FOOD TRIPPING OF A DIFFERENT KIND.....

An Order Of Japanese Siomai.....


















Simple Jasmine Tea.....









Fruit Salad For Dessert.....









Right after a NAYON club meeting, I usually ride along with Lian or Bless from Intramuros and disembark in front of the Burger King outlet at Welcome Rotonda. I do this if I feel the need to empty my bladder or if I am hungry. Otherwise, I get off at Plaza Lawton which is were I take the ride, aircon bus or FX taxis going to Las Pinas.

I wasn't really hungry when I asked that I be dropped off at BK. I had my creative vibe going. So as soon as I stepped out of Lian's car and waved her goodbye, I walked towards the Chinese restaurant across BK and decided to take photographs of what I would eat. And one of the kinds of food that I love to eat in a Chinese restaurant are dimsum, particularly Japanese siomai if the establishment has it.

There used to be an outlet of Gloria Maris near our place. Among its line up of dimsum, it is their Japanese siomai that I love the most. Yes, this is where it all started. I'd order a cup of rice and an order of this dimsum and my tummy is happy. What is not to love? A mixture of ground pork is seasoned and crab stick is added then wrapped in nori paper then steamed to perfection! Sadly, the restaurant closed down. I guess the owners incurred losses as the restaurant occupied a big space but seemed to attract less customers. And I would not find my Japanese siomai again, unless I go to the other branches of Gloria Maris.

I can't recall the name of this restaurant. I don't even bother to read the painted sign on its doors. All I know is this is where I saw a reincarnation of my favorite dimsum. I was surprised to even see a familiar face, that of the head chef. He was the one who actually manned the defunct Gloria Maris kitchen. Once I saw him, I knew that the dishes that I once enjoyed at Gloria Maris will be the same ones that I shall taste in this new restaurant. And because the place is not a branch of the famous restaurant, the prices are way cheaper than before.

I ordered for Japanese siomai and a dessert of mixed fruit salad. Even if I wasn't really that hungry, I still had a great time. The dimsum still has the same taste and texture just as I remembered it. What got me going were the pictures I took of the food I ordered. Don't get me wrong, the food was delicious as ever. But for this visit I wanted to take photos of the food. This is a food trip that is not about food tasting, rather it is all about food as eye candy. This is, as far as I know, a different food trip.

FROM FILM TO THEATER ARE 39 STEPS.....

This Poster Says It All.....






Michael Williams As Richard Hannay.....






















Lisa Infante-Robinson As Annabella Schmidt, The Spy.....












The Female Passenger Pamela.....





The Scottish Housewife Margaret.....








Juliane Mendoza As The Emcee.....




The Secret Agent.....



The Milkman.....



The Police Officer.....



Professor Jordan.....



Bogus Police Inspector.....



First Old Guy.....



Male Motel Owner.....



Stage Clown.....





Rem Zamora As Mr. Memory.....




The Lady Cleaner.....



The Train Passenger.....



The Highlander.....



Cogon Leaves.....



The Lady Assistant.....



The False Detective.....



Second Old Guy.....



Lady Motel Owner.....





I have always loved the musicals, especially the well known ones. During my time in London, I never got tired of watching these musicals over and over again as the production is always top notch. I saw Les Miserables thrice and Phantom of the Opera twice. Others that I have enjoyed were Rent, The King And I and Fame. Cats and Bollywood did not grow on me and I shunned these two. Perhaps it has something to do with my affinity for dogs and dislike for "noisy" production. Throughout my stay, I was able to watch just two straight stage plays, Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof which starred Brendan Frazer and JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit, which was advertised as a children's play. To my surprise, I did enjoy these two just as I enjoyed the musicals.

My time with Repertory Philippines as one of their photographers has exposed me to other materials that I haven't seen before. This blog has featured some of the plays that I have covered. But this stage adaptation of The 39 Steps from Alfred Hitchcock's thriller is the best production that I have seen so far for this year.

Hitchcock's film was a thriller but this stage adaptation written by Patrick Barlow from the novel of John Buchan has more touches of action and comedy in it. Although the production seems to involve a thousand characters, it was interesting to note that the cast is composed of four people with Michael Williams' character as Richard Hannay the solitary constant lead. Lisa Infante-Robinson played the three women who got involved with Hannay. Juliane Mendoza and Rem Zamora play every other character on the show: heroes, villains, men, women, children and even inanimate objects!

I have seen Rem act in other Repertory produced plays but I believed that he shone the brightest here, truly a scene stealer. And I am so much impressed with the way he pulled off that Scottish accent, it felt I was conversing with that Highlander! Major kudos to you my friend.

I guess I have typed a rather long insight that, I'm afraid might bore you, my dear readers if there are any. c",) For a quick glance on what the plot of this production is all about, click here.

This is after all, a photoblog, enough talking and enjoy the pictures!

THE COLOR OF MONEY TWO.....

As I continue my quest to produce some images based on the theme "complimentary colors" with the local currency as my subject, I decided to interpret the phrase "paperweight". The orange takes the place of a paperweight. Lighting was provided with the aid of my led lenser k3 since my flash does not have its slave function working.

Eventually, I grew tired of the pictures that I was getting since I could not decrease the light from my led lenser down to a small beam (which can only be achieved with a honeycomb or a snoot attachment). I then resorted to playing with the images in CS5 afterwards. The above pictures are the fruits of my impaired imagination!