Pumapatak na naman ang ulan...

...is how the APO's song goes ano? Well, while it was pouring torrents on Monday, I was seeking refuge at the Trinoma. Ok, not quite. I was actually on a mission to exchange some stuff my mom and I bought at a store a few days before (wrong size), and to get a shot of Red Mango's frozen yoghurt, so I deliberately made my way to that mall. (More on Red Mango later.)

(Photo from VisitPinas.com)

As I was on my way up using the escalator in the North Parking vicinity, I felt drops of water on my head. I looked up, and there on the ceiling was a growing water stain. It was a leak no doubt from the rain overspout (or whatever thingamajigger contractors call it).

Hmm...didn't the Trinoma just open two years ago? Well, if this is the kind of shoddy work Ayala Land employs in its buildings these days, I no longer wonder why its income plunged by 50 percent in the first quarter of 2009. Would you buy a condo from the company if it gives you leaky ceilings? Didn't think so.

Like I've said before, and other mall visitors have confirmed it as well, Trinoma is really a depressing mall to go to despite the massive amounts of foliage and bright lights in its stores. Parking is confusing as well as the store locations, it's just chaotic. There are no automatic flushes in its toilets' while the better-smelling pay lounges are located in way out of reach places, instead of central locations. And it's freaking noisy! It's starting to become another regular SM Mall w/ its loud music, and with its bad acoustics you'd think you were in Divisoria instead!

It's so not like an Ayala mall, I tell you. I mean, if you go to an SM Mall at least there are no surprises. You know what you're getting. Loud and crass. Trinoma tries to reek of class but fails miserably bec. the owners think the rich folk from Caloocan and QC have bakya sensibilities. Thus the architecture and interior design. WTF, coño!

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So is there nothing to love about Trinoma? I admit there are a few, w/c is why you will probably find me there every other week, esp. if there's a new film in town. For instance, I like the variety of goods that Landmark supermarket offers (and btw, it has self-flushing toilets in its regular restrooms). And I enjoy watching films in the mall's roomier cinemas.

Some of the restaurants are noteworthy (Cyma, Thousand Cranes Shabu-Shabu, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Cibo, Peking Garden), and it has Piandré Salon where I get my pedi, and Toni & Guy Essensuals where I turn to for a haircut. And did I mention Red Mango frozen yogurt?

(Red Mango's stall in the hallway fronting Toni & Guy)

Red Mango is a franchise from surprise! South Korea. But it really became a hit when the company expanded in the U.S. So far, it has three local outlets - Trinoma, Eastwood, and Megamall. I love it because it's creamy and tart. Wonderful mouthfeel, but if you don't watch out, will give you brainfreeze! Brrr. (I had two servings of each flavor the other day and ended up w/ a slight headache.) I like both the original and green tea flavors, straight up, no sprinkles.

(My small serving of green tea flavor.)
I'm surprised that the stall in Trinoma never runs out of customers. Who would've thought that Pinoys would learn to appreciate yogurt? Could be that we're really more health conscious now or just bec. the product is still new in the market, and something different from the usual ice cream concoctions we've been used to? It has great price points - P80 for a single scoop for the original (P85 for the green tea), plus P20 for a single topping (fruits, nuts, or cereals). Try it.

(The toppings of Red Mango. I counted about 25 in fruits, nuts, cereals.)
(ATTENTION WHITE HAT GUYS: Okay I know you were the first in asking me to try your frozen yogurt dessert. I promise to get to you soon and give the readers the lowdown.)

If you found a bag w/ a million pesos, what would you do? And the best lamb adobo

Finally some good news amid all the posturing over the Meralco/high power rates issue, and rice crisis created by the presidentita herself. Ano ba 'yang babaeng 'yan, walang ginawa kundi pumunta sa DOJ at lumabas sa TV at magpa-photo op! I think she must have visited the agency like four times already to check out kuno the progress in cases against so-called rice traders. Micromanager? No, super KSP lang, graveh! Anyhoo...as promised, the good news...

Waiter returns a million pesos
ABS-CBN News online
May 12, 2008

What would you do if you discovered an abandoned bag with a million pesos in it?

A waiter at a restaurant in a mall found one on Wednesday and decided to look for the owner and give the money back.

Alexander "Stitch" Latag found the money in a blue SM plastic bag on a seat outside Cyma restaurant in Greenbelt 2 where he works. At first, Stitch thought that the bag was just trash but checked the contents first before throwing it out.

"I looked at it to check whether it was trash or a bomb," Latag said with a laugh. Latag said he got nervous when he saw bundles of P1000 bills inside the bag. When he showed it to a colleague, a lot of things played on their minds, he said. They thought it might be ransom money or for illegal purposes.

Latag said he saw the woman who left the bag outside Cyma. He waited one-and-a-half hours for her to come back and when she didn't, Stitch gave the bag to their manager, Jay Espinosa. (Read on at Waiter returns millions.)

Kudos to Chef Robby Goco and his professional and honest staff.

* * * *
Okay, the honesty part done with, but why the Eff would someone bring around P1 million in cash and in a plastic bag man din? I mean are you nuts, lady? Haven't you heard of attaché cases? Ahm chure napagalitan ka ng boss mo at ang kapal mo'ng kumain muna bago i-deposit yang pera sa bangko. Someone at POEA better check if this manpower recruitment agency even has a license! Imagine charging their clients P200,000 each?!

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Speaking of Greek food, I went to this Greek resto by the beachfront in Boracay last Saturday, and gads! that was the driest and saltiest lamb adobo I've ever tasted! (Why lamb adobo is in a Greek menu to begin with is beyond me. After all, adobo is more a Pinoy thing although technically, it's Spanish in origin, i.e. "adobar", to marinate.) Miggy and I also had the spanakopita (feta cheese in a rather thick phyllo pastry) and a Mati salata (greens, walnuts in a tart vinaigrette)...which were quite ordinary. If I may quote one respected young food writer's text message to me, the food in this restaurant is "nothing to write home about." No wonder the resto was empty except for three tables, and that included us.

Anyhoo, for the best lamb adobo, go to Bro's Mustache at Sct. Madriñan in QC. Eat it with garlic rice (or crusty bread and sop up the juices in the olive oil mix), while drinking San Mig Super Dry and listening to an acoustic Chikoy Pura sing Joe Jackson. Coolness, and yummy-ness! (Yummy lamb adobo, not Chikoy ha, although pwede na rin! he-he)

Anyway, I once asked Gigi Vinzon, co-owner of Bro's Mustache, the recipe to her lamb adobo. (Whoa, this lady can cook!) But try as might, I couldn't get it down to perfection. Ahm chure she left out a secret ingredient. Oooh Francine, I am so missing that lamb adobo now. Lesgow!

To a Yummier New Year

In this second installment of my three-part series on restaurants to visit and revisit in the new year, I dish on even more yummy things.

barLO Resto Lounge, Two Seasons Beach Resort, Station 1, Boracay Island, Aklan

barLO offers an exciting blend of European and Asian flavors created by the father-and-son team of Gene and Gino Gonzalez. Frankly speaking, I didn’t have high hopes about the cuisine, considering that the last time I ate at Café Ysabel in San Juan, I came away very disappointed with what I had eaten. (True, this was many years ago, but it was so bad I vowed never to set foot in the place again.)

My sad experience with Café Ysabel, however, was completely blown away when I got a taste of some of the items on barLO’s menu. The Crispy Pork with Char Siu Rice alone is to die for. While I usually abhor eating pork dishes when I’m on a beach vacation, this dish was simply too delectable to resist. Crispy and crunchy, with the flavor of the pork fat just kicked up a notch when dipped in the raspberry sauce on the side. No greasy taste at all...just nice and neat.

Another fabulous find was the Chef’s Angus Beef Burger, which was supertender and juicy and cooked just right. Consider this the king of all Boracay burgers.

For dessert, you can’t go wrong with the Molten Chocolate Cake dusted with some caster sugar, and served with pine-vanilla ice cream. The cake isn’t too sweet and the ice cream and raspberry compote just gives the dish that extra kick to make this chocolate dessert totally exciting.

And I am happy to note that barLo is so the only restaurant this side of Boracay which serves crispy fried danggit for breakfast. It serves comfort food with a twist. And who can go wrong with that?

CYMA, TriNoma, Quezon City

WHILE Cyma has been around for awhile, this is Chef Robbie Goco’s first outlet in Quezon City. Cyma’s fans are flocking to this new location and packing it in especially during the evenings and weekends. (We’re told that many of the TriNoma patrons have been regular diners at the restaurant’s Shangri-La Mall outlet like myself.)

But we also noticed new diners, mostly Filipino-Chinese families, trying to get a feel of the Greek selections and, sadly, they sometimes stick to the familiar, like pasta, pizza and osso buco — basically Italian fare — which are also available on the menu.

We hope they try our favorites, such as the Roka Salata (P245 for the solo size but still enough to share with two other people), a typical Greek salad with a delectable blend of arugula, Romaine lettuce, candied walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, shaved Parmesan cheese, kalamata olives tossed in lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil. Sweet. Crunchy. Refreshing.

There’s also the really hefty Moussaka (P235), made from Japanese eggplant. Truthfully, I don’t like eggplants because of its mushy taste, but I make an exception when eating moussaka — Greece’s national dish — and just think of it as lasagna (which I love!) with layers of ground beef, tomato sauce and loads of mozzarella cheese with béchamel sauce (minus the noodles, of course).

(Sweet but healthy Roka salata. Photo from Our Awesome Planet)

The lamb gyros (no snickering about Greek shepherd boys now) is also a must-try. It is marinated lamb sliced into bite-sized pieces, with tomatoes, red onion, tzatziki and wrapped in a pita bread. Tzatziki is a classic Greek dip made of cucumber, garlic and yogurt which gives the lamb gyros a light cool taste and feeling despite the sizable amount of meat. Only P150 and filling enough for a quick lunch.

“Always leave room for dessert,” is my favorite motto. What’s a meal without a sweet treat? You should not miss the Skolatina, the most evil! dessert ever created on this good earth! It’s that sinfully good! It is a chocolate cake that just oozes with warm chocolate syrup when you spoon into it, and which you have to eat with the warm chestnut syrup and vanilla ice cream served on the side. What a pleasure it is to savor that warm chocolatey goodness and chilled creamy vanilla ice cream playing on your taste buds. It is like the best orgasm you’ve experienced in your entire life! Mmmm....

A piece of advice, though: if you are going to order the Skolatina, do so as soon as you sit down and order your appetizers and main entrées, as it takes about 30 minutes to bake. Also, for the good of your hips and blood sugar, do share it with someone. Unfortunately, Cyma doesn’t serve coffee, which would really make the perfect ending to the dining pleasures offered in this place.

We conclude this delectable journey next week....

Holidays take over

THE holidays have taken over my life, thus, the relative slacking in my blogging these past couple of weeks.

There was much last-minute shopping to be done, wrapping of gifts, and I had to help coordinate the food, refreshments, and gifts for our gang's Christmas party this Saturday. In between all that, I still had to write my stories for the different publications I work for, squeeze in an appointment with my dermatologist, as well as a checkup with my doctor.

Well the good news is...I'm done. As in I've officially completed my shopping and all those nice people on my Christmas list will have gifts this year. Their presents are all wrapped, the bows have been tied, and gift tags inscribed with my most heartfelt dedications. I intend to send out all of these gifts (except those of my family) by next week. So get ready kiddies!

With regard to my checkup...TADAAAH! my blood sugar is normal. Yay!

Because diabetes runs in my family, I've had to monitor my glucose level at least once or twice a year just to make sure I don't go the way of my elders who have become insulin-dependent. Thank God I'm not really a lover of sweets (except for certain times of the month, ehem), and aside from pigging out on Cyma's Skolatina for the last couple of weeks, I've really stayed away from the sugary stuff. I suppose it helps that I've been using Splenda for the last couple of years in my coffee, tea, even in my champorado.

(The worst really is taking the fasting blood sugar test. You can't eat nor drink water for nine hours before the test. And I drink water a lot...right before going to bed, when I wake up to go to the bathroom, and upon waking up in the morning. So it was extreme torture not to have some midnight snack or a drink of water before bedtime. The next day, I had to bring a big bottle of water with me to the testing clinic, and as soon as I gave my blood — this was at 8:30 am — drank like I had just traveled through the Sahara desert! I felt that parched. Ugh. Also hungry. Thank God there was a Pancake House nearby where my mom and I could eat our breakfast. I had the Salisbury steak and garlic rice. Not a great combination actually. I had to order the potato salad instead. Yum.)

Aside from my normal blood sugar level, my cholesterol levels are all in check, even my triglycerides, uric acid, and creatinine levels are within the reference values, so the doctor gave me a clean bill of health. Well, almost. I had my blood pressure checked and it was 130/90, slightly elevated (my normal BP is 110/80). So he told me to exercise. Hay!

Well, I must confess, I've been remiss in my yoga practice these past two weeks (due to the weekend bazaar shopping sprees), so I'm not surprised my BP has risen. Then again, my mom was with me at the doctor's so that could also be the reason for my higher BP hehe.

Anyhoo, I'm really thankful for my good health (and my mom's too). I think this is the best Christmas present anyone can receive.

Skolatina...mmm

My travel/food buddies Ted and Francine...notice all the empty plates. Looks like a tornado swept away all the food.

IN the past week, I've been stuffing myself at Cyma, Chef Robbie Goco's Greek restaurant, now open in Trinoma, thank God! (I used to eat at the always jampacked Edsa Shangrila Mall outlet.) Last Thursday, it was to meet with travel/food buddies Ted and Francine for a few drinks. We haven't been three-gether for a while due to our scheduling conflicts and our residential distance from each other (Ted in Makati, Francine in Marikina, and moi in Q.C.). So it was a treat to see each other again after a long time and basically make chismis while eating Cyma's yummy food.

Thanks to Chef Robbie for the comp bottle of Lindenman Shiraz Cabernet 2006, one of the red wine varieties I truly appreciate, and for the Skolatina, the MOST EVIL! dessert ever created on this good earth! It's THAT sinfully good! It is a chocolate cake that just oozes with warm chocolate syrup when you spoon into it, and which you have to eat with the caramel syrup and vanilla ice cream served on the side. It is like the best orgasm you've probably experienced in your entire life! Mmmm....

My other personal favorites at Cyma are the Roka Salata, the lettuce salad with sundried tomatoes and candied walnuts, and the really hefty Moussaka, made from Japanese eggplant. Truthfully, I don't like eggplants because of its mushy taste. But I make an exception when eating moussaka because I just think of it as lasagna (which I love!), with the ground beef, tomato sauce, and cheese, cheese, cheese! (minus the noodles of course).

Skolatina...chocolate lava cake. Go Mama, go! Yumm...


Then last Saturday, my mom, fresh from a victorious bout at the mahjong table with her amigas, treated me to dinner at Cyma. I wanted her to taste the Skolatina as well because she is a cake nut. Here are pics of my mom digging into the Skolatina and savoring it. We could hardly move after pigging out on moussaka, the salad, and lamb gyros, yet we somehow found space in our full tummies for the Skolatina. I just wished Trinoma had wheelchairs to help ferry us out of the restaurant and on to a taxi cab. Gads, my mom and I felt so sluggish after our meal.

A piece of advice though, if you are going to order the Skolatina, do so as soon as you sit down and order your appetizers and main entrees as it takes about 30 minutes to bake. Also, for the good of your hips and blood sugar, do share it with someone.

A typical meal at Cyma would probably set you back at least P700 per person for three courses – appetizer/salad, entree, dessert. If you choose a really inexpensive main course, something less than P200, you can probably squeeze in a glass of red wine as well. Tip, bring a senior citizen with you to avail of his/her senior citizen discount! Hee-hee! But most of the dishes, even the solo size, are good enough for three people to share so it's money worth well spent.

(Cyma is at the 4th level, Garden area, of the Trinoma, North Ave. cor. Edsa, Q.C. Thanks to manager Toffee, and cheerful food servers Chriz, and Emar for taking good care of us.)