Sunday, October 9, 2011
Manila COD Christmas Display
Kimpura
Had a trip down memory lane over lunch last Friday with Kong and Gwammy, as we went to Greenhills to eat in Kimpura Restaurant. This Japanese restaurant has been around since 1970, and opened alongside Unimart when Ortigas & Co. inaugurated the Greenhills Commercial Center. Kong and his golf buddies used to eat in this restaurant every Saturday lunch for several years from the late 80s to the early 90s, and true to form, their then regular food attendant, Larry, was also around when we went there last Friday, and he recognized Kong and made us welcome. Their group was such a regular customer that the cashier of the restaurant already kept copies of their senior citizen ID cards, and the computations of their 20% discount would become an automatic thing. For starters we had miso soup, while Gwammy ordered some California Maki. We then had chicken & prawn teppanyaki, and with it, two kinds of fried rice. Just enough to be full without being stuffed, all for an average of P350 per head (Kong has this theory that if you know how to order well in Japanese restaurants, you can eat well without paying overboard). We were made to understand that the restaurant has other branches in both Greenbelt Makati and Tri-noma in Quezon City, and we probably will visit these locations sometime in the near future.
Green Lantern
The DC comic book heroes find another screen version brought to life--Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan, the test pilot, who becomes chosen by a green ring to become the champion of justice in this part of the universe (Sector 2814) known as Green Lantern. The ring does not have continues power though, and must be recharged on a regular basis by touching the ring to the lantern, and speaking the oath "In the brightest day, in the darkest night, no evil shall escape my sight; to those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's light." In this case, the green light is the "emerald energy of will power," which Hal Jordan has plenty of. I understand that the original comic book in the forties stated that the lantern was powered by mystical forces, but the 1960s reboot of the franchise changed the story line to make the lantern powered by sheer human will. Very interesting, as it connotes the human story--a battle of the will to succeed versus the the forces of the unknown, which conjures up fear in humans. In the DC universe, the ring is supposed to be one of the most powerful weapons in existence--all fueled by will power. Hmmm--so much power for human beings! Interestingly, Reynolds has also appeared in the Marvel screen as Deadpool, an assassin who is a former teammate of Wolverine. Also, his ex-wife Scarlet Johansson, plays the Russian agent Black Widow, in the very successful Marvel Iron Man franchise. When these actors were a married couple, they were called the "sexiest couple" in Hollywood, and their continuous gigs as costumed heroes is probably the offshoot of their celebrity status. My only objection to the movie is that the enemy of Green Lantern turns out to be an cloudish & octopus-looking yellow ooze...not much to be frightened about. Oh well, you can't win them all! Over-all, still an enjoyable movie for a grown-up kid like me!Pasto
Wandering around the Eastwood area last Sunday with the Callars was a great way to bump into people, as both Vicky & myself saw some friends shopping in the mall. We found ourselves having dinner at Pasto Italian restaurant along the older Citywalk area, and while Panini started off with her shrimp bisque, the rest of us enjoyed a sumptuous dinner of pizza and pasta. The pizzas at Pasto (which means "meal" in Italian) are exactly what we like--thin, crispy and tasty! We had five kinds of pizza--4 cheese, ham & asparagus, meat-lovers, bianca with seafood, and the "everything-on-it" variety, which the kids munched away, disappearing form the table in flash! We also had 2 kinds of pasta, a cream based penne with sun-dried tomatoes (this I found a bit odd though, as the tomatoes were on the sweet side), and a mean arriabiatta (spicy bacon). The ambience is cozy, with red as the dominant color scheme. The kitchen can be viewed through a glass wall, and this certainly makes for interesting conversation with the kids. Quite reasonable, as we spent around P350 per head.The Sound of Music
It's been around 45 years since Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer teamed up in the 1965 Academy Award winning musical, The Sound of Music. While still quite active, both of these actors are nearly approaching their eighties, and whenever I hear any song from the musical, I automatically think of them when they were in their prime. Such a wonderful movie! The story takes place in the years just before the Second World War, and tells us of the life of the Von Trapp family singers--of their governess Maria, a former novice, who falls in love with Captain Von Trapp and becomes stepmother to 6 children. As Captain Von Trapp is politically pursued by the Nazi regime, the story tells of their subsequent escape to Switzerland. It's the classic love story, and Christopher Plummer plays the dashing German aristocrat, while Julie Andrews is perfect as the ex-novice ingenue. A sucker for tear-jerkers, I always cry every time I watch the prelude to the wedding scene, where the Mother Superior of Maria, tells Maria to "climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, till you find your dream." These days, I have been seeing the posters for the musical all over the metro--on billboards, on buses, in the newspapers--because a local production group is staging another round at the Resorts World performing theater in front of NAIA Terminal 3. It just reminds me that some stories are timeless, and will be enjoyed for generations to come.Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Game of Life
If I remember correctly, Monique was only around 7 or 8 years old when her Tito King and Tita Bella gifted her with a the Game of Life, a very popular American board game made the the Milton Bradley company (yes, he's the same Milton Bradley that advocated Kindergarten in American education). The object of the game is to make the most in life--of course, based on the roll of the die (or the spinner, as the case may be). Players study, choose to go to college or work, go on date, start a family, and get "life points" by achievement, much like in real life. I understand that this board game dates back to 1860, and is of now 150 years old. Relaunched in 1960, the modern version has several variants, and we recently found a special limited edition of the board game, sold by Hasbro Toys (which acquired the Milton Bradley Company in 1984). We've spent several fun-filled family hours playing this board game, and I believe that it is a very good way of teaching children the intricacies of life. I'd like to see an international edition, though, as the commonly sold game set revolves mostly around the American way of life. Very enjoyable, plenty of amusing times with the children, and one board game that is a definite must-have in anyone's household.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Baker's Mill
I simply forgot to write about this wonderful snack food that I picked up in Cebu during my last trip. Dried nokos, as the Cebuanos call squid, tastes so yummy that I can probably eat a half kilo of the stuff in one sitting. It's basically salty seafood snack, that has a tinge of both sweetness and chili. No starches or artificial flavoring--this is the real thing, plain dried pusit! One of the more popular brands is Baker's Mill, which comes in a gift box. Price however, varies a lot--in Manila this comes to P285 per box; in Davao, Vicky found some at P250 per box; while in Cebu, the retailers have it at P185 per box, and the source (Profoods) goes down as low as P160 per box. I still have 3 boxes in our stash--and don't you dare get one! ;)
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