What's In My Bag?

I am such a fan of What's In My Bag posts in Flickr.

I went out to buy pasta and sauce for dinner because I was bored of take-out food. Afterwards, I was still so bored, so I ended up taking a picture of the bag I brought to the grocery.

So for the first time here in A-List, here is what's in my bag.

I don't know why the picture is so white. Anyway, this is what was in my bag when I went to the grocery. The only thing missing is the iPhone, which I used to take the picture. The items in the Comme des Garcons bag are as follows:

1. white iPad2 in Capdase
2. black Marc Jacob's iPad Case - I love this because it fits the iPad 2 with the Capdase and kickstand on
3. Blackberry Bold 9700 with Blackberry holster
4. Muji make-up bag - contains medicine, face wash, and lip balm, nail-cutter, etc.
5. Muji pencil case
6. Muji camera case
7. Beabi bag organizer - contains credit cards, loyalty program cards, health cards, key cards, and key fob
8. snakeskin pen holder - inside the Beabi bag organizer
9. medicine holder
10. Gucci pouch - contains iPhone/iPad charger
11. Ralph Lauren wallet
12. Zara coin purse

Will do another post like this for my work bag.

Gyumon Yakiniku in Makati Creekside Mall

Been so busy the past few weeks (but feels like months) that I haven't been able to post much restaurant escapades lately. Found a little downtime this Sunday to finally upload some photos that I have had lying around in the iPhone and iPad (this photo-streaming between devices is stressing me out, really).

Danny is currently in New York, and prior to his flight, we had dinner last Thursday. We ate in one of our usual haunts, Gyumon Yakiniku in Makati Creekside Mall.

We both love this place, because of its wide array of sets, and their very affordable add-ons. I love the service salad that they serve also.

I was about to take a picture of our meal when I was stopped by the waitress. Apparently, management is pretty strict about taking pictures of the dishes, because competitors might copy it. I'm not worried, really, because as far as Danny and I are concerned, they are the best yakiniku in Makati.

So, I spent the entire time pretending I was texting on the iPhone, when I was really stealing shots of the food. So this is my first foray in something illegal (not quite illegal, really).

Here's a picture of the colorful plate that the restaurant uses.

Gyumon is the sister-restaurant of another yakiniku Danny and I have tried in Malate, Ryuen. They also have Ryuen in Makati Creekside Mall. The difference between the two is the grill. Gyumon uses a smokeless charcoal grill, while Ryuen uses a smokeless electric grill. The servers say that the charcoal grill gives the meat more flavor, if you want to risk smelling of smoke after dinner.

Here's a picture of the grill of Gyumon. Very clean, compared to, *ick, Yakimix.

We ordered the Eringi Karubi for starters. The mushrooms were perfect! They were moist and tender!

Our main course was a platter of their best sellers, Best Seller Santen, which is composed of Jo Karubi, Gyutan, and Harumi. That's two types of sliced beef, and liver. YUM!

Danny also ordered Hotategai, scallops, which proved to be a bit of a disappointment as it was aged and frozen. Taste isn't that bad though.

The treat for the night was their ground beef sashimi! It was only PhP 280.00, but it was very, very good!

I love Gyumon. In the past year, we have gone here twice, which is a good number, considering that Danny and I really get around, when it comes to eating.

If you need to contact them, here are their numbers for everyone's reference:

Gyumon Yakiniku
Mezzanine, Makati Creekside Mall
Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village,
Makati
02.8190361

I suggest you call and reserve tables. This place is such a hit with Japanese expats, it can get pretty difficult to get a booth even during weekdays.

Kenji Tei Dinner in Greenbelt 5

Had dinner in Greenbelt 5 last night. Had just come from a last minute meeting in the office, so Danny arrived at Kenji Tei first and started ordering for the two of us. I've been a little bit under the weather lately, so my only request was for some soup. Danny, being brilliant at ordering food, got good ramen for me.

He ordered the Chasu Miso Ramen:

It was so good. I'm on the verge of a full-blown flu, which means my taste buds are below average currently, but this soup was sa flavorful, I actually enjoyed it.

As one of the ulams, Danny ordered the Fried Gyoza:

I would probably have enjoyed the steamed gyoza over the fried one. The dip was quite unique, couldn't figure out what was in it, if it was a combination of mayonnaise and mustard.

Their Chicken Teriyaki was quite good:

It went perfectly well with the 2 cups of gohan that we ordered.

We ordered small this time, I told you I wasn't feeling well. I used the iPhone 4S to take pictures. I'm really not sure, but is the quality of the camera better with the iPhone 4S?

On a different note, I'm quite curious about the Motorola Droid Razr. I'm thinking if it would make a good work-phone, or if I should stick it out with the Blackberry. Anyway, a different post for that.

If you want to try this restaurant, feel free to visit them:

Kenji Tei Ramen House
3rd Level, Greenbelt 5
Ayala Center, Makati
telephone number: 632.754.3098

Amaia Steps Nova

I made my first condominium purchase last Sunday. I put a reservation payment for 2 studio units at the Amaia Steps Nova condominium. Each unit is 30sqm, so after 16 months of paying for the downpayment, they will be turning over 60sqm over to me. Will be converting it to a 2-bedroom condominium unit, as I will show you in the model unit that I will try to "copy" in a bit. It will have a provision for a guest bedroom as well. And of course, have two bathrooms.

The condominium is a walk-up type, with only 5 floors, and about 27 units per floor. There is a lobby, and an elevator. The units I reserved are located on the 4th floor.

My sister took the pictures using the Nokia N8, as I ended up giving that phone to her. Here are pictures of the model unit of Amaia Steps:

Not quite sure if I need the console table on this wall near the front door. It's nice, but with the lack of space, is it necessary? I will definitely put a floor to ceiling mirror here to give an illusion of space.

This part is composed of the bedrooms of the combined unit. In effect, the bedrooms will all be in the 2nd unit, the dining and living area will be in the first unit.

This is the 2nd bedroom.

This is the master's bedroom. I love the way that its set up. The only thing I'll change, a larger LCD TV on the wall, and no need for a desktop on the desk.

For the living room, I'm thinking of moving the L-type sofa nearer the LCD TV, to make space for a narrow desk attached to the wall at the back, with enough space to set up a laptop. I also want to fill the blank wall at the back with bookshelves, and for the free spaces in between, either paint it with a nice accent color or install mirrors.

They're almost all sold-out. There are only a few units left. It was quite difficult looking for units to combine, but I love the two units that I got. The entrance on one of the units is not blocked, its fronting the entrance of the building, so it should be a bit bright compared to the others.

Like I said, I really have to start purchasing books and magazines on condominium interiors to get more ideas. 

If you guys are interested, please feel free to post a comment and I will recommend the broker who helped me out with this transaction.

Pasalubongs from Europe!

Danny's back from his 10-day Europe trip, and here's the pasalubong that he brought home!

As soon as he landed in Paris, he visited Hevin Chocolatiers, and they had this hard-to-get chocolate, so he went ahead and bought one for me:

He also bought me a candle from Paris, to put in the Amaia condominium unit I purchased, after it gets turned over to me in 16 months. It smelled so fresh, it is totally not kidding if the package advertised its mint scent:

From Rome, he brought home honey truffle!

He actually went a little crazy with the truffle-somethings. Here's a peek of the truffle products he bought from Rome:

This is the first post wherein I used the iPhone 4S to take pictures. The 8MP camera is not bad, really. Not for anything, but it seems to take better photos than the N8's 12MP camera. Go figure.

Up next, I'll be posting pictures my sister, Bianca, took of the model unit of Amaia Steps. The unit is to be turned over in 16 months, so really, I have to start getting design inspirations for the condo already!

Entry for Speck Wanderfolio Case for iPad 2/ Yugatech

Saw this contest in Yugatech and I wanted to enter it. I've never been lucky winning at contests, but doesn't mean I'd stop trying, right? So check out this site:

http://yugatech.ph/speckwanderfolio

Here's to hoping I win the Speck Wanderfolio!