Category: Lifestyle

Mediterraneo Movie Review

Mediterraneo

Shangri-La Mall had a free screening of Mediterraneo courtesy of Philippine Italian Association and Film Development Council of the Philippines last April 24, 2012.  I actually didn’t know about it but a friend called me up and said that it looked good and we must watch it.

Good thing we did because Mediterraneo was a totally different movie experience for me!  Mediterraneo is considered to be one of the greatest film in Italy.  Mediterraneo won Best Foreign-Language film at the 1991 Academy Awards.  It was directed by Gabriele Salvatores and screenplay by Enzo Monteleone.

The film is set during World War II and revolves around a crew of eight misfit Italian soldiers who were stranded on a Greek island and were left behind by the war.

The tiny Greek island was called, Kastellorizo.  They found themselves less interested in fulfilling their patriotic duty (spot enemy ships and to hold the island in case of attack) and more interested in discovering the joys of life.  With their boat destroyed and their two-way radio broken, they gradually made contact with the locals.

They learned to adapt in their new lives.  The lieutenant discovered his talent for painting and restores the church, while some become fishermen and goat herders.  An Italian solder, on the other hand, fell in love with the island prostitute and marries her.  They have all forgotten about their identity and became part of the island community.

As the war ends, the island’s male population return to Kastellorizo and to their wives.  The Italian soldiers reluctantly left the island but one of them stayed, after having married.  After several years, they reunited at that same island.

The movie really grew on me!  In fact, when I try to remember the movie, I tend to appreciate it more and more.  I liked the positive spin of Mediterraneo.  Imagine the irony as Mediterraneo was on a war setting but love, passion, compassion and friendship defined the whole movie!  I’m just glad I was able to watch it.  It’s definitely a classic and a well-moved movie!

Oh BTW, the film was sweetly dedicated to ‘all who wish to run away’.

My Rating for Mediterraneo: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Teaberi

Teaberi

My friends know that I’m addicted to tea!  If I’m given a chance to choose between coffee or tea, there’s no question that I would answer tea.  I’ve been a mainstay in different milk tea places that have been operating here in Metro Manila.  I must honestly say though that I change my favorite among them when I got to try better brands.

As of the moment, my favorite is teaberi.  I was so impressed that I am raving about it to my friends.  I used to rave about another brand but after teaberi, I’m totally sold!  Teaberi has the best selection of tea.  The taste of their tea is better than other brands too (in my opinion, of course)!  It seemed that the people behind teaberi studied carefully about the best formula to make tea.

I wish teaberi will open more branches as it’s going to be such a shame for other people not to discover this tea place!  Popular tea parlors here in Manila should watch out for some competition with teaberi.

Teaberi is located at the side of A. Venue Mall.  You can just quickly park in front and order for take out.  To order tea, just proceed to the counter and choose the drink from the menu pasted on the countertop.

teaberi ordering

You can also look over their menu on the wall for better viewing.  During the time I was there, I ordered one of each among teaberi’s different sets of teas.  I wanted to have the complete experience that’s why I ordered a lot.  I could always bring them home anyway.

teaberi menu

Guests can also opt to dine in.  Teaberi has a small area for customers who wanted to hang out.  I love the colorful and bright atmosphere of the place.

teaberi dining area

It’s great for taking pictures too!  I remember how I loved my shots there, hahaha!

teaberi roch loves!

Prices of tea are toppings-inclusive already but you can order additional for Php 15 each except for cheese froth which costs Php 30.  Toppings in teaberi are black pearl (teaberi’s specialty), pudding, taro pudding, grass jelly, nata de coco, coffee jelly, brown ice jelly, aloe, bubble pops and cheese froth.

For sugar-conscious folks, you can let teaberi know how sweet you like your drink to be, whether it’s 100%, 75 %, 50% or 25%.

Here are some of the drinks that I tried out in Teaberi:

  • Roast Sencha Milk Tea (M-Php 85, L-Php 95)

teaberi roast sencha milk tea

What I like about Roast Sencha milk tea is the strong tea flavor.  The tea flavor comes out even if there’s milk in it.  If you’re a true tea lover, you will like this drink.

  • Winter melon milk tea (M-Php 85, L-Php 95)

teaberi wintermelon milk tea

Winter melon milk tea is becoming popular among tea lovers.  It has always been my comfort drink.  I like teaberi’s version as theirs is milder.

  • Strawberry Green Tea (M-Php 75, L-Php 85)

teaberi strawberry green tea

I’ve tried teaberi’s strawberry green tea.  I chose pudding as my topping for this drink.  I love that teaberi’s chill tea is the best to fight the extremely hot temperature we are experiencing in Manila right now.  It’s very refreshing and can at least alleviate a bit of the hot feeling.

  • Lemon Squeeze (M-Php 75, L-Php 85, Hot-Php 65)

teaberi lemon squeeze with bubble pop

I got to try lemon squeeze with bubble pop.  Bubble pop are cute little pearls when popped, flavored juice comes out.  I got the strawberry pop and I must say, it made the experience of drinking tea more fun & enjoyable!

Lemon squeeze is part of Teaberi’s ‘herbal & fruit infused tea’ selection.  The tea comprised of rose hip, lemon juice and lemongrass.  Other herbal/fruit infused tea are orange spice, berry medley, peach delight and blackcurrant.

  • Cocoa Cheese Froth (M-Php 110 L-Php 120)

teaberi cocoa cheese froth

A lot of people are crazy over drinks with cheese froth.  Teaberi recognizes that and got themselves some creations with cheese froth.  They have cocoa cheese froth — a combination of different chocolates.  Well, it wasn’t surprising that this drink is one of teaberi’s bestsellers.  Chocolate is everyone’s best friend after all! 🙂

  • Matcha Black Bean with Roasted Rice (M-Php 95, L-Php 105, Hot-Php 85)

teaberi Matcha black bran with roasted rice

My favorite among the ones I tried out in teaberi has got to be this Matcha Black Bean with Roasted Rice drink!  My golly, it tasted soooooooo good!  I’m not sure if it was the ground black beans or the tea or the roasted rice, but the whole drink in itself was so yummy!

Teaberi is a haven for tea lovers!

Their specialty drinks are my personal favorites.  Have you tried it?  You should!  Try their Matcha Black Bean with Roasted rice, I’m totally in love with it!  Can’t wait to see more branches of Teaberi soon!

teaberi selection of drinks

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Teaberi
A. Venue Mall, Makati City, Philippines
Mon – Sun: 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm
teabericafe@gmail.com

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The Cake Club

The Cake Club

Everyone love desserts!  I, myself, always crave for desserts after every meal and it has become a habit.  So hearing that The Cake Club opened in Bonifacio High Street Central, made me happy as we have more options now for a dessert place.  However, I realized after having visited The Cake Club, that it wasn’t just a dessert place.  They offer main dishes too!  Get to know more by reading on…

I loved the clean and elegant design of the restaurant.  What I found really interesting was the service!  The servers were dressed the same as the servers in Diamond Hotel!  They were dressed formally and we get the same royal treatment that we used to get when we go to 5-star hotels.  Isn’t that cool?

cake club dining area

The surrounding will make you hungry.  I was itching to order already as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.  The display of Hediard Tea, Malongo Coffee, wines and Royce Chocolates were such a nice sight to see.

cake club ambiance

Who wouldn’t take home cakes, ensaymada and ice cream when you see them neatfully placed at the center of the restaurant?  We all went home with cakes and I thoroughly enjoyed them at home.

cake club ambiance 2

We made sure to order different items so we could share in our blog posts almost every dish that Cake Club has.  As for me, I ordered red beet soup, US Angus Beef burger and blue garden tea.

Starters

  • Hobart’s Spicy Tomato Soup (Php 190)

cake club soup

homemade tomato jam, fresh basil.

  • Roasted Red Beet Soup (Php 190)

cake club beet soup

goat cheese, green apples and toasted walnuts with beet.

While everyone ordered tomato soup, I was the only one who ordered red beet soup.  I super love red color but unfortunately, I didn’t like this red-colored soup. I find it odd as I have tasted other beet dishes and liked them.  I guess it was only me as others have tasted my order and they liked it.  It really boils down to everyone’s personal taste.

  • GM Salad (Php 210)

cake club salad

pan roasted mushrooms, crispy parmesan basket, baby greens and shallot vinaigrette.

  • Caramelized Onion & Goat Cheese Tart Salad (Php 295)

cake club caramelized onion

cheese, aruguia and frisee lettuce, cherry tomatoes and white win vinaigrette.

  • Truffle Fries (Php 180)

cake club truffle fries

This has got to be the best appetizer among The Cake Club’s menu.  When this was served, it was empty in just a few minutes.  We had to order again as everyone wanted to eat some more.  The truffle oil must be the secret to this addictive dish.  Yummy!

Mains

  • Slow-Roasted Beef Belly

cake club beef belly

honey roasted baby carrots, brown rice and horseradish cream.

  • U.S. Angus Beef Burger (Php 410)

cake club us angus beef burger

Juicy beef patty, vine ripe tomatoes, caramelized onions, fresh basil pesto and cheddar reese served with fries.

I wanted to order slow-roasted beef belly but noone ordered this U.S. Angus beef burger so I decided to give it a try.  It was funny that the burger was colored red because I just had red soup, haha!  The burger tasted good and it was juicy, meaty, flavorful and really, really good!  If you love burgers, you’ll love this.

  • Lamb Burger (Php 490)

cake club lamb burger

Moroccan spiced lamb patty, feta and parmesan cheese, harissa yogurt, served with fries.

  • Porcini Mushroom Crepe (Php 420)

cake club mushroom crepe

cake club crepe open

parmesan and emmental cheese and light cream sauce.

  • Baked Salmon (Php 455)

cake club fish

salmon with mediterranean crust and saffron risotto.

  • Saton-San’s Mentaiko Spaghetti (Php 370)

cake club pasta

spicy cod roe, dried seaweed and cream sauce.

Beverages

Aside from the savory dishes, The Cake Club offers good selection of beverages.  They have Hediard tea (which I ordered) and Malongo Coffee, both of which are famous French brands.  Red and white wines are also available which are great for food pairing.

  • Blue Garden Tea (Php 200 per pot)

cake club tea

Chinese tea flavored with rhubarb and wild strawberry, sprinkled with cornflower and helianthus petals.  Blue Garden tea is the best seller of Cake Club when it comes to Hediard tea and I must say, I agree!

  • House Wine (Php 170 per glass)

cake club wines

Red or white wine served by the glass.

Pastry Selection

The Cake Club wouldn’t be named after cakes if their cakes weren’t delicious right?  This was why I was so looking forward for our meal to end as I was excited to try out the numerous mouth-watering cakes being offered at the Cake Club.

Individual cakes can be purchased/ordered for Php 250, whole cakes are priced at Php 1,500 and if you crave for Diamond Hotel’s famous ensaymada, you can order them too at Php 120 each.

We were all lucky to have the privilege of trying out almost all the cakes at the restaurant.  My gosh, just by looking at how pretty the cakes were presented, made it much harder for us to take the first plunge in eating it but nothing stopped us for trying them all out.  I had my favorites of course, and they are Ispahan & Vanessa.

cake club cake selections

Le Royale – Chef Pang Kok Keong’s signature cake made of Vairhona dark chocolate mousse, almond meringue and hazelnut crispy.
Vanessa (my fav!) – named after Diamond Hotel’s General Manager, this cake is made of pistachio macaroons and fresh strawberries.
Danielle – Chef Daniel Back’s white chocolate raspberry cheesecake that is sugarless! Perfect for diet-conscious peeps!
Baked Cheesecake – Diamond Hotel’s signature cheesecake that is known to be the cheesiest cake in the metro!

cake club cakes

Ispahan (another fav!) – Diamond Hotel’s tribute to French pastry chef Pierre Herm.  The cake is made with raspberries, lychee and rose essence.
Cecilia – used to be in Diamond Hotel President’s wish list but came true when chef Robert Mempin made this version of buko pie.
St. Honore Ube – cake made after the French patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs, Saint Honor and is made of puff pastry, pâte a choux and ube ganache.
Supermoist Chocolate Cake – I’m not a fan of chocolate cake but I’m sure that this cake will be a major success to all customers with sweet tooth! 🙂

Ice Cream Selection

Aside from the famous cakes, The Cake Club also serves their very own homemade ice cream.  Their flavors are totally unique and each one has a distinct taste & flavor.  Some of the flavors are based on their cakes.

The Cake Club’s Ice Cream Flavors were: Supermoist Chocolate cake, Baked Cheesecake, Genmaicha (green tea with roasted brown rice), Black Sesame, Azuki (Japanese red bean), Mont Blanc (chestnut & rum), Taro-Jackfruit, Melon, Apple Pie and Coconut – Palm Sugar (low-sugar ,6%).

I definitely enjoyed Taro Jackfruit & Black Sesame ice cream flavors the most and I would recommend you try those out 🙂

You can order 2 scoops of ice cream for dine in at Php 150.  If you want more, you can order one pint (Php 350) or half-gallon (Php 1,000) for take out.

cake club ice cream

cake club black sesame

As always, being able to spend time with foodie Yedy just made the experience more joyful! 🙂

cake club Roch and Yedy

The Bonifacio High Street Central is Cake Club’s second branch.  More people can access Diamond Hotel’s loved desserts through The Cake Club’s branches in Rockwell & now, Bonifacio High Street Central.  Go and indulge! <3

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The Cake Club
East Superblock, 30th St. corner 7th St. Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines

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Cirque Mother Africa in Manila 2012

Cirque Mother Africa in Manila

We travel to discover different cultures and watch local shows to enjoy each country’s unique performances.  If you don’t have much time to travel, you’re in luck as world-renowned Cirque Mother Africa will be performing for the first time in Manila!

We’ll get to enjoy African music and dance through a series of 2-hour performances from April 19-22, 2012 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila (which BTW is my favorite events venue).

The unique show combined the talents of 40 famous artists from African countries Ethiopia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Benin, Zimbabwe, and Guinea.  Expect to see items spun through the air, bodies contorted into mind-boggling shapes, and performers balance on other performers, percussionists beat up a storm of sound, tap-dancing and traditional dancers tell their own stories.

Cirque Mother Africa will be a refreshing show to see that will make us appreciate the modern, fresh and dynamic culture of the new Africa.  With sold out shows in Germany, Italy, Romania, Russia, Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Spain, we are assured of great entertainment!

Dancers, percussionists, singers, acrobats and contortionists will take the stage in a celebration of the culture of the traditional and modern African continent.  I can’t wait for next week to watch this!

Cirque MOTHER AFRICA
A joyous adventure into the wonderful
& magical world of an African human circus.

Tickets are available at Resorts World Manila Box Office and TicketWorld outlets.  Here are the prices & seat plan for your reference:

  • VIP  – Php 6,095
  • Category 1 (Premiere Left & Right) – Php 5,090
  • Category 2 (Deluxe Left, Right & Center) – Php 4,065
  • Category 3 (Balcony Left, Right & Center) – Php 3,025
  • Category 4 (Upper Balcony) – Php 1,500

Cirque Mother Africa in Manila Seat Plan

Schedule (April 19-22, 2012):

  • Thursday/Friday/Sunday – 8 PM
  • Saturday – 3 PM / 8PM

Do catch Cirque Mother Africa as they only have 5 shows here in Manila!  I surely won’t miss one of them!  See you there! 🙂

UDPATE:

I caught the evening show yesterday and I must say I was totally blown away!  The show started exactly 8PM with the clown host convincingly making us be more energetic.  He repeated his welcome with us pumped up and with smiles on our faces! 🙂

Mother Africa Clown

Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures during the show as I was apprehended when I took a picture of the funny African host.  I sat back and just enjoyed the rest of the show.

One by one, we got to see different circus acts.  We also got to experience African music and dances in between the heart-stopping circus performances.  I must admit my jaw dropped in every circus act, my golly, they were so dangerous!!!  I was extremely worried that if one of them makes a mistake, they’ll surely hurt themselves.  It’s nice that Cirque Mother Africa made a nice line up wherein songs & dances were injected in between the stunts, or else, I might have had a heart attack hahaha!

Here are some of the acts we saw during the beautiful show:

  • Hula Hoop – I can’t even hula hoop well but the performer did tons of it while standing and yes, walking while on top of a ball!  While I was impressed with the act, I was really, really worried that she might fall off.  Of course, she didn’t!  It was great!
  • Unicycle – this was one of my favorite acts.  The performer was very animated!  He was cracking jokes through his facial expressions while doing those dangerous acts!  Imagine riding on different kinds of unicycle, balancing on it, and smiling his way through it.  Do catch his cute little act on the mini unicycle.  It was hilarious and impressive!
  • Balancing on Top of Multiple Chairs – imagine putting multiple chairs on top of one another and standing on it.  The performer did it and more!
  • Ramadhani Brothers – these guys were huge!  They were able to do multiple stunts using only their bodies and most especially, their hands.
  • Rolla Bolla – this must be the act that I had my mouth completely opened.  It was just too scary to look at.  The guy was wobbled on a balance board, placed on top a stack of four rolling cans.  My most unforgettable act on Mother Africa show.
  • Contortionist – it’s like watching an out of this world performance.  This guy is FLEXIBLE (in the truest sense of the word).  Catch him lighting up a cigarette in a most unusual mind-boggling way!
  • Icarus Foot-Juggling Act – 51 back flips while being tossed up into the air by another acrobat’s feet.  A must-watch!!! 🙂

Having watched Cirque Mother Africa felt like I was transported to Africa.  I got to experience their culture through beautiful traditional African music, dances and outstanding circus performances.  They will have their last show tonight at 8PM.  I strongly suggest you get your tickets now and catch Cirque Mother Africa tonight at Newport Performance Theater in Resorts World.

Mother Africa Finale

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Cirque Mother Africa in Manila
April 19-22, 2012
Newport Performing Arts Theatre, Resorts World Manila, Newport Boulevard, Newport City Cybertourism Zone, Pasay City
Resorts World Manila Tourist/Visitor Hotline at +63-2-836-6333
TicketWorld at +63-2-891-9999

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Wrath of the Titans Movie Review

Wrath of the Titans

After two years, the sequel to Clash of the Titans finally came out.  The film Wrath of the Titans stars Sam Worthington (Perseus), Rosamund Pike (Andromeda), Liam Neeson (Zeus), Ralph Fiennes (Hades), Edgar Ramirez (Ares), Billy Nighy (Hephaestus), Toby Kebbell (Agenor), Danny Huston (Poseidon) and John Bell (Helius).

I’m not really a fan of Greek mythology but since I enjoyed the first movie, I assumed I would likely enjoy the sequel.

After a decade of defeating Kraken, Perseus (demigod son of Zeus) opted to live a normal quiet life as a fisherman and a father to his son, Helius.  One day, Zeus appeared before Perseus to inform him that gods are losing control of imprisoned Titans.  Tartarus, the place where Kronos (Titans leader) was imprisoned.  It was breaking down due to humanity’s lack of devotion to gods.  If it continued, then that will be the end of gods and also of humanity.  Perseus, however, wasn’t interested in helping out.

But Perseus ended up embarking on the quest into the underworld when his father was captured.  Apparently, Hades (Zeus’ brother) and Ares (Zeus’ other son) made a deal with Kronos in order to stay immortal.  Ares and Hades squeezed Zeus’ power in order to revitalize Kronos.  As Zeus was getting weaker and weaker, Perseus sought the help of friends andromeda and Agenor to rescue his dad.

I honestly can’t pinpoint why I didn’t enjoy Wrath of the Titans that much.  The effects and action scenes were good.  I loved Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes’ characters there and their acting were superb!

Maybe the story didn’t cut it for me.  There wasn’t strong character building.  Or maybe the main characters just didn’t show as much emotions as they should be.  I loved Rosamund Pike but I think the role didn’t suit her or there wasn’t any material for her to work with.  Sam Worthington was emotionless all throughout the movie.  He had the same expression even in scenes that would need him to emote.  Maybe Perseus was really a man who hides his emotions and not the expressive type.  I really don’t know.

If you just wanna sit, watch and relax then you can enjoy Wrath of the Titans.  Don’t expect long discussions with friends after watching the movie though.

My Rating for Wrath of the Titans: 3 out of 5 stars

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