2007 November | Pinoy Life At Large

Month: November, 2007

Three Stars for Samsung!

30 November, 2007 (12:00) | Uncategorized | By: Arpee

With the recent brouhaha over the Trillanes siege of The Peninsula Manila hotel, I felt so lucky that it didn’t happen while I was having dinner at the launch of Samsung’s new HDMI LCD TVs and Tio MP3 players, which was held at the presidential suite of the Pen, Tuesday night November 27.

Otherwise, I would have missed the interactive experience of Samsung’s Tio, really cool MP3 player with bluetooth and A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) support. This means, you can listen to CD quality audio using stereo bluetooth headsets. Your favorite music playing in your head, without the hassle of wires! I’ll probably get me a Tio for Christmas. This is one gadget that’s set to give iPod a run for its money.

This particular model allows you to watch movies. With or without a headset, you can still listen to the music because it has speakers! Cool huh?

I’ve always wanted a LCD TV. This model is HD-capable. Though HDTV is not yet available in the country, it will still allow you to watch local cable as there is a converter for analog signals installed in the unit. If I had one of these in my living room, my friends would probably ask me to adopt them. Ah the parties I’ll have during Pacquiao fights!

My own taste of Samsung technology. I used to be so indifferent to MP3 players only because I’m from the Walkman generation (auto reverse with am/fm radio, he he.) But after trying this MP3 player by Samsung, I guess you can say I’m a believer.

Comments: 3

A Greenwich Gustation

28 November, 2007 (14:09) | events, restaurants | By: Arpee

My Tuesday afternoon lunch out led to a celebration of the various tastes of Greenwich’s latest offerings. At their Ayala Avenue branch, Greenwich formally launched their Pizza de Lechon, Super Meatball Spaghetti and Cheesy Beef Cannelloni. A lot has changed since their earlier fare. If you notice, Greenwich (even Jollibee) now serves food in plates, not in the usual styro containers and clunky plastic cutlery that easily breaks when it hits chicken bones. That, for me, is a major improvement. Just like the way it was back in the 1980s.

First, I tried the Super Meatball Spaghetti. Not as sweet as kiddie spaghetti and they now have real meat sauce, not the usual watery sauce with low-quality cut sausages. They’re going for the real thing this time, and indeed, the improvement is obvious in the first bite. Not bad for fast food. I must admit, consuming the meatball took 60% of my dining time. No, it wasn’t tough or hard to chew. It was big. Really big. The meatball alone can make you full. One order is P79.00 (US$1.84).

Then, my curiosity got the better of me. I asked for the Cheesy Beef Cannelloni. This dish is composed of two tube-shaped pasta filled with ground beef and smothered in meat sauce and topped with creamy cheese and parsley. An order is also P79.00 (US$1.84).

The Pizza de Lechon is P239.00 (US$5.56) per order with six slices. The taste? It’s different from what we’re used to. There is no tomato sauce, but a lechon sarsa base where toppings of lechon and chicharon bits are scattered all over the pizza round. The mozzarella cheese is still staple, of course. If you’re into something kinda sweet and with a strong lechon aroma, then this is the pizza for you.

Comments: 11

Pasteleria Costa Brava’s Caramel Cake

26 November, 2007 (17:00) | markets, restaurants | By: Arpee

At the advice of my friend and fellow blogger Bubong Antonio, I went to the Power Plant Mall’s Baker’s Fair last November 24 and sought out Pasteleria Costa Brava’s Caramel Cake. Bubong highly recommended that I give it a try and so I did.

I tried it and was completely blown away! After I tasted the free samples I was convinced that this was the taste I had been looking for. Not too sweet and the cake did not crumble by the teaspoon, unlike most caramel cakes that are too sweet, they make my tooth ache. The Costa Brava’s version was decorated by butter icing that did not harden even after being put the fridge for the longest time. The caramel icing did not separate from the cake and almost no crumbs fell on the plate each time I forked a slice. I must say that Pasteleria Costa Brava has the best caramel cake ever.

Comments: 9

My Sumo Sam afternoon

24 November, 2007 (12:22) | events, restaurants | By: Arpee

It was my uncle’s birthday and we decided to dine out to celebrate his 82nd year. At the Power Plant Mall, I decided to bring my Tito Udol to Sumo Sam for his birthday lunch. I’m glad I brought him there as the restaurant gives a free ice cream sundae and a birthday song to diners celebrating their birthday, which is standard to most restaurants.

First, the booboos:

Portions are good for one. Don’t expect large portions per order. Perhaps this is in keeping with the usual Japanese style of food presentation. Nonetheless, the taste more than makes up for it.
It’s slightly pricey for the average employee. Though not a place you can dine at everyday, it is definitely a place you can go to for special occasions. Worry not, your five-hundred-pesos bill (US$11.36) will still buy you a decent meal, or two.

The yahoos:

This is the one place where I have tasted the most incredible sushi ever. Really good. I’d do the human wave by myself if I could.
This is quite contradictory, but the smallness of the portions of some of their menu items is crucial to good food presentation. Note their Spider Roll, it just has to be of the right size to compliment the decorative plate and garnish. The presentation makes it more appetizing. It really worked so well with Sumo Sam. Each dish is truly a work of art.
The service. The kitchen staff are light on their feet to bring you your food without waiting an eternity. I’ve heard other bloggers have a bad experience with Sumo Sam, but I went there anyway and good for me, I was not disappointed.
Before ordering I mentioned that we were celebrating my Tito Udol’s 82nd birthday. After we got the bill and started to step away from the table, Lovely (seems to be the manager) stopped us and said they have a surprise for the celebrator. Tito Udol was so happy with the ice cream sundae and thanked Lovely to no end.

See the pictures and get a feel of the place. I hope you go and visit this restaurant too.

Comments: 5

I Scream For Ice Cream at P65.00!

21 November, 2007 (13:12) | F&B | By: Arpee

Yes, I know its been raining lately but I just couldn’t resist the call of good old-fashioned ice cream. So, in one of excursions to S&R, I gave in to my craving. My favorite is cookies and cream, Noreen has always been crazy about pistachio nut, while Eden got the Bunny Tracks.

Blue Bunny is not a local brand, but proved to be way cheaper than other American ice cream brands like Ben & Jerry’s or Dreyer’s, with very little difference in taste. As far as I know, Blue Bunny can only be bought at S&R. Please leave a comment if you know of other places where this ice cream is available.