“Hey, we should go out for coffee sometime..”
What is “coffee” exactly? Romantic or Platonic? I never know.
It really confuses the shit out of me. I happen to really like coffee so when a guy I haven’t seen in a while asks me to “catch up over coffee” I usually agree. I’m beginning to realize it’s almost never a good idea. I can’t count the number of coffee things(for lack of a better word) I’ve been on that have turned into dates. Worse, the guy will think I’m interested and he’ll feel led on if otherwise. For me it’s platonic, for them romantic. Awkwardness ensues.
Coffee is apparently the new dinner date. It’s non-threatening, casual and inexpensive. The girl’s guard is down, it doesn’t feel like a date and it feels like you’re just hanging out. I’ve consulted with many guy friends about this matter and apparently, guys never simply just ask a girl out for coffee. There’s always an intention and rarely is it platonic.
It’s so frustrating because I want to make friends. I want to have coffee with friends that I have made. What I do not want is to show up for coffee thinking that it’s all platonic and *boom* date pala. Dude, I don’t want to date you, I just want to chill and enjoy my coffee. Now I have to screen every Starbucks invitation to make sure that it’s friendly and not romantic.
Moral of the story. I will not agree to go to coffee with a guy unless:
1) It’s a business meeting.
2) It is clear to us both that we are just friends. As in crystal clear.
3) I am interested in him also. (but come on dude. Ask me to dinner. Am I not good enough for dinner?!)
Guys and girls, please feel free to share your thoughts on the Coffee Strategy. Does it work?
There’s a new Thai place in town! BASIL just opened at the corner of Katipunan and White Plains Avenue. The place is nice from the outside, fancy looking. Tonight, curiosity coupled with our love for Thai food got the better of us and we dropped by for dinner.
Interior and Space – Reminds me of some places I’ve been to in New York. Ambiance and vibe is casual-cool, relaxed. Music is trendy lounge music. Lighting is combination candle/mood lighting. Acoustics in the restaurant are pretty good. Despite a full dining room, it wasn’t noisy at all. We had no trouble conversing. Good for dates, families and groups. (Note: the space is compartmentalized with two “rooms” that would be good for large groups)
Outdoor dining area – weather permitting, assuming it is not hot nor rainy, it would be pleasant to sit outside. Smoker-friendly, too. Also, there a chance you might hear the traffic along Katipunan on a busy night.. not sure how pleasant this would be though.
Basil Menu – Good variety and not overwhelming.
Salads, Appetizers & Soup || Seafood || Curry (not very clear, sorry) Meat & Poultry || Rice, Noodles & Desserts
Papaya Salad (Php 245)– served to us in error since we really wanted the Pomelo Salad. This was quite tasty. I really liked this. They give you a good sized portion. Texture is good, the papaya and carrots were not soggy like in other papaya salads I’ve tried.
Shrimp Cakes (Php 275) – Yum!
Fresh Spring Roll (Php 220) – We liked this a lot! Ingredients very fresh. Served room temperature, indicating that it wasn’t premade and then refrigerated, this made all the difference. The wrapper was quite soft which we liked. They put basil in it, giving it a good flavor.
Prawns wrapped in Noodle – I can’t speak for this dish since it was served to us in error. Obviously they have coordination issues as this is error #2 during our meal. (Error #1 is the Papaya vs Pomelo Salad switch) We made the waitress take it to the proper table but not before I snapped a photo.
Prawns with Garlic & Pepper (Php 375) – Now this is what we really ordered. Don’t be fooled by the way it looks in the picture, it’s really good. However, okay complaint with this, portion is soooo tiny. They really need to correct that. It was evident that it’s not prawns, it’s shrimp. The shrimp, all 5 pieces were quite small and shared between 3 people, were not sufficient at all. We were all bitin. The taste is delicious though, garlic and peppery and yumminess. I don’t know if the portion vs. price ratio is worth it.
Grilled Prawn (Php 395) – Nothing special. You could make this at home. It really is just grilled prawns, not seasoned or anything. It came with some sort of “Spicy Dipping Saice” as per the menu which didn’t give the shrimp enough flavor. it was not spicy either.
Beef Satay (Php 295) – Beef was tender and well seasoned. Peanut sauce wasn’t that peanutty in flavor (whether this is good/bad depends on your preference for the peanut taste). Our problem with this dish was that the skewers were so freakin’ tiny! I feel like all 6 of them = 2 regular sized barbecue. While I know satay is really not supposed to be large, these were extremely small, we felt. These are definitely appetizer and not ulam.
Pad Thai (Php 325) – The bagoong rice was not yet available so we ended up with the noodles as our carb. A great choice! I liked this a lot, the taste was good and they did not hold back on the toppings. My only issue with this is that the noodles were a little mushy. I’m not sure if this is how it’s supposed to be done but I like my pad thai noodles a little more firm. Other than that, this was a great dish.
Sticky Rice with Mango (Php 130) – We are sticky rice & mango experts. I don’t want to get into details of how we are but trust me, we are. Long story short, we know the difference between authentic sticky rice and suman pretending to be sticky rice. This unfortunately is “suman pretending to be sticky rice” so, while it was good in its own special way, it’s not the same as what they give you in Thailand. Sad face.
Dalandan Shake (Php 95) – Ever seen white dalandan? Yep, neither have we. Naturally, we asked the manager what sort of shake it was that they served me. He said it was a lemon but described a lime. In short, this is a lime shake. NOT a dalandan shake. Maybe their bartender is colorblind. I don’t know. They should probably fix this. It was good but again, not dalandan.
The Receipt & Verdict – Okay. It’s not cheap. Oh my goodness. Buti nalang they take credit card otherwise we’d probably be washing dishes. Granted, my family is matakaw but to think, there were only 3 of us (my dad is out of town) and still we managed to rack up quite a bill. The amount of money wouldn’t be so bad however the portions were really on the small side. It was the portions.. that was our major concern. If you are hungry, expect to be bitin. If you are a group with healthy appetites, prepare to keep ordering. That’s what we did.
The food comes pretty fast though (despite the number of diners.) Lastly, be patient with the service, they are courteous and fast but not accurate. They mixed up our orders a lot, served us the wrong thing twice and often didn’t know what dishes were called (when we asked to verify what the dish was). So, the waitstaff still need to master the menu.
Overall, despite the snags, we really enjoyed our meal. Give Basil a try and share your experience! 🙂
BASIL
cor. Katipunan & White Plains Avenue
***Update – July 25 2017 – Some readers have messaged me asking if we should take legal action against this sort of behavior. To be honest guys, it’s not really worth the lawyers fees and are you forgetting that our judicial system is notoriously awful. This is their marketing strategy, they are trying to sell you something and it is not illegal, per se. My suggestion is if you are not interested, just decline politely and move on with your life. Block the number if you have to. Life is too short for bad vibes!
**Update – Oct 31 2014 – If you’re on this page then that means the Club Ultima calls are still being made (two years after my original post). It is a marketing strategy wherein they are trying to sell you something, everyone please be careful. Thank you also to all who shared their experience, it’s been overwhelming how many messages I have gotten. If you are new to this page, read through the comments also. The names and numbers of the callers may be different but the message is the same.
**Update – May 20, 2012 – As suspected, gift certificates never arrived.
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All weekend long, I kept getting calls from this number – 0917-485-1243. On Saturday they called me about 6 times and since I was in a photography seminar, I didn’t pick up. I sent them two texts asking who they were and no reply. Fishy, I thought.
Now it’s Monday 10:00am, the same number is calling so I finally pick up. Here are the details of the call:
Who: Daniel Gonzales
What: ‘Won a 3D2N Stay at any Crown Regency Hotel’
How: I was supposedly referred (but he couldn’t tell me by who or when)
Other Details: He didn’t know my real name and had no other details about me. Asked me if I was single, how old I was and if I liked to travel. He said someone will call me in two days to make a reservation. He dodged all my questions about the call and kept emphasizing how it was “free” and how I could use it anytime I wanted and when I traveled. I figured he was doing this in an effort to keep me from asking too many questions.
Conclusion: I run an internet business and they clearly found me through that.
Second Conclusion: There’s a catch…they’re trying to sell me something, even if they don’t say that right away.
A quick Google search led to a wealth of information about Crown Regency and Club Ultima. Apparently, the gift certificates are real but the ability to use them is not. They are always fully booked when you are trying to stay there for free. They’re worthless. Obviously, if you are willing to pay, availability is wide open. Also, in order to claim the GC’s you will have to sit through a timeshare presentation which is why they are making these calls to begin with. They’re trying to sell you something.
A few years ago, I also got a call from Astoria regarding GC’s and free stays and whatnot. It was the same thing. The GC’s never came. I never bothered to follow up. I have a sneaking suspicion that the so-called 3d2n voucher from Crown Regency will not arrive either.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.. let alone a 3d2n stay at a hotel in Malaysia, Cebu or Davao. Be careful, friends. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
I rarely blog things right on the spot but I think this calls for an exception. I’m sure everyone’s heard of the extremely talented Arnel Pineda also known as the lead singer of Journey. A few months ago my mom met him at the airport, exchanged information and kept in touch. Tonight, we were honored to have him and his family over for dinner. His family is wonderful, his kids are very sweet. His wife, Cherry is lovely and very pretty. Arnel is so kind, easygoing, humble and down to earth. He talked openly about life on tour, his family, his love for dogs, traveling, performing, etc. Good conversation, good food, hours flew by! Thank you Arnel! It was a pleasure to meet you!
With my brother:
&
His family loves dogs and they recently lost one of their puppies to dystemper. Our dog just gave birth so it worked out perfectly. Lucky Pup! She’s now the dog of a rockin’ family. Literally!
He signed our guestbook and a CD 🙂 What a great night!
Connecticut Street is one of my daily haunts. I’m there all the time so when new places pop up, I take notice. I’ve been curious about Naci for a while now so when my friend suggested we eat there, I was more than willing to check it out.
The interior, spacious and well light. I liked the atmosphere, it was laid back and comfortable. The restroom (for those who care) was huge and came with a bathroom attendant. I thought that was pretty cool. It was empty when we went so I can’t comment on the sound level when it’s packed.
Our starter: Chorizo and Brie Puffs. This was okay. It has bananas in it. While I love bananas, I did not like them as an ingredient in this dish. I felt that the flavor overpowered the brie and the chorizo and it would have certainly tasted better without it.
Beef Caldereta Lasagna – Taste, good. It’s misrepresented though. My friend and I both agreed that 1) it doesn’t taste like beef caldereta and 2) it’s definitely not lasagna. It was a creamy ground beef mixture that had like 3 slices of lasagna noodles. The noodles were way too soft also so they added to the creaminess. It felt more like a stew in your mouth rather than a pasta. So again, the taste was okay but it was neither lasagna nor beef caldereta. This dish must be renamed.
Baked Pesto Salmon – This was very yummy. It’s good to share but I wish I got one just for myself.
Dessert – Tiramisu – Okay okay, we played it safe with our dessert. They had an entire selection of desserts but I was already quite full. Next time I will try their cupcakes.
In all, I was disappointed with my meal. I was full yet dissatisfied. Though I will give Naci another try since 4 courses is hardly enough to say whether a place is good or not. There were other menu items I wanted to try so I’ll be back for another go.
Naci Comfort Food & Dessert Bar
2/F Fox Square Bldg. Connecticut St. Greenhills, San Juan City
