Bearhugs and Smoothies! (Cafe Noriter)

There is a new playground in the city! Noriter is literally "playground" in Korean translation.The first Noriter Cafe originally started out in Dumaguete City but they changed the name to 2Story Kitchen. Back in college, we used to be regular customers of the said cafe for a variety of good reasons. So now that we are based in Cebu, we kind of missed that quirky Korean cafe vibe and at last after a few months of anticipation about this cafe coming to Cebu, it has finally opened late last month.

The moment you go in, you'll immediately notice that this isn't your ordinary cafe here in Cebu. The interior is cozy and youthful. It's no wonder that it has been attracting a lot of young people, the last time we dropped by, it was packed by a bunch of them. If you're the kind of person who likes to go to a cafe to read a book or to do your homework and prefer a peaceful quiet environment, this might not be the perfect place for you on a weekend. During these days teenagers of all forms and character gather together creating an aura of energy and excitement rather than the peace and tranquility that some of us might prefer.

Unlike your traditional cafe, the setup is more like of a dollhouse. You'll find huge teddy bears, decks and floor cushions that matches the theme of each deck instead of the usual "coffee table and chair". This adds a more homey atmosphere to your cafe experience. There is a significant amount of effort put into interior design and art. You'll find pictures clipped on a man-made tree, colorful signboards, and other unique pieces reflecting mostly of Korean cafe design. If you're a fan of K-pop expect that you'll hear it playing while you're hanging out in the cafe. 

They have a wide range of options for beverages be it hot or cold, canned or blended, and with the stuff that we ordered, I'd say it is actually worth your cash. The cold mango smoothie was amazingly indescribable. It was simply good and can easily give you that refreshing coolness that you need on a warm day. The frozen mocha frap was no extra-ordinary drink when compared to similar products from other coffee shops (e.g. Starbucks, Coffee Dream, etc.), but when you hear about the price you might raise an eyebrow, and when you finally see how it's presented, then a smile appears on your lips. They're still working on improving the selection for food and snacks that you can order. I hope the choices will be as fun and exciting as what they have in Dumaguete.

We have a few issues with the cafe though which certainly does not make it an absolute "epic fail" but impacts our experience when corrected and improved. The cafe is so cool that we want more of it, and so we find it lacking a little bit in size and space. With that said, when it gets a little crowed the temperature spikes up. 

With an fun set-up and cozy feel, there's no doubt that Cafe Noriter Cebu will be a great hit, as it already is. The view from the outside stirs curiosity that urges your legs to walk towards it and take a look, ad before you know it you've already fallen for its trap. The space that Cafe Noriter occupies now used to be a boring spot, but now it has earned its place in the map. With a little more improvement on space, ventilation and options, Cafe Noriter will surely be your regular hangout place. 

( Cafe Noriter is located along Arch Bishop Reyes Avenue, near Ayala Center Cebu and right across Hotel Elizabeth.)

Matti's On The Job (Movie, 2013)

With a catchy title, an excellent casting, a cutting-edge action, a breathtaking cinematography, and a hypnotic and engaging screenplay, On The Job (OTJ), an official selection in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, will resurrect the once sparkling genre of crime-action thrillers that fearlessly tackled on social issues, and will undoubtedly become, a Filipino classic. 

A few local movies have made their way straight to my taste. Most of the time, they usually bear the annoying mainstream recipe in the Philippine film industry, where the producers bank their hopes on good-looking actors and actresses with an already solid fan base. The sad thing is no matter how crappy the story is, as long as they hire the most charming celebrities to play the lead role, the movie becomes a grand slam. And so if producers are motivated by earnings from these films, then they’ll most likely follow the same track.

Finally, a fresh breeze of change is now seen in the coming of Erik Matti’s On The Job (OTJ). Although you can trace the pattern of casting prime-time actor Gerald Anderson and the controversial hunk actor Piolo Pascual, the men behind this picture did work their butts off in every aspect of the film. A more harnessed actor, Joel Torre, paints the meat of the film with a stellar portrayal of a multi-layered character. But the actors are not the main reason why the experience in watching this film has been immensely personal and realistic.

The plot opens up with a dawning of a crime scene and slowly traces the story back to the beginnings and origins of the assassins and deeper into the complicated meshwork of greed and deceit involving people installed at the heights of Philippine politics. The viewer slowly finds himself one with the characters. The feeling of anger towards the principal actor of the crime slowly transforms to emotions of sympathy and understanding leading to a stronger curiosity towards the more interesting stories behind the accomplices. The screenplay and the injection of details will leave the viewer focusing on one detail of the plot while another unravels on tipped toe and confronts the viewer with a big bang. The flow of the story is consistent in catching you off guard, as predictable facts are revealed in unpredictable patterns.

A good movie experience is never complete without a convincing and thrilling musical score that heightens emotions of fear, anticipation and despair. The producers of OTJ certainly did not miss this out. You’ll be proud, as a Filipino, that a film like this was able to portray a story and ace the essentials of a good musical score. The use of drums is appropriate and not overpowering and the sound of strings in an orchestra enters dramatically and transitions along with the emotions portrayed in the scenes.

The style of framing and filming has taken huge leaps when compared to the present-day main-stream acts. You’ll immediately notice that the camera is dynamic rather than static. It takes the viewer into the scene and moves the with the characters and by doing so taking your movie experience to a different level.

Finally, I am thankful that at last somebody paid attention to details on set design and lighting. My favorite scene was when the character portrayed by Gerald Anderson, walks out into the orange sky casted by the setting sun and the orange glow magically reflects on the roofs of the structures in the background. It was an area of poverty, but because of how it was presented it appeared to be more like an area of hope.

On The Job could easily be singled out as giant improvement that brings pride to the Philippine entertainment industry. And although it might be too early to hand Erik Matti the title as the modern day Rizal, he should be given a credit as a fearless master storyteller; a title none of the present directors are worthy of holding at the present time. OTJ is a piece of art that every Filipino should not only see, but experience, because only God knows when a film like this would once again grace the Philippine cinemas.

Pizza and Pasta! (2Story Kitchen)

Not so long ago, We discovered a very unique-looking cafe. It was different from most of the cafe we've been to. It was a Korean inspired cafe which used to be known as Noriter. The cafe was very special however we learned recently that it had closed down. We were sad for a while until we rediscovered that they just moved their cafe across the old one and changed their name from Noriter to 2Story Kitchen. We've always wanted to check the place out but then we're currently based on a different island so it took quite some time for us to see but then it's better late than never.

The day finally came when we had the chance to see the place for ourselves. It was bigger and better. They have widen the range of choices in terms of food and beverages you can order, and the place was cozier than their previous cafe.

Look for Lexie!

What we really liked about this cafe is the interior. The wall decals and furnitures are just so detailed and amusing. It perfectly suits the desired market for this place which has got to be the students and the young at heart. It is a wonderful place to hangout.

This mushroom and cheese pizza was yummy and affordable!

The Raspberry and Mango Banana shake was perfect match for the pasta.

Of course, they also served some Korean food and so we ordered Kimbap.

Good food is often considered as the primary criteria for judging a restaurant or a cafe's quality, but it would be better to enjoy good food in a cozy ambiance. 2Story Kitchen's blend of palatable options and intricate interior design makes it a must-visit spot. We hope to see more delightful-looking cafes like this one around town.

Don't forget to leave comments! ;)

The Known Secrets of Oslob

So finally after a long time of being in the making we're finally sharing our adventures in Oslob, Cebu. You've probably heard about the whale sharks after more than a dozen of the country's celebrites have posted each of their encounters with these gentle giants. For most Cebuanos and Negrenses, going to Oslob is no hassle. The town is located near the southern tip of Cebu Island making it very accessible to most towns in Negros Oriental. From Cebu city, it would take 2-3 hours to reach Oslob by bus. 

We've made a couple of trips to beaches but this one is different. Surely we had a lot of fun with our fishy encounters in Virgin island, Bantayan, but this time we''ll try to get close and personal with the biggest fish in the world. The Whale sharks in Oslob won't be the last of these encounters but this one will be crucial as it will determine how soon we can have the next one. 

Whale sharks or known by Filipinos as Butandings have large mouths and bodies resembling that of a whale and feeds mostly on planktons. Here in Oslob these cute giants are fed with small shrimps, and they seem to be loving it. 

As soon as we got to the resort who services tourists for whale shark watching, we immediately got our gears and ourselves ready for the swim. But since whale sharks are sensitive animals we need to go through a short briefing on the do's and dont's when we're near them. There has been no reports of whale sharks posing dangers or threats to humans because most of the time it's the other way around. I remember when my first teacher asked us to find among the pictures of animals posted on the board the most dangerous one, my classmate had their fingers pointing on lions, tigers and snakes, but my eyes were fixed on a photo of the Philippine president. I was told I was wrong then, but now one thing is clear, I was a child with a gift. 

So enough of the off-track discussions on who's dangerous, and lets start the plunge. With our jackets and snorkels on we boarded a the bangka (canoe) which will take us to where the whale sharks are. On a weekend like this you wouldn't be the only one wanting to catch a glimpse of the Butandings so expect some company.

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At first I was scared when I started seeing them on the surface, they had such huge mouths and bodies  that I think they could swallow me without a hassle. I paid for this and I came a long way to have this opportunity so I had to cast my fears aside. As soon as I plunged into the water and saw one whale shark swim right in front of me at a distance of about less than a meter, I was ecstatic. They're the cutest big thing I've ever laid my eyes on. They were gentle in their movements filtering the tiny shrimps fed to them by the local fishermen, and sweet in sticking their heads on the surface as if begging for more food. There is that feeling that gives you a surge of endorphines (happy hormones) that you can't help but smile. Even while writing this I still can't help but smile. 

I thought thirty minutes was too long to just go and see how they look like and what they do, but I didn't notice the time while I was swimming with them. Before I knew it, my time with these adorable cuties is over and we had to head back to the shores. Well, it was definitely worth it. I suggest you go swim with them in the water but make sure to prioritize your safety as the current can sometimes be very strong. 

We rested a little in our cottage, ate lunch and changed clothes. We need to charge a little bit because the whale sharks were not the only reason we went on this trip to Oslob. On the second part of the day, we had to go hike a little to see Oslob's Tumalog Falls. We rode a motorcycle to take us to the entrance of the trail that leads to the falls. When we got there, we had to start the hike. 

The track wasn't so long and there was enough scenery for us to stop and steal some shots. Scenes were filled with stones, trees, mountains, clouds, and sun. It was undeniably a beautiful sight, but with the summer sun it can get extremely hot.

It was a rewarding feeling to finally reach the falls. The cold water falling down from above satisfied our bodies tortured by the hot summer sun. The stones were covered in what looked like thin curtains of water dropping from above, illuminated by strips of sunlight escaping from the shade of the trees. The tiny droplets illuminated by the sun creates a magical effect as it sparkles its way down. 

As soon as we have satisfied ourselves with the beauty of Tumalog falls, we had to head back. Now this is the challenging part. Our way down here was easy but the way up is twice as hard. All energy must be focused on our trembling legs as we struggle our way back up. Finally when we were all settled we drove back to the resort were we once again recharged ourselves with food and rest. 

The encounter with the whale shark was definitely worth it and the hike to Tumalog falls, although exhausting was definitely fun. This trip was crucial as it will determine if there will be a next one. Well, I guess I've had enough shares of smiles and laughter to conclude, that "Yes!", there will definitely be a next one.