Payday Lunch Series: The Cookbook Kitchen Experience

Since discovering the favourable proximity of Cookbook Kitchen from our office, it has been my office friends and I's goal to have lunch there one of these days and that day has finally arrived!

From the outside the restaurant looks like a typical house with a very appealing door... 

                                               

...and plants!

Aside from the lone guy eating in the corner table, we were the only people in the restaurant. But not for very long. A couple of customers arrived, apparently we all had the same place to eat in mind.

Le menu.

Interior wall art.

Appetizer: Garlic Shrimps. Feeling ko nauto lang kami sa pag-order nito (at nagpauto naman kami haha). But  they're okay.

Parmesan Crusted White Fish is the resident superstar of Cookbook Kitchen. You'll get why after you've had a taste of it. Absolutely divine! <3 p="p">

We also ordered another set of ulam, Arizona Ribs. Mmm, this one's a so-so. Nothing really special with it.

After all the carbo and protein that we stuffed into our mouths, it's time for the best part of any meal - the dessert! Romy, Ten and I shared over their must-have Kittin's Scarlet Cake. My verdict? More cream cheese! I think I'm better off with red velvet cupcakes (than a slice) in general :)

Here's a view of Cookbook Kitchen from the outside. I would still like to come back though and give their pastas a shot.

Cookbook Kitchen

8 Socorro Fernandez St
Bagong Silang, Mandaluyong
(02) 724-3595

Lunch Buffet at Yanagi Japanese Restaurant

A month ago, some of us in the office availed of Metrodeal's Japanese Lunch Buffet in Midas Hotel. We were initially attracted to its price - 399 pesos - because we thought that time it was already a good deal for a buffet lunch.

Last Saturday, despite the torrential rains sweeping the metro, we braved and made our way to Midas Hotel in Manila. Yanagi Japanese Restaurant is located on the 2nd floor so we had to take an elevator to get there. We were there exactly in time for the opening of buffet

We had this super tiny teapot  in the center table. Do not be deceived, it does not contain tea, it  actually contains soy sauce.

Below is Kurage Kyuri Salad. I thought it was just some sort of "jellied" veggie but it turns out it's actually jellyfish. Oishii desu!

Here's one of the chefs preparing the Sukiyaki. Sukiyaki dish are served on each table so no need to wait and pester the chef. :))

To the sushi rolls table! I love their salmon sushi.

Look at the wasabi, 100 points just for the presentation! Looks like guacamole I want to stuff my face with its beauty but no.

Yasai salad. This one is my favorite out of all the food that was served in the buffet table. You have a choice of sesame or soba

I forgot the name of these. Basta they're custardly like with bits of veggies inside. A little too bland for my liking or maybe that's just how it's supposed to be. I'll never know.

Mi primera placa.

Sukiyaki was served.

Segunda placa. I had more of that yasai salad and salmon sushi =p~

Tempura was also served.

Dessert plates. Not much but they'll do.

A 399-peso Japanese buffet deal isn't that bad considering it's relatively cheap. But the only downside to this is that you have a limited selection of food. If you throw in an additional 200 pesos, you can avail of other unlimited buffet from other restaurants with much wider choices. But I ain't actually complaining here. This is one of those one-time experience I'm actually glad I took.



Yanagi
Mezzanine Floor, Midas Hotel
2702 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay 

Keane Live in MNL

After Snow Patrol, THIS! Oh joy! Up next's Coldplay, Mumford & Sons, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis (that is if Liam and Noel are able to set aside their nonsense squabbles), Muse, Florence & The Machine, U2 and a lot more. But I could only dream.

I haven't seen any gig in MOA Arena and since it's still fairly new, my question is this: do they also have scalpers in there selling awesome slashed-price tickets?! hahaha.

photo from philippineconcerts' site

Here's a confirmation from Keane's website

How I Got A Patron Ticket in Snow Patrol Concert With Only One Photo To Prove It

Watching Snow Patrol concert was a last minute thing (more like a day) I decided on because you've probably heard about that nameless rain (it's a monsoon so unlike typhoons, they're never named) that caused massive flooding in various areas around the metro. 

But unlike missing Smashing Pumpkins, I had no guilt feelings over not missing this one because, well, the sun shone already the whole day promising better days ahead. Besides, I'm not sure Snow Patrol will be coming back here in the near future. I'm betting no, they're not gonna come back.

So I was panic-searching into scoring some good ticket deals over twitter and I had actually 2 people whom I contacted earlier in case I attended the concert by my lonesome self. Well, it didn't happen. I actually had friends who came (June and Jurang).

Juraine was able to talk to this guy selling patron ticket for 1,500 pesos a piece(the original price was 7,000). Wow. I knew it was such a good deal already but I really wasn't prepared for this so I was having second thoughts. Remember I watched Hanson a few months back and we stayed in General Admission section because I'm such a cheapskate. I said no and was prepared to wait for my contact to sell me her Upper Box ticket. Pero when I saw them holding their tickets, I caved in na rin. Haha. Talk about succumbing to peer pressure lol.

We were so scared that the tickets weren't even legit because the guy who sold it to us just got them for free! We were all so nervous even after we've passed the security! 

There were so many pretty people and uhm, celebrities walking around. This was totally not my turf! It was my first time in Patron, not even during college I was able to watch games there. Well, there's always a first time and here's mine.

About the photo thing. Below is the only one I managed to snap before my camera conked out on me. AGAIN. Seriously S100! Of all the days you must fail, you failed that night. /wrist moment lang talaga. 

Here's my view from where I sat. It was the closest I've ever been to a foreign band gig and it was such a bittersweet experience.

As for the concert, it was wonderful and emotional. I shed a few tears when they sang Crack the Shutters. Lol ang labo ng iniyakan kong kanta. They dedicated the song Lifening to us Filipinos as we stood gracefully and amazingly amidst disaster. Fine, those who were directly affected :) It was so beautiful I might make a Lifening version of my own, something that doesn't involve a dad in the lyrics hahaha.

Observation from the patron:

It was sad to see them fortunate people sitting on their seats looking bored, waiting for Chasing Cars to be sung. They paid a bloody sum of cash to get into their seats but, well, they seemed to only remember Snow Patrol as that band whose songs made it to Grey's Anatomy and Spiderman soundtrack (I was sort of happy they didn't sing Signal Fire. I'm evil).

That night, as I looked up into the bleachers above for the first time, seeing all the screaming fans who knew all the lyrics to all the songs, I came at peace. Even if I always seem to be stuck in the farthest section of Araneta Coliseum, I couldn't be any prouder. In that instant, I wished all the die hard fans of any musicians/artists/bands everywhere in the world get to jam in the  Patron/VIP/VVIP area cos I believe that they deserved it more than half of the people occupying the Patron/VIP/VVIP floor space. Especially those people that were just sitting down 75% of the show. Facepalm.

#rescuePH

The rain has been non-stop here in Metro Manila and nearby provinces for more than 24 hours now that so many areas have been affected. Water in low-lying and flood-prone areas need all the help that they can get right now so if you happen to be just like me, safe and dry at home but can't do much about it, here are simple things you can do.

If you're on twitter, retweet only VERIFIED information that requires immediate attention. Put #rescuePH as hashtag that way tweets can be easily scanned so rescuers could be deployed in areas where they're needed.

Below are the emergency hotlines that we all need to have in case of emergency. Here's a link that could be really helpful too in case you want to donate or volunteer: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/268714/news/nation/relief-where-to-bring-your-donations-or-to-volunteer 

And oh, let's not forget to pray. Keep praying even if the rain seemed to have stopped. Pray for those people who are also risking their lives to help others. We'll get thru this Pinas, tayo pa.

 Some emergency tips from Googlygooeys' site:

This is nice Smart!

For those who want to donate but are outside the Philippines, you can send them over here:

Tuesday Lunch Out at Chicken Charlie

Along with some office friends we finally went and tried Chicken Charlie. The Abad Street branch in San Juan was the nearest to us so we went there.

They have this cute wall design.

This one wall design I liked so much.

Here's Maricris, my office nemesis. She thrives in annoying me by constantly disagreeing with anything that sometimes I'm not sure if it's personal. Lol. But I also annoy her whenever I can. But we're cool :)

Waiting for my order. Magical Jordan number!

Ay caramba they weren't kidding when they put that Extra in Extra Hot!

Here's what I ordered. Chicken Charlie's garlic chicken are cheaper (a bit) than BonChon's but I would gladly pay for that extra pesos because to be honest I found Chicken Charlie's version to be on the bland side (hence the need for that Extra Hot Pepper Sauce). If you've tried BonChon's soy garlic chicken you'll know what I mean. Theirs are just so darn tasty!

This is just my opinion. I wouldn't discourage anyone in eating at Chicken Charlie. I'm not like that :) Their staff are nice and very helpful so that's really a plus.

Chicken Charlie
15 J. Abad Santos Street
Little Baguio, San Juan

Saving Up For a GoPro HD Hero2

My failed opportunity of capturing Oslob whale sharks led me to an obsession over snagging an underwater camera specifically GoPro HD Hero2 Outdoor camera. I told you I was serious. After researching, comparing and mulling over the idea for 2 solid hours, I reckoned this is the camera that I wanted to buy. The reviews for GoPro HD Hero2 are not technically all praises but I haven't read any review out there that slammed and branded it as mediocre either. Saved from the dome waterproof casing, this little gadget has been approved and loved by many!

All the kits inside the box



GoPro HD Hero 2 in its underwater casing

Here's a sample video taken from GoPro's website using the HD Hero2 camera (Outdoor, Motorsports and Surf edition). Makes me wanna hop on a snowboard pronto but A) I don't know jackshit about snowboarding and B) I live in a tropical country ergo, no snow.

This video below of journalist Jake Warga about his adventures in Papua New Guinea has amplified my already hyperbolic excitement over purchasing one. Watch it, it's fun!

The best thing about this whole shebang is that the Cheese supports it. For now we're saving up enough money for a GoPro HD Hero2 which hopefully we can use on our Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin trip come September. Yay! *crossed fingers*