Trip The Light Fantastic

Freshly Charged Tidbits

2011-03-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have a new photo blog! Will be posting here more often. Do check it out! :)

http://electricsushimanila.tumblr.com/

Stay strong, Japan.

2011-03-12T06:24:00.001-08:00

Time to kick some balls, pare.

2011-02-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

LA Night returns by launching the start of the Adobo Cup,
the ad industry's yearly football tournament!

Waterless Jeans

2011-01-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

Conserve water with a pair of jeans? Levi's proves it can be done.

One Half The Heart Attack

2011-01-18T21:44:00.000-08:00


If the Double Down had a healthier version, this would be it. I think.

Buttons! Lots of buttons!!

2011-01-13T04:49:00.000-08:00

Don't they all just wanna make you start pounding on them? Well you can (sort of)! Click here if you're bored and in need of something aliw!

For all the ladies!!!!

2011-01-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

D is for Diet, Detox and Desperate

2011-01-09T04:35:00.000-08:00

14 days with nothing but these ingredients in my system. Can I really survive Beyonce's liquid diet madness and still lose 10-14 pounds? Stay tuned as I give you the lowdown on what's it like to be on the Master Cleanse Diet.

Click here for the benefits!

The Sartorialist

2011-01-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting short film documenting the process of how The Sartorialist 's Scott Schumann discovers and photographs the people for his iconic blog, which has made him one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Design Influencers.

Check it out!

Steps

2011-01-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

Shot using Hipstamatic for iPhone

All Roads Lead To Lugang Cafe

2011-01-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

Sometime last December, a two story building came out of nowhere along Connecticut Street in Greenhills, where I pass everyday going home from work. Lugang Cafe's building is fronted by clear glass where you can see people dining inside underneath bright lights and glass chandeliers that look like jellyfish. And it's always full! The empty lot across it belonging to East Greenhills was even transformed into a parking lot to accommodate the number of diners. Wow, I thought. This place must be fancy.

Lugang Cafe serves Taiwanese and Cantonese dishes and is part of the prestigious Bellagio Group of Companies (not the Vegas hotel ha!), which apparently has several chains of renowned restos across Asia. My sister Lillian had gone already several times and had declared it her new favorite restaurant "especially because of the dessert". Dessert? Were they making award-winning buchi balls there now? My curiosity piqued up even more.

Last night, I found myself getting off work early so I called up my sibs and asked if they wanted to eat in Lugang. At 6:45 pm I called to make a reservation but they were strictly on a first come, first served basis already. However, if you leave your name, they'll prioritize your party once you arrive. At 7 pm, there were 4 parties ahead of us as we waited at the entrance for our name to be called.

I took photos of the cylindrical chandeliers instead. Nice high ceiling!

At about 7:20 pm, we were finally seated. By then we had already pored over the menu and decided what we wanted to get. Let's make the photos speak for ourselves, shall we?

We started off with the Garlic Pork Roll (P160), small slivers of thinly sliced pork rolled around garlic shallots and lettuce leaves and dipped in a tangy hoisin sauce. I barely tasted the garlic but found this appetizer quite yummy nevertheless. I can do this at home using ham slices I think. Hmmm.

Garlic Pork Roll

The ever popular Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao (P158) was up next. We got two of these because we just knew one order wasn't enough. Xiao Long Bao is essentially your steamed pork dumpling with hot soup in the middle. You're supposed to poke the dumpling, let the soup steep out then sip it from your spoon. This particular dish has suddenly gotten to be the most popular thing to hit Manila's Chinese restos although only a few have perfected it. Now, this was only my second time to try Xiao Long Bao in my life so I'm no expert. I thought this tasted great though. The soup was just the right temperature too. I've heard of people burning their tongues from scalding Xiao Long Baos before.


Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao My foodie friend Kathy suggested that I order the Stir Fried Beef with Chili (P280). Just look at the fat on those sirloin strips! Byebye diet! I was expecting this dish to be spicy with all those chili peppers but it wasn't really actually. In fact, my sister Isabel who abhors anything spicy was able to eat a few pieces and say they were good!

Stir Fried Beef with Chili

Another supposedly spicy dish but wasn't was the Black Pepper Beef Fried Rice (P220) which serves 2-3 people. I thought this was just so-so but I wouldn't mind ordering it again next time. After trying this, I came to the conclusion that what is labeled as spicy in this resto isn't really. I'll have to confirm this again the next time I eat here.

Black Pepper Fried Rice

My brother in law got the Oyster Omelette with Sweet and Spicy Sauce (P180). I don't eat oysters and this dish looked far from appetizing to me but Ardee absolutely loved it. In fact, he INSISTED we bring home the tiny leftover piece home simply because "It's an oyster omelette from Lugang!". Oookay. Must have been the equivalent to a piece of steak omelette in my world.

Oyster Omelette with Sweet and Spicy Sauce

Lillian wasn't feeling that hungry so she opted for the Spicy Beef and Tendon Noodle Soup (P250), a large bowl of steaming hot soup with Chinese cabbages, onions, beef (with flanks) and flat rice noodles that reminded me so much of pho. Rich and delicately spiced, it was a treat to eat. Perfect for a rainy day.

Spicy Beef and and Tendon Noodle Soup

I didn't think we'd ordered too much until this giant bowl of congee arrived. For only P280, you get the Chicken and Mushroom Congee that easily serves 4-5 people. I'm not much of a congee person. I grew up eating lugaw (rice porridge) all the time when I was sickly kid so to me they all taste the same. Ardee one again loved this and had like two or three bowls. Pretty sulit!

Chicken and Mushroom Congee

Now, everyone knows how much I loooove hot tea and I was really looking forward to sipping oolong tea during this entire meal. Instead, what was served to us was a pot of this herbal tea that tasted so medicinal, I was reminded of my grandmother's medicine cabinet. Not my type at all. I guess this is what they drink in Taiwan?

As mentioned earlier, my sister had raved about the desserts in Lugang Cafe. I was too stuffed to eat further but I browsed through menu anyway. Peanut butter and mudslide smoothies, shaved ice, sundaes and a whole lot more of authentic Chinese desserts stared back at me. Good thing I'm not too fond of sweets. I decided to wait for whatever it was Lillian ordered and just get a couple of spoonfuls.

This is what arrived:

Mango Supreme

This giant dish consisted of two scoops of ice cream--one vanilla and one mango, over cubes of mango and a layer of mango pudding and frozen ice. It tasted amazing!! The mango cubes were a little sour so I ignored those and went for the ice cream and the pudding. Brain freeze!!! But man, the pudding was delicious. The dessert was instantly over and done with in minutes. I could hear Ardee muttering, "It's so good...it's so good..."

There were four of us and we ended up paying about P600 each. Servings of the food are good for 1-2 persons, hence the many orders. What's notable for me is that, for the first time, I didn't have any of the usual Chinese fare. Normally SOMEONE has to order sweet and sour pork or ginger chicken or beef with oyster sauce. None of that now! There are so many other new dishes to choose from! I also left the resto without that feeling of overeating or like how you've consumed so much oil you can feel it up to your head already.

Come see what the fuss is all about and try Lugang Cafe for yourself. It's guaranteed not to disappoint! :)

Lugang Cafe
Connecticut Street, Greenhills
0917-6992254

2010: The Year I Grew Up

2011-01-02T06:20:00.000-08:00

To say that 2010 was an eventful year for me is an understatement. I had to go through so many emotional and physical hurdles that tested my strength and sanity to the limits, challenges that I continue to face till this very day. I've heard a lot of people say that 2010 was a better year than 2009. It was a good year but a stressful one daw. I can definitely attest to that. It's the year that I was forced to really stand up on my own, watch over myself and just deal with things without having to rely so heavily on other people anymore. It marked the beginning of adulthood for me. Though I'll ways be a kid at heart I feel, I know I no longer am one.

So here's a rundown of the highlights and lowlights of my year in no particular order. Each item on this list contributed to pushing me in becoming a stronger, better person, some directly and some indirectly.

1. After taking months of hiatus from work to spend time with my family, I went back into advertising. I joined OgilvyOne, the digital arm of Ogilvy & Mather with no formal background in digital marketing. I was forced to hit the ground running, learning things on my own (and learning it fast) and working mostly on my own too. It took awhile for me to get used to becoming a full fledged Accounts person, a position that I spent several of my first weeks questioning if I was even suited for it. 10 months later, I've found my groove in the agency, made enough friends and gotten by so far so good. Learning A LOT too.

Two realizations so far: 1.) I have never worked so hard in my life and 2.) The top of my head feels hot whenever I feel stressed or panic-y. Salamat sa Ogilvy for making me see that. :P

2. I lost my amazing mom to cancer. But I couldn't have asked for a more peaceful way for her to leave us. And for the incredible support and strength that we received from God and all our loved ones in the days to follow. I thought my world would fall apart when the day would come that she'd leave us. But it didn't. God is so good.

4. Played football for the third time in my life and fucking tore my ACL. I had to undergo surgery with my entire family abroad. Thanks to Tita Inday (my dad's sister) who accompanied me. Spent the next few weeks in a brace, limping and struggling to get around. I'm fine now even if my knee hasn't regained 100% of its strength yet.

5. Started Laking Aircon Nights, a monthly advertising party with my two best friends in Ogilvy--James and Jason. It came about because we had nothing else better to do and just grew to be this awesome get together with all my closest friends from the industry each month. It eventually gained so much popularity that other bars have asked me to bring LA Nights to them too. And people actually come up to me and thank me for putting together these events. Sweet.

6. My writing career took off. Well, not in the sense that I became the most in-demand writer in town. But I did get so many job offers for writing gigs. I was actually getting paid good money for various projects left and right. This was the reason photography took a backseat. I simply didn't have time to shoot anymore. :(

7. My sisters and I have gotten to be closer than ever. With mom gone, we only have one another to turn to now. People marvel at how well we get along and I can only attribute that to how my parents raised us. I'm especially grateful for my two older siblings Fran and Lillian who have taken charge of the more serious matters in the family. I wouldn't know what to do without them.

8. Two of my best friends moved away--one to Bacolod and the other to Italy. I miss them a whole lot.

9. I found myself going home to Iloilo more often. I've rediscovered my love for the city, including Guimaras. I want to be able to contribute to both places in the same way my mom has. I'm just not sure yet what. But perhaps tourism is the easiest way for me to help.

10. I discovered that my being strong isn't just a fluke. It's because I know I am and I work hard at it.

It wasn't an easy year for me, I tell ya. But I survived it and I'm ready to keep on going!

Here's to a brighter 2011 for everyone! May we all reach our dreams, goals and have a life full of incredible love and laughter!

Now out!

2010-12-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

Remember my trip to El Nido a few weeks ago? My article is finally published in this latest issue of Turista, now available for free at NAIA! This was probably my most memorable work done for this magazine because it involved me going on a fantastic trip to one of my favorite beach destinations here in the Philippines with no other than my friend and editor Jakeena! Sadly, this is already her last issue because she's moving to Singapore next month.

Thanks for all the writing opportunities, Jak! And may you find another publication to conquer in Lah-Lah-Land! :)

Bliss.

2010-12-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

Getting Fat

2010-12-23T21:04:00.001-08:00

I'm on blog break till January! Will be in Iloilo, Bacolod and Boracay! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Super Inday and The Golden Bibe

2010-12-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

With a movie title like that, how can you not want to watch the film or at least ask what the hell is it all about?!

I thought it was a joke when my friend Marie asked me to watch the premiere with her last night. I haven't seen a Tagalog film nor have I stepped inside Megamall's cinemas in A-G-E-S.

Me: Mars, ano klaseng title yan?? Who stars in them? Do you even know what BIBE means?!

Marie: Doesn't it mean some sort of magical object?

Me: It means EGG. The Golden EGG!

Marie: OMG!

The first thing I did when I got n the car was to grab the tickets and see who was starring in them. Aba high profile stars pala! Marian Rivera, John Lapus, Jake Cuenca (my crush), Pokwang and Mylene Dizon! Hmmmm. Official entry to the Manila Film Fest Festival 2010 too. Sige na nga.

Much to our horror, we had to walk down this long red carpet with fans on both sides all staring at us. People started cheering shortly so unless they had completely mistaken me for Pops Fernandez there must have been some stars walking behind us. True enough when I turned around there was this couple walking down. I thought it was Marian and Dingdong so I snapped a photo naman. Hindi pala. It was one of the supporting actresses. Nyek!

Right before entering the cinema, we saw these guys which I presumed were the villains in the movie.

Check out all the paparazzi going nuts inside the cinema.

That's Jake Cuenca standing up to greet the people! Turn around!! TURN AROUND!!!

Here's Marian Rivera's back. Seated next to her was loverboy Dingdong syempre.

The movie was a total of about 2 hours and maybe 15 minutes (TAGAL). I only found out after that the film was actually a remake of 1987 film starring Maricel Soriano. Anyway, it's about this probinsyana (Marian) who goes to the city to find her real mom. The Golden Bibe is actually this fallen angel (John Lapus) who, alongside a little girl tiyanak sidekick, tests Marian to see if she's worthy of becoming a superhero. Jake Cuenca is another superhero who ends up liking Marian. Mylene Dizon is the bitchy stepmom (she still looks great) and Pokwang is this maid who turns into a superhero as well.

The film is a combination of all typical Pinoy cliche scenarios--slapping of people, sobbing because of some family drama, kenkoy comedy scenes, action scenes, and kilig moments all happening one after the other. Would you believe throughout the movie people were cheering and squealing the entire time?? Whenever Marian would complete a fight scene they'd all go nuts. Or when Jake and Marian would talk and smile at each other, all the women would go wild! It was crazy! Hahaha

Here's the crowd AFTER the film. Naglabasan na ng mga banners!

SOLID! hahaha

And just like how it is on TV, the camera crew was set up outside asking people to shriek and squeal their praises! Mars and I ducked out of their way! Good lord!

Ang daming tao!!!

What an experience!! Thanks for bringing me, Mars! Hahaha!

Super Inday and The Golden Bibe opens on December 25 nationwide. Watch the trailer here:

Light show at the park!

2010-12-16T05:08:00.000-08:00

Watch this short clip of the light show at Ayala Triangle that happens every 30 minutes beginning 6 pm. Quite nice actually!

Bright City Lights

2010-12-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

What I tell ya? I love them trippy lights! These were taken at Ayala Triangle Park.

Bistro Filipino

2010-12-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fan of spending exorbitantly for Filipino food in restaurants because I always have this mentality that I can eat the same thing at home. For example, everyone simply adores Abe at Serendra but I honestly can't be bothered to go there on my own when Julie (our cook) makes perfectly tasty Pinoy dishes. However, it took a sinfully delicious dinner last night at Chef Laudico's famed Bistro Filipino to change my stubborn mind. And what everyone says is true: everything in this resto is GOOD!

For starters, we had the Pica-Pica Platter where you can choose 4 different appetizers, among those were the Spicy Tuna Kinilaw, the Sisig Basket, the Lumpiang Ubod (bestseller) and the Angus wrapped in leaves ( I forget the name!). Bistro Filipino is known for the Sisig Basket which is really sisig in a crunchy shell that resembles a cupcake and topped off with cheese. Yummy but very oily. I think two of these is enough. The Spicy Kinilaw was a winner! Fresh tuna with a tinge of lime and a hint of spiciness on the tongue. We loved it so much we ordered it again. Another favorite was the Angus wrapped in leaves. Healthy pa! I couldn't have the ubod because of the shrimp but my friend said it was so-so.


Pica-Pica Platter

For the main course, we decided to order three of the bestsellers and share them all (we were four women eating by the way). Each order costs about P750-P850 each. A bit pricey but well worth it considering the servings are quite generous. Here lies the Wagyu and Lengua Estofado composed of Wagyu beef cheeks (beef cheeks? first I've heard of that term) and US beef tongue braised in red wine tomato sauce with potatoes and grilled vegetables layered with rice tutong crisps. I don't like lengua so I only had the beef, which was very tender! Frankly, among all that we ordered last night, this didn't really give a lasting impression. Hence, I have actually nothing to say about it except that the beef was tender!

Wagyu and Lengua Estofado

NEXT! Here's the US Angus Slow Roasted Kare-Kare--cooked to perfection (in advance) for 8 long hours, which is the very reason it's so unbelievably soft. This dish is composed of US beef short plate in kare-kare sauce with stuffed banana heart, grilled eggplant chutney and steamed petchay.Now, I hate peanut butter on my food (yes, I'm weird) but I do love a good kare-kare and this one is indeed for the books! The stuffed banana heart was particularly addicting, doused in vinegar and garlic and quite the perfect complement to the beef and the kare-kare sauce. Several bites later, I found myself still craving for more. Yum. No wonder people love this dish so much.


US Angus Slow Roasted Kare-Kare

Last but definitely not the least, here's the dish that I've been so curious about ever since Bistro Filipino opened--the Adobo Overload, which consists of adobo topped with seared foie gras, fried adobo flakes and adobong kangkong. Adobo + Foie Gras?? Who would have known, right?? Check out how full this plate is! That's crispy pork chunks surrounding the chicken the in the middle. The triangular shiny glob of fat on top is no other than the foie gras!! Woohooo cholesterol waddup?!??

I eagerly dug into this dish by scooping several pieces of the pork chunks and smearing it with the foie gras. My first bite? Heavenly! And definitely in need of a spoonful of rice to compensate for the richness of the deadly combination. This dish was HUGE by the way. Definitely good for two! I'd order this again next time! :)

Adobo Overload

For dessert, we had the Yema Ballas and the Calamansi Tart. It was too dark outside the resto so I couldn't snap photos with my (flash-less) iPhone. I'm not much of a dessert person but even my friends said both orders weren't that great. They were a little too sweet if you ask me.

All in all, the dinner was spectacular as only an experience in Bistro Filipino can offer. The servers were polite and attentive, the ambiance romantic. On a Tuesday night, it was almost full. I suggest you still call in advance for reservations to make sure.

Bistro Filipino
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
http://www.cheflaudico.com.ph/

Chocolate Covered Oreo Balls!

2010-12-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

My friend Jason likes to go around the office and occasionally sell his wife's baked goodies and desserts. His goal? To fatten his wallet and fatten everyone else around him!

Today's specialty is the elusive chocolate covered Oreo ball! Just the sound of it is enough to get any army of ants drooling. Sinfully sweet, each dark ball on a stick sells for P20 each! These would make nice giveaways for the holidays (or any party) actually. I hear you can also order them truffles style: balls lined up in a box with fancy paper.

here's jason selling his balls! harhar

For orders, text 0917-3216947.

very rich! i dare you to have two in one sitting!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

2010-12-07T10:18:00.000-08:00

Picnik is this great idiot-proof photo editing site that does everything for you at the click of a button! Templates, effects and even accessories are all readily laid out. All you have to do is choose, adjust and save! Lovely!

Check out the Facebook profile pics I've done so far. I started some out of boredom earlier and ended up making more. My goal is to put a Santa hat on most of my friends' profile pics! Which one do you like best? Hahaha!

moi

isabel

james

jason

madz

Back to Barcino!

2010-12-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

I told you this place is my new Happy Place! I'm so glad to have been able to convince my officemates that we need to unwind more often! Not that they needed a lot of convincing. More like someone who just had to plan these "sessions" out of the office. Anyway, there's NO WORK TOMORROW because it's Taguig Day (!!!!!!) so staying out late for some tapas and two bottles of wine sounded like a pretty good plan to us, yeah? Peach, Madz and I had a fab time giggling over, well, a lot of things. ;P

Here's what we had!

Tapas Gourmet (P655) - A plateful of potato salad, olives, jamon serrano, manchego cheese, salami and chorizo. Order this with pan con tomato (bread with tomato) that comes for free!

Paella Galina (P545) - Paella with chicken and pork. Decent but lacks more flavor so do ask the waiter for extra pepper. Sadly for me, this is the only paella I can eat because I'm allergic to the rest!

Castillo Irache Tempranillo (P495) - Pretty good wine. Make sure you ask the waiter to chill it!

Peach and Madz!

Christmas Wish List Batch 1

2010-12-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to be wishing! Tralalalalalalalalalaaaa!! Here's a bunch of goodies I hope to see inside my stockings this year. Yeeaahhhhh right!

Longchamp LM Large Metal Tote in Steel for P8,000

LV Delightful Monogram in MM (A mere $855. Barya lang, pare!)

LV Bloomsbury PM ($870) because I love sling bags!

Canon Speedlite 500EX E-TTL Flash (P15,000)

That's it for now! Gotta think of CHEAPER gifts!!

My Christmas gift to myself! :D

2010-12-05T05:48:00.000-08:00

arriving from singapore in two weeks!!!

Bartheeno

2010-12-04T05:55:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that I love Spanish resto Barcino ever since they opened their first branch in Julio Vargas (Ortigas). They has an amazing selection of wine that is soooo affordable (as low as P385--hmm, wonder how the hangover is for wine that cheap?) and a menu of muy delicioso tapas that have now expanded into full dishes that include pasta, fish, etc.

Anyway, they have a total of 4 branches now I believe, with one so conveniently located a block away from where I work at the Fort. During one of my late lunches, I discovered that wine there is 20% until about 5 pm! MUSIC TO MY EARS!

Last Friday, the Ogilvy gals and I had another late luncheon and shared a bottle of red. Great way to unwind on an early and slow Friday afternoon. This should really be a weekly thing!

this full-bodied altozano tempranillo wine retails for only P584 a bottle (less 20%!)

spinach and cheese dip that rivals cibo's version

i get this all the time

jamon serrano and manchego cheese sandwich (a winning combination!) with small potato wedges served with mayo and hot sauce

paella negra good for 2. yummy but oily!