PhilExport

I was lucky to be invited to attend the banquet held at the World Trade Center in celebration of the 20th anniversary of PhilExport, the non-governmental organization that has been at the forefront of export promotion.  Established in 1992 at the urging of then President Fidel V. Ramos, the confederation has since been a good case study of Public-Private cooperation.  The Department of Trade and Industry spearheads the government's participation and coordinates with various PhilExport chapters throughout the archipelago, in order to assist in worldwide marketing.  Naturally, the close coordination with the DTI enables exporters to provide feedback for the mode of government assistance needed for the upward push in export earnings.  In his speech, President Benigno S. Aquino III noted that in the first 8 months of 2012, Philippine exports amounted to US$35 billion, and I was pretty amazed at the growth rates that the export sector has achieved, given that a lot of other regional and global economies have been floundering.  Not a bad performance for the Philippines, although admittedly, more road has yet to be covered.  I think the country is on an upward trajectory--a slow but sure process.  As FVR points out with his trademark greeting--thumbs up for export growth!

XO46 Heritage Bistro

There were several reasons for us to have a Sunday lunch out with Lola Dee and the Callars.  First, while both Tito King and Tito Robert were in New York, we have made it an annual habit to celebrate their birthdays in Manila--any reason to get the family together is a welcome event!  Second, it was Grandparent's Day, and by some twist of chance, the maitre d' of XO46 Heritage Bistro sent me a text message that their restaurant would be open to celebrate the event (they are usually closed on Sundays).  This restaurant, together with their newly opened Visayan Room, has taken the spot previously occupied by Nanohana Japanese restaurant along Valero St. in Salcedo Village, Makati, and I've been wondering much about the cuisine (which is why the maitre d' had my number).  Perfect time to dine with Lola Dee!

I like the interiors of the place--comfy, well decorated, and just about the right side to be intimate, without being cramped.  It's a nice place to take Balikbayan friends, just to enjoy and reminisce about Filipino food.  The menu items for the Heritage Bistro were chosen from well-loved Spanish-Filipino favorites all around the country, and Visayan Room had specialties from that region.  I understand the owners are from Dumaguete City, and that gives some assurance of the authenticity of the preparations.  We ordered a lot--garlic beef, beef adobo Batangas style, calamares en su tinta, Bicol laing, crispy pork belly, seafood in gata, and two different kinds of pancit (Lukban chorizo style and Visayan Bam-i).

Food was very flavorful, came it piping hot and smelling like heaven!  I found the cooking style a wee bit on the oily side though; however the kids didn't mind at all and finished everything on the table.  With drinks, the bill came up to around P400 per head, and I felt that was very reasonable for the feast that we had.  As part of their promotional efforts, the management gave us desserts on the house--ice cream topped with nilagang saba).

The view of the restaurant from Valero St.--while both restaurants share a kitchen, the Spanish-Filipino dishes are served at the Heritage Bistro (right door) while the Visayan dishes are served at the Visayan Room (left door).  The interiors of the Heritage Bistro are like old houses in Laguna and Vigan, while the Visayan Room is a bit more modern in style.  Being a heritage-concept restaurant, the staff are dressed in the old turn of the century "Maria Clara" style.  You can actually order from either menu, and the staff will happily serve the food to your table, whichever restaurant you are seated in.

Claudette Colbert

Photo via Google

I was surfing the web and I came across some movie discussion sites that talked about glamour actresses during the black-and-white film period.  I remembered my favorite, Claudette Colbert, a French-born actress who made films in New York in the 1920s up to the 1940s.  I was introduced to her work by my uncle, Tito Jay (Gwammy's older brother), and she was one of my boyhood fantasies--to my mind, absolutely stunning!  I think the photo on the left was digitally colored, and you can clearly see the haunting expression of her eyes... Two thumbs up for this fine and wonderful lady! C'est Magnifique!

Big Better Burgers

Burger Hunt!  Saturday afternoon was a good time for myself, Monique and the Callars to take another round of burgers, and this time we chose Big Better Burgers which we found along Jupiter St. (near EDSA), in Makati.  I had seen their signboard somewhere (maybe late 2011) and one of my colleagues told me that the burgers were reasonably priced.  He was not mistaken--we found out that burgers ranged from P100 to P200, and we ordered a good sampling of their offering.

My burger was spicy--Hahalapeno!

Angela and Bryan each had a bacon-topped burger basted with Texas BBQ sauce

Monique had a 3-cheese burger

Kenny had a burger with mushroom toppings

The first thing that we noticed was that the bun was more like pan de sal rather that the usual hamburger bun.  That alone was a good twist, and as you can see, the bun was also scored as it was heated atop the grill.  The patty was flavorful and tender, and my jalapeno topping gave  a certain zing to my burger.  However, when I tried the bacon BBQ burger, I felt that the sweet-sour sauce took over and overwhelmed the meaty taste completely--I always like the beefy taste of the patty to come on strong, otherwise the "burger" in the burger would be lost.  The 3 cheese burger was a disappointment to Monique; she expected the cheese flavor to ooze out, and she thought that her burger was bland on that aspect.

Overall, it was a good snack for under P200 per person, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back for another round!

Choc Nuts

Choc Nut has gotta be one of the longest lasting Philippine chocolate delicacies.  I can remember buying this in the early seventies at our neighborhood sari-sari store--Mi, the salesgirl, would always ask us if we wanted some.  The candy is made by New Unity Sweets based in Malabon, and the packaging has improved over the years (it used to come in carton box, but now comes in a plastic foil wrap).  The candy is made from chocolate, milk, sugar and ground peanuts, and is a bit crumbly, so one would have to eat it fast by plunking the whole candy into one's mouth all in one fell swoop!  It's inexpensive, P27.50 for a pack of 24 pieces, and available practically in most stores groceries, and convenience stores around Metro Manila.  It has a chocolatey taste, yet the ground peanut gives it a slightly different texture from plain chocolate bars.  It's a favorite with kids and adults alike.  It gets exported into various parts of the world, mostly by pasalubong treats of travelling Filipinos.  It's good, it's yummy, it's addictive!

Willy

I just got word from old classmates that a dear friend passed away yesterday from a massive stroke.  From what we gather, it was his second or third stroke, and one of the earlier strokes had already left him partially paralyzed.  Because he lives in Dagupan City, we don't know much about the arrangements for the wake and the burial, information has been slow to come in, as we have lost all contact with him for the past twenty five years.  All we can do is to say our prayers for the eternal repose of his soul.

I knew Willy very well, we often went to parties together in the late seventies--I can still remember his green Ford Cortina that we used to move about town.  While he stuttered when he spoke, his warm arm of friendship always made him good friends.  He played a mean game of basketball, wasn't afraid to mix and brawl in the center lane.  One of my life's most embarrassing moments happened with him--it was almost midnight, we were coning home from a party when we were caught by the Metrocom right in front of Mt. Carmel Church in New Manila trying to beat curfew.  The police asked us to put our hands on the hood of the Ford Cortina, and we stayed there, legs spread, for around 20 minutes, while the cops tore up the seats of the car, looking for illegal drugs.  At that time I had visions of spending the next few weeks in jail, or worse, Camp Crame--we were clean, but how could we protest?  Those were the Martial Law years, and anything could happen.  We were luckily spared, and sent home only with our shattered pride.

He always backed me up, ready to pounce on anyone in case we got into a brawl.  He never backed down from a fight.  He used to court a girl named Nancy; I don't even know the woman he eventually married.  One of our friends learned that some ten years ago, he got into some financial difficulties, but I think everything was resolved, and he made his new business base in Dagupan City, transferring there from Metro Manila.  My good friend, wherever you are--here's to the good times, and may you find your peace.

Andy Williams

* courtesy of Wikipedia

I just read that Andy Williams passed away last month at the ripe old age of 84, from bladder cancer.  To me and to his multitude of fans worldwide, he will forever be known as "Mr. Smooth," and his numerous hits, among them, Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, Theme from the Godfather (Speak Softly Love), Theme from Love Story (Where Do I Begin), and the happy Christmas song It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, will forever be etched in my memory.  We used to have this on LP vinyl and cassette, and we played the songs so many times at the main house, with Kong & Gwammy always listening intently.  Songs full of life, love and romance!  Thank you, Mr. Williams, for all the lovely songs that you so wonderfully sang--we enjoyed every bit.

Pipo M1 Tablet

It seems that I'm a true spur of the moment buyer--I was browsing and looking at some gadgets in Virra Mall Greenhills and I came across the M1 tablet, which is made by Pipo, a Taiwanese brand with manufacturing facilities in China.  I was immediately impressed with the tablet's specs-- 9.7" screen, 1.6 ghz dual core Rockchip processor, 1 gb RAM, 16 gb internal flash, front and back camera (2MP each), capacitive touchscreen, accepts external SD flash up to 32 gb, and runs on Android Jelly Bean.  At P10k, this is definitely a cheap alternative to the iPad, so I picked it up, just like that!  It's quite light (around 700 grams, I'd say), and the casing that I got is black metallic, which is much sturdier than the cheaper Chinese Android brands (P7,500 level) which use plastic casings.  Previously, I was looking at a Huawei tablet (with SIM slot) at around P14k, but that was only clocking at 1 ghz while running Android Gingerbread; it was more expensive and I didn't really need the phone function.  The built-in Jelly Bean of the M1 was thus an instant attraction for me.  As a bonus, the M1 comes with a built-in screen protector (of course you can peel this off if you want).  The unit has USB and HDMI ports, the wi-fi receiver is pretty sensitive even with faint signals, and the screen is very clear (while specs are at 1024 x 768, it's still not as clear as the Retina display, but it's quite close).  The battery is supposed to be rated at 8,000 MAh (6-8 hours on average use); I haven't used it that much though to comment on battery life.  I used it watching 2 movies (roughly 4 hours) and battery dropped to 30%, which is not bad, but not great either.  Drawbacks--it's got only one side speaker (stereo model is the M2), so you have to use headphones to get the stereo effect.  Also, there is no local tech support & warranty (this is Greenhills, after all).  Well, I've been a techie gambler, since the days of the Sharp BASIC programmable, the Commodore Vic-20 and the Atari console, and I think that's part of the fun!

Serenitea

Monique was lucky that BDO credit cards offered a promo in which free Serenitea drinks were given for every P2,000 purchase made using the credit cards--ice tea drinks are her favorite!  We hied off to the Serenitea branch in San Juan, and we got some ice teas mixed with malt, chocolate, nut flavoring, cassava pearls, and flan.  We had a treat!  I understand that prices hover at the P100 to P200 level, and that would depend on the kind and size of drink that you choose.  They have a lot of flavors--fruit teas, lattes, even Yakult teas!  Pretty refreshing drink, especially on warm & humid days.  The interiors of the shop are quite clean, the air-conditioning works well and wall colors are refreshing--just the perfect place to hang around and chill with friends & family.

2013 Santa Fe

Late last year, I was looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe for Monique, now that she has already started driving.  Vicky is convinced that getting an SUV is the way to go, since the recent rains have made it very clear that flooding will be a part of Metro Manila living for the next few years to come.  The old Santa Fe model looked good in white, and Monique was almost convinced that was the vehicle of her choice.  But before we could purchase the vehicle, the new Tucson was launched.  We marveled at its sleek lines and gaped at its fluid body shape.  It dawned on us that the Santa Fe was already due for a body change, and we wisely postponed our decision to acquire the SUV.  That was an opportune postponement, as we had some chance to consider the new Honda CRV, the MItsubishi Montero and the Chevy Orlando as alternatives.  Now that the 2013 Santa Fe is out, it seems that we'll be having a harder time making the purchase decision.

Monique & I went over to the Hyundai showroom over the weekend to satisfy our curiosity--indeed, the new Santa Fe is definitely a big brother of the Tucson.  The same sleek lines are there, the body is wider, longer, and the styling has a more elegant feel.  I understand it is available with a 2.2 liter VGT engine, which is supposed to pack a lot of wallop (I don't remember how many horsepower, however).  The 4x2 model comes in both M/T (P1.5 million) and A/T (P1.7 million).  The designers put in a few nice toys too--drive assist from inclined hillside parking, keyless ignition, rear view camera, USB ports and auto-fold side view mirrors.  I think the 4x4 models come with wider tires and a sun/moon roof.  The vehicle isn't as high as the Fortuner, Montero or the Everest, and therefore, climbing in and getting out feels more car-like than SUV-like.  The only drawback for me is the lack of headroom, which was probably sacrificed by virtue of its fluidic design.  Getting in and out of the 3rd row, is also a drag; I think Hyundai engineers should rethink the way the 2nd row folds to allow improved ingress & egress.  Can't say much about the handling and the ride; we will probably assess the purchase after a test drive.

That Romney Smirk

*AP Photo from guardian.com.uk

I'm not much of a political person, but this is just a chance for me to vent some steam.  The infamous Romney smirk just gets on my nerves... 

Mesa

It was the birthday celebration of Julian, and the clan trooped to Tomas Morato for a Sunday lunch at Mesa, which serves modernized versions of Filipino favorites.  Due to its popularity, the place gets to be full by 11:30 am, so if you don't have reservations, it is best to come early, so you can find parking space.  Their car park staff was efficient though, and we were immediately guided to on-street parking along Scout Fernandez St.

We arrived a bit after noon and found that Michaela had already ordered some appetizers--a platter full of seafood pica-pica (shrimps, dilis, oysters, fish & squid) and crunchy wraps, commonly called "bomba" or "sipa" in some other restaurants.  While the usual crunchy wraps are filled with typical lumpia shanghai filling (ground pork), Mesa has a different take, and their concoction was filled with sisig instead--I liked it!

The seafood sinigang (tamarind) soup was served on a candle top warmer, which was good for us since Erika and Kong came in a bit late, and despite that, still enjoyed hot soup.  The dishes came in freshly cooked and were quite tasty-- pork adobo, bam-i, tilapia cutlets and crispy pata.  They also had 2 kinds of laing, the dry version and the wet version (with rich coconut sauce); since I'm a fan of good sauce, I consequently liked the wet one better.  However, the best dish for me was the steamed beef with quinchay leaves, which was something new and delightful for me.

Not contented with all that food, Julian ordered an additional dish of a large crispy fried hito (catfish), which came in just in time for Kong's lunch.  Kong recounted how Erika had brought him to a chiropractor for his back-ache, and we were all glad that he he felt a little better after the back massage.  All in all, I understand that Julian spent something like P500 per head, and we came out much heavier in the process!

Single Picks

While I can't say that I'm a die-hard fan of these artists, they made these hits that I like.  Some songs were made by one-hit-wonders, while some songs were covers of the originals.  Some are classified as old standards, some other picks were influenced by friends, and some of the newer artists have simply grown on me, perhaps due to Monique's incessant insistence!

     1)     No Arms Can Ever Hold You     -     Chris Norman
     2)     When She Cries     -     Restless Heart
     3)     Wildflower     -     Skylark
     4)     The Captain of Her Heart     -    Double
     5)     Breathless     -     The Corrs
     6)     Reminiscing     -     Little River Band
     7)     Dance With Me     -     Orleans
     8)     Baby Come Back     -     Player
     9)     How Much I Feel     -     Ambrosia
   10)     Fool (If You Think It's Over)     -     Chris Rea
   11)     I'm Not In Love     -     10cc
   12)     High     -     Lighthouse Family
   13)     Need You Now     -     Lady Antebellum
   14)     Love the Way You Lie     -     Eminem & Rihanna
   15)     Empire State of Mind     -     Jay Z & Alicia Keys
   16)     What A Fool Believes     -     Doobie Brothers
   17)     Marry Your Daughter     -     Brian McKnight
   19)     Waiting For A Girl Like You     -     Foreigner
   20)     Every Time You Go Away     -     Paul Young
   21)     Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now     -     Jeffersuon Starship
   22)     I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore     -     REO Speedwagon
   23)     I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing     -     Aerosmith
   24)     Too Much Love Will Kill You     -     Queen
   25)     Right Here Waiting     -     Richard Marx
   26)     Tears In Heaven     -     Eric Clapton
   27)     Everything I Do (I Do It For You)     -     Bryan Adams
   28)     Bed of Roses     -     Bon Jovi
   29)     When You Say Nothing At All     -     Ronan Keating
   30)     Foolish Heart     -     Steve Perry
   31)     Thunderdome     -     Tina Turner
   32)     Seasons In the Sun     -     Terry Jacks
   33)     If I Were a Boy     -     Beyonce Knowles
   34)     Eres Tu     -     Mocedades
   35)     Alone Again Naturally    -     Gilbert O'Sullivan
   36)     Afternoon Delight     -     Starland Vocal Band
   37)     Don't Give Up On Us Baby     -     David Soul
   38)     Emotion     -     Samantha Sang
   39)     Native New Yorker     -     Odyssey
   40)     No Sabes Como Sufri     -     Maria Ostiz
   41)     Dreaming of You     -     Selena
   42)     Good Girls Go Bad     -     Cobra Starship ft Leighton Meester
   43)     My Love     -     Westlife
   44)     Shape of My Heart     -     Backstreet Boys
   45)     I'll Make Love To You     -     Boyz II Men
   46)     Unbreak My Heart     -     Toni Braxton
   47)     Love Is Stronger Far Than We     -     Esther Satterfield
   48)     Ordinary People     -     John Legend
   49)     The Man Who Can't Be Moved     -     The Script
   50)     Won't Go Home Without You     -     Maroon 5
   51)     Big Girls Don't Cry     -     Fergie
   52)     Someone Like You     -     Adele
   53)     Knocking on Heaven's Door     -     Guns n Roses
   54)     I Can See Clearly Now     -     Jimmy Cliff
   55)     Somewhere Over the Rainbow     -     Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
   56)     The A Team     -     Ed Sheeran
   57)     Just the Way You Are     -     Bruno Mars
   58)     Love Moves In Mysterious Ways     -     Julia Fordham
   59)     The Hurt     -     Kalapana
   60)     Let Me In     -     Mike Francis
   61)     The Boy From New York City     -     The Manhattan Transfer
   62)     Have I Told You Lately That I Love You     -     Rod Stewart
   63)     Father and Son     -     Cat Stevens
   64)     You Are So Beautiful     -     Billy Preston
   65)     Up Where We Belong     -     Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
   66)     Dreams     -     Fleetwood Mac
   67)     I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)     -     Meatloaf
   68)     Englishman in New York     -     Sting
   69)     Every Breath You Take     -     The Police
   70)     Insomnia     -     Craig David

Yen Yen

Monique had a hectic weekend while at her retreat, and to cap all that hullabaloo, we decided to have a family dinner at Yen Yen Taiwan-style restaurant along P. Guevara in San Juan.  This restaurant used to be located along Granada St. in New Manila, but that was such a tight fit--this location in San Juan is much brighter and allows bigger groups to dine in.  The food concept is Taiwan street food, and we enjoyed the same in a prim & proper setting.

We started the meal with crispy pork intestines, which was yummy, but wreaked havoc on my uric acid levels.  So much for my diet!  The three cups chicken was spicy, just enough for the oomph to hit our tongues.  Chami noodles came in hot, and had just the right amount of sauce; I don't like eating extra dry noodle dishes.  The disappointed though, was the onion cake, which was on the tough side--probably a wee bit over-fried for me.  Our bill came to around P400 per head.  Waiting time wasn't bad, we were in and out in about an hour; we were also delighted to find out that they deliver around neighboring parts of San Juan.