on films, books, food, restaurants, favorite haunts in Metro Manila (and now, Philadelphia)...
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| rants and raves on films, books, food, restaurants, favorite haunts in Metro Manila (and now, Philadelphia)... |
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Thursday, October 28, 2004 I think I'm finally settling into the new time zone. Of course I say that but it's already 3am and I'm still awake. I almost missed my flight on Tuesday morning. Well not "almost", but "almost" in the sense that I arrived in the airport a lot later than I'm used to. Since my first trip abroad ever when I was around 6 years old my father has made it clear to me that you HAVE to be in the airport ready to check in at least 3 hours before your scheduled departure time. Of course now I know that's not true but I still can't help but feel a little antsy if I arrive at the airport anywhere less than 2 hours before scheduled departure. Well this wonderful Tuesday morning I was scheduled to leave for New York at 8am, I decided to ignore my alarm clock set for 4am (although I do not distinctly remember choosing to ignore my alarm) and my maid shakes me awake at 6am to ask me about some other household related matter. I check the clock, panic, and push everyone out of my way; toss all the stuff I didn't bother packing the night before but laid out neatly on the bed into my suitcase, some books into my handcarry luggage, and flew out of my house. I got to the airport a little bit before 7am and thankfully the line for my flight was still dreadfully long (I checked in with an E-ticket though so there was a special queue for me, huzzah for Northwest and this small innovation in improved service for self-ticketed customers). While I was struggling to get into the airport, my dad who was in Shanghai sends me a text message something along the lines of "I'm assuming you're all checked in and settled blah blah," which I completely was not. The latest I've ever checked into a flight was when friends and I were on our way to Masskara 2003 in Bacolod the very same morning that Dubya was coming to town. So strange roads were blocked and at 4 in the morning we were stuck in gridlock. I had to ask a friend who had arrived earlier to hold the gate open for us while we raced through the airport to check in. As we were checking in, the flight was already boarding. * * * Thus far it has been relatively uneventful for me in New York. First night my sister and I had dinner in this restaurant called Dos Caminos which is known for its handmade guacamole and its selection of 150 tequilas. Just because alcohol was their specialty I went out of my way to order a $12 (+tax!) cocktail that I ended up not drinking. All in all a very mediocre, very expensive meal for $80. Sleepiness hit me around 9pm so it was off to bed and like a true blue jet lagged individual I was up and about by 6am this morning. Today I spent my morning trying to regain my bearings, finding out which Broadway shows were worth watching and which had rush tickets available, and just plain walking walking walking. I had a cheap lunch in Gray's Papaya for only $2.75 (!) -- two hotdogs and coconut juice. I think I'll try to stick to $5 meals when I'm by myself. Stopped by the Union Square Branch of Barnes and Noble only to find out that beloved authors Roddy Doyle and Jamie Oliver would be signing books in the branch after I had long boarded the plane for Manila. I caught the matinée performance of a post-Matthew Broderick-and-Nathan-Lane The Producers and it was disappointing to say the least. I didn't find the show particularly funny, entertaining or memorable. Not sure if it was the actors, or my mood, or just the general mix of the audience. Tonight we caught the Metropolitan Opera's performance of Carmen in the Lincoln Center. I always wondered what opera-goers would do while watching a whole performance in a foreign language. For our show, there were these tiny digital displays in the seats in front of us for the subtitles of the performance to be displayed. Pretty cool, but one quickly got cross eyed alternating focus from the seat right in front of you, to the stage far up front. PHEW first opera down -- I was falling asleep in the first act thanks to the jet lag (easy scapegoat), had this awful but effective coffee in the first intermission, and was up and awake for the rest of the performance. Placido Domingo was conducting, but he looked a lot different from what I remember. Carmen has a generally silly story, that I'm not really in the mood to write out here. What I would like to say though is that thanks to a healthy dose of Looney Toons cartoons growing up, I was pretty familiar with a few of the songs in the Opera. posted by wys | 3:18 PM 1 comments Tuesday, October 26, 2004 This is an interesting article. In the future they may start charging Internet-use based on content. History and the internet posted by wys | 1:06 AM 0 comments Monday, October 25, 2004 I'm leaving tomorrow morning -- huzzah! If anyone out there wants me to bring anything home for them just drop me an email. I'm already bringing a lot of stuff (phones, cash, candies, medicines, etc) for my sister's friends, but I'm not bringing that much stuff home yet. Of course it's already 11pm and I haven't even begun to pack. I never understood why some people make a big production of packing for a trip though. I usually end up throwing everything in a suitcase an hour or two before I leave the house. It can be a drag to go through the motions of preparing a list of stuff to bring, packing, double checking you have everything, packing some more, shopping for some last minute items. Great to be able to see some friends tonight as well, we ate in Nina (the cafe version of N in Rockwell). I had actually left my mobile phone in the car so I went to our designated "meeting spot", waited for 15 minutes then started meandering meaninglessly in the mall. Did a little shopping, checking back and forth. Hmmm, they may have decided to meet somewhere else but I didn't have my mobile so I couldn't check. If I hadn't seen two of my friends going up the escalator I probably would have gone home. To think they wanted to have dinner tonight to wish me a Bon Voyage (with all the planning and departure announcing I've been doing one would think I'd be gone for a year or two). It'll be great to have a break for 2 weeks. When I get back it'll mark: the start of Christmas season in the Philippines, the start of my Advanced Open Water Dive Lessons, the start of planning for 2005 stuff, the start of a friend's new bar (!) -- lots of good stuff ahead. posted by wys | 11:00 PM 0 comments Sunday, October 24, 2004 I had lunch in this hole-in-the-wall type place along Paseo de Roxas Avenue. It doesn't even have any external signage that would indicate that it was a restaurant. It's one of those house-turned-restaurant types with homey furniture, kitchy wall decors, and very unprofessional service (household help turned waitresses). One would be tempted to say "like my grandmother/mother/tita used to make." Personally I don't like describing food that way because I eat out precisely to avoid having to eat home-cooked meals. In any case I thought the meal was generally pleasant and very reasonably priced (around PHP200 per person). Enjoyable despite the strange 100.3FM-type music in the background -- the kind of music that would depressingly remind me of the days when I had nothing to do at home aside from hang out with the maids and read their trashy novels/comic books (this was before cable television, mind you). Menu items include All-Day Breakfast Fare such as Tapsilog, Tocilog, Macao with Oriental Rice, American Breakfast (ham or bacon) for PHP100; Sandwiches from PHP65-115; Meat dishes like Salpicao, Grilled Pork Chops, Porterhouse Steak, Salisbury Steak, Rosemary Chicken, Baked Chicken a la Kiev, Spice Beef Kaldereta for PHP140-195. Casita de Viman can be found along Paseo de Roxas AVenue (across One Roxas), just look for the "Ann Tailoring" banner and you know you've reached the right place. Give them a call at 840 4276, it's a good idea to order your food before you get there so you don't have to wait long. posted by wys | 7:44 PM 0 comments Wednesday, October 20, 2004 My brother showed me the most wonderfully inane website today. I have no idea if the site is supposed to promote some Korean cartoon show, create more awareness for the egg industry, or manufacture some demand for cute egg merchandise ... but you have to see it for a few laughs. Click on "Egg Song" on the upper right hand corner of the page. posted by wys | 11:21 PM 0 comments I had lunch with a friend earlier today and although we like to make mix-CDs for each other, she said she uses me as her Musical Barometer to determine when a band/group has gone "mainstream". Hence since I'm already listening to Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins, Snow Patrol, The Postal Service, Modest Mouse -- it's time for her to change the CDs she has on rotation in her CD player. Gotta love her. posted by wys | 9:53 PM 0 comments Tuesday, October 19, 2004 In Boracay you know you'll always get:
This looks like fun. * * * PANGASINAN EXPOSED! posted by wys | 10:15 PM 0 comments Got this one via email ... apply now for a chance to work in the happiest place on earth! * * *
posted by wys | 10:06 PM 0 comments Sunday, October 10, 2004 This weekend's dives were semi-interesting. Got to go to Anilao/Puerto Galera for the day. I don't really mind day trips to go diving ... especially since I have the option to not drive. Early in the morning leaving at 4.30am and driving for 3 hours straight is no problem for me at all. But after a long day of dives, I just cannot imagine how other people can find the strength to drive all the way back to Manila. So I made my driver drive and I slept in the back seat. Lazy me. New things I saw this weekend include a humongous 3-foot long turtle (if we're in the Philippines are all turtles automatically a "pawikan?") that was really cute and swimming oh-so-peacefully oblivious to all the staring divers. Also got to see a whole bunch of huge, but less colorful fishies. Next week -- Boracay! Huzzah for planning ahead because I hear some silly last minute people were trying to grab tickets out next weekend and all flights have been fully booked. It's all good to be spontaneous but when you know a place is going to be full don't sacrifice your comfort for the sake of preserving your "spontaneity" and keeping planning to the last minute. * * * My friends are all starting to turn 24, which means I'll soon be 25 (in 1.5 years) -- we're getting old. I better come up with those lists that people come up with the year before they turn a quarter of a century old (make my first million, backpack wherever, sky dive, etc). posted by wys | 4:38 PM 0 comments Oh and I got tickets to R.E.M. and Everclear already. For full price + some ridiculous Internet-service charge. Bah. Broadway / Opera / Ballet tickets in NYC will be handled when I'm there. Maybe I can be bothered to get Rush Tickets at 50 to 75% off but maybe I'll be so busy doing other things I'll buy everythnig off the Internet as well (and I'll buy the tickets in the very back of the theater to save money). Also, the New York City Marathon will happen when I'm in the city. Halloween can get pretty crazy as well I hear. I don't think I'll have time to have a costume made here in Manila for myself and my sister so I'll probably have to buy something off the rack when I'm there -- assuming we plan on celebrating Halloween at all. * * * Speaking of Halloween I remember the strangest thing I ever received when going Trick or Treating. I come from a relatively small village but the candy is generally of good quality. Halloween is the time you discover all sorts of strange candy brands you never knew existed (ginger candy?!?). One house must have been feeling a little eccentric because they actually gave away tubes of paste -- those pastel colored tubes of paste that remind me oh-so-well of my grade school days. Who would give away paste to kids? Knowing kids they would probably end up eating the stuff thinking it was some gooey candy in a funky tooth-paste shaped tube. I know I used to eat crazy things when I was younger -- I tried eating the Silica Gel pack in my Cetrinets Vitamin bottle because even if it said "Do Not Eat" all over it it looked like really yummy sugar crystals of some sort so I thought the manufacturers were trying to trick me. The things you remember. posted by wys | 4:15 PM 0 comments Friday, October 08, 2004 I got to try out this restaurant called Chef Ed's the other night. Interesting restaurant with a million and one different kinds of dishes. I can't exactly describe the cuisine in a straightforward way because it's a little bit of everything. I had sisig stuffed tofu squares and artichoke hearts with chorizo and cheese. Jo had cochinillo mami. Too bad we were only two people so we couldn't try out more dishes. Generally a good restaurant with pleasant ambiance (no music though!), professional service and well-presented dishes. This looks like the kind of place where I would like practically everything on the menu. They also serve these huge pans of paella (one hour advance notice required) that look really good and quite different from the run-of-the-mill paella you'd get in Alba or Minggoy's. Maybe I'll try and get my family to eat there for Sunday lunch if we finally grow tired of good old Pancake House (unlikely). Chef Ed's is located at the GF & Partners Bldg., 139 H.V. de la Costa St. (near the Ateneo Professional School), Makati, (812-0016). * * * I would love to get the job of the person that fixes the book displays in bookstores. I get to decide what books to put on display, what the hanging signage will say, which charts and book reviews to post. Maybe I'd like to be a book buyer as well so I would have total control over the inventory of the whole store and I'd be able to read for a living. Or I woudn't mind being a professional movie or restaurant critic. And I'd be a helluva good one if I did that full time. Or I could be a socialite and have my own society column in the newspaper -- I might go insane one day and just kill myself for having to be so pretentious all the time. Or I could become a professional student and do nothing my entire life but learn different things in different schools and finish with all sorts of kooky degrees. One of my friends wants to be the person that controls all the stoplights in the Philippines but that's not a real job so I told her she couldn't have that as an alternative career. Another friend would love to be a professional gift-wrapper -- now that would be fun if you could go out on all your gifts and budget wasn't really an issue. posted by wys | 9:06 PM 0 comments Thursday, October 07, 2004 I got to check out the Spanish Film Festival in Greenbelt 1. Movie tickets are only Php30. That's a good enough price to keep away the mall rats who simply want to get a reprieve from their otherwise dull malling tours-of-duty and abuse free film festivals. the Spanish Film Fest is running until 17October so you still have a few good weeks to catch some films. They're also raffling off a trip to somewhere (Spain I suppose) courtesy of Lufthansa if you vote for your favorite film fest films. Pretty novel idea, if you watch any of the movies you get a ballot and you get a little stamp beside the movie you just watched. Watch more movies and get more stamps on your ballot. Once you've seen at least 3 movies you can vote for your favorite one. Obviously not the most statistically sound way of going about things, but a good idea nonetheless. * * * Just finished two books over the last week. Everything Is Illuminated (which I think they're making into a film with Elijah Wood) -- interesting story but way too complicated to write about here. Took me quite a bit of time to finish but all in all a good read. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time -- which I just picked up in Fully Booked over the weekend because I happened to like the cover. Yes I've said it before and I'll say it again, I like to judge books by their covers. I had never heard of it but it looked interesting enough and strangely I found three different copies of the book with three different covers and it was placed in both the adult and the young adult sections. Anyway, the book is written from the point of view of a 15 year old autistic boy who sets out to solve the mystery of who murdered his neighbor's dog. I know nothing of autistic people but I found the wide-eyed innocence of the narrative strangely endearing. Some critics say the book is a cross between "Cather in the Rye" and "The Sound and the Fury" (haven't read the latter so can't relate). Anyway good stuff, quick read, and my brother and I have both finished reading it so it's pretty much lived out its purpose in my household. * As a postscript, I found out this book is one of the Today Show's featured books or something. Blech. I still liked the book though. My brother hated it because it's about lower middle-class British people. * * * The other night I caught House of Flying Daggers in Glorietta and it was a fun film to watch, worknight and all. Annoyingly, people seated right behind us felt compelled to give a running "Mystery Science Theater 3000"-style commentary all throughout the film. I suppose I don't mind hushed whispers every now and then but when I can actually hear what people are saying it bugs me. And the people in the entire theater weren't exactly a good audience either because they kept on laughing at all the serious parts in the end. So BOO to Glorietta 4 for attracting an uncouth crowd. I'm not sure if raising movie ticket prices to Php200 a pop would keep boors away though. posted by wys | 10:12 PM 0 comments |
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