Just had what probably is the most cheerful Rangefinder Filipinas (RFilipinas) gathering at Quezon City last friday, where one convert was actually blessed to be sold a Yashica rangefinder camera himself, his first RF.
Picture slideshow from Eddie, our gracious host, can be found here. Other photos from Jay Javier here. All taken with the shooters’ respective Epson RD1s digital RF’s.
RFilipinas’ new project is undeniably a great opportunity for everyone in the group, that its not really a question anymore if we should undertake it. Details to follow when available.
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And the old family camera is now working, charged with four LR44 (watch or calculator batteries), and some tinfoil:
This is now my point, focus, and shoot RF camera :)
Anthony Bourdain on Rachael Ray: Complain all you want. It’s like railing against the pounding surf. She only grows stronger and more powerful. Her ear-shattering tones louder and louder. We KNOW she can’t cook. She shrewdly tells us so. So…what is she selling us? Really? She’s selling us satisfaction, the smug reassurance that mediocrity is quite enough. [source] It gets better.
Why didn’t I get to places like: THE BEST YUNNAN RESTAURANT IN SHANGHAI!!! (actual Flickr tagline, seen here). Argh! And as Chinese would admit it, food from the southern parts of the country are infinitely better compared to their northern counterparts.
One issue us Pudong area nigh-shifters just have to deal with is where to get food, when we are too lazy to cook our own. Our choices usually are:
- Order food at McDonalds across the street before they close at 10PM.
- The vast selection of convenience store food.
- Halal food.
We’ve already had our fair share of the last option, and since the Shanghai early morning temperature have been favoroable lately, we decided to take on a soup place open until 2AM.
What’s seen above is actually a commonplace thing here in any Shanghai street. No attempts have been made previously to enter any of these places before, but since we already have Tsinoy’s in our lunch group, we can now afford to savor cheap and hot sabaw.
Ingredients are mostly gathered on sticks, from meat (pork, fish, squid, etc.) balls, mushrooms, green veggies, and other edibles I don’t have a name to attach to. Noodles are actually optional.
By default, these are cooked in hot, very spicy broth. Even if you ask for the non-spicy kind, you’d still sweat profusely when consuming the thing.
But is it any good? Its fine, for 7.5 RMB (roughly 50 PHP: yes, this is already Shanghai-cheap). Any Pinoy would probably ask for patis, paminta, calamansi, toyo, since we’re so spoiled with the mentioned condiments. The soup place only had balsamic vinegar, and more chili to add.
Yesterday’s breakfast at a Singaporean-style restaurant at that relatively new food building at Ba Bai Ban, Pudong area:
Beef Rendang, and…
Kway Teow
Ah, I think I’ll try taking food photos again. Were the dishes taste? Not nearly. Not enouch curry, not enough spiciness. The noodles were OK, but its nothing that I’ll lose sleep over.
In related news, Dan Washburn of Shanghaiist and Shanghaidiaries wrote an article that looks like an excellent resource of local Chinese food. Must print this.
And an afterthought: for any Pinoy living here -or for any other expat proud of their native cuisine- its easy to conclude that the more accessible Shanghainese cuisine leaves a lot to be desired. Sadly, most of the time, one’d proclaim -while munching on local foodstuf- how food back home is much, much better.