Author Archives: heavenliner

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About heavenliner

a twisted little soul... people see me to be so delicious they sometimes want to eat me...

Boyzone Now at 2018

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Me and my younger sister Joie last night saw the Manila leg of the Irish pop band Boyzone world tour and farewell concert.  And since the songs they performed were so familiar to my ears, the general feeling after seeing the whole show was like catching up with an old bunch of friends who visited me and my sister after a very long time. 

i admit, i love their songs…

I had the ultimate fun watching Ronan, Shane, Mikey and Keith perform!  The show was no longer about their youth, no longer about their looks and no longer about the winking of their eyes to the screaming audience.  The concert was more about their music, it was more about their friendship and it was more about their appreciation towards their fans and the audience in this side of the planet.  And the feel-good vibe kind of interaction with the audience was very delightful.  It was more of a grown-up affair.

Since this now-mature boyband amassed numerous hit songs (unlike bands with only one or two recognizable songs throughout their repertoire), a Boyzone concert will always be sulit (translation: a good deal and worth every penny) that the audience paid for.  I and my sister were actually singing along all throughout the show!

Boyzone may no longer be a boy-band that get their fans’ hormones intensely soaring but since their music will always be part of my past, this Irish pop group seem to have transformed into some bunch of good old friends who has been gone for quite some time. 

dahil early bird, photo op muna!

At dahil piling ko prends ko sila, gusto ko na silang utangan.

So Much Reasons To See Crazy Rich Asians

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I have to admit, the major reason why I wanted to watch the movie Crazy Rich Asian was because I wanted to see Kris Aquino, my country’s mega queen of media.  But since the lavish movie was so engaging, I almost forgot the reason why I wanted to see it.  Until she appeared in her beautiful yellow gown playing the role of the ultra-rich and toffee-nosed character of Princess Intan. 

kris aquino with constance wu

Crazy Rich Asian is such a heartwarming movie.  I was actually teary-eyed in some of the scenes because it featured cultural elements that seem so close to my being.  Also, I was so happy to see this delightful movie because at last Asian characters are on the lead (not mere sidekicks) and Asian actors are not performing the gag-worthy Hollywood martial arts scenes.  I am actually considering this film an Asian celebration!

I may not be crazy rich (because I am a crazy reject Asian) but I nevertheless saw bits and pieces of me in numerous characters of the movie, the gutsy-ness of Rachel Chu, the being-a-friend-to-depend-on of Peik Lin, the softheartedness of Nick Young and of course the bitchiness of Eleanor Sung-Young. 

I was at awe when Kris Aquino appeared and was glad to know how pivotal her role was.  But the movie’s characters and its message made me further love this film.  I laughed with the characters, I cried with the characters and I fell in love with the characters!  The movie clearly screams that though there would be headaches and hurdles, you can chase your own happiness even without sacrificing your values and tradition.

Ang Yaman!

Olay Broadway Lovers/Haters Test

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Here’s some silly theory! 

To test if you’re a fan and love Broadway musicals, you would be able to finish watching and listening to this non-sense of a product face-cleanser commercial. 

But if you just stopped and suddenly scrolled down or continue with web surfing while in the middle of this Olay commercial, it only signifies that watching at least 1 Broadway musical will never be or has never been in your bucket list.

I bet you watched the whole thing! I’ve seen the commercial and finished it 3 times.  And I can’t wait to wash my face!

Kaloka! Nan-sens pero tinapos ko tri tayms!

Getting Lost In The Right Direction

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“Your unexpected detour could lead to unexpected moments of beauty that otherwise you would have missed” 

This is how I would summarize my thought after I and my friend-colleagues has gone to Laiya, San Juan in the province of Batangas to scout for a venue for our upcoming company’s post-summer outing.

We basically checked-out, visited and inquired almost all of the major sea-side vacation lands in the area but in each of the resorts we visited there seem to be something lacking.  We have gone to seven leading resorts yet we still were not one in deciding which to choose.  This until, we decided to get lost and do a little detour before heading back to Manila.

And here is what we found!      

It really feels good to be lost in the right direction…

Ameysing!

Mama Mia 2: A Luis Movie Treat

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I just have to chronicle this delightful experience! Me, Nengkoy and a couple of my beautiful relatives were treated to a delightful movie all paid for by my nephew Luis. I just have to blog post this event because this is actually the first time that Luis paid for all our movie tickets. And the treat was not just in any other ordinary movie house it was in an affluent and more luxurious venue, the Director’s Club in SM Aura Premier Mall.

The comfortable mechanized la-z-boy seat and the complimentary bowl of buttery popcorn added up to the pleasurable delight of the movie we chose to watch. It was the Mama Mia 2. Like the first version, Mama Mia 2 again made me tap my feet and sing along with the popular tunes of Abba. Some of the songs included in the movie were semi-hit in the Philippines yet I felt silly that I was able to sing along when these semi-popular songs reached the chorus. 

 

(l-r) nephew luis, me and nephew denden

nengkoy and I (inside director’s club movie house)

happy nengkoy

Delightful would be the best word to describe Mama Mia 2: Here We Go Again. Though the movie was not as fun and as merry if compared to the first version, which included more popular tunes and more comical scenes, the treat by that of my nephew Luis made this movie unforgettable!

Naka libre din! Sa wakas!

Tastes of Asahikawa

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One unusual thing that I and my colleagues did in our most recent trip to Japan is that we decided to stay in a minimally advertised destination in Hokkaido.  Instead of staying in a more popular Sapporo or Furano, we decided to stay for 2 nights in a remote place called Asahikawa. 

And since there are limited tourist spots to go to (aside from going to a mall and a zoo), I and my colleagues decided to explore Asahikawa through its food.  Our first destination was the ramen house our hotel has recommended, the Ichikura Raman. 

with the asahikawa gang just outside ichikura raman (edwin, malou, gie and dominic) 

surprisingly clear to the palate yet with a distinct flavor of a ramen

 Since Isahikawa seem to be popular with shoyu-based ramen (shoyu: Japanese soy sauce), I settled and ordered the Okhotsk Shoyu Ramen.  This ramen according to the menu is composed with unique Hokkaido ingredients like Namuro dried salmon flakes, Esashi dried herring and Rishiri kelp from Oumu.  I was really happy that Ichikura Raman was the ramen place our hotel has recommended.  And aside from their ramen, one surprising dish in this joint was their Gyoza.  It was one of the best gyozas that I have tasted!

A lot of people say that it would be a sin for a tourist in Hokkaido if he/she failed or refuse to try the Hokkaido ice cream.  This soft frozen dairy is one plain ice cream that is simply made of milk.  It has no fancy flavor, no fancy add-ons and no fancy flairs for an ice cream.  For me, its plainness makes Hokkaido ice cream remarkably exquisite and amazingly elegant. 

happy crew handing me my creamy ice cream 

savoring every moment of yummy-ness!

Then, one of the highlights of our Asahikawa stay was the dinner at Jingisukan Daikokuya.  This restaurant is the top rated local-cuisine restaurant in Asahikawa as per Tripadvisor.  It is so popular people would have to wait and queue outside before they be given a table.  Specialty of the house was Hokkaido’s grill icon called Genghis Khan (also termed Jingisukan).

Like their sophisticated ice cream, Jingisukan is a must try in Hokkaido.  It is a unique style of yakiniku in which mutton and lamb are grilled on a convex skillet shaped like an upside-down bowl.  Since the meat are grilled over charcoal, we were surprised to see and experience the amount of smoke inside the popular restaurant.  We nevertheless did not complain because the smoke actually added up to the character and atmosphere of the establishment. 

outside the resto, waiting for our turn

 

an asahikawa highlight

I personally prefer beef over lamb, but the marinated flavor and the stunning taste of the meat served to us gave me some second thought if I really do prefer beef over lamb. Genghis Khan was strikingly delicious!

Asahikawa may not be of the same level as that of Osaka, Tokyo or Sapporo where there are tons to see and marvel at.  Asahikawa nevertheless has loads of gustatory surprises that tourists can taste and talk about.

Para maiba naman!

Farm Tomita in Furano

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Last week was my second visit to the beautiful Hokkaido, the second largest island in Japan.  I never recognized this place as compared to how it looked when I was here the first time.  The beauty, appeal and character of Hokkaido is totally different during the winter season.  Since it is summer, my second visit felt like it was my first.

I personally prefer Hokkaido during the winter months.  Maybe it is because I have so much summer here in the Philippines.  It is basically like 365 days of summer in my tropical country. 

And since it is summer, I and my companions took the opportunity to visit the Farm Tomita’s lavender fields in Furano.  Try smelling the flowers in these photos…       

Ambango…

I Won Two Million Pesos

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At exactly 3:18PM I received a phone call via Viber app.  The caller sounded like a lady with very foreign accent.  With very poor English speaking skills the caller seem to tell me that I was so lucky because I won.  I told her to speak clearly because I can’t seem to understand her English.  She dropped the call.

Then all of a sudden here is how our Viber messaging transpired and won my Two Million Pesos…  

Winning Moment! Mwahahaha!

   

After sending my ATM, she never called or message back.  Oh, by the way “Gago!” is a Tagalog word meaning “You Idiot!”

Kaloka! 143-44-54!

Classic Pudding

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My palatal experience and taste for the Classic Pudding has come a long way.  It progressed from being derisory to being lavish.  My lunch today with Nengkoy and a few of my relatives at Medley Buffet in first-class hotel Okada Manila made me realize this. 

Superb buffet here at Medley Buffet, Okada Manila

When my sister Joie took a heap of the Classic Pudding as her dessert, I told aloud that Nengkoy (my mother) at one occasion made a Classic Pudding when we were still very small.  Nengkoy upon hearing this smiled and nodded her head.  But what is so memorable with Nengkoy’s Classic Pudding I told Joie is that it was made from left over breads most especially from the staple of the Marcos regime’s feeding program in the ‘70s called Nutribun.

I can still recall that Nutibun given to us students in the 70’s were so big, so dense and were so filling.  It was so compact, that if you fail to consume it and let it stand for a day it will turn so hard, eating it would be next to impossible. I remember not eating those bulky Nutribuns and instead bring those home.  This kindled the parsimony and thriftiness in Nengkoy.  Instead of throwing away those rock hard Nutribuns, I remember she turned it into a hot delicious Classic Pudding. 

with niece bebang and nengkoy

nengkoy! enjoying her medley buffet experience

my bowl of classic pudding

After telling that story, I excused myself, went to the abundant and over-the-top buffet area of Medley Buffet. I also took a big bowl of their Classic Pudding for my dessert.  While enjoying my dessert and washed it down with champagne, I silently reminisced about the taste of the pudding Nengkoy prepared for us when we were still kids in the seventies.

Parang walang pinagkaiba anf pudding ng Okada at ng Nutribun. Yummy! Hahaha!

Dear Terrence Romeo

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I totally disagree with the pretext, depth and perspectives of your tweet. It is sad to note that a lot of Filipinos agree, liked and shared your unwise tweet.

Translation: To those athletes who express that we were embarrassing, we don’t care whatever you say. My team needs to support one another in the court. We cannot just disregard one another. If we are embarrassing in your viewpoint why can’t you just convert to being Australians?

I love underdogs that is why I was drawn to liking Gilas Philipinas in the past. But it is unfortunate to note that last night’s basketball game (July 2 held at the Philippine Arena against Team Australia), the charismatic underdog Gilas Team seem to have transformed into some confused and rabid mongrel.


Let me then inform you that my being a Filipino and staying as a Filipino is not anchored on how the games of Gilas Pilipinas play its game! The affairs of your team may it be compassionate or rabid towards your opponents is not going to be the fundamental foundation of my staying as a Filipino. Lastly, the size of your prefrontal cortex will not be the basis if I will stay as a Filipino or convert to becoming an Australian.

You being one of the star players of the team, guess what? A simple tweet apologizing to your fans could have been better, more mature and more sportsmanly act as compared to what you tweeted.

Ang hashtag Puso naging hashtag Balunbalunan!