This blog hasn’t turned out to what I envisioned 14 months ago. The site sucks, obviously. My writing skills have drastically decomposed faster than an unrefrigerated iceberg lettuce¹. Most probably that’s the result of not really trying writing anything more than 140 characters, a lack of much needed inspiration, a lot of distraction, and less time to blog.

It’s lackadaisicalness 101.

But I’m not here to talk about my blogging life. It’s too boring for you. I’m tired of saying “I’m back!” and then disappear for a very long time (although, I haven’t disappeared completely, I’m active both on Twitter and Tumblr) over and over again.

The real itch that I have right now is to read books. Actually, I haven’t really stopped from reading. The thing is, I’ve limited myself to reading just long-form journalism, articles regarding tennis, football, and whatnot.

For 2011, I set a target to read at least 10 books within the year. Yes, just ten books, and yet, I failed disastrously. I’m unsure, but I think I was only able to read only three books. If you have read one of my entries last year, I wrote that I would try to read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird again since during the first time that I tried to read it, I stopped where Scout’s neighbor’s house was burning. During my second try, I stopped even before that event. Sorry, but I’m not a really classics guy. But I’ll try reading it again sometime.

But even though I was only able to read only two or three books, I did enjoy them! The first one was Paper Towns by John Green (one of my favorite authors) which ending was saddening, the other one was David Nicholls’s equally depressing One Day. The third? I can’t remember it. At best, I’m just imagining that I was able to finish another book. At worst, I’m denying that I was only able to abysmally read two books.

This post was supposed to be about John Green’s new book that I just received yesterday. But it’s getting long so I would stop here. I guess, that will be the topic of my next post.

As usual, feel free to send me book suggestions. Hint: I absolutely enjoy tragedies and crime fiction.

1. I wrote that because I saw a half-rotten lettuce earlier, however, it was refrigerated.

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blog

Well, you don’t need to have a handheld device to use Instapaper’s services, you just install a bookmarklet which you hit when you find an interesting article that you want to read at a later time (I should note that it’s Google-Reader-friendly). When you want to read that article, you simply go to your Instapaper account where you’ll find the link to that article. But there are articles that are impractical to be read on your computer, and let’s face it, reading could be time-consuming. I’d rather read during idle times (e.g., waiting in queue at the doctor’s office, travelling, etc.) than during the times when I have something else to do. Although I’m not saying that I’m not guilty that I read even when I have something more pressing things that I should do.

Coupling Instapaper with a compatible device (it works for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, Kindle, and other ebook readers) makes reading articles from the internet easier. And you could be a little more productive when you normally don’t. Basically, the app saves a copy of almost any webpage (even those websites with stupid paywalls) on your device letting you to access them at a later time even if you don’t have any internet connection. It also strips down the webpage to its barest form: just the article itself, no navigation bars, no sidebars, no footers, no “Most Popular” list and other lists that could be a big distraction to you. This is the text-optimized view, although it doesn’t work all the time; I think this feature depends on how the page in question was coded.

One nifty feature that I like is its built-in dictionary. Encountered a big word that you haven’t got the foggiest, like “lackadaisical,” perhaps? No problem, the Instapaper app lets you learn and expand your vocabulary without leaving the app. Just tap and hold the word that made you think you have a vocabulary of a five-year-old and tap define.

You could also make folders to organize articles — in my case, I segregate articles by topic: football, tennis, Youngblood articles, recipes, etc. But if you’re really obsessive-compulsive, arranging articles on your device is a big headache. It’s a multi-stepped process that would leave your thumbs worn-out (or your pinkies if your thumbs are too big and you’re forced to use them). Likewise, deleting articles is tedious too. I wish it’s as easy as organizing and erasing items in the Mail.app. On the other hand, the Instapaper website lets you do that in one or two clicks.

What makes it more useful is that a lot of apps have a “Send to Instapaper” feature. One of the most notable app that has this functionality is the official Twitter app for iPhone. After putting your Instapaper credentials, it’s as easy as swiping and tapping to send articles to your Instapaper account.

The app — complete with all of the features that I mention plus more — is available for $4.99. A stripped-down version is also offered at the app store for you to try. You may think that “Hey, that’s going to be a free built-in feature in Mobile Safari once iOS 5 comes out, but it looks like having a dedicated app for a reading list far outweighs Apple’s free solution especially if you are a heavy reader.

PS: If the owner of Instapaper is reading this, please add a search feature on the Instapaper website.

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: app, Instapaper, iPhone, reading, reading list

At first, you might think that Yakimix only serves Japanese food because just below the restaurant’s name, the word “Sushi” could be found. During the two times that I dined there, I found out that they do not only serve sushi, tempura, miso soup, and other classic Japanese food. A mix of cuisines were present in the buffet table; they serve Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and even American dishes.

For only Php 580.00 (or Php 499.00 during weekday lunches) you could eat whatever you want, and how much you want. Yes, eat all-you-can! Be sure to go there with an empty stomach, and early so you could enjoy the various food that they serve.

The ambiance is just fine. Sure, it feels like you’re eating at a better-than-normal restaurant, and space is not an issue. They have big chairs, so no matter what size you are — especially after you’ve satisfied your tummy, you’ll have enough room to sit on. Plus, the big chairs come with big tables, you’ll surely have enough real estate to place the food that you took from the buffet table. The only main attraction, aside from the buffet table, are the smokeless grills that you could find at the center of the tables.

What’s the use of the smokeless grill? Obviously, that’s for grilling the variety of raw items that you’ll find in one section of the buffet table. And yes, you’ll be the one who’ll grill your own food. Your options for raw food are almost endless — you could choose from hotdog, shrimp, fish, squid, vegetables wrapped in what looked like bacon, meat that looked like bacon sans vegetables, chicken, and more. The grilling part is fun, kids would surely love it. And you don’t have to worry about smelling like food after your meal as their smokeless grills really don’t produce smoke.

On the other side of the buffet table, you’ll find a selection of cooked items. Most of them are Chinese food, but as I’ve mentioned earlier, they offer other food that you might like. They had some sort of seafood pizza, ebi tempura, and others that I don’t remember. Their tempuras aren’t that good. I bet they aren’t their specialty. Tokyo Tokyo’s tempura are better, actually. I also have an issue with their sauces. They have a lot of sauces, but I haven’t found one that tastes like the regular sauce for tempura. You can’t really enjoy tempura without that sauce full of sweet rice wine.

A separate table is dedicated for various kinds of sushis. There were really lots of sushis. I haven’t tried them all, but most of them would be enough to satisfy your taste buds. The first time I went there, I mostly ate sushis. I’ve had so many of them that by the time we had to pay the bill, my lunch almost reappeared. They’re really that good. They also have sashimi, if you enjoy raw fish, be sure to try them too.

They also have a section for desserts. The first time I dined there, there was a cake from Red Ribbon. And on the second time, there was a Goldilocks cake. It’s kind of weird for me to see cakes like that in a restaurant like Yakimix. They also have other pastries and sweets, and ice cream (Selecta) that you could try if there’s still enough space in your stomach.

So if you like eating at an eat-all-you can restaurant that serves a humongous number of viands, be sure to check this restaurant. The probability that you have visited this restaurant is high, especially if you live in Metro Manila. But for people living outside the capital region, be sure to at least try this restaurant once. You’ll surely have a lot of fun dining with your friends or family.

Yakimix branches can be found at Tomas Morato, Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, Trinoma, and SM Mall of Asia.

I own only the first two photos. The rest are owned by various users on Flickr. Click on the photo/s to see more detail.

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: food, restaurant, Yakimix

© Working Title Films

Starring: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai, Saoirse Ronan,Vanessa Redgrave, Juno Temple, and Benedict Cumberbatch
Screenplay by: Christopher Hampton
Based on: Atonement by Ian McEwan

The Story

1935, on the hottest summer day, Briony sees Cecilia, her sister, undress in front of their longtime servant’s son, Robbie. Because of her immaturity, Briony interprets adult intentions differently and completely misunderstands it. The succeeding actions of the three — and a prior incident between Briony and Robbie — would result into Briony’s crime, a crime that would intertwine the lives of the three and which she would eventually try to atone for years as a nurse during wartime. Robbie is sent to prison, and eventually released, on the exchange of serving for the British Army — virtually severing almost all of his connections to his dear Cecilia.

My Take

In the first part, the time goes back numerous times to tell the story in the perspective of another character. In both book and movie versions, there’s almost no transition from one perspective to another, so if you aren’t paying attention to details, you’ll surely get lost in this labyrinthine story. This could either be viewed as a flaw or brilliantness. It makes you think where one perspective ends, and another one starts. But obviously, that makes it complicated.

The story could feel really heavy and boring, especially at the middle where Robbie is trying to escape from France back to England. I know some people who were not able to finish the movie because of this. In my case, I almost stopped reading the novel (I read it first before watching the movie adaptation). McEwan’s heavy writing could be simply termed as lullaby. It took me almost two weeks to finish it, and in my standards, that means it took me a long while. Although the cogwheel of this tale is Briony’s crime, the story as a whole is also dependent to some sequences from that boring part, remove them and the story wouldn’t be as powerful as it should. Well, I’m really glad that I was able to finish the book.

The beauty of the story lies at the last few pages of the book or minutes of the film where the reader or the viewer respectively is presented two different versions of the ending. The twist at the end is just so big that it will surely change your opinion on Ian McEwan’s magnificent novel. But the icing on the top is that whichever version you choose, you won’t escape the sadness that the story would bring to you.

The actors who played the main characters were well versed in what they were doing. The acting is just so good that you can feel that it really happened. I was really impressed with the mad acting skills of James McAvoy in this one. He’s a really damn good actor. Oh, and I’m sure that you’ll notice the music that was used in the movie. It’s so original, right? Who knew that the sound of typewriter could be used as background music, hu? Dario Marianelli (the composer) is inventive and an outright genius.

The Better Version

It’s hard to pick which is the better version. The movie adaptation is so close to the book that I can’t decide. It’s one of the rare movie adaptations that was really faithful to the novel. And although the twist at the end was presented differently in the two versions — a family reunion in the book, and an interview in the movie — it doesn’t make a big difference. So be sure to check both! But should they release another Atonement movie, I hope they’ll combine the two.

Tearmometer

Prepare at least eight and a half rolls of tissue, you don’t want your clothes to get soaked from tears. In other words, I’m rating this as 8.5 out of 10. It could have easily scored 10, but owing to the fact that there are boring scenes, I had to deduct a few points.

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Atonement, book, Ian McEwan, James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, movie, review, tearmometer

What I’m trying to say is that I was not a lover of tragedies from the very start. Tragedy is not easy to love. Well, I guess, no one would instantly love stories where the protagonist dies mercilessly leaving his or her partner in misery. Tragedies could be really cruel; They’re heart-breaking and make you want to cry and produce enough tears to refill an almost empty Angat dam to the brim during hot summers. I understand why my friends don’t listen to me when I try to suggest a movie or a book that ends tragically. I guess, most people who are not fond of this kind of poignant stories don’t want the number of stories with tragic endings that they have heard to go up. Come to think of it, we all experience different kinds of tragedies in our daily lives, be it on a personal, social, or political level. You can’t really force tragedy down the throat of someone, especially if this someone is already depressed, or worse, is already taking lithium — okay let me rephrase that — is suffering from bipolar disorder.

Yes, I used to dismiss tragedies to the sidelines. I have always asked how do you find pleasure from tragedies? How do you explain sadness is equal to entertainment? But my views on tragedy, or any story that makes you sad and gloomy for that matter have changed. I believe it’s an acquired taste. You have to be in the perfect mood to appreciate tragedies. And when you get more exposed to tragedies, it wouldn’t be hard for you to like the genre. That’s what happened to me. Although I have to admit that it took years before I was finally able to tell myself that I like it.

Now, I find it easier to find pleasure and appreciate this genre. I believe tragedy is better than any other genre in delivering message to readers or viewers. It makes you appreciate life and the people surrounding you more.

For the past few years, I have already encountered a number of novels and films that fall under this genre. But I haven’t had the chance to post my views on them. Well, for some, I may have tweeted or posted a paragraph or two regarding them, but I don’t think that would do justice to those works especially the big ones like Atonement and The Reader. So expect a review on these tear-jerking movies and books every now and then. I actually planned this post to have three to five accompanying reviews, but I’m afraid that this post would be very long so I scrapped that plan out. And of course, I’ll be rating them through my own system, the tearmometer.

Oh, if you know a good book or movie that falls under tragedy, please suggest it to me. Okay? Thanks!

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: genre, stories, tragedy

Since I started blogging circa 2003, I’ve already tried numerous blogging platforms — Xanga, Blogspot, self-hosted WordPress and WordPress.com. I’ve also tried blogging manually, everything was in pure HTML. I’ve also had to move from one web host to another multiple times. It’s like I’m an NPA in the internet. And only God knows how much time I’ve spent backing up and restoring my site, and how much data I’ve lost in the process. Okay, enough of that because this blog entry is not about my blogging history.

But I was actually excited to make the great leap from my old web host, Tracspace to Namecheap. Last year, I signed up for a hosting plan on iRock Web Hosting (it was either later acquired by Tracspace or changed its name). I bought a hosting plan from iRock because it was only for $13.00, and the features that came with it were more than what is enough for a personal blog. I was satisfied with their services, but only until the dying days of 2010. iRock has already disappeared and Tracspace took over my account.

I had my first problem with Tracspace on the third week of December. Their server was down for at least three days already, but I haven’t received any email from them. I should have been informed about the situation, right? I don’t like talking to customer service representatives, so as much as possible I avoid them. But in this case, I really had to contact them. And thus started my agonizing journey to their customer service. I informed Tracspace about it, and they moved my account to their other working server but decided not to tell me (or forgot to tell me) that they wouldn’t be able to move my data. Just how stupid is that? But I’m really glad that they were able to salvage my data, although I had to manually retrieve them and transfer them to their other server.

And then came the smallest problem I ever had with them… the server’s time. It wasn’t set correctly, it was two hours late. Sorry for them, I’m really particular with time. I don’t want to see my posts with the wrong publishing time. Changing WordPress’s timezone setting to artificially show the right publishing time of my posts is just a Band-Aid solution and I don’t like it. I wanted a permanent solution for it. I submitted a ticket regarding it on December 20, 2010. I waited for days for them to fix it but I was only told that they were still investigating it. Fast forward to January 07, 2011, the technical service representative that I was talking to said the following:

I apologize for waiting quite long but we forgot to update this ticket and the issue has already been resolved since December 25, 2010.

However, I checked the server’s time after Christmas, and it was still two hours late! And clearly, their customer service is uh, a little bit incompetent. How dare you forget my ticket? I let it pass because I didn’t want to make a big issue out of it. I was happy that it was finally resolved. But a few days later, the server where my account was located went down, and when it was up two days later, the server’s time was wrongly set again. I immediately notified them about it, but until now, I haven’t heard back from them. On the other hand, I don’t care anymore, since my account with them has already expired (I think). However, until now, I’m still wondering if changing the server’s time could really take days to fix. I’m not a Linux guy or an owner of a server, but surely, that would only take a few clicks, yes? I could change my laptop’s time in less than a minute, so I don’t see any problem why setting the server’s time correctly could be a headache.

Because of this bad experience, I decided that it was time to move. I wanted mma more reliable host with a competent customer, but that is equal to higher price. So I was reluctant in getting a new host for my site. Good thing I found out that MM and Pam were also looking for a web host too. We bought a hosting plan, and divided the price between the three of us. So it’s almost like hitting two pigs with one bird. It really looks like Namecheap has a very reliable web hosting solution and a great customer service, so I’m hoping this will be the end of my web host hopping. It’s tiring, you should try it! LOL. Just kidding!

PS: Sorry for using the word “but” or any words or phrases related to it numerous times.

1. I had more than 10 tabs opened when I put this blog back up and running.

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2011. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blog, customer service, hosting plan, web host

I assure you that my blog will be back really soon. Probably during the first week of February. And if I’m lucky, my site wouldn’t go offline even for a single hour.

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blog, web host, website

I’m aware that I have published only a few posts here. What, less than 10 posts in a span of one year? But I’m planning to change that this year, although I can’t be sure if I would be able to implement my plans. I’m really hoping that my plans wouldn’t just stay and rot in the drawing room. However, before I green light any of them, I have to transfer my site to another web host first³.

From the time I started blogging, circa 2003, I’ve blogged mostly about my personal life. But I don’t think writing about my life is still something that I like to focus on. My life is quite boring, really. But should something extravagant happens, I’ll definitely post it here. Besides, I have a Twitter and a Tumblr account that you could follow where I post things about the not-so-exciting parts of my life. I’ve also already identified other avenues that I could tackle here, like reviews of my favorite apps that I use on my three-year old iPod touch, and probably, some book and movie reviews (although I really suck at doing those). There are also the essays I wrote years ago — including the controversial essay that I submitted to my professor which he marked “Plagiarized?” or something like that — that I’m planning to release here soon.

I have other plans for my domain as well. I’ll check my backups and I’ll put all of the posts that I would be able to salvage on a subdomain, minus my favorite posts which I’ll file on a separate subdomain.

For now, you have to forgive me for the crappy and little content that my site has.

1. Please do not make me enumerate them.
2. Hopefully, that would not be the case with this one.
3. More on that on a separate entry

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blog, writing

I know this blog entry is really late — given the fact that we are now in the second week of 2011 — but I really wanted to take note a few things about the past year. 2010 has been a really good year for me, especially the first three quarters. Before the clock stroked 0000 on the eve of 2011, I was checking Twitter, and a few people that I follow there said that 2010 was pretty bad for them and they’re hoping that the new year would bring a lot of fortune for them. So I guess, I was lucky and blessed last year and I hope that won’t end there.

(I’ve inserted some of my tweets in this post to add a little bit of entertainment. )

Getting Groggy during Graveyard Shift

One of the most fun and memorable experiences I had last year was way back in February and March when I had my first taste on how it is to be on a graveyard shift in the hospital. Well, it’s easier than the other shifts because there is less work during the middle of the night, the only thing that makes it hard is that you have to stay awake when your body was trained to be asleep.

And because there was only little to do, during my duty with my group mates, we played Uno and Monopoly Deal at the hospital. Actually, it was our clinical instructor who suggested it, so we were not in any kind of trouble. On the last day of our duty — another graveyard shift — we didn’t handle patients, we only played from start to end of our duty (and one of the other groups who was with us had a movie marathon). How awesome were we? Here are some tweets from that time:

This week was fun, even though it’s very taxing, thanks to Monopoly and Uno. -February 26, 2010

I just got home from my graveyard shift. My Mom was surprised to see me. She thought I was about to leave. Super LOL. -March 16, 2010

We just stopped playing Monopoly and Uno a few minutes ago because it’s almost time to go. -March 17, 2010

I hope my college won’t be alarmed with this.

College and Thereafter

The highlight of my life last year was obviously graduating from college and passing the Nursing Licensure Examination in just one take. Until now, months after that I’ve learned that I’m a registered nurse in the country, it still amazes me, owing to the fact that I never intended to be a nurse. I survived four agonizing years in nursing school and dispatched one of the biggest hurdles in my life barely scathed. But since then, I’ve only been bumming at home, which I admit was probably the worst way to end a year when I was consistently on high, and equally the worst way to start a brand new year.

Related post: The New and Improved Louie

We were just declared as graduates! -March 26, 2010

I answered 450 practice questions for the board exam today. It was very boring, annoying, and CSF draining all at the same time. -April 23, 2010

OMG! I. PASSED. THE. NLE. THIS IS MAJOR MAJOR FUN!!! -August 27, 2010

I might start looking for a job soon, but I don’t believe I will be able to find a real job that will fit my credentials. But what I really want right now is to go back to school. No, I’m not yet planning to take a master’s degree, I want to take another undergraduate degree, something that would suit me, preferably an engineering course. But that’s an absurd idea right now.

Bitter Bibliomaniac

For the two past years, I’m becoming more of a bibliophile than an actual reader of books. It’s scary. The ratio of the books that I’ve acquired last year to the books that I’ve actually read in the same year is close to 2.5:1. Now, tell me that that is not scary. I’m spending so much money on books (well, except for the books that I’ve acquired through BookMooch), and now they’re only gathering dust in my shelves.

However, even though I was only able to read seven books last year (prior to that, I was able to finish 15 books), I was able to discover high quality books which I think would turn into classics eventually. My great finds for last year were John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” which I read while reviewing for my licensure examination, and the Millennium Trilogy (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl who Played with Fire,” and “The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”) by Stieg Larsson.

Yay. I found a copy of John Green’s Looking for Alaska. Gonna read this after the boards. -June 17, 2010

1/2 John Green’s Looking for Alaska is awesome. I know I said that I’ll read this after my boards. -June 21, 2010

2/2 But I changed my mind. I have to finish it as soon as possible, or better, today. -June 21, 2010

Done reading the scary part in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but the worst isn’t over yet. More scary parts, for sure. 30% left! -August 03, 2010

This is pure entertainment. Reading The Girl who Played with Fire. Although I know what would happen, I can’t help but to feel thrilled. -August 06, 2010

I read 279 pages from The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest this day. Gonna stop now so I can sleep. -August 09, 2010

For this year, 2011, I’m hoping that I would be able to read a lot of books. And I promise to limit my trips to bookstores. I’m starting this year with a classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. I tried to read it years before, but because of the narrow spacing that was used in the book, I stopped reading it. Now, I have a new copy, it has better spacing, and it’s even a limited edition, so I’m really motivated to read it from page one to the last page.

Related post: The Library, a list of books I’ve read over the years.

The Future

2011 will surely be another year full of surprises. Nobody knows what’s in store for us in the coming months — sorry, I don’t believe Zenaida Zeva, the Chinese, or any other person who says they could see the future — so we better watch out and be prepared always! I don’t know where 2011 will bring me, but I hope 2011 will be a better year for me and everyone of you. Happy MMXI!

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2010, 2011, books, college, graduation, graveyard shift, Harper Lee, John Green, Looking for Alaska, Millennium Trilogy, Monopoly Deal, NLE, nurse, Stieg Larsson, To Kill a Mockingbird, tweets, Twitter, Uno, year ender

Two days ago, during my own birthday, I attended a birthday party of a relative. I know, it’s not the best way to celebrate your birthday, but if you were invited to eat lunch — buffet style — at a luxurious hotel like Edsa Shangri-La, deciding on whether to attend or bail is so easy, even if it’s your birthday.

We ate at a restaurant called Heat (the name is horrible for a restaurant, no?). The restaurant offers a wide variety of food; Heat serves Continental and Asian dishes and desserts — including Filipino food. The restaurant is really big. It has compartmentalized dining ares, so it’s perfect for small parties. And although it occupies a large floor area, the place still gives you a cozy feeling.

Heat’s tagline is “Healthy Dining, Amazing Tastes”. The second part is true, but the first part isn’t. I suggest that you disregard that part. Do you consider crispy pata, burger, and lechon kawali as healthy? Come on, give me a break!

But the food is actually good. I wanted to try all of the food that they served, but that’s impossible. Besides, there were a few things that I didn’t want to eat. The strangest food that I saw there was the taho (bean curd). I didn’t realize that taho could be served in a fine dining restaurant. On that day, they also served fried dried squid. When I first saw them, I was like “really?”. Avoid them, reallocate the space that they’ll use in your stomach with other food, there are so many to choose from. There’s nothing special to them, they’re just the same as the ordinary taho and dried squid that you could buy on the streets or at the market.

What I liked there were the ebi (shrimp) tempura (but the sauce has too much rice wine), tuna sashimi, their pizzas, a dish that I forgot the name that looked like chicken parmesan (they used beef), potato and breaded chicken. The kare-kare surprisingly tasted like my Mom’s. It’s sweet, and you could really taste the peanut sauce.

On the desserts table, they have ice cream, halo-halo, fruits, cakes, a chocolate fountain, bibingka, puto bumbong, and more. They also make crepes upon ordering. The desserts have the ability to create holes in your mouth. Definitely, you have to try them.

The chefs were very friendly and courteous. It almost felt eating like a king.

As for the price, I could only guess that it could cost you more than Php 1000. Maybe even more than Php 2000.

Only after I filled my stomach and a party started in my intestines that I realized that spending my birthday by attending another person’s birthday party wasn’t really bad at all. My dining experience at Heat was tremendously incredible. But I would still pick Spiral at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila anytime.

Sorry, I wasn’t able to take photos of the food. I was too busy eating. LOL. At least, you have something to imagine.

© Louie Alfred L. Gomez 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bibingka, birthday, burger, crispy pata, dried squid, Edsa Shangri-La, food, Heat, hotel, kare-kare, lechon kawali, restaurant, taho, tempura