The Art of Manuel Baldemor

I am now a proud owner of two paintings from renowned Filipino artist Manuel Baldemor.

My newly acquired Manuel Baldemor paintings

This journey - and my interest in Baldemor's art - started a few years ago. For some reason, lots of social media art gallery accounts kept popping up as sponsored ads in my feed. (I guess this is because I would often click on these accounts whenever they showcased a painting that I liked haha.) From one of these gallery accounts, I saw a painting that really appealed to my personal taste. At that point, I had no plans of acquiring art but the piece I saw made me interested enough to ask about it. It was already sold but it was then that I learned about Manuel Baldemor, a master artist who was already very well-known. I searched for some of his other artworks and I realized that I really love his style.

Some of Baldemor's very colorful art works

Over the last couple of years, more Baldemor pieces kept popping up in my feed and on a few more occasions, I asked the account about pieces that caught my eye, only to be told they were no longer available. I was now becoming quite familiar with his style to the point were I could tell if a painting was his even without checking the signature or the details of the art work.

Now back in late May, I was in SM Megamall one evening and I passed by the Art Center on the 4th floor. There was an exhibit and from outside the Art Center, I could see that the paintings featured a style that looked incredibly familiar. I immediately thought "is this an Baldemor exhibit?" and apparently, it was! I proceeded to go in.

Baldemor's "Chateau" exhibit at the SM Megamall Art Center

Baldemor is known for using bright, vibrant colors in his paintings. Which made the section on Castle Archives: Paired Passages stand out a bit in the exhibit. This  section showcased several smaller paintings that were practically monochromatic, with shades of brown and yellow. The gallery consultant talked to me about these paintings, and while I said they looked beautiful, they might be outside my pay grade. He told me that while the exhibit was ongoing, I could get a 23% discount if I purchase two of them. They would still by quite expensive but I thought I might not have another opportunity to purchase Baldemor pieces that I really liked and that I could somewhat afford. Still, I had never purchased paintings before so I decided to think about it.

Baldemor's Castle Archives: Paired Passages collection

As the end of the exhibit got closer, I finally decided that I would like to purchase a pair. While several paintings had already been sold, two of the pieces I really liked were still available. I messaged the gallery consultant to make my reservation and I made my way back to Megamall the next day - the last day of the exhibit - to initiate the payment process and lock in my purchase.

The gallery consultant told me that he could have Mr. Baldemor write dedications at the back of the paintings and asked me if I would like that. That was a no-brainer; of course I did! The paintings were delivered to me at home after the dedications had been written. It took even more time for me to finally have them installed. The gallery could have installed them upon delivery but I felt like I wanted more time to figure out where exactly to hang them e.g. how high up on the wall and how far apart from each other they should be. As such, I put them up myself.

It was only once the pieces were on my wall that I realized how much I actually really love them. I mean, they already looked beautiful in the exhibit but I started appreciating them a whole lot more once they were on my wall. They are quite expensive but they were created by a renowned master artist. More importantly, they make me very happy each time I look at them. Thankfully, I haven't experienced any buyer's remorse. If anything, I feel very lucky that I was able to get works from Manuel Baldemor.

Krispy Kreme Pokemon Donuts

What an awesome collab: Krispy Kreme and Pokemon!

Krispy Kreme Pokemon donuts

I had been seeing ads for Krispy Kreme Pokemon donuts so I decided to get a dozen donuts for me and my family once this promo started. Aside from the donuts having these cool Pokemon designs, it also featured flavors that Krispy Kreme doesn't normally have:

• Bulbasaur Juicy Apple Cinnamon
• Charmander Choco Orange Flame
• Pikachu Electric Lemon
• Meowth Choco Toffee Crunch
• Jigglypuff Berry Cotton Candy Swirl
• Squirtle Blueberry Blast

All six flavors in the half-dozen box

I actually really liked these special flavors, though I have to say that the Bulbasaur Juicy Apple Cinnamon and the Squirtle Blueberry Blast were my favorites. I kinda wish that Krispy Kreme would actually feature these flavors as normal donuts because I really like them.

I also love the box that the donuts came in.

The Pokemon donuts come in a cool box

As a bonus, customers who buy a half dozen donuts get a free Pokemon trading card.

Free Pokemon trading cards

I loved these donuts so much that before the promo ended, I bought another dozen for my family. They are on the expensive side at P75 per donut or P450 per half dozen but they do taste really good and they are so much fun to eat. I hope Krispy Kreme brings this Pokemon promo back in the future!

80th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle For Manila

I chanced upon this incredible display at Greenhills Mall. It's a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle For Manila that happened towards the end of World War II, from February 3 to March 3, 1945. It was actually one of the most destructive battles in WWII, resulting in a death toll of 100,000 Filipino civilians (though some say it was even higher). As described in the exhibit description, it showcases photos taken by "the US Army Signal Corps, American and Filipino journalists, and amateur photographers who were there at the time or shortly thereafter."

80th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle For Manila

As I looked through the photos, I could see why Manila was one of the most devastated capital cities during WWII. The damage was massive.

Photos that show the destruction of Manila

Schools such as UST... 

UST

...and St. Scholastica's College were left in ruins.

St. Scholastica's College

While San Agustin Church in Intramuros remained standing despite some heavy damage,

San Agustin Church with a massive hole caused by a shell

the same couldn't be said for Manila Cathedral, which was left with only its facade and an adjacent wall while everything else was decimated.

Manila Cathedral

There are many more photos, along with captions and write-ups that share the story behind the photos and give us a better understanding of the gruesome history of the Battle for Manila. If you happen to visit Greenhills Mall, you may want to spend some time looking at the display and learning a bit more about our history.

Exhibit on the ground floor of Greenhills Mall

You can find this exhibit of the 80th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle For Manila on the ground floor of Greenhills Mall, on a wall right next to Pancake House and near the South Wing Atrium. It is organized by The Ortigas Foundation Library. 

Restos in the Metro

Over the last few months, I got to try a few restaurants for the first time and revisit a few other ones. Let's start with Hoshino, which has been in my radar for two reasons. First, an ad came up in my social media that was marketing the many different pasta options from restaurants in Opus Mall and one of them was a pasta dish from Hoshino that looked interesting. Second, one my most recent trip to Opus Mall, I saw that Hoshino served souffle pancakes. As such, when I was organizing a reunion lunch recently, I suggested Hoshino and we all agreed to meet up here. I am not particularly sure if the pasta dish that popped up in my feed was the Sukiyaki Spaghetti but when I saw this dish on the menu, as a fan of sukiyaki, I had to have it. Thankfully, it turned out to be really good. 

Sukiyaki Spaghetti from Hoshino

I did say that one of the reasons I wanted to eat at Hoshino was that they had souffle pancakes so I guess it was natural to assume that I would order this dessert. However, I saw that they had actual souffles, a rarity in Philippine restos (or at least those that I get to visit). So in the end, I ordered a souffle. This was really good too! I need to visit Hoshino again to try more of their dishes.

Vanilla Souffle with Chocolate Sauce from Hoshino

I also got to try Las Flores for the first time recently. Las Flores has been around for a while but I never got around to trying it. That is, until I met up with a friend for dinner in Podium. We ordered the Para Dos Combos which includes a Grande Paella Negra,

Paella Negra from Las Flores

Grilled scallops, 

Grilled Scallops from Las Flores

and Croquetas de Chorizo.

Croquetas de Chorizo from Las Flores

The food was superb and what made our dinner even better was the fact that it is part of the Bistro group and I have a BFF card so we got 20% off. Cool!

I also recently had dinner at Bird Boss in Podium. I was doing some errands and while I was on the 5th floor, I saw this restaurant and looked at the menu. I immediately got drawn to this burger called Mother Clucker, which has their signature chicken with mac n' cheese, bacon bits, and cheese sauce served in a brioche bun. That, for me, is an awesome combo. As if that wasn't enough carbs and cheese, I just had to have their Cheese N' Bacon Fries. Whew! Not the healthiest but quite satisfying haha.

Mother Clucker Burger and Cheese N' Bacon Fries from Bird Boss

I think the last time I went to Dampa was maybe about 15 years ago. So when some of my friends said that they wanted to have dinner at Huey Ying Restaurant in Dampa, I very readily agreed to join them. One of my friends said he had tried that place and for him, it's the best one on Dampa. We picked fish, prawns, and squid from the market outside and brought them to Huey Ying, giving our service staff instructions on how we wanted the food prepared. All our dishes were absolutely delicious and I'm happy I got to visit Dampa again.

Seafood feast at Huey Ying in Dampa

If it took me about 15 years to revisit Dampa, it's taken me even longer to enjoy a meal at Rodic's again. As a UP alumnus, Rodic's was part of my collegiate life and while I did get to enjoy their tapsilog a few times after I graduated, I haven't had it in ages. At least until a month ago. When I found myself looking for a place where I could have brunch while driving along Katipunan, I saw Rodic's and thought it would be the perfect place to fill my hungry stomach. Their tapsilog is unique because the tapa is served as flakes rather than as chunks of meat, making it easier to eat while not losing out on flavor. I'm glad I got to enjoy it again after all this time.

Tapsilog from Rodic's

I last ate as Supersam earlier this year but in all my previous visits, I always only had their croissants and coffee. When I found myself at Greenhills Mall again, I decided to have dinner here and try something else. I wanted to try their corned beef roesti but it wasn't available so I instead ordered their Bagnet Laing. As a laing lover and a bagnet lover, I have to give this dish two thumbs up. The bagnet was very crunchy and flavorful and the laing was delectable. What a perfect combination!

Bagnet Laing from Supersam

I wanted to have dessert so despite having a full dinner already, I also ordered their Super Turon with Ice Cream. Nothing too fancy about this dish, but the turon was yummy, the ice cream complemented the turon well, and I loved the presentation. 

Super Turon with Ice Cream from Supersam

I will throw in this special mention, even if I actually ate here last Christmas. I was in Glorietta one day, doing my Christmas gift scoping to look for possible presents. I was getting hungry when I passed by Tenya. I had never eaten at Tenya before but I saw a sign that was marketing their special menu: A Sparkling Christmas Snowflake Teishoku.

Special meal at Tenya

The dish included Pacific white shrimp tempura, enoki mushroom, kani, and green beans tempura, pan-seared ribeye steak, potato salad, miso soup, and rice. All for P475. It was such great value for money so I went right in and ordered it. I love beef, tempura, enoki mushrooms, and miso soup and to get all that in one meal was perfect.

A Sparkling Christmas Snowflake Teishoku at Tenya

The fact that a portion of the proceeds of all sales of this dish would be donated to the KalyEskwela Program of Childhope Philippines Foundation just made me enjoy my Sparkling Christmas Snowflake Teishoku at Tenya even more. 

Ortigas Art Festival 2025 at Greenhills Mall

I have officially entered the art phase of my life. I will write more about this later but this new stage includes me actually noticing and appreciating art displayed on walls of buildings, restaurants, and even other people's houses. I also tend to check out art exhibits when I pass by one. My interest in art has resulted in more art popping up in my social media feed. So when I saw some ads about the 8th Ortigas Art Festival at Greenills Mall, I decided to pay it a visit.

Ortigas Art Festival at Greenhills Mall

The festival runs from July 10 to 24 and it actually includes many different types of art: film, dance and music, fashion design, photography, and visual arts. I didn't get to see any of the performance arts but I did get to see the exhibits of visual arts and photography at Greenhills Mall.

Exhibit at the South Wing Atrium

Two different areas in the mall had art exhibits that featured visual arts and photography. In the exhibit at the East Wing Atrium, I got to see artworks from groups such as the Angono Art Collective and the Pasig Art Club. One of the paintings that I really loved was this piece called Armour of God by Manuel "Weng" Unidad.

Armour of  God by Manuel "Weng" Unidad

I also liked this watercolor painting created by Jun Montifar.

Bangka sa Tawiran by Jun Montifar

There were beautiful photographs were taken by Jeff Dytuco in Italy.

Photos of Italy taken by Jeff Dytuco

The other exhibit at the South Wing Atrium had lots of photographs of different sizes on display, including this beautiful shot taken by Ben Gutierrez and entitled "Serene Glow."

"Serene Glow" taken by Ben Gutierrez

This section also showcased art from many different galleries. This lively and vibrant piece from Fatima Baquiran is part of the Art Point Gallery display...

Painting by Fatima Baquiran carried by Art Point Gallery

...while this beautiful painting by Elmer Invento was part of the Jean & Jaz Gallerie display. 

"Sa Lilim ng Puno" by Elmer Invento carried by Jean & Jaz Gallerie

It was quite enriching to see such beautiful and interesting art pieces on display right smack in the middle of a busy mall. It also seems like the Ortigas Art Festival happens every year so I should check it out again next year.

Exhibit at the East Wing Atrium

Ortigas Art Festival
https://www.facebook.com/ortigasartfestival/

Jessica Sanchez Performs Beautiful Things on America's Got Talent

Jessica Sanchez is back in the mainstream, thanks to America's Got Talent where she got a Golden Buzzer for her incredible performance of Beautiful Things. Check it out in this video:

video uploaded in YouTube by America's Got Talent

I have been a fan of Jessica Sanchez since she joined American Idol season 11. There is something about her voice and her style that I absolutely love. I don't know if its her tone, her dynamics, her power (including her growls), or maybe all of that together and more but I just really love watching and listening to her perform. This AGT audition of hers just ticked all the boxes for me. I love how the song suits her voice and range perfectly, I love the fantastic runs she added to make it her own, I love the arrangement, and I love how emotional, soulful, and spiritual it was. I have listened to her audition a whole lot since I first heard it and I'm pretty sure I will continue to do so in the coming days (or even weeks?).

I don't know if Jessica will win AGT or if she will even have a big musical career after this. If not, based on what she said during the audition, she does seem to be in a very good place in her life. Good luck Jessica and I wish you all the best!

Reunions and Celebrations

This year continues to be filled with special reunions and celebrations. A few months ago, my college friend Mai came home to Manila and we got to meet up with her. Given where most people were coming from, Makati seemed liked the easiest place to meet so we agreed to have dinner at Grace Park in Rockwell. Our same college group actually had dinner at Grace Park last year when our other friends came home but one of us here in Manila missed that dinner and she said she hadn't eaten at Grace Park yet. And since Mai had also not been there before, we agreed to have dinner here. Mai went on safari to Tanzania shortly after I went to Kenya so we exchanged stories about our wonderful experiences. Another one of our college friends whom we hadn't hung out with in years also got to join us briefly. It really was a lovely evening filled with great conversation and spent with wonderful people whom I've known since college.

Roasted Bone Marrow from Grace Park

I also had another reunion more recently, with people I've known longer and with someone I hadn't seen in an even longer time. I actually can't recall the last time I saw my cousin Jessyca but she came to visit the Philippines recently and naturally, we had a family reunion while she was here. Tito Erwin and Tita Maritie hosted us at their home one Sunday night and my family and some of our cousins were able to make it. It was great catching up with Jessyca and learning how she's been and what she's doing now (she has a really cool and interesting job). While Tita Maritie prepared most of the food, including two kinds of paella that she cooked herself, I did order chicken pastel from CCME that I had delivered to their house. I don't know when Jessyca will visit the Philippines next but hopefully it isn't too long.

Paella and chicken pastel from our family dinner

Finally, I had dinner with my ex-teammates to celebrate my friend Irish's birthday. Our friend Michelle said that a lot of restaurants in Podium had credit card promos so we looked up the ones that did and finally agreed on Greyhound Cafe. We ended up ordering a few dishes, including Tom Yum Super Bowl (their version of one of my all-time favorite soups) and Pad Thai. I love the food here although it is a bit expensive, but with the 50% off promo with UnionBank credit cards, our dinner became a lot more affordable. Cool! (Thank you Irish for your birthday treat!)

Tom Yum Super Bowl and Pad Thai from Greyhound Cafe

I would like to end this blog post by going back to our family reunion and sharing a very special moment with Jessyca. At one point in the evening, she told me that I was very kind to her when we were kids. It was such an amazing thing to hear from such an incredible person, and even now, her words have continued to move me. Thank you, my dear cousin Jessyca!

Gourdo's Sale and My New Beddings

They say you're adulting when you enjoy buying stuff for your home haha. That's what I did and how I felt recently when I purchased a couple of sets of beddings at Gourdo's during their sale.

Duvet set: duvet cover and two pillowcases

Actually, I didn't really need these. What I really needed was a new duvet because the one I have seems to be in bad shape as its contents - down, I think - are starting to come out already. I felt that I needed to get a new one. So when I passed by Gourdo's at Podium Mall one day and saw that they were on sale, I decided to go in and look for a duvet.

They did have duvets but none of them were on sale. That said, I did find a set that included a duvet cover and two pillow cases that had a 50% discount. Cool. I then also saw another set that included a fitted shit, a flat sheet, and two pillow cases that was also at 50% off. Cool. It took me a while to decide if I wanted to get both of these sets (since I technically didn't need them) and which colors to get. I ended up going with a blue duvet cover and gray sheets since I thought that color combo could work. I also didn't have any beddings with those colors yet. Now I do haha.

Sheet set: fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases

After all these purchases, what I do need now is a duvet haha. Maybe I will just get the one at Gourdo's, even if isn't on sale.

Reboot, Rebirth, Remake, and a possible (W)Rap-up

Over the last couple of months, I managed to see a few blockbusters at the cinema.

Jurassic World: Rebirth

I've always loved dinosaurs so I have watched almost all the Jurassic films multiple times (I still haven't seen Jurassic World Dominion). As such, it was a no-brainer for me to go see Jurassic World: Rebirth. This was pretty much a quest movie set in an island filled with extremely dangerous dinosaurs, including a couple of mutant ones. A few scenes in this film paid homage to the very first film Jurassic Park which was kinda cool. SPOILER ALERT: the film closes with scenes involving the mutant dinosaurs but I will say that I'm not the biggest fan of the Distortus Rex. As such, its threat on the protagonists during the climax didn't feel as thrilling. Still, I did find this movie enjoyable.

Superman

This film franchise has been rebooted quite a few times. I'm probably one of only a few people who liked every incarnation of it that was released before, from the Christopher Reeve films to Brandon Routh's Superman Returns to the more recent movies of Henry Cavill. Now that I've seen this latest film starring David Corenswet, I will say that I enjoyed it too. It was fun and light and I found myself getting emotionally invested in Superman and his journey. I liked seeing his allies fight with him, and I am guessing they may very well turn into the Justice League later on. That said, I did feel that Superman was a bit too "beatable" in this film, but I guess it is understandable given the powers of his enemies. Gotta give a shout-out to Nicholas Hoult for an exceptional performance as Lex Luthor.

How to Train Your Dragon

This was a (partially) live-action remake of the animated film that came out in 2010. I say partially because, well, the dragons in this movie are obviously not live haha. The original film is one of my favorite animated movies of all time so I really wanted to see this movie and thankfully, I caught it while it was still showing at the cinemas. What I like about good live action films is that it is nice to see a lot more expression on the faces of the actors, making me feel more connected to them. This is a very good remake and I'm glad it did well at the box office.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

It's funny that I am writing about this film last because it is actually the first one I got to see this year. It's an awesome, thrilling, heartstopping rollercoaster of a movie that is really fun and entertaining to watch. Similar to some of the more recent films in this franchise, the interesting thing is that you know that what's happening is impossible but you don't really care haha. For instance, they only had about 20 minutes left to accomplish their mission but there is no way all of what we saw on screen could actually happen in just 20 minutes. I guess that's why it's called Mission: Impossible haha so I just easily apply suspension of disbelief and enjoy it fully haha. Unlike past movies from this franchise, this latest one involves a lot of flashbacks and even callbacks to characters - one in particular - that we had seen in the past. It made me think, is this really the last one that we will see, at least with the current cast? I did a search online and there is no clear confirmation. If this is indeed the last one, then the franchise ended with a massive bang.

Trellis Night!

Trellis has been around for decades and was the venue of many dinner and drinking sessions back in my younger years. Recently, it found its way into the global spotlight after being featured on Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. So when my college friend Kermin celebrated a milestone birthday, it was a bit of a no-brainer for her to pick Trellis as the venue.

Trellis

Our dinner was scheduled on a weeknight because Kermin and her family were going on a trip immediately after. The challenge was that because of the Netflix feature, crowds have started surging back to Trellis in droves, making it difficult to secure a table and parking. In fact, they no longer accept reservations (they still honor reservations made earlier, before they adopted this recent no-reservation rule). Thankfully, a couple of us were able to arrive early that evening, ensuring that our relatively large group that included Kermin's family and friends could be accommodated.

Naturally, we had to have sisig. Lots of it.

The famous Trellis sisig

Another one of our favorites back in college was the Lechon Kawali served with kangkong in oyster sauce.

Lechon Kawali served with kangkong in oyster sauce

We also ordered several other dishes, including Mango K.B.S. (Kamatis, bagoong, & sibuyas), Pinakbet, and Chicharooms (or crispy mushrooms). It's amazing that the quality of the food has remained consistent over the decades, because everything we ordered tasted like how they did back in college. Awesome!

Vegetable and mushroom dishes

Another highlight for me that evening was that we were served by Kuya Jessie. He told us that he has been with Trellis for 35 years already. That's incredible loyalty! As such, it isn't surprising that we get to see him serve sisig to Phil and Erwan on on Somebody Feed Phil. Of course, I had to have my photo taken with him. He was wonderfully kind and genuine and his service to us that evening, which included helping us put up "Happy birthday" signs in our area of the restaurant, was topnotch.

Photo op with Kuya Jessie, who served sisig to Phil and Erwan in Somebody Feed Phil

Once everyone had eaten their fill of sisig and lechon kawali, we brought out a cake and sang Happy Birthday to Kermin. (Trellis doesn't have cake on their menu but they allowed us to bring our own.)

Happy birthday cake

It was a fun and beautifully nostalgic night, where I got to spend quality time with my friends as we celebrated the milestone birthday of one of us over great food that brought back so many memories of college and our younger years. And after all this time, Trellis still has arguably Metro Manila's best and most iconic sisig dish.

Trellis
https://www.facebook.com/p/Trellis-Restaurant-100064085225668/
https://www.instagram.com/trellis1980
40 Matalino St cor Kalayaan Ave., Brgy. Central, Quezon City, Philippines
(02)89241057