The Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 5, 2010
The Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak
Level M1 Trinoma Mall, Edsa corner North Avenue, Quezon City, Metro Manila
(02) 916-7040
——————–
My friend Stef and I had dinner before I went to Malaysia for vacation. She knows I blog so she let me decide where to eat. Anyway, we decided to eat at Sizzlin Pepper Steak, I could have chosen a different restaurant but Stef wasn’t in the mood to eat Filipino food.
I’ve always known that Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak is an imitation of Pepper Steak. Obviously, Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak’s dishes are a bit cheaper. The style, the menu were kinda the same though.
Maybe I just didn’t see it when I last ate at Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak. But it seemed to me that there was a change with how we ordered in Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak. So we are given like an order slip, we checked the items in the menu then write down our orders in the piece of paper. I personally think this is great, more efficient and we, the customers, have ample time to choose our orders without any pressure whatsoever.
Here are what we ordered:
- Creamy Corn Soup (Php 55)
This dish had corn kernels in rich, creamy corn soup. I’m not really a fan of creamy soups but Stef ordered this and said that it was just fine. So I’ll take her word for it.
- Mushroom Gravy Hamburg (Php 160)
I loved this better than their famous pepper rice. It is their own version of burger topped with mushroom gravy. Served w/ yummy yummy vegetables. I just love this! So juicy & so tasty!
- Orange Juice (Php 75)
This was not freshly squeezed orange juice. I think this orange juice was too expensive for something that was not prepared fresh.
- Beef Pepper Rice (Php 195)
The ever-famous beef pepper rice is the best seller in Sizzlin’ Pepper steak. They even have a video that they play over and over again on the monitors at the restaurant. Basically, this is just thinly sliced beef sukiyaki marinated in their special sauce. Served in a sizzling plate. One tip, once served, turn the beef upside down so it gets cooked then put the sauce and mixed everything together (including the rice). 🙂
- Iced Tea (Php 55)
Usual bottomless iced tea that people order 🙂 Nothing special.
This was another thing that I liked that Sizzlin’ Pepper Steak did recently. They had this sign in every table. They call it “Moo Flips”. So you just flip it either Red Stop or Green Moo-oove! Stop if you don’t need anything & Moo-oove! if you need any assistance. Pretty cool, no need to keep calling for servers!
More pictures from our dinner here.
Guesting at DZRH for Blogwatch
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 4, 2010
Last saturday, Blogwatch was featured in the radio show, Batas Barangay. The radio show was aired at DZRH w/hosts Henry Uri, Christine & Atty. Ramon Barredo. Batas Barangay is run by Batas Barangay Development Foundation. It is a non-government organization that aims to educate the people regarding their rights and obligations towards the achievement of peace and development.
It was an honor to be one of the bloggers asked to represent Blogwatch in the radio guesting. We were there to share with listeners what blogwatch is about, who blogs and why we write for the site.
It was my first time to be in a radio studio. Can I just say that it was sooooo cool to actually sit in on the room (which was good for five people). There were microphones and headphones ready. Inside the room were some monitors like what we could see on television. It is really popular that radio shows are now on Television too.
It’s funny that wherever I go, certainly there’ll always be bloopers that I make. One big mistake I made was when they asked me who the presidentiables we interviewed were. I answered: Villar, Gibo, Gordon, Perlas, Villanueva then… JC de Vera instead of JC delos Reyes! On national radio and on TV!!! It was so embarassing! To think that JC de Vera is an actor and not a politician and definitely NOT a presidentiable! So if both JCs are reading this entry, I apologize for the mixup. 🙂
Here are some information we shared during the 6:30-7:30pm show:
- Objective: The aim of Blog Watch is to give Filipinos, especially the youth, exactly what they need when they need it, and to try to produce a better-educated voter body in time for the 2010 elections through the use of new media and social media software applications.
BlogWatch is a bloggers’ initiative aiming to cover underplayed stories that traditional media cannot cover due to limited resources and time. - How the bloggers were selected: Their passion for writing was not just for a personal engagement but for a higher end. Referrals & word of mouth were mainly the instruments as to how the bloggers were selected.
- Demographics of Bloggers: Age: 21-66 yrs old; Gender: M-17, F-8; Metro Manila-20, Provincial-5
- Profile of Personal Blogs: Personal, food, politics, photoblog, internet marketing
- Difference between Blog Watch & Traditional Media:
1) Traditional media – provides the medium for discussion. It is Blog Watch, in new media where discussion takes place -twitter, plurk, facebook comments.
2) Traditional media – tends to focus on Personality- or celebrity-centered coverage, He said, she said, Party Politics, reactionary. Blogwatch – platforms, Issues, Campaign Finance, Automated Election, Voters Ed, Commentaries.
3) What traditional media prints out or shows on TV passes through rigorous editing. Sometimes long speeches and discussions need to be trimmed down to just a few minutes due to precious airtime. Blog Watch – has almost no limit. Interviews of candidates are hardly edited and are posted in full on our sites (only chopped up in YouTube due to the latter’s 10-minute per video limit. - Categories: Voter’s Education (emphasis on relevant COMELEC laws), Automated Elections, Commentaries, Features & Campaign Finances.
- Format of interview: Casual ambiance (sometimes in internet cafes); interviewee is surrounded by bloggers in a warm setting; Blog Watch gets one question each, followed by Vibal, guest bloggers. Questions from the online viewers via Twitter or the chatroom are also asked. Bloggers end with photo ops (a trademark of bloggers as these pics are often used in their own blogs as well as on social networking sites and the actual Blog Watch articles they write).
- Interviews done: Manny Villar, Bro. Eddie, Kapatiran (JC de los Reyes/Jun Chipeco), Nick Perlas, Gilbert Teodoro, Gordon/Fernando and some senatoriables
One important point I want to call out (it was discussed briefly during the show) is how blogwatch is non-partisan. I myself believe that there’s no such thing as being neutral. While blogwatch is non-partisan, the bloggers in the group have their own choices when it comes to who to support. We balance each other out.
To be honest, I am still undecided but based on who we met, I am already leaning towards supporting some candidates. I’ll definitely share my choices once Blogwatch has finished all interviews with the candidates most probably a few weeks before election.
Rest of the pictures of our radio guesting can be found in my flickr page.
Legion Movie Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 2, 2010
We were supposed to only watch one movie. We ended up watching two, Paano na Kaya & Legion. Just one look at the poster & I knew that it would be a good movie considering Paul Bettany was playing the lead character.
I was very happy when I saw Dennis Quaid in the movie. Unfortunately, even though I admire the cast, I was not impressed with the story. The Powerhouse cast included Dennis Quaid, Paul Bettany, Tyrese Gibson, and Kate Walsh were just not enough to make a movie a great one because the story is just too weak.
The story is about God who wanted to make humans extinct. Fallen Angel Michael (Paul Bettany’s character) didn’t agree with God’s decision. So Michael helped a group of strangers in a diner, including a pregnant woman who is believed to bear a child that is the only hope or savior of the human race!
Actually, that’s the story, which is followed by people in the diner fighting for their life. Possessed men attacking the diner, biting people, etc. haaayy… felt like an apocalypse movie with a zombie twist in it.
I left the movie thinking what the story was all about and what lessons it was trying to leave with us.
My Rating for Legion: 2 out of 5 stars.
Paano na Kaya Movie Review
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On February 1, 2010
Long time no update 🙂 So, I had to work the whole weekend because of a deadline. You know how it is, right? Anyway, I decided to reward myself by watching a movie. I asked Lucy, my housemate/yaya, if we could watch “Paano na Kaya” and she was excited as ever! hahahaha!
“Paano na Kaya” is a Filipino Movie. I don’t really watch them that much but I love how Star Cinema makes great Filipino movies! The trailer of “Paano na Kaya” is just too nice to miss out.
Paano na Kaya is a story about 2 best friends, Bogs Marasigan and Mae Chua. Best friends forever but Mae though has been in love with Bogs the whole time. Though it hurts her, she helps Bogs take care of his surprises for his girlfriend, etc. She has always been there whenever Bogs needs her, even went to the point that she neglects some of her responsibilities on her shop just to accompany Bogs to wherever.
Bog’s Girlfriend fell in love with someone else and broke his heart. After that, Bogs & Mae had an interesting exchange of words. That scene was ssoooo emotional and memorable that I actually remembered one line! hahaha! It was so real! I guess, it is one of the reasons why I love this movie so much. IMHO, so realistic!
oh, wait, what’s my favorite line again?
“Ganyan talga ang Pagmamahal nagpapakaTanga… Tanga na kung Tanga, pero Mahal Kita, Mahal Kita!!!”
Actually, there are a lot of interesting lines in the movie that I could relate to. It’s true, you know? Each of us tend to be blinded by love and we do crazy things for love. Such is the realities of life.
What a way to start the love month, February! This is just a simple movie but it touches one’s heart. It definitely made me reflect on how I see love. The actors were so believable too! I say, kudos to Star Cinema for a great, great romantic movie. This is definitely worth watching.
My Rating for Paano na Kaya: 4 out of 5 stars.
Why Gibo Teodoro changed his mind on RH Bill
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On January 20, 2010
Presidential candidate Gibo Teodoro & his pretty wife, the congresswoman from the 1st district of Tarlac were once supporters of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. A few weeks ago, they changed their minds regarding the RH bill. So when the opportunity came to ask Mr. Teodoro some questions, I had to take it.
Why did Gibo change his mind regarding the RH bill?
Gibo Teodoro answered my question with authority & strong conviction. I was actually speechless throughout his reply. Now after reviewing the video that I just realized that I have several followup questions to his answer.
Gibo Teodoro said the main problem of the RH bill debate was this: Everybody got so involved with the bill & how to pass it that everybody forgot about what the actual problem was and how to fix it.
Mr. Teodoro then said that this debate is about government substituting itself as the people’s moral guardians. He said it was a mistake because family planning is a personal issue. He then recounted that the Reproductive Health bill will not pass. He reasoned, what good can the RH Bill do if we fight for something knowing the effort would simply fail?
Read the rest of the article in Blogwatch.PH.
References:
- Videos – http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E11D7B003EF64C8F
- Pictures – http://www.flickr.com/photos/rochellesychua/sets/72157623068690911/