Garandee's Kawawang T-Shirt - part 2

read part one
read epilogue

Anonymous: "Eto ba, kuya? (is this the one?)"

Garando: "Hindi, dun pa banda... ayan, yung green (No, it's over there... that green thing)"

Anonymous: "Ah, etong green na basahan? (Ah, you mean this green rag?)"

Garandee: "Garando, who's that?"

Garando: "Jet Li."


Garandee: "NYO! Really!"

Garando: "Someone who's willing to scale walls and retrieve your shirt for some cash"

Garandee: "Oh, I see..... THANK YOU, JET LI!!!"

Garando: "Shhhh! Don't say that! I was kidding!"

Garandee: "I know.. kkk kkk kkk!!"

So Garandee finally got her shirt back, but now she doesn't want it anymore because it got too filthy.


Garandee: "it's baho, I don't like."


Garandee mode:
never mind na lang...
Read More......

Communication Breakdown #1 - Kayumi Lotion!

Garandee is lucky communication is never a problem here in the Philippines. Almost everything is in ENGLISH! It's actually the main reason why we now bump into South Koreans in every corner. ANNYONG HASEYO!!

I wish I could say the same whenever I visit Japan though...

When I went to Kobe on business trip, Garandee asked me to buy an anti-itch lotion to bring back to Manila. So I went over to the pharmacy, and when I was about to ask the lady pharmacist... I totally forgot the brand name!

I remember Garandee wrote it down on a torn McDonald's receipt and put it in my wallet. But she put it between the bills and not in the more secure pockets at the front. It was destined to get lost!

*gulp* I am so in trouble...

Close to panic, I can only remember one Japanese word that was most relevant to what I was trying to purchase... kayumi = itch

Garando: "uhhhh... annnnoooo..... kayumi bye-bye kudasai?"

Pharmacist: "huh?"

Garando: (let me try again...) "ehem, kayumi bye-bye kudasai??"

That did it! The pharmacist walked to the back, looks like she was off to get the lotion.

But when she came back, she now had a colleague with her... to help decipher what the hell I was talking about. I watched them talk to each other:
Pharmacist 1: "bla bla bla bla bla bla bla kayumi bye-bye?"
Phramacist 2: "eeeehh???"

Still no luck, they called in the heavy artillery: a 70 year-old bald man in a white lab coat, who can be either a mad scientist or the store owner himself.

Store owner: "I'm sorry, what is problem please?"

Problem?? I had to think fast before they finally decide to call the police...

IT'S TIME FOR CHARADES!!
1) I pulled up my sleeves and scratched the hell out of my left arm and said "kayumi!!"
2) I acted like I was putting some kind of lotion on it....
3) I put the invisible lotion in my pocket, used my right hand to wave goodbye to my left arm and said, "bye-bye!!"

Pharmacist 1: " ... "
Pharmacist 2: " ... "
Store owner: " ... " (insert cricket sound here)

another 3 seconds pass...

All three of them went "Ah!!" and burst out laughing. The store owner ducked under the counter and pulled out one, glimmering bottle of anti-itch. "650 Yen please..."

Mission accomplished!



edit: Garandee told me that there's actually an itch lotion brand called "Kayumi Bye-bye". Cool.

Garando mode:
...going to office on a Monday

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The Tabo

I dread the days when I get some really tough questions from Garandee that I normally would not have to deal with if we were of the same nationality. Take for instance the first time she used the toilet in my apartment...

She came out of the toilet holding something in her hand and asked me, "what is this?"


Garando: "uh, that's called a tabo"

Garandee: "I see. What is it for?"

Garando: (sigh, i knew that was coming....) "it's uh... used for a special purpose."


Garandee: "Oh really? like what?"

Garando: "You don't have those in Japan do you? Well, that comes in handy whenever my ceiling leaks during the rainy season".

Garandee: "Oh i see...but you don't live on the top floor."

Garando: "uh, right. Well, I use that to water plants too."

Garandee: "but you don't have any..."

Garando: "Let's go, we're going to be late for the movie!"

I can't blame her for being overly curious about that mysterious plastic artifact we filipinos keep lying around our toilets because when I used her toilet in Tokyo I found this...




Neat...the higher models might even have a button for automatic tampon removal.


Garando mode:
I love weekends!!

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Christian Ito and Hideaki Bautista

Two weeks ago we breezed through another Jdrama, "Umizaru Evolution". We enjoyed the drama so much that we ended up watching the two Umizaru full length movies too. The nice story and suspense kept me hooked, while Garandee drooled over the main character played by Hideaki Ito...

Garandee: "Wow, he is sooo KAKKOII (handsome)!! And so macho with those abs, so opposite of Garando's stomach!! *hint* *hint*

Garando: "Big deal. Did you know that behind the macho image, he comes to Manila often to sing really cheesy 80's love song covers?"

Garandee: "Eeeeeeeehhh!! Maji de?? I don't believe you, that's not even possible!"

Garando: "Oh, you want proof? take a look..."



Garandee: "NYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! What happened my Hideake-kun!?!?"

Garandee Mode:
NYOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

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"Signature" Restaurants in Manila: Conti's

I have this thing about popular "signature" restaurants in Manila: Alba's, Antonio's, Abe, Som's, Razon's, Amicci's, Sango, etc. All do exceptionally well in setting high expectations for food bloggers/connoisseurs by serving outstanding grub! No matter how simple or fancy their menu is, you'll always find yourself leaving with a bloated stomach and satisfied burp.

Now there's Conti's... Garandee and I would always find one around the corner whenever we'd go shopping, and the place was always packed during lunch & dinner. Did it make it to our list of ICHIBAN "signature" restaurants? Here's what we ordered...



Garandee ordered:
Chicken Roulade with Saffron Mushroom Risotto - P145 + P25 (upgrade)


Despite the generous serving of gravy, it doesn't connect with the taste of burnt, blackened chicken skin. It seems the chicken was grilled enough to achieve just the right bitterness. And the risotto, oh the risotto. I never knew you can actually mold it! kewl, but you're better off with plain rice. trust me.

Garando ordered:
Pastel de Lengua (ox tongue) - P210


What's a coaster doing on top of my lengua? Oh! It's the baked crust! I moved that out of the way and I was delighted to see at least 3 chunks of lengua under all that potato and mushroom. Taste was ok, but nothing to write home about. IMO, P210 was way too much for 3 chunks of lengua, a coaster, and 2 tiny scoops of risotto (probably cost me P80 each). So mahal, but why so Conti?

Dissapointed: Maybe we ordered the wrong entrees because I heard some good things about the Baked Salmon and the Mango Bravo. I guess we'll probably visit Conti's again someday... I kinda feel guilty for stealing that coaster and was thinking of returning it.

Garando mode:
I have a bad cold... Read More......

Shini Gan

After living in the Philippines for over 5 years, Garandee has learned to love classic Filipino dishes. At the top of her list is Pork/Prawn sinigang.

Dee: "Garando, I made my first Shini-Gan!!"



Do: "...uh wow, that really looks and smells like Sinigang! But did you forget to put the meat in?"

Dee: "Nyo! That's healthy Shini-Gan!! I put more focus on vegetables! Japanese really love to eat healthy you know..."

Do: "Oh. (hmmm... can hardly wait 'till she learns how to make healthy bulalo)".

Sneaked in a few pieces of pork while she was watching NHK, and voila! Sinigang.




Garando mode:
Getting ready for work! Read More......

Balut & Natto

Natto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natto


The first time I tried natto was in Osaka around 2004. A friend took me to one of those sushi conveyor restaurants, I was eating all the sushi I could get my hands on. After about 7-8 plates, she offered me this ordinary looking maki that I seem to have missed. It had a clump of tiny round things at the top, I assumed it was fish roe (though it didn't look like it was a salmon's). I do not hesitate when it comes to food so I popped one in my mouth pronto.

.....holy %@#$!


My taste buds were stunned. Struggling not to make a scene and embarass the host, I kept it in. Eating natto for the first time is a rare moment that's hard to explain. It had this slimy texture, an "aged to perfection" taste, and it smelled like my old sneakers.

My instincts kicked in so I grabbed a glass of water to hose it down, but it was too late. The natto was so slimy it had coated my tongue and gums, and those healthy little fermented soy beans clung to the gaps of my teeth. It was going to take more than one glass of water to bring it down. Panic set in, my eyes started to water, but I was eventually saved by a pitcher of tea. At least my friend thanked me for the short bit of amusement I gave her that night.

4 years after that ordeal, Garandee often eats natto for breakfast. I've learned to live with it.

Balut*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut


Garandee will never touch the thing, not too many foreigners do. Balut is as gross as it can get, but I'm surprised it didn't make it to the top 3 of Discovery's "Bizzare Foods" by Andrew Zimmern (which is one of my favorite shows btw). Here's a bizarre host doing a demo on how to properly eat balut.



Occassionally I bring home a couple whenever I feel nostalgic and Dee totally hates seeing me enjoying it.

* balut photo taken from Wikipedia. I've reached my balut quota (had one 8 months ago) so I am not allowed to buy one for my blog...
* Garandee thinks the wikipedia photo was too disgusting, so I just drew one.

Garando mode:
Thinking of blog design.... Read More......

My Blog Title

Balut & Natto is probably the best way I can describe Garando & Garandee. We both come from completely different (and sometimes clashing) cultures!

This blog captures the interesting adventures coming from a "Filipino - Japanese" partnership (or a "Japanese - Filipino" partnership if Garandee had anything to say about it).


Garando mode:
Lo batt. 2AM still catching up on work... Read More......