Weekend Foodtrip

I just realized that at this rate, this blog is shaping up to be a food blog. Not that I'm complaining. Maybe it just goes to show that food really is a significant aspect in my existence. Hehehe. I was supposed to write this after my last exam, but I really can't seem to focus on studying so I'll just write this instead.

Tito Bobs, Ina and I tried Bigger Better Burger at SM North Annex,  Friday night. Grilled burgers are the best, and theirs was a third of a pound of grilled awesomeness. I ordered the Hahalapeño burger, not really spicy but the salsa worked well. Twas fun as its name! Ina ordered their mushroom burger while Tito Bobby ordered their three cheese burger. It's safe to assume that this is a Pinoy chain, because their burger buns are pan de sal-ish. Yuhuh. They have really good burgers. Try one soon. :)

 Shrimp Pad Thai, must try!

Then last Sunday, my Tia, cousins and I tried the new Thai resto at SM North The Block. I saw it a couple of weeks ago and I have to say my past encounters with Thai cuisine were very enjoyable, so I was really eager to try this new place. Aptly named My Thai Kitchen, this restaurant promises authentic Thai dishes.

Being the newbs that we are, we ordered tons of food. But I have to warn you, I haven't sampled Thai food as much so I cannot account for the authenticity of these dishes. My remarks are purely on taste and presentation. First off, Shrimp Pad Thai. I liked this noodle dish very much, a little sweet and a little sour, with tofu, egg, and shrimp to compliment. Then came Pork Satay, their version of kababs. They had this peanut sauce along with it, which tasted good as well.

 Left to right, top to bottom: Bagoong Rice, Green Chicken Curry, Chicken Pandan, Pork Satay.

I always relate Bagoong Rice and Chicken Pandan to Thai cuisine. My Thai Kitchen's Bagoong Rice was really appetizing, and the order was good enough for at least two people. Special rice dishes, as I would like to call them,  kind of like rice mixes such as yang chow rice or tinapa rice, are just love. Chicken Pandan was average according to my cousins, I didn't get to try it because I was so full when I realized I haven't tasted it yet. And last but not the least was the Green Chicken Curry. We had an option between red and green curry, and the waiter told us that the green was less fiery than the red so we had the green. But no, the green curry is still damn hot. As in. It is beyond the heat tolerance of the average individual. I wonder if we had the red one instead. Hehe. To complete our Thai experience, we had Thai Rubies. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture. It had langka strips, some kind of irregular red tapioca (i think), with sweet coconut milk in shaved ice. Sweet. :)

So in total, I ate at three new places last weekend: Big Better Burger, Kimpura, and My Thai Kitchen. I had to separate the Kimpura entry 'cause it was extra special being Ina's grad celebration. And special mention goes to my K770i camera for the shots, you are great. 

Bigger Better Burger: 4.5/5.

My Thai Kitchen: 4/5.

Ina's Grad Lunch

Last Saturday, my cousin Ina graduated from grade school. I can hardly believe it, but hey, congrats little cousin! I wasn't able to attend the ceremony, though. Living up to my crappy exam sched was my AP185 Finals, 7am that same day. After the exam, I went home to take a nap and then went to Ina's grad lunch at Kimpura Trinoma.

Now, I am a follower of Japanese cuisine. I like the fact that they're fresh and very creative, and I love seafood. I don't have a favorite Japanese resto, but I do like dining at Omakase and Teriyaki Boy. Tofu steak is the bee's knees! This was my first time to eat at Kimpura, and I had pretty high expectations.

Hah. Kala mo makakaligtas ka sa picture Miguel!

We had a set lunch. Sushi and sashimi platters plus miso soup for starters. Main courses included fish tempura, blue marlin teppanyaki, some other seafood dish and this beef stuffed with garlic thingy. While their sushi platter was definitely noteworthy, overall, they have good offerings but not really the best I've had. However, there is no doubt that the best part was being served and cooked for by the good people at Kimpura.

My plate~ tempura, soup, sauces and Jap fried rice in picture.

Here is Manong, making our Japanese friend rice. He made Japanese fried rice and all main dishes, except for tempura, in front of us. Cooking Master Boy ba!

The experience definitely made the difference. My rating: 3.5/5.

More interestingly, can you discern what's on Manong's wrist? :D

List of Successful Examinees of 2009 Bar Examinations

The Philippine Bar Exam results are out! Congratulations to all successful examinees, particularly BA's Ate. :)

Here is the Top 10:

1st Place
Reinier Paul R. Yebra
San Beda
84.80%

2nd Place
Charlene Mae C. Tapic
San Beda
84.60%

3rd Place
Lim, John Paul T.
Ateneo de Manila University
84.50%

4th Place
Lagos, Caroline P.
University of the Philippines
84.40%

5th Place
Tan, Eric David C.
Ateneo de Manila University
84.05%

6th Place
Gonzalez, Yves-Randolph P.
Ateneo de Manila University
83.90%

7th Place
To, Joan Mae S.
Ateneo de Manila University
83.65%

8th Place
Bagro III, Herminio C.
University of the Philippines
83.40%

9th Place
Lumauig, Timothy Joseph N.
Ateneo de Manila University
83.20%

10th Place
Bainto, Naealla Rose M.
Go, Sheila Abigail O.
Ateneo de Manila University
Ateneo de Manila University
83.10%


List of Successful Examinees of 2009 Bar Examinations

Bio, yeah you.

I have decided to take Bio 11 this summer. I have been firm that I will not take it during summer, because it will eat up my entire term. However, recent developments that being no Physics 161 will be offered this summer, I am forced to rearrange my plans. 

It is most logical that I take it this summer than in the coming semesters since I think it will be very difficult to take parallel with my thesis. Ah. But this is a very big deal for me. I hardly like Bio, and to immense myself in it seven hours a day everyday is a little masochistic for my taste. I am not a fan of masochism by the way.

The things you do because of pure good reason. There's no debate that this choice is the best, given my circumstances. But I feel that I am giving up so much. Bye research afternoons. Bye spontaneous lakwatsa. Bye social life.

Hay, Bio.

Parks

There are so many things to love about Baguio City: the cool, the trees, the strawberries. I can name more but the list may just eat up this entry. Hehe. My Aunt and her family lived there for around three years, and I have loved every break spent there. Below is a picture of Bea with my brothers Miguel and Marius, four years ago when we went to Baguio for Lent.

On a typical summer day, Bea and I would wake up around noon. We'd pick a movie from the shelf if there isn't a good one on tv, and then perhaps go out in the backyard and feel the wind. An alternative would be going to the mall or going to the park.

Ah, how I miss going to parks. Parks here in Manila are underdeveloped and unkempt, without any charm to lure people in. Back in Baguio, we used to bring food and eat at the lunch benches at John Hay, surrounded by pine trees and other families eating lunch out.  I miss having that option, now I can't even stay at the veranda because it's too hot. There are equal parts of quiet and dynamics in parks, you can just observe or ride a bike.  UP Diliman's Sunken Garden is a good bet I suppose, but at this time of year the grass have all shriveled and dried up. To be fair, especially during Christmastime, the Sunken Garden looks wonderful.

I wouldn't know any in the country, but how cool if parks here had Wi-Fi? Hay, what an ideal park would that be. Hehehe. It'll be a good alternative study area for students like me. If we had one here in Metro Manila, I'd be there in a jiff!

While parks are more common in temperate countries, I'd like to see more parks in the Philippines. We don't have to stick with the common park make up, we can build parks that uniquely reflect our culture and community. It's a good way to showcase our appreciation for the environment, as well as a good avenue to promote family bonding. I'm getting tired of going to malls, aren't you?

It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside.

It's tough, thinking that you can do better but having no opportunity to do so.

I need sleep.

My Vote For President

I am very much excited about voting in May. Yes, I am a first time voter. Now, I get to have a say on who runs my city, my province, my country. :)

We have such an interesting pool of wannabe leaders, but more so is the lot running for president. A mama's boy, an entrepreneur, a bar topnotcher, a seasoned administrator, a plunderer, an environmentalist, a city councilor, an angry senator and an evangelist. Unlike in developed countries where the choices are limited to around three candidates, we have enough to form a basketball team with a few to spare.

Elections cement the claim that we are in a democracy. It is the only time, at least that I can think of, that everybody is deemed equal. Every of age citizen gets a vote, regardless of gender, age, social standing or academic achievement. I will not waste this opportunity and give my vote to the popular or "winnable" candidate, but give it to the best.

I have always believed that one should get what he deserves, that a person must earn things he wants. Following this line of thought, I can only give my vote to someone deserving and qualified.  A  president must be a natural leader, must be a thinker, must be exemplary. I cannot stress this enough, because in my opinion this is really why we elect someone.  Why expect less from a person who must head a nation, and a troubled nation at that. There is absolutely no point in giving a position that entails so much power and responsibility to a fool, or worse, a tool. We need someone competent to steer this nation into progress and stability.

My vote will go to someone with a good and clean track record. Clean pertaining to unbiased and effective, not the lack thereof. I will pick someone conscientiously, someone of good morals and integrity. For me, being moral is a lot like being sensitive and responsible for your actions; you do something  because it is the right thing to do and is within the bounds of the law and society. To me, integrity is a sense of consistency and truthfulness; a man who is true to his words irrelevant of whatever puddle of associations or allegations. These cannot be not inherited, bought or implied because of having done nothing at all. They must be earned.

We are a developing country, a cushioned term for a third world country, and we have problems in whatever direction you look at. There is energy, education, competitiveness, agriculture to name a few. I want a president who sees the problems eating up our country clearly, and looks forward with solutions and cures that will aid the nation. I do not want a president who is undecided, because that will only lead to faulty solutions and additional presidents disguised as advisers. It is important that my president be of independent thought, because I voted for him to lead and not to adhere to someone else.

Sadly, our country is among the most corrupt in Asia. Even sadder is this bandwagon of anti-corruption banners instigated by trapos themselves. I hate hypocrites and disillusioned people who think they will champion corruption just like that. I have to clear that I'm not for corruption nor just plain negative, I'm just being practical. I hate that so many candidates use this trending anti-corruption issue to their advantage, creating null heroes of themselves. Still, this issue has to be addressed, because this is a big hamper to society's progress. I want my president to be transparent, he must be able to see corruption as it is and be firm in battling it.

Politics gets dirtier as you move up the ranks, I want my president to play clean and fair. Sorry, no hate-driven politics for me. I agree that PGMA has not lived up to everybody's expectations, but let's also cut her some slack. It is not easy to be president, and many decisions are not easy to make for something that will concern 80 million people (exactly why I put competency first). Many are campaigning and getting pogi points for dissing PGMA, which is fine at first,  but many candidates are using  this as their claim to fame and not really for their platforms.

The elections today are the most complex in history, there are so many forms of media to reach out to the people, particularly the internet. We should be skeptic and filter facts from  useless information. I am a fan of political debates because it is more spontaneous and real, and you can gauge who knows what he's talking about. Try to watch a few debates and you can see if someone is  struggling answering and who is clearly in tune with his platform and his mind. This for me is a good measure of how good a candidate is; because after a few fora you can see who's consistent. It's as simple as doing your homework, if you have a solid plan from the start there is no reason to fail in giving concrete answers. I am appalled that some candidates are dodging these fora, I find it utterly stupid and inconsiderate. People want to be informed, and it is an insult that they'd rather feed the public exaggerated and meaningless advertisements than step up to the plate.

I believe in my country and countrymen, and I have high hopes that we can rise up from the slums that we are in today. Electing a good and very capable president is a start, but if we want change we must begin with ourselves. Our government can only do so much, and we cannot progress if all we do is complain and argue. I am urging every Filipino to think positively and objectively this May. Hate will bring you wrinkles, I tell you.

Spontaneity :)

I'm quite the planner. It's a bit kj, but sometimes I do trip over and do something impulsively fun. Like last night!

The original plan was to go out with Nins, Jamie and Jomax: watch Alice in Wonderland, go to Timezone, then bahala na. Jom had an org thing so the three of us watched Alice without him. He already saw the movie with his Ate, so it wasn't a big deal. After the movie, we had tons of time to kill before he arrives so we went around a bit, then went for some Red Mango frozen yogurt. I am astonished that Jamie and Nins haven't had froyo before. Everybody knows how I just adore Red Mango, it's the best froyo in town! I was so happy to introduce it to the two newbies. 

A watch and two earrings later, Jomax arrived. We had dinner at Bigoli. We all took advantage of the unlimited drinks and bread sticks that our orders come with, some more than others. Hahaha. We just had a long lunch four days earlier, but we chatted away like we didn't. There is just no happiness without good friends.

Off to Timezone. We played Pang Pang, hoops, and some more. I had to find a Guitar Hero machine, I've wanted to try other versions of the game. But we had to wait and pay in order to play, plus the guitar was absolutely heavy, so the kuripot in me had to ask, why don't we just play at home? Without any discussion, we decided to go to my house to play and have a sleepover. I am so grateful to my Tia who graciously accommodated us, even on such an impromptu whim. 

There is so much to love about spontaneity and I wish I had more of it. I find that I don't take risks too often and I don't go with the flow more voluntarily. But I think these make me enjoy the spontaneous stuff even more, because I don't get to experience them often. So to more spontaneity, cheers!

Disney Kid

I was doing post labs and starting my progress report presentation, while listening to Mulan's soundtrack. Then I got curious what the exact lyrics to I'll Make a Man Out of You are. Now I'm stuck at YouTube, listening to other movies' soundtracks. Oh, I am such a Disney kid. So while I'm still a bit giddy, here are my favorite Disney movies arranged in self-assigned categories.

My favorite non-animated Disney movie would have to be Mary Poppins. I really am happy to see it every time. I don't know how or why Mary Poppins lives on the clouds, but hey it's cool. I tried a lot of things from this movie: pretending to drink medicine that changes color (I had primary complex, so yeah I had a lot of medicine with varying colors), drawing on pavements, and some more.  Julie Andrews was a big hero for me when I was younger, and she still is. But for more contemporary Disney, it has to be Enchanted. More than being an Amy Adams follower and McDreamy afficionado, it was such a fun fun movie. Plus, So Close is an awesome song. Diba?

For the animated movie category, I am very much torn between The Lion King and Tarzan. The Lion King, I think, was one of the first movies I saw in the cinema and it just stuck. I was I was so thrilled when my brothers, especially Miguel, found it as interesting. Only a few years ago did I realize that the story was so much like Hamlet, that it was really a loose adaptation. Oha. As for Tarzan, which was incidentally one of Miguel's favorites as well, I thought the soundtrack did so much for the movie. Not that the Lion King had bad music because it had really good music, but Phil Collins singing such excellent songs is simply hard to beat. Hercules rocks too. Toy Story was good also, but no LSS for me.

Since I'm a girl, there has to be a favorite Disney princess category. It has always been Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Mulan doesn't technically count but even if she did, I think she won't topple over Belle, maybe a tie. I like Belle because she is intelligent, kind, courageous and not a helpless bitch. There isn't as much fiction in the story as well, the beast can may as well be some unfortunate looking guy who turns out to have a good heart and because of that becomes good looking. Hahaha.

These are really old school choices, I know, but these movies are etched in my childhood. They told such great stories and they really hit the spot. Some say that the golden age of Disney films was from The Little Mermaid up to Tarzan, and it's true. I was already born when almost all these films were released, and I believe I saw them all. I was among the target audience of these movies and I must say they didn't disappoint. Most of my choices come with wonderful soundtracks, which is such a big thing when watching a movie. It sets the mood, enhances scenes, and becomes your LSS after watching the movie.

Okay, now that I've prattled away my thoughts, I need to get back to work. This Disney kid needs to go the distance. Progress report tomorrow~

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Images taken from the web

Kebab, Kabab, etc

Last Saturday, I finally got the chance to eat at Cyma for Tito Bobby's birthday. Cyma is if not the only Greek restaurant in the country, and we've been wanting to eat there for a long time. Greece has always been on my top must-see places, and I am equally curious about their food.

First, we had an appetizer platter of pita bread and various dips: hummous, tzatziki, melitzanosalata, htipiti and taramosalata. Tzatziki, which is yogurt with cucumber and garlic puree, stood out for me. Next came Roko Salata, which is a signature salad at Cyma. No wonder it's one of their best sellers, it's absolutely fantastic. I loved the crunch of the walnuts with the sweetness of the dressing and the freshness of the greens. The salad also included shreds of parmesan and sun-dried tomatoes. Yum! I have slowly been discovering and loving a number of salads, mainly because my Tia tries to go on a diet and I get curious when she tries new recipes. I have a new favorite; sorry apple and walnut salad.

I think our Gyros came next. They're cuts of grilled meat with tzatziki, onions and tomatoes. Something like a healthier shawarma. I got the chicken version while Bea got the lamb version. Then Ina's salmon, Tito Bob's chicken shish kebabs, and Tia's lamb chops arrived on our already full table. The salmon was nothing special but the kebabs and the lamb tasted great. However the lamb wasn't very tender, so minus pogi points for that. But most definitely, they have big servings of amiably-served and flavorful Greek dishes

Greek cuisine definitely raked up points on my palette. I really liked the taste, freshness and simplicity of their dishes, or at least the ones I got to try. From my observation, it's like Italian cuisine and Persian cuisine combined. The Persian influence was strong in the sauces and dips, while the Italian impact was manifested in the greens and herbs used. Now that I think about it, Greece is indeed between these two cultures, geographically speaking. Moreover, during the ancient times, these two civilizations were constantly trying to expand their territories hence the melting and forging of their cultures.

This food trip, and birthday celebration, has been a real treat. Can't wait for the next one! :)