Pictures from the Seafood Wharf

We went to celebrate my parents 25th wedding anniversary at the Seafood Wharf near Luneta Park. Pardon if there are no pictures of food. Before I could take out my camera, the food was being passed around and eaten like mad. You see, we are shellfish deprived people. There were 4 of us: my parents then Jhann and I. We ordered 5 dishes 4 of which are shellfish. I've been craving for shrimps and prawn for almost a month before so we ordered hilabos na hipon and prawns in chili sauce. My mom misses her La Union roots so she ordered bamboo shells in black bean sauce and steamed capiz with garlic.

The steamed capiz just blew me away. The soft shellfish meat was fully infused with the garlic. The garlic was cooked enough not to give too strong a smell that sticks to your breath. Must must try!

Here are some pictures of the place.

Side Note: Blogger is just to hard to work with in terms of inserting pictures. It's too restricting in positioning. I'm using Photoshop now which is more tedious but gives me more artistic freedom.

By: Diane On March 23, 2007

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300... the must see Movie of the Quarter!

Prepare for Glory

I watched 300 with Jhann and our friends on the first day of its showing at Greenbelt 3. We were going for the 1030 showing but seats were full even before 8pm. We ended up with a later screening. We got 2nd row seat which isn't bad for Greenbelt cinemas.

300 is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same title by Frank miller about the Battle of Thermopylae. Spartan King leads an army of 300 Spartans against the Persian army of 1 million led by King Xerxes. Armed only with their spears, swords and their shield, the Spartans use tactics and Spartan skills which all Spartan boys acquire through rigorous training since 7 years old. Warning spoiler: King Leonidas and his men eventually lose against Xerxes but their story inspired the rest of Sparta and Greece to defend their land against the Persian Empire.

Spartans! Enjoy your breakfast for tonight we dine in hell

The film starts with a narration giving it a historical and also a dramatic feel. Deviating from history, the movie includes a fantasy feel with grotesque characters and monsters. In certain scenes the CGI is a little unrealistic (Example the wolf in the earlier part of the scene) but I get the feeling that it was deliberate. The cinematography was the best asset of 300. Scenes are presented like beautiful paintings. As graphic the battle scenes may be, they were not grotesque.

A favorite scene (warning spoiler) : When Theron was at the height of his evil self at the council meet where he accuses Queen Gorgo of adultery, Gorgo grabs a sword and putsit straight to Theron's stomach and whispers to him, "This is not going to be fast." That scene was so fulfilling at couldn't help but exclaim, "You go, biatch!".


Everyone, watch, watch, WATCH this movie. Unless you have a nifty home theater set up, catch it on widescreen to appreciate the picture.

By: Diane On March 14, 2007

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Eastwood Tripping

Jhann and I dined out last Sunday, March 04, 2007 as my mother was kind enough to sponsor our date with 500 bucks. (She's feeling guilty because the elders are going to eat at Saisaki). I was craving for Sisig Hooray at Katipunan or Tomato Kick at Teachers' Village but they were both closed so we ended up going to Eastwood.

We ate at that Italian fastfood Fazoli's. Jhann enjoyed his Italian chicken and Spaghetti with meat sauce while I ordered pizza and pesto spaghetti combo. Pasta is a little dry and the pizza is so so.Both are good enough for 100 bucks each if you're really craving for Italian. But the Italian fast service restaurant for me is still Sbarro.

What happened after dinner is where the fun starts. We walked around and found life size displays of, well, different people and... aliens. It was supposedly an exhibit of alien models but they decided to add displays of Hulk Hogan, Marlon Brando, Bruce Lee among others. A little weird mix of display but only means one thing for Jhann: creative shots.

Turista shot. Meet my tourist guide...

Asteeg.

No to violence against women!

Stop Police Brutality!

Maawa po kayo sa akin.

Side note: John Prats and his family were at the same exhibit and taking pictures. Pero wala pa rin kakabog sa kakulitan namin ni Jhann.

After that fun photo shoot, we went to the bookstore where good books are sold for a steep price. I want, I want, I want!

For our dessert for that night, we went to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, our favorite coffee shop. We used to order the Ultimate at CBTL but for a change we ordered a large Ice blended Black Forest to share and I can say we liked the change. It's really really good sipping coffee slush with bits of maraschino cherries. We also ordered flourless chocolate cake but I must say I like their Rocky Road bars better.

Ahh... good coffee, comfy seats.
I could spend the rest of my days like this

It's nice to visit Eastwood again after how many years but it's not as fun as I remember it. It used to be a fun and energetic place but now, the crowd is more subdued. More families are going there during the weekends. I was part of the Eastwood generation. And we are older now. As Eastwood is getting old, I'm feeling more manang. :(

By: Diane On March 14, 2007

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