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Cha Gio Vietnamese - Old Time Favorite

Manila has a lot of good restaurants and you need to discover them. I admit, it is sometimes easy to go to the many Jollibee and Mcdonald's out there, specially when these are the restaurants that have a good name recall from the kids. Cha Gio (pronounced as Cha-yo) vietnamese restaurant is one of those special quaint hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Malate. Cha Gio refers to the popular Vietnamese spring rolls. It opened in 2003, in its original store located near the Diamond hotel, along J. Quintos St. Carlos Celdran was the one who introduced me to its delicious pho-noodle dishes and I made a mental note to blog about Cha Gio.

They tried to project an aura that they are a cafe rather than the noodle house so the pho dishes assortment were toned down. But they cannot readily compete with the nice figaro cafe along that street, so I would have thought that they should market themselves as an authentic vietnamese noodle house instead. This is where you can try a vietnamese coffee called ca phe su which is a Vietnamese brewed coffee dripped from a perculator mixed with condensed milk. They carry a vietnamese brand of coffee called, Trung Nguyen. Have anyone tried this coffee?

I like restaurants that has a story and Cha Gio gives you a glimpse of Leilani Valido-Castillo's family life in Laos. In full blown sepia photos, you'll see what their home is like in Laos. Lani's family had to escape from the war and migrate to Manila in 1977. They are proud of their heritage and you can see the photos of Lani's mom, Ba Lan (vietnamese from Hanoi); Lani's dad, Pert Valido (Filipino who worked for the Philippine Navy); and Lani's grandma, Ba Thao who is the source of their vietnamese cooking skills.

P&G Philippines Career Opportunities

Here is a shameless plug for those who are interested to apply in P&G. The Official P&G Philippines Website is up and running at http://www.pg.com/en_PH/ . You can apply for internship or regular employment through the online application process. (Here is the 7 step process for applying in P&G. ) We are looking for qualified individuals who have a balance between academic excellence and leadership skills. We are not limiting our search to the top 3 schools because I personally believe that there are a lot of qualified people out there outside the usual Ateneo, UP and La Salle graduates. As we usually say, we offer a career where you can live up to your potential and truly make a difference. This is an exciting time to be part of P&G because you will become a part of the Greatest P&G Operation of all time in P&G's History globally.

Also, just a tip for those applying, better read the website so that you'll know the history of the company and the P&G brands. Let me know if you have questions. You can contact the recruitment team via these contact information:

Corporate Recruitment Manager
recphilippines.im@pg.com
Phone: +63-2-8148112
Fax:+63-2-8148107

Procter & Gamble Distriuting (Phils.) Inc.
6750 Ayala Office Tower
Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Metro Manila, Philippines 1226

I Am Proud To Be A Filipino!

Have you read the article, The Philippines Through the Eyes of a Foreigner By Barth Suretsky? (see reposted article below). I totally don't agree with his article. I can't believe that a foreigner would have the guts to criticize the Filipinos for not taking pride in being Filipino. All the Filipinos that I met through this blog take pride in being called a Filipino. It doesn't mean that if you are outside the Philippines, you are not proud to be a Filipino. It has been OAP's quest to document the Filipino Pride and proclaim the Beauty of the Philippines.

Maybe, we are just not vocal about it.

In Celebration of the National Flag Day (May 28) until June 12 (National Independence Day), let us put the Philippine Flag on all the Filipino Blogs out there. Lets declare that we are all proud to be a Filipino! You can steal and hot link the Philippine Flags below (I have enough bandwidth to take it). I also encourage you to design your own Philippine Flag and give me a small banner version and I will include it in this list. For those who are asking reciprocal links from OAP, just give me your own version of the Philippine Flag and I'll be glad to link you from this site.

Philippine Flag Banners

Small Version:
<a href="anton.blogs.com" title="I am Proud To Be A Filipino"><img src="http://anton.blogs.com/flag/small.jpg" alt="Philippine Flag Small" />

Big Version:
<a href="anton.blogs.com" title="I am Proud To Be A Filipino1"><img src="http://anton.blogs.com/flag/large.jpg" alt="Philippine Flag Large" /></a>

Sunshine Puey, Goddess of Degustation and Roberto Pengson, Culinary Kung Fu Master

Read First:
Sunshine Puey's The Art of Dégustation

Imagine that this is a scene from an iron chef chinese movie where the two lovers are preparing to cook the best dinner they ever prepared in their entire life. Welcome to the world of Sunshine Puey's Degustation Dinner in Roberto Pengson's Global Academy Culinary School. I'm glad to be part of their second batch of degustation dinner event at the 50% off introductory price of P1,500 (regular price @ P3,000) for a 14 course tasting menu. At the same time, we got educated with the Art of Degustation:

" Dégustation means “tasting” in French, and refers to the practice of serving more courses in a meal but in smaller servings. Instead of the typical five or seven-course dinner, the tasting menu can offer anywhere from 7 to 20 or even more dishes in one sitting. A tasting menu allows the chef to fully explore the interplay of flavors, textures and aromas, to become even more creative when set free from the restraints of a traditional menu. " The Art of Dégustation By Goldweene Quetulio

It was a select group mostly composed of friends and family of maybe 30+ people. We were fortunate to be invited by Nena of Ramblings of a Gypsy Soul. It was another fun night with the foodie bloggers and be@rbrick lover, Ariel. The menu looked intimidating (May 26 Dinner Menu by Rob and Sunshine) but I'm glad that I'm not the only one who don't understand some of the french terms in the menu. We had a fun time pronouncing the french words, and specially I learned how to pronounce degustation properly from the goddess herself, Sunshine.

Let me share with you our Degustation experience with some French lessons on the side and some critique (from the group) to improve the overall dining experience...

Som's Noodle House

Read First:
Som's Noodle House - cheap authentic version of SukhoThai (October 25, 2005)

Living Room Area in Som's Noodle House

I first blog about Som's when it created a buzz in Rockwell area around October of 2005 (Som's Noodle House - cheap authentic version of SukhoThai). Ever since then our verdict was the thai food comes close to Sukho Thai except the Pad Thai. Also, after our first trip to Som's in Rockwell, we never went back because the mosquitoes and flies were annoying us. Their full pledge restaurant along N. Garcia is still down to earth and serves the same quality of food. I liked their idea of having a living/dining room area with TV that you can rent for P100/ hour. It was perfect for us especially since we have kids and we are a big group of 8. Also, this is good if you want to watch a much awaited telenovela with your officemates or simply watching NBA with your friends.

Overall, Som's is highly recommended for the Sukho-Thai taste of Thai Food except for the Pad Thai.

Check out the Som's Noodle House Menu

Pinoy Blog Mascots *** Check out the juicy updates as of 05/30/07 ***

This post is a collection of blogs that I admire because of the blogger's:
1. Passion and love for designer toys,
2. Travel "gnome" inspired by the 2001 movie Amelie where she brings her father's gnome in her travels.
3. Cosplay (costume-play) Characters

Please share with me if you came across interesting blogs with their own "mascots" (for the lack of a better term).

Title: Mistula's Uno (www.mistula.com/uno/) by Joey

I'm amazed at this so called Ball Jointed Dolls (some call it Asian Ball Jointed Dolls) or BJDs for short. It costs at a minimum P30,000 a piece and Joey of Mistula is the first pinoy to have a BJD in the Philippines aptly called Uno. You have to buy it straight from the manufacturers from Korea or Japan. To date, Joey would have 4-6 BJDs already and you can see her dolls in her Mistula.Com Uno site. The dolls are 2 feet tall and looks creepy according to Nina and I would have to agree from the photos on the blog.

What are Ball-jointed dolls (BJDs) or Asian Ball-jointed Dolls (ABJDs)? They are realistically proportioned dolls, usually manufactured in east Asian countries (primarily South Korea and Japan). These dolls are fully articulated with ball joints at the appropriate locations on their bodies. These dolls are fully poseable and customizable, with removable wigs, eyes, hands, feet and heads. Many different variations are available. Clothing, shoes, jewelry, and other accessories are also available. Much like collectable porcelain dolls, BJDs are often collected by adults. Like many vinyl baby dolls, they are often anatomically correct.

Ball-jointed dolls follow a traditional Asian view in their aesthetics. The designs are diverse and range from anime-inspired to the hyper-realistic. They are often considered to be collectors items. Many owners assign their dolls to a certain personalized character, and they are sometimes used as subjects of artistic works, such as photography.

Title: Be@r Brick Love (bearbricklove.blogspot.com) by Juan Ariel Comia

What is a be@rbrick? "Be@rbrick is a collectible toy designed and produced by MediCom Toy Incorporated. The name is derived from the fact that the figure is a cartoon-style representation of a bear, and that it is a variation of MediCom's Kubrick design. The @ sign in the place of the letter a is a visual device that is a part of the Be@rbrick brand, and as such, a trademark of MediCom Toy."

It is fascinating to see the different kinds of cute little bears which resembles a Lego bear. This young blog is dedicated to Ariel's love for these little creatures and his own personal Be@rBrick collection. I like the way he creates stories out of each be@rbrick complimented by a well composed portrait. I actually wanted to buy one after reading Ariel's blog, especially if there would be a Pinoy be@rbrick version.

Title: Teenage Kicks (isabetlog.multiply.com) by Isabelle Ramos

Here is an interesting concept which provides a fitting tribute to the "Tabo" as a symbol of pinoy culture. Being a part of NU 107, she has the privileged to interact with artists and she was able to convince them to have a creative pose with the "Tabo". I like the Nina Sandejas blowing Tabo pose. I wonder what was her inspiration for this Tabo series. I wish I could meet her someday and probably have Aidan pose with the Tabo too.

It started out as a conversation on toilets and bathrooms between Kage Gozun (kagey.multiply.com) and Millie's random-conversations-about-bathrooms. This was the blog post that gave life to the whole group: What do you do with a tabo?! This gave birth to the legion of tabo travelers.

Title: Where in the World is Spiderman? (spiderman.kwentongtambay.com) by Batjay

This spiderman "gnome" has been to more countries than I do. This is probably one of the longest running "gnome" pinoy blog which started 3 years ago (June 2004). Since this is a Batjay's blog, you should expect to see funny poses of spiderman and sometimes, rated R kind of poses. I wanted to have a similar companion for all my travels in the Philippines but I'm still waiting for someone to give me a travel "gnome".

Gaster Deli-cious!

Gaster - a modern european deli which means "stomach" or "belly" in greek.

In its 4th Reincarnation, Gaster Deli @ 6750 is perhaps receiving good karma these days. This is the fourth transformation of this corner restaurant in 6750 by the same owner which used to be known as Giraffe, Dream Bar and in its recent past life, Quisine. The highly anticipated opening of Gaster Deli last Monday, May 21, was well received by the 6750ers which includes folks from our company, caltex, microsoft, etc... The food is expensive and there is a bet whether Gaster Deli would survive this time around. This is the closest we could get to a Cafe Central setup (ala Friends) near our office. Good thing they serve good Illy's coffee (suppose to be the no.1 coffee in Europe) as their secret weapon against Starbucks and UCC.

So far, we are getting great raves and reviews from people who have tried it for the first time. We tried all the pasta and rice options, which is the only affordable meal for us, and all of them were great! I heard people raving about their prime rib (P770+), and strawberries in the shelf, etc. As if all the people who have tried their food on their first week of operation, came out with songs of praises and a vow to come back the next day. As for me, I've eaten thrice in the span of 5 days, and can't wait to try their wide assortment of gaster-deli-cious menu.

Gaster Deli Menu
(Check out the menu so that you won't have an awkward look when you decide to go for the cheapie ones. Or you can just go in, sit down and just say what you want to order, as if you are a regular in this place. I wonder if they have those secret dishes not indicated in the menu.)

Main Course - Meat, Poultry and Fish -- The prices are enough to keep me turn quickly to the next page.
Soups, Pasta and Rice -- Only items we can afford when eating out for lunch.
Appetizers and Salad
Sandwiches -
Breakfast Menu -- I can't wait to try this next week.
Desserts Menu -- decent desserts but I wouldn't go here just for this.

Finally, a great restaurant right underneath our office. Thanks to Chef Chris Kalaw and Chef Mike Tinsay for a job well done with the Gaster Deli-cious gourmet dishes . This is definitely better than Swiss Deli in Pioneer. Have you tried Gaster Deli? If you see me here, please don't hesitate to say hi :)

Rodic's Makati Invasion

We decided to check out what is the real buzz about Rodic's Tapsilog. Being a green archer, I'm just starting to discover UP's foodie delights. In fact, I was talking to Ivan Henares to give us a tour of U.P.'s legendary food places. Rodic's tapsilog is quietly invading Legaspi Village with two branches -- one in Salcedo Street and the other one in Adelantado Street near Makati Medical Plaza. A canteen in a Makati setting which it serves "Jollijeep" type of food in a nice quaint turo-turo setup. The Salcedo Street branch is owned by Ma. Socorro Tecson Mangahas, the daughter of the original owner of the Rodic's in UP.

The Bestseller in the house is of course Rodic's Tapsilog. All the silog meals comes with free ice tea and it would only costs P60 net. The Tapsilog is like a shredded bits of sweet beef that is similar to the fruity beef or pork my wife used to buy in Shin Tong Yong (I'm not sure if this is still alive). This is an interesting take on the Tapsilog and now I know why UP folks keep raving about Rodic's. One of these days, I'll try to visit the original store in UP. Have you tasted Rodic's before?

Another UP popular food place I've been to is the Chocolate Kiss Cafe - The Good Stuff?