Miquel’s – rock band lovers heaven in Cavite September 8, 2006
Posted by quiapo in Cavite Adventures.add a comment
Miquel’s was created to solve one problem rock music lovers in Cavite have, to have a place to watch real rock bands live without going to Manila.
Yes, the bands are mostly unknown, and they mostly perform covers. But boy do they perform! I haven’t seen a regular act of Miquel’s do a boring set… (much unlike the time we went to 70’s Bistro and watched Pinikpikan… all the three of us were sleepy after their 1st act) because the bands want to entertain the audience but not by acting like a show band or a cover-tribute band. Most of the songs played are covers of popular rock outfits such as Kamikazee, JTC, PNE, Sugarfree, Urbandub… etc. but the bands always make sure to injest some of their personality on the songs… ala Apo and Eheads tribute albums. Their performers are arguably Cavite’s best rock bands. One band in particular, Sound Method, stands out with their riotous antics, funny adlibs, and solid performances. No dance floor here though, if you’re the disco type gimikera and you wanna shake your bottom you’d better drive to Cowboy Las Pinas, Padi’s Las Pinas or Padi’s Cavite City.
Miquel’s is for the headbanging pop-rock fellas, I think it is the only one left actually. Most of the bars in Manila that have bands performing are either 1. acoustic/rnb types, 2. dance music types 3. snobbish/artsy/elitist underground rock types or 4. poser turf. Of course, these 4 types mix and match to create various varieties of “gimmick” places. Just go to Tomas Morato or Malate and see them (and burn dough).
The bar is located near Island Cove, some 500 meters before if you’re coming from Manila I think. Socialites beware because this place does not have airconditioning. It is, however, open-walled ala Pier 1 so ventillation problems are easily solved by the numerous electric fans. The crowd is amazingly diverse, from rich college kids that come from Lasalle Dasma, to yuppies like me who just want to have a beer and listen to good music, to old guys who just love rock music, to barkadas and families which are celebrating someones birthday… some people dating… and yes sometimes there are jologs who go there, but do not fear because they are well behaved (mostly) and cannot afford enough beer to intoxicate them (hehe). If you don’t have a date, just oggle at the waitresses which wear short maong shorts and sando. The waitresses are pretty hot, except for a few which look like drag queens.
Every month, on their “big night” (for lack of a better term, Big night is actually used more on strip clubs haha) they get a popular band to perform. Last June it was PNE, July I saw Kamikazee, August had Shamrock (I know… management had a big mistake). There are talks that Kamikazee will be back this September.
For the expenses, Miquel’s comes in pretty cheap. Last time we went there, we had 7 beers and sisig and it cost us something like Php 300+. I can’t recall the beer price, but it’s safe to assume that it’s less than 40 a bottle.
Malen’s – Revolutionary Cuisine June 24, 2006
Posted by quiapo in Cavite Adventures, Reviews.4 comments
In the coastal town of Noveleta, there is an old restaurant in a new building. A few meters from the McDonalds outlet in the town proper, there is a single storey structure near the bridge, with simple transparent glass outer walls and plain white inner walls having some wooden architectural touches, and cars crowding the front parking lot.That's the view you'd see outside Malen's new location. Once inside, the place is like a museum, old swords, revolvers, army gear, medals, newspaper about the wars, and countless other war memorabilia adorn the glass cabinets and walls of one of the food wonders of Cavite I recently discovered.
Malen's in Noveleta, Cavite is a Katagalugan history themed restaurant that serves great Filipino food and for some strange reason, pasta. The interior of the restaurant chronicles the history of our country like it was a hall ripped out of the national museum. Artifacts from the Philippine Revolution to the second world war are everywhere. The ambiance is like Max's, but with a revolutionary twist and the Filipiniana and chicken references stripped down.
The menu is also revolutionary, literally! A quick glance of the menu would have you wide eyed and thinking about their Revolutionary themed meals: Kaldereta ni Sakay, Menudo Ricarte, Revolucionario, Propagandista, Filibustero, Armas blancas (the invisible man – like the vertigo comic book), independencia, Filipino Cowboy pork chops, Filipino Warrior pork ribs… and more. Revolutionary twists on Filipino delicacies. They serve good pasta, but these babies take pinoy cooking to a whole new level.
Unfortunately I have only been here once (due to my hectic schedule), we ordered their Kare-kare and roast beef (I forgot the "Revolutionary term" for them). for drinks we had green tea which tasted quite funny but nonetheless tasted good. The price is typical for a mid-market fine dining resto, the meals are priced from around 90 pesos to 200. The roast beef is at par with Dad's and Cravings, it was soft, mildly cooked, with a gravy sauce which didn't overpower the taste of the beef.
However, the one thing I loved about the resto is their kare-kare. The Kare-kare is sooo tasty I swear I haven't eaten such great kare-kare as theirs. For you non-Filipinos, Kare-kare is a soup based viand. The common ingredients are pork, sometimes pork intestines and other innards which I do not think icky American's would try, some green veggies, with the soup based on ground peanuts. The orange coloured soup is poured onto rice, and the meat is dipped in shrimp paste (the infamously smelly Bagoong) Normally the soup is thin, but Malen's version is quite thick with probably powdered peanuts and one can't get enough the rich peanut taste. I can eat rice with only the sauce and bagoong and I'd be in gastronomic heaven =)
There are a lot more revolutionary cooking which I plan to try on my future visits to Malen's and I'm planning to go back soon and try something new, for those people trying to find an interesting affordable fine-dining restaurant in Cavite (and you're bored with Max's hehe) I suggest you check this place out. They are open Tuesdays to Sundays I think from 10 am till 10pm.
My Cavite Adventures – A Foreword June 24, 2006
Posted by quiapo in Cavite Adventures.add a comment
Welcome to the part of my blog where I chronicle the things and places I have discovered about Cavite, which I guess is my adopted province. I am a native of Cainta Rizal, which is East of the Philippine's capital Manila. Cavite is on the South and frankly I never went there, except during trips to Tagaytay.
I first came to Cavite on August 3, 2004 my second day on my first job. I was assigned to two housing projects in Dasmariñas, Cavite and I had the pleasure of working for LPHI, a subsidiary of Ayala Land, and is now known as Avida Land. My boss then, Sir Emerson Arguelles, loves to eat out and he'd take us guys out to restaurants and other nooks in and near Dasma. Our food adventures became our primary bonding channel.
With Boss and us, his field-cost engineers, food was a better bonding agent than beer or women. I think we are the only site-office which had much more food trips than inuman/beer house sessions. See, Boss has a problem with his liver so he rarely joined us in our drinking sprees. Also, like my married former officemates, Sir was very loyal to his (or very scared of hehe) wife so going to beerhouses (which Cavite is quite notorious for…) was almost never on the agenda.
While our food adventures never got to the extreme of hunting for the province's finest resto's it did serve as the foundation for my new found hobby of discovering Cavite, the amazing history that it has, and great food served by their best restaurants which, sadly, isn't known to the "Dayo" (non-natives) of the province.
Join me as I chronicle the interesting stuff I learn about the land of "near Manila" housing projects, the seat of the revolution, and of the squala.
