The bright light of day takes the fearsomeness out of
this Monster Mash. It make one see and appreciate
better the lengths taken to create this incredible display!
He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash
Bobby "Boris" Pickett

There's a house in the neighborhood that's been famous
for years for the extravagant and "istrambotika" displays
of Christmas lights and props and set-ups. The owners
have been known to be "anti-Halloween" so it surprised
me to find this — Halloween AND Christmas in an odd
schizophrenic design-meld!!!

I didn't get it right away... and then I remembered that
the modern slang for "hungry" is Tom Jones, which
is derived from "gutom" (meaning hunger or hungry,
depending on the accent) said backwards. And that
was exactly how I was feeling at that moment.


P.S. in the background, dark smoke of big fire at the
"Agham" area all the way in Diliman.

I read somewhere of "bean curd" being described
as the cheese of the Chinese. If so, then this dish
called "Pipa Bean Curd" is a delicious embodiment
of the description because it has the silky taste and
rich texture of premium mozzarella in an unusual
sweet-sour-spicy sauce.

Meetings in Manila, no matter how business-like,
are usually accompanied by good food — like this
fresh lapu-lapu (English name : grouper) steamed
to perfection at Causeway resto in Banawe, Quezon
City. I guess we believe that happy tummies equal
happy minds equal harmonious meeting. ;-)

White chocolate & marshmallow mousse, topped with
a nest of finely spun sugar, plus pistachio-encrusted
biscotti, complemented with Moet et Chandon (Brut
Impérial) champagne.

The tenderest baked scallops and garoupa on a bed
of seafood risotto — a magnificent fusion of Italian
and Chinese cuisines — topped with crunchy pancit
noodles, plus braised pok choy! Scrumptioussss!!!

I am so glad my friend brought me along to this dinner!
I didn't care if I was unluxuriously dressed compared to
the bejewelled haute-couture-attired guests because the
food and wines were all divine! And, best of all, free!!!

The Private Bank group of HSBC (that's Hong Kong & Shanghai
Bank) hosted an evening for the crème de la crème from their
roster of clients. The event concept was called Mystique — I'm
not exactly sure why because I didn't listen to the speeches;
I was too busy being overwhelmed by the DELUXEness of the
food, wines, and the props (like the beautiful silk seat covers
which I assume were flown in from Hong Kong just for the
occasion) and the intimidatingly wealthy attendees. I just
happily tagged along to accompany a friend who was invited.