The Fantastic Life of Jonathan Bangoy

The poster of the concert to help JB

Bangoy had just visited me in the office. Like any regular day he had signed in as a regular employee and was amiably chatting with everyone.

Except that he was not with J Romero anymore. But in his mind, he still thinks he is.

A sad and awkward feeling fills the air. We were worried but elated to see him healthy and remembering us. He was a great guy, fun to be with, he was flamboyant and he was a gifted writer. We were there to cheer him from his rise as a young OJT at J Romero, to him being rehired here as a copywriter and his winning the Young Kidlat to Cannes with Gigay. But all that enthusiasm changed after he had an unfortunate stroke after the competition, during his mid 20s. And after the birth of his second child.

JB makes it to PDI

But fate would tease him after waking him up after weeks of being in a coma. Suddenly he wasn’t the same old JB. His memory of the present seemed frozen in time. He had to struggle with short-term memory loss like Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates. He became a man-child, but his fiery enthusiasm remained the same.  

After months of therapy, he returned to J Romero. My friend Abby called him the perfect writer because you can give him JO’s and make him revise copy again and again, since he can’t remember anyway. But still great talent took over, but still he is coping to search for answer, trying to remember everything, until he just stopped working. Or so we think.

 I was one of the few lucky ones he still remembered, but he remembers me as the Chris Ong during his OJT days. It was great that he was improving as the years passed. Occasionally he would drop by J Romero and still asked for a job, sometimes he would visit Shu to want his old job back. Sometimes I would find him in the pantry or seated at his cubicle and we would just let him be. It was the least we can do.

There was one time he had visited me in long sleeves and to ask if I could give him information about McCann and he wanted to apply as a creative director. I could see the determination in his eyes as he struggled to correct his slurring. “Who do I look for?” “Raul Castro,” I said he’s the ECD.” ”You wait, pare, they’ll hire me soon.”

It was the last time he ever talked about it.  Then months after he would just send YM’s randomly. I sense the change in his character his fiery enthusiasm remained the same.

JB makes it Adobo with Gigay Q.

On the morning of September 15, JB passed away in his sleep.

He was 33. He had lived a great life. An awesome life.

Not many will have the chance to experience what he had gone through.

Winning the Young Kidlat. Featured in Adobo. Going to Cannes.

JB always told us to be bigger than the moment, This IS his moment.

And that fiery enthusiasm always remained the same.    

  

Still the Best Xiao Long Pao

Din Tai Fung is expanding like crazy, they're now all over Asia but they haven't arrived in Manila.
With the most delicious xiao long pao and pork chop rice I can eat here everyday...

xiao long pao are soup dumplings. you dip in black vinegar an sip the soup before you eat it. freshly made everyday, these dumplings are the pride of din tai fung, a taiwan based chain with branches even in the US. and if you're here expect the long lines because the food is always and consistently good. 


din tay fung is at the silvercord mall hongkong
it also has branches at wisma atria in singapore
paragon basement in singapore
even marina bay sands

Is this how you put on a car plate?

Just asking

Malaysian Food Street

hungry in sentosa? try the malaysian food street. where the food is always good, lah.
this one's near universal studios. if you like hawker stuff, MFS doesn't disappoint. A bit pricier than your usual hawker fare but the food selections are great and of course delicious.

Malaysian Food Street at Resorts World Sentosa

there were so many choices serving a malaysian specialty. we didn't know know where to go first.
but here are some of the stuff we ordered -

prawn mee

hokkien prawn mee - delicious with generous servings of prawn, the soup is just right and it doesn't have the "lansa" or fishy taste that is the loophole of most shrimp based soup

claypot chicken rice with salted fish - i've tried other claypot chicken rice elsewhere but this one stands out with generous servings of chinese sausage and the salted fish gives it an extra twang. At 9$ Sing this one's good for two, or one mean appetite.

ice kachang

ice kachang - yum yum might give the halo halo a run for its money, but the kaong/ coconut ball is too big 

the satay looks yummy, too.

give it a try.

and check out the view outside

comments? suggestions? disagreements?
email me photographr@gmail.com

A quick bite at the Incheon Airport

Stuck at the airport? What do you do with your lull time? You eat, of course. The airport has a lot of dining choices, in fact there's more at the second level.

We had the omurice it was too mustard-y but it was ok

we also had the seafood noodles. this one was too spicy for my taste but it had generous amounts of seafood. we were full after then we were off to manila.

太湖海鮮城 Taiwoo Seafood Restaurant HK

chinese restaurants are plentiful in hong kong. but there's one place that made my trip unforgettable.
Taiwoo Restaurant is an award-winning resto from HK Culinary Board for their Crispy Juicy Stewed Beef entree. They also made it to the Michelin guide. So off we went, hungry and eager after a night of rain at TST.

We immediately ordered the beef dish.  (三弄回味牛肉) About HK$100+ per order.
The beef was chewy tender, with slight hints of crispiness because the beef was slightly seared. Cucumber slices were wedged in between to add texture to the dish. It was simple, delicious and worthy of the its rating.

We also we ordered Steamed Tofu with Crab Roe (Not sure of the name)
but this one was really, really good that we had to order extra rice.

So next time you're in hongkong don't miss this place. I shall return soon.

Tai Woo Restaurant (太湖海鮮城)

Wow 3 locations in Hong Kong and Kowloon

14-16 Hillwood Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Tel: 2368-5420

27 Percival St., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Tel: 2893-0822

192-198 Shau Kei Wan Road, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong, Tel: 2569-5144

Rating: 5 spoons

A hit and miss at Kokoro Ramen Ya!

tempura

i have reserved feelings for Kokoro ramen ya.
I heard this place is partly owned by the former Japanese cook of Shinjuku Ramen.
But they have a different menu.

The place looks classy and during their soft opening, servings were big. That is why we have eaten here a total of 3x because of the very good ramen. When we went back for 4th, we were disappointed that the fried california maki became smaller and so did the ramen servings.

I recommend ordering the Hakata Classic (Php 325), a very creamy pork-bones soup ramen which they claim was boiled for 10 straight hours. This ramen is worth your trip alone.

The Gomoko Ramen (275), a seafood ramen in clear soup is also a favorite.

You can add additional toppings to your ramen to enhance the taste like the soft-boiled egg, chives, corn and butter or nori.

There are also ala carte items, like the ever-favorite Tempura and fried rice. The fried California maki was also good but it becomes smaller everytime we go there.

Japanese fried rice

their signature ramen - yummy sana

But alas, somebody tried to play a naughty trick on my sister by putting in what looked like armpit hair in the ramen, which we complained and was replaced by... another bowl with the same f-ing curly armpit hair. To make things worse, nobody from the staff ever bothered to apologize so we paid the bill and left in disgust.

Best ramen na sana, but they have go to get their act together. The armpit hair is revolting.

First trip 4 out of 5 spoons
Last trip 3 out of 5 spoons

Kokoro Ramenya
2/F Avenue of the Arts, 1388 Roxas Blvd cor Sta Monica Ermita, Manila

HAAGEN DAZS 50% off

got this from chuvaness.co
an ice cream sale never sounded this good. rush to your favorite groceries now.  while there are stocks... goodbye haagen dazs goodbye over-indulgence.

Yong Nuo YN460II is compatible with Lumix LX3

after a long search for a flash that works with my lumix. let it be known that the lowly yong nuo yn460 can work with any model particularly the lumix. there's no TTL but i'm happy to use it manually. BTW YN-460II only retails for 2,300 online.

post some pics later

urbanite run

aug. 15 marks my first marathon.
kenny's urbanite run.
and the country's first marathon held at night.

Paalam Pidol

Dolphy died the other day. It was a sad day for comedy. But I felt sadder that the press were like vultures camping outside the Makati Med for almost 3 weeks, like vultures waiting for its prey to die.

What's wrong with this picture?

I love Santis, but this looks awful.

Foodshots: Brothers Gourmet Burgers

Chicken Fajita

Roast Beef

Crispy Fish

Some Gourmet sandwiches from Brothers Burger. I was lucky to shoot and sample them when I was able to interview Mr. Quito for an advertorial I was doing for a client. All were delicious, of course.