Food Review: Haiku

Sushi Maki Plate

Teriyaki Donburi

Total repletion

Not exactly the best haiku ever written, but if there's any restaurant as poetic as a 17-syllabled poem, it would be, er, Haiku, located in Greenbelt 3.

Specifics

Location: Greenbelt 3 below cinema level
Cuisine: Fusion Japanese (as listed in clickthecity)
Type of Service: Casual
Target Market: Mostly Japanese due to near authenticity of the dish
Budget: 450 pesos / head, roughly around $7 a meal, $9 if you order appetizers / drinks.

Customer Experience
I read that an average New Yorker meal costs around $7. This is my measuring stick when choosing a restaurant. That is, if the price of a meal in that restaurant is above $7, then I file it under "expensive" and avoid it until there is an actual occasion for it (think birthdays or proposals, no?). Thankfully, Haiku managed to enter the $7/meal bracket, and come to think of it, Italianni's is actually more expensive.

So a casual eat-out and try-this-old-resto-sitting-there-forever-but-we-don't-really-wanna-try-it-out thing has to be had and I invited a friend to tag along to try out more stuff.

One thing I can say about the service is that they're friendly and prompt. The thing with Haiku is that you never need any reservations to eat here. Just walk in and eat.

We've had traditional Japanese dishes mainly as as my friend has it, "if they can cook the basic stuff, well, then they can cook the experimental / fusion ones better." So yep, that means we ordered Katsudon (Har har) and Japanese chicken curry. We also had a platter of their All Maki Platter, which sets you off at an incredibly low price of 299. 16 pieces of Maki, man such deal! 

And what can I say about the food? Delightful.

(I just have to take a mental note that for the last few days I've been eating out with friends, I always end up finishing my rice and they don't. It makes me feel fat and maybe I should watch out my own rice intake, really. Mental note down.)

The Katsudon is just perfect, the meat tender and the rice that they paired it with is the perfect Japanese kind of sticky. The curry was a bit on the spicy side, which I like but my system tends to disagree with as almost as short as 3 minutes into the curry, sweat beaded up on my forehead. The Maki platter has 16 pieces of maki, 4 Spicy Tuna, 4 Tempura, 4 California, 2 Salmon, and 2 Tuna makis, this is something 4 people can split. You couldn't go wrong with it, although at the end of it, I kind of wish we did some more experimenting and not stick with the basic Japanese. Maybe some other time.

Ambiance
Haiku is not particularly noisy at the time we were in and the air-conditioning is just proper. The lighting is a bit dim, suggesting that it be for more formal or romantic gatherings. My main gripe with Haiku is how unfinished their ceiling is, which is counter-intuitive to their beautiful furnishing. Also, the CR. Why is there no CR in there? The nearest CR is outside Haiku, near the escalators to the cinema level. This is inconvenient, especially with dates, as ladies often want to freshen up after dining.

Verdict
I would like to be cheeky and hand out a verdict in 17 syllables, but the exercise above already told me that I suck at writing haikus. Good thing, eating one is not that hard.

Service - 4
Product - 4
Ambiance - 3

3.7 out of 5

Food Review: Bubble Tea

Bubble Tea at SM Megamall

Well, well, well, we meet again Bubble Tea, my first milk tea love. What separates Bubble Tea from all the other tea stops is that they're no noob in the Philippine market. They've been in Manila for more than a year and the fact that they managed to raise their prices all the while expanding and retaining their customer base is by far no simple feat. Back in 2009, their Large (which is actually medium in Serenitea) Royal Milk Tea is priced at 80 pesos, and their most expensive milk tea, the Coffee Milk Tea (which I have not tried!) sits comfortably at 100 pesos. Came late 2010, the prices got jacked up to flat 115/125 for regular and medium prices respectively across all the milk tea drinks. What turned me off with this move is the fact that I used to buy this stuff for 80 bucks, why should I pay 125 for it when its virtually the same? And with price in the equation, is Bubble Tea worth your money? Read more below.

Specifics

Location: Megamall, Building A, Lower Ground near food court (other locations: SM North EDSA, Tomas Morato)

Concoctions: Milk Tea, Tea, Milk Tea Slush, Japanese Food

Type of Service: Casual Dining

Target Market: Yuppies, Tea Drinkers, Chinese

Price Range: 115 to 150 pesos

Customer Experience

Compared to other tea stops that propose Chinese authenticity, Bubble Tea claims Japanese origin. The servers will greet you, "Irrashaimase!" once you step in and offer you their menu. What I loved about Bubble Tea is they improved their customer service after their price increase a year ago. The waitresses are always smiling and the new casual dining system just makes everything work more easily. You sit and no longer need to fall in line. Very convenient. The downside to this is that expect to pay more. For instance, the Royal Milk Tea you get here will set you off at 125 pesos, where as you get a (very) Large Earl Grey Milk Tea at Gong Cha with triple Js for the same amount. Kind of feels like ripping you off if you look at it that way. I asked the manager of Bubble Tea why their tea is more expensive than others and I was offered the explanation of the casual dining system and that their ingredients are imported from Japan. Besides, their tea comes with pearls by default so that shouldn't be so bad, though would have been better if you are given the option to throw those out and have pudding instead, right?

The star of Bubble Tea's menu

Service is quite fast. The waitresses won't make you wait long before your order is served.  Food is almost often served as fast as the drink you ordered. One misgiving I have is that often when you order a drink, they would miss giving you tissue. Yep. They sometimes miss, so if you're particular with that as I am, I suggest you always pay attention because the moment you start drinking that milk tea, you might forget about everything else.

Offerings

I've practically tried everything in Bubble Tea's menu, save for the Coffee Milk Tea which is just confusing (I mean coffee and tea in one?) and the hot teas. The Green teas I didn't spare either, though there's something so acidic about their Apple Green Tea that makes my stomach crunch with pain at the end of each medium-sized cup.

Taro Milk Tea

At this rate of familiarity, it is safe to say that it's hard to go wrong with Bubble Tea. Their Royal Milk Tea is just that: Royal. The milk and the tea just mixed right and not a hint too strong or too weak. It's like drinking something so refined, you can't tell the ingredients apart. The Royal Milk Tea is the base of all their other milk tea drinks and since it is good, every product derived from it is also good. Though, I tend to disagree with the Japanese Green Milk Tea, it's just not a good fusion. Royal, Taro, Strawberry, Chocolate, Almond, Jasmine, Honeydew Melon, you can practically have one everyday. As for their Cold teas, you can go Apple, Strawberry, Lemon, Yocca (Yogurt green tea), and Peach, all are terrific! Their milkshakes are good, too.

I haven't asked if we can remove the bubbles from the tea, but I guess you could. I once ate there with a friend who disliked the bubbles (tapioca pearls, that is), but we missed the chance of having them taken out. As far as I know, you can tweak the sugar level and even add pudding or vanilla ice cream (but seriously, vanilla ice cream?).

The Seafood Korokke, 5 pcs of potato balls with microscopic seafood in them, priced at 135. Can you believe that before it's only 60 bucks and does not go with that icky salad?

The best thing perhaps about Bubble Tea is that you can also order savory. They have dishes, Japanese Fusion dishes, ranging from Maki and Sushi, to baked rice melts. I thoroughly enjoy their Chicken Teriyaki Doria and their Curry plates, which comes with a side salad--which I don't eat!

The tea taste and the savory dishes just makes Bubble Tea one of the tea stops to beat in my list.

Competition
It's hard to really pin down who Bubble Tea is competing with directly. Their price point is way out of everyone's league, except maybe perhaps for Saint's Alp. You can perhaps think Bubble Tea is competing with Teriyaki Boy, which they edge out on by offering the current fad--Milk Tea. Then again if it's just milk tea and milk tea we're talking about, Bubble Tea is in a bit of a difficult position. Their prices are too steep compared to say Gong Cha or Serenitea. Happy Lemon is another story as Happy Lemon's milk tea offerings are, well, questionable at best, compared to Bubble Tea. Cha Time is of no concern, I already dubbed it as the "tea place to go to when there's just nothing else," and almost everyone I know agrees with me on that.

The Black Tea with Japanese Cream Cheesecake. I say, yum!

The good thing about Bubble Tea is that with these new competitors (milk tea stops), they made new products like the Yocca Green Tea (which is yogurt on your green tea, which is really good, and the Japanese Cream Cheesecake drinks (their version of Happy Lemon's rock salt and cheese), but where as the competition has "drinkable cheese," theirs is more of ready for the scooping. Yep. Stubborn as an ice cream, that cheese, though it's really good and pricey (135 bucks for a large cup).

Verdict
So like an estranged lover, I went back to Bubble Tea after trying all these other tea stops. Taste for taste, nothing beats these folks. Their service is also good and well beyond reproach. But with price in play, you would think twice. A similar tasting Earl Grey can be purchased at Gong Cha for a relatively lower price, so why bother paying 125? Then again, if I am in Megamall and it's fancy Milk Tea that I want, well, I know where to go.

Service - 4
Product - 5
Ambiance - 3.5


4.17 out of 5 stars.

Pick of The Week: Make You Move

This one's a pretty long story, so bear with me, dear readers.

Last month, I used to workout during mornings instead of my usual after work schedule. During this stint, I kept hearing this song that they play at the gym. The chorus is sung by a peculiar voice, bordering Cee-Lo Green peculiarity, and you can't identify properly if the singer is a man or a woman, but one thing for sure is that the singer is black. After first listening, the song (or at least the chorus) kept playing on my head and the annoying thing was that I can't quite make out the lyrics to warrant a successful Google search.

It also made sense to ask the receptionist, but apparently they don't know the song's title either nor can they burn me a copy of their CD as that is against their policies. So I did a turn for the peculiar and strained my ear to the speakers everytime (or every morning) that the song plays, catching as much (garbled, blame the gym's speakers) lyrics. All I know was that the last chorus lines are unintelligible words repeated again and again and again. Unfortunately, the verses are rapped, so good luck catching that, and the chorus is pretty much out of the question. And the worse thing was that I keep hearing this song for like weeks, catching me off guard when I think I have pretty much moved on not need the song in my track list anymore.

My Google searches have only gone extremely peculiar: reviewing the entire catalogs of Flo Rida (yes, the first rap verse sounded, albeit remotely, like Flo Rida), Cee-lo Green and Gnarles Barkley (just because the chorus did sound similar to Cee-lo), and Cobra Starship (because the second rap verse is incredibly techno cool like Cobra Starship). All of which ended in futility.

So last Saturday, I managed to catch it again and this time I really strained to catch the song, and get some parts of the lyrics. I was lucky they were blasting the speakers and I managed to catch the last part of the 2nd verse "Wait up, she's got my full attention with the way that she's working it, working it, working it, working it." So I ran those at Google and got 4 possible search results. The first three were weird songs that came from late 90s, but the fourth one has "make you move (16X)" as the last part of the chorus, so I looked it up on youtube, all the artists on the credits seem pretty unfamiliar to me, but voila, it's my song! Make You Move by Dr. Hollywood Ft. Martha Wash.

But before we head to the song, let's get to see the artists behind it.

Dr. Hollywood is a pair of rappers from Beverly Hills, made up of Lex Larson and Louie Rubio. One of their more popular songs, "Lakers Run L.A." amassed 3 million downloads, all without a record deal. The featured singer, Martha Wash, is part of the duo Weather Girls, you know the pair that originally sang It's Raining Men. 

Martha Wash is known for her extensive range and distinct vocals. It's difficult to tell though whether she's a man or a woman based solely on her voice. But her voice is a pleasure to listen to, nonetheless.

So without further ado, here's this week's Pick of the Week: Make You Move by Dr. Hollywood feat. Martha Wash. Enjoy.

Side note: You can apparently download Make You Move for free, instructions on the youtube link, from Dr. Hollywood's website.

Return of Pick of the Week

Once upon a time, I post songs I find cool every week. Well, I kind of took a break from alternative music, mainly because I thought it didn't match with the summer weather. I know that sounds crazy / lame / both, but important thing is I got back and well, here's what I found this morning after listening to my favorite radio station (JAM 88.3). The song is called "Beer" by Psycho Stick.

I posted the unofficial video. And yes the song is amusing and extremely hilarious. I don't get why they are so angry in love with beer, but hey it worked. Check it out by hitting play. Enjoy.

And oh yeah, pick of the week might not exactly go weekly as I did before, but hey, it's back. Will be posting new ones from time to time.

Something Personal

I don't hate you. If I hate you, that means I actually think of you. I don't think of you. You said we're done, then we're done. Live with it.

Some three years ago I met someone and those were the very words that closed our relationship. While I am a very extrovert person (normally), a lot of my friends don't know plenty of details in my life. Like those words I am sharing now. Each time I inspect my old SIM card, I see that message and I feel humiliated 100 times over and I had the unfortunate incident of actually inspecting that SIM card awhile ago. I don't know why I even keep it. Probably because it was one of the happiest realtionships I've ever had. Probably because the words were so well-written, conveying just enough hate without actual admission, it merits keeping. Probably because of all my pleasant attributes, it is my naivete that makes most of my decisions. Or maybe because I am too lazy.

It still pinches me bad, those words. I probably deserve them. I probably don't. And now that I documented them, I can throw the SIM card away, and I actually did. For all that it's worth, that relationship taught me a lot. But lessons are only good as they are in practice, and if there's anything I am taking from all that has happened, it definitely is not the lesson I learned. It is most likely coping up. For life is not promising to be satisfying through its full length, coping up is our only chance of survival--or enjoyment. Life is fun, but sometimes it is otherwise and for all the otherwises happening in your life, we can always rely on chocolates, friends, alcohol, and therapists to manage.

So cheers to those who are coping up and are on their way back to healthy happiness.

I don't think I would ever forget your face. In fact, I don't think I plan to. Haha! When will I see you again? Please say soon. xoxo

In Review: Friends with Benefits

Friends with Benefits, Will Gluck, 2011

The Gist

Filled to the brim with hilarious pop culture references, humorous dialogues, a little helping of romance here and there, and a great chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake, Friends with Benefits is an endearing rom-com that won't miss any chance to make you laugh. Falling in love with it is, however, an option.

The Good

• really great chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake
• humorous exchange of dialogues with proper pop culture references
• character development is well done, not a flat rom-com as it discusses things other than love

The Bad

• may feel a typical rom-com at times

Synopsis

Dan Harper (Timberlake) is employed as an Art Director of an L.A.-based blog that hits over 6 million views per month. Head hunter Jamie (Mila Kunis), reeling from a breakup, is overjoyed when she finally convinces Dan Harper to try out an interview as an Art Director for GQ Magazine, based in New York. Dan apparently wants to escape L.A. due to a recent breakup and while he feels that New York is not where he belongs, he thinks he might as well give it chance--partly thanks to Jamie's charming personality and persistence. As he settles himself down in New York, his friendship with Jamie grows into something that comes with benefits. They then both learn the hard way that sex and friendship are things that get sticky when mixed.

No Complications

What is so fun about this movie? It is unpretentious and simple. It's a rom-com that talks about sex and you get what is promised. There's also good character development to back up the good dialogues and some background plots that the movie don't take much time to focus on, but make the movie more fleshed out.

Hook Me Up

It's unanimous that Timberlake's and Kunis's chemistry are perfect and that without them, the movie would have been an absolute snooze fest. There is something magical about how easily they connect on-screen and how pleasant they look together. This also helped their acting, which I can only describe as spot-on.

The movie is really actually shallow and feel good, not much depth and can actually feel like a spent rom-com, especially with the cliche advise-realization of never letting go of that someone you want just because you are afraid. Yes, we heard that in every rom-com (like for instance Crazy Stupid Love), and while it is generally true, you'd wish sometimes that they come up with something better. But of course, this didn't stop the movie from being enjoyable. Actually, you will forgive it in the end for using the cliche as the execution of everything that follows and preceded it are very stylish and well-thought of.

Apparently, the director of FWB is the same director of one of my 2010 favorites: Easy A, so now I can't help but compare the two. Emma Stone has a cameo in the movie and Patricia Clarkson assumes the role of a messed up mother on this one as she did on Easy A. Another thing in common with Easy A and FWB is the extensive use of background plots that don't really add much to the main plot, but helps well in developing the characters' background story. Also, in both movies, there is an adorable kid throwing funny lines. And while Easy A is better in every way, it can't also be denied that FWB shines in its own right by being unpretentious and well-thought of. By admitting to itself that it is a rom-com made to make people laugh and believe in love, and commits to that admission, FWB is able to deliver a good movie.

Would it be worth your penny? Probably if you need a laugh. Kunis and Timberlake also bare plenty of skin in this movie and I mean plenty. So if you actually are curious, then it might be something you would want to pay for and see. With this movie, falling in love with it is not promised, but laughing is guaranteed.

My verdict:

A passing and recommended mark of 4/5.