Movie I'm Loving Now: The Prestige

The Prestige is the third act of any magic trick, with the first and second acts
being the Pledge and the Turn.
I actually liked the movie although many people didn't because they were confused about what really happened. I admit the sequence of events was quite confusing and so one would really have to give 100% of his attention to understand what happened. I think the actors performed well. It was interesting that they loosely based the story on history (Nickolai Tesla and Thomas Edison) My fave was Michael Caine however, he was able to portray his character with definite depth and calmness. I like movies like this. They make me think. Scarlett Johansson also did well, and I loved her makeup and costumes. They really were flawless. Finally, I think that the storyline was new and unique. I've never seen a movie touch on competing magicians before. This movie deserves more credit than it is given.

Cold Rock Ice Creamery

Of the five times I've been to Cold Rock, I would have to say that this would have to be my best "creation" yet...

White Chocolate with Cookie Dough and Apple Pie Filling Mixins


The others (in order of preference):

Macadamia with Oreos, Cookie Dough and Hot Fudge


Cheesecake with Peanut Butter, Oreos and Walnuts


Banana Creme with Walnuts


Strawberry with strawberry preserves

Series I'm Loving Now: House

It really keeps me focused on the t.v. Even if its peppered with so much medical terms, I don't find myself clueless in anyway since they always find a way to explain whatever it is one way or the other later on. The 'villain' in each episode is some common malady caused by an unusual trigger. The main character is Dr. Gregory House who has no manners, does not talk to his patients and refuses to wear a med coat and those just make me love this show even more. He's so annoying and funny and addicitng to watch!!!! Not to mention the hot Dr. Chase! Nevertheless, you know that House has a good heart and good intentions. The scriptwriters deserve to be commended for their creative twist on medical drama! Watch it and see what I mean

Hue ("hwa")

Ate there at lunch. It wasn't too crowded. Great and cool interiors. I love the lamp effect they had on the ceiling. Service was good too.
One constant problem throughout the meal though was the flies. We were eating inside where it was obviously air-conditioned and yet they had a flies buzzing around. I got so fed up I ended up asking for a candle to keep them away....That's bad for business...

Goi Nuei (Pomelo Salad) Php 165

"A refreshing salad of surimi crab tossed with slices of pomelo, peanuts and cilantro." I found this refreshing. It's dressing was a sweetened vinaigerette sauce.

Banh Mi Bo Kho (Spicy Beef Stew) Php 225

"A Vietnamese interpretation of the classic French beef stew. Beef short ribs stewed with cinammon and star anise. Served with French bread slices." Was not spicy at all. I enjoyed this one very much because it was not 'malitid'

Tom Tuong Ot (Chilli Shrimps) Php 240

"Garlicky stir fried shrimps generally seasoned wiht black pepper and fresh chillis."
This was nicely done. The shrimps were butterflied and cooked just right, they weren't hard. Best part of all they'd been shelled already and so it was really able to absorb the sauce.

Ca Chung Tuong Php 225(Steamed Garoupa)
(leftmost)
"Garoupa fillet steamed with salted black beans, shiitake and woodear mushrooms." This was a little bland for me. You'd have to take a bite of the fish WITH the mushroom in every bite to give taste. They did however serve this with bagoong sauce and hot sauce which I both found not to be complimentary, for me anyway...

Da Hu Noi Naum (Stuffed Tofu) Php 175

"Deep fired tofu cutlets stuffed with assorted mushrooms and herbs simmered in tomato sauce." This would have tob e my favorite among everything that we ate there. The starchiness that tofu can sometimes have was totally masked.

Goi Cuon (Summer Roll)

Summer rolls are unfried wraps with pork, shrimp, herbs, rice vermicelli, and other ingredients wrapped in rice paper. This was served with a peanut sauce or vinegar to dip in. I didn't wuite like this was one. The "rawness" of the vermicellin noodles was unsettling for me. Without the peanut sauce, I found this to be bland.

Lychee Crush Php 65

Great and refreshing lychee shake with lychee bits and lots of finely crushed iced. Perfect for a steamy day. Best part, it's cheap!

Conti's

I recently tried their Greenhills branch though I have been long going to the BF Paranaque branch. They really have greeaaat food and great cakes to boot. You can order any of the food in the menu for takeout/delivery/catering. Their cakes are displayed by the counter refrigerators so you couls actually see what they look like even before you order them. Ah...So fun to look at all of them.

Pasta Alegria

It was great!! MY kind of pasta! It had shitake mushrooms, chicken pieces, fresh and canned sundried tomatoes among many other things. The sauce was tangy (a bit sour) but really perfect for my taste palette.

Mango Bravo

The cake they are most famous for. I wish I had a pic of the whole cake. It's so intimidating. yum yum yum.... Remember that if you order this cake for home to keep it in the freezer not the ref.

Choco Almond Torte

It was good also but mediocre.

Red Kimono

I have long wanted to try Red Kimono and finally I was able to. The place is quite small and can be stuffy during peak hours. They are ofering a sort of buffet at the moment wherein you order a la carte anything you want from their buffet menu, so you may want to try it.
What we had:

Salmon and Cheese Maki

Interesting combination but just "ok"

Crunchy Ebi Maki

I think Omakase's crunchy maki was better but hte two are quite different from one another. This one has a tempura like crispy batter outside.

Layered Spinach and Tofu

The best of all that I ate. Who knew tofu and spinach would be great together! The peanut sauce was also a complementing taste to the dish.

Italliani's 2

Ate at Italliani's again

Had:

Seafood Cioppino Pasta
a classic seafood mix with mussels, clams, and scallops sauteed in some red wine.


Smoked Salmon Pizza in Dill Sauce

The salmon was fresh and very juicy. I'm so happy it was fresh. The dill sauce and other cheeses in the pizza were a great and refreshing combo too. Best pizza in Italliani's I think.

Sugi

This was my second time eating at Sugi. The first one was quite unpleasant but this one however was much better. I actually enjoyed the food we had.

This is what we ate:

*Kaiware Kani Salad-radish sprouts in either mayo or a vinegar/sesame sauce (a refreshing change from the usual)

*oysters cooked like adobo
*Okonomiyaki (japanese pizza)- the best we've tried so far
*spider maki-rice wrapped around soft shell crab
*salmon with cream cheese maki

*wagu steak- really tender, great sauce


It's quite pricier than your everyday Japanese restaus.

Series I'm Loving Now: Project Runway

I love this show so much! Not only because its hosted by my favorite Heidi Klum but also becasue they have really great and unique challenges. In the first season, my favorite was Kara Saun. She was consistently good and original throughout all the challenges. I also really loved her collection for the fashion show. It still bothers me that she didn't end up winning. I think there was a shoe issue... Am I right? I also liked the feel of Austin Scarlett's clothes. I liked his flare and the way his clothes were so flowy and dramatic. I'd have to agree though that most of his closthes looked closely similar....Maybe he wasn't ready yet....On the other hand, I hate Wendy Pepper sooo much. She was vile, a user and backstabber. She reminded me of the antagonist in 101Dalmatians.....
In the second season, I had a lot of faves namely, Nick Verreos, Chloe Dao and Daniel Vosovic. My ultimate fave however would have to be Chloe Dao. Again she was consistent and really understood the clothes she was making and more importantly she understood a woman's body.

Series I'm Loving Now: Monk

It's extremely hilarious. Adrian Monk, the main character has 101 phobias and yet he always manages to solve the crim rendering all his colleagues clueless. I love that he always has to use a wipe after shaking hands with someone. I also love the way he's so devoted to Sierra Springs bottled water only. Funny Funny Funny. There have been 5 hilarious seasons now... And I've loved them all!!! One comment though, is that I prefer Sharona as his assistant than Natalie.

Part 5: Cafe Mediterranean (dessert only)

Powerplant Branch


We just can't get enough sweets! We tried to give their dessert a shot, and not bad I think!

Crema Catalana

Your basic creme brulee, only this had a loooot if cinnamon in it...


Tartufo al Cioccolato

Ok. It would be very hard to top that chocolate creme brulee in Kulinarya. My take on this might have been biased. so....

Part 4: Myron's

For our main date, we decided to go here. Ever since the steak bloggin craze started, we knew we wanted to try this place right away. As luck would have it, an "excuse" came up. Great food! Myron's should be known not only for their steaks but for the other dishes as well, most especially the oysters!

Baked Oysters Rockefeller (Php 295)

Great! Fresh as fresh can be! It was so tender and the cheese really melts in your mouth. The bacon bits were a nice touch. Baked to perfection. It was almost as if we weren't eating oysters anymore! Really good.


Farfalle with Smoked Salmon and Asparagus (Php 280)

Good. Again I was so happy that the salmon was fresh and hardly had any of those black parts I hate. The asparagus was a great taste contrast. Pasta was cooked perfectly. Big enough to share. Worth it's price.


Louie's Choice (Php 1050)

Yes. Quite pricey but "minsan lang naman eh"... Great steak. We had ours well done and yet it was still moist and juicy. The foie gras was tender. Hmm.... it's taste kinda reminded me of fat which I hate (don't eat it at all) yet I kept eating because I couldn't believe that it was liver.... I so wish pork and chicken liver tasted like that too! All in all though, I don't think it's my thing...
We got the Shiraz Cabernet- Shallot Jus sauce which the server recommened. Nothing spectacular that I noticed.... Well, I couldn't really taste the Cabernet.
Moreover, we also enjoyed the sidings that came with the steak. Most especially the baked garlic clove. I don't think you could call that garlic anymore....It was really chewy and once again baked to perfection.

Red Plum Shake (Php 90)

I like finely shaved ice. The shake was definitely refreshing. But before I judge it, I think I'd better try the other shakes available. But this one I think is a little too "mapakla" (acrid?) for me...


Will go back. Most definitely for the oysters and to try the salads and other pastas.

Part 3: Kulinarya

Powerplant, Rockwell

Because I had to avoid an ugly figure from my past, someone I'm still so frightened of, inspite of not having any conncetion with her anymore, we had to go in here.

Chocolate Creme Brulee (Php 130)

YUMMMMMM!!!!!! It was an accident that we went here but I was so glad that the food dessert was great! It was so richly chocolate and inspite of it being all cream, I couldn't help but feel as if though I was gonna taste some cake any second now! Real good.

Part 2: Burgoo

Block end of sem thing really. Had loads of fun, even if I wasn't able to join their karaoke session...


Taco Pizza


Margherita Pizza


N'awlins Platter


Onion Rings


Combo-Fajitas
It has chicken and beef, about 4 wraps (a friend even commented "100pesos per page") and the dressings


Steak ala Pobre
Which I have no decent picture of.

Lasagna


Porkchops


Nachos


*sorry, was not able to get the exact names*

Part 1 of 2nd Anniversary Date: Mr. Choi's Kitchen

Found in Robinson's Galleria.

It was 3pm. Just finished having a terrific haircut and had not eaten anything since last night. We wanted to have something light and when we stumbled upon Mr. Choi's Kitchen, we decided to try their dimsum. Instead we ended up having these:

Lapu-Lapu Cheese Sauce Breakfast

Yum.But oh the horror..Calories upon calories! The cheese sauce was poured on top of the rice and lapu-lapu. I can't help but think that the cheese sauce had some
'extenders' in it. The lapu-lapu without the cheese was as bland as paper.


Radish Cake

I love radish cake. I was disappointed that this wasn't toasted. So, I still prefer Luk Yuen's Radish Cake I guess.