the tic blog has been relaunched! visit southbound.ph! :D

we've relaunched the tic blog as southbound.ph!

i'd like to invite everyone to visit our site at www.southbound.ph. it's a sort of cross between a blog and a magazine (right now it's more blog than magazine, but we have a lot of other ideas that will be implemented soon) that's all about things in the south: restaurants, bars, shops, spas, grocery stores, parks, clubs, events, you name it. it's brand spanking new, so we've only got a few articles so far, but we plan to post regularly (so far our schedule is every two days), and we're actively scouting out new places, so we expect that you'll come across something interesting and useful.

we plan to build the site into a sort of index / directory and portal for all things in the south. aside from the blog, we're planning to put up a forum, a directory, and other useful features. we hope it will provide useful information for residents and visitors of the south and also serve as a way of developing a stronger southern community. even if you're not from the south, please feel free to check out the site and learn more about our neck of the woods--you never know kung kelan kayo mapapadpad dito!

we welcome your comments, suggestions, and ideas on places to feature. we also welcome contributors for articles and photography. just email southbound.ph@gmail.com. :)

please help spread the word and support our little community! thanks!!!

Read full article...

A Night at Hotshots

I love Southerners. Walking around like they just stepped out their front door. Board shorts, crag pants, flip flops. Looking for burgers at 2 in the morning.

This is really almost amusing. Here I am at Hotshots above Petron in the dead of night, and all these people are waltzing in like it was normal to crave some nice, indigestible red meat in the wee hours. Most of them are wearing slippers and 3/4 pants. The number of people with friendship ankle bracelets is astounding, as if a whole bangka-load of people just washed ashore from Mindoro.

Some choose to have beer with their burger, courtesy of Treats downstairs. Some are just here to buy thick fries still with their skins, and they walk out clutching their brown paper bags. Some come to wind down after a long day, some come straight from home to honor a craving (so Harold and Kummar), some come before they head in for their graveyard shift.

They talk about work, occasionally. But mostly they talk about friends and family, anticipated basketball games, new restaurants and bars, drugs, food, and drink. The guy at the next table (yes, I'm eavesdropping) is telling a story about how his sister left a bag of money on the steps of some church after a wedding and how he had to go back from the Intercon and pick it up somewhere in Greenhills (I eavesdrop very well, complete with details). At another table, this girl is telling yet another Boracay story (and bless her, she says "Boracay", not "Bora". Someone like me seems to have chosen this rather unorthodox place to study, in lieu of the usual café.

And here I am with my sketchpad and my tray with my demolished burger (it wasn't that hard, I had a junior). What a great night. I feel so at home. I love this place.

Read full article...

Coffeenista: No Need to Coffeeoke

I am so not a videoke person. So while I was always intrigued by the "Coffeenista" sign on one of the cafes in the Casimiro area, I was also immediately put off by the smaller "Coffeoke" sign underneath. After all, a cafe is somewhere you go to have peace and quiet, and my idea of peace and quiet definitely does not include an American Idol wannabe belting out old standards by Journey and Queen right next to you.

I still don't know about the Coffeeoke part, but as far as cafes go, Coffeenista is pretty good. I finally ended up there one evening, luckily on a slow night (lucky for me, not so lucky for the owners, I guess) so we were the only people there (no videoke folks to taint the experience).

The entry to the cafe is at the end of a flight of steps that branches off into billiard rooms on either side. The cafe is a family-owned business, and that same family also owns the billiard hall (Ato's Rack, Ato being a former councilor of Las Pinas and the father of the lady behind the cafe).

The cafe is meant to feel like the house of a friend, somewhere to hang out and shoot the breeze. We stayed in a room near the back (apparently the videoke room, enclosed in glass, presumably to keep the sound well contained) which felt a little like my lola's house (minus the dust, plus the videoke and some computers). It was very nice and cozy, complete with the sound of running water in the background (from a creek, which also unfortunately meant the occasional creek-y smell wafting in through the windows).

Although we only had tea, the place had a fairly large food selection on the menu: sandwiches, pasta, and a lot of pulutan (sizzling garlic and mushrooms, cheese sticks, sisig, even cashew nuts and chicharon). Almost everything was under a hundred bucks! The tea was 40 bucks, and the most expensive coffee items on the menu were their frappe blends at a hundred bucks. Make no mistake, this is a tambayan alright: they even serve beer!

The place obviously has a following which they cultivate carefully, as evidenced by their Yahoo Group (just under 200 members) and their Friendster account (more than 600 friends). I suppose that could work both ways for newbies: you might be drawn into the fold or feel horribly out of place among a bunch of rowdy college kids (good if you're a college kid, bad if you're an old fogey like me).

I suppose then that someone like me shouldn't be the one writing about this place, as its market is the young, tech-savvy, pool-playing crowd. But all in all, they were very friendly and accommodating, and the food looked promising enough, so I think I'll chance it and go try having breakfast or dinner there one of these days. I'll just keep an ear out for the telltale videoke sounds. ;)

Oh yeah, details: Coffeenista is located along CAA Road, aka J. Aguilar Avenue, aka Casimiro Road. If you're coming from Alabang Zapote Road, it's on the right, a few hundred or so meters before Southville. There's parking, there's pool, there are computers for the patrons' use. I am remiss: I didn't check out the bathroom, nor did I order food. To make up for it, here are links to some features on the place if you want to learn more: a feature in 2bu, and another feature in the Inquirer (where Coffeenista shares space with Sa Guijo and Lolo Dad's--impressive!).

Read full article...

Nostalgic Moments at Narra Park

Nick and I spent a nice peaceful afternoon at Narra Park today.

Nothing like visiting Narra Park with a Lasallian to appreciate it even more. :) I suppose it is still a favorite hangout of high school kids, an impression strongly reinforced by the number of cigarette butts discarded near the podium.

The soda vending machine was up and running with a reassuring hum. Cold drinks are always welcome after a long slow walk around the block. It's a shame the ancient fountain doesn't work anymore. Not that I'd drink from it, hehe. But it would be a refreshing blast from the past.

Mike is right; there seem to be very few people who actually use the park, with the exception of the weekend market. I suppose that makes it all the more quiet and relaxing for those of us who do enjoy going there. Yes it's corny, but it is ideal for muni-muni and romantic walks, what with the benches and the quaint bridges (let's ignore for a moment that one is in fact made of steel, and that the ramps for accessibility are of concrete).

The park is also an excellent place to exercise, whatever your thing is: basketball, jogging, mountain biking, tai chi. The ancient acacias provide a shady canopy so you don't get baked to a crisp (very important for people like me who only manage to get out of the house close to noon to go walking).

There are jungle gyms, carousels, and slides for kids. Never mind that some of the slides have no platforms; kids consider that part of the challenge.

I have yet to come here during the weekend market. Looking forward to doing so one of these days to complete the whole Narra Park experience. :)

(Read more about Narra Park in The Quiet Heart of Alabang)

Read full article...

Publish using Word!

NEW FOR CONTRIBUTORS!

OK, admit it. Does blogger boggle the mind? Daunted by the prospect of going online and trying to figure out how to make the Blogger interface work?

Well, it seems the answer has arrived. I spotted an ad (shameless ad promotion here) in our sidebar about using Word to post blogs, and I went to check it out. Apparently Blogger has a plugin known as Blogger for Word. You're supposed to be able to use it with Word to create, edit, and publish posts without even having to log in to Blogger.

I just downloaded it but I haven't tried it yet. Contributors may want to check it out as well. Here are the links: About Blogger for Word and Blogger for Word download page

Enjoy!

Read full article...

Charbroiled Burgers

One of my favorite dinner standbys in BF is Charbroiled Burgers.

To the uninitiated, Charbroiled is a chain of burger joints inside (and outside) BF. There are three branches: one in Phase 3 along Aguirre Avenue, across the large fortress-like 310 restaurant, another branch near Tirona along Aguirre, and a third along Buencamino Road, technically still in BF the subdivision but accessed from Alabang Zapote Road (it's on the street with the Las Paellas and the building with Shakeys at the corner).Charbroiled is a very unassuming place. More than the name, people tend to remember the big yellow signs with the image of a burger that proclaims "Gourmet's Palate" and underneath "Burgers Tacos Steak". In fact, my sister, who often eats there with me, keeps forgetting what the name is, and she'll call me to say things like, "Let's eat at Chargrilled or whatever its name is. Basta the burger place in BF."

Don't be misled by the "Gourmet's Palate" and think that Charbroiled serves gourmet food. They serve big (not so big recently--or maybe I'm just more matakaw now) burgers of the Brothers Burger variety. They also serve a mind boggling array of food including sizzlers, tacos, shawarma, burritos, pasta, tapsilog, and rice bowls, which they lump together in their menu under the heading "Takaw".

I was there the other night with Nick and I had a Samurai, their wasabi-laced burger.


Yum. And only 69 bucks! This one was pretty matapang and the wasabi kept going up my nose.

Nick ordered spaghetti, which I don't think I've ever tried there before. It was a small serving (I'd probably have two if I wanted to fill up) at 42 bucks. It actually tasted like the spaghetti they serve at Pancake House (darker, more toyo-ey sauce).


Here's a rundown of other details:

Parking. Urgh. Not very easy, particularly for the one in Buencamino. The one in Phase 3 has parking, but it's usually full, so you have to park in the street, which is rather difficult at night ever since the bar with no name outside 310 (The Palmier now) opened. The one near Tirona has no parking but at night you can park at the Yamaha shop next door.

Price. One thing I like about Charbroiled is the wide range of food they serve, so if you're with a big group, some people can choose to get steak (P105) and the cheapskates can content themselves with shawarma (P40). The burgers and the rice bowls go for about 70 bucks.

Smoking. The branch near Tirona has outdoor seating. At one time we actually headed for this branch even though the Buencamino branch was closer because we had a die hard (no preachy pun intended) smoker with us. The other two branches are both indoors; given the tight space, you will come out smelling like CASAA (non UP people, that just means smelling like food), so that's already enough smoke to deal with.

Rest Rooms. All branches have their own (tiny!) bathrooms. The Phase 3 branch has the best bathroom in my opinion.

Is it just me or have I also seen a branch somewhere in Las Piñas? Or might have been Better Living. I would certainly not mind if they opened one somewhere along the Friendship Route.

Read full article...

Welcome to The TIC Blog!

Welcome to The TIC Blog!

This is the South. Are you a resident? A frequent visitor? A weekend warrior who treks further South to visit the beaches and regularly makes a pit stop at the mall-like service stations along SLEX? A laid back type who enjoys spending relaxing Sundays hanging out at the neighborhood café? A student, an office worker, an executive, an expat, a housewife or a househusband, a thoroughly born and bred example of the fine Southern line?

Then we want to reach you.

Ever find yourself stuck at home on a weekend wishing there was something new to do? Ever been inclined to go explore but too tired, too broke, or too time-pressed to get out of the house? Ever passed by a new restaurant on your way home from work and wondered about it, but didn’t want to make the extra effort to check it out yourself?

Then we’re here for you.

The TIC Blog is a regularly updated grassroots source to the best kept secrets in the South. We trawl the neighborhoods in Muntinlupa, Parañaque and Las Piñas to find new and exciting places, or to find reasons to love the old standbys. We’d like to think of our community as a reliable go-to for ideas on what to do during your leisure time, much like you might ask a friend where to go on a romantic date or where to buy nice, cheap shoes.

But that’s not the end of it. We know we can’t cover all the spots and discover all the secrets—so we want to get you in on the action! Had a good experience on your date at the neighborhood bar? Share it with us! Found an excellent, reliable source of steaming hot pandesal that delivers straight to your home? Let other people know! It’s good for business, it’s good for consumers, it’s good for the community, and it’s good for us.

So bookmark us, check us out regularly, dip into the site to find ideas you might otherwise never have had. Subscribe to our Yahoo Group and get convenient updates via email. Help grow our community. Read, contribute, comment, and discover!

Read full article...

How To

Yet another(!) page for how tos and similar instructions. (Are you getting tired of this yet? Hope for new posts that will push these posts off the main page...)

• How to Contribute a Post (by posting it yourself or by emailing it)
• Publish using Word
  

Read full article...

About TIC

Yet another category page for all posts about TIC in general.

• Welcome to the TIC blog!

Read full article...

Live

Another category page, this time for living in the South...

• A Night at Hotshots
  
• Nostalgic Moments at Narra Park
  
• A Trip Down Memory Lane
  
• The Quiet Heart of Alabang

Read full article...

Eat

OK, so Blogger doesn't have built in categories. And much as I want to, I can't figure out how to implement categories using del.icio.us. So this is my workaround. Manual labor. Brute force. Argh.
Sorry about having the category post show up in the main page; I wish it wouldn't, but I can't figure out how to make it not show up. If anyone can think of a better way, I would like to hear it.

Anyway, you'll only see this once, and soon it will be pushed off the main page by new posts. I'll add the new posts that have anything to do with eating on this post, and it will be accessible from the nav bar on the left. Enjoy, and keep those posts coming! :D

• A Night at Hotshots
  
• Coffeenista: No Need to Coffeeoke
  
• Sinangag Express
• Charbroiled Burgers

Read full article...

Play

• Coffeenista: No Need to Coffeeoke
  

Read full article...

Shop

Articles about shopping...

• The Ruins of the Day
  

Read full article...

Directory

Nothing here yet, but there will be soon...

Read full article...