Fiona & Regine

Two things are happening today: it's the birthday celebration of Fiona, my lovely niece, and Nikks & I will be watching Regine's concert at McKinley Hill.

After having my breakfast, I made my way to Bulacan. It took me less than 2 hours to get there.

Fiona saw me right away and she kissed me. I greeted her right away. I also noticed that there's a LOT of food at our table. I guess the family is expecting a lot of guests.

Kuya was busy cooking the sauce of the sweet & sour tilapia. Angela instantly gave me a plate.

I had beef caldereta, lumpiang shanghai, fried chicken, tilapia, laing and pancit bihon. OMG! The food, especially the caldereta, was really good. I really ate a lot! And to think, yesterday was another fiesta for me! I love the holidays!

I visited my Mom's room and I caught up on her stories about my other niece, Disney. I love babies. When you tell them to kiss & hug you, they oblige right away. How come adults don't do the same? Bwahahaha!

I set up the videoke machine so we could have some fun while drinking. I gave Kuya money to buy booze.

Later on, Angela's family arrived. Fiona got a lot of gifts from them, mostly Barbie dolls and stuffed toys. I told Fiona that I will give her my gift at a later time. I will just spend a day with them at TriNoma or something.

Around 4, I decided to leave (without my MagicSing). I didn't know how bad the traffic will be.

After 2 hours, I reached the Piazza. I went directly to the concert venue and saw a short line of people. Some were buying albums of Regine. The album comes with free poster. Maybe I'll get the colored one later.

While waiting for Nikks, I had some coffee at Tokyo Cafe. I spotted this lady who looks just like Nikks (maybe 10 years from now). She's been putting some makeup on for like, forever!

After my second cup, Nikks arrived with Manay Rosa. I told her about her twin sister. I almost approached the lady to have her picture taken with my friend. Bwahahaha!

We then searched for a place to sit at the concert place.

Around 7:30, we saw a big white van parked behind the stage. It must be Regine. It was her. We saw her doing her own makeup inside the van.

At 8, the concert began with Nikks' look-alike (surprise! surprise!) hosting the event. She introduced Regine and the Songbird officially started the show with "Ako'y Iyong-Iyo" followed by "The Only Exception". She's dressed in leopard prints. Manay commented on her red shoes. She looks fresh and sexy.

During one of her numbers, she couldn't control her coughing. Uh oh! We thought she would lose her voice. But after drinking a cold glass of water and some candy (maybe pei pa koa), she returned to normal. She even asked for a number! Of course, someone shouted 15 - O (for Ogie). But she blurted out, "Osang". That made the audience laugh.

She sang these songs from her latest album: "I Go Crazy", "You and Me", "What About Love", "Without Me" (Nikks' & my favorite), "Been Waiting", "You Don't Know" and "OK Lang Ako".

She revealed that she and her Baba (her term of endearment for Ogie) have been in courtship stage for 8 years already. And that they've been on for 4 years now.

She promoted her album and joked about her photos included in it. I learned that she did the pictorial after her Diva tv series. She really looks sexy in those photos!

Anton, one of Regine's impersonators, was in the audience and she let him/her sing a song from her Eraserheads medley. She mentioned that E-Heads are her heroes.

For her finale, she did a medley of disco tunes, "I Will Survive" & "Lance Dance", while reaching out to people in the audience. Of course, a lot of cameras flashed that time.

I wanted her to sing "Papa Don't Preach" but it was okay. I haven't seen Regine in a long time so it's really a nice way to end my weekend.

After the concert, the first 51 people who bought the album got the chance to have their CDs autographed by Regine. Bummer!

Food & Wine Galore

I have organized numerous parties before and that involved tasting the food from the caterers. But never have I been invited to do food tasting for weddings. That all changed today.

My friend, Jhie, with hubby in tow, will be coming over this March to celebrate their wedding with their family and friends here in Manila. If I'm not mistaken, she asked the help of our friend, Tina, to do the preparations (venue, caterings, souvenirs, etc.).

Got an FB message from Tina asking me, Nikks, Tabs and Bryce, to represent her at today's tasting. The venue is at Dad's Place in Quezon City. Nikks & I weren't able to attend the previous tasting 'cause of another commitment.

Tabs picked us up at the office and we battled the traffic from Makati to QC. And thanks to the food gods, we reached the place at 5 pm. Perfect timing!

After we got our table, we immediately sampled the appetizers. They have bruschetta, pritson, cocktail salads and quesadilla. The quesadilla is our favorite.

For the main course: we tasted everything. from pork, chicken to beef. They also have pasta. Tabs & Nikks love the lasagna. I enjoyed the fillet mignon in red wine sauce. Would've been better if the food is warm though. I thought the string beans is not a good substitute for asparagus wrapped in bacon.

Then it's dessert time! They have fondue, banana crepe, buko pandan, mango something and coffee something. I didn't like the chocolate used in the fondue. It tastes cheap. The buko pandan ain't fresh anymore so it's yucky. The only thing I like was the mango dessert.

Around 7:30, we wondered why no one was speaking to us. We're extremely full already. It's time to do business.

Then a representative from Hizon's named Crenz approached us. She was busy attending to other customers too. She informed us that she could give freebies (fondue, Tiffany chairs and coffee & tea bar) only for today, if we decide to pay 5K for the reservation. Tabs had to call Bryce to give Jhie a call in the US.

To make the long story short, we grabbed her offer. We left the area with satisfied stomach (thank you so much, Tina & Jhie, for thinking about me when it comes to food tasting. Hehehehe). I even had to return a second time for the fillet mignon chunks. Teehee...

Then it's time for A-A-Alcohol. Remember last time I went to Resort World and I found out about the wine buffet they offer there? Well, it's time to try it out with my friends. I didn't want to drink by myself. Also, we haven't celebrated Tabel's birthday yet so this is a good time.

It took us quite some time to enter the place. There's a big event happening (some fiesta thing) outside so it's hard to get valet parking.

First stop, the restrooms. While waiting for Tabs & Nikks to finish their bizness, I went inside a fragrance store called Art of Scent. I immediately looked for a brand that I haven't tried yet. My Abercrombie & Fitch Fierce and Hollister SoCal are already in need of a backup fragrance.

I grabbed a Bvlgari AQVA perfume and sprayed it on my wrist. I left the place and told my friends what I did. They liked the smell! I decided to get one later. Teehee...

Beurre Blanc didn't have a wine buffet for tonight because of that damn fiesta thing outside. We were so disappointed. We tried to use our charm but the manager just offered us some salmon carpaccio and cake (since we told him it's Tabel's birthday).

After going through the wine menu, we decided to go for Gossips Shiraz, the same wine I had last time.

People watching time. We saw Jose Mari Chan with family leaving some show.

Before we left the place, Tabel got her chocolate cake. It was delish! Happy Birthday again, Tabs!

We joined our friends, Beng & Lani downstairs. We went back to the Art of Scent and I bought my new fragrance--Bvlgari AQVA. Of course, there had to be some picture taking (Lani, again, ang ganda mo dito sa picture na to!

We went back upstairs and looked for a place to continue the fun. New Orleans was our pick.

More people watching time. We saw Tweetie De Leon (still looking fabulous!), Phoemela Baranda, Julia Clarete, Daiana Menezes, Jeremy Marquez and Pops Fernandez. They were all heading to the party place, Republiq. I wanna see this place soon too!

Around 2, it was time to go.

Wee Nam Kee

This is a famous resto in Singapore where the likes of our ex-Presidents, Gloria Arroyo & Erap Estrada, like to eat. We have one locally located at the Ayala Triangle—a good 15-minute walk from the office. It’s time to try their food out.

Beng advised us to leave early for lunch because it’s Friday plus it’s payday. We expect a lotta peeps to dine out for lunch. So we (Beng, Raz, Liz, Will and I) left around 11.

Once we reached the area, we were surprised that there’s a huge line of hungry peeps at 11 am! Ugh!

Beng took care of the reservations. Then we waited… it’s people watching time!

I was hoping that the food is not just overhyped. We could hear some people talking about how good the food is. It better be! I think we waited for about an hour!

Finally, we got a table. We’re all excited to try their steamed chicken so we all got that. Will & I got some lechon kawali. Dennies & Liz ordered the porkchops. Our friend from Singapore, Toffee, texted Beng that their Wee Nam Kee fried rice is a must-try. So we ordered it too. I wanna eat the cereal prawns (first tasted this in Singapore and I miss it) and the spicy crunchy squid. Unfortunately, they’re not available. They also don’t have soda! Dammit!

The verdict? Well, after waiting for a long time, I was expecting a good meal. The chicken was cold. It tastes like chicken tinola minus the broth. The lechon kawali is not good for two. I could eat it in seconds! The Wee Nam Kee fried rice tastes like other Yang Chao fried rice (North Park is still the best). The big portions of shrimps in the menu ain't true. According to Raz, the Barley drink tastes like Am. Bwahahahaha!

The long wait wasn't worth it for me.

On Harry Potter & Resort World

Last Saturday, I decided to watch the latest Harry Potter movie @ this newly-opened casino/mall/movie house called Resort World at the Newport City.

When I hailed a cab, I was surprised that it's located very close to my place. The taxi meter stopped at 90 bucks. Sweet!

The Newport Cinema is located on the topmost floor of the building. It's already 3 pm and I was already hungry but I bought a ticket first before minding my hunger. I noticed that the second floor is consisted mostly of boutiques like Guess, Penguin, Charles & Keith. No time and money for shopping so I just ignored them.

The ticket costs 200. Quite reasonable and affordable. There aren't too many people (unlike the other malls) so it's really cool.

Otay, it's time to find a place to chow. They have Asian, Mediterranean and French restos on the ground floor. I chose to eat rice and lechon macau at Johnny Chow (rhyme pa lintek!). The waitresses in minis were wearing these awful blue and yellow wigs. At least, they're easy to look at.

By the way, their WiFi is pretty fast. I was able to download an iPhone app instantly. Hehehehe....

The lechon macau was crunchy and good. I upgraded my rice to yang chow too. The only thing that I don't like in the food is the peanuts. I don't like eating meals with whole peanuts. I take them out when I eat the Charlie Chan pasta at Yellow Cab.

I still have half an hour to kill so I checked out the bar at Beurre Blanc. I quickly asked for the wine menu from the bartender named Arniel. I chose Gossip Shiraz from the list. To my surprise, he also gave me some peanuts. I told you that I don't like peanuts in my food but I enjoy eating them separately. He informed me that they have a wine buffet for 850 pesos (including pica-pica) and good for three hours. Nice! I wanna try that soon with my barkada.

Arniel told me that I could taste some of their house wines. Now, who wouldn't like free taste, eh? He gave me some Bordeaux. When I swirled the wine, I noticed the dark color. I assumed it would be of stronger flavor. I wasn't wrong. Mmmmm!

I thanked the bartender (and gave him a generous tip) before leaving the bar at 5 (my movie starts at quarter after). Feeling already tipsy. I made a stopover at the membership counter where I got my Resort World membership card (with instant photo!).

It's been a while since I last read this final installment of the Harry Potter series so I kinda forgot some of the deets. But all in all, the movie was good. There were some funny moments too. I like the dancing scene of Harry & Hermione (she looks fantastic!). Of course, the Dobby scene was a tearjerker.

FYI, when you wanna watch a movie at the Newport Cinemas, be SURE to bring a jacket. It's so effin' cold inside the theatre!

I had to have my membership card activated so I checked out the casinos downstairs. The lady behind the counter informed me that my card has a 100-peso value which I could spend on the slot machines. This is free membership, y'all!

I walked around the area and memories of our Bahamas trip came back. I controlled myself from sitting down and playing.

Went back upstairs and had dinner at Beurre Blanc. I ordered their ham-pepperoni-mango pizza with an interesting crust (think of empanadas and Jamaican patties). It was good surprisingly but I didn't finish all of it. It was HUGE! I got myself some Gossip Shiraz again.One thing I like about RW is that, you can have a smoke anywhere you want. It's a fully-airconditioned place (remember to bring your jackets!). The people are not the masa types. And most importantly, it's not crowded.

Before I went home, I spotted Oyo Boy Sotto with his wife, Kristine Hermosa.

I ♥ Yoshinoya!

A long, long time ago, Kuya introduced me to this fast food resto in Robinson's Galleria. According to him, they serve the best beef bowl. I wanna try the chicken too so I ordered a combo.

It was served in a big bowl. The chicken has some sweet sauce and the beef looks like strips of bacon and very tender. Veggies were thrown in there too. And some rice. They have this chili powder and it complements the meal. It was very, very filling and became an instant favorite!

That's the first time I saw an upcoming singer named Ogie Alcasid. He's with some friends and they were chatting while eating.

Anyhoo, I was crushed when a few months later, the resto closed. No freakin' clue why. Their food is delish! It was replaced by L.A. Beef Bowl but the food ain't the same.

Then I had a chance to see New York and was extremely happy to discover that they too have a Yoshinoya near the Port Authority. I've memorized the location by heart. Every time I visit the Big Apple, I always eat my favorite meal at Yoshinoya.

Back here in the Philippines, I work in Makati. And the nearest Yoshinoya branch is in Park Square. I make sure that I visit the place at least once a month to satisfy my beef & chicken combo craving.

They have branches in SM MegaMall, Greenhills, SM Mall of Asia and SM North Edsa too. And I learned just now that they're back in Robinson's Galleria. Although I ain't sure if they occupy the same spot as before.

Here's how the beef & chicken combo looks like nowadays:

The pieces of beef & chicken have shrunk considerably even though it costs 170 per meal (excluding drinks).

But I ALWAYS make sure that I get my money's worth. Clean plate all the time!Well, not exactly. Here's the veggie pile (onions, carrots and chayote) I usually leave out:

Eat. Eat. Eat.

Did you know that I was once a skinny kid who doesn't enjoy eating? Hard to believe, no? But it's true. I remember my yaya won't let me go to school if I don't finish my food. Vitamins after vitamins were given to no avail. A switch must have been turned on sometime when I was in my adulthood. Damn you, metabolism!

Now I enjoy eating (it freakin' shows) and cooking. I love it when people (friends & family) appreciate my effort in the kitchen.

I began my love for cooking when I was still in high school. I remember after watching countless episodes of "Wok with Yan" and tasting good food from my Daddy, I think the COOK gene has been awaken.

I don't own too many cookbooks. The internet has really helped me with most of my recipes. My local cable doesn't have the Food network so that sucks! If I'm not sure what to do, I sometimes call Kuya (he's a very good cook too!)

I am a fan of Martha Stewart and the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. If you visit her site, she'd show you how to cook a meal or dessert step-by-step, complete with photos. I dig her humor too. That's why I love her site. I was planning to ask my friends in the US to get me her cookbook for Christmas but I was so surprised & happy to find her cookbook here at Fully Booked!

Tried some of her recipes and they were quite good. If you've tasted a yellow cupcake with chocolate icing on top and the chocolate cupcake (with a nice Hershey's surprise in the inside) from me, those are hers!

My Coffee Fix

This is one of the wisest decisions I made late last year. When we had our company exchange gift, I requested for this, my very own coffee press. Super thanks to Ramil who granted me this wish.

It's kinda intimidating at first because I never owned one. Good thing it came with instructions (teehee).

For those of you who still doesn't know how to use one, here's a quick tutorial:

1) While waiting for your water to boil, take out the plunger.

2) Put 2 scoops (mine has 3-mug capacity) of coarse ground coffee. Request for a bigger size of grounds from your barista.

3) Pour some hot water (leave some space for the plunger) and stir with wooden or plastic spoon. Never use metal.

4) Replace the plunger. Wait for 4 minutes. The longer the waiting time, the stronger the taste.

5) Carefully and slowly press the plunger down.

6) Easy peasy, no? Enjoy!

I ♥ Aristocrat

Been seriously craving for Aristocrat barbecue for days now. This food brings back fond memories of childhood. I remember mom and dad taking me and kuya to Aristocrat for dinner. We would order pork barbecue with java rice and peanut sauce. And we won't leave the resto without eating some leche flan.

Fast forward to 2010.

While walking around The Block at SM North Edsa, my mouth watered when I saw Aristocrat. I quickly ordered their pork BBQ meal, complete with dessert. Sadly, the peanut sauce doesn't come in a bottle anymore. Instead, it's in a sachet. We are such a third world country!

Pepper Steak Dinner

My hungry tummy brought me here at a new resto in Greenbelt 5. It's called "Pepper Lunch", known for their... you guessed it, pepper steak dinners. Anyhoo, when I got there, I informed the lady at the counter that it's my first time. She gave me their bestseller--Shimofuri Pepper Steak. I got it with some fried rice and iced tea. I was also surprised that I still need to cook my own food. By the way, their price range is from 200 to 600++.

After, like, 5 minoots, my dinner arrived on a hot plate. I immediately turned over the steak and poured some honey brown sauce on it. I mixed the bean sprouts and corn kernels too. Smells good!

I made sure that the beef changed its color before I tasted it. Mmmm... first bite. The meat is so effing tender!

While enjoying my din-dins, I invited my co-worker, Boy, to have dinner with me. He tried the double burger dinner.

Since there was a long line at the counter, I asked one of the waiters to get me some dessert, a black sesame seed flavored ice cream. I didn't get the caramel one because according to the waiter it's so sweet. Delish!!!

The Sweet Smell of Bacon

Don't you just love the smell of bacon in the morning?

I'm a HUGE fan of crispy bacon. I remember waking up to this smell every Saturday morning when I was in the States. Joyish would wake up early to cook for all of us (Ogz included). The minute the smell hits my nose, I'd be so delighted to get up and rush to the table.

Yep, bacon, eggs and fried rice is my ultimate breakfast meal. This puts me in a very good mood ;oP Perfect for shopping later in the afternoon. Teehee...

Now, I noticed that some peeps cook their bacon in the microwave. That's just a waste. In order for you to get it crispy, cook it on a frying pan. Lay them flat, NEVER use oil and use medium heat. Afterwards, get some paper towel to soak up the fat. When the excess oil is gone, you can pick your bacon up like a stick. *drools*

Anyhoo, here in the Philippines, unforch, we don't have IHOP where you can get your bacon fix anytime. Don't fret because I discovered that at SM Bowling Centers, they serve a decent meal of bacon, eggs and fried rice for only a hundred something bucks. Don't go to Pancake House. Their bacon breakfast meal sucks.

My Bacon Fix

While looking for a place to have brekky (arrived at work at 7:08!), I walked towards Jollibee in the old Greenbelt. I passed by Pancake House and decided to eat there instead. Been craving for bacon for some time now.

When I checked their menu, they don't have a meal that has bacon, egg and fried rice. What they have is a meal with bacon strips, toast, hash browns and egg. I asked the waitress if I could substitute rice with the hashbrown and toast. She checked with her supervisor and she said no. Bummer! So I chose to have their beef tapa meal and got some bacon on the side. I requested the egg to be cooked sunny side-up and with toasted edges.

My coffee arrived first. After like 10 minoots, my meal arrived. I asked the waitress to put my beef in a box since I won't be eating 'em anyway. I only wanted my bacon.
Verdict: Bacon is cooked perfectly alright but it wasn't as tasty as I wanted it to be. The garlic rice was crappy. It wasn't fried rice. It's just steamed rice with fried garlic. I hate that! Also, the coffee refill ain't free. It costs, like, 70 bucks! WTF!

I Miss Luk Yuen

Kuya introduced me to Luk Yuen more than a decade ago. He asked me to try their halo-halo congee (their bestseller). That's also the first time I learned about his special concoction—a mixture of calamansi, soy sauce, chili sauce and ketchup. It tastes so good with all the meat in the congee!

And since I haven't eaten at Luk Yuen for a very long time, I decided to walk over to Glorietta 5 (that's their new location).

The place ain't that busy to think it's noon time. I was given a small bowl of soup and appetizer right away, along with their menu. I searched for the halo-halo congee and another favorite of mine, the Noodle Feast. I was shocked that the latter doubled its price already (280++). Anyhoo, I got myself some congee & fried meat dumpling and iced tea.I'm happy that the congee still tastes as good as the last time I had it. It still contains my favorite liver, pork balls, beef, some chicken, chicharon and fresh egg. I wish I didn't order anymore the dumplings 'cause the congee itself is VERY filling. I was surprised to see the dumplings' size though. I expected them to be smaller. The appetizer was good. The sauce was sweet & spicy. I wanted more ;oP

I give props to the service that I got. My glass of water was never empty. And the waiters are always roaming around. I hate it when you need one and you can't find one. By the way, they don't have service charge so tipping is a must.

I learned later on that they don't accept credit card payment unless your meal costs 250, at the minimum. Mine wasn't so I just used my charm ;oP

Goldilocks & Royce Chocolates

Beng, Ogz, Raz and I went to Goldilocks for lunch. I miss Kare-Kare so I ordered it. Raz got herself some diniguan, Ogz got bopis and Beng ordered the fish steak. It took a long while for her food to get served.

The rest of us got curious as to its taste so we had a small bite of her fish. It wasn't that delish for me. I'll stick to Diniguan, Bopis and Beef Nilaga.

After lunch, I went back to the BPI bank near our office and claimed my ATM card. I also applied for a credit card with Ogz as my reference. Hopefully they could give me my second credit card. Although I'm quite happy with my current one from HSBC.

I also found out that Greenbelt 5 has a stall for Royce chocolates. My friend, Anetski, gave me my first Royce chocolates years back and I miss the taste. Next week, I plan to buy some for me and my family.

100 Peso-Worth

Went to Red Ribbon and got their combo meal, composed of spaghetti, 2 chicken drumsticks, a slice of mocha cake and a glass of Coke. Everything is like 100++. Here's what I got:Sadly, this won't even pass as a kiddie meal. I ate the spaghetti in less than 2 minutes. The drumsticks are really small. Not even filling. Ugh!

Last Meal @ Cheesecake Factory

The last time I ate at Cheesecake Factory, I had their lettuce wrap. I first tasted this in Chicago and I enjoyed the food very much. You just have to be patient since you will prepare your own food. Of course, you can't eat there without tasting their cheesecake. Hello? I got their Godiva cheesecake. Mmmmm!

Thai Basil

After watching Bobby Flay go head-to-head with this woman from a restaurant near our place, we all thought we should give it a try. The woman's name is Nongkran Daks. She owns "Thai Basil" restaurant located in Chantilly. It's, like, less than 15 miles from Ashburn. It's actually beside a Filipino store that we frequent to.

When we got there, we saw a lotta people eating. That's a good sign, right? There are a lot of photos of Nongkran (and Bobby) from the Food Network show posted on the walls. 

We all tried their infamous Pad Thai. You can choose what meat you want included in your noodles. Of course, I got shrimps. I think Karen ordered chicken. She also ordered spring rolls. Ogz got himself the spicy Tom Yam Goong soup.

The food was delish! OMG! If ever you visit Northern VA, you should deffo try it!

I had my first taste of Pad Thai when my friends visited Thailand a few years back. Our friend, Dennis, introduced us to this street food and, at first, I didn't like it. I dunno if it's the texture or what. But when I was assigned in South Carolina, I tasted there the most delish Pad Thai ever. Now, this Pad Thai from "Thai Basil" tops it.

Before leaving the place, Nongkran approached us and we chatted a bit. She's super friendly! She shared some of her personal stories too. We told her that we wanted to attend her cooking lessons because we soooo love her food.

Have a Break, Have a Green KitKat

Joy bought this from her brief layover in Japan. Being a Kitkat fan, of course, I had to try it.

When you open the foiled pack, the light green color might put you off. But it still is milk chocolaty & has a mild green tea flavor. I like it a lot. On my way back home in July, I'll buy some so my family & friends back home could taste it too.