Bobby Chinn and Vietnamese Coffee

My uncle Martin recently came home from Vietnam with a surprise for me - an autographed Bobby Chinn's Wild, Wild East: Recipes & Stories from Vietnam and a pack of Vietnamese coffee. He was telling me that he ate at the famous Restaurant Bobby Chinn and got to meet and chat the celebrity chef personally. How often can you do that? I didn't know that he will be bringing home something for me. Aw, thanks a lot!



I haven't opened the coffee yet, because it looks too complicated to brew, and I recently don't have time anymore to cook and do stuff. But right now, I was researching on how to do it, and I find it quite easy and fun to do.



In the Philippines, coffee started in Batangas at around 1740s, and it came to a point that the Philippines became the fourth largest exporter of coffee beans, and later commanded the coffee industry worldwide. "Today, the Philippines produces more of less 30,000 metric tons of coffee a year."









Technorati Tags: bong, superbong, brian ong, The Philippines and Beyond, Bobby Chinn, Restaurant Bobby Chinn, Vietnam, Vietnamese Coffee, Kape

Plurkybar Plurk Application by Martin Gomez

My uncle, Martin, blaming me as his reason for being addicted to Plurk, created such genius invention - The Plurkybar! :) So you might ask, "What's a Plurkybar?" Here's his explanation on his creation lifted from his post, "Plurkybar: extending a bar to your life(line)".

Plurkybar is “an immensely simple Plurk sidebar for Firefox.” Just download it and you’ll be able to plurk within Firefox without having to have a dedicated window or tab. It automatically refreshes every minute so that you’re assured that you get the hottest, freshest, latest plurks available in your timeline.

Here's what it looks like on my Mac OSX 10.5.5. (see photo below)

If you like what you see, you can download Plurkybar 0.1 now at his site. He's also asking for your feedback, comments and/or suggestions. Go land on his site, and see what Plurkybar is all about! :D Enjoy plurking!

Congratulations to the Winner of Bratpack's Bag Diary Contest

*drum rolls* And the winner of the Bratpack Bag Diary contest is... Richard Mamuyac, with "Watch Your Back."

I love looking at people’s behind. Don’t get me wrong. I am not sick nor a pervert. What I mean is that I am just fond of checking out passing stranger’s backpacks.

I have been a fan of backpacks since kindergarten. Though I have a couple of messenger bags in my closet, I am more comfortable with bags on my back than sling baggage on my shoulder.

That’s why a head turner for me is either a sexy woman or a nice looking backpack. Sometimes while I am in a fast food shop along a busy street, I would find myself looking at passersby. Big bags… small bags… blue bags… red bags. It’s like I am watching a parade. There’s even creepy backpacks shaped like a coffin or Jack Skellington of Nightmare Before Christmas while others are bag version of cartoon characters from grandma’s Betty Boop to that annoying- but-kids-love-him Barney the Dinosaur.

My most favorite backpack is the yellow Jansport that I bought from Bratpack in Robinsons Galleria in 2003 which I considered as my best buddy during my 2-year stint as an OFW in Saipan, Northern Marianas . I bring it anywhere I go, from our quarters to our work station to the different islands of the tiny nation. Each mark, dirt and scratch on my bag is a reminder of the places I’ve been and experiences worth remembering.

But I committed one stupid thing that still haunts me until today. That is when I traded my Jansport bag for a luggage a month before I came back to the Philippines for good. I was forced to make that decision because I really needed a big luggage for my things which a friend was willing to give in exchange for my battle-tested bag.

I don’t know whatever happened to my backpack. But I’m pretty sure it still good to use simply because it is a Jansport. As for the luggage with Chinese characters on the tag, I found a great use for it in keeping old clothes, bags and shoes.

That’s why this Christmas, I already told myself that I will get a new Jansport backpack by hook or by contest like this :-)

The pieces were rated by my guest judge, Martin, based on the following criteria (see criteria below). Richard's topped all 10 entries submitted through the comments page and through superbong(at)gmail(dot)com with a score of 25/30. Congratulations!


Thanks to all those who submitted entries to the contest, to Bratpack and GeiserMaclang for making this contest possible, and to the guest judge, Martin Gomez.

You may claim your prize at GeiserMaclang (c/o Arbee Panga) Unit 7C, 114 Tuscan Bldg., V. A Rufino St., Legaspi Village , Makati City Tel: 812.8828/ 812.9199, 0917.605.8122

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. :)