Pasan Ko Ang Daigdig

Director: Lino Brocka
Genre: Drama
Duration: 130 mins
Released: 1987
MPAA Rating: none (we give it an R for content and language)

Lupe Velez carries the weight of the world in her shoulders. Living in abject poverty, she begs around the busy streets of Manila carrying Metring, her lame mother on her back. Lupe also scrounges for saleable junk in the mountain dump in order to earn a living. Ambitious and determined, Lupe uses her talent and charm to get that one person who can take her out of this miserable situation. Using the basic rags-to-riches plot, the movie successfully presents and discusses a persistent issue that continues to plague the country - poverty in the slums.

Niña

(3 out of a possible 5) One Saturday afternoon found me nursing a migraine after a marathon review of accounting concepts which I have yet to fully understand. I decided to rest by watching something lame and mildly entertaining on TV. Since Spongebob wasn't on, I decided to switch to Pinoy Box Office, a cable channel on Destiny Cable.

Watching old Pinoy movies is a hobby of mine, mainly because I love seeing how people dressed up and how people looked like with their cobra hairdos and plastic earrings. I got what I was looking for when after the Yagit ending the teaser for the next film came and it was...PASAN KO ANG DAIGDIG. I never got to see this movie before and I only knew the premise, it got me excited knowing how Sharon Cuneta movies are always ridiculously fantastic in their plot twists and how her revenges are crafted. I was surprised though that Lino Brocka directed this movie, which to me meant that the movie probably has socio-political undercurrents.

Well, the movie was that, it was sober, even Sharon whipping her evil stepfather for stealing her hard-earned club money didn't have the same punch as Sharon's oft-quoted line in Bituing Walang Ningning. There was one memorable line though but it was uttered toward Sharon's mom who refused to believe that the man she's married is only hustling her for gambling money. Cmon guys you know how it goes..."Harap-harapan na kayong niloloko Inay!! Gutay-gutay na ang katawan nyo, ang kaluluwa nyo gutay-gutay na rin." There was no fantastic costume and make-up on her as well since Sharon dressed the way a club singer would. She was actually pretty convincing in her desire to rise from the abject poverty surrounding her and her mom. In order to hammer her plight home, Sharon also had to be raped by a childhood friend who's obsessed with her and almost marry a rich producer so that she can leave the slums. In a nutshell, my migraine gave way to a sobering realism. It's all Lino Brocka's fault for turning what could have been another Sharon Cuneta rags-to-riches story into something real and believable.

Don Henrico's

Glorietta
Date: March 27, 2005
Time: 1:30 pm

We should've stayed away!

Wanted to see what is new in this formerly often visited pizza & pasta house. Regrets!!

Their Philly Cheese Steak Pizza was bland, full of red & green peppers (check pic on the right). Buffalo wings was too sweet and the dip was obviously diluted. Emperor’s Pasta was not available and there was no diet soda.

One had to call the waiters to get refills on the sodas & iced tea, as they were all next to the counter. Same problem in the now closed Libis outlet.

The only good thing about the meal was the dessert, but it was something we brought in. Heavenly delicious chocolate cake from a stall inside Glorietta. But that is another review.

(this review was written by my Dad, Vic Arboleda!)

Leslie's Terrace

Tagaytay
Date: March 25, 2005
Time: 1:00 pm

...Ho hum...



VIC:
A beautiful view of Taal Lake & Volcano.

Food was OK and were served all at the same time. This was great except that a 2nd order for fried rice took follow ups with 4 different waiters and came very late.

As a stop over, you can do better but on the other hand, there is that great view. Thank God for that!

Total bill – P2,022. 90 for 5 people

EJ:
The view was great. But the service was terrible. The waiters were not friendly and service was very slow.

The bulalo was excellent -- gumuguhit ang sebo. The tawilis was fried just right. But, frankly, you would get the same quality of food elsewhere.

Unless the food is exceptionally exquisite, the service is really the deciding factor for me. If up to me, I probably won't come back.

Mannang

Megamall Basement, Building A
Date: March 6, 2005
Time: 8:00 pm

Definitely worth a second visit. Maybe even a third and even more.

VIC:

A pleasant surprise. Next to Mann Hann and obviously related. But instead of the Chinese food that the latter is well known for, Mann-Ang serves Filipino food and really delicious Filipino food at that.

Nice presentations on serving bowls with candles/warmers. Inexpensive and delicious.

The caldereta was great, the fried squid was delicious, the palabok was tasty. The baked oysters were surprisingly as good as in the more expensive eateries.

Definitely worth a second visit. Maybe even a third and even more.


Kaldereta -- see the lighted candle to keep the food warm?


Oysters


Halfway through the Palabok


Squid

Outback

Libis
Date: March 2, 2005
Time: 8:30 pm

Food was still OK but service was disappointingly poor

VIC:
Food was still OK but service was disappointingly poor. It was a Wednesday evening and the place had only few empty tables. The waiters & servers looked a bit overwhelmed.

The appetizers had to be followed up twice. The onion rings and the cheese fries were alright though the fries were obviously much fewer than before. They did not increase prices but they served smaller orders

The soup came with no spoons and requests for extra soup bowls had to be done twice, again. Then, after about 10 minutes after placing our orders for entrees, the waiter came back to say that they have run out of pork loins, one of the orders. It took them that long? So the change meant more minutes waiting.

Refills for drinks had to be requested.

It wasn’t this way before. Maybe, there was an unusually large crowd for Wednesday?

Total bill – P4,759.32.

Taco Bell

Gateway, Cubao
Date: February 20, 2005
Time: 2:00 pm

Disappointing.

VIC:
Disappointing. The beef burrito was so loosely filled that the contents were falling off as you bit into it. The nacho was so cold that the cheese “froze” the meat was cold.



Good point? Free refills on soda but this was only after paying more. Will not be back anytime soon.

Lokaldero Halo Salo

3rd Floor, The Fort Strip
Date: February 19, 2005
Time: 2:00 pm

Great service, forgettable food...

VIC:

Just about 2 weeks old, clean, friendly service, nice view of the Fort & the distant mountains. Thanks for all that cause the food was forgettable. Ginataang Lamang Dagat was OK but the fish had an aftertaste. Dinakdakan, their version of sisig was too much liver and not enough pig face or ears or whatever. The liver taste was too much. Chicken BBQ was very good.



The menu was still limited, that is for the food portion. The next two pages were full of hard drinks & concoctions. The place must attract a lot of night folks out for a round of drinks or two.

Will we be back? Don’t know. Maybe when the food menu expands.

Cafe Manila

Branch: Ground floor of CSB Hotel, corner of Estrada & Arellano streets
Date: January 31, 2005
Time: 10:00am
CSB Training school for their HRM course

What you'd expect from a training school.

VIC:

Tried their Filipino Breakfast - longganisa with 2 eggs, garlic rice, juice & coffee - P181.50. Nothing special - just your run of the mill breakfast. American breakfast also in menu with some delicious looking cakes on display.

Parking - a problem since almost all students have their own cars. One has to either be very early or very lucky to find an open slot in the street across the hotel.

Service is very good - almost expected since this is in a training school.

Hotel has several nice function rooms available for rent. Some parking slots available if you rent a function room.

Chili's

Branch: Tomas Morato
Date: January 16, 2005
Time: 2:00pm

Fun. Fresh. Flavorful. Chili's is a great place to hang out with friends and family and enjoy a delicious meal. Chili's is Like No Place Else.SM It has an energy that you won't find anywhere.

And, once you take a look at the menu, you'll see why the centerpiece of the Chili's experience is the food. Chili's offers a distinct, fresh, healthy mix of grilled American favorites prepared in a way that keeps folks coming back for more.

http://www.chilis.com


Great food, great service, still a bit expensive but you get what you pay for!


VIC:
Were once regulars at Chilis Greenhills, but got tired of their menu. Finally went back last Jan 16, this time to Chilis Morato for a late lunch. Though there were new items (Asian specials) in the menu, still ordered the old reliable Old timers burger with cheese. Medium well, still great tasting with a generous side of French fries.

Just like the GH outlet, this one was also reduced with a Gloria Jeans coffee store taking up half of the former place.

The restaurant is neat, though the floor looked like it needed a good scrubbing to get rid of what looked like stubborn grime.

Total bill was P1,920.31.



EJ:
Overall: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 2/5
Parking: 2/5
Bathroom: 4/5
Value for Money: 4/5

The Good: Great service! Bit of a step down since first opening though (waiters seemed less enthusiastic), still good nonetheless.

I ordered the Bacon Burger. Everything is just as big as I remembered -- a refreshing break from the ever-dwindling serving sizes in most restaurants. And, so far, everything still tastes just as good! Beef was juicy, fries were crisp, and they didn't skimp on the bacon.

Don't get me started on the bottomless tortilla chips... :)

The Bad: ANG MAHAL! The bacon burger was one of the cheaper items on the menu at P295 an order.

Prepare to spend P300+ per person!

Over-all: Given the quality of service and the general quality of the food, Chili's is still a great place to go to when you have a big budget and an even bigger appetite!