CENTRAL PERK AT SINGAPORE!

I am one of the biggest fans of the TV Series "Friends", so I was totally stoked to find out that I would be visiting Central Perk in Singapore, just in time for Friends' 25th Anniversary! I had so much fun taking pics at Central Perk, Monica's Apartment, Chandler and Joey's place, and so much more!

MY DAD, A KITE, AND THE ISLANDS BANCA CRUISE

      One of the perks of living in Cebu when I was a kid was the beach. Because of my family's business, we were fortunate enough to be able to go to the beach as easily as people in Manila decide to go to Mega Mall.. almost to the point of me getting sick of it when I was a kid. Sure it was fun at first, but like everything in life, (and especially when you're a kid) when something becomes a weekly routine, it gets tiresome.


      One morning, I had just gotten out of bed, my dad told me to get ready because we were going to the beach. I rolled my eyes and said I didn't want to go. My dad, you see, is a lover of anything to do with the seas, so he was a little bit shocked. He said, "Come on, we're going to go island hopping on a pump boat." Being the brat that I was, I found it funny he thought that would entice me, considering that's exactly what we would always do when we go to the beach. I said I wasn't feeling well. Then he said, "Do you know how to fly a kite? The wind looks nice out. I could teach you." Being a punk 13 year that was trying to reach the highest level of Castlevania on my Nintendo Family computer, I found his offer to fly a kite laughable. I said a simple, "No Thanks". He then looked at me and said, "Richie, believe me, one day you're going to miss the beach and going island hopping." Finally I just annoyingly said, "I have a lot of homework to do, Dad." 


     He didn't look to happy, but he obviously got the message. I know he told my mom what I said because before they left, my mom said, "I'm going to check your homework when I get back so it better be done". 


     So I got out of having to go to the beach that weekend, which for some reason I took as a form of punishment, and instead spent the day on a whole lot of video games and a little homework. 
    
     Cut to: Twenty years later. 
     


    When Rina told me that her sister, Chaikka, and her Boyfriend Don wanted to the beach for Holy Week, there was only one place I could suggest.. Cebu. I needed to get out of the concrete jungle that is Makati so we booked the flights without hesitation, and luckily enough, my friends Ted and Karen were able to join us as well! 


   Given all my years living in Cebu, my group looked at me as "The Host", so naturally I was in charge of fixing the itinerary. I could easily book a pump boat for island hopping, but I wanted to give my friends an experience that they couldn't get just anywhere.. something that would be distinctly "Cebu". 


   That's when my brother told me about Islands Banca Cruises, which he had experienced with his friends a couple of months before. So I booked the cruise, and we headed off to Cebu.  

     My dad was already there, attending to the business, but welcomed us all when we arrived. He asked me if we had a set itinerary yet, and I said we had booked a few plans.


    And as proof that God has a sense of humor, I said to my dad for the first time in my entire life.. "Dad, we're going Island Hopping tomorrow. Would you like to join us?"

     My dad smiled and said, "Sure".     

UKOKKEI RAMEN RON & THE RAMEN NAZI

Time to get their Tantanmen on

            Again, I will repeat, that I'm not really that big on Japanese Food. Which would explain why, in the one year and one month of it's existence, The Pickiest Eater In The World has only featured two Japanese restaurants, which technically don't really count because : 

              A) John & Yoko is more of a "Japanese Fusion" Restaurant

              B) Yakimix is a smokeless grill place where you pretty much just 

                  cook bacon..

              C) And Yakimix's buffet food is a mix of Chinese and Japanese cusines

      A TV Commercial director and fellow foodie (Also the only person I know who has actually tried "Butter Beer") I work with, Direk Paolo Dy, visited our new office one day. As I showed him around, I grumbled that I'm going to miss having the restaurants in C. Palanca to choose from. Then he said, "Well at least you're just down the street from " Ukokkei"!". I stared at him blankly, and then he looked at me, all baffled and replied, "You DO know what  Ukokkei  is, right?". I told him, that I wasn't really into Japanese food, but he would have none of it. As a client, Direk Pao is a joy to work with, because he's one of those laid back directors that is easy to talk to and always seems to be in a good mood. So when he gave me an intense look, and told me in a firm tone, "One of these days we are going.", I knew I was in the presence of a man who takes his Ramen seriously. 

       A few months later, lo and behold, Direk Pao treated me and some of the PostManila peeps  for a job well done on one of his projects. Take one good guess. 

SINGAPORE DAY 1: I HAVE PLEDGED MY ALLEGIANCE TO FOOD REPUBLIC !

I'm applying for citizenship as we speak

      As soon as Rina, Chaikka and I hopped down from our Duck Tour Amphibian craft, we entered one of the Towers of the perplexing Suntec City Mall. As I mentioned during my first visit there just a few hours earlier, the place is really hard to figure out, not just for a tourist, but for a human being in general, so I didn't want to go on any more long walks. Being the notorious sleepyhead that I am, I actually just really wanted to go back to our "hotel" to rest for an hour or so before we head off for our next stop. Rina and Chai though, understandably, wanted to go around to possibly do a little shopping. 

    So there I was, in a foreign country, completely drained of all energy at four in the afternoon, due to my being awake since two in the morning. As I entered the mall doorway, I was trying to think where I could muster up the strength to troll around the busy shopping mall. 

    And Just like that, I saw the huge sign that would light a fire under me, and give me the strength I needed to carry on (*tear*).

   In big bold letters, the sign said, "FOOD REPUBLIC". 

 (*Snappy Salute*)

MY "UP" MOMENT **"UP"-DATED!!**

I've been so busy sorting through the tons of pictures from my Singapore trip, that I haven't been able to work no a new food post, so here's a non-food post to make sure ya'll don't forget me..

  

             Today's post is going to be a little different. In fact, since it has nothing to do with food, I'm going to have to say that it's going to be a lot different from what you're used to in my blog.  A video came out this week that caught my eye. It was first brought to my attention by the lovely Mrs. Joanne B., the wife of My Giant, Joel. She posted the video on her facebook account and tagged me in the video. As a sign that I picked the best "Foodie Community" to be a part of, even the Myfoodtrip.com Facebook page featured this video!

       It was a segment from "Good Morning America" about two guys, obviously with too much free time on their hands, that decided to see if they could actually make a house fly using balloons, just like in the Disney Pixar movie, "Up". Of course, they had to use 8 foot rubber balloons instead of your traditional party ones, but it was still quite an achievement.

     Throughout the day, I got a few people asking me, "Hey, did you see the real life "UP" on youtube?".  I found it amusing how my friends associated me with the movie. UP ranks high among my favorite movies of all time. And to be honest, it's the only movie that has ever brought me to tears more than once (3D glasses are godsend, btw). To this very day, I'm lucky if I can get through the first ten minutes without shedding a tear. 

      Though Rina and I were not Childhood sweethearts, I could totally relate to how Carl and Ellie Fredricksen were partners in everything they would do. At that time, we were having difficulty having a baby as well, and though I never said it out loud, I was slightly concerned that Rina and I might have the same trouble as well (Thankfully, as my mother and the rest of our family found out, that would not be the case). But it was the thought of losing Rina the way Carl lost Ellie that really hit me hardest. And it is that thought that brings me to tears every single time. 

BURGER WARS EPISODE 1: BROTHERS BURGER

I see many food trips with these two, coming very soon..

        One of the greatest inventions of man, The Cheeseburger has got to be up there with the automobile and the telephone. I stress that it's the cheeseburger,and not just a burger, because I don't believe that the burger Cheese should be separated from the burger. EVER. Some things just truly belong together. Can you imagine Peanut Butter without Jelly? Or Mulder without Scully? Or me without Bacon-.. I mean, Rina?

        As I mentioned in my early Johnny Rockets post, the burger selection in the country wasn't anything truly spectacular a decade ago. There weren't very many places to choose from, and even among the choices, you'd be hard pressed to find anything out of the ordinary. You had McDonald's Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder, two all American burgers that have been in existence for decades. But on the local front, all Jollibee had to offer was the "Champ"(ugh), and Tropical Hut had.. Well, to be honest I'm not too sure what Tropical Hut had to offer (Although kudos to them for staying operational to this very day.. wait.. they ARE still operational, right?). Perhaps the most out of the box burger there was at that time, was the "Whistle Stopper" of the restaurant, "Whistle Stop", which broke new ground by serving a burger with.. are you ready for this? A Fried Egg! (*Gasp*)

        I don't think it was until the turn of the new millenium that gourmet burger joints began popping up left and right, that offered a different burger experience that the usual fast food chains did not. It's one thing for a restaurant to give you extra packets of ketchup to load your burger up with, but to offer other add ons was a whole new ball game.

       I begin my quest to find the best burger in the metro, by starting off with the place that is generally seen as the restaurant that has been in the forefront of gourmet burgers - Brother's Burger.

THE MYSTERIES OF THE AYALA TRIANGLE: BRING OUT THE WEE NAM KEE

Just as I was starting to feel good about myself beside these two shorter girls,

Thomas comes in and decides to stand right behind me. Thanks Man.

       During the Christmas vacation, my college friends and I set up a get together for the holidays. Nothing too fancy, just lunch at a nice restaurant where we could catch up with one another. I haven't kept up with very many people from college, but for some reason, my friendship with Abby, Karen, Thomas and Krystal has endured the test of time (*tear*). In fact, I'm proud to say that it was none other than I, that introduced Karen to her future hubby, Ted (Of course Ted deserves a little credit too for getting her to say "yes"). I wanted to make our lunch to be something I could add to my blog, preferably a place that I hadn't been to before. 

        Since I had started my "Ayala Triangle Series" with Bon Chon Chicken, I thought it would be nice to add to that, as opposed to the usual mall restaurants we tend to drift to whenever we make plans to go out. Karen had already eaten in BFAST so since I had been hearing rave reviews about Wee Nam Kee, I felt that would be the next best place to go to. But unfortunately, I had just told Thomas to meet me at BFAST, thinking he was still on the road and on his way. Apparently, he go there ahead of all of us, so decided to get us a table. It was only after I called him back to tell him we're changing venues to Wee Nam Kee did I find that out. 

     Although it was obviously an awkward situation for him, luckily for me, Thomas is suave in his own way. He took a big gulp of his glass of water, stood up and said to the waiter attending to him in his deep baritone, "Masarap ang tubig ninyo, ha?" (Your water tastes great!), then casually walked out of the door and made his way to Wee Nam Kee. In fairness to the waiter, he courteously answered, "Thank you, Sir.", proud of his.. Umm.. Purified water provided by "Aqua Pure".