Grub Review: Master Cook

The dampa dining experience was introduced to me by my bestfriend, Liana, who took me to one in Sta.Rosa called Tito Paeng's (yes, I know its far away from any body of water). That was such a memorable meal because we both managed to eat enough food that could have fed four people. We had crabs, shrimp, liempo, eggplant salad, mango salad, a lot of orders of steamed rice, grilled fish, and squid. And all that only cost me then about P2,000. Not bad at all. So when in the mood for excellent and affordable seafood, I trod on over to the nearest dampa along Macapagal near Mall of Asia. I used to dine in Trinity along Sucat with my friends until it decided to become a Korean grocery. Master Cook was recommended to me by a friend who hosted his birthday dinner there. Located at the back portion of dampa, the restaurant is laid out the usual Chinese resto type, with family style serving, small plastic bowls on the table, and upside down glasses on top of the plates. Like any other restaurant in dampa, you have an option to market for your seafood and have it cooked or let them do the marketing for you. For my recent trip there two weeks ago, I had them do the marketing. Served was salt and pepper squid, steamed shrimp (my sole reason for eating there), and siomai. I was never a fond of the squid (my friend ate that) and I wasn't in the siomai mood. I gladly stuck to having all the shrimp I could eat. Steamed shrimp is one of the food items that I cannot have enough of. If it's in front of me, there is nothing else I would eat but that. I also will not stop until I have peeled and sucked the head enough for me to enjoy throughout my meal. It's such a hassle to run out of shrimp in the middle of it all. Your tummy will thank you after eating in Master Cook.

Christian Dior me

Ever since I laid my peepers on the black Dior Homme sneaks at Colette two years ago, I've been on the lookout for anything that the brand churns out. But with a shopping budget like mine, the only thing I've bagged so far are my patent red leather, white, and grey suede sneaks I got in Shanghai last year for a steal. I know this was so last year but I want to buy waist length jackets like these from Dior Homme's S/S many many many seasons ago. Anyone know any store where I can buy something like it?

Signs

I used to be a sucker for horoscopes until a newspaper editor told me that they (not his paper) jumble the readings throughout the year. Knowing that was a complete bummer so I stopped reading the comics page in the dailies. Sometimes though, there are some horoscope resources that really hit the spot. The ones in Friendster are pretty accurate and so are the ones in this new link I stumbled across while I was doing my daily blog roll. Today, my horoscope reads: Your luck in making money continues -- luck that started last Saturday afternoon. Be generous in sharing your financial largesse so it will be replenished by the universe. Ooohhhh... does that mean if I spend a lot for lunch later, I will get back what I spent so I could buy that Randy Ortiz blazer in Myth?

Fill 'er up!

In my last long driving trip, me and my colleagues did a pit stop at a gas station to grab some grub when one of them mentioned that she plans to do a full review of each gas station on the entire strip. Seeing that as a great idea, I copied it (I'm only doing half) and stopped by each one on the way back from Majayjay. I surveyed what it has to offer and how clean the restrooms are (obviously just the men's room). Whether it's yours or your car's tank that needs filling up, the SLEX has several stations to choose from. 1st stop: TOTAL What's in it: Jollibee, Chowking, some Bulalo joint, a stall selling wares from Liliw, and Bonjour (the convenience store). They also offer free Wi-Fi - although I don't know if the entire place is wired or if it's one of the establishments. I didn't read the fine print on the Terms of Wi Fi usage that was posted oddly enough, in the restroom. Pee pee: Men's room was overly deodorized. May cause instant cold upon entering. Coldest restroom so far since it has its own a/c. Clean. Very mosaic. 2nd stop: SHELL What's in it: Pizza Hit, Jollibee (if you missed the Chicken Joy at Total), Chowking (if you're still craving for Chicharap), Starbucks, KFC, Rai Rai Ken, Delifrance, Aling Nene's Pasalubong Center, Holy Kettle Corn, Select, Dippin Dots Pee pee: Men's room has great soft lighting (but whatever, right?). They've got nice glass sinks that gives it a clean appeal. There are also plants inside. However, all the ambiance is lost because it reeks of piss. But then again, you ARE in a restroom. 3rd stop: CALTEX What's in it: Pancake House, McDonald's (alas, this branch doesn't carry Milkshakes), Cinnabon, Hen Lin, Fruit Magic, Star Mart Pee pee: Restroom is huge and clean. For me, the best gas station in the strip is Shell, even if it doesn't have Wi Fi. It has the most eateries so it doesn't mean since you're on the way home, the fun from your vacay doesn't stop. Choosing where to dine can be a fun experience too, unless all of you are hot headed from hunger.

Skipping town

Majayjay is an almost three-hour (depending on the traffic and the number of slow pokes on the road) drive to rest & relaxation. Situated in the end of Laguna, it is a sleepy town that has more horses and tricycles than cars, more rice fields than multi-story buildings, and is where my mom decided to build our country home.

the town laundromat

traffic

Why there? my dad's family is from Majayjay and they still have the ancestral house there which is now where one my lolo's sisters lives. Our place has several houses in it and when we're not using em, my mom has the place rented for corporate thingamajigs, religious functions, and family get-togethers.

the chapel

Curly Sue (miniature horse that thinks she's a dog) , Mikka J, Dutch, and Chicken (partly hidden)

Bali house - my favourite. It's tiny but really cozy

The Octagon house. There's a new room on the ground floor

The main house: 2 bedrooms with its own T&B, a huge attic with a million beds, club style showers, and a kitchen

I planned to watch DVDs all day but I ended up playing with the dogs, falling asleep by the pool and waking up with a slight tan, and driving to the town to photograph provincial scenes. When I got to the town, they closed the street going to the super old church so I had to take another route. When I got there, I was surprised that it looked much better than when I saw it last. The walls were now covered in its original bricks and the altar (although the original silver alter was stolen), was nicely painted a vibrant shade of tan and gold. There was a bunch of ladies screaming the novena in really deep tagalog while a group of people were sweeping the floor. I noticed they removed the steel bars that my lolo had placed which kept the priceless stations of the cross. Now its a robbery waiting to happen. I wanted to climb to the tower but the gate leading to it was padlocked.

no more teachers, no more books! the town pastime - people watching

Recently, the town had a memorial for my great great grandfather who defended it against the yanks. He has a monument by the church and another one where he died, which is near the national road going to Pagsanjan.

He was in his late 20s when he was killed. Sucks. Anyhoo, my weekend wasn't a complete bore. Unlike some people, I actually like long drives - but it depends which car I take or ride in. I wasn't able to take my mom's car for a spin because the battery (conveniently) died the morning I was supposed to leave. Instead, I used my dad's car to overtake, speed, and honk on every turtle on the road. I almost ruined it though when the muriatic acid the guard loaded in the boot spilled. I'm guessing it turned over when I overtook the smoke belching Kia Besta van in Sta. Cruz. When I opened the boot to remove the baggage, there was scary looking smoke. Luckily, it spilled on the rubber mat so it didn't reach the computer box. Phew.

My week so far

All my bags are packed I'm ready to go... to spend a day of sloth-like living in Majayjay. I've stocked up on DVDs and I plan to watch them all day till my eyes bleed or fall out from fatigue. or whichever comes first. I also might consider playing with the dogs, chase after them, that sorta retarded activity.

Munich loves to play with his nuts

My mom rang me earlier to tell me that "she'd be very happy if I came to Majayjay this weekend." Well, she might not be happy when she sees her car coming in the driveway tomorrow with me behind the wheel! My week was so hectic I almost dropped dead. Monday was the usual torture, Tuesday felt like a Monday, Wednesday was so stressful it's totally become a blur, and Thursday was so busy that I just want to forget about it. Luckily, Friday wasn't so bad but since I had to put off some work because of other things I had to attend to the rest of the week, I didn't know where and how to get back on track. So I ended up doing random things with no clear direction. This afternoon, Annie and I met with a Feng Shui practitioner who we plan to use as guest speaker at one of our events next week. Ofcourse, we asked for our forecast. Without giving too much away, she said my lucky colour for the year is red since I'm a metal goat. I should also avoid wearing white (there goes my wardrobe..) but if unavoidable (I think she read my mind), I can counter it by eating food that are in the hues of fire (orange, red, etc.). I wasn't paying too much attention to what she was saying because I was already thinking if I had enough red clothes to last me the year.

Hed count

10 pm was the time I got to the venue. 1030 pm was when they let me and the client in at an event that they sponsored. No special treatment there. 1130 pm was when it was getting packed. Lots of kids. Had to photograph girls but they were either well dressed but ugly or pretty but their outfit wasn't. 100 am was when we photographed the star of the show 230 am was when she came out to sing 30 minutes was all it took 2 times she sang the same song 300 am i was home 330 am was when I went off to dreamland

Cook

My culinary skills are limited to the simple stuff - frying egg, cooking pasta, mixing fried rice. I cannot, for the life of me, prepare main course dishes. Last night, I attempted to cook adobo. The last time I did, I got the recipe off the net and followed the instructions. Except that, I think I should have added water when I left the chicken simmering in the soy sauce and vinegar mixture because when I checked on it after a bit, the liquid was gone, the chicken was very salty, and no matter how long I submerged it in water in hopes to dilute it, it was definitely a goner. To avoid history from repeating itself, I decided to buy the ready adobo mix. Instructions were simple. Dilute the powder in water and dump the meat in it to marinate. I then added loads of garlic. When I was about to die of hunger, I took the chicken out and fried it a bit. When I saw it was bordering fried chicken, I poured the marinade in the pot and left it to simmer. Thing is, the chicken was already brown because of the soy sauce so I couldn't tell if it was already cooked or not. So i left it up to my already noisy tummy to decide on the cooking time, which was more or less 20 minutes after I left it to simmer. It turned out pretty okay, even if it tasted slightly undercooked.

That's Entertainment

You know how things seem to get the better when you're totally out of it? Lingering between drowsiness and being wide awake last Friday night, I surfed into Cinema One and watched a Temptation-Island like movie called Island of Desire that starred a baby fat-laden Ruffa, a lanky Zoren, Gloria Diaz who still looks the same, and an DOM-Saudi-gold wearing Eddie Gutierrez. In the tradition of Temptation Island, it too had a messed up script that made it very entertaining to watch. The flick was pretty much like a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Molly (they were pronouncing her name Moh-leee half the time) played by Ruffa and Jimmy Boy (who is really a grown man) played by Zoren. Ruffa's mom doesn't like the guy and her dad is all over the place while Jimmy Boy's mom doesn't really care and his dad is a drunkard. Funny scenes included the love stricken duo getting stranded in the middle of nowhere when their speedboat conked out. Ruffa (dressed in a very high cut bathing suit): "gusto ko na umuwi!!" Zoren (dressed in yellow trunks): "hindi nga tayo pwede umuwi kase sira ang engine!" Ruffa: "gusto ko na umuwi!!" They are eventually found at night by the coast guard who had to ask them several times to identify themselves. Next scene and it's already daytime. Time does go by so fast when you're in trouble. As soon as Ruffa gets home, her mom has her privates checked, fearing that Zoren did it with her. Apparently, Ruffa fights her mother and Zoren runs up to the room (yes, this was all done in some house and not in a clinic) and strangles the mom. Next scene, the families are in the municipal hall because the mom of Ruffa is suing Zoren for attempted murder. They later drop the charges after Gloria announces that Zoren's mom is her husband's querida.

"Nakakainis ka mommy!"

The scene I found the funniest was when Ruffa was attempting to escape but her mom catches her walking down the staircase with a lunch box containing letters Zoren had sent her. The mom grabs the lunch box, opens it, and tells Ruffa that she read all the letters. She then tears them up, and tosses it, and starts slapping Ruffa. Gloria Diaz: "Binasa ko lahat ng sulat na pinadala ng Jimmy Boy na yan!"

Ruffa: "Nakakainis ka mommy" Gloria Diaz gives Ruffa a good bitch slapping, rapid fire style

Ruffa:: "Nakakainis ka mommy"

I didn't finish the flick but my friend who saw it last week said Zoren and Ruffa eloped and ended up in some island filled with natives.