Mercato Centrale

Despite the busy schedule when I was last in Manila, I was able to squeeze in a visit to Mercato Centrale.


I woke up early on my last day with the intention of grabbing breakfast there as well. For some weird reason, I lost my appetite when I got there and just settled for a yogurt drink. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of delicious looking meals, I'll just have to try them when I visit again soon.


I tried a little of this but I couldn't decide if I really would prefer this over lechon or just a regular liempo anytime.


The Pan de Bagnet was calling out to me, I stared at the bagnet for a long time, left and returned a bit later but sadly my tummy was saying "No".

Just outside, I saw a stall selling Cebu Lechon, steaks and a Bonchon ripoff. I need Selle or Jencarps with me next time.

Desserts and sweet treats were also aplenty and while I didn't really have the appetite to eat anything, I can surely buy some treats for pasalubong.


I love the packaging of Luxe.


In time for CNY:


I bought a sampler of these cute little things but sadly I felt that the flavors were really lacking. I took a small bite of each and wasn't able to finish them.

I'm liking the effort placed into making this cake.


Before leaving, I also bought Nana Meng's tablea which I didn't notice was also available in Glorietta and I've been passing by their stall everyday that I was there in Manila.

Zsazsa Zaturnnah

Zsazsa Zaturnnah officially opened it's 8th (?) run last night at the Little Theater of CCP and since ZZZ has been repeatedly restaged proving it's box office draw, I don't think I still need to go over it's merits just to tell you how worth your time this is. Apart from that, this musical is special to me for a whole lot of reasons.

1. This is our very first project and being that we're new to this business, it was a leap of faith for us to go through with it. Thankfully, Ms. Yvette, Tanghalang Pilipino's company manager then helped us every step of the way.

2. Our first sold out show eventually led us to do this another time taking yet another leap with a bigger venue this time,with two Zsazsas and three shows to sell.

3. Through this, I also met Hogi and Zshali who eventually became two of my closest friends. When ZZZ was restaged at the RCBC, our continuous network grew and I met new friends who became my BFFs.

I also got to see Hilary in action which was really fun since I've always imagined that being a DJ is fun work.

4. I also became close to both Minette and Paolo of TP and was constantly invited me to watch their other productions.

5. TP also afforded us to be privy to their rehearsals to give us fresh material to promote the said musical during their RCBC restaging.


6. I was also able to meet a couple of other showbuyers who were a delight to talk to.


7. I was also able to meet the cast and staff of ZZZ and was able to see the dedication and the passion that they have for their craft. I admired them for being able to do what they love to do.


8. Most important of all is that this experience have made my friendship with the people who decided to take the leap with me stronger.


To everyone who will be watching ZZZ this run, enjoy! 

Shaw Theatres Premiere

Yesterday, omy invited several bloggers to experience Shaw's Premiere theatre at Nex before it officially opens to the public. I was psyched because one, it's my first blogger's event and two, I love watching movies and it's not just any theatre, it's a Premiere theatre.

So what makes a Premiere theatre different from just your regular theatres? I'm pretty sure most of you here in Singapore are familiar with GV's Gold Class, well, this is Shaw's answer to that. Em-J has been bugging us to try it so it makes perfect sense for me to invite him when I found out that we can bring a friend along.


The Premiere experience actually starts from the moment you queue for your tickets because they have a special dedicated counter so you can avoid the hassle of waiting. (For the event, we didn't have to use this special queue since we got our tickets from Alvin of omy).


Their tickets also look a bit more special.


We then headed up to the theatre's actual entrance. I was a bit surprised cause it's like a restaurant entrance complete with a menu by the door.


We were warmly greeted by their staff and led to one of the comfortable chairs in the lounge. Let me just say that I love that they have a special lounge because there are hardly any good waiting areas in most theatres. (I favored Cineleisure before because they also have a lounge but it was already closed when I last went there.)

Food is also reasonably priced. I was half expecting that the price of popcorn and drinks to be off the roof but they're not. A big bowl of popcorn is $6 and a can of soda is $3.50.


I liked how they take your orders. What can I say, I'm easily impressed by technology, however dated.

Em-J decided on the fried dory while I chose the truffle fries.


The best news is that the food is actually good. The fried dory was not greasy at all and the fries is quite tasty. Em-J and I gobbled it all up in no time. We'd actually go back and watch a movie here if only to have the fries again.

The theatre itself sits roughly around just 50 people so it is quite intimate. The seats are quite far apart from each other and the considerable distance between the seats means that you don't have to worry about reclining your seat all the way and bothering the person behind you. Seating is raked so you don't have to worry about looking at the head of the person in front of you.

I also love how comfortable the seats are and the reclining buttons worked seamlessly. There's also a table for you to enjoy your food with an on-call button that works like a charm. Assistance is there when you need it without bothering the other patrons. The best part of it all, the blanket! I left my jacket and was worried about feeling cold but this little gesture sold it for me. I will be back for sure.




I do have the following notes so you can totally enjoy your Premiere experience:

1. Settle your bill before the movie starts so you don't get bothered mid-way through. We were approached with the bill during one of the film's dramatic moments and I had to look for my wallet in my big bag in the dark.

2. Avoid seating way up front. We were unfortunately seated there and I find that it's still a bit too near, even with the seats reclined, it still take some time before you get used to it and start enjoying the movie.

Ticket prices are also reasonable, off-peak price is $20, peak price at $25. (off-peak days are Monday - Thursday, except for opening titles). Premiere 3D prices at $25 for off peak and $30 for peak.

Just for comparison GV Gold Class tickets are about $28 during off-peak and $36 during peak periods. I can't really say what GV offers since I have yet to watch a movie there.

Book your tickets or read more about the theatre here. 

Window on the Park

Window on the Park gave me images of something extravagant, marble floors, floor to ceiling windows and perhaps a grand piano on the side so I was a bit surprised when I saw the restaurant. Instead of extravagant, it has a homey, rustic feel. It feels as if I'm in a Microtel in Baguio. 

Initially, their service left a bad taste, for a group of 8, we were given two small square tables. When we informed them that we are a big group, the waiter counted the number of plates on the table to be 8. He counted it loudly twice signaling that we should just shut up as there are 8 plates already and if 8 small plates can fit then surely we all can. We decided to let it pass and we proceeded to survey the buffet spread.

The spread itself was a bit lacking and to quote my friend, the selections were also haphazard. There's a little of local fare, a little Japanese, a little Chinese, sure this is an international buffet but they way they were laid out felt as if no care or thought was placed into it.

There's a salad station,


and right across the salads are the Japanese selections with a tray of assorted sushi (3 assortments) and just one more plate of salmon sashimi.


There's also an assortment of dimsum right beside the mains. If you are a rice eater, you only have chicken, roasted chicken and curry to choose from as your main dishes but they do have a prata station, a chicken shawarma station and a laksa station complete with instructions to make up for it.

There's no seafood station unless you consider the mantou and chili crab sauce (just sauce, no crabs) seafood.


A Yu Sheng station has also been set up.


Before moving on to desserts, not pictured are the fish porridge, some rolls and...I think that's it.

The dessert station had an assortment of kueh, a durian pengat, some tarts from the CNY celebration, a pudding and a couple of pastries.


Next to it is a chocolate fondue, a waffle station and an ice cream station.



Worth mentioning also is that unlike most hotel buffets, they provide free drinks (orange juice, bandung and pineapple juice).


With that said, what they lack for quantity, they make up for quality. It certainly won't be considered one of Singapore's top restaurants for nothing.


I enjoyed almost everything that I've tried and the waffles, though already a bit tough, were still good. My favorites would have to be the roasted chicken, fish porridge, goreng pisang (only because it's the first time I've tried it) and the chocolate hazelnut cake.



Overall, I think for the price that we paid for it was worth it. Do note that we got it at half the price because of a deal that we got from BigDeal, the lunch buffet cost us 29SGD (950PHP) each, but I won't be willing to pay anything more than that.

Service also turned out to be quite okay because we were assigned a new wait staff who was very friendly and efficient.