Self-Date @EDSA Shangrila 08082013

Last August 8 (yeah, an auspicious day for the double lucky 8),  I went on a self-date. It's been a long time since I did that and I thoroughly miss being all alone, and because there was a free movie showing in EDSA Shangrila at that time courtesy of the Italian Embassy. After work, I ran to the MRT and I was 5 minutes early for the show. The free movie's title is "La seconda moglie" (The Second Wife).

It's about a woman who became the second wife of a man named Fosco. During the wedding, it was obvious already that Anna and Livio had an eye for each other. Livio is the son of Fosco from the latter's first marriage. Anna had a daughter named Santina prior to the marriage. Fosco is seen as being hard on his only son and is also part of a group of grave robbers. When he was caught raiding a tomb, he landed in jail. During his absence, Livio seduces Anna and the two developed an illicit affair.

You may watch the entire film thanks to youtube:

After the film, I went around in search of the newly constructed East Wing. I've been hearing a lot about this from Norma Chikiamco's column in PDI. Since I have been craving for ramen and since it was a cold night being alone with no one to warm me (LOL), I looked for Ikkoryu Fukuoka, a restaurant that's been earning rave reviews.

When I got there, the resto was full and people were continuously coming to have seats reserved. I was lucky I went solo so I got in easily. When I was shown the menu I considered leaving the place because all their ramen has pork save for one. This is my ramen dilemma: I don't eat pork unless it's deep-fried or barbecued or ground. When I was in Ukkokei early this year, I was saved from this dilemma because they had ground pork, seafood, and chicken variants.

In the end, I told myself, time to face my porky fears. I had a bowl of the spicy tanbanjan tonkotsu (P380 +10% service charge, total of P418) and requested for my usual cup of hot water. When I first tasted the soup, it was spicy yes so it did not disappoint. I love the rich taste and the soup' s really flavorful. When I took a bite of the pork, I was delighted to find that it was so tender. (Having the spices did its work to mask the unwelcome smell of pork. Yes, I told you I don't like pork.) So for a while I considered eating pork from that moment on (but I still fail now).

I did finish the soup, putting in much sesame oil for the wonderful aroma. But when I got to the MRT on my way home, I had this heavy feeling washing over me. I felt like just dropping to the floor and sleep. While inside the train, I thirsted for water so I gulped down a glass upon reaching home but by then I was already a bit feverish. I remembered one episode last year when I was knocked out by a heavy dose of MSG in 2011. So before I went to sleep, I made sure to drink water again and to urinate to somehow take out those unwanted MSG from my system. The next morning, my throat was dry as hell and I had to run to have a drink.

So in the end, I'll still stick with Ukkokei, not that they don't put in MSG, but at least it was at a tolerable level. And I also appreciate the fact that Ukkokei has chicken and seafood, not just pork.

Sick

It's the third time this year that I got sick. The first was in the first half of October. One day after a drink in Intramuros after an excavation, I came home with a fever. The second was just last week when I arrived home from work feeling all exhausted and dead tired from the long commute. The third is this week, for three days already. The fever's almost gone, but the sore throat sucks. I hate it.

The suspect is the Red Bowl I ate in UP Diliman. It's located in Foodtrip Strip. That's what I call that road where Lutong Bahay, Lutong Kapitbahay, Universi-tea, my fave Cocina ni Mamang, and several others, can be found. I was primarily attracted to the P35 meal. At that time I was short on money so finding a cheap meal was bliss.

Turned out to be hell. It's got LOTS of vetsin, and it did me great pain. As soon as I arrived home, I went straight to my room and was asleep in seconds. When I woke up later at night, I wasn't feeling well. And I could smell MSG in my urine. Imagine that. So the only remedy I thought of was water therapy. I drank lots and lots of water. Almost every 30 minutes I took in fluids, just to flush out any remnant of MSG in my system. Yes, I freaked out. I never liked vetsin.

And yes I am traumatized by the experience. I'm going back to bringing packed lunch. There should be something that regulates the use of MSG. The DOH and FDA should do something.