Ramen's On Me!

A ramen lover. Author of the up and coming personal blog “Prelude To My Midlife Crisis.” A thirty something guy who just wants to experience the things that he missed during his childhood. Travel, fashion, gourmet food, entertainment.

Yes I’m a real person.  Forgive me if I took the refuge of anonymity. In as much as I want to share stuff to the world, the real me just has low EQ and cant stand judgement from people dear to me and those I dont really care about.  The paradox called life.

When I was younger, I used to write a lot.  That changed when my life took a turn and decided it want’s to be all serious.  All memorable life event’s, death in the family, abusive relationship, career uncertainties, independence, all seem so hard to immortalise in the web. Perhaps I was busy taking life seriously.  Always thinking of what to do next, what will happen next.

And now I’m hoping to change that.  Hoping I could still bring back the old me.  Someone who loves life as it happens.  So I hope you guys can stick around and enjoy the ride.

Ramen’s on me!

[caption id="attachment_203" align="aligncenter" width="427"] The real Ramen Boi... In lead at least.[/caption]

Supernatural Detective 24/7: Alexandra Trese

Growing up from my nanny's stories about Philippine mythical creatures both scared and fascinated me.  When I grew up, I realised she just used them to put me to sleep.  No one ever took it seriously.  Even popular culture cannot give them justice.  Movies about tianak and undin wont do more than give you tummy spasms from laughing.

But from someone who have grown to like and crave these stories, I wish to see more of the sigben, santelmo and laman lupas then countless derivatives of the vampire-warewolf genre.

Good thing I stumbled upon one comic book that does just that.  Enter the world of Alexandra Trese.  Club owner by night and supernatural detective 24/7.  She is the go to person when police cases go for the "weird" turn.  With her assortment of her "uncanny" contacts and her trusted "kambal," she battles the supernatural.  Much like how the Winchester brothers does it, only kick ass.

[caption id="attachment_193" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Photo credit goes to Jay Tablante[/caption]

After reading the first book, I'm hooked.  Each book has about 4 episodes that are in anyway connected with each other.  So if you happened to start with book 2, you dont need to worry as each episode is stand alone and you wont get lost.

Who would have though that in modern times, the nuno sa punso are no longer found near old trees but inside manholes.  The tikbalangs were also given a makeover here as members of the countries wealthiest clans.  Even the urban legend of the Snake-like man who snatches ladies in the dressing rooms of a famous mall were reference in Trese.

[caption id="attachment_194" align="aligncenter" width="429"] Photo credit goes to ComicsCube.com[/caption]

I just finished Book 2 today, and finished the whole thing in like 30 minutes.  I'm having a hard time looking for the rest of the series.  So in the coming weeks, my goal is to get the remaining three.  In the last episode, there is a hint of something big coming and from what I heard that in book three, the authors Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo will take a different turn and make episodes that are related to each other in order to build Trese's character.  I cant wait to get my hands on them.

It is a shame that the rest of the world do not know of the of tikbalangs, aswangs and kapres.  When you say asian folklore, most of what you can dig up are the yokai's and kitsune's of Japan and the dragons of China.  Its time Philippine folklore gets known and I hope more artists take their creativity to this route.

Late Night Gourmet

After ironing a truck load of clothes and feeding my cat, my brain remembered that I my needs something inside it.  I didn't want to have something delivered because an average online delivery service takes about an hour (15 mins for them to call you and verify and 45 mins to deliver the food).  So at 3:00 AM, I thought of whipping up something from the cupboards.

I have not cooked pasta in a while so I decided to experiment on the stuff I have in my fridge... Chicken Breast!  The first thing I had in mind was to do an alfredo with chicken.  But  I cant seem to find parmesan cheese. So I abandoned that thought and decided to go pomodoro.  Good thing I always keep canned tomatoes and mushrooms and packs of pasta in my cupboard so it's just a matter of me keeping laziness at bay.

In less than 30 minutes, I have my late night munchies.



 

For this recipe, I used 200g macaroni pasta, 2 cans of peeled tomatoes, a small can of sliced button mushroom, one medium sized onion, 3 huge cloves of garlic, salt, sugar and pepper corns.  I diced two slabs of chicken breast fillets.

It is a little on the sour side as I intend to use the left over sauce tomorrow as a base for another pasta recipe.  This time, I'll go creamy!

Bon appetit!

Life's A Beach

Like I said previously, I'm too lazy to take pictures.  But these are the few moments I managed to capture.  Enjoy!

Movie Watch List: The Man With The Iron Fist

I have always been a fan of martial arts films.  And I personally think that the Hollywood ones are the most visually appealing.  When I saw the trailer of The Man With The Iron Fist, I almost peed my pants in excitement!



The movie stars  Russell Crowe, Cung Le, Lucy Liu, Byron Mann, RZA, Rick Yune, David Bautista, and Jamie Chung.  It is about a blacksmith who in order to save his village must take arms and make himself a human weapon.

It is set to premier November 2nd but no word yet when I will be shown in the Philippines.

The Noodle Boss Experience

Being a bum is hard business.  With too much time in your hands, freedom from monotony, you are left with a lot of choices for even the simplest of activities.  In this case, dinner.  Despite being a brilliant cook (so I say), I struggle to find the urge to put up something gourmet from my kitchen, so while enjoying an evening of sweet abandon, I went ahead and head out to eat.  Not knowing what I want to eat, I decided to check one of the newly opened restos in Market Market, Moshi Koshi Noodle Boss.  With my love for ramen, I have got to check this one out.

Upon entering, you will notice right away, their clean and minimalist interiors.  Their unusually perky staff greets you and shows you the way to their counter.  After you placed your order, the crew would set up your tray and assist you to your table to set it up (I wonder how they will manage when the place gets busy).  That's five bowls for service.

With the words Noodle Boss in their name, I have very high expectations.  Not all Japanese restos who serve ramen get their noodles right which is very disappointing.  In order for me to get really good ramen noodles, I have to settle with those really pricy Japanese restos that you rarely see in malls.

Then my order came.  I tried their Shoyu based ramen and their Gyoza.  I was so excited to see a piping hot bowl served right infront of me with its assortment of toppings: pork slices, greens, egg, mushroom, nori, and that lovely swirl naruto.

I didn't want it to get cold so I took my chopsticks and started with the noodles.  Oh my, the noodles did not disappoint!  Talk about al dente the Japanese way.  Those long, tender, chewy strands just melts in my mouth.  They are firm without being hard just like they promised.

As I went through topping, I noticed that they are not bland.  The pork was tender and juicy, the mushrooms are tasty.  I'm not really a fan of the naruto but that's fine.  Everything else were really good.  SInce it seems that the toppings were individually seasoned, it made me nervous of the broth.  I expected it to be salty.  Well, I was wrong.  It was subtle, the way I like it.  Over all, the ramen was a superstar!

The gyoza was ok.  It was a bit tiny and airy.  Its a good thing the dipping sauce was great.  Not much to say about it which is fine because I went there really for the ramen.

Moshi Koshi's menu is quite simple.  They only have four kinds or ramen, a few sides, the usual udon and donburi selection.  I was hoping for more ramen and donburi selection perhaps centered on the toppings that go with their broth base.

Their price is pretty reasonable.  Definitely not high end so people will be surprised that their ramen is a winner.  Real value for money.  Overall, it was a satisfying experience and I'm excited to try other stuff from their menu.

You Are A Bitch, And So Is Karma

The first thing that I do whenever I go to a counter is to look for a line or the end of it.  I think for instances where transactions are queued, that is the most logical course of action.  It is beyond my comprehension why some people think they can just barge in as if their business is all that matters.

My return flight to Manila was through Cebu Pacific via the Kalibo International Airport.  Since I was a time freak, I was eagerly waiting to see preparations for boarding a few minutes before the specified time (6:40 PM).  At exactly 6:40 PM, the announcement came but it was not for boarding.  They asked us to re-check in because the flight that's supposed to carry us will not make it and they had to bump us in a different flight.  Having been used to these situations with CebuPac, I non-chalantly headed to the check in counter.  When I got there, there were two counters servicing one line each.  I went to the counter that only had three people ahead of me.

Alas, a sunburnt fatty bitch came and ignored our line to question the attendant regarding the changes in departure time.  We thought she was just there to ask her question but we got shocked when she handed her old boarding pass and stayed there.  I could see the shocked faces of the girl in front of me and her companion.  I could feel my ears turn red in rage as I want to smack that bitch down.

After the attendant returned the boarding pass of the first person in line, he collected the old passes of the rest of us and began processing them.  The girl who barged in shouted asking what happened to their boarding passes.  When the attendant refused to answer her, she started to make a scene screaming at the top of her lungs.  The people who she bypassed were hiding their smiles.  It's like we triumphed over a the sunburnt fatty bully of a bitch!

What's more satisfying to hear is when the other attendant told the screaming lady that they are processing the boarding passes on a first come first served basis.  Since there were people waiting in line before she came, they would process their boarding passes first.  And with that she directed the lady to the end of the line.  We can still hear her whining but for us, karma has just been served.

[caption id="attachment_127" align="aligncenter" width="412"] Photo Credit Goes To WalrusOyster.com[/caption]

Realisations During Happy Hour

Late afternoons in Boracay spells "happy hour" for me and my friends.  Since I'm not much of a drinker, I drown myself with mocktails while watching people pass us by as we wait for that majestic sunset.  Normally, half of the gang are experiencing the pristine waters while the rest are just lounging around or playing games.

[caption id="attachment_124" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Who would want to throw their cig butts in this place?[/caption]

Then manong magbabalut came with what I consider one of the best dish Philippines has to offer, the Balut!  So my balut-buddy and I got up and left our chairs, went to the banks away from the beach to eat.  Such action felt quite automatic for us knowing that the island outlawed eating and smoking at the beach last year.

My friend started to puff then she asked me this, "What if they ban smoking not only at the beach but in the entire island?"  My automatic response would be, "well, considering how strictly they are implementing rules here, I guess people will just follow.  They would just get used to it."  And she agreed.

I realised shortly, that yeah, while people like myself got used to eating my food where I should, a step further shouldn't hurt.  If my friend wouldn't mind transferring to a designated area just to smoke or hold the urge if that area is already crowded, then others shouldn't mind as well.  If people in a small island like Boracay responded well to these ordinances, there might be hope for the metro-dwellers.

The scale might be different but I guess benefits would be the same for both geographies.  The beachfront is much cleaner now that tourists and locals hold shared responsibilities in maintaining the island.  I could only imagine how Manila or other cities would benefit if we can show the same discipline.  Who wouldn't want to see people use the elevated walkways instead of crossing the freeway and risk getting hit.  Or when buses stop on designated loading and unloading zones.

Yeah I know its easier said than done.  But we Filipinos are so used to stopping whenever we realise how much of a trouble an action would cause us.  And then later on use that statement to justify our inaction.

Unfortunately, we are starting to lose reasons not to act responsibly and practice discipline at all times.

Of Vacations And Photography

The thing about me and photography is that I'm always too lazy to take out my camera to capture those awesome moments.  I just let other people capture it for me.  But there are fleeting times when I get the impulse to patience to pan and shoot and they would turn out perfect.  In a place like Boracay, where almost everything may look amazing, this is not very hard to achieve.

So whenever I'm there, I make it a point to shoot one or two pretty pictures.

 

[caption id="attachment_119" align="aligncenter" width="545"] Sand, Sea, Sky[/caption]

Who would not fall in love with its powdery white sand, pristine green waters and its majestic sunset.

[caption id="attachment_120" align="aligncenter" width="545"] Tale Of Two Sunsets[/caption]

Aside from the view, another thing that is worth capturing would be the people.

[caption id="attachment_121" align="aligncenter" width="436"] Obligatory Paparazzi Shot[/caption]

I Have Returned

The past few days made me look like I was hiding under the rock but really, I was just in one amazing getaway.  For the first time this year, I was out of town!  I can't believe it took so long for me to have something like this.  The people of Boracay rejoiced and celebrated as I set foot on their lovely sand again.  They have missed me, and I have missed them more!

So after checking in at the hotel, I immediately headed out to check out what I have missed.  The last time I was in the island was November of last year for my cousin's wedding and there were a lot of buildings being constructed at the beachfront.  Now, most of it are done.  It surely gave the Boracay beachfront its new look.  Aside from new hotels, most of the street vendors are no longer there.  They now have a designated tent where most of the souvenirs can be bought at a bargain.

My friends and I ate late lunch at Caffe Caruso, an Italian resto in one of the newer luxury hotels in Station 2, The District.  This is the same Caffe Caruso you will find in Makati however, prices in this one appear to be a little cheaper.

[caption id="attachment_107" align="aligncenter" width="512"] Photo Credit goes to Dencio.com[/caption]

After lunch we did a little bargain hunting at D' Talipapa and then headed back to our respective hotels to get some snooze before dinner.  Since it is just our first day, we opted to ignore the call of the happy hour because we need to prepare for our first big night.  We went back to D' Talipapa for our "Paluto" dinner.  As usual, with the hordes of prawns, clams and squids that we ordered, I was at seafood heaven!  After sharing dinner with some new found foreign friends, we freshened up and headed to our first stop, Epic.

By far, I think Epic is the best club in Boracay.  With its chic ambiance, fine bar list and awesome music, Epic is a must see for everyone who loves Boracay not only for its sand and sea but also for its nightlife.  I am not sure when they implemented it but the last time I was there, you just show up and if you happen to see a free table, you just grab it and it's yours.  Now, they charge Php 3,000 per table and the feee is consumable.  I think if you go there in groups and you're really out there to drink, the fee is just fine.  So we ordered pitcher after pitcher of my favorite cocktail, Mojito and the occasional bottles of Red Horse.  I'm not much of a drinker but since this moment eluded me for some time, I let my hair down and drank to my hearts content.

That was just the first stop, we went to two other clubs after Epic before we called it a night.

It would be very hard to recount the past five days in one post, so I decided to have a series of post all about the past five days.

Eat, Pray, Sleep

Sleep, this is something I considered a rare luxury when I was still working.  Weekdays saw me staying longer than necessary in the office.  When I get home, aside from the chores that I had to do, being online seems to take away a huge chunk out of my sleep time.  Weekends are not totally different.  In an attempt to unwind and not waste the days I didn't have to think of work, I stay up late and snatch just enough sleep to keep me fuelled for the night out.

Today, all I had to do was to sleep.  Had to wake up to pick up the laundry, feed my cat, and eat.  In between these activities were nice long deep sleep.  I know I should be doing other things and take advantage of my sabbatical but I just cant help it.  I missed sleep so much and now it wont be a rare luxury anymore!

 Photo Credits

The Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate

I am a big fan of action flicks most specially the gruesome and futuristic type.  Big guns, fast cars, muscular men (and women) wearing tights punching and kicking their way out of a barrage of bad guys.  But even before I started to dig these movies, there were Sunday Chinese Action Movies (not sure if that was the title of the show) that I grew up to.

I was a huge fan of sword-wielding  men in elaborate robes flying around pursuing their enemies.  Although martial arts was not as kick-ass back then as it is now, I didn't know any better so I still enjoyed it.  My dad would beat the crap out of me and my brother whenever he sees us jumping from one sofa to another using brooms as swords.  These shows made me dream of taking Kung Fu lessons when I was little and become an action star (I swear!).

Wong Fei Hong (Once Upon A Time In China) was my hero.  And it made Jet Li my all time favorite martial arts action star.  Through out the Once Upon A Time Saga, up until his stint in Dispensables, I've made it a point to do research on his upcoming projects and watch his latest movie.  Since I have not seen him make a real kick ass martial arts film for quite sometime, I was very excited to see his new movie Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/wUnFHX3PlyM]

The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate is about a group of vigilante headed by Zhao Huai-an (Jet Li) who aims to free China from its oppressive eunuchs who at that time became extremely powerful and corrupt.  They first target the leaders of the Eastern Bureau and plan to do the same to the leaders of their Western counterparts.  An impersonator of Zhao also resurfaces to help a pregnant woman escape her pursuers.  This is where the plot starts to thicken as the two heads toward the Black Dragon Inn.

The plot offers a lot of interesting characters and exciting twists.  Though I must say, I would have wanted to see more action from Jet Li.  There were a lot of kick ass moments here but sadly, most of them were not his.  Xun Zhou was very impressive here.  Most of the brilliant fight scenes came from her and I would have wanted to see more of her and Jet Li teaming up, but the plot did not allow for that to happen.  The handsome Kun Chen was such a compelling villain and a delight to watch.

Photo Credits

The story is not as gripping as that of Hero or as intense as Fearless but the interesting and likable characters have made up for his short coming.  Unfortunately, the movie also failed to develop them.  It would have been nice if the rise to power of the Eunuchs were explored more but it came out just as an afterthought once the characters gathered at the Dragon Gate Inn and started to fight.

Overall, the fact that it starred Jet Li together with a massive character list that show great skill with the sword, I'm a happy camper.  Its not going to be a very memorable one for Mr. Li, but it is still worth my time of day.

Why The Boy Who Loved Ramen

The experience is painful in itself. Reliving it and telling the story is like cutting your wrist.  Alas, having to explain yourself and defending your course of action add salt to the wound.

Sometimes, you want to share what's happening to your life so bad before your heart bursts.  But you would rather keep things to yourself. You fear all the questions you may not have the right answers to.  The prying eyes you dont know how to evade.  While you have people who are itching to tell others your story like it is their own.

Who would not want to make the phone call where you can cry your lungs out and the person at the other end would just stay on until you decide to hung up.  Sometimes, all you need is an ear that will listen, a mind that will not judge, and a mouth that will not open.

Photo Credits

The Hiatus

This year, I started this blog to commemorate my 30th birthday.  It is not the first time I started a blog, I've maintained one during my younger days and managed to update it quite regularly.  Up until several years ago when I hardly find inspiration to write.  These bits of urges tend to dissipate whenever I get infront of my laptop.  All those nice ideas gone in a matter of seconds after opening my account.  So I decided to quit it altogether.

Its very had to believe that as I grow older, as I gain more life experiences, the less I wanted to write.  After going through three years of relationship bliss and heartbreak and several years of highs and lows in my career, I still could not find something interesting to write.

But recently, I decided not to quit but to but to consider that phase as just a hiatus.

It's quite ironic that the time I decided to end my hiatus from writing is also the time I decided to declare a hiatus from a different part of my life - my career.

Today marks my first day of being unemployed.  From the moment I stepped out of the university, I already started working and would have since then moved from one company to another without taking a break.  Usually, I had everything all planned out.  But this time, I left without a single clue what I'll do next.  So I guess I'll really bum myself out for quite a bit.

I'm lucky to have been able to save enough money to afford a break from work.  The thought of looking for another job has not crossed my mind yet.  Right now my priority is to enjoy my time not worrying about work and all the crap that it brings.  Hopefully, I'd have more time for things that I missed doing.