Dinner at Hossein’s

Aloha Everyone,

Specialty restaurant of Persian, Arabian and Indian cuisine. When we arrived close to 6:00 pm, the restaurant’s outdoor and indoor dining areas were busy. The setting is more for a large group of people. With waiters rushing plates of food or clearing plates, the decimal level was high. The high ceiling only bounced sounds.

I had studied the menu and knew exactly what I wanted to eat. Vegetarian Samosa, not available. Any other samosas, out of stock. I ordered the 2nd item on my list, Baclava. They came in a set of 3, though we couldn’t tell any difference.

J.J. did better with his ordering. Humus, lamb kebabs. They were excellent but after eating a couple of lamb pieces, I was finished.

Quality of food was good. They reminded us of Turkish cuisine in California, in UK and Greece.

Aloha -- Cathi

Disposable Face Masks & Gloves

Aloha Everyone,

Whatever viral infection I am still dealing with, I try to avoid making direct contact as much as possible. I use disposable face masks as well as disposable gloves. On an ordinary day, I use two each of these products. 

Went to purchase a box of 50 pcs of face masks at Mercury Drug Store. For gloves, the two of us walked to Japan Home Center in Glorietta. It is an excuse for us to get our daily walking done.

Aloha -- Cathi

Trying to Avoid Potentially Risky Situations

Aloha Everyone,

Among our family and friends, we hear of people falling. Accidents could happen anywhere. It could be at home in your familiar surroundings, but more so once you’re walking around the neighborhood. Poor condition of the road is one hazard though less avoidable are pedestrians.  

Often, they walk in groups and take up the road or suddenly stop. If children are among them, strollers could get in the way.

Most of these advices are common sense but it is a good reminder for those of us who are in our Second Fifty Years.

Aloha -- Cathi

Haircut Appointments

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. and I walked into a salon to inquire if we could get haircuts. For J.J., he was sitting in a barber’s chair within 10 minutes.

Appointment was set for me two hours later to see an experienced stylist who specializes in women’s hair. My hair was long, and he had to cut about 1.5 to 2 inches off. I asked for shampoo first then the cut. I am very pleased with the result. I made my next appointment with Nick three weeks from today. J.J. and I will also have our manicures and pedicures on that day.

Aloha -- Cathi

Almost Perfect Lab Results

Aloha Everyone,

My lab tests came back, and the results are almost perfect! All are within reference range including Calcium (Ionized), Chloride and Potassium. Sodium is just 2 points less than reference range.  It probably had to do with the bland diet I’ve been on. Dr. Kanapi MD was visibly pleased. He felt it’s a matter of time before I return to normal. 

To celebrate this wonderful news, J.J. and I went to dine at a Japanese restaurant. He chose sashimi and rice dish, but I stayed conservative with small plate of cold green tea noodles.

Aloha -- Cathi

Family Party at Alec & Tintin’s House

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. had one day symptoms of what I’ve been experiencing for over a week. Until we have the lab results back from Dr. Kanapi MD, I chose to stay in our hotel room to sleep.

J.J. said that this was a relatively small group at the family gathering. Including J.J., there were 20 people. 

For early dinner, I was looking for something gentle to my stomach. Unfortunately, vegan soup was not the right choice.

Aloha -- Cathi

No Energy, No Appetite

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. told me that when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he thinks of what I should eat to regain my appetite and energy.

His suggestion of Italian food or burger with fries didn’t help.

J.J. found Dr. Kanapi, MD at MakatiMED. I’m hopeful that with lab works he ordered; we can find out what’s causing my discomfort.

Aloha -- Cathi

Electric Vehicle Shows at Glorietta

Aloha Everyone,

All of them were KIA models. A couple of enthusiastic salespeople approached us to see if we would like to go on a test drive. Here it means you sit in the passenger seat.

Out of curiosity, J.J. asked the asking price for an SUV. For example, the asking price of the navy-blue SUV was US$100,000. J.J. asked if there are any electrical outlets once you are out in the countryside. Their response was, “Yes, they are working on it.” At this point, electric cars are meant for the wealthy individual who wants to have it as their “trophy” in their enormous house with a large garage to display their toys.

Aloha -- Cathi

Our Dining Out From the Previous 2 Weeks

Aloha Everyone,

Here are some photographs of our dining out from the past two weeks:

Aloha -- Cathi

Our Breakfast Selection From the Previous 2 Weeks

Aloha Everyone,

Here are our breakfast selections from the previous two weeks:

Aloha -- Cathi

Big Family News - Birth of Twins

Aloha Everyone,

We ran into Marita on the connecting passage of Landmark. Heard the happy news about the birth of twins in Australia. Marita showed us some photos. The babies are adorable!  .  They are J.J.’s great grandnephew and niece! Looking forward to receiving more family photos.

Each day, the two of us set a goal combined with our daily walking. Today I was looking for Protein Bars from Rustan’s Supermarket. My surgical face mask supplies were getting low, so we also stopped at Mercury Drug Store. For J.J.’s yellow legal pad, we went to National Book Store. 

Stopped for lunch and went out again for dinner with my walking achievement of 7.8 miles or 18,984 steps! J.J. completed a total of 3.0 miles! 

Aloha -- Cathi

Ran Into “Betty” from Princess Cruise

Aloha Everyone,

We were seated at Tim Ho Wan Hong Kong dim sum restaurant near Rustan’s Dept store. Neither J.J. nor I recognized the woman who approached us. When she asked about our next cruise, we told her that we will do back-to-back cruise from San Pedro to Panama Canal. She smiled and said, “Oh, we will be on the same ship. Is it Ruby Princess?"

Still the two of us had no idea. Is she Marita’s friend who was at the birthday party?

When one is out of their familiar environment it can be difficult to place her. I usually place people by their voices, but it seems we did not converse. Betty works as a staff member in the restaurants on Princess Cruises. J.J. and I will be on the lookout on our next trip so we can greet Betty.

Aloha -- Cathi

Movies on YouTube - The Wind and the Lion

Aloha Everyone,

Sean Connery is one of the accomplished actors. From 2012 to 1954, you could view 19 full length films on YouTube. He made 6 films as James Bond but decided to explore other roles rather than being typecasted. 

In 1975 film, The Wind and the Lion, Sean Connery showed his artistry with powerful deep voice with Scottish accent.

This film featured Candice Bergen. The film has a historical interest which parallels what is happening in current geopolitical events.

Aloha -- Cathi

Dental Appointments

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. and I were able to have our dental appointments located at AIRmall at NOVO dental this morning. Took us about 30 minutes to get there via Uber. The dentist who cleaned and air polished my teeth was competent but spent her time trying to sell additional services. J.J.’s dentist was better. He said no problem with J.J.’s teeth and to disregard the tiny chip that fell out. 

The mall is located on Yakal Street where Mrs. David’s building used to be. No trace remains. The district which is far end of Ayala Avenue, the other side of where Makati Diamond is located, appears to be a thriving Chinese community.  Buildings and billboards are all in Chinese.

AIRmall opened about two years ago. This area caters to different demographics including residences and businesses. For example, we had our lunch at JAAM HOUSE of SUSHI. The name is not Japanese and so were the sushi trays we ordered. J.J. instructed no mayonnaise. He said that the quality of sushi was okay.

With assistance from the AIRmall security team, it took 20 minutes to get a taxi back.

Picking up my Boracay t-shirts from the alterations shop was simple. It was prepaid and I didn’t even try it on. 

Going back to Paradise Dynasty, J.J. and I focused on getting at least a couple of new dishes. Japanese cucumbers was excellent but too much added salt. Solution was to use tea to wash off the salt. Red Dates filled with mochi was very sweet & served hot. La Mian with vegetable pork wanton soup was delicious. As previously, we had 4 pieces of Buci packed. I ate one and J.J. ate the rest.

Aloha -- Cathi

Shopping and Repair of J.J.’s Reading Glasses

Aloha Everyone,

Landmark is where they carry Triumph brand sporting outfits. While they use the Triumph merchandise name, the actual products use the Sloggi brand in the Philippines. US sizes are far too large for me. This morning it took me a search of 3 different levels of the department store to finally find the style and size I like. J.J. as always when I am shopping is very patient. At one point, I had 3 different sales people helping me. The last sales person was extremely attentive. When she realized that sample product I brought along are no longer being produced, she found alternatives. I purchased two. 

Next item on our agenda was to have J.J.’s prescription reading glasses repaired. At Magno Optical, the technician was able to come up with a simpler solution. It was easier to just change the frame by searching for the same size. During the time I waited, I walked around to take in the Sunday lunch crowds.

Modern Shanghai in Glorieta is a little difficult to access, but their service staff and the food quality are excellent. It was a nice respite before heading back to Greenbelt 3. Along the corridor near Ayala Museum, we ran into one of J.J.’s nieces and her family out to visit the “city” and celebrate her birthday. 

Tonight we had a simple dinner at Italianni’s close to our hotel. Here the two of us also enjoyed good services, good food and great ambiance. Two thumbs up!

Aloha -- Cathi