Pia Wurtzbach

* photo from missuniverse.com

It was an honest mistake that rocked the news, and the Miss Universe contest of 2015 will forever be remembered for the momentary confusion that startled 10 million live-TV viewers all over the world.   Our very own Pia Wurtzbach brought home the title, fair and square. Drop dead gorgeous in my book!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Opening a couple of days from now.  I just can't wait...

P.S. (a week later) : I just came from watching the Han Solo movie; definitely worth every centavo I paid... Now I just can't wait for Episode VIII...

Albay Pilinut

Luis came to the main house bearing some dessert treats for the family pow-wow.  Albay Pilinut makes delicious Mazapan de Pili, and the pack was gone in 60 seconds flat.  The sesame-coated pili, however, seems to taste more like sesame than pili, given the overpowering flavor that sesame brings.  Still, great night-time snacks!

Lokot-Lokot

A special gift for Gwammy from our tenant--Lokot Lokot delicacy from Zamboanga!  This crunchy dessert is made from rice flour and coconut, and is a welcome treat for merienda (great with black coffee).  Eating, however, takes some practice; because of its crunchy nature, the strands tend to fly off in different directions if you are not careful with your bite.  Also wonderful with ice cream or mais con yelo.  

Tangerine Tree

Food for the Gods has never been this convenient.  My trucking buddy gifted us with a box of the Tangerine Tree all-time favorite. I love the gooey texture of the walnuts and chewy dates.  This New Manila bakeshop operates primarily during the Christmas holidays, and has been around for around 20 years now.  Quality has been consistent, and the packaging is very attractive (individually wrapped in pillow foil).  Great for gift-giving!

New Sunbeam (Shin Ton Yon)

Tucked in between V-Mall and the Greenhills chapel lies one of our favorite Chinese turo-turo outlets, New Sunbeam restaurant.  You can find a wide array of lunch viands and merienda fare (including mami soup, fresh vegetable lumpia, ma chang, pata tim and maki mi).  The place is connected with Shin Ton Yon, which is one of Kong's regular stops in Binodo (for his hi-hu or fish strands/flakes).  Meals can come to anywhere from P150 to P400 per person, depending on what you order.  Spartan interiors though--you go there for the food, not the ambiance.

The Man from U. N. C. L. E.

One of those reboots that have stayed true to the premise of the original material, The Man from U. N. C. L. E. was a fun movie to watch.  During the late sixties, I remember we had an RCA colored TV in the sala; watching Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin was something that I enjoyed (frankly, more than Get Smart).  Both Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer do the characters justice, and the humor of this big screen adaptation of the series made me smile.  Two wonderful new finds--the lovely Swedish actress Alicia Vikander (playing heroine) and the statuesque Australian Elizabeth Debicki (playing villain)--just made my evening so thrilling and absolutely delightful! 

Scania

At the Transport & Logistics Exhibit, I had the pleasure to test-drive a 400 hp Scania prime mover and this truly gave me sheer delight. It was quite maneuverable, and easy to drive, and had the muscle to carry 50 to 60 tons of payload.  I can just imagine the most powerful trucks in their line-up, with some 730 hp under the hood. You can't beat that brute!

Segway

I finally got to try the Segway Personal Transporter at the Transport & Logistics show at the MOA SMX.  That was one cool riding experience.  Took me around a minute to get the hang of it; once you learn how to slowly get on the machine, the computer kicks in and you can feel its self-balancing abilities almost immediately.  This, as promised, is most certainly the future of short-distance transportation (radius of 5 kilometers).  Downside? The model I looked at was priced at some P450,000, which is pretty expensive any way you look at it.  I understand that Beijing-based Ninebot recently acquired Segway and is shipping much cheaper versions, starting at P170,000 (which is still quite steep).  As a comparison, the Divisoria stores are selling copycat hover-toys at just P9,000 (of course, you get what you pay for, and you can expect these machines to go kaput in a short period of time).

Open Kitchen

It's sad that Open Kitchen will be transferring location by next year.  We got to enjoy the ambiance and food at their current location in Kapitolyo, but I'm sure the group of Chef Carlos Miguel Pacheco will find some new location that will be equally fun and cozy.  Vicky, Becca, Monique and I had a late lunch there recently and sampled the cuisine--

Zambalino mango wine that Chef Pacheco let us try 

Delicious white pasta with mushrooms

I think this was Marlin... it was gone in 60 seconds so I don't remember what we ordered...

Tender braised beef shank, great sauce

Vicky just loves the lanai area.  Plenty of greens, nice lounging atmosphere.  Great for intimate get-togethers with family and friends.  For a complete course, you can spend some P1,000 per person, but you can also work with a budget of P500 per person if you eat fast and are on the go.

HItman 47

I liked choreographed shooting scenes; while it doesn't make sense in real life, it makes well for visual effect.  Hitman: Agent 47 made me smile a lot.  The premise of a genetically engineered assassin has always been a TV and movie staple, and I particularly liked the scene in which the Audi of Agent 47 (played by Rupert Friend) was skewered with steel cables in the middle of Singapore's busy CDB.  I also look forward to the future involvement of Agent 90 (played by the beautiful Hannah Ware) in the franchise--she is supposed to be several times better than Agent 47, given the 43 steps difference in model number!

Caffe Bene

After touring the Transport and Logistics Exhibition at the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia grounds, we found ourselves having merienda at the Caffe Bene shop at the ground floor.  I just learned that this was a specialty coffee shop from Korea, and that their beans would come from all around the world.  Relaxing interiors; I particularly like the large antique-style clock that they used for a rustic effect.

Chivalry Pusit

Erika found some more snacks from our childhood--Chivalry Pusit!  The sweet-spicy blend marinade of their squid/cuttlefish somehow crystallizes and makes for one lovely snack. Good new for parents--this is made from real squid/cuttlefish so I don't think this is classified as junk food.  Super sarap!

Hattendo

Hattendo makes heavenly cream buns.  They are very soft, fragile almost, and have just the right amount of sugar.  Monique and I liked the chocolate and matcha flavored buns best.  I understand from the lady that the buns are flown in from Japan on a weekly basis, which is why they are so expensive (around P100 each).  The name is taken from a shrine in Hiroshima, and the bakery has been around since 1933.  You can see from the picture below the delicate packaging that they have if you would like to give the buns as a gift--so pretty! 

Hi-5

Right after our lunch at Osaka Ohsho, Monique and I were lucky enough to watch the mall tour of the Australian children's musical group Hi-5, which was performing at the center stage of the Fashion Hall.  It was a big crowd, and interestingly, as the performance went on, the adults also roared in delight together with the kids.  I understand that a local version is being planned by TV5.  Smart, witty and fun!

Osaka Ohsho

Monique and I had some bonding time at the Osaka Ohsho restaurant at the Fashion Hall of SM Megamall.  The brand is a gyoza specialist established in 1969, and the chain has expanded with over 300 outlets in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea and Singapore.

As expected, the gyoza was good.  Plump, moist in the center, crispy at the outside.  Just the right combination of pork, cabbage, ginger and garlic to bring out some natural sweetness and meaty flavor.

We also had some noodles and crab cakes, which weren't bad, but didn't really shine.  At least the bacon-wrapped mushrooms were tasty and filling; this we quite enjoyed.  Prices are not that cheap though; prepare some P450-P500 per person especially when you opt to have some variety.

Quaker Oat Dairy Drink

I've always thought of oatmeal as porridge, and the Quaker Good Start Oat Dairy Drink was something that was new to me.  I found one in a nearby 7-11 store; it wasn't thick and lumpy like I expected.  It was like milk, with some added banana flavoring.  Pretty interesting how fiber can be present in liquid form; I always thought fiber was solid, chewy and well, fibrous... 

NAIA 2 Canteen

The employee canteen at the NAIA 2 is a well-kept secret from the vast majority of regular travelers, well-wishers and welcoming committees.  They have a wide variety of good tasting hot meals but prices are on the high side when compared to regular commercial canteens (prepare P200 to P300 per person).  It's a bit of a rigmarole to get there though; you have to go up to the departure area, enter the NAIA at the doorway located in between the North and South Wings (note that NAIA 2 is a V-shaped building), then  down via the elevator.  You have to pass a couple of security checkpoints for the usual body checks.  Well, at least they have home-style cooking which you might look for if you are up to your neck with the usual fast-food!

Plaza Cafe

I miss my old office at the Corinthian Plaza, which was across from Greenbelt 1, right atop the Rolex service center.  It was a very convenient place to hang around since the mall was right across the street.  I just visited the building and found the Plaza Cafe located at the ground floor; this place has tons and tons of sandwich combinations that are thoughtfully engineered and well crafted.  Cozy, very welcoming atmosphere.

I had a wonderful turkey ham sandwich.  Well-balanced taste, not too salty (turkey being naturally bland, some ham makers make it a point to load it with added curing), with just enough cheese and veggies to make the cut.  Prepare something like P400 to P500 to fully enjoy the variety they have.

Drive

Gwammy will be mall-mobile nowadays with this new contraption.  Tito Emie's family dropped by to gift us with a Drive wheelchair.  Durable and easy to push.  Very light and much easier to pack into the car than the standard wheelchairs!  Many many thanks!

Aling Ising's Pancit Malabon

The good thing about living in the Metro these days is that a lot of cooked food is available within your neighborhood.  We were along the Old Regalado St. in Fairview were we came across Aling Ising's Pancit Malabon.  An order good for some 15 people was around P600; we weren't able to finish the bilao in one sitting.  I would have preferred a little more patis and kalamansi though; I think the cook was a bit on the cautious side in preparing the timpla.  Not bad though for instant party food when unexpected visitors arrive.

Cow Label

This is one childhood munchie that always makes me smile.  Slightly spicy, basically sweet-salty.  Plenty of oozing glazing.  Erika sent over some precious Cow Label beef jerkeys and as expected, we finished the whole box in two weekends of munching. Not that I can't finished them all in one sitting...

Captain Pepper

I was roaming around the Paseo Center in Makati, and I found a fast-food stall at the mezzanine floor called Captain Pepper.  I half expected the food to be some Caribbean style cooking with lots of spicy Jalapenos.  I was totally wrong--the food is Pan-Asian, and what I ordered didn't have the overly zealous hotness.  Gyoza was plump and tasty while the chicken skewers were crispy and generously laced with melted cheese and rosemary & oregano.  Not that cheap though (I spent something close to P300) considering that other establishments in the area had meals at the P100 to P150 level.

Martinelli's Cider

Erika introduced us to Martinelli's cider, and I am particularly hooked on it.  It's not as sweet as apple juice, which is the way I like it.  Note that this is soft cider (no alcohol content) in contrast with the European hard ciders (around 3-8% ABV).  I just love it!

Martinelli's also has a sparkling version, which looks great served at any occasion.  The froth comes up and the kids love taking selfies, making it appear that they are drinking beer!

Mantaro

I love sharing my foodie discoveries, and Mantaro was an instant hit with me and Monique. It's a small restaurant serving authentic Peruvian food, located at the corner of Sct. Tobias and Sct. Limbaga, diagonally across from Estrel's Cake Shop.  Operated by a husband and wife team, the food is prepared fresh, and comes to your table piping hot.  Average spending would come to around P650 per person, but I assure you it's worth every centavo.  Simple dining atmosphere, a lovely place to spend a quiet and romantic evening with your loved one!

Our first order was Arroz Con Mariscos (P340), as and I inhaled the savory aroma, my appetite doubled its intensity and immediately brought my senses to life.  This was the way I wanted my rice! 

Next came the twin viands of Lomo Saltado (P380) and Lengua Guisada (P420); both were perfect with a nice touch of lime at the side.  Soft tender beef & ox tongue, rich sauce and enough veggie and condiments to bring out full flavor.

By the time our Pollo Ala Brasa (one fourth chicken for P185) arrived, my palate was already overwhelmed with the richness of the cuisine.  As a result, the roasted chicken didn't get enough exposure, rather it was the coleslaw that I attacked in order to calm my taste buds.

While the names of the dishes sound familiar, it's not exactly the Spanish cuisine that you might be accustomed to.  There is a distinctly different taste to the food.  Flavors are awesome, oftentimes bursting with herbs and spices (brought in from South America). Now that I think of it, the food would have been better eaten with plain white rice; the arroz dishes are enough to stand on its own.  Seating is limited, so you might consider coming early or calling for reservations especially if you are a big group.