Second Valentines Together: 12.14.11

The big hand of the clock struck 12, small hand at 10, its exactly 10 o'clock in the morning. I was surprised to see a familiar silhouette coming up the place where I was, it was my husband. He was carrying what is known as a the-thing-that-makes-women-think-they-are-so-beautiful-and-special, its a valentines bouquet. I pretended to have not seen him, he approached me and planted a quick peck on my lips and greeted me with I love You hun happy valentines day. Then off he went back to work. I was left with a big smile on my face, but a humongous smile in my heart. I feel to special.


The card that was atop the bouquet, it wrote "Happy valentines day, Thank you for spending another valentines day with me.

A shot of whats inside my bouquet. I totally love chocolates! This really made my day.

Chef Tatungs Experience

On the edge of looking for one excellent place to spend valentines day at, I came across a blog about a new softly launched homey fine dining restaurant,Chef Tatung's place. It was a fine tuesday evening, after receiving blessings from some good hearted people, I decided to take my husband to a fine dining experience right at the heart of Quezon City. As I texted the man himself for a reservation, he urgently texted back directions and the start time for dinner. More awed and amazed by his well-mannered reply, I was even more drawn to trying his cuisine.


At half past seven o'clock, we arrived 30-minutes earlier than our reservation. The place was half filled with dining couples, the wonderful music and the warmly lit house greeted our entrance to the reception area. I ringed the hanging door bell that clearly depicts ancient ways of letting yourself recognized by the host of the house. The house was fenced by white colored wall with a blue gate, with # 17 clearly depicted at its midst. As we entered the house we were welcomed by 2 uniformed waiter, and was asked if we want to dine inside or outside the house. We preferred al fresco dining hence we headed outside. As we chose a round table for 2, we started taking pictures of interesting things we saw at Chef Tatungs.


Picture on the left showed "budding eggplant" one of the organically grown vegetables that Chef Tatung use in all his cuisine. I am not using an SLR so I had to bear with the kind digital camera my father lent me. Picture on the right, is the "örnamented wall" being a non sectarian Buddhist himself, Chef Tatung keep his place vividly screaming that it is a place of substance. Paintings are all from Italy and India. It was an interesting wall. (My apologies for the blurred and the reflection on the painting I am so poor at this.)


The bread: As Chef said, if there is something that people craves for in this place, its the bread. Its to die for. Its freshly off the pugon (that by the way is smoke free). The bread will be served very hot (just like your good old pandesal) with thick crunchy crust yet with a very soft central core! Mouth watering as it is we cannot help ourselves but to ask for a second round. This by the way was served with a balsamic vinegar just like the ones we see at Italianni's.

There came our main course,,,ooops we actually missed taking pictures of the soup that is made up of well blended zucchini with basil leaves. It was a little salty but i think french cuisine are cooked like this cause they are not fond of using msg but uses NaCl and salted butter a lot. The salad by the way is made of iced lettuce with black olives and cherry tomatoes blended with strawberry vinaigrette, yummy. On with this main course, my husband ordered the steak (well done) with garlic and mashed potato that even without the gravy tasted really awesome!Let us not forget the steamed beans.

Now its my turn, Chicken on red sauced pasta. At first I thought it was just your ordinary red pasta,think again. When I took my first bite, the chicken was cooked with mozarella cheese flavoured with basil leaves! The taste was splendid! Pasta cooked al dente, red sauce has the luscious misture of spices that I myself cannot decipher whether it was marjoram or basil or what not. It was fantastic.

We also ordered a'la carte of the shrimp pasta that tasted like soysauce and some chinese herbs. This one was not so spectacular, but I was so happy with the generous number of shrimp that was on the dish.

He is Chef Tatung, (not his real name) was a local born, who had his education abroad. Though short of completing an entire course in culinary, he finished courses in countries like the United States and Italy. He was so entertaining, goes from one table to another and asks how's the food treating us. He told us a brief history of the place. Though was only 1 month open, he has 10 or more constant customers that were actually friends of friends of friends. It was never his intention to make this a real means of living but a fulfillment of a dream and that is to do what he love the most "cooking".

Chef Tatung's
17 Matipid St., Quezon City
Reservations only

Queen Latifah is Josephine Aton

Brought in by the unceasing belief that someday somehow her father will finally be proud of her, this 32-year old single mom from Cebu City awed everyone in her breathtaking performance for Pilipinas Got Talent.

It was one sunny afternoon when she decided to accompany her daughter to brave the long lines of auditioneeS at the Abs-Cbn talent center, when mistakenly instead of her daughter, she was brought on the stage. Revealing proudly that she weighs 256 lbs (roughly 114 kgs, technically Obese Class II, morbidly obese classification), she unhesitatingly walked up the stage and came vis-a-vis with no less than all the judges of the talent show. Ms. Kris Aquino, a little startled, asked out rightly how much she weighed and the woman without bathing an eyelash answered proudly.

The familiar sound of the melody of "I believe" originally rendered by Fantasia Barino of American Idol Season 3, she slowly uttered the tune and there she was.

Here is the link so that you may see for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b3_-1j0SJg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b3_-1j0SJg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b3_-1j0SJg

PROUDLY PHILIPPINE MADE!

Like A Pyramid...Together we are strong.

This song struck me, if i would have been just about to get married, I would definitely pick the song as my OSV (onsite video or now more popularly called as same edit video) background or AVP song.

This is absolutely and definitely a hippy song that beautifully illustrated the kind of love we want to share with our better half...Not only with them, this is the kind of song that can actually be used for retreats and recollections as well. In that is reiterated that God's love is something that is indestructible, something way beyong the tragedies we are experiencing right now. The love of our Creator that goes beyond the limits of the human mind and the Human's capacity to understand and decipher the message of the challenges we are vis-a-vis with these days.


Sharing with you the you tube link to the song and the lyrics as well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhT2HhEllpw


PYRAMID (Charice featuring Iyaz)

Shawty's love is like a pyramid (ooh)
We stand together till the very end (eh ooh)
There'll never be another love for sure (ooh)
Iyaz and Charice let we go

Stones, heavy like the love you've shown (shown)
Solid as the ground we've known (known)
And I just wanna carry on
We took it from the bottom up (no no no)
And even in a desert storm (yeah)
Sturdy as a rock we hold (oh)
Wishing every moment froze
Now I just wanna let you know
Earthquakes can't shake us
Cyclones can't break us
Hurricanes can't take away our love

Pyramid, we built this on a solid rock
It feels just like it's heaven's touch
Together at the top (at the top baby), like a pyramid
And even when the wind is blowing
We'll never fall just keep on going
Forever we will stay, like a pyramid

Like a pyramid like a pyramid eh (ooh)
Like a pyramid like a pyramid eh (ooh)
Like a pyramid like a pyramid eh eh (oooh)

Cold (cold), never ever when you're close (close)
We will never let it fold (fold)
A story that was never told
Something like a mystery (yoh!)
And every step we took we've grown
Look how fast the time has flown
A journey to a place unknown
We're going down in history
Earthquakes can't shake us (oh)
Cyclones can't break us (oh)
Hurricanes can't take away our love

Pyramid, we built this on a solid rock (hey!)
It feels just like it's heaven's touch
Together at the top, (at the top baby) like a pyramid
And even when the wind is blowing (wind is blowing)
We'll never fall just keep it going (keep it going)
Forever we will stay, like a pyramid (eh oh)

Like a pyramid girl let me show you
That I love you so much
That we gonna get through (oh oh)
Even when there's storms
I will never go, Ima be the one to keep you safe (hey)
Before was our love back it up more than enough
Holding on to one another be the cover when it's rough (oh oh)
Mother nature (hey) or disaster won't stop at happy ever after

Pyramid, keep it going (like a pyramid, like a pyramid)
Oh oh ooooh (like a pyramid, like a pyramid)

Pyramid, we built this on a solid rock (solid rock)
It feels just like it's heaven's touch (oooh)
Together at the top (at the top baby, at the top girl), like a pyramid
And even when the wind is blowing
We'll never fall just keep on going (keep it going)
Forever we will stay (Charice), like a pyramid (what what)

Pyramid, we built this on a solid rock
It feels just like it's heaven's touch
Together at the top (at the top baby, at the top girl), like a pyramid (pyramid)
And even when the wind is blowing
We'll never fall just keep it going
Forever we will stay (ooh), like a pyramid

Like a pyramid like a pyramid eh
Like a pyramid like a pyramid eh
Like a pyramid like a pyramid eh eh

Seafood and Sunset: A Perfect T in Jimbaran!

Tiring it might be, albeit, its just thirty minutes past the hour of 6., the sun is still up and about, shining and reigning as if it has no plans of gearing off and calling it a day. we headed off to Jimbaran, the seaside place in Bali to end up our day with a sumptuous dinner by the sea. We are, I think just in time.












Off we go to one of the most populated restaurants by the beach in Jimbaran. The sea breeze is admixed with the aroma of grilled fish and seafood was utterly. We have seen a bunch of Japanese people browsing through the menus in the same time that we do. Hmmmm all seems to be very inviting and palatable but the prices are so sky rocketing. We didn't bathe a lash and ordered everything we wanted on the menu. This is so exciting. We ordered Lapu-lapu cooked in sweet and sour sauce, the crab cooked in spicy buttered sauce and the shrimp cooked naturally in its own body sauce. Everything was near perfect....Until the sun begin to set and showed us that it is really time to bid the day goodbye.



Spectacular Sunset shot done by our digital camera (thank you tita Tattie)..Too bad the investment on an SLR remains to be a bleak.

Uluwatu Temple in Bali

First official Day in Nusa Dua Bali. Putu our ever reliable driver, was up early to pick us up and to come with us as we wander around Bali.He told us simple stuffs that we needed to know so that we can blend in well with the Balinese people. When we all know that Indonesia is but one of the largest Muslim country in Asia, little do i know that Bali is practicing but a different religion, Hinduism. Putu fervently told us that it is best that every time we come to a place we need to observe first if slippers should be taken off or not. More so, there are sacred temples that would warrant nothing less than no people allowed at all.

We were really glad that Putu speaks medium English...some of the words are incomprehensible but most are...We need to bear with him for the next 6 days in Bali.

We are going to our first pit stop, its at the Pura Luhur which is a Balinese Sea Temple at Uluwatu on Bali. It was built in the 11th century. Probably one of the most spectacular temples sitting atop the cliffs overlooking the surf at Uluwatu. Luhur means “something of divine origin” while “Uluwatu” can be broken into “ulu” which means “land’s end” and “watu” means “rock” in the old language).

The place was so solemn, that upon entering we needed to wear a sarong and or a sash. We headed up a more than a mile trek to get close to the abyss. Midway, we encountered monkeys that would mingle and dangle off a tree just to pose for a picture with passersby. There were some who were friendly but a lot where really nasty. If they see anything hanging from your body they will snatch it away and never would you retrieve it again.

The view from a cliff at the Uluwatu Temple. The sound of the waves hitting the hard rock astride the cliff is a Serene manifestation of nature paying homage and respect to the Hindu Gods. Even the birds and the trees almost kneel as they pass by the temple edge. I am not specifically sure about this but only the tourist wandering around may not recognize the solemnity of nature and the sanctity of this place. We are a witness to this and we are a living testimony to it. We do stop and kneel down in silence but at the very most we squander around like crazy preschoolers to take advantage of the site. But yeah we dis it as discreetly as we can...


Another fantastic experiencewe had at the temple was the chance to witness the Kecak Dance ('kecak'meaning fire). Of all the many dances imbibed in every Balinese nature, The Kecak dance stands out as the most dramatic, scenic, historic and romantic of all. The dance depicted the story of the Ramayana. It beautifully elucidated the faithfulness of Rama to the rules of Dharma and the everlasting love he had for his wife Sita, amidst all the mishaps along the way. It is indeed a fact that from childhood, most Balinese learn the characters and incidents of these epics and they furnish the ideals and wisdom of common life. The epics help to bind together the many peoples practicing the belief in Hinduism, transcending caste, distance and language.

Day 1 in Bali is very fruitful. The place we ate at was even better. I will do the talk on my next blog.

Heart's or Hurts Day at Galileo Enoteca

February 14, 2010 is suppose to be me and my husbands first valentine day as a married couple. Needless to say, as a hopeless romantic that I am, I expected that something unusual is about to transpire. However due to a lot o forseen and expected circumstance our first valentine together was turned into a night of drama, hatred and melancholy. Heart breaking as it seems, it so sad to have a vday with no flowers or chocolates nor greeting cards at hand from someone special... but what is even worse is to have no valentine at all when in fact I am supposed to be married. Do not get me wrong, its not that my husband went far away, or was he reunited with our creator, he was just somewhere enjoying himself and has totally forgotten that he happens to ahve a wife waiting for him. How cool is that? Everytime I try to recount the story, it just makes me cry and pity myself even more.



Here comes what I then termed as making up for lost time and for tonns of tears and outpured emotions. My husband compensated his mishap by reserving a candle lit dinner for 2 at Galileo Enoteca located at Calbayog corner Molinao street in Mandaluyong. The place has a perfect ambiance for unprecedented hard core daters who wants to have time away from the stresses of the metro and have a feel of authentic Italian fine dining. Moreso, the bewitching architecture and the interior of the resto gives off the impression of you dining int he streets of Italy. Even more fascinating is the fact that this business all started out as a thesis project of the owners daughter, in college as an architecture student. Little do they know that what was once a means to pass and to graduate for their daughter was now a means of living for them. Interestingly, the italian ambiance of the restaurant was owed to the step dad who happens to be a wine connoisseur, and a marvelous chef in his own right.





The meal started off with a handful of their choiced panini bread with liver duck pate, anchovies and salsa. The bread appeared to be more of steamed than it was baked. As it lingers in the mouth, it tasted more of a rice pudding, and with impregnation of one's salivary amylases, the most coveted flavorful spices emanates. We cannot help but to ask for our second serving of this delight. Eugene is very fond of breads, he almost finished one bucket. Explains why he burps out alot right after the dine.

Comes the Salad as our First course: Salad with Tuna Flakes in Olive Oil. The taste of the balsamic vinegar was very enticing, the olive oil does not stick to the tongue and the organic lettuce finishes of the make. Though the tuna flakes seemed to be from some preserved entity, it was very well carried by the mixture of the olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Very Italian.


The Spaghetti with Shrimp Scampi in Olive Oil. I totally adored the taste of this menu. The sun dried tomato shovelled out a salty taste unto the sauce and the olive oil neutralized it. You would'nt notice you are finishing off the entire plate, because every spoonful of the pasta makes you wanna eat more. Disgustingly ruining my diet, but very satisfying to the appetite centers. It's a clear fusion of piquant
and peppery spice of an italian dish.

My hubby's order is the Italian Baked salmon. The menu is a bit surprising. It was served with side salad on balsamic vinegar and mashed potato. I was about to ask for a gravy for the mashed, however when I tasted it, Hmmmm Impressing! This was the first time I tasted mashed potato without gravy but seems to be embalmed with caramel or honey sauce or what not! Very new to my buds. The salmon was so fresh that you would'nt have any hesitancy devouring it all. Moreover, Eugene is never a fan of cuisine flavored with sugar, but this one threw out that rule for him.


The specialty that they boast about is their choiced cold cuts, cheeses and ofcourse
their rich flavoured hot chocolate. Yes that same chocolate powder that Lucy Torres when gaga about, to the point of hoarding it all. Making the customers wait for a good 2 days before a bag of chocalate be available. When I tasted it? Hmmmm I loved it! Not to sweet, very rich and full of calories! What the heck , it only comes once!

The overall dining experience is prodigoiously fantastic. Whether the heart's day tuned out to be hurt's day...It certainly made its way back into becoming HEART'S DAY AGAIN.