The Rich St. Deli.... Always in Action!: 2016

Friday, December 16, 2016

The King's Singers

* photo from wimpmusic.com

I was first introduced to the King's Singers by Tito Jay with a copy of their 1988 release, New Day. I have been a fan ever since. From classical music to jazz, to pop, their vocal harmony is simply pure listening pleasure. It's a pity that the local CD stores don't carry their music, but don't worry, much is available on streaming via internet. I understand that membership constantly changes; while I have a soft spot for the old groups, I must say that you can hear a vibrancy from the current group, and yet, the blending is still cozy on the ear. True enjoyment!

Emily Blunt

* photo from inquisitr.com

I first noticed the British actress Emily Blunt in one of Tom Cruise's science fiction movies, The Edge of Tomorrow, in which she played a celebrated war hero. I loved her portrayal of a kick-butt soldier; her acting showed enough poise, with glimpses of pain and suffering to show the evolution of her character. Thus, when I watched Hunstman: Winter's War last week, it was no surprise to see her portray the Ice Queen Freya, a woman of total opposites, a loving mother whose heart turns cold because of treachery. Absolutely gorgeous, this woman!

Saporito

I've been noticing a new foodie trend these days. A lot of chefs are cooking food in a coating of mashed salted eggs. The Chinese restaurants started it with prawns, then went on to mix it with squid. Some Filipino restaurants latched on and tried the cooking style with chicken. And now comes Christmas, and Becca receives a jar of Saporito potato chips, coated with guess what--mashed salted eggs! It's not as salty as I would have thought, not as crispy as ordinary chips. When you hold the chips, these are slightly thicker and noticeably heavier than regular potato chips. However, I guarantee that it's a fun treat! Addicting.

Jumong

The annual Christmas party of Vicky's posh Green Archer group was held at the Jumong Korean BBQ restaurant at the Pearl Building along Pearl Drive in the Ortigas Center. It was organized as a lunch time affair (meaning 12 noon), but we arrived fashionably late at 1pm. Not so bad, though, we started eating the moment we sat down. And we had a feast.

Authentic Korean BBQ, plus bibimbop, kalbi chim, seafood pan jeon, chap chae! Interiors are pretty basic, and it seems that the restaurant has been open for at least 8-10 years already. The place could use better air-conditioning; at least the smoke from the grill is sucked straight into the exhaust via suction tubes, otherwise we would have left the place with clothes that smell like grilled beef. We spent some P800 per person, but I would say that a group could still have a good meal with a budget of P600 per head. Weekday parking in the area though is a big headache because of the proximity to the University of Asia and the Pacific, so I would suggest that you try the place on weekends.

Fat & Thin

When we were kids, Fat and Thin used to refer to the comedy duo of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. But it also referred to the brand of peanuts, pumpkin seeds and watermelon seeds that small sari-sari stores would sell. I recently came across some dry-roasted peanuts from Fat and Thin, and you can see the likeness of the legendary comedy duo at the lower right-hand side of the pack. I'm amazed that the brand lives on, and happy to know that some part of the memories of our youth is still alive and kicking!

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory opened recently at the SM Megamall. Vicky was recently gifted with a box of their treats; I understand that a box of ten pieces retails at the P500-P600 level, which is pretty expensive considering that each is around three square inches in size. The flavors, however, are truly refined and blend perfectly well with tea or coffee.

Kingsclaive: Final Fantasy XV

* photo from itunes

I've always been slightly disoriented with the Final Fantasy flicks. At first, I thought the series had a continuing story arc, but apparently, each movie has a different story line, a take off from the video games from Square Enix. I thoroughly enjoyed the slam-bang action of Kingsclaive: Final Fantasy XV (yes, it's the fifteenth in the series). I just love how realistic the computer graphic animation can get these days--you almost can't tell if it's a live action movie, or CGA. Voice acting is done by top notch actors, and the visuals are absolutely delightful.

Trigo

Just at the outskirts of the Makati CBD lies Trigo, located along Kamagong Street. As the name implies, the company is a bread maker, and to its credit, a supplier to some of the top hotels and restaurants in the city. Not only that, they have a small counter for sandwiches and pizza, which is why I decided to stop by for merienda on my way to fetching Vicky.

Their blue cheese hamburger costs a whopping P380, but I was very much delighted by the taste and presentation. The patty is not that big, but the flavor is truly alive, without overpowering the taste buds. I will surely ask the Burger Hunters to visit this place!

Vicky's Mazapan de Pili

I heard somewhere that pound for pound, the pili nut is one of the most expensive nuts you can find. I have no idea if this is true, but I certainly love the buttery flavor. To my surprise, we found an old bar of Vicky's mazapan de pili in the refrigerator; it was already a couple of months past its best before date. Being of the tummy-mentality, I didn't mind the slight hiccup, and went on to munch on the bar--mmmm....still in good shape, and absolutely flavorful!

Honey Tong Tong

This is a funny taste for me. Hongy Tong Tong is basically a sweet crunchy potato snack, but I can't help get a hint of saltiness. I can't figure out where the honey flavor is, though. I'd say it's a mishmash of sorts, although I understand this is a mega hit in Korea.

Rekado

The annual Christmas lunch of the clan was held at the Rekado restaurant at the BGC Stop Over in Fort Bonifacio. We chose the place because of the reasonable price (we had a budget of P500 per person), the wide parking space at the basement and the consistent quality of the food. I myself had not yet tried the restaurant, but I was assured by friends that we would enjoy the meal.

As Christmas lunches would be, we had an excess of everything, enough for take-home packs to be raffled off amongst the cousins! We started with tahong crisps for appetizers, and went on to more delicious stuff--roasted chicken, gising-gising, sisig, kare-kare, kaldereta, and pancit! Desserts were aplenty--leche flan, mais con hielo, and different kinds of kakanin.

I enjoyed the meal. The food was served fresh off the stoves, and the quality was good, both in taste and in presentation. The ambiance was bright and cheerful, and the lunch had a picnic-like atmosphere to it--we were just one of four big groups dining in the restaurant. We finished the affair with lots of picture-taking, and as usual, the goodbyes took a good part of an hour.

TGIF Potato Skins

Potato skins aren't exactly what I thought they would be. TGI Friday's makes them like thick potato chips, and I was looking forward to having real crunchy flavored skins. Awww...

Dean & Deluca

We capped the fourth quarter get-together of Vicky's classmates at Dean & Deluca, a coffee and dessert hub at the Rockwell area. I had heard of some bad reviews for the place, but I guess some of those comments could be made for every restaurant in soft opening. I'm not much of critic, and I'm prone to giving chances, especially for young and promising franchises.

I guess that's a given during the Christmas season. We tend to find delight in even the smallest of things. That is why the dessert array and presentation came as a wonderful surprise, and we gladly shelled out something like P250 per person to try a bit of everything. The service wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be; we were a big group and the staff made the extra effort in patching together a long table at the foyer.

I didn't encounter the chain in New York; of course that was almost 20 years ago and I don't really remember much of the non-touristy places that I visited. When I first googled the store, the slogan "Purveyors of Fine Food" made my eyes shine in glee, and I thought I'd find a wide variety of deli items to choose from. That is what I think is lacking at the store; while they have a few items on display, I thought this was more of a temporary Christmas stand, rather than a real deli rack.