This review was based on the Let’s Do Lunch meal during the Good Food Month in October 2007.

Let's Do Lunch 2006, The Wharf Restaurant

The lure of a cheap lunch found me sneaking out of work, to meet a friend for some alfresco indulgence at The Wharf Restaurant in Pier 4, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay.

We started with chicken liver paté with caper berries and balsamic dressing. The serving was huge, making for a leisurely lunch, as we sipped our complimentary red wine to keep the chill at bay. Read this article.

I’m not sure how Filipinos developed this fixation with weight, but if you’ve ever been on the wrong side of the scale I think you’ll understand why this article was begging to be written.

Many people believe that asking about the weather is conversational suicide. They’ve never had to endure a Filipino greeting.

‘Hoy, tumaba ka yata!’ (Hey, you got fat!) It’s not exactly the first thing I want to hear after a decade of separation. Suddenly, ten years don’t seem long enough.

Filipino women are fixated on weight. Listen in on any tsismis and inevitably someone will mention the F word: ‘fat’. If you’re lucky, they won’t be talking about you. Lately, it seems, my fortune has been in decline. Read this article.

This was my first feature article for a print magazine. It went through a few revisions, and I can only be grateful that Michelle Baltazar was (and is) such an understanding editor and mentor.

There’s a reason why Filipinas are so good at grabbing a bargain. And it’s not just the fact that we know where all the factory outlets are. It’s because we harness the power of lambing. Loosely translated, this means expressing physical or verbal endearments to show affection or, in the case of shopping, to get a good deal on that new lounge suite.

The English language has no equivalent word for lambing or karinyo. It can mean tenderness, charm, affection, love, flirtation and even flattery. But these words don’t fully convey the underlying sense of building and nurturing relationships that forms a big part of what lambing is all about. Read this article.