Karen, Kring and I suddenly had the impulse to go to Libis and eat lunch at Omakase today.  With her dependable car, Karen zipped our way to Libis with ease and I wondered where the Friday traffic is?  Her car’s name by the way is Herc, short for Hercules.  How cute.  When you see her car, you’d know why.

I wasn’t really excited to eat since I’ve gained a significant 5 lbs over the past 2 weeks.  I have been eating so much for a month now and I don’t get full at all.  I keep on eating and eating right after eating and eating.  It doesn’t help too that I’d be going to Calaguas Island in 2 weeks time.  But I’ve heard so much about Omakase that when Karen picked Japanese cuisine, I just blurted Omakase.

It was a pretty busy restaurant at 110pm even right when we left at 2pm. 

On the Table 

Yasai Itame (JC’s order) PHP 95

Yasai means vegetable in Japanese.  It is your regular stir-fried vegetables.  Presentation wasn’t appetizing but I finished it.  I like vegetables anyway.  It was a mixture of bean sprouts, onions, cabbage, string beans and green bell pepper.

Kakiage (still JC’s order) PHP 130

Trying hard to be healthy, I ordered another vegetable dish.  You have to take note that trying to be healthy, I disregard the fact that one is stir fried while the other is deep fried with flour.  Healthy?  Who am I trying to fool?

Dynamite Roll (JC’s order) PHP 260

I’ve placed an order for two vegetable dishes already.  I asked the waiter what their bestseller in sushi is and he said Dynamite Roll without batting an eyelash.  I said ok without batting an eyelash.

The Dynamite roll had in it, salmon and spicy tuna topped with salmon skin and roe.  It was served with garlic mayo dip in kikoman soy sauce.  Although it had too much going on, I enjoyed the dynamite roll a lot.

Cold Soba Noodles and Soup (Karen’s) –I remember eating cold soba noodles in Japan… ooh yum!!!  I had to finish all of my food that I didn’t get to try Omakase’s version.

Omakase Soup (Karen’s)

California Crunch (Kring’s) –I like Red Kimono’s California Crunch better. 

What a refreshing lunch that made me realize Libis is not too far away.  Haha, what am I saying?  I’d go all the way to Makati to eat at Elbert’s! 

Album: http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/489  

June 1.  I’ve seen this buffet breakfast since three or four years ago at Something Fishy in Libis.  I’ve always wanted to try it but never got an excuse to go to Eastwood early morning.  Bubba picked me up from my place early Sunday to have breakfast.  I found my self at the doorstep of Something Fishy.

 It was bustling with Eastwood crowd.  There were no more tables inside so we had to sit al fresco under the red Coke tents, which made all the food look red.  Makes you feel like you have pink eyes…

 

Whereas, what a beautiful sight it was at the parking multiplex.  Everything was spotted with sunlight!  How ridiculous but I was in awe with this sight.

Album: http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/468/08_0601-_Somethin_Fishy  

Racing with Insomniacs

Words: Pam Pastor

Photos: Rico Ramoso

Photos: Francis Yllana 

MANILA, Philippines—I still have a clear vision of myself lying on top of a piano singing O Lumapit Ka while my race partner Amina Aranaz-Alunan filmed me with her Nokia N95 for last year’s Nokia Adventure Race. Despite that embarrassment, I enjoyed myself immensely and didn’t think twice when the opportunity to race came again.

This time, the race was to be held in the evening. Teams were set loose in the city with one quest—to find the soul of the night. My partner was actor, former MYX VJ and my fellow insomniac Geoff Eigenmann who I met only a few hours before the race. Our team, Music Fanatics, was competing against nine others—Trissie Corpus and Aris Ladaw (Culinary Quest), Jane Chua and Christian Wong (Audio Attack), Alfred Vargas and Michelle Callanta (Voltage Up), Charlene Go and Andi Manzano (Media Mavericks), Kathy Moran and Paolo Valenciano (Sound Tech), Katen Pimental and Sharon Domingo (Aftershift), Vina Veronica Cruz and Ramon Rodriguez (Free Spirit), Nikki Santiago and Justin Rivera (Ticket to Ride) and Therese Camet and Karylle (Femme Fatales).

On your marks…

The kickoff point was Jumbo Restaurant in Roxas Boulevard. Armed with Nokia N82s and survival kits, we were all ready to go. At 8 p.m. (which was also Earth Hour), the race started.

Sandeep Khanna gave the teams the first task card. It read: “Need help? In trouble? Want assistance? Flex your thinking muscles and decode the Help Line Number below… Remember: no calculators and phones will be used.” Geoff and I ran to our van with our crew, ready to face the puzzle. It was not easy—not when you have equations like “MDAS: 536 x 345 / 2 + 97531 – 189,989” and “35.3563 + 19.6437 + 6.1718 + 18.8282 – 53 + 20.512 + 22. 488 – 65 + 15.32587 + 12.67413 - 32” to solve with just a pencil and one sheet of paper. My hands trembled the entire time. I am a complete idiot at math—thank God Geoff isn’t. Soon we were running back to Jumbo where we had to make a fruit platter. On our way in, I saw Alfred wolfing down fruits. “Uh oh,” I said to Geoff as he attacked a watermelon with a sharp knife. “Don’t use too many fruits, we’re gonna eat them.” After having our photo taken on the second floor of Jumbo, we went back down because the task card read, “You must consume all the fruits of your hard labor.” Geoff started eating the melons while I choked on the pineapples. I found the entire scenario funny—I couldn’t stop laughing. 

Sticky hands

With our hands still sticky from all the fruit-eating, we ran back to the van, followed closely by our crew—a race marshall, a bouncer, a cameraman and an assistant cameraman. That’s when I realized I had a problem—my pants were loose and I had forgotten my belt. My pants kept sliding down as I ran—I had to keep pulling it up. I felt bad for the cameraman who I knew would spend a huge chunk of the race assaulted by the view of my underwear. Our next destination was SM Mall of Asia. We hooked up the Nokia N82 to one of the TVs at Extreme Gaming Ground and Geoff played the Asphalt Street Rules 3 NGage Game. Because he rocks at video games, Geoff was the first to finish the three laps.We got our next destination card from a guy who was surfing the Internet at one of EGG’s stations. We had to brave the Manila to Makati traffic. It was time for karaoke at Red Box in Greenbelt 3. “I can’t sing,” Geoff said. “That’s okay, I sing,” I said. Karaoke session We ran into Room 72 at Red Box and recorded a music video of us wearing Chinese costumes and singing I Love the Nightlife. I am ashamed to admit this but we found the song in Red Box’s system quickly because I know who sang that song—Alicia Bridges.We finished the task quickly and were soon running down Greenbelt 3’s escalator so we can jump into our van. Our next stop was the TShirt Project Store in Tiendesitas. Although our driver had been given a suggested route, Geoff told him there was a better way to get to Pasig from Makati. The driver seemed reluctant at first—but when Geoff told us that his dad used to have a store there, we trusted his directions. Soon, our driver was channeling Schumacher. He pulled up in front of Tiendesitas in no time. We were the first to get to the TShirt Project Store. “With your Php2000 budget, choose 2 shirts and letters to make a statement that best describes the Soul of the Night. Remember that you can’t go beyond your budget,” our task card read. 

Say it with a shirt

While I was trying to think of something profound to put on our shirts, Geoff said something funny. I replied with, “Yeah! Insomniacs unite!” He said, “Hey, that can be our statement!” And so we started hunting for our letters and sticking them on bond paper so they can be pressed onto our shirts. A lot of bystanders were watching. “Di ba si ano yun?” “Oo..” “Ewan ko sino yung babae,” one woman said snootily, as if she was annoyed by my anonymity. Never mind me, lady, I’m just a nameless shirt-making freak. Other teams were arriving as we ran to the other side of the store to have our photos taken with our shirts on. We were the first ones out of there and we were headed for Eastwood. 

Fire-dancing

Our task card read, “Look for the Poi Dancers and take their pictures in different creative angles. Get your poi ribbon from your Race Marshal. Each of you must perform the dance for one minute straight. Take pictures of your partner during his/her fiery performance.”I felt my knees buckle. I cannot dance with fire. I am scared of fires—I can’t even light a matchstick or hold a lighter. But we had to focus on finding the poi dancers first. No wonder we had a hard time—we found the girls standing in a quiet corner, talking amongst themselves. Knowing that we were losing time as the girls prepared to dance, I decided to ask Geoff for poi pointers. Klutzes and zips do not mix. We took photos of the poi dancers, Geoff performed well and even had footwork to match his hand movements while I fumbled and laughed as the crowd laughed with me. After my poi embarrassment, we used PanoMan, a really cool feature of the N82, to take panoramic shots around Eastwood.Then, we searched for the mime who supposedly had our next clue. That turned out to be one of our biggest challenges. We walked around Eastwood for long minutes and couldn’t find the guy. 

 

 

Missing mime

One stranger said mysteriously, “Sometimes they’re in the comfort rooms.” But the guy was wrong. We kept crossing paths with people from the other teams who couldn’t find the mime either. Geoff kept walking to a quiet corner of Eastwood. “No, that’s a dead spot,” I said. But the mime was there—away from everyone else’s view. In his excitement, Geoff clapped the poor mime on the chest and the stomach. I have to hand it to the mime—he still didn’t move until after we took our clue. On our way out, Geoff used his acting skills, making Alfred believe that we still hadn’t found the mime. But we made a mistake. We walked straight out of Eastwood and they figured it out. Team Voltage Up retraced our steps and found the mime too.Soon, we were in the van on the way to Piedra where we had to wear masks and find five models in masquerade costumes and pose with them. There, Geoff once against showed his flair for finding people—he was the first to find the last model who was hiding near the toilets. At Piedra, we were handed our next card. It read, “Your last destination. Discover sweetness as you race your way ON FOOT to Café Xocolat at Serendra.” Soon, we were running to Serendra. “Give me your bag,” Geoff said. “No,” I said. I was out of breath but I hate asking people to carry my bag. I kept running, holding on to my pants again so they wouldn’t fall off. “Give me your bag,” Geoff said again. I had to admit, the Nokia backpack was slowing me down. I handed it to him. I was red-faced and gasping for breath by the time we walked into Café Xocolat but I didn’t care because we were the first ones to get there. We read our last task card. “Cap off tonight’s amazing Wireless Adventure by telling a story using your photos of your exciting experiences. Throw in some music, add some graphics to show just how much Soul you’ve got.” We grabbed a table at a quiet corner and started to work. Alfred’s team arrived after a while and they too started working on their slideshow. Teams arrived one by one and the place started to become more packed. 

Playing with pictures

We had taken a lot of photos at every destination using the N82’s camera which is equipped with a 5-megapixel Carl-Zeiss lens and a Xenon Flash. Using the N82’s photo editor, we played with our pictures from that night—turning them into sepia and adding frames, thought bubbles and captions. Alfred and Michelle beat us to submitting the slideshow first. We gave ours second—with almost two hours to spare before the deadline. I was actually sad when we finally handed in the slideshow. Sure I was relieved that I could finally take off my race shirt because it was a bit tight—but I had so much fun completing the tasks that half of me didn’t want them to end. This year’s race may have been shorter but it was definitely more intense than last year’s. 

 

The party

The race’s final stop was Embassy, where the Nokia Soul of the Night party was held over a week after we completed our last tasks. There, surrounded by people from Nokia, the N82’s ambassadors and their family and friends, the awards were given out to the race participants. Alfred and Michelle were declared the Souls of the Night—they went home with the grand prize of P100,000 and a trip to Macau. Geoff and I lost, yes, but the truth is, I still felt like a winner. We did pretty well all throughout the race, we fulfilled our plans of completing each task under 20 minutes and we had a blast. And losing this year means I can join again next year. Sure, the race was a chance to test the features of the N82 but it wasn’t just that. It was an opportunity to explore the city while it’s shrouded in darkness, to see how technology can bring people together, to push one’s limits and fall in love with your city even more. That is a huge prize in itself. 

Prize overload

There were no losers at the Soul of the Night party.  The following prizes were given out: 

Love Team Award – Team 2 Audio Attack (Jane Chua and Christian Wong)

Breakthrough Performance in Fruit Eating Award – Team 7 Voltage Up (Michelle Callanta and Alfred Vargas)

I Will Survive Award – Team 1 Culinary Quest ( Trissie Corpus and Aris Ladaw)

Best I Love the Nightlife Comedic Performance – Team 6 Media Mavericks (Charlene Go and Andi Manzano) 

Breakthrough Performance in Fruit Styling Award – Team 9 Sound Tech (Kathy Moran and Paolo Valenciano)

Best I Love the Nightlife Dance Sequence – Team 3 Aftershift (Karen Pimentel and Sharo Domingo)

Best Soul of the Night Statement Award – Team 8 Music Fanatics (Pam Pastor and Geoff Eigenmann)

Best Panoman Photo Award -Team 4 Free Spirit (Vina Veronica Cruz and Ramon Rodriguez)

Best Poi Dancer Photo Award – Team 5 Ticket to Ride (Nikki Santiago and Justin Rivera)

Photographers of the Night Award – Team 10 Femme Fatales (Therese Camet and Karylle)

Best Nokia Story Tellers of the Race – Team 5 Ticket to Ride (Nikki Santiago and Justin Rivera) 

Link: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/you/super/view_article.php?article_id=129801

Race Album: http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/439/08_0329-_Nokia_Soul_of_the_Night_Race

Race 2 Album: http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/411/08_0329-_Soul_of_the_Night_Race_Action_Shots  

Awards Night Album: http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/410/08_0408-_Nokia_Soul_of_the_Night_Party

Video: http://cushee.multiply.com/video/item/129/Nokia_SOTN_Wireless_Adventure_2.mov

Video 2: http://cushee.multiply.com/video/item/128

Video 3: http://cushee.multiply.com/video/item/127

I love the comfort of home-cooked meals. You get exactly that feeling when you eat at Mom and Tina’s.

Very busy and lively, this sparkling clean little pastry café is known for its Toblerone walnut desserts and simple yet satisfying meals with friendly service. Delicate wooden fixtures and a display cabinet with little ceramic houses are the immediate interior.

The usual suspects in the menu are Chicken Caesar Salad (P105), Spinach Lasagna (P128), Shepherd’s Pie (P128), Paella Valenciana (P160) and White Toblerone Walnut Torte (P115).

If you love cheese and savory dishes, one can never go wrong with their Spinach Lasagna and Paella Valenciana. The former is smothered generously with melted cheese while the pasta is evenly layered with spinach and ground beef. It is only served in a small ceramic container, which is good for one. For P128, it’s not a bad treat. The Paella on the other hand is good for a hungry one or a sharing two. I only have to quip that they don’t serve the Paella with lemon, which almost made a dent in the whole Paella experience, but with reasonable price, things like this is allowed to be overlooked.

Be homebound with a scrumptious meal at Mom and Tina’s.

*Prices might not be accurate.

Album: http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/355/08_0201-_MomTinas_Bday_Lunch

Mom and Tina’s

9140833

106 E. Rodriguez Ave. Pasig (near House of Mini’s, Good Burgers and Panciteria Lido)

I invited Poofa (Bubba’s old name) to a trip to Clarkfield, Pampanga.  It was the week of the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival.  I’ve been pestering my officemates at Sabiclub where Pampanga is and how far it is to travel.  I gathered that it was approximately 2 hours drive to Pampanga.  Poofa and I decided to go after work on Friday night so we can partake in the festivities planned on Saturday.

Although we encountered some Friday night traffic, it wasn’t long before we hit Pampanga.  We scouted the hotels for the perfect place to spend the night.  We finally landed on Sydney Hotel (Link: http://www.sydneyhotelcorporation.com/hotel.html).  After checking in, we headed out to have dinner.   This was already close to 9pm.

We found a small Greek restaurant whose name I now forget.  The food was good and price was not so bad.  They even have an Internet Surfing/Gaming section at one corner.  It was on this night that Poofa checked his email and found out that ABS-CBN had an offer.

February 10, 2007.  We woke up early but not early enough to catch the take-off of the balloons.  Good thing that there were some that got delayed and we were able to catch the launch.  It was a breakfast of Ruffles and Cola.  An hour later, we decided to get a real meal at one of the food stalls.

We bumped into Jonard and his girlfriend at the event and Tin, a blockmate from college and a few others.  We went around Clarkfield first before deciding to head back to Manila.  One stopover  was at go-kart area. 

Back in Manila, we decided to have dinner at Libis.  There was no particular restaurant in mind but we were passing through Libis so we might as well rest and have dinner first before heading home.  We were lucky because Philharmonic Orchestra had an event that evening in the Eastwood Plaza.  You need to order from one of the participating restaurants to be able to sit in the dining section and get serenaded by the Philharmonic.  The dining section was pretty lovely with the lights on trees and the white tents.

I love Philharmonic and the whole atmosphere brought me to express how I’ve been feeling.  A flashbulb sparked.  Ding ding ding!  I had an idea.

I specifically ordered chicken fingers for Bubba.  After ordering, I excused myself to go to the washroom only to make a beeline to the restaurant where we placed our orders.  I talked to the waiter who got our order and made a request.  He didn’t immediately say yes and actually had to bring out the chef for me to personally talk to.  Thank God the Chef agreed to a seemingly silly idea.

 I had the chicken fingers spell out YES.  Poofa and I have been going out for some months –more like he was courting me but he won’t admit to it to the term “court”.  Finally I was ready to make the commitment official.

They served our plates.  Poofa got hungry from the long drive, which made him grab the fork as soon as his plate touched the table.  I had to distract him by pointing out something behind him (a Tito, Vic and Joey tactic).  It worked for a split second and his attention was back to his plate.  I really had to intentionally grab his hand to prevent him from messing up the YES.  He was bewildered.  I started talking about something important but he was adamant to eat.  I pointed out his food and remarked how nice the presentation was.  He shrugged it off and went for it again.  I grabbed his hand AGAIN to stop him.  He thought I was playing a prank at him and starts to lightly reprimand me.  I restrained myself from laughing out loud or from smacking him in the head for being so oblivious.

With a sigh, I patiently told him again to admire how the dish was presented.  I remember at some point I had to tell him if it reads anything.  It took him quite some time and finally he grabs me and hugs me tight.

We looked at each other and our souls intertwined.  The connection silenced us, drenched with the tight bond we have shared over the past few months.  Those few months were blissful yet daunting.  Taking another breath, we started to laugh out loud.  Too loud in fact that the old couple sitting in front of us had to give us the EYE.  We were disturbing their Philharmonic mood.  We then giggled quietly.  Giggling on how funny the whole situation was. 

His face was beaming from ear to ear and his eyes clearly spelled happiness (or success whichever applies).  Our overwhelmed feelings swimming afloat in the music and the calm evening. 

Album: http://cushee.multiply.com/photos/album/217/07_0210-_Hot-air_Balloon_Fest_ClarkField