Saturday, February 21, 2004

Crying Ladies

Now showing at CC Village East Cinemas
181 2nd Avenue @ 12th Street
(212) 777-FILM
N,Q,R,W,4,5,6 TO 14th Street; L to 3rd Avenue
Show times today: 11:45, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30

Go watch.

(via emmywerks)
Bacolod in bullet points

  • There are so many good places to eat in Bacolod. Every year, a new restaurant pops up. Dependable Kaisei is still good, with its brand of Filipinized Japanese food, which means everything is a bit sweeter and tastier. Carlo Ristorante Italiano is still in Goldenfields. The newcomers include Imay's, Jewel's, the other Pala-pala (not the real, by-the-ocean one), and Brickpit. At Imay's we ordered buko juice, not realizing that these come in real coconuts and is about three glasses worth. Brickpit is a bit out of the way, which means you can actually have a nice, long conversation with friends there - no dirty looks from waiters aiming for a swift turnover. I love how the tables are spread out, which means you don't have to include all of Bacolod in the conversation. The lights aren't too bright or too dim. The pretentious-sounding Cafe Breizh, on the other hand, was a disappointment. It was too dull when we were in the mood for a fun girl's night out, and too loud when we just wanted to hang out and talk. The best discovery was Cafe Bascon - a small, cozy cafe hidden in the backroads of La Salle. They have the best mini cakes - way better than Manila's Bizu. Cafe Bascon's cakes are lighter and less sweet. I bet they're going to expand soon.
  • At night, everyone goes to MO2. Their drinks suck and the place isn't even that nice. But everyone goes there, anyway.
  • Twenty-four hours in Bacolod, and we'd been to two wakes and a funeral.
  • On our last day, my mom, my sister and I drove all over town looking for isaw. Everything was closed. Everything closes from Dec. 24th to Jan. 2.

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Happy tumble

V Day this year, was spent at our usual Thai restaurant. We ordered the specials (and wished we hadn't as the regular menu was way better), and had two glasses of Thai iced tea each. We would have gone for ice cream afterwards, if it wasn't freezing. So we ducked into a 99c store, and I felt, very strongly, that I had to buy something. So I got a box of rolled wafers with hazelnut filling. Later that night I had the whole box and didn't share. It was delicious.

The next day, at church, I filled in for the Praise and Worship team's absentee guitarist. I had a blast, but kept it to myself. It's ironic how at a time when I'm struggling to keep a hold on my faith, I've been going to two churches (attending two services, listening to two sermons, having communion twice on first Sundays). I'm the organist at the first church and fill-in guitarist for the second. If it weren't for music, I'd be wallowing in sin. Ha! I've been earnestly listening to the sermons (well, actually, at the first church I've been struggling to stay awake) and trying to push my doubts and skepticism away. Sometimes I feel like I'm radiating sinner vibes. Hello! This one here sitting in the third pew! Not too sure about the God thing!

At my sister's birthday dinner, we had valenciana, sarciado, menudo, carne frita, pineapple beef, and palabok. I love Filipino food. What we lack is presentation. We just don't have time to bother with garnish and stuff like that (Although I do enjoy looking (not eating, not a fan) at a plateful of palabok rimmed with slices of hard-boiled egg). Philippine cuisine is built on ingenuity. It's substituting whatever is on hand for unavailable or expensive ingredients. Although it's loosely based on Spanish cuisine, it's very different, possibly because of the way we improvise.

Last night, the cousins came over for pizza and Coke (in 8-oz. bottles, like ye olden days) and we watched Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Fear Factor, and My Big, Fat, Obnoxious Fiance, in succession.