Daph's, Pan Philippine Highway, Plaridel, Quezon

Our trip to Naga City introduced me to a lot of restaurants. Among the most memorable, of course, is one we designated as our midway stopover either way of our trip. Daph's along the Pan Philippine Highway or Asian Highway 26 (AH 26) is easy to spot along the road in Plaridel, Quezon. It's basically the only big restaurant there (others are more like eateries) and is strategically located along the seaside. The restaurant offers an excellent panorama of the sea (actually Lopez Bay) and Alabat Island in the horizon.

The restaurant provides travelers with fine vistas of the sea. This is certainly something many people would like to have as a view while working or relaxing.

Crispy tapa for our tapsilog with native hot chocolate on the side for our breakfast en route to Naga City

Restaurant interiors - nothing fancy, all functional or utilitarian

You can't miss the restaurant and its large sign along the highway

Sizzling tanigue (Spanish mackerel) steak for our lunch on our return trip to Manila

Pancit (fried noodles)

Halabos na hipon (shrimps cooked in salt and water) - a simple but very satisfying dish

Their version of grilled squid is very tasty especially with their barbecue sauce

The food here is definitely good for a no frills type of restaurant. The prices are also just right considering their target market are travelers making stopovers during what would usually be long trips using their own vehicles (not those taking the bus). The staff at Daph's are very attentive and helpful with the menu. The owner-manager also is usually there and checks his customers from time to time; making sure they are served properly and in a timely manner. The restrooms are clean and there's adequate parking spaces. What more can I say but it is highly recommended for a stopover for people traveling between Bicol and Metro Manila.

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Botejyu, Feliz Mall

Ayala's Feliz Mall at the boundary of Marikina and Pasig has a good number of Japanese-themed restaurants. These include those specializing in ramen, katsu and, in this case, okonomiyaki. We haven't eaten at Botejyu before and I wanted to try their okonomiyaki. And so we ended up having our Fridate (Friday date) dinner at the restaurant.

Menu showing the countries where the restaurant has branches including of course their origin in Japan.

Their specialty is okonomiyaki

Restaurant front at the Feliz Mall

Ramen

Burger steak set

Their special okonomiyaki

The food was definitely good and the okonomiyaki is a treat for those who want to have this authentic, tasty Japanese dish. The staff are attentive and helpful with the items on the menu. It also doesn't hurt that the prices didn't put a proverbial hole in your pocket. We recommend Botejyu for a good meal, whether its lunch or dinner. Perhaps one can even have a heavy merienda here, ordering their specialty okonomiyaki.

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Longines Ultra-Chron vintage watch

I almost forgot about this watch that I acquired late last year. It replaced another Longines that I already gave as a gift to my sister. This one's also an automatic but more special considering it is an Ultra-Chron model. Chron here stands for chronometer.

The watch has a date feature and roman numerals for the 12th, 6th and 9th hours.

Close-up of the dial - ultra-chron stands for ultra chronometer

Signed crown

Case back

This is a 20 micron gold-plated watch

A wrist shot of this classic piece

A photo of the movement the last time I had the watch serviced last December 2018.

Another, clearer view of the movement that runs at 36,000 A/h.

I only have two "hi-beat" watches running at 36,000 beats per hour. These are my King Seiko 4502, a manual wind watch, and this Ultra-Chron, which is an automatic watch. This works fine and perfect for special occasions that require one's timepiece to be more elegant than rugged, especially with formal wear like the Barong Tagalog. You can argue all you want about a diver or G-Shock being a statement with formal wear but to me it only shows you have no style. Ah meron pala - baduy! :)

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Market days in Antipolo

My early Saturday mornings are usually reserved for a trip to the market. I do this so I can get our week's supply of seafood and vegetables. I also usually get eggs and fruits (mainly bananas) that's good for the week. Once or twice a month, I also get our supply of dried fish. These are usually danggit, dulong, tuyo and squid that we enjoy over breakfast. You know, that's the typical Filipino silog breakfast.

Seafood - always part of my market list are various fishes including galunggong, tanguigue and tuna. I also usually buy shrimps (sometimes prawns if we plan to have grilled prawns like when we are hosting lunch or dinner among family and friends).

There's a lot to choose from in terms of vegetables, tubers, etc. Our suking vegetable stand also sells very good quality daing na bangus (milkfish) and I typically buy 2 packs of 3 each from them. These are already marinated and ready for frying.

I don't usually go to the meat and poultry section as we get our meats from the supermarket. Beef, pork and chicken are usually bought from either of two supermarkets we favor for our other groceries. I'm posting photos on the market from time to time. I am usually early (around 6 AM) so that its not yet crowded and I have first dibs on the merchandise (hindi pa napagpilian).

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Bob Marlin, Naga City

The top pick in as far as restaurants are concerned in Naga City is Bob Marlin. The restaurant is popular especially at night when large groups (families, officemates, barkada) gather to have dinner and perhaps enjoy some live music while dining or drinking.

Restaurant logo at the entrance

Restaurant interiors

Grilled pork liempo

We opted for pancit this time around as it included a generous amount of vegetables

Pancit canton

Grilled tanguigue

Restaurant front

There is a certain ambiance to the restaurant. Of course part of its charm is the good food they serve and the fact that these are priced just right for you to be eating their more frequently than the more expensive restaurants. There's healthy competition with nearby restaurants offering similar items (also likely similarly priced) on their menu as well as live music as an attraction. But Bob Marlin retains its regulars and attracts visitors so they must be doing right by this business. And we'll definitely be back to eat there again whenever we are in Naga City.

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Kureji Sizzling Ramen

There is a ramen restaurant just across Medical City where a cluster of buildings host business processing outsourcing (BPO) offices.  There was a Japanese-themed bakeshop that served good coffee and even better cakes and pastries but it was gone. Now there is only the ramen restaurant. The wife had eaten there before but said it seemed too spicy for her. But she was willing to give it another try and perhaps order another item from their menu. Our daughter and I were already hungry and we had wanted to eat so we decided to have our late lunch at the restaurant before going back to the clinic for our daughter's check-up.

Recommended dishes, which I assume are their specialties

I was amused by the interiors, which featured this divider with the familiar figurines.

Their take on the classic chicken karaage

Their miso ramen for the wife - they served it sizzling and the soup to be added a while after.

Shoyu ramen for me - the stone bowl was very hot and staff make sure customers knew of this

Another photo of their interior showing tables and another blackboard

The ramen was okay but I guess I am not accustomed to the spiciness including the aftertaste. I've eaten spicy ramen before in other restaurants' tantanmen as well as the stylized one with Wrong Ramen but this was not as enjoyable as those. We also found the pork to be quite tough. I was expecting it to be soft and easy to chew like the char shiu in other ramen (e.g., Ikkoryu, Ramen Nagi, etc.). I am not even sure if this was actually their take on ramen. If it were, I would suggest they rethink their recipe considering they are basically the only legit ramen restaurant in the immediate area of Medical City.

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Chocolate review: Chocolat Stella Intense Dark Chocolate

Here is a chocolate that we've enjoyed before. I couldn't figure that out at first as the maker changed the box design.

Intense dark chocolate 75% cocoa

Details at the back of the box

Ingredients

Nutrition information

The design changed but the quality didn't. This is still a very good chocolate, which, at 75% cacao, doesn't taste as bitter as that content suggests. It is still smooth and very enjoyable. Definitely a good buy for a dark chocolate.

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On homemade cheese cupcakes

I mentioned to the Clairvoyant that it seems that we won't be enjoying the cheese cupcakes we used to buy from the now defunct Shoppersville. The last bakeshop was now closed and I never thought my purchase of a box of cupcakes and brownies a couple of weeks before was the last time I would be getting these goodies. It looks like they are closed for good. 

And so the wife took some inspiration from that and after getting bit by the proverbial baking bug, decided to make some cheese cupcakes from scratch. It helped that she has a new mixer and got some 'assistance' from our daughter who had prodded her to make some cupcakes so she can take them to school for her baon.

Checking the cupcakes in the oven includes checking the temperature

The cupcakes were baking just right

Cheese cupcakes fresh from the oven

The cupcakes were great and reminded me of those we got at the old Shoppersville. Now, we know we can make these at home at least from time to time.

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On the topic of retirement age

There is a new law that lowered the age of optional retirement to 55. This means people have the option to retire early and get the benefits due them. Prior to this, the law only provides for optional retirement at 60 for government employees. The private sector had different policies or rules according to the company. Thus, different companies may offer many versions of early retirement packages not counting rationalization plans and/or redundancies. But while the typical retirement age in the private sector is 60, companies often provide for extensions given the right conditions or situations. My father actually was given a rather generous extension by his company when he was about to retire at the age of 60. Being a senior manager at the manufacturing plant where he worked, he was even given a promotion - becoming plant superintendent until he finally retired at 65. But that is more an exception that the rule for private companies.

There is one senatorial candidate who says he will push for the extension of the compulsory retirement age to 70 years instead of the current 65. I share this view as from experience, there are many including my own parents who were still very strong and productive after 65. They could have contributed more in terms of their capabilities at that age. However, I also think the workload could be lightened in order to also reduce stress levels. Of course, other benefits may also be provided since senior citizens have different needs compared to younger people. I believe their minds (i.e., wisdom) and experiences can be invaluable to companies or organizations. I know a former High School English teacher of mine who is in her 70s who still works as a consultant for a BPO.

There is also the practical and financial aspects to support this proposal. One friend opined that even for people who had good paying jobs, there is much uncertainty as to whether their retirement pay (i.e., ) will be enough for them to have comfortable living for the rest of their lives. Of course, there are those who probably had good investments during their younger days but these are again more the exceptions than the norm for most Filipinos. Most people only rely on their GSIS or SSS pensions but there are many expenses that need to be considered aside from the typical necessities like food and shelter. There are also expenses related to health like medicines, check-ups and medical procedures. And not everyone own their homes or are in perfect health. And so it makes sense to give more options pertaining to retirement.

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Junghans vintage watch with Cal. 687 movement

My watch collection includes several German brand watches. I have written about the Glashuttes, the Laco, the Anker and the Pallas. This time, I write about another watch that is also quite collectible - Junghans. This is a 17-jewel manual wind watch I acquired only this year.

This watch has a simple dial - no day or date feature. It says Made in Germany at the bottom of the dial.

Side view showing the crown

The other side view. You can notice that the strap had been 'customized' so it would fit the 17mm lugs for this watch. Cutting off part of the leather can be tricky as the strap might become loose if more material than what was intended were removed.

A very clean case back showing the watch to be of stainless steel, shockproof and water-protected. I assume this Junghans was a model intended for the international market as, unlike the Glashutte watches I previously featured, the features are in English (instead of in German).

Here is a wrist shot of the watch

The watch runs on a Junghans Cal. 687 movement running at 18,000 bph with an original power reserve of 45h. This was a photo I took with the old strap still on the watch.

I have worn the watch several times and it runs very well. Each time, it has functioned for more than 40 hours while gaining only a few second over that period. Not bad for a watch that was probably made between 1963-1969, which makes this 50 or more years old.

Note: I said goodbye to this watch a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, another collector got it so I know its in good hands (wrist?) rather than it being peddled for profit [June 12, 2019].

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