Wonderham's Super Secret Stash

"WONDERHAM is a comic of a rambunctious, cheeky hamster's antics. He survives life in a mundane pet shop with an overactive imagination, rodent acrobatics, gluttony for late night TV and a super hero alter ego."
- James Li

Wonderham's Super Secret Stash is a CafePress store with products featuring James Li's Wonderham. There's a line of products made just for the holiday season, including greeting cards, mouse... err hamster pads, bags and shirts.

Visit Wonderham's Super Secret Stash at www.cafepress.com/wonderham.

Pure Soaps

Pure Soaps is an Online store run by my friend, Jene Wallace. She produces natural soaps, lip balms and scrubs made of vegetable glycerin soap, olive oil soap, shea butter soap, soy soap and goat's milk. They make great holiday gifts. The craftsmanship is neat and each one smell good enough to eat! I just bought a bunch of these myself and am going to arrange them in some custom containers for a couple of special gifts.

Since I'm a follower of natural health, 2 rules I try follow are: 1) If man made it, don't eat it; 2) If you can't eat it, don't put it on your skin! These soaps are good stuff!

Check out Pure Soaps at pure.etsy.com.

Gala Manor Banquet Hall (for Dim Sum)

Location: 37-02 Main St., Flushing, NY
Cuisine: Chinese
Phone: (718) 888-9293
Prices: About $11 per person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 9
Service: 8
Value: 7
Environment: 8

Frequency: Frequent

I spent the day off in Flushing, so I had Dim Sum with my parents at Gala Manor. Normally, this place is an expensive Chinese Restaurant, but during weekday lunch hours, they have dim sum at budget prices. It was nice to get back to some real dim sum after the fake stuff in the Philippines!

I'll start with my favorite... siu mai. I always get 2-3 orders of this one. There were no special toppings, just a measly kernel of corn. But more importantly, it was nice and meaty (some places mix a lot of dough into the ground pork). Yi chi gau is my parents' favorite. It was also pretty good here. I don't like it in some places because sometimes there's a weird after-taste for me. We pretty much went with our usual routine today. Other dishes we order were pork ribs, beef ribs, turnip cakes and honey tofu. One new dish that I haven't seen before was a bittermelon dumpling. It was a slice of bittermelon surrounding a pork meatball. It was interesting... nice contrast of tastes. If you haven't had bittermelon before, it's an acquired taste.

Service was pretty good. The carts came by frequently and we didn't have to wait long to get all of the dishes we wanted. The staff was prompt in clearing out finished dishes and filling up our tea kettle. The space is extravagant (well, it's a banquet hall) and very clean.

It's amazing how versatile large Chinese restaurants such as Gala Manor are today. They could accommodate a very expensive wedding banquet and have budget lunches in the same place. I didn't get to try this out, but they also have a booth where you can order custom dishes.

Camera's Eye

I'm in the middle of editing the wedding video and it feels like I'm attending the wedding for the first time. When I was shooting on December 1, it didn't feel like I was there at the wedding. I was merely working on auto-pilot as I framed each scene with the camera. This happens all the time when I'm filming. I concentrate so much on getting the shot that I'm not actually absorbing the moment (the event) itself. When I actually take everything in while editing, I'm getting a somewhat superhuman experience because I'm seeing the event through the camera's eye. I get more details than the majority of guests sitting in the church because of the zoomed scenes. I get to hear the dialog without the distraction of ambient sound in the room.

Adjusting to the Flow

The part I hate most about long vacations, particularly ones to Asia is the recovery time upon return. I don't do well with jet lag when I'm back home. It's been over a week since I got back and I still feel its effects. It's more than just the sleep too. My body seems to malfunction in many ways. I usually get sick because my immune system feels weakened. I also get cold in temperatures that I'm normally OK in.

Philippines has its quirks. It's hot, damp and smelly. The hotel I was in was in the process of being built and my schedule was extremely busy. But in the end, I would much rather be hanging out with my extended family than battling through NYC rush hour. Perhaps this adds to why I get jet lag on the way back, but not when I head West.

Unfortunately, the pains and effects of the return trip are what get stuck in my mind when I think of vacations to Asia. And it makes me reluctant to make another trip soon even though it's paradise once I get there.

Pinoy Superstore

Have family in the Philippines? Now there's an easy way to get X-mas gifts to them. Check out Pinoy Superstore, a service run by my cousin, Richard Ng for people who have friends and family in the Philippines...

www.pinoysuperstore.biz

There are a wide variety of store items that include flowers, gift baskets as well as high-end electronics.

6 for 6 in Delays

The return trip on EVA was also plagued with delays. Delays are part of flying, but it's just ridiculous when it happens 100% of the time... 6 out of 6 flights! The flight from Manila to Taipei was delayed for "fleet rotation." Shouldn't things like this be accounted for in the schedule. A fleet rotation should be planned for and accounted for. This was a 3-hour delay! This was followed by 2 30+ minute delays on the next two flights. As good as EVA's flight/safety record is, I have yet to experience a smooth landing. But at least we walked away, right?

Greenhills Élan Hotel Modern BETA

Location: 49 Annapolis St. Greenhills, San Juan, Philippines
Phone: (632) 744-7878
Website: www.greenhillselansuites.com
Price: Standard Room ($50)
Credit Cards: All major

Rooms: 6
Service: 8
Value: 8
Amenities: 7

Length of Stay: 6 nights

Swire Élan Suites is a condominium conveniently located in the heart of Metro Manila, across from the Greenhills Shopping Complex. The lobby and first few floors were recently converted into a hotel, Greenhills Élan Hotel Modern. I labeled this establishment as BETA because portions of the hotel are still under construction.

The rooms were laid out nicely and have a Japanese/modern look to them. Some items weren't complete though. A couple of the lights were missing bulbs and the broadband Internet wasn't "live." The bed was comfortable. The minibar and bathroom were very complete. The AC was efficient and cooled the area quickly.

The hotel is run by some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Everyone is very polite. Any problems that came up were taken care of right away for the most part. I didn't give it a "10" because there were a few areas of inexperience. Keep in mind that this is still in BETA. In a little while, I'm sure this would become a "10."

The elevator system was a little strange. The doors closed way too quickly and have no sensor to tell you that someone is halfway in. The gym, located on P2 along with the recreation room was in bad shape. The equipment itself was all there, but many of the machines were not completely assembled. This floor could use a full time staff member. Internet service was spotty and overpriced. It was 150 Pesos ($3.50) per hour or $600 Pesos ($14) per day. Internet access at the business center (6th floor) was 60 Pesos ($1.40) per 15 min.

Related: Review of Élan Café, Swire Élan Suites

Gloria Maris Dim Sum

Location: Greenhills Shopping Complex, San Juan, Metro Manila Philippines
Cuisine: Chinese, Dim Sum
Hours: MON-THU (11am-2pm, 6pm-11pm); FRI-SAT (10am-2pm, 5:30pm-12am)
Phone: 722-5508 to 10, 721-3504, 722-5760
Prices: About $10 per person
Credit Cards: All major

Food: 7
Service: 7
Value: 8
Environment: 7

Frequency: Unique (for dim sum)

Gloria Maris has been THE Chinese restaurant in Manila for a while now. They've expanded to be several restaurants within the main restaurant... hot pot, dim sum, etc.

The Dim Sum here was actually pretty good... much better than the fancy Summer Palace. There sui mai was descent. They had something I've never come across before though... shark fin sui mai. It's the usual prok sui mai, but mixed with some shark fin and wrapped in seaweed... almost like hot sushi! We ordered extra bowls of those. They "halo-halo" congee (congee with everything) was pretty good too.

The wait staff was polite, but unskilled. When we got to the table, items were randomly missing. One spot had no plate, two had no chopsticks, etc. The waiter brought back items one-by-one. Also, when we ordered multiple quantities, he would bring them over one-by-one. Soup was served without soup spoons... the waiter used another trip to get the spoon... not efficient at all.

The environment was clean and well-designed. Seating was comfortable.

Related: Map

Christine & Nino

My cousin's wedding... the highlight of the trip to Philippines. Everything went well. The wedding took place at Grace Christian Church, a nice cozy church in Grace Village, Quezon City. The reception was at the Crowne Plaza Galleria Hotel, one of the top hotels in Manila and a common location for wedding receptions. The wedding and reception were both short, sweet and simple. We all had a chance to catch up with family and the newlyweds and didn't have to sit through a parade of events.

The professional video above was done by Ohdy Genilo and Lomel Genilo of Smart Shot Studio. Amazingly, it was edited between the ceremony and reception. The final cut was played for the guests on a large screen during the reception. That's what I call extreme editing!