Tasting the dream at O'Sonho Portuguese Fusion

Very rarely do I feel genuinely touched by the hospitality of hosts, and the charm of their employees especially when it comes to dining experiences. Last Friday though, I was able to experience just that, thanks to the very warm people behind O'Sonho, a Portuguese fusion restaurant. 

For this particular visit, I was acquainted with one of the owners of O'Sonho, the Atenean, the wife and mother that goes by the name Cris Barancik. The place was not that easy to find for part-commuters like me as it is located at the far end of Jupiter street, near Makati avenue, but it was surely worth my time even after a long day at the office. 

Cris starts by introducing us to the concept behind their bread and butter. A cute, little story involving one's love of food and things Portuguese eventually led to her mentioning her husband and his desire to open a restaurant that can satisfy his tummy. Indeed, men have very demanding appetites to the point that unless they truly get full to the brim, they won't stop looking for other things to end their cravings. At the end of the day, we're just like women who also find this urge to munch on food that appeal to us till we're left smiling. 

Labor of Love

When a person gives his 100% to pursuing his passion, he's almost assured of a home run. Cris and her husband Anton always make sure that they and their people give their 100% in making the necessary ingredients for their famous dishes. "At O'Sonho" Cris gleefully inserts, "everything's a labor of love." True enough, most if not all of the ingredients they use in their dishes are made in-house. She says that there's an inexplicable uniqueness to dishes prepared this way, and their customers often detect that.

Personally speaking, I was taken aback by this discovery since I am aware of how difficult and time consuming it is to be making your own ingredients. While other restaurants just purchase or import their materials, here is O'Sonho producing their own. It takes more than just passion to commit to such painstaking chores--there has to be love in there too, and that they have aplenty!

Personal Experience

What I found very interesting in O'Sonho's approach to coming up with flavorful dishes is the intensive thought process behind every dish. From the naming to the actual cooking, the owners and their staff are hands-on all the way. In fact, should customers give recommendations on particular areas, they're quick to acknowledge them for future attempts at certain dish evolutions. 

Besides, it's always customer satisfaction that they strive for so everything has to appeal to each guest on a personal level. "We've had Portuguese guests before who prefer having the real Peri-peri sauce so of course, we oblige." Cris adds. She explains that while there are adventurous diners who specifically want to go through the real Portuguese experience, involving a marriage between and among spices, there are still the typical conservative diners who prefer keeping things at a minimum. Depending on how they want their food served, they can always tell the staff their preference. 

Calculated Risks

As with any business venture, Cris and Anton's O'Sonho was not an overnight sensation. Despite receiving tempting offers for venue options, they opted to establish their first branch along Jupiter, Makati. "The Philippine market then was yet to be acquainted with Portuguese cuisine. We had to see how things would turn out first," says Cris. Now at two years in the area, their Jupiter branch is still popular among frequent and new customers. 

It was after the big success with their first branch that they decided to open a second one, this time touching base with customers near Eastwood. From what I heard, their Eastwood branch is always packed with guests, regardless of the time and day of the week. 

The Food

This is where I start to get serious. If theirs is a dedication to satisfy, mine is a dedication to be satisfied! We were served some of their popular dishes and it was hard to resist the inviting scent of each one. Let the photos speak for themselves.

Appetizers to Main Dishes 

 Caldo Verde, considered by many as Portugal's national dish. 

Made using finely sliced kale leaves and, in some cases, smoked sausage.

Chorizo Sisig, a dish that uses chorizo made in-house.

 Portuguese Chorizo, O'Sonho's personal take on this famous dish.

Peri-peri Chiken Pasta, O'Sonho's version of the popular Peri-peri Chicken. 

Only this time, it has pesto and sun-dried tomatoes!

O'Sonho's Salmon, a mildly sweet-tasting dish accompanied by herb rice. 

Fish Fillet in Saffron, a dish that makes use of REAL saffron and is by far my favorite O'Sonho dish. For someone who hates fish, I loved this over the others served to us. Mild in taste but hard to quit. 

Desserts

 Tres Leches, a tempting, sweet ensemble of three kinds of milk hence the name.

 Java Toblerone Mousse, a dessert that will make you want to have your spoon/fork ready at all times.

Hey, it's chocolate!

 Sorbet(e) Frito, O'Sonho's popular fried ice cream. It got its name from the way it is prepared: ice cream inside a fried bread-like shell. And there's a glazing of mango purée too!

Beverages (for the night, at least)

 Mint Tea, freshly brewed mint leaves in tea press. 

Being the person that I am, I preferred this over soda.

Solo.

Fishbowl for sharing. 

Fresh Iced Lemon and Peppermint Tea, freshly brewed tea with sliced American lemons and a hint of peppermint. Healthy and refreshing! Available in Solo and Fishbowl.

Overall, I enjoyed my first visit to O'Sonho. I have always heard of how good their food is but after hearing the story and the amount of labor and time they devote to preparing each dish and its ingredients, I learned to understand it more than just appreciate it. For naming this fusion restaurant or restobar "O'Sonho," Cris and Anton have finally realized the word's true meaning as in Portuguese it means "the dream."

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O'Sonho Portuguese Fusion is located at #20 Jupiter Street, Makati City; and at 1880-5, 1880 Bldg., Eastwood Mall, Eastwood City, Libis Quezon City

Reach them through 896-3289 (Jupiter) and/or 470-1768 (Eastwood)

Store hours: usually from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm (Jupiter), call for possible changes in schedule

Auntie Fang Jing: A loving mother, wife, and friend

It is always difficult to resume daily life after losing someone close to you. Auntie Fang Jing eventually realized that after her husband, Professor Liang Congjie, had gone, she had to work  harder, this time to fill his shoes. 

I met Auntie Fang Jing last January during a leisure trip to China with some friends. She stood no taller than 5 feet, had a thin frame and kept her graying hair neatly brushed. Most striking of all her features was her warm and unpretentious smile. It made me wonder how she was coping with her husband's death. . 

“It’s cold in Beijing!” she exclaimed. “For first-timers, it can be very unforgiving, so make sure you put on a coat and scarf at all times to keep warm.”

At the time of my visit, it was a freezing -8 degrees Celsius, with wind chills falling two degrees lower. I took the liberty of suggesting that we have dinner at the first privately owned restaurant in Beijing, located along a small hutong not far from our hotel, the Jade Garden. We headed out on bicycles, with Auntie Fang Jing leading the way.

As we entered the small restaurant, she noted the smell of cigarette smoke and the din of diners' conversations. 

“Well, it’s alright. We’re here and we’re all hungry,” she continued.  I suddenly felt sorry for suggesting the place. The hostess for the night turned out to be the daughter-in-law of the original owner of the well-known restaurant who proudly told us of the accolades their small establishment has received over the years.

L-R: Yuri of Lost Tsinelas, Brian of The Philippines and Beyond, and Auntie Fang Jing

Settled at our table, we finally had the chance to talk. It was a bit tough to open the subject of the professor's death. The news was all over the internet, and big media companies carried the story. Before I could even utter a word, the widow sweetly said, “It is always nice to see friends. I used to meet friends from your Foundation with Liang Congjie, but now it is just myself.” It was hard not to notice the hint of sadness in her eyes even though she was smiling. Whenever someone from the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation happens to be in Beijing, he or she makes it a point to invite the couple to dinner, to catch up and exchange pleasantries.

The couple are well known in China, particularly Beijing, and even overseas. Professor Liang established the first nongovernmental organization in China, Friends of Nature. Dubbed “the father of Chinese environmentalism,” he inspired others to form their own organizations to protect the environment. His wife moves in  influential circles. Although she is from the private business sector, working for international companies, she is just as passionate as her husband about the environment and his other causes. Theirs was a genuine partnership.

When asked about the professor's final days, she responded in a straightforward manner: “He was becoming very forgetful by the day. Sometimes, he would forget where his glasses were, and the names of places and things. Eventually, he would even forget the names of friends…even me!” I recall being told that Alzheimer’s disease greatly affected Professor Liang. There were times when Auntie Fang Jing would take over her husband's duties. Instead of being heartbroken, she toughened up, as she would say, “for the two of us.”

It was easy enough to notice that behind that smile she constantly had on her face, she was still grieving the death of the man she loves. The night went on with the widow telling stories, speaking of how great a man the professor was. She adored the man and his principles, and loved him for who he was and for being a responsible and caring husband. She stood by him through the toughest of times and was at his side till the very end.

“He was well loved...Many of our friends were there to honor him in an evening ceremony we organized to commemorate him. He will always be remembered by the world,” she remarked.

The night ended with her, motherly, seeing us off safely. She rode back with us to the hotel, and hugged us good night. I was stubborn for not wearing my coat, and as we bade each other farewell, I felt she was worried that I might catch a cold. I should have listened.

With a final glance, she left with a smile that said, “Thanks for the visit.”

Testing Sony's VAIO E Series

Every once in a while I feel the urge to stray away from my blog's niche to provide extra service to my readers. For today, I'd like to share my assessment of Sony's VAIO Eseries laptop as it is quite hot among the youth. 

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Several colors to choose from. Photo credit: Sony India

Looking for a laptop for your everyday PC needs? The Sony VAIO E Series might just be the thing for you.

The Sony VAIO E Series offers both style and performance for people-on-the-go with moderate computer requirements. The E-Series models are available in 14”, 15.5” and 17.3”.

I was able to get my hands on one of the smallest models, a 14” VPCEA35FG unit to be exact.

 Above photos show 14" E Series unit. Photo credits: Sony Philippines 

Design

The unit I got had a Glossy Basic design, complete with a transparent finish that covered square gradation pattern on both the lid and the palm rest.

The use of isolation keyboard (also known as Chiclet or island-style keyboard) makes it easier to use for some users as it allows unobstructed typing. However, unlike the E series’ other sizes, the 14” models have no numeric keypad.

The touchpad is located just below the spacebar. It has a rough surface which kind of feels good as it does not have a sticky feeling as with some smooth-surfaced touch pads. Also, it’s great to know that it supports multi-touch gestures.

At 13.60 x 9.39 x 1.07 inches thick and just 2.35kg, it’s easy to take it with you anywhere you go.

Display and Audio

The 14” LCD screen has a clear and bright display. Videos and images are sharp. With a maximum resolution of 1366x768, you can enjoy widescreen viewing with 16:9 aspect ratio.

The machine’s sound system is the key weakness. The speakers are definitely weak, even with the application and the system’s volumes maxed out. In some cases, you'd hear some buzzing sound along with the audio file you're playing.

Ports and Supplemental Drives

The model I tested had three USB ports located at the right side of the unit, while the left side holds the VGA, HDMI and eSata/USB ports.

The audio ports are located at the front right side of the unit while the card readers are located at the front left side.

The webcam is clear, even in a dimly lit room.

Windows Experience Index is used by Microsoft to measure the system’s hardware and software capabilities and is expressed by a base score. The base score is determined by the lowest subscore among the listed components. Having a higher base score means that the system is expected to perform better as compared with systems with lower base scores.

As with the screenshot, the Sony VAIO E got a base score of 5.0 because of the lowest component, Graphics.  Keep in mind that just because it got the lowest doesn’t mean that it’s already a problem. With the combination of 2.40 GHz Intel Core i3 and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470, the model unit still performs well.

I only tried 2 games – Left4dead 2 and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. Both games, having both of them on max, ran expectedly great – smooth graphics and no lags. However, since the video card is an entry level, middle class graphics card, it is expected that it will have difficulty in loading graphics-intensive games such as Crysis.

The battery could last to about 3.5-4 hours as long as it stays on battery saver and around 2 hours if used on high performance.

The wifi is capable of supporting 11n protocol which is currently the fastest among the wifi protocols.

Other Features

·        Quick keys – The Sony VAIO E series has “Quick Keys” just above the keyboard. They are shortcuts to some functionalities of the system.

o   Assist – if pressed while the machine is off, it will run System Recovery.  Personally, this is troublesome when used by others who do not know how to operate the computer. If pressed while Windows is running, it opens the VAIO Care application.

o   Web – like the Assist button, Web also has two states. If the web button is activated while the computer is turned off, it will open Splashtop browser, an internet browser that allows the user to surf the internet without having to load the entire windows operating system. If activated while inside the operating system, it will open the default web browser.

o   VAIO – This opens the Media Gallery application

Summary

The Sony VAIO E (VPCEA35FG) is an ideal system for people who want style to go with general purpose use – document processing, internet surfing and average games. If you’re more into multimedia functions, a different system with better sounds, and a higher resolution is recommended – more so if you’re looking for a gaming rig.

At the end of the day, I'd still use my ASUS G53JW as I can't afford having delays in what I do. The VAIO E Series is a cute gadget though, and is less bulky than my monster for an ASUS laptop. 

Soon to open: Ya Kun Kaya, Mall of Asia

If there's good news to be heard, it's this. One of m favorite kaya establishments is soon to open its Mall of Asia branch, right beside SM Hypermarket. 

Not everybody knows of what kaya toasts are but they're quite popular in Singapore as breakfast snacks. A good friend of mine even buys a whole bunch for him to munch on the whole day. Kaya toasts are often paired with a generous amount of yakun or yacon spread, one that gives the snack its distinct flavor. I personally love asking for extra yakun spread just because I'm a kid who loves thick amounts of jam spread all over my toast. Also, while others like drinking coffee with their kaya toasts, I prefer eating them with hot chocolate--dipping the toasts halfway before finishing each serving.

Ya Kun Kaya, Mall of Asia is scheduled to open in May 2011.

Nerds: A box of rainbow sweetness

I'm back with another reliving-my-childhood-memories episode and this time, it's a lot sweeter and colorful! A few days ago, I watched a movie to try unwinding after yet another stressful workday. Of course I had the usual popcorn, chips, and soda but my tongue was still far from satisfied. So I asked to be excused and went straight to Candy Corner to look for an ideal sweet alternative snack. After a few minutes of debating between getting a box of jellybeans and a box of Nerds, I ended up buying the latter--a wise choice if I may say so! 

My very first Nerds experience takes me a long walk down memory lane. I was in first grade and I was only given Php 20 daily allowance, to be used for miscellaneous purchases. For kids my age, there was nothing better to use money for except to buy the yummiest treats. A classmate went to me to share with me a few bits of small, sweet candies of bright neon hues. "Ano yan?" I asked. "Nerds. Sarap no?" my classmate replied. (What's that?; Nerds. Delicious, huh?) It was hard not to ask for more! Regardless of what flavor you choose, there's this competing sweetness and sourness, typical of Nerds candies. My favorite has always been the red colored Nerds. I would assume they're either watermelon flavored or apple flavored; I could just munch on them the whole day! 

The weirdest experiment I did with Nerds candies was to sink a generous amount of red Nerds candies in a glass of cold Sprite (the soda). My friends found it disgusting but the taste proved them wrong eventually. 

These days, I rarely chew on candies as diet preferences have shifted upon growing up. Gone are the days when I would be buying candies by the bags. Instead, I just buy a few of my favorite sweets every once in a while, of which one of them would be a box of rainbow sweetness called Nerds.

16th Philippine International Hot Air Ballon Festival

We were asked to cover this year's 16th Philippine International Hot Air Ballon Festival which was held at Clark Airfield (Clark Airbase), San Fernando, Pampanga from February 10 to February 13. Let the images speak about the event for the mean time as I muster up my gusto to write a feature on this. Enjoy!

People I was with/saw

Then Department of Tourism intern Mon Maningding  (right)

Food buddy and guest Barbie :) 

 Enrico Dee of Byahilo

Department of Tourism writer Jahz Cruz and DOT intern Pauline Volpe 

Brian Ong of The Philippines and Beyond