Thoughts of Bits and Pieces

Welcome to the house of Tsukemen–Mitsuyado Sei-men

2013-09-16T10:31:00.000+08:00

I’ve always been curious as to how tsukemen would taste like. I often see them while watching Japanese movies/shows. All I know is you have this soba (noodles), dip them into sauce, try to look Japanese (ok I made this one up) and eat it. The Japanese seems to be enjoying it and they say that the dip would “depend” on the person’s taste (of course!) and sometimes, the season. Cold soba – hot dip, hot soba – cold dip, etc. I’m sure you get my gist :P

Anyway, I was not in a hurry to know the tsukemen experience but then my co-Arashist friend invited me to try out Mitsuyado Sei-men. As soon as I heard then words “House of Tsukemen”, it was a no-brainer when I agreed. No hail nor storm will stop me from experiencing tsukemen!

My friend promised that it’s an “experience” to try out Mitsuyado and as we arrived in front of the resto… Actually, I was expecting something more grandiose since my friend told me it’s an experience. Honestly, I didn’t checked the net for more info since I want to be “surprised”. And so, there I was standing in front a common (and pricey) looking restaurant.

Later did I know that the “surprise” part will hit me straight in the face as soon as I enter the shop! BANZAI NIPPON!!! IRRASHAIMASE~ I’ve been to Little Tokyo countless of times but the interior of this place makes you feel you just entered a small village in Japan.

They turned the place in a life-sized diorama of a small Japanese village complete with onsen, ramen stand and more. It was so brilliant that I can’t help but comment on whatever my eyes laid on. There are even vintage movie posters placed on some area of the resto. We stayed there for 3-4 hours (hey we ordered a lot during our stay!) and it’s pretty obvious that the place was packed during lunch time (12nn-1pm) and dinner rime (5pm-6pm)


Ramen Stall	Onsen

I’m not too sure if this is read as “Nakamura Menya”. I apologize for my poor Nihonggo skils	Seems like a corner street resto with, right?

We ordered Gyoza (dumplings), Oyakodon (egg-chicken rice bowl), Yuzu Soba, Cheese Sauce Tsukemen (my order since my friend told me this is one of their best sellers) and a can of Kirin beer (mine! ❤) Our orders didn’t took long to prepare and yeah, no matter how hungry we are, pictures, instagrams and Facebook uploads are top priority here.


Kirin Beer (P140). Tastes like SML but for some reason I didn’t turned beet red after finishing up the whole thing (ACHIEVEMENT!!!)	Gyoza (P180). One of the best I tasted. Chewy and not too salty.

Yuzu Ae-Soba (P230). I think Yuzu is some sort of a citrus friut in Japan. Topped with naruto and some other tasty stuffs, this one is superb. Lian’s order	Oyakodon (P230). One of the most familiar rice dish. Chicken with egg mixed in sauce then topped on rice. Ma-chan’s order.

My order was their best sellers: Cheese Sauce Tsukemen (P330). The dish was a hearty tray of soba (you get to choose hot or cold), cheese sauce and savory dip. It was a good thing that the staff asked me if I have any idea how to eat the dish. I’m fine with the dip but I don’t know what to do with the cheese. Do I dip the soba first in cheese then sauce or is it the other way around or something? Well, the correct way to eat it is first, you pour the cheese sauce into the soba, mix it then dip the cheese soba into the sauce. Makes sense :D

Me: *ready to dig in*
Ma-chan: I wanna see Lei’s reaction
Me: *taste test*
Ma-chan: How was it?
Me: Umai (deelish!) ❤❤❤

If you a look at the whole thing, yes, it might look a bit salty for your taste but no. The cheese sauce tastes really well with the dip. No worries with the soba since it’s bland to start with. No wonder this is one of their best sellers.

And I reserved a special spot for Edamame (P80) or boiled soybeans. This one comes in salted and tastes just perfect with tea (or beer but since I finished mine eons ago, let’s settle with tea. Hehe) I totally had no idea how to eat this thing. I tried chewing a bit of the edamame’s pod and with it’s texture, I’m sure I’ll end up looking like a goat since it’s difficult to chew. Lolz! So, we settled in just eating what’s inside of the pod. KNOW I KNOW HOW TO EAT EDAMAME! YATTA!

For dessert I order their Cream Anmitsu (P150). Anmitsu, based on my personal, very limited “Everything Japan” memory, is a traditional Japanese dessert made with jellies, fruits and read beans. This one comes with a special syrup which I didn’t used much since I love the taste of the anmitsu alone. I think they called it “creamy” since they served it with a small heap of vanilla ice cream ❤ Love love love this dessert! ❤

In all, I totally enjoyed my experience in Mitsuyado and will definitely return for another dose of Japanese gastronomic experience. The ambiance was great, the service was okay, food was superb and price range is pretty reasonable for authentic Japanese dishes. To those who are planning to visit the place, here are their details:

MITSUYADO SEI-MEN
No. 22 Jupiter Street, Brgy. Bel Air,Makati City
511-1390 and 511-1759
https://www.facebook.com/Mitsuyado.seimen‎
Personal Gallery: HERE

Eiga Sai 2013: Movie Line-up

2013-06-11T13:26:00.001+08:00

Here are the Eiga Sai 2013 Movie line-up. If I happen to get the wrong movie, please do inform me so I can make the necessary changes =) All movie summaries, descriptions and images are from AsianWiki. All credits to them.

About Her Brother
(Sayuri Yoshinaga || Tsurube Shofukutei || Yu Aoi || Ryo Kase || Nenji Kobayashi || Haruko Kato || Yuriko Ishida || Takashi Sasano || Fumiyo Kohinata || Leo Morimoto)
Castle Under Fiery Skies
(Toshiyuki Nishida || Shinobu Otake || Saki Fukuda || Kippei Shiina || Tokuma Nishioka || Ikkei Watanabe || Taro Yamamoto || Takuya Ishida || Renji Ishibashi || Susumu Terajima || Miki Mizuno || Takashi Sasano || Hiromasa Taguchi || Shozo Endo || Isao Natsuyagi || Koichi Ueda || Ken Maeda || Asahi Uchida || Naoto Ogata || Junichi Komoto || Jyonmyon Pe || Mami Kumagaya || Seizo Fukumoto)
Mai Mai Miracle (Anime)
(Voices: Mayuko Fukuda || Nako Mizusawa || Ei Morisako || Manami Honjou || Miyo Wakita)
ALWAYS-Sunset on Third Street
(Maki Horikita || Hidetaka Yoshioka || Shinichi Tsutsumi || Koyuki || Hiroko Yakushimaru || Kazuki Koshimizu || Kenta Suga || Masaya Takahashi || Kaga Mochimaru || Toru Masuoka || Takashi Matsuo || Hiroshi Kamido || Hiroshi Kanbe || Magii || Yoichi Nukumizu || Pierre Taki || Kisuke Iida || Motosuke Iida || Yuichi Kimura || Masako Motai || Tomokazu Miura || Kuniko Asagi || Airu Shigemoto || Kaoru Okunuki || Kenjiro Ishimaru || Shigemitsu Ogi || Fumiyo Kohinata || Yasunari Kawabuchi || Hajime Okayama || Kosuke Suzuki || Eru Shigemoto || Taro Iwate || Hiroshi Kanbe)
Parade
(Tatsuya Fujiwara || Karina || Shihori Kanjiya || Kento Hayashi || Keisuke Koide || Terunosuke Takezai || Maho Nonami || Yuri Nakamura || Misaki Momose || Bokuzo Masana || Midoriko Kimura || Renji Ishibashi || Masaki Miura || Natsumi Seto)
Confessions (Takako Matsu || Masaki Okada || Yoshino Kimura || Mana Ashida || Makiya Yamaguchi || Yukito Nishii || Kaoru Fujiwara || Ai Hashimoto || Naoki Ichii || Kai Inowaki || Ayaka Miyoshi || Moto Hotaruno || Kasumi Yamaya || Ai Kuriki || Rena Nounen || Hiroki Nakajima || Ikuyo Kuroda || Hirofumi Arai || Kinuwo Yamada || Tsutomu Takahashi || Yuko Araki || Manami Hashimoto || Yuiko Kariya || Naoya Shimizu || Takahiro Ono || Ayuri Yoshinaga)
Our Homeland
(Arata || Sakura Ando || Yang Ik-June || Kotomi Kyono || Tatsushi Omori || Jun Murakami || Shogo || Taro Suwa || Yoshiko Miyazaki || Masane Tsukayama)
Rinco’s Restaurant (Kou Shibasaki || Kimiko Yo || Brother Tom || Tetsushi Tanaka || Mirai Shida || Dori Sakurada || Hikari Mitsushima || Yu Tokui || Taro Suwa || Jiro Sato || Hajime Yamazaki || Koichi Ueda || Kyoko Enami || Tomokazu Miura || Reiko Kusamura || Mao Sasaki || Miori Takimoto)
Dear Doctor
(Eita || Tsurube Shofukutei || Kaoru Yachigusa || Kimiko Yo || Haruka Igawa || Teruyuki Kagawa || Yutaka Matsushige || Ryo Iwamatsu || Takashi Sasano || Midoriko Kimura || Tieko Itikawa || Masaya Takahashi || Kanzaburo Nakamura || Koko Mori || Sabu Kawahara || Kei Iinuma || Takao Kinoshita)
KAMUI
(Kenichi Matsuyama || Koyuki || Hideaki Ito || Kaoru Kobayashi || Suzuka Ohgo || Ekin Cheng || Yuta Kanai || Sei Ashina || Anna Tsuchiya)

About Her Brother (126 mins) Ototo おとうと http://asianwiki.com/About_Her_Brother In Tokyo, on a corner exists Takano Pharmacy. The owner is widow Ginko Takano (Sayuri Yoshinaga) who lost her husband a long time ago. Ginko has one daughter named Koharu (Yu Aoi) who lives with her, and also living with them is Ginko's mother-in-law Kinuo (Haruko Kato). Ginko's daughter Koharu is engaged to an elite doctor. The day before the wedding, Ginko receives a wedding invitation that she mailed to her younger brother. The invitation was returned to sender. In Osaka, Ginko's younger brother Tetsuro (Tsurube Shofukutei) works as an actor and is an alcoholic. Tetsuro has been estranged from the family since he made a drunken scene at Ginko's husband's 13th death anniversary. On the day of the wedding the mother-in-law is thankful that Tetsuro did not arrive. Ginko's older brother Shohei (Nenji Kobayashi) feels proud when Koharu states "...thank you for raising me." The atmosphere at the wedding is warm and calm, but later turns darker. Tetsuro, dressed in clean clothes, arrives at the wedding sweating. Shohei tells his younger brother "Please don't drink today." But, Tetsuro cannot help himself. With other young people at the wedding, Tetsuro starts drinking. Later, Tetsuro grabs the microphone and rambles incoherently. He then starts singing and knocks things over. Shohei can hear the groom's parents disproving comments. Shohei then tells them, "I will cut off all relations with Tetsuro ..."
Castle Under Fiery Skies (139 mins) Katen no Shiro 火天の城 http://asianwiki.com/Castle_Under_Fiery_Skies The year is 1575 in feudal Japan. Oda Nobunaga's (Kippei Shiina) forces defeat Takeda Katsuyori, when Nagashino Castle was besieged during the Battle of Nagashino. The next year Oda Nobunada decides to build a lavish new castle symbolizing his unification of various factions. The castle named Azuchi Castle will be built near water and high enough to be seen from the capital city of Kyoto. Notes: Based on Kenichi Yamamoto's 2004 Novel "Katen no Shiro" The movie and novel concerns wood carpenters ordered to construct the Azuichi Castle, built from 1576-1579 on the shores of Lake Biwa in Omi Province, under the supervision of daimyo Oda Nobunaga Location was chosen due its proximity to the capital of Kyoto - could watch and guard approaches to the capital, but distant enough to be immune to the conflicts and fires that occasionally occured in Kyoto Unlike other castles of its days, Azuichi was not built solely for military purposes, but also as a lavish mansion, which would impress and intimidate rival clans
Mai Mai Miracle (93 mins) マイマイ新子と千年の魔法 http://asianwiki.com/Mai_Mai_Miracle Shinko, a third grade elementary school student, loves to daydream about the world of one thousand years ago. Her fantasies travel far back into the days of the Heian Period (year 794-1185) ... One day a girl called Kiiko transfers from Tokyo and joins Shinko's class where they become good friends. Before long, the two of them become engulfed in a strange incident of one thousand years ago...

ALWAYS-Sunset on Third Street (133 mins) Always san-chome no yuhi ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日 http://asianwiki.com/Always:_Sunset_on_Third_Street Won 13 of Japan's 14 Academy Awards (inc. "Best Picture," "Best Director," "Best Screenplay) In 1958, with the impending completion of Tokyo's TV broadcasting tower as a symbol of Japan's escalating post-war economic recovery, rural schoolgirl Mutsuko (Maki Horikita) arrives from the provinces to begin her first job with Suzuki Auto. Initially impressed by meeting company "president" Norifumi Suzuki (Shin'ichi Tsutsumi), Mutsuko is shocked to discover her workplace is actually a shabby auto repair shop in Tokyo's down-at-heel Yuhi district. Suzuki is a bad-tempered employer but Mutsuko is welcomed by his wife, Tomoe (Hiroko Yakushimaru), and their impish 5-year-old son, Ippei (Kazuki Koshimizu). One of Ippei's favorite haunts is a five-and-dime store managed by struggling serial writer Ryunosuke Chagawa (Hidetaka Yoshioka). Regarding now-successful writers like Nobel-prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, as overrated, Chagawa wants to be more than a hack churning out sci-fi yarns and selling cheap toys on the side. When alluring newcomer Hiromi (Koyuki) opens a sake bar in the area, she gathers clientele quickly -- in dramatically compressed manga style -- but also finds herself lumbered with Junnosuke (Kenta Suga) the orphaned offspring of the bar's previous tenant. Drunk, and smitten by Hiromi, Chogawa accepts custodianship of the boy.

Parade (115 mins) パレード http://asianwiki.com/Parade_%282010-Japan%29 ”Parade" is the story of a strange living situation in a 2LDK apartment (having two bedrooms, a living-dining room, and a kitchen) in suburban Tokyo. There are five residents ranging in age from eighteen to twenty-eight: a male student with no evidence of any drive; Kotomi (Shihori Kanjiya), an out-of-work aspiring actress who longs for a celebrity boyfriend; Miki (Karina), a heavy-drinking female illustrator; Satoru (Kento Hayashi), a male prostitute with a spectator like attitude toward life; and Naoki (Tatsuya Fujiwara), a salaryman who works for a film distribution company and says strange things in his sleep. The roommates are not in any way romantically involved with one another, but one can see subtle hints of affection and friendship among them. In the end, however, none of them really know each other”

Confessions (106 mins) Kokuhaku 告白 http://asianwiki.com/Confessions_-_Japanese_Movie Middle school teacher Yoko Moriguchi's (Takako Matsu) life comes crashing down after the murder of her 4 year old daughter. Eventually Yoko Moriguchi suspects some of her own students to have been responsible for her daughter's death. An elaborate plan for revenge then ensues, including forcing students to drink HIV tainted milk

Our Homeland Kazoku no Kuni かぞくのくに http://asianwiki.com/Our_Homeland Sung-Ho (Arata) arrives in Japan, but his stay is only temporary. 25 years earlier, as a 16-year-old boy, he left Japan for North Korea with only a one way ticket. His father is an ethnic Korean living in Japan and sympathetic to the North Korea cause. Believing in the North Korean government's promises, Sung-Ho's father sent Sung-Ho to live in North Korea. Now, Sung-Ho is back in Japan. His stay is for only 3 months and he has arrived with other Japanese-North Koreans who have serious medical conditions. Sung-Ho is to receive medical treatment in Japan and he can also see his family during his stay. All the while, Sung-Ho is watched over constantly by North Korean compatriot Mr. Yang (Yang Ik-June). Sung-Ho knows any behavior that maybe construed as unsympathetic to his adopted country of North Korea could affect his wife and son back in North Korea. Meanwhile, his sister Rie (Sakura Ando) and mother (Yoshiko Miyazaki) bask in the return of normalcy of their family unit, even if its just temporary. “Our Homeland" is selected as Japan's submission to the 2012 Academy Awards "Best Foreign Language Film”.

Rinco's Restaurant (119 mins) Shokudo Katatsumuri 食堂かたつむり http://asianwiki.com/Rinco%27s_Restaurant A young woman (Kou Shibasaki) in her mid 20's becomes so heart broken she loses her voice. To recover, the woman decides to go back to her hometown and stay with her free-spirited mother whom she has not been very close to in the past. The young woman then decides to open a restaurant which accepts only one customer a day, allowing for thoughtful preparation for that customer.

Dear Doctor (127 mins) ディア・ドクター http://asianwiki.com/Dear_Doctor A young medical intern student named Keisuke Soma (Eita) is assigned to work in a remote countryside village. Keisuke at first takes the attitude that this assignment is below his creditentials. His thoughts soon change. Keisuke Soma then meets the small town's resident doctor named Dr. Ino (Tsurube Shofukutei), who is universally beloved by the town. The town doctor works diligently around the clock, while knowing virtually everything about the residents' illnesses and their family history. Keisuke follows Dr. Soma around and starts to learn things he never learned in medical school. A secret then emerges about Dr. Ino and the town must come to grips with this new knowledge of the man they so admired

KAMUI Kamui Gaiden カムイ外伝 http://asianwiki.com/Kamui Kamui (Kenichi Matsuyama) is a ninja on the run in search of true freedom. However, he is burdened with the fate, where ninjas are not allowed to take the secret of their powers outside of the tribe -- if you are born as Ninja, you must die as Ninja. This brings Kamui to constantly fight for his life against other ninjas who tried to kill him and keep their secrets within. Kamui does not trust, and he does not love. Showing weakness leads to immediate death. An incident brings him to an old fisherman's village, where he finally starts to feel trust and affection towards other people. However, his pursuers are just minutes away from setting up a huge trap on Kamui.

Confessions of a certified Chocoholic

2013-05-18T10:49:00.001+08:00

I’m a CHOCOHOLIC! To hell with calories as long as I get to taste these sweet flavor in my mouth. Studies show that eating chocolates bring several health benefits like reducing possibilities of stroke, protects your skin, mood booster and might even fight diabetes. Actually, I’m just creating some excuse on WHY people should not ban me from chocolates :P

I’m positively a certified sweet tooth. I love chocolates and anything sweet as long as it's not overly sweet. I don't know about you guys but I'm in a mood of blabbering about chocolates and since you’re in my blog, you don’t have any choice but to read (unless you decided to ignore my post T_T)

My top 5 faves would count Nestle's Crunch (I think we all know this), Ferrero Roacher, Meiji's Porte Hokkaido Whipped Milk, Meiji's Melty Kiss and Kinder Bueno chocolate.

(Photo grabbed over the internet: http://metropotam.ro/)

I first tasted Kinder’s chocolate way back when I was 10 years old. I remember those small egg-looking chocolates wrapped in their white and orange thin-foiled wrappers. The chocolates were inside this cute dog container. Upon eating the egg-choco, a toy is inside the choco. I loved it ever since. Of course, as I grew up, I loved Kinder Bueno more.

Coco-Trivia here: Kinder is under the Ferrero group. Surprise, surprise :D

(Source: http://www.thekitchn.com)	(Source: http://www.montrosecandy.com)
(Source: http://kimsulli.wordpress.com)	(Source: http://leosigh.com)

Remember this chocolate from our childhood days? It's Meiji Apollo! Lolz~ I remember the times when I kept bugging my parents to buy me these chocolates.. It proves that Japanese influence runs in my blood ever since I was 5 years old.. Lolz!

(Source: http://weheartit.com)

(Source: http://www.tofucute.com)

Lolz.. If you loved this chocolate, you'll love Meiji's Melty Kiss and Porte Hokkaido Whipped Milk. I got acquainted with these chocolates while I was in Hong Kong. The chocolates are packed individually. With these chocolates, forget M&M's "melt in your mouth not in your hands" tagline. This takes all the credits. Both chocolates have a distinct bitter powdery feel when you pop it into your mouth but as the powdery part dissolve.. Pure Bliss~

Here's Meiji Porte Hokkaido Whipped Milk.. The white part is the biscuit part.. Porte Hokkaido Whipped Milk are these poring (as in Ragnarok's poring) shaped chocolates are sweet and have this biscuit-like texture.. I'm not sure if Porte Hokkaido Whipped Milk comes in different flavors since I bought the original flavored one..

(Source: http://www.ebay.co.uk)

(Source: http://tastyjapan.blogspot.com)

Melty Kiss are small-box shaped chocolates that will literally melt in your mouths. Melty Kiss comes in three varieties (or the ones I’ve tasted came with 3 varities): Framboise (This is the first time I've encountered this flavor and it tasted like raspberry to me. Delicious and it comes with a sour aftertaste.), Chocolate (um.. Duh? Lolz!) and Green tea (this is my fave!)

(Source: http://foodsciencejapan.blogspot.com)	(Source: http://farm6.staticflickr.com)
(Source: http://tumblr.com)	(Source: http://www.chocolatemission.net)

I first bought Porte Hokkaido Whipped Milk and Melty Kiss when we were at the "Okashi Land" (my sweets haven!) shop in HK (easy to find shop. It can be found in most MTR stations and malls) but Melty Kiss is now available in our local malls. As for Porte Hokkaido Whipped Milk, I wasn’t able to find a local shop which sells them. If you guys know of a shop that has Porte Hokkaido, I’d give you loads and loads of hugs and kisses! Lolz!

(Source: http://www.flickr.com)

That concludes my chocolate-related post *scurries away and looks for chocolates*

KAKAO and LINE apps

2013-05-15T18:36:00.001+08:00

ADD ME UP!

l31y4h

The "Sir William's Hotel" Horror Experience

2013-05-15T18:07:00.001+08:00

So, we had everything ready. Projector, attendees, foods, etc. We're excited. We're not that big of a group but I really miss hanging out with these amazing, amazing people. There's this online deal for PhP4500 and it promises:

24 hours use of party room
1 case of San Mig Light
1 bottle of red wine
1 pitcher of juice
Free use of pool
No blackout dates
Perfect for holiday parties

Great for extensive fangirling, right?! I never had one for a long while. We purchased the deal and immediately called the hotel to have the party room reserved.

Everything went well. Or so we thought... It all started with a phone call (which is a really, really good thing).

---------------------START OF RANT---------------------

Around 10AM, my friend decided to call up the hotel for booking confirmation only to find out that it was reserved to another group. Booking should be at least 10 days in advance prior the event date (that's what it said in their their deal) and we called them up around a month earlier prior to our event date. The receptionist said that our booking was not placed on their calendar (though my friend was sure the receptionist said that she jotted our reservation down WITH THE TIME). Too bad we didn't get the receptionist's name. So, room gone, karaoke gone. Well, they gave us the suite instead. Well, ok... Better than nothing. We decided against rebooking our package since most of the attendees will be too busy. My friend got the receptionist's name, room number and reserved the suite for us. She gave my name as contact person.

By 6:30PM (yeah, we're late. We're supposed to be there by 6PM), our projector guy came and I told him to have the projector set up in the suite. I told him that we had the suite reserved under my name and to inform the receptionist that I gave him permission to enter the suite. A few minutes later, our projector guy called and said that there's no room reserved under my name.

WTF?!

I instantly called them up and demanded for an explanation. I was pissed off since we were given a suite instead of the party room and NOW they're telling me that there's no room reserved under my name?! The receptionist (different from the one in the morning shift) informed me that the room given to us was indeed reserved but not under my name. Well, at least we had the room. I told her that I’d like to have a word with her manager but she/he’s not in their office since it’s a Saturday. If that’s the case, then I’ll talk to her after a while (at least I gave her time to prepare. It's not entirely her fault when you think about it)

So, I talked to the receptionist and was able to get the room. The karaoke was gone (since they're using it in the party room - which was supposed to be ours anyway) so I asked her if there's anything they can offer to compensate for the karaoke box. She kept insisting that there's no other option for us to take. I haggled that she should give us 24hrs pool usage (the pool should be closed at 10PM) but she said she can just extend it to 1AM. Not pleased, I told her to at least remove the food corkage fee (PhP500) to compensate for the karaoke. She agreed. Good. Karaoke issue fixed and yay! No Corkage! I’m satisfied with that.

But wait, aren't we supposed to get some sort of drinks package? From what I remember it should be 1 case of San Mig Light, 1 bottle of red wine, 1 pitcher of juice. Wait... Alcohol ban due to the upcoming election... So there's no alcoholic beverages? I though the ban only covers "buying alcoholic beverages" and "drinking alcoholic beverages in public". I thought they had some in stock since… Well, since they offered it with their package. But it’s ok… I understand. Law is law anyway… So, remove 1 case of SML and what? No red wine? Their staff (while talking to someone on the phone. Maybe another staff?) informed us that as much as they want to provide us the drinks, their beers are locked away and they can't open “it” (I dunno… Storage room maybe?). To cut the chase, I asked the to at least give us something to compensate for the drinks. Sodas and juices are fine as long as they are of the same number as the original drinks. They agreed. End of discussion.

So we're finally there... In the room, getting ready for some serious fangilring. We then had our late dinner. We called up the front desk to have our drinks delivered to our room. She said yes and we waited... And waited... And waited... And waited for 30 minutes!!! I know that they are supposed to bring up 2 pitchers of juice to our room. I called front desk several times until she decided to pass me to "housekeeping". That’s when they told me that the drinks are being prepared and the pitchers are being washed. Ok... We waited for 30 minutes and the pitchers are just being washed?! Well, ok... It's not as if we can do anything about it... We waited until our drinks arrived. Yay! 2 pitchers of powder-dissolved juice that took more than 30 minutes to prepare. After an hour or so, 11 cans of sodas followed. Oh, impressive! They bought our drinks without us pestering them. Aaaaannnndddd for some magical reason (which I decided not to know) they were able to bring us 1 bucket of SML beers. We're not expecting them since we already told them that they can remove it from our package but oh well... Thanks...

We slept at around 2AM and I woke up at 5AM. It suddenly became insanely HOT! At first I thought we can take the heat but after a few hours or so, we're all dripping wet with sweat. Who do you call? Of course, front desk. We asked them to have our air conditioning fixed but their maintenance is not around (heck, I thought hotel maintenance staff should be around 24 hours?). We asked for the crew’s estimate time of arrival. They said 9AM. Ok... We'll wait... 9AM came and still, no maintenance! We called up front desk (countless times) and after some time, they allowed us to use their pool (which should be open at 1PM then they moved it to 10AM then maybe because of our constant complaints, they allowed us to use it before 10AM). Some of us took a dip in the pool. Me and 2 other fangirls decided to just visit the nearest Mcdonald's and enjoy their conditioning while having a decent breakfast.

We got back at around 10:30AM and that's when we were told that we can transfer to another suite. Uhm... Thanks but we would appreciate it more if you'd let us use it sooner. At that, I left the group (since it's mother's day) and the hotel.

---------------------END OF RANT---------------------

What I want to point out is really simple: Get your staff a decent customer service training. This scenario is not uncommon in the hotel business and they should at least have some ideas on how to handle customer complaints. I mean... Come on! How do you expect the "already-irate" customer to react when you say something like "That isn't possible" or "We can't do that"?

I suddenly remembered my conversation with their receptionist. I'm trying to haggle to compensate for the Karaoke Box and drinks:

Me (M): All what we're asking is compensation in exchange of those items which are SUPPOSED to be ours.
Receptionist (R): I'm sorry ma'am... We really can't do that. We have a policy to follow.
M: .... Policy? Didn't we followed your "10 days prior" policy when we reserved the party room? What happened?
R: ....

I'm honestly a patient person (or I thought I am) and my friends can prove that I stayed as calm as possible when I talked to their staffs. I want to deal with such issues calmly but I ALMOST went into a fit of rage when I discovered how customer service sucks big time! I really can't accept their reason that there's no maintenance around when you need it the most. Yeah, I know we got the package from a deal but offering your service would mean that you HAVE to meet what's stated in the deal right? If something unexpected happen, then at least have some options ready. Answering "We can't do that" to an irate customer won't help ease his/her anger. I had some terrible experiences with hotels before but this takes all the credits when it comes to bad service.

Just to point out, I'm not saying that people who read this should NOT try this hotel out. Maybe there are people out there who experienced good service from them. I'm just writing out a review about our experience.

Criteria	Ratings	Reason
Accessibility	★★★★☆	It's highly accessible. Public and private vehicles can reach this place without any problems. See? I’m nice. Lolz!
Facilities	★☆☆☆☆	Their air conditioning failed to work during the night. Their elevator's cramped and definitely not good for claustrophobic people. They do have their pool but it's not that clean... Or so, in my opinion
Staff's Service and/or friendliness	★☆☆☆☆	There are friendly staffs and there are staffs whom you can easily point out that they're irritated with your complaints. The night-shift receptionist is kind enough to listen to my complaints without making a face. Lolz!)
Customer Service	☆☆☆☆☆	Nada! They don't follow-up to our requests and we need to call them up each time for follow-ups. I STILL can't accept that there's no maintenance person to accommodate us at that time
Package Offer	★☆☆☆☆	We got some of the items in the package (24hrs stay but not with the expected room, some drinks and pool) but aside from that, everything else was fail.

The wonders of technology

2013-03-25T08:34:00.001+08:00

We know how fast-changing technology is and while browsing the web, I happen to see this image on FB. The picture was from the Papal Conclave 2005 and 2013. It just shows how technology change in a short span of time =)

Café Noriter: Not your usual “Playground” in Manila

2013-02-11T14:49:00.001+08:00

It’s been ages since the last time I wrote a blog. I know, I know. Blame it on the disease that everyone tend to experience… Laziness :P

Anyway, you all know that I love to eat, right? I mean, come on. It’s pretty obvious :P One thing that makes eating fun is that you end up discovering new places which not only fill your eyes but also your stomachs. That’s exactly what Café Noriter offered.

As I am writing this, I’ll keep you guys constantly updated since I KNOW I’ll end up coming back to this place :D

I’ve been working in the Manila area for 7 years now and I commonly pass by Vito Cruz area. I’m sure most of you are aware of “Tapa King”, right? But did you know that there’s this awesome café just above it?

“Noriter” is a Korean term for “Playground” and the place did provide a playful environment. It’s like a perfect hang out for artists and artists at heart. The area is filled with doodles and graphics and decors which might stir the child inside you.

I find those Veranda-like places by the window cool. We stayed there as we eat and chatted the night away. You have to remove your shoes though :)

The somewhat-veranda area are adorned with writings on the woods. I think the café encourages its customers to write their thoughts, hence the various writings everywhere. One eye-catching design was the drawings on the glass panel.

Look, I even saw this writing here. SHINee fan was here :P Lolz!

There’s another area like this one at the back of the café and experience told me that it’s better to just stay at lighted, open areas instead of the secluded one… Unless you want to watch a free live show while you’re there. I mean, come on. I know you love each other and I’m a pretty liberated person so I understand PDA but here’s a limit between “Acceptable” PDA and “Get-a-Room!” type of PDA >_< You went to the café to eat FOOD not LIPS nor any parts of the body for heaven’s sake!!!

The feel of the place is that of a library, hence the chairs and wooden tables. The tables are adorned with various designs and decors. There are letters, pictures and drawings displayed on the tables.

One factor that makes Café Noriter unique are the paper cups decors. The designs are drawn by the café’s customers. If it’s good enough, they will put it up as part of the café’s display. I found some cute and amusing ones :D

My colleagues tried to give the “design thing” a go too. Too bad most of the pens ran out of ink :P

And of course, the FOOD! Oh, how I love the food! It’s reasonable and deelish at the same time. My sweet tooth is definitely satisfied during my stay at Café Noriter.

At my first visit, I ordered a Caramel Frappe and their Honey Bread (which is one of their best sellers by the way). Oh, let me do a quick one on their Choco-Caramel frappe too :D

The Caramel frappe (left one) is… Well, the usual for a Caramel frappe. Aside from the cool-looking logo on the cup, I really don’t have anything to say about it :P Choco-Caramel frappe, on the other hand, is a bit sweet for my taste but it’s pretty addicting once you get used to it. You get to taste all the chocolatey-caramely goodness in the drink.

The Honey Bread is good for sharing (2-3 people I assume) and it’s just so delicious! Aside from honey (duh?) the dish was added a fair share of caramel syrup, cinnamon and oodles of whipped cream, thus the presentation. It’s a must try for anyone who plans to visit Café Noriter.

On my second visit, I met up with my Arashian friends. This time, I ordered Choco-Caramel frappe (the one I mentioned above) and waffles. The waffles… OMG… It was awesome! The best tasting waffles I ever tasted! The waffles is pretty big enough to be shared by 3 people and they didn’t skimp on both presentation and taste :D This is the first time someone served me waffles with syrup, fruits, whipped cream and iced cream all in the same platter :D

And that concludes my Café Noriter experience. I’ll definitely be back. This place is currently my favorite café within Manila area :D

For more pictures: HERE

Coffee Prince in the heart of the Metro

2012-10-10T15:47:00.001+08:00

Album Link: Coffee Prince

My friend invited me out to try a café at Vito Cruz. The shop’s name caught my attention “Coffee Prince”. Sounds promising eh? :P

Of course, the shop reminded me of the KDrama “Coffee Prince” (which happens to be one of my most favorite KDramas ever). As soon as we got in, I searched for prince-type waiters. Lolz! Too bad I wasn’t able to find one =(

The ambiance’s cozy but the lighting’s a bit… Off? I had a difficult time trying to find for a good area to take some shots. The place is illuminated with orangey light. Maybe they made it that way to induce some sort of relaxing feel for their clients. If you have enough time to kill, bring a good book in and read. The place is pretty good for that purpose.

What caught my attention was the mural donned along the wall since it reminded me of the “Coffee Prince” novel cover/jacket. In my opinion, the place’s real cozy enough for a coffee date or just chat and hang out with friends =)

Of course, what’s the use of going there if we won’t try out their menu?

We ordered the following: Iced Cappuccino, Princess Caravan Smoothie (tasted like caramel-banana smoothie), Baked Macaroni, Prince Club Sandwich (it’s your usual clubhouse sandwich). The baked mac and sandwich are good enough for 2. We shelled out around PhP235 each. It’s pretty filling and appetizing.

So, if you guys have the time, drop by “Coffee Prince”. It’s located at The Grand Towers, Pablo Ocampo Sr. Ave. (near Taft Ave.), Manila. It’s just a very short walk from LRT Vito Cruz station =)

Tokyo City inside Tokyo Grill

2012-10-10T15:35:00.001+08:00

We decided to try out a spiffy new restaurant located at the 4th Floor of SM Manila. "Tokyo Grill" is your usual Japanese cuisine restaurant only better :P
Guess what their color theme is… Orange?! How did you know?! XD Reminded me of AraFest (fangirl side speaking)

Tokyo City’s mural is totally eye catching (the fact that it’s orange in color will DEFINILTEY catch your attention). The area just opposite to it is donned with some sort of white, soft, cushiony material. It’s like you’re waiting inside a classy hotel or… I don’t know but for some reason, it gave me an airport’s waiting area feel :P
Pardon the poorly written caption. Photoshake app’s acting up :(

I don’t know if they commonly serve this as part of their menu or if it’s just their “opening promo” but we ordered their special bento for two.
This one costs PhP299 and consisted of Beef Teppan, Chicken Teppan (yes, the bento includes two meat dishes), Mixed veggies, 2 rice, 2 iced teas and 2 miso soup.
We had a pretty satisfying meal and we’ll definitely drop by the area again :D

Bought myself a new bag set. Loving it! ♥

2012-10-09T17:58:00.001+08:00

.: Created with PhotoShake for Android :.

Cousin Collector?

2012-10-02T15:43:00.001+08:00

It’s –ber months and since we’re nearing Christmas, the quiet collection agents are now on prowl for clueless defaulters!

I’ve been absent for some time (5 days or more) since my mom was confined and had to go through a gallbladder operation. I had to drop by our office to get some documents for her bill out and incidentally, someone called. My officemate answered the phone, telling me that my “cousin” who goes by the name of “Henry” called and was looking for me.

I blinked and informed my officemate that he’s just a collector and I don’t have any cousins that goes by that name. As he told him that, “Henry” asked my officemate that “Is Tita <mom’s name> really in the hospital?” At that question, my hunch was confirmed and my officemate told him firmly “You don’t have any idea what’s happening to your aunt?” and with that he hang up.

How’d he get those information you ask?

The CA kept calling the office these past few days and my officemates kept telling him that I’m on leave because my mom’s hospitalized.
My mom’s name was written on my credit card application form.

It’s amazing how these people can stitch lies together just to get money from defaulters. I won’t even say that they’re “helping” since they kept giving us impossible “amnesty” and “promos”. I don’t have money to pay PhP5,000 and they’re asking me to shell out PhP30,000 payable three days after our conversation.

Try asking for an SOA? They’ll keep sending you balance statements. How can you pay your debt without you knowing how much your debt really is and how it ballooned to that amount? Are you willing to pay your debts without having any idea how much your debt really is? Oh, and let’s not forget those derogatory words, curses, cusses and loud phone banging during and after conversations.

How can you trust these people to help you out (well, they wrote in their letters that they want to help you “ease” your baggage) if they’re the ones harassing you?

To those who are still scared out of their wits because of these collectors, read this article: http://www.kusangpalo.com/2011/how-to-deal-with-credit-card-debt-in-the-philippines.html. It gives a real good impact on what “defaulters” really are.

Finally got my MCTS certifications for SharePoint 2010 Configuration :D

2012-09-25T20:10:00.001+08:00

Helping out a friend in need

2012-09-20T15:42:00.002+08:00

Way back during the early months of 2012, I was informed by a very dear and close friend that she's suffering from a certain kidney disease. Andeng and her husband are starting enjoying their life as newly weds when the news broke out. Andeng was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy.

Much to our dismay, her case of IgA Nephropathy is not treatable and her disease is prograssing way faster than anyone ever suspected. Light dawned when her doctor told her that she can undergo a kidney transplant. Her sister happened to be the best match as her donor.

Her surgery will be next Tuesday and their current savings can cover part of the operation. From here on, we would like to help my friend out and I'm currently knocking on your hearts to support us on this endeavor.

You can access Andeng's GOFUNDME entry at http://www.gofundme.com/ane-transplantfund#description and donate some of your earnings for this cause. We would totally appreciate the help. Also, feel free to share the site through social networking.

Andeng and her husband are really close to my heart. Please do help us out on this. Every cent counts. Thanks a lot in advance :) Should you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or drop me a line or two.

Maroon 5 to hold concert in Philippines on September

2012-06-21T15:19:00.001+08:00

Maroon 5’s newest album “Overexposed” is now available on iTunes and I’m pretty delighted and excited to read that they will be returning to Philippines for another round of concert on September! The concert will be held at SMART Araneta Coliseum on September 18, 2012.

Check out this section for more information:

Maroon 5 returns to Manila in September

Overexposed? That may be the title of Maroon 5’s fourth album, due out on June 26th, but for fans raring to move like Jagger, Maroon 5’s upcoming concert on September 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, that overexposure may be welcome.

After all, it will be the band’s third visit to Manila , following shows in 2008 and again, last year in May.

Frontman Adam Levine’s turn as a mentor in the TV reality show “The Voice” was a ratings bonanza and his equally high-profile romances with models of the Victoria ’s Secret variety are gossip site fodder.

Churning out the hits

And, when it comes to slick pop-soul tunes that stick like LSS (Last Song Syndrome), Maroon 5 are masters.

In the 12 years they’ve been together, the band has churned ‘em out with pretty decent regularity. It began in 2005 with “She Will Be Loved” then in 2008 with “Makes Me Wonder,” and in 2009 by “Won't Go Home without You" and “If I Never See Your Face Again,” a collaboration with Rihanna. Last year, “Misery” and “Moves Like Jagger” with Christina Aguilera took to the stratosphere.

Along the way, the band picked up nine Grammy awards, including Best New Artist in 2005. Maroon 5 also seemed to have broken the curse of the said award. Unlike some of the one-hit wonders who received the award and then sank without a trace after, Maroon 5 has gone from hit to hit.

Most paid downloaded song

In fact, “Moves Like Jagger” went down in history as one the most paid downloaded song, prompting the band to explore the idea of co-writing, which they do in the new album.

“It’s like, ‘We get it—we’re overexposed,’” Levine said, laughing. “We’re just trying to preemptively go where the conversation is headed anyway. We figured we’d get there first.”

While everyone and his grandma know Maroon 5 as a pop hit machine, Levine has been less than forthcoming about it.

Embracing their pop stardom

“I feel like we’ve been standing on the edge of a cliff for a long time. We’re a band that’s always been close to being full-on pop, but that’s rooted in a lot of other things: rock, soul, funk, the list goes on,” he said.

“‘Overexposed’ is the first time we’ve ever completely embraced the idea of making pop music—of making songs for the radio. We just said, ‘Let’s not be afraid to do what we basically are.’”

The singer said that the new album is “both most and least like Maroon 5.” It’s got the sound people expect from them but it also contains ideas that are “a step beyond whatever feels comfortable,” the singer said.

Not another effing love song

Their single off their new album, “Payphone,” features rapper Wiz Khalifa for the guest verse.

“I love how ‘Payphone’ seems like a such sweet song until the chorus comes in,” Levine said, referring to the part of that tune where he declares, “All those fairy tales are full of s**t / One more f***ing love song, I’ll be sick.”

“It’s totally subverting the song in this way that makes you lean in and listen,” he added.

While that sounds like Levine unwilling to let pop engulf his loftier musical aspirations, he might as well give up. Four-letter words notwithstanding, Levine and Maroon 5 are pop stars. And what’s so bad about that?

Maroon 5 performs live in Manila with special guest, The Cab, on September 18, 2012 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. This event is presented by Midas Promotions in cooperation with Dayly Entertainment. Tickets are available online at www.ticketnet.com.ph or call 911-5555 for inquiries.

I love “Payphone” to boot and will definitely would save up to see this concert! We also found out from this site (http://www.etix.com/ticket/online/performanceSearch.jsp?performance_id=1638740) that tickets might have these amounts:

PATRON VIP (PT101 & PT103 ROW A-J) - Php 10,600
PATRON REGULAR (PT101&103 ROW K-T/ PT104-PT115) - Php 7,420
LOWER BOX VIP (LB200-201) - Php 6,360
LOWER BOX SIDES (LB202-215) - Php 5,830
UPPER BOX A (UA) - Php 3,710
UPPER BOX B (UB) - Php 2,650
GENERAL ADMISSION (GA) - Php 850

Eiga Sai 2012: Movie Details

2012-06-15T14:48:00.001+08:00

VILLAIN (Akunin)
悪人
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Villain_(Akunin)
Cast: Satoshi Tsumabuki (Yuichi Shimizu), Eri Fukatsu (Mitsuyo Magome), Masaki Okada (Keigo Masuo), Hikari Mitsushima (Yoshino Ishibashi), Sansei Shiomi (Keiji Sano), Mansaku Ikeuchi (Norio Kubo), Ken Mitsuishi (Norio Yajima), Kimiko Yo (Yoriko Shimizu), Hisashi Igawa (Katsuji Shimizu), Suzuki Matsuo (Tsutsumishita), Kinuo Yamada (Tamayo Magome), Hanae Kan (Kiri Tanimoto), Ayaka Nakamura (Masako Adachi), Yoshiko Miyazaki (Satoko Ishibashi), Kento Nagayama (Koki Tsuruta), Kirin Kiki (Fusae Shimizu), Akira Emoto (Yoshio Ishibashi), Shingo Ippongi, Sabu Kawahara

Synopsis:
Yuichi Shimizu (Satoshi Tsumabuki) is a young man who takes care of his grandparents in a decaying fishing village in Nagasaki. His grandparents raised Yuichi instead of his mother. Yuichi now works as a civil employee. He is a lonely man. One day, Yuichi meets Yoshino Ishibashi (Hikari Mitsushima) an insurance sales woman from Fukuoka. They first met through an online dating site. Their meeting ends in tragedy with Yuichi murdering Yoshino. Unexpectedly, a rich young university student from Fukuoka, named Keigo Masuo (Masaki Okada) endss up as the prime suspect. Hiding in fear & agony, Yuichi goes on with his daily life. Then one day, Yuichi receives an email. The email is from Mitsuyo Magome (Eri Fukatsu), a woman from Saga. Yuichi and Mitsuyo exchanged emails in the past after meeting through an online dating site. Mitsuyo currently lives a mundane life, working at a men's clothing store and living with her younger sister. Looking for companionship, Mitsuyo decided to reach out to Yuichi after a lengthy time without correspondence. The two lonely souls then meet for the first time and throw themselves into a moment of love. By this time, Yuichi is now a wanted criminal and his face appears on the news. Nevertheless, Mitsuyo persuades Yuichi to run away with her and not turn himself in. Running away places heavy burdens on their families as well as the victim's family.

Awards & Nominations:
[Aug. 26-Sept. 6] 2010 (34th) Montreal World Film Festival - World Competition
[October 7-15] 2010 (15th) Pusan International Film Festival - A Window on Asian Cinema
[October 22-November 8] 2010 (7th) Hong Kong Asian Film Festival - Cineaste Delights
[March 5-13, 2011] 2011 (6th) Osaka Asian Film Festival - Osaka Cinema Festival 2011
[April 29-May 7, 2011] 2011 (13th) Udine Far East Film *European Premiere
[June 11-19, 2011] 2011 (14th) Shanghai International Film Festival - Panorama - Global Village: Japanese Film Week Awards
[Aug. 26-Sept. 6, 2010] 2010 (34th) Montreal World Film Festival "Best Actress" (Eri Fukatsu)
[December 28, 2010] 2010 (23rd) Nikkan Sports Film Awards "Best Picture", "Best Actor" (Satoshi Tsumabuki), "Best Actress" (Eri Fukatsu)
[January 17, 2011] 2010 (65th) Mainichi Film Awards "Grand Prize"
[February 15, 2011] 2010 (53rd) Blue Ribbon Awards "Best Actor" (Satoshi Tsumabuki)
[February 18, 2011] 2011 (34th) Japan Academy Prize "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role" (Satoshi Tsumabuki), "Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" (Eri Fukatsu), "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" (Akira Emoto), "Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role" (Kirin Kiki)

More details under the cut…

RAILWAYS (Reiruweizu)
RAILWAYS 49歳で電車の運転士になった男の物語
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Railways_(2010-Japan)
Cast: Kiichi Nakai (Hajime Tsutsui), Reiko Takashima (Yuki Tsutsui), Yuika Motokariya (Kou Tsutsui), Takahiro Miura (Daiware Miyata), Tomoko Naraoka (Kineyo Tsutsui), Isao Hashizume (Satoru Osawa), Shiro Sano (Nobuo Ishikawa), Yoshiko Miyazaki (Akiko Moriyama), Kenichi Endo (Yoshitsuki Kabera), Ken Nakamoto (Ryo Nishida), Masahiro Komoto (Noboru Hukushima), Tetsu Watanabe (Haruo Takahashi), Kanta Ogata (Masayuki Yabuchi), Masanori Ishii (Toshikazu Takubo), Matsunosuke Shofukutei (Toyozou Nagaoka)

Synopsis:
Hajime Tsutsui (Kiichi Nakai) worked for the electric company and recently received a promotion. Due to his mother's illness and the death of a close friend Hajime decides to return to his hometown of Izumo, Shimane to work as a rail car driver.

Awards & Nominations:
[October 07-15, 2010] 2010 (15th) Pusan International Film Festival - A Window on Asian Cinema
[October 14-24, 2010] 2010 (30th) Hawaii International Film Festival - Spotlight on Japan *US Premier
[October 21-28, 2010] 2010 (12th) Mumbai Film Festival - World Cinema
[November 9-30, 2011 ] 2011 (6th) Kinotayo Film Festival - Hommages Kinotayo Awards
[February 18, 2011] "Rookie of the Year" (Takahiro Miura) - 2011 (34th) Japan Academy Prize

PERMANENT NOBARA
パーマネント野ばら
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Permanent_Nobara
Cast: Miho Kanno (Naoko), Eiko Koike (Micchang), Chizuru Ikewaki (Tomochang), Mari Natsuki (Masako), Ryudo Uzaki (Kazuo), Yosuke Eguchi (Kashima), Tsumugi Hatakeyama (Momo)

Synopsis:
A newly divorced young woman, played by Miho Kanno, returns to work at "Permanent Nobara" - a beauty salon run by her mother. Friends and love relations will be shown, as will the introduction of Miho Kanno's love interest played by Yosuke Eguchi.

Awards & Nominations:
[July 15th-25th] 2010 (14th) Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival - Vision Express *International Premiere
[October 14-24] 2010 (30th) Hawaii International Film Festival - Spotlight on Japan *United States Premiere
[April 27-May 1, 2011] 2011 (11th) Nippon Connection - Nippon Cinema Awards
[July 15th-25th] Netpac Award - 2010 (14th) Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival

PEAK – THE RESCUERS (Gaku: Minna no Yama)
岳-ガク-
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Peak:_The_Rescuers
Cast: Shun Oguri (Sanpo Shimazaki), Masami Nagasawa (Kumi Shiina), Kuranosuke Sasaki (Masato Noda), Takuya Ishida (Toshio Akutsu), Yoshie Ichige (Ayako Tanimura), Atsuro Watabe (Hidenori Maki), Toshihiro Yashiba (Yohei Zama), Kyosuke Yabe (Shunichi Ando), Manabu Hamada (Seki), Suzunosuke (Moriya), Hiroyuki Onoue (man in distress), Kazuki Namioka (Sanpo's friend), Ren Mori (Makoto Aoki), Bengal (victim's father), Takashi Ukaji (Shuji Yokoi), Kaito Kobayashi (Naota Yokoi), Ken Mitsuishi (Ichiro Kaji), Noriko Nakagoshi (Yoko Kaji), Ken Ishiguro (Kyozo Shiina)

Synopsis:
Sanpo Shimazaki (Shun Oguri) is a volunteer mountain rescuer. He climbs mountains all over the world and knows well the difficulties and the beauty of the mountains. Sanpo wants to share his knowledge of the mountains to others. When Sanpo is called into action he never blames others even though their predicament is usually caused by them. Kumi Shiina (Masami Nagasawa) is new volunteer mountain rescuer attempting to follow in her father's footsteps. Under the guidance of rescue leader Masato Noda (Kuranosuke Sasaki) and Sanpo, Kumi undergoes a strict training regiment. Kumi also learns the perils of her new job - failed missions, the bereaved families blaming the rescuers, and the awesome power of mother nature itself. Kumi becomes tired and loses her confidence. A raging winter storm then strikes the mountain. Multiple distress calls come in. Kumi goes out for a rescue mission and what awaits for her is an unimaginable threat from mother nature....

Awards & Nominations:
[July 14-24, 2011] 2011 (15th) Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival - Vision Express *International Premiere
[June 16-24, 2012] 2012 (15th) Shanghai International Film Festival - Global Village: Japan Film Week

NINJA KIDS!!! (Nintama Rantaro)
忍たま乱太郎
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Ninja_Kids!!!
Cast: Seishiro Kato (Rantaro Inadera), Roi Hayashi (Kirimaru Settsuno), Futa Kimura (Shinbe Fukutomi), Mikijiro Hira (Okawa), Susumu Terajima (Denzo Yamada), Takahiro Miura (Hansuke Doi), Koji Yamamoto (Shinzaemon Tobe), Arata Furuta (Mess Hall Lady), Anne Watanabe (Shina Yamamoto), Tamao Nakamura (Shina Yamamoto), Akira Emoto (Usetake Ninja Choro), Renji Ishibashi (Usetake Ninja OB), Yusuke Yamamoto (Yoshiro Suzutakano), Yuma Ishigaki (Sukarasu Do), Shunya Shiraishi (Komatsu), Takuya Mizoguchi (Takamura), Ryo Mitsuya (Shosei), Naoto Takenaka (Sukarasu Miruma), Shido Nakamura (Rentaro's father), Rei Dan (Rentaro's mother), Takeshi Kaga (Yukitaka Saito), Hiroki Matsukata (Happosai Hieta), Shosuke Tanihara, Takumi Kitamura

Synopsis:
Rantaro was born into a low class ninja family. His parents hope he can one day become an elite ninja to make his family proud. Rantaro, bearing his parents' expectations, enters the Ninja Academy. At the academy, he becomes friends with Shinbe (Futa Kimura), the son of a wealthy merchant family and Kirimaru (Roi Hayashi ), who lost his father in the war. The students at the Ninja Academy are called Nintama - which means future ninjas. Rantaro has a fun time at school, but Rantaro, Shinbe and Kirimaru have difficulties with their studies. One day, a killer appears in the house of Yukitaka Saito (Takeshi Kaga) and his son, 4th grader at the Ninja Academy, Takamura (Takuya Mizoguchi). Although Yukitaka Saito now runs a popular store, Yukitaka and Takamura were once members of the Usetake ninjas. Now, the Usetake ninjas are aiming to kill them both. Can the students at the Ninja Academy save them?

Awards & Nominations:
[July 1-14, 2011] 2011 (10th) New York Asian Film Festival / 2011 (5th) JAPAN CUTS: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema *World Premiere
[July 14-24, 2011] 2011 (15th) Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival - Family Fanta *Asian Premiere
[July 14-August 7, 2011] 2011 (15th) Fantasia Film Festival *Canadian Premiere
[October 06-16, 2011] 2011 (44th) Sitges Film Festival - Midnight X-Treme
[October 13-23, 2011] 2011 (31st) Hawaii International Film Festival - Spotlight on Japan *Hawaii Premiere
[October 20-28, 2011] 2011 (12th) San Diego Asian Film Festival - Asia Pop!
[June 16-24, 2012] 2012 (15th) Shanghai International Film Festival - Global Village: Japan Film Week

TOMORROW’S JOE (Ashita no Joe)
あしたのジョー
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Tomorrow%27s_Joe
Cast: Tomohisa Yamashita (Joe Yabuki), Yusuke Iseya (Toru Rikiishi), Karina (Yoko Shiraki), Teruyuki Kagawa (Danpei Tange), Katsuya (Kanichi Nishi), Morooka Moro (restaurant's father), Naomi Nishida (restaurant's female owner), Tetta Sugimoto (Yoji Andou), Mitsuko Baisho (Mari Hanamura), Masahiko Tsugawa (Mikinokai Shiraki), Mitsuki Koga, Ren Hulk, Bokuzo Masana, Tsutomu Takahashi, Ryohei Abe, Yasuhi Nakamura, Rina Hatakeyama, Kohei Watanabe, Shin Koyanagi, Koji Kato, Takehiro Otsuki

Synopsis:
Set in the 1960's, Joe Yabuki (Tomohisa Yamashita) lives in a run-down low income ara. There, alcholic ex-boxer Danpei Tange (Teruyuki Kagawa) notices Joe Yabuki's talents as a boxer. But then, Joe gets into trouble and is sentenced into the youth detention center. In the youth detention center, Joe gets into a brawl and then is knocked out by Toru Rikiishi (Yusuke Iseya) who is a champion caliber professional boxer. While incarcerated, Joe gets special training from Danpei Tange through letters. Upon Joe's release, he quickly becomes an elite boxer and famous for a devastating cross counter. Meanwhile, Toru Rikiishi is also released from prison and quickly resumes his boxing career. Toru finally gets his shot at the world championship belt, but before that, Toru wants a match with Joe Yabuki. The two men enter the ring...

Awards & Nominations:
[April 28-May 6, 2011] 2011 (12th) Jeonju International Film Festival - Cinemafest: Cinema Palace
[June 11-19, 2011] 2011 (14th) Shanghai International Film Festival - Golden Goblet Award
[January 24, 2012] Best Supporting Actor (Yusuke Iseya) - 2011 (54th) Blue Ribbon Awards

HAPPY FLIGHT (Haapi Furaito)
ハッピーフライト
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Happy_Flight
Cast: Seiichi Tanabe (Kazuhiro Suzuki), Saburo Tokito (Noriyoshi Harada), Haruka Ayase (Uetsuko Saito), Kazue Fukiishi (Mari Tanaka), Tomoko Tabata (Natsumi Kimura), Shinobu Terajima (Reiko Yamasaki), Ittoku Kishibe (Masaharu Takahashi), Megumi Sato (Kaho Obata), Hitomi Hasebe (Kisae Naito), Fumiyo Kohinata (Captain Sadao Mochizuki), Takashi Sasano (Ground Manager), Kami Hiraiwa (Miki Yoshida (ground staff), Tetsushi Tanaka (Kengo Koizumi (line mechanic), Ryu Morioka (Hiroki Nakmura (mechanic), Sanae Miyata (Kazuyo Takeuchi (air-traffic controller), Mika Hijii (Shiori Nakajima), Ryosei Tayama (Ryuji Morita), Aiko Ito (Rie Miyamoto), Bengal (Bird Patrol), Daikichi Sugawara (Toshiro Shimizu), Naoto Takenaka (Passenger), Yasuhi Nakamura (Masashi Yoshikawa), Bokuzo Masana (Fukuo Okamoto), Noriko Iriyama (Ikumi Takada), Tomoharu Hasegawa (Tadayoshi Watanabe), Noriko Eguchi (Yuriko Mizuno), Yoshiyuki Morishita (Journalist Imai), Ryosuke Takei (Shoichi Iguchi), Hana Kino (Toshie Saito), Akira Emoto (Saito), Arata Saeki (operation staff), So Kusakabe (Kozo Ota), Mari Hayashida (Masako Yokoi), Kiho Kashiro (Emi Kobayashi), Sogen Tanaka, Tomoya Ishii, Iku Takamatsu

Synopsis:
The setting of the film is an air-port and air-planes. A great variety of "aviative professors" such as pilots, flight attendants, the ground-crew, mechanics, dispatchers, controllers, and the bird patrol crew all support a single flight. They have only one task: to secure the safety of the passengers! Today was meant to be as any other day on the job, but this is put to the test on a seemingly routine flight to Honolulu…

COLORFUL (Karafuru)
カラフル
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Colorful
Voice Talents: Kazato Tomizawa (Makoto Kobayashi), Aoi Miyazaki (Shoko Sano), Akina Minami (Hiroka Kuwabara), Kumiko Aso (Makoto's mom), Katsumi Takahashi (Makoto's dad), Akiyoshi Nakao (Mitsuru Kobayashi), Jingi Irie (Saotoe)

Synopsis:
Upon reaching the train station to death, a dejected soul is informed that he is 'lucky' and will have another chance at life. He is placed in the body of a 14-year-old boy named Makoto Kobayashi, who has just committed suicide. Watched over by a neutral spirit named Purapura, the soul must figure out what his greatest sin and mistake in his former life was before his time limit in Makoto's body runs out. He also has a number of other lesser duties he must complete, such as understanding what led Makoto to commit suicide in the first place and learning how to enjoy his second chance at life.

Awards & Nominations:
[February 14-21, 2012] 2012 (18th) Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema - Japanimation
[January 17, 2011] Best Animated Film - 2010 (65th) Mainichi Film Awards

IN HIS CHART (Kamisama no Karute)
神様のカルテ
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/In_His_Chart
Cast: Sho Sakurai (Dr. Ichito Kuriharai), Aoi Miyazaki (Haruna Kuriharai), Jun Kaname (Jiro Sunayama), Michiko Kichise (Tomura), Yoshinori Okada (Shidono Gaku), Aki Asakura (Youko Mizunashi), Taizo Harada (Danshaku), Tokuma Nishioka (doctor), Chizuru Ikewaki (Naomi Touzai), Mariko Kaga (Kyoko Azumi), Akira Emoto (doctor), Takuya Nakayama (Umino), Masayo Umezawa (Shidono Gaku's mother), Ayumu Saito (Yokota), Denden (Omura), Yorie Yamashita (Kiri-san), Ippei Souda (Asahi), Kazuko Imai (Asahi's wife), Tomoka Yamaguchi (Rika Masumoto), Toru Nomaguchi, Sayaka Kaneko, Mie Ohta, Umi Yamano, Shige Uchida, Taro Suruga, Minoru Matsumoto

Synopsis:
Dr. Ichito Kuriharai (Sho Sakurai) works at a clinic in Nagano Prefecture. He rarely has any free time due to the clinic's shortage of doctors and the constant influx of patients. Ichito even sometimes diagnoses patients out of his area of speciality and sometimes goes days without sleeping. He hopes to work at a major hospital where he can get more free time to spend with his wife Haruna (Aoi Miyazaki) and also specialize in his field of study. However, Ichito is also reluctant to add to shortage of doctors at the clinic and break his relationships with the patients. One day, Dr. Ichito Kuriharai clears out the belongings of a terminal cancer patient who passed away. Durin this time, he discovers a letter made out to him thanking him for the care he provided to her, even though he could not cure her sickness. Dr. Ichito Kuriharai then has a revelation about the medical chart he keeps in his hand - filled with personal observations and concerns...

Awards & Nominations:
[June 16-24, 2012] 2012 (15th) Shanghai International Film Festival - Global Village: Japan Film Week

ABACUS AND SWORD (Bushi no Kakeibo)
武士の家計簿
Trailer & Info: http://asianwiki.com/Abacus_and_Sword
Cast: Masato Sakai (Naoyuki Inoshiyama), Yukie Nakama (Koma Inoshiyama), Keiko Matsuzaka (Tsune Inoshiyama), Masahiko Nishimura (Yosohachi Nishihisashi), Mitsuko Kusabue (Obabasama), Yuki Ito (Shigeyuki Inoshiyama), Mina Fujii (Sei Inoshiyama), Kaito Oyagi (Naokichi Inoshiyama), Masatoshi Nakamura (Nobuyuki Inoshiyama), Kyusaku Shimada, Ichirota Miyagawa, Shigemitsu Ogi

Synopsis:
Set during the Meiji Restoration period of Edo era Japan, Naoyuki (Masato Sakai) belongs to the 8th generation of the Inoyama family, a wealthy family known for finance & accounting. He is also a gifted mathematician and uses the abacus with extreme skills. Naoyuki works under the declining Kaga domain. Because of this, Naoyuki and his wife Koma (Yukie Nakama) suffer hardships as their stature and wealth dissipates.

Awards & Nominations:
[Aug. 26-Sept. 6] 2010 (34th) Montreal World Film Festival - Out of Competition *World Premiere
[October 14-24] 2010 (30th) Hawaii International Film Festival - Spotlight on Japan *United States Premiere
[October 23-31] 2010 (23rd) Tokyo International Film Festival - Special Screenings *Asian Premiere
[June 24-July 16, 2011] 2011 (13th) Taipei Film Festival - Panorama: Voices from Asia
[January 17, 2011] Best Art Direction (Nariyuki Kondo) - 2010 (65th) Mainichi Film Awards

Schedules: http://kehimekawa.blogspot.com/2012/06/japanese-film-fest-eiga-sai-2012.html

Japanese Film Fest: Eiga Sai 2012

2012-06-15T10:34:00.001+08:00

It’s here! Japanese Culture fans have been waiting for this movie fest every year and this time, I’m thoroughly excited with the line-up. Not only the plot sounds promising but most of the actors and actresses in the line-ups are from “this generation”. We have Nakama Yukie, Ayase Haruka, Miyazaki Aoi, Yamashita Tomohisa, Sakurai Sho (I can actually hear fangirls screaming), Oguri Shun, Kaname Jun, etc.

Just some info:
In His Chart: Kami-sama no Karute
Tomorrow’s Joe: Ashita no Joe

I think you guys know where I’m heading with these two infos… Lolz!

RESOURCES:
JFMO Eiga Sai 2012 Info
JFMO Eiga Sai 2012 Flyers/PDF

SCREENING SCHEDULES

July 05-15, 2012	-	Shang Cineplex Cinema 4, EDSA Mandaluyong
July 20-22, 2012	-	Gaisano Grand Citi Mall, Davao City
August 07-12, 2012	-	Ayala Center Cinema 4, Cebu City
August 15-21, 2012	-	UP Film Institute, UP Diliman Q.C.

Movie Details HERE

Shang Cineplex and UP Film Institute Schedules under the cut….

MOVIE SCHEDULES (Shang Cineplex):

July 05 (Thurs)	7:00 PM	Villain (by invitation only)
July 06 (Fri)	2:00 PM	Railways
	4:30 PM	Permanent Nobara
	7:00 PM	PEAK – The Rescuers
July 07 (Sat)	2:00 PM	Ninja Kids
	4:30 PM	Tomorrow’s Joe
	7:00 PM	Happy Flight
July 08 (Sun)	2:00 PM	Colorful
	4:30 PM	In His Chart
	7:00 PM	Abacus and Sword
July 09 (Mon)	2:00 PM	PEAK – The Rescuers
	4:30 PM	Railways
	7:00 PM	Villain
July 10 (Tues)	2:00 PM	Happy Flight
	4:30 PM	Tomorrow’s Joe
	7:00 PM	Colorful
July 11 (Wed)	2:00 PM	Ninja Kids
	4:30 PM	Permanent Nobara
	7:00 PM	In His Chart
July 12 (Thurs)	2:00 PM	Abacus and Sword
	4:30 PM	Railways
	7:00 PM	Villain
July 13 (Fri)	2:00 PM	Tomorrow’s Joe
	4:30 PM	Happy Flight
	7:00 PM	PEAK – The Rescuers
July 14 (Sat)	2:00 PM	Permanent Nobara
	4:30 PM	Ninja Kids
	7:00 PM	In His Chart
July 15 (Sun)	2:00 PM	Abacus and Sword
	4:30 PM	Colorful
	7:00 PM	Villain

MOVIE SCHEDULES (UP Film Institute):

August 15 (Wed)	2:00 PM	PEAK – The Rescuers
	4:30 PM	Abacus and Sword
	7:00 PM	Railways
August 16 (Thurs)	2:00 PM	Ninja Kids
	4:30 PM	Tomorrow’s Joe
	7:00 PM	In His Chart
August 17 (Fri)	2:00 PM	Colorful
	4:30 PM	Happy Flight
	7:00 PM	Villain
August 18 (Sat)	2:00 PM	Permanent Nobara
	4:30 PM	Tomorrow’s Joe
	7:00 PM	Railways
August 20 (Mon)	2:00 PM	Abacus and Sword
	4:30 PM	In His Chart
	7:00 PM	Permanent Nobara
August 21 (Mon)	2:00 PM	PEAK – The Rescuers
	4:30 PM	Colorful
	7:00 PM	Villain

“Charitable” Exhibitionist?

2012-05-09T09:50:00.001+08:00

This GOT to be my most unforgettable experience with people who ask for alms/financial aid inside a public transportation. I’m sure those who are from Philippines can attest and relate to what I’m saying. Kids or adults selling sweets, wiping shoes with dirty rags (in some cases slippers or sandals. They don’t really care anyway), car window washers, those who are selling charms or what we call as “anting-anting” and a lot more. Commonly, these people rides the commuters’ jeeps or buses to ask for financial aids. Being a regular commuter myself, I’m used to these and I THOUGHT I’ve seen every “tactics” or “styles” there are to ask for alms.

I was wrong…

Just this morning, on my way to work, I had this experience from a lady selling charms. She boarded the jeep around Quiapo area and me, being the luckiest passenger in the world is sitting nearest the exit, she sat next to me. I think she got those black ones from Quiapo. I was wearing my earphones (as usual) and wasn’t able to hear every word she’s saying. She then unceremoniously plopped a charm on my lap then started asking for alms. Take note here: The woman’s healthy. She’s fat even. She can work. She’s properly dressed not like those “taong grasa” or beggars we commonly see. Most of her lines are “Ate, maawa na kayo sa akin… Di pa ako kumakain… Nagugutom na ako…” (Please have mercy… I haven’t eaten and I’m so hungry) and “Ate, kunin mo na itong anting-anting. Maswerte ito. Mamamatay ako pag ‘di ka suswertehin dyan.” (Please buy my charm. It’s really lucky. I’d die if you won’t get lucky after getting my charm.)

Since I had my earphones on, she kept removing it from my ear but I kept putting it back that’s why I can hear just a gist of what she’s saying. She even kept rubbing my arm and shoulder to get my attention. Please don’t get me wrong though. I do give alms but this time I decided not to since the woman’s physically healthy (I’m not sure of her mental state though). I honestly think she can work and she haven’t said anything about being sick or having kids. She was crying and wailing but there are no tears coming out of her eyes.

Since she kept bugging me (and I mean endlessly BUGGING me), the passengers whom I made eye contact with kept shaking their heads at me indicating me to “ignore her” or “don’t give her anything”. Since I won’t be buying her charms, I calmly said “Ate, di talaga ako bibili..” (Ms., I really won’t be buying these) and handed the charm back to her (nicely, FYI) but she kept on placing it back on my lap. One time I placed it on the empty space between us and she forcefully placed it back on my lap, telling me not to ignore her item and it will REALLY bring me luck.

Along the way, she kept saying "Ate maawa na kayo sa akin.." (Please have mercy on me) then she lifted her shirt up, then displayed her boobs! She was wearing bras so she fished her boobs there! She showed (take note, showed not flashed) her boobs to me. I was shocked and judging my fellow passengers’ reactions, they were also shocked. Take note people, this was around 8AM in the morning. She kept on saying the same line again and again, crying (or at least trying to) as she showed her boobs. I still have my earphones on so I wasn’t able to catch what she’s saying so I checked on her boobs (well, I’m also a woman anyway and not the dirty type of “checked”) to see if she went through surgeon or if there are any traces of breast cancer or something but nothing. Her boobs are in perfect normal shape (she’s gifted in fact, if you get what I mean). There are around 5 guys and 2 girls in the jeep, including me. She then stood up and walked at the middle isle, showing her boobs to all. I can see that the passengers are getting pretty irritated by then.

Seeing that no one is planning to give her anything, the woman shouted “PARA MAMA! Mga walang puso!" (Stop this vehicle! Heartless people!) and stepped off the jeep. She got off around post office area. The driver commented something like “Aba. Ikaw pang galit di ka na nga nagbayad." (Huh? You’re the one who didn’t paid any fare and you’re angry?) Of course, she became our conversation topic that morning.

I think the woman had mental disorder or is really desperate over something. If I was in my bitch-mode at that time, I would reply “Hindi effective good luck charm na binebenta mo kasi ngayon pa lang, minalas na ako..." (Your charm’s not effective. You’re still selling it to me and I already had bad luck) or “Pampaswerte? Eh ano pa ginagawa mo dito?” (Lucky charms? Then what are you doing here?").

There are passengers who are itching to get a pic of the woman but eventually decided not to since they feel that it’s wrong. I also decided to do anything to agitate the lady since I really don’t have any idea on what state of mind she’s in.

I’m on KAKAO TALK!

2012-05-03T08:56:00.001+08:00

I finally got a chance to try Kakao Talk (since it's kinda new in Bada) and I'm still BLINDLY trying to get the gist of Kakao. For some reason I can't add people/friends for some weird reason

Anyway, to those who have Kakao Talk, feel free to add me :D

l31y4h

Email Exchange FAIL

2012-04-27T16:43:00.001+08:00

I was trying to contact this certain Travel Agency to inquire some details about our upcoming trip. I first sent an email inquiry but haven’t received an answer in 2 days. Since we can’t contact them via phone (cellphone, landline), can’t access their website and they don’t reply on FB inquiries, I decided to shoot out an email (again).

I've been trying to call your number countless times already since morning and I still haven't got through. Please give up a number where we can talk with any customer service or staff. We can't even check your website. Thanks........

Their reply was

Kindly indicate your concern through mail. Thanks

And from here, I’ll just share our email exchange. GREEN (me). BLUE (agency).

Thanks for the very quick reply. We would like to inquire about the booking for our travel. We bought the 6900 deal from a deal. Does your booking starts June 23? Meaning we can only go to your office and book by June 23? We can't go earlier than the said date? And another thing, are you open on weekends? We're planning to drop by your office on a weekend to book. To add, can you provide us a sample itinerary on where to go in <place where we are going>? We have our own list but maybe you can give is some suggestions or something? Thanks a lot and hoping for a reply.

our office only open during weekdays.. yes mam june 23 is the starts of the booking..

Ok. Thanks so much. Are you open on Saturdays?

no mam .. we are open on weekdays ..

What schedule?

I almost fell out of my chair from their response.

monday to friday mam ..

When I finally got my laughter in control

No. The schedule. 8am to 5pm? 9am to 6pm? 8am to 3pm? 10am to 10 pm? Your office hours please.

a ok .. 8am- 8pm ..

Ok thanks. We'll just drop by :)

ok!

ROFL!!!

JEph 2012 Fan Gathering: 50 Years of JE

2012-04-27T13:31:00.001+08:00

Calling all Philippines-based JE fans! You are all invited to celebrate the Jimusho’s 50th year Anniversary and JEph’s annual gathering!

Visit http://fromarashian.blogspot.com/2012/04/jeph-2012-fan-gathering-50-years-of-je.html for more info.

Starbucks Summer Treats

2012-04-27T10:34:00.001+08:00

Starbucks is now offering something new this summer. From customizing your favorite drinks, providing a half-off discount every Mondays, new treats and… Scratch cards?

Treat #1: However-You-Want-It-Frappuccino Blended Beverages
Are you a choosy coffee drinker? This treat is especially for you! You can mix-match your drink however you want it using Starbucks’ coffee as base. Choose from their wide selection of toppings and syrups. Change your coffee intake to espresso shot, decaf, etc. Whipped cream option. Soy milk over their usual milk. Be your own barista! I frequently order Green Tea Latte, triple blended whip with hazelnut syrup. Try it out!

Treat #2: Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino & Scratch Cards
Beginning April 24 until June 11, everyone can have a taste of SB’s new drink: Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappe. It has choco cookie bits, vanilla syrup and chocolate whipped cream. It’s a whole new twist for mocha or java chip frappe. SB also throws in a free scratch card for every Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappe ordered. Scratch cards will grant the purchaser a free add-on, free upsize, free double upsize or even buy-one-take-on on the next purchase of the SAME drink.

Treat #3: Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino
Strawberry sauce, while milk, blended ice and whipped cream makes this returning classic a must have this summer.

Treat #4: Frappuccino Happy Hour!
Starting April 30 to May 28, from 2PM to 6PM, every MONDAY, Starbucks lovers can enjoy their Frappuccino Happy Hour wherein you can enjoy However-You-Want-It-Frappuccino for half-off their original prices.

Treat #5: Earth Day Promo
Just bring your own tumbler (doesn’t have to be a Starbucks tumbler) and you can avail of their PhP20 off on drinks. This will be until April 28th only. You can also write on your tumbler and simply pass your tumbler to the barista.

Reads:
http://www.cosmo.ph/better-you/lifestyle-picks/create-your-own-beverage-frappuccino-happy-hour-and-more-ways-to-enjoy-coffee/

ARASHIph 2nd Anniv: VSA SUMMER SPLASH!!!

2012-04-20T09:08:00.001+08:00

Calling all Philippines-based Arashians! Get into your wet gear and prepare to get wet, wet, wet! We invite you to Arashi Philippines’ 2nd anniversary fan gathering: VS Arashi SUMMER SPLASH!!!

When: May 5, 2012 / 2PM-9PM
Where: Aquasphere, Roxas Blvd., Manila
Fee: PhP250 (early registrants) / PhP280 (walk-ins)
Contact Person: Dorothy (0917.645.84.64)

Check out http://fromarashian.blogspot.com/2012/04/arashiph-2nd-anniv-vsa-summer-splash.html for more info.

Whatever Moment: Small Claims & Lawyers

2012-04-18T14:09:00.001+08:00

I always check my personal email (even at work) and this afternoon, I received this group email from a fellow “Diskarte” member.

good day po sa ating lahat ! gusto ko lng pong malaman kung pasok pa rin po ba sa small claim court ung 60k na credit ko... na nag boom na sa 113 k daw sabi ng kolektor... saan po ba nagbabase ?? sa credit limit or sa utang na nag incurred ng interest??? kasi po pinaghahanap napo ako ng abogado ng magaling na kolektor... diba po sa small claim court no need ng abogado?? salamat po..

Good day to all. I would like to ask if my 60K credit will be handled by the small claim court (SMC)? As per the collector, the amount boomed to 113K. Where would I base my outstanding balance from? My credit limit or the amount incurred with interest? The collector (CA) told me to start looking for a lawyer. There’s no need for a lawyer when the case’s in Small Claims Court, right? Thanks a lot.

You can base your outstanding amount on both but of course if you are going to settle with the bank, it’s best to talk to them and try to haggle with the interest or completely remove them from your balance. Of course, the bank and CA would LOVE to have you shoulder the amount WITH interests and fees BUT if you can haggle with the bank to remove and minimize them, better.
No lawyers on SMC? YES!!! What you said is true. Good thing he/she researched on some items online. Small Claims Court doesn’t need the presence of a lawyer unless they are the plaintiff or defendant.
Q: Are lawyers allowed at the hearing?
A: No, lawyers are not allowed to appear at the hearing unless they are the plaintiff or the defendant. (http://failuretopaycreditcard.blogspot.com/2011/01/small-claims-court.html)

My reaction on the collector telling the defaulter to start looking for a lawyer:

The next time the CA calls, ask him/her the “Primer on Small Claims Court” and if he/she can’t state it, inform the person that he/she needs to do a bit of research before calling you up and pretends to be the almighty Know-it-all!

And great job to you (defaulter) since you researched what “Small Claims Court” is.

Additional Reads:
http://failuretopaycreditcard.blogspot.com/2011/01/small-claims-court.html
http://failuretopaycreditcard.blogspot.com/2009/04/court-is-my-friend.html

Foodie Trip: Ramen X

2012-03-28T16:56:00.001+08:00

My foodie-Arashian friend Tine and I decided to drop by Trinoma to simply hang out. Just doing the usual Saturday stuff, strolling around. Our main reason was to try out Ramen X. I’m sure most of you by now knows how much I adore Japanese foods. Tine and I are always up and about in search of new foodie experience. We’ve tried quite a lot of Ramen shops and Ramen X ranks as one of the best for me.

Ramen X

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

INTERIOR & AMBIANCE:
Ramen X is still in “soft opening” phase when we tried it out. I find the entrance amusing with the huge “X” branding on the door. You can’t really miss the place since it’s quite unique within the floor.

The interior definitely looked stylish to the point that most think Ramen X is a pricey food joint. The style’s a mix of Eastern and Western designs. The tables in the mid-area are made to look like wood to add an Asian ambiance into the restaurant. It bright and modern.

What caught my eye are the cute anime characters plastered on the shop’s glasses.

FOOD:
Ramen, of course, is Ramen X’s best seller. Now, it would ne stupid if we don’t order ramen while dining in Ramen X, right?

We ordered appetizers. Karaage (fried chicken) and Fried Gyoza (dumpling). I think the Karaage’s a bit well done since it’s a bit hard when I bit on it but it’s tasty.. Gyoza’s wonderful and I love the taste. It’s not as salty as common gyozas. I prefer gyozas that way.

Fried Gyoza (PhP59/order)

Karaage (PhP49/order)

For beverages, I love their yoghurt soda. It’s my first time tasting one and I love it. My friends ordered the Green Apple Soda and “Momo” or Peach Soda.

Yoghurt Soda (PhP60)

Green Apple & Momo/Peach Sodas (PhP60 each)

And of course, ramen! My friend and I ordered Miso Ramen and Kimchi Ramen. Miso Ramen’s made up of egg, chyasu pork and they used miso as the soup’s base. Kimchi ramen had the same content but it has a separate serving of kimchi and they used soy sauce as the soup’s base.

The serving size’s enough (and satisfying) for one person. At first I thought the serving’s not that much but after eating halfway through the bowl, I just realized the bowl’s kinda deep. The noodle’s texture is ok. Not too soft and soggy. Perfect for my taste.

Miso Ramen (PhP109 per order)

Kimchi Ramen (PhP129 per order)
Kimchi is not mixed into the ramen. This gives the customer an option to eat the kimchi as a side dish or simply mix the kimchi into the ramen.

SERVICE:
Ramen X’s service is pretty satisfying for me. The place is a “pay as you order” store so don’t simply sit and start waving your hand to get the crew’s attention for your orders. All staff/crew are accommodating and nice. There are even times when we were approached by the staff, offering up water and condiments (spoon and fork). There are times though when we are simply sitting around, the staff asked us if they can clear our used bowls. It’s fine though. It’s not the first time we experienced something like that.

One funny incident I experienced in Ramen X is when I asked what “Momo” Soda was. The cashier replied “Pish”. I was silent for a while, giving the lady a confused look and tried to decipher what she meant. I can’t believe that it’s “FISH” since I can’t imagine them serving FISH soda. When my very limited Nihonggo knowledge kicked in (and after replying with a resounding “OH!”), I remembered that “Momo” is “PEACH” in Japanese. Lolz!

PRICE:
You can have a hearty meal at Ramen X even if your budget ranges from PhP100-PhP200. The food’s not really that expensive and the serving’s satisfying. It’s rare for one to find a cheap, authentic Ramen shop inside the mall. I’ve shared here Ramen X’s actual menu for you to check out.

MY TAKE & RATINGS:
I give Ramen X a total of 4/5 (★★★★☆) rating.

If you’re looking for a shop that sells authentic ramen at a cheap price, then Ramen X is the place to go. Of course, comparing it to shops found in “Little Tokyo” is a bit unfair (since those shops in Little Tokyo are truly authentic). Honestly speaking, I appreciate Ramen X over Eastwood’s “Ramen Bar” (I can’t forget Ramen Bar super salty miso base! That destroyed my image of Ramen Bar)

Offering additional toppings is a real good concept. I myself love additional corn kernels in my ramen. The interior design is stylish and we immediately felt at home with the crew’s hospitality and the ambiance of the place.

Personally, I think they need to expand their menu a bit and their “donburi” or rice toppings needs to improve. We weren’t really that satisfied with their rice bowls but other than that, everything’s great! Oh, a plus side with their rice bowls, they also offer “unlimited rice”. I know how important those two words are to some foodies out there! Lolz!

CONTACT DETAILS:
2/F, Trinoma Mall, North Ave. QC.
(02) 628-1603
http://www.ramen.ph/

Whatever Moment: Criminal Case filed thru TEXT MESSAGE?

2012-03-27T12:01:00.001+08:00

I know we’re quickly advancing in technology but there’s something wrong in this scenario. A friend of mine received this text message. Anong mali dito?!

“(Bank name here) bank plantiff vs (Friend’s name here), criminal case number 03-886-08 preliminary attachment of property you are being summoned to appear in Makati RTC Branch 137 under judge Benjamin Goson for violating d RA 8484 and article 315 Large Scale estafa of d revised penal code. warrant of arrest will be serve by sheriff Mark Escobar and SPO1 santos for more question pls. col ATty. Peralta at 8561833 loc 231”

Shouldn’t “criminal case” documents be filed in paper and not thru TEXT MESSAGE for formality and documentary purposes?
Shouldn’t “criminal case” starts with “People of the Phils. vs. (PERSON)”?
Criminal case for what? Not paying debts? Wala naman atang patayang naganap.
Warrant of Arrest notice given ahead of time? Then shouldn’t my friend start to hide?
RA8484? I wasn’t aware that she FALSIFIED her CC details (which I am sure she DIDN’T)
"JUDGE" Benjamin Goson is not on the list of Makati RTC Branch 137’s presiding judge. Actually, Walang GOSON sa list! So saan siya nanggaling? See my additional “Reads” section below. Tsk-tsk..
She was TOLD that a case was filed. So, what’s the use of calling anyone? Just meet in court.
And you know what? I KNOW a number of people who received the very SAME (exact format, grammar, sentence construction, etc.) text message.
8561833 - CA's number. Ay… Alam na!

If you are unaware of lies and harassments made by some CAs you’d end up quivering in fear. Know your rights! You are a DEFAULTER and NOT a criminal. Come to think of it, criminals weren’t even harassed and given time to defend themselves when they are arrested/being arrested, so why should you be (since you’re not a criminal?)

Reads:
http://failuretopaycreditcard.blogspot.com/2009/06/ra-8484-simplified.html
http://www.lawphil.net/courts/mrtc/mrtc_dir.html#makati