Sean Akizuki's Personal Blog

  I was looking at the Donbrothers "finale". It was a pretty weird episode where it began watching an episode of Kamen Rider Revice . Right now, I can't decide which is weirder between Donbrothers!Kaito watching the finale of Revice or Nadira watching an episode of Saban's Masked Rider . At this point, I feel Donbrothers!Haruka has become the "show savior" in some way. This screenshot where she holds the stuffed toy and says, "No fair! Woof!" makes me think of thing I ranted - JAPANESE ENTERTAINMENT EXCLUSIVISM. I check out Toei's official Youtube channel and most of the episodes HAVE NO FREAKING SUBS. Really? Just learn Japanese? It's easier said than done! I guess some snobs may have told that to the Westerners. I even feel that some people are willing to read subs but not learn the language unless it's required.  An article concerning  the K-Pop vs. J-Pop culture wars  makes me think why I feel mad at Japanese exclusivism. I'm no...

Some dishes in Mindanao obviously had their origins from Malaysia and Indonesia. For example, we have satti (satay) and garajilu (lokot lokot or tinagtag) due to the many years of international trade before the colonization. We also have the Madjapahit Empire which once had Mindanao in its territory. Now, it would be interesting to know how an Indonesian dish also has been blended into the Philippines. One dessert (or snack) is known as dadar gulung or as daral to the Filipinos. Dadar gulung meaning rolled pancake is a coconut-based crepe. Coconut milk is used to make the batter and coconut meat is used to make the filling. Filipinos call the filling as bukayo. The dish can be seen in the ARMM regions. The technique involves making the coconut-based pancake as thin as possible. The coconut meat is cooked in muscuvado sugar to make the bukayo. The pancake must be less sweet as to let the right flavors blend. It's like milk tea with leche flan is better off without sugar to give the ...

People in Zamboanga or who have went to Zamboanga may be familiar with the dessert or snack called tinagtag. It's basically fried rice noodles produced by the Muslim communities in Mindanao. Some may call it the Zamboanga Roll. However, like any dish, there's always the tendency to move from one place to another. This would be an interesting thing to deal with when I found this video as well... To no surprise, the tinagtag's origins aren't purely Filipino either. Try taking a look at the video above and you may notice that what's cooked above is really equivalent to what's called tinagtag or lokot-lokot in the Philippines. The method of using rice flour paste with sugar, letting it drip into hot oil in circular motion (some even use their hands in the absence of a strainer), frying it, and then later shaping it is very similar.  For some Filipinos in Mindanao - the dish may have come from Malaysia or Indonesia which are very close to the Philippines. I mean, Zam...

  One of the most interesting Taiwanese folk songs that got into popular culture is the song "High Green Mountain" or alternatively called "Maiden of Mt. Alishan". Granted, it's a tribal dance so it's only normal that the Taiwanese aborigines dress up similar to the Ifugaos in Nueva Ecija.  Below would be the English lyrics of the tribal song: Tall green mountain, blue mountain stream The Alishan girl is as beautiful as the water The Alishan youth is as strong as the mountain   A, a, a, oh, oh, oh The Alishan girl is as beautiful as the water The Alishan youth is as strong as the mountain   The tall mountain is forever green, the mountain stream forever blue The girl and the youth will never be apart Just like the blue water that ever flows around the green mountain   Tall green mountain, blue mountain stream The Alishan girl is as beautiful as the water The Alishan youth is as strong as the mountain   A, a, a, oh, oh, oh The Alishan girl is as beautiful as...

  The story of the biryani is somewhat debatable. Some say that it's an Iranian dish due to the fact it's coming from the word "biryan" which means fried or grilled. It was said to have come from the Mughals though it might be much older. History has proven India became part of the Persian Empire during 550 B.C. Centuries later, India became part of the Mughal Empire in the 1500s. Now, it's time to think that maybe, calling Biryani as Middle Eastern or Indian friend rice may not be the right term for it.  I found this interesting article from India Today called " What's the difference between biryani, pulao and fried rice? " Fried rice is very common in Chinese cooking. Pulao seems to be the Indian dish or a Chinese version of friend rice. Again, both China and India are quite close so getting this and that isn't anything unusual. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if gulab janum and soanpapadi are both Chinese-inspired since they seem to be. In...

If there's any reason why something gets underappreciated - it's the language barrier. It's pretty much how Super Sentai (or any non-English media) can get underappreciated until English subtitles came. The dawn of subtitles really has an effect on people. It gives a new room to appreciate something new or old. Right now, there are legit ways to get subtitled non-English shows such as Netflix, legit DVDs, and the like. So, how did the dawn of subtitles finally affect English-speaking people who enjoy watching shows in a language that they can't understand?  Some people now prefer subs instead of dubs Back then, I can't forget how I watched Toku dubbed in Tagalog or other non-English shows dubbed in Tagalog. Who can remember the Telesuccess Productions' English dubs such as the Bioman dub? Watching the shows in their original Japanese with English subtitles made me see a lot of translation errors. For instance, Voltes V episode 28 was actually titled "Our Fa...

Who says you need to be a "Pure-Pino" to appreciate Filipino culture? Catriona Gray is only half but she does appreciate her other half that well. I'm just compelled to do a bit of a review of Filipino history back in high school. Though I admit -- I actually didn't like the civics and culture subject back in elementary because of my on/off American superiority mentality back then. 

The 90s have some memories. One of them was the airing of the 144 episodes long La Viuda De Blanco which is translated as The Widow in White . The story was pretty long so I never got to get the geist of it until years later. There was the mesmerizing beauty of Columbian actress Maria Helena Doering (who's still that pretty past her prime) in the role of Alicia. Alicia's part is where she was wrongly accused of murdering her husband and found to be innocent sometime later, her custody battle with Dona Perfecta (acted by Consuelo Luzardo) for her twin sons, and her sudden romance with her brother-in-law Diego (Osvaldo Rios) the leading man.  The Columbian drama was aired on ABC-5 and later on Solar TV (which I think was owned by ABS-CBN). I didn't care too much about the cheesy dubbing done. I remembered watching it waiting for the Tagalog dub of  Chojin Sentai Jetman or whatever show was next to it. I didn't really care about it that much but the plot twists and turns w...

  Here's one fitness drive I tried a few weeks ago. I'm a fan of Indian food but I really don't like their movies. Ironic, I dislike the movies while liking their soundtrack. The Bollywood-style cardio is really that hard to pull off. I tried this one and found myself with a higher heart rate (160-180 bpm) trying to pull these dance moves. I found myself really pounding and my step count didn't really increase much. Maybe, walking 10,000 steps isn't such a magic number in contrast to doing cardio? Then again why not combine both and see better results? Those attempting to do Bollywood cardio may want to try the beginner's steps first. Rahul's workout did cause me some minor aches after doing it. I had to rest for a while and proceeded to simple slow exercises to get my step count for the day to at least 7,000 steps to 8,000 steps. Beginner's Bollywood cardio could at least get you to feel the beat before going to advanced.

As a 90s child and a 2000s teenager - one of the many things I could remember was playing video games without understanding ANYTHING. Yes, we're talking about Japanese entertainment. What truly upsets me with Japan right now is their lack of aggressiveness in the international market. Also, I think about screw it over with Japanese exclusive stuff. Now, time to throwback to the time when I actually DID PLAY video games and watched TV shows without understanding A WORD because as said - I'm not really Japanese myself ! As said, my pseudonym is based on the name Robert AKIZUKI (Kotaro Minami's dub name in Tagalog) which served as a nickname in my childhood. So, let's get started now, shall we? Who could remember having played the JAPANESE version of Street Fighter or Megaman called as Rockman ? I could remember back when we still had the Nintendo Famicon - I had some Rockman cartridges and wondered why they were in Japanese and Megaman was in American-English. Who can rem...

Just because it's popular doesn't mean I have to like it, right? I exercise my freedom of choice which I'm doing right now in this blog. All these will appear in somewhat chronological order to when I developed a gag for them.  Durian  My folks (mostly from Mindanao) love durian. I do love a lot of fruits but durian isn't one of them. Somehow, it still makes me gag that one of my second-degree uncles (who died at 92) would speak highly of it. Durian is not only popular among Filipinos but also among other Asians in tropical countries. I hear China and Taiwan is a good market for durian. Durian ends up becoming a multitude of food. I grew up and decided to try it again - it still makes me gag! Though, I'm still willing to sell it and see other people enjoy it even when I still DISLIKE IT. The Power Rangers franchise Yes, it's already known that I don't like the Power Rangers franchise. Though back then, it was the thing and Saban's gamble with Toei Ltd. ...

I was thinking about how to do business in the Bicol region. There's that whole thing that kept in my mind that if you can't stand Bicol then you can't stand Thai food. I don't like Bicol express and the use of bagoong. I remembered as a child that I was given green mango with bagoong. I preferred to use salt with bagoong. For me, bagoong was one of the stuff that I usually avoid when I can and will only eat it if I'm left without a choice. There are tamarind and pili nuts from Bicol with chili which I also dislike. However, some Indian food use coconut milk. I've heard the Hyderabadi people in India love to use coconut milk in some of their dishes. Chances are I never realized I was actually eating curry with coconut milk or actually enjoyed it. Opening a Hyderabadi-style restaurant in the Bicol region may definitely work much better than most parts of the Philippines. Sure, Filipinos in other regions enjoy it but would actually request a less spicy version.  W...

Mareena's Recipe Collection While I normally go for vegetarian Indian food - it doesn't mean I don't eat their meat dishes if it's from South India. One place in India called Hyderabad is known for its chicken curry. Non vegetarian Indian restaurants would seldom feature chicken dishes cooked, Hyderabadi style. Hyderabad is the capital of the Indian state of Telegana located in the South. It's also the home of many upscale restaurants in shops. One of Hyderabad's trademark is how they make their famous chicken dishes. That's why you get Indian chicken dishes named after Hyderabad such as calling it Hyderabadi-style chicken. Even a restaurant in Cebu City calls itself Hyderabad Dine In due to its pride in Hyderabadi-style cooking.   Gimme Delicious Another variation (though unhealthy as it gets due to the butter) is called butter chicken curry. Though, you may want to use ghee (which is clarified butter) to avoid less fat. The tip is to always eat this in mod...

  While I normally go for Indian vegetarian dishes - I also do eat Indian meat dishes though I don't have an interest in seafood masala. Dosa in itself is a vegetable pancake made from beans and rice. Mongo can be used as a substitute for lentils resulting in green dosa. Since dosa is from South India - it would probably be better to get one that's meaty. Sure, I've enjoyed dosa with potato filling (mashed potato preferably) but I ended up enjoying chicken curry dosa instead.  Why I'd recommend a chicken curry dosa over a vegetable dosa? For starters, I think North Indian usually cooks vegetables better than South India. I think South Indian usually cooks meat better than vegetables. Though I've tried some South Indian vegetable dishes (such as their version of chole battura) - North India takes the score. Meanwhile, South Indian prepares better chicken curry for me and North Indian doesn't. So knowing what kind of Indian food an Indian restaurant serves is vit...

I remembered watching Shining Inheritance last 2009 and that's when I started getting into Korean beef soup. Unlike the beef soup that I usually drink - Korean beef soups can have that cloudy look. The one in Shining Inheritance is a cloudy beef soup made from ox leg bones. Just had my thought that I wanted to punch Jung and Hwan for calling it "embarrassing" and could understand why Grandma Jang had her passion for it. I thought about the whole factory setting and the whole scene where Grandma says, "Boil it for another hour." It really requires that much effort! Image Source However, seollongtang is NOT gomtang. Yes, the two are similar yet different. I always thought of how I enjoyed gomtang and seollongtang. There are differences that are pointed out by Gwangju News ' article " Know Which Is Which: Seollangtang and Gomtang ": Before we get down to the real tang business, there is an interesting fact to learn about beef in Korea. There is no oth...

Mutton biryani in a pot? This is a rather unusual way to prepare biryani. Try to notice the use of banana leaves and some hot charcoal on top of the banana leaves. Notice that banana leaves are used in many Asian cuisines to add flavor to their dishes. In this one, this unusual way of preparing biryani by adding banana leaves on top and smoking them with hot charcoal just is something I'd want to try.  Just remember out of courtesy - please don't ask for beef because Hinduism considers cows to be sacred animals, okay?

Pinyin is used in every Chinese dialect. Though, the one I'm familiar with is Mandarin though I'm afraid that ethnic linguicide is affecting Cantonese, Hokkien, and other Chinese dialects. Mandarin is still used in Taiwan as the national language even though their shows would sprinkle the Taiwanese dialect in some instances. Although I'm having issues with China as a political entity - I still sympathize with the people who are but victims of the Chinese Communist Party. Taiwan or the Republic of CHINA still uses Chinese pinyin even if they have declared themselves independent from the People's Republic of China. A lot of people are actually reading pinyin wrong. It's pretty much much how J and Que are misread by foreigners. A lot of people unfamiliar with the Chinese language misread it. So, what's the big point? If j in Tagalog is actually read as a softer h where Juan is read as Huan with a softer h - z is read as tsai or a softer chu. That means Ken Zhu ...

It's no secret that I'm no big Toku fan. In fact, I'm just a casual fan of the franchise. But as time passed - Super Sentai started to simply no longer click with me due to other newer stuff. Kamen Rider? Well, I'm liking it better than Super Sentai now and I don't care about the old school Showa era Riders that much. Then I want to take a Toku break but guess what... it becomes like a ghost that never leaves me. That's just figuratively speaking, okay? My love for things Japanese is just fading. It's not that I don't use Japanese stuff. Far from it. I still have Japanese appliances. I still acknowledge Japan brought in the electronic revolution. Some non-Japanese shows I watch are too obvious to be influenced by Japan. I decide to take a break from Toku with non-Japanese entertainment. Taiwanese entertainment and South Korean entertainment are my U-Turn points from Japan. I always feel like, "Screw sushi! Get some kimbap! Screw Japanese gyoza I...

There are two similar yet different candies in Asia. I remembered tasting both of them on different times. Both of them are very similar yet different.  This is the treat called khong th'ng which means pounded sugar. Malaysians and Indonesians call it kacang tumbuk. If you compare Tagalog to Malaysian and Indonesian - you may discover similar words. Kacang means peanut and tumbuk means pounded in all three languages. The Chinese delicacy is full of crushed peanuts. Filipinos may have tasted this delicacy made in the Philippines by their countrymen of Chinese ancestry. I think the dishes were also brought to Malaysia and Indonesia by ethnic Chinese. It's also called barley peanut candy.  Meanwhile, there's also soanpapadi. Soanpapadi is an Indian delicacy said to have originated in Maharashtra, Western India. The dessert itself can be found where Indian communities can be found. Filipinos may have been able to taste it where there are Filipino-Indians. The dess...

One of my favorite cover songs "Take Me to Your Heart" (which was done by Michael Learns to Rock) was based on Jacky Cheung's "Kiss Goodbye". What's not too surprising is that the lyrics of a proposal love song was taken from a sad love song. Shocked? For me, not really. Cover songs tend to change moods a lot. Cheung covered Ariel Rivera's hit song "Sana Kahit Minsan" (Hopefully At Least Once) which leads me to wonder how many more Chinese songs have Filipino covers too? Now, for the translation of the lyrics of Cheung's song "Kiss Goodbye"  show it's a REALLY sad song: Our past stories have become clouds and smoke Dispersed right before our eyes Even as we've said "goodbye" to each other I don't see you feeling sad at all All that you've given to me You didn't mean from your heart But the more innocent your smile is The crazier I'll be in love with you I'd come to an understandi...