Sip, Bite, and Roll a Die: Ludo Boardgame Bar and Cafe

- September 27, 2014, Saturday.

- Some of my high school classmates suggested that we try this new cafe in Scout Torillo corner Scout Fuentebella, near Tomas Morato and Timog, called "Ludo Boardgame Bar and Cafe." As the name suggests, people could go there and eat, or have specialty drinks, and play board games. The casual cafe opened this year, and has been featured numerous times by articles and blogs (as far as I know;) I have also come to know about this cafe's existence by word of mouth too.

- Knowing the Morato-Timog area, commuting to that place was difficult. Ludo's Facebook states that one can ride the MRT to Quezon Avenue, and get a tricycle that can go straight to Ludo; it seems convenient, but the bigger problem would be going home, since public transportation is hard to find in the small streets of that area, and it will be difficult also in case we'd go home late. Since someone from my high school friends, as well as Karel's boyfriend, was willing to drive us there, we decided to check the place out. By the way, Ludo opens from 4pm during weekdays, and 12 noon during weekends, and closes at 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, and midnight on all the other days. 

- Due to the heavy traffic, we left our meeting place (somewhere near UST) around 6pm, and arrived an hour later, when a traffic-less drive would be around 20 to 30 minutes. Getting a seat in the cafe was a bigger challenge since it was a Saturday night, which meant more people; even those who had made reservations had some difficulty securing their seats. The place was also small, so it was difficult to seat many people. Personally, I thought it was a smart decision to have a small place, so the staff could monitor the board games being used by the customers. There is no charge for the boardgames (and customers could play as many board games as they wish,) and there is no time limit, as long as everyone in the group orders at least one dish or specialty drink (Ludo also serves alcoholic drinks.) Ludo also has free wifi for those who need it, like for Instagram purposes. (By the way, I don't have Instagram because I don't really like uploading things instantly -- which is what Instagram is all about.)

Tada!!

The tarpaulined door makes people wonder if the cafe is open or now.

With high school friends and Karel's boyfriend.

- The nine of us were finally able to get a table after an hour (we were fourth in the waiting list,) and that was around 8:15pm. We played some Uno while waiting for our dinner to come. Our food and drinks took a long time to arrive, and everyone just stopped playing and talking when the appetizers came. We had some nachos and two kinds of dumplings for our appetizers. The cheese dumplings were surprisingly delicious, sort of like an east-meets-west dimsum, but I liked the wasabi dumplings more even though my friends were quite intimidated by the wasabi. For me, the wasabi-veggie filling used in the dumplings was not too strong, or maybe because I just have a higher tolerance for wasabi (or they have a lower tolerance for wasabi.) Some of us ordered Ludo's specialty drinks. I had chocolate milkshake; it was a normal milkshake. I should have gotten the "fancier" sounding drinks, like the salted caramel drink that one of my other friends had. Still, I loved my milkshake. 

Mr. Jay Mata, one of the founders of Ludo Boardgame Bar and Cafe.

Look at that crowd. It was kinda hard to move inside.

Unoooo.

Look at all the board games they have.

Oliver and AJ going through another board game.

I'll give that hand form a 10.0. (It's Jessica's hand.)

Nathalie's turn.

The stack just wobbled. Nathalie's reaction was priceless.

Wait no, Karel's reaction was priceless!!!! I was responsible for toppling the stack.

My milkshake. (Trying my best not to sing that milkshake-bringing-people-to-the-yard song.)

Nachos. (Karel and AJ's hands.)

Nomnom.

My favorite wasabi dumplings. I like them, but I probably could not eat them all day.

- Later on, our main courses arrived. Ludo's dishes were Japanese, mostly rice toppings (toridon, katsudon, you name it.) The food was decent, but definitely not the best Japanese food there is. I wasn't quite sure why the cafe chose to serve Japanese food; I did not feel that it was coherent with the theme of the cafe. Come to think of it, their menu was a mix of Japanese, Italian, and American, and faux Mexican (the nachos) cuisines.  However, I observed that the dishes were placed in bowls, making it easier to eat while playing board games. The appetizers were placed on plates, as well as the pasta dishes, but they were also easy to eat and finish. Also, I did not really want to be too particular on or too critical of the food and drinks, since the real selling point of the cafe was the endless number of board games to choose from; Ludo also sells some board games. By the way, Ludo's food and drinks are in the 150php to 300php price range, and I think the range is quite reasonable.

My dinner: Toridon.

Hello everyone!!

- I felt quite dizzy at some point, because the place was too small and crowded, and while I understand that everyone in the cafe was simply enjoying their board games, the simultaneous excited shouting from the other tables triggered my mild headache. I am quite sensitive to loud noises, which makes me a bad companion to crowded places with loud noises (i.e. clubs, big public events.) 

- While we were finishing dinner and playing this deception game called "Avalon," our plates of chicken wings with blue cheese dip were delivered to us from heaven. Yes, the wings were THAT good, and it was my favorite dish from everything that we ate. The chicken skin was crispy and perfectly glazed, the meat was tender, and the dip was not too strong, so much so that the taste of both the glaze and the dip could be savored in each bite. I wanted to eat all of the wings had I not been too full from dinner and what hasn't been digested during my long lunch in Mann Hann. Oh, the chicken wings also helped me take my mind off my headache. (The wings might have actually cured my headache too????)

This plate of heavenly, heavenly wings and dip. THESE I can eat all day!!

- We later ate the cake Oliver brought for me and Karel (Karel and I both have the same birthday, but we celebrated late,) and because of that we had to be charged an additional 200php corkage fee. We did not mind since it would be hassling for Karel and me to figure out how to split the addicting Caramia smores cake, and find a box big enough for both halves for us to take home. Everyone enjoyed the cake even when they were too full, but I was more than thankful that Karel and I were still able to take home a slice each since everyone could not finish the whole cake.

Thank you friends for this equally heavenly cake.

She wanted the cake for herself....

....but of course I did not allow that.

A photo of us cutting the cake, plus AJ trolling.

- We stayed until around 12 midnight, and had a quick traffic-less drive home. I had to rest my eyes, head, and tummy while Bless drove me, Bernadette, and Jessica home. Some of us talked about going back to Ludo again soon, with our group, or with other friends. As for me, I probably want to go back to Ludo again some day, but most likely during the off-peak hours, to avoid the big crowd, and to avoid the long waiting time. If I do get the chance to revisit Ludo, I'll definitely save my tummy space for the chicken wings!!               

The Legendary Reunion: Lunch in Mann Hann with Some of the Most Amazing People

- September 27, 2014, Saturday.

- I'll deviate a bit from the usual kinds of entries I post. This one's going to be a bit more personal, a giant window to my past, but I cannot afford to miss the opportunity to post this because of its "legendary" status. Why legendary? This very last minute reunion was 6 to 8 years in the making. This special reunion I had was with friends - no, family- I've had back in high school during my years as a performer of our English high school theater group called MASCKS. I was the president of the group during senior year high school, and the members whom I have trained later became my successors in the group, just as I have become a successor of the other veterans before me. During my presidential year, I did a handful of jobs for our play, a summarized version of the Hindu epic Ramayana; it was because of my involvement in this group (plus some other achievements) that I was able to get the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Awards for Art and Culture when I graduated (but what I consider the bigger "award" was having the chance to work with my members and, hopefully, I inspired them as much as they have inspired me.) More importantly, my involvement in the group after high school, not anymore as a performer but as one of the mentors, allowed me to reach many places that helped me boost my currently semi-academic career. In addition to this, MASCKS has also become one of the spaces where I have expressed and manifested my cultural advocacy, from the methods I use to teach performing arts, to the executed production itself. It was great to be a performer, but even greater to develop raw and potential talents to find their light and shine on stage, in their own lives, and in the lives of others!

- I was particularly close to many of the members I have handled, and thanks to modern technology, I was still able to keep in touch with them or see some of them individually, usually coincidentally. We were not able to make a reunion because of the sheer number of people in our "family," which also meant a lot of schedule conflicts and whatnot. As much as my members urged and encouraged me to organize a reunion, I myself was busy (and still am;) I did try to organize a few times, to no avail. This time, my friend Ryan told me the last minute that he was a bit vacant from medical school because of his university's "Med Week," and from my understanding, it was a week where most academic stuff was replaced by preparations and the execution of some team-building events and competitions among the students of his university's school of medicine. Because of this, he was free this Saturday, and so he asked if I could try to schedule a lunch gathering. I tried, and contacted some of the people in a hurry. My schedule was quite filled this week too, so I wasn't able to keep track of everyone and invite them. (Had I more time, I really would have.) Fortunately, some were able to confirm, and I decided to push through with it as a "guinea pig reunion."

- Today, Renee, Ryan, Demi, Bryann came to meet me for lunch in Lucky Chinatown's Mann Hann. (It's been a while since I last used their names in a single sentence - I better get used to it again, perhaps!!) I have loved Mann Hann since the first time I've eaten there more than 10 years ago. Of course I had to go farther since there was no Lucky Chinatown yet. Needless to say I was quite ecstatic to know that Mann Hann is now nearer to my area. The price of the dishes are very reasonable, and the quality of the food seemed fine, although there are times that their food could be a bit salty, but it's I can shrug off most of the time as far as Mann Hann is concerned. Most of their dishes are Cantonese cuisine (dubbed the best kind of cuisine under Chinese cuisine, and the most popular too) with some Fujianese influences. We had the typical favorites: seafood pancit canton, yangchow fried rice, fried squid (with really salty fish sauce at the side,) oyster cake, broccoli with (a lot of) oyster sauce, and lechon macau.

With Ryan, Bryann, Demi, and Renee.

- Alex later arrived, disoriented and frustrated; apparently she had a minor road incident on the way to Lucky Chinatown. Which reminds me - the traffic was worse today everywhere in Manila. We quickly gave her a seat, let her relax, and made her eat.

Alex trying to compose herself while Renee tries to suppress her inner laughter (I kid of course.)

- While conversing with them, I couldn't believe that we were all together again, hearing each others voices, and catching up in person. It made me realize how far all of us have gone - Ryan's in med school, Bryann's still on his way to becoming an engineer, Demi has a new job, Renee is happy with her current job, Alex is in law school, and I, "Mr. Itchy Toes" Gibby, am everywhere. Other members who were not present include one who is in currently in London for further studies, another currently in Japan for work, another in Japan too for work and further studies, another is a nurse in the United States, another is a budding entrepreneur, another one is in law school with Alex, another is a chef in a prestigious hotel, another is working with the flag carrier of the country, another is a nurse in a big hospital, another is a graphic designer and a choir singer at the side, and the long list goes on. Hearing everyone's stories made me feel proud and fortunate to know all of them, and still be in contact with them. Our conversations moved from the usual "who's doing what now," to random topics like law, sociology and anthropology, medicine, musicals, and golden deer.

Reunited!! (But again, more people in the future, hopefully!!)

Alex's ketchup artwork.

Again, she tries to compose herself.

- Our "lunch" lasted four to five hours, and we all knew that four to five hours was still too short for catching up. It made me think how long our conversation would be if a lot of us were there. (I wouldn't mind spending the day with them though; it's been a long time.) As much as we wanted to stay, we all had other commitments to the remainder of Saturday. As for me, I was quite satisfied with the outcome of the "guinea pig reunion," and I am prepared for a bigger one in the future. While it made all us quite happy and nostalgic to reminisce our experiences in the past, what I am more excited about is where all of us could go from where we are today, but still keeping in touch and keeping our feet on the ground.

King Chef: Fit For A King??

- September 20, 2014, Saturday.

- King Chef has recently been one of the most talked-about Chinese restaurants by Manilenos, most especially my people - the Filipino Chinese. One of the reasons why this is so is because of its dimsum promo during the afternoon (2-5pm,) and the late evening (9pm-1am.) Since a branch opened in Lucky Chinatown Mall two years ago (same time the mall opened,) I have only gone there to have dimsum, and I realized that I have never tasted King Chef's lunch/dinner menu. (Speaking of, King Chef serves ONLY dimsum during promo time, and the "real" dishes during lunch and dinner; their big kitchen is closed during promo time.)

- Choosing King Chef to hang out with my three buddies was a tough decision for me. To be honest, I was not impressed with King Chef's dimsum despite the fancy and not-so-usual items on the list. The price was not amusing too despite the 50%-off-discount during the promo times. Their usually bad service (as far as I am concerned,) also ticked me off, most especially during my first visit there. Being the adventurous hungry person that I am, I wanted to give King Chef another chance, and I wanted to taste another side of King Chef; this compelled me to gamble my chances of getting good food and good service.

- I went to Lucky Chinatown around 3pm and personally made a reservation for me and my friends for 6pm, and also told the reservation person about the peking duck that we would be having for the evening, so necessary preparations could be made a bit earlier. The peking duck is one of the items on the menu that King Chef specifically says would take some time to prepare.

- When I came back around 6, no one knew about my reservation (which also meant no one knew about my peking duck.) I was glad that my companions arrived a few minutes late too, since it gave me some time to fix my reservation mishap.

- Evan, Boom, and Rendel came not long after I settled the problem and sat myself in our table, The four of us had fried seafood rolls, broccoli cooked with garlic, 8-spice pork spareribs, birthday noodles, yangchow fried rice, and of course, our giant peking duck.

If our friend Merrill had come, and she had worn pink (which she would have, she told me,) we would've been the Power Rangers.

Boom and Rendel engaging in a really deep conversation....NOT. :)) :)) :)) :))

- The seafood roll was generally fine, although it was not the usual seafood roll that I expected. This is half good and half bad - it's bad because it wasn't what I expected it to be, it's good because it tasted decent. The noodles was the usual too, and we had no complaints there; same goes with the fried rice and the broccoli. The 8-spice pork spareribs was interesting for me because it had an added kick compared to the usual salted or spicy spareribs. It was quite tender for me, and I enjoyed it. It could be less salty though.

Just ignore the head of the duck and pretend it's not looking at you.

- I was most specific about our peking duck. For those who know how to cook or are at least knowledgeable in culinary arts, the preparation needed to make the perfect peking duck is long and complicated. For an upscale restaurant that serves peking duck like King Chef, I was definitely going to be more critical. I like my duck, and is one of the dishes I look for when eating in a big Chinese restaurant (if not duck, at least the pigeon.) I felt that the heavens opened up after the duck was served, and I was not shy in expressing my happiness when the duck was placed on our table. I took my first bite. Initially I thought that the duck was quite tough, although I later realized that I took a thick piece. The duck was generally OK for me, although a pinch of saltiness and spiciness (maybe from the 8-spice spareribs?) could be added. The duck was served with two kinds of sauces, but daddy likes his duck as it is. (Yes, I was pertaining to myself.) While I've had better peking ducks a lot of times before in my life, their peking duck was not half bad, but not good enough to impress me. I still enjoyed my duck, and although we were not able to finish our duck, it's just because it was too big. (I got to take home the duck and I am enjoying every leftover bit of it up to the bone.)

- For dessert we got to have a mango-almond bowl. Normally Chinese restaurants would have either mango sago or almond cubes, but I was wide-eyed child-like ecstatic to know that they had my two favorites in one bowl. If I had more appetite I would have wanted a large bowl, but I was too full from my duck.

Evan hates it when I do my troll face.

There was also a time when the waiters and waitresses started dancing. It was the most random thing ever.

Heaven in a bowl.

- In the end, I was still not too impressed with King Chef, and I am still not forgetting my reservation mishap. However, I am still hopefully that King Chef (at least in Lucky Chinatown,) will improve so I will enjoy my dining experience there (especially with the prices of their dishes.) King Chef in Banawe seems better in my opinion, although it has been some time since that last time I ate there; I hope their quality hasn't deteriorated. I am looking forward to eating in King Chef again in the future, but hopefully with better food. Despite the comments, I still enjoyed my dinner immensely not really because of the food, but because I had the perfect company.

The Manila Collectible Co.: The Store with a Cultural Advocacy

- September 18, 2014, Thursday.

- Since it opened last year Intramuros, I had always wanted to visit The Manila Collectibles Co. (TMCC) primarily because of the store's unique Filipiniana souvenirs. For some odd reason I kept forgetting to pass by TMCC despite having the chance to visit Intramuros several times since TMCC opened. For most people who know me, I usually visit Intramuros when I need to tour both local and foreign friends around Manila, and I follow a certain path which I call the "Intramuros tourist path." This path is one straight line where the places of interest are conveniently located. I follow this path out of habit, and this is probably why the thought of visiting TMCC always slipped my mind - until today.

- Recently, the thought of going to TMCC struck me again because I suddenly had the urge to find more unique textile as inspiration for future outfits. I read through the net (you can see some info about them through their Facebook page) about the authentic textile and accessories they sold among a variety of items, so I decided to go to Intramuros today before I forget to visit TMCC for the nth time.

- I arrived at TMCC around 2pm, and expected a quick visit. TMCC is located at the second floor of the white building in Beaterio Street, right behind the Manila Cathedral. Upon entering the store, colorful native decorations beckon potential customers to enter the store. It felt like walking into a child's coloring book. They sold some native food, ornaments, ready-made children's indigenous costumes, various native textile, and replicas of pre-colonial artifacts.

The facade.

I love this multi-ethnic painting.

See?? It looks like a coloring book that came to life!!

Kulintang, and some Northern-Philippine rain hats

Manunggul jar replicas made from terra cotta, and the Manila Cathedral bell tower.

- While going around the store, I was able to have a brief chat with Mrs. Charisse Aquino-Tugade, an anthropologist who happens to be the owner of TMCC. I found out later on that her love for the Philippines and her extensive studies on the different ethno-linguistic groups of the Philippines led her to open TMCC. Through TMCC, Mrs. Tugade was able to express her advocacy to let Filipinos know about their pre-colonial past. (This is something I am also I'm trying to be involved with, as part of my general cultural advocacy.)

Golden Tara replicas with a Baroque-frame background.

My all-time favorite ancient relic: the Laguna Copperplate.

Filipino!!

Some ways to wrap the malong.

Inaul malong. I want to take them all, especially the ones with plenty of gold and other colors.

This is another intriguing relic: it is found not only in the Philippines, but also in other parts of Southeast Asia, and Madagascar. They're called by different names in different places, but they look alike.

The baybayin script with some miniature replica manunggul jars (burial jars.)

A horse designed by an artist with the ancient Siddham alphabet.

One of my favorite parts of the store.

Can I take them all home (for free????)

Close-up of one of the t'nalaks for sale.

- Later on, some of Mrs. Tugade's visitors arrived, and so she gave a brief tour of the store. She asked me to join after realizing that I was too interested in everything being sold there. During the next half hour or hour, I was able to learn a lot from her, both about the store and the different indigenous cultures of the Philippines. Regarding the store, TMCC does not sell antiques, because collectors would only purchase items and store them privately; Mrs. Tugade firmly stressed that this is a form of stealing from the country. In response to this, TMCC only sells replica items (such as the Laguna copperplate, or the Golden Tara statue -- I wanted to buy them but I still don't know where to display them.) Contrary to this, TMCC sells genuine textile such as t'nalak or inaul,) as the textile sold in the store were woven by local artists that come from country's various ethnic groups. TMCC works with a lot of local artists both from Manila and elsewhere (painters, carvers, weavers, potters, you name it,) as a way to support them and make them known.

Mrs. Charisse Aquino-Tugade starts the tour.

The famed lingling-o.

She tells us about the Golden Tara; it's one of the evidences of the Philippines' Hindu-Buddhist past.

- Apart from being a souvenir store, TMCC is also a venue for experiencing culture. They would sometimes hold traditional dance workshops or baybayin workshops for a minimum of 5 people with early booking, unless they have a special event. These cultural events would be held either in the store, or at the spacious open roof-top with a majestic view of the Manila Cathedral.

- As for the things I learned about the country, Mrs. Tugade was able to confirm my long-time speculation of the Southern-Philippine ikat (tie-dyed fabric) was related to the Central Asian (i.e. Uzbek, Kazakh, etc.) tie-dyed fabric. While Central Asia usually does these dyes on silk, Philippine ikat, as well as other Southeast-Asian ikat, are made on plant-based fibers. Also, many forms of ikat in the country can mean really different things even though they may seem to be similar to an untrained eye, depending on the ethnic group, depending on the color, or depending on the material. To prove this, Mrs. Tugade showed the T'bolis' t'nalak fabric as a kind of fabric that is more versatile, (but cannot be used as fabric for any form of footwear,) as opposed to another ikat from northern Philippines that was used exclusively for burial rituals. Designers who use these kinds of fabric carelessly, like designers who boast their t'nalak shoes, are insensitive designers who clearly did not consult the ethnic group involved for proper use of the fabric. The same thing goes for accessories. (Speaking of accessories, I was eyeing a unisex T'boli beaded belt with brass bells. It fit me perfectly, but did not settle very well with my wallet - it was 3500php!! I don't think I'll be able to use the belt that often too, so I might just save the money for something I will be able to use more frequently.)

One of the better quality t'nalaks that they have.

The oldest ikat was found in the Philippines!!

Another high-quality t'nalak.

A Northern-Philippine ikat used for death rituals.

Inaul malong from Maguindanao.

With one of my favorite Philippine fabrics.

- After the TMCC tour, I left the store empty-handed, but with a fully-loaded mind (and camera.) I left after a surprising three hours in TMCC (considering the store's area isn't too big.) I also feel fortunate to have met Mrs. Charisse Tugade, who is now one of the people I admire and respect. I hope to be able to bring cultures closer to people in more creative ways, and touch more young people like she has done with TMCC. Other than this, I also look forward to visiting more indigenous groups of the country, particularly those from Mindanao (i.e. Maranao, T'boli, Badjao, Tausug, etc.) However, one thing is most likely to happen in the near future: I will visit TMCC again.