Eat Fresh Hong Kong Famous Street Food - J. Abad Santos St, San Juan

As another way of delaying my other obligations such as uploading photos starting from my July trip and blogging about my half-of-Indochina trip, I just go to our nearby food area and pack some calories.

At 11:30PM.

Since we're not getting any mileage from this one, I present to you Eat Fresh Hong Kong Famous Street Food. Yep, that's the name.

You get to choose from their wide variety of "street food" and you can have it deep fried (oh the health freaks' eyes are twitching right now) with a choice of sweet-and-sour or the famous curry sauce (just like the way they have it in HK/Macau). Aside from the street food, they also serve meals - noodles, short orders, and rice toppings. I'm not exactly sure what to recommend to you, aside from the sure-hit Pancake Balls! It's served with diluted peanut butter sauce. Yummy! Ok, now I'm hungry.

You can view their menu here:
Menu 1

Menu 2

Eat Fresh Hong Kong Famous Street Food
J. Abad Santos St.
Open M-Saturday until 12am
Closed on Sundays (boooo)

Tralala... Life.

Okay.

We've been through a lot of stress but I really admire the endurance of some people in helping another. However, the stress is taking its toll, this useless unnecessary stress other folks are throwing on us. If the kids can't adjust their lifestyles based on what they have and the current situation they are in, there is no hope. Where can we buy sense of responsibility and understanding? Giving them everything, spoon-feeding them, is not really helping anyone. Or maybe, just maybe, these supportive people are just boosting their benevolence points.

I don't want to be mean but some people are really abusive. Either they're hopeless or they are so selfish they're willing to bite off the hand who feeds (or helps) them.

Nasa Isip Ka - Session Road

Session Road has been alive since time immemorial. Well, actually just at that time when OPM was bringing in more bands in the alternative scene. With newfound friends who invited me to watch their comeback gig at 70's Bistro last time and just another one last night at Metrowalk, I revisited my music library and played out their music once again.

When Hannah sings, everyone listens.

I had the first album, "Suntok sa Buwan", way back but totally lost track that they released their second one, "Bakit Hindi?", a couple of years after. "Blanko" has been the front-liner for "Bakit Hindi?" but they have a lot of other good tunes as well, with simplistic lyrics and some reggae-like songs in the mix. Just like an Eager Angel, I had to listen and watch their shows again. "Hiram" and "Nasa Isip Ka" are both on loop now - because  "Blanko" is so mainstream. Haha.

Ito ba sayo’y isang laro?
Ako’y nalilito gulong-gulo
Pinapaasa, saan ba ito pupunta?
Wala naman akong pinanghahawakan pero…

Bakit lagi nalang nasa isip ka
Sa bawat pagmulat ng aking mata
Bakit lagi nalang nasa isip ka
May pagkakataon bang magsama?

Eto ako iyong-iyo
Ano ba talaga ako sayo?
Pinapaasa, ako ba sayo’y may halaga?
Wala naman akong pinanghahawakan pero…

Bakit lagi nalang nasa isip ka
Sa bawat pagmulat ng aking mata
Bakit lagi nalang nasa isip ka
May pagkakataon bang magsama?

The Snakespeare and The Cheap Action Star

So when a friend asked me how do you drop a "I liked you for a time" bomb in a letter, I typed this:

"Have you ever stayed up late looking up in the night sky at a very beautiful and bright star, admiring it from a distance? Then after some time, it moved and shot through spiraling downwards towards the earth. I never saw its magnificence afterwards. That's how I felt about you." Well, it was good while it lasted.

That's at 3:15am and drained by all the documentations I'm working on. It's a deviation from all the classic Pinoy action film kontrabida lines I have always been fond of doing (and acting aloud).

Bida: Mando! *shuffles at the cemented pillar his back is against* Nandito na ako, ako ang harapin mo!
KontraBida: Wahah-haha-hah! Lito, ang syota mo uunahin ko! Isang bala lang ito! Mabuti pang sumuko ka na!
Bida: Mandooooo! *in a husky whisper-like voice* Subukan mo lang saktan syota ko, mukha ko ang huli mong makikita bago ka mamatay! May lima pa akong palakol at itak dito, hindi ako natatakot!

And at this time while waiting for the documentation tool to load, Taylor Swift's song "Treacherous" played. This is the current song on-loop in my head.

This hope is treacherous.
This daydream is dangerous.
I, I, I like it.

Chow Fun - Jose Abad Santos St, San Juan

J. Abad Santos (Wilson area, San Juan) is a good place to visit when "where to eat?" is the only thing you want to think of. There are new places in the area that you can easily miss - Tori Box, La Creperie, and Eat My GF - but we'll get into those soon. Along J. Abad Santos is the huge-ass signage for Hong Kong Street Food and the bright signage of Chow Fun. Oh, how fun, there's Chow Fun! (This won't pass as their slogan, ever.)

Chow Fun has simple red, grey (no paint), and black interiors with a touch of printed tarpaulins at the sides and pretty overcrowded lamps. It's a no frills easy place to come into, you won't get intimidated with the interiors and the servers. As usual, the problem along J. Abad Santos establishments is the parking space. So please have the patience and some saltine crackers ready if you're really hungry already.

So bright like the stars at night. Whut?

Their menu is not to die for. I asked the server if there's a chance that their menu will add more items and she said yes, since the place is still relatively new. I kept on looking for the "basic" ones such as noodle soup and some fried rice. Let's give them time to double their food menu before we strike the hatchet on this. Since we're not that hungry, we opted with their famous starter: the Chinese Fondue.

Interesting!

The Chinese Fondue contains fried veggie cakes, sliced squid balls, and squid. It is served with a cheese-and-curry dip (I suddenly miss Macao) over a lighted candle. Fondue fun-due! It's a very interesting fondue and since I'm a fan of curry dips, this is worth my Php155 (although I know I can eat so much more for this price). Aside from the fondue, I ordered Broccoli X.O. which also has mushroom in dried seafood sauce but was too excited to eat so I wasn't able to take a photo. HA! Their iced black tea strawberry is really really good! It's a must!

It is somewhat pricey for the serving size and almost all items are for sharing. Not a good day to be an only child who went out for some late-night snacking! You have to bring your friends or family over to make the trip here worth it. For dessert, we had a toss-up between Haw Flakes Pastry or their Butchi. The Reese's Chocolate Butchi won! Since I'm the younger one, I ate 2 out of 3 pcs. Mwahaha. I like Reese's and I like buchi, it's a win-win situation for me! Friends said that Eat Well offers 6pcs chocolate buchi but I have yet to see the price range for Eat Well (which has a lot of good reviews, by the way). Maybe Chow Fun's PHP 120 Reese's Butchi stands a chance against Eat Well's.

PHP 120 for 3 pcs.

Chow Fun

103 J Abad Santos St., Little Baguio, San Juan (near Serenitea and Ristras)
+632 624 1009

Juan Carlos Ferrero

Juan Carlos Ferrero retires from professional tennis. Bring out the tissue.

Oh God, why?!

The 32-year-old Spanish former world number 1 decides to call it quits after losing in the Valencia Open 500. Born February 12, 1980, JC Ferrero won the 2003 French Open title. I always tune in when he plays so I'm feeling pangs of sadness right now.

Final tournament.

This face.

This man.

This champion.

Why can't Radek Stepanek retire instead?!

TWG Tea 2

Originally posted Oct 23, updated Nov 27 with the 1837 Green Tea and 1837 White Tea.

So basically coming off from the first post about TWG teas, I have tried Weekend in Venice and Sakura! Sakura! Tea. Also joining the pack is Kiel's stash of Happy Birthday Tea and the 3 new ones from my mom: Weekend in Shanghai, Green Tea, and White Tea. Oh she also brought me macarons which she got for free. She got it from the Filipina sales attendant at TWG and they chatted for some time and then for some reason my mom got free macarons. Na-budul-budol si ate. She didn't know what hit her, HA!

The (new) line up of leaves I got from TWG:
Happy Birthday Tea is a blend of "mild" black tea, sweet red berries, and a touch of vanilla.
Weekend in Shanghai is green tea infusion of ripe red berries, "mystical blossoms", and a hint of mint.
Green tea and white tea are of the basic kinds. They do not have infusions but for some reason, they still smell so good! Very similar to the "usual" TWG smell. Mabango pala talaga ang mahal na tea.

Still, the champion tea for me is still Weekend in Venice, it must be the pineapple. It has to be the pineapple! Sakura! Sakura! comes in a near second place, while Happy Birthday Tea is also a good tea - it's black tea with a sweet taste. Weekend in Shanghai tastes a little different, I thought the ripe red berries would bring good justice but the mint balances the sweet taste.

Remember, a teaspoon for every person and another for the pot!

Both Weekend in Venice and Sakura! Sakura! are green tea with fruits and flowers. I drank flowers, amazeballs. :|

Update!! I can't believe that I just opened the 1837 Green Tea with the description from urbantea.com,
"A fragrant fantasy, this aromatic green tea blend of TWG Tea’s signature 1837 Tea is a voyage, boasting a lofty fruit and flower bouquet that leaves a delicious aftertaste of red fruits and caramel with a light touch of astringency. A delightful tea for any time of the day and perfect paired with desserts." It even has blue petals!

Green and blue. Sister said "Crayola!" :|

While the 1837 White Tea, "A twist on TWG Tea’s renowned signature tea, 1837 White is an ethereal blend of white tea with notes of fruits and flowers from the Bermuda triangle, which leaves a lingering aftertaste of wild berries and anise. A crystalline and sophisticated tea for the evening."

And Then There Were More CDs

Imagine getting a vinyl record and setting the pin on to it, listening to wonderful music singing out from your player on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Chillin' like an old person, waiting for the wind to blow the chimes in tune to the music.

Well that vinyl idea would be out for now. Since setting up and reconstructing our vinyl player (bodega alert) entails a lot of time and resources (where in the world will I get vinyl records of recent artists here in the country?), that idea is going to be parked for now. We'll get back to that later, more than sooner. So for now, we'll let the DJs violate and scratch the vinyls first while I settle with my CDs again. I really need to look for a new container for these, as they're piling up on my table.

Of Monsters and Men's "My Head Is an Animal", The xx's 2nd album "Coexist", and Ellie Goulding's "Halcyon" which is also her 2nd album. It was a good day to burn money for Amazon!

And we're listening to Gold Motel's "Safe in LA" at present. Gold Motel's lead singer is Greta - the other half of the amazing The Hush Sound. :)

5-Peat

Oh in case you missed it.

We won our 5th straight UAAP Senior Men's Basketball Championship.

2008: Bring Back the Crown
2009: Back to Black
2010: Three-peat
2011: Mary Four You
2012: One Big Five

The Ateneo community also includes Captain Picard in the celebration.