Sunday, February 12, 2012

Film Fest Closes Sinulog 2012


Sinulog’s month long festivity closes with a delicious spectacle that is Sinulog Short and Documentary Film Festival.  This accolade, I must say, does not apply to last year’s where the entries were quite so-so, current entries I have yet to see as they were not included in the screening, and the previous years’ entries I have not witnessed. Yes, this year’s entries included in the public screening are nothing short of being superb and excellent as they showcased what Cebuano film makers have gained from the proliferation of film schools in the region (e.g. The International Academy of Film and Television in Mactan, University of San Carlos’ BFA Cinema Program), a bevy of local indie film showings (almost monthly!) and not to mention the inspiration gained from Cebuano filmmakers winning awards and honors here and abroad led by Remton Siega Zuasolam. 

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Sinulog Is having More Fun In The Philippines

The month of Sinulog descends upon Cebu and the Philippines is more fun than ever!


















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Sunday, January 8, 2012

Sinulog 2012 Schedule of Activities





(Fuente Osmena, January 2-31, 2012)

Dec 01 – Jan 31, 2012
Sinulog Street Fair, Osmeña Blvd.
December 11, 2011
2nd Sinulog Cup Baseball Tournament c/o Cebu City Sports Commission
December 12, 2011
Sinulog on the Spot Painting Contest @ Fort San Pedro
December 16, 2011
Launching and Sinulog Photo Exhibits @SM City
December 17, 2011
Sinulog Poster Making Contest @ Emall
December 30, 2011
Sinulog 2012 Fun Run
December 30, 2011
Sinulog Best Dance Crew Elimination
December 30, 2011
Sinulog Musicfest Elimination

Monday, November 21, 2011

When It Rains... It's Oysters!


This happened two months ago... two days from now. But I’ve just gotta post something mouthwatering as I recuperate from a stubborn bowel condition. What bowel condition, let’s not ruin your lunch.

One of the many perks I’m so enjoying in moving to Cebu is the cheap food. So cheap one can have buffet every week, as many times as you can in each week. And what better way to celebrate such privilege but by gulping down some of the pricy fares in Manila. Oysters!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Misbehaving in Cebu Taoist Temple

Another place worth conquering in Cebu is the Taoist Temple. It has enough respite to magnify the sound of a dropping pin. Throw in some harmony of colors, revered oriental architectural classicism, ornate murals, immovable Taoist figures, magnificent sculptures... I’m running out of adjectives... and spectacular view of the Queen City of the South (now there’s the cliche)...


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Thursday, September 1, 2011

Cebu and Indie Film


Some of the many luck I earned in Cebu is having a cake and eat it, too. More specifically, watch a movie and eat in it too. That’s pleasure after pleasure.

Ok, so I’m being base. This is suppose to be a review on Brillante Mindoza’s film Lola, yet I opened up with food. Sorry, I can’t help it...

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

To Pungko or Not to Pungko

What's the word? Famished.

Yes, it's that human condition where one could say "I could eat a cow!" In my case, if I could grab one, I'd kill it in one sweeping decapitation, quarter the carcass with my bear hands, and smear my face with blood and gore at every bite on bovine flesh.  I was in this barbaric state when, thankfully, Cebu City's idiosyncrasy came to the rescue. Not my rescue, mind you, but every living creature's within two feet radius.

This happened a month ago and I was with a friend when I was figuring out where and which of Cebu's food venues I was to stage my metaphysical resolve to give in to my animal cravings.  My friend suggested we head to Ayala Center as we were just around the corner. I violently refused as I was all-out vandal with my unabashed table manners. The friend, noticeably worried that I was about to gobble him up, was quick to suggest a wonderland for my fantasies.

Thus, went the following conversation...

Me:  So saan? Saan ako magpapakawala ng naghihimagsik na gutom? (So, where? Where shall I let my raging hunger run amok?)

Him: Kumakain ka ba sa carinderia? (Do you eat at food stalls?)

Me: Oo naman. Minsan akong naging mahirap... hanggang ngayon. Pero carinderia? Daming carinderia. Gusto ko maiba. (Of course. I was once in penury... now in relative poverty only. But there's always a food stall anywhere. I want some place with a twist.)

Him: Mabuti. Meron akong alam kung saan ang mga pagkain lahat nasa lamesa. Kainin mo lahat ng gusto mo. Sobrang mura. (Great! There's this place where everything once alive is laid out on the table. Just pick anything. Cheap thrills.)

Me:  Pwede ang bastusang kain? Pwede ako magkalat? Pwede ko bang ipakita ang natatago kong talento sa pagnguya at pagsalita nang sabay? Pwede ako manigarilyo? (Can I eat obscenely? Can I drop my trash anywhere? Can I show off my talent in chewing and chanting the Bhagavad Gita all at the same time? Can I smoke?)

Him:  Lahat! Mas maganda pa nga bayaran mo lang kinain mo pag puno na tiyan mo. Sabihin mo lang sa tindera. (All of the above checked! Better yet, you only pay for the ones you ate until your stomach is about to burst. Just tell the caterer. Smoking is the last of your unhealthy concerns.)

Me: Ha? Pano nya malaman kung ilan nga kinain ko? (Really? How would she determine I'm giving the correct number of items I ate?)

Him: Honesty system. (Your guess is as good as hers.)

Me:  Anong pangalan ng lugar? Sabik na ko. (Identify the prey. I am out for the kill.)

Him: Pungko-pungko. (No English equivalence. Sit-sit?)

SFX: Crescendo from Handel's The Messiah rendered by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus in an impossible concert with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

According to Friend, there's a proliferation of such places across Cebu. We headed to the one beside JY Square in Lahug. There nestled in one corner is a dirt-floor eatery with tents and tables laden with everything delectable. Water containers, cooking arrays, and tools of the trade strewn everywhere.  They serve as fascinating pieces of decors. This place is not for the faint-hearted (read faint-stomached). In segue, a place for adventure but reservations on fear of gastric infection as precaution, otherwise, Diatabs and Lomotil may not be enough to fix a raging vowel.  But for a cheap thrill, this is what I was talking about!

There's puso (quintessential Cebu rice in coconut fronds) for three pesos, bulad (dried fish) for eight pesos, and ngohiong (Chinese style lumpia)/chorizo/fried egg for five pesos each. Now, the piece de resistance of this meal of an adventure is ginubot (chicharon bulaklak, crispy intestine) for ten pesos.

Pardon me hyperventilating, but ten pesos?! Ten pesos!  Correct me if I'm wrong but a serving of chicharon bulaklak in Manila can be had at an average price of Php200.00++!

This was a months ago and I did not have my ever-reliable documenter, Casio Exilim I lovingly call D'Bull's Eye because I'm the Bully, right?  So last Sunday I went back with two other friends, Brylle and Aika, who were equally excited to grab a feast of everything fried, therefore high-fat, and low-cost. (supply Carl Orff's Carmina Burana here)

So here are some visual documentations. This entry makes me hungry. Famished.  Not to mention that I am in the throws of dementia trying to configure the algebra involved in a ten-pesos chicharon bulaklak.

Grab a tissue!

Pork chop or chicharon bulaklak? Choose the greater evil. It's worth it.


This ten-pesos chicharon bulaklak should be declared the 8th wonder of the world.

Look, Ma, everything's within reach! Especially the price!

Eating at pungko-pungko is the practical application of  Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

For all three of us, the bill came to an unbelievable Php174.00. Don't ask me. Your guess is as good as mine.

Choose your poison.

Another marvel of pungko-pungko is how it brings everyone into a harmonious community. There should be a lot of this all over the world to promote world peace.

By the way, I heard JY Square hides another food destination to goggle over. All-you-can-eat dimsum  for less than Php200.00.  But that would be another story.