Celebrity Sightings 2

WHO	WHEN	WHERE	OTHER DETAILS
Judy Ann Santos	Years back	Unimart and Shang	She smiled when she noticed me looking, in Unimart she was with brother Jeffrey –I like Judy Ann
Vina Morales	Years back	Rustan’s Shang	She smiled warmly when she saw me looking at her. Very pretty
Maricar de Mesa	Months back	Cyma Shangrila	Without makeup, she looks gorgeous. The TV cameras don’t do her justice. Or maybe it’s the excess makeup. She’s really pretty
Snooky	Years back	Shang	Blue Kitchen, looking at the goods. She was with her 2 daughters
German Moreno	Years back and recently	Everywhere: Podium, Greenhills, Shangrila, Power Plant	Always in a very colorful polo shirt
Mother Ricky Reyes	Months back	Unimart	In a sleeveless blouse
Mikee Cojuangco	Years back	Beauty Bar in Podium	Checking out the stuff
Rizza Santos and Will de Vaughn	Months back	Aldo’s in Power Plant	Rizza seemed excited about something she saw in the store
Richard Gomez	Years back	Church	With Lola and then girlfriend, the late Patricia Borromeo, a very pretty young lady
Pen Medina	Months back	B. Gonzales Street	With his family, walking
Nestor Torre	Years back	In church	For Mass
Michell Van Eimeren and Ogie Alcasid	Many years back	Megamall	Also saw Michelle without Ogie in Shangrila
Jestoni Alarcon	Years back	Megamall and Power Plant	Very good looking
Illac Diaz	Years back	Glorietta etc.	Always smiling, very charming
Cindy Kurleto	Years back	Page One, now Fully Booked, in Power Plant	Browsing a book
Christine Jacob	Years back (she was still in Eat Bulaga)	National Bookstore	Browsing a book, very pretty
Marjorie Barretto and Dennis Padilla	Years back	Shangrila elevator	They were with their very good-looking children
Rosa Rosal	Years back	National Bookstore, Shangrila	She said, “kamusta po?” I was dismayed. Did she think I was older than her? Or maybe she’s just so polite? Maybe she thought she was in Kapwa Ko , Mahal Ko?
Toni Rose Gayda	Years back	Shangrila	She was smiling
Howie Severino	Years back	Filipino Bookstore, Shangrila	He smiled
Ronnie Ricketts and Mariz	Years back	The Barn (their resto), Promenade in Greenhills	Mariz is one of the sweetest showbiz personalities around. I used to be a regular in their resto and even after it closed, she’d approach us and say hi whenever she’d see us. A real darling and so pretty

 After posting the first, I realized i had missed out a few others, so here’s a second listing. 

 

The Wheelmobile

Years back, I met Margrith Gloor, whose husband was connected with Zuellig. My sister introduced us because I’m disabled and she (MG) was bent on coming up with a “wheelmobile” for people like me who are in wheelchairs and can’t go around unless someone took us. She wanted to raise funds to be able to come up with one and her plan to this end was to distribute brochures and letters promoting her vision. 

Margrith was determined. She saw the need, the unmet need of the disabled and she wanted to create a solution. She invited friends to be part of COFFI (Circle of Friends) so they could raise funds together through concerts and solicitation letters to various individuals, groups and entities. That she succeeded in this hard task has its proof in the 3 (or is it 4?) Wheelmobiles available for hire for a fee. The schedule of charges is as follows: P350 for the first hour of use and P250 per hour thereafter. If the use of the vehicle is around lunch or dinner, the person hiring it is expected to give the driver P100 for his meal.

True, the service does not come cheap but once in a while it is worth availing of. Had this service been available years back, I might be in an office working now, rather than here at home. Because then I’d have had a means to go to work without being a burden to my husband. Oh well, that’s water under the bridge. But at least, because of the Wheelmobile, I can go to lunches or anywhere my heart desires even when my husband is not free or seems uninclined. All i have to do is dial 811 2237. Is that shameless plugging? I hope you won’t think so. I just want to share this info with people similarly situated as I or with their families who might be unable to bring their disabled relatives to their destination of choice on certain occasions. There exists an option and it’s called the Wheelmobile. It is very liberating. 

Some pictures: 

Note: inside the van (sometimes I refer to it as a truck because some versions are bigger than this), the wheelchair is fastened to the floor, after which the person in it is “tucked in” via two seat belts that cross in front of the person.

So there.

Cafe Juanita

Just came home from lunch at Cafe Juanita. A few years back, at a wake, the food served (pork barbecue, sotanghon, siomai, etc.) was so good I had to ask the host who prepared it. She said it was her uncle, who owned Cafe Juanita.

I had read about Cafe Juanita and would have gone there earlier but for the fact that an acquaintance mentioned how it wasn’t too big and getting into the resto in a wheelchair would be tough. I was dissuaded from going therefore.

But my sister who ate there some weeks back thought to ask the waiters if it were possible for someone in a wheelchair to get in. They said “yes.”

So I hired the Wheelmobile and with my son, my sister and her son ventured into Cafe Juanita. Located in East Circle drive in Pasig, the place is indeed not too big but is quite comfortable. There were some three steps leading to the glass door which didn’t look like it would allow my wheelchair to go through but did. I had to be brought in backwards after the door was swung open outward. The place was very heavily decorated in different styles, and as my sister pointed out, a good number of the pieces had price tags on them. One could actually buy the decor one liked.

We saw the owner, Dr. Boy Vasquez, fixing a decor suspended from the ceiling. Later, he came to greet us and spoke with us a bit. Very nice host. I asked permission to take pictures and he said, “Go ahead.” Later I saw some Japanese guests in the next table taking a video even while one other took pictures with her camera.

Being rather hungry when the food came, I completely forgot about taking pictures. The food took some time to come because what we ordered first was mistakenly brought to another table: bagnet salad. The other entrees thus arrived before the salad and these were as follows: bagoong rice, kare-kare, tofu sisig, chicken mozarella, sugpo sa gata. Heavenly. The bagoong rice was so good one could just have had that and been happy. The kare-kare came with bagoong on the side but somehow lacked a certain something. Spice? Kick? Punch? I don’t really know. Tofu sisig was very good. There were two large tofu squares and two kinds of sisig on either side: one the Kapampangan version (crispy) and a softer version on the other side. Chicken mozzarella was served with rice but my son had it for himself. It was so good, he said. Sugpo sa gata was okay too. When the bagnet came, we were rather full and so failed to appreciate the crisp pork cuts perched atop slices of tomato. 

It being her birthday, my sister asked for free dessert (last month, she did the same as it was her daughter’s birthday) and we all shared chocolate pudding arranged on a dessert plate with vanilla ice cream that had  a few streaks of chocolate.

Food heaven, Cafe Juanita is. I hope I can convince my husband to take us there another time, the tight entrance notwithstanding. I was very proud that my husband could do that with him at the back while a waiter was on either side of me, taking care of lifting the wheelchair up from their end.

Another thing. As I earlier mentioned, the place has lots of thingamajigs for sale, but happily, I didn’t feel scratchy/itchy the way I did in Bellini’s. Oh, and by the way, suspended atop each table was a small bell which one could tinkle if one wanted a waiter for something. Here are some pictures:

Sorry some pictures are wrong side up.

At any rate, I suggest that if you want to dine at Cafe Juanita, get a reservation for a table. People flow in and out relentlessly. Telephone number is 632 0357. A cousin-in-law said she read CJ offers lunch buffet on Sundays. I don’t know for sure so best to check it out. 

 

 

Food/Snack Finds you might want to consider

Selecta has its moo sandwich, not very special but offers a simple treat on a hot summer day. It’s basically vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate cookies, not Oreo-tasting, not even Hi-ro tasting (mind you, Hi-Ro has its own charm. Once my tutees were amazed when they tried it, their mom, they said, never bought them Hi-Ro. Ang sarap pala). Sold individually wrapped in foil packs of I don’t know how many (failed to count).

Then there’s the hard-to-stop eating  Nestle pops. They’re vanilla ice cream coated in chocolate and shaped like Hershey’s kisses. If one doesn’t watch out, one can finish a small tumbler that sells at P25. 

Found this in Rustan’s Supermarket Katipunan some weeks back and forgot all about it. Opened it just now and it’s a WOW. Thought it’s made by Pringles, the texture of the chips is so unlike Pringles but I don’t think it’s real potatoes. The flavor, sun-dried tomatoes, is great-tasting. Downside: it’s almost or a little over P200 per 8-oz bag. Just bought it despite its price so I could taste. This Select series of Pringles also has a garlic parmesan variant but it was not available in Rustan’s.

Then there’s condensed milk. Months back, to save on cooking stove gas, I asked the maid to boil 2 cans of condensed milk which we’d take a spoonful of for dessert. As finishing two cans in quick succession was not the intention, I had forgotten about the other can until I made an inventory of the ref’s contents. Two days ago, thought of opening the long forgotten can and found it too watery, it was like condensed milk colored just a light brown. i guess because it was cooked for only an hour. SO I thought of improving the texture. Decided to use a double boiler so I wouldn’t burn it. Thirty minutes later, the condensed milk in the sauce pan looked nowhere near dark brown nor thick. Impatient and fearful of power charges (when I cook I use the electric stove as I’m scared of fire), I thought of removing the bottom portion of the double boiler and cooking without it. In no time, the milk began to thicken but had specks of dark brown. This despite my attempts to scrape the bottom of the pan once in a while. Lest it be burnt some more, I turned off the stove and had the milk poured into a heat-resistant bowl, dark specks and all. My son liked it, I tried it only today. It was yummy. The dark specks gave it a certain charm. Of course I didn’t scrape the pan lest the rest be rendered useless. I ate the condensed milk with the sun-dried tomatoes Pringles potato crisps. Odd? It was great. Here’s a picture of the condensed milk which became thick and golden brown with some specks. 

Pictures above were taken with my phone camera, so they aren’t very sharp. In the coming days, I’ll add to this post those pictures of other food finds which I took with a real digital camera. 

Re condensed milk pala: I like the Milkmaid brand best, but it’s so expensive. The brand I’d rank second is Alaska but it’s more expensive than Carnation which I’d rank a close third.

Celebrity Sightings over the Years

Celebrity Sightings (showbiz, politics, etc.)

WHO	WHEN	WHERE	OTHER DETAILS
Joyce Jimenez	April 2008 and a year or so earlier	Power Plant – C2 on R2 and on R1, outside Cibo	She was eating at C2; on R1 she was about to go out the door
Gelli de Belen	Years back	Unimart, EDSA Shangrila Hotel	She was dressed in a white shirt, both times; once in pants (grocery), another time in shorts (Shang. She was holding a rubber donut for swimming for her son)
Carmina Villaroel	Months back	Burgoo Power Plant, Shang Mall	At Burgoo with Zoren and twins, in Shang with Zoren, twins and mom-in-law
Janice de Belen	Months back and years back	Wrap Shop in Shang, R3 of Power Plant	She was buying something in Wrap Shop, I was right beside her but didn’t know it was she until she turned
Dolphy	Years back	Shang second floor, Power Plant twice (R3) just outside the theaters and on another day, inside the theater	In Shang, he had just left the wash room, in Power Plant he was with Zsazsa and their daughters
Gloria Diaz	Years back	Piropos Makati, Shang malll	Piropos – bet you don’t know that. It was in Angela Arcade, she was dressed in a long, brown tanktop designed t-shirt dress that reached her ankle; in Shang she was lining up in the ATM  at the basement
Charlene Gonzalez	Years back	Shang mall	She got out of the elevator on level 6
Miriam Defensor Santiago	Years back	Shang Mall; in church	In True Value, smiling, in the latter always late, her two daughters following her. Husband didn’t join them in the front pews; sat on the side of the church with bodyguard
Mel Tiangco	Years back	Shang Mall	Level 6, about to go inside True Value
Arnold Clavio	Years back	Shang Mall	Level 6
John Estrada and Priscilla M	Months back	Power Plant R3	walking
Sunshine Cruz and Cesar Montano	Years back	PowerPlant P1	Kaya Restaurant
Aniano Desierto	Years Back, months back	Shang Mall (Cibo), Power Plant, church in QC	It was a Sunday in church, he was with fewer bodyguards and his family
Vic Sotto	Many, many years back	Maryknoll	Family get-together or fair?
Joey de Leon	Years back	Shang Mall, Ateneo, Kamameshi Libis	In Ambassador Appliances, getting a video camera for his son; in Ateneo for the reading of honors, in resto with wife Aileen and friends
Coney Reyes	Many, many years back	Rustan’s Cubao	Smiling happily at her fans
Rita Avila	Same as Coney Reyes, but not on the same day	Rustan’s Cubao	Smiling nicely at everyone
Nello Nayo (remember him?)	Many, many years back	Aristocrat in Cubao	Alone at a table eating
Imelda Marcos	In the 1970s, some years back	St Scho Bacolod, Manila Pen	At St Scho she passed by as she greeted us students who were lined up to welcome her – she smelled really good. She was in a white long sleeved blouse with ruffles in front, a black and white checkered skirt and had a yellow sash around the skirt really beautiful; at Manila Pen she was with her American lawyer (the one with the big hat)
Ces Orena Drilon	Years back	Shang Mall	In Blue Skies, a computer gaming shop, looking at herself in the mirror/glass panes
Bernadette Sembrano	Years back	Power Plant – Brazil resto	She was in the next table, smiled when she saw I was looking at her
Suzi Entrata	Months back and years back	In R3, Power Plant; inside the theater	She bowed when she saw I was looking (made me feel old!), she smiled
Pia Guanio	Years back	Power Plant	She was in the escalator and smiling/talking with someone on a floor she had just left. She was in an all-white get-up. Very pretty
Dina Bonnevie	In 1981	Ateneo	She was applying for re-admission. Didn’t recognize her. When I asked her her name, she smugly said “Geraldine Bonnevie.” Oops.
Chichay	1970s	Chico Street, Project 4	Can’t recall what she was doing
Caridad Sanchez	Years back, months back	Greenhills Shopping Center, Cardinal Santos Rehab room, outside her house in White Plains	Always smiling sincerely at everyone. I love her. Very simple
Mikee Lee	Years back	Ateneo	Usher for an affair, very polite and humble even after Pinoy Big Brother and the Bench billboard
Richard Gomez	Years and months back	Unimart, Rustan’s grocery Power Plant, a resto in Power Plant	When Lucy says Richard does the grocery, she’s not lying; he does. At the resto, he was with Lucy and Robert Ortega plus one more (the occasional sidekick in his movies). Resto was in R1, Zaifu?
Borgy Manotoc and Ornussa Cadness, Borgy Manotoc and his girlfriend before Ornussa, also a pretty model (sorry can’t recall the name)	Years back	P1 Power Plant with Ornussa, R1 with former girlfriend	Ornussa was wearing very short shorts and was wearing shoes without a strap or a back, so a bit noisily
Imee Marcos	Years back	Shang Mall	Level 2, she was looking at stuff in an open stall, smiled when she saw me looking at her
Joey Mead	Years back	Power Plant R1	She really is attractive, she was wearing a long cotton dress
Dingdong Dantes	Years back	Ateneo, ShangMall	He was my husband’s student, so he went up to my husband and said hi both times. In Shang he was in the Nike Store. Both times he was with Antonette Taus (really long ago) and introduced her to my husband
Alfred Vargas	Years back	In 2 different churches, in Tanghalang Onofre Pagsanghan	In church once, he was ninong to a baby being baptized; in the other church he was hearing mass with his mom; in the theater, Valentine’s Day, with LJ Reyes – around that time, they were saying they had broken off. That’s showbiz for you
Jackie Lou Blanco	Years back	In Ateneo, in Power Plant	She was applying for admission; she was in R3 window-shopping
Ricky Davao	Years back	In Greenhills, in Power Plant	Virra Mall Greenhills, Power Plant in Gourmet Café with his children
Roilo Golez	Years back	Manila Pen	With his wife, waiting for their car along the driveway; he smiled
Cory Aquino	Years and months back	Gesu, Ateneo chapel	Mass
Miguel Zubiri and Audrey (his wife)	Months back	Fully Booked in Serendra	Audrey was smiling at everyone
Mike Defensor and family	Years back	Shabu-shabu in Shang	Tableful of bodyguards
GMA	Years back	Ateneo	Wake of the mother of the University President, shook hands
Richard Merk	Years back, months back	In Clark Fontana with wife and baby, in church	Latter sighting with wife
Mar Roxas	Some time back	Bocaue Bulacan	Wake of the governor’s father, we talked – very humble and unassuming; he listens
Gina de Venecia	Some time back	SM Megamall	She was with a coterie of lady friends, she smiled
Connie Sison	Some time back	SM Megamall	She was with members of her family, not a Kapuso yet medyo suplada, but maybe now okay na?
Bearwin Meily	Some time back	Podium, Shangrila	With family and shades
Lynn Ching	Years back	Megamall	Level 2 or 3, with her boyfriend then, now her husband – smiling
Tweety de Leon	Years back	Unimart	Doing the groceries, medyo suplada
Anjanette Agbayari and david Buenavacz	Years back	Shang or Galleria(?)	Food court, eating
Cristine Bersola and Julius Babao	Years back	Shang	Identical clothes and cap (to conceal their identities? To call attention? Wearing caps inside a mall calls attention, actually)
Basil Valdez	Years back	Pines Hotel	My sister who had just arrived from Germany asked him “where’s the Boys in the Band going to be?” Basil was sitting behind a table like a receptionist; my sister didn’t know who he was. He looked embarrassed
Martin Nievera	Years back	Cliff Candelaria’s shop; Starbucks in Makati	He was sitting patiently in the former; he had this hi-tech phone (Qwerty with cover) and nodded when he saw us looking
Eric Quizon	Years back	Shangrila	escalator
John Lesaca	Years back	In church	With his wife
Gloria Romero	Years back	Unimart	She was in white pants and a red and white striped shirt, doing the groceries; she smiled – a real lady
Barbara Perez	Years back	Shang/Power Plant	Very regal and unsmiling with her daughter
Robert Arevalo	Years back	Richmonde Hotel	Bar, by himself
Leo Martinez	Years back	Church of the Gesu	Holy mass
Gary Lising	Years back	Ateneo	As a father
Susan Enriquez	Months back	Church of the Gesu	Covering mass for Jun Lozada
Pia Arcangel	Months back	Hard Rock Glorietta	With her husband, watching the gig of 3 or 4 bands – she was the student of my niece!
Drew Arellano	Months back	Shang	Level 2 waiting for the elevator with a friend; very quiet, didn’t try to call attention
Abbygale Arenas and Jun de Leon	Years back	Shang	Cibo. She’s so striking
Cherrie Pie Pecache	Years back	Italian Village	She was just starting out and was telling her barkada how cute Eric Quizon was; she was in the table across ours

I’m not trying to impress anyone, just testing my memory. So I’ll update this if my memory bank allows it. As you can see, a lot of them go to Shang and Power Plant.

Oh yes, I once saw Alex Compton in CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) in Glorietta. When he saw me looking, he said “Hello”. The other day, we chanced upon him waiting outside a house along Katipunan Avenue in White Plains. Alex is one person I admire: he has a project for street children and is the son of former Peace Corps volunteers assigned to the Philippines (or should I just have typed Peace Corps? Did my adding volunteers make it redundant? Whatever.) I’m not sure if he is a Filipino citizen but he certainly is a Filipino at heart in more ways than one.

Talk Show Guests and Hosts

Watched Moms this afternoon and the guests were Tetchie Agbayani (in Gymkata mode with her co-star), LJ Moreno (here with JO Mari Yllana for a movie poster, I guess?) and Maritess Gutierrez .   They’re lovely guests in that they can talk and articulate their ideas. Their answers weren’t motherhood statements but articulations of their experiences when they lived in the US. Tetchie talks a lot of sense, one can just forget she was once in the Playboy centerfold. LJ speaks with a twang (must be hard to get rid of it? yes, she speaks in such an intonation that the last word is spoken a pitch higher so that declarative sentences sound like interrogative sentences) but she also makes sense. Maritess Gutierrez was a revelation. The daughter of Gloria Romero, she isn’t too showbiz, her TV and movie appearances having been made in spurts; but Gloria must be proud of her. She looks very much like her dad one cannot forget she is Juancho Gutierrez’s daughter. She enumerated her various blue-collar jobs in the US among them her work as a cleaner of doctor’s clinics. But, she pointed out, in the US, she could afford to eat where these doctors ate. In the Philippines, she said, one doesn’t see janitors eating in five-star places where doctors go.

Manilyn  (see her neck is inclined to one side again?, oh Manilyn, why do you answer your own questions? Is it you or the scriptwriter who is to blame? Make your questions brief so your guests can answer more lengthily. You tend to take your guests’ words out of their mouths.

Sherilyn is a better host. While occasionally she does that too (answer her own question), at least she does so ever so briefly. This pm, Lani Mercado wasn’t around. In her stead was tanya Garciawho can make it as a talk show host. She’s pretty and can carry a conversation.

I’m watching The Sweet Life now, and as usual, Lucy and Wilma are such fun. Geneva Cruz is a guest and I admire how much she loves her son. Another guest is Nina Ricci Alagao. She hasn’t really made an impression on me. Bernadette Allyson, wife of Gary Estrada (couldn’t find a picture of bernadette), is ok. How funny because she made the remark that her six-year old daughter is “parang tao na talaga” to which Wilma laughingly retorted, “eh tao naman talaga yan”, prompting Bernadette to correct herself and explain that she meant they could relate like friends. She cited how her daughter asked for a wig when they walked past a wig store because her daughter wanted to look like Hannah Montana. 

Lately, I haven’t been watching SIS. But from what I remember, Carmina is forever making tili (shrieking). Gelli is a cross between Janice and Carmina, Janice being so calm and collected, except when Dennis Trillo is around. Then she gets excited in a wholesome way. They’re funny that way, so taong-tao, so normal. Occasionally, Christine Jacob  pinch-hits if one of the SIS regulars is absent. She is a good substitute, so good that I think she should be a regular in the show. Paging GMA?

Charlene Gonzalez is, I think, very sensitive. Same with Vicky Morales. They tend to be teary-eyed when their guests are, or when something their guests say or do touches them. They do this without being patronizing. Very raw emotions. I have not seen these in Kapamilya hosts, except perhaps in Bernadette Sembrano. But she was formerly with the Kapuso network. So there.

Will upload pictures of these hosts and guests when wordpress is able to. There are certain times of the day when it experiences uploading problems.

A few minutes ago today, 29 May, I watched MOMS. Please, scriptwriters, be kinder to Manilyn. The topic was college education and what parents feel regarding the matter vis-a-vis their children. Manilyn’s question had to do with whether the moms would approve it if their children chose out of the regular careers like that of an archeologist. The guests were Janet Basco, Dexter Doria and someone non-showbiz. They said “yes”. But Manilyn persisted more than once, saying but that doesn’t bring in much money! Will you still approve it? Dexter expressed herself very well: she said as it is the road less taken, chances are an archaeologist will earn much. Janet, I think, added if that’s what will give the child fulfillment, why not? Despite these arguments presented, Manilyn didn’t look convinced. Oh well…

 

 

Recipes

For several weeks now, I’ve been trying to catch Rosebud Benitez’s cooking show Quickfire on the QTV. It has the following schedule:

Monday/Tuesday/Friday : 11:50 am, 4:50 pm and 6 pm; Wednesday/Thursday : 11:50 am, 4:50 pm and 7 pm; Saturday/Sunday : 9 pm As the show runs for only 10 minutes, taking the recipe down takes quite an effort so that I’ve resorted to trying to memorize the ingredients and procedure. One time, I surfed the Net hoping I’d find its website. Then I chanced upon a multiply account which contained pictures of its taping sessions. I left a PM on that site and the site owner graciously replied to my post and said a website was about to be put up. It’s here. The recipes are doable and require not too many ingredients. they taste good too. I have one problem though: the site has this red orange background that leaves me feeling out of kilter. When I transfer my eyes from the screen to anywhere but, I see orange. I hope they do something about it soon. Or is it because I’m just not too young any longer? Another thing, the recipes aren’t complete. Some of the earlier ones haven’t been posted. I hope they come up with all the recipes soon. A Sample Recipe: Salpicadong Squid with Nadia Montenegro and kids Posted by Quickfire - on May 27, ‘08 3:54 PM for Quickfire -’s contacts INGREDIENTS ½ kilo squid, cleaned, skin-off and sliced into rings 2 tbsp oil 1/3 cup garlic, minced Ajinomoto Umami Super Seasoning Dash of Worcestershire sauce Dash of liquid seasoning Procedure: 1. Blanch squid for 5 minutes and drain. 2. Heat oil in pan and brown garlic. 3. Add the squid. Sprinkle Ajinomoto Umami Super Seasoning. 4. Add all the seasonings and stir fry for a few minutes. Serve. This recipe was featured a few minutes ago. Rosebud gave the following tip: for the squid not to be rubbery, cook it quickly on very high heat or for a longer time on low heat. Anything in between will result in rubbery squid. One of these days, I’ll try this recipe and tell you how it turned out.

Secret Recipe, the restaurant

We were in Shangrila mall this pm when I asked my son where he wanted to eat an early dinner. He said, “let’s try something new.” Yun pala, he saw the diner (is that the right classification for it) Secret Recipe.

SR is located on the fifth floor of the mall, beside Wham Burger. It is brightly lit, has rectangular tables on either side of which are two chairs. On the walls are mirrors alternating with pictures of delicious looking cakes and entrees. The place looked promising.

The Pen Club membership card sucks! Caveat emptor!

Don’t get a Pen Club card ever, I’m warning you. I got one last February, planning to use its room coupons this September. But I won’t be able to do so. Why?

Pen has a Makati Tower and an Ayala Tower, so called after the streets where said towers are located.

The coupons that come with the card are for the Ayala tower only, fine. There’s one coupon for a  deluxe room that will entitle you to check in overnight with breakfast for just P4000, or P5000 for a superior room. There are two complimentary certificates for room upgrades. Great! At least on paper. Thing is, on September, the Ayala Tower will be under renovation, so I cannot use the said coupons. Instead I’ll have to avail of the privilege coupon that will mean a room in the Makati tower for $160, that’s almost P2000 more. Also, hoping that a privilege card would mean some small courtesies like early check-in and late checkout, I asked Kathlyn or Katherine of Pen Club, who said it wasn’t for her to say because they have no direct hand in the matter. I’ll have to get in touch with the hotel itself, she said! They aren’t allowed to contact the hotel, she stressed. And according to her, the hotel would  only be able to tell me if this were possible on the day itself. Heavens. 

So why bother getting a card when once you’ve paid for it, to hell with you?

Halabos na Hipon

1/2 c butter

6 cloves garlic

1 kilo shrimps

juice from 5 calamansi or half a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

1 can 7-up

As with other recipes, saute garlic in butter, add the shrimps till orange(?), add the rest of the ingredients. Note: do use butter. It makes a world of difference. Yummy.

So you’ll be guided, a can of 7-up is approximately 1 1/2 cups. So, adjust accordingly if, like me, you cook only a few pieces at a time. You may also add more garlic. 

happy birthday, Gelli de Belen!

I don’t know for sure when Gelli’s birthday is, but today they celebrated her 35th in SIS. I remember Gelli as a very young girl in a show on TV where she was a flower or a nymph. One would have thought then that she’d perpetually be in the shadow of older sister Janice, who was making waves as Flor de Luna. But no, Gelii was destined for bigger things. While Janice suffered a series of heartbreaks (Gabby, Aga, John), Gelli just went through one major one care of Ariel Rivera who later became her husband. And what a marriage theirs has turned out to be. Even my husband is impressed. One time the couple was interviewed and apparently, Ariel is very hands on as a husband and father. Lucky Gelli. But Ariel is also lucky

The McDo Promo, hurry!

It ends on 31 May, which has been why the delivery boys have been generous about giving a bundle of the coupons or maybe, bundles of them. Coupons are not limited to one per transaction. You could use one coupon per value meal ordered or per breakfast sandwich ordered, etc. How generous. What are the freebies attached?

1. Free hashbrown for every purchase of a McDo Breakfast Sandwich value meal, available until 10:30 a.m. only. Meals that classify under this coupon are the following: Egg McMuffin VM(P57), Sausage mcMuffin VM (P57), sausage McMuffin with Egg VM (P67). Available via dine-in, take out, Mcdelivery. Prices subject to 10% delivery charge.

2, Free 8 oz hot coffee for every purchase of a McDo breakfast sandwich (mcmuffins type) available until 10:30 a.m. only (available only in Metro Manila and selected provincial outlets)

3. Free Go Big Time for every purchase of a Burger VM (chicken and fish sandwiches included) available after 10:30 a.m. only

4. Free vanilla cone for every purchase of a McDo burger VM available after 10:30 a.m. 

I’m sure we won’t be able to use all these up. In fact, I shared a similar number with a cousin who lives nearby. What to do with the rest? Scratch paper for grocery lists, reminders, etc. Thanks, McDO.

Sugpo!

This morning, at 6:30, I heard mass at Our Lady of Pentecost Parish (C. Salvador Street, Loyola Heights). As is my wont when I hear mass without my husband and son but with the maids, I go to the area near the priest’s house where vendors station themselves. Today there were just two of them: a lady selling kakanin and an old man selling bangus (milkfish), sugpo (huge prawns) and GG (galunggong). I didn’t have my camera then so I was not able to take pictures. Anyway, the lady put her stuff in bilao, the old man put his stuff in three blue pails with water. The lady is a regular in the area and I’ve bought several times from her, mostly because she always gives me a smile (sucker ba?). It was the first time I saw the man with the pails

So what did I get from the two this morning? From the lady, I got the following at P10 per bugkos: suman na matamis (4 pieces),

Fisheye2, Nokia E 61i, Ellips hair vitamins

To go on about last Sunday, while at Bizu, I called Power Plant to find a Nokia E61i after the Nokia store in Greenhills said they didn’t have any on stock. It cost P16,530, I was told. At any rate, the operator in Power Plant said they had two stores selling cellphones: Mobile 1 and Vertex. I was almost sure Mobile 1 didn’t have Nokia phones so I asked for Vertex’s number (7289540). I was assured they had the model but when I asked if it was sealed, she said Nokia doesn’t seal the boxes of their phones. Anyway, she assured, it came with a one-year warranty. Asked her to reserve a unit.

After lunch at Bizu, bringing the cake to the house of my son’s friend and bringing our son home to do homework, husband and I went off to Power Plant. I was feeling so tired and wanted to just rest but duty called. So off we went.

First stop was Team Manila in the Archaeology section of Power Plant (R2)

Some Snack Items

After the 10:30 a.m. mass in Gesu, on our way to a mall (Podium, Greenhills, Shang or Power Plant), we sometimes stop at Lapid’s along Katipunan Road in White Plains for some soft drinks and chicharon. But yesterday, it occurred to me to stop at Gateau de Manille in St. Ignatius VIllage, right before the gardens in White Plains, because a sister said the chicken pie there was good and cheap at P15. So we got a box of six and indeed it was good. Not dry, it just had the right amount of vegetables (raisins even) and chicken. Here it is from the outside: and the inside

Nokia, the parking building and Bizu at the Promenade in Greenhills

Yesterday, with the end in view of having my son’s N70 music edition checked in Nokia for the second time in a week because of scrolling problems, we went to Greenhills. The phone is like a human being who’s about to go to the doctor. Just as the human being suddenly feels better in the car on the way to the doctor or even at the doctor’s office, the scroll key worked when my husband brought the phone to Nokia a few days ago as soon as the customer care rep started pressing a few keys. So my husband didn’t have it fixed na, because what was there to fix? It worked. Never mind that he had to line up then.

Back home the phone alternated between working and not working my son gave up on it. He used the phone that came free with Globe’s Plan 500 for a few days but was dissatisfied. Its memory was just too small for his needs. I asked what phone he needed/wanted and he said he was thinking of that like his cousin’s which he saw last Christmas. A Nokia E61i. It has qwerty keys, a huge screen, wifi, etc. They didn’t have it on stock in Nokia Greenhills. I asked how much a new unit was, P16530, I was told. Meanwhile, my son had a number 32 to have his N70ME checked again. This time, the rep said he had to save all the data first as it would have to be reformatted. Hay. She also mentioned that the software had crashed, so how could data be saved, my son wondered. Anyway, we left Nokia, feeling utterly helpless. The phone was less than two years old. It had cost P17k plus when we got it.

I forgot to mention that when we dropped off my son at Nokia, we proceeded to the parking levels of the same building. Levels 1 to 3 were full, so we went up to the roof deck. I was impressed. It wasn’t full yet then so the place looked like a roof deck where one could party. There were big pots of plants and the view was a bit exhilarating. Some pictures:  

See? No wires obstructing the view.

Mongolian Grill, not the resto but the dish

Back in 1971, my sister graduated from Maryknoll College. For her graduation dinner, she was all agog. She wanted it in Kublai Khan, a restaurant near Unimart. It was just so good, she said. 

I don’t remember things in detail then, but I think I enjoyed that because the sauce of the mongolian barbecue was good. That was it.

Then in the mid or early 1980s, friends from the corporate world, I live in the mountains, relatively, so I wasn’t familiar with what was happening during the power lunches in Makati, brought us to Mongolian Grill in Mile Long.

Mini Shabu-shabu

Years back, a friend treated us to shabu-shabu in Tong Yang. We failed to appreciate it, it being our first time. Then, Mini Shabu-shabu set up shop in Shangrila and thus began my love affair with shabu-shabu.

From my previous posts, you may have gleaned by now that I am not an avid fan of vegetables. I’m an avowed carnivore. But I can eat vegetables cooked in shabu-shabu, the broth of which is just so good.

A really good Chicken Lumpia aka Spring Roll Recipe

My sister gave me a few pieces when she had a surfeit of them and days after she gave me its recipe. Really good, as far as I am concerned.

A few months later, her son, my godson, gave me a copy of the book Daily Delights, where it is contained. So here I am sharing the recipe with you.

Chris Tiu and Marian Rivera in their respective Nesvita commercials

When I looked at the blog stats, I saw that someone had checked out my blog because of my having mentioned Chris Tiu in passing in an old post. For that person, here’s something I’m sure you’ll enjoy. Check out the link http://www.nestle.com.ph/nesvita/index.asp

to view the Nesvita commercial and download the wallpaper of Chris and the two others with him in the commercial, whether as a group or individually. This came from a nephew who works in Nestle.

Also, when I checked out the link again, I saw that the Nesvita commercial featuring Marian Rivera had been posted. To the fans of either or both: Enjoy!

Chris Tiu now has his own blog. Click here to get to it. He has two entries so far. Writes rather well.

The Podium on a Sunday morning

Yesterday was the first time we went earlier than usual to the Podium. So as to kill two or even more birds with one stone, we decided to start out early so we could hear mass at the mall, scheduled at 9:00 a.m. When we arrived, the four parking slots on B1, much coveted apparently they being nearest the mall, were taken. So we drove downwards and after initially seeing just an owner-type jeep by its lonesome, we drove a bit further and saw some more cars. We rode the elevator to the ground floor, no problem. I think from the basement levels to the ground floor, more than 1 of the 4 elevators was functioning by then.

The Podium has two separate sets of elevators: as earlier mentioned one set of four ferries passengers from the basement levels to the ground floor. The other set consists of two elevators: one is the passenger lift that brings passengers from the ground to the fifth floor; the other elevator is a freight elevator that takes passengers from B1 to the fifth floor. 

It was shortly after nine when we came and by then, the doors of the passenger elevator in the second set were wide open, a chair perched near the doorway. My husband began to grunt. I thought uh-oh, what if the elevators in the second set don’t start working until 10 when the stores open?

Terry’s Selection/Bistro and Sebastian’s

That’s what it’s called now, I noticed, Segundo Piso is no longer it’s name. But who cares what it’s called? Terry’s delivers.

We were in the Podium at around 9:10 a.m. to catch the 9:00 a.m. mass. Late? Of course we were late, but God knows… never mind, God sees.

After mass, we went to Mobile 1 to get a Philips’ speaker for my iPod. But that should be for another post. This time, focus will be on Terry’s.

We got there around 10:30, and a smiling food server welcomed us. She has become our proverbial suki so before we can even say anything, she usually says, “i-place ko na ang order para sa chistorrado?” But this time she didn’t. I guess she recalled that it was only 4 days ago when we were over and had that.

As we did the last time, we ordered the mixed platter

A Mother

What Is a Mother?

 

A mother can be almost any size or any age, but she won’t admit to anything over thirty.

A mother has soft hands and smells good. 

A mother likes new dresses, music, a clean house, her children’s kisses, an automatic washer and Daddy. 
A mother doesn’t like having her children sick, muddy feet, temper tantrums, loud noise or bad report cards. 
A mother can read a thermometer (much to the amazement of Daddy) and like magic, can kiss a hurt away. 
A mother can bake good cakes and pies but likes to see her children eat vegetables. 
A mother can stuff a fat baby into a snowsuit in seconds and can kiss sad little faces and make them smile. 
A mother is underpaid, has long hours and gets very little rest. She worries too much about her children but she says she doesn’t mind at all. 
And no matter how old her children are, she still likes to think of them as her little babies. 
She is the guardian angel of the family, the queen, the tender hand of love. 
A mother is the best friend anyone ever had. 
A mother is love.
This was emailed by a friend and, chances are, you too have read it before. At any rate, Happy Mother’s Day!

 

Terry’s Selection aka Segundo Piso. Bravo!!!

The branch we went to last night was the one on B1 (basement 1) in Podium. My sister was here for a visit and invited us for dinner because I had told her of the variety of cheeses available thereat. Sorry I wasn’t able to take down notes but a mixed platter of cheeses and cold cuts consisted of 3 varieties of cheese and 3 of cold cuts (jamon serrano, salami and chorizo de Pamplona). Apparently the names of the cold cuts aren’t as difficult to memorize, haha. The platter was served with a basket of bread cut diagonally. It looked like French bread but may not have been if one were to judge in terms of texture. It was soft to the French bread’s crisp texture.

We also ordered paella chistorrado.

The “New” Rustan’s Supermarket in Katipunan

This morning, ignoring the heat, I opted to do the groceries in Rustan’s Katipunan even if it meant traveling a short stretch in B. Gonzalez in my wheelchair and a longer or equally long trip along Katipunan to get to Rustan’s. What assailed my senses was well worth the heat and hassle of negotiating portions of unpaved roads, putting oneself at risk of being hit by speeding cars, or by vehicles (a tricycle, a trisikad) backing up. Why?

Weeks back, the layout of the supermarket was changed and I thought that was as far as the new look went. But today, I saw a largely improved Rustan’s

Music by Hangad

Religious songs always give me pause, they calm me when I fret, they sometimes lull me to sleep. Hangad is one of the groups under the Jesuit Music Ministry. While it is mostly into religious songs, it does sing love songs when called for, like last February when they staged a love concert in Eastwood. Among the numbers they performed were these ones:

Quick Food/Snack Tips

Tawilis – when we checked in at Taal Vista Hotel, room service recommended the Crispy Tawilis. I told the cook here at home about it and asked her to buy some. She said tawilis costs about P50 per kilo, but when she came back from the market, she said it was P60. She bought half a kilo. I had her put

Update on Dowell Air Cooler after 3 nights of use

Today, after three nights of using the Dowell Air Cooler, I saw this and read it through. There seems to be a confusion between air coolers and evaporative air coolers. Luckily, some entries in the exchange somehow clarify this.

My personal experience with the Dowell air cooler is

Cibo and Cyma

On 30 April, we hied off to Power Plant to, among others, avail of the promo of the BPI credit card and Marks and Spencer (Debenhams and Zara too, I think) that was to expire that day. A single receipt purchase of P2500 entitled one to a specific pasta dish at Cibo. Sorry I can’t remember what but it had bacon bits, cream and cheese. Very rich. It was served with bread.

To counter its taste, we ordered

Xian Ti, Crowne Galleria

A few weeks ago, as we had to go to Prudentialife in the business offices in Galleria, we took the chance to try out the restos in Crowne Plaza. More than a year ago, we were invited to a wedding reception where lauriat was served and each and every entree was so good we thought of going to the restos of the hotel another time. A few weeks ago was the first. We originally wanted to try out the buffet (Seven Seas? Seven Corners?) but it being before 12 noon, they were not open to serve food yet. In fact, the waiters and waitresses were being briefed when we arrived. But a waitress approached us

Reminiscing or the Restaurants of My Youth circa 1974 to 1979

Coffee Pot. This resto was basically a barbecue house or a place very well known for its barbecue. Located across Gate 3 of Ateneo, it was the haunt of Maryknollers and Ateneans alike. My sisters would always bring me to the place whenever I’d visit from Negros. Then, when I studied in Ateneo myself, I had a few barbecues in the place. Then I think it burned down. Pity.

Yamy House. Another barbecue place.

Refrigerators

Automatic, no-frost, two-door, one-door, what would be the best bases for choosing the refrigerator that’s right for you?

I won’t claim to be an expert but I think the best decision we’ve ever made in buying a ref was getting Fisher Paykel.

Dowell Air Cooler

These days, when one reads the papers, one becomes fearful of what tomorrow will bring: even higher prices for fuel, electricity,  basic commodities.

In the desire to save precious pesos, I have been spending the past several days researching on what could sufficiently cool while not consuming too much electricity. In other words, I have been looking for an alternative to an airconditioner

Destiny Cable vis-a-vis Skycable

We’ve tried three TV cable companies thus far: Sky, Home and Destiny. They each have their respective flaws. Sky is expensive and does not have NBA basketball which my son and husband crave. Home was cheap but has since merged with Sky. So we applied with Destiny which charges cheaper and has NBA basketball plus several other nice shows. Great, so we now have SKy and Destiny.