BURNT LUMPIA & OTHER STUFF

I wasn't feeling that great this morning, so I played one of my "sick day" cards. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary took place today, but I did get to tune in to Kababayan L.A. on LA18 (channel 18). Ironically enough, the episode was laden with post-Oscar news: winners, losers, and fashion - as expected.

However there was a brief portion of the show dedicated to bloggers... Filipino bloggers to be specific. The owner of Burnt Lumpia was on the show talking about blogging, and all that good stuff. As usual, Janelle So had her list of somewhat weird questions (I always think that her questions are a little strange...) to ask, but thankfully I think the guy totally knew what she meant. I didn't really pay attention because I went on my laptop to access the site. It has since been added to my growing list of readables. So check it next time you get a second.
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"EH" #3 of the day: Tonight, Diddy will be on TV. A Raisin In the Sun will show on primetime, and I am not going to watch it. I'm sure Phylicia Rashad will be phenomenal, as will Audra McDonald. But I'm just not at all sure about Diddy. Emmm.

"EH" #2 of the day: Uh, Ryan Seacrest just asked Jessica Alba (during the red carpet outside the Kodak yesterday, actually) if she'll be breast feeding... and both she and Cash looked somewhat horrified.

"EH" #1 of the day: I got shat on by a bird as Ning and I were walking into Vons. Thank goodness grocery stores have those 'wipes' available for you at the entrances. If it weren't for them, I'd be funkin' up bird style. Gross.

THE WAR IS OVER...

...the dance war, that is. Yes, I'm talking about that super lame show Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann. Gosh that was such a lame show. When one of my friends came to town, we decided that it might be cool to attend a taping. Not so much. I mean it was kind of cool seeing the performances. But other than that, the show was just eh.

Even more eh is that fact that Team Bruno won. Clearly, if it were up to industry professionals, Team Carrie Ann would've probably won. Team Bruno's gang was lackluster. They only won because America felt sorry for them for losing to TCA twice in the beginning. Yay for the sympathy vote, right? Not so much.

The performers on TB definitely had some individual talent, but as a group they were just a mess. And that Lacey girl - I expected so much more from a sista! Her singing was ok (definitely one of the better voices), but she could not dance--which was disappointing. Not that TCA's kids were super great either. Again, individually they had their talents. The strong singers were definitely Mariel, Qis and Chris. The rest, eh. Elizabeth can pull of a dance in a 'dance team/poms' kind of way, but her singing was definitely too 90s teeny-bopper scratchy. Mariel can sing the shit outta those songs, but she was weak dancer. But as a group, they somehow worked. They reminded me of an updated version of The Party (you know ---the group that spawned from The Mickey Mouse Club back in the late 80s/early 90s). Not that the entertainment world needs another version of them. But yeah, that's exactly what they reminded me of.

I can't believe I even watched the finale last night. Good TV is now so hard to find.

(I can't believe I just wrote this.)

YUM SOO-SHEE

Last Wednesday, The Mobley (the in-house cafeteria at work) had their bi-weekly menu of sushi available for lunch. I usually never get their sushi, even though they've contracted some real-deal sushi company to come in and pre-make the rolls prior to the big lunch rush. Every other Wednesday people line-up for a dose of the not-so-spectacular maki rolls. Those who are more daring go for the side of seaweed salad, too. For some strange reason, I decided that I would get sushi there for the first time ever. Needless to say, it will be my last.

I honestly see no difference between the sushi served at work, and the sushi that's pre-packed at the grocery store. Granted, Bristol Farms serves up amazing pre-packed sushi for a grocery store, but they are the sole exception. I got a combo spicy tuna/salmon roll from The Mobez, and I (1) inhaled it in like 2 minutes, and (2) was not even close to satisfied.

After work, Jess and I decided to walk across the street to the Bev Hills library to study for the CPSM exam. We sat there dutifully studying for over an hour and a half, and the whole time you could hear my stomach growling and turning and doing all sorts of not-so-cool things. When we were done, we had to eat. We stopped at Sushi & Kushi Imai on Wilshire, right on the border of Bev Hills and mid-Wilshire. I've driven by this spot so many times before, but never been. Jess had been once and said that their happy hour was great. We missed happy hour, but were starving anyway so we went. Needless to say, it was great... Jess ordered this "crunch & crunch" thing which was basically a shrimp tempura roll nicely arranged with wonton bits and tempura shavings all over. It looked like a big sushi cake or something. To compliment that, she ordered a stuffed avocado with mushrooms and something else... scallops maybe? Looked amazing. I got a spicy tuna salad --spicy tuna on a bed of mixed greens with fresh slices of avocado on top. I also ordered a baked crab roll, which was OK. It was nothing remotely close to Kabuki's BSR (or something like that) or Roku's baked crab roll, which is still one of the best (if not the best) that I've had. All in all, the experience was good. I would definitely go again, especially for happy hour.

The service lagged a little though, but it was definitely busier than I had expected. It was dimly lit; pretty standard stuff much like the other Japanese places I've been to out here. But it was cozy, not cold like the new Sasabune. Since it was packed, it was a little loud, but not overly so. The sushi bar looked somewhat chic, and it gave balance to the rest of the area -- basically a v-shaped open space filled with tables. Definitely a keeper.

Incidentally, during lunch yesterday Jess and Justin stopped through the new spot made by the Sushi Roku gang of restaurants -- Luckyfish -- here in Bev Hills. It's one of those kaiten places --"conveyor belt" sushi. Not exactly my bag, but I'll try it since it's by the Roku gang. I'll let you know how it goes. Looks like we won't have a sushi shortage ever. Then again, this is L.A.

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Totally unrelated to sushi... but I feel like this is worth of mentioning; at least for my fellow Filos. Those of us who grew up in the 80s are more than familiar with Philippine stars Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion. They were a totally cheesy love-team that, for purposes not completely known to me, ended up getting married in real life. (The world of Philippine cinema is known for doing this ---which is absolutely dumb, I think.) So they had a story-book wedding; a ceremony and reception that royal weddings are made of. And then, as they usually do, they got divorced. Sharon went on to be one of the country's best stars, while Gabby had his share of fame before going on to father two more kids with two other women. (Not judging here...!) Now he's supposedly here in the States.

Anyway. Sharon and Gabby had a daughter, Maria Kristina Cassandra (sp?) - more popularly known as KC. She was the chubby little girl that pretty much grew up in the shadow of her mom. She wasn't absolutely pretty, but not at all unfortunate either. She wasn't super into showbiz, too. Some children of actors in The Phils totally get immersed in showbiz the minute they can walk and talk. But not so much KC, even though she did dabble with theater. Eventually, the little girl grew up... went to Paris for school... watched as her mom gave birth to her younger sisters... and eventually came to reconcile with her once-estranged father. Needless to say, the little duckling (not 'ugly' duckling, 'cause she honestly was never ugly to me) has blossomed into a swan.

Uh... this is her now:

Wow, right? She's gorgeous! She may be a spittin' image of her dad, but as a female she carries the look well. Ahahaha. I'm pretty impressed, and actually can't wait to see how far this one goes in Philppine showbiz. She's got an international look that may work in Hollywood. But is the talent there? Abangan ang susunod na...kabanata!

USELESS INFO: MARINARA VS. POMODORO

So one day I found myself absolutely perplexed about the difference between marinara and pomodoro sauces. I was seriously working my brain to death trying to figure it out. Just kidding. I could actually care less, but I did come across something on the net that sort of explained the raging difference between the two... I said sort of. I thought it would be interesting to read. Needless to say, those were two minutes of my life that I will never get back.

Anyway. In case you were interested – this is the gist of what I found out:

Marinara: We all know that it’s meatless and tomato-based. Ingredients are fresh tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, and salt. Throw all of these things into a pot, let it simmer for about 20 minutes, and you’ve got yourself a piping hot pot of marinara sauce. As you know, marinara is ‘runny,’ but with lots of tomato chunks. Since the sauce doesn’t cook too long, it retains much of its bright red hue, and the olive oil adds a sheen to it (since it doesn’t completely blend with the rest of the ingredients).

Pomodoro: It’s very similar to marinara. In fact, the ingredients are pretty much the same. Difference – the tomatoes aren’t as chunky. They’re chopped/cut very finely ---almost to the point that it’s minced. The sauce is cooked much longer than a 20-minute simmer, thus making it a little thicker and darker in color.

So there you have it, ladies and gents. Now you can go into your neighborhood osteria (an osteria is more of an evening-type place; usually with no written menu) or trattoria (a trattoria is usually a family-owned establishment; casual and not overly expensive) and proudly order your marinara or pomodoro with confidence.

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So secretly, the reason why I found this information on the web was because I was looking-up the website for Pasta Pomodoro – which is a regional chain in Cali/Arizona. It’s sort of similar to Noodle & Company, but better quality (You’re actually sat by a host/hostess, and you order off a regular menu; the feeling is definitely casual like N&C, but you get the service of say Carrabba’s. LOL.). Anyway, as I was dozing off last night, I went on their website and read the menu off. Reading food descriptions off menus actually helps quell my appetite… and I don’t have to worry about caloric/fat intake. HA.

dineLA RESTAURANT WEEK

Due to sheer laziness, dineLA Restaurant Week didn’t really happen for me. Well, almost. I originally had three reservations in place (at Dakota, Tokyo Table, and Chaya Brasserie) throughout the course of the food-fest. I was a little hung-over and tired the day of the Dakota reservations, which was too bad since that’s a place I’d been meaning to try. But the damp weather, and being wrapped-up in my blanket in my room, kept me from venturing out to Hollywood that day. Who leaves the Westside anyway? The night of the Tokyo Table reservation was also a bust. I wasn’t feeling it after the long week at work, and neither were my friends. Luckily, I was able to push through with the reservations at Chaya Brasserie in Beverly Hills.

I’d gone to Chaya several times before, but always for their ‘industry’ happy hour – which isn’t bad at all. The one and only time that I was actually there for dinner prior didn’t actually happen. It was for my birthday two years ago, and I was drunk out of my mind from happy hour, and we basically couldn’t wait around to be seated. (That was the same night we saw Michael Vartan hanging out at the bar at Chaya.) We moved the party to Sushi Roku on Third St., and I barely ate my sushi. I don’t remember throwing up, so that must’ve meant the night was decent. That’s another story, though.

Anyway. Two Mondays ago I had gone to a taping of Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann with the roomies and Ekie, who was visiting from home. The show/taping was absolutely lame, aside from watching the actual performances. Again, another story. After the taping, we were famished, and had the reservations at Chaya. We made it right on time for dinner, and we got right to it. Libations were flowing, and the prix fix menu looked pretty good. Two of us chose the lobster ravioli for our appetizer, and the other two had the shrimp gumbo. Yum. The 'gumbo' girls enjoyed their bowls quite much, and Ekie and I were lovin’ the ravioli – two raviolis (is that how you spell that?) stuffed with steamed lobster meat. They were showered in a delicious pesto sauce. It was absolutely divine. Our main course followed –with three of us ordering a Cajun-grilled sea bass over kale and basmati rice; Nicely prepared, and perfectly cooked. The fish practically melted in our mouths. Ekie was the lone soldier who got the boneless short ribs, which was sweet and tender – an excellent choice. It was definitely yum-azing. For dessert, we each ordered an ‘ice cream sandwich,’ which was basically vanilla ice cream with chocolate shavings sandwiched in-between two chocolate chip/walnut cookies. It was very simple, yet amazing. Surprisingly, we were very full after the rounds of drinks and food, and we left Chaya Brasserie with a good feeling. The place is most def a “sure thing” when it comes to fine dining. A sure hit, and our out-of-town guest was pleased.

I was just happy to have been able to take advantage of LA’s restaurant week (and adding more points to my optentable.com account!). Hopefully next year the offerings will be more diverse, and plentiful. I love NYC’s, Chicago’s and DC’s restaurant weeks. I think I will try to plan my next trip home to coincide with Restaurant Week just so that I can try someplace new in the city.

REMEMBER... THE GIANTS!

Super Bowl XLII is now over, and I couldn't be more happy with the end result. Funny thing is that I originally came into this season as a Patriots fan. I guess after the "home" team (Redskins) had left a trail of disappointing years of football, I had eventually turned to the Pats as my sort-of 'unofficial' team. I had followed them, although not 100%, the past few years, and haven't ever been disappointed. Even coming into this season, I threw them my support. But truthfully, as it got closer to the game I wasn't really sure. For me, either the Pats or Giants could win just because they're both East Coast teams.

Superficially, though, I think I got over Tom Brady. Maybe because of his dunzo relationship with Bridget Moynahan, I don't know. I was over Tom Brady, and so I was over the Pats. I turned to NY because: (1) I just needed a change of pace, and (2) I wanted Eli Manning to win since Peyton won with the Colts last year. Still superficial, I know.


But in the end, that's exactly what happened. Eli Manning lead his team to the win, and all ended nicely. To the credit of both teams, it was a good game! Totally worth the few hours in front of the TV.



The funny thing about watching the Super Bowl out West is that it ends early, and so you've got a few more hours to kill before ending the weekend. In other words, there's more sobering time for those who treaded the road to intoxication. Ha! Back East, you'd have to go to work the morning after a Super Bowl with a hang-over. Out here, not-so-much. It's weird.

Anyway. Good job, Giants! Super Bowl 42 is yours: 17 to 14...! Peyton, I'm sure, is proud...!