The DJ who's not a DeeJay

The place was cozy, though small.   It compensated for the small dining area by adding tables outside to cater to additional diners.  When you go inside, seats and tables are located left and right.  The center is the aisle leading to the counter where a bar of different alcoholic beverages are displayed at.

Some of the dishes we were served with were baby back spare ribs, iberian chicken, crispy sisig and breaded fish. All their dishes were nicely decorated when served. The Iberian chicken was served in a huge transparent pyrex bowl, the baby back ribs and breaded fish in a square flat plate and crispy sisig in its standard sizzling black grill platter.    

I was guessing that their foods would be spicy and hot based on the restaurant's name, but surprisingly, it isn't, which is perfectly fine with me.  Everything was tasty and delectable.  I especially liked the baby back ribs for it's tender texture and meaty contents.  

All of the dishes served seemed to be good to serve 2 to 3 people each.  Based on their other dishes in the menu, I'd love to sample more of their foods especially the peppered steak, so I could fully experience the name's specialty.

Pepper & Peppers is located at “The Site” , Jacinto Ext (near Bangko Sentral).  Book your group in advance especially if you plan on ordering their Iberian chicken since they oven bake it for two hours.  You can reach them at (082) 303-5955.

Taken at the Butterfly House in Davao City

There's a huge lighted sign of Kangaroo outside so it's easy notice.  The interiors are library-inspired.  There's a bookshelf to the right of the door when you enter the cafe.  Aside from several books scattered throughout the place (including the restroom), there are various artworks hung on the walls.  Each one has a short description, the signed artist, and the price of the painting should you want to buy it.  I also like the lighting inside.  It's not just your plain fluorescent.  You can tell it was well thought of cause the lights bring life to the structures inside.

Kangaroo Coffee Company is a cafe that serves coffee and tea variations, cakes, cookies and pastries.    I had mint tea and the great thing I like about it and all their drinks are the huge mugs.  Huge mugs equate to bigger servings, which was to my delight,  I was served a generous mugful of tea.   Their other drinks have accessories to the drink.  One drink had a small wooden-like mallet for stirring.  

The place is very homey and makes you want to stay and linger.  And Kangaroo gives you more reason to do so cause they offer free wifi.

Kangaroo Coffee Company is located at Tiongko cor. V. Mapa St., Davao City.

This is my nth time to visit Lachi's and aside from any other tourist attractions or places to go whenever I'm in Davao, Lachi's is a "m

ust" to go to, simply because it's one of a kind.  In fact, my last trip with Aileen was in General Santos City, but since it was close to Davao, we just had to fly in to Davao one day earlier for Lachi's and travel by land to Gensan the next day.  That's how much we love Lachi's.

Some of us bloggers in the Davao Food Appreciation Tour were so excited that Lachi's was next on our list of restaurants to visit for dinner, that we excused ourselves from the afternoon tour of Davao just to get a headstart on Lachi's.  Our sneaky plan was almost full-proof as we even instructed the staff of Lachi's not to mention in the evening that we were there earlier.  Unfortunately, their staff is very loyal to Mike, one of the owners of Lachi's and all the bloggers found it was our 2nd time around that day to eat there.

Nevertheless, we didn't hide in shame, cause one visit to Lachi's is not enough for anyone who appreciates the taste of their food.   In fact, I quote Aileen saying that "I could eat at Lachi's everyday".  

More than half of the restaurant was reserved for the bloggers that night which made us feel very special.   We were also excited to have some fellow bloggers try out Lachi's for the first time.  I remembered my first experience and ever since, it became one of the driving points to come back and visit Davao.

We were treated to Cream Dory in Thai Sauce, Breaded Tofu in Teriyaki Sauce, Laing Pasta, Pork Belly in red Bean Curd Sauce, the ever-delightful Pork Marinara and the unforgettable Pork Ribs.   I'm not a fan of Laing, but the other bloggers said that it's was very tasty.   I got the pork ribs which is so tender that you don't need a knife to cut it to pieces.  Their Pork Marinara is also a best seller.  It makes me wonder why I don't see this dish anywhere else.

There were also new dishes on the menu that I hadn't seen before:Pinoy na Pinoy Pasta which is described as spaghetti with laing sauce and sprinkled with parmesan cheese and topped with pan-fried bangus, and their own Arroz a la Cubana - sautueed lean ground beef and raisins, alongside fried bananas and rice topped with fried egg.

I made it a point to save some stomach space for their ever-scrumptuous and delicious cakes.   But before that, we got a rare opportunity to sample some desserts which they only offer with their catering services.   They had Ube Panna Cotta served in a small shot glass and Creme Brule caramelized in a big white soup spoon.   The presentation was colorful and placing them all together made it even more attractive (and exciting to immediately grab one the moment everybody was finished taking pictures of it).   

Our last round of delights arrived: the famous Lachi's cakes !  We were treated to slices of cakes from the Lachi's refrigerator which we can light candles in front of and devote ourselves to it as if it were a shrine.   What cakes do they have ? A whole lot !  Here's a list of cakes to make your mouth water:  Midnight Delight, Cashew Mocha Torte, Roasted Walnut Choco Supreme, Luscious Mud Pie, Premium Dark Choco Cake, Yummy Choco Pie, Black & White Bar, Old French Chocolate Cake, Carrot-Walnut Muffins, 5-Choco Torte, New York Style Cheesecake, Sour Cream Cheesecake, Choco-Vanilla Cheesecake, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, Carrot-Walnut Cake, Durian Cheesecake and Macadamia White Choco Bar.

I'm a big fan of cheesecakes and I just had to get my fix in the form of blueberry cheesecakes and sourcream cheesecakes.   The great thing about Lachi's cakes are that they are not too sweet.  It's just the right amount of sweetness without making your eyes squint from a sugar rush.   They're not too cold neither nor too melted.   That's what makes Lachi's cakes perfect.   Aileen noted that her favorite sansrival is perfect too by noting that your fork should be able to go through the entire slice and not get stuck in the middle, pointing out that sanrival shouldn't have hardened interiors nor be chew challenged.

Our Lachi's dinner was a success with the bloggers.  Everybody was still talking about all the foods and how delicious it is even after our Lachi's visit.   That's how memorable it was.  And reliving all the foods through this post made me hungry and craving for it.   

Having said that, I leave you with these words:

"To blog about it is human, to actually taste it is divine."

 (FAT) officially kicked off with the first restaurant in the line-up:  Tadakuma.

Tadakuma is a Japanese restaurant located at the Damosa Business Center in Davao City.

The bloggers enjoyed a great meal indoors to complement the rainy afternoon.  The wooden interiors,  figurines and antiques made the Japanese experience more authentic.

When we settled down, we were immediately served several dishes.  It's not like a full course meal where you are served several times.   Tadakuma went all out and served most of the dishes to us all at once.    We were mesmerized with the foods that quickly filled our table.     

Since the California maki was closest to me,  that was my first pick.   I must say, these are one of the largest pieces of maki I've ever seen.  And what I found unique about them was the way they were sliced. 

 Traditional maki is square and cut flat at the top.  Their makis were sliced with an 

angle at the top depicting a diagnoal top on a flat base. It was also so soft and easy to chew.  Good thing I didn't have second thoughts whether to eat the entire maki in one bite or not.

Next up was sashimi.   Eating the sashimi was a breeze.  The best kinds of sashimi are the ones that don't require much effort in chewing.  It was served along with other variants of sushi.

I then took some noodles from their yakisoba serving.  It was tasty with  generous garnishings.  I was afraid this would be spicy but it wasn't.  Just enough flavor and spice without being spicy.

We also sampled their large servings of Atuyaki Tofu and Gomoku Chahan.

The sukiyaki was the best I've tasted ever.  Aside from being served in a large flat wok-like platter, the large serving was good for many.  The soup base was really delicious and the soup alone was already a unanimous hit with us all.   The thin noodles, tofu, vegeatables and beef added more praises to the sukiyaki broth.

Everything was delicious that after declaring a very satisfied lunch and a full stomach, we just had to eat what was left.  And so we went back to the maki and sashimi trays making these initial apetizers also our dessert.

I really enjoyed dining at Tadakuma.  The friendly owners even mingled with us to tell us more about their restaurant.   Next time I'm going back to Davao, I'm definitely visiting them again.

Tadakuma is located at 11 Damosa Business Center, Lanang, Davao City.  You can reach them at (082) 234-8813.

You are all invited to the KINALASAN (Kababaihang Iniwan na ng mga Lalaking Sumama sa Ibang Nililiyag) event being presented by the OFW Family Club (OFWFC) on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at Hobbies of Asia, Macapagal Highway, Pasay City.

This event will commemorate International Women's Month and the support group under the umbrella of the OFWFC by the same name.  Activities for this 1-day affair will include inspirational talks by female icons in diverse industries (Rep. Connie Dy, Rep. Liza Maza, Susan "Toots" Ople, Gaby Dela Merced, et al.), a major overseas/local job fair, medical/dental mission, free makeovers, games/raffles, music and poetry by Romancing Venus & much more!

Admission is FREE and anyone can attend for as long as they would like to show their support for the abandoned OFW wives, female OFWs, and women in general.

Choose your color

Aside from making perfect sense,  it does have similarities with driving under the influence of alcohol.  Intoxication slows down your awareness and alertness, same as texting.    You may not be under the influence of alcohol, but your concentration is divided into driving and texting not to mention your vision as well.   

One dangerous characteristic about it is that your vision constantly shifts from near to far and back as you look at your celphone and the road alternately.   That alone can bring forth harmful effects on how you perceive the road.  What may be far, may suddenly be near and what may look okey may not be.

And the e-mail mentioned that the driver was driving at 70mph !  Don't even think about texting at these speeds.  The faster you drive, the more alert you need to be.   If you really need to text, stop at the side of the road and send your message or if you're with someone, pass the phone to them to send it for you.  

Be safe and don't be inTEXTicated. 

And so behold, I just followed what the sign on the table said... hoping it would work.

...the things you do when you're bored...

Aside from the food tour, we were determined to go to the beach since it's been more than a year since we've been to one and so Aileen and I mentioned to the other bloggers that before the food appreciation tour officially starts, we planned to visit Samal in the morning and have breakfast.   Samal is just a 10 minute boat ride from Davao City and the island is suitable for swimming and diving.  Several resorts are also located in Samal including the famous Pearl Farm.   

We visited the resort nearby which was Paradise Island Park and Beach resort.   Markku, Hanna, Maki, Aileen and I rented a boat which took us straight to Paradise Island.  When we got off, we were already amazed at the clear waters...clear enough to see the fishes below.

The staff were very friendly and all greeted us left and right.   We were directed to the picnic area right in front of the beach where they conveniently had tables and benches in front of the beach for dining.  We ordered our breakfast and took a quick swim while waiting for the food to be served.    When in the water, you could see Davao City's coast and huge mountains in the background which we soon discovered one of them being Mt. Apo.

We had bacon, hungarian sausage, scrambled eggs, toast and omelettes.  We didn't think twice about ordering fresh fruit shakes and juices since this is where fruits are always in abundance.   Dining by the bay with the fresh air, cool breeze and spectacular view just makes your breakfast much more pleasant and exciting. 

Since we didn't have much time to spend, we toured the rest of the resort after breakfast and pleasantly discovered a mini zoo with some exotic birds.   And heading towards the dock, we saw a sign which read "massage" and saw the white mats with giant umbrellas at the beachside where you can have your massage.

The serenenity of the resort does make you feel like you're in paradise.  No wonder they call the resort Paradise Island.  I'm hoping to visit them again and stay longer the next time I get to visit Samal.  You can check out their website at http://paradiseislanddavao.com/

I remember when I was in school during breaks, I was memorizing lyrics to "Mga Kababayan" and was an instant fan when Francis introduced Pinoy rap to mainstream.   I remember my classmate jokingly suggested that "Mga Kababayan" should become the new national anthem.    

I remember him tagged as the Master Rapper hooking up with DJ MOD on turntables, who was then more popularly known as the Master of Disaster and they'd perform live.  

I remember that whenever I'd interview upcoming Pinoy rap artists and ask who their inspiration was, FrancisM was always one of them.   Gloc-9 never failed to mention FrancisM as his idol.   FrancisM also  gave new talents a break and would include them in his albums and compilations.  

I always attended the Philippine Hip Hop Music Awards to cover the event and you could see the mutual respect everybody had for FrancisM every time he won an award.  The crowd was at an applauding consensus when he was awarded the Hall of Fame award in 2005.  The milestones that FrancisM did to the music industry elevated dance, rap and hiphop into accepted mainstream.  

I remember that FrancisM was also a good dancer.  I didn't get to see him during his breakdancing days but whenever he'd pull out some dance moves for a crowd, it looked so cool.  I was surprised to see how great FrancisM danced to Michael Jackson's hit in a special dance number in Eat Bulaga in 2007.   Even during practice, he gave it his all.

Being a music site owner, I've met and talked to Francis on several occasions.   Whenever he'd perform, you can feel his passion for everything he sets his mind on.  My last encounter with FrancisM was during one of the music video shoots for Pupil.  Since Ely Buendia and FrancisM are close friends, the band had the honor of having FrancisM as their official photographer for their shoot and album.  I talked with FrancisM about the possibility of selling his line of shirts via our website and even if he was in a rush to leave to catch another event, he kindly told me that we could discuss it over e-mail.  

It is sad to lose a good citizen, a role model and an inspiration.   You will be missed.  Peace FrancisM.  

I rarely know anyone who wakes up and is instanly 100% awake.  It's like when you wake up, you're slowly waking up until you're 100% ready to start the day.   Some linger in bed for a while (with heavy usage on the alarm snooze feature) and some slowly get up but move in a slow motioned state.   I like to wake myself up by playing some music.  And it's usually one of two kinds of music I play to wake myself up.

The first one is Santana's Supernatural live concert series.  This is an 8-time Grammy awarding album which also won Album of the Year. The Cuban and Latin rhythms from Oye Como Va would make even your head move from side to side with its infectuous beat.  His other songs from this series have positive messages which make basically has a "feel-good" motivation like the song "Make Somebody Happy" with only two lines of lyrics repeating throughout:

The 2nd part of that medley is a totally upbeat song "Right On Be Free".  Back-up vocals, crazy vintage organ solos and the momentum of the song is great to shake off those last feelings of sluggishness and transform to complete  awakeness.  Some of the other songs on the album are collaborations with other talented artists like his duet with Rob Thomas in "Smooth".

The 2nd type of songs that wake me up to a good and refreshing day is the soundtrack from the Original Transformers The Movie, released in 1986.  Since the album was released in the 80's, the type of music is anthemic rock with positive reinforcement.   One of the main songs message  "The Touch" (by Stan Bush) is to never give up and gives you the positive momentum to be optimistic.

The other songs in the album are mostly upbeat rock songs and will get your adrenalin pumping.  

I believe that the sound and message you hear in the first few minutes of your day can generally influence your mood for the day.   So why not listen to something to make your day a great one ? 

Good morning !

So it was a surprise for me to know only today that Batista is back here in Manila !

Batista will be at SM Megamall on March 3, 2009 2:30pm for a scheduled wrestling appearance for all his WWE and Pinoy fans.  He's here on a promotional tour for WWE.

Even if I won't be able to go to any of his appearances this time, I'm happy to have had the opportunity last time he was here in 2006 along with other WWE Superstars visited for a 2 day wrestling extravaganza at the Araneta Coliseum.  My wrestling barkada (composed of my former officemate, his girlfriend and her daughter) all walk and planned 6 months before the event.  We saved up every month so we could have enough money to buy tickets at the lower box area.  And it was worth it !  We also won meet and greet invites to Batista and an autograph signing while he was here.   So I guess that was my Batista Experience.

Here are some pics from the Smackdown tour in 2006.

Now I chant.... BATISTA ! BATISTA !  BATISTA !!!

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(I'm talking about the car to the left).