20 Minutes to Lugang Cafe

Since there were a lot of people still on holiday yesterday, Danny and I decided to take a drive to Greenhills to eat in Lugang. We got there in 20 minutes, during rush hour. Pretty exciting huh?

I love the interiors of Lugang. This is me pretending to take artsy-fartsy photos of the interiors.

I let Danny take the reigns and order for the two of us. We each had a glass of Iced Pineapple Bubble Juice. Last time I tried the Kumquat Tea, but I wanted to try something exciting.

First dish to arrive was the Tofu with Preserved Egg. Danny and I ended up having a discussion on the difference between tofu and tokwa because of this dish.

One of our main dishes was the Beef with Chinese Crullers. I don't know what the crullers are made of, but they were good and crispy. Were they made of bread?

We also ordered the Taiwanese Crispy Chicken Nuggets. It was similar to the chicken we had in Mangetsu - Chinese version of course.

We also had the Steamed Fresh Clams with Silk Melons. I couldn't quite put a finger on what the silk melons remind me of. A local fruit or vegetable? Papaya, perhaps. I really don't know. But damn, were they good. Even the broth was good, and I don't normally like broth with clams.

I mentioned I wanted something exciting right? So, Danny ordered the Black Pepper Beef Fried Rice.

And of course, a meal in Lugang will not be complete without ordering dimsum. For dinner last night, we tried the Steamed Shrimp and Pork Shiao Mai.

It was a surprise that we were able to get a table at Lugang. Then again, 20 minutes from Makati to Greenhills during rush hour was a surprise as well.

Keep you posted for more!

For everyone's reference:

Lugang Cafe
116 Connecticut Street, Northeast Greenhills,
San Juan, Metro Manila
tel. no. 775.7599

Kirin at Bonifacio High Street

After having finished my last minute shopping last night, gifts for Ms. Cora Mendoza and Meriam Al Shallal from Aldo, Danny and I had dinner at Kirin in Bonifacio High Street.

Originally, we had planned to eat in 2nds, but since it was full, we looked for an alternative. Interesting enough, we chanced upon Kirin, which at first I thought was a Chinese spa because of the water feature windows they had.

Here's a shot of their lighting fixtures.

 
Looking at the menu, I thought we were going to end up spending a lot. After looking over the menu, it was reasonably priced. Think David's Tea House price range. Since the price range was David's Tea House, I assumed the quality of the food would be the same, meaning, oily and yucky. I was surprised yet again.

For starters, Danny and I had the Century Egg and Jellyfish. Like Uni, I think jellyfish is an acquired taste, I fortunately have. Theirs was a bit on the spicy side, but good, nonetheless. I would've preferred more Century Egg slices, though.

We ordered Pineapple Seafood Fried Rice because I was feeling adventurous. We were expecting it to be the Hawaiian Pizza of Chinese fried rice, but it turned out to be rather good.

For our main course, we ordered Braised Beef and Honey which came with siopao bread.

We tried their dimsum, and ordered the King Shrimp Hakao. Wasn't too keen on it. I've definitely had better.

Danny ordered the Hot Chicken and Prawn Salad.

And for dessert, we had the Eggyolk Creamy Pao.

Their servings were kinda huge, and we ended up bringing home a lot of leftovers. It was quite a surprise, to find a place quite affordable in Bonifacio High Street. We definitely might end up trying the other items on their menu in the future.

Merry Christmas everyone!

For everyone's reference:

Kirin Chinese Dining
Bldg. 7, Bonifacio High Street, Global City, Taguig
tel. no. 799.9338

My Kindle Has Arrived!

Here are pictures of my Kindle!

The first book downloaded onto it was Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games. I was goaded into doing so after I saw the trailer on Facebook. Danny and I went out for dinner yesterday, braving the mad holiday traffic. We were able to purchase a Verso LED light for the Kindle for only PhP 799.00

So it seems I have my reading paraphernalia complete. To top it off, I was able to finally pick a pair of eyeglasses to replace my old Technomarine prescriptions. Lo and behold, I went back to my forever optical shop in Glorietta 5, Rita Optical. I had already purchased two glasses from them: a Roberto Cavalli pair, and the Technomarine. This time, I purchased a John Langford pair of prescriptions. My grade went up 1 level according to the optometrist, so we adjusted that as well. Will post pictures of the lens as soon as I pick it up by Monday at 4:00PM.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Excited For Kindle

I'm like a kid when I get excited over something. Seriously, I might not be able to sleep tonight! The Kindle is arriving tomorrow! I have to start checking online for cases to use with it! I also started book-shopping in Amazon already! Christmas is coming 2 days early for me this year!

borrowed from geeky-gadgets.com

Will post pictures of the Kindle tomorrow night!

Mangetsu's Transfer to Jupiter Street!

After the horrid lunch yesterday, dinner was in Mangetsu. For those who haven't eaten at the old Mangetsu before, it used to be located in the Creekside Mall along Amorsolo Street in Makati. The old restaurant had a dingy and seedy feel to it, but the food was superb. After several visits, I didn't mind the icky vibe the restaurant was giving, in fact, it started growing on me. They closed a month or so ago because they were to open a new restaurant along Jupiter Street. So after waiting for so long, we were able to go to the newly-soft opened Mangetsu!

The new Mangetsu has a different feel compared to the old one. The interior of the restaurant is quite modern already. The plates have the same earthy stoneware vibe to them still, though. The fish plates are still there!

They have a pseudo-rock garden spread along the sides, next to the tables. Cute!

Dinner was with Danny's officemates from Rustan's. Naturally, Danny ordered for everyone already. He's the expert on what to get.

First dish to arrive was the Cheese Risotto.

And was followed by the Camembert Tempura. I love the honey sauce that this particular appetizer came with.

We also ordered the Japanese Style Fried Chicken with 3 Kinds of Salt. I love this dish. It may look dry and drab, and the thought of rubbing fried chicken further with salt is sometimes odd, but it so works!

One of the main courses was Sliced Beef with Teriyaki Sauce:

We also ordered Japanese Rice Balls - Onigiri. I suppose this is Yaki Onigiri. I was quite surprised as it was brought to us with a small charcoal grill.

I had to use the onion/celery brush to spread the shoyu on the rice balls. Of course I just ended up dipping each one by one into the sauce. Afterwards, I placed these on the grill.

It was quite an experience waiting for them to roast. All throughout, I was thinking, so that's how they make Yaki Onigiri! Haha, it was quite a surprise for me, really!

One of my loves for the night was the Uni Tempura! Nobody ever goes wrong with Uni!

And to end the evening's fare, Holly ordered sushi. Now, I really don't know what the sushi was. My guess was that it's Futo Maki, however, checking on the menu of Mangetsu, it may have been the Mangetsu Style Sushi Balls.

We were a party of six, and it was a fairly large table so I unfortunately wasn't able to take a picture of some of the items we ordered. Not pictured is the Seafood Gratin, a really huge hot plate of risotto, and the Agedashi Tofu. All in all, we ended up spending around PhP 570.00 per person which was good already considering we ordered so much!

I miss the charm of the old Mangetsu. Most of the waitresses are the staff from the previous restaurant and they themselves say that a lot has changed from the old restaurant in Creekside. But, something from the old restaurant caught my eye.

We were having so much fun, we didn't notice the time and ended up leaving at past 10:00PM. We were in the restaurant for 3 hours!

Keep you guys posted for more!

For everyone's reference:

Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant
38 Jupiter Street, Brgy. Bel-Air, Makati
tel. no. 478.3292

Yuck, Another Conti's Lunch

I really abhor Conti's. It must've started when they opened their branch in Greenbelt 2. They have the ability to hire the worst staff. No customer service at all. Then, their people are so slow. Like ordering another glass of your bottomless lemonade will take them eons, and by the time they give you your 3rd glass, it is lukewarm already, and no amount of asking for additional ice, will convince their waiters that you do need ice.

I especially hate them during the holiday season. When you try to buy any of their pastries during a holiday, they give you numbers and call you one by one, asking their patrons to wait outside. And no amount of pre-ordering will get you anything, they will insist on a first-come, first serve basis for their clients. Seriously, they have to change their style! I would never recommend any a-lister to eat here.

That said, unfortunately, Lynx and I had to endure yet another lunch at Conti's just yesterday. She picked me up from the lobby of my office, and we were wondering where to proceed for lunch. Due to Conti's unfortunate nearness to my building, we opted to eat there instead as Lynx had to be back at New World Hotel soon. Lynx Alarcon used to be one my staff in the building, she is currently one of the Concierge supervisors in New World Makati City Hotel.

When we got to Conti's the lady who was pretending to be the receptionist curtly asked us to wait. No sense of being polite at all, but like I said, I'm used to their horrid staff already. We saw one of the managers of New World, and we decided to eat with their party instead. We proceeded up to the 2nd floor of the restaurant, where there were 2 other managers from the hotel waiting at the table already. Since it was a table for four, we asked if we could have an additional table annexed to extend it. The waiters said NO, because it would entail blocking the path. We asked for a solution to this particular predicament, and all the waiter said was that they will have to seat Lynx and myself at another table. FINE! I don't want to argue! I just wanted to have my lunch and get it over with.

They ended up seating us at another table good for four also at the 2nd floor. They can't put an additional small table in the previous group, but they can afford to seat 2 people at a table for four? Very fishy, as fishy as their Baked Salmon. Like I said, I was hungry, and we just needed to talk over lunch so we let this one slide.

Upon ordering, the waiter, who looked yet again very sluggish and slow, informed us that the waiting time for the food was 40 minutes. WTF! 40 minutes! It would've been faster if we ordered from Shakey's?!?! But we were there already, and since we had struggled for the table already, Lynx and I decided to wait it out.

We both ordered Chicken Ballotine:

And Angel Hair Puttanesca:

And of course Mango Bravo, which I wasn't able to take a snapshot of anymore. We asked for the bill, and it took them so long to bring up the change, Lynx and I ended up going downstairs to the cashier to get it. Horrid!

So sad, the food at Conti's naman is good. It isn't fantastic, or life-altering, its okay. This is what happens when a company who used to just cater ends up opening a restaurant. Food service is different between catering and a restaurant. They should've been ready to train their staff. It has been a couple of years, give or take, since that restaurant has opened in Greenbelt, and as of writing time, I still dread having to eat there because of their horrible service.

Finally! Die Zombie Die is Available at Amazon!

I was so excited when I checked Amazon a couple of days ago to find Die Zombie Die being sold for $ 5.99. Without thinking twice, I clicked BUY!

borrowed from sheamacleod.wordpress.com

It's the final installment to the I Zombie I series of Jack Wallen. Can't wait to pore over this e-book. More so, since my Kindle 4 is arriving this Friday! Thanks to Meriam Al Shallal for fitting it in her luggage!  I'm not a good book reviewer, but I hope my enthusiasm is infectious. If you guys have a Kindle, or the Kindle app, or the Kindle program installed in your laptop, I would recommend this series. I think its the next big thing after the Twilight saga.

Will definitely download more books of Jack Wallen after I finish Die Zombie Die.

Italianni's Firsts

One of my assistants, and Aaron Manuel's administrative assistant both have not yet eaten at Italianni's. Yes, they've tried the food, however, they have never eaten at an actual restaurant. So when Brian, Aaron, and myself were unable to decide where to eat, we just decided to troop down to Italianni's with my Bistro Card.

We took a group picture with the Italianni's virgins. Honey, my assistant, is the one in brown, and Jujin, Aaron's admin assistant, is the one seated.

Of course, eating in Italianni's isn't complete without their bread baskets. Personally, I put parmesan cheese on the balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

We ordered Penne Arrabiatto, which, when it arrived, did not use penne. We ordered abbondanza, of course.

In the theme of the holiday season, and since we were a group of six, we decided to order from their holiday menu promo. We ordered the Grandeur Pollo. It is basically a 2.5kg herb-roasted chicken with arborio rice and thyme. It reminded me so much of stuffed turkey for Thanksgiving.

We weren't able to finish it. Generally, it was a good experience for the Italianni's virgins. It didn't turn out well for me, though, because I had stomach issues after the lunch. Must have had problems with the balsamic vinegar.

Keep you guys posted for more!

Burgoo and Toni & Guy

Yesterday was pretty hectic. My sister and I went to Glorietta first thing because we needed to buy a dress for her. We are going to attend a wedding on the 28th, and my mother already has a white dress she will wear to the occasion. Bianca, on the other hand, was able to purchase a small white dress from the Ramp at Crossings in Glorietta.

From there, we had to rush to Burgoo in Rockwell, as I made lunch reservations there. Everybody in the family was hungry. I was only able to catch a snapshot of the Cheesy Beef Baked Macaroni:

And of the Chicken Diane:

From Burgoo, we had to rush to Toni and Guy at 6750 for Bianca's hair appointment. She was trying Toni and Guy for the first time, using my stylist Noel. My sister has had hair problems ever since her hair was damaged by rebonding. She let her damaged hair grow out for quite some time, and yesterday was her first time to have her hair-cut sans the rebond-damaged parts. Here's a snapshot of her getting her hair washed.

I wasn't able to get a picture of her after the cut. It has improved greatly though. Her hair isn't triangular anymore!

Danny picked me up from 6750, and after running some of his errands, we ended up window-shopping for a new pair of eyeglasses for me. That was me getting ready for the arrival of my Kindle hopefully this Thursday! I ended up narrowing down my choices to the following:

1. Oakley Whisker 6B

borrowed from glassestrader.co.uk

2. Hackett Bespoke 061

borrowed from metsuki.com

Can you help me decide which pair to get?

For everyone's reference:

Burgoo Power Plant Mall
3rd Level, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center
Lopez Drive, Brgy. Poblacion, Makati
tel. no. 898.1815 to 17

Essensuals Toni and Guy
Ground Floor, 6750 Retail Arcade
Ayala Avenue, Makati
tel. no. 812.8002 / 812.8559

Organizing Christmas Parties

I am busy this Christmas season, and it isn't due to the Christmas parties that I have to attend. Well, partially, it is because of the parties I have to attend. The thing is, more often than not, some of the parties are ones which I have organized myself.

Do you know the nitty gritty involved in organizing a party or an event? Wow, I don't know how some people can do this for a living. Yesterday, I was supposed to have held a Christmas party at a rooftop, but due to the unpredictable weather, I had to move it indoors, only to be spat at in the face by mother nature, when she decided to make it a sunny and perfect day, and a crisp, cool night. Nonetheless, here are pictures of the set-up I made for that party.

I wasn't able to put much Christmas decorations in the venue, as we were really pressed for funds already. It was the first time I used a different catering company, also. For the past 2 and a half years, I would use Italianni's. The residents decided to take a different course this year, and approved Elarz Catering instead. That means, we had lechon last night.

Will post another party picture on Saturday, as I will be organizing another Christmas party. This time, this one is for the staff. Merry Christmas everyone!