Japan shopping… Japan Home Center, that is!
My kids must be happy to go back to school this year. My bento obsession has led me to buy all sorts of lunch boxes imaginable. There are strictly no bento lunch sets for sale yet in our shores – unless you buy abroad or shop online – but I think you just have to use existing containers in all sizes to assemble your bento kit.
My bento lunch box addiction led me to retrace my footsteps to Japan Home Center in a major mall. This is a place which prides itself of its Made in Japan knick-knacks, and almost everything is P88 or less – like those 100 Yen stores in Tokyo.
I immediately liked what i saw….
Cuteness!!!
PAGCOR’s show of ‘Wanders’
(Photos courtesy of PAGCOR’s Corporate Communications Department)
If you’re looking for an entertainment extravaganza that you will truly be proud to show to your kababayans from the provinces, balikbayans and tourists, then bring them over to Wanders which is now on an extended run at the PAGCOR Grand Theater in Paranaque City.
As a PAGCORian, I can’t help but be proud that there is a show like this in our midst, the Philippine version of the world-famous performing troupe Cirque du Soleil. Wanders was conceptualized by PAGCOR Chairman Efraim Genuino to bring world-class entertainment to Filipinos. It utilizes topnotch Filipino musicians, entertainers and talents, with the help of agile acrobats from China and a host of dancers from Russia. It is one and a half hours of non-stop entertainment all the way!
Wanders is for young and old alike. My kids enjoyed every bit of it as it transforms them to a magical world of make-believe. One of my favorites is this trio of young contortionists who are barely in their teens. Man, can they bend! Reminds me to load up on my calcium 
My son had fun watching all the maneuvers of the male acrobats from China. They come from the province of Henan which is where most of China’s treasured acrobats come from. You can just imagine the gravity-defying stunts that await everyone in the Beijing Olympics.
My Sony Ericsson K800i dies on me….
I was ready to sing hallelujah’s to my Sony Ericsson K800i when its much-vaunted Cybershot camera died on me a few weeks ago.
Died. Kaput. Gone. These days when I press on the camera button, all that displays is a vast space of nothingness. Whatta pity since this Sony Ericsson K800i model is supposed to be my favorite cameraphone of all time. It’s been my trusted companion from Quiapo to Baguio to Batanes. It has taken snapshots of everything that’s caught my fancy, from a newly-steamed dimsum to sunsets to my kids laughing in glee at the sight of ice cream. What’s a blogger got to do without a camera to take photos of stolen moments? I have a DSLR and two other digital cameras but a camera built into a phone is just irresistible, don’t you agree?
‘Mga Kwento ng Batang Kaning Lamig:’ Batjay, the second time around
SPOT THE YELLOW BOOK . Batjay (seated) with his blogger-friends Apol, Wats0n, Tito Rolly and Fisherpau. Not in photo is yours truly
The king of the blog humorists, Nicanor David a.k.a Batjay launched his second blook recently.For the occasion, he went straight from the airport to Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street, wearing his Spiderman shirt. There’s a long line of people clutching the yellow copies of “Mga Kwento ng Batang Kaning Lamig” and he obliges with personalized dedications, with matching cartoon drawings pa.
We asked him if he flew all the way from California for the launching, and he says not really. He foremostly wanted to see his beloved mother. Growing up, Batjay was a “batang kaning lamig” and the book’s title is driven by memories of him hanging out with his friends, highlighted by eating sessions where they would eat cold rice served by his mother, amid big steaming hot bowls of sinigang.
Anyway, Batjay’s book is so handy and funny that I don’t have it anymore. Somebody snitched it!! Here’s the full text of my article as it appeared on Manila Bulletin yesterday:
When rice prices are high, eat kamote…
My Sweetheart recently sent me an online delivery of kamote, in memory of that yummy kamote cue we tasted in Batanes. Come to think of it, the focus is now on considering other alternatives for our daily staple, rice, whose prices are rising by the day. If you do the marketing for your household, you will really feel the pinch since P34 is now the lowest price per kilo, whereas before that will buy you the high grade, premium variety already.
The benefits of eating kamote (sweet potato) cannot be underestimated. I do know of friends who go on a diet and just eat kamote. It is enough to fill them for the day. The root crop is a good source of dietary fiber, beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and complex carbohydrates.
Kamote is good and tasty even when simply boiled.
More recently, I had it as an ingredient for my papaya lumpia which combines shredded green papaya, sweet potato and tokwa or tofu. It’s a yummy alternative to the usual bean sprouts and lumpia vegetable we have.
Victoria Court: the stuff tourism brochures aren’t made of …
I ‘partially’ work in the hotel industry. More recently, a couple asked me for help in booking the biggest jacuzzi in Manila. I presume it couldn’t be in the formal hotels which have these conventional bathtubs. And so I looked elsewhere. Here is what greeted me in the Victoria Court website : the Oval Office theme room.
Right! All I can think about was Bill Clinton and Monica Lunoksky
The Philippines’ best spots for surfing
… and I don’t mean the internet, silly.
Surfing, as well know, is that sport where you get to ride the waves using a surfboard or some other equipment.
You ask avid surfers like movie star Jericho Rosales, and he’ll probably name the following places as the Philippines’ best places for surfing:
Lanuza, Surigao del Sur – one of the best-kept secret surfing places. Went here in 2004, where I gave up on its ‘remoteness.’ It was still a good six hours or so by land from the Butuan airport! Here’s my archived article in the Manila Bulletin and here. However, there should be no harm going here if you’re seriously into the sport!
Siargao, Surigao del Norte – Undoubtedly the Philippines’ premier surfing destination. “The waves curl like a bowl, so you ride inside it.”
Do you know the way to Bauan’s Sampaguita Beach Resort?
There have been a lot of searches on this site about this ‘virgin’ white sand beach in Bauan, Batangas called Sampaguita Beach Resort. I stop short at calling it a resort since the facilities are quite crude, and it was just a quiet cluster of huts the last time I went there. Still, this beach remains largely unadvertised and undiscovered. Although I don’t know what happens after you people read this blog
It’s been almost two years since my family went to Sampaguita Beach, as evidenced by this post. Luckily, a young lady, Alleli-Ann Castillo, who claims to be the grandchild of the owner emailed me to point directions in going there:
Beer from around the world … at Red Box
Filipinos undoubtedly like their beer. San Miguel, the most popular brand, is to beer what Jollibee is to burgers and jeepneys are to the ordinary Pinoys’ means of transport. According to stats, “Filipinos consume 1.25 billion liters or 3.9 billion bottles of beer per year,” most of which I believe are shared over good company and sizzling plates of sisig or some other pulutan.
I honestly haven’t tasted as many varieties of beer in my lifetime as when I attended the Beer Appreciation Night at Red Box, the “uber-ly wholesome” karaoke bar in Greenbelt 3 (with another branch in Trinoma). Apparently, Red Box is where you can find one of the most extensive beer selections in the metro.
Why beer? Because it seems Pinoys believe there is a correlation between singing and alcohol content – the more you drink, the more you’ll likely to have the guts to belt out those tunes in front of other people, as opposed to just singing in the shower. And beer is just out there as one of the most accessible, convenient drinks around.
My Arroz a la Cubana-inspired bento
Here’s something to kick off our little Lasang Pinoy bento festival: a bento adapted from the popular Filipino dish Arroz a la Cubana. Translated, this dish is “Rice, Cuban Style” whose terminology eludes me, since this arroz was brought to us by Spain, not Cuba
Still, Arroz a la Cubana should be a favorite on the tables of many, and mine too, especially as dish looks good on a plate, with your sunny-side up egg mounted on a cup of rice, with sauteed minced meat and fried saba (plaintain) bananas on the side.
Blogging since 2004 and recently married to Mr Z. I can't live without coffee....and brown sugar.
