March

I may not have traveled a lot in March but I did eat out a lot. My only trip was in Caliraya, Laguna.

My lunch mates and I had lunch at Tonkatsu by Terazawa in Greenbelt 2 for an office friend's despedida; she is now in Singapore. I had the oyster and chicken katsu set consisting of two pieces breaded oyster, and chicken katsu. The set includes unlimited rice (nothing beats Ginza Bairin's unlimited Jasmine rice but rice here has nice texture), unlimited miso soup (which I LOVE, the best miso soup I've had), unlimited shredded cabbage, and corn. As in Ginza Bairin, I like my shredded cabbage with roasted sesame dressing. The fried oyster and chicken are wonderfully executed but because they're fried, there's the umay factor. Probably the reason why I had three bowls of miso soup.

Because my archaeo friends and I had a movie date at Gateway to watch 300: Rise of an Empire, we had dinner again at Taco Bell. If it's not KFC it's Taco Bell. Oh well, this little girl needs her dose of junk food from time to time, too. Our 3D movie ticket  (P300) comes with free popcorn and soda. As expected from the makers of 300, the sequel is violent with lots of blood spurting and splashing everywhere. While my first reason for watching it on 3D was Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), it all changed when Artemisia (Eva Green) appeared. I just LOVE her, despite her dark back story. I found myself squealing everytime Artemisia appears with her varied costumes. And one of my friends, who is a big Lena Heady fan, naturally rooted for Queen Gorgo. So imagine how noisy we were as the movie was ending. When the lights came on, many people us angry looks for being so noisy. So I am taking this opportunity to apologize to the strangers who were put off by our childish behavior.

Other college friends invited me to my second bar experience at Cowboy Grill in Quezon City. To show my support for my friend's org's event College Collision Reactivate, I said yes. The event is an inter-college band contest. It's also our moment to bond, though the place doesn't seem to be apt because we couldn't hear each other. We were served cold food--- pancit canton, rice, pork BBQ, and iced tea. Nothing special, all regular normal food but I guess one shouldn't complain because the ticket costs only P200. Come to think of it, I was also with this set of friends on my first bar experience. And now we're planning to go to other bars.

My sister and I had a date again at Kokoro Ramenya in Fisher Mall. These days we don't get to hang out a lot because she's always working overtime whereas I've been busy doing a lot of things. Though I can drop anything I'm doing if she's the one to invite me because I know I'll be in for a treat. We shared a bowl of tantanmen. Not that QQ and the soup is too creamy. My sister found it too salty. I, on the other hand, wished for more sesame oil. They should have placed a bottle of sesame oil on each table. On the upside, we like the dumplings which were seared on one side. I love the way the texture plays in my mouth, it's like eating crispy pizza crust. But the price is too expensive, P155 for just 4 pieces. Will we go back? No. Better restaurants abound.

For our team's March celebrants, we had lunch at Seryna in Little Tokyo. I've been meaning to eat there and already have plans with a friend and her friends but it's already been a year and nothing's happening. So finally, authentic Japanese food! I had Kaisen Gozen (P380). I love everything in my bento except for the thin slices of ginger. Unfortunately, their miso soup is not unlimited. So considering I ate a lot, the price is just right.

Kaisen Gozen at Seryna

One Sunday, I visited UP since I've been missing school a lot these days. I had lunch at Mashitta in UP Shopping Center. I was initially tempted to go to UP Town Center but I guess it's better if I have a friend with me. My order of spicy squid with rice (P95) and miso soup (P35) was satisfying. The squid is cooked just right and I love the spiciness of the dish. 

That same day, off I went to RCBC Theater in Makati to watch the one-woman play "Full Gallop" starring the highly talented Cherie Gil who plays Diana Vreeland, a bitchy fashion editor with a grand sense of entitlement to everything fine and beautiful. I think Cherie Gil fully captured the essence of the role. I can never think of any actress best-suited to play Vreeland. However, the play is really very elitist in that non-socialites will have a hard time relating as Vreeland's opinions on just about everything is largely based on her own experiences as someone who came from a privileged family. 

So going back to restaurants, my quest this month ended in the Filling Station and Mey Lin Bistro.

And I think I'll be all the busier in the coming months with my acquisition of a tablet. Yay! At present Bulu Monsters keep me occupied.