It has become a matter of great concern among overseas Filipinos that the money they send to the Philippines has unwittingly been fostering a pensionado attitude among their beneficiaries. Even worse, a culture of mendicancy.
It is in this context that the programs and projects of the Foundation for Aid to the Philippines, Inc. (FAPI), a private non-profit organization based in Maryland, deserve recognition and emulation.
Bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz brings teenaged vampires and their immortal longings to life.
The many readers who were introduced to Melissa de la Cruz, age 38, by her profile in Entertainment Weekly’s vampire issue on July 31, 2009 have lots of reading to catch up on.
Published by Disney imprint Hyperion, the Blue Bloods series is the latest of several novels Melissa has authored since her first, Cat’s Meow, was released by Simon and Schuster in 2001. That book displayed her uniquely Filipina gift for the absurd in a work she describes as “P.G. Wodehouse meets Sex in the City.” Melissa’s eye for the inane soon went into investigative mode in 2003 with the nonfiction exposé on overexposure she co-wrote with Karen Rabinovitz, How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (Random House), which originated from an eponymous article in Marie Claire.
There are stories all around us, though we may not always hear them. Author and playwright Merlinda Bobis considers it her job to listen. If stories are like music, Merlinda listens to even the quietest of murmurings, keeping her ear tuned to the small, human experiences that often go unrecognized. Everyday moments of tenderness, suffering, cruelty, and bravery inspire her most. “It’s the story that we stumble upon, or sometimes don’t see or don’t comprehend, that snags us into some conspiracy of feeling, of passion,” she says.
The art of juggling is a skill seldom associated with writers. But for freelance scribe Yvette Tan, it best describes her life as a journalist. When not contributing to a seemingly endless stream of newspapers, magazines (including Filipinas), and even television shows, this self-described media mercenary and obsessive foodie even finds time to write a blog for the GMA network website.
Mercury Lounge with Chef Dominic Ainza
Christina Dunham interviews Mercury Lounge Chef Dominic Ainza of Mercury Lounge
Fusion is Another Word for Wonderful
By Christina Dunham
Out of this world treats await at Mercury Lounge.
Funk in the Trunk, $2 Tuesdays, East Meets West Wine Wednesday, Thirsty Thursdays, Fernet Fridays.
If you happen to stumble into Mercury Restaurant & Lounge on 12th and Folsom Streets in San Francisco between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m., these are the theme events that will help ease you out of work mode, and get you in the mood for a good time.
Originally located in the Marina neighborhood on Lombard Street, Mercury moved from its long and narrow 1,300 square foot location to the heart of the SoMa District six months ago, occupying what once was funky burger joint, Hamburger Mary's.
With Executive Chef Dominic Ainza at the helm, Mercury's sleek Pan Asian-fusion restaurant and lounge areas have served as backdrop for several private and corporate events, including Citizen Hope's mixers and a Google division's Holiday 2008 Party.
"What differentiates us from other cuisines is that we stay true to what Asian cooking has to offer. For us our food is defined by a few standards in mind--that we are using ingredients that can be found in Asia, we are cooking with Asian techniques, or a combination of both," says Dominic.
He explains, "For example, our eggplant adobo, we make the sauce ahead of time and we then quick fry the eggplant, then add the eggplant to the wok, then wok toss it with the sauce. This is a very typical Chinese technique, yet the end result is a Filipino product. That's what global Asian cuisine is, bringing different cooking techniques, mixing it with traditional and non-traditional items and coming out with a specific and unique food, but yet is still strongly Asian in origin. Some call it fusion, but when I think of fusion, it means using traditional European techniques, with non-traditional ingredients. My version is taking Chinese or Vietnamese or other Asian techniques and mixing with the multitude of different Asian ingredients."
Asked what prompted him to get into the restaurant business, Dominic is a little stumped. A graduate of the prestigious California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, he says he originally attended cooking school because he simply wanted to learn how to cook, "So that I could enjoy restaurant-quality food at home. My training is classic French techniques, because that was the curriculum that was being taught. But I was also introduced to many different techniques from different regions around the world as well in school."
As with many Filipino families, food is central to many celebrations. "In our family, we started a tradition that everyone under 40 years old cooks for Thanksgiving, and the over-40 cook for Christmas. Usually we prepare traditional American for Thanksgiving, and traditional Filipino for Christmas. It's always exciting to see what new young cooks will be preparing."
Dominic adds, "I didn't want to work in the kitchen. I was hoping to do recipe-testing for a magazine or some company. Restaurant work was furthest from my mind, even until the last day of school." But an internship was required for graduation, so he bravely approached Betel Nut, an award-winning Southeast Asian restaurant on the Union Street strip in the Marina. "[My internship at Betel Nut] opened up a whole new world for me. Working with Chef Alex Ong and the different sous chefs like Daniel Sudar made me want to become one myself. Everything I know about Asian cuisine and the restaurant business started there." And the rest, as they say, is history.
After three years with Betel Nut, Dominic went on to become the opening Sous Chef for Poleng Lounge, another well-regarded contemporary Filipino/Pan-Asian restaurant in San Francisco, under Executive Chef Tim Lyum. "Dom was a huge influence on me," says Chef Tim, who has kept many of Dominic's culinary creations on the menu.
Prior to running Mercury Lounge full-time, Dominic also served as Sous Chef for Michelin Guide-recommended Red Lan-tern in Redwood City. There, he reunited with Daniel Sudar, now the Executive Chef responsible for the restaurant's highly acclaimed Pacific Rim cuisine.
At Mercury, Dominic opted to create a menu that includes food that can be cooked fresh and quickly. No pre-cooked or "fresh frozen" to be found here. "If I could, I would include food that takes a long time, like kare-kare and other stews, fresh out of a pot. I would love for a customer to walk in and tell me they want kare-kare, with tripe. Then they would sit for thee hours to wait for it. I would put oxtail and tripe in its own pot to stew for two to three hours, and when the meat is done simmering, combine the rest of the ingredients together using fresh peanuts, toasted rice powder, and fresh vegetables. Nothing like a fresh cooked pot of food."
A sampling from Mercury's Spring 2009 menu includes items like Crispy Salt and Pepper Sea Bass, Drunken Honey Walnut Prawns, Sweet Potato Fries with Sricacha Mayo Dip, Garlic Tamarind Glazed Short Ribs, Filipino favorites like Sizzling Grilled Sisig, and my personal pick, Crab Curry Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage. Perhaps if you had the patience, you can add Kare-Kare to this list.
