Ryzza Mae, The Star Biker!

She's been busy lately with her pink bicycle. Fully geared up, ikot siya ng ikot sa backstage at sa kunsaan magkakasya ang kanyang bisekleta: dressing room, dining room ng mga hosts, backstage, etc. And the people, especially the production staff, readily give way to the Star Biker! Vroom! And speaking of enjoyment, mage-enjoy kayong tiyak sa Sabado (June 29) sa grand finals ng Super Sireyna Queen of the Ocean at sa Special Edition ng Pinoy Henyo with the Dabarkads! Pero, silipin muna natin ang mga short videos ng Aleng Maliit who's also doubling as Eat Bulaga's Star Biker!

Hukad sa Golden Cowrie!

Hukad sa Golden Cowrie @ Robinsons, Dumaguete

Hukad sa Golden Cowrie, as our servers (a gentle bunch who can't speak Filipino well) claim, started in Cebu and branched out to Davao and Dumaguete Cities. Our group didn't know about this bit of information until the time when we stepped into the Dumaguete branch looking for a good place to drink beer and and have some really kicking Pulutan. And kicking it was. With our bottles of beer, we ordered for (unlimited) rice to match the Crispy Pork Kare-Kare. In short, we eventually ended up eating dinner. 

Fried Baby Squid on Tinta (P170)
Crispy Pork Kare-Kare (P198) 

The Fried Baby Squid con Tinta didn't look appetizing at all. Actually, it was kinda scary. But was it good? Oh yes. Very crispy and a bit makunat. The Baby Squids were served with an ordinary-looking white sauce. I didn't bother (mayo? aoli?) to find out what it was.   

I've tasted quite a number of versions of Kare-Kare: Chicken Kare-Kare, Vegetable Kare-Kare, Kare-Kare with Chocolate Bagoong, Brothy Kare-Kare, and the list goes on. Hukad's version was Crispy Pork Kare-Kare. It's a combination of Kare-Kare AND Lechong Kawali just like the one we had in Pine Grove Mountain Lodge in Dahilayan, Bukidnon. I clearly remember how much we loved it. Anyway, the Hukad version's not as memorable but it was good enough. 

Ryzza Mae, Kulitan In-Between Picture-Picture!

Fans would always want a picture with her! They want a precious souvenir with the child superstar! Kahit nasan siya ay talagang hindi mapigilan ang mga tagahanga. And can you blame them? At ang Aleng Maliit ay enjoy na enjoy naman to give in to these requests! Kahit paulit-ulit na mag-pose together with the same fan ay okay lang just like what this video would attest to! And like any playful child ay maglalaro at maglalaro siya in-between picture taking. Dito nga ay kalaro niya ang isa sa hard-working Talent Coordinators ng EB na reading-ready naman to play with the little girl who made her brand of Cha-Cha a national, I mean, an international past time! 

Ryzza Mae, Seriously Practicing Her Lines!

The past week, we have been posting snapshots and video of Ryzza Mae just goofing around in-between segments. Pero meron tayong videos ngayon kunsaan ay seriosong pinag-aaralan ng Aleng Maliit ang kanyang mga linya right before her segment. At syempre, binati ng original Cha-Cha Princess ang mga readers and members ng blog na Fried Chicken! Thank you! 

At mula sa pag-thank you sa lahat ng sumusuporta ay iniimbitahan naman kayo ay tumutok sa Saturday (June 22, 2013) ay may special na namang gagawin ang buong Dabarkads kasama na ang pag-alam ng magiging Super Sireyna Queen of the Sky! Don't miss it! 

At sa mga Dabarkads natin sa Land of the Rising Sun magkita-kita tayo sa Hibiya Kokaido Hall (gate opens at 12noon) on June 30, 2013! For ticket details, please contact Worldcom Japan at 03-6402-7462 and 03-6868-3880. 

But for now, watch muna tayo ng video ni Ryzza Mae as she seriously practice her lines! 

Fresh Seafood at Lab-as Restaurant!

Lab-as Restaurant @ Dumaguete City

They say that one of the most popular if not, the most popular in that long strip of restaurants and hotels along Rizal Boulevard is the al fresco Hayahay Treehouse Bar and Viewdeck and its sister, Lab-as Seafood Restaurant. Its market is more for the family and large groups of people (and it has airconditioning!) out to do one thing together... pig out. 

Our group, that night, was not anymore in the mood for feasting (we were already bloated from eating too much at Robinsons!). All we wanted was to have a nightcap before hitting the sack. Everyone was already enjoying his beer and cocktails when the server suggested to sample their Tuesday Special... Shrimp Tempura only at P115. Who am I to resist such an offer? 

As predicted, it was bad Tempura. No problem with the prawns for they were sweet and fresh. It was the batter they coated the shrimp with. Nagmukha siyang lumaking Camaron Rebusado. Well, what do you expect from a P115 Tempura? 

Anyway, I expected the Dumaguete Express (mix of assorted seafood: squid, fish, shrimp topped with slightly crispy pork swimming in coconut milk) to be really spicy. It wasn't. It was the perfect pulutan. Cheers! 

Dumaguete Express (P175)
Tuesday Shrimp Tempura (P115)
White Russian (P170)

Ryzza Mae, Ang Kikay na Nangungulit na Naman!

The many faces of Ryzza Mae! 
These are video grabs from the short video I took of her habang inaayusan siya ng hairdresser ng EB. And knowing Aleng Maliit, hindi matatahimik yan at hyper na hyper na mangungulit! As I have mentioned before in my earlier post, nakatutok lang ang camera ko sa kanya tahimik na nagre-record ng mga pinaggagawa and as expected, may mga bagay na nagawa niya talaga namang ikakatuwa ng may taong nanonood sa kaya! She's one production number! 

Usapang Fried Chicken #22: SUNBURST FRIED CHICKEN!

Sunburst, Robinson's Dumaguete City

I always look forward to eating at Sunburst (do they have a branch here? I know of SUNRISE BUCKETS) everytime I'm in the South. I've eaten at their Cebu and Davao branches and now, Dumaguete City (Robinsons Place) which has the newest and biggest (and the cleanest) dining area. 

Everything about that lunch was more than good from the Bulalo to the super Crispy Chicken Skin (careful!). You have a choice to pair your fried chicken wings either with pancit canton or sotanghon. I feasted on my Chicken Wings (with canton and lumpiang shanghai) with no catsup, and that's saying much. Perfect way to start the pigging out day. :) 

Ryzza Mae, Ms. Universe Material?

Who knows? Nobody can actually say kung ano ang pagiging future niya but one thing is for sure... she's going to be successful kahit ano ang pasukin niya! Ryzza Mae can be the third woman President of the Philippines or the first female astronaut or say, a future Ms. Universe! Tutal binigyan na naman siya ng tips ni Ms. Shamsey Supsup at ng short training on how to walk the ramp eh, malaki ang chances! Hindi nagpatalo ang Aleng Maliit sa Ms. Universe runner-up sa pag-pose at pag-project na talaga namang kahanga-hanga and at the same time, nakakatuwa! Impress us some more, Ryzza Mae! 

Land Trip to Dumaguete City!

Dumaguete City

Our group landed in Ilo-ilo at 5am (June 03), took the Ocean Jet Ferry to Bacolod and after a few hours of killing time in SM City boarded the Ceres Bus to 6-hour trip to Dumaguete City (provincial capital of Negros Oriental)!  

We reached Dumaguete at 6pm really exhausted & hungry so we just entered the first hotel we saw when we decided to come down from the bus. Good thing that the bus stopped right in front of the Bethel Guest House. 

The hotel's a gem! Aside from the fact that the hotel is clean and the staff helpful, the rates were dirt cheap. After dumping our stuff in our assigned rooms, we started hunting for a really good restaurant.  

The hotel people recommended Hayahay Treehouse Bar and Viewdeck. Its a good five-minute walk in the "The Boulevard" from the Bethel Guest House. Rizal Boulevard is a long stretch of restaurants and hotels much like Roxas Boulevard minus the fishy smell and the homeless people. 

Hayahay is a spacious al fresco dining filled with drinkers and diners wanting to sample the popular fresh seafood. We noticed that there were a big number of tourist here (actually, we noticed that there were blondes everywhere!). Good for tourism. 

The food. If Hayahay's Bangus Belly is just passable, the Bulalo was unforgettable. Malinamnam ang broth at malambot ang laman!  How about the Crab Omelette? It's a crab shell (with a little crab meat) coated with egg then fried. It looked weird and tasted weird. But since I'm forgiving when I'm out of Manila, everything's forgiven.

Bangus Belly P150
Bulalo P300
Crab Omelette P150
Bottled Water P40

I promised myself to wake up early to see the famed Rizal Boulevard in daylight with it's Multicabs (oversized tricycles) buzzing around. I was impressed by the fact that the city is immaculate (that's really surprising, coming from someone who do business in the Metro) and traffic-free. The ocean is still beautifully blue with no "flotsam and jetsam" soooo unlike Manila's counterpart. 

It was indeed a good morning taking in fresh air and watching the city come alive while sipping instant cappuccino (no real coffee around). Forgiven.