Ijo Bakery in Molito, Alabang

I learned about Ijo Bakery a few years ago through a friend who said that this place makes the best croissants in the Philippines (at least from what she's tried). The thing is, it's located in Batangas and I never really get to visit Batangas. Still, as a fan of croissants, it's been in my radar every since. Then recently, I saw a post on social media about Ijo Bakery opening in Molito Lifestyle Center in Alabang. It was now a lot closer but still not close enough to me. That is, until I had a few recent errands that brought me to Alabang a couple of times. Since I was already in the area, I decided to visit the Ijo branch there.

Ijo Bakery in Molito Lifestyle Center, Alabang

The croissants here are pretty big and there's a good variety of them, both sweet and savory. I was almost like a kid in a candy store, wanting to try everything I saw haha.

On my first visit, I decided to order a plain croissant, a chocolate croissant, and a ham and cheese croissant. I mean, of course I had to have the plain croissant, right? I gotta say, it is very good: crunchy and flaky outside and very soft and pillowy inside. Actually, everything I bought was great. I can understand why my friend says that this is the best croissant she's had in the country. I may have to agree with that (or if it's not the best, it's definitely up there). 

Plain croissant, chocolate croissant, and ham and cheese croissant

On my next trip to Ijo, I got to try a few more items. I'm a sucker for ham and cheese croissants so I had to order that again - I love how the square of cheese is is placed on top of the croissant rather than inside, together with the ham. It makes it look interesting. On this trip, I also tried their Garlic Danish and Creme Catalana Danish. Both were delicious. The Garlic Danish in particular was sensational.

Clockwise from top: Ham and cheese croissant, Creme Catalana Danish, Garlic Danish

Now that I've had a few of their croissants and breads, I will say that for me, the hype is real. Everything I had was really good. Also, for the size and the quality, it's fantastic value for money. Their plain croissant is P105, which is cheaper than plain croissants in many other really good bakeries in Metro Manila.

I wish Ijo Bakery was a lot closer to where I live so I could buy croissants from this place more frequently. I would also love to be able to bring a few boxes of their baked goods to my family. Maybe one of these days, I can get up early on a weekend and head out to Alabang just to visit Ijo again.

Ijo Bakery
https://www.instagram.com/ijobakeryph/?hl=en
Molito Lifestyle Center, Madrigal Ave, Alabang, Muntinlupa
Opening hours: 9am to 8pm daily

My Decluttering Journey Part 6

If you've been reading my blog over the last several years, you will know that I've a huge board game fan who plays on average about once or twice a month. So over the last decade, I've amassed quite a collection of board games. Some of them I play regularly. However, many of my games aren't hitting the table anymore. I also have my very own shelf of shame - boardgames that are just sitting on my shelf that have never been played. I have these games that I've barely or never played for a variety of reasons: in some cases, my friends have those games as well so we just end up playing their copies and in some cases, the games are just not that interesting to other people (sometimes myself included). I've held on to these games all this time but I realized recently that maybe I need to start getting rid of some of them. And that's what I did.

I sold my Scythe board game

I prepared a list of my games that I wanted to let go of and shared them to my friends, along with discounted prices. My friends Jovan got the most games: Food Chain Magnate, Steampunk Rally, Tem-Purr-A, and Scythe. Scythe is actually one of my favorite games so one would think that I wouldn't let go of it. However, it isn't a popular game among my board game groups. One group doesn't really like it. In my other group, about half of them - including Jovan - are Scythe fans but the other half are the ones who host our game nights so the game doesn't his the table haha. As such, my Scythe and the two expansions I got have all just been sitting on my shelf gathering dust. (I probably played it three times, the last of which was before the pandemic.) 

A few of my other friends got a few more of my games. Mike got Clank, Ticket to Ride, and my unopened Spot It. I actually like Clank and Ticket to Ride but I do have other friends who have both games and neither of them have hit the table in years so I felt it was time to let them go. Myna got my previously unplayed Tiny Epic Dinosaurs and my Unlock! games that I had already played. The thing about Unlock! is that similar to an escape room, once you've played it once, you can't really play it again because you already know how to make it work. So it was time for me to let them go. Mitch got my Mint Works and Mint Delivery, two pocket-sized games that I probably played only once each.

I also gave a few of my games as gifts to my friends. My friend JP was asking me about Settlers of Catan because he said his kids were interested in that game and I ended up just giving my copy to them because I only played it once and my board game groups don't really seem keen on playing it again. I also gifted my copy of Splendor to my friend Randall for his milestone birthday. I actually love Splendor but because I have Pokémon Splendor now, I reckon I will always play Pokémon Splendor over the original Splendor. Also, a lot of my friends have Splendor so I can easily borrow one if I wanted to play it.

Despite letting go of several board games, my remaining ones still take up a lot of space at home. I've listed down about seven more games that I want to let go of. Hopefully, I can find buyers for these games too.

Offbeat at Ayala Triangle Gardens

It's always awesome when you spend quality time with friends you haven't seen in a while. That's exactly what happened when I met up with my friends Ching and John over dinner at Offbeat Bistro in Ayala Triangle Gardens. I've known Ching since high school and John since college and the fact that we all worked together for years and John and I were in a band together means we have a lot of awesome and memorable shared experiences together. Our friend Pia organized dinner with us and a few other ex-colleagues at Offbeat, which has gained quite a bit of fame recently because it's included in the Michelin Selected list.

Offbeat Bistro in Ayala Triangle Gardens

I gotta say, this was a great choice for our dinner venue. Ching and John live abroad so it made sense for us to have dinner at a restaurant that serves Filipino cuisine. But Offbeat isn't your usual Pinoy restaurant. It serves dishes you don't normally see in other restaurants such as Monghe, which is a classic dish from Rizal that is like a local version of meatloaf and is served with toyomansi cream.

Monghe

A lot of their other Filipino dishes are prepared with a unique twist. For instance, their Fried Chicken Inasal is, well, fried and breaded which isn't exactly traditional but it still tastes great.

Fried Chicken Inasal

Their Okoy also doesn't look like the popular Pinoy street food. Their version is actually a squash okoy with bagoong cream, kangkong stems and leaves, pechay, carrots and spring onions. It looks very appetizing and tastes pretty good too.

Okoy

Instead of steamed fish, Offbeat's Isda con Mayonesa has torched sea bream with patis mayonnaise, grated eggs, and vegetables.

Isda con Mayonesa

I really enjoyed the food we had that night. So when two more of my friends - Aries and Audrey - came to Manila recently and we were planning to have dinner near Greenbelt, more than a couple of us in our circle of friends suggested Offbeat.

I love the wooden spoon and fork decor!

In this second visit, we ordered a few dishes that I had the first time but we also ordered a few more. The big winner that evening was their Lechon de Carajay, which is roast pork belly with mushroom and toyo gastrique and served with papaya-carrot atchara. This dish was exceptionally good. I would absolutely love to have it again.

Lechon de Carajay

While most of the items on Offbeat's menu remains constant, they sometimes make a few temporary changes to feature seasonal dishes. On the night we were there, we ordered a couple of those dishes, including the Taba ng Talangka pansit.

Taba ng Talangka pansit

We also ordered many of their desserts. Their Mamon Tres Leches has mamon soaked in coconut and served with whipped cream, cereal crumble, and interestingly enough, patis caramel.

Mamon Tres Leches

The Cathedral Window Parfait is a unique spin on the more traditional cathedral window cake.

Cathedral Window Parfait

We also enjoyed their Toasted Pastillas ice cream which is served with polvoron, cereal crumbs, and citrus zest.

Toasted Pastillas ice cream

I really do love Offbeat Bistro. It's on the expensive side but the food is fantastic and the service is great. If you're looking for a venue in Makati for a special occasion and want to splurge a bit, this is the place for you.

Ayala Triangle Gardens at night

Offbeat Bistro
https://guide.michelin.com/ph/en/metro-manila/makati-city_2329358/restaurant/offbeat
Address: Second Floor, Ayala Triangle Gardens, Paseo De Roxas, cor Makati Ave, Makati City, Metro Manila
Phone: 0995 639 3672

LAZGOALEX and the Lazada 7.7 Sale

I had been meaning to get a car phone mount for a while now. Actually, I had one before, but after parking my car under the sun and in blazing heat several times over the last year, the adhesive seemed to lose it hold and my car phone mount fell off. As someone who relies quite a bit on Waze when driving, I needed to replace it, especially since the Philippines has an anti-distracted driving law that prohibits drivers from touching or handling their phones while driving. I decided to get my replacement during the Lazada 7.7 sale.

Car phone mount

The 7.7 sale comes with a lot of special discounts with different credit cards and even GCash, but unfortunately, the price of my car dash mount was less than the minimum amount required. However, because of Alex Eala's success at Wimbledon, Lazada started promoting the voucher code LAZGOALEX, which gives customers an extra P50 off for a minimum spend of P299. Now this was a discount that I could use. Cool! I made sure to use this voucher when I purchased my new car dash mount.

I now have my car phone mount. That I got it with a bit of a discount using a code created after Alex Eala makes this purchase even better and more satisfying.

Alex Eala makes waves at Wimbledon

I've been a tennis fan for a really long time now. And for the longest time, there weren't any Filipinos at the top echelon of this sport. That is, until Alex Eala. She achieved a lot of great success earlier this year, beating four top 10 players - Jasmine Paolini, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Elena Svitolina - leading up to this year's Wimbledon. In fact, it was just in the previous tournament - the Berlin Open - that Alex beat both #2 Rybakina and #6 Svitolina back-to-back en route to the semifinals. As if that wasn't enough, she also beat Donna Vekic in the round of 32. While Vekic was not seeded at that tournament, she did win the Olympic silver medal in 2024, the same year she reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, so she was a very strong and skillful player. Eala beating all three players consecutively and in straight sets shows just how far she has come in her young career.

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A post shared by Alexandra Eala (@alex.eala)

Her success in Berlin put her in everyone's radar at the start of Wimbledon and everyone in the Philippines started to dream of what Alex could achieve in the third Grand Slam event of the year. After all, she seems to play well on grass and she has a pretty good record against top 10 players.

And what a Wimbledon it turned out for her. She defeated Renata Zarazúa, Maya Joint, and defending champion and #3 seed Iga Swiatek to reach the fourth round, losing to ex-Wimbledon finalist Jasime Paolini in a hard-fought three-setter. This breakthrough allowed Alex set a handful of tennis Open era records at the All England Club. First, she became the first Filipino seeded at a Grand Slam event. Second, she  became the first Filipino in the Open era to reach the 4th round of a Grand Slam event. (Felicismo Ampon reached the quarterfinals of the French Open twice, in 1952 and 1953, prior to the Open era which started in April 1968.) Third, she also became the first Filipino to defeat a reigning Wimbledon champion. That is just awesome!

While Alex may not have won Wimbledon, this was a truly great result for her. Prior to this, the deepest run she had made a major was the second round. she also moves up to world #28. Awesome! Hopefully, Alex can keep achieving great things and maybe even go higher in the rankings. Whatever the future holds for her, she really has made history for Philippine tennis. 

An 18th Birthday Celebration at Rockstar KTV

Aya, the eldest daughter of one of my dearest friends from high school, just turned 18. In the Philippines, many women celebrate their 18th birthday with a debut, which is often a somewhat formal or semi-formal party where people dress up and the debutante wears a formal or fancy gown. However, Aya decided to celebrate in a different way, by holding a party at Rockstar KTV in Greenhills Mall.

It's actually not surprising that this was how she chose to celebrate, given that she is into performance arts. She has a beautiful voice and that she loves to sing and we have in fact had quite a few karaoke nights together. It was also during this party that I discovered she can also dance. To open the party, she danced to K-Pop music together with a couple of her friends who I believe are members of a street dance crew. Awesome!

The night was obviously filled with a lot of music and singing. But an interesting highlight was the 18 shots segment of the program, in lieu of the more traditional 18 roses. 18 people were asked to do two things. First, all 18 people were asked to say three words to Aya that should encompass what they wish for her. Once everyone done was sharing their three words, all 18 people would take a shot together with her. I say that this was an interesting highlight because I was asked to join the 18 people, I guess as a representative of the old generation haha. My three words to Aya were: Achieve your dreams. And I really hope she does.

Happy 18th birthday Aya!

Nautica Sale

I found myself at Shangri-La Plaza one evening to do some errands when I happened to pass by a Nautica shop. I think it might actually have just opened. Nautica is on the expensive side but it's always been my favorite brand because the clothes fit me quite well, the fabrics are good quality, and I love the style and colors of this brand. As I passed by this shop, I also noticed a sign that said all items were on sale: 20% off for 1 item purchased, 30% for 2 items, and 50% for 3 or more items! Whoa. This just made everything significantly more affordable, especially if you buy three or more items.

I ended up getting three shirts, although the third one, I planned to give as a gift. As I made my purchase, I asked the salespeople there when the sale would end. They told me it would run for a while. So when my nephew told me that he needed new pants because he had gotten bigger from working out and his current pants no longer fit very well, I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to take him to Nautica. I ended up getting my nephew a few pairs of pants. I also got a new pair of jeans for myself. We also got a black Nautica t-shirt for my other nephew although he is very picky when it comes to clothes and he didn't particularly like the shirt we got him. So in the end, that black t-shirt went to me haha.

Family Day at Manila Pen

I had an amazing day with my family at the Peninsula Manila. My Manila Pen membership was about to expire and I still had a couple of vouchers left that I hadn't used. The membership package was also changing, with a higher cost and fewer benefits that are a bit more difficult to make use of and I wasn't sure if I still wanted to renew so I decided to make use of the vouchers I still had.

Peninsula Manila

We started the day by having lunch at Old Manila. I had taken my family here a couple of times before and we had always enjoyed the food, the ambiance, and the service. My voucher provided 50% off here for a three-course meal for 4 people. I unfortunately forgot yet again to take a photo of the menu so I am not sure exactly what we ordered, but I know that we each had two options for an appetizer (I got the crab bisque)...

Crab bisque at Old Manila

...and main course (I got the beef).

Beef main course at Old Manila

We all had the same dessert, which not only tasted great but also looked great. I have to say, the presentation at Old Manila is always topnotch, making our dining experience even more enjoyable.

Our fantastic dessert

Included in our three course meal were a couple of amuse-bouches...

Amuse-bouche to start our meal

Another amuse-bouche

...and some petit fours served after our meal.

Petit fours

After our lunch at Old Manila, my plan was to also make use of my voucher for afternoon tea as well as my remaining P1000 voucher. However, as we were all still full, we first headed head to Landers in BGC because my mom needed to buy some stuff there (there are several items that are available here that aren't readily available in many other places). The good thing about our supermarket run is that we also got to do some walking, helping us burn off some of the food we had just ate. Once we were done, we headed back to Manila Pen for afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea at the Manila Pen Lobby

The afternoon tea is served at The Lobby which tends to be full on weekends. Thankfully, we managed to get a table when we arrived. There were actually four of us who would share that afternoon tea which is traditionally meant for two people which is why it only comes with two beverages - we got coffee - but I've had this set before and I know that 3 to 4 people can actually share it. Since I also still had my P1000 voucher, I also ordered two more coffees and an apple pie cheesecake. This dessert is not that big and it is quite expensive but I gotta say, it is absolutely delicious!

Apple Pie Cheescake at the Manila Pen Lobby

I'm really happy that my family and I got to enjoy lots of fantastic food together at a fantastic location. I'm also very grateful that my family and I continue to have these amazing moments and shared experiences together.

Goodbye, Old Swiss Inn Makati

Old Swiss Inn in Makati has been one of my favorite restaurants in Metro Manila. It's on the pricey side but the food here is really good so I always felt it was good value for money. Before the pandemic, it was open 24/7 so sometimes, I would go there late at night after a very long day of work and reward myself with a great meal before heading home. So when I saw the news that Old Swiss Inn in Makati would be permanently closing on July 1, I made sure I visited one last time.

I went with a couple of my friends and because I was the resident expert, I ordered a couple of my favorite dishes: The Zuri (which used to be called Zurich Geschnetzeltes; I guess they changed the name because it may be a bit intimidating to read and pronounce) and the Peppersteak Swiss Inn, which is a pretty good steak especially for its price point. Of course, this being my final meal here, we also ordered the Walliser Fondue, which has fresh tomatoes and dippers of baby potatoes and assorted vegetables (along with some bread). (The Waatlander Fondue is actually one of their best-sellers but I thought it would be better for us to have baby potatoes that we could dip into the fondue instead of just bread.) We also ordered the Chicken Forrestiere, which I've had before and also enjoyed, so that we would have pork, beef, and chicken. As expected, it was a great meal.

It's quite sad that Old Swiss Inn in Makati will be closing. However, the good news is that they do have a branch in Paco, Manila. Actually, their original branch was in Paco before it closed in the 1980s due to a fire. It's new location will be at the Garden Plaza Hotel and Suites which is close to where it operated decades ago. I do find their Makati location to be a lot more accessible but at least, with the return of Old Swiss Inn to Paco, I will still have the option to enjoy their delicious food in the future.

Visiting an Old Favorite on Father's Day

To celebrate Father's Day, my family and I had lunch at The French Baker. We don't normally go out for Father's Day because of the huge crowds heading out that day, which means restaurants are full and parking is a challenge. But this year, we decided to go out just for a bit of a change-up. I thought that we could eat at The French Baker because it doesn't usually get full, even on weekends. We still arrived early so that we would have a better chance of getting seats. When we got there, we managed to get a table for everyone in my family. Shortly after we got settled, the rest of the tables became occupied so I'm quite happy we arrived when we did.

The French Baker was established in the Philippines in 1989. It's very first location was in SM City North Edsa, which I was very familiar with because my friends and I would sometimes eat there when we would go to the mall. Some of my family had never eaten here before so this lunch was a first for them. Once we were done with our main courses, some of us ordered their delicious pastries for dessert. They also had a Father's Day Promo and since we met the minimum spend requirement for it, my brother got a Chocolate Overload Sundae for free. Cool!

The French Baker was a bit of a staple for me as a student. I didn't have a lot of money back then so whenever I wanted to treat myself during trips to SM City, I would eat here and I would order either their Fetuccine Ala Carbonara or their Chicken Ala King. I love that after 37 years, The French Baker is still around, making delicious food and pastries. And I love that my family and I got to enjoy their food together on Father's Day.

Catch it if you can! at Rift

Recently, I discovered that my cousin is a co-founder of a relatively new art gallery called Rift which is located in Quezon City. They've had a few exhibits already and her mom - my aunt - invited me to visit but I hadn't been able to get around to it. Then even more recently, Yeye Calderon, who is one of the artists I follow and whose art I had purchased in the past, shared on his social media account that a couple of his paintings will be included in an exhibit called Catch it if you can at Rift. When I saw this, I messaged my cousin to ask about it and she said that this show was indeed at her gallery. She invited me to the artist's reception and I thought it would be cool for me to go. Not only would I get to finally support my cousin but I would also get to see and appreciate more art, including those created by Mr. Calderon.

Catch it if you can!

The exhibit showcased a great mix of paintings of different styles and media and sculptures made of different materials. Most of the artists whose works were on display were present that evening and it was really interesting to hear them talk about their art to guests at the exhibit.

Unfortunately, Yeye Calderon could not make it that evening but I did get to see his two paintings on display and they were indeed very beautiful.

Yeye Calderon's paintings on exhibit at Rift

One of the most popular artists there was Yul Servo, an actor who has appeared in many movies and TV shows and who has also been Vice Mayor of Manila. His two pieces were created using automotive paint on stainless steel and brass.

Artworks by Yul Servo

I'm happy I was able to attend this event. It was cool getting to see art pieces from many different artists with very unique and even thought-provoking styles and points of view. It's also great that I finally got to visit my cousin's gallery and show her some support.

 

My Decluttering Journey Part 5

I finally started something that I had been planning to do for years: build scrapbooks of memorabilia that I kept all these years. As a pack-rat and sentimental fool, I've stashed a lot of travel mementos such as entrance tickets to museums and other attractions I've visited, boarding passes, and brochures of tours I took. I also kept lots of tickets to shows I watched, such as concerts, musicals, and ballets. These were all stored in boxes that I never really opened but I never threw them out because I always felt that it would be nice to look at them once in a while and go on a wonderfully nostalgic trip down memory lane. So when I started my decluttering journey this year, I made it my mission to finally start building my scrapbooks.

One of the scrapbooks I got from Amazon looked like the Adventure Book in the Pixar film Up, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. In that film, Carl and Ellie originally wanted to go to Paradise Falls in South America but they never got around to it and Ellie unfortunately passed away before they could. Instead, Carl and Russell end up on a wild adventure in South America when Carl attempts to fly his house to Paradise Falls using balloons and Russell inadvertently joins him. So I thought that it would be nice to fill with this scrapbook with memorabilia from the South America trip I took with my mom in 2018.

My glue tape has indeed proven to be very, very handy. It made me think, maybe the reason why I stalled on scrapbooking all these years is that I was originally thinking of using normal glue which would have been messier and which would have required me to wait for the glue to dry. The glue tape has addressed these problems and made scrapbooking so much easier. Cool!

The big question now is whether I did this right. I actually stuck scraps on both sides of each page. My books don't have any separators between pages to protect the stuff I put on them so I'm thinking now that maybe I should have just stuck my memorabilia on the front of each page. I guess I will find out soon if this move is an acceptable one or if it is a disaster haha. I still have two more scrapbooks at home and lots more stuff to stick on them so at least I can learn from this first one and make any adjustments if needed. I'm also guessing that once I've filled my three books, I will need more.

New Discovery: Glue Tape

One of the things that has been on my to-do list for the longest time was building scrapbooks of the memorabilia, most of which are from past travels. I have a friend who is an expert scrapbooker so I asked her if there was a special adhesive to use for scrapbooks. While she told me that Elmer's Glue would work, I could also use Glue tape, which was a lot easier and handier to use. She told me that this is readily available at National Bookstore so I could buy it there. I had never heard of glue tape but I made my way to National to buy it. And OMG, what an absolute revelation this is!

While I planned to use it for my scrapbooks (I will write about this in more detail in my next post), I first used it for my expense report filing. We are required at work to stick our receipts on sheets of paper for submission and in the past, I would always use Elmer's Glue because I find glue sticks to not be as effective. I really don't enjoy this task because I find it to be messy and I have to spread out all my receipts for several minutes before stacking them to make sure the glue dries fully. However, glue tape has proven to be a perfect tool to use for this. I don't experience the same mess when using Elmer's Glue and I don't need to wait for the glue to dry. I also find glue tape to be way more effective than glue sticks. While in the past, it would take a while for me to attach receipts to sheets of paper, I am now able to do it in a fraction of the time. I can't believe it's taken me all this time to learn about glue tape!

Granted, it is a lot more expensive than Elmer's Glue and glue sticks. That said, at my age, I am willing to spend a bit more if it means I end up having a lot less hassle and stress and I get to avoid spending too much time on tasks that I hate doing. If you haven't discovered glue tape yet, try it. It's really a blessing!

Five Trips to the Movie Theater

The Sheep Detectives

The Sheep Detectives was such an incredible discovery. I remember seeing a poster of it and not knowing anything about it. Its title made me think initially that it was a kids movie. Soon after that, a post popped up on my social media feed about Sheep Detectives being the best whodunnit movie ever. I thought that was such a bold statement but it made me pay a bit more attention. I looked it up and that was when I started seeing all the rave reviews and its very high 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I decided I had to see it. And boy, was I blown away! I totally didn't expect how the story would flow. While on the surface, it seems like a comedic whodunnit film with a sheep twist, for me, it is so much more than that. It is fun, funny, heartwarming, emotional, moving, and one could say even philosophical. I loved it so much that I told as many of my friends as possible to see it, and those who did agreed with this movie being amazing. Some of them even bawled their eyes out. If you have a chance to see it, please do.

Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary was already a huge global box office hit by the time I saw it in the movie theaters so I already knew that people all over the world loved this film. Despite being late to the party, I somehow hadn't been spoiled yet. Now that I've seen it, I agree with the vast majority - it also has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes - that it's an amazing movie and definitely worth watching! SPOILER ALERT: if you haven't seen the movie and don't want to be spoiled, skip the rest of this paragraph. Project Hail Mary does an impeccable job at building a beautiful relationship and a powerful connection between Grace and Rocky. So much so that when Rocky sacrifices himself to save Grace and starts disintegrating as he tries to get Grace to safety, audiences were in tears. When Grace discovers that Rocky was in danger of being unable to get back his home planet of Erid, he sends all his findings back to Earth and foregoes his plans of returning himself in order to look for and save Rocky. The thing is, it felt like everyone watching understood his motivation for this choice. The ending was such a feel-good scene and a perfect way to cap off a fantastic film.

Hoppers

Similar to The Sheep Truth be told, I had no idea what Hoppers was about. In fact, I didn't even know this movie existed. However, the moment I found out that it was a Pixar film, I knew I had to see it. What I realized as I was watching was that this movie, to me, is very inventive! Or well, maybe not that inventive, given it's supposed similarity to Avatar in terms of concept haha. I found it really hilarious that the movie itself calls this out, when the lead character Mabel says "guys, this is like Avatar" and Dr. Sam reacts indignantly saying "this is nothing like Avatar!" haha. Hoppers is really witty, enjoyable and, just like practically all other Pixar films, quite moving and heartwarming. SPOILER ALERT: if you haven't seen the movie and don't want to be spoiled, skip the rest of this paragraph. I loved how the different animal groups have their own kings and queens that convene as an Animal Council. I loved how they activated the Apex predator. And I loved it when King George felt betrayed by Mabel but still eventually sacrifices his kingdom to help her and the humans. There really are so many great things about this movie and I'm glad I got to see it.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

I am such a huge fan of the original Devil Wears Prada, which is an absolute cult classic. So it's not surprising that many people were wary since there was no way it could top the first film, and may end up being quite a disappointment. I understood that sentiment but I still wanted to see how things were in the lives of the lead characters 20 years later. While this second movie did not top the first, it was a really good sequel. The storyline was very relevant and it was very entertaining and interesting to see how the characters have been sort of forced to change with the times while still being the same people they always have been. There were also several nods to the original move I absolutely loved. The Devil Wears Prada 2 has become Meryl Streep's biggest box office hit to date (not adjusted for inflation; if it were, that honor would probably still go to Mamma Mia!) and I'm happy that it did well at the theaters.

Masters of the Universe

I had to see this movie as a fan of He-man and the Masters of the Universe, a popular cartoon from the 1980s. It isn't critically acclaimed for sure but it was a whole lot of fun. It fully embraced being campy and it took audiences along for a wild and entertaining ride. Those of us who watched the animated series in the 80s surely felt very nostalgic, seeing characters like Skeletor, Teela, Man-at-Arms, Evil-Lyn, and Beast  Man on the big screen. The usage of the original theme was also pretty awesome, as was the hint about She-Ra in the end credits. Hopefully, that She-Ra movie gets made. It would be really fun, especially if they combine He-Man and She-Ra in one film.

All Aboard Expo 2026 sa QC

The second All Aboard Expo 2026 sa QC was held this year last May 28-31 at the M.I.C.E. Center in Quezon City Hall. And for the second year in a row, I decided to take a day off to attend the opening day.

Due to last year's success, the event this year was bigger, with even more game designers and people renowned globally in the game board community. I got to meet and have my photo taken with Tom Vasel, Founder and Head Game Guru of The Dice Tower. (I was hoping I could run into Emerson Matsuuchi, the designer of Century Spice Road which I have, but I didn't get to see him.)

The event allowed me to try a few new games including Misfit Heroes,

Misfit Heroes

Sea Divers of Jeju,

Sea Divers of Jeju

and Lion Wake.

Lion Wake

I particularly enjoyed Lion Wake, probably because the people from the company that created that game were there to explain it to us. And party because I absolutely love its aesthetic and even how thematic it is. I think that when my friend Jovan and I played it, the idea was for it to only be a quick demo and that we would end after a few turns but Jovan and I ended up playing the full game. Surprisingly, it didn't take too long to finish. Given how intricate it looked, I thought it would take a lot longer. I have to say, this game was really enjoyable to play. Apparently, it was also a beta test run for the game. The makers said that they try to have this game test-played in its current form so that they can see how the gameplay and all the components work. That way, they can get feedback and enhance it further before launching. It was such a cool experience and I'm happy that not only was I able to try out a new game that I really enjoyed, I also got to participate in its beta testing. Cool!

The event spanned four days, from Thursday to Sunday, but I had plans on all other days so I could only go on its opening day. But even if I got to go on only one day, I still enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to participating again in next year's event.

A Guitar Recital and a Celebration at Incanta Cave Bar and Restaurant

What a proud moment for my family! My nephew CJ performed his junior recital at the UST Conservatory of Music. This was such an important moment that I did not want to miss so I took a day off at work to attend. And I'm extremely glad that I did because it was an incredible experience on so many levels.

The junior recital was held at Recital Hall 1 in Albertus Magnus Building. CJ played five pieces, although the first one consisted of two movements and last one was a full suite composed of four movements. This was his repertoire:

1. Sonata No. 2, Op. 29 1st and 2nd movements by Anton Diabelli (1781-1858)
2. A Fancy (P6) by John Dowland (1563-1626)
3. Fantasia, on Themes from La Traviata by Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909)
4. BWV 997, Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
5. Koyunbaba, Op. 19 by Carlo Domeniconi - Moderato, Cantabile, Mosso, and Presto

A piano from Germany in Recital Hall 1

It was such an incredible set of music that was played so beautifully. I have seen and heard CJ play solo before but that was many years ago, when he at the onset of his music journey. More recently, I had only seen and heard him play as part of the Sibol Guitar Octet. So I was truly impressed and amazed at how much growth CJ has shown over the years and how much better he  has become at his craft. This being a junior recital meant that each piece had a relatively high degree of difficulty. As if that wasn't challenging enough, CJ performed everything without any sheet music. Wow!

My absolute favorite was his last piece, Koyunbaba by Italian composer Carlo Domenico. I have since discovered that Carlo Domenico is a contemporary classical musician whose compositions are influenced by music from many countries and cultures. Koyunbaba, as CJ explained, blends music from the East - specifically Turkey - and the West. I can understand why my nephew selected this suite to be his finale. Not only is it magical to listen to, it is very difficult play. This piece requires the guitar to be tuned in a unique way. In this interview of Carlo Domenico (as a modern classical guitarist, he's still alive), he explains that while the normal tuning works for the old harmonic system, it doesn't work as well for different tonal systems so he changes the tuning in many of his pieces to achieve a different sound. He even goes on to say that to meet the demands of his musical creations, "it is the player who has to change!" Apart from this, Koyunbaba requires the musician to perform various guitar techniques such as arpeggios, rasgueados, and slurs, and it requires a lot of stamina to perform. I don't know a lot of guitar tuning nor techniques but when you hear this piece, you just know it's absolutely special. This four-movement suite is entrancing and hypnotic, taking its listeners on a magnificent musical journey. And to see and hear CJ play it so expertly, expressively, and sublimely was so mesmerizing and awe-inspiring. I was - and still am! - really so impressed and mindblown that my nephew is able o play a piece such as this. And everything else on his repertoire that afternoon.

To celebrate this significant milestone in CJ's conservatory life, my family had an early dinner at Incanta Cave Bar and Restaurant. None of us had eaten there before but I had seen photos of it before and it looks really interesting and very photogenic.

Since we arrived there in the late afternoon and not during the busy lunch or dinner hours, we were able to get a table even without a reservation. It is called a cave bar for a reason as it is designed both inside and outside to resemble a cave, with the walls looking like they are made of rock. It is definitely great for photo ops, and I took a lot of pictures.

Incanta serves Japanese food, which we love. We ordered a lot of food, such as Samurai Roll, which is a roll with torched eel, crispy potato, and truffle kabayaki. I naturally had to order this because my nephews both really love eel and they kept ordering eel every chance we got when we were in Japan a few years ago.

Samurai Roll

I also ordered the Matcha Mille Crepe, which is a match crepe cake with matcha buttercream and served with mango compote.

Matcha Mille Crepe

It really was a superb day that started with fantastic music performed so deftly and confidently by my nephew for his junior recital and ended with a great meal at a really interesting place that we all got to experience for the first time together. I'm so proud of CJ and his talent, skill, discipline, and dedication. He told me before his recital that I should just listen and enjoy and not bother taking videos because it was going to be recorded. I now just need to get a copy of the videos so that I can rewatch CJ's performance.

Congratulations, CJ!