I may have found my new favorite Japanese restaurant in BGC. Wasshoi looks unassuming on the outside, reason why I pass it by without considering trying their food out. It’s really only recently when someone asked me if I’ve tried eating there, and because I haven’t, I thought why not give it a try?
From the outside!Cozy interiors!
As soon as I stepped in, I was immediately transported to a local izakaya, perhaps located in a small alley somewhere in Setagaya. It’s specific, but it is coming from actual experience. I loved the vibe of the place. And, seeing that there were Japanese customers around, I knew this was gonna be good! They’re a yakiniku place, so you can order meats for grilling, but we went for other items on the menu for this visit.
And it was! I loved the Spicy Tuna Salad, the serving of the tuna pieces was generous, and the spicy sauce was perfect with the greens. The Salmon Don also had a generous serving of salmon (8 pieces) on top of real sticky Japanese rice. My favorite from the things we ordered was the Saikoro Beef Steak – for a little over 500 pesos, you get the softest, melt in your mouth, bite of beefy goodness, perfect with a dash of wasabi. Considering we were in BGC, the price is quite reasonable. I really felt like I was in Japan for a while there.
Happy to have found a new gem!
They have so many options on the menu, both food and drinks. You can also do a bottle keep as seen on the shelf behind me. I am still on an alcohol-free streak so I didn’t break it this visit, but eventually, I want to try their highballs and other Japanese drinks. That and maybe try out their grilled items as well! They also have specialty items such as Fugu.
So yes, if you’re looking for an authentic Japanese restaurant (none of those commercialized ones) with a local izakaya feel, go to Wasshoi! If you’ve been there, let me know what your recommended menu is.
2022.02.11 – Not the usual Binondo food trip
Binondo, the world’s oldest Chinatown in the city of Manila, is a famous destination for food! For this trip, my friends and I hit some of the lesser-known spots. Not to say that they aren’t popular, but they’re not usually in the must-visit lists you see from most food vloggers.
Pares ni Lakay
My friend shared a Tiktok video of the Top 5 Pares places in Manila, and this was in that list. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Pares because I feel like as a dish, it can be a bit too mushy – with the stickly/oily soup base and the chewy tendon or beef strips. What makes Pares ni Lakay unique is the Lechon Pares – which I really think completes Pares as a dish – a crispy bite of salty, fatty, pork.
Lechon Pares!They have other items on the menu, too!A big tub of chili oil for the spice-loversHumbly tucked in a parking lot corner
This is truly a hole-in-the-wall place, it’s as humble as it gets! The lechon kawali really stood out for me. The pares itself was garlicky, and so was the garlic rice (duh). All-in-all, it was worth a try, although I don’t think it’s something you go all the way to Binondo for. But if you’re already there – sure, go ahead and check it out!
Our next stop was supposed to be a dimsum place (which I’ll talk about later in this post) but because of the long queue, we decided to first get coffee after we had our name listed. 1919 Grand Cafe is a hidden gem! Tucked at the end of Binondo, near the Pasig River, it is located at the very old HSBC building built back in 1919!
The facade!A history of the building
As you enter, it feels like getting transported back in time. The inside looks grand and expensive but don’t be intimidated – the price of their food and drinks are actually quite reasonable. We ordered 2 cakes and coffee and they were all very good! We were pleasantly surprised by the serving size and the little touches (like a free cookie that goes with the coffee) that complete the “grand” experience.
Muscovado Latte!Blueberry cheesecake and Taro Roll CakePosh interiors!
I definitely recommend this cafe – maybe we’ll try out their proper food next time. We had a queue in the next spot so we headed back after spending about 30 minutes here.
Little did we know that this was going to be our final stop for this trip because we were already very, very full. Ying Ying Tea House is one of the must-try Chinese restaurants in Binondo. It’s not as hyped as Wai Ying (the more famous rival perhaps), but I was really surprised that the line was also quite long here! We got back just in time for our names to be called!
Ying Ying Tea House
Since we were already quite full, we just ordered a few of their dimsums.
The siomai is exactly how I remember it to be – very juicy and flavorful. There’s a bite that you don’t get in other regular siomai in the metro. The xiao long bao’s casing was quite thick and it no longer had any soup inside, so it was a bit of a disappointment. The hakaw also had a thick wrap, but the shrimp inside was full of flavor. The bean curd roll was a recommendation so we tried it as well, and I liked it, too. Except for the xiao long bao, which has its own sauce, the rest is best paired with their home-made chili sauce and soy sauce. We were quite full so we had a hard time finishing our order, but thinking about it now, my mouth is actually watering again.
Because of the spicy chili, we also had to order a drink and went with the Black Gulaman. That thing is huge so you can actually split it with someone if you don’t want to get too full.
We wanted to try more food, but we just couldn’t anymore so we ended up going home after walking around a bit! Do you have any recommendations in Binondo? Let me know in the comments below so that we can try it on our next visit!
The best KPOP song of 2023…
It’s still February but I’m already claiming XG’s Shooting Star as the best song of 2023.
Ironically, the song is entirely in English and it’s from an all-Japanese girl group.
XG – Shooting Star
XG is an all-Japanese girl group by Avex and XGALX. They were trained in South Korea, and while all of their songs so far are 100% in English, they (obviously) speak Japanese and Korean.
I’m not praising this song because of the above however, but I just love how well it was made – from production of the song, the lyrics, the early 2000s R&B influence, the vocals – and even the music video – they really brought their game. They want us to know that XG’s going all the way.
The B-side, Left Right compliments Shooting Star, with its chill vibe.
Check out both music videos above and let me know what you think!
2023.02.01 – THE FIRST SLAM DUNK (Movie)
And indeed, it was my FIRST movie (in the cinema) since the pandemic started.
I grew up watching Slam Dunk. It was one of those iconic anime that was shown on Philippine television back in the late 90’s. Yes, it was Tagalized, of course. Who doesn’t know Hanamichi Sakuragi and the Shohoku basketball crew?
Personally, I believe Slam Dunk paved the way for the many many sports anime we have now. It has perfected the formula of sports anime – the back stories, the teamwork, the thrilling matches. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it was a goddamn good movie. I wanted to deduct points because the presentation of the story in this movie is non-linear, but I can’t because it was just too good! The last two minutes of the match between Shohoku and Sannoh was intense, and how it was delivered was nothing short of artistic. 10 out of 10 points for me!
I watched it with friends who also grew up watching the anime, and we were all at the edge of our seats, holding our breath, praying Shohoku wins.
Reliving our childhood!
A bit of a spoiler – the movie’s backbone is Ryota Miyagi’s story and I loved how it carried the movie from start to finish. It added a lot of emotional substance to the movie that I actually *almost* cried towards the end. You can check out the trailer below!
I will not spoil it further, so if Slam Dunk happens to be showing in your country, please watch it! I can’t recommend it enough. If not, I hope that someday it becomes available on streaming platforms for everyone to see. Thank you Inoue-san for this! I hope we also get more Slam Dunk content (an anime continuation perhaps?) in the future.
2023.01.29 – PoGo, Japanese Day
Hey guys! This is it, the first of my regular updates. *cross fingers*
Obviously, it’s not going to be a daily blog, I’ve accepted (as we should all), that life is not going to be eventful every single day. But, I will at least try to take my camera with me to capture moments that I want to “save” on this blog.
Last Sunday, me and my friends went out to play Pokemon Go and to eat. Oh, I also went shopping for shoes because all of my casual shoes got damaged by non-use because of the pandemic. You probably have experienced this. 😂
After walking around so much (because of shopping), we had coffee and some pastries at this Japanese cafe in Glorietta, called JIPAN. If you have foodpanda Pro, you can get a 20% discount on the breads/pastries, so we took advantage of that.
JIPAN StorefrontI got a hot cappuccino Everything was good!Especially this.
I recently realized that I like blueberry cheesecake, and I’m now on the quest to find the best blueberry cheesecake in the Philippines. Haha. So far, the one at Calm Street in Bonifacio District in Cebu tops the list. Will probably post about that separately.
Of course, we’re playing Pokemon Go
Because we got so tired from shopping/walking around, we wanted to get a foot massage after. The nearest massage place to the mall was quite expensive (900 pesos for an hour of foot massage!). We were shocked at how much the price has increased after the pandemic. So, we left the area and went to Valero where we found a Nuat Thai in one of the quieter “malls” there.
No photos of the massage session, of course. But, I paid 1,000 pesos for 1.5hrs of aromatherapy massage – more reasonable than the 900-peso 1-hour foot massage at that other place. Still a lot more expensive pre-pandemic but it is what it is.
After the massage, we discovered an affordable ramen store in the same mall called Kuroda Ramen. A bowl of legit tonkotsu ramen for 250 pesos? A STEAL!
What a lovely viewAnd it was sooo good, too! We’re happy!
I felt a bit guilty for skipping my weekend Japanese class but I deserve this self-care moment. Haha.
And that’s how that Sunday ended. Until the next one!
P.S. Soooo…the photos above are taken using the Olympus camera I bought last year. But I also took some photos on my phone so, sharing them as a gallery below.
How’s my Bondee recreation of my shopping spree?
Not sure what to post here anymore…
Hey guys! I hope you’re all doing well. I’m doing fine – I can’t say life’s been perfect but it’s not bad. I do feel guilty about not posting here because I really don’t know what to post here anymore. I have accepted that blogging is not the way it used to be. At this day and age, there’s already too much content on the internet that I don’t think I can add any more value or information that you can’t search anywhere else.
But – I have important memories on this blog so I can’t get rid of it either. So maybe what I’ll do is just treat this like a diary again. Use it for what it is – a place to store memories, more for me than for others! I think I’m good with that!
That said, here’s to hoping that I can post more regularly again (for the nth time, I know). I just had this sudden urge when I woke up today that I needed to post something. 🙂
SB19 WYAT Tour Cebu!
Let me back track. I discovered SB19 that same night they blew up on Twitter with the dance practice for Go Up. It was the first time for me to see a Filipino group dance so in sync, to a song that despite being in Tagalog, did not sound cringy at all. Little did I know that night would become a historical moment in OPM, a date you can argue to be the birth of PPOP!
Fast forward to October 1, 2022 – I finally got to see SB19 perform live! There have been so many chances before and after the pandemic that I’ve let slip because I didn’t really make an effort. In fact, even for this concert, nothing was planned until 2 days prior, when I decided to go home to Cebu. I booked the concert ticket right after I booked my flight and everything just fell in to place! I also managed to convince two of my friends to accompany me! Mhealler, who was a non-believer at first, and Hannah, who has never attended a concert in her life, ever!
At the queue is where we’re at!
It was quite a long queue when we got there, which was around 30 minutes before the start of the event. We walked all the way from IT Park to Waterfront (the venue) thus the big beads of sweat on my forehead! It felt so weird seeing all the young kids because you could consider our generation *old* for this event but that’s OK, we had masks on, no one would recognize us! Haha.
Outside!Inside!SB1985
And then the concert started with KAIA! I really hope they become as successful as SB19 because they’re very talented! I loved their energy and how stable their singing is despite the complex dance steps.
KAIA today?KAIA kaayo!KAIA!
Then followed Josue, who is also an amazing songwriter & rapper! He is Pablo’s brother and the talent these guys have is just crazy. I wished Josue sang my favorite song, Akala, but that’s fine. He did Agos and we were all grooving to it!
JosueSaludo!Josue!
And then, the main event!
Everyone went crazy at this point
It’s hard to put the experience into words. Let’s just say that being a *low key* A’TIN – I memorized almost all of the songs’ lyrics by heart. So I was practically singing my lungs out, jumping around, waving my hands – I felt the music and the words down to my core! HAHA. Big words! But really, I was just having the time of my life! And SB19 – they delivered! I knew they were talented, but seeing them performing in person still blew my mind! My friends became A’TIN after that night!
Also shout out to my bias STELL because those vocals are just on point!
That said, here are some snaps from my phone. We were at the Gen Ad section but because the venue isn’t that big, we were actually still quite close to the stage! I guess it’s better to watch concerts in Cebu versus in Manila in terms of bang for your buck!
PabloJustinJoshKenStellSB19SB19 in the house!
Then they changed for the next set of songs…
MAPA!Justin & KenJosh & StellJustin & Ken (again)Pablo & JoshVersace on the stage!
And this is their third look – WYAT era!
SB19takinginBISAYAWYAT attire!
Finally, the encore stage with SLMT, one of my fave songs!
Lucky A’Tins at the front!Saying SLMTSalamat gyud!OK bye!Encore!
It was a really great experience. Photos can’t do justice so I’m including the mini-vlog I posted on YouTube below! Feel the energy from your screen! Haha.
SB1985 at the SB19 WYAT TOUR CEBU!
Full video of MAPA! *I cried*
That’s it! If you haven’t listened to SB19 ever, please do try! They’ll also be touring internationally (yes, global domination!!!), so go watch them if they are in your neighborhood – even if you’re not a fan. If you’re Filipino, show your support! They’re the first Filipino group to ever really make it this big globally and they’re paving the way for other PPOP groups as well. So yeah, check them out, share their music, and support PPOP!
New camera!
Hey guys, what’s up?! I know it’s been a while since I posted over here. I just wanted to quickly share that I got a new camera! Well, it’s not exactly new – I bought it second hand over at Carousell. This is my second mirrorless camera and the reason why I got this is because my Sony A6000 is back in Cebu. Haha! And also, to be honest, I really like the look of this camera – in fact, this was one of my first choices when I first planned to go mirrorless.
I got an Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mark II camera!
I immediately used it on a trip to La Union with my friends last weekend. It didn’t disappoint me at all. However, I encountered an issue with the lens just today because the camera won’t detect it anymore. That’s the risk of buying second hand! But, I read that this Zuiko 14-42mm pancake lens is really quite faulty so it is what it is. Good thing my friend has an extra Olympus 14-42mm lens – which is bigger than the Zuiko but works just the same!
I plan to take more photos with this camera in the future. Hopefully that also makes me post here more often. I also plan to create videos on the photos I will be taking with this camera – similar to this one, which I made from the La Union trip.
photo journal: san juan, la union, philippines | olympus OM-D EM-10 mark ii
That’s it for now. I’ll be making a separate blog post on the La Union trip, soon!
Please welcome me back here! Haha.
Boracay Summer 2022
Boracay – one of the country’s ultimate summer destinations. Last April, I was finally able to go back with friends. My last visit was in 2019, before the pandemic. This time, it’s with a different group of friends and so it still felt like a new experience!
Before anything, I decided to dye my hair a unique color for this specific trip. I wanted to look different in the photos. You can think of it as a time-stamp, or a post-it note in the book of my life, allowing me to easily look back and say – ahh, Boracay 2022, that time I had purple hair!
Purple hair!
Day 1
My friends were coming from Manila, and I was leaving from Cebu. It has also been almost two years since I last saw them, so I was really looking forward to this trip.
We made it to Caticlan! Waiting for out boat ride to the island!
We arrived at around 5:30 PM already so after we checked in at the hotel, we headed out for dinner and some drinks after.
Our first Boracay sunset!Burger for dinner at Steam PunkWalked all the way to Station 1For drinks at Discover Shores!
Day 2
For our first full day in Boracay, the plan was just to chill and catch-up after not seeing each other for a long time. But first, let me introduce you to the gang!
IvanJonCidKathiThe gang!
We looked for an area around Station 2 that did not have that much people, laid down our stuff, and went for a swim! We rented a stand-up paddle, took a lot of photos, and enjoyed the clear, blue waters of Boracay! Then we grabbed iced coffee at Starbucks before going back to the hotel to swim a bit more at the pool. I took the opportunity to grab a beer because you can’t drink on the beach! We also ordered some food and continued the chit-chat by the pool because there’s just so many things to talk about.
Red Horse!
After swimming, we went back to our rooms to freshen up a bit before we headed back out. Next on the agenda is late lunch at Two Seasons for my favorite four cheese pizza from their restaurant, Bar Lo!
Waiting in lineHungry!What we came here for
And I hate to admit it, but the pizza didn’t taste as good as I remember it to be. I mean, it still tastes good, but something’s changed. I mean, we got our pizza within 15 minutes after we sat down so it might be because they now prepare it more quickly than they used to, back when people didn’t have to line up for it. The crust was a bit too dry, and I’m missing the oomf (I really don’t know how to explain it anymore), but still, I recommend that you give it a try! Haha.
Full from the pizza!Our second sunset!
Our next stop is happy hour at Kasbar! It’s right beside Two Seasons. They have a nice view of the beach, and affordable 2-for-1 cocktails/beer for happy hour! They had a great band playing, too! We enjoyed the place so much we decided to just grab dinner right there. We bought some barbeque from a nearby street food cart and talked the night away!
Sunset view from KasbarEnjoying our drinks!Dinner!
On the way back, they booked a massage at a spa near the hotel, while I enjoyed the rest of the night with some beer and live music!
Red Horse again!
Day 3
Our first agenda for the third day is an island hopping tour! Personally, the island hopping experience in Boracay is not as good as in El Nido/Coron or Siargao, but it came with the tour package!
Ready for island hoppingTropical vibes
Basically, this tour we took only had 3 stops – 1st is Puka Beach on Boracay island, then a snorkel/swimming activity somewhere in the middle of the sea, followed by lunch in Caticlan. It was a short tour, and we were back in Boracay at around 2PM.
Buying Puka accessories at Puka Beach!While Kathi is busy with her photoshootI had to get a photo for myself, too!Our boat!Boodle fight lunch!Rice galore!
We stopped by Real Coffee for coffee (duh) and the famous Kalamansi Muffin, before going back to the hotel to rest and wash up. Next on the agenda is dinner at Shangri-La because we had Mayor Ivan with us. Haha!
Shangri-La lobbyA wedding table set-upNice interiors!Ready for dinner!Tastes as good as it looks!Some more food!A mandatory group photoDreaming about staying here next time haha!
On the way home, we passed by this quaint shop that sells hand-made leather items. I got myself a small cardholder/wallet because 1) I hated my big wallet and 2) support local!
Mugna is Bisaya for “create”I had a hard time choosing!Why I bought from their store hahaThey added my name for free!
OK, so we went back to the hotel for a bit, and then went out again to party. Yes, Day 3 was full of activities! We braved the queue at Om Bar and enjoyed the night away! No one got crazy drunk or anything, it was just safe partying!
Long queue!Finally got a table!Warming up.Special requests from this sideOmmmmA fun night!Before going home
Day 4
Woke up with no hangovers! By the way, our hotel had free breakfast buffet and I never skipped a day which is why my whole diet was ruined because of this trip! Day 4 is for recovery and chill (again). We didn’t have much on the agenda other than seafood lunch and again, chilling/drinking by the beach.
For lunch, we went to Sababi, which used to be located in the old D’Talipapa. I’m glad I still found them, I really love the way they do their squid adobo! And everything on the menu was good, too!
Then we went for some coffee, afterwards, walked all the way again to Station 1 for happy hour. We went to Paraw, but they didn’t have happy hour (so sad!). Still, the view was amazing so we decided to order one drink each, took photos, and just watched the sun set.
Minus Jon who was playing volleyballBoracay essentialsCheers!Always a sight to behold!
Then we had dinner at a local kitchenette (the name escapes me right now, it’s right beside Kasbar). I ordered chori burger of course! Dinner was followed by fruit shake for desserts at Jonah’s!
This breaded porkchop was perfect with beer!Mango rhum for me!
It was an early flight for them tomorrow, so we decided to spend the night at the hotel. After swimming at the pool until they closed at around 10 PM, we headed to the room and I taught them how to play mahjong!
The mahjong cards I bought from Japan many, many years ago have finally been put to good use!
We fly back to our homes the next day! It was a fun trip with my friends, our first time to travel together actually. And hoping we can do this more in the future! It’s so good to be able to travel again!
Back in Cebu!
Instagram Reels!
As a bonus, here are the reels I created and posted on Instagram in case you want to see us in action! Also follow me there for more real-time updates because my blog updates are always delayed.
An anime that has Utada Hikaru singing for its opening/ending theme is always worth watching. Fumetsu no Anata E (To Your Eternity) was released on Netflix a few months ago. And to my surprise, it was not what I expected!
The story starts out with the creation of an “immortal” being that started out as a small rock. It eventually copies the identity of living or non-living things that it gets attached to – through pain or strong emotional feelings. Later on named as Fushi by one of the human beings it meets along the way, he experiences what it is like to be human. At the same time, he starts discovering his powers.
A story of life & death
In summary, the series is about Fushi’s growth – his relationship with the people he crosses paths with, the things he learns (and copies) from them, and ultimately choosing between living a normal life with the people he loves, or leaving them to become a stronger being that could defeat the enemy (a.k.a. Nokkers). Is Fushi God? He isn’t, since someone else created him. God might be the black-hooded guy who is also the narrator of the story. He guides Fushi without making the decisions for him.
To me, this anime series is a story about death, and how death teaches us many valuable lessons that help us grow and become stronger. How those who pass away become a part of us, in one way or another.
Utada Hikaru’s Pink Blood – the song that made me watch the anime, is also the icing on the cake.
