1521 Restaurant / Rue Bourbon

My dear friend came back from canada and we were all excited in the office of her return.

on the day she visits us, we head to Fort Burgos Circle for dinner.

it's basically serve same food cuisine with Romulo Cafe, but i think 1521 is much better.

1521 Restaurant serves filipino classic favorite foods.

Talong mo kay Tulfo (Fried eggplant with egg): the dish is very good. it's soft, chewy, and definitely yummy. You can taste the eggplant, and the egg at the same time. add ketchup for best tasting.

Melon Juice: the juice is just plain sad. it's definitely not a fresh fruit, you can taste the artificial flavor in it.

Garlic Rice: the rice was perfect, oh so tasteful and delight. there is added little crunch from the garlic bits. 

Busog na Bangus (Milk fish specie) : the fish was a winner. it was wrapped in foil, grilled, stuffed with onions, tomatoes, and slated egg. The fish was the highlight of the dinner. the fish wasn't flaky which is not a bad thing. it was firm and yet soft upon chew. the flavors of the stuffing really inject to the meat.  add some spicy soy sauce for best tasting.

Bagoong Rice: This rice is definitely a winner. it's a shrimp paste rice, but not necessarily very salty at all, you can taste the soft texture, flavorful of the shrimp paste. Also, the tomatoes, salted egg, and green mangoes added more flavor to the rice. the mixture of the toppings compliments with the rice. the tomatoes and salted egg compliments each other, while the green mangoes which is sour, balances the saltiness of the rice.

Bonggang Bongaang Binagoongan: Deep fried pork cutlets with shrimp paste and green mangoes. I never thought that shrimp paste and green mangoes can go very well with deep fried pork. the saltiness and sourness of the toppings compliments with the little rough and crunchy texture of the pork. a must try. 

Adorableng Adobong Pusit: I don't like adobong pusit at all, but this dish has changed my mind. The squid was so soft and tender, there was nothing rotten in the dish. usually adobong pusit has that foul taste and odor which i hate. But this dish was an exception, I'm willing to try another adobong pusit if the taste and texture of the meat is same with this dish.

RUE BOURBON

We head for come drinks at Rue Bourbon to kill some time and do some catching up.

Menu

Me and My Bombay Sapphire Martini

Stella Atrois (Beer)

Caramel Beer (Yum!)

PAL Inflight Meal MNL-SNG

It's so sad that PAL has labor problems.

it also affects their catering service. we were served with "lunchbox" type. disappointing.

"lunch box" from PAL (dried fruit candies / mamon roll / crackers)

Menu: Sweet and Sour Fish / Chicken Terriyaki

I chose chicken because I'm not sure about the fish quality. Some people advised me not to choose fish because of it's quality and cooking preparations.

The chicken terriyaki was painfully sad. although the meat is cooked properly and it's not too soft and the taste quality is very sad. however, i have to commend the vegetables (carrots, chayote, green beans) were cooked properly. the vegetables were firm and not very soft (i hate soft vegetables, to me it's hard to swallow and chew). the rice is snow white but hard again, sad sad meal.

I think all these brouhaha of labor problems with PAL affected all flight services. but despite all these, I'm still loyal with PAL.

But the inflight movie made my trip very relaxing.

Harry Potter 7ish (this was the last part)

Why Fly PAL:

Pros:

1) It has wide space (more leg room rather than competing local airlines) it has 32 inch space.
2) Only local airline who has their own terminal (Terminal 2 is exclusive for PAL).
3) Only local airline who gives full meal (international) / snacks (domestic) flights.
4) Inlfight Movie (international) from the recent movies that was shown.
5) Service is a real quality

Cons:

1) I don't think delayed flights are so much of a con (well, because of the congestion in NAIA) but of course, it's very painful and annoying to be stuck at the airport.
2) Attitude from their Flight Attendants - Not to generalize them, but over the past years PAL FAs was tagged to be dismissive and sometimes discriminating people according to their looks.

All these Pros and Cons was dully experienced since i was flying with them at the age of 7.

Prices: Pal prices are very competitive nowadays. not many people know but PAL is cheaper than budget carriers. ex. Cebu Pacific costs 3,500 (w/o luggage, w/o meals, smaller legroom space, no inflight movie) although i have to commend their FAs, they were all friendly and you can feel the true service w/o just being professional.

I think PAL should give me free flights! haha

Lunch at Next Door Makati Ave.

Small lunch out with my friends from the office despite the scourging heat of the sun just to satisfy our cravings.

Pork Siomai: This is nothing compared to Hakaw which is far more better than this (from my previous entry of Hap Chan). This particular pork siomai is just average, it is not the best siomai in the city, but at least it's reasonable for it's price. The siomai is thick, however i don't like the combination of the siomai wrapper that was used in the dish. it's a little bit sweet and oily (from the pork meat).

Filling of the Pork Siomai. 

Chicken Feet: This was the highlight of my lunch today. it was soft, chewy, sweet, a little spicy, and very tender. it was delicious.

Pork Chop with onion sauce: the meat was painfully sad. it was hard and the taste was bland. the winning factor would be the fried rice. the onion sauce was sweet but lacked in quality

Hainan Chicken: it was tender, fusion of sweet and salty, the rice was firm and yet soft. the chicken was cooked with the right temperature, the skin do not easily fallout and break. it was a good dish.

Almon Marina Restaurant

I treat my folks to this restaurant

Menu: 

Vegetable Beef Soup: Creamy, tasty, i love the fusion of vegetable, stewed beef, and a hint of tomato sauce.

California Roast Beef: Roast Beef slices, mozzarella cheese, swiss cheese, asparagus, almond silvers, gravy, then focaccia bread. let's start with the bread: it's soft and freshly baked, also the sesame seeds adds a little sweetness and crisp on the bread. the beef is a little tough, and little dry but tasty. the cheese was oozingly immaculate. the fries was definitely better than other fast food chains. the asparagus and almond silvers was fresh, balancing the meat and cheese. 

Neptune Submarine: If you like french-tough baguette bread, with lots of cold cuts, onions, tomato, cheese, zucchini, and olives. it's a fantastic sandwich that each ingredient blends with each other. never fails to satisfy my craving.

Submarine with Puttanesca: the sandwich is same with the neptune but bread is soft with sesame seeds, the puttanesca was mad al dente. 

My problem with the restaurant is their meat can be dry at some time. but i keep going back to this restaurant. :D

John goes shopping

I woke up in the middle of the summer heat. manila is sizzlin' with 35 degrees!

so to avoid the heat, i went to my usual mall - SM Megamall. 

it's quite big and all the things you need, you can find in this mall. although places can get crowded but it's ok.

i forgot to take a picture of my favorite Happy Lemon's Rock Salt n Cheese w/ Cocoa. sad. 

Brunch:

Jipan (Bldg A)

Shogayaki Teishoku (Bento Set of marinated pork-strips, sweet egg roll, vegetable tempura, salad, and miso soup, with snow white sticky japanese rice / the bun is pan custard cream) to my surprise my meal costs: 313 pesos or 7$ and

Pork Strips: Tender, tasty, a little salty, and a little bit overcooked. the taste will burst in the mouth wanting to eat more rice to balance the taste. :

Egg Roll: It's like the egg you can taste on sushi but, this egg roll is far more superior. it's firm and yet soft while chewing, you can taste the egg and yet the sweetness of the flavor.

Vegetable Tempura: the tempura was not promising it's quite ordinary. it was not crisp at all. the winning factor was the sauce to dip, and the flavor of the vegetables.

Salad and Miso Soup: Ordinary. nothing special.

Jipan Restaurant is one of those restaurant that you can eat close to authentic japanese cuisine it's a little bit pricey compared to other japanese restaurant but it's the restaurant that you can eat if you have no money to pay for real authentic expensive japanese food. they also sell high quality breads and pastries which is so promising. 

afternoon:

went to body tune for European seaweed body polish (it comes with scrub in which smells awe full then it comes with seaweed polish that smells like sushi and then Swedish massage)

then went to Nisce skin n' face for regular facial.

Dinner:

Almon Marina (Bldg. A)

My family is very loyal to this restaurant because of it's food quality and excellent service. (well all the staff knows us, so i guess extra quality service is really given)

I'm quite loving alcohol lately and it does bother me but oh well. this one is less alcohol - Bailey's Coffee Cream. which costs 165 pesos

Chicken Mushroom Soup: their soup was very satisfactory given it's price i think it's less than 100 bucks so definitely worth it. 

Main Course: Lamb Kebab 

the meat was surprisingly soft and tasty. it does not have those after taste as many people say with lamb. although I'm disappointed with it's dryness. the rice was so extra ordinary so so good. the mixed vegetables with olive oil was dry and very very soft ( i like it a little bit firm) and it easily breaks. the grilled vegetables was also good and really tasty. 

after quite some time i go shopping with my new mabuhay miles allied bank credit card. 

all these things below are all on sale, so i bought all these cheap.

Face Shop (Anti-Acne serum)

Freebie from face shop (thanks for this moisturizer)

bought vitamins for my health from healthy options

freebies from face shop

sunglasses that i bought from aldo

good bye loreal men, hello face shop men.

50% off dead sea salt butter scrub from ahava (super good quality product, and a great deal!) visit the nearest ahava shop for good quality skin products

my first penguin merchandise and it's on sale! :)

Miss U? are you still there??

All these brouhahas surrounding Ms. U is really becoming a global trend not only in social media sites but also in the local news papers.

Basically, this is a socio-cultural and business issue.

1) Socio-Cultural

Pro Transgenders:

a. it's a "contest" for beauty and poise. not a beauty contest that is entirely on the service of motherhood, or natural born uterus and breast.

b. long overdue for equal civil rights of transgenders and other sexes.

c. trough various rapid change in the human race, it's a high time to allow such 3rd sex to enter.

Anti-Transgender

a. Ms U. in it's very own nature is for natural born women. it was formed to celebrate womanhood and her capability to nurture and become a future mother.

b. it will eat public attention and media hype in favor of the Transgenders. naturally, we are more curios on the controversial part, and it is in human nature to be more fascinated on what the media is attending to.

c. Ms. U is formed to alleviate woman and promote their social rights and address injustices. trough beauty, men will be able to respect them and give equality.


Let us not forget why Ms. U is created:

1) to alleviate women's status in the society.
2) promote gender equality (women are capable of conceiving, women's role in society is huge since they are the nurturer of the society, etc.)
3) avenue to empower women.

in such media hype and attention, let us not forget that the owner is mr. donald trump ( a businessman ) who by nature wants to earn by all the media attention that he is getting.

women in nature are marginalized by which men are capable of abuse especially by patriarchal society. in Catholicism: God, Jesus Christ, the Apostles are all men, they are strong and yet forgiving and have respect for women. Mary as mother of Jesus, she is strong, loving, caring, and without sin.

In religion, of any gender, they are equal Jesus is not made into reality without a woman which is Mary.

in this analysis, men can not live without woman. it is just frustrating how many ego centered men interpret their religion in such patriarchal way.

i don't think Islam countries and predominantly Catholic countries will like the decision of Ms. U.

In the case of Philippine society, this may go problematic.

1) Religion and Justice System

1.1. RH Bill is long overdue. this was created for the protection of women. it is for their health and the health of the unborn baby. men do not conceive, and do not give painful child labor. they may say that they understand however, they really do not know the feeling of women going trough the sufferings.

1.2 patriarchal society, we may be one of the countries that have good provisions on the 3rd sex, however we do not deny that majority of people are not open in such legal rights. we may accept them in public appearance but i think not on the formal avenues.

1.3 Judicial system, how can we save the 3rd sex from various victim crimes if the chief justice himself can not save himself. also, the the very ancient movement of the judicial process, we may have a hard time on addressing their needs.

People may be joining a bandwagon due the different headlines and news that surface the world.

also, media is a very important tool to bring education to the public. media is a check and balance between the civil society and government, but it has become also a problem when it comes to bringing responsible journalism.

But i still fight for all equal rights of all gender and race.

i'm pro rh bill, i am pro gay marriage (civil only) gay marriage should not be allowed when it comes to religion since in every nature of religion: 3rd sex is not allowed. but still, recognizing them in the society is sufficient enough.

let us not judge but understand all the meaning and essences that is brought in our table.

Me and Alcohol.

I never liked beer. never.

i prefer cocktail drink over the taste of beer. 

my alcohol intake is not really that exaggerated (for hard drinks). 

although i may be a little over when it comes to drinking wine. or cocktail at lunchtime @ makati. i don't want to be alcoholic and be like a celebrity that falls into alcoholism. but what i like about myself is that, i can control what i drink. :)

My Top favorite to drink:

1) Red Wine

2) Martini-Vodka (Chocolate / Coco-Lychee)

3) Irish Cream

4) Margarita

5) Bombay Sapphire's Gin

donations of red / white wine is highly appreciated.

Thanks!

Jack Daniels, Bacardi Apple, Jose Cuervom Fridays Mudslide, Patron (coffee), Absolut Vodka (Mango)

The Bar Vodka (Strawberry), Canterbury Cream (Chocolate) , Jose Curevo, Mojitos, Malibu, Sauza Gold, Merry's Irish Strawberry Cream

Tequila Shots

My Fave: Red Wine

Red Wine w/ coke :)

McQueen

Provincial Life Highlights... (Holy Week Vacation)

Sweet Potatoes are just darn good. they are of all classes of people. in this case, sweet potatoes (kamote in tagalog) are of common food whether breakfast up to dinner. this particular dish is for merienda "afternoon snack" which is a common habit of Filipinos during in the afternoon. it has no added sugar since the sweet potatoes are already sweet in it's own harvest, then added some flour then deep fried. the texture is almost same with potatoes, however they are much firm and less crunchy. this is best partnered with coffee.

Ayungin is a local delicacy which is made of small fish then boiled with ginger, tamarind, onion, garlic, and fish sauce. it's a fusion of salty and sour flavor. the ginger's function is to remove the rotten smell of the fish

Romulo Cafe @ Jupiter, Makati

Cerica's despedida. farewell to our dear friend, good luck to your new job! :)

had dinner @ Romulo Cafe, a bit pricey, small serving though, but nonetheless very tasty. 

Kare-Kare (creamy, tasty, you can taste the grounded nuts, the vegetables were not overcooked, meat is tender and easy to chew but be careful with the small strips of meat that will stuck in your teeth.)   

Crispy Pork Knuckles (pork legs and feet part of a pig that is deep fried). the saute'd tomatoes and shrimp paste gives compliment to the deep fried  crispy meat. this is a good dish to partner with beer, and can also be a main course. although, be careful with the high content of cholesterol.

Flying Tilapia with 3 sauce (a specie from the cichlid fish with 3 types of sauce - sweet, hot, sweet hot). sometimes deep fried crispy fish over powers it's true taste. there's a little disappointment because of the thickness of the flour that was used to batter the fish.