time for a short break: Siomai House

On my way home from an impromptu shopping spree (I finally have Majolica Majorca's Skin Remaker Pore Cover, which I will write about soon!), I decided to pass by an old favorite for merienda (snacks/snack time).

For just P25, one can enjoy four pieces of siomai, together with Siomai House's famed chili-garlic sauce. 

Unlike other siomai stalls, Siomai House's siomai has no aftertaste. It may not be up to par with the more expensive Chinese delicacy most of us are used to, but their siomai is delicious enough to fill a hungry tummy. :)

12 pieces Siomai

(P75)

something new: Chicken Deli

Image courtesy of google.com -- Click photo to get to source

Hello, friends! If ever you're tired of the same old, same old inasal places you see everywhere, then do stop by this new inasal place we discovered in Quezon City! Yes, I am promoting this new inasal place because 1) I really want to help them advertise their restaurant because I enjoyed my first dining experience with them; and 2) they really have good food and service worth sharing with others! :) It's called Chicken Deli, and its specialty include the finest from Bacolod -- Chicken Inasal. Apart from the Star of the Restaurant, Chicken Deli also offers other specialty dishes like batchoy, sisig, and kare-kare.

What makes this inasal place different from the rest? For one, this is the first inasal place I've gone to which offers its specialty inasal in an alternative flavor -- spicy. I know the pioneer inasal restaurants have started to offer its patrons the spicy version of inasal, but I've noticed that they only offer the spicy version on certain chicken parts. In Chicken Deli, you can choose to have your pechopak (breast + wing) or your paa (leg + thigh) part, all spiced up just by adding P5 on top of your desired meal's price. Apart from their spicy version of the inasal, this new inasal restaurant also offers unlimited bowls of rice, and soup, at no extra cost. I know the unlimited rice is nothing new to most of us, but their unlimited soup is. For a change, I wasn't afraid to ask the waiter for seconds and thirds of their hot and flavorful broth soup. And, to top off the good meal, Chicken Deli really has good service. You don't have to raise your hand and call an attendant's attention, or wait forever, just to get your second serving of rice or soup. The attendants come to you and offer!

Don't worry, this place may offer something new to its diners, but rest assured, all the elements of an inasal dinner is kept preserved. The vinegar, soy sauce, and chicken oil bottles one would usually find in any inasal place, are available on each table. The inasal meals come with calamansi and chili too. And of course, the main course is grilled to perfection.

So if you're tired of the same old, same old, visit Chicken Deli at SM Annex, and try their inasal for yourself. It's as affordable as the other inasal places we've tried, maybe even cheaper. For P99, you can enjoy a big piece of inasal chicken with unlimited rice and soup, plus, you get to taste the difference. :)

Price Range: P99-129/person

5 out of 5 for Chicken Deli

Chicken Deli

3/L SM Annex

EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines

South Park: Ma Chicken Mami House

On one of our recent mall tralalas, Gus and I decided to give Ma Chicken Mami House, a shot. We've been seeing this quaint little mami house for quite some time now, first at Trinoma, then most recently at SM The Block, and for some reason, we only always end up talking about it, not trying it out. This time, however, we finally decided to give this mami house a try.

Unlike most Chinese restaurants, Ma Chicken Mami House looked much simpler. No extravagant lighting, or tables and chairs, no table cloths or folded table napkins. No chopsticks or table setting. Just a little store in a hole with simple square tables and chairs.

Hmm.. Now that I think about it, it looks like a more upscale version of small Chinese eateries in Binondo. :)

Moving on to the entry's heart, here's what we decided to try after much deliberation. (By now, I guess most of you know how Gus and I almost, always has a difficult time deciding what to get or what to eat or where to go.)

Gus wanted noodles. I agreed that he should get something with soup since he wasn't feeling well that day. He was torn between the Chicken Mami and the Binondo Mami. In the end, I convinced him to get the Binondo Mami since 1) this was Ma's specialty, 2) he loves Binondo Mami, at least the real Binondo Mami he used to always eat as a child, and 3) I also wanted to see what actual Binondo Mami was.

Binondo Mami

(P128)

fit for two: Tokyo Tokyo's Sumo Meal Remix

A couple of weekends ago, I accompanied Gus to a car shop to have his car fixed. We decided to pass by Shangrila Plaza for a while before heading home, to just look around. We ended up eating (as usual), after hours of walking around, looking at bread, clothes, shoes. We even stumbled upon the Mooncake Festival Celebration held the the mall's atrium. :D

For lunch, we decided to eat at Tokyo Tokyo. There were so many restaurants we checked out, and knowing us, we had a hard time deciding where to go. Fortunately, Gus had been craving for some Tokyo Tokyo for quite some time now, and seeing the restaurant made our lives easier that day.

We only had one thing that day: Tokyo Tokyo's Sumo Meal. Even if the restaurant of the day came to us in 1-2-3, the decision on what food to order, didn't. We switched between bowls and meat, seafood or cow, fried or stir-fried, up to the side dishes, but in the end, we both agreed to just grab a Sumo Meal since we were able to meet halfway with it. How?

I wanted to try Tokyo Tokyo's new kani salad. Gus wanted to try their new ebi sushi. We got both. As for the main course, he wanted the misono, I didn't know what to get. I was choosing between any of the meals that came with soup, or their version of fried chicken. In the end, Gus suggested we go for the sumo meal. We could get soup, both the misono and the fried chicken, plus, it came with a drink! Can you meet me halfway? ;)

So here's what we had and what we thought of it:

Kani Salad

(P69)

ooh.. ow! Las Paellas

Last Thursday, Gus surprised me at the office by popping into the elevator on my way down. Apparently, he was already waiting for me outside, I just didn't know so I didn't look for him. I was so surprised when he barged into the elevator as it was closing. After a ton of hugs and awws, we got off the 2nd floor and walked around.

He was having a really bad day so I decided to feed [have lunch with] him. We walked around SM North Edsa for a while, looking at stuff, at the same time, scouting for a good place to eat at. We went through all three SM buildings -- The Block, Main Mall, and Annex, before finally deciding to eat at Las Paellas in SM Annex. I figured he'd probably want some clam chowder to relieve him of the negativity he was feeling since he really likes clam chowder. I wish we'd eaten at The French Baker instead. Read through for the why.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were given a booth. We looked at the menu again to finalize what we were ordering. Since it took us a while to decide, we first ordered some soup since we both had decided on that earlier. Gus ordered Clam Chowder in Sourdough Bread, while I ordered their French Onion Soup.

craving for some Korean: Sarangbang Cafe

***Sarangbang Cafe is no longer operational. Another Korean restaurant is in its place, but I'm not sure if it's a different restaurant or if they just changed the name of the restaurant.***

Last Sunday was the worst day of my week. A lot of issues started coming out that I didn't want to stay home the whole day. I didn't even feel like eating there so I decided to ask Gus if he was free after our milk tea session with Mr. Neighbor (Gus's neighbor/friend) that night.

The original plan was to go out and have milk tea with Mr. Neighbor (Bruce), and head home so I can treat(?)/eat out with my family. But just before heading out for milk tea, grr happened. Bottomline is, Gus said yes, and took me out that night.

I wanted some Korean food that night, not just because of the kimchi, but because I had a sudden craving for grilled meat. I decided to eat at Ye Dang but when we got there, it was already closed. Gus was very sweet and understanding. He drove us around Ortigas Complex, checking to see if the other Korean restaurants we know, were still open. We saw two, which were still open but Gus knew I wanted to try the grilled meat so he said we should and will check out the other Korean restaurant I knew, which had grills for the meat. After scouring the area, ending up in closed restaurants, we decided to give one of the open Korean restaurants across Ye Dang, a try. The second one served mainly modern, Filipino/Western cuisine with a hint of Korean cuisine, so it was a no-no for us. We ended up in the other Korean restaurant that served ONLY Korean food. Sarangbang Cafe.

Since I already knew what I wanted to try, ordering was fast for us. Apart from the grilled meat, which thankfully, they had, I also wanted to try this soup with rice dish that I kept on seeing on the dramas I watch. We also got one serving of bibimbap to share.

As with all Korean restaurants, they served us these great tasting appetizers while we waited. It wasn't as many as the previous restaurants we've been to that served around eight appetizers, but it was still delicious. We had five appetizers to taste while waiting for the main course: kimchi, radish kimchi, pickled garlic, regular salad with thousand island dressing, and spinach salad. The salad stood out since it wasn't a common side dish I'd see in other Korean restaurants I've been to, but, it was still good. It helped neutralize all the spiciness in the other dishes we ordered.

Appetizers (L-R: spinach salad, radish kimchi, 

pickled garlic, garden salad, cabbage kimchi)

49 Days

After the interesting, albeit dragging, cooking drama I finished a couple of days ago, I finally watched another drama that caught my attention at about the same time as Gourmet. I believe it was a good idea to watch the latter first, since it was heavier to digest, pace-wise. 49 Days was lighter, more fast paced than the latter, though more complex, story-wise. As with my previous drama entry, please read this with caution. Possible spoilers ahead.

Title: 49 일, 49 天 (Chinese working title), 49 Days, Pure Love (Philippine working title)

Episodes: 20

Genre: Romance, Supernatural, Comedy

Cast:

Nam Gyoo-ri 남규리 Shin Ji-Hyun

Lee Yo-won 이요원 Song I-Kyeung

Jeong Il-woo 정일우 Scheduler

Jo Hyeon-jae 조현재 Han Kang

Bae Soo-bin 배수빈 Kang Min-ho

Seo Ji-hye 서지혜 In-Jeong

Synopsis: 

A girl with a seemingly perfect life -- loving parents, handsome fiance, good friends, and a good life, suddenly meets an accident and finds herself between this world and the next.

***

[five years, 10 months, on to forever!] 10th at Zoricho

Last Saturday, 27 August 2011, Gus and I decided to celebrate our 10th month of being officially together by crossing out a restaurant name from our "list". He was deciding between Lugang Cafe in Greenhills, and Zoricho in Silver City. After minutes of discussing and choosing, we decided to give Zoricho a try.

Zoricho is a small, cozy restaurant located beside Starbucks in Silver City. They mostly offer Filipino food with a twist, while their specialty is sausage, or in Filipino, longganiza.

We had a difficult time finding a parking slot in the covered parking area. We didn't want to park in any of the open lots because it was raining really hard that night. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, we finally found a spot and parked. Upon arriving at the restaurant, we noticed how cozy the look and feel of it was. It seemed like the perfect Sunday brunch place for families.

on thin lines and thick lines: eyeliners

I'm no make-up fan. I don't love make-up but I do like fixing myself up. Since the day I noticed how bad my eyes look, especially my eyebags, I started paying attention to how they look. Concealer became my best friend. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I stumbled upon these eye-popping coloring materials they call eyeliner. They help divert the attention away from my under eye are, which I would really want to happen, especially when I wear my contacts.

Over the years, I've tried different kinds of eyeliner. The pencil liner, the liquid liner, colored liner. Then I discovered more like the automatic, no sharpening needed cream liner, the pencil cream liner, automatic liquid liner, and most recently, the pen type liner. When I was first trying out eyeliners, the most common problem I encountered was the smudging.

I rarely had air-conditioned classrooms back in college and most of my org activities involved me running around campus. No matter how made up I was, I almost always ended up looking like an emo zombie because of the smudged, black eyeliner under my eyes. I didn't know much about eyeliners back then so my only solution was to make sure I wipe away at the slightest hint of smudging, usually after running or sweating during hot, summer days.

Sik Gaek: Gourmet

After weeks of trying to finish a drama that caught my attention because of its uncommon theme, I finally finished it an hour ago! Whee! First, a few details.

CAUTION: May contain spoilers.

Title: 식객 Sik-gaek, Gourmet (on Philippine television), Shi Ke 食客 (Chinese working title)

Episodes: 24

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Cast:

Kim Rae Won 김래원

Nam Sang Mi 남상미

Kim So Yun 김소연

Kwon Oh Joong 권오중

Synopsis:

An aspiring chef who uses not only his brains and skills in cooking, but his heart.

***

on impromptu dates: Yam Cha Seafoods and Dumpling Restaurant

Last Saturday, Gus and I were able to meet up despite our busy schedule. I stopped by Tiendesitas to check out the pair of shoes I've been eyeing on for months, then decided to wait for momma in Starbucks while reading the book I've been trying to finish. An hour later, Gus called to ask where I was because he couldn't find me at home. 20 minutes later, we were already talking about our day.

Since he hasn't eaten a decent meal the whole day, we decided to look around for a place to eat. It was already past midnight so our choices were limited. We checked out Tiendesitas but he didn't feel like eating there. It was too crowded and noisy and I think they were closing, since most of the food stalls were already closed. I gave him a list of areas we could check out. He decided to visit Home Depot first but there was nothing he could find there. We decided to eat at the Korean complex behind UA&P since they were open until 2 am and Gus wanted to try the duck ramen I told him about, but when we arrived there, only the fancy Korean restaurants were left open. The simple, carinderia-style stalls, where the duck ramen I told him about could be found, were already closed. Since we were already in the Ortigas area, we decided to head to Banchetto instead. Unfortunately, there was no Banchetto that night. After going around other places, Emepror's Tea House in Wilson, restaurants around the Scout area, Lugawan Republic and Dampa in Timog, we decided to eat at Yam Cha, which was only a couple of restaurants away from Lugawan and Dampa.

When we arrived at Yam Cha, we looked at the menu first, just to see if there was anything that would interest us. After flipping through their menu a couple of times, something caught his attention, and he asked if it was okay if we ate there. Thus, another foodiementary began!

P.S. Forgive the pictures. We were really hungry, we forgot to take pictures of the food when it arrived. >.<

Gus was able to decide what to get immediately. He ordered Peking Duck Noodles, while I, as always, had a more difficult time choosing so I told him to order his first. When the waiter came back with his noodles, I ordered a bowl of Yang Chow fried rice, Kikiam, Spareribs in Tausi, and Spring Rolls.

Peking Duck Noodles 

(P150)

welcome aboard!

Rawr.

Welcome to my new and improved blog! It's been about two weeks since I chose this design. As you can see, I chose a header that suits my blog's name and URL better. The blog's theme was based upon the final picture I chose for the header. Since the day I created this blog, I never really talked about why my blog had that title, or why my URL was the way it was. I guess I was too busy with my emotions and my social life that I never got to share the most basic and obvious of things: Why my blog is the way it is. Was.

Looking back, my blog was first entitled: "when pigs & penguins learn to fly" The history behind this blog title revolved around one guy I really loved back then. I love penguins and grew to love pigs as well. They're are just so adorable! The pigs part was our thing. That was the first stuffed gift I got from him. A big, fat, pink pig we named Barbeque. Penguins, I just naturally love because, in spite of their supposed lower level of intelligence compared to us humans, penguins know how to be faithful. They're loyal creatures who stick to their one mate until the end. I guess those two just found a permanent home in my heart. :) 

So why learn to fly? Here comes the cheesy part. After things fell apart, I was a bit of a mess. The break-up was really tough on me. Every time I try to remember how I was three years ago, I always end up being thankful for having my real friends by my side at that time, to help me cope. Even if it means putting their own lives on hold for the night, for me. The studious girl, the boyfriend, the future lawyer. Yup. Diane putting her academics aside for one night, Greg agreeing to come with even if it posed possible issues with his then- girlfriend, and Mikee, even if he could've spent his night partying with his boys. That was how hard the break-up was. I constantly needed a distraction. To keep me from thinking about what I was going through. And for us college students, it meant a night of drinking the blues away. I thought of myself as a mother to my pig and penguin babies. I wanted to learn how to fly away from where I was, to learn how to move on. I know pigs don't fly, and penguins can't fly, and right there and then, that was how I was. I don't, I can't, fly.

"when pigs & penguins learn how to fly" was actually a phrase I used to remind me of where I wanted to be then. I wanted to be in a place where both pigs and penguins can fly, where my heart wasn't broken, where I wasn't crying all night.

The second one, "when pigs & penguins fly", was put into use when, you guessed it, I was able to get up and start over. All issues have been resolved and I was able to mend my friendship with this person again. On to more drama, random musings, and rants about life, love, and everything under the sun.

Then again, those two blog titles didn't really explain or even relate to my blog's URL, penggorasbox. And the next big question is.. "Why is it called penggorasbox?"

My blog's URL was actually coined by my dear friend, Isa. Check her blog here! I was talking to her one bright, sunny day, thinking about possible URLs for this new blog I plan to set-up, and voila! Out came penggorasbox from her cute, pouting lips!

I don't really remember her explanation for choosing penggorasbox. I think it was because of my love for penguins. But for me, penggorasbox stands not only for my love of penguins, but also in relation to Pandora's Box -- the Greek artifact that contained all the evils of the world. 

Penguin + Pandora + Box

=

http://penggorasbox.blogspot.com

Just like the box that contained all the different evils of the world, my blog also contains, if not enough/yet, will also contain, a whole lot of different topics, waiting to see the world! In this case, people who will get to read my entries. From love to life, reviews and recipes, to random musings and rants from anything and everything under the sun. This is still my personal blog so expect a little bit of me in it too, from time to time. ;)

Welcome aboard, Penggora's Box! ^@^

Photos courtesy of http://fyeahpenguins.tumblr.com and http://askjeeves.com

on first dates: Teriyaki Boy

Gus, my best/boyfriend, asked me out yesterday. I know we've been going out for quite some time but he hasn't REALLY asked me out in a while. Yes, we'd go out. Have a beer or two, or maybe a cup of coffee somewhere but it's been a while since he really, formally, asked me the question.

He let me pick which restaurant I'd like to have dinner in but due to unforeseen and unexpected circumstances, I couldn't decide. I had a bit of a tummy trouble earlier and it made it difficult for me to decide or even think about what type of food, or at least, cuisine, I'd like for the night. We began our search in Eastwood, checking out this Korean restaurant on the 2nd floor. They seem to have good food priced reasonably but if I were to eat Korean that day, I'd like to eat authentic Korean food. We weren't sure if they served authentic Korean dishes and I didn't want to waste any time or resource figuring out if they did. We (or maybe it was more of, I) considered McDonald's (because I was really craving for their ice-cold coke) and thought about having burgers but I originally had not considered having any unhealthy meal because of my upset stomach. The smell of the grilled meat was just so enticing, we left before I couldn't resist.

We looked at the menu of CCA on the way down. I had a certain craving for their Devil's Food Cake at that time too. I felt uncomfortable and had too many tastes that day, we both didn't know where to eat. We eventually decided to go elsewhere, looking at the different restaurants located in the Cubao area (Ali Mall, SM, Araneta Center, Shopwise, and Gateway.) Still no restaurant to satisfy our hunger.

We decided to head home and pick a restaurant somewhere there since it was getting a bit late too, and the rush hour had already started. We ended up in SM North (as always) and Gus brought me to two different Japanese restaurants so I could check their menu to see if they had anything I liked.The first one was Tokyo Cafe but the first thing I saw was their fried dishes (karaage, tonkatsu) and I immediately said no. I really didn't feel like eating anything fried yesterday. He brought me to Kimono Ken next but I didn't find anything interesting in their menu except for their kani salad, which I thought was too overpriced. I remembered another Japanese resto in the other end of the building and asked him if we could check that one out. Sakae Sushi, located on the ground floor of the annex building, is a sushi conveyor type of Japanese resto. It was interesting at first but when I looked at their menu, they didn't have any kani salad, which was what I really wanted. In the end, we decided to go to a more familiar place: Teriyaki Boy.

I ordered my kani salad, which had a generous topping of Japanese mayo, and a cup of yakimeshi rice, which I called kamameshi, thinking about a totally different Japanese resto. Gus ordered a pork dish, sauteed in a ginger-base sauce because the Asupara Bacon Maki was unavailable at that time.

My kani salad

(look at the generous topping of japmayo!)

nearly three years behind

I should've written this a long time ago.

Back in 2008, December 30 to be exact, I almost died. It was a time when I wasn't living at home. I was staying over a friend's house and I guess, their carpet fibers triggered my dormant asthma. Their family was busy making preparations for New Year's Eve that I felt uncomfortable bothering them with the attack. I got into my car and decided to head to the hospital.

While I was driving though, I felt something different. Whenever I had asthma attacks before, it never came to the point wherein I felt my air passage literally being blocked. I got scared because I've never felt that way before with any of my asthma attacks. I usually just had difficulty in breathing, and wheezing but not to the point that I felt something blocking my throat/esophagus/tunnel where-air-comes-from. I was breathing through my nose but I still had difficulty breathing. I called my good friend Isa, who lived near where I was. I asked her if she could meet me and accompany me to the hospital, just in case I couldn't drive anymore. Yes, that was how scared I felt. We rushed into the ER of a hospital in Ortigas, and asked the security if I could just park in front of the ER because of my condition. Thank God for his kindness, he just asked me not to block the ER's entrance.

I brought out my health card (since it was the only thing I had, no cash then) and asked the nurse if they accepted health cards (I just assumed they did since it was a private hospital.) The nurse asked me to fill up a form and wait. After submitting my form, another nurse transferred me into a wheelchair and brought me in the ER proper.

That's where I almost died. 

A doctor interviewed me and asked what medicine I usually use for my attacks. I told her I had always used Ventolin. She asked if it was okay if they used a different Salbutamol solution. I said it was okay. As long as it was for asthma attacks, the brand didn't matter. After the interview, I waited for the nebulizer. I felt my air passage being blocked more and more. The block was rising every couple of minutes or so. An hour had passed, still no nebulizer. *For those of you who don't know, a nebulizer is like a little machine that releases oxygen. Only, it releases evaporated medicine, not oxygen. This smoke is then inhaled by the patient to relieve him or her of difficulty in breathing.

Isa was holding my hand, checking up on me every so often, asking if I could still handle it. With every question, I answered with okay. I could still manage to breathe somehow, it was my worry that when my air passage completely closes, I wouldn't know what to do, where to breathe. Time passed by again and I could feel my air passage completely closing. I was just praying then and hoping for a nurse, a doctor, to bring the nebulizer. Isa had already asked a nurse again, followed up on my nebulizer, to which the nurse told her to wait for a moment. Two hours had passed and I couldn't control myself any longer. Isa saw how pale I looked already and I pinched her, telling her I couldn't handle it any longer. Yes, the nebulizer still wasn't with us. Sas had followed up with nurses, doctors, anyone who passed by us, and the machine still wasn't there. After telling her how I couldn't feel any air coming from my throat anymore, she stood up and blocked a doctor who was walking our way and demanded that she bring the nebulizer right now. She "scolded" the doctor, telling her about my condition, and how she had asked different nurses and doctors already for the nebulizer in the last two hours, and that no one has bothered to bring it and check up on me. I've never seen Isa explode that way before but I was thankful. I couldn't get any air out of my mouth anymore and I was feeling weak. Just minutes after, a male nurse brought a nebulizer and attended to me. I WAS SO THANKFUL. I thought I was going to die that day, in that sad situation. 

After the treatment, I was so thankful that I could breathe again. That I could inhale and exhale freely again. But at the same time, I felt like a bomb ready to explode. What the hell were the nurses and doctors thinking? Attending to? The ER was quiet that night, no major emergency whatsoever and it took them TWO freaking hours to get me a nebulizer! What were they waiting for? For me to collapse from lack of oxygen?! I am thankful for their nebulizer but I am in no way, trusting them again with my life. Before I do again, they better review their ER SOPs. I am not putting my life on their hands again with that kind of service.

Fast forward to three years from then, why am I writing about this just now? I had already expressed my deep regret in choosing that hospital that fateful night to my closest friends after the Christmas break of 2008. But a recent event involving that same hospital, which cost the life of one of my dearest friends beloved, urged me to share my own experience. Three years may have passed but hearing about their lapse in judgement, their failure to adhere to SOPs (or maybe lack thereof) AGAIN, leading to the demise of someone I know, just bugged me into writing and sharing with everyone what happened to me because of the same thing. This is meant to inform people of how their service is, to hopefully reach their administrator so he/she can make changes about the way the hospital is run.

My friend's boyfriend died because the so-called doctors of The Medical City failed to give him the proper treatment. What was supposed to be a simple muscle tear turned into a tragic death because they did not know what they were doing. They misdiagnosed, giving different diagnoses, different treatments, until it was too late. One wrong medication, and his organs began to fail. From muscle tear to sepsis. Can you believe how a muscle tear cost someone their life? How one wrong prescription ended everything not just for him, but for his family, and my friend? And there were FIVE doctors, no, SPECIALISTS, SUPPOSEDLY diagnosing and treating my friend's boyfriend. Now, they are hiding everything behind paperwork. Words they told my friend and her boyfriend's family are suddenly hearsay. The paperwork says other things, things they did NOT say at all. OWN UP TO YOUR MISTAKES. A hospital is not a playing field. You can't just go out there and experiment with people's lives.

I am no doctor but I do know that doctors are trained for years to make sure they do the right thing, leading to the right decision, hopefully, saving a life. Just like an architect, an engineer, a lawyer, there are basic routines, check lists, TTDs that are taught to them. The basics of any job. They study about it so they know what they must do when they are faced with the same or similar situation. There is no room for carelessness because they are dealing with lives. Next time, I hope they don't forget to go back to the basics.

lemons from life

"Kayo ha. Huwag kayong mag-aaway."

With a tight grip on both our hands, this was the first thing a very good friend, Honey, told Gus and I when we visited her boyfriend, Sean's (Gus's Xavier batchmate), wake last night. 

Honey is a very good friend and confidant. We've seen and heard each other's struggles in life, in love, in org work back in college. I've seen her at her happiest, and of course, her saddest. Just a few months back, I finally saw the happy Honey I knew. With a twinkle in her eye, a very big smile, I knew that she was finally back. All because of one person I only had a brief hi/hello with -- Sean. 

But just like that, like a cruel twist of fate, Honey lost it. Sean suffered from complications from a muscle tear two weeks ago and never recovered. 

I know it's too late but I wish I got to know more about, got to know, Sean. I believe he was a very good person. He loved Honey very much and he made her happy. Those are definitely a few traits of a person worth knowing: if he loves and takes care of one of your really good friends. To Sean, thank you for loving and taking care of Honey. I know you will continue to love and watch over her from up above. Give her strength to go through this. I know you will always be with her.

Honey, be strong. We know you're one strong woman and in case you feel like just giving up, your friends will always be there for you. We will always be here for you. 

Life is too short to spend most of your time fighting, disagreeing, hurting people you love. Don't let life convince you it really is before realizing how blessed you still are for having the people you love still in your life right now.

almost there

I'm getting there.

Today, I was able to redesign my blog. I changed the theme and header but this does not mean that it will be the NEW blog theme/design. As I've said in my previous entry, I had a difficult time selecting the most appropriate photo and theme but selecting the best substitute proved to be a likewise, difficult job as well so I decided to use this new design for the night and will change it the following day with another, until I find the most appropriate theme. I am also planning on creating a poll with the various themes I will be testing to get a second opinion from others.

Finding the best theme and photo has been really hard. Some of the photos I've liked were either too small, too wide, too pixelated, etc. Gus was able to help me resize this current header using MS Paint only. (Yes, since my beloved Mr. Zhu died earlier this year, I haven't been able to utilize the full potential of all the computer applications and software I had before. Thus, using MS Paint to edit photos. :c) I was actually relieved because 1) he helped me place the picture on the header (since I couldn't remember how I did it before), and 2) he helped me make the photo fit. And all this while he was sick. Thank you, Gus!

There you go. I'm getting there. Almost there. I can't wait to see the final outcome. Check out the new theme tomorrow.

Before I forget, the photo on the header of this theme is courtesy of http://princessmartini.deviantart.com/art/Chinese-Garden-02-40265387. Thank you. :)

beef nilaga

Okay, it's been almost a week since I began revamping my blog and yet I've failed to come up with even a single change up to this day. I just realized this was going to be harder than what I had thought of. Design-wise, looking for the perfect, most appropriate design for my blog proved to be difficult. I couldn't find the best photo I would want to use and when I tried looking for a substitute, looking for that perfect substitute proved to be a difficult task as well. Right now, I have a couple of photos, which, thank God, I found beautiful and appropriate, I plan on using for the make-over. The following days will not be easier but I'm hoping to relaunch my new blog by the end of the week. :)

I'm trying out the photos now. Wish me luck! :) 

detour detour detour

Whilst my blog is on its way to becoming fabulous (no, I'm just kidding), on its way to a new look, I decided to post some "distractions" as I work on it. As you all know, I am a huge fan of penguins and pigs (thus, the title of my blog). So I have decided to distract you all with, you guessed right!

 

My children! Hope you enjoy the cute pictures. ^@^

*Photos courtesy of http://fyeahpenguins.tumblr.com and http://plurk.com/holyholyholy

look closely

This will be the last time you will see my blog in its old form. I have decided to give my blog a major make-over and come back to one of my first loves: writing. In case you miss how the old one looked, I took a picture!

Goodbye, flying pigs & penguins! Welcome..

on trying things

Last Sunday, I went to SM North EDSA with Gus and his good friend, Bruce. We checked out some stores before heading to The Block to eat. Earlier that week, Gus and I stumbled upon this seemingly fair-priced coffee shop on the top floor so we decided to give it a shot. I can't remember the name of the shop because I really wasn't paying attention to it. What caught our eye was that they had a kaya toast and brewed coffee combo for just P75. Uh-huh, a treat! The only kaya toast combo we've ever had the pleasure of tasting was that from Kopi Roti's and it certainly wasn't less than a hundred, so this definitely surprised us. I ordered one combo, just to taste.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as I expected. My kaya toast was made of thin, brown slices of bread, with thin blocks of butter and kaya jam in between, Kopi Roti's version of the famous treat. Theirs was more like, a sandwich. Two slices of Gardenia bread with melted butter (not softened) that seeped through the bread and into the wax wrapper. The kaya jam wasn't as flavorful too but it was okay, if you haven't tried any other kaya toast in the past. Had I known it was as thick as a regular sandwich, I probably would've gotten a real sandwich. It was sloppy but hey, maybe their other products are worth trying.

Expectation

(The photo is not mine. I got it off the internet.)

Reality

The boys, on the other hand, decided to eat at this other place we discovered the same time we saw the coffee shop: The Soya Bar. Gus told Bruce about it on our way to get my toast and they decided to eat there. They had their own version of milk tea with, you guessed right! Soy milk. :D 

Bruce got soya milk tea and hot taho. Gus tried their Spicy Tuna Pasta and got an original soya milk tea (no pearls) for us to share. I also wanted some cold taho but the lady said they were out. Their soya milk tea was actually good. We got the best of both worlds: soya milk for Gus and milk tea for meeeee! Their pearls were bad though. They weren't chewy at all. It felt like biting through soft rocks (weird analogy). Soft on the outside, hard on the core. Their pasta wasn't something I'd try again, too. The tuna tasted different (I'm pretty sure it came from a can but it didn't taste like canned tuna nor did it taste like fresh tuna.) The red sauce itself was a bit off too. It didn't taste garlicky at all. The worst thing, though, was their service. The cashier/order taker was so confused. She didn't know how to deal with the customers. She wasn't sure whose order was for who. She didn't have change. She was a bit of a mess. It's a good thing their main product line was good. Their soya milk tea was something I'd definitely go back for. :)

Yummy Alternative: Soya Milk Tea

2 out of 5 for Caffino

3 out of 5 for Soya Bar: The soya milk tea was definitely good.

Soya Bar

The Block, SM North EDSA

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

Contact details courtesy of: http://www.munchpunch.com/9916/soya-bar-sm-the-block