BANZAI ( japan on a plate and more)

 BANZAI, MOA by the bay

It is the Land of the Rising Sun on a plate, 'as long as you can eat plates. in fact. It is everything authentic. It is everything Japanese.

Banzai, the great Teppanyaki Theater is the newest buffet restaurant to hit Mall of Asia by the bay. It is a great addition to the earlier buffet crazes, Vikings and Buffet 101. Banzai is a lot more cheaper, and a bit easier to navigate more than the other competitors.

Dubbed as the biggest of its kind in the world, with a floor area of 1,200 square meters  and 500 seating capacity, Banzai is the newest addition to actor and chef Marvin Agustin's line of restaurants. The erstwhile child actor and Jolina Magdangal's former love interest is now etching his name as one of the country's  successful restauranteurs. His string of more than 40 restos includes Marciano's,  Cafe Ten Titas, John and Yoko, Oyster Boy, and Sumo Sam to name a few. Not bad for a young lad who grew up without the guidance of his father and who at 16, waited tables at Tia Maria's until he got a scholarship from his bosses that saw him through culinary school.

Banzai, co-owned by Agustin's friend Ricky Laudico is a class of its own. Agustin and his partners left nothing to chance, even transporting to the country three Japanese master chefs to stamp the authenticity of the place.

Chef Hiroshi Isikawa lords over the Teppanyaki section, Chef Norimasa Masuda is the master of the sushi counter while Chef Kiminori Iwabuchi is in charge of the ramen station

Japanese foodies are in for a great dining experience with Banzai's wide array of choices at the teppanyaki, sushi and sashimi, pizza, noodles and ramen, tempura and tonkatsu, pasta, roast, dessert and drinks station. An experience that is made more memorable by the restaurant's lanterns brought in from Japan, the fun photo station, the artworks, the ninja and geisha district murals, and just the serenity of the place.

The price is very affordable. Way below the other buffet restaurants' price tag. But don't get too excited putting anything on your plate that you can't eat. Leftovers wiould easily cost you over P1,000 per person.

Hail to the likes of Agustin who never stop dreaming and making things happen. The ones who believe in good food and making it accessible to food lovers or just plain curious eaters.

Long live. Banzai!

Domo Arigato.

 the drinks station

lanterns are flown in from Japan

 of geisha's and other artworks

 The master chefs. bearers of good taste

shushis and sashimis

 for starters

roast to perfection

 japan! japan!

Marvin Agustin, making things happen 

biyahera's turn-a-sumo-wrestlin'

'authentic values are those by which a life can live,

which can form a people that produces 

great thoughts and deeds'

-Allan Bloom

 

SOFA @ the SONA ( state of fashion at the state of the nation address)

 Ladies of the senate with Sen. Grace Poe voted by netizens 

as 'most fashionable' at this year's SONA

(Photo by Celestino Sicat)

Yeah! Yeah! We all probably know what the State of the Nation Address (SONA) is all about. It is nothing but reporting of the government's accomplishments (or so it seems). It's like a report card with grades of  90% above or 60% below, depending on who's talking, analyzing and perceiving.

It is also the best reason to suspend classes in Quezon City where the Batasang Pambansa, the home of the SONA is located. It is battling a battalion of anti-government protesters and being creative about their sentiments through songs, statement shirts and colors.

And for the one delivering the SONA, it is about being 'you can't help but be emotional' when everything is not okay anymore, when the trust in your administration is dwindling and your mission and vision is already marred with negativity and defensiveness. You have to choke in between speeches to make it authentically so. Emotions caught on camera especially of a presidential sister and perennial drama queen is very difficult to shrug off and brush off your shoulder.

But then the SONA is also about glam and showing off. Of luxury cars vying for attention when lawmakers and dignitaries alight at the main entrance of the House of Representatives leading to the plenary hall. 

Most of all (for the red carpet yuppies and style addicts) , it is about the creativity, the genius and the global fashion sense of our very own designers to show off their creations donned by the SONA attendees themselves.

SONA would be nothing without who's who in fashion. 

You've got to be seen. Somehow.

Well, tell it to the priests and some  hungry stomachs.

The President on his 4th SONA

(photo by www.remate.ph)

 QC Mayor Bautista came in 'Krisless'

(photo by Joy Zaragoza)

Presidential sister Kris Aquino, 'dateless' @ the SONA

(photo by GMAnews)

 a lady and the men, dapper in their barongs

(photo by ASC CommsGroup)

Sen. Sonny Angara & wife w/ Interaksyon's Ernie reyes

(photo by Ernie Reyes)

 Mother & son. Sen. Cynthia Villar with son Rep. Mark Villar

(photo by Dulce Morales)

 Love is in the air. Vista Land heir & Rep. Mark Villar with rumored fiancee', fellow lawmaker DIWA Party List Rep. Emmeline Aglipay, daughter of 

former PNP Chief Edgardo Aglipay 

(photo by Jun Desca)

 Sen. Chiz Escudero and Heart Evangelista
wedding bells a-ringing
(photo by NPPA)

Richard loves Lucy, always a sight to behold
(photo by NPPA)

 Madame Imelda Marcos w/ HOR's Media Staff Joy Zaragoza

 Mommy D. 'Pacmom' is in the house

(photo by Marie Lozano of ABS-CBN)

Anti-Pnoy lawmakers in peach. 

They walked out on Pnoy and joined the protesters outside Congress

(photo by Joy Zaragoza)

 Sen. Alan and Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano. 

 wearing a serpentina pleated bodice lavender gown 

made of gazar silk by ONIN PAGSISIHAN, 

a taguig fashion designer

(photo by ASC Commsgroup)

        The future generation of Philippine politics. 

        scions of a Marcos and a Legarda-Leviste 

(photo by Josephine Codilla)

 That would be biyahera in between breaks

(photo by ASC Commsgroup)

Biyahera and friends' turn a photo-shootin'

(photo by cherry dacanay)

'style is knowing who you are, 

what you want to say,

and not giving a damn'

-orson welles

...OF BIG BIRDS CRASHING DOWN (and so many lives lost)

 Eye of the storm ( Glenda ravaging a great part of the Philippine archipelago)

July 2014, the worst time of the world's aviation industry. In just a span of seventeen days, four airplanes carrying passengers of different races met their fatal end and went down in the most horrible way of passing through the great beyond.

July 7. A Vietnamese military chopper doing a parachute training mission crashed near Hanoi, 15 minutes after it took off. 18 passengers perished.

July 17. Malaysian flight MH17 was shot down by a missile while cruising on the war-torn part of Ukraine. The Boeing 777 was carrying 298 passengers on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nobody survived.

July 23: A TransAsia Airways flight did not make it to safety when it crashed to a residential area in Magong, Taiwan while attempting for an emergency landing due to Hurricane Matmo. Of the 58 passengers, 47 died in the fatal crash.

July 24: Air Algerie flight 5017 lost it's radar contact due to  bad weather about an hour after it took off from Burkina Faso to Algiers. The wreckage was found in the Mali dessert.  All 116 on board died.

July 15: Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport. An Air Asia Zest Flight  Z2-320 braved Typhoon Glenda even if the other airlines have already cancelled all the flights to typhoon-hit areas. The plane took off from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 4 (T4) at exactly 6:00am. The other passengers of the cancelled flights decided to take the Zest Air flight just to make it to Tacloban. I was one of them.

The flight was very bumpy and turbulent all throughout. Understandably so because we were cruising at Typhoon Glenda's path that was then ravaging Bicol and the rest of Visayas. It was like being enveloped in a colossal mass of fog and blurriness from the time we took off until we arrived to our destination that nearly we were not able to make.

The plane made it's first attempt to land. From my seat (1D), I could faintly see Dio Island, a sign that we are already nearing and circling the airport. I heard the landing gear released for touchdown but then, a sudden tilt of the plane and an abrupt  soaring maneuver. It was like being sucked up by a strong current. I felt it, so bad I did not notice that we did not make a landing. The landing gear did not even touch the runway.The sight sent the people on the ground gasping for breath and praying for mercy. 

After a good 10 minutes or so, again, I saw Dio island from my window. Fear creeped in. I know something happened. But then, the plane successfully land on its second attempt. A rousing applause from the waiting families and friends on the ground.I was told by a photojournalist assigned at the airport that there was jubilation and clapping all over. The ordeal was over. The pilot safely maneuvered the plane to landing.

A foreigner helping out on the Yolanda rehab in Tacloban and Eastern Visayas made a sign of the cross as we landed. Asked at the airport about the flight, he stated a matter of factly that it was 'a miracle'.

A miracle indeed. I later learned that we were already hitting the middle of the runway when the plane first attempted to land. We could have end up and crashed to the sea if it was not for the pilot's presence of mind and quick judgment.

Kudos to the pilot and the crew. But then again, they should have cancelled the trip just like what the other airlines did.

Looking back, I regretted taking the trip.

The fear, the goosebumps, the haunting faces of loved ones, of lives that could have perished, and the smell...that stinky and putrid smell of death, the flight was not worth it. 

It is never worth laying your life when faced with great danger and uncertainty. 

It is never worth being included in a tragedy list.

One should never, ever  take a risk. 

 Plane photos by Mel Caspe of Remate

'The road of life twists and turns

and no two directions are the same

yet our lessons come from the journey

not the destination'

-Don Williams Jr.

GOODBYE HAPPINESS ( letter to a departed )

We are never ever going back together- Taylor Swift

Indulge me. This is personal.

Dear Happiness,

It's been 18 long days. The longest that I've ever been without you. It was harder than I thought it would be. Parting with you was one hell of a decision. It was saying goodbye to happiness. It was like halting to breath. It was as if I was killing the very core of me.

We've been through ages. Every up and down, every rise and fall and every laughter and tear. You were there for me. You were my drug, my comfort zone, and my assurance that everything will be alright. I clung to you like a child. You, slowly sucking the very life of me. I let you did what you've done without question and reservation. I was okay with it for the longest time until the 12th of June 2014.

It was freedom! Independence from your control, you  which held my life on the edge of danger and near death.  I finally decided to part with you. My heart said, enough is enough. I finally found the good in goodbye.

It was hard not missing you, harder not to be tempted by what we had in the past. There were times that I would love to have you back but my will would shut the thoughts i have for you. I held on controlling myself, I held on tight to my determination until I felt for you no more.

At times, I would blame myself for not having the guts to leave you early on. I waited longer until i was heavily burdened with your brunt. Until the worst has been done to my soul. I cannot undo the past nor correct my mistakes in a snap. But i am taking baby steps to make myself and everything better. In time, everything will be alright. The good days are not far ahead.

I miss you everyday but that would be it. I learned my lessons hard  and well. I don't want to be with you again. There is no space left for you in my life anymore. Sorry that this has to be this way but I love myself more than the love you're giving me. Yours is a destruction. I am glad i ran out from the mess we're in before it was too late.

I hope you well and I pray that you don't miss me. Please don't. Have mercy on me. we have had enough memories to last us a lifetime. it is time to move on and move forward.

I am now in control of my life and never would I allow myself to be enslaved by your kind. Not ever. Not again.

I have only one wish in mind. Be kind to others. Don't let them fall for you hard and deep like I did.

Goodbye happiness!

Here's to you and the good 'ol days.

Ofel

 Happiness no more

 Healthy options

 Juicing. An excellent alternative to carbonated drinks

 Fruits & veggies ready to be juiced

 Carrots, apples & lemon

 My friend Joey Gabieta ( PDI/Leyte Samar daily Express ) introduced me to this 

ginger tea brew (salabat) from Javier, Leyte. Available at Andok's @ 120/bottle. 

Mix it with honey or half teaspoon  white sugar and Calamansi juice to taste. 

Good for digestion. Tastes good too

 Original recipe. Mango-melon  salad with bits of ham and  unsweetened yogurt

 Veggie & fruit pita

 Heavier (with my love affair with carbonated drinks)

lighter and still counting  the pounds off

'The difference between 

the impossible and the possible

lies in one's determination'

- Tommy Lasorda

K PATISSERIE ( of fate and faith)

 K Patisserie (corner Paterno & Gomez streets, Tacloban City)

The Haiyan-stricken places are rising again. The survivors are now smiling and slowly  getting a hold of their lives despite the inadequacy of support and help that they truly deserve.

In Tacloban, one of the badly hit, the streets are noisy again, vehicle engines churning and people intersecting, coming and going off the bends and curves, doing all they can to go on with their lives. 

Some of the city's landmark and big businesses have reopened, a sign of life, of hope, and lives going back to normal. The economy is up and about once more albeit slowly. Even the vendors peddling wares and food on the streets are now visible everywhere.

Many of the smaller establishments are already showing promise seven months after Haiyan. One of those is K Patisserie, a coffee cum pastry shop just steps away from the fabled Sto. Nino church.

The patisserie opened three months before Haiyan. It was devastated by the super typhoon and for a time, the young owners thought that reopening the shop was unthinkable and way too impossible.

But then fate and faith collide and after just a few months after the tragedy, K Patisserie is once again brewing, cooking and baking for its followers old and new. Rebuilding what was left of the shop was not easy. They rebuild anyway.

Seating just more than thirty people, the pastry shop has a French charm to it evoking the not so usual and run of the mill food adventure.

Red velvets, Mango graham cupcakes are just some of its bestsellers. The shop also offers pasta dishes, breakfast and lunch combos, a variety of burger choices, cookies, and refreshments.

A growing clientele from different walks of life is now frequenting K Patisserie, satisfied with the menu, the price, the aura of the place and the service that comes with it.

For every cup of coffee that you pay for, for every cupcake that you'd nibble, for every cookie that you'll enjoy and for every meal combo that will satisfy your hunger, you pay tribute to the spirit behind K Patisserie.

The spirit of not giving up, of not losing hope, and of believing that good times is yet to come.

Of spirit unbreakable despite the hardships of life.

A spirit  that lives on.

...and on and on and on.

 A taste of Paris

 Malunggay-citrus refreshing juice

 Red velvet and Mango graham cupcakes

toppings

 Tuna omelette. The best in town

 Teapots and cupcake platters

 Mirror, mirror on the wall

 Every sunrise is a miracle

 Photojournalist Mel Caspe (Remate), loyal K Patisserie foodie 

 Charming backrest. Stylishly comfy

 Biyahera's turn a-posin'

'Where hope grows,

miracle blossoms'

-Elna Ray