If Not Now, When World Tour 2011 + Buffalo Wings at Wing Kings

As media partners of Ovation Production, our channels here at Solar Entertainment aired non-stop the plugs for the Incubus concert. The big day was on July 28, 2011. We already perished the thought of getting tickets to this one-night only show, so we just stuck to listening to Incubus songs on our iTunes/iPods to temper our lusting over free tickets.

But around 2.30PM on the day of the concert itself, God answered our prayers and the best instant message I have ever received came through. WE HAD TICKETS!! YEAH MEN!!!!! But just like an insider's scoop, I can't name our source! :D What's fun is that we would have been happy with Upper Box A or B tickets, but since we're a lucky bunch, we got LOWER BOX tickets! HOOOZZZAAAHHHH!

Since it was Thursday, I first had to attend my class over at La Salle because I had a report that night. But right after my report, I asked my dear professor to let me go because we had an "EVENT". Luckily, he said yes so I ran to the LRT as fast as my two feet could carry me. Just a side note: Haven't ridden the LRT-MRT in a long time, it reminded me of our college days when we'd troop down to the Araneta Coliseum, that same way, to watch La Salle games! FUN! :)

I got to Araneta in the nick of time, the front act FRANCO, just finished playing their set and everyone was just waiting for Incubus to come out. Good thing I had enough time to breathe! Was seated with Lainey and her boyfriend Anton.

Photos from MAGIC LIWANAG. Taken from Saab Magalona's blog: SPELL SAAB


Here are photos from my Blackberry. They suck yes! But I just wanna use them just because I took them hahahaha proof that I was there talaga! :p




We were absolutely POOPED after that concert! But it was great to hear them sing their songs LIVE like I Miss You, Promises, Promises, Wish You Were Here, Drive, Pardon Me, and so many others. They're a great band! And I really wish they come back SOON! Thank you to our source whom I cannot name, without you, we wouldn't have been there! THANK YOU!!

Oh and our friends, David and Marvin got their production passes signed. But for David, he wasn't contented with having his pass signed, he even had his FOREARM SIGNED! Weird mo talaga David! But hey, I turned green with envy! Hahahaha


And even though we were tired, Josh, Leah, and I still managed to haul ourselves to The Fort Stopover to have a post-Incubus dinner at Wing Kings. Had this killer, super good, spicy buffalo wings meal for only Php95 and it came pa with a iced tea. Really good midnight snack! I have to say this was super good because I already have a strong tolerance for spicy stuff, but still this meal got my sinuses worked up! GOOD JOB WING KINGS!!


Wing Kings
The Fort Stopover
32nd St. cor. Rizal Drive, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Mobile No. 0917-5594649
Tel. No. 775-8229

Mother-Daughter QT @ Banana Leaf

Mom had been really, really stressed the past couple of weeks. She was working on a project on a souvenir program for a glee club's upcoming anniversary benefit concert, so she had been writing non-stop and coordinating stuff with the people in-charge.

So when she finally had the chance to breath, she told she wanted to just go out and have a nice dinner with me. So on a nice Wednesday night, Mom and I met up in Greenbelt 3 to look around for a nice place to eat.

Our quest for a nice dinner took us to Banana Leaf, a Thai restaurant in Greenbelt 5. I've eaten here a couple of times before, and have really nothing against the food. But of course nothing beats the real-deal Thai food in another restaurant in Rockwell.

We were both hungry so we sorta ordered a lot. So we had the usual star of any Thai meal - Pad Thai (Thai Style).

It was semi-hot, although I would've preferred it to be a bit high up there on the spice level. It was freshly cooked, and the hotness went really well with the slight twang of the calamansi.

We also ordered my favorite, Deep Fried Pandan Chicken.

It's always fun unwrapping the chicken from underneath those woven pandan leaves. Plus those leaves always gave the chicken this great aroma making it even more enticing to the palate. The chicken meat was soft and cooked just right. It was perfect just the way it is you don't need to dip in the sauce that comes with it.

New to our usual Thai fare was the Thai Style Marinated Pork.

Just a little note, when they say Thai style it's a bit spicy. But since I've been sort of accustomed to really SPICY food, I was slightly disappointed with their spice level. But this pork dish was good, meat was easy to cut-up into tiny pieces because of its tenderness. And they must have really taken a lot of time in the marinating process because the meat was tasty - it must have sopped up the marinate. A must try!

And since my Mom's a vegetable fanatic we had the Stir Fried Chinese Kangkong with Sambal Sauce.

This dish was also a bit spicy, but not that much. It wasn't too salty either. Since Mom has officially joined the hypertensive club last year, she really couldn't eat salty food. But this one was particularly okay since they did a good job in not making it too salty. Whatever that sambal sauce is, it's really good! Totally recommended for those who can't live without veggies on the table!

For dessert we had the Sticky Rice with Mango.

This was a total FAILURE because we remembered it wasn't the season for mangoes. So when this arrived I took the first dibs to check on the mango, and true enough it was as sour as sour could be! But the sticky rice was good (hahaha!), not too sweet. Although the one at SOMS is better. I don't know why, maybe because of the milk they use. The milk they use at SOMS is tastier than the one in Banana Leaf.

Since we were there around dinnertime, the place was packed with yuppies and other families having dinner. But Banana Leaf's seems to have gotten the right groove because they were able to serve our orders (and the others') in a jiff! Good job!

Oh and even saw an officemate in the next table! Hello, Steph! :) She's the girl busy eating at the right-side. :p



Banana Leaf
2/F Greenbelt 3
Ayala Center, Makati City
Tel. No. 729-3333
Website: http://www.bananaleaf.com.ph

Surprises @ SOMS!

I am lucky that my high school barkada loves FOOD! I'm not really adventurous when it comes to food, but when I'm with them I get dragged into trying out new stuff, AND SPENDING!!! Mind you, we are just simple employees of corporations, and so money issues are a bit of an issue (I won't deny that!). But when I'm with my best friends, it's an unwritten rule that when we eat, we spend.

Amanda's usually the reason why we spend A LOT in food. She's picky, and she knows GOOD FOOD. And yes, GOOD FOOD sometimes mean you have to spend. As a barkada we've hit restaurants from the pricey to the cheapest eateries. Spiral, Masas, Fridays, Fish & Co., Mr. Jones, Bubba Gump, Casa Armas, among many others. FAST FOOD CHAINS NOT INCLUDED!

So you guys get the idea now, right? When we eat...we spend, and spend A LOT...no matter where that is! And such was the happening when we ate at SOMS Noodle House last Wednesday night. Trency just got their new apartment over at Rockwell because her sister is now officially an AQUILA LEGIS (not the fraternity ok...just an Ateneo Law student!) So we all met up at her pad, parked our cars, and walked to SOMS.

In the midst of a humble Makati subdivision lies SOMS. I've eaten there once before with Amanda, Mike, and another couple-friend. I wasn't a fan of Thai food until they made me try it at SOMS. I think SOMS will be the only Thai restaurant I will ever eat in! The first time I was there, people had to eat outside. The tables were lined up in neat rows on the sidewalk, and it's like a primped up turo-turo. But now, a couple of months AFTER, they have finished their indoor dining area, therefore accommodating a lot more people. But they still have their outdoor dining for smokers and those who love the feel of eating Thai food just like in Thailand.

The good part when we were there last week, we were all freagen hungry. So we went inside and told the waitress our orders. Amanda was the one who started dictating to Ms. Ordertaker the food we were about to devour. It sounded A LOT, as usual. And when Ate Waitress told us the amount I almost fainted. P1,066 for everything. To give you all an idea of what we ate, here are the evidences:

The yummy bagoong rice we were still able to share despite it being good for one!


Pepper Beef. A surprise to my taste buds! It was good, although the beef was a bit tough. Chew hard to prevent choking. :)


An ultimate fave: Chicken Pandan! OH MY GOSH! It's an ultimate surprise under the pandan leaves...delish!!


Pad Thai: The most-ordered but very disappointing food at SOMS. I've tasted the real-deal Pad Thai, and this is NOT Pad Thai from Thailand! But it's a pwede na for those craving for Thai food.


And this was our rice "for sharing". I loved the shrimps! There was one huge one and it was love! :)


A new order Chicken Curry! Wow! Really good. Though not spicy...and I was counting on the ZING from the curry. A bit of a let down...but it was good and the chicken was really tender! :)


All that plus our drinks cost P1,066. Since there were 4 hungry people, I guess it was enough. But still, P1000+ for a dinner with the girls is sooo not ok! :p

And so we bonded, laughed, and talked about senseless stuff. Trency's sister wanted to have dinner so we waited for her over a couple of rounds of...wait for it...BEER!!!!!!! I've blogged about my love for beer, and that night I got sold on 3!


When Trency's sister got there, she ordered Tofu Curry with some other form of vegetables. She's vegetarian, so we weren't that interested on her main course. But what got us hooked was her dessert, STICKY RICE WITH MANGO! We didn't even know SOMS had dessert. Oh my God...it was YUMMY!!! You have to get a spoonful of the sticky rice together with the mango, put it in your mouth and just close your eyes and savor the flavor! It was a perfect match! A MUST TRY!!!! :)


It was a fun night! As always a night-out with the girls makes one perfect de-stress moment. Beats the spa!:p Since they were closing, that was about 10.30PM but still there were people inside, we walked back up to Trency's apartment filled to the brim with Thai food and girl talks!

So if in Makati or just craving for some authentic Thai food, come on over to SOMS Noodle House at A. Alegre St., Poblacion, Makati City. I don't think they entertain reservations because it's just a small place. It really fills up so try to come early! But hey, it's guaranteed authentic because the owner of the joint is from Thailand! ENJOY! :)