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.

The festival itself has humble roots, beginning a couple of decades back – in the 60′s, to be more precise – as a small Catholic celebration aimed to exalt the Santo Niño and commemorate the sale of Panay from the Ati tribespeople by Malay settlers. As the years passed, and with the 1977 directive of then president Ferdinand Marcos for Philippine provinces to beef up their festival activities in a bid to promote tourism, the Dinagyang has become one of the best and biggest festival celebrations in the country.

The whole festival lasts for several days, but the real highlight of the celebration is the Ati Street Dancing Competition, where several tribes (13, this year, many of whom also have been around for many years) face off against each other. Honestly, I have never seen anything like it in my entire life. The grand props and costumes, the drums and the choreography, the energy and passion of the performers – it truly is something to behold at least once in anyone’s lifetime.

All of the tribes were wonderful to watch, although some were obviously limited by their lack of sponsors, but the dancers made up for it with sheer passion and energy. Last year’s champ, Tribu Pan-Ay, successfully defended their title this year, with a grand performance that I cannot sum up in words for fear of not giving it enough justice. Even the videos you’ll easily find on YouTube are a far cry from watching the live performance.

This year, there were four judging stages in all (last year there were only three, if I am not mistaken) where each of the tribes had to perform in front of a different audience (and also a different set of judges, I believe). The shooting passes I secured for my and my wife (special thanks for these goes to Jon Aguirre of the Framed Shots Camera Club and GBL Alumni Olive and Oliver Faustino) had us at the last fourth stage, so we had to wait for a couple of hours before the performers got to us. The wait was worth it.

Lord willing, me and the missus will be back in Iloilo next year to shoot this awesome festival again. It’s really a one of a kind experience and one I’d recommend to anyone.

For those who like to see the complete Dinagyang set, you’ll find it here.

During the couple of years I spent working near El Pueblo in Ortigas (my former office was just at the nearby Orient Square Building along Emerald Avenue), I’ve frequently passed by a quaint little restaurant called Chateau 1771. I’ve never managed to get myself past the doors though – it looked too imposing and too posh for a humble employee such as myself. And just more than a year ago, I saw it torn down and replaced with something that looked much more hip and much less intimidating.

I thought nothing more of it until recently, since my office moved to a different and farther location in Ortigas, and I rarely got the chance to pass by again. Well, until the recent Eat’s a Date gave me the opportunity to finally cross the threshold and see what was inside – and what I could have to eat.

And what an experience that was. We were taken to the second floor, which apparently is a different establishment from the one downstairs – while the owner is the same, the branding is different. The lower floor, called Café 1771 is a more casual outfit, while Wine Bar 1771 upstairs has a different approach altogether. The people behind Wine 1771 and Café 1771 explain that each place is designed to attract a different kind of customer. With Ortigas Center being a hub for so many kinds of people from all walks of life, they saw the need to diversify and bring something new to the table – literally and figuratively.

Wine Bar 1771’s interiors are more serious than its sibling downstairs, but not the intimidating kind. Lighting is warmer, and the ambience sort of exudes a sort of vintage men’s cigar club feel with a modern twist, if that last statement makes any sense. There are books of all sorts and genres stacked on one wall, and wines (it IS a wine bar, after all) on another side. They even have a sommelier. Talk about knowing their business.

Wine Bar 1771 was designed to be a place where people could hang out and drink while eating good food. And the food IS good. Pricey, but the servings are usually too big for just one person to eat by himself/herself, and they taste good too. Which is sort of expected, since they have chefs who design the menu and manage the kitchen.

We were given several dishes to try out, but the standouts for me were the Ribeye Steak (which I unfortunately forgot to photograph, but fortunately got to take a hefty serving out off), the Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Mash (which is extra noteworthy, since I am NOT a fan of pumpkin or sweet potato), their Baked (Aklan) Oysters, and the Wine Bar Burger. We also had a couple of pasta dishes, but while they were good in their own way, I honestly think they’re not really worthy of the price – having ate at several other pasta joints that had tasty pasta as well, but with bigger servings at a much more wallet-friendly price.

Baked Oysters from Aklan

The Wine Bar Burger - and YES, that is bulalo on the side, which you scoop out while its still hot and spread it on the burger. 100% cholesterol goodness.

Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Mash

We also had dessert. All the cakes I tried tasted great – especially the one called the Rose Noire. The layers of chocolate and the rice crispies – heaven on a plate.

I won’t comment about the wine, since I am a complete ignoramus on the subject, and I only had one glass – sparkling wine to boot – the whole night. As for the service, it’s hard to comment since we were guests so the waiters and staff were probably on the extra lookout for anything we might need, although I did feel a sense of promptness and alertness when it came to serving the other customers.

I have just got to give it to Wine Bar 1771 for successfully reinventing themselves the way they did. It’s not easy to change Chateau 1771, something that’s been in the same place for almost two decades (although they did transfer it to Greenbelt 5, where its old-fashioned poshness fits right in with the kind of crowd that frequent the area). It takes a lot of guts and brains to put out something of quality.

To end, the biggest factor that might turn people away will be its price range, but it’s a good, solid place to go if you’re bringing out someone special out on a date or celebrate a rare occasion. A group of friends with deep pockets will also be much better off here as compared to other (much) seedier-looking establishments that also cater to groups of drinkers. All in all, it’s a good, modern and decent place to eat, drink and hang out, just like it was intended to be.

I’m finally capping off the Palawan series, which I began just after me and my wife’s honeymoon last year, with a post about our Honda Bay (island hopping) tour.

You get to visit only 2 islands, really, but the first stop is to a sort of outpost in the middle of the sea where you can go snorkeling.  They have masks and aqua shoes for rent, but me and the wifey already had our VFFs so we just went for the masks and snorkels. If I remember correctly, the rate is about Php300 for each mask and snorkel set, and another Php300 for the aqua shoes. That’s for whole day use. Lunch is also included in the tour package.

Among all the tours we got, this is the one I really enjoyed the most. The Underground River tour was good as well, but I didn’t like the long trip to get there and then the short trip inside the actual Underground River.

Anyway, for this, I got to borrow a friend’s underwater casing for my DSLR, which allowed me to get some images underwater. It was a new experience, and I can see how some people can invest in much more expensive equipment for real diving and underwater photography.

I wouldn’t call myself well-traveled, but I’ve been blessed to be able to visit a few local destinations here and there, and so far, Palawan has been one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to in my life. What’s more, I really love the laid back and pleasant attitude of the locals despite the regular inflow of tourists in the region. Rarely you will see people taking advantage of tourists here – the food is very much affordable and the servings very adequate (even in the good restaurants – I think I usually spend more here in Manila [many times for lower quality food] than I did in Palawan when me and the missus ate out), and transportation is cheap – not once were we overcharged when we took a tricycle – Php7 per person for nearby destinations, Php10-12 a head for the ones farther off. Even the accommodations are cheap – good places can be had for just Php900 a night.

Hopefully, me and the wife will get a chance to visit the place again (and finally know what tamilok tastes like, LOL), or go to Coron, for a different Palawan experience. But all in all, even if you can only afford to travel a few times a year, Puerto Princesa should definitely be one of the places in the Philippines you should visit.

All things considered, 2011 was a good year. Hey, I got married in July to the most wonderful woman I know – that should count for something. It was a year I won the PEBA award for the best ‘Picture, Picture!’ Blog of the Year. I moved out of the house I called home for most of my life and moved in with my wife in a (rented) home of our own. I started to pay for things like bills and rent – 2011 was a year where I turned the page to another chapter of my life.

While there were downs – many of them too – that’s just life for you. I am simply thankful for the blessings, big and small, and I pray that 2012 will be a better year.

I leave you with this image from a sunrise at Highest Point, Halsema Highway.

Happy New Year, everyone.

The next OpenRice Eat’s a Date me and my wife attended had us a fairly new dining establishment in the fairly new (and not to mention, posh) Greenbelt 5 Mall in Ayala, Makati, Mr. Jones. From what I gather, it’s a sort of modern tribute to the 80’s presented in a traditional American diner setting.

As far as the ambience is concerned, Mr. Jones takes the cake here – everything from the look of the menu, to the tables and chairs, to props and background music scream 80’s. All that was missing was an authentic jukebox you could put coins in to have it play music.

As for the food, everything on the set menu tasted wonderful – my only complaint was that the squid was a bit overcooked in the Sizzlin’ Butter Seafood “Foil Broil” (Php 420), but flavor-wise, everything was great. My particular favorite was the “Truffled Disco” (Php 395) which was Beef gravy & Cheese Fries topped with chunky beef smothered with wild mushroom gravy & “fondue” cheese drizzled with truffle oil, and the “Wicked Truffled Mac n’ Cheese” (Php 395). The Foil Broil would have been perfect, if not for the chewy overcooked squid.

Servings were hefty and could not possibly be consumed by a single, normal person; Mr. Jones’ dishes are all for sharing, so it’s best to pick a partner – or better yet two or more – to join you if you decide to eat there. Prices are a bit on the steep side, but they justify it through their huge serving sizes and food quality.

All in all, the food was great here, and if I had the budget, I’d visit the place again. Despite the extensive selection we tasted, there are still a number of items on the menu I’d like to try out one of these days.

Thanks again to Mr. Jones and OpenRice for another tasty treat! T’was worth braving the thick Christmas shopping crowds that filled Makati that night and going through hell to get a ride home.

My favorite image of the night: Basti Artadi of Wolfgang sprays water on the audience just before he begins his set.

And, the crowd went wild.

Well, I did, at least, when Wolfgang took the stage, frontman Basti Artadi his usual angas self. Call me old, but Halik ni Hudas will always be one of my favorite rock songs of all time.

Franco

Of course, the Y! Rocks event last December 8, featured other great bands like Parokya ni Edgar, Ely Buendia’s Pupil, Sinosikat, Somedaydream, Callalily, 6CycleMind, Razorback, True Faith, and Sandwich, as well as a number of new and upcoming bands – all of whom elicited varying degrees of screaming and cheering from the people in attendance; people who were there despite the rain that poured almost all night.

Raimund Marasigan of Sandwich

Tanya Markova

It was a night, rain and all, for OPM. Touted as the first ever initiative by any Yahoo! (yes, the search engine) branch to showcase local musical talent, Y! Rocks’ aim is to keep Original Pilipino Music alive. With the industry in dire straits these days due not only to issues like piracy and low record sales, but also a dwindling of support towards artists’ live performances because of bigger and more ‘marketable’ foreign acts, it’s great to see this kind of event where great musicians get together to show what they can do.

Somedaydream - the band who sang the popular song, 'Hey Daydreamer' used in a TV ad for Selecta Cornetto

Tirso Ripoll of Razorback

And we are not a nation lacking for local talents – in every musical genre. The problem is not talent, but exposure and marketing, and Y! Rocks wants to help change that, not only by staging a concert for established bands, but also by giving a chance to newer groups to have their time in spotlight. 12 new artists were picked to perform that night by judges Karl Roy, Francis Reyes and OPM (Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit) secretary general Dingdong Avanzado from hundreds of entries sent to Yahoo. Several other local artists were also given the chance to perform in Y! Rocks concerts held in Cebu and Davao.

Chito Miranda and Vinci of Parokya ni Edgar, with their usual boisterousness, as they perform a Parokya favorite, 'Picha Pie'.

Chito Miranda! m/

The good thing is they’re not only doing it this year, but in the succeeding years as well. Hopefully, it reignites the fire and the passion fans had before for local bands, and sponsors (and producers) will come around and finally offer more support for homegrown talent.

Medwin Merfil of True Faith

Mabuhay ang OPM at ang musikang Pilipino! 

Kean Cipriano of Callalily. I don't like their music much, but to his credit, he knows how to work the crowd and put on a show.

**Many thanks to Erwin Oliva and Ederic Eder of Yahoo Philippines for the opportunity to shoot this momentous musical event.

I wish I could shoot more landscapes.

—————

Taken at Laurel, Batangas

Canon 7D + 10-22 | LEE GND 0.6 & 0.9 (stacked) | Generic ND8

*inspired by an eponymous song from Oasis.

That being said though, I was pleasantly surprised when I got to sample a couple of ‘slabwiches’ from Chuck’s Deli at the Eat’s a Date event sponsored by OpenRice.com.

I’ve eaten at couple of high-end sandwich / deli shops before, but I must say, based entirely on my subjective sense of taste, that this is the best of them so far. I usually get umay when I eat too much bread or bread and meat together (I am obviously a rice kinda guy), but not here. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we got to taste portions of several of their signature slabwiches, subs, burgers, and hotdogs/sausages. I think that if ever I do get to eat here again, the most I’ll go for is half a slab, just to be safe. Their menu is also pretty diverse – besides the stuff I mentioned before, they also have salads, a few pasta dishes, desserts and some soups – so it’ll be a while before you find yourself saying you’ve tasted everything on the menu. If you like the food, a repeat visit is very likely.

The 'Faking Duck', which is actually pork made to taste like duck. Along with hoisin sauce, it also has leeks, lettuce, and crispy wanton noodles. Genius.

The Buffy is on the left, on the right is their Chilidog. Every slab comes with your choice of potato chips, fries, or onion rings.

It’s a bit pricey here though, were a slabwich can cost anywhere from P295 to P495, but they justify it well. Besides a whole slabwich being quite a hefty serving in itself, most of their ingredients are made in-house – everything from their sausages, corned beef, ciabatta bread, sauerkraut (pickled cabbage), to their sauces and potato chips – and all the recipes (except the classics, obviously) are original concepts courtesy of Le Cordon Bleu-trained proprietor/chef Katrina Kuhn-Alcantara.

Of course, it all boils down to taste, and here they do not disappoint.

I had only good things to say about everything I tried – their Philly Cheesesteak, Chilidog, Reuben, California Waki, Chuck’s Burger, Faking Duck (which is pork made to taste like Peking Duck), and the Buffy (which is also the subject of their Chuck’s Challenge, where anyone who gets to finish this massive combination of bread and spicy breaded chicken in less than 5 minutes gets to have it for free, wins a t-shirt that reads “I can slay the Buffy in less than 5 mins! Can you?”, and earns a spot on their challenge winners’ board). I especially liked the Faking Duck and the Reuben, plus their bread is tasty and light.

That's how big a slabwich is - I'm a big eater, but I don't think I can finish a whole slab. There's the Chuck's Burger on the far left, followed by their Reuben (homemade corned beef FTW!), the Faking Duck, California Waki, Philly Cheesesteak, then the Buffy.

They also have pretty good drinks – I had their Arce Dairy Milkshake (which is Arce Dairy Ice Cream blended with fresh carabao’s milk), and their Power Shake (blended lettuce, apple and orange), which my wife had, was surprisingly refreshing.

Left: Power Shake (blended lettuce, apple, and orange); right: Arce Dairy Milkshake

I can’t comment much in terms of service – since we were special guests, none less than proprietor herself came out to take care of us. She also gamely shared a short history of the place – they started with their original branch in Serendra, which came about because her husband (who grew up in the US) wanted to put up a genuine American sandwich place here. The success of their Serendra branch prompted them to put up another one in Eastwood (which was the one we visited).

They describe their ambiance as ‘casual and laid-back’, which is pretty accurate – their food is served on wooden boards (which I thought was cool) – and everyone is encouraged to eat with their hands. The place itself is cool and comfortable, although I think it may have the tendency to get pretty cramped and noisy when there are a lot of diners. The only downside for me is that I wish they had an actual hand-washing section (since they’re big on eating with your hands and there’s really no other way to eat a slabwich [without looking like a sissy, LOL] properly but to hold it) and not just hand santizers on the tables.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I’m inclined to try out more OpenRice.com events in the future.

Chuck’s Deli is located on the ground floor or Eastwood Mall, Libis, QC. For more info on Chuck’s Deli, visit them on Facebook.