Aneliz Tang

These were my last customers before I left for my Australia vacation last October. I was very excited because the next day after the dinner will be my 8 hour trip going to Sydney. My luggage was almost packed but I still had some stuff to bring that I wasn't able to put in my hand carry bag. Despite that I was still up to whip the night for this extra ordinary couple Aneliz and Charles. Aneliz was the one who reserved their date months in advance that's why I knew that she's really looking forward to their dinner. I don't want to fail every customers I have so I really prepare the food to guarantee their satisfaction. So when Aneliz and Charles arrived that night I was bubbly, happy and excited to welcome them in my little pad. I assumed that I will surprise the couple but it turned out that I was the one being surprised. Wanna know their surprise? Find out as you read this post...

Enjoying their Creme Brulee

Aneliz and Charles were very thankful that night for the dinner I prepared. They told me that I made them so full with the food I served and commented that Mango & Sausage Medley was truly a good salad appetizer.

Chinkee Sweet Smile!

I was also surprised seeing Aneliz wearing a nice shorts, quite cool...

Janjajaran...!!! Aneliz and Charles handed me this box of cake from ESTRELS as their surprise for me at that night.

I know that Aneliz doesn't really know that it was my favorite cake, but now I guess she'll know that she gave me my MOST favorite cake which is the CARAMEL cake from ESTRELS!

I'm very thankful meeting couples who appreciate my cooking and my idea of intimate dining. To those couples who are very sweet and thoughtful giving me token like this as part of their gratitude, I should be the one giving thank you. :-)

Hmmmm... very, very, very delicious cake! Burp! I look forward to the day that Aneliz and Charles would dine again. Thanks to both of you!

Frances Soriano

The call centers appeared like mushrooms in our country. So it's no surprise to have call center agents sitting before my little dining table from time to time. Frances is an addition to the roster of call center people who already dined at my place. Frances is sweet and demure while his boyfriend is a bit kalog. I enjoyed talking to the couple because every now and then a pinch of humor was inserted into every topic we had. I already forgot the details but I will always cherish the laughter.

They both love the Paella Negra I served.

This is Pandan Rice Roll with Peanut Butter is part of the Thai set meal. They mixed their set meal that's why they had this as their dessert.

What I also enjoyed was the photo session because they really love to pose. I'm glad they participated well.

Marvin Quevedo

Young love, sweet love. A La Salle student Marvin surprised his girlfriend couple of months ago. He is young and adventurous that's what he told me and I didn't wonder why he bravely chose the Mexican Set Meal.

Marvin keeps on calling me Ate the entire evening when he dined and made me feel uncomfortable. I feel that I am very old when in fact I'm not!

A new pose in the Artist Chef photo gallery

Peaches de Guzman

In this planet we live in, we all know that some good things never last. We can only keep the good memories forever. I met Peaches and Derek who used to be together but ended their relationship as good friends instead. Peaches booked their reservation when they were still together as a couple. I'm glad they came, even just as good friends, and graced the dinner I prepared for them.

Again... it's really a small world because Peaches is a friend of Kitty, my former officemate in FCB.

Do the wacky and romantic poses manifest a lovelier second time around?

I hope to see you again as couple :-)

Irene Tan-Gurango

The Artist Chef business continuously clicks because of the article in Clickthecity.com and I owe Nadia Upton for that. Surprisingly another clickthecity contributor writer dined at my place recently. The girl that rocks my crib, Irene Tan-Gurango! The lady rocker surprised her husband for his birthday with a special dinner. They were a bit late because Irene had a hard time persuading his husband to move out from another party and fly to Makati.

I'm glad that they enjoyed the dinner and found the food I served unique and interesting. Specially my Strawberry Lassi which has a bit of cane vinegar in it. It's really cool to meet couples who are adventurous and experimental with the food they eat.

Tatoo Art. To my surprise, I found a great one on Irene's leg. She sings for a band and his husband is the bassist of MOJO FLY.

Oh I didn't know that the guy dining at my place was Ricky Gurango! I usually associate Mojo Fly with Ali Alejandro, not knowing that this man is the founder.

This man used to be with "HUNGRY YOUNG POETS" together with Barbie Almalbis. When they disbanded Rick formed MOJO FLY.

They are blessed with one kid and still have quality time together.

Another sweet moment that I will remember in my ARTIST CHEF history: the night that Irene left this box of chocolate cake with the guard after having dinner at my place. The guard told me that my visitors came back after they left my place and drop-off the cake. Irene texted and said that it was her token of gratitude because they really enjoyed the dinner. Thanks again Rick and Irene!

Graffiti Down Under (AUS post2)

As I promised, I will share with you snippets of my adventure in Australia. So let me begin by telling you guys that I am an observer of graffiti art way back caliph8 days. I find British graffiti outstanding. But the Aussies' aren't far behind. As a staring point I'll show you how graffiti became part of my journey down under...

On my first day at Liverpool in Sydney, my boyfriend and I walked along the streets near Goulburn where we are stayed for a month. We suddenly found this huge graffiti wall that matched my jacket. Oh yeah!

On our second week we explored the Bondi Beach area. There are many vulgar graffiti painted on the walls but I this one quickly grabbed my attention. Maybe that's the same reason why my boyfriend posed like this.

Another pic from Bondi graffiti area where I'm wearing this huge North Face jacket that made me look like a hip-hop gurl.

Same week as Bondi, we had our train ride and stopped in the quiet suburb of Newtown. While walking on the street we saw another colorful grafitti wall. As we continued walking, it was pretty clear that this was a place for art enthusiasts and vintage fanatics. There are lots of vintage and cool shops around the area. They sell mostly bags, shirts and small stuff for collectors. It's like the "VINTAGE POP SHOP" in Cubao but with more choices. There are also nice restaurants for the experimental foodies. Most of the restos are Asian and to be specific–Vietnamese. The simplicity and laid-back appeal of this suburb made it a perfect venue for radical artsy people. To balance the contrast, I guess. And I love it the way it is!

See this dirty wall with vandalisms and old posters? You won't find it everywhere, only here in Newtown.

Some posters ain't dirty at all. Plugs! plugs! plugs!

Mingling with a dirty aboriginal artist and some barefoot locals. This artist was asking me if he could paint my sandals with aboriginal art in exchange for some australian dollars. I sadly refused. I just can't with my nike sandals. People in Newtown are flamboyant and weird, but it didn't surprise me. I get to meet a lot of the same kind even here in Manila. So for now I have to say : 'Til my next train stop to the city I fell in love with, Sydney!