Food finds at Glorietta 4 foodcourt

Went to watch Wall E at Glorietta 4 last Tuesday and was pleasantly surprised to find a small Dulcelin stall near Gourdo's where they sell their mango torte and other sweets and unlike Cuervo, they sell a smaller serving of their torte for people who want that sweet fix but can't shell out P700+. Dulcelin offers a big frozen cup for P80.



But I must admit that I much prefer Cuervo's mango torte. I find Dulcelin's version too sweet , with a peanut brittle-like nougatine base which also had something like coconut milk mixed in. A nine inch version is "always available " for P580 but I'm more interested in their strawberry cake which is a bit pricey (6" cake for P550, 10", P950) but I'm told is delectable but advance notice is required. Call 374 2165 or mobile number 0917 535 2592. or email them at dulcelingourmet@msn.com



I also saw a sign that said that Savory,(sometimes mispronounced here as "sah-boree") the old chicken restaurant will soon have a stall in the foodcourt! I'm excited! They serve delicious fried chicken and a flavorful pancit canton that makes my mouth water just writing about it. Hope to see you soon!

baby keana

i'm editing some of my family's videos and i just had to show this video of my cousin's daughter keana when she was a baby back in 2003...they're in the states now and i miss them. :( baka di na nila ako kilala...

linggo ng wika

Kumusta?
Como esta?
Nanu buri mu? Mangan!
Usa, duha, tula...
Unsa nahitabo sa atong naanindot na yuta?
i saw an entertaining episode of 100% Pinoy (GMA7, Thursdays, midnightish) about Filipino , the language, just in time for our Linggo ng Wika, or National Language Week. Kara David and Joaqui Valdes featured gayspeak, cono vs tambay speak, callcenter english and American mormons who learned Filipino to preach here. I learned that we have 170 languages and that a version of our native writing, alibata, still exists among our mangyan tribes in Mindoro.

This made me recall a story (though I don't know if it's accurate) about our national hero Jose Rizal and how he was on a ship to Manila and sat beside a German and a French passenger. He was able to converse with them in their language. And then he sat beside a Bisaya and an Ilocano and he couldn't communicate with them.

It's a pity that we weren't taught Spanish by the colonizers, I once said to my Canadian cousin, we can't even read Rizal's masterpieces in the original language. And maybe we'd be united if we all spoke a common language...
My cousin , who's been around the world, said that while that may be unfortunate, at least we were able to preserve our various native languages that would otherwise have been obliterated the way the Aztec and Mayan languages have been forgotten...and when I think about it, lots of other countries speak the same language but they still have strife and disunity. And aside from our features, our language is one of the few links we still have with the rest of Southeast Asia.

And while decades later, the debate on Tagalog =Filipino as a national language still rages, I remember an older classmate in my Spanish 1 class. When asked if he agreed that Spanish should be taught in school again, contrary to what any grade-conscious freshman would answer, he said no(!) he said universities should instead offer courses in our rich native languages. UP, i believe, has one subject but it studies all of them. But who knows, maybe in the future, students will be having Bisaya 101 or Kapampangan 11. New Zealand even offers subjects like Filipino as a second language in their schools.

when i was smarter than a fifth grader...

in the days before cellphones with digital cameras, we had a class play for our reading class and our teacher required us to document rehearsals with pictures. i don't know who took these pics i found in our cabinet but i am eternally grateful. these are priceless ! Above, that's me as the director in the bitin polo shirt with Lennard Saballe acting like an old man. I wish I could remember what this play was.looking on are dennis serna, christian magno and others whose names escape me at present. sorry!

That's Aldwin Balde acting all contrary as usual.

That structure behind us is all gone now. We used to stay under them when it rained while we were playing patintero

Age of innocence: classmates Frank Lopez, Cyrus Cunanan, William Tolentino, Hernandez, Narvaez, Hugo, Lipana and Vargas. We were called by our surnames in school. Very military-like, no?

That's Abot probably before a costume change.

That's one of my fave teachers, Ms. Evasco, now Mrs. Salcedo.

That's Dennis Rosel and other classmates right before the play. The date on the board says March 20, 1989! Too bad the pics of the actual play were exposed and ruined.

recent drawings

some stuff i did on pinoy primetime's reigning queens

and some drawings i made for our newsletter survey on who they liked better: iron man or batman. batdude won!

Ma and Pa's anniversary

Pix from Conti's in Paranaque where we celebrated my parents' wedding anniv.

red-letter day. mama was going to wear red ,too but twinx who was at the ateneo earlier that day would have felt left out.baked prawns. conti's bestseller and what jon will order next time we go here. he loves anything topped with melted cheese.crazy, blinding flash from my camera

twinx's order: a tall slice of mango bravo, shared with pa

jon's order: oreo cheesecake with ma's blueberry cheesecake in the background

my choco torte. i wanted the peach walnut torte but they were all out of it. boo!

now available on dvd!

This is the very delayed sequel to 2007's box-office hit, Dana's Sweet 16. We pick up where we left the Garcias as they celebrate Lola's birthday and commemorate Lolo one year later. Watch the singing and the dancing, oh Lord, the dancing in never- before- seen footage! And see how even a super-typhoon couldn't stop this family from going to the beach in La Luz, Batangas where they even get to tape an episode of Imbestigador!!!

Plus, a cool slideshow featuring photos by Jasmine Garcia Larouche!

(Medyo over-long at almost 1 hour, insiders say the director wasn't able to edit it much as he was rushing to finish it in time for his Kuya Nicky's arrival.hehehe)

Finally, the much-awaited video of Gela's 7th birthday is out on dvd! See how a father's love brings the Garcias of Great Britain back to the Philippines for a magical party filled with all the pomp and pageantry of a debut! With a special appearance by Jollibee!

Special features include a short trip to Pueblo por la playa and Little Gela, a look back at Gela as a cute little baby in Lucena.

Critics hail it as a "minor gem!" and "Fun for the whole family!"

All available from AGR Cinema.

Britain's Roderick Paulate!

Britain's very own Roderick Paulate, RICK ASTLEY, is coming to Manila on August 1 for a concert at the Araneta!
Check out his 2005 live appearance:

Man, Rick Astley's old! Botox, old chap, botox! Hahaha! Seriously, science has been good to Rick.

nanay juling's 78th birthday

for pictures, please go to http://crazyjhenny.blogspot.com
sorry for the mix up!

why it's hard to diet in our office

just another day at the office...and there were cakes...

more cakes...

...and even more cakes!...some people found it hard to resist!