Trixie's AVP

I know, it's out of topic.

I made an AVP for my little sister who just turned 18. Trish, Happy Birthday! :)

Cosmopolitan Japanese: John and Yoko

Every now and then, both my family and friends go here to dine. Come here during a weekend night and you will surely find yourself waiting for a table. Don't get the wrong idea, it won't be a big discomfort since turnover is really fast.

The interiors live up to its name, cosmopolitan Japanese indeed. I love the effect that the colored lights bring. It made the whole place so vibrant. The inside is a little crowded though. I think there are way too much tables. But then again, this should be the case when you see how many people come here. Here is a bit of a food review.

Fried Gyoza (Php 158) - a tad too salty and a bit burned when the dish was served to our table. There is an option to have the gyoza steamed instead of fried. The sauce is really good though. This food is staple when we go to Japanese restaurants as it is my brother's favorite.

Big Star Salad (Php 278) - this salad has a very good mix of flavors. It had shrimps, mango and walnuts among many others which made the salad sweet, fruity and salty all at the same time. It's an effective burst of flavors and needless to say, ordering this is always a good idea.

Japaella (Php 378) - it is John and Yoko's version of paella. It had nice consistency though there were very few chorizos. The taste is very good. It's worth a try. A serving is good for two heavy eaters or 3-4 nibblers.

Dynamite Roll (Php 208) - this sushi has a hint of spiciness in it. It is salmon, rice and something else. It comes with an indescribable sauce to dip it into though admittedly, it tastes really good. It's my favorite.

Iced tea - I rarely order drinks in restaurants but when I go to John and Yoko, I am always enticed by the flavors of their iced teas. You can choose from 3 varieties. I can't remember which one I like but you can taste them all if you ordered one as this is bottomless. They can refill your glass with other flavors of iced tea, just let them know. I can't remember the price either but it is more or less Php 100.

I like the service here as well. Staff is very efficient. They were moving really fast and this I guess contributed to their high turnover. If you happen to be in Greenbelt, give this restaurant a shot. :)

John and Yoko
2nd Level Greenbelt 5
Legaspi St. Legaspi Village
Makati, Metro Manila
729-8698

Bangers (no pun intended)

I am always at Powerplant but it was only a few weeks ago that I heard about this. I was laughing when I heard about the name, I even chuckled a bit more when I heard what they serve. I didn't know that it was a slang used in UK for sausage (at least I learned something new).

The establishment's complete name is World Bangers Haüte Dog. It was supposed to be a place where to get comfort food from but I'm not really big on eating hotdogs. Though, admittedly, I enjoyed the experience.

Italia Quattro Formaggio Hotdog (Php 185) - I didn't find anything special about it except for the really juicy hotdog. It may also be that, again, I'm not really fond of eating hotdogs. I can tell you one thing, it sure is filling. I could barely finish the entire thing. This was one of the suggested variety of hotdogs to order so I did.

Caesar Salad - this was the side I got with my Quattro Formaggio Hotdog. It had too much dressing that the veggies got drenched out. It could have been otherwise a nice chaser in between eating hotdogs and consuming onion rings.

Onion rings (Php 98) - Two words: too oily. I was not able to eat much of it because no matter how much I pound it on tissue papers to lessen the oil, it just won't.

Spaghetti - I am quite satisfied with this. This was the side for the South Central Hotdog (Php 195) though I didn't get a bite of it. The pasta however, I managed to. It came with meat sauce. It was not great, but not bad either.

World Bangers Haüte Dog
Ground Floor, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center
Makati City, Metro Manila
897-8344

P.S. Pardon the pictures, had nothing with me but my phone. :)

Spring Awakening - Manila

I have heard about Spring Awakening when I was in New York. Limited time that I had, I won't be able to watch everything even if I wanted to (I actually wanted to, hehe). This was one of them. Again, as I said in my post about Cory the Musical, I am no expert about the theatre world except that I am just a fan.

When I heard that this musical will be running in Manila, I have nothing but excitement in me. The problem is always tagging along people to come watch with me. Most of the people in my circle are not really the theatre geek type.

Good thing I posted about Cory the Musical and a bunch of my officemates tagged along (wee!). It was a little bit more than a month prior to the show when tickets were bought. Good seats ran out fast as expected though there were several dates for this musical.

We watched the play last October 10. It was held at Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium RCBC Plaza. We were supposed to grab some snack before the show but there were only few establishments opened that time.

The musical dated back to the late 19th Century in Germany. It talked about the teenagers who became aware of life, love, and sexuality.

A few comments on the musical:

• Butt exposure. I know there was going to be some sort of nudity or at least the motion of having some sort of sexual intercourse (as the title of the musical is begging to). I did not think it would be shown in this manner. I was actually impressed by the way the actors handled this scene. If I were in the place of either one of them, I would not know how to go about doing that scene for several times during the run. It was a job well done.

• There was also the coming out of the closet for two teenage boys in the story. Their scene was a refreshing break of comedic act although of course, it gathered some gasps from the audience. It was funny for me, I am not sure for the guys I was with that time.

• I am still confused on how the musical was written in such a way that the scene was funny for the audience although the characters in the musical were actually emotionally hurt. It was quite an amazing thing for me. Is this how the Avenue Q writers described as Scadenfreude? I am not sure if that was a good thing or not.

• I was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the microphone when the actors were about to do a song. It was distracting. I wondered where (and why) in the world would those microphones appear in the middle of heavy confrontations. I am not sure if this is how they did it in Broadway or if that was some sort of a signature for the musical. If you ask me, I’d rather have the actors sing without holding a microphone.

• Since the musical is based in Germany, I had a hard time tracking who was what. I’m just really bad at names and faces. There were actors who also played two roles but thankfully, the costumes and the acting were very different that I was able to tell them apart.

• I give props to the actors because after seeing the musical, I know that it was given importance that I actually saw the effort and hard work that they exerted to make it such a musical and magical night. I especially loved the actress who portrayed Ilse in the play. She was fabulous and had an amazing voice. She was always dead on the notes and she was such a delight to watch. I didn’t catch her name though, my bad.

• The lightings were utilized very well. It determined the mood of the scene and how a certain scene is only playing in an actor’s mind versus their version of reality. I loved the pop-rock kind of music that was playing in the entire show as well. The numbers were executed beautifully.

I appreciate the fact that there are still people who are willing to gamble just to keep the theatre scene alive. Kudos to the producers! I am also excited for next year as Rent (February 2010) and CATS (July 2010) will be running in Manila. Lea Salonga will play the role of Grizabella in CATS. I just saw it in Inquirer and they are already selling tickets for the Citibank cardholders exclusively ‘til the 6th of December. Who wants to watch? :) We can get the family package (40% off). (Click on the pictures from Ticketworld below for information).



Side note: We saw KC Concepcion watched as well. It was my first time to see her. Good thing my officemate pointed her out to me. She looks the same as how she looks in TV. She moved around a lot in her seat, I noticed. She is just probably bubbly like that. I wonder if she gets enough rest as her exposure in media sure is a lot.

Because I Miss Surfing...

Oh my, I was smitten by this song. It's so nice. Watching the video makes me want to go to La Union pronto!

Getting In, Staying Where, Going Around

Ah, this will be my last post about New York City, unless I get to visit the place again.

Getting in:

The first time I did, I rode Northwest Airlines . It was my first flight out of the country... EVER. We stopped over at Narita and the airline was offering a free flight (aside from the one we took), hotel accommodation for the night and some cash if we delay our trip for a day. As usual, they were overbooked (which I think is the norm in the airline industry). I, a child and was so excited, didn’t want to do that. Dad looked at me and asked me if I wanted to give in. The trip would already overlap with my first three days of school so I decided not to.

Lo and behold, that excitement went away, rather quickly. The long ride traumatized the kid with an undiagnosed (but highly suspected) ADHD in me. The farthest I have gone traveling before that was Baguio which was less than 6 hours ride. I felt so tired after the flight, I remember entering our hotel room and just aiming for the bed. When I opened my eyes, it was the morning after.

I rode with the same airline just a year ago. I must say, the flight was pleasant though it was still painfully long (Manila-Nagoya-Detroit-JFK). None of those old jumbo 747s which was good, everything felt clean and new. Don’t ask me about plane food though because all of them are the same to me = not food. I often just eat the roll with unsalted butter. I managed to survive it though because I just slept the entire time.

I took Virgin America not too long ago. The rate was rather cheap, I might say. It was just a little bit over $300 LAX-JFK-LAX. I flew alone. It took me about 6 hours or so. I booked everything online before leaving Manila. I printed everything, and was amazed as it was the first time I was able to choose my own seat in the plane through the internet. There was an outline of the inside of the plane and you can select your preferred seat. You’ll have to pay extra though if you want to get the seat on the exit rows.

I was amazed at how hi-tech their plane was. I would say they are targeting the youth to be flying with them. The lighting inside the plane changed from light pink to dark blue. It was like the atmosphere of a modern Japanese restaurant. However, it was still a no-frills flight, so food was not included in the fare and must be bought in case you get hungry. To do that, you have to select food from your own monitor and just swipe your credit card. The stewardess will bring your food to your seat. If by any chance, you are separated from your company in a flight, don’t fret. You can chat with whoever is inside that flight through the monitor and the joystick provided. Cool huh?

To add to that, the plane is equipped with up-to-date movies and very modern selections of music. They also have an outlet for each seat where you can plug-in your electronics. They have a LAN and USB port per reclining leather seat. That my friend is entertainment at its best.

Long ride it was, indeed. I got to tinker with all the features in less than thirty minutes and went on to doing what I always do in planes, sleep. :)


Where to stay:

Okay, I haven’t stayed at any hostels anywhere so I am not going to pretend I know anything about it. But as I often hear that they are the best ones to go for as they tend to be really cheaper than staying in hotels. I might want to do that when I go backpacking in Europe (someday! =P).

I understand how staying in Manhattan can be so expensive. This I tell you, I haven’t seen a decent hotel to stay in for under $100 a night. If you have relatives living nearby, take advantage of it. Doesn’t matter how far it is from Manhattan, so as long as you are near a subway station, you are just going to be fine.

If that does not work, then hotels are what you are left with. I have stayed in Skyline Hotel before though I can’t remember any subway station near the area (It was more than ten years ago). I visited their website and the nearest one is two blocks away (10th Avenue to 8th Avenue). This is not very convenient unless you want a morning walk as blocks between avenues tend to give you quite a long walk. Also, the rooms are pretty pricey if you ask me. Check them out here.

A year ago, I stayed at Day’s Inn on 94th and Broadway. This was pretty convenient. The hotel is located at the Upper West Side and a subway station is just right across. There are some shops and eateries beside the hotel so it is really convenient. We paid around $170 for a room with one king-size bed. It was roomy enough for three tiny persons with huge luggages.

We booked a tour to explore more of the East USA so we were in NYC for four days, went around the East for eight, went back and stayed in NYC for four more days. This time, we checked in at Hotel 91. It was right at Chinatown. It actually is still convenient though the subway station was not one of the main ones. F train stops there, if I remember it right, but it gets pretty scary at night. We booked a room with 2 queen-size beds, however, there was miscommunication between the hotel and from where we booked so we ended up with 2 rooms with one full-size bed each. Not bad at all.

The staff are very friendly and accommodating. The room was modern. It came with yellow lightings, a tiny study and a small flat screen TV. If you’re staying alone, it actually is a good place... except for the noise. I used to catch a glimpse of trailers of Home Along the Riles when I was younger and staying in this hotel made me remember all about that. I can hear the subway trains come and go every two minutes. No kidding. If you are the type who cannot sleep very deeply, I advise you not to stay here. You won’t be able to have a quiet time. Other than that, it’s a good enough place to stay, especially at $130 a night.


Going around:

I have no other suggestions but to take the SUBWAY. It is the most amazing thing about this city.

It’s cheap, it’s fast and it’s very convenient. Of course, it is far from perfect. The tracks are filthy, the trains are old and people sometimes are slightly intimidating. Just be aware of your surroundings. I have ridden the train past midnight and I survived.

At times that the weather is really cold, it has become my sanctuary. Seriously. I gave out a sigh of relief once I was at the bottom of a flight of stairs and no longer feel the cold that NYC sometimes gives. I also love observing people taking the subway. The city indeed is a melting pot. Remember not to stare too much though, it might get you into trouble.

The crazy map (found here) may be daunting for the first timers but you will get the hang of it. Remember to bring a map with you at all times. Take note of the train that you are suppose to take as well as the first and last stop of that train line as that will determine which train you are supposed to ride and which direction to take. Have a companion to guide you for your first few tries and then manage from there. Reminder though, be alert. The trains have the tendency to change stops and directions especially during weekends so make sure to listen. If you do not know what else to do, it sure pays to ask questions to the people around you. I once ended up in Brooklyn without realizing it until the train was no longer underground and actually crossed the river.

The rates for the unlimited pass for a week increased from $25 to $27 now. I always get this if I am spending more than four days in the city. They have a day, week, 14-day, and a month pass. See the rates here.

I hope you get to enjoy New York City as much as I did and I hope you get to love it as much as I do. The city is so alive that I never run out of things to do and anticipate the next time I come back. I hope it will be soon though. I’m leaving you with a song that I love. It might be quite dark but it reminds me of those early mornings I spent in the city when it was rainy and all I wanted was to have a cup of hot chocolate as I sit down and stare at the nothingness outside the window.

Wake Up in New York