Hi all,
Now that the most important bit (food) has already been discussed, i thought i will briefly go through other stuff.
About places to stay, the first time i went, i stayed in a hotel .. and the next time, i stayed in a condo apartment. I have to tell you that staying in the condo apartment was definitely better. It gave me a feeling that i was a high flying investment banker in canary wharf or something similar!!
Shopping ... I think the filipinos are craaazy about shopping. So many malls and shops compared to the size of the city. When i went to makati, it felt like one HUGE shopping mall with some roads!! The shopping malls in makati include greenbelt 1,2,3 and then they also have 'the mall of asia' (apparently the 2nd largest mall in asia!) .. and so many other malls which i havent seen.
Travel ... i think the local traffic in manila is horrendous .. but hey, i am from madurai .. so thats fine as long as i am in a A/C car!! They have these jeepneys (modified jeeps) ... which operate on a similar concept to share auto. I havent been on the metro yet .. ( I have been pampered so far!).
Cost ... The cost of living is similar to India in my opinion. Of course if you go into posh places, u need the pay the price, but overall, i found it good value for money.
Lets hear ur opinion, after June!
Ranjit
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Friday, February 9, 2007
My manila guide...Part-1 ... Food
I know i have invited so many people for the wedding .. (how many of you actually come is a different matter!) .. for the benefit of the lucky few who are coming to manila, i thought of composing this unofficial manual...
Manila is a crowded city .. but that would definitely not surprise or shock sendhamil selvars like ourselves who have roamed through every nook and corner of madurai in search of the 'perfect barotta'! The weather is similar to madurai / madras ... hot and humid (not as hot as madras in may though). Most of the people speak english (most english literate country in asia) .. so communication is not a problem.
Makati city is the central, financial and commercial district of metro manila. It is in this urban jungle that most of us will be staying. There are loads of shopping malls and restaurants catering to all tastes. I know that food is the most important thing in the agenda .. so i ll concentrate on food now..
Filipino cuisine might be a bit daunting to the traditional indians (like amma, appa!) .. even for culinary daredevils like us it is quite a challenge. I have listed my favourites here .. Beef tapa (shredded beef + rice + bulls eye egg) is an excellent breakfast dish (yes .. breakfast). Bangus belly is another dish (bangus - a fish, basically a deep fried fish dish ) you can try. Chicken lovers (like me) would really love Chicken Bacolod (a local preparation of grilled chicken on a bamboo stick!) and Max fried chicken (both have retail outlets in Makati). Almost all dishes come with a serving of rice (try getting garlic rice instead of plain rice). Almost all outlets serve fresh iced tea as a healthier alternative to coke / pepsi. As for the desert you have to try halohalo (which is a bit like jigirdhanda from madurai) and buko pandaan special in max's restaurant (definitely jigirdhanda with ice cream!). There are several more dishes which i tasted like bicol express (no.. it is not a train! ), etc ... which are for the more adventurous! Another fun fact ... puttu in tamil is also puttu in filipino!!
Restaurants which i definitely recommend are ...
Kashmir - Amazing but damn expensive indian restaurant.
Jollibee - excellent food .. local chain like mcdonalds/kfc
Zbarro - great pizza
Dad's restaurant - Buffet lunch .. only if you are reallly hungry
Chicken Bacolod , Max's chicken - absolute must
If you are in Manila, Japanese food is worth a try as well. Some of you who know and have tried japanese food can skip this...
The restaurants i tried include RaiRaiKen (a chain) and sakae sushi (in mall of asia). Japanese food is reallly complicated so i have simplified it for my convenience.
Sushi - rice rolls containing fish
Sashimi - just fish
Ramen - noodles in soup
How to eat sushi?
Simple ... focus on the chopsticks, pick up the sushi, dip it in a mixture of soya sauce + wasabi (pungent green radioactive sludge), close your eyes, chew and swallow.
Its an amazing experience the first time around and then you will get hooked!
Enough of all this food talk ... its gotten me hungry now!
Catch you later with more..
Ranjit
Manila is a crowded city .. but that would definitely not surprise or shock sendhamil selvars like ourselves who have roamed through every nook and corner of madurai in search of the 'perfect barotta'! The weather is similar to madurai / madras ... hot and humid (not as hot as madras in may though). Most of the people speak english (most english literate country in asia) .. so communication is not a problem.
Makati city is the central, financial and commercial district of metro manila. It is in this urban jungle that most of us will be staying. There are loads of shopping malls and restaurants catering to all tastes. I know that food is the most important thing in the agenda .. so i ll concentrate on food now..
Filipino cuisine might be a bit daunting to the traditional indians (like amma, appa!) .. even for culinary daredevils like us it is quite a challenge. I have listed my favourites here .. Beef tapa (shredded beef + rice + bulls eye egg) is an excellent breakfast dish (yes .. breakfast). Bangus belly is another dish (bangus - a fish, basically a deep fried fish dish ) you can try. Chicken lovers (like me) would really love Chicken Bacolod (a local preparation of grilled chicken on a bamboo stick!) and Max fried chicken (both have retail outlets in Makati). Almost all dishes come with a serving of rice (try getting garlic rice instead of plain rice). Almost all outlets serve fresh iced tea as a healthier alternative to coke / pepsi. As for the desert you have to try halohalo (which is a bit like jigirdhanda from madurai) and buko pandaan special in max's restaurant (definitely jigirdhanda with ice cream!). There are several more dishes which i tasted like bicol express (no.. it is not a train! ), etc ... which are for the more adventurous! Another fun fact ... puttu in tamil is also puttu in filipino!!
Restaurants which i definitely recommend are ...
Kashmir - Amazing but damn expensive indian restaurant.
Jollibee - excellent food .. local chain like mcdonalds/kfc
Zbarro - great pizza
Dad's restaurant - Buffet lunch .. only if you are reallly hungry
Chicken Bacolod , Max's chicken - absolute must
If you are in Manila, Japanese food is worth a try as well. Some of you who know and have tried japanese food can skip this...
The restaurants i tried include RaiRaiKen (a chain) and sakae sushi (in mall of asia). Japanese food is reallly complicated so i have simplified it for my convenience.
Sushi - rice rolls containing fish
Sashimi - just fish
Ramen - noodles in soup
How to eat sushi?
Simple ... focus on the chopsticks, pick up the sushi, dip it in a mixture of soya sauce + wasabi (pungent green radioactive sludge), close your eyes, chew and swallow.
Its an amazing experience the first time around and then you will get hooked!
Enough of all this food talk ... its gotten me hungry now!
Catch you later with more..
Ranjit
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Alwar or apocalypto...
Hi all,
This saturday had a biiig dilemma. I had 3 movies to choose from in Ilford cineworld...
Pokkiri Vs Alwar Vs Apocalypto
Going on previous experience in a similar scenario .. i decided to go to apocalypto .. only time will tell if i made the right decision!
Apocalypto is the best mayan movie i have ever seen .. as a matter of fact .. it might be the only mayan movie i may ever see (unless mel gibson wants to film 'apocalypto 2 - The return of Jaguar paw') ... The movie is not for the squeamish .. but having played violent / ultraviolent video games before,and having watched japanese films like 'ichi the killer', the violence on screen didnt shock me that much. (ripping hearts, testicles out , etc). I am not going to bore you with much of the story...but i can tell you that it is a movie which made me realise how we humans take basic things for granted (water, food, health, staying alive, etc) .. when it was such a struggle for our ancestors.
This saturday had a biiig dilemma. I had 3 movies to choose from in Ilford cineworld...
Pokkiri Vs Alwar Vs Apocalypto
Going on previous experience in a similar scenario .. i decided to go to apocalypto .. only time will tell if i made the right decision!
Apocalypto is the best mayan movie i have ever seen .. as a matter of fact .. it might be the only mayan movie i may ever see (unless mel gibson wants to film 'apocalypto 2 - The return of Jaguar paw') ... The movie is not for the squeamish .. but having played violent / ultraviolent video games before,and having watched japanese films like 'ichi the killer', the violence on screen didnt shock me that much. (ripping hearts, testicles out , etc). I am not going to bore you with much of the story...but i can tell you that it is a movie which made me realise how we humans take basic things for granted (water, food, health, staying alive, etc) .. when it was such a struggle for our ancestors.
Friday, January 12, 2007
My first blog... Yippeeee!
Really excited writing my first blog! Better late than never (as arunan said..)
About the name ... masterchiefmams! I am sure the gamerz will recognize masterchief (Halo) as the best ever action hero to grace our screens ... incidentally my fave lead game character. and maams is the unfortunate nickname that has stuck on to me since my college days.
So this is gonna be the place where u ll read my raves and rants as life rolls on...
Bye for now
Feel free to leave ur feedback
Ranjit
About the name ... masterchiefmams! I am sure the gamerz will recognize masterchief (Halo) as the best ever action hero to grace our screens ... incidentally my fave lead game character. and maams is the unfortunate nickname that has stuck on to me since my college days.
So this is gonna be the place where u ll read my raves and rants as life rolls on...
Bye for now
Feel free to leave ur feedback
Ranjit
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