A Birthday Celebration at Mr. Kurosawa Resorts World

I was telling you guys in my other blog entry that last Friday I was all over the Metro (Makati to QC and back again to Makati). It was okay, but the thing was I had just entrusted my trusty baby Huey to my casa in Pasong Tamo. So....hagardo versoza ang peg last Friday.

After our short but sweet tour of the GMA studios, I ended that day with Mom's birthday dinner. Thank you to Cash Cash Pinoy's kick ass promos, I was able to buy Mr. Kurosawa vouchers (Php500 for Php1000 worth of food!). CashCashPinoy has been making food tripping really affordable hoozaah!! :D

But before I met up with my Mom I passed by Cara Mia at the Ayala Triangle Gardens to buy her favorite cake TENTAZIONE! Got to taste that sinfully delightful cake during sa friend's birthday, and Mom got totally hooked. So I decided to surprise her, since she already knew about my dinner treat for her.

Parking was a bitch at the Resorts World, as usual. We parked at the steel parking, and that's where I decided to give Mom her cake. Had to tell her to turn her back so I can light the candle. It was funny to make her blow her birthday candle at the steel parking, but I couldn't wait til the end of the dinner for her to do it haha!

We then headed off to Mr. Kurosawa to have our dinner. It was yet another Japanese dinner after our Sumo Sam experience. Anyway, here's what we had:

Chicken Teriyaki. I had no idea chicken teriyaki would be perfect with Japanese mayonnaise with a hint of wasabi. It was delish! Can't stop dipping that tender chicken meat in that mayonnaise!

Since it was Mom's birthday and it has been a tradition to eat noodles (for long life), we ordered Unagi Soba. Since the fish was smoked, the smoked flavor seeped in to the noodles which it gave it a different twist. We had fun picking on this with our chopsticks!

Lastly, Tuna Sashimi. This, by far, was the FRESHEST Tuna Sashimi I ever had! The tuna was still red and soft. Super good!

Oh, and yes, Mom ordered Miso Soup. Didn't take a pic of it anymore since all miso soups look the same haha!

After that huge meal, Mom and I walked around the Newport Mall. Didn't know it was THAT small. It looked so huge outside. Oh well optical illusion. Since there was really nothing to see, we bought coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, walked to the parking (instead of talking the shuttle from the mall to the steel parking and vice versa) to have our cake! :)

I'm so happy I made my Mom happy on her birthday! I love you, Mom! :)

Cara Mia Gelateria
Ayala Triangle Gardens
Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Tel. No. 621-6111
Operating Hours: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM, Mon-Sun

Mr. Kurosawa
2nd Floor, Newport Mall, Andrews Avenue, Pasay City
Tel No: 659 8363
Operating Hours:Mon, Tues, Thurs and Sun: 11 a.m. - 12:00 mn | Wed, Fri and Sat: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.

May Field Trip sa Grad School!

Oh yes! May field trip sa graduate school! Funny cos when we were but undergrads in La Salle we never had one. So we all kinda looked forward to this out-of-class activity for our Integrated Marketing Communications class.

Our cool professor, Mr. Rodrigo Cornejo, works at the Office of the President at one of the biggest television networks in the country, GMA 7. Every single time we have our class, he always mentions GMA, as in never fail! Proud to be Kapuso ang lolo niyo talaga! Understandable, cos he's one of the pioneers of the network, present ang lolo niyo nung mga panahon na it wasn't doing well yet.

So last Friday, our class trooped on over to GMA along Timog in Quezon City. Bonggang commute kaya pawis pawisan levels ang lola niyo cos I had to bring my car first to Toyota Pasong Tamo for a 35k km check-up. Alay Lakad ang ganap sa katirikan ng araw! But I seriously missed riding the MRT, since it was past rush hour hindi parang Quiapo o Baclaran ang mga train compartments. And I think a lot of you would agree on this, on the girl's compartments, it's relatively peaceful! Tamuh? Tamuuhhh!! :)

Kami ata ni Drin ang pinaka-maaga don, egzoited much na makakita ng mga artista. Joke lang! But we were early, but it was nice to see that our professor already waiting for us at the lobby of the GMA Network Center, the building he says took Php950 million to complete! BONGGELS!

When we were finally complete, we were lead to the Mezzanine to wait for THE Mike Enriquez. It was nice to see him without his game face, he's usually angry on TV or radio kasi cos he's like our Mr. Expose here. And he spoke to us in STRAIGHT ENGLISH, wag magulat purong La Sallista po itong taong ito. Because we were all La Sallians, chumika ang lolo niyo about La Salle during his time. He was so cool talaga! My Mom doesn't really like him because of the way he speaks on TV or radio, but when I was telling her afterwards how he was really soft spoken pala talaga, although he didn't lack in facial expressions hahaha!




By the way, meet my pretty kulots classmate Rieze. Ang magandang babaitang ito ay galing sa kabila, Kapamilya. Cute when she was in GMA and she was wearing the studio tour pin, laughtrip! Medyo pinagtripan lang siya nila Mike Enriquez hahaha

After his inspirational talk on Integrated Marketing Communications in the media we were given a quick tour of GMA and its studios. I'm no stranger to the place because when I was still working for a publishing company, I got to interview and shoot Arnold Clavio and Heart Evangelista. The place is really modern and jazzed up. A far cry from what they were when they started out.




We were done with the tour just before lunch. Most of us had to rush back to work, but kami na makapal ang mukha at nag-leave or tumakas sa trabaho, we all had lunch at Banapple, Il Terrazo along Tomas Morato. No pictures of the food, but I had the Cheezy Penne, my fave at Banapple. Super good and CHEEZY!! But we had our photos taken at the free photobooth hehe.

Hoping for another out-of-class activity in one of our majors soon! It was really fun! But when I was in GMA I realized I've been veering away from what I really want to do. When I was in high school/college, I wanted to be a reporter, I got as close to it when I was in publishing. But now I'm doing something different, I think it's time get my life back on track! :)

Sumo Goodness at Sumo Sam!

Mom have been raving about this restaurant ever since she ate here with a friend she treated to before she left for the US. She said it was really good, a bit pricey, but good! For us, as long as the food's really good, spending a few extra bucks is worth it! Plus Mom and I are huge fans of Japanese food, especially Mom who is ADDICTED to Miso soup!

Sumo Sam is also one of Marvin Agustin's (actor turned restaurateur) babies. In Greenbelt, BFF Trency and I have tried eating at Marciano's.

So last Sunday, after hearing Mass and before watching No Other Woman, we decided to eat at Sumo Sam's newly opened store at Greenbelt 3. It was small but cozy, and the interiors were so bright. They had drawings of sumo wrestlers on the walls, and it reminded me of the anime drawings over at the Ramen Bar!

So here's what we ordered. Of course Mom had her favorite Miso Soup which they served piping hot!

She also had Beef Teppanyaki Don. She said she liked because the beef was tender.

On the other hand, I had my favorite Katsudon. It was really good, and it made me miss other favorite Katsudon over at World Topps in Valero Street, Salcedo Village.

I loved how Sumo Sam have HUGE and generous servings! If you're hungry, this is the perfect place to load up! Check out their menu for other dishes. They've got lots of other stuff to choose from.


Sumo Sam
3rd Floor, Greenbelt 3
Ayala Center, Makati City
Tel. No. 903-0847

UPDATED: It All Started With A Videoke Machine

Pardon the story telling...pansin niyo mahilig ako umeksena sa mga long narratives in some blog entries. But I have a point naman! Hahaha!

It was in 2009 when I went back to Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte with Steph and Par. The first time I went to Pagudpud was in 2006 marami kami sa barkada non, the summer before our senior year in La Salle. I also came back with officemates early this year! So hindi talaga obvious that I love the place!

We were supposed to be like 4 or 5 on that trip, but some weird stroke of luck happened, and the 3 of us ended up going. Dakilang mga lakwatsera talaga! We took Steph's mom's trusty Ford Everest, and off we went on that 13-hour drive up north. Since it was just the 3 of us medyo slight titigan ang ganap because Pagudpud isn't exactly like Boracay with a wild nightlife. BUT! In Polaris Beach Resort, there's a videoke machine, and being the true Filipinos we are, we (meaning Steph) just wanted to take a whack at it.

BUT (#2)! There were 2 girls who got there before us! Actually, it was Steph who wanted to sing, kating kati ang lola niyong bumirit that's why we egged her to talk to the 2 girls so we can all share the microphone! After a couple of hours of singing, we went upstairs to to our room (which had a veranda) to drink and play cards. Mega bonding ang ganap, that went on to talking about our schools (they were engineering graduates from Mapua (BIGATIN!)), why it was just the 2 of them and the 3 of us there, and at hindi mawawalang LOVE LIFE! :p

Pagudpud circa 2009



Their names were Shera and Mitch....and as they say, the rest is history. Even after we left Pagudpud, we've been in touch through twitter, facebook, and text messages. We've managed to squeeze in one drinking session before, and of course we're planning more if time permits. We've been busy with work and other things, and the other got married and got a kiddo now, but hey, we're still friends! :)

Ondoy Relief Operations, Bulacan, 2009



Post-Christmas/Pre-New Year Inuman Session, 2010



So it was really touching when Shera who gave birth to a cute baby girl 3 months ago, asked all 3 of us to be Ninangs (godmothers) of her panganay. How can we say NO, right? I probably got a good track record because Syb is like my 2nd inaanak this year! Naks!

So October 1, after my Strategic Planning class, I drove to Pandacan to attend Baby Syb's baptism!






Borlogs ang bagets the whole time. Even when the priest was pouring Holy Water on her head, deadma! She was the cutest, and I didn't even see her cry the whole time we were there! She had the plumpest cheeks (which by the way I wanted to bite and pinch).

And after, it was off to their abode for the reception and the drinking session at 3PM. Yes, 3 in the afternoon! It was Tanduay Ice and shots of Emperador Light! Plus, I got to meet the rest of Mitch and Shera's Mapua barkada - Yaw (na super benta na Ogie Alcasid ang peg), Chowkie, Johnny(boy), July, and Ida (forgot the rest...sino na nga ba yung Dume-Derek Ramsay at si jowawers niya? HAHAHA)!

It was super fun! It was really nice meeting you guys! Dance Central na ulit sa bahay nila Johnny! Hahaha oha! May puntahan na sa bahay na naganap, feeling close, etchosera! :p Fierce ang barkadang ito, betchicola ko kasi lahat bakla (literally and figuratively speaking). THE BEST! I'm glad I went to the reception, salamat na rin sa pagpilit Mitch! :D

So see...it all started with a videoke machine in Pagupud! Friendships can be formed in the weirdest sense, but it can go all the way. Thank God for Steph's addiction to videoke, because if she didn't, we wouldn't have met them! :)

So kayo, you guys got the same story as ours? Share kayo! :D

Best in Late Ever: Wee Nam Kee x Citibank

I am back to blogging! Our IT decided it was pointless to block a blog site, thank God for that! So anyway, I'm back in the blogosphere and I spent like 3-4 days reading backlogs of my favorite bloggers (the ones who use Blogspot). I missed you all! :)

So since, I was derailed from my blogging groove, I am going to be best in late! Like this one, I remember Mom sending me an email about Citibank's promo last September. Wee Nam Kee is opening another branch at Serendra at the Bonifacio Global City. Since I've been trying to convince Mom to eat there with me, she instantly emailed me this and told me to get a reservation at once!

Ain't it cool! When you're a Citibank cardholder you instantly get 50% off on any of Wee Nam Kee's dishes! And since we Filipinos love promos, getting a reservation was a bitch! I mean you wanna have lunch or dinner, but then you get a reservation at weird hours like 3.30PM or 5.50PM! But since we really wanted to avail of the promo we decided to just get on with the show even if it meant for us to eat lunch at 3.30PM on a Sunday! :)

So here's what was on our table. If I remember correctly this was either beef or pork with tofu. It was really good, not too salty! And they served us generous portions of both tofu and beef/pork.

Mom got intrigued by this dish when she saw it on the menu: Honey Crispy Squid. First bite, and it was crispy, like you were eating the skin of a lechon...only healthier! We had fun picking on this! Hearing the crunching sound as you chew on the squid made it exciting to eat! Totally recommended! :)

And of course, the star of Wee Nam Kee: THE Steamed Hainanese Chicken. Damn it was good! And all I could do was sit there and say to myself, how in the Lord's name did I wait THIS LONG to try this out! But as they say, better late than never, right?!

The meals would not be fully enjoyed without rice and we ordered the Wee Nam Kee Fried Rice, it's your usual Yang Chow...Wee Nam Kee style! :)

Thank you so much to Citibank, have you not emailed my Mother about the 50% off I would still be walking along the Ayala Triangle Gardens, wondering why there's always a huge crowd outside Wee Nam Kee waiting to be seated!

And Wee Nam Kee, you did not disappoint. Thank you for satisfying my curiosity and even going beyond my expectations. The food was hands-down good! Can't wait to try other dishes! :)

Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice
Serendra, McKinley Parkway, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Tel. No. 822-7095