Saturday, September 29, 2007

Art Auction for... um... I forget...






























So does bi-annual be every two years or twice a year? Maverix studios art auction features art pieces from the occupants of the studio as well as their friends which includes many Pixar artists. Which by the way if you haven't seen their short Lifted that showed with Ratatouille, do check it out at the above link.










































































Derek Thompson monster paintings.
















Jennifer Chang
















Jeremy (Natividad)
















Raffle
















Start of live auction. Interestingly enough, Anita was the bartender at the Sony Metreon Moebius styled arcade thingee when I was working there. She is now married to someone at Pixar. Small world!





















This last piece was an exciting lot with the auction starting off at $400 or so dollars and eventually with bids increasing at increments of $500. The final price was $3500. Anthony would later proudly say he got a piece by the same artist for 1/10 the price last auction.

















Nian Gao

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Guess where I ate?

I've finally started posting reviews on Yelp. I have a problem with the way reviews are written, especially on Yelp. They tend to have a "this was my experience, and yours will be JUST LIKE IT" attitude so hopefully I am addressing all those issues within their 5000 space limit >__<. Reviews should give all the facts and let the reader decide if the place is right for them because not everyone has the same tastes.

































Monday, September 17, 2007

Myeh!

It's Monday. It's 4:27pm and my bosses are passing out beers. Myeh. Can't really complain there!























Sunday, September 16, 2007

my taste buds! my... arteries...














Our dear Jerome is leaving for Germany to be with his dear Marieke. So here we are sending him off with a Filipino feast at Patio Filipino in San Bruno. Their online menu is a little out of date as I was unable to order the Chicharones which is pretty much like fresh pork rinds but with a little meat on the skin.
















































Appetizer #1: since the menu is a little different, I'm gonna guess this is the Gambas al Ajillo. Shrip: sauteed in olive oil, garlic, paprika and served on a sizzling plate (apparently with some veggies too!)
















A very serious Debbie.
















Appetizer #2: Lumpia. Pork: ground and sauteed, wrapped and fried.
































Kare-Kare - Ox tail: cooked in peanut sauce with mixed vegetables.
















Here is where it gets confusing. Including Lumpias, we had around 5 different plates of pork. And not just pork. Fried pork. This one I'm guessing is Lechon Kawali. Pork side: deep fried and served with liver sauce.
















This one is the Ginataang Sitaw at Kalabasa - String beans and Squash sauteed in coconut milk although I somehow remember there being shrimp in there as well.
















Tilapia Crunch. Fillet of fish: fried crisp and served with tomato salsa.
















L - Sizzling Softshell Crab (topped with "taba ng talangka")
R - Crispy Pata. Braised pork leg with fatty, crispy skin. (not on online menu).
















Crispy Binagoongan: Pork: cooked crisp served on grilled eggplant and topped with shrimp paste (and mangoes!)
































How do you say "Defeated" in Tagalog? The interweb says talo
















Hondini, the Mediocre Magician. He did the first part of this trick (up to where it's pictured above).

















Then we went off to Jeremy's to hang out and brainstorm for FKM.

A quick summary. Filipino food is good but a lot of fried stuff. Heavy eating. At the end of the meal, I had physical capacity for more but I was weighed down too much to eat anymore. Based on the size of portions, this is definitely something you have to do with a large group. Sharing a braised pork leg between two people is either impractical or disgusting. Secondly, you have to have no qualms about eating fried foods. Eat em and enjoy em. This is not food for the faint of heart. Speaking of which, it probably wouldn't hurt if you had a healthy heart. Salamat.

Fly Away!
















I wonder how many people I know who'd wake up at 5am to send me off at the airport?

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Friday, September 14, 2007