HHWWPSSP and Johnny Rockets

Hubby and I were on our way to a training when we realized that today is date night and that we cannot have it because of a very important meeting that we have to go to in the evening. So, being committed to our weekly habit, we decided to just have a lunch date since it was still early and the training starts after lunch break anyway.

So we decided to head to the new Eastwood Mall in Eastwood City. Well, its not exactly new but it was new to us since it was our 1st time there.

Holding each other’s hands (pa-sway sway pa..hehehe), we went around the mall and scanned for anything interesting that would interest us. Hubby and I love strolling around malls, supermarkets and bookstores and just strolling and looking for anything interesting.

We can just imagine how much we missed out on dating and just being with each other when we were not yet married. When we got together, hubby flew immediately to Africa for a mission and I was left in the Philippines. When he came back after a year, we got married after a month and then I got pregnant after 2 months. You see, everything happened so fast. From courtship, to engagement,  to marriage,  to pregnancy to present time with 3 children. I guess that’s one of the reasons why we are so committed to our weekly date nights, we are compensating for lost time and dates that didn’t happen when we were officially a couple but are far away from each other.

We also realized that our mission trips as a couple (without our 3 angels) are also God’s gift to us. No matter how difficult it is to leave them behind for us to work/go on mission for a few weeks/months is God’s blessing for us as these trips are our alone time as a couple.

As we walked around Eastwood Mall, we were surprised to see “Johnny Rockets”, a diner that we wanted to go to when we were in the United States but for some reason, didn’t happen. We were happy and excited that it's finally here in Manila.

Johnny Rockets boasts of genuine American comfort food and ambiance. It's the type of diner that we see in Archie comics that serves burger, fries and milkshakes. We excitedly ordered Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich with fries on the side. Good thing that we decided to share our sandwich ‘coz it was huge and the fries was bottomless. The bread used was dry like old bread and crumbles easily when eaten. The shredded beef used was also dry and the caramelized onion was too much. The sandwich didn’t quite qualify with the criteria of being an American comfort food.

The strawberry milkshake was very nice though, it was creamy, with real strawberry taste and refreshing. The drinks from the fountain (sodas) were served bottomless as well. Meals at Johnny Rockets were priced quite on the high side but since they serve it in huge portions, customers can share meals and split the bill.

I can say that there are better sandwiches out there but the details and the efforts from Johnny Rockets and its staff made the diner interesting enough to go to and try. Each table/booth has a little jukebox where you can request a song for a peso (piso). Songs were from the 50’s and 60’s and it complimented well with the American diner ambiance. The staff also performs a very energetic dance number every 30 minutes which is quite entertaining (although honestly, I think they should practice more.

We left Eastwood Mall in high spirits, entertained, amused, with hands clasped together, of course…pa-sway-sway pa!

Crisostomo

Living in Los Banos and working in Manila did not stop hubby and me from having our regular date nights. For us, its our alone time and the special time that we have to just be together and do what we love to do best…and that is to eat! Hehehe

For tonight’s datenight, we decided to go to Nuvali in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Traffic has been bad the past days due to another construction going on at the Alabang Flyover. So we decided to skip the traffic (we left early from work) and headed to Nuvali in order to keep away from the traffic in Sucat-Bicutan-Alabang stretch.

This time, we tried out Crisostomo, as their slogan says, the restaurant offers “turn of the century Filipino cuisine”. In short, Filipino dishes with a twist.

We ordered Bravo Balut for appetizer, and this one we didn’t like at all. Both hubby and I are fond of this uniquely Filipino delicacy but this dish messed up the nice balut flavor with its “menudo-like”, tomato based sauce. Nothing beats the old school balut taste from the oldschool balut vendor in the streets.

For the main meal we ordered Don Juan (grilled liempo) and Cervantes (pancit bihon with pork leg and quail eggs). The Liempo was good enough, regular, nothing grand. It tasted like any other liempo that you can find in any Filipino restaurant. The pancit however, lacked flavor and had very few ingredients. The pork leg and quail eggs can be hardly identified amidst the noodles/bihon.

We think that Crisostomo in Nuvali failed miserably in execution of their so called “turn of the century Filipino Cuisine”. Maybe, they should have just served “regular Filipino cuisine”.

The ambience however was okay, its as if you are inside a haciendero’s house eating with the don and dona.Their idea of putting names such as Don Juan, Bravo Balut and Cervantes in their menus was an interesting concept but then again, the quality of the food should be the priority of every food enterprise and Crisostomo failed to reach that expectation.

We didn’t bother to order dessert as we have been disappointed with the meals that we had so we got the bill and headed off to Starbucks for a quick fix of our favorite coffee and tea concoction. (As usual, to compensate for the blah meal! Hahaha).

Heading home, we noticed that in the main highway towards Los Banos, most of the election posters and paraphernalia has been removed. We remembered quite clearly that early on in the  morning as we went to office that there were still a lot of these posters. Now, everything is gone. Like as if, there is no trace of election. And for this, we honor the local governance of Los Banos for practicing political will and following the regulations given by the Comelec. Mabuhay ang LB!

Hubby and I have been following the local and national politics and the elections as of late. We realized that we as a nation really have to think hard and pray hard on who to vote for. Our conversations the whole time were about the candidates---those who looked like trapos (traditional politician) and those who seemed to be sincere, the qualities that we should look for in our candidates and whether there is still a chance for our country to recover from all the political mess that it has experienced over the years.

We can’t help but think of how the elections of May 2010 will affect our way of life and our kids’ future. As parents, we can’t help but pray and hope that the results of the elections would be for the good of the country and of course for the benefit of our children.