September 2009
62 posts
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Space, glorious space
The first thing I noticed when I entered the convention hall was the generous amount of space. The event was held at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre’s Halls 401 and 402. The area kinda reminded me of our convention center at the World Trade Center in Manila. It was certainly smaller than the Moscone Center in San Francisco but was definitely a behemoth...
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STGCC 2009 postmortem
This has got to be the tardiest account of STGCC 2009. Well, what can you do?
Last August 14-16, the SIngapore Toy, Games & Comic Convention 2009 was held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It was their second time to host such an event. The press releases claimed that they were the biggest and best pop-culture fest of toys, comics, gaming, and animation...
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Food for thought
PLEASE READ THIS. If you’re the type who just skips my tumble posts and just looks at the pictures, please stop for a moment and read this.
Although it may be hard to believe, seeing that most of my posts seem to revolve around food, and people who know me know how passionate I am when it comes to eating, I have been thinking recently about changing this aspect of my life. I’ve been...
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Just in case
Right beside the kitchen and adjacent to the dining area of Ate and Carlos’ flat is a small room that they have converted into a mini bodega/pantry/stockroom. Hidden behind a sliding curtain, this small confined space is different from the rest of the rooms at the apartment. It has a thick iron door and massive lever-type door knobs that remind me of bank vaults, although it is less thick...
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Pepsi Shiso
I then went with Carlos and Ate to the beverage aisle because my brother-in-law wanted to buy beer. He was looking at the different Japanese and international brands when a bright green bottle caught my attention. The label on it was written in Nippongo and the only words that I could discern were “Pepsi”, “Shiso” and “Japanese refreshing flavor”. I heard about...
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Why, Hello Panda.
I then went back to the candy section where I bumped into Ate and Carlos. They were looking for coffee and beer. We were on our way to the beverage aisle when I saw something familiar - Hello Panda! I love this snack and it always reminds me of simpler times when we were kids. We used to buy this a lot and my younger sister was even addicted to it. How can you not be?
Just thinking about it makes...
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Tofu bath
Near the milk section of the Meidi-Ya Japanese Supermarket were these glass boxes with tofu packages inside them. These seemed like those aquariums in Chinese restaurants but instead of having live seafood these had tofu in them. They were tiered in a step-like manner, with cold water overflowing from the topmost glass box down into the other glass containers. I was intrigued by this and asked a...
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Candy swap
Once inside Meidi-Ya Supermarket, I quickly began perusing the aisles, looking for interesting products. Carlos and Ate headed for the frozen goods section while I stopped by the candy aisle.
I find it really interesting looking at products or goods from other countries. It’s definitely one way one can learn more about another culture. And there’s something about candy wrappers and...
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Shopping Japanese
After our delicious feast of black pig tonkatsu, sushi, and Japanese ramen at Tampopo, Ate, Carlos and I decided to get some dessert. We explored Liang Court Shopping Centre trying to look for a dessert shop. We were aimlessly walking when I asked them if we could drop by the Japanese grocery down by the basement. I remembered going to that Japanese supermarket a couple of times when Ate was...
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Kain lang ng kain
When we heard that Kanin Club at the UP-Ayala Techno Hub was open, mom, dad and I checked it out. I had heard good reviews about their food, particularly about one entree that has become one of their signature dishes - Crispy Dinuguan (pork blood stew).
The dish looked normal, like any other dinuguan dishes, with its glistening thick black gooey sauce topped with a bright green chili pepper....
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Food Fight #1: Crispy Tadyang (Part 2)
We were busily dissecting the Binukadkad na Tilapia when the waiter gave us our next order - Crispy Tadyang. Earlier, we were scanning the menu when we saw that Kanin Club was offering this dish. My father and I have grown fond of beef ribs and frequently long for it. you should see his face whenever he recounts his Max’s experience in San Francisco. So when we saw it, we ordered it...
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Food Fight #1: Crispy Tadyang (Part 1)
Food Fight. This will hopefully be the first in a series of comparisons between similar food, signature dishes, etcetera from two or more competitors. You know, when one restaurant serves the same thing that the other restaurant serves? Well, I’ve decided to give my pedestrian palate quite the stretch it needs and, hopefully, this exercise will serve as a guide to those unlucky enough to...
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Kanin Club
The UP-Ayala Techno Hub along Commonwealth Avenue and near UP-Diliman has recently opened its strip mall and a number of restaurants have finally opened. One of these is Kanin Club, a Filipino restaurant that had its first store in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Wanting to avoid the huge crowds that usually follow this restaurant once word of it gets out, dad, mom and I wanted to check it out. The place is a...
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Takam
Singapore is a such a great place to go on a food trip. With a huge array of cuisines available, it’s easy to get lost in this gastronomic jungle. In every mall corner or hawkers center, international restaurants have set shop and offer food at reasonable prices. But after gorging myself with Malay, Chinese, and Indian staples, I usually find myself craving for Filipino dishes. Iba pa rin...
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Black pig
I was looking at Tampopo’s menu and trying to figure what to have when I saw that they were offering black pig tonkatsu. Thoughts of black pig with it’s black meat danced in my head. I asked the waiter about the dish and he said it was good. Wanting to try something new, I didn’t hesitate and ordered it.
Black pig or Kurobuta pork is also known as the Berkshire pig, which...
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Re: Dear Tampopo
Dear Toto-san,
Thank you for the anally retentive letter you sent. We’ve heard about customer feedback and we’ve even made a few simple suggestion forms for patrons to fill out, but to receive a 5-page, single-spaced letter you sent was definitely something else. We have received your comments and we will bear those in mind.
With regard to the incident where your order was delayed,...
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Dining at the Dandelion
Ate, Carlos and I made our way from the MRT station underneath The Central mall and made our way to Clarke Quey. They wanted to take me out for dinner and I was actually intrigued by the idea of eating in this area. I thought we were having dinner at one of the numerous bars or restaurants located in one of the shophouse rows along the river. We went over the bridge, passed the rows of tables and...
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What money can't buy
While money can allow you to go anywhere, do what you want to do, or buy something you like, money can’t buy you everything. Like taste. Even if Singapore touts itself as having a lot of money and being the only first-world country in Southeast Asia, there are stark reminders that being rich doesn’t always guarantee sophistication or class. Case in point: Clarke Quay (pronounced as...
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10-minute haircut
After our rendezvous with Da Vinci, Carlos and I took a short bus from the Science Centre to the Jurong East MRT Station, an above-ground interchange where the North-South and East-West lines meet. We got off at the bus interchange and were walking to the MRT station when I noticed a familiar blue structure standing in the middle of the transport hub. It was one of those ubiquitous 10-minute...
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Mona's secrets
Da Vinci The Genius: An Inspirational Exhibition at the Singapore Science Centre featured a section on Leonardo Da Vinci’s greatest masterpiece - the Mona Lisa. Apparently, some scientist took high tech photos of the painting which enabled them to separate various visible an invisible spectra or wavelengths revealing Mona’s various layers hidden by time. The results were fascinating...
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Disappointing Da Vinci
The Singapore Science Centre was a modest-sized museum complex which housed various interactive displays about numerous sciences. They had numerous exhibits about the different fields of Physics, Mathematics, Geophysical Sciences, Genetics, Biology, etc. I actually had fun going through the various interactive displays and racing through the exhibit halls amidst the sea of screaming grade school...
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Field trip
The following day, Carlos and I were thinking of what to do or where to go. Ate still had to work so we were left to fend for ourselves. I had been to Singapore a couple of times already so most of the tourists attractions had lost their appeal. We were still deciding where to go when I remembered that there was a Da Vinci exhibit at the Singapore Science Centre. I wanted to go.
Carlos and I then...
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Best. Tofu. Ever. (As in EVER.)
I might receive some flak from soy bean lovers out there (or maybe not), but I would like to go out on a limb here. I think it’ll be worth it.
I was happily swimming in my bowl of Chicken Chop Noodles when a plate of six golden brown square nuggets was placed beside me. I emerged from my bowl gasping for air and curiously looked at the innocent little squares sitting by their lonesome...
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Next dish, please
I had such a wonderful time dining at Lan Zhou La Mien that I asked Carlos if we could go back to this Chinatown restaurant. This time, Ate went with us. It was fortunate that we were able to get a good table inside the restaurant on a weekend. After exchanging pleasantries with the owners, I then ordered what easily became my favorites - Chicken Chop Noodles and their fried tofu dish. Carlos then...
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Not your average Lucky Me
Carlos wanted me to try Lan Zhou La Mien’s Chicken Chop Noodles. Initially, I admit I was a skeptic. I have had quite a number of noodle dishes and, most of the time, the flowery raves and wonderful reviews have fallen short of my expectations. I’m not exactly an expert on food and my palate is actually very pedestrian in nature, but I know for a fact that I am very particular when it...