Mónica

What Your Name Means

This kinda freeked me out a little on how accurate it can be… (click here to check yours)

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Sandy Is A Star

An email that I received today from my one of my cloesest friends, Sandy Officer, had that on the subject line. Having no clue what is was about, I re-read the subject again out loud to myself and looked at it quizzically before clicking on it. It was a quick email with a bbc link. Did a quick browse of the page and saw her photo in the article! Well done Missy Officer! I am sure if I was there, we would be celebrating at Wax by now! haha!

P.O. Box

Ever wondered how the P.O. boxes in Manila look like? Here is a shot I took several weeks ago, at the Makati Central Post Office. Pretty cool, except that it smelt like wee. :S

Weeeee!

I guess someone couldn’t wait for snow! haha!

“My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken”

I was switching channels when I saw an interesting interview in one of the local channels (this being an oxymoron statement normally) by Boy Abunda. He was interviewing one of the Philippines’ national artist for literature, Alejandro Roces. He was in the midst of saying that one of his short stories, “My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken” is now going to be included in all Freshmen High School text books. Hearing this made me curious what the story was all about. Indeed, it is a well written short story and very witty. His main themes in all his short stories are all about — cockfighting.

The interview then proceeded by him promoting his musical, “Something to Crow About”, which will be held at the La Mama in New York. Alejandro Roces, couldn’t help but give a teaser to his audience, he started by saying “Imagine the curtains open, you see a typical Filipino barrio setting, a sexy Filipina appears at the center of the stage and says — ‘I never met a man so obsessed with his cock’”.

I must say the interview was surprisingly entertaining. I even have to give the host credit on how uniquely classy his show was set out. However, I was extremely disappointed at the very end, when the host imitated James Lipton, host of Inside the Actors Studio (a show I enjoy watching), 10 questions. Though he only used one as they ran out of time, which was, “If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?”. Oh dear, just when you thought you were viewing something originally truly Filipino, but then again — it was. Miaoow!

Desayuna en la cama

Literally meaning, “breakfast in bed”.  My mom and I were on our way to the bank when we saw a sign in Urdaneta Village saying that there was a furniture sale in the park.  We were pondering on whether to go or not, would it be second hand furniture and if we would even want it if it was. We went anyway.  When we walked in I fell in love with several pieces immediately.  If I had the cash, I would have bought several chairs!  They were the type of furniture you would only see exported to European countries, and stores like LOMBOK.  If I had been earning for perhaps over a year and had my own home to furnish… I would have definitely have purchased most of the stuff from there.  Sadly, the only thing I could afford splurging on was this tray (Php 2,520)! haha!!  The photo does not give the piece any justice (perhaps if it had some juice and croissant on it).  My sensei, also known as my sister, has taught me well.  When in a furniture sale, grab your piece and don’t let go of it! And that is exactly what I did today.  They also had a lovely wooden rocking chair which I was soooo tempted to buy… well, the lady has to get back to me on the price.  For some reason I always loved rocking chairs, and had one as a child and would often fall asleep on it!  Could it be a solution to my insomnia?  Or perhaps an investment for my old age.  

When I paid for my tray, I asked the lady if they were always in the park.  Apparently not, but they have a factory in Parañaque.  They are known as E.Murio.  So, when my sensei comes to visit, I shall take her there with me to oggle all the lovely furniture. 

All I need now is for someone to make me breakfast when I wake up in the morning. Hint… Hint…

“The Outsiders”

The photos above are some of the photos I have taken of my Spanish school, Instituto Cervantes.  I can appreciate the beauty of this building every Saturday when I attend class.  A girl in my class once mentioned that this building was done by a Chilean Architect who is the husband of one of the teachers.  Whoever it was, they did a damn good job.  The building is attached by a courtyard to a Spanish Restaurant called Casino Español.  What I like most is that the architect managed to combine old Spain with modern Europe in an former colony.  

Our class was substituted by a Spanish teach, as our regular Filipina teacher was on holiday.  From the moment he entered the class, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.  I felt that for once, I wasn’t the only “outsider” in the room.  After about half an hour into the lesson, he started to talk about the eating, drinking and everyday living culture in Spain.  It was within the topic to be learned, but a major plus for me.  He started of by comparing how in Spain, they hardly ever ate rice.  Rice is eaten once a week, on a Sunday, and it is usually Paella.  In everyday meals, bread is eaten, thus him having such a shock when he got here, as every meal is served with rice.  A girl in my class (who rather annoys me) piped up and asked what is the word “fattening” in Spanish.  My teacher looked at her bewildered by her questioned and thought for a minute, and ended up saying, “there isn’t such a term in Spain”.  I thought, obviously there wouldn’t be!  It is only in this strange country where the first issue would be weight!  Anyway, moving on… I wondered to myself how he must find the bread in this country.  I, having struggle to find decent bread, was curious on what he thought.  So I asked him, how does he find the bread here.  To which he responded, “I eat rice” and we both burst out laughing.  He then moved on to talk about wine (ah my favorite topic), he gave us several names of regions, but the annoying girl kept interrupting him and giving her take on Spanish wine as she had just done a course in the school of Spanish wines.  Hence, missing out on several important information!  But just like me, he felt that the variety of wines in Manila are very limited. He moved on to coffee.  He gave us the different names of how people take their coffee, one being cortado.  In Spain, he explained that everyone had different preferences when they drank their coffee.  I could totally understand what he was talking about.  Annoying girl asked if they had Starbucks.  Dios Mio!!  He then explained how in Spain EVERYONE drank coffee, and it was a big thing there.  So every where there are coffee shops, owned independently.  He said there were probably three Starbucks in the whole of Madrid.  One person asked if they had, Tasters Choice or Great Taste Coffee there.  GOOD GOD!  He had a similar reaction to what I was thinking.  He told them in Spain, they don’t regard those sort of coffee as coffee.  They think drinking American coffee is like drinking dirty water.  Exactamundo!  That ISN’T even coffee!  

He then compared life here and in Spain.  I couldn’t help but felt nostalgic about living and the life in Europe.  He reminded me so much of myself and the way he described food, drink and life.  I then asked him where he preferred.  He mentioned how in his life in Manila, you try and be like the locals but they always remind you that you aren’t by words like Gringo, Joe. etc.  He was very reminiscent about his town Granada, and I envied him for being so proud of where he came from and how much he loved it.  

This had to be the most fun class I have had since I got here.  He was just like the teachers I had in London, the method of teaching was relaxed (could it be because he was merely a sub?).  It was really nice to be around a fellow foreigner for once, and understand everything he was talking about, rather than feel on guard with everyday people.  

Salcedo Market - Revisited

Yesterday, I took my Dad on his first visit to Salcedo Market. He was keen on going, if only for the “business aspect” of it. Nevertheless, it was a good experience for him, I think. I am sure he didn’t expect it to be mostly Manileño men in the market.

I was looking for some Arugula (Rocket) to use in salads or bocadillos, which I was able to. Sadly, they were very wilted and not appetizing at all! After visiting all the stalls, we ended up buying a small portion Paella Negra for lunch from one of the stalls and some BBQ. I realised that the BBQ stall in the market was in fact Ineng’s. Ineng is now the competitor of Aling Nene’s. Someone told me recently that Inengs was better than Aling Nene’s. Having tried it yesterday, I beg to differ. It was good but extremely sweet.

Anyway, one of my main reason for visiting the market this time, (apart from my Arugula quest) was to buy myself a plant. I decided I wanted a Basil plant, so it could be used for cooking. I was able to buy my Basil plant for Php80.- (Something like £0.80). So here he is… my very own… Herbert Basil…

“Basil it come from the GRREEK word which means “king”, Basil - Greek - King of Herbs - there you go”. I got that information while trying to read up on this kingly herb. I am not sure as how to care for this plant in this country. The man who sold it to me said that it can be in the sun up to 10 am, but it should be moved to a shaded area before noon as it may be too hot. A cup of water a day should be sufficient he advised as well. However, today I noticed that some of my Basil’s leaves have wrinkled a bit. Hmmm…. Dr. Greenthumb, please help me.

Tym s up

I would have loooved to get this when my visa for the UK was ending.

I can just see it : “Wer R U? Ur tym s up in LDN. Pls Nsure u go bak 2 ur home w/n 1 wk. We hpe u enjyd ur stay n d UK.”

To which the potential illegal migrant would reply : “Who s dis?”

Who ever thought of this obviously didn’t think it through. A lot of my friends in London have more than one phones, some mobile phones get stolen, people change their number, and they can’t depend on the details on one’s mobile phone line rentals as there IS such a thing as pay as you go. Can you imagine when questioned by the home office, they would reply as they would to their friends “Oh sorry I didn’t get it”. Smart.

I wonder if Orange will have a tie up with the Home Office, kinda like their “Orange Wednesday’s”. Where migrants can extend their visas, “text 411 for one more chance to extend your visa”. Heck, I would have done it .

Portico & A Diabetic Coma

Last night was spent at Serendra with my brother and some friends. Serendra is an up and coming area at the Fort. I have been hearing about this place since I arrived, but it was not until last night I got to and see what it was all about. After reading several blogs online, I have come to the conclusion that people who come to Serendra, go for a meal, then end up queuing for the country’s well talked about cupcakes and check out the huge shrine where you are most likely to see Homer Simpson (or my younger brother-in-law). So we did just that.

We started out at the restaurant called Portico (Chateau 1771). Elegant interior with modest prices. The food was pretty good too. Nothing spectacular, but a nice meal out. It was the first time for me to try Pomelo Salad, which my mom keeps raving about. I must admit, it was rather good. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos as I think the people we were with would have probably though I was round the bend for photographing my food! After the meal, I went to be excused and there were two western ladies in the WC in there with me. One of the told me I could go ahead of her as she wasn’t queuing. She reminded me so much of my mom’s friend. I thanked her and asked her where she was from. I had an inkling that she was from the U.K., sure enough she was. She said that she was visiting her son who works for Shell Manila. It was a nice quick chat and I feel like I have turned into my mother! Talking to complete strangers. I guess I couldn’t help not talk to a fellow foreigner.

After dinner, as I suspected, our friends suggested we try some Cupcakes by Sonja. We joined the semi-long cue for these much talked about cupcakes. My brother and I took a moment to reminisce on my mom’s cupcakes which she used to make when we were kids. Ahhh…yes, the good ol’ days. This place was rather cute and felt like strawberry shortcake’s country house kitchen. Bordering on sickeningly sweet — and that was just the shop. The cupcakes to my disappointment were extremely sweet and the icing on the cupcake was grainy. It was a nice experience to try, but I think it’s a place for a girl aged 6.

As if that wasn’t enough sugar, we headed to the other side of Serendra, to check out Krispy Kreme. The area is called “Bonifacio High Street”. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and think how they are trying to copy the UK’s “high streets“, which are actually just shops along streets! I wonder if they would eventually call it “High Street Boni”, kinda like “High Street Ken”. Trust me, this has got to be the plushest high street that exists — same goes for Krispy Kreme. This must be the most elegant and biggest Krispy Kreme you will encounter. And just like in Harrods, they do give you a free doughnut when the red sign is lit. In this country, I couldn’t help but think of the losses they would have by doing that. At under Php 400 for a box of dozen doughnuts. The doughnuts tastes different from the ones in London. The flavours as well seem to be different, perhaps they are taking the same ones from the states. Again, it seemed a lot sweeter than the London ones.

It would be interesting to go back and check out the other restaurants in that area. One of them being a Spanish restaurant called Gaudi and another one called Duo, which my mom has been several times. I noticed that they will be opening what I think is, the UK franchise of Fish & Co. — at High Street Boni.