La Mesa Grill

A few weeks back, a friend brought Crispchon to the house which she got from La Mesa Grill in Trinoma, North Edsa. Although the lechon skin was no longer too crispy, it was good enough for me to want more. The downside of that take-out was that the restaurant gave too few pandan-flavored(colored?) wraps, but it gave several different dips, cucumber, leeks and kutchay leaves. And the lechon was sliced to bite-sized pieces.

Last night, wanting to have more of the treat, my husband and I proceeded to Trinoma. By then it was almost 9 pm, but we were determined.

La Mesa Grill can be reached from the first floor parking lot via an escalator. From the second floor parking lot, it can be accessed by going through the mall's corridors, a bit of a long travel, and then going out to the open air where there are several restaurants to choose from: Bacolod Chicken Inasal, Super Bowl and a few others.

La Mesa Grill offers two options in terms of dining locations: outdoors or indoors. It is reminiscent of Barrio Fiesta or any other Filipino-themed restaurant in that it isn't pretentious in terms of decor. The walls are lined with continuous benches with backs, facing individual, uncushioned chairs. The ceilings have bamboo-like light fixtures suspended from beams. If one isn't too particular about five-star surroundings, it's okay. It's clean and the service is good.

As there were just the two of us, my husband and I ordered the 1/6 portion of the crispchon, crispy catfish salad, bangus belly in a sweetish sauce and seafood rice. Everything tasted very good and the portions were sufficient. We could have done away with the bangus belly as the crispchon, catfish salad and rice were more than enough.

Our waiter decided on the sauces for our crispchon and we're glad we relied on him for the choices: garlic (possibly garlic in yogurt or sour cream), hoisin (like the ones served with Peking duck two ways in Chinese restaurants) and liver (like for ordinary lechons).

As the waiter prepared our crispchon himself, everyone turned to look. The slab of pork was laid on a wooden board, the skin sliced off with some meat before being sliced further into smaller pieces. He then rolled the wraps around the slices accompanied with cucumber and leeks. We told him not to bother about the kutchay. As he didn't really extract all the pork from the bones, we had take-home leftover lechon which we'll be having for lunch later, complete with the sauces. I don't think he sent wraps though, a pity.

All in all, the waiter rolled 10 to 12 crispchon wraps and they were more than enough for my husband and me but we finished them. The dish could have been shared by three people, actually. And note that when you order crispchon, you're asked what part of the lechon you prefer. I think we ordered the head part because that's what came with a lot of skin per our waiter. the other choices were the belly and I forgot what. These ones would have more meat. As I mentioned earlier, the waiters are very cordial, especially the one who wrapped our crispchon. His name was Brian and he's a provincemate. He hails from La Carlota and has waited on tables in various restaurants: Gerry's Grill or Dencio's, Bacolod CHicken Inasal and now, La Mesa Grill. what an odd coincidence - they're all Filipino-themed. I asked if he also cooked but he sadly said he didn't. A pity really in that many chefs started out as food servers. I encouraged him to observe the cooks and he also thought he should.

As we were leaving the restaurant, he saw us and rushed to open the doors. For sure we will be back, but much earlier so we can tell for sure whether then the restaurant won't challenge our vocal cords. The noise quotient was just so high -- the crowd consisted mostly of people from the office and there was music with vocals piped in.

TEXTBOOKS

There are textbooks and there are textbooks but one which I highly recommend for grammar, especially elementary grammar is the series Voyages in English. In the Philippines, reprints are available at the Bookmark office in Makati only, as it's Bookmark that publishes the said series. Though I never used it as student, I became familiar with the book when a tutee of mine from an exclusive girls' school brought it to the house. I was amazed that it still existed as I had seen similar books in the house when I was much younger. My older sisters were "raised" on the series.

The book contains not only grammar lessons but a few poems and an occasional script. There are very short stories as well that somehow or other present values without their appearing as "hard sell". The series was first issued by the Loyola Education Group and is therefore Catholic in orientation. A blurb on the series from their website reads:

Writing & Grammar Grades 1-8

The revised 2006 edition of Voyages in English for grades 1-8 continues the 60-year history of teaching students the fundamentals of writing and grammar in a logical, coherent fashion, reinstating the strength and rigor of the original program. Recognizing and responding to teachers' talents and time restraints, this new edition provides exceptional teacher support in a flexible format that makes it easy to assess and plan lessons according to students' needs.


The books contain lots of exercises per topic and have an index—features I want to point out to show my frustration with Filipino-published books which, more often than not, are devoid of indices or have very inadequate ones.

MEDIA BLUNDERS

This morning I saw on TV a plug for today's Sis episode. It was read aloud as it appeared on the screen thus: "Mother's knows best!" My gosh.

Several months back, I also caught a blunder on the news on TV where the first name given for a public figure was not correct. That time I called the TV station but I was no longer able to follow up to determine whether they corrected the error.

I also pointed out to Howie Severino how a media personality would always introduce himself as "Ako naman si ****" even if he spoke first. The word naman implies being next to someone/speaking after someone thus. Howie said I was very perceptive to have noticed that, which made me hope that the media personality would change his self-introduction, but no, he's still at it.

Still another oft-repeated blunder is "And now, here's Joey and Vic." The correct expression there would be "Here are Joey and Vic", but I guess, "here's" is preferred as it's monosyllabic? duhh.

Yet another media blunder goes something like: "Mia wants Mr. Frank Cruz to see her exhibit. He is his father." People mistakenly use the gender of the pronoun following rather than the gender of the antecedent. The correct expression should read, "He is her father." I pointed out this perpetual blunder to a broadsheet, but it recurs every so often.

Oh well, tao lang, except that these errors are so elementary.

The Google Story by David A. Vise

A few months ago, I bought The Google Story but it wasn't until a few days ago that I began to read it. The story of LarrySergy is fascinating, to say the least. And how Stanford University is presented -- wow! While there is not a chance I'll get into that school, based on what I've read, I'd heartily recommend it to anyone who is creative, has a lot of drive, is brilliant.

The book is generally easy reading and hard to put down. It reveals the story behind Google which anyone who has Internet access has clicked on at one time or another and taken for granted. It writes of the brains, heart and soul behind the search engine's success.

Green Jokes

I find green jokes offensive. Not even for the sake of being "in" will I pretend to enjoy them. I'll take any name-calling directed my way for that stance with a smile, but join the fray? Never.

Years back, I was tutoring this Grade Six boy who made a big deal of how tightly clothed his female teacher was. He described her in great detail and refused to stop even when I told him to. I was so disgusted and was not concealing how I felt, still he persisted. The next time he did this, I told him "that's it. I refuse to tutor you any longer. Just tell your mom what happened." He was teary eyed, but I didn't flinch.

This afternoon, a boy told me of a green joke a teacher in school told his brother's class. When I saw the teacher, I expressed my dismay about what I learned. The butt of green jokes are usually the female populace, and the joke he told was no different. while I'm no feminist, I take offense at sick jokes, regardless of their object of derision.

Why do people crack green jokes? There are so many jokes one can share that can elicit laughter, guffaws even, etc. without their having to be green. Men are men, one might reason. But when they crack green jokes about women, does it mean they have forgotten that their mothers and sisters are female? Maybe they don't like their wives, but for heaven's sake, what about their mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts?

It saddens me when I learn someone I know is no different in this regard. It doesn't amuse me at all. It's not cute. It's sick... and sickening.

The Downside of Remote-Controlled Apparatus

Being disabled, I am grateful for remote-controlled apparatus. But do they have downsides as well?

Years back, I bought a Philips electric fan that had a remote control. A year or so later, the remote control went kaput. That was traumatic so I opted to avoid buying another until I saw one made by Kolin. Same story, before long it was kaput. But at least, both fans continued to work even if their remote control features were history.

Even farther back than the time I got the two electric fans, I bought a National (now Panasonic) aircon unit with a remote control. It was working well until two days ago. I had pressed the off button of the remote control but I could still hear the aircon humming along. I asked my husband to turn the aircon off manually but still we could hear the motor running. Wishing to save on power costs, I asked my husband to pull off the plug.

Though yesterday was a holiday, I was pleased to hear the service center take my call. I was happier still when they sent their men to check the unit. There was nothing wrong with our aircon, the men said. Problem was with the remote control. Yippee, I thought, it won't cost so much to have it repaired then. I was out in the sala while the men were in our bedroom.

After they left, I entered the bedroom. Aircon was on but the room wasn't cold, not even cool. My husband said the men couldn't fix the settings beyond Automatic, 18. I thought automatic meant it would cool at some point but it never did. The aircon was on for hours but there was no cool air forthcoming. I asked my husband to turn the unit off and bring in the fans. My optimism refused to get the better of my not getting cold/cool air but paying Meralco for the power running the aircon which wouldn't cool.

So now it's one open window and two electric fans in the room. I pray God will spare us from respiratory ailments from the lack of aircon coolness. So far, so good. God has been kind.

Meantime, I called the service center. The lady referred to as Ma'am Rio said she'd call me regarding feedback on my remote control. I called a second time, she no longer took my call but the girl who answered me said Ma'am Rio would call me up. She didn't.

Time to complain to the dailies?


Moral of the story: if one has to buy a remote-controlled apparatus, make sure it has a manual feature as well. Will make sure the next time I do, otherwise, I'll simply get the manually operated model. arrghhhhhh

GOODSPHERE

Sinusitis used to be a perpetually recurring malaise for me and I was resigned to live with it forever. Then I discovered Goodsphere. (Please take note that I'm not a paid hack of the product but it really works.) Initially I was attracted to it because of its visual appeal. Essentially, it's a glass bowl with a blue, green or white cover. It sits atop a white LED plate that colored the water in the bowl. At the time the color was either blue, green or red orange. The scents were good. So, over a year ago, I bought our first set which came with 10 bottles of differently scented oils: lemon, tioman, citromint, lavender, etc. I've been using it since to clean the air in the bedroom. Sometimes, when I suddenly sense my nose is stuffy, I glance my Goodsphere's way and see that it hasn't been turned on. When I told this to my friend she said "maybe, it has a drug?" I don't think so. What I'm sure of is that it clears my nasal passages and makes breathing easier without any oral decongestant having to be ingested. My asthma attacks haven't been as severe either, thanks to Goodsphere, I think.

The set we bought cost P4999 for the bowl and the sampler set, the LED plate cost an additional P1800. We didn't know it then but yesterday we asked and it's good for a 50-square meter area. Yesterday, we saw a smaller model for a 35-square meter area and it cost P3000. This time the LED plate changes colors perpetually unless a knob is activated to leave it stationary. The colors range from dark blue to dark pink to violet to yellow, orange, red, light blue, dark blue and so on. They're fascinating to look at. This smaller set we bought came with a sampler set of 3 different scents. While the bigger model can stay on 24 hours a day, the smaller version is good for only 8 hours per day according to the salesman, but 12 hours according to the brochure. The downside of this product is the expensive scented oil. A big bottle costs from P1200 for P1500, which is the cost of the Eucalyptus scent. I asked why it was more expensive and the salesman said it was more strongly scented. To save on the oil, we don't follow the instruction of putting in a cupful each time. We also don't change the water daily but only when the level goes down to the minimum. For more details on the product, check out the following link: http://goodsphere.co.uk. We bought our two sets in True Value, Shangrila.

People Watching in Power Plant on a Sunday

The following blog might sound like name-dropping time, but honestly, we saw all the people that I'll mention today.

First off we saw Jestoni Alarcon and family in the food court level. Next we saw Richard Gomez and his best friend who always portrays a goon in Richard's TV shows. They were doing the groceries or at least they were in Rustan's Fresh. After we did the groceries, we proceeded to the food court again and lo and behold, there eating in Zaifu were Richard and Lucy, Robert Ortega and the goonish-looking friend. While we were eating who should pass but Gloria Diaz and her boyfriend Mike de Jesus? And so did Norberto Gonzalez and his wife. This is the second time we see them in Power Plant and I mention it only because I'm amazed that he never has bodyguards with him considering that he's the National Security Adviser or something. Years back whenever we'd see Aniano Desierto in the malls, he'd have four or five men with him at the very least. We also saw Vince Carlos, a Secretary of something in government years back.

Re Lucy, she was beautiful as usual but she was wearing a shirt that was cut quite low in front, so it was a bit revealing. Just made me wonder if she wasn't conscious of the fact that right across her sat a male friend of her husband's. Years back she seemed so shy, conservative and MAry-like. But I guess, when in showbiz, it's a matter of: if you can't beat them, join them. Oh well...

YouTube videos to watch

1. http://youtube.com/watch?v=0bK63uSTTNs - Japanese tetris game using humans
2. http://youtube.com/results?search_query=Michael+Fajatin&search=Search - Michael Fajatin boob tube booboo
3.http://youtube.com/watch?v=rEVutss9Kos - a "math whiz" drunkard = really funny
4. http://youtube.com/watch?v=6N3sqF7BOXM - and other talibong videos. Non-ilonggos may not appreciate it, but some manage
5. http://youtube.com/watch?v=60og9gwKh1o - i enjoyed this very much and would try to follow the hand movements for exercise

Our Neighbor

Good fences make good neighbors.

I cannot now remember where that quotation came from, but I think it's something I picked up in high school. Our neighbor is okay but I've had some negative experiences with them. A concrete wall separates us from them so I don't know about the saying...
or am I taking it too literally?

(1) Our dog was playing with his food dish. Our neighbor (the man) called to say to stop the dog from making the racket as he was trying to sleep.

(2) Our mango tree was growing tall. The woman said to cut it as the ants were going to their place.

(3) They needed a ladder, they borrowed from us. They needed a coconut grater, they borrowed from us. Their house is a lot bigger, so they should be better equipped. Anyway...

(4) when their phone was out of order once, their house guests came over to use ours and we were still in bed then.

(5) They have a water pump for the flood, we do too. They turned on theirs, we turned on ours. Shortly after we did, they turned off theirs. Opportunistic, no? because when ours is on, it drains their water too as we share a drainage which crosses our grounds. Our house is behind theirs.

Oratio Imperata Ad Petendam Pluviam

Weeks ago, after the weather bureau announced a drought, Cardinal Rosales came up with a prayer he pleaded the parishes of the Archdiocese of Manila to pray. I could never catch the exact name of the prayer he was speaking about and neither could my latest old phone pal. We laughed about that weakness on our part. It's Oratio Imperata Ad Petendam Pluviam.

Last night, when Tina M. Palma and Vicky Morales broadcast that the Cardinal had asked the parishoners to stop praying the said prayer, they had smiles on their faces, obvious signs that the request amused them. And so it does my old friend and me. the prayers did not only yield rains but two typhoons and floods! How's that for prayers' being answered?

Now the Cardinal is saying we should pray for the "protection of the environment from floods and landslides" which are occasional impacts of floods and typhoons. Wonder how God will answer the people's prayers this time. I, for one, hope the floods will leave our premises. They are annoying to say the least, so I pray they go away. Doing so reminds me to pray for the others to be spared of the ill effects of too much rain and super typhoons.

Old Friends

When I say "old friends" I don't mean friends of long-standing, but friends much older than I. I guess it's because after losing mama almost 30 years ago, I've always longed for a surrogate mother. Two of my old friends have since passed away: one was the mom of a former good friend, the other a blood relation. We'd occasionally call each other to ask about something or other, or simply to talk. The mom of the former good friend once confided to me that she slid in the bathroom but asked me to promise I wouldn't tell her daughter. I gave her my promise after she reassured me she was all right. My aunt, why, we talked about annoying relatives or anything that mattered, like problems, politics, anything. But like I said earlier, they have died.

Now the two old friends I have are the wife of a teacher and the mom of another good friend. The latter I get to talk with when she answers my calls to her daughter, but these are rare occasions. When I send her something, she always calls to say thank you. The wife of the teacher, we're phone pals. She says "we're on the same wavelength" which is often true. Our friendship began when as head of the parents group of the organization her husband headed, I'd always invite her when the group had a special lunch. It came to a point that she'd call me up sometimes, or I, she. Months back, when I had an issue with the school, she was very sympathetic and understood where I was coming from. Though my son is no longer directly connected with the organization, our friendship has continued. Like me, she's at home alone a lot, so I guess she's lonely. This morning, she was so amused when I told her how we made paper boats over ten years ago when the garage was flooded and had them sail away for my son to enjoy. Why did I even bring it up? A few days ago, our garage was flooded and that leads to my next blog.

Special sales clerks

Offhand, I can remember a few names. They offer really great service.

1. Marlon of Rustan's Katipunan before it became Shopwise. Though still referred to as Rustan's its owners are no longer the same so most of the old hands are no longer there. I forget now where Marlon is, but he was a superb worker. Always cheerful and polite, competent, going the extra mile to help you locate/procure what you need.

2. Tess, also of Rustan's now Shopwise/Rustan's. She was a cashier on occasion, in customer service more often than not. She's now in Shoppersville Katipunan, good for Carmen to have hired her. Lucky for them. Maritess in Rustan's was an intelligent employee. Before I'd send the maid to buy something not necessarily familiar to her, I'd call Maritess to prepare it so the maid could just get it from her. She always complied and was never unpleasant.

3. Dory of National Bookstore Shangrila. She was one resourceful and industrious lady, always smiling and capable. Years later when I no longer saw her, I asked where she'd gone. Some work-related problems, I was told. I didn't want to believe it.

4. Myra of National Bookstore Katipunan, now in the Clark branch. We became acquainted over the phone. I never even saw her. Our "relationship" began after Lady Diane died. I'd always call her if there were magazines I needed, featuring the dead princess. later, I'd ask for books which she'd find for me in other branches. Before she left Katipunan, she told me she'd endorse me to her replacement, but I can't remember the latter's name. National Katipunan is not as friendly as it was when Myra was around. She also "introduced" me to her boardmate who's in National Shangrila. I seldom see the lady there and I cannot always remember her name, but she's okay too.

5. Alice of National Bookstore, Shangrila. The store is lucky to have her. Very willing and able to help all the time. She's with Customer Service.

6. Susan of Mercury Drugstore, Shangrila. She was very accommodating and helpful. She has transferred branches and I no longer know where she is.

7. Angie of Analog Soul in Power Plant. My son was buying t-shirts when she said, "I'll give you a discount because you're always here." Very nice gesture and one that will ensure our continued patronage.

Crustasia, Power Plant

We like Crustasia, or maybe change that verb to the past tense to read, "We liked Crustasia", all branches, until last week when very hungry, my husband and I proceeded to their branch in Power Plant, straight from the car. We asked for suggestions from the lady who attended to us and she said "Shrimp pancakes" for appetizer. I asked if she could place the order ahead as I was really hungry. She left us to go to the kitchen.

In the meantime, she gave us the julienne cut singkamas and carrots stuck in a bowl of ice, with three sauces to choose from: hoisin, plum and I don't know what. The plum sauce reminds me of dikiam or something. Anyway, we read the menu to choose other entrees. I can't now remember what they were but suffice it to say that after a while, the waitress came back to say they were out of shrimp pancakes. Groan. SO I asked, what do you have, one you're sure is available. She recommended stuffed tofu. I said, fine. Then, after a while, a waiter this time came to approach us. He said they had tofu but not the stuffing for it. I think prior to this I also chose another entree which they said they didn't have. At any rate, I accepted the waiter's apology and proceeded to look at the menu again. Then the waitress came back. So I asked her, what can you get us that you're sure you have? Earlier you said you had the tofu and so we ordered, only to be told that you didn't have the stuffing. I guess this girl wasn't the type to enjoy explaining things so she said, "I'll call the manager." The manager said, "Ma'am may nahanap kaming stuffing." "Nahanap?" I was incredulous. Where, pray tell, did they find the stuffing? Buried under so many kilos of meat? In the deep recesses of the freezer? So how old was this? I name dropped and said I knew the mother of the owner (actually it's my sister who does but we were introduced once). Then she said, "Ma'am ilonggo ka?" I wanted to say, "So what?" but instead, I just said yes. Then I told her, I'm sorry but we cannot eat here. We left.

Incidentally, the manager said they had so many customers the previous night that they ran out of supplies. That's poor inventory control. Years back, that happened to an Aristocrat branch we patronized. We chose two or three entrees and all were unavailable. A few months later, the branch closed.

I guess I'll just have to eat in Crustasia Podium or nevermore.

Caveat emptor

Yesterday, at Mobile 1 in Podium, we were checking out their stuff when we chanced upon a laptop cushion of sorts. Brand was Belkin, material microfiber. Though my husband was skeptical about getting it because laptops aren't supposed to be put on top of pillows as they might overheat, my son and I thought that as it was Belkin and Belkin makes techno stuff, it would be worth buying. On the product was an orange tag which said "1576" and underneath it was another orange tag. We told the sales clerk we would get it.

Lo and behold when I was signing the credit card slip, I saw P2800. I was aghast. I pointed to the 1576 tags on it, pulled out the thing and the other tag showed 1576 as well. The girl said it was the product code. I looked around at the other products in the store and they bore orange tags which the girl said were price tags.

To make a long story short, I told her I didn't want to buy the product any longer so she voided the sale.

Moral of the story: always check credit card slips before signing them. At P2800, the lap cushion was a tad too pricey.

Malu Veloso

Yesterday, after having lunch at terry's, at B1 of Podium, we hied off to Malu Veloso's atelier with a mission. I had promised to ask how much a baptismal dress cost for a friend's niece. When we entered there was no one in sight, so I said, "knock, knock" and her old assistant came out. She remembered my name and said it aloud. Malu came out.

As usual she was very gracious and told us (my husband, son and me) more than the prices of baptismal clothes which were as follows: P5500 for organza, P6000 for jusi and P7500 for pina. (I only saw the organza and jusi versions but I prefer the organza's design: puff sleeves, empire cut with a ribbon where the cut is. Very sweet and feminine. the jusi's design was more straightforward. It was round-necked with embroidery. It looked okay but wasn't sweet-looking enough for me.) We talked about dresses of wedding sponsors (she said a brown-gold combination is yucky, and so is satin). She suggested that as I am in a wheelchair, if I become a wedding sponsor, I should be in a blouse and skirt. Malu had some gowns on display and most were tastefully done. Beading was spare and elegant (less is more), not at all overpowering except for one gown. It was violet and heavily beaded. It wasn't very Malu so I have this sneaking suspicion that it was the customer who specifically asked for such.

Our conversation veered to food and she confessed that before she went into making gowns, she used to bake cakes. She and her mom were a tandem: her mom made the gowns and offered Malu's wedding cakes to her customers. Malu showed me albums with her mom's pictures and works. She also showed me an album containing pictures of her latest venture: The Garden Room in 2650 Zamora Street Pasay City, with telephone numbers 8318407 or 6315054, 09176008886. Email address is bootsieveloso@yahoo.com. The place was the house she grew up in, made by her father ___ Antonio, National Artist for Modern Architecture. Lovely pictures of a lovely house and garden. The restaurant, though, is not for walk-in clients. One has to make reservations to eat there. The maximum it can accommodate is 40 people and the menus are set as follows:

Menu 1 @ 700 per person: mustard chicken, seafood pasta, melanzane (an eggplant dish), baked sole with capers. Menu 2 @ 700 per person: roast chicken, pasta with balck olives, anchovies and mushrooms; melanzane, baked sole with whole tomatoes. Menu 3 @700 per person: roast rosemary chicken, putanesca, melanzane, baked sole with whole tomatoes. Menu 4 @ 800 per person: tenderloin, chorizo pasta, mustard chicken, baked sole with capers. Menu 5 @ 900 per person: roast leg of lamb pasta with pesto sauce, roast chicken, baked sole with whole tomatoes.

All menus come with fresh fruit juice, fresh green salad with caesar salad and oil and garlic dressing and assorted dessert tarts.

She is very proud of the garden so if customers ask to reserve for dinner, she suggests they come at 5:30 so they can see and appreciate it. For huge groups, she suggests they come in vans so parking won't be a problem.

Wonder if we'll ever get to try it out. quite a distance from the house. We'll see.

She did it again

This morning I asked the maid to have a map drawn on long-sized bond paper photocopied. I gave her two pesos thinking it would cost more than a peso for one copy. She came back with two copies, no change. What if I had given her 20 pesos? I dread the thought.