Rants and Raves - Outback Restaurant

My family is going to Bukidnon tomorrow for a 2 week sabbatical before the Summer Classes start. In lieu of this, we opted to have our lunch at Outback Steakhouse in Alabang. Outback Alabang is located in Parking 6, Alabang Town Center, Muntilupa City.

It is a eating house that boasts of its Australian connection. Everything on the menu are dishes served in Australia. They give you complimentary bread while you wait for your food. The surroundings is nice, it is just like walking inside a pub in New South Wales, the only difference is that the staff are all Filos ( as Aussies would say ).

We ordered Angus Prime Rib dish (1450Php), they let you choose between medium well or well done. We also ordered the Ribs on the Barbie (1040Php) and a bowl of salad to complete the feast. Yup I do eat, contrary to what everyone thinks!

The Prime Rib was medium well, very tasty and juicy. It isn't as heavy as it looks. I would even go as saying that it is the best Prime Rib I had in ages. Highly recommend it!

The Ribs on the Barbie is a very huge serving. Could be shared by 2-3 people. They let you pick your side dish, you can choose between french fries, plain rice, java rice and coleslaw. The ribs are succulent although not as sweet as I would like them to be.

You may visit their official website at http://www.outback.com/ or go directly to the http://www.outback.com.ph/

Life - Dogsville

As of last count we have 6 dogs living in our house, slowly out numbering the humans it seems. There is Maxine, the Chow Chow, and then 5 Pugs. The Pugs names are Bizkit ( my dog ), Tanya and her three sons. I had Bizkit for almost 8 years now.

Actually when he was just 8 months old, the Vet told us that he would not live that long, as when we purchased him from the pet shop, he had acquired lots of diseases. But withTLC our Bizkit has survived, although now that he is old, he seemed to have gotten sick so much lately.

Maxine, the Chow Chow, thinks she is a Pug. She is supposed to have babies not long ago but she miscarraiges easily. Next is Tanya, the hyper Pug, before she gave birth to her littershe was like a helicopter, running, jumping and rolling. But after having babies, she has indeed mellowed, hmm she has gained some weight, maybe that is why.

Then we have the three stooges. Not long ago I took pictures of them when they were just 2 months old ( as seen here). But look at them now, all grown up. They take after their mother's hyper lifestyle.

Ok now I know why Tanya is always tired. Try raising three young boys! Hehe I would be too if I was in her shoes.

Rants and Raves - Italiannis Restaurant

Today we decided to have our lunch at Italiannis in Alabang Town Center.





The restaurant is conveniently located just across Bread Talk and around the area where you will find the shops of Ralph Lauren, CK and Rustans.

Anyways I decided to order Lasagna (295Php) couple with Beef Tenderloin Mozzarella (1600Php) to be shared with everyone. Plus we picked Refillable drinks that were 110Php, I drank 3, so that breaks it even hehe.

Italiannis is nice, the ambiance is like sitting in a cliche Italian eatery across the water canals of Venice. The servings aren't that big but enough for one or two people, depending on the dish you order. My Lasagna tasted good, it wasn't as sweet as you would get if you ate at Sbarros or not as salty as you would eat in Greenwich.

The size of the serving was just for one, thank god Italiannis gives you complimentary bread to eat while waiting for the food, that is what I paired with my Lasagna.

The Beef Tenderloin Mozzarella did not live up to it's billing. The rice that came with it was different in a good way but the meat was not that tasty nor was it cooked just like the way we ordered which was (medium well).


The beef supposedly 7oz of tenderloin looked small, I think it shrank while being heated. Thank god there was a rich mushroom risotto and vegetables with it or it would have been a below average meal.

Over all the food was generous, would appease the taste palettes especially the ones who knows their pasta. We were given 1000Php worth of Gift certificates to be presented the next time we visit Italiannis. Gift Cheques that can only be used till April 31st, dine in only and last but not the least, Valid only with a minimum purchase of 1000Php.

Any takers hehe ? I should give them as a prize of some game but hey I am feeling generous, just leave a comment if you want to have one or the two.

Visit Italiannis at http://www.italiannis.com.ph/old_web/

Archive - Beyonce in Manila

Last November, a day after my mother's birthday, me ang my friend went to see Beyonce Live in Taguig. It was 2 months in the making, saving up for the ticket took 2 months that is. Anyways it was my first time to watch a concert as such in the Fort Area.

Security was tight, that the first time we tried to go in, we were reprimanded about bringing digital cameras inside the vicinity.Ok at this point I have to discuss this issue. First I knew it was not allowed, as seen on the ticket. But after a few weeks, it was seen on the evening news, that people could bring digital cameras so long that it does not have a telephoto lens ( the ones that can zoom in bigtime ). My camera doesnt have that kindof lens, so I brought it.

The security guards stopped us upon entry and told us that bringing such a device was not allowed.


Pissed off, I told my friend to look for a place where I can strap in my camera on my ankle and cover it with my jeans so I can sneak in the thing without them noticing.Anyways the second time was a charm as we have successfully incercepted the security and snap pics and vids of the concert.

The concert was really good. Half of the time people were standing on their seats, yes not only standing but balancing on their monoblock chairs to watch the concert. Singing along to Beyonce's songs everybody did. It was money and time well spent.Beyonce and her posse can truly pull off a good show.

By far the best event I have the privilege of attending into.

Videos that I made from the footage I took with my camera:

Life - The Going Gets Tough

Ok I just watched and listened to the performances of the Top 10 American Idol Finalists and I must say, for the first time this season, it will be hard to pick the bottom three especially the one who will get voted out tomorrow night.

It would have been a safe choice to pick Kristy Lee Cook but the girl sang a song entitled, "God Bless America" for goodness sakes hehe. So she will not be voted out, not with that song!

Ramielle, our hometown girl sang "Alone", not powerful enough compared to Carrie Underwood but it was nice that she put her spin on it. She will be saved for this week but will be in the bottom three in my opinion.

Listen to Ramiele: http://www.googlx.com/seven/ramiele-2008-03-25.mp3 (Right-Click and Save Target As)


Jason Castro, our dreads man did not pull off a good performance for tonight, pitchy in the end and it sounded off. Fragile was his song choice. Again another contestant who I think will be in the bottom 3.

Listen to Jason: http://www.googlx.com/seven/jasonc-2008-03-25.mp3 (Right-Click and Save Target As)

Finally, the last person to complete my bottom three list would be Chikezie Eze, he sang "If Only for One night." Borrowing Simon's trademark one liners, the performance was Forgetable, enough said.

Listen to Chikezie: http://www.googlx.com/seven/chikezie-2008-03-25.mp3 (Right-Click and Save Target As)

Best Performance for the Night:

Usually there is just one but for tonight I think two contestants stood out like a sore thumb ( that makes two sore thumbs)

First was David Cook's rendition of Billie Jean, now no one could accuse him of plagiarizing that arrangement, it was unique and his performance was flawless. The judges think he could win it this year, well Mr. Archuleta will make sure he won't!

Listen to David: http://www.googlx.com/seven/davidc-2008-03-25.mp3 (Right-Click and Save Target As)


Second best performance for the night would be from Syesha Mercado. This bubbly girl is a late bloomer. Although touted as one of the best at the start of the Hollywood week, she faltered during the start of the performance of the Top 12. But she came back with great songs for the last two weeks in a row. Syesha sang "If I were your Woman."

Listen to Syesha: http://www.googlx.com/seven/syesha-2008-03-25.mp3 (Right-Click and Save Target As)

Anyways for my bold prediction for the one who will be let go tomorrow night.....drum roll please.....Mr. Eze
Thank you to Rickey.org for all the MP3s. He is the God when it comes to AI coverage, I started reading his blog almost 3 years ago and he never fails to keep us updated!!

Legends

Ok since I just started this blog and my entries run the gammot on every subject I would like to classify them into different categories. Yup even on here I am obssesive compulsive, so bear with me.

• Archive - If the post has this heading in the title, it means that this post is about something that happened within the last 8 months prior to its posting. i.e. Events that transpired in November of 2007 and what have you.
• Rants and Raves - Something that I would like to share with you thru a personal experience. It may include tips and insights on places I have visited, people I have met and events that I attended.
• Life - Posts that include me sharing personal matters to my readers about people, things and even animals that are part of my life.
• Shout out - These are the entries that were written/composed by someone else other than me, that I would like to share with you thru my blog.

Hmm that should be enough for now. I am sure I will come up with more interesting categories in the future. Thank you for reading my blog by the way. I am sure you can find other more important things other than clicking and browsing to this site. But hey, you picked the correct thing to do!

Rants and Raves - Calorie Jackpot

Do you know that feeling, where in you ate too much that you are gasping for air? Well for today's entry, I will focus on that particular feeling.


I have never ate so much in a day in my life till today. It all started with
going to Bubba Gump for lunch, feasting on Mahi Mahi, Salad and Pop
Corn with shrimp. Not to mention 3 glasses of iced tea.

The food was nice, the Mahi Mahi was not that delicious but it was edible. Bubba Gump is a restaurant located at Greenbelt 3, 2nd floor, just along the area where in you will see a long chain of restaurants.

It's concept came from the movie Forrest Gump, thus the name, plus almost every name of every dish has some sort of connection to the movie. Interesting!!!

The ambiance is very American, food is presented in big servings, the staff is nice and oh before I forget, the prices of the entrée would range from 230 to a whopping 900 Php per dish.


Cut to dinner, me ang my family gathered along the vicinity of Rockwell Drive, specifically in a restaurant called C2.



From what my sister told me, it stands for Culinary Cuisine. The restaurant boasts of innovative Filipino dishes, special mention would be the Durian brule.

We ordered alot of dishes with 3 different kinds of rice. It was gluttony at it's peak.

The ambiance of the place is modern and clean, leaning towards the same niche of Cibo and Kamayan folks. Price range of the dishes would range from 150 to 400 Php per dish.

So to sum up today's entry.

I would like to share with you a site, that calculates the calories you have taken today. http://calorieking.com It is very useful especially if you want to watch what you eat before you actually eat whatever it is you are having.

I just added the total for today's binge, I won the lottery with a rough estimate of about 6,830 Calories consumed. Normally it should just be around 3,248 a day. Scary!

Visit their website at: http://www.bubbagump.com/

Life - Cross My Fingers, Hope to Win

In less than 2 weeks, I will know if my entry for the Sony Ericsson Top Shot Imaging Contest would win the Top Prize or 2 of the Runner Ups or not at all.

I started to join this contest last year, when Sony Launched its new brand of Camera Phones. I took advantage of the contest but did not win or even place last year.

This year I was fortunate enough to have been chosen as a Weekly winner for the month of March. The promo usually runs for 2 months straight.

Anyways I submitted 7 pictures, all of which have to showcase the beauty of the Philippines.

You may visit their website at http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/nowshowing/inlinecampaign/makeheadlines?cc=ph&lc=en

There are tons of entries this year, specifically 10,877 photos!!!

Rants and Raves - Segunda

Wow patience is indeed a virtue. I did not know it takes a long time to do layout and editing on this blog. Thus it is a labor of love for you folks!

So I will continue telling you about my lovely time in Ascott. Aside from Tennis, Swimming and going to the Gym. You can try lounging around in their own library and game room. So much fun!

Tips for the person who will be staying in Ascott:

• You get a free breakfast worth 800 Php upon checking in, so be sure to rummage the buffet in the morning to get your money's worth.


• If you decide to go and play Tennis at Ascott, be sure to have a reservation. And bring your own Tennis Balls or it will cost you 240Php if you borrow their balls.


• In lieu of Tennis, after 6pm, it will not be free anymore, since they will ask you to pay for the Fog Lights that illuminates the court....it will cost you 350Php an hour.


• There are two towers, the one that houses the Deluxe and one Premiere, if you want the really swanky rooms, you pick the Premiere. Albeit the Gym, Tennis Court and the Pool are all located in the Deluxe Tower. Go Figure! Maybe you get a good view or something

Speaking of views, you get the best of Makati and beyond. Here are a few shots I took, both day and night, just so you would see how cool it is.

Visit Ascott Makati's website at http://www.the-ascott.com/en/philippines/manila/ascott_makati.html

Rants and Raves - Holy Week @ Ascott

Something different, my family decided to spend our holy week in the city. Yes, that is right, when everyone is rushing to leave the Metro, we decided to stay in Makati ( of all places ). Ascott was the destination for a whole week.

Ascott, formerly Oakwood, is located in the heart of Makati CBD.

So anyways, time was spent either going around the Makati proper. Mind you at this time of the year there are no people left in the streets. So it was a sight to see. I also started to play tennis during my stay at the Ascott. It is both hard and fun, try playing tennis at 9 to 11am, with the scorching heat and yeah, no designated ball boy to boot.

Going back to Ascott, we lived in a 4 Bedroom apartment, fully furnished and on the 25th Floor. It was the lap of luxury, literally. The room wasshared with my brother, who accompanied me in playing tennis everyday.

The only downside to all of these things is that the pillows in Ascott are not comfortable at all. All of them are too soft that it doesnt support your neck! Again that proves that nothing is perfect.

The pool is majestic, with 2 jacuzzis waiting on either side. Inviting it was, I practically swam every night for the whole week.

Here are a few pictures I took of the interior of Ascott, it should give you a clear idea what to expect if ever you decide to stay there, Holy Week or Not.