Il Pirata

It was Easter. And my cousin (who just finished his nursing degree) was in town. So we met up at SM Mega Mall's Toy Kingdom before heading to Eastwood City's Il Pirata.

I first went there last year a few weeks after it first opened. I got to meet the owner's son (i remember Diona and I talked about him a little). What is unique to this place is that it looks like you are inside a pirate ship. Some may not like the novelty of the idea since it serves Italian food (but who says there can't be any Italian pirate ships ;P) But I like the food.

While there, we saw Paolo Contis, Isabel Oli and Keempee De Leon in another table.

Anyway, my cousin who is a professional dubber, has added script writing/editing (he translates and edits scripts of television series) as part of his bread and butter. He was convincing me to edit scripts. But when I found out how much they get paid vs the time they spend to edit, I was appalled! I'd rather stick to print, thank you. We joked about the writers' strike in the states, that we should probably also do the same here. But then, we are not as organized here.

Oh. A bucket with pizza at Il Pirata is P270 (from what I can remember).

House Cocktails

I didn't go out this weekend except that I went to a friend's birthday last Friday and had a bottle of beer. Yes, I just had a bottle. I didn't even finish it.

Anyway, cleaned my bag and found this strip of paper (it's actually part of an envelope) that had the mixes of Hey Jude's house cocktails.

Pearl Harbor - vodka, melon liqueur and pineapple juice

Cape Cod - vodka and cranberry juice

Bay Breeze - vodka, pineapple juice and cranberry juice

Melon Ball - vodka, melon liquer, orange juice

Hey Jude

I saw this HUGE can of San Miguel Pale Pilsen beer at Plato Platina, Saturday Night. Here is a shot I took for scale. Beer is P350 for a bucket and they will be coming out with a 6+1 promo once the clock strikes 1 AM soon.



Probably the bar with the primest location on the white beach (D'Mall area) of Boracay. Cocktails and beer here are discounted during Happy Hour (3:30 pm to 7:30) so these glorious drinks (Cape Cod, pinkish glass and Pearl Harbor, greenish drink) are P90 less 50% each. So for the price of 2 cocktails, I got to try 4 drinks.

Anyway, I was sharing I have seen this guy from Benchwarmers. walking. Jon Heder. And it turns out, it was him!


It's the first time I noticed Kasbah (near Discovery Shores). Beer is P40 during happy hour and is best enjoyed with the sunset (although I didn't get to try. I just imagine it would be really great!)

Blue Butterfly & The Grill

DOMINIQUE GRILL is beside Blue Butterfly (SML P21). It's the first time I saw it so it must be fairly new because last December, I was just at Blue Butterfly with my gay and gay-friendly friends. I'd say the crowd here is like Popoy's Grill which is also nearby (along Tomas Morato). But I didn't get to go inside since I was with mostly gay friends who are really at home and "familiar" with Butterfly.

BLUE BUTTERFLY
28 Scout Tobias St., cor Timog Ave., QC; Tel no.(02) 416-1784 "Small cozy bar and art gallery; Accessible by cab and plenty of parking along side street and Timog Ave.; Crowd: straight-looking/acting gays" -- found this description in another website

SML (P150/5 bottles) as of last Friday/Saturday morning. This establishment has two floors. On the first, is a small space for dancing. The second floor can be rented with videoke. The waiters and bartenders here have been around since it opened.

Had a coke light. I arrived at around 30 past 11. I really didn't want to drink but then I eventually gave in to a glass of rhum coke light followed by coke light and a separate shot of rhum. I got to mix my drink :)

It was the first time I met Joey who was a magna cum laude Math major, gay and happy :)

He's doing his PhD now...anyway, I remembered he was telling us about a program with a set of indicators that he developed which measured an "employee's happiness." Apparently, using happiness instead of satisfaction is also an indicator that he's gay hahaha so cute.

Playa Calatagan

Last Saturday, I went to Bluewave Commercial Center ang got to watch two bands perform: Ministick and First Five and Half, I think. The latter's vocals are two bald guys who were kind of funny because they were straight (at least that was how they appear to be) yet were really game. Plus their repertoire included lots of 80s music. Ministick also was good.

So anyway, I went to Playa Calatagan, Batangas the next day. And as you can guess, I slept the entire trip. We had lunch at the Beach Club, the area that would be made exclusive for its homeowners. They serve beer here, P70 + 10% service charge and was playing chillout, beach music. For now, people can drive here and rent water cabanas (P300 small, P500 medium, P700 large) and just enjoy the facilities while the public facility which is called Beach Resort is under development. There are garden cabanas, too. Rates start at P500, i think. The rates are good for a half-day which means either opening to 1 pm or 1pm to 6pm (closing). Great for family outings because the water is really shallow so parents don't have to worry much. If you don't want to use the pool and/or would like to bring your own food and beverage, beer included, you can still access the beach at an area called The Picnic Area where there are several benches and tables. It's still free as of now. But of course, there will come a time when Landco will have to charge entrance.

El Capitan, Club Noah Isabelle

Found on Apulit Island, Palawan, Club Noah Isabelle is the only resort being served by a small airport. Seair is the only plane you can ride to get here. From the airport, you ride a chartered jeepney and then ride a small boat that brings you to a bigger boat that takes you to the island (this takes about 40 minutes). But if you didn't get any sleep, this is the perfect time to catch some Zzzs. If you don't need the power nap, stay on top of the boat and enjoy the cruise (but be prepared to get wet when the sea gets rough).



Left is a day shot of El Capitan at daybreak which I took before we left the island. At night, it looks like what you see on the right.





Beer is $1.50 which is not bad considering it is an island resort. Must-try is Club Noah Special (rhum-based with four seasons) $5 because it's only here one finds it (I guess you can always mix your own but unless you drink it here, it's not qualified as "Club Noah Special"). The margarita, I think costs $4.50.

At El Kapitan, there is a pool table, a dart board and a nearby tabletennis table. You can also jam with an acoustic and tambol duo whose songs are mostly classics.

Kafebaresto

Found along Kamuning. From EDSA, it's on your right. Wouldn't have had the chance to learn about this place had it not been for my cousin who also introduced the place to my brother. We went here early AM of Saturday. P30 SML.

Photographs on the wall. Digital art/short films are shown regularly as indicated on the schedules posted on the wall. Cozy place. Owned by celebrities Romnick Sarmenta and Harlene Baustista.