Pinoy Life At Large

Theater, reintroduced. Gibbs Cadiz, once again, serves up another enlightening and awe-inspiring cultural smorgasbord for the uninitiated in Philippine Theater. What am I talking about? Last October 27, 2007, Noreen and I were some of the lucky 33 bloggers to come and see theater-great Floy Quintos to share his thoughts on how to appreciate a play.

As far as the numbers game go, theater is not on the top of the everyone’s list. Floy tells us the there is not as much money in theater as there is in television and movies, and this is the reason why little attention is given to it. My experience is that theater productions are more expensive to see than the average Hollywood flick. For the average employee, deciding whether to see a P300 (US$6.25) play or a P100 (US$2.13) movie at the mall will not take more than two seconds to think about.

So, how do we appreciate a play? Floy suggests that we come to the theater with open minds, ready to accept all the givens. I am always confused at the beginning of a play, when I’m waiting for lights to dim, how the set connects to the story as described in the programme. Then as the story unfolds, I nod my head upon realizing the genius behind the plot. In other words, give it a chance. Let the play take you into its makeshift world and be moved by the experience. Abandon all logic, lest you end up with a regretful opinion of the whole experience. Abandon the Hollywood-movie-mentality.

Of the things that Floy said, I will forever cherish his words describing theater as “a bastard of all the arts.” No truer was this when he started talking about works like “Walang Sugat,” “As You Like It” and “Romeo and Juliet.” His extensive knowledge of literature is impeccable, as is his mastery of history. In theater, one must be familiar with literature, production design, graphic arts (finance and logistics too, I believe) and psychology, at the very least.

Friends, one thing you need to remember, you need not be well-versed in literature to appreciate a good play. Come to the theater, buy the programme (it’s that pamphlet that they sell at the lobby that contains information about the play, the actors and what to expect), leave your logic at the door (along with your umbrella) and pay attention to the little details. Open yourself to the emotions and have a wonderful time. Guaranteed to please and enlighten your mind. No movie can do that for you.

So while I was getting reacquainted with theater, I was also rubbing elbows with some of the country’s prolific blogging soldiers. So as not to miss anyone, see the blogger roll below. Feel free to click on the links!

1. Rei Alba
2. Marco Angeles
3. Glaiza Seguia
4. Calvin Cortes
5. Jason Dela Cruz
6. Jeanne Louise Cruz
7. Walter Ang
8. Christopher Joseph San Jose
9. Shari Cruz
10. Chuck Smith
11. Jhed Cabrera
12. L.A. Lomarda
13. Carlo Capelan
14. Melissa Rosello
15. Allan Rey Penilla
16. James Andrian Bicaldo
17. Carla Edeliza Varias
18. Cyril Ramos
19. Sharline Bareng
20. Juned Sonido
21. Exie Abola
22. AJ Matela
23. Jeff Villafranca
24. Joseph Datinguinoo
25. Faith Salazar
26. Coy Caballes
27. Chris Lagman
28. Joel Macaventa
29. Karla Maquiling
30. JM Tuazon

The event was capped by spaghetti with pesto sauce, crab meat salad sandwiches and buco juice with pandan flavor (you really think I wouldn’t mention the food?) The good food was coupled by great conversations with some of blogging’s best.

Seen in the foreground is Noreen and Juned (talking about the next blogger ed project?) while in the background (from left to right) are Glaiza, Chuck and Sharline.

Juned in the foreground, while I take the opportunity to pose with Gibbs Cadiz. A rare picture indeed!

Years ago, my Mom would always tell us how she and my Dad would go on dates while they were in college. My Dad was from De La Salle College (back then La Salle was an all-boys college) while my Mom went to the University of the East, both in the Manila area, with the Quiapo-Escolta area being the hippest place to be seen in those days. On a student’s budget back in the 1950s, the best date they could have was going to a jump session (not sure if I had it spelled right, but that’s how she would always say it. To this day I never knew what it was they do in a “jump session”. They jumped? To where?) and later hang out in dining places like Ma Mon Luk, where the food is hot, filling and cheap. Ferino’s Bibingka (steamed rice cakes) was also in their fave list, as Ferino’s used to give free bottomless hot tea to customers.

As children, my parents would bring us there to taste the mami that was the stuff of legends. In my 20s, when I used to be my Mom’s driver, I would ask her to dine there whenever we were in the neighborhood. Now that both my parents have passed away, I relive their memories by going to Ma Mon Luk with Noreen. And for me, that’s what Ma Mon Luk is all about, reliving memories. The good food is just a bonus. Thankfully, the descendants of Ma Mon Luk did everything to preserve the restaurant as it was since they opened their Quezon Boulevard branch in 1950. They may have called it “gupit” (to cut with scissors) because Ma Mon Luk used to cut the noodles with scissors back in his street-hawking days, but the taste of his noodles have not changed. As with his siopao, the sauce still remains to be a well-guarded secret. I never order the special siopao because I hate the taste of salted egg. That’s just me, of course. The Ma Mon Luk asado siopao is still unrivaled in taste and flavor, not even Chocfull of Nuts can come close, and it’s another favorite I’m trying to find where to get hold of.

The memories of Ma Mon Luk is what keeps me coming back. Where else can you find mami so steeped in history and tradition?

Outside their Quezon Boulevard restaurant. Parking can be a problem so be patient. Commuters will definitely have lesser problems because it is easily accessible to jeeps, buses and FX.

It is still the best mami ever. A large bowl of Ma Mon Luk Original Mami is now P90.00 (US$2.00).

The proper way to eat Ma Mon Lik siopao. You must peel off the outer covering, the skin, if I may call it, before eating. This is because the siopao comes in contact with the bamboo steamer and little bits of bamboo get stuck to the siopao’s exterior, not to mention numerous hands that handle it. Go ahead, peel off the skin before eating it, you will discover that it peels off easily. The regular asado siopao is P35.00 (US$0.75).

Halfway into my siopao, note how full it is! It’s asado, like asado should be.

The perfect pair for only P125.00 (US$2.75).

The interior of Ma Mon Luk. They do not have air conditioning. But then, who cares? The diners behind me don’t seem to mind.

Unabashedly, this is how I enjoy Ma Mon Luk’s original Mami.

The Ma Mon Luk smile.

What happened at the Glorietta 2 yesterday was a horrible and tragic event. The blast tore through an entire corner of the Glorietta 2 and sent eight people to an untimely death and 87 more to the Makati Medical Center. According to the news, those who died were diners in a nearby restaurant, probably employees enjoying a Friday lunch out with co-workers, as I was at the time of the blast. My co-workers and I decided to go out for lunch and the place for it was somewhat of a debate. Eventually, we all decided to go out for Thai food at Som’s Noodle House along Nicanor Garcia, a good 4 miles away from the blast site.

Again the foreigners will fear coming to Manila and the economy will be negatively affected. Just when the Philippine Peso was at P44.00 to the US dollar at the time of the blast. The OFW’s myopic view of this being a bad thing would have been easily refuted had the economy not been hit badly by this incident. I personally have no knowledge of what exactly caused the blast, as police said it was not LPG.

This morning, it was reported on the AM band that it was the Rajah Sulaiman Movement who claimed responsibility for the blast. The general theory is that the blast was some sort of publicity-generating stunt to get funding. A week after Eid al-Fitr is celebrated, the extremists are back to work. You can’t blame me for being paranoid, after all, it was another Moslem extremist group who did the Rizal Day bombing. I tried not to be paranoid when I’m around a Moslem but the actions of these terrorists groups bring shame to their group and further encourages prejudice. I am victim to these wrongful sentiments as I do not want to be labeled and called names. All the more seething, my anger against these bandits, with convoluted ideas about Islam, grew as I think about the whole thing being one grand audition to the Al-Qaida for some money to buy more guns to kill innocent people.

To hell with them all.

My deepest condolences go to Lawson employee Carlo Cruz, who’s wife was one of those who did not survive the blast. You are in our prayers. May you find the strength to weather this tragedy.

Since my post about eat168, I have decided to blog about restaurants that offer good food at P500.00 (US10.50) or below. Other food blogs feature restaurants that offer top-notch food at sky-high prices. My philosophy is that good food need not be expensive. I’m sure with the stiff competition among restaurants, there will be one or two food places out there that will offer high-class and exotic food that is affordable to working class. I just have to look really hard.

Su Zhou Dimsum is the parent of yet another high-end restaurant located at the Promenade in Greenhills. I have dined in their Promenade restaurant and I believe that the fare is exactly the same, except for the plates, cutlery, ambiance and the price tags.

It is located along A. Mabini Street inside Brgy. Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City. Parking is available for only three cars, while other customers will just have to come back later or park elsewhere. Service is fast and so is customer turnover. As i have always done, allow me to start with the booboos:

1. Location. It is hard to find if you are not familiar with the place and when you decide to cruise Mabini Street, it is easily missed. So for those who want to come here, cruise by Mabini Street slowly and stay on the left. Mabini is a one-way street and if you see the elementary school to your left, you’ve already missed it.
2. Tight spaces. Inside the restaurant, spaces are kinda tight to move around. For a hefty guy like me, I am discouraged to go to the washroom because a lot will have to be inconvenienced just so I can get back to my table. Luckily for me when I went that day, there weren’t any customers. I can only imagine how it will difficult it would have been for me, had the restaurant been full with the lunch crowd.

And the yahoos;

1. They have some of the best kuchay dumplings ever. It comes with this black vinegar sauce that is so unforgettable. Yes, there are other places that serve kuchay dumplings but this one is a beauty because it’s not salty, so full of flavor and you don’t have to go all the way to Binondo.
2. The servings are large. I had the Taiwan special beef noodles and it was so filling. It was advertised to be spicy but I found it just ok. Foreigners not used to really spicy food will enjoy this! The beef is tender and the chunks were larger than average.
3. The restroom is clean, well-ventilated and has a nice scent to it. A separate wash area is provided outside the toilet.
4. Service is lightning fast and comes with a smile. You shouldn’t be cheap about tipping, as they are always on their heels, lunch crowd or not.
5. Though the ambiance is not exactly like their Promenade place, it’s something that you’ll probably like. I loved the ambiance because it’s small and has a homey feel to it.

Check out the pictures and see for yourself.

This is exterior of the place. It is very popular with local Chinese community. Like I always say, if it’s good enough for them, it’s probably the real thing.

See their menu and note that their prices are VAT inclusive as it should be.

This is Su Zhou Dimsum’s Taiwan Special Beef Noodles. Really good!

Noodles with kuchay dumplings. Another personal favorite.

Served hot and ready for the tasting.

Eyeglasses aside, Noreen and Eden are so ready to dig in. Note the size of the bowls.