What I’m reading

The 9/11 Commission Report

AIR TRAVEL has never been quite the same after 9/11.  Believe you me.  I’ve taken a cross-continental flight on a day when the “terror alert level” had been raised to orange (high risk) on a nationwide level.  Subjecting myself to the most stringent screening procedure at the gate was my smallest contribution to peace of mind at 30,000+ feet up in the air.

Every widescreen at the Chicago Midway International Airport that day was tuned in to national news discussing the heightened alert.  I needed to get distracted so I ended up buying practically every single title on the magazine rack.  On the flight back to California – with a layover in Las Vegas – I buried my face in between pages.

All these thoughts came coming back after my recent book purchase.  Lately, second-hand bookstores have been a favorite hangout of mine.  And the last time, I bought “House of Sand and Fog” and this one – “The 9/11 Commission Report:  Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (Authorized Edition).”  It’s a copy from the first printing.

This copy is from the first printing. I love the cover design! (or lack thereof)

I have just cracked it open.  The first section reads like a novel.  It actually brought to mind the opening lines of the second paragraph of my “Rickshaw Diaries,” an accounting of my travel to India in 2005: “As has always been the case with me, the night before any trip doesn’t see me sleeping for even a wink.  I really fuss about my stuff, lay them around for quite some time as I don’t put them in my luggage ‘til about the last hour before I leave.  And I don’t let anyone do my packing for me because I don’t want to lie to the customs officer at the airport once he asks me as to who did my packing.  It is one of my small contributions to tightened airport security post-9/11 – to be fully aware and accountable for whatever goes in my bags.”

This will be quite a challenging read. It's highly technical. And quite thick! Look at that spine.

 

Copyright © 2009 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MuchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

 

Where it all started for me

Royce' counter at Takashimaya in Singapore

MY LOVE affair with Royce’ started with pasalubong – the Nama Chocolate Champagne Pierre Mignon – a really good friend bought at one of the stores in Singapore.  Technically speaking, the love affair actually started with the first bite.

I totally did away with the cute miniature plastic fork that comes with each box, as the heavy dusting of cocoa powder on each little chocolate block was just so tempting.  It promised a mess on my fingers that could only mean finger-lickin’ goodness.

The first bite of these chocolates allowed me the taste of the most delicate confection there has ever been.  It was light and was delicate like finespun sugar threads used to decorate a croquembuche.  It almost instantly melted in my mouth, leaving only a faint – but lingering –  coating of what can only be perfect melding of cream and chocolate.

I can finish a box of these easily and have actually on occasion failed to survive bouts with momentary selfishness.  The worst that it has ever made me do is become demanding of friends who travel to either Singapore, Hong Kong, or Japan.  I “demand” that they bring back Royce’.

So when the Tycoon had to fulfill yet another schedule on his fully booked social calendar – this time in Singapore – I didn’t think twice about shamelessly asking not only to have some purchased but also to have photographs of the Royce’ stores taken.

The Tycoon didn’t disappoint.  It has actually been a couple of days already since I got my hands on the chocolates.  But waking up this morning to yet more Royce’ confections – this time from my brother – by the coffee table by my bed, I got reminded of making this post.

Royce' store at Ion on Orchard

 

This Royce' store at Ion on Orchard just has a futuristic appeal to me. I won't be surprised if Neo would ring up my purchases at the cash register!

 

This is a close-up of the display panel that you see on the right side of the picture above.

 

Royce' Pure Chocolate – Venezuela Bitter & Ghana Sweet.

 

Royce' Pure Chocolate – Mild Bitter (80%) & Extra Bitter (90%).

 

Gotta love two boxes of Royce' Pure Chocolate!

 

I woke up to one of these on the coffee table.

 

Here are my previous Royce’ chocolate posts – or Royce’-related posts – that you may also like:

[The joys of Royce’]   [What goes on inside a bag of Royce’?!]   [eNTeNG’s 25]   [Royce’ for a fave Superhero]   [And with Royce’ I said farewell]   [Four-letter word]

 

Copyright © 2009 by eNTeNG  c”,)™©’s  MuchTime™©.  All rights reserved.

 

The Magnificent Mile

Michigan Avenue, THE MAGNIFICENT MILE!

MICHIGAN AVENUE, The Magnificent Mile in Chicago will always have a very special place in my heart.  It’s one of those places that I have put on my list as must-go-back-to.

One of my favorite stores on The Magnificent Mile – Crate & Barrel.

I got reminded of it last night while going through the papers.  In the world news section of The Philippine Star, I found out that Oprah Winfrey celebrated the 24^th season of her widely popular show with a public taping there.

Oprah celebrated on The Magnificent Mile

And thanks to the news, I now know why it is called “The Magnificent Mile.”

Now I know why it is called such!

 

The Magnificent Mile is such an overwhelming sight to behold. This was taken on one Christmas morning!

 

I've gone on a thousand miles in these shoes – my trusty Adidas Samba shoes!

I dream of lobsters

I WAS born under the fourth sign of the zodiac.  But it doesn’t really dictate my love for anything crustacean.  Fresh, live crabs are just really so delicious that it doesn’t really matter which constellation the sun was shining from when I was born.

Grilled to perfection – one of our lobsters, by the shore of the Arabian Sea.

And for 10 days in India, I have come to deeply appreciate just how luxurious the taste of these crustaceans could be – lobsters in particular.  And since here at home, having lobsters for dinner could really burn a huge hole in anybody’s pockets, I made sure that when I was there – in Bangalore, in Goa, and then in Mumbai – I would have lobster at least once a day.  I guess I made it with at least seven out of the 10 dinners!  And surprisingly, my body was able to handle all the surge of cholesterol that kept coming in!

Here are a couple of lobster dinner pictures I’d like to share with you.  They are a couple of the very few photographs that had managed to survive the great crash of the hard disk drive in January this year.  I lost so much of my memories with that infamous event that my heart is still broken as I write this.

I wasn’t blogging yet when this India trip came about.  But the “ambisyoso” writer that I am (Hahaha!), I did account for my experience, and some of them, I managed to send out to my friends all over the world from within the comforts of my luxurious (there’s that word again) hotel rooms – The Park in Bangalore, The Hotel Inter-Continental in Goa, and The Leela Kempinski in Mumbai.  India is just so amazing in this respect – the cutting-edge, modern comforts are juxtaposed with the simple, idyllic life.  I shared the streets with the cows.  And in deference to the culture and the beliefs, I gave them the respect they deserve.

A couple of those lobster dinners remain etched in my mind.  And a funny thing happened with the Lobster Thermidor.  Being the “sometimes” high maintenance dinner guest that I am, I made a very detailed, elaborate description to the hotel chef on how I wanted my thermidor.  He was nodding the whole time, and even reiterated some of my key words – so I thought everything was in order.  Horror of horrors, when he came back gliding as if performing ballet, he got the whole thing mixed up!  Stuffed inside the exoskeleton of my lobster’s tail was steamed rice, stained with some herb – I surmised finely chopped flat leaf Italian parsley.

Me and my lobster thermidor at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Goa, India.

But I didn’t fret.  I didn’t send the dish back because the way the plump lobster meat looked in the ramekin was just oh so tempting.  Nestled in rich cream, cheese, and an egg yolk sauce was my thermidor.  The top was even torched for that burnt-melted-cheese topping effect.  Suffice it to say, the dish was scrumptious.  And the chef – partly owning up to the “mix up” of my specifications – graciously sent out an extra helping of the perfumed, stained herb rice.  I fell in love.

Me and my grilled lobster by the shore of the Arabian Sea in Goa, India.

Apart from the unforgettable Lobster Thermidor at the Hotel Inter-Continental and the Grilled Lobster by the shore of the Arabian Sea in Goa, I will never forget my visits to the Basilica De Bom Jesus, a World Heritage Site, as well as that at Fort Aguada.  The Basilica is world famous for housing the mortal remains of Saint Francis Xavier.  Fort Aguada has been well-preserved and was prized and crucial for its role in guarding the port of Goa against the Dutch in the 17th century.

I miss India!

Right across the Basilica De Bom Jesus is the Archeological Survey of India

 

Basilica De Bom Jesus in Goa, India is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It houses the mortal remains (relics) of Saint Francis Xavier.

 

That's me in front of the Basilica.

 

That's the Fort Aguada Lighthouse.

Way up on the 88th

MY SEARS Tower post got me all worked up to make this one about the other tower I’ve been to already – Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, China.

View from the base of the Jin Mao Tower at night. It has 88 floors and is at #88 Century Boulevard. How auspicious!

When I went there, it was still the tallest building in China.  And the fact that it also houses the Shanghai Grand Hyatt Hotel, the highest hotel in the world in terms of distance from the ground, just added to its appeal to me.

Unlike my Sears Tower trip wherein I practically opened the place, my visit to Jin Mao Tower was very late into the night – right around 10:30 P.M. – as confirmed by the time stamps on my photographs.  The view from the observation deck on the 88^th floor literally took my breath away.  As I write this, I can still vividly see the sweeping 360-degree view of the well-lit Shanghai night skyline buzzing like – literally – neon bulbs in my head.

My Jin Mao Tower observation deck ticket and cards from three of its many restaurants.

 

"On Fifty Six" - Four restaurants occupy Jin Mao Tower's 56th floor: The Grill, Cucina (Italian), Kobachi (Japanese), and Patio.

Before lounging on the comfotable sofas in The Piano Bar on the 53^rd floor, I grabbed as many souvenirs as I could, to give away to friends here at home.  For myself, all I got was this really beautiful red silk string bracelet with a Chinese zodiac year animal charm.  I lost it when someone most likely mistakenly threw it out when I left it on the dining table as I made dinner at a friend’s house.  I’m just so sad that nobody – from my many friends who’ve come and gone to the place – could find this exact bracelet anymore.

That's the Jin Mao Tower red silk string bracelet that I had lost. Nobody was able to find the exact same thing from the Tower's gift shop. Sad.

And by the way, however tempting it may appeal to you, never play with the Hyatt Hotel’s elevator service from the 53^rd to the 87^th floor.  I mean, don’t use your hotel key card – from some place else – to operate the card elevator’s reader.  My friend and I did so (we used his Shangri-La hotel key card) and we got stuck in-between floors and the elevator just wouldn’t budge.  To this day, that remains to be the longest, most frightful three minutes of my life!

Anyway, here are some photos I would like to share with you.

View from the top, at the atrium. That's The Piano Bar you see at the center!

 

View from below. The Hyatt Hotel's annular corridors form this beautiful pattern and play wonderfully with the light sources.

 

As seen from the 88th floor atrium, that's the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the other centerpiece of the beautiful Shanghai skyline!

 

Postcard perfect! That's another view from the 88th floor of the Jin Mao Tower.

Way up on the 103rd

I LOVE the feel of paper in between my fingertips.  And it goes without saying that I love the feel of newspaper, also in between my fingertips.

I read both the Philippine Star and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Here are their July 3, 2009 editions.

Reading the day’s papers – both the Philippine Star and the Philippine Daily Inquirer – has been one of the first things I do upon coming home from a day’s work.  I think this will come as a surprise to most, especially with how easy and convenient it is to get the latest breaking news with a click of one’s fingertips.  But as I have said, I love the feel of the actual paper in my hands.  I just don’t forget to wash my hands thoroughly before I move on to my next tasks – as the residual ink from the print sticks and worse, transfers to anything you hold afterwards.  I remember a number of times when I inadvertently went to bed with the papers and woke up the following day with the previous day’s headlines squeegeed onto my cheeks.

Much thanks to yesterday’s Inquirer – not the online version, the actual paper! – I learned about a breathtaking innovative development to the Sears Tower in Chicago.  Still the United States’ tallest building, the Sears Tower holds a special place in my heart.  I spent one of my Christmas mornings there, way up on its Skydeck on the 103^rd floor.

Another look at the "headline"... That kid is so brave!

Says the Inquirer’s banner photo, “”THE VIEW   New glass balconies are the innovative additions to the United States’ tallest building, Sears Tower in Chicago.  Suspended 1,353 feet up in the air and jutting out four feet from the Tower’s 103^rd floor Skydeck, “The Ledge,” as it is called is now open to the public as of today.  If (eNTeNG – should be “it”) offers the world’s most awesome view, the world’s most precipitous view, the view with the most wow in the world, rhapsodizes one of its owners.”

I couldn’t agree more.  For purely sentimental reasons, here are some photos from that Christmas morning – from way up on the 103^rd… and then some.

Right in front of Sears Tower on Christmas morning

 

By the Sears Tower Skydeck sign

 

The Sears Tower Skydeck is on the 103rd floor!

 

Looking north, this is the breathtaking view that you would see from the Sears Tower Skydeck

 

View the world from the Sears Tower Skydeck!

 

This sign greets you on the 103rd floor

 

Chicago 101

 

Part of the wall on the Skydeck is dedicated to the great Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls

 

There's nothing like taking a city by foot. Here, I just had to have my photo taken by the NBC News Team's truck!

 

In front of the Chicago Sun-Times

 

In front of the Chicago Tribune

 

In front of United Center, the home of the Chicago Bulls!

 

On Michigan Avenue, dubbed "the Magnificent Mile"... the tower right behind me is the John Hancock Center.

 

I didn't take this photo in Chicago. I took this one in Shanghai, on the wall leading to the viewing deck of Jin Mao Tower on its top floor, the 88th floor! Jin Mao Tower is on the right of the photo, with Sears Tower right next to it.

Joseph Schmidt Confections® Chocolate Carrot Box

 

I PRACTICALLY do not throw away anything.

My six-year old JOSEPH SCHMIDT CONFECTIONS® Chocolate Carrot Box!

 

But at least I try.  Hahaha!  You see, this week-long break almost afforded me the opportunity to edit whatever remains of my humble collections.  But then again, with a lot of things on my mind (“YOU are always on my mind…”), I didn’t get to throw anything away.

 

But that is not saying that I didn’t get to go through stuff.  Because, I did.

I opened the box and found inside the pretty yellow ribbon it originally came tied with.

 

And I was so surprised to see again this very special chocolate box – the JOSEPH SCHMIDT CONFECTIONS® Chocolate Carrot Box!  I bought three of these at BORDERS Books, Music & Café on East Bidwell Street in Folsom, California on Easter Sunday, 2003.  That’s six years ago!

I got this for $14.99 each! Good thing it was exempted from the California state tax (a whopping 7.75%)!

 

In good company – the JOSEPH SCHMIDT CONFECTIONS® Chocolate Carrot Box among other boxes

 

Holding this exquisite (and obviously quite sturdy) fancy chocolate box in my hand, I saw flashing scenes of that day when these caught my eye on the display near the cashiers.  For some reason, I was really sad that day (probably homesick) and I wasn’t really speaking with anybody.  I left most of my friends shooting hoops at the apartment complex.  Somehow, this handcrafted carrot box cheered me up.  As you can see from the receipt (see, I keep everything!), I actually got three.

My official receipt for getting three of these JOSEPH SCHMIDT CONFECTIONS® Chocolate Carrot Boxes. $44.97 in all.

 

This is what the accompanying card says:

 

“Joseph Schmidt offers you the tiniest of his truffles – petit morsels of rich Belgian chocolate surrounding velvety truffle filling made with fresh cream.  Perfect size to offer after dinner.

 

These petit truffles are packaged in a beautiful handcrafted carrot box with the following chocolates:

 

14 Petit Truffles

7 White – Double Latté filling

7 Dark – All Dark filling”

 

That little card says it all! The box held petit morsels of rich Belgian chocolate surrounding velvety truffle filling made with fresh cream.

 

I had gone to and taken my picture at the JOSEPH SCHMIDT CONFECTIONS® flagship store in SanFo.  Too bad, I had lost all ~8GB’s worth of travel pictures to a hard disk crash.  Yeah, I hear what you may be saying now, “BACKUP!”

 

Have I had everything on print, they would have had a better chance of survival…  much like this pretty carrot box!  Hahaha!

 

 

 

Batman Returns!

THE DARK Knight is back!  It’s actually a couple of missed calls on my cellphones that told me that one of my “bestest” friends is finally home again.  He’s actually now in his office – so up and about – and I think it is the jet lag.  But he was quick to correct me that it is less the jet lag and more the fact that he just couldn’t sleep.  That… and I think he does have a lot of things to attend to.

 

I could tell from the excitement in his voice, as he shared snippets from his almost three-week adventure, that he had a blast in Gotham City.  As I said in my 16 January 2009 post (“So looking forward to this…”), I am so excited to read his adventures, which he has chronicled and planned to post with the title: “At The Movies:  The Adventures of Batman in Gotham City”.  I think the working title has changed.  But the bottomline remains, I am so excited to read everything he has to say!  And if at all possible, I’m even more excited over all the pasalubong (Starbucks®, NBC Studios, etc.)!  Yippee!

 

One part of our earlier e-Mail exchange today made me so green with envy.  How I wish I were in New York too!  You see, Batman included Café Lalo in his walking tour of the city.  I obviously cannot do anything about it (not being there…  hehehe…), but what I do regret more was not asking Batman to stop by The Magnolia Bakery on 401 Bleecker Street!  I’m not sure if that has been featured on the big screen ever.  But I guess the birthday cupcake saved for Andrea “Andy” Sachs (played by Anne Hathaway in “The Devil Wears Prada”) by her boyfriend came from The Magnolia Bakery.

 

 

Welcome back, Batman!  I’m so looking forward to our next foodie adventure – dinner at you-know-where and desserts at Cupcakes By Sonja!  And post ‘em pics already, ok?! 

 

So looking forward to this – “At the Movies: The Adventures of Batman in Gotham City”

[By the end of this week, practically every person I’m really close friends with, will have left the country – mostly for good.  It kinda makes me wonder why I myself am not uprooting.]

 

 

 

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about a movie here.  Not even the original motion picture soundtrack of any movie.  But hey, the title does sound like an OST!  It brings to mind the Dave Koz’s “At the movies” CD that Batman gifted me with about a year ago.  Over the holidays, I just learned that when it was released locally, it was picked as a “Top of the heap,” must-have CD by a really respected, established magazine.  I was kinda overjoyed about that.  Now if only someone thought about giving me the wristwatch featured on that same list.  Hahaha!

 

I hope that Batman doesn’t get mad that I’m talking about this here – “At the Movies: The Adventures of Batman in Gotham City”.  Hehehe.

 

As I write, any aircraft flying or that has already flown overhead may have Batman on board.  He had just left for a three-week sojourn in the United States that shall see him spending a week in Gotham City – a most fitting highlight!

 

Over our most recent dinner, I couldn’t help but feel really envious of his trip plans while there!  Traversing the covered walk extending the length from Greenbelt 3 to Greenbelt 5, he started to rattle off the many different landmarks he had put on his short list of must-go-to places.  I don’t want to put them here so as not to totally preempt his blog post (which I’m so totally looking forward to!).  But just for good measure, here is a hint – think “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

 

All I can say is that it is the ultimate list of the most memorable and most significant places in Gotham City that have ever been captured on celluloid!

 

I just couldn’t wait.

 

 

eNTeNG’s The Best Of… Breakfast (‘An Introduction’ and 1st in a Series)

A week after my birthday in 2000, I wrote an essay I entitled, ‘Over Coffee.’  And yes, I unashamedly forced it down my friends’ throats.  I sent them copies and ended up short of quizzing them about its contents – just so I knew they did read it!

The best of breakfast at Leisure Coast Resort... was very affordable. Only Php 600+ for full breakfasts for four very hungry people.

In that work, I recognized that most of the good years and the good times of my life and my friendships had been punctuated by coffee.  And now I have to say, by food too.  And as I have said, I’ve been toying around with the idea of sharing my own ‘eNTeNG’s The Best Of…’ a.k.a. ‘eNTeNG’s Favorite Things(?)…’.  From the moment the thought of doing this ran through and ricocheted in my mind, it had been so persistent – an itch that had been dying to be scratched.

 

Whatever will make it under this ‘The Best Of…’ header, is purely eNTeNG’s opinionated voice speaking.  Without a doubt, all the ‘best’ items here were judged by no other than me, myself, and I.  So I won’t be too hard on any reader who would end up violently reacting.

 

Quite fittingly, my first selection is for the best of breakfast.

 

And in this world of fastfood chains that had sprouted everywhere, I surprised even myself with my selection that found me going all the way up north to Dagupan City in the province of Pangasinan!  It was a plate of hot garlic fried white rice; sidings of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes; a cute mound of “atsara” (pickled shredded unripe papaya, with carrots and shallots); and, the shining star that had got to be the crispiest, tastiest, most flawlessly executed deep-fried vinegar-marinated milkfish that I’ve ever come across!  I found this unassumingly simple platter at the eight-year-old Sabina Restaurant of the Leisure Coast Resort.  And my finding it was quite serendipitous.  I was in that beauteous resort, with friends, to attend the wedding and emcee the reception of two of my best friends – James (Spider-man!) and Juvy.

 

I had the milkfish for two consecutive mornings there and up to today, nothing has come close to it.  All I can do is look back to how perfect it was.  The flavor was awesome, as I got right away how the salt, black pepper and white vinegar blended harmoniously, infusing every shred of the fish meat with undeniable flavor that complemented well the resulting fried-to-golden-brown-perfection texture.  I loved the crunch that came resounding with every bite as if what I was having were crispy chitlings.  The first that would hit me was the subdued acidity from the vinegar, made more defined by the salt and rounded by the pungency of the black pepper.  Because of all these, hard as it was for us, we couldn’t leave any piece – not even a small one – for any cat to enjoy.  And I love cats.  Alex (one of our engineers) actually finished everything from the head to the tail.  No sign of the tasty fish dish was left on the plates.