Danne: The Artsy Kid

Just as mentioned, it would be nice to have a proper introduction so, hello! I’m Danne Lim (pronounced as Dane), a new blogger here in Manila Foodistas. The founders (Bong, Joey and everyone else) were my org-mates back in college, and so were Thea and Tiff. Blogging isn’t new to me since I’ve kept a personal blog since I was 14, but the challenge really was to update as often without getting caught up with life outside the virtual world. So yeah, I’m on for the challenge! I now join the bandwagon and begin to share with you some thoughts about my dining experiences from here on!

I just graduated from UP this October with a degree in psychology, which makes me currently be in a transitional phase between college and real life. I am also graphic artist so I tend to be more artistically-inclined. In relation to food, I think I am able to appreciate scrumptious and appetizing presentation besides taste.

When we begin to talk about food, you could probably hear me inject the word “potato” into the conversation several times. That’s because I really love that special root crop! I like it in all forms, whether as baked potato, potato salad, French fries, mashed potatoes or hash brown. I’m sure several of you could relate to this. There are just certain kinds of food that are versatile and easy to love!

I lived in Japan for quite some time so I also have a certain fondness for Japanese food. My favorite would be the unglamorous yet convenient onigiri (お握り), which are usually triangular rice balls. I could also appreciate authentic ramen and delicious gyudon too.

And of course who would not appreciate fried food? It’s one of those more common kinds of cooking here in the Philippines. I like crunchy, deep fried food but I realized its health repercussions so I became a little conscious eating them. I was a junk food lover, and I especially loved chips that had lots of salt. But then recently, I have been influenced to stop eating chips. I have been junk food sober for months now, and I couldn’t be happier.

I’m excited that this is just the beginning of a fun-filled food journey with the Manila Foodistas! See you in the next blog!

Danne

Nicole: The New Kid in the Blogging World

Nicole: The New Kid in the Blogging World

Hello citizens of the world wide web! This introduction of mine is a bit late but just like all newcomers, I gotta present myself. :D

I'm Nicole, one of the new foodistas here in MF. I'm a fresh grad from the University of the Philippines and just like Therese, I'm a Spanish major too (we're batchmates actually).

I'm a frustrated pianist and things that I like are stuff that a lot of people may find unamusing - case in point: classical music. I like old stuff and when I say old, it's really old ha ha! History gets me high as a kite! I adore my mother's cooking and ever since I got to know how to eat healthy, I've become a health psycho. Though I'd be a hypocrite if I say that I don't eat junk food because I still do (I do have cheat days too). I don't like a lot of sugar in my food or drink hence I am not into desserts but I just can't resist cheesecake! When it comes to cuisines, I like anything Asian, preferably raw - kimchi, kinilaw - and lots of vegetables!

I was not born a writer and never did I imagine, even in my wildest dreams, that I would be one. But here I am, now a part of the Manila Foodistas and typing things which I believe worth sharing. Really thanks to Tiffy for that! :)

Therese in Taiwan: The Writer 自我介紹

Picture taken last July 2011 at Borough, Podium

My name is Therese. I graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman last April 2011. After graduation, I was fortunate enough to get a summer scholarship to Spain, and then a 3-year scholarship to Taiwan. I'll be taking Mandarin enrichment classes during my 1st year here, followed by a 2-year masters program in International Affairs.

I can't say that I write flawlessly/interestingly, but I do like to write/keep a blog. I also like to eat, to take pictures (albeit amateurishly), and to travel. Being a "Manila Foodista" would probably be a misnomer, seeing as how I'm not even going to be in Manila for the most part of the next 3 years. But I do think that knowing where to go, what to do, and what to eat in other countries can also be helpful.

Join me as I take pictures and write about my Taiwan (and probably even other countries, wink wink) adventures!

Random Announcements: The joys of college life and graduate programs

Random Announcements
Word vomit from Tiffy

As you have noticed, from eight original foodistas, we dwindled down to two. And since Brian Ong has his own blog and cross-posting his food-related posts here is not an option, I am the only one left.

We have four manilafoodistas in med school right now, a manilafoodista working for the Department of Tourism, one who works for the Confucius Institute, and two who just graduated (one being myself). Mark Wu still blogs!

I am currently enrolled at the University of the Philippines taking up my MS Environmental Science under the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM). Earlier this year, I was very fortunate to have been awarded as one of three Panasonic scholars for 2012. As such, I will be studying in Japan for three years: one year as a research student, and two as a graduate student. It's a bit of a complicated process but if you'd like to know more about how graduate programs operate, the website Online Graduate Programs does a pretty decent job of explaining all the challenges involved. For my part, I enrolled in UP as a preparation for my studies in Japan next year. 

This is largely the reason why I've been so busy--I'm taking up 12 units of graduate classes so I haven't really had time to go out much. 

So now my question to you, the readers of this blog, is this: What should I do with this blog?

I will be leaving for Japan next year March. If I continue blogging here, calling myself a manilafoodista will be a misnomer. 

One of my friends suggested that I turn this blog into a travel/food/lifestyle blog for my stay in Japan. Since I'm going to live on my own, I've been playing with the idea of learning how to cook. So that can probably go in the blog too.

I was browsing the intarwebz and I learned that Yummy's September issue is on Filipino food and I've made a mental reminder to buy myself a copy. It will DEFINITELY be useful since I'll be abroad with no instant access to Filipino food. I have known fellow food bloggers who are/were affiliated with the magazine and I've always been a fan of their blogs. 

So yeah. Going back to the question, tell me what you think I should do with the blog! Leave me a comment and I'll get back to it on my next blog post. 

Tiffy in Japan: A Christmas Nonholiday

A Christmas Nonholiday
December 25, 2009
Tiffy in Japan

Merry Christmas everyone! I'd love to say the same for me but as you can see, it's a nonholiday for me. Christmas is not a holiday in Japan. If anything--it's a day for couples to go out and have a date. Yes, it's a date day.

So what did I do this Christmas? Well, work, of course!

Work means part-timing at a conveyor-belt-type sushi restaurant at Nagoya Station (name intentionally not mentioned). To this day, I still have no idea how the manager agreed to let me work here, but I am so not complaining because...

I get to take home sushi.

It's not the usual  ¥100-per-plate sushi restaurant. This one had different colored plates that had different prices. It ranges from \150 to \1000 per plate! Woah, right? The sushi is better than that of cheaper places, of course! 

And so even though I didn't get to celebrate Christmas, being able to take home this much sushi (for free) is so worth it. 

They don't usually let us take home the leftover sushi (company policy, ya know)--they throw out the leftover sushi. I think that it's the same for most restaurants. It's to stop employees from intentionally making a lot to be able to take it home. And trust me--we do throw the sushi out. It makes my heart hurt just thinking about all the sushi that just goes to waste (or goes to the rats tummies).

New Year is a holiday although I have work on New Year's Eve. 

See you then!