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Author: Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco

Celebrating Chinese New Year 2013 (Black Water Snake)

Chinese New Year is held on different dates each year. This year of the Black Water Snake, it fell on a Sunday: February 10, 2013. Most families begin preparing a month or more in advance for celebrating Chinese New Year, but we bought food and prepared for the festivity only on the day before.

I was surprised that Ongpin Street in Chinatown, Binondo was way TOO CROWDED not only with Chinese people but also with Filipinos. (It took me almost an hour in the line to pay for the mushroom zongzi and peanut powder in Eng Bee Tin.) 😯

How We Celebrated CNY 2013 in the Philippines

Like other Chinese families, we stuffed our tables with seafood, fruits, glutinous rice, lumpia, noodles, etc. However, unlike most of them, we didn’t decorate our home with red ornaments and lucky charms, didn’t offer a sacrifice to the Kitchen God, didn’t play mahjong until the sun comes up the next morning, didn’t set off chaotic fireworks and firecrackers and didn’t even bother to watch them explode in the sky. 😛 In sheer contrast to these traditions, we only stayed at home and slept early on New Year’s Eve.

On the first day of the New Year itself, we had lunch in my paternal grandparents’ house and gave thanks to the lord through prayers for all the blessings we have received. Food brought by all of us (potluck):

Held on February 17, 2013, our second celebration still consisted of none else than enjoying festive food in Shangri-la Finest Chinese Cuisine, West Triangle, Quezon City. I didn’t manage to get pictures of the food though, because we were seated in a circular table with people we’re not familiar with. It was embarrassing for me to tell them I had to take a shot before they can get food to their plates. 🙁

There were games for both adults and children, and we had fun collecting prizes from random raffle draws. The program’s host made sure that each person didn’t go home without taking a prize and tikoy for every family. And as usual, single men and women took “lucky money” enclosed in red envelopes (红包 “hong bao”) given by the most senior female and male members of the association.

Our latest celebration was last March 3, 2013. With maternal relatives, we had some truly superlative 10-course Chinese lauriat food service, family-style entrees, for lunch in Mandarin Sky Seafood and Shabu-Shabu Restaurant (Banawe, Quezon City) and won monetary prizes from raffle draws sponsored by officers of 旅菲南海九江同郷会. Mandarin Sky is a good place to gather with friends and family over a satisfying meal before moving on (with a full stomach) to the rest of the day or evening.

March 23, 2013
Real Scoop on Life After the Homecoming

It’s been a year since I landed in Manila, and life has come full circle. I’m back in my old routines but also welcomed some changes along the way. Some of them are: keeping up oral care while I wear braces, maintaining my newly groomed digitally permed hair, reviewing almost every single diner I have been to and being more active in content development, attending to a new church, being more analytical in shopping for garments and honing my presentation skills not only for work but also for events by hosting.

I also muster stronger faith each day in a Power greater than myself. Pouring my sentiments to God and to people I trust will take care of them helps me better comprehend things at hand. When I’m still unsure, I just listen to the Divine Power and pray to be open to what I hear. I can never predict where and when the message will come, so I stay receptive and aware.

Last weekend, I had a talk with myself. It went well. Here are bits of truth and realizations I’ve gathered from experience from the latter half of 2012 to date:

Real Scoop on Life After the Homecoming

1. You don’t know everything. Google might.

Recognize your own lack of knowledge and uselessness sometimes. That requires acceptance. There are so many things to learn in the world that a lifetime may not be enough to know them all alone. You can turn to books, experts, online forums and search engines.

Not knowing doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong track or chose the wrong profession or are hopelessly lazy. You may see yourself as someone small now, but take courage to lift up your eyes and soon you’ll know everything you have to know about your chosen subject.

2. Be yourself. You’re the only person truly qualified.

Be proud of your merits and stand your ground against the bigotry and ignorance around you. stop putting barriers where there shouldn’t be any. Or see shadows where there aren’t. Be confident and think that you are where you are through your own sweat and nobody else’s. You will be okay, whatever the “peanut gallery” may think.

Sit up and pay attention. Sit up and claim the pride that accepts you just as you are… and uses that pride to spur you on. Practice progress, not perfection.

3. When you find an individual or a group who gets to know you and accepts you for being yourself, treasure them. They’re rare.

Don’t settle for people who don’t give you things to say. Forever is a long time to make small talk.

Also, be the type of friend you want to have, even when you don’t feel like it. It’s called maturity. When you feel breathless, it would be instinctive to retreat alone. Sometimes that’s needed and good. Sometimes, it can be your way of grasping for control. So you need to treasure and accept yourself as the best friend you can have in a lifetime.

4. Maintaining a good exercise and fitness regime truly helps!

The type of physical exercise does not matter; just make sure to practice and perform it regularly and as frequently as you can. “No one said that it’s going to be easy. If it’s easy, then everyone would have done it.”

I confess that from the beginning, every time I plan to exercise, I ask myself why do I need to force myself to do it. I’m already satisfied with my body weight and shape, anyway. So why spend hours in training to feel body pain in the next days? Despite these questioning, I kept going.

No matter how hard you try to stay on track, slip-ups are part of the process. To clear your mind and also still have confidence to continue the battle, you have to stay fit both mentally and physically.

If I can’t train at that moment, I still do—in my mind. I swim, somersault, run, jump and fly. Then I remind myself to recalculate and take the next turn, with my inner voice scolding me like a GPS directing me to the right road.

5. Life is not a spectator sport. You have to play and watch concurrently to learn.

No one ever said it was going to make sense, this life. Yet we try to make it so. There’s no one size fits all and there are no guarantees. We may well fail because of having fuzzy, too many or unrealistic goals or simply poor planning. It happens and I’ve got to consider that. But if I do mess up, I don’t want it to be because I didn’t give it a darn good go. I live and still am trying to defy gravity. But I also have to teach myself to realize that a busy life is not equal to a full life.

March 20, 2013
Review of Sango! The Burger Master (Tomas Morato, Quezon City)

While we are already quite familiar with sushi, bento meals, tempura and other Japanese food, most of us haven’t tried Japanese burgers—admit it! 😀

Sango! The Burger Master is Japanese restaurant that specializes in Japanese-style burgers. Louie brought me here last week for dinner, and I thought the venue is ideal and fantastic for a first date! Read on to know why.

Review of Sango! The Burger Master (Tomas Morato, Quezon City)

Ambiance: ★★★★☆

Sango’s location in Quezon City is easy to find as it’s just along Timog Avenue where many restaurants are lined up. The construction is like a duplex, with two floors filled with tables and chairs and the first one occupied by the kitchen behind the counter. The colors of the interior theme, light green and white, contributed to the pleasing and playful ambiance. The place was considerably quiet though Japanese songs were being played in the background in low volume.

Customers can read Sango’s collections of mangas arranged against the mirror beside the seats during their stay.

The little old-school in feel brought a charming effect. Displays of cute origami characters around added more “Japanese vibe” into the restaurant.

Service: ★★★★★

There was only one chef who cooks and prepares food and one waitress who attends to orders and serves the food to customers. Despite having a small workforce size, Sango offered good service with efficiency and productivity of their staff. I think that the space being perfectly serviceable helped a lot.

Food: ★★★★☆

Sango has a rather organized menu. Here are pictures of its pages for your reference:

First off, we had the fries (PHP 85) which featured a nicely crispy exterior with cheese and minced beef that were full of flavor. The fries were in regular cut; they were not greasy so can stay worry-free about having a sudden heart attack. 😛

Casually served in a basket, the Fish Burger (PHp 150) was packed with a heaping portion of fish fillet with mayonnaise and soft burger bun. I took my first bite felt the warm, comforting relief that took away my hunger but didn’t give me greed. It was a nice moment.

The Master Chili Burger (PHp 175), on the other hand, was accompanied with luscious special meat sauce, a big slice of red tomato, lots of onions with mustard and Japanese mayo plus a slice of jalapeño. Thick seasoned ground beef dominated the sandwich, as the juicy meat goodness soaked the bun. “The Master” is plenty for a girl with a healthy appetite but not enough for a guy like Louie. Haha.

He didn’t feel satisfied with one burger and his share of the fries. So he had another one: Yakiniku Rice Burger (PHp 150), the house specialty that Sango can boast about. Instead of the typical burger bread bun, this one had rice supporting the opposite sides of the patty. Tender juiciness was apparent on the inside and the whole shebang can be tasted right when your buds meet the spicy and tangy curry sauce.

Price for Value: ★★★★☆

As far as Japanese comfort food goes, Sango! The Burger Master is one of the standbys. People can eat there all the time: for breakfast, for lunch, for snacks, for dinner and for when guests come over anytime before 10PM, you name it. For less than PHp 200 per burger, their food is affordable. So are you swayed to visit soon? Come on, the decision is a no-brainer. 🙂 Sango’s burgers will definitely make you take that once a year risk to escape burger mediocrity.

Sango! The Burger Master
186 Tomas Morato Ave cor Sct De Guia Laging Handa, Quezon City
For inquiries, call (02) 990-2484

Other Branch:
Rm. 5 GF, Makati Creekside Mall, Amorsolo Street, corner Herrera Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City
Phone numbers: (02) 830-0391, (02) 889-4445 and (02) 819-3740

March 18, 2013
Review of Bulgogi Brothers Korean BBQ Restaurant (Greenbelt 5, Makati)

Many of people I know say that I look more Korean than Chinese, because of my eyes and complexion perhaps. Add my large-framed glasses and I’d look Korean even more. So when Bulgogi Brother’s staff welcomed me in their door and greeted me another “anyong-haseyo” (meaning hello or how do you do?) then asked if I already have company inside, I should have replied back in straight Korean!

네. 잘 지냈어요. 내 친구를 찾고 있어요. 실례합니다.
Ne. Chal ji-nae-sso-yo. Nae chinguleul chajgo iss-eoyo. Shilyeh hamnida.
I’m fine, thanks. I’m looking for my friend. Excuse me.

Nyahaha. Yup, I could have totally nailed it. Kidding lah! 😛 Moving on, let’s go down to business…

My friends and I doved into Bulgogi Brothers at Greenbelt 5 because we have not been there before and we have not heard of other amazing restaurant reviews in the area apart from the usual. (So if you’re reading this, you can help us by posting a comment of your suggestion below. I’d appreciate to learn about unique and fairly new places to dine in at GB, Makati.) Also, we are fans of restaurants by the Bistro Group as all of them serve really great food.

Operated by Creative Restaurant Concept (CRCI) and opened on September 10, 2011, this branch of Bulgogi Brothers is the first ever Bulgogi Brothers franchise outside Korea!

Review of Bulgogi Brothers Korean BBQ Restaurant (Greenbelt 5, Makati)

Ambiance: ★★★★☆

The interior was sleek, classy and modern. It was extremely clean, with everything you could think of provided. What I liked most here was the coziness of the room; what I didn’t like was the dim lighting. Whenever I’m eating out, I prefer lights shining bright like diamonds (♫) to vividly see the food and maximize satisfaction through vision.

Like Kogi Bulgogi, Bulgogi Brothers has an induction cooker to cook raw meat installed on the dining tables. So if you are worrying that you might smell like food afterwards, don’t. This restaurant has a good ventilation system that won’t let the smell of food stick onto your shirt or hair.

Service: ★★★★★

Members of the staff were responsive and very accommodating. The waitress assigned to our table handed the menu and served banchan (appetizers) composed of corn, boil sweet potatoes and quail eggs, kimchi (spiced preserved cabbage) and some sliced vegetables before the main meal like in true Korean-style eating arrangement.

Later, another waiter made a show at our table when he cooked the Bulgogi Brothers Special for us, and he was quite helpful to seek our other requests. ^_^

Food: ★★★☆☆

We started with the Dubu Steak (PHp 295), an ala carte which featured six pieces of triangular fried tofu steak with Teriyaki sauce, bean sprouts and minced beef. I was not happy with the taste and texture of the tofu. It was not anything special and I rate it inferior to the one we normally purchase from the tofu factory in Divisoria. Korean tofu should not taste this way; Bulgogi Brothers can do better than that, considering that tofu as a canvas where culinary art is made can be mixed with a lot more exotic Korean ingredients and absorb different flavors like a sponge.

Next in queue for our palates was the Haemul Bibimbap (PHp 430)—rice topped with assorted vegetables. seafood (shrimp and squid) and an egg. This one lacked flavor and I’m not sure if it’s because we only asked the waitress to pour only half of the hot sauce in and mix it all up for the rice dish. Frankly, this bibimbap wasn’t that enjoyable to eat.

The last food we ordered was delivered smartly as it commanded all our attention. Bulgogi Brothers’ signature dish, Un-yang Style Bulgogi (PHp 595), came with six pieces of heart-shaped marinated marbled beef, sweet potatoes and onions. It was as much adventure as an ordinary plated dish, which prompted us about a solid 10 minutes of excitement without guaranteed conversation. (We were so mesmerized by the presentation and we were so busy eating that we forgot to talk.) It came with a bowl of white rice, by the way.

Who can miss Korean ice creams for desserts? Not us. We had the espresso Cledor bar (PHp 95) with hard chocolate shell cut into three. It tasted like the classic Pinoy Pinipig Crunch, double the crunch and the frozen deliciousness. And for the sake of sharing and documenting, the drink on the left (see picture below) was the Raspberry Tea Mint (PHp 150)—raspberry tea concentrated and garnished with mint leaves—ordered by my friend.

Price for Value: ★★☆☆☆

The food got minor credit from me. Prices are expensive for the little serving. Assume a budget of PHp 500-800 for a single dish if you want to dine in at Bulgogi Brothers. If that doesn’t sound affordable, go to Kogi Bulgogi instead for a much reasonable spending and sink your teeth into a more advanced level of “pretty good.”

Bulgogi Brothers
3/F Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St Legazpi Village, Makati
For inquiries, call (02) 621-6216

March 17, 2013
How to Take Care of Digitally Permed Hair
For about two years, I had been wanting to have digitally permed hair but I could not…because of the price. In SGD converted to PHP, the service plus the products would cost at least PHp 5,000. I thought I could use the money to buy more important stuff or add it to grow my investment fund instead. Yet I still found time to research about digiperm and wrote a summary of it in my other blog.

Last January, I saw an online deal P888 instead of P6800 for Digital Perming with Treatment, Haircut & Back Massage at Mary Pauline Salon (10 Branches) posted by Metrodeal. That was 87% discount leh! The ad highlights were as follows:
- Achieve loose waves and shiny curls with a Digital Perming treatment
- Comes with treatment, haircut and back massage
- Less time spent on styling your hair with curls that lock in place
- Treatment adds more volume and bounce to those tresses
- Revive those curls with a twirl of a finger
- Treatments are facilitated by well-trained staff to ensure proper care
How could I let it go?

I couldn’t. 😛

I bought the voucher online immediately and went to the physical address of Mary Pauline Salon (Masangkay branch) to book for a reservation. Since I knew that newly digipermed hair can’t be washed and can’t be tied 48 hours after the procedure, I had to time it when we don’t have wushu practice. I didn’t want to go training without a ponytail and more than that, I didn’t want to go to work with hair marinated with perspiration. So I made a call to have the “drastic change” done before Chinese New Year, when our wushu team was busy training for their lion and dragon dance performances. Whew. 😀

Today, my digitally permed hair is exactly three weeks old. From a naturally straight hair, my hair now looks like this:

My Experience with Mary Pauline Salon ~ Hot Perm Treatment

Before we got started, I showed the stylist some pictures of Korean actresses’ digi-permed and treated hair that I wanted to achieve: gentle waves / big curls. In contrast, he advised to get smaller curls because they would eventually become loose after six months and become larger curls before becoming straight again. When asked if my hair should be cut, he said the length and the shape of my hair (‘V’ in the end) are already ideal for digital perming. So there was no cutting done—and no back massaging either. (Er, I forgot to ask about the latter.)

Anyway, the entire procedure lasted for almost five hours. I can’t remember the exact number of minutes per step but the hairdresser performed the following: washed my hair and put the mixed protector, conditioner and in-house solution for absorption, rinsed my hair, segmented it and rolled each grouped strand to the curler, placed heat protection pads and secured each rolled strand with a tie, attached the curlers to the hot rods connected to the perming machine and waited for the longest time, washed my hair for the last time and squeezed it with a towel without blow-drying.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and blinked to test if something different would appear next. Nope. Gasp! I actually have curled hairs now, was in my thought bubble.8O Before I walked out of the salon with wet hair, the salon staff gave me some tips to manage my digi-permed hair.

Mary Pauline Salon

How to Take Care of Digitally Permed Hair
1. Apply hair polish after a shower or bath while hair is still damp. This is to easily style the hair afterwards and make the curls more defined. I bought Splash Control Hair Polish at PHp 28 and Monea Curl Defining Milk Lotion (in the picture below) at PHp 99 both from Watsons.
2. Never comb the hair as doing so will only make it uncontrollably frizzy and messy. The only part that can be combed is the upper part where my original straight hair is and the bangs.
3. Do not rub digi-permed hair with a towel for this will also make the hair tangled and frizzy as well. Fingers can be used to undo tangles.
4. Section the hair to two, create partitions, wound each partition inward and twirl the waves using the index finger to add more bounce to the curls.
5. Use shampoo and conditioner every day. (I think this is simple logic, even for un-permed hair.) He didn’t suggest using special products for permed hair so I’m still using my current ones (TRESemmé).
Other Hair Maintenance Regime I Got From Blogs and Websites
1. If you have dry hair which is fragile and prone to breakages, use hair products that are friendly to the hair. Recommended are Keratase Nutritive Bain Oleo Curl Definition Shampoo and Human Heart Nature’s Avocado and Seaweed Moisturizing Conditioner. You can also use other brands of products, but make sure that they have ingredients such as almond oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil and Vitamin E used to soften permed hair, add more gloss and hydration.
2. Avoid using hair dryers and just let the hair dry on its own. Blow-drying permed hair will cause more split ends you will regret and make it unruly.
3. Go for hot oil treatments or apply deep conditioning creams once a week. This will pamper your locks and let the oils saturate through the hair cuticles that will help strengthen weakened hair strands from the inside.
Taking care of digitally permed hair is not as hard as I thought. I have low maintenance with my hair even before, and I really don’t put in a lot of effort combing and styling it every day. Having permed hair now made me feel more feminine and extra presentable. But looking back to my pictures with straight hair, I say I still prefer my former hairstyle! Wahaha.

What say you? Let it flow in the comments. 😀

UPDATE: This branch of Mary Pauline Salon in Masangkay has been closed down already. Last check was July 2013.
March 16, 2013
Review of TWG Tea Salon and Boutique (Greenbelt 5, Makati)

The last time I went to Greenbelt with my friends was on December 14, 2012 when we had dinner at Fish and Co. While walking to the car parking area and saying our goodbyes, we saw several newly opened restaurants that offer superlative plates and exclusive culinary experiences. One of my targets then was TWG Tea.

I knew TWG Tea (The Wellness Group) two years ago way back in Singapore but never had the chance to dine in because no one would take pictures of me and I didn’t have anyone to go with. The fine epicurean products seemed too good to be true, and the most I wanted was to have a piece of TWG’s macaron. 😀 拜托了, 我觉得我很可怜。

With my visit to TWG Tea Salon & Boutique’s branches in The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands and ION Orchard, my thirst to take a sip of this luxury tea grew. Fortunately, I don’t have to buy an airplane ticket to Singapore, Australia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Fiji, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turks & Caicos, Ukraine, UK, US or Vietnam where TWG has retail outlets and exquisite tea rooms for it now has two branches in the Philippines. One is in Greenbelt and the other is in Resorts World Manila.

TWG Tea is known to harvest and sell only the finest teas in the world. Time is ripe and it’s with my greatest pleasure to finally enter this tea shop of elegance and beauty as a diner.

Review of TWG Tea Salon and Boutique (Greenbelt 5, Makati)

Ambiance: ★★★★★

TWG Tea is nothing short of a wonderland of unique tea pots in different sizes, shapes and colors and over 450 types of tea blends spiced with a touch of sensuality packed in elegant tins. These can be seen through the glass-mirror exterior, but there was more we discovered when we got inside.

TWG in Greenbelt is both a tea store, where you can buy over-the-counter pastries, tea leaves in colorful boxes and souvenirs, and a dining place where limited tables and chairs are placed. There’s another special counter where customers can inquire about the teas on the long menu, with a large collection of shelved teas again positioned like aged wine bottles in the background.

Every section was graced with grandeur, with dashes of gold throughout the salon. Designs on the walls were hand-crafted. It was like a small palace with bronze fittings, Italian marble floors, crystal lamps and antique mirrors.

To me, the TWG salon was also in part a mini museum where we viewed accessory collections from a myriad of hand-blown glass, porcelain, stoneware, cast iron teapots, fine bone china teacups, saucers, creamers and sugar bowls, to smaller things such as tea filters and tea scoops.

Service: ★★★★★

TWG Tea gives customers a hands-down priceless experience from start to end. The receptionist assigned for crowd control listed our name and number for reservation and told us that she’ll send an SMS when there are free seats set for us.

Tough luck! An hour had passed before we received her message confirming for the accommodation, but that’s okay – we thought we definitely had to make the most out of her stay.

Indeed, we received a royalty treatment from their hospitable and approachable staff. No one felt hurried or pushed out of the store and like a regular coffee shop for hang out, TWG Tea is one exquisite place to enjoy tea and intimate chats with desirable meals and desserts.

Food: ★★★★★

We spared about 15 minutes to decide for our order, browsing through their extensive menu. Ultimately, we just asked the eloquent waiter for his best recommendation.

Food offered in TWG Tea hit the spot perfectly between breakfast and lunch, and lunch and dinner. Wow was the first word that came to mind when the three-tiered Fortune Tea Set (PHp 650) arrived at our table. I mean, yes, we’ve seen variations of macarons, muffin and sandwiches from places such as the UCC Café, the French Baker, Delifrance, etc. But TWG Tea’s presentation tops them all!

For the tea included in the set, we can opt to be served with iced tea and hot tea. Iced tea was an inferior choice over hot tea, as the amount of serving and the variants for iced tea are fewer. For the hot tea, we could only choose those valued at PHp 195 on the menu. Despite the limitation, featured tea blends and names were still so many in number that we found it difficult to order.

Silver Moon Tea is their bestseller of all times, as it’s the world’s favorite. We had the last order of the said tea for the day. It’s a combo of vanilla and green tea accented with grand berries. The fragrance was eminent but the taste was similar only to typical teas you can sample at Chinese and Japanese restaurants. We finished about six cups of tea (three refills per person) over almost two hours of conversation.

The first delicate savory we had were the chocolate and blueberry muffins. They were the best muffins I ever had, perfectly baked with moisture and served with TWG Tea jelly and whipped cream.

Next were three of TWG Tea’s signature tea-infused macarons which were meticulously handcrafted in a delicious manner. We liked the Earl Grey Fortune and Chocolate macaron the most, followed by the Napoleon Tea and Caramel then the Camelot Tea and Praline. Each had a distinct taste and I rate it as 3-4 times better than those I bought from Tous Les Jours before. (TWG Tea’s macarons are individually priced at PHp 50, 56% pricier than the TLJ’s. Gasp!)

Thirdly, we had shared three plush smoked salmon sandwiches with gruyere cheese on one side of the bread, delicate green salad and house vinaigrette – the perfect vehicle to happiness.

Price for Value: ★★★★☆

I credit the efforts of TWG Tea tasters who travel thousands of miles to various countries every year to sample and search teas and come up with exclusive blends from source gardens. The price was worth braving the inevitable customers that line up through the doorman, waiting that long, and paying for those elite guilty pleasures.

If you believe that tea time should be the most awaited and cherist moment of the day, TWG Tea Salon and Boutique has you covered.

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique
Level 1, Greenbelt 5
Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philippines

March 13, 2013
August 2013 Declared as Philippine Wushu Month!

As a practitioner of wushu in the Philippines for almost eight years now, I was elated when I read my shifu’s update on Facebook. Here goes the excerpt:

Proclamation No. 554, s. 2013
MALACAÑANG PALACE
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 554

DECLARING THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2013 AS “PHILIPPINE WUSHU MONTH”

I suppose this event is going to be a big opportunity for the country to boost tourism yet again, as players and members of wushu organizations from 38 countries will be flocking on August 8-12, 2013 at our very own Makati Coliseum for the 2013 edition of the Asian Wushu Championships.

It was in good fate that Philippines was chosen to host the celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the Asian Games. With this, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richie Garcia will have to make sure to support the staging of the event. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. expects that all Philippine agencies, departments, state universities and colleges and private and public companies will also join in to acknowledge Philippine Wushu Month and support the Asian Junior Wushu Championships.

Wushu right now may not be an official category in the World Olympic Games, but it sure still showcases a lot of potential to be known as a sports that engages both martial arts enthusiasts, athletes and fitness fans around the globe. In fact, it has already been noted as one of the Philippines’ 10 priority sports in the government!

There are only five months leading to the Asian Centennial Games. I bet all participants have undergone strict training in efforts to prepare for the fight and strive for perfection.

Through the Wushu Federation Philippines, I deem that the culmination of the Philippine Wushu Month will be remembered as a completely successful centennial celebration of the Asian Games. 😀

On other news, the 2013 World Games will be held in Colombia in July 2013; the Asian Youth Games, in China in August 2013; the 12th World Wushu Championships in Malaysia in October 2013; and the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, in Myanmar in December 2013.

March 13, 2013
Review of Eat and Go (SM Megamall Atrium, Mandaluyong)

If there’s anything that we all commonly do in a restaurant, it’s that we “eat and go.” Agree? Basically, customers order food, eat the food, pay for it and leave. This is probably why the owner of Eat and Go named the restaurant literally as such.

Last Monday, we had an onsite visit at SM Megamall for a project. Together with my teammates, I observed the employees for a time-and-motion study to be able to make recommendations in realizing possible improvements with supporting metrics. The procedure took us two to three hours from capturing behavior and verbal report information to drawing our conclusions. Come lunch time, our boss agreed to treat us to any restaurant we choose. Any, huh?

SM Megamall is a super mega big mall and considering that it is home to a big number of restaurants (in every floor) with delectable finds, deciding where to eat took us more than half an hour. Eliminated in our picks were buffet restaurants and those I have been to. 😛 At last, we found Eat and Go standing still with its captivating slogan, “Fast, Fresh & Delicious.” That hit me hard, but their food didn’t closely hit right on my target.

Review of Eat and Go (SM Megamall Atrium, Mandaluyong)

Ambiance: ★★★☆☆

Eat and Go’s facade with bright LED lights was pretty neat. Minimalistic was the vibe throughout and quietness surrounded the place. Maybe it’s because we dined in a weekday. Its white walls are filled with colorful pictures of food arranged in an organized fashion. Its limited rectangular floor area echoed to a trendy yet casual atmosphere.

I thought Eat and Go is lucky to be situated in that wing of SM Megamall, the Atrium, because it would have “free” marketing to diners who went to adjacent restos like Amici, C2 Classic Cuisine, Yabu and other more familiar ones to our buds.

Service: ★★★★☆

The staff led us to a table and took our orders quickly upon our entrance. She assisted in taking chairs from the next tables to make us more comfortable in our seating. She took orders fast and served the food in a span of 10-15 minutes as promised.

Food: ★☆☆☆☆

In my first glimpse of Eat and Go’s simple two-pager menu, I felt confused as there was a conflicting fusion of food: European, American, and Mediterranean. The menu contained special highlight to its “Super Exclusive Meals” for one to three people where diners can choose any one, two or three entrees that will be served with salad and bottomless iced tea or lemonade.

Recommended dishes in the main entrees section were the Angus Burger Steak (PHp 245), Pork Tenderloin (PHp 195), Sesame Steak (PHp 295) and Roasted Chicken (PHp 195). None of which was approved or allowed in my diet so I had to go with my instinct in the Pasta section: the Prawn Bacatini (PHp 165).

The menu described it as “prawn in pink sauce tossed and boiled with bucatini.” And true enough, the singular form of “prawn” there arrived as it was: single! You won’t see it even in the picture (fourth quadrant below). Taste was plainly disappointing. It was a middling version of the dish I thought it would be.

My teammates’ orders were equally disheartening. They were composed of the Waldorf salad with lettuce, apple slices, cubed chicken, walnut, homemade dressing (PHp 175), Fish Scallopini (PHp 185) and Steak Salpicao (PHp 295). The pasta alfredo and beans (from the can) as side dishes were cooked with poor quality and they sure deserved a spot in the trash bag. The servings were enough to fill your stomach but not your appetite. All did not merit a return visit.

Price for Value: ★☆☆☆☆

If you have a budget of PHp 150-300 for a cheap culinary adventure, I don’t recommend eating at Eat and Go. Per my standards, I say that it’s not one restaurant you can stay for long because of the glaring flaws of the food. For those wanting to escape from the monotony of high salt and tasteful food though, their dishes may scratch that itch.

Eat and Go
3/F SM Megamall, Atrium, Doña Julia Vargas Ave. Wack Wack, Mandaluyong
For inquiries, call (02) 635- 9559

March 10, 2013