The New Ford Everest

I've been reading a lot about the new Ford Everest. I am still quite impressed about the specs until I compared it with the Toyota Super Grandia.

The Everest was longer.

Jesus Christ, the Grandia is already a tight squeeze in our garage. I cannot imagine if an Everest decided to park beside it. I'm not saying we're getting one, but the Everest has been one of my current dream rides.

The Toyota Innova has actually been replaced as my ideal family vehicle by the Ford Everest. Matching up the diesels, Ford just seems to have a more efficient engine along with a more efficient automatic transmission. The Innova is basically showing its age.

I do know that the price ranges are different, and so are the target markets. Honestly though I'd rather choose the Kia Carens over the Innova.

Back to the Everest, it just is an impressive vehicle. I wish I would be able to test drive one, and maybe own one. Unless I win the lottery, I doubt that will be happening.

Out.

Slow September

I am blogging for the sake of blogging. My creative writing juices are dry, and I have nothing to write about so far. I wish I had, though. I had already gotten the ball rolling last August only to slow down this month.

Still, I'm glad I am actually able to write this. Just ramble for a few minutes about not writing anything. Maybe this will get my writing flowing again these next few days.

Also, I'm listening to Baauer's Harlem Shake as I write. I have no idea why. Don't ask.

Out.

Gani's Restaurant Review: Maisen Katsu @ Greenbelt 5

Preface: So Maisen Katsu just recently opened in Greenbelt 5, and Maica spotted it a few weeks ago. She suggested we try it today, and I was willing to give it a shot. Maica had a work-related activity near Greenbelt so she took Martina there while I waited for them to finish. During this time I used the free wifi in the mall to read up on Maisen Katsu. Our Awesome Planet's article was the very informative and prepped me for our upcoming lunch.

Waiting for our food.

Background: After a few seconds of googling, apparently Maisen Katsu is one of, if not, the best tonkatsu restaurants in Japan. I'm not going to try and do hardcore research about why they decided to bring it here or what. You can read Our Awesome Planet's entry (link above) for background information.

Ambiance: I'll be honest, the location was outside the mall and it was small. When we got there it was full inside so we ate outside. I didn't mind, since there was a roof. Then again, ambiance isn't something I look out for too much. The design of the place was simple. Typical Manila katsu place full of wood and Japanese themed designs. I even heard a passerby wonder out loud if Yabu had opened a new branch. Yes, Maisen Katsu looks just like Yabu at first glance.

Looks like every other katsu place in Metro Manila.

Service: It just opened I think last month. Service is still good, the waitstaff were very friendly and helpful. Our server, Ms. Anne if I remember right, even taught me the different ways to enjoy my Katsumabushi Set lunch. They were very pleasing and helpful.

They were also very quick to refill the free cold tea and were always attentive. They were also very quick cleaning up! Once I was done with my lunch they got my tray (with my consent, of course) which was also good because I was slowly scavenging food from Maica and Martina.

Food presentation and taste: Typical katsu restaurant presentation. Once you've seen one style of presentation you've seen them all.

But the taste, oh man. It was good! My katsumabushi set was very delicious. I tried different ways of eating it. With and without the dashi broth. It was excellent. The meet was tender, and I never realized that wasabi tasted good with katsu until this afternoon. My meal was very delicious, and according to Maica her dish was also great.

My Katsumabushi Set

A close up of the rice with cubed katsu pieces

I was also able to sample some of Martina's kiddie meal since she didn't eat everything. I tried the tonkatsu sandwich, but it was a bit meh for me. The chicken karaage was great. It was very tender and tasty. I've never had a karaage like that here in Metro Manila. Though I have to end this paragraph with a footnote that I was sampling kiddie meal fare so they might have changed the recipe to account for a kid's taste buds.

Value for money: It's priced like your typical Metro Manila katsu place. Though it might seem a bit more expensive since they may charge the same but the quantity might be different. If I recall Yabu's similar priced katsu set offered more katsu in terms of grams than Maisen's. HOWEVER, the taste of Maisen is really better than Yabu's. It cost us a little over Php1200 for the three of us, but I honestly felt it was worth it.

Closing: It was my first time to eat at Maisen Katsu, but it has already jumped to the top of my favorite, er, commercial (meaning multiple branches usually located in malls) katsu places. Right now my ranking would be: 1. Maisen Katsu, 2. Saboten, 3. Ginza Bairin, and last but not least 4. Yabu.

That's how good Maisen Katsu is right now for me. Great taste, good presentation, good service. I only hope they can maintain this sort of quality as time goes by. I will definitely be eating there again, and I do hope you decide to try them to.

Out.

Movie Time

Last Saturday, August 29, 2015, Maica and I finally watched a movie again after almost five years. Ever since Martina was born we stopped watching, due to whatever reason we had.

It was also the first time Martina got to watch a movie inside a theater. Funny that I was so worried of her freaking out in a theater that I actually waited until she was almost five before finally deciding to bring her out to watch a movie. So here's how it went.

We decided to watch Disney Pixar's Inside Out because this was the most kid-friendly movie out there. I decided we would watch the movie at BGC, since this was hopefully less full of people than the theaters in the bigger malls. This was my back-up plan in case Martina freaked out or something.

Little did I know that tickets to movies now cost a lot more than what we used to pay. Still, considering the location, and the quality of the facilities at BGC I guess it's worth it to pay a bit of a premium.

Tickets!!!

Since we still had time to kill before the movie started we decided to have lunch. Martina wanted ramen, again. I was more than happy to eat at Kichitora Ramen. I ordered their "Jajamen" and was very pleasantly surprised with the taste. I guess I'll be re-ordering this again when we eat here.

Jajamen. Sounds like Jejemon, sadly.

Finally it was time to watch the movie. We went in the movie house, and it was already dark. Martina was sort of anxious, but was calm. We found our seats and waited for the movie to start.

Martina and Maica waiting for the movie to start.

Martina was great throughout the movie, and before the movie started. She did get a bit bored waiting for the movie to start, but what do you expect with kids.

It was also a pleasant surprise that I one of my current colleagues at work brought his wife and kid to see the movie too. It was also his kid's first time to watch a movie, though she was much, much younger than Martina.

So how was the movie? Awesome. The animated short, Lava, that came before the movie was a great warm-up for the movie. Pixar told a great story, and it was very heartwarming and touching. Amazing.

It was worth the money we spent to watch the movie. I cannot wait to watch our next movie.

Out.

The Gen 2 Rav4

I keep posting about my "dream car," and I rarely post about the current car I use. It's a 2001 Toyota Rav4, and to be honest it would take an offer I couldn't resist to stop using it.

It's the perfect city car. It has decent consumption for a fourteen year old car. It has good ride height to navigate shallow floods and deep potholes. It has decent space inside for my family. And it is just the right size for driving around Metro Manila, not that I drive around a lot.

I just wish I could afford to have it restored, for lack of a better word. It needs new rubber seals. The mags need to be refurbished. Not all strips of the rear window defogger work.

Notice I never mentioned any mechanical issues. That's because my folks and I had the mechanicals fixed last year. We gave the Rav a check up and had major issues fixed, but those were mostly mechanical. It needs a lot of aesthetic work, tint to help beat the heat, and a new head unit. That's it. And if I do get the funds to have to t fixed, I will. This car is something I wouldn't mind driving for the rest of my life, as long as I can take good care of it, as good as how it has served me.

Out.