Grub Review: Triple V

My good friend, Ryan, treated me to dinner last night in Triple V in Greenbelt 2 (he had to use the GCs). Triple V is a triumvirate of Kamayan, Saisaki, and Dad's. It gained popularity in the early 90s among the regular juans because of its eat-all-you can offers for lunch and dinner. It ain't exactly for the well heeled crowd unless you, for some strange reason, enjoy crying babies, people laughing out loud, large groups singing happy birthday, or love requesting songs from the roving quartet. Kamayan serves local grub - from lechon, some deep fried log of pork, snails in ginatan, beef mechado, fish, fresh lumpia, and other native stuff. Saisaki offers Japanese food that isn't in Inagiku levels but edible enough. When I was about to reach for the tong to get tempura, this fat lady with really bad hair and equally bad fashion sense cut the buffet line and practically got almost every single piece. I was slightly relieved she left some but later looked back and asked her daughter to bring her plate over. Typical. Dad's caters to diners who prefer Western food. Their buffet spread last night had roast beef, turkey, a pasta station, and nachos among other fares.

Cmon, Vogue

Guess who's coming to town some time July? According to Happy's cousin who works for MTV, the material girl is going to visit Las Islas Filipinas some time in July. Exciting news! but it makes you wonder what the hell she'll be singing? The Confessions Tour CD has been out for a while and it'd be weird if she performed songs from her Confessions CD for the heck of it. And her new album, called Licorice according to Peculiar Paolo, will be released late this year like most of her other records. Last year, rumor was that Ricky Martin was supposed to shake his bon bon here but he never showed. Justin Timberlake's concert was originally scheduled for February but was pushed back all the way to the end of the year. Not that I'd want to watch that.

Interesting things I Learned

If you think about it, you learn something new everyday. Just this morning, I learned that the longer I linger in bed when I wake up, the bigger the chance I have of activating my morning allergy. We had our company strategic planning in Tali last weekend. Over dinner and lunch, I learned a few things from our lively conversations that ranged from food, travel, politics, and science. 1) Although not new news, Manila along with all the cities situated near coastlines will be completely submerged in water in 8 years. Half of Florida will have more beach space and Manhattan will suddenly turn into a water adventure. Now, THAT's an inconvenient truth. 2) There's a huge chance Obama will win in the US election. I guess they'd rather have a black man in the white house instead, just for the fun and irony of it all. Besides, change is good. 3) The buck doesn’t stop when you get a room in the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. They also let you pay to visit the spa even without booking a treatment and the use of the gym even if you're a guest. A fancy sounding Jasmine "massage" in the spa is really just somebody applying heated oil on you minus the body kneading and costs $75. Plus, there aren’t any prices on the restaurant menu so anything that might sound cheap might really not be. 4) There are no exceptions when renewing your US visa. EVERYONE has to wait in line, no matter how much of Manila you "own". Thankfully, you don't wait under the heat of the sun. 5) Crushed ginger can be used to soothe rheumatism. 6) Alfredo Lim is really Chinese. His father was born in China will he was born in Spratley. And he got a house in Forbes for free, thanks to his gun. 7) Some guy has genetically grown a man and a pig. When he grows up, he can be a congressman. 8) Dove Moisturizing lotion is really, really good. It's very creamy and absorbs instantly! 9) You need 5 billion pesos to become President of the Philippines. 10) Riding a hot air balloon suddenly seems like a fun thing to do. 11) Residents in provinces in China have a local passport and need to apply for a pass so the government can control people from moving to bigger cities and overpopulating it. 12) Turtle tastes fishy. 13) Europeans eat with the fork on their left hand, the knife on their right, and slice as they eat, Americans slice everything, and then eat, while Filipinos do away with slicing and dicing and go straight to inhale their food. 14) An awful lot of Brits are frightingly decent. 15) The Jumbo restaurant in Hong Kong has a license to sell a maximum limit of 25 dishes a day of this endangered fish. 16) There is a bookstore in London that has been on the same location since the 17th century. 17) "Moses" baskets for babies are sold in London for a whopping 600 pounds. The supplier sells the same thing in the monthly American Women's Bazaar for only 14 grand. Buying it here and sending it to the UK wont cost you more than 600 pounds. What did you learn last weekend?

Sempre Viva

Isn't that what Isabella Rossellini screams in Death Becomes Her? Anyway, all this dying in the past week is very disturbing. What is it with young Hollywood? First it was Brad Renfro who appeared in The Client then yesterday it was that Heath guy. I was never a fan of both so their untimely passing doesn't affect me any way whatsoever. I'm sure when they show the new Batman flick, there will be some In Memoriam/ Tribute thing happening. Awwww. Just in case you were under a rock, that guy who was the first who climbed Mt. Everest conked out recently too but not that anybody cares. Well, maybe except half of New Zealand. Death Becomes Her is one of my favourite movies because 1: its very entertaining and 2: I like the car of Meryl Streep (white 500SL). After watching clips of it on YouTube, it came as a shock that Goldie Hawn doesn't seem to have changed. And neither has Meryl.

Lift me up

Makati is dotted with sophisticated, all-glass and steel structures that boast of bright and spacious lobbies, high ceilings, and colourful food galleries where decently dressed employees can go and buy their daily grub. Unfortunately, my office isn't in any of those buildings. Mine was probably built in the early 60s when metal orb-like lamps and mosaic walls were the in thing in corporate interior design. The only saving grace is that its conveniently situated along the main road, near places of yuppie necessities. To upgrade the facilities of this concrete block, they recently installed four new lifts - but since installation of the two lifts was delayed, everyone has to share the other working two. All 13 floors of us. Sometimes it can be such an endeavor riding it because they maximize the space and capacity of the lift - just like how Ayala Malls cramp each floor with stores leaving the shopper to share tiny walking space on the aisles. Other things I hate: 1. When people take the lift one floor up. It gets more annoying when they're young and on the heavy side. 2. I don't get it why people don't hang up when they're on the phone before they get on the lift. Naturally, at some point going up or down, the connection will be lost. Can't they just tell the person they're talking to that they'll ring them back? 3. Only the blind or anyone with obvious optical disabilities are excused if they ask if the lift is going up or down. Those with perfectly fine vision only need to look up at the arrows to see the lift's direction. No need to ask where it's headed. 4. The elevator won't leave you behind if you give way and step out of the lift so people can properly exit. It's annoying when you somehow get pushed to the back only to fight your way out then you have to push and shove everyone only for the doors to close on you when you finally get to the front. 5.Not holding the door when someone screams that you do. Do not do unto others and all that jazz.

De-strezzzz

It's only Tuesday and already I wish it was the weekend. Why does time move so slow when you're doing a million and one things? I've been finding solace in this song. According to MTV, the video is one of the most expensive videos of all time, next to Michael Jackson's Scream. For some strange reason, I find this track very relaxing. Maybe it's the suggestion of wandering off to bed to catch some zzzz's.

Grub Review: Mamou & Fely J

The dining experience in Manila is like a buffet line up. It has restaurants that offer a plethora of exciting edibles that are waiting to be shared and enjoyed. For our really late post Christmas dinner and despedida for our Zurich-bound friend last Friday night, my friends decided to have dinner in Mamou, a cozy restaurant tucked away in Serendra that serves "home kitchen" food, which as I was told, food that is normally served in the home of the owner named Mamou. She is the sister-in-law (thanks Anonymous person!) of Gaita Fores so you know you're tummy and tastebuds will be in good hands. The interiors are simple - "period" chairs in red faux leather and dark wood, black and white tiled floor, and bright frosted cabinets in the open kitchen at the far back. It reminded me of a cafe I had dinner in at Montmarte minus the receipts scattered on the floor. The menu is equally as simple. I had the roast chicken and pork that came with black beans, cinnamon banana, onions, with white rice, although you can also have red rice. My friends had the Linguini Vongole, Truffle Oil Vegetable Mushroom Dip with Whole Wheat Melba chips, Crispy Roast Duck with Red Chorizo Rice, Batac Bolognese, a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, and Fish & Chips. Service was exquisite with the owners checking up on us every now and then. After eating, you might have the sudden urge to hug them and thank them for a wonderful dinner. Forking out P500 is a pretty safe price to sample the Mamou experience. Getting a table is quite difficult as it is always full so it's best to book in advance. Mamou is located at Unit 1C-15 G/F Serendra, Fort Bonifacio Global City Mamou Reservations: +632 856 3569 For lunch today, my folks, brother, and I ate in Fely J, a new restaurant in the ultra chic Greenbelt 5. Situated on the second floor across Myth and Religioso, Fely J is a sister restaurant of Abe in Serendra so has pretty much the same type of food. Interior is nothing fancy. What lacked in ambience was made up by the delicious meal we had. We had the usual pinoy fare of Crispy Pata which was REALLY crispy and juicy, Pancit Canton (I'm not a fan of pancit), some shrimp thing that resembled Samosas, and Cadios, a Visayan bean dish with Langka and Meat that was too thick for my liking but yummy anyway. My brother had their signature drink, Tamarind shake, which he said tasted like cola.

Flick Pick: Sweeney Tod

If slicing, dicing, gloom, doom, meat pies, and blood splattering around is your kinda thing, then Tim Burton's 2007 version of Sweeney Tod: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a movie right up your alley. It tells of Benjamin Barker played by Johnny Depp who had a really big bone to pick with this Judge (Alan Rickman) who took his family away from him and had him thrown to jail because your honor wanted his wife (the baby was a package deal). 15 years later, Benjamin is freed and arrives in London looking like he was imprisoned in Hades thanks to his deathly complexion. He bunks in with Mrs Lovett played by Helena Bonham Carter who seems like its her upteenth time to act like a woman dressed as Frankenstein's Bride. In true Burton fashion, there is not one sun-filled scene in the entire film except for the start when Benjamin hasn't turned into a Mr Hyde. When Sweeney misses the chance to kill the judge, he turns to slaughtering men who go to him for a close shave. The corpses are dumped in the basement with Mrs Lovett turning them into meat pies. Naturally, she sells them and it becomes a town favourite. The bloody parts aren't really stomach turning because it has this 300 feel to it. The daughter of Sweeney who was adopted by the judge falls in love with a sailor who resembles Claire Danes (meaning looks sick and almost dying, and has saucer like eyes that are about to overflow with tears) and together they planned to elope, which I found odd because they really never spoke to each other till the end when the guy told her about his "plans". In most scenes, the daughter is seen stitching, singing to the bird, or hanging out by the window. Boring. So to make a long story short... *movie spoiler* Sweeney accidentally slits the throat of his wife who has turned into a deformed bum, he finally kills the judge in the middle of shaving him, the daughter ends up not knowing that her dad was the lunatic barber (and Sweeney didn't know that the girl hiding in his chest was his bebe gerl), Mrs Lovett was baked to a crisp, and Sweeney was killed by the kitchen boy. Obviously, I am not a very good storyteller. I'd paste the url to the official movie site but I cant' find it so I guess you just have to haul your ass to the cinema to watch it.

Choco Loco

The really bad weather last weekend was a welcome excuse to escape from the tiring ordeal that is known as The Errand. But for that particular weekend, I didn't need the nonstop rain to make me stay home because I was trying to nurse a slight fever. In between dreaming and waking up, I'd prepare myself a hot cup of hot chocolate. Together with Jim Thompson, Debenhams, and Swiss Miss we menage tois-ed our way to unconsciousness . Aside from Champorado and Banana Cream Pie, Hot Chocolate for me is one of life's many comfort concoctions. In a super fun trip to Paris couple of years ago, our Parisian expert Angelique took us to Fauchon, a luxury food shop in Paris located a block or two away at Place de Madeleine in the 8th Arrondissement. Similar in stature to Fortnum & Mason in London, it was founded in 1886 by Auguste Fauchon. There you will find a rich array of delectable goodies - from chocolates, coffee, wine, all sorts of foie gras, pate, a wide tea selection, and other gourmet delights. Luckily, I did not go there with an empty stomach. If I did, I would have purchased almost every single thing in sight that would have made a huge dent on my Dad's credit card. Angelique said the windows of Fauchon are a destination in itself because they really dress it up, which isn't surprising - almost everything in Paris seems to have a need to be styled.

One more thing..

Can't technology take a breather?? Since I saw the MacBook Air on the Apple site this morning, I've been telling myself why my barely one month old black MacBook is so much better. Unfortunately, I can't think of a reason why it is. What's not to like about the MacBook Air?? 1. It's silver 2. It has a backlit widescreen display and keyboard 3. It's lighter and thinner 4. Better trackpad 5. More memory Who cares if it doesn't have an internal CD drive or just has one USB port? Why Oh Why

Sob

I hate you Steve Jobs.

Fit to a T

This afternoon I found myself gravitating towards Tyler, my favourite clothing store this side of the city. I emerged 5 minutes later with yet another crisp, white, long sleeved shirt. I later wondered why I even bought it when I already have several of them but told myself that having one more won't hurt. Established in 2001, Tyler is a local brand known for its streamlined, tapered, and classic pieces for men and women. Most of their clothes usually come in dark and subdued colours although the women’s clothes sometimes have a colourful piece that splashes some life in the seemingly drab rack. Unfortunately, they don’t do the same for men’s stuff. They maintain a grey, black, white, and dark blue look for that which can be a disappointment sometimes. What I like most about Tyler is that the clothes fit me perfectly well. It buttons up on the right spots and does not wrinkle as much. I admire Tyler's predilection to classic style. Not jumping into the current trend bandwagon, the designs are kept at a bare minimum, extending its stylish life for many, many years. They don’t mass produce either so bumping into someone wearing the same thing is almost impossible. Plus they dont' advertise or hold any fashion shows. Photo is me wearing a Tyler linen-ish pleated front shirt at my cousin's wedding in Aman

Laughter is the best medicine

In a trip to Australia, I watched a seriously hilarious TV programme called The Sketch Show which is a British comedy show. After watching and getting a really good ab workout from laughing nonstop, I have since enjoyed British humor because of its seamless, natural, and not-trying-hard delivery as compared to American comedy or Pinoy slapstick comedy (which is really just plain dumb). The Catherine Tate Show is also a must-see. She is a British comedy actress who is famous for the two characters she plays, a teenager named Lauren Cooper, and a cockney grandmother named Joannie "Nan" Taylor. But what I loved the most about her sketches is the Aga Saga Series, where she plays an upper class English woman who goes into a state of shock in various, seemingly harmless, situations. For example she receives a phone call from her husband's business associate and has to tell her children that "daddy hasn't been able to find any good brie" on his business trip to France, thereby jeopardising the school fete, and panics at the thought of having to use a dishwasher or go shopping herself, instead calling on her housekeeper.

Sweet endings

I love sweets. After every meal, I always have this nagging need to have something sweet. My grandparents may be partly to blame for my sweet tooth because they used to have a steady supply of milk duds in their fridge, which I'd swipe every time we'd visit them and they also always served Jo-nis chocolate or mocha roll with dark chocolate morsels for merienda. My favourite mass produced candy bar is Snickers. There's nothing like biting a bar of Snickers and tasting the nougat, nuts, caramel, and chocolate partying inside your mouth. I used to work for a company that manufactured Belgian chocolates and it was such a treat when the branches would return cracked pralines to the head office because I'd get to eat it. When I'd visit the production, I'd get a bowl and put it under the tempering machine and eat the warm chocolate. My other chocolate favourites include Royce squares, Teuscher dark chocolate truffles, Lindt thins, and Godiva milk chocolate pralines. Last year, my cousin Angelique, took us to Laduree, a famous pastry shop in Champs Elysee that is known for their exquisite macaroons among other delectable delights. There, we had a selection of mouth watering macaroons that tasted superb that up to this day, I cannot forget how good they tasted. For Christmas, a friend gave me a box of one of the most delicious chocolates I've ever tasted. Karl Fazer is a Finnish brand that is famous for both its milk chocolate and its trademark blue and gold coloured wrapper. The shade of blue that is used is Finland’s first registered colour trademark. It is only Fazer that has the sole right to sell chocolate products in the famed blue wrapper. Each chocolate piece slowly melts in your mouth and is delectably smooth and not too sweet. It’s the perfect treat to end a very toxic day. Other photos are of me enjoying a hazelnut gelato by the Trevi fountain and me buying a donut slathered with a diabetic killing serving of nutella.

All wrapped up

Gmask is a godsend to those who abhor scratches and fingerprints, and want their gadgets to not look like everyone else's. Being a bit of both, i went to Gmask in Greenbelt 1 and had my black Macbook wrapped. I wanted something in silver but opted for dark grey instead. The people at Gmask said that they use this wafer thin protective sticker that is strong enough to withstand scratches and is weather and water resistant.

If you wake up one morning and suddenly feel you dont like the wrap anymore, you can easily rip it off and will not leave any sticky residue. There are dozens of designs to choose from depending on your gadget. They can easily cover mobile phones, mp3 players, and laptops - all under 5 hours! Gmask has branches in most major malls in Makati and Ortigas.