Marquez - Pacquiao 4

* courtesy of Getty Images

They say it ain't over until it's over.  Now it is over.  Did you see it coming?  It happened so fast, and I didn't see it coming.  I merely blink and he was already face flat of the canvas.  JMM was vindicated, and as the Pacman's body twitched in golden slumber, the whole country similarly twitched in agony.  Too much partying, too much gambling, too many karaoke nights.  You lost the killer instinct, you had no discipline, you trained too late in the day.  No excuses, Marquez just proved that he was the better fighter.  Kiss the Mayweather fight goodbye, it ain't happening.  Jinky is right.  No more fights, Manny, you have enough money to last ten lifetimes.  Hang up your gloves, and let the younger, hungrier boys talk with their fists.  Stand tall, and walk on home.  That's boxing, that's life.

Yabu: The House of Katsu

I first noticed Yabu at the Robinson's Magnolia a couple of months ago, and I was quite amazed at the long waiting line of lunchtime customers.  Right after Vicky and Monique finished the passport renewal process at the DFA, they were famished for a late lunch, and we found ourselves walking into the Yabu store at the 2nd floor Atrium of SM Megamall (at 3pm they had available seats).  This store specializes in katsu (Japanese style fried breaded pork).  The interiors were simple and well lit; the staff were courteous and quite helpful.

What Kobe is to beef, Berkshire is to pork, and Yabu prides itself with their Berkshire pork katsu.  We enjoyed the dish--3/4 of an inch thick, crispy light brown breading, juicy center and served hot!

To gain perspective, we also had some chicken katsu and pork curry, which were also prepared well.  The tray comes with unlimited rice and salad (Japanese coleslaw).  Monique noted that while there was a big price difference between Berkshire pork and local pork, the taste and texture were not really far apart--if you're not particular, you won't be able to tell the difference.

The salad sauce is prepared with ground pepper, and we spent some time enjoying the ritual.    Do-it-yourself pepper grind, add lots of sauces to get the right flavor mix!  All in all, we spent something like P550 per head.  I understand that the restaurant was locally conceptualized with the help of some Japanese kitchen consultants, and I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that the store had a lot of repeat customers despite not being a franchise of an international chain.

Kingdom Dates

I love dates!  Vicky was lucky to receive a box of Kingdom Dates--soft and naturally sweet.  I understand that an office mate of hers was recently in the Middle East, and when this lady was looking around for better quality dates, the sales staff of the store quickly pointed out this brand as one that would easily fit the bill.  Yes, it's a delicious treat alright...

SM Megamall Chapel

While waiting for Vicky and Monique to finish with their passport renewal, I spent some time at the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord which is located at the 5th floor of the SM Mega Mall.  It was a good place to power down and place myself in the presence of the Almighty.  Very comfortable and spacious.  The chapel was not placed there as an afterthought--it was designed to be a chapel as the mall was conceptualized.  I felt relaxed and stress-free.

I am truly amazed at how organized religion has adapted itself to the rising demands of city living, and how in fact, it has woven itself into the every day life of Filipinos.  What could have been be viewed by critics as crass commercialism some thirty years back, is now de rigueur for mall operators; you can find chapels set up in a lot of malls nationwide.  There is no dichotomy of opinion--both the clergy and laity embrace the set-up with open arms.  If you examine the historical origins, you can see that concept is based on the triumvirate of the Filipino town plaza--the town hall, the church and the market.  This blend started off with the Ayala developments (Makati, for example had the Greenbelt church as the centerpiece of convergence).  The blend carried on with the SM Malls--it is a well known fact that the patriarch of SM, Henry Sy, is a deeply religious man (he was usually seen in Baclaran every Wednesday), and that the SM Mall of Asia was seeded with the construction of the Archdiocesian Shrine of Jesus.

DFA Passport Processing

Getting a passport used to be a time-consuming process at the Department of Foreign Affairs along Roxas Boulevard.  One of the many upgrades that have been introduced is the opening of mall-based processing offices that allow people to process passports at more convenient places, which are spread out all over the country.  Vicky and Monique went to the DFA processing center at the SM Megamall a few Saturdays ago.  They walked in at 12 noon, and came out by 3pm, a total of 3 hours processing time (this used to take around 6 hours).  As an added convenience, passports are mailed to your home (delivered in around 2 weeks time).  A few other government offices have opened at the malls (including the National Census & Statistics Office, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Land Transportation Office), which, aside from being convenient for the public, isn't bad at all for the mall owners--automatic traffic, more customers!

Lorenz Crunchips

Monique and I found a new snack to munch on.  We got this pack of Crunchips in Unimart, and this is one of those few times that an imported snack is just about priced the same as the local brands (around P100 for a family size bag).  Lorenz, a German food maker, fries these potato chips in sunflower oil, which is good news for health fanatics.  I find it really crispy and priced just right.  In addition, I like it because the slices are made from large potatoes--it's easy to hold and wonderful to munch on.  We tried the cheese & onion flavor, which was quite yummy.  I understand that they have the pepperoni and paprika flavors too, and if I ever catch these on the shelves, I'd make sure I'd pick up a few bags to taste.  One of the best potato chip brands that I have tried!

Mariposa Dairy

Buy 1, Take 1!  I love that marketing gimmick!  When we came across the Mariposa Dairy Goat Cheese offering, Monique & I just couldn't resist.  This Canadian cheese house makes flavored cheeses that are absolutely delightful with bread or crackers.  On the one hand, I liked the dill-flavored cheese (shown on the right side above), it was soft and easily spreadable, and had just the right amount of tartness.  I like soft cheeses on crackers--this is perfect, just soft enough to spread without breaking the crackers.  On the other hand, Vicky was more inclined to favor the Mediterranean blend.  The product is a bit difficult to come by though, we were able to purchase these from Unimart, in the Greenhills area.  The pack above was around 100 grams and usually costs something like P300--we were just lucky that the marketing promo would instantly halve the cost!