A Lunch at Teriyaki Boy at the Terraces, Ayala

After purchasing a few dozens of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, just enough to feed us for a week, my aunt and I went to Teriyaki Boy to have our lunch.

This is the first time for me to eat at a Japanese Restaurant. The restaurant may be Japanese in theme but the way it serves the customer is already of universal approach. Dining today has become so customized that freedom is of  primary concern.

We were seated at a cozy corner cubicle. The table is roughly hewn granite topped with modern paper placemats printed with the restaurant mascot and other characters. This is placed with flat saucers with chopsticks. 

I ordered Curry Tonkatsu. It is fried breaded pork in curry sauce. This comes with sticky Japanese rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

Together with this, I enjoyed their Ebi Tempura.

Krispy Kreme is now in Cebu...

I first had my KK experience the Summer of 2010 when I went to Manila for our trip in Baguio City. It was just ordinary then. Expensive as it was, I was not aware that what I am eating at the time would be the most talked about baked product in Cebu a year after...

I ate it with a little thought of how it tasted. I was thinking of the hefty price.  And with it came a resolution that it has to taste good in order to compensate the corresponding value.

The months passed after that. On the few occasions I had being in an airport, I often see passengers from Manila boarding in Visayas-Mindanao flights carrying white bags with green and red designs.  Inside, white boxes dotted with green and labeled Krispy Kreme were resting peacefully. The ones carrying it glances at it with an air of being mighty. They walk as if they're carrying the elixir of life. And with that, my ire for KK slowly developed.

I was frustrated, perhaps insecure of not being the one holding the bag. Haha! To be honest, I think I am becoming a hater of KK and its patrons after I saw the people in the airport.

Then, an announcement that the first branch of KK outside Luzon will be opened in Ayala Center Cebu hit the world of internet. My friends in FB continuously expressed in there statuses their excitement for the opening day on Saturday, October 22, 2011.

The months before October had been filled with so much noise. And once again, my abhorrence for KK sparked anew... hahaha!

Then yesterday, my aunt texted me that she's at Krispy Kreme Ayala, standing in a long line. She asked me if I could come and join her in experiencing the atmosphere of excitement and buzz that filled the Active Zone for the newly opened KK branch. Okay. I said yes to her. It's for the sake of being able to say I've been there anyway. So I came.

When I arrived, I sat outside under the staircase watching the KK through its glass wall. My aunt gestured that I come in, so I obliged. The long line of anxious middle class to the self proclaimed rich; the security guard controlling the coming and going of customers; and the scent of fresh baking mixing the scent of the new establishment caught me off guard. Am I being intimidated? Hahaha... No way! I wore my best facial expression of social insecurity and walked toward the counter.

My aunt said she has been standing there for almost an hour. Geez! All that for this? Now I know why. Why? Here's why...

Standing in front of the counter and ordering one dozen glazed doughnuts, one dozen assorted (soccer, hersheys, snickers) and another dozen of their baked creations paired with (coffee cream and caramel latte) iced coffee are not something we do everyday in the past. And paying the hefty price tag is one good experience in being able to enjoy the delights money can bring.

We sat and marveled at the transactions. Sipped our iced coffee and a few moments later, decided to go out and eat lunch.

I was the one bringing the huge bag of KK doughnuts. And now I know how it feels to be the one carrying it. It was exciting. Haha. People stare, children glance and the bold ones ask questions about it. If you're asking me why on Earth are they doing that, my answer would be, "KK is expensive and uncommon. That is why they're giving it a great deal. Also, I must admit it now, KRISPY KREME IS DELICIOUS." Just savor the dough and the glaze melt in your mouth. Ahhhh!!! hahaha...

I know time will come that people in our place will not give it the attention it is getting right now. Cebuanos are discriminating but they do not want to be ignorant of fine taste. When that time comes, I surely will be able to share my first week experience of KK of Cebu City. 

I AM A SON OF A BEACH...

I love BEACHES... I AM A SON OF A BEACH... I've made that one clear in my profile. For me, nothing is as exciting as watching people get wet in the blue, hearing the waves ebb and flow against the sand, feeling the light breeze of cool air contrasting the warm rays of the sun, smelling the tropical scent of the sea mixed with grilled pork and seafood and tasting all of these together with the salinity of seawater!!!

Now, don't tell me you haven't had this experience before? And if you haven't, YOU ARE ONE PATHETIC CREATURE NOT WORTHY OF YOUR BEING HUMAN!!! Haha!!! Anyway, one who had experienced this would surely come to look for it again and again. I for one is in constant connection with by beach buddies. 


Never mind the darkening and peeling of a sun kissed skin... Never mind the budget cuts... And never mind the perpetual nagging of your parents, relatives, guardians, boy/girlfriends and even neighbors who find what you're doing, a reason why their blood pressure is rising...

Only this Sunday, did we decide to go and reconnect with our favorite beach. 

TINGKO BEACH IN ALCOY... It's free. It's near. It's beautiful!

Welcome to my paradise!

Where the sky so blue, where the sun shines so bright. Welcome to my paradise! Where you can be free, where the party is never ending...

Sembreak is on... 

I feel young... haha! I've read that the secret to stay young is associating with young people, but keeping up with them makes you old quick... :)

I like this picture... You find out why... :D

Props 70%... 

Foreigners have occupied the nearby beaches near the Bantayan sa Hari...

 We, us...

I looked flushed because I'm allergic to chicken of Chookz... really!!!

She's a bad girl... very bad... :)))

I don't know why I laughed... I remember; it's because of my wounded knees being coated with salty sand... I guess not...

This photo is... nah! just figure it out...

She looks great... Anyway, wearing something like this is appropriate of the setting... Also, she's of legal age... 

Testing the waters... "It's balmy. The feel of the sand under my soles is relaxing."

The red one is hot... hehe

Time to eat... the primitive way...

After eating, back to the water... I'm sure one of them is urinating when this picture was taken... hahaha

Krispy Kreme??? Hahaha...

It's dark now... Time to become a superhero... 

The girls of Jersey Shore... They have the acquired taste of brands and how to do things the right way... Demure and sexy in proper ways...

The shirt hanging in the background makes this picture an Epic Fail!!! Haha!

 We're now ready to go home...


Who's going to drive??? 

Them... saying goodbye...


Well, before I end this post, may I just call the attention of the stores in Alcoy, Cebu; will you please prepare and sell ICE especially on weekends... We have scoured not less than 10 stores, all with refrigerators, from Poblacion to Daanlungsud in search for precious ice...


A huge part of this day was devoted to finding ice... We were able to buy some near Dingding's hardware...


We went to Boljoon to buy bread... Imagine that... We saw that White Gold Caravan is in their Tennis Court so we came in and bought junkfood...


We went home with my protege driver...

So, this is how it feels like to be a food critic...

Becoming a well-seasoned traveler is everybody's dream. Like me, going on a trip, eating the specialty of the house and being spoiled for the reason that you're gonna write something about how you were treated by them are something I fantasize often...

When suddenly...like an answered prayer, my students and Mrs. Ligan of SMA's TLE Department, gave me an offer I can't refuse. They asked me to be a food critic in their performance task evaluation. This includes critiquing how the food was prepared, how it will be served, how the simulated restaurant will be managed and how their menu card would aid the customer.

Without hesitations and with the excitement of a young foodie, I went to SMA on Saturday, October 22, 2011 at a little past 12:00 noon. This is the last day of their Second Quarter Examination. They will end the test at 12:00 so I am not surprised that they have not prepared anything for me to eat. Hahaha! I ate ahead at home earlier and made myself full so as to become discriminating in taste. Most of them have gone home. So, I and my former students went out for a while. When we came back at 1:00 pm, the Senior students are starting to set up their kitchen...


Organized chaos reigned the grounds as the teacher announced the time left. It's like watching a pressure challenge in a cooking show. Some group members prepared the table. Assigned waiters were rehearsing their lines. While others, prepared the cooked food with garnishing. I on the other hand, watched with fascination as I glanced on a copy of the criteria on my right hand. Then Janice was sent to tell me they are ready.

With Mme. Villahermosa, my partner in critiquing the 3 restaurants..


Janice billeted us into the first resto. The first restaurant owned by Janice and her company is Chinese themed. The menu however has other twists like the cake evident in the picture above.

Chef Anthon's Prawns in butter and garlic... (I was about to eat when I remembered to take a picture first.. Notice the semi-detached head...)

Onion rings

Crispy pata

Their anachonistic and incongruous cake...


Some of their food were not that worthy of praise. However, the prawns in butter and garlic was extraordinary. The presentation of it was great. The taste is really beyond my expectation for a novice cook. The texture of the flesh, the aroma and the play of garlic and butter is pleasing. On the other hand, I find the onion rings insipid and mushy; the crispy pata rubbery; and the grilled bangus burnt black. (LOL, I have to write this down. Wew! I find it really hard to be honest when the cook and the people behind the preparation are in your first name basis. It's just like criticizing your uncle's cooking.)


Anyway, redemption for them came when the Mango-Pandan dessert was served. It was blissful, quite climactic. 


I just find them noble for being true to their menu. All of the food listed are available. This includes the porkchops I saw being left in the kitchen when the time for cooking ended.


Enough for their food. These are the things I noticed in the service and setting. First, the music is inaudible and often dies down unnoticed. Second, the ones who were assigned to set the table have done it badly. They have not even appropriately placed spoons, forks or chopsticks to aid our dining experience. The restaurant is not clean. The lighting is poor. The placement of rose petals and the bright cake on the table was presumptuous. The glasses for beverage were the ones used to serve the dessert. These glasses were cloudy. And lastly, the waitresses and their uniform don't match the theme of their Chinese resto. They're like ballet dancers in long-sleeved outfits.


Now for their menu card: the color of the special paper, the color of the fonts, font style and the placement of colored pictures of the food gave me a hard time. Also, unlike others, the menu does not give any mention of the main features of the food listed.


We graciously exited the first resto and went "andiamo" to the other one next door. When we arrived, they were still making finishing touches of the set-up, but  the maitre d' did not seat us in a comfortable waiting area. We just stood in the corridor for a few minutes.


When the manager gave the headwaitress a nod, Mme. Villahermosa and I were asked to enter into the threshold using different doors. Once again, the people of the restaurant were presumptuous that we will be having a romantic dinner.  Anyway, I was just excited to step on the red cloth carpeting and be seated in a table topped with a blazing candelabra.


They had it correctly this time. The setting was premeditated. I admire the hardwood chairs. The glassware and silver. They even had fine china. The place is clean and the lighting complements the sultry mood of the closed windows and the fiery candles.


The waiters were attentive and what they're wearing is passable for an Italian themed resto.


When they gave us their menu card, it's as if I'm seeing an original. It was top of the line. The color, the binding, the play of pictures and fonts, all of these things were perfect.

The attentive waiter taking our order...

A candle in artichoke table napkin folding...




We were served Monte Cristo for hors d'oeuvre. When asked why it was named so, they weren't able to answer. It was sliced bread rolled with ham and cheese and fried with crumbs. It was so fatty that my appetite flew out of the closed window. It was presented well; the color, aroma, and I can say it tastes good. However, I believe it is not an effective appetizer.

Monte Cristo... named for a reason unknown to them...


The piece de resistance came as tuna spaghetti. It looks really delicious; it even smells delicious; it tastes delicious. Presented well in fine china, this pasta dish in tuna sauce was incredible. The tuna had that peculiar scent; the slight saltiness reminds me of the sea and the hint of sweetness, the fields of the earth.


Like many others, once presented with the food of the restaurant, forgetting to take a picture of it occurs alarmingly often if it looks delicious. So, I cannot give you a picture.


I enjoyed the main course, but the dish which followed took it all away. It was cucumber in vinegar. I know it's a kind of salad, but its presentation was so primitive. What's deliciously grand in dipping cucumbers in boring vinegar huh???


To continue, we had chocolate cake for dessert. Not bad. I had this at Julie's with sprinkles on top. 


For their beverage, their iced tea was so refreshing, and the waiter was so sensitive in refilling my empty-by-the-second glass.


After our great experience in the Cucina Italiana, we were ushered to the second floor where another restaurant with a view awaits us.

The stairs leading to the third restaurant adorned with tropical flowers picked nonchalantly outside the fence...


When we arrived on the top landing of the flight of stairs, Gabriel the attendant was fidgeting but delivered the job quite well.


We were seated in a delicate table with a fantastic afternoon view. The sun setting in the nearby hills with clouds tinged in red and indigo added points to this restaurant. But what's its name?


Earlier, we had Zhinsi the Chinese Restaurant and previously we had La Cucina Italiana, but this time the name was not in the priority list of the owners. The waiter told us that they are having a Brazilian inspired setting... Ahh... okay... Perhaps this explains the bamboo fronds and charming hibiscus centerpiece.

The backdrop unfortunately looked as if it existed when ironing was not a thought.


The crude menu card was placed conspicuously on the centerpiece as if it's a part of a get-well-soon bouquet. It's printed in photo paper so it's glossy and sticks to one's fingers. The font size is small, not that informative, and really unworthy to be talked much.


We ordered everything they are ready to serve. It came as ginger bangus and vegetable lumpia. 


The ginger bangus was palatable. The strong aroma of ginger and the fresh tangy and milky taste of the fish were a good combination. 


The vegetable lumpia was unspeakable.

The Ginger Bangus...


Water is the only available beverage in this restaurant.


The dessert is pictured below... 

Fruits in cream... It tastes bland... I was presuming it was sweet... I think the sliced mangoes are overly hanging by the side of the plate. 


After talking with the waiter who seemed to have developed the temerity to ask us questions about the view, the food and the service, we're done!!!


-------------------------------------------


I gave them all very high scores. With a slight reference to criteria, I was generously biased for the following reasons:


1. they are not really cooks and restaurateurs;


2. effort is evident in most of them and the expense is obvious;


3. they seem to have enjoyed what they are doing; and lastly


4. they made my day. This reason is perhaps the most valid. I am a critic, and if they have made my day, then they have clearly accomplished the performance task scenario in GRASPS... 

 The end of the task...

A pose with the proud pseudo-restaurateurs...


+++++++++++++++++++++++++


A few moments later... when all the dust had settled in the hallowed grounds of SMA... 

My two cronies and I planned our next misadventure... This time, attending Joshua Chong's Birthday Party...

We arrived too early at Joshua Chong's party so we opted to hang out  (literally) in Boljoon...

The Gargoyles are alive... Haunting an old Schoolhouse...

Inside Boljoon belfry... It is already dark outside...

We met Pia in the Church Plaza... She told us that we come back for the Basketball game after we go to Chong's...


After this picture was taken, we went back at Chong's place. Partied and feasted grandly.


At 9:00 pm, we went back to Boljoon to watch Basketball...

KAY LAAGAN MAN: A justification of my being a traveler or tripper...

THIS I SHALL REMEMBER EVERYDAY

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain

I don't know who Mark Twain really is even if I teach Anglo-American Literature for heavens sake!!! We're not that close in real life; we're not even FB friends... 

Anyway, this guy is quite famous among trippers like me. His words quoted above said it all. Someday, I DON'T WANT TO LIE IN MY DEATHBED WISHING WHAT IF... Rather, I'D WANT TO SMILE OVER THE INSANE THINGS I'VE DONE WHILE YOUNG AND WILD AND FREE...

This is brilliantly true... That is why, whenever I have a chance to travel, I grab it right away...

        As such, nothing would perhaps characterize a Juan dela Cruz' idea of fun more than his penchant for hieing the nearest vacation spot in search for relaxation mixed with adventure and feasting. For him, it would be a great delight to be in special places and be able to brag about it when he gets home. 

           He becomes a travel writer, a seasoned photographer and a food critic in an instant...  

         In my case, my love for traveling started when I was in Grade 3. My favorite subject then was Geography, History and Civics. We had a lesson on Land and Water Forms, and we got to draw all of them. Every time I look at my copy of the Chocolate Hills,Pagsanjan Falls and Mayon Volcano, I stop and imagine myself being in those places.

I've been to Boracay...

I've seen the Chocolate Hills...

Taal Lake and Volcano in Batangas...

Parks and places in Baguio City...

The Manila Ocean Park...

The noisy and alive Boulevard of Dumaguete City...


and many more... (chuss! :DD)


But I have this special attachment with WATERFALLS... I have visited only four (yet)...

Kawasan Falls in Matutinao, Badian, Cebu...

Mantayupan Falls in Barili, Cebu...

Aguinid Falls in Tangbo, Samboan, Cebu...

Casaroro Falls in Apolong, Valencia, Negros Oriental...




          My usual week involves preparing for my classes. But when weekend strikes, I see to it that I'll have a break through the following...


1. Driving my motorcycle toward Boljoon...

2. Drive my cab to Oslob...

3. Or even beyond to Santander...

4. Sometimes, I join climbs to Osmena Peak in Mantalongon, Dalaguete... For the first half of this year (2011) alone, I have climbed it three times already...

5. Together with mountains, beaches are also my trip... This is just easy because southern Cebu is a place where mountains and beaches meet... But in all of the south, Tingko Beach in Alcoy is the best...

6. I also like to watch festivals like...


   a. Kite Festival in Casay

  b. Siloy Festival in Alcoy

  c. and Utanon Festival in Dalaguete

7. And last on my list is FIESTA... As a teacher, you tend to be invited often to this and that fiesta... A fiesta experience can be had in the following manner...

      a. You can eat and run...


    b. You can eat and talk about the student's performance in school to the parents who invited you. Some parents ask a lot of questions while you're eating. But as a seasoned fiesta-gourmand, I have already answers, from the honest ones to the bizarre... Besides, I only come to a house where I haven't failed a student, or else, enjoying the event would be far fetched... LOL!


     c. You can eat and stroll in the park, light candles in the chapel and of course, kiss the Patron Saint... After strolling, chitchat, small talk, or a tete-a-tete, you can eat again...


I even had an experience eating in eight different houses in one town fiesta alone... What a shame? Of course not... It's just a matter of perspective... Anyway, if you're guilty of being like me, you can always spend a lot when the time comes for you to have a fiesta in your place and invite all those who invited you... I do this most of the time... It's not repayment of a debt. Rather, it is a continuation of a friendly relationship... Again, it's just a matter of how you see things...