Sausage + Sandwich = Earle's Delicatessen

Every time I pass by The Columns, I want to just stop and try to check out Earle's. Then I discovered that there's a branch in Greenbelt 1. I scheduled a quick lunch as I recently can't predict my free time . Anyway, there were a bunch of choices for sausages and sandwiches. You can also opt to make your own sandwich and choose the meet and cheese that you would want to eat.

We ordered the ones from their menu.

Smoked Chicken Ham with Canadian Bacon (P128) - the sandwich is composed with a lot of things (lettuce, chicken, ham, bacon, tomato, mushroom, cheese) and are quite tasty when combined. The cheesiness of the sandwich is quite evident as well.

Bavarian Cheese Smokies Sandwich (P93) - this was a really delicious sausage especially for its price. It was served hot which I think enhanced the taste of the sandwich even more. I put mustard on my sandwich sometimes, and even if I did here, I was still able to taste the cheesiness and the meatiness of the sausage. It was a good thing to have for lunch.

Service was fast and people were friendly. The crowd was the usual young professionals of Makati. I'll try the other sandwiches next time around.

Earle's Delicatessen
G/f Greenbelt 1 Legazpi St.
Makati City

New World Hotel's M2M

New World Hotel's buffet offering is called M2M (Morning to Midnight). At first I thought the buffet will be up to midnight (I derived my assumption from the name). Their last call was at 10:30pm but you can still order à la carte until midnight. Guess what time we were there for dinner? 9:10pm! We barely had an hour to munch a wide array of food.

The buffet, as expected, was composed of several international dishes. My favorite? U.S. Angus Rib-Eye Steak. Really delish! I ate a lot of it. Haha. I sampled their selection of sashimi as well. The pata-tim was really good too. There was a sausage that came with my steak (don't ask me how, I have no idea) but it was delicious as well. They also have a salad bar, different kinds of breads, several kebabs and desserts (if you're chocoholic like me, you'll indulge for sure).

There is this table that I really like because it's as if having your own little room. The problem with it though is when a person wants to get something from the buffet table, everyone has to scooch back out.

Come dessert, I was really drooling over all the chocolates that my eyes have seen. I also have them make me a crepe. I ate their crème brûlée as well. Everything was great. We were served coffee after (their cappuccino, which I had, was huge and fine as is, no need to add milk or sugar). I loved it.

Ambiance was really cozy, especially just after the Christmas season, and we came in quite late for dinner, there weren't much customers dining. For a little over P1,500 per person (around $33), I say the dining experience was well worth it.

We stayed at their bar called Cinnabar after for some drinks. It's a nice place for hanging-out. I think the drinks were 50% off that time we were there (around 12mn-2am). The bar is open 24 hours by the way.

M2M
New World Hotel
Esperanza St. corner Makati Avenue,
Makati City, Philippines

811 6888

P.S. Pardon the quality of the pictures, I used my point and shoot for this (do you think I should get a G11/S90/Lumix already? =P)

In Daylights, In Sunsets, In Midnights, In Cups of Coffee...

So, I am quite curious, how do people really measure a year?

Me, I try to enjoy life as it goes and make every day count, at the same time, keeping in mind the direction that I want to take and getting to that place I want to be, one small step at a time. Weak memory that I have, I try to make sure that at the end of the day, I remember and see that I have lived a good and exciting life.

Rent is the first musical I watched which I've seen the movie of before. Seeing it on stage is a different experience altogether but whether it be in theatre or on screen, the message of living in the now, at the same time being socially aware still hold.

I know Rent was shown before (2, 3 years ago?!) here in Manila though I was not able to watch it. I was not really disappointed by that since I thought I will see it on Broadway instead. Lo and behold, the show ended its run in NYC (September 2008, if I'm not mistaken), and I watched Hairspray instead of Rent (because affordable tickets of Rent ran out fast) when I was there May of 2008.

Imagine my excitement last year when I heard that they are going to conduct a series of run here in Manila. I was so excited tickets were bought November of last year. I've read some reviews that Rent, this time around, isn't as good as it was back then. I refused to get affected by it because (a.) I cannot turn back time (to watch and compare) and (b.) I just want to enjoy the show.

The really good parts:

• Angel's "Today 4 U". It was an awesome performance to see on stage. I remember being impressed when I watched the movie but I loved seeing the stunts and the drum beating live. It was fun watching the character hopping from the stage on to a table. That was great.
• Maureen's stand-up comedic act. It required audience participation. It was really hilarious for me because she was doing the song "Over the Moon" over and over and over again. I was left laughing while the entire audience moved on (haha!).
• "La Vie Bohème" number where the entire cast froze (like the scene from The Last Supper). Perfect timing, perfect blocking. It didn't hurt that I love that song too. Bravo.
• Phone call scenes in general. They were really funny.

I loved it. The actors were awesome. Carla Guevara (Maureen) in particular gave a really good performance. Her on-stage presence was really something. Jenny Villegas (Joanne) reminded me of Karen Walker (character from Will & Grace played by Megan Mullally), must've been the hair. I loved her character though I liked the "Tango Maureen" number in the movie better (I can't pinpoint why). Despite that, she gave out a really good performance. I love her. Ring Antonio's talent was not to be dismissed. She sang incredibly well. Everyone was left clapping after her solo in "Seasons of Love". My favourite was Job Bautista (Angel). He played a really great role and he executed it impeccably. His stunts were very entertaining though he seemed like he was losing his voice a bit. Nevertheless, he was able to sing well.

The production was very modest. Not so much movements in terms of props. I have to give it to them because they were able to creatively utilize the use of the tables on stage. They were used a lot. There were few technical glitches but nothing too major nor too noticeable.

I'm so glad I was able to watch this time around. Rent has always left me with a feeling that there are a lot of things to be changed and issues to be addressed, especially the direction of the youth and to continue to live in the moment. I like it because even if the play is set in NYC, it is very applicable in our own country. When it comes to issues about education, poverty and health, we are the same. Also, when I left Carlos P. Romulo auditorium, "Seasons of Love" was playing in my head... well, that part was expected.

My congratulations goes to 9Works Theatrical, the whole cast, the band, and to the director Robbie Guevara for a job well done. 9Works Theatrical will be staging The Wedding Singer in October, so that's something to look forward to. Also, rumours are going around that Wicked is next. Well, let's keep our fingers crossed for that.

"Forget regret or life is yours to miss. No other road, no other way, no day but today!"

P.S. I love how the announcement of time left before the show starts was done. It was really cute.

Hearts Day and Year of the Tiger

I know I haven't been posting as much as I would want to, that's about to change in a few days as another project ends (though I hope something begins again). Anyhow, just making a quick post just to greet you all a Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Chinese New Year!!! :)

Be back soon. Here's just a little something that brightened up my day last month. Sharing it with you guys just because it's a bit thematic. LOL :)

Also these flowers which were a really good surprise. I know how much of a big deal these were coz the guy never gave flowers to anyone before. :P Thanks!