Sunday, May 25, 2008

The California Maki in Rice Paper Roll - California Maki with a Twist

The California Maki in Rice Paper Roll - California Maki with a Twist
(California maki wrapped in rice paper without the Nori)

Most Filipinos that love Japanese Foods, especially the ladies, really love eating California Maki. Maybe it is because it’s the most well known Japanese food, aside from Tempura of course. Other than its appearance and reputation, the taste of California Maki is acceptable in most Filipino palates. For the new starters and still learning to eat food items from the sushi bar, the California Maki is the best choice to start. California Maki’s original recipe from countries outside the Philippines, consist of avocado, crabmeat (it could be real crab meat or imitation crabmeat stick “Kani Kama”), cucumber, and lettuce. However, here in the Philippines, we substituted the avocado with our most favorite mango fruit, which even made the California Maki more delicious. Maybe it is because of the availability of the mango all year round, unlike the avocado that is seasonal.

As I have said, the California Maki is the best menu for a newbie eater in a Japanese restaurant to start. It is because the California Maki doesn’t have any raw meat inside its roll. All you will get is a fruity, sweet, and rich flavored salad with rice. My advice for the starters is to eat one slice of it whole. All slices are cut into bite size pieces, if you take a bite; chances are you won’t love it.

Also, most of the reactions I got from the starter are that they are not familiar with the flavor or taste of the Nori (Dried Seaweeds). And somehow don’t like it. The Nori is what holds the rice in place when rolling the California Roll, it also gives additional flavor to it. However, not most people love seaweeds. That’s what pushed me to create a new alternative way to enjoy the Califronia Roll. The California Maki in Rice Paper Roll is a new way of having California Maki without the Nori or Dried Seaweeds, its good for the beginners and for those who don’t love the taste of the nori. Same ingredients, same experience, and a bit of twist in its flavor.

Presenting to you a new twist to enjoy California. Happy dining everyone!

By the way you can see me at Mizu Japanese Restaurant Waterfront Cebu City Hotel. Im Sushi Chef Francis at your service!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Blame it on the rain lyrics

Here's the lyrics of Blame it on the rain - Copernicus

You said you didn't need her You told her good-bye (good-bye) You sacrificed a good love To satisfy your pride Now you wished That you should have her (have her) And you feel like such a fool You let her walk away Now it just don't feel the same Gotta blame it on something Gotta blame it on something Gotta blame it on something

Blame it on the rain that was fallin' fallin' Blame it on the stars that did shine at night Whatever you do don't put the blame on you Blame it on the rain yeah yeah You can blame it on the rain

Should've told her you were sorry (sorry) huh Could have said you were wrong But no you couldn't do that. You had to prove you were strong ooh If you hadn't been so blinded (blinded) She might still be there with you You want her back again But she just don't feel the same Gotta blame it on something Gotta blame it on something Gotta blame it on something

Blame it on the rain that was fallin', fallin' Blame it on the stars that did shine at night Whatever you do don't put the blame on you Blame it on the rain yeah yeah

You can blame it on the rain Cos the rain don't mind And the rain don't care You got to blame it on something Blame it on the rain, that was fallin' fallin' Blame it on the stars, that did shine at night Whatever you do don't put the blame on you Blame it on the rain yeah, yeah You can blame it on the rain

(Blame it on the rain yeah, yeah) x 3 You can blame it on the rain, blame it on the rain, Blame it on the rain baby (Blame it on the rain yeah yeah) Blame it on the stars that did shine that night (Blame it on the rain yeah yeah) Blame it, blame it on the rain woo I'm walking I'm walking

Walking in the rain Walking in the rain

(Rain, rain) (Stars, stars) Whatever you do don't put the blame on you (Blame it on the rain) yeah yeah (Blame it on the rain) that keeps falling, falling (Blame it on the stars) that did shine that night Whatever you do don't put the blame on you Blame it on the rain yeah yeah Blame it on the rain (rain, rain)

"Blame it on the rain" hit a volcanic hotness on Google trends May 15, 2008. This is another SEO experiment.


Getting Readers From Friendster - Increase Blog Visitors


I started blogging my iStayl Sugbo just this January of 2008. These past few months I learned many new and strange things (since I am not an I T student, all the internet terms I come into contact were not familiar to me). The most significant word of them all is the SEO, meaning Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a complex process of improving the number of visitors in your blog or website.

I am not an SEO guru or an expert about this kind of stuff, but when I tried doing things the way most high-ranked blogs do. The results were amazing and of course satisfying for all the effort done. Because if I will look back the time I started this blog, seeing 1 visitor in my feed burner, already gave me a feeling of excitement.

That means I was better off today than yesterday. There is a sense of improvement. There are many ways to get your site ranked on search engines (Particularly Google Search Engine – the most used search engine in the world). The most effective way to have your blog included on search engines is, of course, the quality of the information you provide to the readers (internet users or surfers). It is because if you don’t have that quality posts, then the search engines won’t find anything for them to index at all.

Next best thing to do is to exchange links with fellow bloggers. As recommended by the blogging veterans, it is much advised to link only to blogs that have the same category as what you are blogging. For example, if you blog about Technology and High Tech Stuff it would be better if you link with another blog that’s similar to your blog. In this way your page ranking won’t go down. If you link with a blog that’s not related to your blog, chances are, instead of increasing your page rank, your page ranking will go down. However, most crap bloggers like me really don’t care about this stuff. As long as there is an exchange link, then it’s good enough.

One could also join blogging groups or communities like Blogcatalog, Pinoyblogosphere, Cebu Bloggers Society, are also another way of promoting your blog and gaining additional traffic. Submit your articles to different article publishers such as Digg. Joining forums and leaving your Url links everywhere on the web whenever you can. I call this as “Leaving a SH*T”. Every web page I visit, if given the chance to leave a link that links to your site, then I definitely will.

A blogger must also be aware of the latest trends or buzz and be able to post about it, in order to gain visitors that are using the search engines.
All these and more, generate traffic for your blog. But one thing I am in to now, I don’t know if there are bloggers out there who have tried this, is the use of my Friendster account. Using Friendster to promote a blog is for me the easiest way to gain traffic. Maybe its because there are already more than 65 million Friendster users out there.

What I do is create a post that is interesting for anybody to read, something that’s sweet or something sad, gloomy and even funny posts. After publishing that post on my blog, I would then send a mass message to all my friends on Friendster. Included in the message is an attractive Subject and with a message that would attract the user in reading more towards your blog. Also, always include the word “Pass this to all your friends.”

For example:
Subject: The Power of Letting Go L
Message: Letting go of someone for everyone seems to be the hardest thing to do, especially if that person already made a mark in your life. Somebody special to you and was there all thru the years, months, or days in your life. We always remember the things that had happened, the experiences you’ve been thru, it could be that saddest or the happiest moments. You can always recall that there was this moment in your life that nothing else matters in this world and that within this world the only significant thing that exists is between you and the person you love. To lose someone special gives pain that you wont know when its end. And every time you hear a hymn of a love song, makes you remember and even cry.
If you want to continue reading click here
Please pass to all your friends.
Just as simple as that and you will be gaining more traffic if your message will work. You will have your friends visiting your blog and your friends’ friends and so on. You will notice your counter going up day by day.

I myself could not believe that my unique blog visitors would reach more than 2k. Out of these visitors, majority of the referrals are from Friendster messages. My blog is not yet well optimized but I am happy to know that even though my page rank is not that good yet, I still can reach to many people, and that I can express my voice thru the words of my blog, then I was able to share it to others.

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