From the monthly archives:

June 2008

Swensen since 1948

by witsandnuts on June 24, 2008

 swensens collage

(L) Strawberry Sundae as served, (R) As per printed ad, inviting, isn’t it?

Swensen recently opened in Khalidiyah Mall and as expected its ice creams and sundaes are selling like hotcakes.  I am not really fond of strawberry sundae (flavor of the month) but the lifesize photo which is taller than me, at the store’s front is so inviting.  The name itself Very Berry Strawberry Banana Cream sounded regal and the way the ingredients were arranged explicitly looks challenging. 

To my dismay, the strawberry sundae they served me didn’t even look half of as advertized.  I am totally aware that ads will always have caveats.  Well, it happens.  The photos in the menu of the restaurants or as advertised will not look like 100% when served.  Anyway, they may not have arranged my order as “promised” in the lifesize photo, but all the ingredients were there except for that popular Swensen biscuit topper which they failed to pop.  At any rate, I demanded that a yummy chocolate be poured in to compensate all the differences.  After all, the customer seems right.  :)

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Al Khabya Cafe’s Tuna Sandwich

by witsandnuts on June 24, 2008

Al Khabya's Tuna Sandwich

When you’re in Al Nasser Street (Old Fish Market) in Abu Dhabi and you’re looking for a quick bite, it’s a wise choice to stop in Al Khabya Cafe. Aside from our favorite egg plate snack in the afternoon, its tuna sandwich is satisfying. I was too lazy to find a rice meal for lunch the other day and grabbed the tuna sandwich (in a relatively long bun, in case you noticed) with the olives and pickles on the side. Obviously it qualifies as a healthy meal and I actually intended to be on this sort of tuna diet. However, at 3pm my tummy was already grumbling. Oh well, I just knew that light lunch will not work for me. :)

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20 Years ago, some are in black and white

by witsandnuts on June 21, 2008

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In this photo (left to right, from up):  Celia Rodriguez, the pioneer kontrabida, Cesar Montano in 1985 film The Graduates, Chichay (she’s cute!), a precious college diploma which was signed by a Janitor, Dolphy, Panchito and Babalu in Dracula goes to RP, a comedy-horror flick, Gabby Concepcion and Nora Aunor co-starred in Totoo Ba ang Tsismis?, an interviewer with a budhha figurine on the table (strange isn’t it?), the last 3 photos at the bottom are scenes in The Graduates (1985), shown are Joel Torre, Rene Requiestas and a guy with a colored hair (I didn’t know there are already punks that time).

I never thought I will be a certified TV person.  But my being in a foreign land did not only turned me into a seemingly TV addict during weekends, but moreso hooked with TFC.  I think it is the effect of being away from home and this is one of the means of reconnecting with the Philippines.   I used to find it a waste of time to watch Tagalog movies.  I don’t like the Teleseryes but I was a sucker of few Koreanovela series, I remember Coffee Prince Fever.

Although, until now I still don’t like the Teleseryes but I am surprisingly recently hooked with My Girl.  I even watch its Marathon (complete episodes for the week that was), which is aired during saturdays at 2pm.  I was never interested with Kim-Gerald tandem, so I think it’s the koreanovela effect of tagalized My Girl which caught my interest.  Now, I make a huge grin, giggle and laugh out loud… and okay kilig na rin as I watch it.

Another confession to make is I now regularly watch Cinema Global.  I am particularly interested in the old movies shown in mid 1980s, those old age movies which are in black and white, and things like that which were shown even before I was born.  When I actually mentioned this current fancy to my closest buddy in the office, she laughed at me and wondered where’s my liking coming from.  Mind you, I sometimes stay up so late just to finish a very old film.

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In this photo (left to right, from up):  Maligno primer in which the story is very different from the Maligno teleserye, Maricel Soriano with her old typewriter and old fashioned dress (see how technology and fashion changed), a very young Roderick Paulate, a scary Zuma, Rene Requiestas in his known make-face, Lani Mercado and his father wearing a Simex shirt (what an advertisement), Snooky Serna at her prime (The Graduates, 1985), pretty young Susan Roces in Maligno, the last 3 photos are from the movie The Graduates, a geeky William Martinez and a big walkie-talkie (shucks, glad I’m in the iPhone generation).

Self-check declares that what actually hits my interest is knowing how was it ages ago.  I hate the cast sing and dance scenes in each movie.  Obviously, that was just to prolong it.  But moviegoers (then) seemed to have loved it.  I enjoy watching some old films because these give me an idea of how certain places and old celebrities looked like then.  It is also interesting to see Chichay, was she Lola Basyang?, Gabby and Nora in a flick “Totoo Ba ang Tsismis?” (I don’t like Nora, but I watched this out of curiousity,  I didn’t know they teamed up before), Panchito, Dolphy and Babalu (in one movie, Dracula Goes to RP) re-watch Zuma (ah, I remember how the myth of him getting the heart of the virgins frightened me so when I was still a kid), to see how genuine is the physical beauty before (as we all know several celebrities of the current generation are products of cosmetic surgeries).

I never thought that I would devote time in all these.  After all, I realized it’s not a waste of time.  I was wrong then.  Call it baduy or whatsoever, but watching old films is entertaining depending on the way you see it.  Therefore, you may expect that I would be blogging about old films in the future (soon).

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Cafe Ritazza

by witsandnuts on June 21, 2008

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Clockwise:  Cafe Ritazza, Marina Mall, vanilla crown, hot choco dough, iced mocha

The primary reason I wanted to dine in Cafe Ritazza was because the food court in Marina Mall was so crowded the last time I went there. This cafe is situated near the food court and it has a London Dairy stall beside it. I was a little disappointed because it has a slow service. However, the choco dough which was served with a hot syrup on top is awesome, its vanilla crown is a must-try, but the iced mocha is nothing special.

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BreadTalk: Adds Life to Bread

by witsandnuts on June 21, 2008

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BreadTalk, SM Megamall

I never fail to make a take out from this Singapore-founded bakeshop whenever I was in Mall of Asia and Megamall. Again, there’s a food psyche in it as the customers do pick a choice of their own among the decorated buns. I like the feeling of freely choosing among the tempting stuff.  On the contrary, it makes me pick a number of buns which is more than what I actually need.

hot chic php46

Hot chic, one of the best sellers.

My most favorite back home is the hot chic. They say it is a great beermatch. Too bad, I don’t drink. It is really spicy and a cola (second choice) would complement it.

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From BreadTalk, Khalidiyah Mall.  I liked the Japanese Chiffon and Walnut Cupcake.

So it definitely made my day when I learned that BreadTalk opened in Khalidiyah Mall. However, hot chic is not being offered, instead the berries flavors dominated the choices. The buns are priced the same as in the Philippines (good thing!).  Due to my excitement, I decided to take away more than what I needed. I ran to the idea of finding out the best flavor in the Gulf.

Wherever it is, BreadTalk definitely knows how to add life to bread.

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