Weekend of June 20-22

I had an activity-filled this particular weekend 20-22 June 2014

Friday night - twas Winnie Avila's birthday blowout at 106 Maginhawa.
Ricci and Sipen brought out 2 bottles of red wine.  i didnt get to read the label.

So i got home a little later than usual.

Saturday - i woke up late as i usually do on weekends.
i got myself out of the house by 3 past in the afternoon to go the NKTI - i have laboratory exams on the 28th so i made advanced payments.  i was done before 3:30

My friends the Lims picked me up - Yes, they are very nice people - and we went to the wake of Dale Amor Villamor's parents. Her mom Maria L. Villamor and Atty. Alfredo Villamor died 14 June and her Dad followed on her birthday, 17 June..  we attended the Sunday Eucharist and left a little pass 8 pm

Wake of Dale's Mom - 17 June 2014, Jerry and I sitting, Kay, Vee, Manny, Pegs, Amihan, Boboy, Alice

We went to the wake also to greet Dale "Happy Birthday".   Her Dad died the morning of her birthday. Her mom the Sat before

The Lims then drove to Lito Sibayan's home at La Vista - and promised me that i wouldnt have to negotiate the slope down (it is a sharp incline from their main door to the street).

and whoa -
David Pomeranz - Lito Sibayan's Surprise Saturday Guest
I remember David Pomeranz has having written some of the songs that Barry Manilow sang.
i have a complete set of BM discs

This included "Tryin to Get the Feeling Again", "The Old Songs",

and he gave a short impromtu concert..

that sked tired me out terribly

A Goodreads quote - You become the place .......

Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow. 

Anita Desai

Happy 77th birthday, Anita Desai! When asked how she begins work each morning, the author of Clear Light of Day and The Artist of Disappearance says that she reads poetry by Rainer Maria Rilke, C.P. Cavafy, Osip Mandelstam, and Joseph Brodsky.

The place, the time, the events, and the people around shape us.
We do not live in sterile little worlds

A SPOT-ON Goodreads quote

You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful. 

Amy Bloom

Happy 61st birthday, Amy Bloom! After selling her first novel, in her mid thirties, Bloom decided to buy it back because she thought that it wasn't good enough. Instead, her first publication was a short story collection, Come to Me, that was shortlisted for a National Book Award

So true.

Food trip -Chicken burger when i dont want to cook in Maginhawa

Naturally,  this would fall on delivered goods.

i like burger so i've tried everything burger out there

For example, there's Burger Project - the one i go to is along Maginhawa. I like the fact that one can have jalapenos, Or take Big, Better, Best Burgers.  I like the char-broiled ones..........

but well, let us face it, beef is heavy on the stomach.  So i remembered that there's Good Burgers
you have a choice of chicken patties or veggie patties.

i prefer the chicken patties.  i like my veggies to look like veggies although i have enjoyed vegetarian restos.
so here's the menu for Good Burgers

Burger Name                                                                        good         better      best
Just Burger                                                                             70             80           95
(mayo, ketchup)
Garlic Burger                                                                          90             100         115
(coleslaw, bq sauce)
Salsa Mex - yes with coleslaw so + 15                            90             100         115
(salsa, cheese)
Cheesy Mushroom                                                                90             100         115
(mushrooms, cheese bq sauce)
Silly Burger                                                                              90             100         115
(sour cream, garlic chilli, cheese)
Persian Burger - yes                                                              90             100         115
(roasted onions and peppers, garlic aloli sauce)
BLT - yes                                                                                  105            115         120
(cheese, mayo, bacon bits, lettuce, tomatoes, onions)
Bacon Mozza Melt  -yes                                                      110            120         135
(bacon bits, mozzarella, mayo)
Margherita Burger  - yes                                                      110            120         135
(roasted tomatoes, cheese, mozzarella, basil)

3-Cheeses                                                                                  110            120         135
(cream cheese, mozzarella, cheese sauce)

you can add on stuff - choose one for the peso value listed on the left 

like for 15 pesos - salsa; garlic chili; alolli sauce; bbq sauce; mushrooms, coleslaw; lettuce, tomato, mayo

for 20 pesos - bacon bits; sour cream; herb cheese; garlic cream cheese

for 25 pesos - cottage cheese, mozzarella

the telephone at the Maginhawa place IS 435-4663

those marked with yes are burgers i've eaten and enjoyed -

and well, thought you might enjoy it too.

and THEY DELIVER!  at least to where i live, and where i work 

try it

i didnt list the side dishes but i like the chx and chips too

Independence Day on June 12

Independence Day for the Americans are generally boisterous affairs, with barbeques - and playing all-American games (or watching, that is), and fireworks,  a family-with friends celebration...

Here in the Phiilippines, how do we celebrate our independence day?
or in fact, do we?

Most Pinoys appreciate the day off, but most do nothing to celebrate it
does this mean we value our freedom less?  do we actually have freedom?
do we know what freedom means?
or have we been forever crushed under the bad economic times that we fail to celebrate

when my father was alive, he would of course be busy during these times as he was an Army Officer, being a PMA graduate.....  but i cannot remember if we did celebrate

Celebrations that i remember usually cluster around religious times (Christmas, New Year, Easter) and family related events (birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, house birthdays) -

but Independence Day in the Philippines?  dont remember much.

i remember celebrations in the US, with my friends .....

A short, partial list of food places we''ve been

Roberta's Flavors of Asia - Maginhawa Street - cant remember when

The ambiance is that of a canteen, but the food is good.
we had the lamb, the 3-choice appetizer, and of course, the watermelon tinola, and the shrimp salad.
the price is terrific for the pocket, and the taste is superior,

i've been able to duplicate the shrimp salad - although mine is a bit more tangier, something i did deliberately.

Scorecard:  Food a 7, Place a 5

Chercio - 76 Scout Limbaga, Morato area
Sometime Feb or March this year

The food was good. I especially liked the platter, because it allowed a smattering of  the different dishes. The tadyang was pretty good, too.  Dessert was alright.
The plac was another one of those white places, some with black couches and white wooden chairs

Scorecard:    8, 7

Nomama - Scout Tuason, near Morato

after the hype we received about this resto, my friends and i were excited about eating there.

The place was interesting    =   bright, all glass, sparkly

unfortunaely the food didnt live up to the hype.  The food was just
The best dish - and we spent a lot of money there - was shrimpt temputa, an old standby with me

Mesa - 254 Tomas Morato cor. Scount Fernandez.  Sharon Cuneta is part owner?

The place  comes across yellow-gold, but if you look around, you will find that the resto is no longer new.  The wait staff are equipped with tiny that holds a lighter (for those diners who need a light), pencils for taking orders, and a small pad. i just found it interesting.

The food was alright, and we indeed got catfish in a food - a signature dish.  But Muang Thai's catfish still beats the flavor.  I had to mix several sauces to complement the catfish better, and when i got it, i asked my friends to add it to the catfish.

i rather liked the butterflied tilapia, liking its crispy texture.  

Quezon - Maginhawa

Quezon favorites are available here to take home.  The smoked tapa is very good, but dont buy too much of it to take home because you will lose the flavor with satiety.

More next time -

Food Trip - Renato's Resto located at South Triangle Barangay

Renato's.  17B Scout Borromeo. South Triangle Barangay. QC

The place is beautiful, lots of white surfaces and a rather nice inviting alcove.

This is a good place for a small wedding reception, or a small batch reunion or a small party.  It would look fabulous with flowers for a wedding reception - and the white surfaces can only complement whatever color scheme of the bridal party.

When you enter the place, the left side has a large mirror atop a built-in table with large vases. Reminds of Thailand, probably because of the plants - which i've seen in Thailand.  This alcove has a very unusual shape, but very attractive and draws one eye towards a white wall - must have been feng shui when the place was still a home.  There's a bar on the right side and a music box on the left - would have been nice to have a piano bar, but well, the music was alright. the chairs were done in padded creamy gold and matted orange.

and then there's the food.

we had okoy - which was so-so, tawilis - which was very good, thai spring rolls - ho-hum, i think, crispy catfish - which was rather dry. Muang Thai (behind Heart Center) still holds the record for the best catfish in town for us , Fish balls a la Kieve - which had a very intriguing taste, stuffed chicken - which i didnt like at all and Crispy Pata - which was not as crispy as Ana Lisa's although the flavor was alright.

The score, from 1 - 10, 10 being perfect - it would score an average 6-7.

One thing though. The Groupon AD is NOT accurate about the prices.

Fitflops - a surprise - takes a load off your feet

i am disabled.

generally my pain is expressed  through my right leg, making my feet very choosy about footwear
i happened to find a pair in ebay that my feet might like.

the footwear?  Fitflops.  Supposedly authentic - well the price seems to be authentic

but never mind the price because my feet are happy - and i do try to pamper my feet

so if you are debating footwear and you have some money squirreled away
try fitflops - you will like the feel