Vodka, Sprite and Everything Nice

I remember the first and last time I got really wasted. It was during a commercial shoot in Boracay. We had just finished shooting and were celebrating. It was the night before our flight back home. I was about to get married in a few weeks (OMG, this was ten years ago), feeling really happy after a really good shoot, and it was my first shoot out of Luzon, to boot. I remember really enjoying that time and loving the experience. A few co-workers, cast members and clients joined in an impromptu drinking session on the beach. Needless to say, we got carried away with the merry making.  I have a photo hidden somewhere in the recesses of my closet. That photo will never see the light of day, ha ha ha!

I want to share with you a really funny story. We were enjoying the evening, talking and joking and egging each other on, (one more drink!). At one point, I was so drunk, I sprawled on the sand and joked that I have to crawl back to my hotel room because I couldn't stand up anymore. After a few hours, when we are about to hit the sack, so as not to miss our flight,  I realized that my hotel key, which was draped around my neck, was nowhere to be found! In my drunken stupor, I dropped on my knees and combed the sugary white sands of Boracay with my fingers frantically looking for my hotel key. To no avail.

Finally, I swayed to the reception area and said "Miss, I lost my hotel key, heee heee heee". She gave me a new one, while sporting a straight face.

After that incident, I never got drunk again. Last night though, I felt like I needed a drink. I had Vodka, Sprite and an orange at home. So, I said, why the hell not? I am in a safe environment and never go over board anyway. I mixed my own cocktail this time. I drank two cocktails then promptly fell asleep in my bed. I woke up at dawn still wearing my office dress.

Yeah, I can't hold my alcohol.

However though, I had the deepest five-hour nap ever! Ha ha ha.

Dinner by my lonesome

Yesterday was my first day at work after our trip to Cam Sur. Still haven't recovered yet from exhaustion. I felt a cold coming along and I was starting to feel woozy.

I decided to have a real dinner before going home, to feel human again, ha ha ha. There's a Japanese restaurant near where I work. It's called Tempura, located just along Ayala Avenue, near Makati Medical Center.

Anyway, I ordered the Salmon Sushi, as per usual. I really love salmon sushi, specially when it's fresh. Fortunately what I ate last night was fresh and milky.

I also ordered the Seafood Ramen, thin ramen noodles with mussels, clams and prawns in a clear broth. This was quite good and very nice on a rainy evening. It would have been perfect if Hubby was with me though.

Dinner Date with Hubby

The past few weeks have been craaazy busy to say the least. Between preparations for the Ad Congress trip and parade details, upcoming company trip, preparation for the company Christmas party, some personal stuff, home care, pet care, husband care. I'm so exhausted!

When I arrived home from our Cam Sur trip, poor Hubby, he wanted to go out and have lunch but I was just so exhausted, I only managed to take a quick bath, an even quicker lunch at then off to bed and woke up in the evening just in time to hear mass.

Anyway, both Hubby and I needed time together, to make up for the lost weekend when I was away. We chose to dine at Mona Lisa again, we like it there because the food is quite good and the place is quiet and intimate.

We ordered some simple dishes. I like the Caprese Salad, made with buffalo mozzarella, plum tomatoes and fresh basil leaves, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Hubby has Spaghetti con Polpettin, spaghetti with meatballs, which was also good.

I had my favorite Arancino Siciliano, deep fried brown rice balls with mozzarella cheese inside, placed atop their home made tomato sauce.

For dessert, we had some strawberry yoghurt at Fruitti Froyo. Mine had slivered almonds and a few pieces of mochi in it. Yum! Hubby had the works, gummy bears, nuts, chocolate chips and other sugary stuff that he hid under all that yoghurt.

What a great way to end a very busy and nerve-wracking weekend. Thanks Hubby for being my date!

Congress and Zombie Heads

I know that I have neglected this blog yet again. I've been pre-occupied with last minute preparations for our trip to Cam Sur for the Ad Congress. No, I'm not a delegate, but, I am part of the team that organized and prepared our parade entry for the Araw Awards. The logistics of moving the team, the props, waiting for the costumes to arrive, improving the costumes, looking for last minute accommodations, organizing transportation, leaving at the crack of dawn, organizing meals and other last minute details was craaaazy.

See the chaos a day before we left for Cam Sur. Last minute improvement on our Zombie heads.

I'm so exhausted! Our parade turned out so well. So, all our efforts were well worth it.

Okiniiri, BF Homes

If this blog was Twitter, the trending will be #japanesefood. Ha ha ha. Can't you tell? 

Hubby just loves them sushi. 

Last weekend's foray was at Okiniiri, along Aguirre Avenue in BF Homes. We came quite early and the place wasn't packed yet. Parking is usually full that's why we only got to try it last weekend. I adore the cherry blossom and butterfly mural. It's so cute even though probably be more appropriate in a nursery or something.

Anyway, I had my usual order of Salmon Sashimi. Which was very fresh and milky. For those who don't eat sashimi of any kind, have an open mind and try one :-) If the fish is fresh, it won't be "malansa" (or "fishy" for a lack of English equivalent). Fresh sashimi will have a buttery, milky and refreshing taste.

There's a a new sashimi on the Okiniiri menu, Hamachi Sashimi. Hamachi is a young yellowtail, or amberjack fish similar to tuna. The texture is smooth, the flesh lighter in color and it has a reddish streak on its meat, the taste much more refreshing and buttery compared to Maguro or Albacore tuna. Hamachi sashimi is almost twice as pricey but worth it.

Hubby as usual tried the Sukiyaki. I'm not sure why he even bothers to order this in a restaurant because he always compares it to the one that I make at home. Mine always comes out better. Ha ha ha.
Okiniiri's version is not very good though and quite salty. I give them high marks for the presentation though, piping hot!

I'm so predictable. I always order the Tempura Bento. Can you guess by now? Ha ha ha. Okiniiri's version was quite bland and tasteless. Not extremely bad, but I've had better. The California Roll wasn't very good either.

I'm not completely lambasting Okiniiri though.  The Hamachi Sushi was exceptionally good, as with the Salmon Sushi and the mural was just too cute :-)

Karate Kid .... No, not the movie

After a day of shopping and gorging ourselves at Sbarro, Hubby and I transferred to Karate Kid, so conveniently located beside Sbarro. Karate Kid is a Japanese and American (?) fast food chain. Karate Kid serves assorted Japanese dishes, crepes and burgers. Both Hubby and I have not eaten at Karate Kid before and it looks quite affordable and is always full. My expectations were not high, as with any fast food joints. Basically, I just wanted to cleanse my palate after a heavy garlicky meal at Sbarro. The healthiest option though, was to just brush my teeth, ha ha ha. But the lure of eating sugary things is much more tempting :-)

I ordered the Japanese Cheesecake at Karate Kid. Surprise of surprises, it was quite good. The cheesecake was light in texture as compared to the usual American/Italian cheesecake. I really liked this one. Definitely worth a repeat in the future.

Hubby and I also tried the dessert crepes, served cone-style. We ordered the Double Dutch and the Mango Cream Crepes. The crepes were not as "fluffy" and are quite lacking that milky buttery taste. I wasn't too thrilled with how they tasted, overall. With Karate Kid's price point though, I guess the crepes are passable and could be eaten if you are craving for one and couldn't find any good alternative.

The Japanese Cheesecake was totally worth it though :-)

The Carvery, Wesgate Alabang

It was the weekend once again, post my birthday. Hubby and I decide to eat out for lunch, just the two of us. I couldn't make up my mind on where to go except that I didn't want to go very far from where we live. Westgate is just 15 minutes away by car. So, off we went. Such an old fart, I know.

It's been a while since we scoured the Westgate area for restaurants. It seems that most of the restaurants in Westgate have closed down. There's a restaurant there that we haven't tried yet. It's called The Carvery, they serve roast beef. I was very skeptical upon reaching the restaurant because it was a little past noon and the place was empty. Oh my, should we even try?

We pressed on, just to see if they were any good. It was a slow Saturday after all. Most restaurants in Westgate were devoid of customers. Hmmmmm.... ghost town?

Anyway, hubby tried the Cream of Asparagus Soup. He liked it very much and ate it up to the last drop. Then again, Hubby's usually perfectly happy with a heated can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.


Moving on. Hubby and I shared a Caeesar's Salad with a slice of roastbeef, cooked medium rare. I liked the roast beef very much. Tender and juicy. The salad itself is very ordinary and they didn't even bother to cut off the yellowed ends of the romaine lettuce.

Hubby ordered the Prime Rib, which he finished in five minutes flat. Hubby enjoyed it very much, obviously. It was very tender and cooked perfectly. The side of corn looked very dry though and seamed like it was sitting in the fridge for days.

I on the other hand, ordered a Roast Beef Sandwich with mozzarella, pesto and roasted peppers. It was nicely presented, as you can see from the photo below. The filling was good, the roast beef was tender and cooked perfectly. However, the whole wheat bread that they used were hard as rocks, and I kept taking off hardened portions (only a small portion of the bread was left). Totally ruined a perfectly good sandwich. Obviously, the bread wasn't freshly baked and was probably sitting in their cupboard for days.

The lowdown? The roast beef was good, I admit. Everything else was just so so.  The coleslaw that came with my sandwich tasted old, if that makes sense at all. Hubby loves colesalw but after taking a bite, he set it aside and never touched it again.

The chips were very oily and the mayonnaise was not the best kind. I have a thing about a particular brand of butter and mayonnaise. I just can't stand them, specially if I am paying.

The cherry tomato on top of my sandwich was probably a hundred years old, it was dry and wrinkly. Just like me, ha ha ha! I needn't be reminded that I'm pushing 40!

The waiters knew I wasn't happy with my meal and asked me what's wrong. I told them that the bread was stale and hard. The waiter just told me that they toasted it too long in the toaster. Riiiiight. You can't fool me. The bread was S-T-A-L-E. They should have offered me an apology and a replacement for my sandwich or something. They saw me taking pictures of the food. Hello, I could be a famous blogger or food columnist.

They're just lucky that I am not, bwa ha ha ha! :-)

Seriously though, when you see an empty restaurant, during lunch time, on a weekend, trust your gut and spend your money elsewhere.