En Route to Dubai, then Venice
I’m currently waiting at NAIA for my flight to Dubai, then Venice, then to Slovenia. Will update you once I get the chance to get to use the Wi-Fi once more!
Ending the Year Right: The Pasig Soup Kitchen Outreach
Summer was fast approaching, and with it the end of the school year: the temporary end of new learning, of new friendships, and of last-minute cramming. To end the year right, Dasha, a very close friend, together with her brother and their father decided to, together, participate in a Soup Kitchen in the Pasig area, feeding those hungry with delicious food.
It was an early Thursday morning when we left for the cathedral in Pasig, the seat of the diocese in Pasig. There, we went around, looked around, and enjoyed the rococo architecture present amidst us, for it took quite some time before Dasha’s dad was able to contact the person we were supposed to approach.
When we did, we sprang into action.
We helped out in the preparing of lunch for that day: delicious Sinigang.
(Since it was also, Dasha’s brother’s birthday, Bradford’s birthday, the kids there greeted Bradford a happy birthday!)
Below are the pictures took during the soup kitchen.
This was the kitchen of the place. From this place, mouth-watering dishes abound every Saturday to feed the hungry stomachs of the marginalized in Pasig.
Quickly placing the soup on the table so that it won’t get cold.
Meal of the day: Sinigang
This is Bradford, Dasha’s brother.
This picture means a lot to me. I’ll expound more on what it means on my next post.
But for now, the soup kitchen made me realize how special my life is as a Xavieran, for I have three meals a day to eat, food when I need it, when these people have to go to church just to get food.
It reminds me not to forget my fellow countrymen, for they too, are people worth looking at, and feeling for them is a must. It reminds me that this problem our country has isn’t just a problem, or his problem, it is OUR problem, and only if we work together can we find solutions to seemingly large problems such as these.
It’s Summer Time! It’s Blogging Time
Hey! It’s been quite some time since I last blogged, and it was an even longer stretch of time before that. That’s because I had lots to deal with in terms of Academics! However, with summer slowly seeping in, it’s much better now, since I’ll be able to blog more!
Yey!
Going with that chain of thought, I’ve been able to bake my first successful batch of chocolate chip cookies! I’ve been trying to perfect them for the past few weeks, and its only been yesterday that I think I got it right. Haha. And yea, this shows again, how summer is here, since I get more time to do what I like doing! (Ahem, cooking and eating!)
And so, with that, summer begins, and blogging begins! Stay tuned for more updates very very soon!
Lunch at the Prestigious Genting Club and an Afternoon with Francis Kong
Nestled in the third floor of the Maxim’s Tower of the Resorts World Complex, the prestigious Genting Club is a place for the country’s elite (which I’m not), which features luxurious sitting areas, decadent wine cellars, and just superbly delicious food, (which I’ll give you a glimpse of later!)
On a more administrative note for this site, you might have noticed that I haven’t been blogging that often for the past few weeks due to schoolwork! But now, I’m here, and back to my blogging streak! Woohoo! Oh yea, just a little announcement! I’ll be shifting my reviews quite a bit from the how many stars review to the general reviews so that it’ll be easier for everyone to read, and it’ll be more “readable”. I hope that’s okay with you guys!
Going back to the topic, we went to the Genting Club, which I just now find out after googling it, actually game from a place called Genting in Malaysia. Interesting. Anyway, here’s the logo from their site, and the description, if you’d like to hear it their way.
The Genting Club Logo from their Website
Hidden right in the heart of Resorts World Manila is the prestigious Genting Club, a members-only lifestyle club designed particularly for Manila’s elite. Home for the creme de la creme, the Genting Club would be the playground for those with discerning taste searching for an escape from the city to relax in exclusivity. It will be an oasis for business leaders and prominent names in society seeking for luxurious premier entertainment with a private gaming area, decadent dining options and other fabulous lifestyle features. Surrounded by the best company, the Genting Club is where you can find the best of what the world can offer.
Step into the world of Genting Club here.
-Resorts World Website
So, we had lunch in one of the function rooms in the Genting Club. We were served an array of food from different cuisines, (mostly Filipino, thouugh)! Here’s a glimpse of what we had!
We had butterfly iced tea to start off! Haven’t had it for a long time, so its was a great way for me to start my meal!
So there was the customary salad! Green leafy lettuce!
There was this special dressing of theirs I didn’t know the name of. Nevertheless, I smothered my lettuce with it, dashed my salad with some bacon and lots of cheese!
There was also this Russian Salad available! It was red (I presume due to the beats), and it contained a mix and match of vegetables, ranging from potatoes to tomatoes. (Wow, that rhymes!)
Quite interestingly, there was sushi for appetizer! And Californian Maki at that!
The bigger picture! This time with the Wasabi and the rest of the other condiments!
So, for the main course, there was garlic rice!
Sorry for the blurry picture! This is Beef Salpicao! (Which they called something else which I don’t remember!)
This is Dory with Cream! I think this was my favorite dish for that meal! It was creamy, yet the fish was tender! It really tasted great!
Again, a blurry picture! My apologies! I shan’t forget my camera next time! I had to use the cellphone camera to take photos! This is Vegan Lumpia with the Mang Tomas sweet and chili sauce.
This chicken was also very good! It tastes even better when you get a lemon, and squeeze the lemon all over the chicken. You will salivate!
And now, off to my favorite part of every meal: DESSERT! This cake featured above is Mango Cheescake! It tasted pretty well! The crust could’ve been a little more crunchy, though.
There were also brownies, which were quite okay, but I guess it lacked sweetness. Maybe a little more sugar will do it good!
And, of course, no meal will be finished without enzymes to break down our food! (Reminds me of Bio with Mr. Quijano, my 2nd year Bio teacher!)
So, that ends our food trip! In the afternoon, he listened to a talk by te very famous and highly acclaimed inspirational speaker, Francis Kong! In the talk he gave us, he reminded all of us 3 things.
- To have fun!
- Do something you really like so you don’t have to work another day of your life.
- Follow your mind, then your heart.
Those 3 are just bits and pieces of the whole thing. They were my 3 key takeaways from the session!
During the break in between, I got the special chance to get a photo with him!
And of course, as like every Filipino, nagpa-autograph ako! I got him to sign a copy of his book, The Early Bird Catches the Worm, but the Second Mouse Gets the Cheese. It won lots of awards, supposedly! I got him to autograph it for me!
And so, with that, I concluded my afternoon! For the rest of the day, I’ll be blogging about it shortly after this!
Overall, the Genting Club may be really extraordinarily expensive. I heard it costs $$$ to even just enter, (and actually wonder how I was able in there), but given the great service they have there, the super clean restrooms equipped with mouthwash, hand lotion, cotton buds and a shaving kit, I guess it’s worth it. No wonder the elite go there. It’s a really good experience for anyone.
However, if you’re looking though for something worth every cent of your money and sulit, this place might not be such a suitable place for you to visit. You may want to try the restaurants in Maxim’s such as The Terrace or Impressions. They’re a lot more affordable, and I have to say, the food there is equally delicious, if not, has a better variety than that inside Genting! So, it’s just a matter of choosing correctly! For that, I wish you good luck!
The Journey That is Chinese
It’s Chinese QT tomorrow, so, as my meager way of saying thank you, here is a guide for the formats in Chinese Writing. Thank you, guys for this great year! Let’s go IB! 
So here it is: The Guide to Chinese Writing Formats
For those ahias and achis looking for the UST Results, this might help! :D
Judgment Day: Top 4 Must-Watch Metro Manila Film Festival Movies 2011 (Part 1)
It is, as is everyone else’s pleasure in the Philippines, my pleasure to watch the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). It may seem like serendipity, but the MMFF is actually conducted yearly by the MMDA, somewhat weird of an organization to take care of this, given that moderate the roads, but nevertheless, one capable of taking the responsibilities.
Anyway, as Christmas break strolled by, I took the days off by watching MMFF Movies with my family. We started with My Househusband in SM Laguna, then Enteng ng Ina Mo in SM Manila, then, Shake, Rattle and Roll in SM Clark, and then, finally, Segunda Mano in another mall I can’t remember anymore.
For these blogs, what I’ll be doing, is to do a shortened form of a review with the pertinent details one has to know about the movie, the characters, and the the star table, as always. The movies are rated in ascending order, with the last one as the best!
Oh yea, before I forget, so that you could read the whole article and appreciate it, I dropped some hints on the movies, but made sure that the more interesting parts were not typed down- so you could go see it in a cinema!
And so, here we shall begin!
ENTENG NG INA MO
Third Place
This poster hints about Tanging Ina and Enteng Kabisote!
Alright! Of all the movies, this is the one I least had any reaction to. It was just going around the bush, beating around the bush, then, burning the bush. (I hope you get why after watching the movie! 
) Anyway, in essence, the movie is just a mix of Enteng Kabisote and the Ang Tanging Ina series (which were the best Filipino movies I’ve seen so far.)
So, what does this movie bring. Well, let’s say that the actors were very good, and the settings were okay, but there was no point in the movie. It was just there to make people laugh, and the sad thing about it is, people weren’t laughing. In total, there were only 4 times people laughed, really. Given that this is supposed to be a humor movie, people should be laughing their shoes off with Ai Ai delas Alas, marrying Vic Sotto, but no. I think the problem here may be the story itself. It starts out as an adventure, then romance, then back to adventure theme, with mediocre animation. The monsters were literally, blobs that were floating in the screen. Maybe its because of budget constraints, and we just have to understand that. (Though making it unenchanted would have been a whole lot better.)
Though overall, I have to commend the artists for acting so well. In truth, the movie grossed the most this MMFF, and the actors were perfect, but maybe a tweak of the story line and a fix in the animation, could have improved the movie experience.
THE TABLE OF STARS
| CRITERION | STARS (OUT OF ★★★★★) |
| Storyboard | ★★★Improvements could have been made. |
| Stage and Sets | ★★★
The sets were okay, but the animations needed improvement. |
| Actors and Performance | ★★★★★No questions asked. The actors were brilliant. |
| Price and Value for Money | ★★★Still okay. |
Overall Rating: 3.5/ ★★★★★ (Good!)
SEGUNDA MANO
SECOND Place
Not to mention, their poster is appealing.
To be serious, this movie could have been a first place movie, no questions asked, but due to the predictability of the plot, the un-horrorness of the movie, some complications came about.
Once more, no questions asked about the actors. They were very good, perfect even. Kris Aquino always does well, and Ding Dong Dantes also played his role very well, but here is the problem.
The movie, instead of being horror, became one about an abusive man/husband. (I mean, the Commission on Human Rights could use this video to show how human rights are violated), but it didn’t showcase that much fright in people, which is the reason why they actually entered in the first place. It was only two or three times people actually were screaming because they were afraid, and the thing about this is, they weren’t afraid of ghosts, they were afraid of the guy in the story!
The stage, the sets, the stunts, they were all beautifully carries out. A shift in the plot could have improved this story greatly. (Though it is, in itself, already an excellent movie.)
Added to that, this movie, also attempts to change people’s mindsets about ghosts, that they can be very nice supernatural beings that help people. (Though I don’t thing this was achieved.) But what I admire about this is the courage to take new challenges, and try out something new, and as such, it places second, together with the movie presented above.
THE TABLE OF STARS
| CRITERION | STARS (OUT OF ★★★★★) |
| Storyboard | ★★★★Improving it to add more scary parts would make it better. |
| Stage and Sets | ★★★
Sets were well-chosen and paired up properly with the movie. |
| Actors and Performance | ★★★★★No questions asked. The actors were brilliant. |
| Price and Value for Money | ★★★★Good movie. |
Overall Rating: 4/ ★★★★★ (Good!)
To be Continued Tomorrow!
(I actually finished it already, but when I clicked Save Draft, it apparently didn’t save. So, forgive me. I shall finish it tomorrow! Thank you very much!)
Like this:
Hainanese Delights: Affordable Mouth-watering Singpore Cuisine with Unlimited Rice (Review)
A few days before this, I was missing Singapore so much that on the day we went out, I decided to bring my whole family to eat something Singaporean. Singapore, even though I’ve just been there twice holds great meaning in life. It brings together the beauty of the past with the advancements of the future, but best of all, the food was totally mouth-watering, jaw-dropping, eye-poppingly good. (I’m drooling for Lakhsa now!)
So just before the Christmas Break ended, we finally, for the last time, until after three months, delightfully spent a whole day at the mall, and luckily, this time, we went to Robinsons Galleria, which is very accessible and, from previous experience, has a Singapore food-serving place!
The place I was mentioning about is called Hainanese Delights. It’s a fast-food, rice-all-you-can restaurant. The food there is great, and the prices very affordable. Plus, there’s unlimited rice. Worth a visit for everyone.
The store is also very accessible. For the store I visited, it was located on the first floor of the mall, just across the supermarket, and behind the big stage/fountain (before). Anyway, here’s what we got for lunch!
The signage welcomes you already! (For those who understand Chinese, the second character is missing a line, right? Hahaha.)
Prices are affordable. Imagine, for just 90 pesos, you could have unlimited Hainanese rice, and also get pork dumplings!
This is a new creation from the store. Haven’t tried them, but some of my friends have said that they were good!
Here it is: Rice all-you-can!
Oh yea, did I mention? They have the ginger sauce, and a special soy sauce!
I’ve always wanted to know how to make Ginger this small, and up until now, I don’t know! Ahhh!
Chili Sauce!
Their soy sauce is different, a little bit, because it’s a little bit sweet!
Waiting! To be fair about it, the service was relatively fast. For about 5 people, the time it took for them to serve the dishes were about 5-8 minutes. Since its all-you-can rice and there were really lots of people, you may have to wait a minute or so to get your rice refilled, but given the price, it’s worth-it!
The sauces I chose to have!
Oh yea, it also comes with free soup!
And here comes the Hainanese Chicken, which is actually Hainanese Delights in the menu above.
And here it is: The Hainanese Rice part of the package! And its unlimited!
This meal only costs 120 pesos. Good if you really need something to fill you up!
After this meal, I really felt awesome because I felt the Singapore I wanted to see and feel somehow. I hope I get the chance to go there soon and fulfill my hunger for its mouth-watering dishes!
Contact Information
Ground Floor, Robinsons Galleria
No Telephone, Apparently
RESTAURANT RATING
| CRITERION | STARS (OUT OF ★★★★★) |
| Food Quality and Presentation | ★★★★ Very Good! They may improve a little bit on presentation. |
| Service (Speed, Level and Friendliness) | ★★★★ Good, but due to the amount of people, it may take some time to get what you need. |
| Place (Cleanliness, Ambience, Atmosphere) | ★★★★ Due to the limited space, you could be sitting outside the store, and the ambiance and cleanliness may be a problem. |
| Price and Value for Money | ★★★★★ Great price for the whole. No questions asked. |
Overall Rating: 4.25/ ★★★★★ (Very Good!)
Meralco Lights Up Filipino Hearts in the Free Admission Meralco Liwanag Park
Before we went home on New Year’s day, we decided to drop by a place one of our friends told us to check out. The Liwanag Park! This park is located in its main office in Ortigas, right beside Corinthian Gardens. Here, lined up through the islands of the roads are colorful Christmas decors in Christmas lights.
Not only that, it also features a free train ride which is pictured below. It will be open until January 6, 2011 from 6 pm to 11 pm, and admission is free.
Angels like these greet those who enter the park. There is free parking, and you just simply have to tell the guards when entering that you are going to visit the Liwanag Park.
Huts like these with Christmas lights glowing them line the facade of the Meralco Building. Here featured is a Filipino bahay-kubo-like structure.
There are also others like this Church! If you look closely, inside the church doors, they even tried to place a picture in an effort to make it look “real.”
Star hanging over the road.
The Meralco building lit up at night! Beautiful!
Christmas balls, as they are called there, also line the main facade of the building.
There were lots of people present! Swarms came through L300s and the streets were filled with people!
Colored ceiling and shed where people wait and line-up to get a free train ride!
This is the train you could ride for free! It makes a circular route around a Christmas tree!
It’s complete with even this!
Miniature houses are also displayed, complete with stairs! Propping up some tables and chairs, my sister could already play life-sized bahay-bahayan! (Play House)
Here’s the inside! Complete with ceiling high windows!
The front side image of the train! Didn’t get to ride due to the extremely long lines!
This is the waiting shed for people who want to ride. This actually extends until the place with the lighted ceiling.
The centerpiece of the whole park: the belen with Jesus, Mary and Joseph, along with sheep, lit up amidst a night sky! Spectacular.
A bigger image appears here!
As I turned to look at the other things in the park, I came to see this rosary made up of lights strung together in a building.
Another one of the houses.
And the other centerpiece or obra of the park, the giant Christmas tree, where the train circles.
Took this final picture before we left the place. It was truly worthwhile, and given that its free of charge, you may want to give this a try.
To get there, you may want to check this: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=14.5901611&lon=121.0645026&z=16&l=0&m=b
Happy visiting!
