In which a Superbrand shows disregard to common values

It has been more than a month since the tropical depression Ondoy has hit Manila but its effects still continue to reflect on the daily lives of Filipinos.

In times of crisis, even Superbrands like Toyota show their true color.

For the past month, Toyota Pasong Tamo extension, has been showing an absence of consideration. The deluge of cars affected by Ondoy are parked on the two lane street effectively causing major traffic during the morning rush hour. Toyota has become a beacon encouraging people who show disregard for courtesy by blocking the remaining lane. This is a clear sign of the company's "We dont care if we inconvenience others as long as we earn" policy.


See the parked Innovas? Toyota management took liberties in utilizing half the street as their parking lot.


This vehicle was blocking the road for more than 5 minutes, causing even more traffic while discussing with a Toyota representative. I was close to them the whole time, not once did I hear the Toyota rep tell the guy to park properly.

Its bothering how they obstruct traffic because they can get away with it. I even saw them "make arrangements" with a Makati policeman once when they were questioned for parking on the road. Is this how a Superbrand is? Where does their "I do it because I can get away with it attitude" stop? Whats next? Child labor? White slavery?

In which an alleged reputable place serves bad food

I have heard a lot of good things about Sakae Sushi (in Mall of Asia) but was very disappointed. The place completed the unholy triumvirate of horrible service, bad food and high prices.

I only see two reasons for the good reviews I have seen - either their quality has degraded since those reviews or the reviewers have really bad taste.

The place was half full when I went there and some of them were foreigners so I was expecting an at least average meal. As I was choosing food from the conveyor belt thing, it was obvious that the food was more than a day old. Instead of seeing the obvious signal of bad quality and walking out, stupid me asked for the menu and ordered the best seller:


It was so bad I didnt bother remembering the name and price. All I remember was that the salmon was far from fresh and the little red eggs felt itchy in my mouth. Everything else was just as terrible. Tokyo Tokyo serves better sushi! And the horror of the soggy fried dumpling! For the price, I would have expected at least a properly fried dumpling!


I genuinely felt bad for the ignorant buffet patrons forking in cash for substandard food. This brings to mind a Filipino trait of loyalty without reason - people automatically unconsciously neglect the shortcomings of a brand because of its general reputation.

And I even had first hand experience of their bad hygiene - I saw a waitress drop a plate of sushi while transferring conveyors, and without as much as a guilty glance, or split second thought, non nonchalantly placed it back on the plate with her dirty hands so naturally, that I was inclined to think that this was a usual occurrence.

What exactly is the Sakae Sushi management thinking? Do they think that the novelty of plates on conveyor belts is enough to sell bad service and substandard food? Do they think they can make a mockery of the Filipino palate and sensibility? Well, unfortunately, I think that they have succeeded.

In which the best chefs prepare a dinner

I recently attended an event called “Chef’s for Education”. It’s a benefit dinner event for some education program thing organized by Manila’s top chefs. At Php5,000 a head, this should be a great dinner.

The event started off in the art gallery inside White Space. They had the whole artsy superficial scene going with the glasses of champagne (Domaine Chandon Brut Rose) and assorted canapés. Area was very warm, but the free flowing alcohol made me forget about the inconvenience.

Then I heard someone on the mic mumbling incoherently. Then I notice that they didn’t place the speakers properly. Apparently we were supposed to start entering the Dining area. Upon entering the dining area, I thought that it would take a major production to get this thing in order.

Appetizers were ready when I was seated. Though it took me some time to figure out which appetizer was which, I have to admit, this was a highlight of the evening. Since fowl was used, the salami and prosciutto was less salty than usual.

The quail and bacon tortellini with mushrooms & white truffle was a good start. The way it smelled was exactly the way it tasted. The serving size was disappointing.

The Bouillabaisse was fabulous. The scallops were fresh (a rarity) and so were the fish and the prawns. This was sweet and fresh – exactly how seafood should taste.

From the appetizers to the soup, they were serving a creamy white wine (Banfi Fumaio) that for me lacked personality but was miles from the average table white.

This is when they start serving Banfi Collepino, a heavenly rich red wine.

Then the alleged highlight arrives, Poached Wagyu beef tenderloin, root vegetable pave, Swiss chard and rosemary jus. Another disappointment. I assume that the chefs wanted people to taste and appreciate the meat, thus the unforgivably bland dish. However, What they could have done was provide a tastier fruit based sauce splashed around (not necessarily on) the dish so people could have a choice. This was my first time to try Wagyu (aside from Salcedo Market’s burger) and it gave me the impression that Wagyu is miles away from Kobe beef. Have to try Wagyu soon to test my theory.

After the disappointment, I was quite full, but there were still a few dishes.

The salad of young leaves & flowers with citrus vinaigrette was like taking a bite from random leaves in a garden, taken with a spoonful of pure calamansi. Irritatingly sour. Call me an ignoramus for not appreciating earthy flavors, but let me point out that most of the people there hardly touched it. A bit of sweetness would have done wonders for this.

The different cheeses with the fruity bread was a cheese lover’s day in the park. No worries just simple pleasures. Funny thing with goat cheese is the correlation of the smell and the taste.

Croquembouche was good, would have preferred it if they put less lemon in the filling – personally, I think that Dulcinea has the best cream puffs.

The rhubarb, strawberry & white chocolate truffle was ok, except for one thing – sour fruits, and I always take it personally when I’m served sour fruits.

In which cleanliness isn’t a priority

Feeling guilty after changing plans in a pinch, I felt that I had to make it up to sheep-y somehow. Then I spy Bread Talk. What better way to show remorse than to spend for over priced bread from a glorified well packaged panaderia.
Since everyone raves about the pork floss bread thing or its variants, naturally, that’s what I decided to get.

This is a short narration of my Bread Talk adventure.
First thing I did was wait for them to replenish their unwashed oily trays, then I got a filthy pair of tongs which advertised their best sellers by having pieces of it. Then proceeded to an uneventful choosing of pork floss bread.

It’s so thoughtful of the staff to sweep the pieces of bread on the floor under their shelves otherwise customers would be slipping on it. After staring at their dirty prep area and oil stained marble floors while waiting in a slow moving line, I finally paid to the cashier who had an expression that said “I’m unattractive, under paid and unhappy with my life.”

Here are some of the thoughts that ran through my head during my Bread Talk awakening:
· The whole tray and tongs system is one big joke. A supposed system for hygiene became bacteria breeding ground. I would rather hold the bread with my unwashed hands, at least I know where my hands came from.
· It’s obvious that current management is incompetent. Wouldn’t take a genius to see how filthy the place is with matching dilapidated signs.
· No camera’s huh? None of the staff seemed to mind my snapping a few shots. Methinks they don't want people taking evidence of their filthy store. Wouldn't it have been easier to clean up?

· The staff was obviously unfamiliar with customer service etiquette.
· For the price, don’t customers deserve better?

This Bread Talk is the one in the Glorietta entrance near Ascott. Visit the place and see for yourself.

In which the Urbanite Run story is told

A few weeks ago, I heard about the Kenny Rogers Urbanite run. The concept was basically a fun run to be held in the evening. Since the concept was unique and there were no major runs that weekend, I thought why not.

The claiming of the race kits was an urbanitemare. My brother went there on the first claim day and was told to come back the next day. And when he went back the next day, they made him wait for 3 hours so he decided to go back the next day. 3 parking tickets later, He was finally able to get the kits, only to find out that he was wrongly assigned in 5k. After a promise of correcting the error, he was informed that there was no singlet yet. Maybe its just me, but isnt that too much trouble for simply collecting a race kit?

Right before the race 3 of us who joined made last minute preparations. Lo and behold, one of our kits did not contain the race chip. Isn't that one of the premiums we paid for? Even if we did discover that it was missing during the claiming, I doubt if they could have done anything about it. I heard a lot of people complain about this.

The race was average. Motorists who were caught in the rerouting were not at all ashamed in showing their displeasure and there seemed to be a lot of first timers and not that much pros - which is a good thing.

The next day, wanting to eat reliable comfort food, I decided to try the Urbanite meal.

I had to wait 15mins for the first part of the meal (spag and muffin) to arrive. Not being sure of what the meal consisted of, I would have appreciated it if the waiter was polite enough to apologize for the long waiting time and also inform me that the other stuff was coming.

The next part was a salad with 1/4 chicken. The salad had really wilted soggy leaves and had bits of decaying leaf. The apples used were the sourest red apples ever! I dont know why, but I grew up thinking that serving a person bad fruits is an insult. As for the chicken, it was as expected.

I know the objective of this whole exercise is to drive people to Kenny Roger's, however, it had a different effect on me. It shows the inexperience and weaknesses of the organizers and that Kenny Roger's is, despite all the healthy BS rebranding and weak product innovations, still is and will always be simply a place that sells distinctly flavored average tasting chicken.

In which disappointment surrounds

Last night, for the first time, I watched a Dennis Trillo movie. There were 3 other main characters but Dennis' was the only name I remembered. In fairness to the others, though Im no expert, the other 3 actors performed in Astig quite well. What bothered me though were the excessive cameos. It ruined the indi feel for me. Oh and special mention to Glaiza de Castro's performance. Her looks, voice and general appeal was perfect for her "CD" lass role.

If Philippine movies were of the caliber, then I would probably watch Pinoy films more often. The conversations were very realistic and quite natural. People with sheltered lives would probably squirm at the excessive use of invectives.

What made my first indi film experience in Cinemalaya memorable was the couple behind me. The couple behind me was the dynamic duo of irritation. Besides laughing everytime they could, they were screaming at evey cameo (which was a LOT of times) and making the most stupid comments. I shushed them a couple of times but their peasant upbringing made them impervious to appeals of good sense.

There were a number of inconsistencies, and forced scenes however, generally, it was a good movie and I would recommend it to people.

In which the ambience does not matter

My brother, who takes time to go around Malate to try small restaurants has only praises for this place. I tried Ping Mang a couple of years back when it was still called Success Tea House. All I remember was the pancit which used spaghetti noodles. I was so impressed that I have successfully made a dish based on this.

Recently, my brother started raving about the fresh and affordable food that he rediscovered so naturally I had to try it.

Inside, the place really looked worn down like your average Binondo restaurant. Patrons I noticed were either boisterous Korean (maybe Taiwanese) students or loud mouthed under dressed Chinese. Smoking is allowed inside, which makes the place even sleazier.

For this review, I decided to order the food that I had tried earlier which were the pancit spaghetti, steamed suahe and the steamed King Fish.

This dish was disappointing. I had ordered something else but was given this. I was in a good mood so I thought what the heck. After tasting it, I regretted my kindness. It was bland and soggy very inferior compared to the pancit spaghetti which I had tried in a previous visit.

I was surprised with this dish. Based on my basic seafood knowledge, I made the conclusion that its definitely not suahe. Aside from the labeling confusion, this was good enough to comeback for over and over again. Literally freshness you can taste. I don’t think there is a way to make this taste better. The soy sauce concoction that came with it did even more magic.

The King Fish was another pleasant surprise. Like the suahe, this was freshness you can taste. The sauce was also soy sauce based so the experience was quite similar to the suahe. Despite the similar flavor, I know I would definitely be back to order both.

Fresh and affordable (food for enough for 3 to 4)

Ping Mang is is in 1688 J Bocobo St. cor Malvar St. Parking can be a bitch at times so be warned.