The BIRTHDAY Week

Another Year...

WISER!!!

I hope.

The past week was pretty darn excellent. Well,

except for that New Moon movie opening,

and those lamebrains at Lakas-Kampi

formally declaring Mr. Papaya as

their candidate for Vice Prez!

But enough of negativity;

here are some of the

High Points of my

Birthday Week:

BITES in WHITE SATIN...


I'd been ignoring Red Ribbon's WHITE FOREST Cake
since it was launched a couple of months ago;
I thought the name of the cake sounded like an oxymoron.

And I hate White Toblerone.

But last week, as I passed by the Red Ribbon
along Bambang on my way home from Chinatown,

I thought I heard the cake calling out to me, inviting me to try it...

The Cherry Ripple had me at "Hello"!

I'm in ♥ again!!!






Lucky Me "MAC & CHEEZ"


Just boil the noodles for 4 minutes,
then mix in the rich thick cheese sauce.
it's that easy. and nothing escudero about it!

warning:

you'll want to eat more, so cook two packs!






Why I Suddenly regularly go to STARBUCKS
from November to February:


PEPPERMINT MOCHA
paired perfectly with a
PEPPERMINT BROWNIE!!!







MANGO LAPU-LAPU at TAO YUAN:


it's ugly as hell, but tastes like heaven!

Along with the Hainanese Chicken,
the Ubod and Bawang Lumpia,
the Century Egg Tarts, and
a Kilo of Swahe, this was
my Birthday Pulutan!!!


Best of All:
NO CORKAGE!!!

Scotch goes down more Smoothly
with Singaporean & Chinese Cuisine!

UNDISPUTED.

The BEST CHICKEN RICE in MetroManila!!!


Name the restaurant,
I've tried the "HAINANESE";
from Whistle Stop to Makansutra
to practically all the hotel versions;
this one, quite simply, tops them all!!!



TAO YUAN
Gen. Malvar corner Mabini
(across the side entrance of Pan Pacific Hotel)
Malate, Manila

Open 11am to 12mn

Reservations Recommended,

this restaurant gets very very full!

telephone : 552-7009 and 552-7010










My ONE SENTENCE Movie Review of "2012":

"John Cusack outfitted the
arks with rockets and that's how

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA began."

The movie's almost 3 hours long;
the last sequence should have been cut,
but at the end of the world, it doesn't matter.

Leave your brain at the door,
and love this movie for what it is:

The Best Damn Disaster Movie Ever!!!

TIME Magazine gives the perfect description:

END of the WORLD "DISASTER PORN"!!!

"On October 6, THE PLANET BLACKED OUT

for Two Minutes and Seventeen Seconds;
the WHOLE WORLD SAW THE FUTURE..."



FLASH FORWARD:
my new favorite TV show, as if by design,
premiering just as LOST is about to make its farewell.

This new MIND BENDER, surely by design,
stars two of my favorites from Lost: Charlie and Penny!!

And as a bonus, we have Sulu from then new Star Trek,

and to top it all off, Shakespeare from Shakespeare in Love!!!

BEST NEW COMEDY of 2009!!!


This new TV comedy, the best
since ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT,

stars that guy who hosts "The Soup",
along with Jon Stewart's British Correspondent,
the funniest Arab-American and African-American
comedy duo ever, a leading lady who looks like Elisabeth Shue,

and as a baby boomer who made his fortune in moist towelettes,
the comeback of the legendary CHEVY CHASE!!!

"EDGE OF YOUR SEAT THRILLER"...


Almost all SUSPENSE movies used to be hyped just like that;
in recent years, not so much, because most of the best parts
are already shown in the trailers, so hardly any surprises in the films;


which is the reverse for THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3:
the trailers were a bit underwhelming, so I decided to skip it
despite the presence of my two favorite actors.

I should have known better. DENZEL & TRAVOLTA
can do no wrong, specially in a Non-Stop Action Movie
directed by TONY SCOTT (Top Gun, True Romance, Crimson Tide)!!!


DON'T MISS this on DVD. Or DiBiDi!!!

It really is a 100% EDGE OF YOUR SEAT THRILLER!!!

and finally,

"Why AMERICAN IDOL Matters":



ALLISON IRAHETA's
debut single kicks major ass
with its wicked LSS-inducing hook,

(Last Song Syndrome. cough cough!)
and very pointed references to A-HA

and other unforgettable 1980s MTV Icons!!!