of the AIM alumni discount, too, bringing down the cost a little bit lower.

The Igorot Lodge itself is a nice comfortable temporary address. Right outside it were ideal dining places like Cantinetta, where we had our first lunch upon arrival on a Saturday, Starbucks Coffee, and The Waffle House.

Despite the signs of progress ravaging most of Baguio City, Camp John Hay has retained some of its original charm. This is what we wanted the kids to remember most about this trip.

Just like our childhood years when there'd be that one summer spent in Baguio with family, or with close friends as we got older. Each trip is a memory of a cool place, with the fresh smell of pine and mountain air. Sadly, most of downtown Baguio looks more like a city in the lowlands (Little Baguio in San Juan?), complete with smoke-belching buses and jeepneys, overcrowding sidewalks, and the one symbol of urban mass commercialization: an SM City mall/department store at the top of Session Road!

We took the kids walking up and down Session Road, checking out the little stores that lined the street. Session Road is very different from how I remember it. One just can't stop the surge of progress. With progress comes all sorts of other problems that render a once nice, quiet place into just like any other busy locale in greater Manila area.

On the bright side, the air is still cool in most parts of Baguio. The girls enjoyed walking along wooded trails inside Camp John Hay. The tall sturdy pine trees stood in several clumps that evoked a scene from Narnia. Sabine enjoyed taking photos of the trees and just about anything else.

The girls tried out the bikes in Burnham Park in the early morning of Sunday, when I joined the Botak Sa Baguio race. They also rode horses along a hilly trail inside Camp John Hay.

We also went to Mines View Park for the "obligatory" photo-op with a nice view of the mines in the background. But where are the mines? Most of the view will show you houses and more houses.

For food, we had breakfast at The Manor Hotel, filling ourselves from the sumptuous buffet spread and dining al fresco. We also had dinner once at the Dencio's in Mile Hi Centre, just because it was our first night and we didn't feel up to going to the city for dinner. On our last night, we had dinner at The Forest House, a few minutes away from Camp John Hay. This quaint little restaurant was packed with locals, tourists and even Korean transients. The food selection was great, and we aim to go back there to try out the other offerings next time we're in Baguio. Then we had lunch at a nice bed and breakfast called PNKYs somewhere along Leonard Wood Road.

We made a point to visit the strawberry fields in La Trinidad Valley, a 30-minute drive that took almost 45-minutes due to heavy traffic. All the strawberries were already picked when we go there, but that's because harvest time started early this year, according to a local strawberry seller. We just walked around the souvenir stalls on the side of the road and purchased some woven doormats, ube jam, a walis, and some more pasalubong.

On the way back to Manila, we made a huge detour to San Fabian, Pangasinan to visit an old friend. This time we passed thru Marcos Highway on the way down. It was a nice drive and the girls enjoyed the scenery as we saw some fog on the side of the mountaint. In San Fabian, we had merienda at my friend's parent's house, giving the girls a taste of local living.

When it was time to leave, we bade my friend goodbye and a wish to see each other soon. A longer drive awaited me this time but good thing my friend's Dad gave me an alternate route that would bypass the old highway and the busy towns. The whole drive from San Fabian to the entryway to SCTEX took about three hours, then another two hours from SCTEX to get to our home in Quezon City.

Our Baguio holiday was a perfect break from all the hot summer weather we've been getting. It also allowed us to destress and start at mostly nothing but pine trees and mountains. The girls enjoyed cuddling in the cool climate even if our room didn't have any airconditioning.

Till next time, Baguio. We hope you'll stay the same and not be completely swallowed by progress.

View the complete set of pictures here.

Postcards from Baguio City

2009-06-12T00:25:00.008+08:00

Here are some photos of our recent trip to Baguio City.

250 km Marker

2009-05-27T12:03:00.003+08:00

Because of my recent 10km run in Baguio City last Sunday, my total mileage recorded in my Nike+ account has reached 250 kilometers since I started using the iPod Sports Kit in August 2008.

Here's to more kilometers under my feet!

Running in The City of Pines

2009-05-26T17:18:00.007+08:00

MY RUNNING LOG

Just came from a cool weekend in Baguio where the family escaped the weekend heat, and I participated in my first 10km in the City of Pines!

This trip actually had been in the works since last year, when we planned to go up to Baguio after Christmas! But alas, my grandmother passed away on Christmas Eve, putting on hold (to the dismay of our kids) any out-of-town trips for the rest of the holidays!

Fast-forward to Summer 2009. No firm plans until M. suggested we better go somewhere before school starts. Then I immediately thought about where to stay and when to go.

I was supposed to join another 10km race on the Sunday (May 24), the AutoReview Run for Road Safety and Courtesty, to be held in McKinley Hill in Taguig, but since there were no other weekends available for our Baguio trip, I had to let go of that race even if I had already paid for the registration and race kit.

Fortunately, I found another race in the calendar when I checked the Takbo.ph website. The Botak sa Baguio Run was going to be held on the same Sunday! Perfect timing!

So off we go to Baguio for our family weekend, and my chance to run in the cool climate of this province! I'll write next time about what other stuff we did in Baguio, like where we stayed, what we did, where we ate and how the girls enjoyed it altogether. For now, let me just write down my 10km experience.

The Takbo.ph 21K runners

The Takbo.ph people planned their outing around this event, so a sizeable bunch of running-addicts trooped to Baguio on the Friday before the race. They had lots of plans leading up to raceday; carboloading, fellowship, mind games, etc. I decided I'll just meet up with them on the day of the race.

We arrived mid-day Saturday and checked into our modest but comfy accommodations at the AIM Igorot Lodge inside Camp John Hay. The rest of the day was spent acclimatizing to the cool temperature, then a walk down and up Session Road to get to the Baguio City Market. We scored some bonnets and ponchos for the girls, then some pasalubong fare of choco flakes and peanut brittle. I also made it a point to drive thru some sections of the race route so as to get a brief orientation.

On raceday, I woke up before 5am, got the girls up and ready, then off we went to the assembly area in Burnham Park. My wife did a good job of getting the girls dressed up and bundled up to go out early in the morning. The sun was up early as well so it wasn't really biting cold.

When I got to the Start line, I was able to spot the Takbo.ph 21km runners due to their distinct black and red Takbo.ph singlets! What a lively bunch of runnners to have for a race. Behind them were a row of big guys with short-cropped hair, wearing light blue shirts and the words "PULIS" printed in big bold letters in front! If that wasn't incentive enough to run hard, I don't know what was...

Rico, known as sheerwill in the Takbo.ph forum, pointed out to me that I was wearing my racebib inappropriately. I pinned it on the back of my jersey while it should be pinned in the front! Hehe, a senior moment for me, I guess!

Me with the Takbo.ph 10K runners

The race began at 5:30am for the 21Km runners. As soon as they left the start line, I went to the same spot to await the release of the 10km runners. There were another batch of Takbo.ph runners in this group so it was just as lively. I met some of them and glad to associate the face with their nicknames on the forum.

Soon as the gun signalled our race start, I stayed with the Takbo.ph group, later keeping pace with Paolo and Ross who set a steady cadence in the first half of our 10km.

The route would take us from Burnham Park, passing the skating rink and City Library, then left to Kisad Road and out to Baguio General Hospital, and on to the main artery (Military Cut-off Road) that meets the rotunda at Camp John Hay, then traverses South Drive, up to the road leading to Baguio Country Club where our turnaround marker was. It was a good combination of flat and hilly terrain, with gradually sloping uphill on twisty turns then back the same route downhill.

The cool weather helped a lot in keeping our pace steady. We sweated minimally, but just enough to get our blood pumping and warm up our bodies for the long 10km. I didn't perspire as much as I did running around UP.

Paolo would often ask if, "Kaya pa?" to which I'd nod my head in the affirmative and say, "Pucha, wala bang katapusan tong paakyat?" We'd smile a smile of encouragement at each other and keep putting one foot forward.

Water stations were spaced every 2.5km, but we didn't need them as much since we carried our own waterbottles. The 6am start was just right because not too many vehicles were on the roads yet. Paolo even made it a point to remind those in our group to run on the opposite side of the road so that we'd be counterflowing against incoming vehicles.

There were stretches when I needed to slow down to a walk just to catch my breath. But never more than a minute. On the way back, I had to leave Paolo and Ross behind coz I was already hitting my stride and wanted to get this thing over and done with. Umandar na naman ang paggiging Grumpy Old Man ko! I can't believe I kept in step with them young'uns, and then had the energy to bring it up a notch on one uphill section!

at the finish line

Anyway, soon I found myself with 500 meters to go and approaching the final turn into the Finish line in Burnham Park. As I managed to run the last 50meters, I had the urge to not hurry up.

Instead, I wanted to savor the last fleeting moments of running in a park, in the middle of a city, at the top of the mountain, in cool, cool weather, and my family waiting and cheering for me!

I met up with the other 10K runners and Pao and Ross who finished a few minutes later. We had our photos taken and talked a bit about the race while waiting for the 21K runners.

Unfortunately, I had to leave early since my girls were already getting hungry! I wasn't able to stay for the group pictorial with the Takbo.ph contingent. Well, maybe next time!

It was all good! I'd do it again next year!

Thanks to my newfound friends at Takbo.ph! Big thanks to my family, M., S., and A., for the full support! For that, they deserved a big buffet breakfast at The Manor Hotel in Camp John Hay. Thus I was able to gain back the calories I burned during the race. Oh well....I chew my fat on that!

****

with Paolo (Bastarunnersweetlover) and Ross at the end of our 10k

**Thanks to M & S for taking great pics!!!

Run Log # 2 (I've actually lost count)

2009-05-21T21:43:00.004+08:00

I think I already logged a run summary here before, ever since I ran the Nike+ 10K Human Race last August 2008. Anyway, since I started to post a run summary last week, I'll just continue from that and start the count again.

Ran an 8km distance last Sunday at the UP academic oval. I was aiming to just go a bit over 5km, but due to the road route, I had to make another go around to get back to my starting position. This was ok. I had gone over the 5km mark in previous runs and this time, I managed it quite confidently. After that, I had to keep my focus and push harder to move my feet.

I paused my Nike+ iPod Kit soon after hitting the 7km mark to refill my waterbottle and change into a dry shirt. When I got back on track, I felt renewed energy and did another 1.75km around. I felt my whole body screaming "stop it already!" after the 8th kilometer. I guess staying up late the previous night took its toll. Had to accompany my daughter and her friends to the David Cook/Archuleta concert in Mall of Asia. We got home past midnight na.

Anyway, that Sunday run was great! Although I felt tired and drained, it was exhilirating nonetheless. At least I was able to break my 5km distance barrier. Well, I hope it'll help me the next time I run a 10K race!

UltraelectromagneticToy

2009-05-18T23:10:00.007+08:00

Recently, I "unearthed" an old boyhood toy that I had been keeping safely in a box all these years -- my Voltes V!

This toy was a popular animated robot character kids my age followed closely back in the mid-1980s. I was a freshman in high school at that time, and me and my brothers looked forward to Friday afternoons when we'd hurry to get home from school to catch this show.

I got this as a Christmas or birthday gift and I really cherished this for a long time. As you can see from the photos, I actually played with this for hours on end.

The Wikipedia entry says: 'Chōdenji Machine Voltes V (超電磁マシーンボルテスＶ, Chōdenji Mashīn Borutesu Faibu?, lit. "Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes Five") is a Japanese anime television series that was first aired on TV Asahi starting April 13, 1977. It was created by Saburo Yatsude (a pseudonym referring to a committee within Toei) and directed by Tadao Nagahama.'

Like in the animated series, the toy robot is made up of the Voltes Team, five pieces of spacecraft which, upon the command of its team leader, would come together and "volt-in" as one giant super electromagnetic machine!

Anyway, like most of the stuff I've accumulated during my growing up years, this toy was put in storage right before I got married and moved out to my own place. For a couple of years, it was placed inside a box in the stockroom of my Mom's house.

Then I brought the box with me, and opened it up, releasing the toy to be played by my newborn daughter. Afer a couple of house transfers in a span of 12 years, the toy ended up semi-permanently in a box under our bed, where I finally discovered it again last week.

This Voltes V toy may not be in mint condition, with some parts missing (the left hand), one of its "foot" unable to stay in place, and several loose hinges. This just means I really spent a lot of time playing with it, imagining my own battles against the evil Boazanian empire!

My latest run

2009-05-06T14:26:00.002+08:00

I recently registered my runs in the Runner+ website to help track my runs and monitor my progress. Its a nifty site with articles that gives you lots of tips and advice, as well as discussion forum with other runners.

This is an alternative site where I can log my runs, to back up the data I've been uploading in the Nike+ website.

Drive-by shooting with the LX3

2009-05-01T22:41:00.005+08:00

Our trip to Subic a couple of weeks ago gave me an opportunity to keep on shooting with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. Apart from the usual shots in Subic, we also tried shooting out of the car as we drove down the still-new Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

Here are some of the shots I took on the way to Subic.

Then these are the shots we took on the way home from Subic. The long highway was very scenic so one can get really wild taking shots while running to (or from) the setting sun! I gave the camera to M. so she can practice taking photos with it. She went camera-crazy and trigger-happy!

Out of the several shots she took as the sun was coming down, these are some of the best!

I'm so proud to see her getting the hang of taking photos! And these are great shots, too!

Civic via Lumix

2009-04-27T15:02:00.002+08:00

US Navy Ships in SBMA!

2009-04-21T22:56:00.004+08:00

Spent the weekend in Subic Bay and saw these two US Navy vessels at port. After a brief research in Google, we found out in Wikipedia that the first ship was the USS Tortuga. We identified the ship through the number on its side, "LSD-46," and which Wikipedia quoted as a "Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy."

The other, bigger, ship behind it looked like an aircraft carrier, only smaller. Turns out that it carries helicopters instead of fighter jets. After Googling the number listed on its side, Wikipedia identified this as the USS Essex, a "Wasp-class amphibious assault ship."

Easter skies

2009-04-13T22:41:00.002+08:00

Food Shots!

2009-04-07T11:12:00.002+08:00

Tapsilog at T House Tagaytay

Prime Rib at Fire Lake Grill in Cliffside, Tagaytay

Blue Marlin at Fire Lake Grill in Cliffside, Tagaytay

One Enchanted Day

2009-03-30T11:07:00.011+08:00

It was officially the first day of summer for our kids' school, and off we went to Enchanted Kingdom for a day of fun! This was a company-sponsored activity, but I needed to get additional tickets for our children's "entourage" of friends!

I remarked to my wife that back when we first went to EK, we'd pack our car with essential stuff for toddlers, like diapers, wipes, extra onesies, towels, paper napkins, milk, etc. etc. This time around, we're packing their friends with us! Haha!

The park is still the same, albeit showing a bit of age in some parts. The rides are still as thrilling, and I knew which ones to avoid. But the kids "attacked" the rides as if they were the last places on earth!

We stayed for the fireworks display, only this time it wasn't as grand and majestic as it used to be. Obviously, times are hard, even in enchanted theme parks!

Towards the end, after the kids had their fill of rides, screams and dinner, I was happy to get on the final ride of the day -- the ride home!

Overall, the kids and their friends had a lot of fun. And that's what summer should really be about -- fun with friends, wherever they may be.

***********

My 10K Condura Run

2009-03-23T22:50:00.014+08:00

"Today, we run like hell!" was the status update I wrote on my Facebook page early Sunday morning, March 22, 2009, to signal my main strategy for the Condura Run. I registered for the 10K, my first for this year but my second overall.

I haven't ran that far, not even for training, since the first and last time at the Nike Human Race 10k last August. I finished that one in 1 hour, 23 minutes and change, not really fast but good enough for a first-timer. Admittedly, I spent a big part of that race walking instead of running. This time, I intended on minimal walking.

The Condura Run is a yearly event to promote running and overall fitness with the mindset of "healthy people make for a healthy country." Main proponents are the Concepcion family, who own the Condura brand of airconditioners. This year, the event was staged for the benefit of the Whale Sharks of Donsol, Sorsogon. 50 pesos of the P300 registration fee shall go to the Whale Sharks. The race were cut up in four categories: 3k, 5k, 10k and 21k. More info in their website.

I had to make sure I was well-prepared (as much as I can) for this race. First item on my list was a new pair of running shoes. My old pair was just about ready to fall apart, and I've been running with it for over a year.

It was a good pair but it wasn't really the best for running. It made my feet ache and my legs sore sometime during the past year. It was not a very popular brand of shoes, but cheap when I got it. I guess I got what I paid for.

So this time, I didn't want to make the same mistake. I checked websites and magazines (Runners World came in handy) to read their reviews on running shoes. I found out what kind of runner I was (overpronator with a low almost flat arch). This means I needed a shoe with motion control and stability. I didn't like shoes that had too much rubber in the midsole area, so I opted to get a light shoe that fits my shoe type.

After much searching and researching for the ideal running shoe, I ended up with the Adidas Gazelle Climacool. I think it was a one year old model coz I couldn't find it in the current Adidas website. Its light and not too thick, making it ideal for performance training and everyday running.

I broke it in two weeks prior to the Condura Run and I was still unsure of how it would perform over a longer mileage. While I was at it, I also got a new pair of running shorts from Adidas.

Another thing I had to do was register for the race! I was able to do this on the final week before the event. Good thing the organizers extended the registration. I paid the P300 fee for the 10K category. I also added P100 as a donation to Operation Smile by Runners For Others. I proudly wore that bib on my back!

The night before raceday, I prepared my song playlist and stored it in my iPod Nano. Selecting the tunes was crucial since it does help uplift the energy at key points during the run. It also helps you focus on the song and not too much on the hard work of running. I mixed mostly techno and electronic music (by Drip, Taken By Cars, Crystal Method, etc.) as well as local selections and fast-rock pieces.

My Condura Run story began at the same moment the 21K runners got out of the starting line! I saw them come out at the corner of Jollibee heading for the Kalayaan flyover, while I was still in the car heading toward Boni Hi Street! I was late! For a moment, I thought the whole pack included the 10k runners since there was a huge field of runners doing the Half-M!

I was able to park with enough time for a visit to the CR before heading to the starting gate. Ang daming tao!

I just had a few seconds left to look for the 10K check-in station and take my place amid the throng of runners eagerly anticipating the starting gun! Dawn had already broken and the early March heat of summer had already started to creep in. When the gun fired signalling the start, the crowd slowly moved forward, at first walking then getting faster as the runners started moving rapidly through the first hundred meters. It took a lot of focus just to make sure I didn't bump into someone in front of me.

Probably the highlight for most of the 10K participants was the run up the Kalayaan Flyover to Buendia. Since we didn't aim for a Skyway run like those competing in the half-marathon, we had to settle for an equally daunting challenge at our level.

The flyover loomed slowly in sight, and I tried my best to step up my pace and not slow down on the climb. It was a great feeling to be able to run up the ramp instead of driving up it.

Overall, it was great to run in a race again! I did about 10min better than my previous 10K last August (Nike Human Race).

I think it was due to the fact I didn't slow down at all the water stations, hehe! I brought my own water bottle (filled with Propel energy drink) and zoomed past the stations in the first 5K.

I felt tired and winded right before the turnaround at the 5Km mark but couldn't quite figure out which part got tired and heavy, my body or my feet. Good thing I invested in light performance shoes so each step didn't feel too heavy.

On the way back, I just grabbed some cups of water to douse my head and shoulders to help cool off my body. It worked coz I was able to pick up my pace and begin my journey back.

That last corner going into the final straight to the Finish was awesome; really energizing, helping push me to make that final kick for a strong finish! Is that what they call "runner's high"? It was a good feeling especially when the next song on my playlist started, "Great DJ" by The Ting Tings! I was smiling as I crossed the Finish line!

Congratulations to all runners who joined the Condura Run! It was well-organized and well-attended!

********

The race results for the Condura Run is now available online.

I found my name at the lower half of the 10K runners, at No. 870, with a time of 1:13:14. I guess that's good enough for now. This gives me more initiative to push harder next race!

Below is how my iPod Nano logged my race time and mileage.

LX3 Images Part 4: Toys in the Office

2009-03-19T21:25:00.003+08:00

More Tagaytay Pics

2009-03-12T17:07:00.008+08:00

S. took this photo!

This one, too!

Rediscovery: Bulalo, Tawilis, Steak

2009-03-12T15:51:00.011+08:00

Here's the second part of our celebration in February. We headed to Tagaytay on Valentine's Weekend, hoping we could salvage whatever was left of the cool weather we were having at the early part of the year. The girls were excited to stay in a hotel, and for this trip, we chose Discover Country Suites as our temporary home.

On the way up, we stopped at Taalena for lunch. Siempre, we got the usual favorite: beef bulalo soup, crispy fried tawilis and ensaladang talong! The girls ate with gusto, taking for granted the great view of Taal lake and volcano island outside the window.

As soon as we got to the hotel, the girls jumped on the beds to see how soft and sturdy they were! We booked the Nantucket room, with two huge beds, lots of extra space for a sofa and TV and a workdesk. It also had a balcony that opens up to the back of the property and a great lateral view of Taal Volcano.

That whole afternoon we stayed indoors, enjoying the room, taking a nap, watching TV, and just relaxing. Then M. and I went down to the dining area to sample their free wine and cheese tasting spread. We brought our plates and glasses out to the open area and took in the view. Really nice! However, it wasn't as cold as we expected it to be.

For dinner, we ended up at Cafe Breton at the Cliffside property. We wanted to go to the steak place in the same area, but it was fully booked. Somehow, it had slipped my mind that it was V-Day, hence all the restos were booked solid! To top it off, traffic was so bad on the main highway! What was supposed to be a five minute drive took an hour! So one hour going to dinner and another hour going back. Turns out there was a concert being staged in the rotunda, blocking off one side of the roundabout, delaying the flow of traffic in both directions. Someone's smart idea, no less.

We got back to the hotel really late. When we entered the room, the hotel left red roses, a gift item from L'Occitane, and a coffeetable book on Filipino houses! There was also cookies and hot milk for the kids!

Woke up to a nice view of Taal Lake, and then off to a delightful breakfast at the hotel dining area. The girls were sad when we had to check out right after noon. To think I arranged a late checkout already, kulang pa rin?! Hehe! Service at Discovery Country Suites was top-notch and I would highly recommend it for a weekend in Tagaytay.

For lunch, we went to back to the Cliffside and got our table at Buon Giorno. Good thing we reserved a table coz the place was packed! The food was great: we had pizza and the girls had carbonara and steak! I need to go back to this place!

It was a great break from the usual routine for us. The girls enjoyed the room, the free breakfast, and just being together in one place. This trip was a double-celebration of our birthdays. Worth every penny and time spent!

Birthday Food

2009-03-06T12:47:00.004+08:00

Before the days slowly and totally slip by further into summer and away from our birthday month of February, I just wanted to share some photos I took of my birthday lunch in Greenbelt 5.

It was a quiet Sunday and we decided finally to try this new resto in GB 5 called Felix. The girls were not used to such a posh place (that's what they called it) and they were hesitant to order coz they thought it would be too expensive. Well, since it was my birthday, we convinced them that it was gonna be worth it.

So we had a nice comfy table inside and the waitstaff were pretty cordial and polite and efficient. They served nice, soft bread with a spread, and then we ordered dishes we don't normally eat, like crispy pork belly for S., a creamy fish roll of some kind for M., while A. had her usual favorite of carbonara. I tried out the rib eye (or was it Black Angus?). I couldn't recall now but what I do remember was that it was very good!

I would say that Felix could be an ideal "date" place, where everything is in order and the ambiance is straightforward yet not too formal. Casual elegance comes to mind.

Here are photos of us walking around the new GB5 mall...

One More Over Forty

2009-02-15T11:35:00.005+08:00

And so I turned a huge symbolic corner and said goodbye to 40 and added one more year to my life. It may be unbelievable with my boyish looks and all, but I am now 41 years old.

Had dinner with some close friends on the Friday before my birthday, and I got a huge surprise apple pie baked by some of their kids -- boys aged between 2-7 years old. Well, their mom did most of the baking but the boys helped in the preparations and slicing of the apples and other details. They also made sure it was specially prepared just for me! And it came with a nicely drawn birthday card as well! Very creative!

So, after dinner, the apple pie was presented and I made sure everyone had a slice! The kids (most of the boys who helped make it) had double servings! This was one apple pie that I will never forget! It really tastes scrumptious and one of the better ones I've had in a long, long while! Here are photos of that tasty treat... I hope I get another chance to sample an apple pie like this soon!

Big thanks, boys!

LX3 Images Part 4: One More Time

2009-02-03T13:59:00.005+08:00

The Eterna-Matic automatic.

Eterna started in 1856 as a factory producing blank movements. In 1948, Eterna set international standards in self-winding mechanisms by introducing the Eterna.Matic in which a low-friction ball bearing is used to support the rotor. Those balls go on to form the Eterna logo.

In 1995, the company was taken over by the Porsche family and continues to craft by designing and creating products such as Porsche Design's high-end, high-performance timepieces.

More info at http://www.eterna.ch

LX3 Images Part 3: More Time

2009-02-03T13:46:00.003+08:00

These are photos of my friend's Tag Heuer F1 Chrono

LX3 Images Part 2: Timepieces

2009-01-24T19:01:00.006+08:00

**DISCLAIMER: These watches aren't mine. My friends just let me take photos of them.

It's a New Year!

2009-01-20T12:10:00.003+08:00

And so we welcomed 2009 in all its glory. We were thankful for the year just past. It was a year full of challenges, yet also filled with some significant changes.

Change is good, we always hear. This is so true when your perspective is focused on growth: as a family, as a person. The kids continue to grow and are now in the prepubescent years. As parents, we realize a lot of things, about ourselves, when dealing with our own children.

We also start facing the fact that we're not getting any younger. I turned 40 in 2008, and I can say that I did change -- a little bit crustier, a bit more grumpier. Still, the boyish good looks are traceable behind the thinning hair and wrinkly skin. M. has it better, coz she doesn't look like she's ageing at all. Or is it just in the way I see her? Our friends are youthful as well, and to them we owe our strength, sanity and helping us keep our feet on the ground.

Our clan has also changed a lot. Growing out from the usual relationship that we've managed to nurture for so long. Now, things have changed with the passing of our matriarch, my maternal grandmother, who saw it fit to move on in the cool, crisp morning of Christmas Day. It was a life well-lived, and for us whom she left behind, we continue to live it.

We learned a lot in 2008, and we hope to learn a lot more this year. We welcome the new year with bated breath yet arms more open than ever before. We are ready to continue this journey -- of growing, learning and constantly loving.

LX3 Images of 2008

2008-12-28T13:44:00.006+08:00

Christmas 2008

2008-12-24T18:22:00.003+08:00

It's that time of year again and we're all abuzz with holiday cheer!

Traffic's been at its usual worst, compounded by malls staying open till late at night. Thus, we've experienced gridlock on the highway at midnight on a weekday in the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve!

In the end, it doesn't matter, as long as you got all the gifts you need, all the stuff you require for Noche Buena, and meeting up with old friends in gatherings here and there!

Here's to a very hearty Merry Christmas and a More Prosperous Year ahead!

Celebrating in the Magic Kingdom!

2008-12-13T14:16:00.001+08:00

Cool Places 1.0

2008-11-11T13:59:00.010+08:00

We don't normally spend a lot of time in malls and commercial centers, but the few times we do get to go out, it becomes an adventure, packed with an itinerary that's deliberate and purposeful. Or so we want to believe.

One of our usual haunts as a family are dining places we enjoy going back to more than the others. As much as possible, we've tried keeping our fastfood intake at the barest minimum -- although there's much to be said about quick-service, home-delivery items only the Big M and the Bee can provide, especially when you're pressed for time and there's no ready food in the ref!

A past favorite was T. Boy, and it introduced our kids to a fun way of eating Japanese food. Tempura is still the top item on their list of favorite dishes. But this attraction didn't really last.

Then, for the longest time, our kids like going back to Cafe Breton for the crepes. And we don't mind this at all. As parents, we like places that serve healthy food that's not always fried and oily. After getting tired of the crepes, I always go for the Breton Burger and salad, washed down by rootbeer float! And service at Breton, at any branch, is always homey and polite. We're usually at the Morato branch coz its closer to home.

But when it comes to places where we do enjoy making the pilgrimage to and waiting in line for, nothing beats Pepper Lunch at the Power Plant Mall. For the past couple of months, we've become regular fixtures in this hot, new resto that's keeping Pinoys in line since it opened middle of this year. Believe me, its worth traveling from QC to Makati on a Sunday afternoon!

Its a simple concept of grilled food, mostly steak, but raised a notch or two higher in terms of quality, preparation and overall taste and flavor. Served on a hot plate wherein you get to cook the dish after it is served is a novelty that may not easily wear out. Its a bit more expensive than the usual mall fare, but then, you get more in return.

Our kids swear by their favorite items on the menu -- Hamburger Steak w/ Egg for the older one, and Beef Pepper Steak (hold the pepper, please) for the younger one. Its always the same choice for both of them, so at least they get what they want, and we don't have a hard time encouraging them to eat. This is one cool place we enjoy going back to again and again.

I myself have enjoyed the different selections on the menu, like Chicken Pepper Rice, Salmon Pepper Rice, Teriyaki Pepper Salmon and even the Shake! Shake! Salads. My wife likes the salad and the Miso soup, plus the delectable dessert of Molten Java Chocolate Cake ala Mode!!

Sometimes I think I've had enough of this pepper meals, but whenever a whiff of its aroma catches me unawares, I'm automatically attracted to it. Then I find myself lining up and ordering the same old favorites.

The local franchise of Pepper Lunch was brought to the Philippines by couple Jeroen and Cecile Van Straten. Pepper Lunch has been a hit in Japan and other parts of Asia and so far it is doing very good in Makati.

They succeeded in offering something not only new but different as well. Imagine the paradigm shift of being able to get a table only after you've placed your orders! Hah! A lot of unknowing customers couldn't fathom such a concept at first! But like I said, everyone got in line, patiently waited for their turn, and succumbed to the taste, the smell and the flavor! Pepper rules!

A second branch is due to open at Shangri-La Plaza mall in December.

Most probably, we'll find ourselves lining up there as well...

Singapore Zoo photos

2008-10-06T13:28:00.002+08:00

The Coffee Post

2008-09-30T07:57:00.000+08:00

I'm waiting for my short Anniversary blend at Starbucks Morato and what better way to spend the time than updating this blog.

Its just great to have a handy device like this Nokia E61i for quick access to web and email from a WiFi hotspot. I'm starting to enjoy not bringing my Mac around. Sometimes, all you need is a few minutes online. Short enough for my coffee to get done brewing...

And I Ran...

2008-09-04T09:55:00.004+08:00

I ran 10k!

The Nike+ Human Race 10K happened last August 31, and I had the opportunity to run in it!

It all started when I became a lucky recipient of a Nike+ SportBand which was given away in PhilMug, through the efforts of Elbert Cuenca. The SportBand is a device that lets you measure how far you've run, computing the kilometers, pacing, and even calories burned. Then you upload that information in the Nike+ website, keeping a record of your progress. A great way to keep track of your fitness regimen.

So, the week leading up the Nike+ 10K, I tried out the SportBand, running around the village in various distances, starting with 2k, then 3k, and then a 5k run. Of course, I had to alternate between running and walking at some point, and I'm still working up the stamina to run continuously for 3k...

Race day started early, with the flag off time at 6am! I felt great and I made sure to pace myself at the start. Its my first 10K, ever! The last real race I joined was a 3K run during the Philippine Marathon, and I didn't really take that one seriously!

This time, I aimed at finishing the 10k, and it didn't matter whether I can't run the whole way. Run or walk, the organizers didn't mind as long as you finish the 10k! Got my second wind from Km. 5 to 7, when I slowed my pace (even walked) just so I could nibble on my Power Bar...

After that, with all the pain and pagod, I decided to stop feeling anything and just put one foot in front of the other!

But its true what they say about the runner's high... and there's this part when you get tunnel vision and all pain is blocked out, albeit for a few minutes, and all you feel is just the movement of your feet on the ground. I was able to keep that up for a couple of kms....then WHAM! Back to reality: an uphill run on the last 3km stretch of the route!

At the finish line, Me-Ann and my girls were there to cheer me on! It seemed like a long span of time from start to finish, but finish I did! It took me 1:23:33 to do the 10k, finishing No. 241 out of 300! Not bad, I guess...for a first time.

In the end, it wasn't a race against other runners: for me it was a race against everything I thought I couldn't do. Even my wife was so glad to see me running after nagging me these past years to get fitter and lose weight!! She led my girls (the Pepper Lunch Girls, according to Elbert) in cheering for me at the finish. Nothing beats that kinda feeling!

Nike did a good job with this one. And kudos to race organizer Rio dela Cruz, who mapped out a great route that even novice runners enjoyed! It was a great way to represent the Philippines in the Nike+ Human Race event that happened on the same day in other cities worldwide!

Now its back to regular runs during the weekday mornings...with my Nike+ SportBand!

"And I ran, I ran so far away..."

Full set of Cruise 2 photos!

2008-08-25T21:02:00.001+08:00

Cruise pics 2

2008-08-25T18:07:00.008+08:00

Cruising

2008-08-20T09:01:00.015+08:00

SINGAPORE SWING Part 1

Still hungover from our recent holiday in Singapore last July, coupled with a two-night cruise on Superstar Aquarius!

It was Me-Ann's first time to visit Singapore, but it seemed I was more excited than her. Last time I was in the Lion City was about 8 years ago, when I was assigned to cover an IT event in the then-new Singapore Expo! I only spent all of two nights in Singapore coz my trip was work-related. This time, I had resolved to check out as much as we can of the city, providing a superb first-time for Me-Ann and an equally thrilling re-visit for me!

This trip was made possible by Nokia Phils., when I won the top prize in their Christmas Party last December -- a 3-day, 2-night trip for two onboard Star Cruises! Since the prize included airfare as well, we made sure to make the most of it!

It was a cool, cloudy morning as we landed in Singapore's Changi International Airport. The flight from Manila was quite relaxing, considering we woke up early to drop off the girls at my Mom's place before making our way to the airport by 6am!

Upon landing in Changi, we easily got overwhelmed by the size and cleanliness of the airport! We managed to get a little lost viewing the shopping areas, and staring at the nice interiors. We saw a kiosk highlighting the upcoming Singapore F1 Night Race, complete with various team jerseys, caps and other souvenirs, and centered around a replica F1 car! Of course we just had to have our photos taken beside it.

Then we had to claim our luggage, which wasn't difficult. The airport wasn't crowded or stuffy, and it was like a very big mall! Breezing through immigrations for a passport check, we had to get to the taxi stand to get to our first destination: the Harbourfront Center.

The taxi ride took about 30minutes, and it allowed us to get our first glimpse of Singapore! Usually, its the ride from airport to the city that immediately sets the tone for the whole trip. We noticed a lot of trees and greenery beside the main highways and roadways. Most of Singapore are streets and trees and buildings. It was so clean and neatly arranged!

Since we had more than a couple of hours to kill before boarding the boat at 5pm, we spent it walking and window-shopping in ViVo City Mall, which was adjacent to the Harbour Centre where the cruise ship was docked.

We got onboard by 6pm and got settled in our little cabin with the twin portholes looking out to the ocean. We noticed a lot of Filipinos among the ship's crew. Most of the passengers were Indian, some Chinese, and a smattering of caucasians of mixed nationalities. I wouldn't be off-tangent by saying we could be the only Filipino passengers onboard, save for the Pinay nannies that came along with their Chinese/Singaporean employers.

Superstar Aquarius is a big ship, and much as I wanted to get more technical details like size, length, displacement, top speed, and such, I decided I didn't want to get into the nitty-gritty. I'm sure the Star Cruises website can provide that info if one really needed it. All I can say is that it was a big ship. Our cabin was located on Deck 4, which is one of the lower decks. The top deck is Deck 12, so you can imagine how tall a structure the ship was. We had to ride the elevators going up or down.

There were a lot of dining outlets inside the ship serving a variety of dishes: Spices Restaurant for Asian vegetarian cuisine (spicy); Dynasty Restaurant for Chinese; a Mariner's Buffet for more contemporary Western food; and an outdoor barbecue buffet called Ocean Barbecue for dining under the stars while staring out to sea. A Filipino band performed throughout dinner, adding to the "Love Boat" ambiance of the whole thing.

The three-day, two-night cruise is just simply a chance for landlubbers to experience going on a cruise at a reasonable expense. The ship didn't dock in any other Asian city. All it did was go out to sea and then back again. We felt the boat moving in the middle of the night, then woke up surrounded by water the next day. By 10am of Sunday morning, we had docked back in Singapore.

It was a relaxing cruise for us. We mostly walked around up on the deck, or stayed snoozing inside the cabin. The food was great although we never got to try the Spices restaurant coz it was always crowded with people.

After the cruise, we looked forward to seeing more of Singapore. I made sure we extended our stay so that we can maximize the trip and see the sights! More on that next time!

Check out my first set of photos here.