the Fro-Yo Phenomenon

AS A FOODIE, it is with pride to know that Fro-Yo's are the in thing happening right now. Fro-Yos are frozen yogurt for short. My first taste of yogurt resembled a yakult smoothie and I have loved it eversince. It's healthy alternative to ice cream and with the just the right sour tones on the cold creamery, it's so guilt-free! Fro-yo's like Red Mango, FYI, White Hat, Froz, Lulu Belle and the California Berry outdo each other providing great, healthy flavors.It's better than soft serve ice cream, gelato and sherbet! Kudos to Spot for helping us get rave reviews on the craze. Try your very first Fro-yo and save a spoonful for me :)

the Pizza Wars

I WAS HAVING a DVD marathon of Gossip Girl Season 2 last night when I suddenly craved for hand-cut fries and lechon. I was imagining the crunchy, golden brown skin sinking into my teeth as fat dripped down deliciously then marbled at dipping a spud on garlic mayo. I shook my head at the thought. Grease. I cringed slightly. How it made food so appetizingly good. A parade of food rushed to mind and people kept coming up to me to ask what's my ultimate favorite food. My love affair for pizza started as far as I can remember and as a foodie, no matter how far you go with experimenting food, pizza just hit home. I love the smell of freshly-baked bread, sauteed onions and peppers. Here's a list of restaurants outside the country, (across the US in particular) that made pizza a universal comfort food.

Ray's (Queens, NY) - A New York Pizza is known for its paper thin crust, so put-together ingredients such as tomato and mozarella. A typical New Yorker like their pizzas folded like a sandwich and Ray's is one of the city's favorite pizzas and where most people prefer to eat. Using a wood burner burning on cherry and applewood chips as a customer would suspect, the pizza has the right balance of sweet and salty dough.

Frank Pepe's, Sally's (New Haven, CT) also known as "Little Italy", both pizzerias have their own loyal following, as with any New York Pizza, their pizzas vary through flavors of Sausages, Margherita and plain mozarella. They have the same wood brick oven, however, the shape of their pizzas are not the usual circle form, customers would describe this as "amoeba-like" shape,when you enter the store, don't expect them to serve you a knife and fork, the trays come straight from the oven to your tables.

Pizzeria Uno (Chicago, IL) - "Welcome to Uno's, here's a copy of our menu, it takes 45 minutes to an hour for your pizza to be served, so I suggest to take your orders while I get you a table" a redhead smiled warmly as she handed out the yellow cardboard. The Chicago style pizza is normally thick and deep dish. They usually start with a black, round tin pan, dough is brushed with extra virgin olive oil then covered with generous slices of Wisconsin mozarella, topped with mushrooms, and bell peppers, then smothered with tomato sauce.


Malnadi's (Chicago, IL) - Same Chicago deep-dish but the top is layered doubly with dough to ensure nothing slips out of the pie. Locals love their pizzas because they call it the real deal, the flavors are all locked in into a thick pie. Malnadi's boasts of their Chocolate-chip pie dessert. They bake a cookie dough in a pan, and as it warmly bakes, it is topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream then topped with a cherry.

Caioiti's (Los Angeles, CA) - A California pizza is well distinguished from the rest of the pizza family. Angelinos like their pizzas gourmet-style. Anything goes! From fresh oysters, goat cheese and pesto, it's called a California Pizza. The owner wanted to make something apart from the ten classic toppings and when he served it, Wolfgang Puck liked it so much, he asked the owner to work for him at Puck's restaurant in Chicago which is Spago. The owner was the one who came up with the single, most duplicated gourmet pizza called Original Barbecue Chicken Pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. They start out with the dough, smothered with barbecue sauce, chicken fillet, cilantro and mozarella cheese.

Nino's Bellissimo (Manhattan, NY) This high upper west end pizzeria sells the most expensive pizza in the world. With $1000 a pie, Manhattan's elite frequents the place to eat the most luscious and rich pizza. It starts off with semolina flour brushed with extra virgin olive oil,smothered with creme fresh, strips of dill and four kinds of the most sophisticated caviar namely: Beluga, Osetra, Caspian Sea and Sevruga then topped with the most fresh thinly-sliced lobster flown in from Maine paired with Crystalle white.

The one that tops my list is any garlic pizza downed with an ice-cold rootbeer. Rootbeer just brings out the flavor of the spices in the pie. You should try it some time :)

much ado about nothing

HAVE YOU TRIED chewing on a frozen Snickers Bar at the middle of the night and watch re-runs and not worry about what tomorrow‘s all about? It just gets worse everyday if you start to feel you’re a certified bum. I will just lose my mind wondering what the world out there has in store for me. Patience. Patience. Patience. After my rehab, I am free as a bird! I have yet to complete several weeks of the program and it doesn’t stop there. I’m running out of books to read, DVDs to watch, and I’ve tried practically everything decorating my apartment…at Yoville!! Sadly, my best friend Melissa, left for Kuwait weeks before I settled here and my close friend Jackie works through the day, so there’s pretty much no one to hang out with here in Baguio, this is where I miss Manila and the complexity of it all.
Panagbenga Festival is a few days shy of the busy preparation in Session Road. I just got off SM Baguio early this afternoon to have lunch alone at Point and Grill, nearly everybody I bump into are running hurriedly off the streets with poles, flowers and tons of light bulbs in their arms. Am I the only one slacking off time?
Against my parents’ wishes, I walked-in an open position at a nearby company, they said I passed the final interview and I can start in a month, among several applicants, I was the only one who passed, ho-hum…nothing impresses me anymore these days. If I had my way, I’d be pleased if they asked me to start in a few hours, but a month!
I’d love to go back to Manila and willingly work as a factory worker, scratch that, glorified factory worker (chuckle chuckle). I am starting to hate my princess-y life here in the mountains. When I wake up, my breakfast is ready, my pantry box is full of everything I love to eat when I want to eat it, all my stuff are alarmingly organized and I have a yaya who comes with me wherever I wish to go. But my brothers and sisters lovingly reminded me that I have all this because I still need all the assistance I can get and not because I was being spoiled rotten. I will be forever thankful to my parents, of course yet I think it’s embarrassing to let people do the normal things other than myself.
I look forward to every weekend, though. When my nephew, Theo visits us, I babysit and playing with him is so much fun! I am keen at his everyday developments and I shower him with kisses. My tutor from Benilde once told me that, if a person is disabled, he gets to appreciate the small things which slowed him down in the first place. This I find so true. I guess the one thing that’s missing with me right now is Patience. I used to have a lot of that with people. But now I don’t seem to have that with myself. Payback’s a bitch…

my lola's 92nd..

I LOVE BLOGGING about family events. I guess, in a way, I wanted to preserve the memories of my support system. When I was at the peak of my career, family reunions leave a bitter aftertaste in my mouth hence, the lame excuses I give are as easy as breathing. Regretfully, I lost ten years in the making for what I realized it to be one of the most precious things in my life. It was just last Christmas that I decided to give family reunions a try and I cried a bit for not knowing my nephews and nieces have grown so much! So I vowed to be at every family event, even at the silliest ones.
February is a grand month for my clan. My grandmother celebrates her birthday lavishly in the mansions. On her 92nd birthday, preparation starts as early as October. It was just last weekend that we all made it happen. We packed lightly and headed to Pangasinan for the two-hour ride. We stopped by San Fabian to get a gallon of nipa vinegar from Daddy’s supplier, just as we were about to pull out of the curve, a few fish vendors flocked around the car to sell their catch for the day. My Dad eyed the three ten-foot cod hanging by its tail, he made the purchase easily since they were fresh catch. We stopped by Dagupan to eat at a stop and checked in at one of the hotels there. We freshened up and headed to Calasiao. As we were nearing the street heading up the mansion, several cars were lined up front. I remembered the sprawling lawn when I was a kid and only a few cars were parked then, but now, almost all my cousins own a car and every year the lawn gets smaller with all the vehicles parked. We were greeted by my nephews and nieces, a few of my cousins were setting up the sound system and installing lights. A few yayas were running around the garden trying to run after the kids. I took a round of kisses to my aunts and uncles who warmly hugged me. The foyer was big and decorated beautifully with streamers, the maids took out plates of colorful food, lechon, sweets and busily counted the silverware. Guests were coming in and there she is, my Lola Osiang, smiling happily at everybody in her wheelchair. She squeezed my hand tightly and pulled me down for a kiss. Her familiar scent of baby powder and red roses hit home. I studied her face carefully and wiped a strand of gray hair out of her face. The lines in her face were visibly creased, boasting of the 92 years she lived by everyday, it was amazing seeing her talk wildly about her experiences, laughed like a kid, with no trace of forgetfulness. She was giddy seeing my dad “My Eddie boy”, she exclaimed lovingly as she planted a kiss on my dad’s forehead, he was her favorite son.
Fireworks cracked into the sky and my lola glowed happily when she saw all of us danced and cheered. We took pictures and took turns honoring our grandmother by giving a speech in front of everybody. When everybody was done, she took the microphone: “ I dreamt of your lolo last night, he said I must see all of you dance because this may be my last birthday, I‘m so happy all of you are here,” she said wistfully. A few hours of fun passed, the party was winding down, but my grandmother was still fully awake to have coffee with her children. They laughed and traveled down memory lane. Me and my cousins stayed in one corner just talking about what we were up to, this night right here, is something worth writing about.

i'm not her

REMEMBER the girl who used to watch your basketball games, hold your water bottle, do your reports, listen to your girl problems, bring you food when you're hungry? Remember her and your endless whine about anything when she would just sigh and wait patiently for you to be in a happy mood? Remember when you would diss her everytime a new girl came along as if she never existed? She didn't really care that people shook their heads in disgust when they thought she was the one constant thing in your life. Remember her sitting in a corner, crying and then shake the sadness all away like nothing happened? All she wanted was for you to see that she was someone who deserves more than what you treated her for. That one someone who will embrace every flaw,who will love every line of your face, who memorized the 12 different smiles you can make and best of all, the one girl who can bring out what's left of you and turn you whole again. She finally gave up and ran away, hoping you could do it on your own.
And then...there you are, trying to find her, making ends meet just to see her again and see the possibilities if there really is something to make her stay.
But that girl, the one you used to take for granted, didn't want to come back. So, please know, don't mistake me for her. Because I'm not her...anymore...

Miss Matchmaker

THAT'S WHAT I CALL myself. I would like to think of it that way. And some of my friends are grateful I am there to do a little rescuing when life seems to bore them.
It started back in college fresh off highschool, my cousin, Sonny, who was a Cadet came with a group of classmates who flocked the house every weekend. We had lady boarders so naturally, I would pair them up to my preference for every ball PMA had. I had to be careful in choosing each partner, though. Physical attraction, as tacky as it may sound, should always be in check. I also interview them first to see for myself how they fair in the dating game and I am keen in identifying personalities to make it a base for meeting people. After a couple of conversations, I then introduce the parties and see how they hit it off. So far, my track record is exceptional. And seeing their friendship evolve into a relationship gives me a natural high.
This year, I fulfilled a good deed for one of my best friends, Tina. I hooked her up with a friend of mine named Zoe. And they are out having drinks as I write this blog. So I give myself a mental pat on the back, they instantly clicked! I wanted to run my talent as a business because I know I would make good money out of it but the joy of playing cupid is priceless more than anything specially if you do it for people who needs to love and be loved. Would you like me to play cupid for you? :)

things I've outgrown.

I DON''T LIKE the rain when I started out in college. Baguio has a very unforgiving weather when May to August months hit. Everybody looks pale like the vampires in Twilight. After class, people would hurriedly make a beeline for their next class in the next neighboring buildings and they grunt unhappily knowing they'd walk over wet, slippery steps,bridges and stairs that weren't architecturally-designed to cover their paths. When it rains, it pierces you like needles and you get so numb that shivering through the cold wishes everybody to go back and crawl to bed covered with their favorite quilts.
But in Manila, rain can be soothing and a welcoming relief in these hot months.I get depressed that there's no sunshine to rule my day. I used to like it when I was a kid, but now I just don't like the pitter-patter or the dampness of even a single raindrop.
I used to love fastfood with ketchup-mustard colored designs and happy mascots that come with it. But when I started working, I get stressed out if I eat a burger and fries since there's no decent meal available (and when I say decent, it has to be a square plate of chicken or pork or fish and sidings with real silver spoon,fork and knife to match)
Junkfood used to be a medium between friends hanging out after school or just munching away and craving for too much salt. But now, my sister Car buys a pack or two everyday and I cringe in disgust. No amount of smell or crunch entice me to join in.
Being temperamental had been destructive for me through the past years. But as I look back this helped me mellowed and be the person I am now. I am more optimistic and serve as a life coach to a few who had been lost in translation for the word (insert fulfilled smiley here).
There will be a lot of things I will outgrow as time goes by, I believe change only winds down when life itself stops. I can go through a hundred different things in one day and be one single unit the next, but the things I will never outgrow is the process of change and how I fully embrace it. My parents would be so proud to be so eloquent describing maturity spontaneously.

half-hearted.

I HAVE THE BEST options possible. Go to Baguio, resume therapy for 3-6 months, enjoy my own computer,tweak Mama's laptop for fun, cuddle up with Theo anytime I want or stay in Manila doing what I want and get medical attention on my own. I just hate adjusting again, and did I mention hating the cold weather as well? My lip-biting moment as I think of everything I have to leave behind.

I'm just under a lot of stress and confusion that any tempting,colorful alcohol will not do. This is where a lush powder blue white-sand beach is helpful to my decision. I'm so confused. This is where I need J the most or Charles even. I value their opinions and I'm sure I'd get a whole lot of it. Today,I've never prayed so hard in my life, it's like leaving someone behind when there's no one to look back to.

back and forth.

I DON'T KNOW how screwed up people can get. No matter how simple things are, they choose to be complicated. Well, five years ago, all that had to happen to me. I like everything simple. From white, vanilla, cheese pizza, no prints, no salt, everything that comes in plain natural form that's what I want.
Ben (name withheld) is a downright jerk from the first time I met him, we became the best of friends and there was something in between I guess. After confronting myself and validating what real feelings lie beneath, I stopped and went away. I cried of course, not seeing him or talking to him for seven months have been hell, but I had to do it..for my own sake.
Then out of nowhere there he is, a few feet away from me, wearing a stupid grin not knowing I was there looking at him, pained.I'm at a very happy place til now. He still has that sugar effect on me and I hate me for indulging into it. I really thought I could escape him but sooner or later I will have to face him for whatever reason.
APRIL 13 marks the day of our meet. After a few fights since he got a hold of me by New Year's eve, we compromised. I still have to figure out how this story will end...

reason why I am here...

THIRTY PLUS YEARS AGO, a shy,beautiful 17 year-old met a 21-year old handome radio operator in Baguio City, she was a shy UPian freshie while he, a breadwinner of his family. They fell in love through several years of writing letters to each other while he was in Vietnam and she was finishing up with her studies.

A few years after graduation, they married and had six children. I am a product of the overflowing love in this particular household. We are four girls and two boys running around,fighting with each other trying to get the attention of my mom and dad. It's so amazing how we were brought up and kept the family intact through struggles and crises. We have always been a prayerful family and we keep an open communication so through childhood,awkward adolescence, puberty, teens and and adulthood, we stuck like glue. When nearly all of us moved out to pursue our own dreams, mom and dad were really sad but they were more than willing to travel miles just to see and be with us even for a few moments. I will be forever grateful to these two who kept me grounded and made me believe that I could spread my wings and fly..

breakfast with my family

THIS WEEKEND have been one of the most wonderful days ever! My mom and dad are always excited to come to Manila to see us and bring all the food they could think of. She knows I love fish, so the freezer was well-stocked with sausages, tinapang bangus,basasong and salmon. Everybody was noisy like we were kids and we slept late.

7am, CIRCLES,Shangri-la Makati

We headed to Circles for our breakfast.Usually when the family gets together,we go someplace where we could relax and just talk about everything. So as we entered the resto, we were greeted with a friendly crew, the familiar sweet smell of waffles and pancakes and the low buzz of people who just woke up, sipping their coffee quietly and ruffles on the morning paper. I scanned the room, it was brightly lit and chefs were busy preparing sausage links, dairy products. The tables were cherry oak with big white plates orange mugs and orange mats to compliment the restaurant's theme. There was a pastry bar with white chocolate donuts,muffins with raspberry,cheese, and orange flavors. Beside it was a wide spread of fruits, toasts,whipped cream, waffles,mascarpone and syrups. Across the bread counter, there was an attractive line of crushed ice with yogurt,and bottled juices in it. The cereals section was easy to find since the spot gloat of colorful little wheels in big bowls (Cheerios or Froot Loops, my best bet), cornflakes, granola bars, pitchers of fresh and skimmed milk, fruit juices and big blocks of different cheeses like Gouda, Camembert, Parmiggiano,Ementhal, Blue, Brie, sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, Goat cheese and cream. I stayed away from the cheese board much as I can because it can be so addictive once I take one bite. Right across our table was across the carving station with links of hungarian, bratwurst, veal and chicken sausages, pots of freshly cooked and baked potatoes, baby asparagus, seared salmon squares and eggs benedict with creamed spinach. The Chinese food section boast dumplings, steamed pork ribs, chicken feet and a lot of mouth-watering goodies inside their small rattan-like steam baskets. While the Japanese chefs were uber busy preparing the sushi, maki and yakitori spread. What I love about the place is its exclusivity. People didn't really care about other people's businesses so two brownie points for Shang for keeping the privacy in place. Our pictures didn't do justice to my description, there was just so much food to keep track of.

Me and my dad started with the greasy, heavy stuff. We loaded our plates with bacon, ham, salmon, croissants, and hashbrowns while the rest of my family got something healthy like cereals. Our table was nothing short of jams,marmalades and honey.

I didn't take a lot of pictures since we were enjoying ourselves so much. We kept laughing and shared stories about what we were up to and our plans for life. I savored every second with my family, and nothing gives me a natural high like this. After drowning myself with milk and yogurt juices, I was ready to turn in and go home. But Car and my mom loves to shop and the day was just starting so they headed to Glorietta, my Dad went someplace for his business meeting and as for me, I went home to take a nap, I was meeting Tina that night for some drinks.

It's always been tradition for all of us to get together and try different restos. Good thing I came from a family of foodies!