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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

June 1, 06 FAVORITE LOOKBOOK LOOKS OF THE DAY

Ebba Zingmaker
I love how she paired the shirt with the skirt. I could never have thought to pair it like that. Might try it someday, If i had the guts!



Flávia Desgranges van der Linden




Shih Tzu Puppies for Sale

     My friend is selling his puppies. Maybe you would like to give this Baby a home.
It's a Shih Tzu, 9 weeks old. It costs Php 7,000. My friend is from Cebu. Comment if you're interested.




If I had money, i would buy this little darling. SO CUTE! <3

The Great Siomai Hunt


SIOMAI

     No words could describe my love for this Chinese food. I could eat a good Siomai for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a month without complaints. And I've done that.

     I first fell inlove with Siomai back in my hometown of Cagayan de Oro. There's this Chinese Restaurant that our family used to go quite frequently, even with my grandparents and all my Aunts and Uncles sometimes. Mandarin Tea Garden (Chinese Restaurant) was the place to be specially during Sundays. Their Siomai was so good and solid. You knew just by the first bite that the ingredients were of good quality. there's still a chunk of shrimp in there somewhere.

Mandarin Tea Garden (Chinese Restaurant)
http://www.mandarin.com.ph/mandarin.html

    Anyway, I was the only one who ate Siomai alone as a viand, everyone mixed them up. Mandarin's Siomai was solid and fresh. The hotsauce made it more and more special, you just couldn't get enough. 

     When I moved to Cebu, I grieved the fact that there was no Mandarin Tea Garden. I searched far and wide for the restaurants that made Siomai as good as Mandarin did. I couldn't find anyplace half as good, until, 4 months later, my classmates introduced me to this Siomai that exploded with flavor.

     I was looking for Siomai in all the wrong places, in Cebu, the best Siomai is sold on the streetside. The most famous one being Siomai sa Tisa. It wasn't fresh, nor was it made of good quality ingredients but the taste was just SO FUCKING GOOD.  This started my addiction to Siomai. I have to eat siomai at LEAST once a day, I JUST HAD TO. Cebu's Siomai makers really took Siomai to another level.

    Sad thing is, I moved to Manila after 4 blissful years of my affair with Cebu's Siomai. The search is on again, this time, it's going to be a wee bit more difficult. I've eaten Siomai's in mall Food Carts, in restaurants, in small little chinese carenderias. I was almost losing hope when last night, in Malate, I've tasted Siomai in Manila that was actually good. 

     It was P40 per 4 pcs, I think. It was a few meters away from O-bar. The Siomai was good.It wasn't the best i've tatsted but it was better then all the other Siomai in Manila. There is hope after all. I'm definitely going back there. They're Open 24 hours from Mondays to Saturdays and Half day on a Sunday.

Manila's Siomai search is on. <3

A trip to the infamous MALATE, Philippines

     Last night, I wanted to go out so badly that i practically texted most of my contacts on the phone to ask if they're awake and if they wanna go out. 90% didn't answer because it was basically 1 in the morning. 3% said they're not in Manila and 5% said they were staying indoors since it was monday, and practically there almost wasn't anywhere to go to. There was this one person though, that replied that he felt the same. He was gay.

     There was much debate on where we would go, which place would be more fun and convenient but in the end, we decided to go to MALATE. The infamous gay capital of the Philippines. I was nervous and excited at the same time but we were desperate and my friend seemed to have made up his mind.

     Unluckily, the taxi driver didn't really know where to go because he didn't go to that area much. We had to go in circles asking bystanders "where's the direction to O-Bar?". It was half embarrassing but i guess everyone in that area were used to that kind of crowd. We finally decided to go down the taxi because the bill was starting to hurt my pocket.

     We roamed around the streets of Malate for about 30 mins, basically covering most of the area. While we were aimlessly walking, we bumped into a movie set that was on break! (yipee) It took great strength not to stop and take pictures because we would look like ignorant gawking fanatics, when all of a sudden, PIOLO PASCUAL and ANGELICA PANGANIBAN were walking a few INCHES beside me! Shocker.
I'm not a fan, but it was my first time to actually see a celebrity up close without wild fans beside me.

     During those 30-45 mins walk around Malate, we passed by so many clubs that were practically gay-exclusive. There was no written sign but 98% of the crowd were gay/maya*. The streets were dark and creepy but nothing bad or threatening really happened.

     In one of the last corner, my friend suddenly squealed, he saw the sign of O-Bar. At last! It was practically 3 almost for in the morning and although the walk was fun, i really wanted to go in somewhere that I could start feeling safe. OMG. When the doors opened, everyone inside was male in gender and they were dancing with each other. Some guys were even topless and hugging each other.



     I wanted to walk away but at the same time couldn't because I was so amazed at the new and different side of the Philippines that I haven't witnessed. We went in. The guys were looking at me like I was an alien, but after a few more minuets, I felt at home. There were no sleezy guys that was hitting on me, I could dance the way I wanted for as long as I wanted and nobody really cared. The music was also great. It was actually quite good to think it was 4 in the morning.

     It was FUN. The people were decent and minded their own business. Nobody made me feel like i didn't belong. I finished one and a half bottle of Tanduay Ice when I started feeling woozy. At around 5am, they started to turn on the lights. That was our cue to leave the place. FYI: the place was still packed. I've been to SuperClubs in manila but I have never seen them partying later than 3am.

     We ate then went home. I'll be  blogging on the eating part later, because I HAVE TO BLOG ABOUT THE SIOMAI. :)

* Maya - a guy who likes a guy. They don't cross dress, they don't talk gay, they don't act gay. I think this is just a coined term by Gay people to distinguish themselves from them.


Entrance of O-Bar**


** picture taken from the internet

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Choi Garden (Greenhills)

     I went out on a date last Saturday, and although my date wanted to eat Italian, I was craving for really good Chinese Dim sum (SIOMAI) since I really miss Cebu's Siomai sa Tisa. His friends referred us to an upsclae Chinese restaurant called Choi Garden. Since it was both our first time, we got a little lost in trying to find the place but with the help of friendly guard from a different restaurant, we were able to find out way.

     The place had a large front entrance with ample parking and valet service! Yey! :D The interior was a bit intimidating but the staff was really nice and friendly. Upon entering the restaurant, they had one of the fanciest welcome I have seen in Manila (see picture).

     I was rather disappointed to know that they only had three varieties of Siomai, Pork Siomai, Japanese Siomai and the other one (haha!). We ended up ordering one Yang Chow Fried Rice, one Steamed Fish w/ Garlic and the dull Pork Siomai (was really looking for quail egg siomai).

     The Steamed Fish was delicious and the serving was generous. The 4 pc. Pork Siomai was fresh but lacked in flavor. The Yang Chow Fried Rice was nothing special. The chili sauce that they had was quite alright but I really missed the one from Cebu City and from Mandarin Restaurant. Overall, it was an OK. We ended up with a bill of P1000 something. It wasn't worth the meal at all. This is what they mean when they say "Charge to Experience".




Choi Garden Face*

Choi Garden Entrance*


Choi Garden Steamed Fish with Garlic*

Choi Garden Yang Chow Friend Rice*


     *Since I was unable to bring a camera or snap some shots using my Iphone, I got the pictures online. I do not own and I did not take any of the pictures posted on this blog.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Ines Cabarrus

     Since I shifted to the hospitality business, I have met some of the most exciting people in the business. We usually have them over for a small talk in our Beverage Management Class our Tourism Class. Exciting.

     Last Wednesday, we had Ines Cabarrus as our guest speaker for Event Management. It was a great discussion plus plus, she shared to us one of her most solid event which eventually turned into a brand.

     Music and Wine. It used to be a weekly event at Martini's Bar over at the Mandarin Oriental, Manila. It had a lifespan of three great years, and although it had a great run, it's now dwindling down to a monthly event.

     Although it has already reached it's peak and on the way down, Music and Wine has evolved into so much more than JUST an event, they now have a podcast with free download on itunes if you have a Mac. What i love about their site is the music, which is mixed by Ms. Ines' hubby and partner, DJ Elian. It's usually loungy with a mixture of upbeat music. Sometimes, they have guest DJs for special events and still post the music there.

     They, as a couple, also co-authored a book which is named *Manila's Best Kept Restaurant Secrets"



** an interview for the book b]published by the couple


     Check out the site posted for some eargasmic experience. :) ENJOY!


www.musicandwineradio.com

Incest? Or not?

     I have a really close knit group in college, back when i was still studying nursing, composed of 11 crazy girls. We sort of lose contact from time to time because we started to have different schedules and responsibilities but we keep in contact from time to time.

     When I woke up this morning, I received a text message from one of them expressing concern and panic for one the girls. She said that one of our friends posted her facebook wall that she's pregnant again (she hasn't graduated college, and she has had a previous child from someone she didn't marry)!

     This was an issue but to make matters worse, i just found out that her new boyfriend is just a cousin! I almost fell off my seat upon hearing this. Her defended herself saying that this cousin was beyond 3rd degree and is considered OK. I'm still bothered by the thought and have no knowledge about how far in relation do you have to be so it wouldn't be called incest.

     Could you please shed some light! Thoughts? Anyone?