Cesca Wine Bar

It is Friday night and usually Dad, my brother and I have this dinner together thingie that has been going on for the past how many years already. We decided to go to Il Terrazo once again to try some of the newly opened restaurants there. At first, we decided to try the come back of Aresi located on the 2nd floor but Dad gets a little annoyed and dismayed for I don't know what reason and he suggested that we try the small but very cozy restaurant on the ground floor named Cesca Wine Bar.

The place is quite compact and cozy. It is basically a wine bar as the name implies and serves gourmet kind of dishes such as sea bass, steak, lamb, salad, soup and etc. We end up ordering the King Size rib-eye steak which is about 16oz., a sea bass and a pasta. The steak is fragrant and it is grilled into perfection. The sea bass is fresh and very juicy. The sauce of the sea bass doesn't over power the flavour of the sea bass itself which is a very good thing. The pasta that Dad ordered on the other hand is a spicy shrimp pasta. I was hesitant to try it since it is spicy, I really hate spicy food, it is my enemy. But the waiter said that it is just mild and very tolerable. Yes indeed, it is mild and very tolerable considering I am very sensitive to spicy food. But I am not very happy with the taste and the noodles is not that al dente anymore. Totality, the Cesca can give you a different dining experience. The food is great, the place is cozy, the waiters and servers are well-trained. You should try this one as a new alternative.

Cesca is located on the ground floor level of Il Terrazo on this side of Omakase.

Mang Inasal

Chicken Inasal is a popular kind of cooking grilled chicken made famous in Bacolod. This is where the home of the Inasal. I don't know what inasal means but it is a different way or marinating the chicken before cooking it in the grill. Served with a special orange and fragrant sauce. The rice is served wrapped in a banana leaf for added fragrance. Mang Inasal also offers unlimited rice to its patrons on its selected menu choice. Order a Sago (Pearls) Gulaman drink to compliment the delicious meal. Mang Inasal is one of the many restaurants / fastfoods that serves Inasal.

Mang Inasal has several branches scattered in the Metropolis. For a quick check which Mang Inasal is the nearest in your place, just go to http://www.clickthecity.com/

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent for us Catholics. This is when ashes are placed on your forehead as the priest say: "Turn away from sins and believe in the Gospel!" and also "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return!" This is our way of remembering the season of Lent and how will we prepare ourselves during this season. This is when people repent, reflect and change for the better.

As explained by Wikipedia: Ash Wednesday gets its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful as a sign of repentance. The ashes used are gathered after the Palm Crosses from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned. In the liturgical practice of some churches, the ashes are mixed with the Oil of the Catechumens[1] (one of the sacred oils used to anoint those about to be baptized), though some churches use ordinary oil. This paste is used by the priest who presides at the service to make the sign of the cross, first upon his own forehead and then on each of those present who kneel before him at the altar rail. As he does so, he recites the words: "Remember (O man) that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Catholics or non-Catholics, we must not wait for lent to repent or reflect on all the wrong things that we did and are doing. We must always be aware of the wrong things that we are doing and never get embarassed by seeking an apology.

Base on my own personal opinion, one thing that makes a person evil is when that person steps on someone to gain the acknowledgement or recognition. It is crab-mentality at its finest. That is one factor we all must change, Lent or not, Catholic or not, it is like a virus that infect us slowly. Believe me, I am a victim of that.... you know who you are.... be ashamed of yourself! Ewwww Honestly, just by thinking you gives me the creeps!! But then again, one will not change if one doesn't know the thing that he or she needs to change and worst, he or she doesn't know his or her action(s) is affecting other people badly. I am not the only one this person pulled down, there are already a couple of us. The good people tend to resign, the bad tend to suck and cling on like a parasitic leech, like you! So I will pray for you this Lenten Season, CHANGE! (Clue: This person is a she!) I can't believe there could be such person, if this is really a person then yup, she is a she! hahahahahaha!

Rue de Mirage

I was surprised by a very very impromptu invitation by none other than Ms. Erika "Eka" Ongtauco at around 5:30pm telling me to watch the fashion show she is included in since no one will be able to watch as she strut her stuff on the ramp by modelling one of the designed clothes by some students under the School of Design and Arts from the University of Sto. Thomas (UST). It was held at Crossroads 77. Ticket price at Php 200.00. Went to support for Ms. Erika Ongtauco.

GO EKAAAA!!!!!

Eng and I went to the venue (Crossroads 77) a little later than expected, went up and down and up and down the stairs just to be able to find where Eka is but later on we decided to enter the basement 2 door instead to watch this so-called "fashion show" event. Tickets were left in the reception for us with our names on it. Thanks for the VIP treatment Eka. Anyways, upon entering, I was kinda surprised bec. it is more than what I expect, it was a full production fashion show complete with lights, sounds and sponsors as well. The event was quite successful since the seats were kinda full. Erika sent an SMS informing us there she is part of the 4th segment of the show. As Eng and I waited, we decided to give a rating at each girl model that came out with either a PASS or FAIL. It was fun criticizing them. After the event, I was so hungry already, Eka, Eng and I went to eat in Joey's Pepperoni. It was a fun impromptu night.

Big Scoop

It is summer time once again here in the Philippines.... and if you are living in a tropical country, summer time means HEAT! As we feel the temperature sore to 33 to 34 degrees Celsius already, we tend to feel sticky, uncomfortable and uneasy.

It is time for ice cream parlours to market themselves as this season is their time to shine now. We decided to try Big Scoop, an ice cream parlour located along N. Domingo in San Juan. The location of this ice cream parlour is far from all the commercial food establishments and the location is quite gloomy and scary but nonetheless, we feel a need to eat ice cream. As I enter the place, I was quite fascinated by the wide selection of their ice cream. Another thing that made me happy is that the price is very afforable unlike in Haagen Dazs or FIC. One Scoop costs Php 25.00 but if you order the Big Scoop it is Php 38.00 not bad right? I ended up ordering the Pistachio, Eka ordered The Mint Chocolate Chip and Eng ordered the Strawberry Fields. The taste is delicious, it is creamy and very flavourful. It is a good way of cooling one's self especially during the summer months.

The Pancake House

Fluffy, creamy, tasty, soft, warm, sweet are few of the adjectives that can describe a pancake served on a plate with a creamy buttermilk on the side and a syrup that is heavy but not irritatingly sweet.

Crunchy, saucy, fresh, salty, juicy again are few of the adjectives that can describe a taco served on a plate with a paper stand to hold it upright.

Yes, this is Pancake House. Pancake House has numerous branches around the Metro and their menu offers quite a wide array of delicious meals from chicken to steak to rice meals and etc. Everytime I visit Pancake House and look at its menu, I always say to myself, I will try this and that on my next visit but for now I will just order a 3 pc. Classic Pancake and a Taco. I've been in and our of Pancake House a lot of times already and I still end up ordering the 3 pc. Classic Pancake and Taco without even trying out their other offers and selections. To me, their Classic Pancake and Taco are a must and when I eat more, I will get so stuffed already. This is the reason why Pancake House to me is Classic Pancakes and Taco Restaurant. Isn't it evident that I love this place? Try it out but never miss the taco and the classic pancakes, trust me, its so worth it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

To: EVERYONE

HAPPY HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

From: The Jonas' Chronicles

Parking Sensors at SM Mall of Asia

Upon my entrance in the car park of SM Mall of Asia I was stunned and a bit shocked because I can see green and red lights all over the place. I said to myself, it isn’t Christmas anymore but why are there still red and green lights flashing. I said to myself, such a waste of electricity. As I get near the parking, I noticed something… something really awesome. The red and green lights aren’t Christmas lights, they are lights of warning when a car is parked in the slot (red) and when there’s none (green), there is a built-in sensor on the device to detect if there is an object parked. Amazing!

For a car park so vast and wide like in SM Mall of Asia, it is really helpful that SM installed those devices to help the driver detect available slots for parking.

Great job SM, truly, you’ve got it all for us!

Xavier School Fair '09 (Be Scorched!)

Brings back the old memories. As I drive home from work one day I pass by Xavier School for a reroute and I noticed an advertisement posted there. To my surprise, it is already February and this is the month wherein my alma matter hosted its annual school fair. As I drive, memories came flashing back and I ended up having a huge smile on my face. Xavier's fair is always one of the coolest, you go here to see and be seen, meet pretty girls from ICA, Poveda and Assumption. Fight yourself with the people who tries to catch you either for their Jail Booth, Marriage Booth, Flush Booth. Flush booth is the one that I hated the most since you will be asked to sit on a toilet bowl and someone will pour a bucket of water with powder on you. Sounds great huh?

I noticed another poster also, this is the Variety Show Poster. I was once part of the Variety Show Committee, it was a tough job but it was fulfilling. You get backstage passes and you will be able to meet and talk to the bands and artists that will be performing. This is one event that each Xaverian must experience and enjoy.

The Xavier School Fair - FEBRUARY 7-8, 2009

LUCEAT LUX!!!

Jessica Stroup

Meet "The hottest new girl" in town and she can be found in the new series of 90210. She is Jessica Stroup (Erin Silver) in the series. She is my ultimate crush, she is the main reason that pushed me to watch this series and admittedly ended up liking not only her but the whole series altogether. She also maintains her own blogsite, called The Vicious Circle . I now have two major and also ultimate crushes in two different drama series already, Hilarie Burton (Peyton Sawyer) from One Tree Hill still tops the list.

Chick Teen Series (90210, One Tree Hill and etc.)

Yes, you may wonder what am I doing or where am I heading. For one, yes it is a teen drama series and secondly, it is for girls. But enough of this labelling because for me it is full of crap. Our lives has been full of those labels and norms / standards that we live by. We always care what other people would or will say whenever we like something that doesn't conform to the norm or to what society dictates of us. For example, guys like action movies and girls like drama. This is crazy and this has taken a great impact on how we act, think and do things. Have you ever stopped and reflected about this: "Yes, you are following what society dictates but the question is, are you doing it correctly?" Each one of us has his or her own set of values, brought up differently by our parents, culture to follow and roles to fulfill. Are we living our lives the way we want them to be? Are we living it exactly the right way we want to be as well? We always take into priority what other people will think and what society dictates of us but we never took into consideration if we are doing it right.

My stand is, go ahead, like what you want to like, do what you want to do, the world is yours, conquer it. Start to dream, build your foundation, burn bridges that you think needs burning. End whatever needs to be ended for as long as you do it without hurting, stepping or using someone. Because it is your life that you are living.

We always react like it is too young for me, it is too old for me, it is not within my age anymore or what not. But little did you know that these tv programs may start to open our eyes and give us a refresher course with regards to the values, etiquettes and morals we may have forgotten as we grow through the years. Time flies by so fast these days and the sad part of it is that time overtakes us most of the time. We never had time to pause and think and reflect on what are we doing to ourselves, our family and our friends. So take time off from everything, sit back, watch and learn. These chick teen drama series aren't there just to entertain, they are there to teach us, for us to learn and remember. And there is no age limit for realization and learning, it is a life long process and we should never get tired of them. Get that remote control and turn on the tv and watch for you to learn, accept, reflect and do something about it.