Right now, it’s all about the 2012 Pico de Loro Invitational Triathlon.

Oh man, if you think you know sports but never seen a triathlon, you definitely need to be disabused of that notion. In a nutshell, it’s HARD. And hard is a gross understatement. Just imagine doing a straight course – no rests (unless you want to get left behind) – consisting of swimming for a kilometer, biking for 30km, and then running another 8km – I myself get tired just thinking about it. Considering that it’s not even considered a “full” ‘Ironman’ race – which takes a whole day to finish – just wow. The human body can do wonders when it’s conditioned properly.

Here are a few images I took at the 2012 Pico de Loro Invitational Triathlon a couple of months ago:

Swim

Bike

Matt O'Halloran, the race's top finisher. It took him just an hour and 43 minutes to finish the whole thing. Wow.

Run

Naturally, since it was another Eat’s a Date event – and a special one at that (one I had to compete for to get a slot) – there was no shortage of good food.

Circles was the venue this time around – and for those not so in the know, in the bustling and growing buffet scene in Metro Manila, few stand out in terms of excellence, great selection and overall poshness than Shangri-La Hotel’s Circles Event Café.

While I’ve had the opportunity once before to sample some of their delectable offerings, this time around, we were treated to a unique Persian food experience courtesy of Chef Hamed Ghayedi. Since the buffet scene is constantly getting more competitive, Circles has taken its already ‘up’ game to even bigger heights by including Persian cuisine in their already diverse selection of gastronomic delights.

Dubbed ‘One in a Thousand Nights’, we kicked off with a short introduction from Chef Ghayedi regarding the food we would be having that night. We were served with a number of tasty appetizers with very exotic sounding names, such as the babaghanouj (which is, for some reason, the first dish that always pops into my head whenever I remember the event) an eggplant salad served cold. I also finally got to try hammous (which I will forever associate with the Adam Sandler movie Zohan), which became my favorite of the lot. Another fave was the tabouleh, which is basically a simple salad consisting of finely chopped Italian parsley with tomatoes and onions and then dressed with olive oil. Also, I forgot to mention that these kinds of appetizers are called cold mezzeh o meze (‘mezzeh’ being the collective name for traditional Middle Eastern and Mediterranean appetizers).

Moutable - paste made out of eggplant. I think you put in on pita bread, which we had, but I didn't try it with the bread.

Fattoush - a simple vegetable salad with lettuce, tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, and crispy bread

Babaghanouj

Tabouleh

Cold mezzeh selection - I forgot to take a picture of the Hammous, but it's the one on the right side of the frame.

There being cold mezzeh, there was also hot mezzeh – meat sambousik (a sort of Persian version of empanada – puff pastry filled with ground lamb meat), and spinach fattayer, which is like the sambousik except the puff pastry was filled with spinach. There was also a cheese rakkak, which are well, Persian cheese sticks.

We had soup next, a very heavy barley and lentil soup called aash, which reminds me a little of minestrone soup.

Our barley and lentil soup called Aash.

Next up was the main course, the star of which was the grilled / kebab platter, that had lamb kubideh (kebab), lamb chops, prawns, fish, and chicken. Also sampled was a duck stew with pomegranate juice and ground walnuts called fesenjan; polow safid, a basic Persian saffron white rice; and zreshk polow with chicken, which was also saffron rice with berries the chef called barberry, (only available in Iran, if I remember correctly, although some of the other participants said they were cranberries) all of which were piled over pieces of chicken.

Iranian Mixed Grill platter

Zreshk Polow with chicken

To be honest, I was afraid that the kebab (and the rest of the grill selection, really) would be horribly dry – the reason I never order kebab is because in my experience, it always is dry and bland, and the usual dip that accompanies it is meh. But this platter was different, well at least where it mattered. While the fish and chicken were a bit overdone, leaving them dry, the lamb (which is always the most important meat when it comes to these things, as far as I’m concerned) was definitely not. And while the prawns were also a bit overdone, dry and bland it was not. Chef Ghayedi explained that food items like those in the kebab platter take a lot of time to prepare, with everything needing to be marinated for at least 8 hours (a day, at best) for the flavors to be properly infused before they’re put on the grill. While the fesenjan, polow safid, and the zreshk polow were all good, but it was the grill plate I kept going back to.

Fesenjan (right), best with Polow Safid (left)

Last but not the least was dessert, although by the time it came in I was absolutely stuffed, so I just had a bit of everything – kunafa, baklawa / baklava, and the mahlabiya (a sort of pudding with some crushed nuts – pistachios, I think). There were some dates as well, but I didn’t eat any, since I’m not a big fan and I’ve tasted them before. As always, the baklava is a delight to eat, but the jury is still out on the kunafa and the mahlabiya – the latter especially since it also has rosewater as an ingredient, which makes it taste a bit funky, at least in my opinion.

Kunafa

Mahlabiya on the left, Baklava on the right

Great hosts as they were, the Circles people also arranged for some entertainment – in the form of a couple of belly-dancing numbers. They also had a going-away present for us – gourmet chocolates! Honestly, I got more excited about being able to bring home something for the missus than the silver-bodiced dancers but all in all, it was one in a thousand nights indeed.

Many thanks to the folks at Circles Café and OpenRice for the great dining experience! \m/

]]> http://iamstorm.com/2012/05/shangri-las-circles-cafe-one-in-a-thousand-nights-indeed/feed/ 2 http://iamstorm.com/2012/04/a-journey-up-north/ http://iamstorm.com/2012/04/a-journey-up-north/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:51:18 +0000 Tim http://iamstorm.com/?p=1158 It’s hard to put my love of landscape photography into words. While I do love photography in general, there is something about landscapes that make it stand out from the rest. Maybe it’s the feeling of privilege that you get when witnessing a majestic sunset or sunrise – more so when you actually capture it. Maybe it is the grandeur and beauty of nature, which can be simple and complex at the same time. Maybe it’s the quiet and peace of the places I usually get to visit.

One thing’s for sure: landscape photography is much more profound than it looks, both in practice and in meaning.

Which is why I count it a blessing to have ended 2011 with a trip up North, through the City Pines to amazing Sagada and down to the breathtaking rice terraces of Batad. It was also, to some extent, great therapy as my wife had to leave me home alone for a month (including on New Year’s day) to take a trip to US to accompany her grandfather back to the Philippines.

Anyway, without further ado, here are a few images I took during that four-day trip.

Along Halsema Highway, Mountain Province

Again, taken along Halsema Highway, Mountain Province.

Another image from Halsema Highway

Sagada, Mountain Province

Batad Rice Terraces

Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Sagada, Mountain Province

A whole lot of gratitude goes out to my instructors and colleagues and fellow hobbyists in Guided By Light, all of whom made jolly good and wholesome company all throughout our excursion. Mike Mijares, Miguel de Guzman, Dinno Sandoval, Dana Mengote, Raymond Cruz, Noel Alejandro, Steve Tuzon, and Michael Cabrales – thanks guys and may we do this again and more often.

Anyway, I’ve been getting into sports photography more and more these past few months. My kick-off into the whole thing though, was actually late last year when I shot the 35th Milo National Marathon Finals. It’s probably the biggest running event in the country, with more than 20,000 runners signing up for the 3k, 5k, 10, 21k, and 42k race events.

Just look at the mass of people. Considering that this isn't the 3k or 5k event - which are the ones with the most number of participants - wow. Just wow.

There’s really something different to experience in every genre of photography. In landscape, it’s the serenity and beauty of nature. In concert photography, it’s the emotion that comes with the music. In travel photography, it’s about getting out of your comfort zone and giving a face to a locale different from the one you’re used to.

In sports, it’s seeing the rush that comes when you push the human body to its limits.

Post race, Milo also conducted a cheering competition for high school students, which was quite nice to watch.

It was an awesome experience, something I hope I’ll be given the chance again to do this year. More power to Nestle and Milo!

—————————–

It’s always a treat to shoot the folks at Kaloob Philippine Music and Dance Ministry – it’s rare to see a skilled cultural dance group that makes it a point to preserve the different cultural dances in the Philippines in their original form (as original as they can manage, at the very least).

Oftentimes, Philippine dances are portrayed – especially in mainstream media – as exotic and rather backward. At best,  they’re something of a novelty. There is little to no effort to explain the context in which these dances are used, and how integral they were in the old times to the different societies they belonged to.  In a way, it’s like in those images on the web that are causing an uproar now, that of butandings (whale sharks) being touched and played with and even stepped on by smiling tourists. They meant well, I’m sure, but with their grins and smiles and touristy ignorance, they failed to see the deeper value of those creatures and the impact their actions had on the ecosystem in the long run. Same thing goes with our country’s cultural dances and even culture in general.

Okay. I’m rambling again.

Anyway, to get back to the point, during the 2012 Pasinaya, which is the CCP’s annual open house festival, Kaloob was invited to perform, and I was there to take some snaps.

I believe they’ll be having a bigger performance this coming June, and I hope I’ll be able to be there as well. Camera in hand, of course.

Karl Roy at the Y! Rocks press conference last year

I admit, I’m not much of a rock fan nowadays, much less of specific musicians like Karl Roy. I’ve only been familiar with him these past few years, thanks to officemates who’re bona fide rock fans and somewhat a part of his large circle of friends and acquaintances. But I have heard his music before, way back during his P.O.T. days, which I didn’t get to listen to much then – blame it on the seemingly normal tendency of teens to gravitate towards the popular.

My most familiar image of him was a gyrating, covered in sweat, shirtless and tattooed performance I saw on an MTV segment years back. I thought that his type of rock was different and nice and funky, and my first impression then, in my acne-filled pubescent ignorance, was that he was not Filipino. Magaling kasi sya. I’ve long since rectified that mistaken first impression of his nationality, and through the years, I’ve listened to his songs from time to time, along with stuff from other classic Pinoy rockers, marveling at the way rock was so deep and rich back then, unlike now where most (mainstream) rock bands are almost fly-by-night and one hit wonders, with their trashy and shallow lyrics and copied and hollow melodies. Ah yes, Karl Roy was from the good old days.

That is why with his passing, I feel a tinge of sadness. Nevermind Whitney Houston, who died so far away – I mourn the death of someone who died right here at home. He was hardly perfect – few did not know of his substance abuse problems – but his music was nevertheless something to contend with. And unlike Whitney, who rose to stardom and foolishly fell, Karl Roy was always down below, constantly facing and battling his demons while trying to make good music in an industry that was by and large, apathetic to him. It doesn’t take a hardcore rock fan to see that and appreciate the character of the man, so kudos to him for squaring his shoulders and slugging on until his last breath.

Goodbye, Karl Roy. (1968-2012)

Cooking and ‘styling’ is courtesy of my wife, and shot with an external flash and tripod using my trusty 18-55 kit lens and Canon EOS 7D.

Anyway, here are a couple of photos from my last seascape excursion, from Porto in Mariveles, Bataan.

The Split

Looking Out

I’ll also be blogging more frequently in the coming days and weeks, as I still have a lot of stuff I want to share – (maybe the Milo National Marathon [FINALLY!]) more images from the GBL yearender, some snaps from Bohol and Iloilo, and then the recent CCP Pasinaya 2012.  I think I also have a couple more stuff to add to my ‘Food shots @ home series’.

While this post is long overdue – blame it on the numerous this and that’s I needed to attend to these past few days – posting this at the beginning of what is considered the ‘month of love’, February, is fitting in so many more ways than one.

Although I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to visit the Chocolate Kiss Café several times through the years, I must thank OpenRice for inviting me to their Eat’s a Date event here.

When I was a freshman in UP Diliman many, many years ago (clue: more than a decade ago), the seniors who oriented us gave me my first idea of what ChoKiss was: MAHAL. And true enough, during my time in UPD, until I graduated (again, many, many years ago), it was the most expensive place to eat inside the campus. It was actually this reputation that kept me well away from the second floor of the Bahay ng Alumni for years, until my brief stint at a nearby computer shop where I managed to get a part-time job as a video editor. Business was good then (Php100 an hour for a student was gold, I tell you), so once in a while I’d treat myself to a meal from Chocolate Kiss.

And boy, were those meals good. It’s actually a bit funny that the standout for me was not the food – main or dessert – but their ICED TEA! You get a small pitcher of syrup and a calamansi to mix into your neutral-tasting cold tea. The result is simply divine. I’ve never had anything quite like it.

Of course, the food is something to be talked about as well – most of the dishes I tasted even before Eat’s a Date were great, and so were the dishes in the vast selection offered to us OpenRicers.

I especially liked the quesadilla, which is noteworthy because I’m not a big fan of Mexican food. Their Piglets (chorizo bites wrapped with bacon), Linguine Margarita with Shrimp, Fish Pesto with Salsa, and Kalbi Chim were also a couple of my other favorites. My ultimate go-to dish, the Beef Stroganoff, was unfortunately not present at the tasting though.

Of course, it’s not THE Chocolate Kiss without their hearty cakes and desserts. Their famous Devil’s Food Cake is something I often order (best with dark, bitter coffee), along with their Kahlua Butter Cake. It was my first time though, to try their Sansrival, which I now have added to my list of favorites.

Wait, did I mention music? Yes, even with good food, from starters to mains to desserts, and even down to the drinks, and yet Chocolate Kiss has something more to offer: live music every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. With the cozy and homey feel Chocolate Kiss has, live mellow instrumental music playing in the background completes the ambiance perfectly.

While we did get good service during the event, based on my previous visits, service ranges from below average to above average, depending on the number of diners in the restaurant when you’re there. Either the waiters and servers need to be more alert, or maybe it’s because they need a couple more heads to make the staff more effective. Either way, it’s an aspect of their business that they need to improve on.

Still, nothing’s perfect, which is why I’ll always be looking forward to the opportunity to visit Chokiss again.