The DJ who's not a DeeJay

Most things come in sizes: small, medium, large... big, bigger, biggest... small, huge and the like.  Simple names to describe simple things.

Most fastfoods offer drinks but they always start with medium, then large.  If there's a medium and large, how come there's no small ?  Wendy's has a Biggie sized drink, which is like extra large.  

What about Starbucks cup sizes ?  I still get confused with the names they use: tall, venti and grande.  I later found out that grande is Italian for "big" and venti is Italian for "twenty" which is the no. of ounces the grande size holds.   So tall is small,  grande is medium and venti is big?  Confusing huh ?

With cinemas, there used to be three sections: orchestra, lodge and balcony.  Now it's just orchestra and deluxe.  But some people out of habit would call the upper portion balcony.  Some cinemas call their seating sections deluxe and premiere.  So is premiere the balcony and deluxe is reduced to orchestra ?

Speaking of "deluxe", how about hotel rooms ?   Deluxe sounds like an above-average room for me, but for some hotels, deluxe is the chepeast and smallest room.  Even a Junior sized room is bigger.  And when you hear of a Junior suite, how come there isn't a Senior Suite which could pertain to a bigger room ?  Instead it's an executive suite.   And what's bigger, an executive suite or a presidential suite ?  What's the difference ?  Most of the time, I look at the prices cause numbers are easier to weigh on which is which than these names.

It's with these kind of names I cherish the computer acronym when coding programs, KISS : Keep It Simple Stupid !

I was originally planning to make a hotdog for merienda the other day but I found out that the hotdogs were solid frozen and we didn't have any hotdog buns.  I saw some hamburger buns on the table so I figured I'd use that instead. 

And since I didn't want to wait for the hotdogs to thaw (even if I could just defrost it in the oven), I decided to open a can of vienna sausage and slice them into flat portions.

I checked the ref for some other ingredients I could use and happily found mayonaise, mozarella, pickle relish (sweet though, I like dill pickles more),  cheese, lettuce.  And since I wanted more, I put mustard, ketchup and sprinkled some bacon bits.

And so my vienna sausage burger grew and grew.  I had to squash the burger to fit in my hand and mouth.  

I think I'll make one of these babies again soon.

I've seen personalities, political figures and celebrities jump in the bandwagon and have their own blogs too.

So this is a first for me and a real delight to discover that Kristie Kenney, the US Ambassador to the Philippines, has a blog too !

Aside from the role of being the official US ambassador to bridge any concerns of Americans residing in the Philippines and other duties of the Ambassador, Kristie Kenney is also active in representing and joining goodwill projects for the benefit of Filipinos.   I was honored to have attended one event of MTV which promoted public awareness of human trafficking and what can be done to stop it.

I also got to see her last year when she was also the guest of honor at during the US Navy 7th Fleet free concert at the Mall of Asia.  

And it was cool for her to be at the ribbon cutting of the very first Philippine branch of Krispy Kreme opening at Bonifacio High Street since both of them had the same initials (KK).

Check out her blog to know Kristie Kenney on a more personal level.   Learn about her insights on the Philippines and culture through her perspective and find out what projects she's been involved with lately.  Thanks Ms. Kenney for blogging !

Her blog is apltly entitled "The United States Embassy Manila - Ambassador's Official Blog".

(Shot taken at Padi's Point on a clear evening)

Location: Across Eastwood Mall.

According to http://wwf.org.ph, the Philippines saved 611 MWh of power during the Earth Hour 20009, outshining the rest of the world.  The Philippines beat all countries with its 650 cities participating with Greece and Australia placing at 2nd and 3rd place respectively.  The power saved by the Philippines during the voluntary power off was equivalent to shutting down a dozen power plants for one hour. 

Several simultaneous events happened around the nation to show support for Earch Hour.  The SM chain of malls like SM Baguio, SM Cebu and SM Mall of Asia also showed support by conserving energy from their power-consuming malls.   I was on the road driving by the Makati business district during Earth hour and it was very evident that Makati City was participating as the street lamps were all turned off and several landmarks and buildings were either dimmed or totally unlit.   People from other barangays reverted to lighted candles during Earth hour in support.

Quoting a famous line in an animated movie "Light our darkest hour."  Ironically, as dark as the Philippines was during Earth Hour, we outshined the world.

It's a great feeling to do something in your own little way, and yet feel being one with the world in sync with a common cause.

Roll out !

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.

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