Aba! It's Ababu

Aba! It's Ababu
Teachers' Village, Quezon City

by Karen Diane Sta. Maria

Eating good, smelling bad. Eating in Ababu will test how much your better half loves you. If he or she kisses you after a meal of shawarma rice smothered in onion sauce, as the oil on your noise can be used to cook hotdogs, then it must be love.

The place, right in the middle of teacher's village in quezon city is a carinderia that serves persian-inspired cuisines. The tables, the chairs, the utensils, the ambiance, and the serbidoras depict your friendly neighborhood kanto resto. It's just three spoons more sosyal than the average carinderia for one, it has an above the roof signage and two, a menu typewritten on coupon bond and laminated to show customers.

The area is a tryst of carinderias turned restos serving "unique" food to cater to its market. In the vicinity of the Quezon City University Belt, Ababu, along with the other restos along the stretch have UPians, Ateneans, and yuppies and teenagers who live in the affluent side of QC as diners. So, expect your favorite rock band member or soap opera star to be dining next to you, breathing the same "persian air," and listening to the rambling of the tricycle cascading like ten meters from your seat, in your trip to Ababu.

The place is always packed, having only six to eight tables available. It has gained a lot of popularity among students, and former students of QC Ubelt, that the word about Ababu sort of spread like wildfire.

Unlike small thematic restos where the owners usually serve the food or manage the cash box, Ababu is filled with your usual poker-faced serbidora who finishes a segment of the Sharon Cuneta show before attending to your needs.

What About Ababu

So if the place isn't spectacular and the servers not very attentive, what's the selling point? The food? Maybe.

You know how conos want to pretend that they are jologs once in a while so to be classified cool right? This is the place to be. Though you got the pollution and carinderia look, you still have the security that the person next to you isn't gonna snatch your bag.

But the real deal why these long sleeved clad hunks keep coming back is the price. There are a lot of persian restos around -- the more people Mr. Kebab, for one -- but Ababu's menu is priced very cheap.

Students living on allowance can very well eat a hearty meal for 60 pesos, including drinks. If its really really crunch time, then maybe a seven peso pita bread and a persian-pate shared by three people, can only cost let's see.. 20 pesos. Not bad, especially if the girl beside you is the hot girl in your humanities class in college.

What to Order
It's a mortal sin for an Ababu first timer not to order Shawarma rice. This is basically the shawarma we all love, the beef, the onions, and the onion sauce, stripped off its pita bead. It is served with a really hot rice, cooked right in front of your eyes, plus a spoon of star margarine.

The result? Tastes like heaven, smells like hell. All for P50!

The keema (persian meatballs) are recommendable. While the motabal could taste better. You can also try their other pate that cost from 25 to 35 pesos only. Their pita, at P7 each, is really delicious too and cheap, as comapred to the usual P10 in other restos.

Ababu also boasts of their ox brain. If you are looking for a high-cholestoral diet, then this must be perfect for you. You can order their yoghurt drink to balance the meal.

Getting There

No need for a flying trapeze. The place is very very accessible. For those who know where UP Diliman is, then you must also where CP garcia is. Jus take that road, turn left on the street right after Krus na Ligas, turn right immediately, and then turn right again upon reaching the intersection.

From there, keep your eyes to the left and you'll see Ababu. It's pretty hard to miss as it has this yellow sign and people eating close to the street.

Discovering Galileo

Contact : 5344633

It’s time to shout Eureka. Right on one of the tricycle-laden and polluted side streets is one of Mandaluyong’s best kept secrets waiting to be discovered: the Galileo Enoteca Deli.

It is a drunkards’ heaven. Wines of all kinds are lined up—from big to small, red, green, and clear—that the bottles serve as the place’s main décor. The adobe finishing, the dim yellow lights, the uniformed waiters, and deli right at the entrance could immediately transport anyone to La Italia.

A real wine connoisseur could find solace here having the widest selection of the finest authentic Italian wines. It’s one of those corner restos in Europe where drinking at any time of the day is well, like the most natural thing to do. The adobe’s wonders and the lighting must have done its purpose that though it’s 37 degrees outside, drinking on a mid hot day in Mandaluyong is not such a crazy thing to do.

There might be sporadic fits of matapobre oldies picking up their pre-ordered wines or cold cuts, to distract the serenity of the place. But other than that, Galileo, as what it is more popularly known is generally peaceful, classy, and quiet. Primarily packed with matrona-like oldies and middle aged first timers in the afternoon, and smooching couples at night is a good place for someone who would want to go on a hiatus from the usual cellar bars around filled by seventh graders pretending to be college kids, learning to drink or high-strung celebrities who act like kids.

Nobody would think that the stretch of Calbayog in Mandaluyong would house such a quaint and charming fine dining restaurant. Politicians and celebrities who want to get drunk or date their mistresses or probably their girlfriends whom they deny on the Buzz are said to frequent this place.

The Look of Love
Romance is in the air. You want to propose or you want to finally get on bed with the hottie or probably impress your mother-in-law hilaw? This is the perfect place.

Right at the moment you stepp on Galileo's stone tiles, a certain feeling electrifies you. It’s enchanting; probably the same feeling when someone sets foot on Paris. Nothing grandiose, but the manner that everything was put together is magic.

There are cans of tomato paste on one side, then boxes of pasta on another wall; then there’s the maze of wines on all the other walls, and a selection of cheese, and cold cuts. To think about it, the place is a huge wine cellar slash pantry strewn with wooden furniture to pass as a restaurant.

The result is not bad. Not at all. It maybe the wine mixed with the aroma of pasta, or the weird way of giving you that feel like you are in one of Regine Velasquez’ movies, but the place just gets you intoxicated. Whatever illusion it is, it must be working well.


Wine and Dine
It’s cheap. A 400-peso set meal is made of loads of bread, soup, three types of Italian pate, cold cuts, and cheeses that would send Remi of Ratatouille on a cartwheel. The main dish can either be vegetable, fish, or chicken based, depending on one’s fancy. A glass of wine comes with the meal, and one can choose from among dry red, chilled white, dolci frizzante, and spumanti. Coffee or tea is served after.

For first timers, the best thing to do is to go with the meals. Since the menu is written in Italian it’s hard to decipher which one goes well with the other. Or let alone to know which is which. And since eating Italian is a style, it’s advisable to try on their suggested sets. Try to be more experimenting the next time to make the best of this experience.

The eggplant parmigiana and chicken set though is not highly recommended. The parmigiana is nakakaumay while Max’s fried chicken is far much sumptuous than this one.

So the next question would be, what wine do I order? Girls are advised to go for the dolci frizzante. It’s a really sweet Novellino-like wine. In fact, dolci is even sweeter than Novellino that it feels just like a better-tasting grape juice, plus the alcohol kick. This is the safest bet, especially for non-alcohol drinkers as this is to be drank over easy conversation.

Guys usually go for the spumanti. Aside from being the popular choice, it is the most expensive among the four mentioned. There is an additional of P30 when spumanti is order along with the set meal. So for those who really want to impress, this is the best choice.

The Italian coffee served after the meal has that distinct flavor. Nearest taste is the barako brew, just two levels stronger. Maybe the thicker the accent, the spunkier the coffee? Lame.

Love it. Hate it.
Do you know how toy collectors go crazy about hard-to-find original transformers robot? This is the feeling The unexpected location is actually part of its charm. It makes a food adventurer feel that Galileo is one great food discovery.

Say it is in Greenbelt 3, beside Bubba Gump. No “dating,” right? Placing it in a street called Calbayog, though it sounds so un-Italian, makes Galileo more exciting.

Fast food lovers, stay away from here. You might think that a kilo of cheese for 190 is too much, while you can buy six boxes of cheddar for the same price. But really, the cheese tastes different; the flavor explodes.

Prepare six hundred pesos per head for a Galileo discovery. But this is sulit for the good food, the experience, and the great service.

Getting There
Parking is the biggest hassle. For freaks, fine, don’t bring your car. But good luck to you. As you wine and dine with the biggest haired matronas you’ll smell like sweat as you just unboard your hired tricycle. But really, though Galileo has only three real parking slots available, Calabayog is a nice friendly residential street. On a scale of one to ten, ten the highest, the probability of having your car stolen is five. But please don’t expect it to be Legaspi or Bel-Air Village like.

Along EDSA-southbound, just past the Shaw MRT station, is a low-end hotel called Richville. A hundred meters from the hotel, is a Mercury Drugstore. Enter the street before Mercury, then turn on the second street on the right. Just go straight. Galileo is on the right side of the street.

If you get lost, you can easily ask directions how to go to Reyes Gym as the resto occupies the same building as the gym.

Quarter Lifing

This is all about Veronika Decides to Die, which i think is one of the best fictions of all time.

A trash can on my right, a tape dispenser on my left and a stack of CDs and files underneath. Six years ago, I thought I’d be occupying the office with the view at this stage in my life, or to be a nocturnal navigator that dines and wines with the who’s whos of the literary circle. My life was supposed to be full of vigor, dynamism, color. Zooming in on my life now, I see it just as an old film clip: a remembrance of good things in the past. Worse, my life is a rustic film in sepia.

Like an act on a play, this is supposedly the point in my life where climax is most welcome; the part where life-changing decisions are made; where Legally Blonde moments come to life. But, no. After the rising action, there was abrupt denoument.

Three years ago I read this book called Veronika decides to die. And I recommend these to all “lost souls out there.” Veronika, supposedly has everything in the world (steady job, steady boyfriend, sane relatives) decided to die because of this, you know. "This,” meaning quarter-lifing distress.

Not that I am conceding with suicide but hey, quarter-lifing does happen. “Lifing” does not just happen when your 40 and you get bulges all over your mid section; it also happens when you are at the peak of your beauty, with flat tummy, and gravity is still on your side, yet you feel that the world is conspiring against you so the things you have imagined yourself to be just won’t come true. Let’s say, after four or for some, five long years in a 50,000 per sem college, you get a starting pay of 10,000 a month. Bummer right?

The book’s heroine Veronika “decided to die,” at 24 to do a graceful French exit on her life’s boring drama. But when she decided to end her life, in effect, she started really living. When she woke up in an insane asylum, labeled as a creep, relegated to the lower crust of society, consigned to the four walls of what others call as a hub for those with a few screws loose, Veronika discovers herself and finds the beauty of living without pretensions that humans unconsciously adapt.

At the time when she felt that there was a hole in the bossom of her existence, the help of a “fellow creep,” not her sane family , loving boyfriends, and doctors, helped her fill it in. She discovered the security in unsafe decisions and unsafe love.

Veronika found strength when she acknowledged weakness.

Writing fiction for a living despite not getting enough pay tops my list of weaknesses. Long-haired bad boys who speak some European language, cripples my steady heart. Lots of sleep, chocolate, alcohol, and strongly-brewed coffee occupy my “top weaknesses list.” They render me powerless, they disrupt my direction, and drive me insane.

I am still processing that I one of this days I will finally have the courage let entertain my weaknesses and to succumb their powers. To allow those screws loose popping out of my head.

Some would say that I jumped on a bed of coals with the decision I made in quarter-life, when I was 25, with much narrow hips. But I’d proud to tell my kids (if I’ll ever have any) when I’m mid-lifing, and drinking organic juices, that my suicide was my ticket for a ride to a great life.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for. She is young and pretty, has plenty of attractive boyfriends, goes dancing, has a steady job, a loving family. Yet Veronika is not happy; something is lacking in her life. On the morning of November 11th, 1997, she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in Villette, the local hospital. There she is told that although she is alive now her heart is damaged and she has only a few days to live.
This story follows Veronika through these intense days as, to her surprise, she finds herself drawn into the enclosed world of Villette. She begins to notice more, to become interested in the other patients. She starts to see her past relationships much more clearly and understand why she felt her life had no meaning.
In this heightened state, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before: hatred, fear, curiosity, love - even sexual awakening. Against all odds, she finds she is falling in love and wanting, if at all possible, to live again. Veronika's experiences lead her gradually to realise that every second of existence is a choice that we all make between living and dying. This is a moving and uplifting song to life, one that reminds us that every moment in our lives is special and precious.
Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil and has become one of the most widely read authors in the world today. Renowned for his best-loved work The Alchemist, he has sold over 20 million books worldwide and has been translated into 42 languages. The recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, Paulo Coehlo is a storyteller with the power to inspire nations and to change people's lives.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

Veronika Decides to Die has recently been adapted into a screenplay with Muse Productions set to begin shooting in August of 2007 in either Slovenia or Hungary. EmilyYoung is tentatively secured to direct, and the part of Veronika has yet to be settled upon, though Jessica Alba, a fan of the novel, has expressed interest in the role.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronika_Decides_to_Die"

Ang Café ni Juanita

Cafe Juanita, Barangay West Kapitolyo, Pasig City, 632-0357

photo grabbed from bogchipinoy's blog

Our ancestral house in Taal, Batangas is always filled with rich aroma of barako brew whenever our family visits. Inang makes it a point that tapang batangas, kapeng barako, and fried rice cooked in tapa oil (yummy) are ready to greet us and make us feel that distinct lure of my lola’s house.

The capiz windows, the mismatched photo frames, and embroidered curtains: we can probably publish an architectural book listing how the clutter and the over-decorations, of our beloved lola’s homes, very well defies design rules. But who cares? Those designs in architectural digests are meant for photo shoots or for people who lives in their corner offices. Lola’s home is meant to be lived in, and to create a perfect concoction of rainy day meriendas and fiesta lunches that completes a Filipino’s childhood memory.

My lola died ten years ago, along with all the genuine lola stuff—ancient chandeliers, biskwit cans that doubled as rice storage, and wood stock used for cooking—replaced with my cousin’s videoke machine and cocktail bar, especially requested by her seaman husband. The house, with the same capiz windows and wooden stairs had lost that loving lola charm.

Last Saturday, along with two other food snoops, I had a chance to reminisce those yellow lighted, white table top dinners in grandma’s house at Café Juanita. The entrance was quite small, that we were shocked to see that this café is actually a 15 table or so dining tryst of families and yuppies.

It was hard to believe that the place was packed. Priding ourselves to be good food hunters, our ego was badly hurt that Juanita is quite popular already and it was not such a discovery of a lifetime. I mean we usually have the scoop but not this time, I’d say. Located in a residential cum commercial area of West Kapitolyo, Pasig City, (a few minutes drive from the motel row, now I know you know where it is), it is quite a wonder to think that oldies—and I mean mestiza looking mommies and baston-walking daddies—know where it is.

Of course, we didn’t have a reservation. I was actually thinking that this Juanita goes in the ranks of now defunct Gayuma in Katipunan, thus I never bothered to call them up and ask if I have to reserve. You know, I don’t wanna be OA. But alas, when we got there, juanita’s son (or so I believe, hehe) immediately asked us if we do have reservations. Since we didn’t, we were thrown at the second floor of the resto, which was a less decorated area of the café.

We were quite underdressed, I’d say. The ladies were fully made up and the men had collared shirts on. Notorious for being overdressed, I’d say my red skirt and safari shoes just fit right in. I must have really underestimated the place.

At a glance, the place was, how could I say this? Uber-ly cluttered. Lighted old church-like chandeliers are hanging every two feet; candelabras are scattered all around; old mirrors staring back at you; and any possible house pieces are hanged, scattered, or displayed all around the place. As I say, it easily resembles a pack rat lola’s house whose kids had also used her house a bodega of all the old stuff they want to remove from their newly-renovated minimalist home. Everything has tag prices, some are written by black markers on pieces of not so carefully torn papers. So I presumed, everything around was on sale.

The seats were narra, and we even joked each other that we didn’t expect to be seated on a long table, Last Supper style. Upon sitting, the jologs that we are, candidly examined the white table crocheted linen, played with our heavy utensils, and had individual trip to the comfort room which we all described as “parang bahay,” including the sound of the flush.

A waiter dressed in white, with black bow tie. I thought the uniform was a bit too superficial as Juanita is really just a converted apartment in Kapitolyo. He gave us a menu, which I’d say is quite a selection ranging from Filipino, Medditerranean, to Chinese.

We opted for the kare-kare, which they say is the best seller, the tom yum goong soup, which was featured on Pia Guanio’s Ang Pinaka show, and the Laguna fish a.k.a. tilapia with guacamole, as I am still this trying hard semi-vegan, and two cups of rice, for the two ladies, as apparently, the guy we were with is in this some kind of diet of not eating rice. For a few minutes we argued how many servings of tom yum are we gonna order, or how spicy should it be. As the perfect mediator, the waiter told us that we need not worry as they will let us taste the soup first to determine if they got how spicy we want it.

The tom yum came in first. It was heavenly. It was the perfect mix of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy. Though we only had one order, it was split into two as per our instructions, which we thought was just right for us three since I wasn’t a big fan of shrimp-based food.

The main dishes were prepared in ten minutes or so. It was quite fast for that kind of meals. The kare-kare was really really sumptuous. And in fairness, it had more meat than vegetables, which is different from other restos. The sauce was really thick and in fact, can serve as ulam as it is. The pechay was twisted and the puso ng saging tasted liked meat.

The laguna fish was so-so, but interestingly presented. One of my companions said that “pag sosyalin ang isda, dapat pala nakalabas ang tinik,” the other noticed, “dapat talagang patayuin ang isda, ah.” But the only thing I noticed being a tilapia lover is that the fish was quite thin. But you can eat everything, including the tinik and the head as it is cooked crunchy.

The biggest shocker of all was their rice. We ordered for two, as I said, but it seemed just good for one. Again we joked that the rich don’t eat much rice, or probably they used some other kind expensive rice and it would expand only after swallowing it.

But no, the rice wasn’t enough that we ordered for two more orders, which we thought was just enough for us. So all in all, two ladies had four cups of rice. Just figure out how small their portions are. The other meals, as the waiter have warned, are too much for one but not enough for two. So it’s for a 1.5 person; broken sizes, as my companion said.

The food didn’t have that distinct out of this world taste like let’s say, Pho Hoa or Aristocrat. But that makes it really delicious, it’s like your very own lutong bahay just cooked well. May I correct myself: very, very, very well. It’s like dining at your ancestral home, minus your tita’s story about her son’s sky-rocketing salary, your cousin’s two-year old who doesn’t want to stop crying, or your grandma’s scolding. I know you know what I mean.

Food is relatively inexpensive but the portions are not hefty. So in effect, it seemed pricey. But the place and the ambience really compensated it all. It’s one of those quaint restos—those dining secrets—that you’d love to talk about to friends but stops yourself to do, so it remains exclusive. If you’re a guy, you might want to bring the girl your courting just to impress her. Or if it’s your birthday and you wanna make your in-laws happy, then this might be the perfect place to treat them.

Getting there
Parking is quite a commodity. So if you’re one of those car freaks who don’t want to park in the middle of the street, I suggest you just park in Shangri-la mall and get a cab from there. It would roughly be a 50-60 peso taxi fare from there. Just tell the cab driver to bring you to West Kapitolyo and always be in the look out to the left side if you’re coming from Kapitolyo. But if some stupidity (hehe) you don’t see it, then you can easily ask a tricycle driver about the place.

But if you don’t really care then it wouldn’t be too hard to look for it. Take shaw boulevard from Shangri-la going to Kapitolyo. Upon arriving at the rotunda, you’ll see a street between Petron and Mercury Drugstore. Enter that street. Go straight and turn on the first street on the left.