Alqueria Restaurante + Chocolateria and the SM 3-day Sale

This weekend, I went to SM Megamall because my mom was there but her SM Advantage Card was with me (I borrowed it a couple of weeks ago and forgot to return it). My plan was to just pass by to give her the card, maybe have coffee or dinner, then head home. I met up with my mom as she was in the queue to go into H&M. They were clearly trying to manage the number of people inside but my mom said that she didn't really have to be in line very long before she got in and it was worth it because she bought some really good items. She asked me if I wanted to go in with her but at that time, I didn't really feel like falling in line. However, as I had just driven through pretty heavy traffic and I was already there, I decided to look around other shops. What happened next? I ended up buying a long-sleeved shirt in Old Navy, a couple of collared shirts in Izod, and a jacket in Memo. And here I thought I was just passing through Megamall. :)

While shopping, I texted my mom and suggested that we have dinner once she was done. There were a few restaurants on the 3rd floor which is where my mom exited H&M and we decided to have dinner in Alqueria Restaurante + Chocolateria.

Alqueria Restaurante + Chocolateria on the 3rd floor of Megamall, near H&M

We were pretty hungry when we got there so before selecting our main dishes, I decided to order the Huevos Con Chorizo (P218). This appetizer is a pile of crunchy fried potatoes cooked with Spanish chorizo and topped with a fried egg. It was really, really good! The chorizo was so incredibly flavorful and it worked perfectly well with the potatoes and the egg.

Huevos Con Chorizo (P218)

For our main course, we ordered Lengua Estofado (P398) and Paella Valenciana (also P398) and both were really good too. To cap off our meal, my mom and I both had their hot chocolate (P98). It was a bit on the sweet side (I normally like my hot chocolate more bitter) but it was rich and thick and still very good overall.

The restaurant is cozy and has a casual luxury vibe. As Spanish restaurants in Manila go, I think Alqueria is quite affordable (often, Paella Valenciana in other restos would be in the P500 range; here it was under P400). I think it is also new because I tried searching for it online and couldn't find it on munchpunch or zomato and it doesn't have its own facebook page yet. My google search did direct me to this article so apparently, Alqueria is owned by Marvin Agustin and the Sumo Sam Group.

Interior of Alqueria Restaurante + Chocolateria

This was the first time in a really long time that I braved the crowds to go shopping in an SM 3-day sale. Despite the loads of people in the mall at that time, it was still a pretty good and productive evening. I'm thinking of going to Megamall again one of these days to do my own queuing and shopping in H&M. :)

Disco frenzy!

Last year, I got signed up for a dance competition at work. Seems like I did a decent job there because I was called yet again to join the team and we just competed early this afternoon. This year's theme: 70's and 80's disco! Groovy! :)

While I complained last year that we had very little time to prepare, it seems that our 2 weeks of practice then was already a luxury because this time around, we only had one week to prepare. Yikes! To add to the complexity, I initially intended our choreographer to figure out what music to use although I shared a list of suggested songs. However, in the end, I actually made the final selections and also provided which parts of each song we would use. We ended up having a the disco medley that had Donna Summer's MacArthur Park, The Bee Gees' You should be dancing, and Boogie Wonderland by the Earth, Wind and Fire.

Even the costume idea came from me. My initial plan for our costumes got replaced by another design on the first rehearsal day (which I missed due to other work requirements) but when our tailor showed us a sample of that other design, the women in our group realized they weren't so comfortable with it. As such, they ended up going back to my first suggestion. The coolest thing about this was that we actually got awarded "Best Costume" haha. I was shocked given the last minute changes we had to make but when I ended up seeing the video, I realized our costumes did look really good on stage. :)

Apart from that minor award, we also won 2nd place. Woohoo! We were third last year and second this time around so hopefully this trend continues next year. :) However, I think I will have to excuse myself already because being involved in this dance competition is so time-consuming and physically exhausting. (My legs and my back are really sore as I write this blog post.) Now, whether I will be allowed to not participate is another question. :) In any case, I will finally be able to have a good rest tonight.

UAAP domination?

National University won the UAAP season 77 basketball championship, beating FEU quite easily in their final game with a score of 75-59. It's a really impressive come-from-behind win for them tournament-wise, considering that they were on the verge of elimination six times. They had to beat UE to make it to the final four (they did) then beat Ateneo three times in a row to make it to the finals (they did). Once they got to the final, they lost the first game which meant they had to win the next one to stay alive (they did) then win the do-or-die final game when they were tied with FEU at 1-1. That is just amazing.

NU also won the women's basketball title, the men's beach volleyball crown, and the cheerdance competition. This has to put them way ahead of everyone else in terms of overall UAAP championship contention. Will NU continue to dominate the rest of the season? It remains to be seen.

 *****

Volleyball season will be starting in about a month's time. I can't wait to see how that turns out.

Bowling

Yesterday's company bowling tournament didn't go so well for me. Despite my solid scores during practice a few days before, I came up terribly short during the actual game as I scored a horrific 90! Ugh, that's the absolute lowest score I have gotten since I first started bowling. I don't know how it happened. I mean, I kept hitting the pocket, bringing down 8 or 9 pins with my first ball, which would normally be a good thing. Unfortunately, I somehow ended up with splits about half the time and either the 7 or 10 pin left standing the other half, making it difficult for me to spare. Since I was hitting the pocket, I wasn't sure what adjustment to make. Thankfully, there were ten of us in the team and only five players were required to play in each round. I told the team not to field me in the rest of the games anymore.

A bowling first for me: I saw someone score 241. It was my teammate who did that in the same round I scored 90 so he more than made up for my bad game. :) I think I've seen someone hit a 220+ score before but never a score over 240. He closed all frames, hitting a turkey as well as a five-bagger and his score was the highest of the day.

Unfortunately for my team, while we had one person on fire (he finished the day with an average that exceeded 170), a lot of other teams had really strong players too and we ended up fourth. Still not bad as we were only one of two teams that had both men and women in the final. Our women's team ended up second, and they did that by coming from behind to beat the third placer by one pin! Talk about cutting it close. :)

Coolest lost and found service ever

This is such a brilliantly innovative idea that strengthens the KLM brand. It greatly reduces the time to return lost items to their owners and it is an amazing display of customer service because items are returned even before their owners realize they lost something. Of course, the fact you have an adorable beagle returning your stuff just makes the whole lost-and-found experience absolutely cool and memorable. :) Check it out:


video uploaded in youtube by KLM

Catch-up lunch

Really good thing that it was a holiday today because I was able to meet up with my long-time high school and college friends for my birthday lunch. The last few weeks (months?) have been unbelievably hectic which made it really difficult for me to find time for our get-together. So when the announcement was made that October 6 would be a public holiday, I figured it would be the best time to have my belated celebration.

We ended up having lunch in Duck & Buvette in Shangri-La Mall because someone requested that we meet up in Ortigas and I had been interested to try this place since I learned about it (I think it's the old Cafe Provençal that rebranded and changed its menu a bit). The food here is really good! Most people didn't have plans until later in the afternoon so I got to hang out with them for a few hours, probably the longest time I spent with everyone in a really long time.

I had intended to go home afterwards but then I realized our company bowling tournament is already next weekend and the last time I played was last year. On a bit of a whim, I decided to practice by myself. I felt I had to because I wanted to increase the weight of the ball I play with. I used to play with the 12-lb ball before switching to the 11-lb ball. However, I somehow realized that since I made that switch, my scores were never as high as they were before. I am guessing my analysis had some merit because today, I played four games and my average went up by 15 pinfalls compared to last year! I also exceeded 150 for the first time in around 9-10 years. Wow! My arm is really sore now (that's what happens when you play four games in a row by yourself with very little breaks) but at least I have several days to rest it before game day. Hopefully our team does really well.

Baking projects that didn't turn out like the photos

I ran across this link a while back. It shows some baking design ideas and (failed) attempts at recreating them. The images made me laugh out loud then and they makes me laugh now:

Backing projects that didn't turn out like the photos

Here's a sample of what you'll see in this link. :)

photo from of lifebuz.com

Of course, the bakers who created these edible works of art spent a lot of time honing their skills so recreating them is a tall order. I just look at them and know they are not easy to do. So when someone doesn't quite get it done, it's not all that surprising. Pretty good for a laugh though. :)

Camera replacement?

I think I know what I'll be getting my mom as a gift this Christmas: a new camera.

During my cousin's debut last weekend, my mom was trying to take a photo of me and some other relatives during the 18 roses presentation when she accidentally dropped her camera. It must have been a bad drop because afterwards, the lens wouldn't retract and the camera wouldn't turn on properly anymore. Thankfully there was no damage to the SD card so all the photos she had on there were safe. While I do intend to have the broken camera looked at first, I believe that the cost of repairing the lens will be close to the price of a brand new camera since the lens system is usually the most expensive part (naturally).

If it does turn out that getting a replacement is the most sensible thing to do, I will need to find someone who has a trip to the US or Singapore since electronics are much cheaper there. I may end up getting the exact same model - the Canon PowerShot SX260 - since it still rates very highly even compared to newer models. Or maybe I can get a waterproof camera instead; that way, my family will have something to use at the beach or pool or any environment where we expect to get wet. Hmm, the more I think about it, the better this option sounds. Ah well, we'll see.

Dancing Traffic Light

Check out this dancing traffic light. I'm not exactly sure where in the world this is it but it's pretty cool.


video uploaded in youtube by smart

Filipinos have had dancing traffic enforcers for maybe a couple of decades already so the concept of providing some form of entertainment on the roads has been known to work. Apparently, this dancing traffic light has resulted in 81% more people stopping at the red light, significantly increasing pedestrian safety. I wonder if we'll ever see these in the country, would be awesome if we did. :)

A Decade and Eight

That's what was written on the invitation to my second cousin Joleena's debut which I attended last night. It's been a really long time since I last attended a debut which is not all that surprising given that I am nowhere near being 18 years old. :) The last one of these events I went to was for the daughter of my friend and I had special participation because my friend asked me to sing "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder as an intermission. This time around, I had a special role again. A couple of them actually.

Weeks back, I was asked if I could be part of the 18 roses ceremony. Naturally, I said yes. Then about a week before, her mom Ate Aileen (I call her Ate because she's closer to my age than my mom's, even if she and my mom are cousins) texted me asking if I could lead the opening prayer. You don't say no to requests like these so I didn't, but I wasn't sure what to say. Another friend gave me some ideas and I looked up some sample prayers online LOL but it wasn't really until about three hours before the party that I finished composing my own prayer. Talk about cramming. :)

My mom also had a special role that night as she was asked to part of the 18 treasures, as was my grand aunt Manang Neneng who was also there. Her daughter Cha (who is actually a lot younger than me so I don't call her tita LOL) was also part of the 18 candles. I guess you could say that the evening was sort of a family reunion too since I got to see several relatives on my mom's side whom I hadn't seen in a while.

Speaking of reunions, just the weekend before, I attended the birthday of Tito Erwin, my uncle on my dad's side of the family. It was great seeing most of my family under good circumstances, especially after Tito Roy and my cousin Doyle both passed away recently. Tito Erwin is a bit of a musician and he plays with a band so he asked his band to join the party and play live music all afternoon. I guess I should have expected this but I got asked to sing a song. My uncle asked me to sing either Spandau Ballet's Gold or U2's With or Without You. Obviously, the choice was easy given that I had performed With or Without You on countless gigs back in the day.

Movie Watching Part 3

After a slow start to the year, I've somehow managed to find enough time in the last few months to catch the latest movies.

Guardians of the Galaxy

photo from the Guardians of the Galaxy wikipedia page

This movie was really good fun. It's rare for superhero movies to not take themselves so seriously and this is exactly what makes Guardians of the Galaxy stand out. I mean, just having a raccoon and a tree (or, well, tree-like creature) in the cast of accidental and misfit heroes is bound to make things uniquely entertaining. That said, I'm not exactly with most people who are raving that this is the best superhero movie ever and that it is one of their favorite films (it has an 92% approval rating in Rotten Tomatoes). Personally, I think Captain America: The Winter Soldier is better. That said, while Guardians of the Galaxy is not my favorite, it is still really good and an absolute fun movie to watch.

The Giver

photo from The Giver wikipedia page

I didn't know what to expect when I watched this film since I didn't know anyone else who had seen it. It is about a utopian society that looks great and perfect on the outside but as we know, there is always more to it than meets the eye. I like how the deep, dark secrets of this world are slowly revealed as the movie progresses. It's not all that critically acclaimed but it did get me thinking about the validity of concept and ideas of creating such a utopian society. It got me to thinking about where we need to draw the line in terms of what we should and shouldn't do but it also made me realize that this line will be different depending on who you ask. Overall, despite the low critic ratings, I thought it was decent. Of course, for me, it helps that Meryl Streep is in the cast. :)

Into the Storm

photo from the Into the Storm wikipedia page

One of the most unique movie-watching experiences of my life; there were only three of us watching during the last full show! I didn't realized until I saw it that it was about storm chasers who are trying to study tornadoes. Pretty much like an updated version of Twister. As such, it was almost automatic for me to compare the two movies and I will say that I liked Twister a whole lot better. The effects were incredible but I never really warmed to, or connected with, the characters. I guess it was good for me to see it since it was a check-your-brain-at-the-door kind of film and you would just watch it for the "action" and the effects and I needed to see one of the films the night I saw it. However, would I recommend it? Probably not, unless it was on cable TV and you had nothing better to watch at that time.

Wonderful night

Ah, the comfort of true, beautiful friendship. My friend Amy has been living abroad for more than a decade already and I hadn't seen her in years. That is, until last weekend. She came home to Manila for a few days and we made sure to catch up while she was here. The evening didn't start out that great though because on my drive to Eastwood along C5 late at night, I ran into horrendous traffic because there was a major accident on the bridge. This caused me to be an hour late. However, I did eventually make it and the rest of the way was great.

What's amazing about these kinds of friendships are that even if you don't see each other for years, when you finally do, you very easily pick up from where you left off. It's safe and happy and you just feel blessed. Hopefully the next time I see Amy again won't take as long.

Gearing up for Miss Saigon's 25th anniversary

How time flies. It has now been 25 years since Miss Saigon premiered in London. For Filipinos like me who grew up in the 80s, this musical was a huge deal. It paved the way for Lea Salonga to become a global artist, and her portrayal of Kim earned her a Laurence Olivier award and a Tony. Cameron Mackintosh, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, and Nicholas Hytner all came to Manila to do auditions here and as a result, several other Filipinos were also cast.

The exciting thing about this 25th anniversary staging is that the three main cast members from the original London West End production will reprise their roles: Lea Salonga as Kim, Simon Bowman as Chris, and Jonathan Pryce as the engineer. You can read more about it in this link. I will definitely look out for the DVD recording of this event and get a copy when it gets released.

FIBA Most Valuable Fans Country Award: Philippines!

The Gilas Pilipinas frenzy definitely made a significant mark in the recently concluded FIBA World Cup. The Philippines was just awarded the Most Valuable Fans (MVF) Country Award!

Read more about it here.


video uploaded in youtube by FIBA

Karaoke 4x

I hadn't been to videoke places a lot in the last couple of years so I guess it was a bit of a change for me to find myself singing the night away four times in a span of two weeks with four different sets of friends.

I purchased a couple of Centerstage vouchers on Deal Grocer that were expiring in August. I had intended to use them in July but somehow, my schedule got really crazy and I couldn't use them then. As such, I had to schedule their use within the last week of August to make sure they didn't expire. The first one, I used with my friends from our music band club at work. We planned to enjoy a karaoke night after we went to Relik for their acoustic singalong night and decided we needed to sing again.

The second voucher, I used a week after that, this time with my friends from our corporate social responsibility organization at work. It was kind of a reunion for the ten of us since six of the people in that group had already left the company and the last time we were all together was in our last reunion about a year ago.

However, my voice was really hoarse that night because I was also in Centerstage the night before. It wasn't planned though. One of my teammates at work resigned and we threw an impromptu despedida for him. Normally we would just go out to the neighborhood pub and drink until the sun came up but one of the guys recommended we go out and have a karaoke night and everyone else agreed.

Finally, a week later, I joined an ex-officemate and some of our other friends for a night in Chicago KTV. I got there quite late because I was double-booked so I thought that people would be leaving shortly after I got there. Somehow we ended up having lots of videoke fun for a few more hours before calling it a night.

Not sure now when the next karaoke night will but I probably have had more than my fair share this year already. Or then again, maybe not. :)

UP Pep Squad 2nd for the 2nd straight year

The UP Pep Squad fell short of taking back the UAAP Cheerdance crown, with NU putting in a superb and impressive display to defend their title.

However, the UP Pep Squad have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. While they may not have won the title, they made a massive statement. Their theme: "pantay-pantay" (equal, everyone is the same). How they showed it: women lifting men! Wow!!! Check out this tweet by FullCourtFresh (aside from the women at the 2nd level of the pyramid, check out the base of the central guy!)

Guys being carried by the girls! UP Pep Squad cheers for equality! #UAAPCDC2014 @UPMaroons pic.twitter.com/V59Bxtqebj
— Fullcourtfresh.com (@FCFph) September 14, 2014

Unfortunately for the UP Pep Squad, no extra points are given for female lifters and male flyers. As such, they had to settle for first runner up again. Nevertheless, second place in this highly competitive event is nothing to sneeze at. More than that, this UAAP cheerdancing moment will be remembered in Philippine sporting history, when UP put on an amazing display of women empowerment and gender equality.

Heads up, UP Pep Squad!

Goodbye, Mandarin Oriental Manila

The Mandarin Oriental Manila, which opened in Makati back in 1976, finally closed its doors last Tuesday, September 9 after 38 years of operation. I learned about this a couple of months ago and I mentioned it in a previous blog post so it's not a shock but it is still quite sad. I've stayed here before and I also dined in a couple of their restaurants several times, including Paseo Uno which had a pretty awesome buffet.

There's a really good article written by the last guest to check out of the hotel that's worth reading. He took a video of his final check out that you can see here:


video uploaded in youtube by amadeusiom

As is true with most goodbyes, this one was quite emotional. The article I shared does say that the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group did a lot of work to try and help their staff find new jobs. There are also plans to open a new Mandarin hotel in 2020. Until then, I will say farewell to this Makati landmark and wish its ex-staff and management all the best.

What a US Open that was

Contrasting but compelling results in both the men's and women's singles events at the recently concluded US Open. Serena Williams eased through her draw as she won the US Open title. This is now her 6th trophy at Flushing Meadows and her 18th Grand Slam title overall and it puts her alongside Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert who both have that same number of majors. Only three other women have won more in history (Margaret Court with 24, Steffi Graf with 22, and Helen Wills Moody with 19).

Interestingly enough, Roger Federer was gunning for the same thing. A win her would be his 6th US Open title and his 18th overall. When Novak Djokovic was stunned in the first men's semifinal by Kei Nishikori, lots of people started thinking Federer would walk away with the title and the US Open results would be symmetrical on the men's and women's sides. However, Saturday proved to be the day of shockers. Marin Cilic played utterly sublime tennis and channeled the amazing serving ability of his coach Goran Ivanisevic as he swept past Federer en route to his first Grand Slam tournament final.

I don't think anyone in the world expected that. People were predicting a Djokovic-Federer final, a battle between the top 2 seeds of the tournament (current world #2 Rafa Nadal didn't play), and when both of them were in the semis, it seemed all but certain. Clearly, Nishikori and Cilic didn't get the memo. As such, we witnessed the first time since the Australian Open 2005 (more than 9 years ago) that not one among Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic made it to the final. It was also the first time since 1997 where both US Open men's finalists were appearing in their first ever Grand Slam event final.

In the end, Cilic maintained his superb level of play all the way to the end as he took home the title. Nishikori just didn't have the answers he had against Raonic, Wawrinka, and Djokovic. For the first time since 2003, two of the year's four majors didn't go to the tennis big three. End of an era? Maybe not, or at least not yet. But it is clear that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are no longer as absolutely dominant as they used to be. Should be interesting to see how things pan out in 2015.

Congratulations Philippine Dragon Boat team!

This is about a week late but it still deserves a blog post. Gilas Pilipinas isn't the only Philippine sports team that brought glory to the country last week. The PKCF National Team participated in the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships held in Poland last August 28-31, winning several events and doing the country proud.

photo source: http://dragonboat.ph, courtesy of Balint Vekassy (ICF) from canoephotography.com

The Philippine team competed in 11 events (I think there were a total of 42) and amazingly, they won a medal in every single event they contested. They finished with a total of five golds, three silvers, and three bronzes. That's absolutely incredible! Read more about their success and check out their medal tally in this link.

Way to go, Philippine Dragon Boat team!

Laban Pilipinas! Go Gilas! #Puso

Way to go, Gilas Pilipinas! Our national basketball made it back to the FIBA World Cup for the first time in decades and put on a display that had the entire world taking notice. They were one win short of a possible spot in the quarterfinal knockout round but they made it close in practically every game. After heartbreaking losses to Croatia, Puerto Rico, and world #3 Argentina, Gilas Pilipinas finally got a win against Senegal in their last game. What a brilliant way to end their FIBA World Cup campaign! :)

The Gilas Pilipinas players must have been about a foot shorter on average than their competition and during the games, you could see our guys standing up to only about chest height of their opponents. We also lacked the experience that other teams had in playing at this level of international basketball. Nevertheless, what they lacked in experience and height, they more than made up for in heart. They were underdogs who proved to everyone that they deserved their spot here in the world stage. They even got many non-Filipinos around the world rooting for them! That's pretty awesome. :)

This return to the FIBA World Cup, where they made it really tough for their world-class opponents and took home a win for the first time in 40 years, should give Gilas Pilipinas a lot of confidence moving forward. In the meantime, the team along with an entire nation can celebrate a solid overall performance. Congratulations Gilas Pilipinas! What an effort!