IN RANDOM views of a city-bred and a promdi.

This is what you call MADE IN CHINA

 

                           

This is a picture I took in another country's local airport (somewhere in Europe) that caught my attention and which prove that Pinoys are still much better in English than people in the west.

The email below however is much worse and darn funnier.

I have been receiving e-mails like this, but this seems to be the one that made me laugh the hardest so far . 

Re-posting for future use (when I need something to make me forget my worries and problems for awhile).
======================================

Here is what   you call MADE IN CHINA ….
   
   
   Duh ?!!    

                

 

 
   NAKU WAG KANG PAPANAKAW!!!...

 

 

 

                                 

DELIKADO TO..... BKA MAGALIT..!!!!

 

                

 

   KAKALUNGKOT NAMAN...

 

 

                

HAAY OO NGA NAMAN.. LIBRE NA NGA EH.. DAPAT LANG...

 

   
   
   KAW NAMAN KASI EH... PAG MAGPAPADULAS KA INGAT INGAT LANG..

 

                

 

 
   ANG GALING NAMAN SA KANILA KAHIT 70+ NA, PWEDE PA RIN MA-PREGGY. 

 

                

 

 
   HALA .. HORNY KA BA DYAN .. ETO GAMOT PARA   MABAWASAN. HEHE. 

 

   
   
   O, DAHAN-DAHAN LANG ANG PAG-UNTOG SA ULO HUH…

 

                

 

 
   AY, TALAGANG HINDI. MASAKIT KAYA YUN!
   
   
   
   
   HAY.. WELCOME NGA...
   
   
   
   HELLO! MUSTA KA NA, PRODUCTS? HOW DO YOU DO??

 

                

 

   
   
   YUN NAMAN PALA EH. IF YOU WANT TO BE IN TROUBLE, JUST CALL 110. KUNG HINDI NAMAN, THEN BETTER NOT   CALL 110.

 

                

 

 
   KUNG GUSTO MONG MASAKTAN SIGE LANG!!!

 

                

 

 
   NAKU PO INGAT!!!

 

                

 

   
   
   LORD OF THE RINGS BA 'TO.... ? 

 

                

 

   
   

 

                

WAAAAAAAH.. TODO NA TO... ANG TINDI. KAHIT DEDO KANA,     EXPECTED KA PA RIN NA MAGLINIS NG MESA .

 

 

 

Lawschool's American Idol!!!

                                       

                        
                   And the winner is..... The JUMPY JUNIORS!!!

I am not biased (though this is my original batch before I took a leave and transferred to evening section).  They ranked third, but for many of us the Juniors are the winners.  They gave the best rendition of Minsang Lang Kitang Iibigin and their Seasons of Love was fantastic! 

                        

                        
I salute my friends Kat Aglibot (super sexy mo!), Virgil Ligutan (super tangkad at gwapo mo and you were like actually jumping as you glide when you reach for your high notes ), and my twin Cecille Tuason (you were a bomb! super feel na feel and you had the best smile ).

I also congratulate the evening section for winning second place :) . Bravo Bernard, Rica,  Ia and Jeff


Malcolm Idolaw is the first concert ever of the UP Law Community showcasing talents of professors and students to let the whole world know na TAO RIN KAMI and we are never ever DULL contrary to popular belief.  This is a project of the LSG (Law Student Government) and UP LAW Class 1982. 

My few comments:

1. Professor Pulido-Tan the master of ceremonies and professor of Taxation was a revelation that evening.  We didn't know she can make people laugh in that way rin pala.

Dean Carlota

Dean Carlota beside the piano

2. Dean Carlota -- his was my favorite solo performance.  Our Dean can sing!!!! Beat that!  His rendition of SMILE (though your heart is aching...) as he said, is truly a banner song for all lawstudents when the going gets rough .

Our demi-god Oblicon Prof. Labitag

3. Prof. Labitag -- impressive baritone.  He could sing!!!!

Justice De Leon

4. Justice De Leon my another favorite is a real pro.  A former member of UP Madrigals.  Splendid splendid!

                        

5. And my oh my... Ms. Lorybeth Baldrias (LSG President) and Dean Carlota's duet of Somewhere Out There was beautiful.  Ms. Lorybeth's voice was truly angelic.

Prof. Concepcion

                         

6. My another favorite is the rendition of the portia trio with Prof. Chit Jardaleza.  The songs are easy listening and relaxing.  Ma'am Chit could carry a tune... though she says she has a bathroom voice who only sings in the bathroom.

Congratulations everyone who participated and to the LSG for a job well done.

The new MALCOLM IDOLAW!!!! (pronounced as IDOLO... okay? ) makes me want to audition and sing for next year. 

Sing you in COURT!!!


FOR VIDEO clips, click below:
http://mgytorralba.multiply.com/journal/item/218/Clips_from_Malcolm_Idolaw>Clips from Malcolm Idolaw

Rep's Tuesdays with Morrie

FROM MY MULTIPLY that I am sharing here:

Rep's Tuesdays with Morrie

Jan 27, '08  1:37 PM for everyone

Category:

Other

Allow me before I sleep to say a thing or two about this play based on Mitch Albom's best-selling novel.

Outstanding.

Spectacular.

Made me cry.  Made us all cry.

Bart Guingona as Mitch was good but was upstaged by Mr. Jose Mari Avellana as Morrie Schwartz.  A brilliant actor!

"To be not in love is better than being in love.  To be in love is being free from pain, free from falling!" - Mitch

"Falling...  Loving! Falling... Loving!  It is the Loving that is the point!" - Morrie

I don't recall those lines from the book, but stroke a chord in me while watching this play. Hmmm makes me to think of loving again? Soon or not too soon... but I will.. I hope I will. Despite the falling.

Btw, the play had a 98 percent standing ovation - in Philippine theater.

For pictures:

http://naomicorpuz.multiply.com/photos/album/49/Tuesdays_with_Morrie_at_GB1

Ilocos Celebrates Christmas

Annually, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte celebrates Christmas with a Lantern parade and a program at the Provincial Capitol. This year they added a food fair (where each town and city will have a booth selling their delicacies) and a photo contest (anything about Ilocos Norte).

I salute the lantern makers who painstakingly created the lanterns out of indigenous materials.

I also congratulate Tricia Domingo whose photo (woman holding an empanada) made it to the top 100 out of 250 entries. 

We had fun booth - hopping and food - tripping in the fair.  I was so full I didn't eat dinner anymore. 

Afterwards we had coffee, our fave "after eating activity" at La Preciosa Restaurant. With me are highschool friends Mia, Tricia, Panchet and Charisse.

To have a glimpse :) please click here.

Naimbag a Pascua 'Yo Amin Kakabsat!

My say on DOGEATERS and INTO THE WOODS

INTO THE WOODS - 3 STARS

The set taken from my phone cam

    I expected more.  The sound system was terrible last November 24. Each actor even had lapel michs.  I hope they could give attention to this especially that it is a musical play.  Some songs can't be appreciated with ugly sound system like Joaqui Valdeze's solo for his mich was not functioning properly.  Julian Abueva, Menchu lauchenco and Michael Williams -- are the only three actors whom I appreciated their singing and acting.
 
    I find the play overrated with all the reviews and press releases. Tommy Abuel can't be understood with his lines.  He is better off in television and film.  I also find it rowdy.  The acoustics was bad -- to think that venue is Music Musuem.    I encourage the actors and people behind the scenes of Into the Woods to watch Dogeaters.  Each actor in that play didn't have lapel michs but they did a great job with voice and stage projection.

Nov. 9 - Dec. 8 2007
8pm, Music Musuem
For tickets contact:
NVC - tel. 8896695/8965497/8990630
www.newvoicecompany.com
Ticketworld - tel. no. 891-9999
www.ticketworld.com.ph

  
 

DOGEATERS -  5 STARS

This is from ATLANTIS' website

 

    The last time I joined a Filipino crowd in a standing ovation during a play's curtain call was Repertory Philippine's production of Les Miserables.  This was years ago.  I was in gradeschool then.  I never joined a standing ovation since then, or should I say it has been a long time since I saw a standing ovation in Philippine theater... until I saw Dogeaters last Sunday at Carlos P. Romulo Theater at RCBC Makati.

    Aside from the starstudded-cast that made me see this play (where I had to travel all the way from Ilocos and maximize my weekend-off from my internship at PAO, Laoag City Branch) is the encouragement of Christine Guevarra a.k.a. Tin, my college batchmate and presently a 2nd year med student in UST.  She sent a pm (personal msg) and asked when I am planning to see it since I posted it in my multiply calendar.  Well, though I did post it, I did it merely to remind myself of the upcoming plays but I wasn't really decided yet at that time.  Tin mentioned to me that the play is originally from Jessica Hagedorn's best-selling novel DOGEATERS which she bought at Fullybooked in year 2004.  Tin, though not as an avid theatergoer as I am, insinuated that the play is well-written.  And I was convinced, she being a prolific writer herself... not to mention being the SINAG associate editor who even bested the magnas and cums in our batch who applied for the high -ranking positions in our college editorial board.  In other words, I trusted her judgement that this play is indeed... good.

    And it surely was.

    And not just good but excellent even.  I am not saying though that you will definitely feel the same way as I rave about it for we have varying tastes, but my entire family and friends seated at the center orchestra, 6 to 8 rows from the front row stood up during the curtain call.  Some people remain glued to their seats... but I think half of the audience that night stood as we did.  Actors Michael Williams and Madeleine Nicolas who were part of the audience, and who I also watched in Into the Woods the night before at Music Museum were with wide smiles during the curtain call seemingly very pleased at their fellow thespians.

    Well as to my "say," I prefer not to discuss the synopsis since this has been written about many times like the very detailed column of Pat Evangelista.  You can read about the story on other websites, just google it, or check Atlantis productions website.

    Andoy Ranay - gave one of the best performances as Imelda Marcos.  The accent, the voice, the imeldific hair-dress-shoes, the twinkling of the eyes, the mannerisms -- it was IMELDIFIC!  It was perfect, funny, it would make you laugh! I enjoyed watching her... I mean him

This is from ATLANTIS' website

Blurry pics taken by sis Nina Corpuz (who is sooo good with my phonecam ):

    Andoy is by the way a television director of Marina, Kampanyerang Kuba, MMK, and Prinsesa ng Banyera.  Gays as Sir Ray Macapagal (a brilliant gay psych teacher) said are usually considered as lower form of species of human society -- but Andoy Ranay disputes this fact. He gave a stellar performance.  His diction was perfect, he had an impressive voice projection and clear enunciation of the words - his overall performance was exemplary.  I hope I could get to watch him more on stage besides his films like Markova and Comfort Gay among others.

    Another observation is that the cast is NOT entirely star-studded.  Unlike elitist theater companies who hire the "elites and the same" actors most of the time, Dogeaters also consisted of some thespians from the "masang pinoy" theater companies (I call it masang pinoy since their tickets are more affordable, usually at student prices at natural mas maraming nakakapanuod na masa at hindi elitista; and their "pinoy" rendition of plays which usually have tagalog versions) who are not given the same attention and opportunity (as those in elitist theater companies) gave the most impressive acting performances. 

    At the top pf my list is Nicco Manalo who portrayed the afro-haired Joey.  He is part of Tanghalang Pilipino Actor's Company and has also acted for student and indie films.  He FELT his role -- mula sa pagiging high sa dopamine, to a weird homosexual disk jockey, sa nanginginig na witness sa assassination ng isang senador at sa gubat kasama ng mga rebelde -- his performance was flawless at sobrang totoo. I hope his outstanding performance in this play would open more opportunities for him not only in theater but also in television and film.  Kung may best actor award -- sa kanya ko ibibigay ang trono. 

    The next to my list are: Gerald Napoles who portrayed 5 characters - best of which as Lt. Pepe Carreon, Las Rodriguez - as waiter of the wealthiest man of the country and boyfriend of Trining portrayed by Chari Arespacochaga.  I was also impressed with Chari who made a comeback from directing.  Her portrayal of Trining gave life to the play as she is funny and kenkoy -- especially the bedscene with Las when the latter called her Lolita to which she responded, "My name is Trining! Not Lolita." Hahaha.

    Ana Abad Santos was brilliant as Barbara, a talkshow host who also served as narrator of the play.  Rez Cortez was amazing from shifting back-and-forth as a General and a tangengot waiter.  Other notable actors are Jenny Jamora as Daisy Villanueva as a senator's daughter who converted to a rebel communist, and the pokpok/mistress Lolita Luna portrayed by Che Ramos.

Tin, Me, the superb Jon Santos, and Chap

    Acting legends Jon Santos, Gina Alajar and Joel Torre were as usual -- very very good in their craft. Gina who appeared in only a few scenes did great acting with her sacrilegious prayers towards the end of the play.  She could scandalize religious conservatives... that she almost did to my mom .  I am glad I was seated next to her to keep her reminded that "it is only a play mom."  But this only goes to show that the play could make you laugh, shock your moral sensibilities and empathize with their political sentiments -all by the characters from the different social strata of Philippine society. Which is why the poster of Dogeaters says it is "A Play About the Philippines." 

   The play is about our country.  The "then" era of the late dictator but has parallelisms to the "now."  I liked it a lot.  I hope you do too...

    It is the best play I've watched this year.

Nov. 16 - Dec 2, 2007
Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium
RCBC Plaza, Makati
Atlantis Productions - 892-7078/840-1187
Ticketworld - tel. no. 891-9999

CLICK HERE FOR TIN'S SITE and
GET TO READ HER REPLY TO A COMMENT

Our Favorite Food Places in Ilocos Norte

   Arriving Ilocos is my most awaited time of the year (other than my birthday and x'mas season).  I can only come home when there is schoolbreak since I started studying in Manila  in year 1999.  Manila has taught me about diverse cultures, being a melting pot of people  from different places. It has also opened my mind to religious and political differences in society. And ofcourse, what my alma mater U.P. taught me -- which is not what to believe in but rather how I can defend my own chosen beliefs. 

  But most of all, (and allow me to digress ) what I love most about Manila is the colorful lifestyle and the wide array of of entertainment and activity – from the movies, to theater, to sports and most of all… food . Hahaha.

  

    However, despite the many different restos and wide selection of food that Manila  has to offer – there is always a longing to be home. Like what my friends from Ilocos who studied in Manila  say, “There is no place like home… especially when it comes to food.” (Right fwends?) The first time I registered as a user in friendster, the first thing I wrote for interest/hobby category is eating Ilocano food – which is why my kindergarten classmate Dannah Rubio, a fellow Ilocana from Batac and my neighbor in the province was able to locate me in the friendster network. She told me via email that when she typed the term ILOCANO in friendster’s search engine, I was the only user who appeared in the search results for the phrase I wrote for hobbies/interests: I LOVE TO EAT ILOCANO FOOD.    
 

 

  And indeed I do. Not only my mom and dad would attest, but also our cook Nana Sepa who has been with us for more than 30 years that among the 4 siblings ako ang hindi mahirap pakainin for I literally eat anything served to me.

 

 

 

If you care to know a list of my faves, read below:

   

My favorinate hard snack – is empanada and isaw

   

My favorite soup snack – miki

   

My favorite breakfast – (other than longganisa) is imbaliktad and singkutsar of Nana Sepa

  

My favorite salad – pakpako (with freshly sliced tomatoes, bagoong, kalamansi juice and ginger)

   

My favorite ilocano dish – always and forever Ilocano Pinakbet

   

My favorite food places – turo-turo and carinderia

 

 

 

 

    Now why am I writing this? I, being a woman who is expected to be slim, coy and must NOT eat too much? My bestfriend Myra  told me that she liked my pics with family and friends in my friendster but said, “Naomi, halatang matakaw ka,” regarding the pictures of the food also posted in my profile. E di shempre sinabi ko sa sarili ko, “Eh ano ngayon kung may pagkain sa photos ng friendster ko? Hindi lang naman sceneries o tao ang magandang kunan ah… pati pagkain din!” Hindi ba mga ka-berks kong kasama at kadamay ko sa kainan at kagutuman?  And one more thing, not because there are pictures of food in one’s account it doesn’t mean matakaw siya (all the time). And I keep myself fit by working out in the gym, engaging in sports and making sure that I have a balanced diet – that is kung may karne at taba, kailangan may prutas at gulay din. Kaya niyo ba ang 104 lbs? Yup – this is my current weight despite eating good food most of the time (but in small quantities - which is my secret; if in large quantities – which must be seldom and incase you ate a lot for 2 or 3 consecutive days – you can lose the calories by doing cardio exercises such as walking or running on a treadmill and using the stationery bike even only for 1 hour.  Incase matakaw ka talaga and you crave for midnight snack while working or studying late nights– instead of chocolates or carbo food - -try shifting to apples and grapes.. basta sa prutas hindi ka tataba kahit midnight snack pa yan.  So, alam niyo na sikreto ko?

 

 

 

    Shempre intro ko lang yan why I am writing this article.  One of the main reasons is to share the food places I and my friends frequent to have a taste of these Ilocano food when I am home that even fellow Ilocanos might not know about:

 

 

 

1. My favorite hard snack – is empanada and isaw

 

WHERE: BATAC’S  GLORY'S EMPANADAHAN

 

 

at Batac Crossing (along the highway) turn left (if you are from Laoag) on Marcos Highway.  Go Straight until you reach the Batac Catholic Church.  Facing the church, the Batac Empanadahan is on its right beside the bridge.

 

    I've been here countless times with my family, barkada and some friends from Batac and Manila:

 

 

   hi-skul ka-berks

 

   friends from Batac (usually with Odie in yellow and Genny who's not in the pic)




   Celia (one of my 12 UPM kabarkada who have been there once except Cel who has been there twice in two separate visits)

   


Nothing can beat the original empanada of Batac particularly Glory's empanada. Though some have tried serving the Ilocos empanada in Manila (along Katipunan, QC and Market Market)... Batac still has the best tasting empanada, far better than other parts in Ilocos Norte and  Ilocos Sur.  Empanada has its origins in Spain and actually from the Spanish word empanar which means  to wrap or coat in bread.  If you google the word empanada, the first search result would be the definition provided by wikipedia which describes the empanada from the northern part of Ilocos region to be uniquely different:

... empanadas in the northern Ilocos region are very different.

  

...These empanadas are made of a savory filling of green papaya

...and, upon request, chopped Ilocano sausage (longganisa) and/or an egg yolk.

...Rather than the soft, sweet dough favored in the Tagalog region, the dough used to enclose the filling is thin and crisp, mostly because Ilocano empanada uses rice flour





...and is deep-fried rather than baked.

    Wikipedia failed to mention though that our empanada may also include hotdog and the secret sauce of batac's empanadahan -- that is mixing ketchup and sukang iloko --> try it guys, and I swear you will make use of this sauce for your other food.  Special empanada is for P25 while ordinary (plain - without longganisa or hotdog) is for P20.  Other than the empanada are so many other tinuno that you will enjoy eating with the secret sauce.  These are the:

crunchy isaw of Glory's like no other!


Glory's longganisa on stick


Squid on stick


Kwek-kwek (wrapped quail eggs)

For other food in Glory's menu with prices, see below:

2. My favorite soup snack – miki

WHERE: LAOAG'S CHRISTINE'S

at Paco Roman St., Laoag City.  From N.Corpuz Paco Roman Branch, go straight and after 2 blocks you will see the signage "Christine's."

at my fatter times with Kitz (an old pic)


eating with a smile

    Though Batac is also well-known for its miki, the best miki in my opinion, same as my highschool friends' is Christine's Miki Haus in Laoag. 

For some reason the soup of the miki is better plus
the boiled egg compared to the miki in Batac (P28).
Nadurog din ang chicharon kaya masarap.


To my non-Ilocano friends -- the miki's sauce is always
the Sukang Iloko with sili as an option. 






Other than miki they also serve asadong siopao (P25)


siomai (P15 per 3 pcs.)
& fried lumpia stuffed with potatoes (P6/pc)

3. My favorite food places – turo-turo and carinderia

WHERE: BATAC'S DAYO
                      others:
                  LAOAG'S DAWANG'S (to write about in the future)
                  LAOAG'S IVAN DOMINIC'S (to write about in the future)
 
DAYO
From Manila - before reaching Batac's main crossing is the huge Globe's antenna located at the facade of Batac cemetery.  Across is a cockpit where the turo-turo of Batac, popularly known as Dayo is located. (Open only on Sundays)
Other Branches: in Napu, Badoc near the market (Open on Wednesdays)
                    in Sinait, Ilocos Sur fronting the market (Open everyday) 

It has a very spacious parking lot...

& from afar you will see waitresses with their red checkered aprons.

carabao meat for kilawen (raw meat)

    
    I have been asking around the precise definition of the Ilocano term Dayo since it its an ambiguous word - which could mean stranger or let's go/pumunta tayo but I didn't know that it could also mean a place where cattle is sold according to my Dad.  Tin, a good friend and fellow law student from Piddig informed me that it can also mean an event where cattle owners convene at a certain day, at an early hour, at a given venue where they trade cattle; they check out, buy, sell, barter cows or carabaos usually tapos may nagbebenta na dun ng paksiw, imbaliktad and the like na usually masarap.

    I always eat in Laoag's turo-turos for genuine Ilocano dishes until I was first introduced to Dayo ti Batac by Genny and Odie, (my two neighborhood childhood friends) a few years ago which I never knew existed.  The first time I went here was at an early Sunday morning, around 830am and I was able to taste for the first time the reddish carabao meat for kilawen.  Usually I eat goat's meat for kilawen but never carabao's meat and when I tasted the latter for the first time, I told myself that I will be back to Dayo for this!

    Unfortunately when my Dad and I went here last Sunday for lunch, there wasn't red carabao meat available anymore .  Darn. Darn.  The women in-charge told us, "Sapay ngamin itatta lang kayo Sir ket alasais adut mangmanganen." (Why did you arrive late?  Many people are already coming to eat as early as 6am).  So lesson no. 1, don't arrive late like lunch time dahil mauubusan kayo.  So we ended up eating other Ilocano dishes:

We had Insarabasab (tinuno with freshly sliced tomatoes), Igado (which is our favorite among those we ordered.  It is the best Igado I've tried -- manamis-namis), Dinuguan (but Laoag's Dawang's is better and crunchy while this isn't.  And I still like our Nana Sepa's Dinuguan better than this.  It was too oily). Each dish is P35. Rice is P5. Softdrinks is P10 each.

Ofcourse. in any carinderia or turo-turo -- the singkutsar or pinapaitan will always be available. P35 each. This tastes better with sukang iloko.

So there you have it.  I hope you can visit these food places yourselves when you have the chance to be in the two cities of Ilocos Norte, Batac & Laoag.  Happy Halloween!!!

My wish Wicked CD granted

    My mom granted one of my X'mas wishes in advance.  After watching it in broadway with my 2 elder sisses last month, she bought me an original soundtrack of Wicked the Musical.   Thanks mom! lab u lab u! Please put an x mark on this in my x'mas wishlist if you intended to give me one , thanks though.

    I hope a Philippine Theater Company could stage this wonderful musical.  It has the best songs in Broadway so far in my opinion. Listen to some of the songs and have a glimpse of Tony Award winner Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in their performance of Defying Gravity in the Tony's 2004. 

Click here to listen to my top 5 favorites in the CD

NAOMI SHUTTERBUG'S SHOOTINGS - PART 1

I just wanted to share some photos that I have been keeping, but planned to share it to people someday. This is the first album... more are coming soon as I have time to upload them, one at a time. Please don't forget to click on the pic to enlarge. 

Click here for the first of the series. Click here and here for the next  batch of the series of NAOMI SHUTTERBUG'S SHOOTINGS.

Please bear with my low resolution photos... for I am poor born to penny-pinchers as parents.  I am with no money to buy a professional high resolution cam - which is one of my goals when I have earned quite some bucks from work someday in the future.  But hey, a 4.0 megapixel isn't that bad.

You may order .  These are copyrighted y'know.  For updates for my NAOMI SHUTTERBUG SHOOTINGS album collection, you may subscribe to my blog.

Thanks for viewing.

BAZAAR for a CAUSE -- ROCKWELL

Link

I read about this in THE INQUIRER today.  I just want to remind myself, so I am posting it in my calendar.  My eldest sister Chap has been a religious shopper of bazaars in Rockwell and I like the stuff she buys for me, like the bag organizer.  So I thought, you might be interested too.

Chelsea's -- The Best CARBONARA

                        

The rating is 3 stars.  WHY?: Because the carbonara is really really good (5 stars for that).  But the service is really really bad (2 negative stars for that) = which amounts to 3 stars.

The BEST CARBONARA I have tasted.  Just look at the picture.  It has

EGG YOLK,
  with the creamiest white sauce with peppermint and crispy bacon strips.  It costs 350 but we had it split into 2 since it was a big plate.  1 order is good for two anyway.

Drinks are expensive.  If I remember it right, prices are P95 and above.  So we had housewater. Hahaha. 

We went there on a Saturday afternoon and I suggest, don't go there at the spur of the moment on weekends or holidays because there are already reservations prior your arrival.  So make a reservation before going there on a weekend (or even on a weekday to be sure), for dinner.  The restaurant was full already so we had to eat outside and can order for merienda only.  This compensated my disappointment for not being able to order their dinner Salmon specialty, since dinner starts at 6pm.

                                    
However... Chelsea's must improve...  I mean really really improve their service. It had very very bad service.  They kept us waiting when there weren't people (who made reservations) who arrived yet.  We had to wait for 15 minutes or so for our change and we have to remind 3 consecutive times to 4 waiters!!! Pinapagpapapsahan kami! Mga aanga-anga pa.  Tsk tsk. Tin and Tricia, my highschool friends who were with me were getting pissed.

I wanted to try one of their soups [Butternut Squash & Marinated Goat Cheese (120++)], however it can only be served starting at 6pm and we were there at around a little past 5pm.  I hope they could change this rule because soup can be taken anytime of the day, especially when you only want soup and not their main courses.

I will be back to Chelsea's for dinner, and I hope by that time they have improved their service... SIGNIFICANTLY. 

Chelsea is located at Serendra.  Facing Serendra, it is after Sonja's Cupcakes but before St. Mary Grace.  It is exactly fronting Abe Restaurant. Tel# +632 9091711 for reservations. (Photos by Miss Treesha Domingo)

I am high... on Avenue Q High!!!

             

My camera is currently connected to my brother's laptop but the pictures can't be uploaded.  Any external hardware requires the approval of the main user of the computer, who is my brother.  However he is not with me at the moment.  So please wait for the pictures... I will upload them sometime soon.  Meanwhile, check our photos from my friend treesha's site.

As the title of my blog says, "I am high!"... on Avenue Q High!

Avenue Q is one of the most "fun and entertaining" plays I have seen after a long time.  It is better than the rest of the Atlantis productions I saw in the past years such as Rent, Rocky Horror Show and Proof, among others.  I salute Chari Arespacochaga -- it is one of her best, if not the best, directed plays so far.  Far better than Baby the Musical she did with Trumpets.

 

Avenue Q is about Princeton, a 23 year old fresh grad who is looking for his purpose in life.  It has a simple plot, with various characters -- stressing  on themes like racism, homosexuality, and finding true love...

 

What makes the play unique is that puppets were used by the actors... puppets act as the actors while holding them, also act -- so you could actually "see" the actor.  Akala ko, nakatago yung mga puppeteers. Hindi pala.  Umaarte rin pala sila, simultaneously with the puppet. Galing!

Get a glimpse of their you tube plug.

 

If you think it is like Sesame Street  and so you could bring your kids along -- well it is not.  Parental Guidance is needed -- some themes are not suited for young audiences, or even the old folks who are not openminded enough: to live-in partnership, premarital sex and homosexuality. 

 

I salute: Felix, Aiza and Joel  -- who in my opinion, are the most remarkable and best performers in Avenue.

1. Felix Rivera -- it is my first time to see this young man on stage.  He plays the lead -- Rod and Princeton.  He has good diction, good voice and has very very good acting.  His role is difficult and entails a lot of preparation.  Nakakagulat dahil bago siya compared sa iba... at ang galing na.  He has appeared in plays with not too well -known theater companies.  He did Lam- Ang with Tanghalang Ateneo.  I am expecting this guy to soar in the theater industry.

2.  Aiza Zeguerra -- gave the best vocals, good diction with the impressive afro-american accent at ang cute. hahaha. 

3. Joel Trinidad - the son of Noel Trinidad, gave good acting as usual.  He portrayed different characters -- from a guy roommate, to a bear then to a trekkie monster.  My usual criticism, like in Proof (with Lea Salonga) -- he needs to improve his voice's volume for better projection. However in the play Avenue Q -- his acting and voice change were excellent so mapapatawad kahit mahina ang boses.

Meet the Cast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln0JIuD0brw

 

Rachel Alejandro is okay.  My friend Tin Agapay finds her good but not much for me, relatively speaking.  Frenchie Dy was funny, good voice (shempre, star in a million champion e) but needs to improve on her acting (parang ilang pa e).  If she does, I could see that she would be doing more with theater in her career.

Avenue Q's last showing in the Philippines is tomorrow, September 23 but you could see more of this Tony Award Winning Musical in Broadway and London's West End.  Click here for more info in Broadway.  Related site of my friend Tin, click here.

 

                

Nina Corpuz, now in hardnews

Some people have been asking me why my sister Nina Corpuz aka Chap, is not in ENTERTAINMENT beat anymore.  Anyway, to make the story short, my sister told me she wants to handle serious news now.  It doesn't mean though that entertainment is not taken seriously... she just wants some "change," with the kind of news she is dealing with.  And as I see her everyday coming home from work, who is now ''not the usual ngarag from MUB and rushes to an entertainment event then puffs and shifts to Star patrol," she is happy in what she is doing.

Here is a piece from her blog about her shift from entertainment to hardnews: Cick here.

La Cocina de Tita Moning in Malacanang - unforgettable bday dinner for my DAD

I have read about La Cocina de Tita Moning featured in some magazines and newspapers.  It was recently featured in Metro Society (? -- forgive me if I am wrong - I can't find the mag kc) where the Romualdezes are in the front cover.  The food in the pictures on the last few pages of that magazine were mouthwatering.  It also mentioned strictly for reservation and allow atleast 24 hours for bookings.

This morning, I planned to have dinner for my dad's birthday, September 8.   I was thinking of a restaurant we haven't tried, -- & even though far from our home, since it is a saturday anyway.  Though my bro Nick and I don't have much money in our bank accounts, my dad would definitely pay for the dinner -- so sabi ko, hmmmmmm e di sa mejo pricey na basta sulit.  And, so that we could also say to our mom and 2 elder sisses Chap and Bernadette, who are all in New York at the moment that we are still enjoying ourselves here in the Philippines despite their absence.  I chose La Cocina, and I am lucky that they accepted my reservation despite the less than "the atleast 24 hours booking required" which I made at 9am.  Thanks to Monette, who graciously accepted it :) thru the phone.

La Cocina de Tita Moning is located near the Malacanang Palace, along San Rafael street where ancestral homes of old rich familes since the American occupation still stand today (in the picture -- the Legarda mansion 'now' and 'then').  Most of the houses along that street are still owned by the Legarda's, Valdes's & Prieto's.  La Cocina is in Legarda mansion built in the 1930's and one of the first "art deco" houses in Manila.  Dona Ramona (a.k.a. Tita Moning) and her husband, Dr. Alejandro Legarda were known to serve dinners for their friends -- some of the notable figures in attendance is William Howard Taft, the first commissioner of U.S. assigned to Manila.  General Basilio Valdes, the chief of the AFP during Manual Quezon's time is also their neighbor and a gate was built connecting their houses.  We were also told that the general is the husband of Dr. Alejandro Legardo's sister -- Bombona Legarda, the chief cook and housekeeper of the Malacanang Palace during the time of President Elpidio Quirino.  The Legarda couple also have four children who are all doctors.