Retreat

I'll be gone starting today until Sunday, so don't look for me. :P If you want to contact me, e-mail me, and I'll check it by Sunday evening. If it's really really really (check: really) important, you can text me at my Globe number. Don't expect me to reply. I'll savor this three-day retreat :3 Signing off.

I pray that I may...
See you more clearly,
Love you more dearly,
Follow your more nearly.

Photo by smiles4angels

Trinoma with Kim and Nina

I opened up a bottle of red wine yesterday. It is a Calvet de Calvet Cabernet Sauvignon (Vin De Pays D'OC). At first, I was taken aback by the taste. It's woody, deep, spicy and really firm. I like it. But it isn't the best I've tasted.

Earlier today (or technically yesterday) I watched Indiana Jones with Kim and Nina (too bad Pao Pei couldn't make it) We enjoyed catching up, talking, being indecisive, and of course the food and the movie.

I haven't watched the old Indiana Jones movies (or I did but I really cannot remember what happened), but I think this movie was pretty awesome. It has achieved its look (old-ish, but with a hint of freshness). I'm not that sure if the old fans liked this, but for me, it's a good movie.

We ate at Zong's for lunch, and we got the (clockwise from topmost left:) Prawn Ha Kao (Php 128), Yang Chow Fried Rice (Php 228), Lemon Chicken (Php 228) and the Spicy Singapore Style Fish Fillet (Php 328).

Their Ha Kao was firm and it held everything together well. It really tastes good, though I think it might be a little small. I have no qualms about their Yang Chow. The Lemon Chicken tasted more of lemon; it really overpowered the dish. And, my personal favorite is the fish, though it would be good if it were spicy. Although its name says it should be spicy, it wasn't at all anywhere near it. Zong is one of my Chinese restaurant comfort food getaways? I don't know if it's just because of the food, but I suspect it's also because of the overall presentation, service, plus the ambiance.

3rd Year - 1st Semester

So out of the 3 batch runs for pre-enlistment in the CRS of the University of the Philippines Diliman, I only manage to get 15 units. Welcome back to being a normal student, huh? Life. (can you sense bitterness? hahaha) Anyway, so here's my schedule.

And here is the class I want, and will PREROG (of which I don't know how to do, yet..but I will soon find out, yes, I will.) So as you can see, I still don't have my Stat101. And if ever I don't get it now, frankly, I don't know what I'll do? Help?

And so here's my schedule, with all the pending stat101 I enlisted for, but I didn't get. Boo. :\

Goya Chocolates

I am a chocolate addict, and I eat almost anything chocolate. But you all know, or at least you now know, that I love my chocolates with mint. And after I have read about this "export quality" chocolates by Goya, which is a Philippine product, in AJ's food blog, I became very excited and vowed I would hunt it down. And after our meeting today at my house, I had the craving for it. I went to SM Fairview to buy, and I guess being a chocolate addict that I am, I opted to get more of Goya's products.

Well, AJ, this Goya bloggers rush is the "in thing", thanks to you. You/we should be paid already for advertising. (just kidding - but why not?) :P

Goya Dark Almonds - Whole Almonds covered with Dark Chocolate (Php 23.50) (USD$0.55)

A pack contains 9-almost-1-inch oblong chocolate balls with almonds in its core. First of all, I should say that this Goya product (along with the ones you see below) can compete internationally; really, it's delicious. The chocolate just melts in your mouth, and the almond is just fantastic. You get a hint of dark chocolate, but I wouldn't be so "OMG it's dark chocolate!" because it has a milk component in it. I would've liked it to be "pure" dark chocolate. That would be awesome.

Second to mint-chocolates, I love my chocolates with almond, thus I really enjoyed this.

Goya Black &White - Dark & White Chocolate (Php 27.50) (USD$0.65)

I was set on buying just the Gooya Dark Mint, but after seeing this, I thought of giving it a shot as well.

White Chocolate - Among all the chocolates there are, white chocolate don't fancy me. I can eat it from time to time, but thinking of having a lot, does the opposite - it makes me cringe. So, I was relieved when, out of the 9 pieces in the box, there were just 4 while chocolate pieces. Bringing it up to your mouth, you can already smell the "milky" taste. But like the other Goya chocolate products, it melts in your mouth. It has this greasy, milk, strong taste.

Dark Chocolate - The smell is better than that of the white chocolate. It melts quickly in your mouth too. The taste is just like the Dark with almonds, except that this has no almonds in it. My dad likes this better than the white chocolate also.

Goya Dark Mint - Dark Chocolate with Mint (Php 27.50) (USD$0.65)

It's like the Dark Chocolate, but with mint. It melts in your mouth, and it smells really pleasant. You won't see the usual color green which is associated with mint/ mint flavor (think Andes). The blend of the chocolate and the mint is wonderful, though I found the mint slightly overpowering. If it were "pure" dark chocolate, plus the mint, I am sure it would just explode in your mouth. True to the blogger hype, this is a must try. I'll go with AJ in saying that "Goya Dark Mint is a chocolate brand that I can eat everyday!"

Foodistas at Table for Three, Please.

The Foodistas were Table Guests at Table for Three, Please, as they feature Antipolo's street food. One thing's for sure, they surely loved the adventure. :3

Avocado Vinaigrette

I was in Trinoma earlier today, and I just decided to do some grocery and shop for ingredients at Landmark for the salad I was thinking of doing. One thing that was on my mind was that we have a lot of Avocados at home, and I could try on experimenting with that for dressing - and so I thought of making Avocado Vinaigrette.

Well, to tell you honestly, I really don't know how I'll be able to make that. As I said, what's on my mind was "there are a lot of avocados at home" and "it won't be that hard, right?" And so I got some lettuce, big tomatoes, cucumber, grapes, basil and a bottle of balsamic vinegar. I was seriously reading the labels and the ingredients whether I was to buy the balsamic or the red wine vinegar (because I really didn't check what to put to make vinaigrette)

But after a while, I just chose the balsamic vinegar (the one I always use, just to be safe). Right after I arrived home, I searched for some Avocado Vinaigrette recipes and found the basic gist on how to make the dressing.

And so, I just got the avocado from the freezer, mashed it a little more, added the olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, pure cane vinegar and the balsamic vinegar. Voila! The Avocado Vinaigrette was great.

One thing though, I wasn't satisfied with the texture and consistency of the dressing. It was thicker than what I had imagined it to be. I'm not sure how I'll be able to make it more fluid? I guess you can add more vinegar, or lime to it? Or you could mix it using a blender, instead of just mixing it by hand (what I did). :3

Avocado Vinaigrette*

1 cup Olive Oil
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Honey Mustard
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Pure Cane Vinegar
1 whole Avocado (peeled, and mashed)

*you may alter the recipe depending on how you want your vinaigrette to taste (slash) look like xD

Foodistas in Antipolo

The Foodistas went to Antipolo today to do a little project (feature on street food) for Table for Three, Please. The place we went to is just outside the Antipolo Church, where the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage is at. We all entered the church, and Joey took some shots. I prayed for peace of heart and mind for my friends and for myself. We proceeded to business after - went to the Pasalubong Center, where all the manangs are selling Antipolo and Philippine products.

After buying food, interviewing, taking pictures, we decided to dine at Vieux Chalet for lunch, since we were around the area already. It was a road trip! :3 We didn't know where it was. We got lost (slash) felt we were lost, but Vieux Chalet was worth it and all that! At the end of the trip, we hit two birds with one stone - the feature and the resto review. I had a great time :)

MF @ Vieux Chalet Photo from: Joey

After everything, I got off at Katipunan, had my hair cut (my hair's not ugly anymore Achi Denise) and waited for Aldwin at Ateneo before going to Earl's house for a little class reunion. Earl just got back from Cornell and we had dinner at his house; plus we played Wii (Super Smash Brothers and Mario Party for the win). Too bad I didn't get to take pictures. Good thing Alex Uy brought his camera...and took all the shots.

ADMU's Church of the Gesu

Justin's Birthday

All photos are from Justin's Multiply

The Miele Guide Voting

"The Miele Guide will be Asia’s first truly independent regional restaurant guide when launched in October 2008, and also its most authoritative—we do not accept free meals or advertising from restaurants. Written by food lovers who know and love Asia, The Miele Guide will rank and profile restaurants across the region’s major cities, categorized by country, city and cuisine, in a slim, indispensable volume." (The Mielle Guide)

"Every voter gets 10 votes. If you live in any of the 16 Asian countries surveyed by The Miele Guide, you can only vote for a maximum of 3 restaurants in your country of residence."

But quite frankly, with all the 57 restaurants, and more (you can add), I really don't know which 3 to include in my top 3. Anyone care to help me? o.o

Related Posts:

• Anton's Miele Votes
• Table Conversation: The Miele Guide
• THE MIELE GUIDE
  

Who or What Inspires Me?

I got this link from a friend, and I guess I'm giving it a shot (at the same time, helping them in their project). The blog title's Inspire_Me. They created the blog to continue a successful thread in their Yahoo Answers question "Who or What inspires you?" The goal of their blog is "to be an outlet for people who would want to share where or from whom they get inspiration from."

I found this really interesting, and decided to create a post for them. And since I want to give this entry some "kick", I'll answer both (who and what) to make this entry more interesting.

WHO? Besides the usual answer "family and friends" blah, I know, and I am proud to say that my inspiration is (or rather my insparations are) my org-mates at CSA (Chinese Student Association). Cheesy as it may sound, they're like family to me now, and I owe a lot to them :3

Photo By: Sean Tiu

WHAT? I would like to share a poem by former Jesuit Superior General, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. My uncle, Martin Gomez, introduced me to this poem, and since then, I have fallen in love with it. It ever fails to lighten up my days. It never fails to give me hope, and a spark when the light’s starting to dim, or when all else seems to fail. ^_^.

“Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

So, if you want to share who or what inspires you, you can visit their blog here, or email them your own story, and get featured in their blog. :)

Megamall Meeting

The Foodistas ate at Rai Rai Ken for their meeting. Those present were Hannah, Mark, Joey, Harrell, Pat, and me. I dragged my shoti (little brother) along because we were suppose to shop for clothes after. We ordered the Garlic Chili Ramen, one of the Rairaiken's Originals, and the 3 Kinds Bento under the Sumo Bentos menu. 

Garlic Chili Ramen (Php 165) Photo By: Mark Wu

3 Kinds Bento (Php 280) Photo By: Bong using Mark's D-60

After lunch, we decided to review Bubble Tea at Bldg. B, near the Food Court. I ordered the Strawberry Milk Tea (large). Watch our for the review at Manila Foodistas. :)

Strawberry Milk Tea (Php 95) Photo By: Mark Wu

After everyone left, Jason and I shopped for clothes to wear at Mica's debut. Luckily, we found something at Cinderella's. 

Rai Rai Ken

LGF Bldg. A

SM Megamall

Edsa cor. Julia Vargas Ave.

Mandaluyong City, MM.

Tel No. +632-633-5046

Bubble Tea

LGF Bldg. B

SM Megamall

Edsa cor. Julia Vargas Ave.

Mandaluyong City, MM.

Tel No. +632-638-7479

Shoppersville Cupcakes

I was craving for some cupcakes today; and since we were really stopping by Shoppersville in Katipunan on our way home, I decided to try their cupcakes. I asked for 6 pieces, and they were neatly placed in the box, and covered with plastic and sealed by tape. It costs Php 11.00 per cupcake.

It has a soft foamy chocolate flavored cake, topped with a tall icing and some sprinkles. The chocolate doesn't stand out though. I would love to taste more chocolate in my cupcake. The icing was not that good. It wasn't that sweet, but the taste was very foamy and dry. The sprinkles just added to the whole package, so I guess that wasn't a problem.

Janelle, my little sister, enjoyed her cupcake. She wanted the cupcake with the star-shaped sprinkles. Oh, and my computer had one too? :P

Monster Radio RX 93.1 In The Zone

It was an exhilarating and exciting afternoon – as different RX programs created their own teams, with celebrity guest players, and battled against each other, in the first ever Monster Radio RX 93.1 In The Zone competition held at Timezone, Glorietta 4.

After a whole afternoon of trash talking, cheering, and giving all they got in the different games, Team Nocturnals of Tom Alvarez, and celebrity guest DJ Macoy, emerged as champions, broke the hearts of all the teams, and took home the bragging rights.

The games include Maximum Tune, Guitar Wars, Percussion Master, Dance Dance Revolution, Air Hockey, Basketball, Super Trivia. While the Celebrity guests were Gaby dela Meced, Judah Paolo, Brent Javier, Gabe Mercado, Chesca Ortega, Calialily guys, and DJ Macoy.

Although I didn’t win in the Super Trivia and we (Jumpstart All Sparks) didn’t win overall, I really had a lot of fun, and I can say the same for my teammates, and our ever-energetic team leader Igi G. We placed Third! :)

Oh and a special shout out to Yao who visited me in Timezone (for moral support)! Thanks! Haha

Hosts Gelli and Igi

Celebrity guests with RX DJs

Picture with Gaby dela Merced :)

Brent scored a point against Judah (and the trash talking continues) hahaha!

Php 300 Timezone GCs given to all participants

My Häagen-Dazs Experience

Häagen-Dazs offers a new flavor to its valued customers. Yesterday, we were treated to two of its great concoctions - the new Dark Chocolate Orange Brownie (Php 350) and the Waffle Dream (Php 310)

Häagen-Dazs
2/F Main Mall
SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City
+632 3572145

Caregiver

Photo from ABS-CBN

In line with Star Cinema's 15th Anniversary and Sharon Cuneta's 30th Anniversary in Show Biz, they team-up to give us this very wonderfully written drama of Sarah (Cuneta's role), "a grade school teacher who decides to give up teaching for a more financially-rewarding career as a caregiver in London." Caregiver is a story which tackles the hardships of a life of an ordinary OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker), who is caught between her responsibility towards her family back in the Philippines and the patient she takes care of in a foreign land. While Caregiver is a family drama, it also tackles important issues affecting OFWs and how the government can protect their welfare.

Directed by Chito Roño, and with John Estrada, Rica Peralejo, Monique Wilson, Jhong Hilario, Marita Zobel, Lotlot de Leon, John Manalo, Mickey Feriols, Boots Anson Roa and Makisig Morales, a stellar cast that will surely touch the hearts of many Filipinos here and abroad. Opens May 28, 2008.Catch it at your local cinemas :3

RX 93.1 In The Zone

Last Sunday, while I was driving to church on a very bumpy/ hole-filled EDSA (oh how I hate EDSA!), I heard on the radio about this inter-RX radio program-contest called "In The Zone." Igi Guerrero was looking for someone who can be on their team. He gave out three questions on-air and asked for people to text-in the correct answers to be able to drafted to represent their team in the Super Trivia division. 

Q#1 How many teams are there in the NCAA?

Q#2 What's the capital of Turkey?

Q#3 Who are the goofy henchmen of Hades in the film Hercules?

Well, admittedly, I have doubts on the NCAA part (but later on I was right all along), and in the capital of Turkey part. So I texted Sean and asked him if he knew. I guess he searched it on the net. :) 

A#1 8 teams

A#2 Ankara

A#3 Pain and Panic

So I thanked Sean, and texted RX my name, age, location, landline, and my answers. After a while, I received a text from Igi, and guess what? I got in! I'll be representing their team (I'm not sure what team yet:\) in the upcoming "In The Zone" contest in TimeZone, Glorietta this coming Friday, May 16. In all actuality, I am both excited and nervous. I really didn't expect that I'll be included, but what the heck, I'll do it and try to get the gold! So wish me luck :3

Anyone want to come with me that day? It'll be from 1-6pm. hehe!

*Oh, don't ever TEXT while you're driving, okay? I texted while the red light was on. So I didn't text while I drove. Just to be clear. :)

iPhone in the Philippines!

Photo from freeiphonewallpapers

Finally! iPhone reaches this part of the world - Asia - Philippines. It was announced today that Globe Telecom will carry the iPhone line. Personally, I am just excited, and I can't wait to get hold of one. I have been waiting for the Asian release since Steve Jobs launched the phone. I just hope they've fixed the difficulty of the texting function of the iPhone, to fit Asian/Filipino texters' addiction to that feature. :3

Teknostik's blog post about this news