At first we wanted to back out because we had to wait for a seat and we were 9th in queue.  We took a seat and immediately someone asked to get our orders. We took sometime to browse the menu.  Later on, we were told that there was a seat for us at the 2nd floor and that we need to take the elevator up to get there.  Over at the 2nd floor, we only saw 3 tables but outside there was a huge group of 20 somethings being served.

I wanted to order squidlets for appetizer, karekare, dalandan juice and moist chocolate cake for dessert.  It turned out that the only thing they have from my choices was the dalandan juice .   It was pretty disappointing that none of the food I wanted was available.  Probably the big party outside ate much of their stocks.   I ended up ordering gambas as appetizer, Barbecue Ribs plate for my main dish and the mango cake which they claim to be their house specialty.  MrC had trouble choosing but ended up ordering pasta.

The orders took a bit of time but not too long that we would starve if you know what I mean .   At least they were able to serve the gambas and mushroom which I thought was really tasty, the garlic-spicy sauce was amazing I kept it as a dip for the Ribs.   For the Ribs plate, there was a choice between mashed potato and garlic rice.  Somehow, I chose garlic rice at that time.

Here’s the verdict:  MrC’s pesto pasta was really good and flavorful he was thinking about ordering takeout next time.   My Ribs was big enough to be filling and also quite tender but it was on the bland side that I had to use some of my leftover sauce from the gambas and ask for barbecue sauce.  The lady first brought me A1 sauce, so it seems they didn’t have real barbecue sauce there such as the one in Racks but anyways, she offered me Worcestershire sauce and I thought it was acceptable.   The mango cake was HUGE I mean really huge and had 3 layers made of different ingredients.  I highly recommend it!  MrC had cheesecake which he found okay too.

With regards to the service and atmosphere, I think that their branch at Serendra  is in dire need of more space but service is very good in my opinion.

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Post tags: bgc, contis, fort bonifacio, global city, serendra

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Another interesting discovery in this mall is a mysterious shop called “Our Big Little Store“.  Actually, it was really so unnoticeable that I only found out the name of the store after I went out and already bought stuff from it.  Going inside, reminded me of small Oriental or even Filipino stores abroad, stores we call “Tokos” back in the Netherlands.  It was also a surprise to see that they were also serving food deli-style and that there are dining tables hidden to the right of the store.    Their menu includes some of the most interesting I’ve found in a while:  they have Balut Soup, Pigeon Soup, soups with Chinese-sounding names I don’t recognize, Adobo Egg, huge siomais, huge fresh Lumpias, wrapped takeouts of barbecue, sushi, siopao A (Asado) and siopao B (Bola Bola) funny I was even that stupid to ask what A and B where. hehe.  Let’s just say, they will see the likes of me again  sooner than later.  At first, it was kind of chaotic for there were too many people ordering but I was patient enough to wait and I took the chance to observe a bit.  Next thing I knew,  a lady already approached me to take my order (somehow reminded me of the Apple store in New York haha) ! Wow! I’m impressed

A few blocks away was my next stop.  It was the JT’s Manukan Grill I have long been hearing about.  I’ve heard and read good reviews of their Chicken Inasal.  By the way this store is owned by renowned Filipino actor Joel Torre.  When I got there,  I saw that the store was in a corner and lit up well.  It was open air — beer garden style.  Anyways, I looked at the menu and was pleasantly surprised how affordable it was: 88 Pesos for a Pecho! That’s the size of half a chicken.  It did not include rice but still, it still is a bargain.  I ended up ordering  Pecho and Chicken Wings to go.  The wait took longer than expected (about 15 minutes?).   While waiting I noticed that there were several interesting stores next to it.  Next door is Ferino’s Bibingka — a favorite of me and MrC and the one next to that is a mom and pop cake shop and another one in front was a Pancit Malabon.  It is also interesting to know then that it was the same area where I bought our Christmas Lantern (Parol) last year.  What an interesting place!

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Post tags: Gilmore, New Manila

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Next stop was Sights and Sounds in Shangri-La. I took the elevator straight to the 4th Floor. After walking for sometime, I doubted if it was in the right direction. Before I finally gave up finding it, I tried walking further and there it was finally! The store was about to close also in a few minutes. Right in the middle of their store was the the LG Scarlet LH70!! People were also comparing it with the Samsung 32B530 at that time. They were playing “BlueRay quality” Batman playing from a very expensive harddrive player. Samsung seemed to be too washed out. LG had deeper blacks. It was already getting obvious that LG shows a more lifelike effect. I don’t know how it does it. This same lifelike effect can also be seen in the more expensive units in their place. At this point I have already decided to purchase the LG. However, they were about to close and I still have to withdraw from an ATM. I decided to spend a little bit of the remaining time to demo their Pioneer DVD player.

Today, even though I am feeling a bit sick with a fever and still planning to revisit the stores again but this time I will bring a DVD I own and play it again on both TV sets.

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Post tags: 1080p, lg, samsung, sony

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SONY BRAVIA KLV32W400

Street Price (Western)40000 PHP,

• 24P True Cinema™ (24 frames per second), NTSC 3.58, PAL, SECAM, NTSC 4.43 (AV In), PAL 60 (AV In)
• HDMI inputs = 3
• PC inputs = 1
• Headphone input= 1
• PIP 1 TUNER
• 3000:1
• 178/178

According to Sights and Sound (a retailer),  KLV32W400 received a 5 star award competition and the best LCD TVs from What HIFI magazine review.  Also, this model was the previous top of the line for this category.  Prices was slashed big time because it was already phased out.  Some stores of Western do not even have this.  The one in Greenhills claimed to have one.   I am visiting them tonight.

LG LH70

Street Price (Sights and Sound) : 30000 PHP

• 24P
• Bluetooth
• CONTRAST 100,000:1
• VIEWING ANGLE 178/178
• RESP TIME 2.4MS
• HDMI = 3
• PC = 1
• USB = available but was locked (some said it could be hacked though)

• SIMPLINK – through infrared other LG with Simplink active can connect to each other wirelessly

• DIVX – can play divx recorded videos directly

• headphone=using bluetooth

• SMART ENERGY SAVING – it has a self adjusting backlight sensor

• TruMotion 120Hz

SAMSUNG LN32B530
Street Price: 31000 PHP (Sight and Sounds)

• CONTRAST 70000:1
• HDMI = 2
• 24P
• PC=1
• HEADPHONE=1

We actually do not have a DVD player now.  It’s one of those things that we had to lose while moving from place to place.  It is good to know that DVD players now offer 1080p upscaling which means your can view your old DVD’s in a new light (or quality so to speak).

Here are some DVD players with 1080p upscaling:

PHILIPS DVD DVP-3360K ( HDMI )
PhP 4,490.00 (Abensons)

PIONEER DV-410V-K BLK (HDMI)Multi-Format DVD Player Featuring HDMI®,1080p Upscaling, USB, and DivX®/WMV Playback PhP 4,990.0 (Abensons)

In my opinion.. first I will take a look at the screens but eventually..i think LG is ok since we still want to spend on an upscaling DVD player such as  the Pioneer dv-410.  But why LG over Sony?  Of course, $$$ $peaks louder but eventually my eyes will decide.  Is saving an additional 10k important to us?
As far as I can see, both the Sony and the LG have practically same features on paper.
LG uses bluetooth and that seems nice plus the writeups/reviews with photos were impressive for LG
So I guess the demo will be the dealbreaker. Hubby has let me decide which to buy among the two whether paying 10k extra for a slightly older Generation but reputable Sony Bravia is worth the extra bucks.  That model used to be very expensive.

Samsung is quite behind on features but if it’s there of course I will take a look at it and compare it with the other two.

With regards to contrast only my eye can judge i think and with proper calibration.
On another note I was surprised that the TV’s in the US are even internet capable now
They can even stream content from Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and even YouTube.

Tomorrow I will share with you my visit to Western Appliances and Sights and Sounds.

Here are some helpful links about HDTV:

HDTV: Everything You Need to Know

Understanding Resolution

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Post tags: 1080p, hdct, lcd, lg, samsung, sony

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Here’s a chronicle of my street food experiences:
Early Childhood (Province)

I lived in the province up until I was 8 and hangout at the marketplace at my grandparents store after school. So imagine how much exposure to street food I get everyday.

• Dirty Ice Cream (Sorbetes). Back then, I was forbidden to buy from the street ice cream vendor. They say it was dirty, that’s probably why it is popularly called Dirty Ice Cream.  But it was extremely tempting for me as a 5 or 6 year old!  I don’t remember how I got hold of money back then but one day after school, we were dismissed earlier than usual.  The person picking me up was also a bit late so I grabbed the once in a lifetime chance to taste this so called dirty ice cream and bought myself a huge ice cream sandwich!  I ate it as fast as I could.  I didn’t want to get caught. I was glad I didn’t choke but I could still remember that my mouth was still full as I was on my way home in a tricycle.  I have no idea if he noticed it

• Tuhog Tuhog, Sapin Sapin and other rice cakes.  I remember there was a lady who came by everyday selling these in a bilao or bamboo tray.  I remember that my favorite at that time was called “tuhog tuhog” but today I found out that it is called karioka or carioca.  I can still remember such exotic names of rice cakes and snacks such as nilubyan, suman sa lihia, biko, tupig and maja blanca.

• Puff Rice (pronounced Pap-Rais).  Ok, at that time, it was so common and cheap it is impossible not to have a taste of it.  Sometimes you get it as a present from the old lady across the street who is lola’s bestfriend or something, other times, I just asked for money to buy it. It’s simply crispy sweet rice in packaged in rectangular blocks.

• Samalamig. I think it is called something else back then but I can’t remember what it is.  This is also one of those forbidden drinks that kids like me salivate over.  Anyway, this is a cold drink, usually white or pinkish colored and in a large plastic jar and is scooped and poured to a glass by a big round spoon.  The most common flavor is the Buco or Young coconut.  Sometimes, there are little bits of coconut in it.  I think what makes it good is that they put vanilla, condensed milk and lots of sugar in it.  Just be careful about where you buy this because you don’t know how clean the water or ice that they used to make this.  Another flavor is Sago / Gulaman, usually brownish in color.

• Hotdog/Barbecue on a stick.   With hotdog, I don’t know why one would still buy one in the street considering you could buy one yourself from the supermarket but maybe for some this is the only way they can afford one.  I think one reason maybe is that the taste of the hotdog or barbecue from the streets is unique in itself, having additional aroma and flavor from smoke and dust from the streets.

• Banana Q. Just heard from Spoon that Richard Gomez’ favorite snack is the Bananacue.  I wouldn’t be surprised.  This dessert / snack is simple, crunchy, sweet and yummy just like my childhood favorite tuhog tuhog.  To make this, boil the Saba bananas and then fry and coat with brown sugar.

• Binusang Mais (Cornick) and Adobong Mani. When I was young old folks called this binusang mais.  Later on, they modernized the name to Cornick.  It is fried corn morsels flavored in garlic, pepper and salt.   Usually, you can buy this along with the garlic peanuts (adobong mani) on the same stand.  It is best when freshly cooked! The smallest is the 50 gram brown bag and the biggest is probaly 200 grams.  Oh I could still remember it was only 25 cents for the 50 gram bag.

Early to Late Teens (Metro Manila). Growing up and going to school, later in the suburbs of Metro Manila exposed me to other kinds of street foods. But this time, I was given pocket money allowance so that means freedom.  However, I still remember that the nuns forbade us to buy from outside.  But no one really listened to them .

Fish Ball I think this was the first time I ever tasted fish ball.  Fish ball is fried breaded fish  that is eaten right after frying. Frying only takes a few minutes.  After that you are given a stick and you can pick the balls yourself and later dip it into one of the 3 kinds of sauces: sweet (sweet brown gravy), spicy (hot brown gravy) and sour (vinegar and soy sauce mix).  They said that you can get all sorts of nasty diseases from eating this.  I admit I was infected with Amoeba disease once during this time. It was treated easily though.

Balut sa Puti and Penoy. I remember eating a lot of baluts or penoy one New Year’s eve (more than 5).  I was only 10. Anyways, that didn’t happen again.  I wouldn’t risk my health eating too much of these.  Besides, I can’t stand eating the kiti or unborn chick!  I only like to drink the soup from the egg and the yolk.

Scramble.  This is a semi-forgettable Shaved Ice drink which I would later find common in the US and it is called Water Ice.

Ice Candy from Neighbors. Well, I said from Neighbors because I wouldn’t probably buy ice candy from a vendor just like that. I just don’t know but I felt scared buying it.  It’s basically frozen juice in a elongated plastic tube that you seal by tying up on one end.  Even 7 year old kids can make this themselves.  Thus, most of the time you don’t even need to buy this from a vendor.

Ice Buko / Ice Drop. This one, I found outside of my school.  It is a popsicle that has unique Filipino flavors such as Buco and Mung Beans (monggo) or Red Beans.  Eating Red Bean Ice Cream from Asian Restaurants abroad (usually Japanese) kind of reminded me of this.

Taho. It’s soft tofu sweetened with caramelized corn syrup.  Everyone says It’s nutritious because of the soya protein but what about all the sugar in it?

Shingaling. When i found out the name of those crunchy salty sticks sold on the streets I couldn’t help but giggle.  I am really amazed at the sense of humor of people who named this snack.

Yuppy Age

At this age, most of us have will have our first taste of independence. After all, we are above 21 and we are working and hopefully no longer dependent on our parents allowance.  Some of us at this age live apart from our immediate family and strike out on our own or even start our own little family.  At this time, I thought I was brave and old enough to try the stuff I was scared of trying when I was younger.

Chicharon Bituka and Bulaklak. Crunchy  fried intestines of chicken and pigs. It smells weird, and it looks aweful.  Yeah it is an acquired taste. But for me it tastes yummy.

Squid balls. It’s fish balls for grown ups with yuppy prices of course.  You see the vendors suddenly appear at around 3-5 pm in front of your office building.  Who would not give in to the tempation?  Forget about amoeba, dysentery or hepa!

Currently, tried Tukneneng/Kwek kwek but not from a food cart.  I think that doesn’t count as street food anymore huh?

These I Never Tried:

Betamax (blood cubes), Isaw, Chicken Feet (Adidas)  Who knows one of these days I just might try them

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Post tags: street food

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Although most of it is spoken in Dutch, some of the interviews are spoken in English so it’s kind of easy to follow for non-Dutch speakers.  It’s definitely fun to watch especially if you are an American living in the Netherlands.    This show is also broadcast on KRO TV.

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Post tags: documentary, KRO, Max Westerman, TV

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Comment: Grrr… Today I could probably buy 3 Canon Digital Rebels at that price! The Canon EOS 30D is now only 899 at Amazon! A Canon EOS 40D sells at roughly the same price.

I ordered the camera first from Ritz with its free shipping and all but lost my patience after a week of waiting. To my surprise, I accidentally found one at the CalumetPhoto website. I received the camera after a week’s worth of anticipation.

(...)
Read the rest of Flashback: A Camera Review from 2003 (875 words)

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Post tags: Canon EOS 10D, digital camera, nostalgia, Reviews

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