Chinatown Discovery: Quick Snack Restaurant

Visited Chinatown last weekend with my mom and decided to try out something new. It was new for me as it was my first time to eat here but my mom frequented this place with my grandmother when she was younger.

Quick Snack is hidden along a narrow alley called Carvajal St. where both sides are lined up with fruits for sale, there is really nothing fancy in this area but you can feel the old Chinatown vibe still present up to now. Stores line up as you walk and during Saturdays and Sundays, it can get more crowded than the usual.

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Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao in Manila, Philippines

The famous Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao is now open to serve you in Manila! Located at the ground floor of Virramall inside the Greenhills compound, it's not the old Crystal Jade in Greenbelt before. This is the same restaurant that's famous in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Indonesia and other Asian countries.

I heard that this franchise came from Singapore and not from Hong Kong. I'm not sure how that will affect the taste of the food but quality-wise, it's similar to the ones I've eaten in Hong Kong. The Manila version has no Teppanyaki grills though.

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao opened September 13, 2010 in Manila and today is their 6th day of operation. I arrived at Greenhills around 1030am and there was already a line! I had a brief meeting and did some errands before deciding to line up. On the list was several categories. They separated the "For 2 people", "For 3-4 people" and the "For 5-6 and up people". Chances are, the turn-over for the "For 2 people" would be faster. Luckily, it was only me and my brother that day otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to try it out.

 Uploaded this photo using Twitter for iPhone via YFrog

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Govt Should Upgrade Fire Fighting Units!

I took that photo when I arrived...

Volunteer Firefighters work by heart. No pay, No schedules. Round the clock. Unlike Govt, which depend on their pay. They even lack equipment. Government should address this issue.

Last night, I responded to a fire at around 10pm in cubao. When I arrived, it was still small. After a while, the alarm was raised to 5th alarm. (Normally, from 1st, 2nd then 3rd....) after a few more minutes, it was raised to Alpha.

Lets just pray for the Fire Victims.


At least 500 families face a bleak Christmas after a fire of still undetermined origin razed their shanties in Quezon City Thursday night, a radio report said.

Radio dzBB reported Friday morning that many of the displaced families were brought to the Bagong Buhay Health Center following the fire, where an 80-year-old resident suffered burns.

The injured resident was initially identified as Pompeyo Genove, who was rushed to a nearby hospital. No other casualties were reported as of 7 a.m. Friday.

Local village officials said the families need food, clothing and other basic goods as they lost their belongings in the fire.

As of Friday morning, P. Tuazon Street remained closed to traffic as local residents cleaned it up.

The fire, which started at 9:43 p.m. Thursday, reached Task Force Charlie before firefighters finally declared it "out" at 3 a.m. Friday.

Initial investigation showed the fire hit several shanties made of light materials at Century Compound in Tagumpay Village in Quezon City.

Firefighters had a hard time battling the blaze, running out of water at one point.

The Armed Forces sent a fire truck after the winds threatened to have the fire spread towards the direction of its headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo. - GMANews.TV

Philippine Politics

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Lim hikes workers salaries; Bayani not so good after all

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim has announced a 10-percent salary increase for all permanent employees of city hall while workers who have remained in their present position or post will be promoted to the next rank.

Since I have said in my previous articles, Lim is a good Manila Mayor. Dirty Harry image and Robinhood to some, although without the stealing and giving to the poor part.
Wage Hike Article


On the other hand, Bayani Fernando, on second thought, isn't all great. His recent proposal, Banning fire volunteers from responding to fires or putting them under BFP's control, isn't ok. at all!

Let me just vent some stuffs. a few years back, our office had a fire somewhere in makati. all the government trucks, in front of the fire scene, was just literally watching, telling us they had no water. wtf!? will you go to a war without bullets? then this... I dont have any proof, you just have to take my word for it. they asked for money first before they will start bombing the building with water. great, right?

let me get back to the topic. banning volunteers would be the most stu*** thing they will do. most of the fire scenes, volunteers arrive first, equipped, helping people with all their hearts, since its voluntary work, without pay. now, they are saying that they will put volunteers under BFP? then BFP should pay volunteers if thats the case! Helping others doesn't need heirarchy. everyone is equal.



this is just from the back of my head, I wonder if they have hidden agendas on why they would ban volunteers? Bayani, pls think hard before doing this. If you do this, houses would be burned to crisp and only one working firetruck would be there at the scene. can you handle that? Are you a Henyo


Philippine Lotto Results

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