Saturday, October 12, 2024
The weekend is here!
If you're around Jaro area and you're looking for a quiet place to have solo dinner after work (or if you are too lazy to cook when you arrive home), Cocina Project's cozy little restaurant across San Jose College in E. Lopez Street is the perfect spot for some mealtime me-time. From starters to sparkling drinks, the dine-in menu selections are kitchen tested, crowd approved dishes such as smokey honey back ribs and citrus orange chicken. They also serve family size portions true to their tagline "Food brings family together."
Aside from being budget friendly, Cocina Project has a lovely and cutesy ambiance to enjoy food alone or with friends and family. Bookmark this place in your list of eating places for tasty, value-for-money meals. See you at the Cocina. Happy weekend!
Cocina Project
E. Lopez Street, Jaro, Iloilo City
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Today, let’s lift ourselves up by raising our awareness on mental health fitness and issues. Check out Wondermind, the world’s first mental fitness ecosystem that can help us improve our mental and emotional well-being.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
I love Iloilo City's quiet, laid-back lifestyle but there is nothing to love about the worsening transportation problem brought about by the city's rapid development and population growth.
In car-centric Iloilo City, commuting remains to be problematic especially if you live in the northern suburbs. Despite being a growing metropolis, the city still implements 80's style transportation management that has remained unchanged since my elementary days. With the addition of a few traffic lights, some road widening efforts, and implementation of a jeepney modernization program, nothing has essentially changed to make travel time faster and more convenient for everyone.
These are areas of concern that remain unaddressed:
1. On Mondays, when people from out-of-town return to the city for school and work, there is an undersupply of modernized and traditional jeepneys. Not even ride-hailing services such as Grab Car and Angkas can keep up with the demand. If you do not have a car, it is impossible to arrive on time as the deluge of commuters is overwhelming. This problem can somehow be remedied if this kind of situation is anticipated by the transport sector.
It has been observed that buses plying the routes from the northern/southern transport hubs have an average turn-around time of 1.5 hours. Perhaps supplementary point-to-point PUJs are needed to transport passengers from out-of-town transport hubs to the city's district plazas where they can get connecting rides.
2. The unresolved traffic bottleneck at Jaro Plaza continues to dim the district's sparkle. Yes, the Graciano Lopez Park is beautiful but is surrounded by constrictive traffic jams and visual/noise pollution from across the plaza. Maybe it's time to create a system for the organized loading and unloading of passengers in this area. Itinerant vendors also need to be regulated to maintain cleanliness and sanitation.
3. The shiny and new modernized jeeps no longer look relatively new and shiny due to lack of maintenance. The jeepney modernization plan should have a corresponding maintenance plan to keep the vehicles clean, safe and fresh-smelling. The passenger assistance officers (aka conductors) should also look well-groomed and clean.
4. Modernized jeeps should have designated loading and unloading areas to keep traffic flow smooth and clear. This is also to instill discipline and awareness in commuters that they cannot be unloaded whenever and wherever they want.
5. The modernized jeepney Panay transport card should be conveniently available so commuters can turn to a cashless pay system.
6. There is also a need to review and re-assess the placement of pedestrian crossing markings especially in places that pose a danger to pedestrians (i.e. forks in the road, rotundas etc).
7. Waiting sheds should be utilized for its most important function-a waiting area for PUJs. Enough said.
There are still a lot of things to be improved to upgrade Iloilo City's transportation. All it takes are small steps taken one day at a time!
Monday, October 7, 2024
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| Phở Bò (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) |
On a rainy Saturday afternoon, my friend and I found ourselves craving for a warm bowl of traditional Phở soup. Nothing beats a serving of heartwarming soup when the weather is moody and threatens to crash all your weekend plans. We remembered seeing this new, homely Vietnamese street restaurant in front of the Jaro Small Market in Simon-Ledesma St.
Despite the threat of another impending downpour, we made our way to Simon-Ledesma Street. Hong Viet looked like something right up our alley! No fancy decor or expensive ambiance means the food must be good and affordable. We loved the kitschy Vietnamese music blaring from the speakers and the delightfully tacky wall decor that gave off a cacophonous Ho Chi Minh city vibe. The place is run by Vietnamese expatriates so we anticipated the food to be authentic, homestyle and unfussy.
The menu offered basic Vietnamese comfort food--beef noodle soup, rice paper rolls, dry noodles, Banh Mi, omelette bread plus iced Vietnamese coffee and tea preparations. There is nothing in the menu that's over Php 200 so it's definitely a commuter friendly eatery.
The Phở was aromatic, mildly spicy and meaty. However it lacked the essential coriander herb garnishing that is ubiquitous in Vietnamese cooking (it’s an herb I'm sadly allergic to). Instead, Thai Basil was the convenient substitute that lent a pleasant flavor layer.
Hong Viet's Banh Mi was surprisingly basic, not the extravagant sandwich I'm accustomed to seeing. It's a budget version but still satisfying and filling despite the super chewiness of the baguette. The bread needs more toasting though. It was chewy enough to yank your dentures out.
The eatery’s coffee and tea selections are as authentic as it gets. If you want to try some traditional beverages and noodles at home, they have items for sale such as pandan and chamomile tea, coffee and instant Pho noodles in several variants.
The owners told us they will soon be launching Vietnamese snacks like savory pancakes to go along with their coffee menu. That's something to look forward to!
Hong Viet is open daily from 8 am to 8 pm. Grab a bite of their Com Tam breakfast special if you happen to swing around Jaro Small Market that early.
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| Iced honey Jasmine tea with chamomile blossoms |
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| Banh Mi with smashed meatball and veggie filling |
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| Located just in front of the busy Jaro Small Market |
Hong Viet Vietnamese Food
Simon-Ledesma St., Jaro, Iloilo City (in front of Jaro Small Market)
Sunday, October 6, 2024
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| via Pinterest |
Just so you know, I'm not really into pop music but Taylor Swift's Folklore album is something that made me into a TS fan. I've been listening to her music for years and enjoyed her popular ditties but never considered myself a proper Swiftie. Her previous albums were fun and catchy pop music memoirs about her love life and famous exes. Her cats fascinate me though and I hope she writes songs about them in the future.
So what's the backstory about my favorite Taylor Swift album? COVID-19 pandemic happened and Folklore was a by product of Taylor's time in isolation. As expected, the restrictions and boredom imposed by the pandemic forced her to turn her energy inwards and hence this hauntingly introspective indie-folk inspired album came into existence. The pandemic spurred a lot of creative innovations and Folklore is a brilliant example of that.
I listened to this album in its entirety while watching the Folklore Long Pond Sessions documentary on Disney+ where Taylor sings all the songs in the album while giving the audience snippets of her creative process. Recorded at Long Pond Studio in the forested area of Hudson Valley in New York, this album is refreshingly raw and heartfelt.
For a lot of musicians, the COVID-19 pandemic was a difficult time to make new music but not for Taylor Swift. In reference to her recent song from the Tortured Poets Department "I Can Do it with a Broken Heart" she sings:
I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an artYou know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart.
Come hell or high water, heartbreak, pandemic, or an on-going world tour, Swift continues to do what she does best- write brilliant lyrics with an addictive and memorable hook.
As the cover of the album suggests, the loneliness, isolation and limited movement brought about by the pandemic inspired a creative cocooning in the woods (we mean this both literally and figuratively) that produced a beautifully bare boned collection of songs that relies heavily on minimalist musical instrumentation and soulful vocals. Proving her critics wrong, Folklore is an undeniable showcase of Swift's songwriting and storytelling genius.
I'm not going to dissect every line of her songs and its corresponding thematic interpretation but I will write about how these songs can feel better than therapy.
MY FAVE TRACKS
The 1 and Cardigan are almost on the same musical latitude in terms of tone and tempo. I suspect these are twin songs. One song is not enough to express the hurt of heartbreak, break-ups and what-ifs.
August is an upbeat summer anthem about a short-lived summer romance or fling. Sweet and bittersweet.
My Tears Ricochet- The saddest song in the album that will put you on an emotional wringer. Very cathartic.
Mirrorball- I love this song for what it is and what it is not. If only I can show you every version of yourself tonight.
Betty- Teenage nostalgia that you can look back to when you're 60. The sweetest song in the album.
Exile- A magical duet of Taylor and Bon Iver. Very therapeutic.
The Last Great American Dynasty- This is one of the more upbeat songs in this album. It is inspired by Rebekah Harkness, a Rhode Island socialite whose Holiday House (mansion) was purchased by Taylor. Fun song despite it's true-to-life inspiration.
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