Kogi-Q Yakiniku Buffet at SM Seaside

We were at the SM Seaside in Cebu City to do some ocular surveys of the area for a project we are doing there. After the survey, we decided to have our lunch at the mall and checked out the restaurants at the top floor. Among the familiar and new (to us) restaurants we saw there, we were attracted to a buffet style barbecue restaurant.

The restaurant offered a 399-peso eat alll you can lunch buffet. This caught our attention as well as many others based on the restaurant being almost full before 12nn.

Photo shows the items for the grill

Some of our selections prior to their being grilled

We got shrimps, sausages, fish, beef and chicken

Restaurant interior showing almost all the tables already taken

View towards the buffet selections

Needless to say but we had a hearty lunch that day. We made sure to pace ourselves so we had no leftovers while trying to "maximize" what we could eat. We were even joking that we probably won't need to have dinner that day. The restaurant offers good value for your money (399 pesos/person!). Don't expect something like Vikings, Sambokojin, or Dad's though as you might be disappointed if you did. Most customers/diners don't and that is why perhaps the restaurant is very popular.

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Meals at Changi Airport

The trip to Sri Lanka had a layover in Singapore. I actually had two other choices - Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur - but opted to go to Singapore instead, which I thought offered the better services than the other two airports. I have been to Suvarnabhumi many times and though I haven't been to K.L. (we took the bus to Melaka many years ago from Singapore), it had been sometime since my last trip to Singapore and many things have happened at Changi including the addition of a Terminal 4 where the budget terminal used to be. I am also aware that there are new attractions like the Jewel and am very familiar with the shopping options there. I thought it would be helpful to familiarize myself with Changi as I will be back here with the wife in late November.

This sign attracted our interest. Its definitely Chinese food but we are still wondering if the 'Encik' was the same as our "Intsik" term for the Chinese.

I opted for the spicy noodles with fried dumplings and some milk tea.

There are many relatively inexpensive eats at Changi airport

A friend opted for the noodles with chicken fillet slices as toppings and strawberry

More on food and other attractions at Changi soon!
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A short tour of Colombo - Part 1: Sri Subramaniya Kovil Hindu Temple

My recent travel to Sri Lanka allowed me to go around parts of the country. Of course, we had to do a tour of Colombo even before we set out to see the attractions beyond. One of my friends engaged a local who approached us as another friend was securing a simcard. We ended up with hopping into a tricycle (tuktuk) and doing a half-day tour of the city. Our first stop was Sri Subramaniya Kovil Hindu Temple.

A view of the temple as we approached it on a tricycle

We parked not far from the temple and I took this second photo

One is awed by the details on the building and how well-preserved it is despite the years of use

Up close to the temple, one is simply amazed or at awe about the details that from this angle seems to rise up to the skies. And did you notice the form of the clouds at the upper right of the photo? :)

We didn't go inside the temple though we did take a peek from the main door. Our guide and one of the people inside were waving for us to go in but we respectfully declined. We though we might appear too touristy and might offend worshipers though they might be used to tourists having a look inside this sacred place.

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Chocolate review: Leonidas chocolcates and Milk 30% Salted Caramel

I already stated before that we don't usually get milk chocolates unless we have some idea that these would be really good. In this case, Leonidas is a brand that has some sentimental value to me as the first box of chocolates I gave to the Clairvoyant was a box of Leonidas pralines that I bought at a shop at the Landmark mall in the Minato Mirai 21 district in Yokohama, Japan. The latter city was my home for 3 years in the 1990s when I was studying in Japan. I written about this chocolate a couple of years ago and the wife picked up a couple of Leonidas bars at the airport en route back home.

Milk chocolate containing 30% cacao and salted caramel

Details on the chocolate at the back of the package

It is good to know that Leonidas is part of a group that advocates for sustainable cocoa

Nutrition information

The chocolate is wrapped in foil

The fact that this is a milk chocolate and had salted caramel meant that this tended to be on the sweet side. Still, this was quite enjoyable for us though the wife only had some small portions to nibble while enjoying a glass of red wine post dinner. This is high quality Belgian chocolate that you will surely enjoy even if you (like us) prefer the dark chocolate.

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Morning meal at Changi Terminal 4

I was looking for a quick morning meal when we arrived at Changi's Terminal 4. Fortunately for us, we had a more than 4 hours layover and could have a second breakfast (we had our first on the plane between Manila and Singapore) and lunch before our afternoon connection to Colombo. And so before taking a bus to Terminal 3 for us to check-in to our Sri Lankan Airlines flight, we decided to take our time and have nice warm meals at T4.

I was delighted to see this sign at a restaurant in Changi Terminal 4

My favorite ripe mango with sticky rice with the coconut milk on the side

While this appears to be a snack to many, it is to me a full, light, vegetarian meal. The mango variety in Singapore (and in Thailand where I've also enjoyed this at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport) is different from the ones we have in the Philippines. Of course, I prefer the Philippine mango varieties but there's something about the combination and the freshness of the coconut milk that makes one crave for more of this.

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Vintage Doxa from 1950s

My collection includes this vintage watch from Doxa - one among several Doxas I have. It bears the term "anti-magnetique" under the brand name on the dial. This indicates that the watch was probably released for the European market.

This watch features a sub-dial and these nice lugs

Side view showing the crown, which is newer than the rest of the case so it should be a replacement one

The other side view

Case back showing the watch's serial number

Inside of the back cover and the movement

Inside of the back cover

Manual signed movement for this pre-Synchron Doxa

Close-up of the movement shows some numbers. Still, it has not been enough for me to identify the movement and determine the specs. I suspect at least for this watch to be running at 18,000 A/h. I have timed it to run for 43 hours on a full wind without significant gain or loss for that duration so this one's working quite well.

Wrist shot using a leather nato strap

This is a nice piece particularly bearing the kinda unique lugs as shown in the photos. These watches can be fitted with suitable leather straps that could make it look great as a dress watch. Or perhaps it can be fitted with a nato like the leather one I use with it now for a more casual look and feel.

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Surf and Turf, Davao City

We decided to have an early lunch before we checked out of our hotel in Davao. We spotted this restaurant the day before and being near our hotel, it was perfect for our meal before we headed to the airport.

Surf and Turf is located along the J.P. Laurel Avenue (national highway) near the intersection with Mamay Road and across the Damosa IT Park.

Menu shows scrumptious items

Lobsters are on the menu. Unfortunately, we had a flight to catch and didn't want to eat too much.

Chalk board near the bar showing available items to customers

Close-up of the board showing what's available and their corresponding quantities

Tables at the restaurant - we had early lunch so we had the place to ourselves for a while

We ordered grilled salmon and shrimps

Shrimps cooked Cajun style

The grilled salmon was just right

The cup of rice is actually a pint. This reminded me of a similar serving of rice in a restaurant (Boiling Crab) in Los Angeles one time our cousins took us out for dinner.

They provide a bib and plastic gloves for those who would prefer to eat with their hands. While I typically eat with my hands at home, I don't use gloves made of plastic or any other material. You just have to wash your hands thoroughly before and after a meal. The plastic and bib are just additional, unnecessary waste.

We had good meals at Surf and Turf and will probably eat there again some time if only this were the only good resto in the city. It is good to know you have a fallback where you know you can get a good meal. Price-wise, this was not a cheap resto nor was it an expensive/fancy one so its not for your everyday meal.

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The Seiko SKX 399

Seiko manufactured limited release models of its popular divers watches in the ASEAN market. These have become collectibles, and since they were limited release and typically made only for about a decade, they have also become rare. There were two models produced for the Philippine market - the SKX 399 and SKX 401. Of the two, the 401s are the rarer and more expensive ones. These seem to be quite scarce and depending on the condition may fetch a price between 15,000 to 30,000 Pesos (~300 to 600 USD). The 399 is also supposed to be rare but there's suddenly a lot available on the market lately. I have one with all the original parts. Only the bracelet is aftermarket but an original Seiko, too. I got this one for the equivalent of 180 USD.

The dial distinguishes this 7S26-0020 model from the more common and still in production SKX 007. The hour indices are chromed and rectangular.

Side view showing the crown

The other side view

After market jubilee Seiko bracelet

Case back showing the serial numbers. This watch was manufactured in June 2004.

The obligatory wrist shot

Close-up of the dial shown some scratches on the bezel, which has nicely faded into a dark bluish color. The color of the DIVERS 200m is a light red

I have another one of these watches but I got it with a replacement/new bezel insert. That made it cheaper but nonetheless a good catch for a 399. I use both from time to time including recent trips. They keep time with minimal gain or loss observed for 3 days of regular use. Moreover, both are still water resistant and have used them while swimming in the pool or beach.

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Seiko Flightmaster 7T34-6A00 vintage alarm chronograph

I have this quite unusual watch that has so many features including a slide rule bezel. It also has four sub dials including one for the seconds, one for the date and another for the alarm setting. It is an alarm chronograph from Seiko that was supposed to have been to designed to aid pilots as well as engineers.

The Seiko Flightmaster looks like a very busy watch with the 4 sub dials, the buttons and the rotating bezel.

Side view showing the crown and two buttons - one for the chronograph and the other for setting the alarm

The other side view showing two more buttons. One for the chronograph and the other for the alarm

The back showing the model number, water resistant and serial numbers indicating the watch to have been manufactured in October 1995. The watch was manufactured in the 1990s and all indications plus some research state this to have been Made in Japan instead of having a Japanese-made movement and assembled elsewhere.

Close-up of the four registers within the dial. Chrono timer at the top, calendar sub-dial at right, alarm setting at the bottom and second sub-dial at the left. Notice the rotating bezel, which is a slide rule.

Wrist shot after I changed into a custom leather strap. The original stainless steel bracelet is with me but the watch looks better with the leather.

The watch has quite a number of features aside from the chronograph and alarm. Most interesting for me is the rotary slide rule by which one can make certain calculations (assuming you know how to use a slide rule.