Thousand Cranes Shabu-Shabu
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 15, 2009
Thousand Cranes Shabu-Shabu
2/F Greenbelt 3 Legaspi St., Legaspi Village, Makati City, Metro Manila
(02) 729-8640
——————–
The only shabu-shabu place I know is located at Greenbelt 3. It has great ambiance. Even if you’re eating something hot, you won’t feel uncomfortable.
Service though is a bit blah coz there were only 4 staff that day. So there was only 1 manning the kitchen, 1 manning outside area, 1 manning the inner area & 1 manning the counter. How could they serve customers with over 15 tables & they were undermanned? tsk tsk!
Before our order arrived, the staff helped setup the cooking area and ingredients for sauce. I lovvveeeeeee sate sauce.
For those who don’t know how to cook, no worries!!! It’s easy! You just need to put the ingredients on the boiling soup, wait for a few minutes for it to be cooked and then you’re good ð
Here are what we ordered:
- Shrimp & Meat Shabu-Shabu (Php 570)
With Shrimp & Meat Set, you could choose chicken, fat beef or porkloin as your meat. We have chosen porkloin. By the way, you need to be attentive when you start putting your shrimp and meat in. To cook shrimp and meat, don’t let it stay more than a minute in the soup.
- All Balls Set (Php 400)
Different kinds of balls in this order: shrimp balls, squid balls, meat balls, even crab sticks! ð If you just want pure & simple shabu shabu meal, then this is for you.
- Fresh Buko Juice (Php 70)
I still prefer Shabu-Shabu places that offer eat all you can. I think those are more affordable and we have more control as to what we’ll eat. For me, I would have preferred more porkloin and more shrimps!
And also, there will be less waste for those ingredients that we don’t like (or eat).
More pictures here.
The No Nonsense Seminar on Finance
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 15, 2009
I attended Randell Tiongson’s No Nonsense Seminar on Finance: How to Invest for the Future last week. I must say there is really NO nonsense in this seminar.
I’ve been to several seminars on finance before but I ended up disappointed because I felt that it was more of a marketing scheme for them so people can invest on their company. The examples & theories were just so common. Some even used Robert Kiyosaki’s teachings that has been overused by lots of companies already.
With Randell’s seminar, all the things that we NEED to know about investing is there. Each & every slide that Randell showed to us is crucial for us to know so that we can be on our way to financial freedom.
You can really feel Randell’s passion in teaching financial management. He doesn’t want us to just stop right where we are but encourage us to go a step further and invest for the future!
The best thing about this seminar is Randell made it so simple for us to understand. Investing is not just for people who are good in math or accounting. Everyone can be successful investors!
No Nonsense Seminar on Finance: How to Invest for the Future is basically a vehicle for us to learn investments, investment planning, investment risks & investment instruments in a practical way.
Some of the key takeaways from the seminar are the ff.:
Manage your money
- Set a Budget.
- Stick to it.
- If you Exceed, Repair.
- Record & Know where it went.
- Eliminate Debt.
- Establish a Savings to Keep.
Setting your goals
- Aim the Target – Be Specific
- Formulate Budget
- Implement
- Build on your Mistake – Review Performance
- Minimize Loan
- Get Out of Debt
- Cash Out Your Assets (You Cannot Accumulate your Wealth if you are in Debt)
Photos from the Seminar can be found here.
I missed the 1st hour of the seminar so I really hope that there are more repeats for the no nonsense seminar. You can get updates from Randell’s site here & join their online discussion here.
Graund Launch of C2 Classic Cuisine in Greenhills
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 14, 2009
C2 Classic Cuisine
18 Missouri Street, Northeast Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines
(02) 723-2347
——————–
I attended the Grand Launch of C2 Classic Cuisine earlier this past week. We were served different dishes which we can sample and critique. I said critique because most of us invited are from media. They didn’t disappoint. The food is good & well-presented.
Though I was late, they still served food to newcomers. I wasn’t able to taste the other menu items because I was 2 hours late! Good thing, they had backups so I was able to sample some of their dishes. ð
The ff. menu items were served to us:
- Turon Ala Mode (Php 145)
This is a popular dessert in the Philippines. This is banana cooked spring-roll style with langka sauce on top. Served with vanilla ice cream.
I love it! The size is just right and you can just taste each & every ingredient. Perfect combination & a nice twist done by C2 Classic Cuisine on the dish.
- Seared Tilapia in Coconut Emulsion (Php 450)
I like this dish. Tilapia fillet fried into perfection and served with pineapple salsa in creamy coconut sauce. I especially love that they put crunchy potato into the dish. The presentation was great! It really made the dish exciting & not boring.
- Tinolang Binakol (Php 285)
This caught my attention right away because I’ve never seen soup served in a coconut shell before. It’s nice that they had a porcelain container beside this dish, as the coconut shell will not be enough of a container to put the dish in.
Anyway, Tinolang Binakol is tender chicken cutlets in ginger-coconut soup served with sayote and coconut strips. Honestly, I wasn’t able to taste any coconut strip but the coconut was still in the coconut shell hehehe ð Maybe they weren’t just able to carve the coconut because of time constraint. Still, I believe this was a nice concept. I was hoping they had put in more chicken though. .
- Guinataang Puso ng Saging (Php 210)
This was another great presentation! This was spicy banana heart in coconut cream sauce wrapped in lettuce leaves.
The way each dish was presented and how unique each dish was, you could really see the effort they put in each and every dish that they serve. I love it!
- Garlic Rice (Php 75)
This is what I really love about C2 Classic Cuisine. Theirs is not the usual Filipino restaurant that we have in Manila. The food is delicious. It has this contemporary twist to it. And more importantly: the price is just right. I will definitely try this out again.
Rest of the pictures here.
MTV Emerge
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 14, 2009
I stumbled upon the MTV Emerge Website today.
I ended up browsing the site for an hour. Â I was looking for the best artist deserving to get a recording contract with Jeepney music. Â There were too many works posted and all of them are really nice. Â I wanted to look for something very Filipino as I think this is what is lacking in our music industry now. Â Most of the popular music artists now are just doing english revivals and I’m getting sick of it.
Just to give you a background, MTV Emerge is a platform for unsigned music talent in the Philippines. Â This is where they can showcase their original work and be given an opportunity to win a recording contract.
Participants from any music genre are encouraged to register & upload their profiles, photos & original music on the site during the submission period.
All entries will have to go through a public voting process. Â Which brings me to my choice to win the contest: Takda by Publico.
Publico is a band composed of UST alumni coming from various colleges. Â I like their music because 1st it is Filipino and 2nd it is very original.
I encourage everyone to also vote for your favorite artist/band! Â Let us support unsigned Filipino music talents. Â Let their music be heard nationwide & worldwide. Â They do deserve it. Â Voting started last November 2. Â By November 20, a panel of judges including Apl.de.Ap of Black Eyed Peas will pick 7 grand winners from the top entries.
Winners will be invited & introduced by Apl.de.Ap himself at a live event to be held at SM Mall of Asia on November 27.
Up for grabs are the ff.:
- one-year recording contract with Jeepney Music
- mentorship under Apl.de.Ap during the contract period
- contract includes artist management & promotion, digital distribution of 3-6 songs & strategic marketing plan for the signed artists to break into both the Philippines & international markets.
Budget Reform is TG Guingona III’s Main Advocacy
Posted by Rochelle Sy Chua On November 13, 2009
When I got an invite for the bloggers meet with TG Guingona III, I was like, ââ¬Åwho is this guy?ââ¬Â The only thing that entered my mind was, he is probably a relative of Teofisto Guingona. But why is he running for senator?
When I saw him, I said to myself that ahhhh. Iââ¬â¢ve seen him on Television. Still, the question remained. Who is he? Heââ¬â¢s not popular. How can he win the election?
I asked him that and he said thatââ¬â¢s why he is joining his partyââ¬â¢s rallies as he doesnââ¬â¢t have sufficient funds to advertise himself.
Teofisto ââ¬ÅTGââ¬Â Guingona III is with Noynoyââ¬â¢s campaign. He is joining all the activities of the Liberal Party. They share the same advocacies. TGââ¬â¢s main advocacy however is Budget Reform.
As representative of the 2nd district of Bukidnon, Congressman TG Guingona III has filed several bills/resolutions on budget reform which are still pending with the committee on Appropriations.
How is our budget done anyway?
To explain in simple terms, the budget is first proposed by the president (executive). The Congress (legislature) will review the proposal and authorize it. It is congress that will say where the money goes. It is their most important law that they will pass in the year. When approved by Congress, the president will implement it.
Do you honestly think that the budget allocation is being followed? Your guess is as good as mine.
Read the rest of the article in Blogwatch.PH.
References:
- Videos – http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1349C557DAEEDED6
- Pictures – http://www.flickr.com/photos/rochellesychua/sets/72157622643689315/