Throwback: Belgium

(While going through my old blog posts, I realized that some of the most interesting things I've written about are my travel experiences. There are a few places I got to visit before I launched this blog back in 2005 and I thought it would be good if I write about those trips as well.)

Belgium was the second country I visited outside the Philippines. When I started work at my second company, I was told that I needed to fly to Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Talk about a pleasant surprise! A few weeks later and I was in Europe for the first time in my life.

The Museum of the City of Brussels at the Grand Place

I had always wanted to visit Europe and walking through the cobblestone streets while braving the winter cold (it was mid-March so spring hadn't arrived yet) was a truly amazing experience.

At the Grand Place

This trip could very well have started out as a major embarrassment for me. I remember looking at my itinerary and thinking my flight was at 10:40pm. I arrived at the airport at around 8:20pm and there was no line at the check-in counter. Strange! I tell the person at the counter that I am checking into the 10:40pm flight and I was told there was no such flight. There was, however, an 8:40pm flight. I panic a bit and look at my ticket. Damn! It said 2040H, meaning 8:40pm! How on earth could I have read that incorrectly as 10:40pm? Given the situation, I was checked in very quickly and someone from the airline helped me through immigration and customs (I was prioritized). Thankfully, our flight was also delayed so I made it. Major embarrassment averted!

The best place to visit in Brussels, in my opinion, is Grote Markt, or the Grand Place. It is a large square in the center of the city that is surrounded by magnificent European architecture. It's actually a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Horse-drawn carriage passing through the Grand Place

Fortunately for me, my hotel was only a short walking distance from the Grand Place so I visited this square almost every night as well as on the Saturday before I left (there are a lot of chocolate stores, souvenir shops, and restaurants around this area). I have gotten to see quite a few European city squares over the years and I do think the Grand Place is definitely one of the best city squares I've seen.

The Brussels Town Hall. I took this photo a few years later, during my

3-month assignment in Belgium, using my first digital camera.

Just a few blocks away from the Grand Place is another famous tourist spot in the city: the Manneken Pis. This landmark is a two-foot-tall bronze statue of a little boy pissing water into the fountain below. There are several legends about this statue but the one I am most familiar with is that the Manneken Pis was built after a young boy who saved the city by peeing onto the burning fuse of explosives, thus preventing Brussels from being blown up.

The Manneken Pis dressed in costume

The Manneken Pis is often dressed in costume, as it was the first time I saw it. But as I had the opportunity to visit Brussels a few more times and even live there for a few months, I also saw the statue in its original bare state too.

Manneken Pis, unadorned

In my first trip to Brussels, my flight back to Manila was on Saturday evening so I decided to take a train ride from Brussels to Antwerp. I didn't really get to see much of the city that is known as the diamond capital of the world. I only got to see Antwerp's Grote Markt or Market Square, where I had my photo taken with a couple of the amazing buildings there, including the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, or Cathedral of our Lady,

The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal, or Cathedral of our Lady, at the Antwerp Grote Markt

and the Antwerp City Hall.

Antwerp City Hall

In November of that same year, I had my second business trip to Belgium. Interestingly enough, it was scheduled in winter once again, and this time I saw snow for the first time. The purpose of this trip was to attend the first (and as it turned out, only) meeting of all employees working in that same global team I was. People from many different countries were there, including the US, Venezuela, Thailand, and even other parts of Europe.

My colleagues from Belgium, US, Thailand, and Venezuela

While having dinner with my global teammates one night, I had a realization as everyone was laughing at a joke that someone cracked: as different as we all were culturally, we were all also still the same. Everyone was interested in listening to each other's stories and experiences, we all enjoyed the same food, and we got excited about the same things (my Venezuelan counterpart was just as excited about his first snow experience as I was). It was also over this particular dinner that I discovered that I have a taste for green olives as I actually consumed a bowlful of them all by myself.

Other food-and-drink experiences: I discovered Leonidas chocolates. When they were eventually released in the Philippines, they naturally cost a lot more here (about 3-4 times more). I was always the most popular guy whenever I returned from Brussels with boxes of these Belgian chocolates for my friends and colleagues to enjoy. :) I also got to try many different beers such as Leffe and Chimay. I was told by my colleague that different beers have different glasses because apparently, the shape of the beer glass directly impacts the taste and aroma of the beer that is poured into it. I also learned that French fries may have actually originated from Belgium. I also got to try Moules et frites, or mussels and fries, the national dish of Belgium.

I did mention that I had an opportunity to live in Belgium for three months so I will write about that next.

Family day

My brother turned a year older recently so of course my family headed out to celebrate. The day started with my other brother and my mom taking my nephews to their school family day. Their event ended shortly after 12 noon so we, including my grandmother, all had lunch at Pinac Heirloom Kapampangan Cuisine in UP Town Center. I had eaten there before but this was my family's first visit. We ordered a lot of dishes, including the Baby Back Braised Beef Humba, Beef Caldereta Eggplant Pargmigiano, Tortang Balasenas, and Ensaladang Pako with Fried Itik Floss, and everything was tremendously good! The dishes here are also very affordable as most of the menu items are in the P150-300 range. I will certainly be visiting this place again.

Since my grandmother had already gone to the cemetery earlier in the day (i.e. I didn't need to take her anymore), I asked her if she wanted to watch a movie instead. She said she wanted to see Crazy Beautiful You starring Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo. I was going to take her to see it but my brother volunteered to watch the film with her instead. So while they were at the cinema, I went shopping LOL. I now have a new sports shirt (been meaning to get one for a while now) and a Big Hero 6 DVD which I have already watched. :)

To make it an official birthday celebration, I brought home an 8-inch Red Velvet Cake from Karen's Kitchen for my family and the smaller, 3-inch solo version for my grandmother. I only discovered this dessert place recently and I love their red velvet cake! When my family tried it, they really enjoyed it too. I got home quite late in the evening and I was really tired after driving around the city all day but it was all worth it as I had an absolutely fantastic and blissful time with my family.

Japanese Precision Walking

I saw this video a while back and I was really impressed. The most incredible part however happens quite early, at around 1:47 to 2:15. That segment just blows my mind!


video uploaded in youtube by YoshikawaTakeshi

Apparently, this precision walking is called Shuudan Koudou (which means 'Collection Action'). Read more about Shuudan Koudou here.

Rafa wins in Argentina

Congratulations to Rafa Nadal for winning the Argentina Open! This tournament was a minor one but it is an important win nonetheless. Not only is this Nadal's first title of the year but it is also his first in nearly nine months. His last win before this? The French Open in June last year.

photo courtesy of AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano (source: http://espn.go.com/tennis)

This is Rafa's 65th title, allowing him to move past Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg to take solo fifth spot in the all-time men's list of most Open Era titles won. Hopefully, this gives Nadal the confidence he needs to regain his top form and maybe even win another trophy at Roland Garros.

A handful of reunions

I had a pretty good week last week as I got to meet up with a few sets of friends over the course of a few days.

Reunion #1
I met up with some of my college friends during the week while Nem and his family were in town. Actually, I almost didn't make it since I had several issues at work. However, since I was unable to join the 1st birthday celebration of Nem's daughter a few days before, I felt I needed to meet up with them that night while Nem was still here. Dinner was supposed to be at 7PM in SM North Edsa so I decided to schedule my meetings that day in our QC office so that it would be relatively easy for me to join them. As it turned out, I only made it to SM North by 9pm so I just got to join my friends for ice cream and coffee at the Magnolia Flavor House at the SM North Sky Garden. The last time I recall visiting SM North was maybe around 10 years ago so it was my first time back in ages. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay too long because I had another important meeting at 10:30pm so I said goodbye to everyone. Not the best t

Reunion #2
I had dinner in Balboa in Shangri-La Mall with a few of my Yaminoy friends last Saturday: Eliza, Marie, Beck and Meg. It's amazing how we all initially became friends because we were crazy fans of AI 5 contestant Elliott Yamin but our friendship has grown over the years. We had dinner at Balboa and we talked about a whole lot of stuff; after all, we hadn't seen each other in a while. In fact, I think the last time I saw Beck was during the concert of The Killers back in September 2013. We left Balboa at around 9:30 pm because I wanted to pass by Happy Cream Puff before the mall closed. I tried this place once and I really like their cream puffs so I bought one for myself and almost everyone else got at least one either for themselves or their families. (Eliza ate hers almost immediately and said that it was indeed really good.) At that point, there were a lot more stories to share so we moved to Poetry & Prose Patisserie (it was my first time there) where we had coffee and dessert until the shop closed at midnight.

Reunion #3
As if my Saturday night wasn't long enough, I headed to the surprise birthday party of Jam, who was part of the first team that I led. When I arrived at around half past midnight, the gang, including Jeoff, Case, Migs, and of course Jam and her husband, were just about to start playing Avalon so I joined in. This game is actually just a variant of Resistance which I had played before. The key difference is the addition of two roles: Merlin and the Assassin. Cool! We played four rounds and I actually won three times, once as a spy and twice as the resistance. Afterwards, we played One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I feel that this game involves some strategy and a lot of luck; I was a bit annoyed when I was supposed to be a villager and I successfully killed the werewolf but as I flipped my card, apparently, the troublemaker swapped my card with someone and I ended up being one of the werewolves as well so I lost haha. However, the variety of roles, the interesting night actions, the cool tribal-war music of the app (the link I provided above uses the cricket sounds; the tribal war music is much better), and the fact that one round is completed in under 10 minutes does make it a fun game to play with friends. I ended up hanging out until past 4am before deciding to call it a night. Learn more about Avalon and One Night Ultimate Werewolf.

A Night at Lola Cafe + Bar

I had been to Lōla Cafe + Bar once before and I had been wanting to try this place again since. My friend Raych is in town and so we scheduled dinner with her while she was here. Since the request was to meet in QC, I suggested Lola Cafe. Thankfully, most of us - Jette, Ric, Bett and Lany - were able to make it.

Lōla Cafe + Bar

We decided to dine family-style so that we could try many different dishes. We got three appetizers. The Pesto Fries (P220) are crispy fries served with pesto, tomato sauce and topped with a sunny side egg. There's a bit of tableside presentation as our waiter actually cut up the egg and mixed it into the dish after she brought it to our table.

Pesto Fries (P220)

We also ordered the Two Sausages (P200). One sausage is chicken and the other is a spicy Hungarian Sausage. This appetizer was a big hit and I really enjoyed it.

Two Sausages (P200)

Lola's Garlic Rolls (P280) proved to be quite a revelation as well. These ciabatta rolls are served with olive oil, oregano, parmesan, and chopped garlic and they were so good! We actually enjoyed them as a side dish as they perfectly complemented a lot of the main dishes we ordered.

Lōla's Garlic Rolls (P280)

I recommended the Adobo Balsamic Chicken (P330) because I had tried it before and loved it. As its name implies, it is cooked with balsamic vinegar instead of the normal vinegar used in regular adobo. It's a delicious twist to a Filipino classic.

Adobo Balsamic Chicken (P330)

We also ordered the Kare-Kare (P350). While I do wish there were more vegetables in this dish, it was very tasty.

Kare-Kare (P350)

Jette had also eaten here before and she recommended the Spicy Tinapa Pasta (P215). It packs a lot of heat and a lot of good flavor too.

Spicy Tinapa Pasta (P215)

The Tenderloin Skewers (P300) were grilled beef tenderloin medallions served with tomatoes and pita bread.

Tenderloin Skewers (P300)

All the dishes we ordered were really good and while we were eating, Raych actually said that our dinner venue was a good choice. Bett also said that she really loved the tomatoes that came with most of our dishes and we all agreed. We rounded out our evening with a few desserts. The one I enjoyed the most was the Banoffee Pie (P150).

Banoffee Pie (P150)

I loved the presentation of the Pistachio Pavlova (P99) as we had three meringues presented on a thin stone slab. However, while the flavor was good, the meringue was impossible to slice with a knife; they kept crumbling. Might be a better idea to just pick them up and bite them.

Pistachio Pavlova (P99)

The Tiramisu (P160) is different from the usual preparation of this classic Italian dessert. Instead of the traditional mascarpone cheese filling, this one seems to have been filled with ice cream.

Tiramisu (P160)

Of course, our evening wasn't all about the food. As most of us hadn't seen each other in a really long time - it was probably 4-5 years since we last saw Raych - there was a whole lot of catching up to do. Many stories were shared and we got to look back at our many years of friendship. We also talked about possibly meeting up one more time while Raych is still in town since other friend Chari will be to returning to Manila soon. It was a truly enjoyable evening.

Lola Cafe + Bar is a perfect place to enjoy a good meal with family and friends. The food is great and affordable (the most expensive dish we ordered was P350), the ambience is cozy, there's ample parking space, the restaurant is quite easy to find, and the service is good. I will definitely be visiting this place again.

Lola Cafe + Bar
99 Scout Lozano, Quezon City
(02) 501-2620
Lola Cafe + Bar is at the corner of Scout Lozano and Scout Tuason in QC. Scout Tuason is parallel to Tomas Morato and just one street away.

Big Hero 6 wins an Oscar!

Congratulations to Big Hero 6 for winning the Best Animated Film award at the Oscars!

photo courtesy of http://entertainment.inquirer.net

This was a big pleasant surprise for me because The Lego Movie was winning most of the awards leading up to the Oscars and any award it didn't win went to How to Train Your Dragon 2. However, the Lego Movie was shockingly not nominated at the Oscars. While this major snub made How to Train your Dragon 2 a frontrunner in the animated film race, it did open the door for Big Hero 6 to possibly snag the award. And it did!

The Lego Movie is edgy and witty and different from most other animated films, making it stand out. The buzz about, or attraction to, How to Train Your Dragon 2 may also be coming from the fact that its brilliant first installment was massively overshadowed by Toy Story 3 (strangely enough, I actually prefer the first How to Train your dragon over Toy Story 3 even if the Pixar film was a hands-down favorite among many and it won Best Animated film that year). That said, I really enjoyed Big Hero 6 a lot more than The Lego Movie and How to Train Your Dragon 2. I have written in the past that it is my favorite 2014 movie, live or animated, so I am really happy that it took home the Oscar.

The Golden Girls on Hits TV

Thanks to Skycable channel 137 Hits TV, I've been able to enjoy once again one of my favorite comedies from the 80's to early 90's, The Golden Girls. It is currently being aired on Hits TV from Mondays to Fridays but there is also a mini-marathon of five episodes on Sundays, from 7 to 9:30 PM. Apart from this being a great show, it also has one of my all-time favorite TV show themes, Thank you for being a friend. Check it out here:


video uploaded in youtube by Travis Huffman

Despite The Golden Girls being a few decades old (it was on from 1985 to 1992), I still find it very entertaining and funny. Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty have such amazing chemistry on screen, and the characters they portray are all very interesting in their own unique ways. You'd think that a show about four retired women would cater only to senior citizens and yet somehow, while the show was on, it regularly topped its time slot, was ranked in the top 10 highest-rated programs in six of its seven seasons, and always achieved more than 10 million viewers on average. I guess you can attribute that to a supremely talented cast and great writing. I'm just grateful that Hits TV has brought this show back for its Filipino fans to enjoy.

Volleyball night

Our volleyball club at work organizes games quite regularly nowadays. Since I was available earlier tonight, I decided to play. It was the first time I hit the court in four months and I wasn't sure what my form would be given that I couldn't effectively jump and attack the ball the last time I played. Not sure if my recent 5-pound weight loss had anything to do but I actually did much better earlier tonight, at least in terms of my attacks and serves. (My reception was a bit on-off LOL.) It was the first time I could spike consistently in a long time. Cool!

I got to play a few (several?) sets and it's too bad that we had to end that final set prematurely because the court had to be closed. It was a very tight and fiercely contested set. We were down 21-24 before making a comeback and even taking the lead. We asked the court manager for a bit of an extension which he gave us but we were playing some long rallies and we had to call it quits at 26-all. Wow!

The flipside to all that enjoyment is that now my body hurts all over LOL. However, I also did say recently that I have to start exercising more regularly. Hopefully I get to play a bit more frequently in the future.

Dinner at Todd English

I met up with a couple of friends for afternoon coffee in SM Aura yesterday. We all went our separate ways at around 7pm. My plan was to buy a few items then head home but I figured that since I was already there, I might as well have dinner somewhere I had never eaten before. As such, I decided to go to Todd English Food Hall.

When I got there, there was a really long queue of people outside waiting to get a seat. I didn't really want to wait in line so I left but I then realized that there was a bar inside. I headed back and I asked if they had space at the bar for one person. Luckily, they did and I managed to get a seat immediately.

I ordered the T.E. Pork Chop (P440). My first thought as it was served: the portion size is huge!!

T.E. Pork Chop (P440)

I initially thought I couldn't eat all of it due to its size but it turned out I was quite hungry and I managed to eat all of it haha. This pork chop was really thick but despite its size, it was moist and succulent and well-cooked all the way through. I will definitely be visiting Todd English again in the future. If the rest of their food in terms of quality and portion size are anything like this pork chop, I will be a happy man. :)

Adarna closes its doors

Sad news for fans of this wonderful restaurant. Adarna Food and Culture served its last order a few weeks ago. I found out about this today when I was putting together restaurant suggestions since my friends and I are planning to meet up for dinner. I was looking for the Adarna website so I could recommend it to my friends when I saw on their facebook page that they closed last January 23. Here's a link to a touching post about their final service.

Such a shame I wasn't able to have one last meal there before it closed. My friends and I planned to have dinner there in December last year but conflicting schedules didn't permit us to meet up then. At least I did get to enjoy their food many times in the past. Here's a link to my blog post about Adarna Food and Culture. While it is sad that I won't be able to enjoy a meal here anymore, I am happy that I got to experience Adarna and enjoy the food there with my family and friends on many occasions.

Into the Woods

I finally got to see Into the Woods at the cinema. This is officially the first film I've seen in a movie theater this year. I knew it was based on the Broadway musical created by Stephen Sondheim but I didn't really know what happens in it. All I knew was that it combined several different fairy tales together, including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood. As I didn't want to be spoiled, I avoided reading the plot of the original musical and of the film itself.

As this is based on a Broadway show, you can clearly see that it is split in two acts, each with a very different vibe and tone. The first half is almost fun, playful, and hopeful, and fascinating, keeping viewers interested and wondering how things will unfold. The second half is a lot darker, not only in terms of the storyline but also visually, with the earlier kaleidoscopic panoramas replaces by gray, mist-filled scenes. Amidst all the singing, the plot provides a provocative glimpse into the human condition. It shows how easily we as people can become selfish, deceitful and even conniving when we are desperate, how we often pointedly blame others in times of crisis and misery, how we sometimes end up becoming what we despise, how fleeting our life is, and how we have an instinctive need to connect with others when faced with the prospect of desolation and isolation.

The acting was great and the singing was superb. It was cool seeing Meryl Streep (the Witch) share the screen again with her The Devil Wears Prada co-star Emily Blunt who did an excellent job as the baker's wife. Anna Kendrick (Cinderella) showcased her vocal ability and range more than she did in Pitch Perfect, Chris Pine (Prince Charming) positively surprised everyone, and the kids Daniel Huttlestone (Jack) and Lilla Crawford (Little Red Riding Hood) both sounded as if they've had decades of vocal training and experience.

As expected, Meryl Streep was fantastic. I mentioned this before but while I had already been impressed by her singing in the past, she took things to the another level and outperformed herself vocally in this film. Stephen Sondheim's songs are incredibly difficult to sing and she performs them brilliantly. I wrote about her rendition of "Stay with me" (not to be confused with the Sam Smith hit) a month ago. This time, check out "The Last Midnight":


video uploaded in youtube by DisneyMusicVEVO

I wouldn't say that Into the Woods is for everyone as it is filled with a whole lot of singing and the score doesn't really feature catchy songs. As I have not seen the musical, I have no basis for comparison. Taking it as it is, I thought it was great and definitely worth watching.

Five pounds off

About a month ago, I suffered from pretty bad stomach problems. As a result, I lost about five pounds. Surprisingly enough, four weeks later, I fortunately haven't gained those five pounds back. I guess this is because I have somehow managed to keep eating relatively smaller portions compared what I was eating before I got sick. I remember having some pasta recently and after eating about two-thirds of the dish, I already started to feel pretty full.

I am now almost certain that because I wrote about it, I will start gaining all that lost weight back pretty quickly LOL. I really need to channel my previous ability and discipline to exercise semi-regularly. I am not getting any younger and I certainly need to have a healthier lifestyle.

A reunion over board games

Last weekend, I met up with some of the alumni of the lead organizers of our CSR organization at work. I say alumni because some of us have stepped down from our previous leadership roles and some of us have left. While not everyone was available, a lot of us were so we proceeded with the reunion since it's often impossible to get many of us together at the same time and place.

We had discussed having a game day/night in the past because a lot of us in the group were board game fans so this was a perfect time for us to enjoy the games I purchased a while back. Denise arrived before everyone else - I actually hadn't seen her in maybe more than a year since she missed our karaoke night late last year - so since everyone else wasn't there yet, we got to catch up quite a lot. Kristel soon joined us about an hour and a half after Denise arrived so I ordered some pizza and mojos from Shakey's and I then took out my first game, Ticket to Ride. I thought it would be a good game for us to start with given there were only three of us at that time. Of the three games I have, this is probably the easiest one to understand. :) Also, I've now had this game for 2 1/2 years but I hadn't been able to play it yet. By the time the three of us finished our game, the rest of the folks started arriving in quick succession - Melody, Katco, Lou, Zaza, Diane, and Jef. At that point, the food arrived as well so we had a dinner break before resuming play.

Since our Ticket to Ride board was already set up, we decided to play one more game. Katco also brought games with her and she also had Ticket to Ride (albeit the Europe version) so we decided to have two boards set up so all of us could play (this game can only allow up to 5 players). Once we were done, we moved to the more complicated 7 Wonders. The entire first game was spent explaining it to people LOL but after dealing with the difficulty of understanding how you can score points, people started to get the hang of it. We played one more round after - a much easier round for everyone this time - before calling it a night. We all seem to agree to stage another game day/night but we also thought that people should start arriving earlier to maximize the number of games we can play. I figure that, with all the enjoyment we had, I should organize these game day/nights more regularly.

UP win UAAP Street Dance Competition

A belated congratulations to UP for winning the 2015 UAAP Street Dance competition! It was held last Sunday and I got to watch it for the first time. In fact, I didn't even know until I saw it on TV last week that there was such a competition in the UAAP. :)

The UP Streetdance Club defended the crown that they won in 2013 (the competition wasn't held last year) by garnering a score of 178.0. The theme of their highly energetic routine was "larong Pinoy" as they included stylized interpretations of native games into their dance number, such as piko, sipa, and luksong tinik. Check out their title-winning performance:


video uploaded in youtube by ABS-CBN Sports And Action

The Ateneo Company of Dancers won second place with a score of 167.3. They barely beat out the La Salle Dance Company-Street who placed third with a score of 167, only 0.3 points behind Ateneo.

Congratulations, UP Streetdance Club!

Ghost by the Indigo Girls

If I were forced to choose what my favorite song is, I would probably say it is "Ghost" by the Indigo Girls. I discovered this song in the late 90s when my friend lent me his Rites of Passage CD. I ended up playing this song over and over again throughout the entire day, paying little to no attention to every other song on the CD (not because the other tracks weren't any good - they absolutely were! - but because I had become blindly obsessed with this one song). I have loved Ghost ever since and it is the most played song in my iPod.


video uploaded in youtube by zeki1208

Why exactly do I love this song? For me, Ghost is perfect on so many levels. The melody is irresistible and captivating in its melancholy. The Indigo Girls sing it so beautifully and expressively and their voices and harmonies are haunting and exquisite. The writing is artistically brilliant, like poetry set to music. The lyrical imagery is vivid and their metaphors about pain and heartbreak are ones that leave you saying "that's exactly how I feel!" There's a repeating theme of water throughout the song - the Mississipi river, the allusions to the Pied Piper of Hamelin and the thousand ships launched by the face of Helen of Troy, being baptized by someone's touch, and drowning and being unable to swim free - and this makes the overall storytelling even more compelling.

Even the way the music builds takes you on an emotional journey. It starts out subdued and reflective then it slowly escalates to more anguish in the "chorus" (I use that term loosely as this song actually has a chorus only in the melodic sense; it doesn't have a true chorus given that the only line in the entire song that is repeated is "I'm in love with your ghost.") By the time we get to the bridge, the despair is almost frantic, as is reflected in the way part of it is sung, almost like a wail. Interestingly enough, the lyrics speak about how even the most overwhelming pain starts out small and meek but grows massive, like the Mississippi River which "starts in Minnesota at a place where you could walk across with five steps down."

What makes Ghost special is the fact that the lyrics, the melody, the instrumentation, the voices and the harmonies, and the way the music builds all convey the same message and express the same thing. As such, listening to it is like a spiritual experience for me. Despite the years, though, I still can't be quite sure exactly what this song is about. Does it speak of the desperation of hanging on to something you've lost and the inability to let go? Does it articulate the difficulty of getting out of a dysfunctional or (unintentionally?) abusive relationship, or maybe even one's refusal to do so despite knowing that they should? Maybe it's about all of that. Whatever the case may be, Ghost is a truly beautiful song and I'm so glad I discovered it.

Aussie Open 2015

The Australian Open concluded earlier today with Novak Djokovic winning his 5th trophy in Melbourne, edging out Andy Murray. It was a very tight and closely contested match in the first two sets, both of which ended in tiebreaks. Andy seemed to have the momentum as he was up an early break 2-0 in the third and he may have thought he had a strong chance to win after Novak seemed to start cramping or having some physical problems. However, Novak broke back to put him on even footing with Andy at 2-2 in the third set. It was then that Andy's wheels fell off. He won only one more game after that as Djokovic won nine games in a row to close out the match and along with it, the Australian Open title.

Djokovic now has 8 Grand Slam titles, putting him in even footing with other tennis legends, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Ken Rosewell, and Fred Perry. Only 7 men have more Grand Slam singles titles than him now.

As amazing as that stat is, it somehow gets overshadowed by his counterpart on the women's tournament. The astonishing Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova in the final to win her 19th Grand Slam singles title. This moves her past Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert in a tie for 3rd all-time with Helen Wills Moody. Only Margaret Court with 24 and Steffi Graf with 22 have more. And considering how good Serena is still playing now, I wouldn't be surprised if she ends her career having more Grand Slam singles titles than anyone else.

Prince Albert Prime Rib

Thanks to Deal Grocer, I was able to try the famed US Angus Prime Rib of Prince Albert at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati. I have to say, it's really good!

The meat itself is delicious on its own and very tender and well-cooked. I don't know how it is seasoned or what the marinade is but it is packed with incredible flavor. It comes with a side of grilled vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, and baked potato that perfectly complement the prime rib and make for a very satisfying and filling meal. They also serve a variety of really good breads while you wait. Just writing about it now is makes me want to eat it again right now hahaha. With the Deal Grocer discount, this US Angus Prime Rib is still expensive (P995) but considering that it is 200 grams of really good beef and it comes with very tasty side dishes, it's a pretty good price.

Prince Albert is located at the ground floor of Hotel Intercontinental in Makati. When I called for reservations, I was asked to come in semi-formal attire (I came in a long-sleeved shirt and black pants, pretty much what I wear to work). It is open for lunch and dinner from Mondays to Friday and for dinner only on Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays.

Prince Albert Rotisserie
G/F InterContinental Manila hotel
No. 1 Ayala Avenue
Makati City
(02) 793 7000 loc 776/777

2048

I've been playing the 2048 game online for a while now. Once I got to 2048 and 4096 as many other people have done, I thought it would be nice to go for the next level: 8192. It took some time but I finally achieved it. :)

Next goal: get to 16384. That's gonna be tough. :)

A good meal

I finally had my first really good meal in the last two weeks. I met up with my friends Anne and Georg who were in Manila again after spending some time in the province during their Philippine visit. I was supposed to meet them a week ago as well but I was having really bad stomach problems so I couldn't join them for dinner then.

These stomach problems I've been having are the reason why I haven't had a good meal in the last several days. Doctor's orders were for me to stay away from dairy products, oily, fatty and spicy food, raw food (including salads), caffeine, softdrinks, chocolate, citrus fruits and drinks, and tomato-based products. Not many options left for me to eat so most days I was just feeding on Skyflakes and bananas and drinking water and gatorade. Of course, I didn't have much of an appetite either. As my stomach started getting better, I started eating more and more food items. I can sort of eat pretty much anything now except for dairy and raw food, which my doctor said I should really stay away from for a couple of weeks

When I joined Anne and Georg and a few other friends earlier tonight, my normal appetite seemed to be back. Interestingly and appropriately enough, we had dinner at Eat Well. :) For the first time in two weeks, I overate and I now feel absolutely stuffed. (Hopefully I don't suffer a relapse...) Of course, to go with the good meal was a whole lot of fun and animated conversation. It was a really good night spent with really good friends.

Filipino domestic worker gets a scholarship in New York!

This is such a wonderful story. Xyza Cruz Bacani, a Filipino domestic worker in Hong Kong, was awarded a scholarship to New York University!

During her free time, Xyza dabbles in amateur photography. Her well-composed black and white photos that capture everyday life in Hong Kong caught the attention of international photographer Rick Rocamora and led to her photos to be featured in the New York Times and other publications. This in turn led to her being noticed by the Magnum Foundation and the rest is history.

Since 2010, the Magnum Foundation Human Rights Fellowship has been giving a handful of students from all over the world a scholarship to attend their Photography program in New York. This program is co-organized by the Magnum Foundation and by NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. When Xyza received the news, she wrote this on her facebook page: "All dreams are valid! I'm one of the 2015 magnum fellows! I'm going to see new york and finally get a formal education! I'm literally crying when i received the news." Thanks also have to be given to her Chinese-Australian boss in Hong Kong, who actually loaned her the money to buy her first camera and treats her and her mother very well. (Read more about this in the New York Times story.)

Check out Xyza's online portfolio on her website: http://www.xyzacruzbacani.com/.

Beauty and the Beast the Musical

Earlier today, I watched Beauty and the Beast the Musical at the CCP Main Theatre and it was amazing! My family and I watched the matinee at 2pm and we got to see the lead cast with Hilary Mailberger as Belle and Darick Pead as the Beast. The supporting cast includes Adam Dietlein as Gaston, Jordan Aragon as Lefou, Paul Crane as Maurice, Emily Matthenson as Mrs. Potts, Hassa Nazari-Robati as Lumiere, James May as Cogsworth, and Charlie Jones as Chip.

The musical was first staged on Broadway in 1994 and it is based on the 1991 animated Disney classic. It features the same songs you hear from the film including "Be our Guest", "Belle", and of course, the Oscar-winning theme "Beauty and the Beast". A few songs were added to the musical. Personally, the new songs aren't as musically enjoyable as the original ones. However, a couple of these new songs brilliantly showcase the amazing vocal ability of the two lead characters. Here is Darick Pead as the Beast performing "If I can't love her" to end the first act (that last high note is held for about 13 seconds and he sings it so cleanly and his projection is effortless).

video uploaded in youtube by ibleedgreenandblue

Hilary Maiberger as Belle sings "A Change in Me" towards the end of the show. Her voice is extraordinarily crystal clear and she hits the high notes with the greatest of ease.

video uploaded in youtube by La Bella y la Bestia de Disney

Of course, it wasn't just about great music and amazing voices. The stunning sets and the dazzling costumes and props were a visual feast and the production numbers were spectacular. "Gaston" featured a thoroughly enjoyable sequence that involved beer mug choreography. It also showcased the amazing athleticism and physical comedic timing of Jordan Aragon as Lefou. The transformation of the Beast into the prince was like the grand finale of a magic show. Of course, there was the "Be Our Guest" number which was possibly the scene I was most excited to see.The song itself is enough to make you happy and seeing the whole elaborate production just took that enjoyment to another level. There was a slight bit of "audience participation" as tinsel was shot out into the audience (you can see all the kids and people in the first few rows trying to grab them as souvenirs :)). There were also some fantastic acrobatics by a "rug" that included an amazing series of pirouettes which could not have been easy while being in a rug costume. (I wonder if the rug was also Jordan Aragon?) The only unfortunate thing about this was that the rug's acrobatic moves came in the middle of the song so he didn't get rewarded with massive applause that he definitely deserved. I could sense a lot of us wanted to clap for him but we weren't sure if we should given that number was still going on. I just hope he knows that his performance was very much appreciated by the audience.

A couple of firsts. My nephew watched his first musical with us and my family and I sat in the upper box for the first time. Oh and we barely made the start. My family got stuck in traffic on the way to CCP and my brother was still about to park with ten minutes left before the show. The rest of my family got seated while I frantically waited for my brother. When I saw him enter CCP, there was less than a minute left. By the time my brother and I made it to our seats, the lights dimmed and the show started. Talk about a photo finish!

The fountain in front of the CCP Main Theater is turned on whenever a show is staged here.

It's great that more and more musicals are making their way to the Philippines and I hope this trend continues. I really enjoyed Beauty and the Beast and I definitely recommend it. It will be staged at the CCP Main Theater until February 1 and there are shows everyday so if you haven't seen it, you still have time to get tickets at Ticketworld.

Remembering: Pope St. John Paul II in Vatican City

With Pope Francis' recent visit to the Philippines, I started thinking about the two times I saw Pope St. John Paul II. The first time I saw him was in 1995 when he visited Manila for World Youth Day. He was in his Pope mobile and I was probably about 50 feet away as he passed by. The second time I saw him was in St. Peter's Square in Vatican on Christmas Day where we heard him say his Christmas message to the world. This time around, I was much closer.

This encounter happened by chance. I was assigned in Europe for a short-term project over the winter months many years ago and instead of heading home for Christmas, I decided to bring my mom to Europe instead. My mom had never been to Rome so I made it part of our itinerary and we decided to spend Christmas in Vatican City.

When we got to the Vatican, we entered St. Peter's Basilica hoping to hear Christmas mass there. There didn't seem to be one, at least not at the time that we were there. We spent some time inside the church praying, marveling at the amazing architecture and art inside, and taking photos before stepping out. As we did, we saw a massive crowd gathered outside.

We figured there must be something going on in St. Peter's Square that afternoon so we decided to stick around. There was some kind of stage right outside the door of St. Peter's Basilica and we positioned ourselves at the side of this area. Shortly after, a parade started.

I took a video of it but this was 2002 and my digital camera at the time was only 3.3 megapixels with a capability to take only up to 15-second videos so you have to forgive this for being grainy and very short. :)

Pope St. John Paul II then came out, much to the surprise and amazement of me and my mom. Neither of us were expecting to see the Pope during this trip. It turned out that this was the Pope's Christmas message, where he says "Merry Christmas" in about 60 or so languages. I remember seeing this on TV before so to be physically there was almost surreal. I honestly can't remember how the Pope said Merry Christmas in Filipino - I'm guessing "Maligayang Pasko" - but as he did, both my mom and I cheered loudly. :)

After his Christmas message, Pope St. John Paul II boarded his Pope mobile which actually passed right in front of us!

It was a truly amazing experience to celebrate Christmas day in Vatican City and to see Pope St. John Paul II while we were there.

Thank you, Pope Francis!

After his five day trip to the Philippines, Pope Francis finally bid farewell to the Filipino faithful earlier today.

Sa aking mga kaibigan sa Sri Lanka at Pilipinas: Naway pagpalain kayo ng Diyos. Sana´y patuloy niyo akong ipagdasal.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) January 19, 2015

Follow Pope Francis on twitter.

Things didn't go perfectly throughout the Papal visit, though. Typhoon Amang (international name Mekkhala) threatened to cancel the Tacloban leg of the Pope's trip. To minimize the impact of the storm, the Pope's visit to Tacloban was shortened by a few hours to make sure he would be back in Manila when the winds are at their strongest. It was amazing to see the crowds in yellow raincoats brave the inclement weather just to see the Pope and hear him celebrate mass at the Tacloban airport. As expected, the Pope delivered an emotional homily, with many people in crowd in tears as they remembered what they lost during Typhoon Yolanda.

Sunday was the Pope's last full day in Manila. He spent the morning in UST where he met with leaders of various religions and with the youth. Later that day, he made his way to Quirino Grandstand for his concluding mass. To pay homage to the Philippines, the Popemobile he used was an upgraded jeepney. Cool!

photo courtesy of Erik De Castro/ Reuters from https://ph.news.yahoo.com

As estimated 6 million people were at the Rizal Park complex for the concluding mass. This set a new record for a papal gathering, surpassing the 5 million attendees during the mass held by Pope John Paul II also in Rizal Park back in 1995.
 
As everyone is still in a state of euphoria, I am hopeful that people will take to heart the messages that Pope Francis shared with us these last few days. The theme of this visit was "Mercy and Compassion" and throughout his visit, he continued to ask Filipinos to do what they can to help the poor and not simply by just giving alms. He has asked us to fight against corruption at all levels. And he has reminded us to learn how to weep as this will help us understand our less-fortunate brothers and sisters more and be motivated to do something for them. Hopefully, this record-setting Papal visit will have longer term effects and the words of Pope Francis can spur more people into positive action or trigger a spiritual revival.

Post-Christmas reunions

January is a time for catching up, mainly because a lot of friends who live abroad are still in town and also because December is incredibly busy and finding a common time to meet up during the Christmas season is tough. My first post-Christmas reunion was with my ex-teammates at work. Our friend Reg was in town so we made sure we could catch up with her while she was still here. We ended up having dinner near the office since a lot of us still had to return to work after dinner.

The next day, I had dinner with my college batchmates since our friends Weng and Bong were in town. I was incredibly busy that night with a few issues popping up at the last minute but I hadn't seen Bong and Weng in ages so I made sure I would still catch up, albeit very late. Our dinner was in Va Bene in Bonifacio High Street (this is their second branch; the original is in the Petron station at the corner of EDSA and Pasay Road). I had never been to Va Bene before and I thought food here was pretty good. The restaurant closed at 10pm so we walked over to the nearby Starbucks to have some coffee before calling it a night.

Finally, I got to meet up with Jesse and our other friends during the first day of the long weekend. The plan was for us to meet up in Wicked by Cravings in Shangri-La mall. I got there a bit earlier than everyone else and since I hadn't had lunch yet, I decided to eat in Kettle which is right next to Wicked. That way, I could easily see if anyone else arrives. This was my first time in both Kettle and Wicked and both were quite good. I especially loved the Mallows and Pecan bark at Wicked. By 7pm Jesse had to leave to meet up with her family but the rest of us had dinner in Cyma.

I was supposed to catch up with a couple more sets of friends this long weekend but unfortunately, I woke up on Saturday with terrible stomach problems and had to reschedule them. Darn. I'm just hoping that this isn't similar to the really bad problems I had almost 2 years ago (I don't think it is since I have been getting a bit hungry today already).

Nomination #19

The Oscar nominations were just released and guess what? The Marvelous Meryl Streep adds to a record she has had for many years already by notching her 19th acting nomination. This time, it's for best supporting actress for her portrayal of the Witch in the film adaptation of Steven Sondheim's Into the Woods.

Into the Woods was released in the US over Christmas but it won't be released in cinemas here in Manila until the end of January. I checked out a couple of Meryl's recordings on youtube and they are amazing! We all know she can sing but there are things she does with her voice here that I didn't know she could do. Awesome!

Check out "Stay with me", one of the songs in the soundtrack. You can feel her emotion as she sings this even if you don't see her face so I can only imagine what it will be like when I see her on the big screen.


video uploaded in youtube by DisneyMusicVEVO

Just a few months ago, she also added to her Golden Globe nomination record. Incredible! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this movie when it comes out.

Welcome to the Philippines, Pope Francis!

Viva il Papa!

Pope Francis I arrived in Manila yesterday at around 5:30 PM. The main purpose of this visit is for the Pope to visit the communities devastated by Typhoon Yolanda. While most of his time will be spent in Metro Manila, he will also be going to Visayas to inaugurate the Pope Francis Center for the Poor. This facility in Leyte which is funded by the Vatican will have a chapel, a clinic, an orphanage, and a home for the elderly. As the official website of the Philippine Papal Visit states, the Pope brings with him the message of the mercy and compassion of God.

photo courtesy of Paul Barker/REUTERS, link from ph.news.yahoo.com

It's amazing to see the throngs of people lined up at the sides of the roads or outside SM MOA Arena just to catch a glimpse of the Pope as he waves at them through the Popemobile. The excitement of the crowds can be felt even through the TV screen and it's incredible to hear their unbridled cheers as they see the Pope. People have been interviewed saying that the exhaustion and the waiting time is all worth it and I can just imagine what the energy must feel like when you are amidst the crowds.

Earlier today, the Pope celebrated a mass at the Manila Cathedral. I'm watching the live coverage of the Papal Visit and the Pope is now at the SM MOA Arena to meet with poor families, families of OFWs, and families of people with disabilities. You can check out the full itinerary in Rappler as well as at the official website of the Papal Visit (although there must be millions of people checking this site out as it has failed to load a few times today because it has exceeded bandwidth limitations!)

Some other noteworthy moments so far in the Papal Visit so far:

• About 300 urban poor were given VIP seats at the MOA Arena so they could face the Pope directly.
• In his speech at the Malacanang earlier today, the Pope urged the Philippine government to fight against corruption. He asked Philippine political leaders to be "outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good" to addres the "glaring and indeed scandalous social inequalities".
• He also took time outside his official itinerary to visit a home for street children run by the Anak-TNK Foundation.

Il Papa sorride e parla spagnolo ed è felice #PapaFilippine pic.twitter.com/Zs1DlLu99S
— Antonio Spadaro SJ (@antoniospadaro) January 16, 2015

As goosebump-inducing as this visit has been so far, I am sure things will be even more emotional and spiritual as the Pope arrives in Leyte tomorrow where he will celebrate a mass, meet with some survivors of Yolanda, and inaugurate the Pope Francis Center for the Poor.

Read more about the Papal Visit here.
Check out the latest news on the Papal Visit in this link (ph.news.yahoo.com).
Follow Pope Francis on twitter.

Errand Day

I decided to use the early part of the day today to work on some errands. Mainly, real estate property tax payment and pick-up of my driver's license. No, my license didn't get confiscated. When I went to LTO to have my license renewed late last year, they already ran out of license cards supply so I was told I had to go back in January to get it.

I decided to pick my license up first since I knew that would be relatively quick (it was). However, once I arrived at City Hall, I realized I should have gone there first because the line was unbelievably long but they were using a number queuing system which meant you didn't need to be there all the time. When I got my number, I realized there were still 245 people ahead of me. Yikes! I was told that they were processing on average about 100 people per hour which meant I would have to wait 2 1/2 hours for my turn. This was the first time I had to wait that long to pay real estate property tax. Thankfully, because of the numbering system, I was able to leave City Hall, have a relaxed lunch and coffee, pay our cable TV bill at the nearby BDO, then return to City Hall without losing my spot in the queue.

Unfortunately, as I was heading home, I got caught in horrible traffic. Thankfully, I was just commuting and not driving. My jeepney barely moved in ten minutes so I decided to get out and start walking home. My initial plan was to head to the bottleneck of the traffic then get on another jeepney that had already made it past the bottleneck. However, as I kept on walking, I realized the traffic had practically ground to a halt. Wow. What was causing this traffic? Anyway, I was thankful that (1) I had gotten out of my jeepney and (2) I was only about 1 1/2 kilometers away from my house. Unfortunately, as I was walking home, I didn't notice a slightly elevated section of the sidewalk and as I stepped on it, I rolled my ankle. Damn! Once I got home, I iced my ankle and so far it seems okay but it is already feeling sore. I am just hoping my ankle doesn't swell tonight and that it doesn't end up becoming a full sprain tomorrow.

Afternoon coffee at Paul

I'm a big fan of European breads and pastries so when I had an opportunity to try Paul Boulangerie Patisserie during the Christmas break, I took it. It's on the expensive side but I thought I deserved a bit of a break. :)

When I got there, I was faced with the dilemma of what to order as there were so many interesting and very tempting items on display. I finally opted for the Millefeuille Fraises (P170), which is made of alternating layers of puff pastry and crème pâtissière (pastry cream) and served with fresh strawberries.

Gotta say, I'm glad I tried this because I absolutely love it! The pastry cream was delectable and there was a generous amount of fresh strawberry slices mixed in with it that just made the pastry much better. The coffee was also very good. This was a very satisfying afternoon snack at Paul. I'm pretty sure I'll be visiting this place again so I can also try their other pastries.

"Cat Mario" (Shobon Action)

I saw this video of someone playing what he called "Cat Mario" because it resembles Super Mario but it has a cat as the main character. The title of the video is "World's Hardest Mario Game" and after watching it, I can understand why. :)  My favorite moments are 0:52, 1:04, 1:48, 1:54, 2:37, and the last ten seconds. :)

Parental Advisory: some explicit language is used in this video.


video uploaded by B Brian

Apparently, this game is called Shobon Action and while it may seem absolutely ridiculous and frustrating to play, it has gotten generally positive reviews. To quote its wikipedia page, "it was recognized as a game that "systematically disrupts every convention of 2D platform gameplay" and that success in the game often relies on both trial-and-error-like strategies and the player's ability to use counterintuitive strategies to avoid obstacles."

UAAP Women's Volleyball season 77

The Women's Volleyball tournament of the UAAP season 77 started last November and the first round was completed earlier today in incredible fashion: last year's finalists Ateneo and La Salle squared off in the last game of the first round and played a nailbiting five-set match. True to form, defending champion Ateneo edged La Salle to sweep the first round.

The story of the season, however, has been the amazing improvement of UP. For the first time since I started watching the televised games, UP managed to win three games during the season. In the last two years, they ended with only two wins for the entire season and they have now exceeded that in just the first round. More than that, they are in a three-way tie for 4th, with FEU and Adamson sharing a 3-4 win-loss standing. In fact, UP, FEU, Adamson, NU (at 4-3) and even UST (at 2-5) all have the ability of beating each other this season as can be seen in the results: UP beat UST, UST beat Adamson, Adamson beat FEU, FEU beat NU, and NU beat UP. Those five teams have all to play for in the second round and it will be immensely interesting to see which teams will eventually move into the final four.

The only trouble for UP now is that one of their star players, Kathy Bersola, who was last season's best blocker, suffered an ACL injury in UP's last match, an extremely difficult win over Adamson in four sets. (The scores in the last two sets were an unbelievable 29-27 and 34-32!) Kathy is now out for the season but hopefully someone else in the team can step up. It would be absolutely awesome if UP can make it to the final four. And given how challenging it is for athletes to get back from ACL injuries, I just hope Kathy Bersola recovers quickly and gets back to full, or close to full, health.

Tagaytay Trip year 3: Morielli's

The second new restaurant I got to try in Tagaytay during my last trip was Morielli's. I saw on tripadvisor that it was rated quite highly (as of this writing, it is ranked #2 among Tagaytay restaurants) so I decided to try it out for myself.

The restaurant serves primarily Filipino cuisine, including local classics such as sinigang, kare-kare, and even dinuguan and puto. Before looking at the menu online though, I actually thought it was an Italian restaurant because of its name. As it turns out, the name "Morielli's" comes from combining the names of the parents of the owners: Moriet and Gely.

As is my Tagaytay food trip tradition, I ordered a few items on the menu. The Sisig Quesadilla (P180) was a pretty cool fusion of Pinoy and Mexican food. The sisig was well-cooked and tasty and it worked really well with the grilled tortilla.

For my main course, I got the Lechon ala Morielli's (P240). It comes in three sizes, I think I got the small or medium portion (can't recall anymore LOL). This was a real winner. The meat was tender and delicious and the skin was perfectly crispy and crunchy. It actually looks (and tastes) more like bagnet or lechon kawali than traditional lechon.

I also ordered a bowl of Chicken Sopas (P98). It is listed under the "Comfort Food" section of their menu. This dish was relatively straightforward, nothing spectacular or flashy about it but it does taste like the chicken sopas I used to enjoy as a kid. I would probably have enjoyed it a tad more if it wasn't so extraordinarily hot the day I was there. :)

After my dining experience here, I can say that Morielli's did live up to the hype. While the interior is relatively simple, like an upscale canteen, the food is really good and the prices are quite affordable. It is also easy to find; it is right along the Tagaytay-Calamba road just a short distance from the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road. Reservations are recommended as this place does get full. (There's an online reservation app on their website but you can also call to book a table.) I would definitely recommend a visit to Morielli's.

Morielli's
Tagaytay- Calamba Rd. cor St. Francis Drive
Tagaytay City, Philippines
Globe/Viber: 0917 596 4400
Globe: 0915 322 3590
Smart: 0999 348 8048
Email: moriellisbnb@gmail.com
Restaurant hours: 7:30 AM to 10 PM

How to get there
Coming from Sta. Rosa, on the fork of the road, please turn left. After you pass a waiting shed, you will see St. Francis Drive's street marker. Morielli's is just behind it. Click here for directions.

Tagaytay Trip year 3: Amoroma Ristorante Italiano

I tried two new restaurants during my last trip to Tagaytay. The first was Amoroma Ristorante Italiano. This restaurant is just along the Tagaytay-Calamba road and it is very close to the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road. It has a very traditional Italian interior, with its warm and cozy colors and its checkered tablecloths.

Instead of getting an appetizer and a main dish, I decided to instead order one of their pasta dishes and one of their pizzas. For my pasta, I got the Gnocchi Sorpresa (P295).

Gnocchi are light and fluffy pasta dumplings made from potatoes. You choose one of four sauces for this dish. I selected the Gorgonzola sauce (the other options are Alfredo, Pomodoro, and Basilo). I'm a big fan of gnocchi and I really enjoyed this dish. It's also pretty decently priced considering that gnocchi dishes in other Italian restaurants in Manila are in the P350-450 range.

For my pizza, I ordered the Salsiccia e Cipolle Rosse (P340). This is a 13" thin crust Pizza served with Italian sausage and Red Onion.

The pizzas in Amoroma are baked in a brick oven which I think makes them taste better. The pizza was, for the most part, really good. The only downside for me was the red onion. While it did clearly state in menu that the pizza is served with red onions, I didn't realize how overpowering they would be. I ended up picking off most of them (and as you can see in the photo above, there were quite a lot). I wanted to save room for dessert so I ate only half of the pizza at the restaurant and I took the rest back to the hotel for a midnight snack later that night. :)

To cap off my evening, I ordered their Tiramisu (P185) and paired it with Cafè Americano (P75). Both the dessert and the coffee were pretty good. I was pretty happy with my overall dining experience here.

Amoroma Ristorante Italiano is pretty easy to find and while there are only a few parking slots out front, there are a whole lot more parking slots at the back. There's a pretty interesting nod to The Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel that is similarly painted on a ceiling, in this case, that of the staircase at the back of the restaurant. :)

Amoroma Ristorante Italiano
Tagaytay-Calamba Road, Barangay Tolentino East,
National Highway, Tagaytay City of Cavite
For Reservations/Booking: 0929.2690370, 0916.3829883
(Note: they don't accept email reservations)
Click here for link to Google map location