Staying Creative Series:Tip #5

In line with the Christmas spirit of selflessly sharing your blessings with others our last tip that we want to share with you all is to share (pun intended) and give back. All the lessons, ideas, and concepts we learn about the ever-changing world around us is meant to be shared with each another. Being creative is not just a singular effort knowing that the world has been filled up with billions and billions of wonderful and interesting people. Any stranger you meet can impart with you a greater understanding of the complexities of human life in itself, but even the best friend you've known for half your life will always share with you something new. Staying creative is knowing how to share what you know with others, in hopes of helping them achieve, in the greater scheme of things, the purpose as to why their life is the way it is. Creativity comes in all breeds and forms, but if nobody shared it from the very beginning, we would not have had the great Picasso's, Shakespeare's, Warhol's, etc.

Our way of sharing and giving back is precisely why this whole blog was conceptualized and tastefully made. No post is ever done in a jiffy! Every post we share with you has been scrutinized and refined by the greatest critics we know, that is ourselves. This is our special way of staying creative not only for us, but for the rest of the world.

With Christmas just around the corner, how will YOU share your blessings? Let us know your Christmas stories. :)

Stay creative and happy reading!

Help Cagayan de Oro

The Philippines has been devastated by the news of the flashflood and a thousand lives lost due to the Sendong typhoon in Northern Mindanao. It hit Cagayan De Oro and affected areas such as Iligan city in the wee hours of the morning, giving our fellow kababayans difficulty in fighting the calamity. Let us please help those who are in need, most specially in this season of giving and remind ourselves that Christmas is all about being selfless. Here are a few ways you can help:

Battle of the Chicken Wings: Flaming Wings

The newest branch of Flaming Wings recently opened at the Bellitudo Lifestyle Boutique in 79 Katipunan Street, White Plains, Quezon City. It was their dry run when we visited but the service was actually really good. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. They always served the food with such huge smiles on their faces.

This is the Chicken Tenders meal which we ordered in Original sauce with Honey-Mustard dip. Although the skin of the chicken was crispy and yummy on the outside, the meat of the chicken itself was bland and under seasoned. The only saving grace of their chicken tenders was their honey-mustard dip which gave it the flavor it lacked. The rice that was served was also very cold and we were very disappointed with its quality. They did not even bother heating the rice again.

We also ordered the Buffalo Wings with the Mild N' Sweet sauce that covered the chicken wings. The dip we ordered alongside with the wings was the Wasabi Mayo. There are 4 choices for their sauce namely Mild N' Sweet, Wild, Smokey BBQ and Original while for their dips there are 6 namely Honey-Mustard, Blue Cheese, Wasabi Mayo, Aioli, Ranch, Balsamic Mayo. The wings were crispy on the outside just the way we liked it! When you order their wings, it comes with both the wing part and the drumette which makes the servings relatively huge for affordable prices. 

For dessert, we got their famous Wicked Oreos which is trade-marked by the owner who started Flaming Wings. It is definitely heaven in your mouth. The combination of the hot "Oreo fritter" and cold vanilla ice cream blended perfectly well once you take a bite out of it. It was also a very innovative way of using pancake batter and incorporating it with Oreos and ice cream.

Overall, the chicken wings in Flaming Wings are yummy while their chicken tenders were very disappointing and normal. Their Wicked Oreos, on the other hand, is what sets it apart from other restaurants. It was an average eating experience.

We're on the second contender in the Battle of the Chicken Wings! Once we complete all 5 chicken wing restaurants, we will be evaluating which one gave the best overall experience. If you have any suggestions as to which restaurants we should try, leave us a comment!

Happy reading.... and eating!

Staying Creative Series:Tip #4

One of the most important things my parents once told me was to always read. They said that everything could be understood if I simply read, and ever since then, it became a habit. Reading gives you the kind of elation that other things don't. It brings about new knowledge and wisdom that you otherwise wouldn't have if you haven't bothered to read at all. The youth these days have become such big fans of gadgets at such an alarming rate which, in turn, distracts them from reading. I know we've all done reading and researching in school. To some, it may even be such a boring ordeal that they never do during their past time. But, see, reading gives you a whole new world to explore and expands your horizons in ways that your PS3, your XBOX, your laptop/computer can't. 

Staying creative is striving to read new works every once in a while to expose yourself to different forms of writing. One of the most powerful tools to be a good writer is to actually read. This also goes for anybody who wants to experience anything remotely new and unfamiliar, reading up and researching can do great tricks for you. Anything you want to know, learn, and gain knowledge about, you can only do so by reading up and researching.

Happy reading!

Staying Creative Series:Tip #3

Documenting the sights, sound, taste and (yes) even smell that you experience everyday is an important facet of reliving that certain moment. Living in an age that every person, young and old, actually owns a gadget or two, bringing a camera with you is an easy feat. Cameras can now be attached to your cellphone, your iTouch, iPads, iPhones, and most people nowadays even own a high-end DSLR. The funny thing about knowing how convenient it is, is forgetting to actually use it. Taking pictures of the yummy food you have eaten is just easy as a 1, 2, 3 click! Technology nowadays has even made it so much faster and easier to edit it, upload it, and share it in just one device!

We take pictures because we love the inspiration that comes with it everytime we find ourself looking back. Pictures are moments in time that are immortalized in a single frame, but can actually produce a thousand lightbulb moments. Not only are pictures a way to remind yourself of the feelings that you had at that exact moment, but it is also a powerful tool of sharing with others those amazing things you felt. The next time you go out of the house always arm yourself with a camera in hand! You never know what amazing thing you’ll actually see that will just beg to be documented.

Happy reading… and picture taking!

Ultimate Taste Test 7.0

The Ultimate Taste Test was conceptualized by one of our foodie idols, none other than Anton Diaz, founder of the famous Our Awesome Planet blog, himself. Anton Diaz envisioned a place that Manila foodies could evaluate and be taste testers of the stalls that would be included for the day. It was such a successful event that it is now on its 7th leg, with more still being planned in the future. He also co-owns the famous food markets namely Mercato at the Fort, Distrito in Makati, and Soderno in Molito, South.

The 7th Ultimate Taste Test was held last November 17, 2011 in Mercato. Anybody who has ever dreamed to be Gordon Ramsay for a day, will definitely be delighted with the whole concept of this taste test. Passports were given out to the taste testers, wherein you can evaluate and grade more than 30 food stalls. It was affordable with tickets being sold only at Php 385. We were so excited to finally experience being taste testers for the day so off we were to our foodie adventure!


CV Tip:When doors open at 8pm, it's advisable to be there 15 minutes beforehand so you get first dibs of the food in the stalls. By 9pm, the place already gets crowded and it gets very difficult to line up for the food stalls.

The pork and squid sisig by Sassy Sisig.

The tilapia ice cream made by Dana Vera Cruz, a professor at the College of Home Science and Industry of the Central Luzon State University. This was also one of our favorites with how innovative it was. At first, we were hesitant to try it but we were surprised with how good it actually was! It did not taste malansa like a tilapia fish. We're actually wondering why it wasn't part of the UTT winners.

Thai street food such as chicken chop by Formosa Express. This was my personal favorite because of how spicy the chicken chops were! They were exactly what I wanted, spice and chicken all in one.

Artisan ice cream by Merry Moo. This was the food stall that actually won the first place in the Ultimate Taste Test. Their flavors are to die for specially their Salted Caramel and Food for the Gods.

This is the Fish and Chips by Blue Bucket Fish & Chips.

The yummy dips by Blue Bucket Fish & Chips.

These were the yummiest dips we tasted all night! Definitely a must-try!

This was the famous Spam Musubi by Happy Tummy. You can choose your sauce from a variety of garlic mayo, wasabi mayo, chocolate and caramel. The caramel sauce was the best one we tasted because of its unique combination of salty-ness and sweetness.

Look at how full our plates were! Nomnom.

This was Taguig's Inutak by Local Inutak Delicacy. 

A lot of people swarmed the UTT 7.0 and for good reason. Thank you to Anton Diaz for conceptualizing such an awesome experience for Pinoy foodies! We're looking forward to experiencing more of this in the future UTT's.

Staying Creative:Tip #2

People are built so well on monotony that everytime they are immersed into something, they experience the same thing that they always have. Maybe it’s the whole idea of a comfort zone that acquaints us so well with what we’ve always known. While it’s good to always have familiarity and basis for everything, the culture and world around us is ever-changing. People have various lifestyles they’re accustomed to but wouldn’t you want to be that person that always tries something new? If you’ve always tried the same food from the same restaurants, you’ll always taste the same kinds of flavors. If you’ve never challenged yourself to pass by your local community’s famous art museum, you’ll never fully experience putting meaning into a local artists’ work. If you’ve never watched a film other than Westernized ones coming from Hollywood blockbusters, you’ve never truly seen the beauty of the global film industry. If your iPod only has a few number of genres and artists that are currently on repeat, then it’s time to explore less known bands and artists.

Staying creative means exploring the world around us and experiencing something new every single time. So when was the last time you experienced something new?

Battle of the Chicken Wings: Sunrise Buckets

Life, indeed, is a box full of chocolates, you'll never know what you're gonna get so imagine our surprise when we landed straight into chicken heaven. Thirdy's brother suggested this restaurant to us to help in our search for the ultimate buffalo wings joint! It seemed like a normal restaurant from outside and was nestled into one of the most unexpected places. But looks can definitely be deceiving. Stepping inside Sunrise Buckets immediately transports you to the whitest sand beach you could ever imagine. Surfboards, Roxy posters, a chill soundtrack which even plays Foster the People and Two Door Cinema Club is what made us fall in love with this place even more.

CV Tip:When you dine here, Sunrise Buckets will provide you with gloves which is an easier way of eating the wings as opposed to using utensils. This has got to be the greatest invention yet! Imagine chowing down on your wings endlessly, with no worries on getting stains on your hands. 

We were excited to try their buffalo wings but wanted to have some variety so we ordered their poutine fries. Basically, poutine fries are fries topped with fresh cheese curds and gravy. This dish originated from Canada and is considered as their usual "merienda" meal.

There were many variety to their flavors but since we were only 2, we ordered only 2 flavors. The first one was the Sunrise Original which was served with a sour cream dip. It was mild and tangy which gave the wings a yummy taste that's similar to the red pepper buffalo wings sauce that you can purchase from supermarkets. What eventually won our hearts over with their chicken wings was the fact that the taste not only resides in the skin, (which, unfortunately, is common in most buffalo wings restaurants), but also seeped all the way into the meat of the chicken itself. 

The second flavor we ordered was the Smokin BBQ. Instead of a mild and tangy taste, this set of wings were covered with their homemade BBQ sauce. The most remarkable thing about these wings is that eating them alone is good enough, the sour cream dip really is just optional. It was so good to the bone that we eventually finished 2 whole buckets before we knew it!


CV Tip:Sunrise Buckets does not sell by the number of wings in the bucket but by pounds which is better because this gives the customer a fair amount, one that is actually good value for their money.

Look how cute and personalized the buckets were, that they'd even put your name on it! Too bad my name was spelled wrong, as it always is!

You can tell by this picture we definitely had a good meal! We had a great experience here at Sunrise Buckets and we know you will too.

Visit Sunrise Buckets at Unit 1, Madison St. cor. Ortigas Ave., North Greenhills San Juan City, Metro Manila Philippines

Staying Creative:Tip #1

We're launching a new section in The Culture Vulture Project called "Staying Creative". It's basically all about learning how to observe, document, and share the culture you see around you. Here's the first installation on this series:

Admit it, once or twice we’ve all been caught in the trance of stepping into school supply heaven otherwise known as National Bookstore. For us Pinoys, there can no other store as complete as the Pambansang Bookstore (not even Muji, which actually is one of my favorite places too!) This is where my love for notebooks actually stemmed from. Sometimes, I’d have to actually stop myself from purchasing another notebook knowing that I have a ton more at home that are still left unopened! For any aspiring writer, carrying a notebook with you at all times is necessary to document all your lightbulb moments in. You just never know when it’s going to happen! The trick is to carry a notebook small enough to keep in your bag and a trusty pen. You’ll be surprised by the amount of things you can actually write, no matter how messy your notes can be at the end of the day. You don’t even need to write down full sentences, just scribble down keywords you think will be essential in helping you write later on. Truth is, the use of the notebook is actually spiraling down with the rise of our ever trusty laptops which can be a faster way of documenting our thoughts. But think of notebooks like old-school love letters as opposed to text messages and e-mails, isn’t the former a lot more romantic? Wouldn’t you prefer a suitor to court you like the old-school way? Romance is the kind of feeling you can’t establish with a gadget as impersonal as a laptop which can be generalized to practically every human being living on this planet. Romance is buying a number of notebooks with pretty covers, and writing on it just randomly. That’s the beauty of being a writer, you get enamored every single day with the romance you make with your own words in your own notebook. If you want to keep yourself creative, buy your own set of notebooks now and tell me how it goes!

Happy reading… and writing!

Ronac Art Center

Ronac Art Center is a cultural hub which is perfect for all the hipsters out there! It is located along Ortigas Avenue and is near Ash creek. Ronac has 4 floors and has been designed artistically so well, that you can’t help but notice the architecture of the place.

Secret Fresh, a lifestyle boutique that retails contemporary art is located on the first floor. Some of the most artistic objects can be found here, from miniature toys, to exhibits, and even seemingly trivial ones like wallets, keychains and T-shirts. The famous burger joint, Charlie’s Grind and Grill, can also be found here with a bigger space and more comfortable setting as compared to their Kapitolyo branch.

The third floor is the basketball court which is dubbed as The Playground where famous players and teams from the PBA practice.

On the upper floor is The Deck is where you can find the ultimate portrayal of urban lifestyle. The stores offer graphic tees, unique caps, stylish bags and most of all, colorful kicks that can really make a statement.




CV Tip:Don’t forget to check the basement because there’s actually more!

The basement is where the Jagnus Design Studio is, an architectural office. There are also a few more stores located here just like the ones you can see at The Deck.

Ronac is a good place to immerse oneself into anything that is urban. Check this place out if you want to witness contemporary art at its finest.

Happy Reading!