Island 731 by Jeremy Robinson

“Robinson puts his distinctive mark on Michael Crichton territory with this terrifying present-day riff on The Island of Dr. Moreau… One of the best Jurassic Park successors.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review
Mark Hawkins, former park ranger and expert tracker, is out of his element, working on board the Magellan, a research vessel studying the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But his work is interrupted when, surrounded by thirty miles of refuse,  the ship and its high tech systems are plagued by a series of strange malfunctions and the crew is battered by a raging storm.

When the storm fades and the sun rises, the beaten crew awakens to find themselves anchored in the protective cove of a tropical island...and no one knows how they got there. Even worse, the ship has been sabotaged, two crewman are dead and a third is missing. Hawkins spots signs of the missing man on shore and leads a small team to bring him back. But they quickly discover evidence of a brutal history left behind by the Island’s former occupants: Unit 731, Japan’s ruthless World War II human experimentation program. Mass graves and military fortifications dot the island, along with a decades old laboratory housing the remains of hideous experiments.
As crew members start to disappear, Hawkins realizes that they are not alone. In fact, they were brought to this strange and horrible island. The crew is taken one-by-one and while Hawkins fights to save his friends, he learns the horrible truth: Island 731 was never decommissioned and the person taking his crewmates may not be a person at all—not anymore. 

Why read this book?  I was intrigued by the historical significance behind this book which is the existence of an actual island where the Japanese experimented on prisoners of war (POW) during WWII.  It made me curious as to how the author was going to spin his story around this and hoped it wouldn't be too gory.  Unfortunately for squeamish people like me the author was pretty much graphic in his descriptions.

Cons of the book: (Potential spoiler)  I really really dislike how in thrillers most of the characters die and this one is no different.  I mean can't I read one where everyone actually survives such an environment.  Okay so it's unrealistic but I'd really like to find an author who finds plausible ways of keeping his characters alive till the end of the book instead of being very creative on how to kill them off. 

Pros of the book:  Like I said it was pretty graphic and not just the gory parts.  I could actually imagine the layout of the island from the author's description which is pretty rare for me.  Oftentimes I end up glossing over details of the scenery because the narration was just too tedious.  I am not the most patient of readers obviously.  The characters also had something going for them that made you want to root for them or want them to be the monster's next meal.

What really struck me about the book is the chilling thought that, even with advanced mapping and radar technology, there could be an island somewhere out there that dealt with that kind of horrific experiments as I write this.  It could be privately funded or cloaked by clandestine government organizations.  This isn't an attempt at a conspiracy theory but simply a thought that came about because of the news that many scientists are feeling pressured by all the stringent measures put in place by human rights advocates.  Who's to say that they aren't experimenting out there?  We all want cures to all the diseases that plague us and not everyone is willing to respect fundamental laws of nature in order to achieve it.  Maybe they will end up with the results they were aiming for but at what expense?  So this book should serve as a warning of the consequences that might arise from playing GOD. 

(Book image and description from Amazon.com)

Throwback Thursday 2

Flour Child

Today I received my order from Flour Child and it was heavenly!!

To start with the outside packaging was simple and eco-friendly.

The logo design was clean, simple and classy.

But most of all the cookies were yummy!  Notice one of the snickerdoodles already has a bite?  Hubby bit into that coz he couldn't wait to taste it.  Admittedly it was our first time to try snickerdoodles but we all agree that this one by Flour Child was really good.  The cookie had the crunch but it was also soft at the same time.  My son loved it so much that he took the bag to his room and kept it there.  Hubby and I had to share whatever was on that plate.

For those who do not like their cookies too sweet you can opt for the oatmeal raisin cookies.  I liked how it was textured with the oatmeal and the raisins were perfectly flavored.  I've had some other brands that were lumpy and floury with the raisins having no taste anymore so I was happy I found a good one in Flour Child.

We will definitely be trying out Flour Child's other products soon!


For orders:


https://www.facebook.com/flourchildph?fref=ts


#3 Constellation St.,
Bel Air 2
1209 Makati

0917 540 2431
flourchildph@gmail.com

Dencio's Capitol Hills, Quezon City

Dinner tonight was at Dencio's in Capitol Hills, Quezon City coz I have been craving for their Sinuglaw which is a mixture of inihaw na baboy with kinilaw na tanigue (fish).  Of course I don't have pics again coz we were too hungry, specially the little boy.

The place was nice and since a typhoon just passed the temperature was cool & the outdoor setting would have been great specially with the view of lit up buildings in Ortigas.  Unfortunately outdoor meant smoking was allowed and so we had to opt for the indoor eating area.  It was clean and the servers were pretty attentive considering the restaurant was full even if it was a weekday.

The food.

My kinilaw na tanigue, (I claim it as mine since I'm the only one who likes it) was a big disappointment.  To my taste buds it was the vinegar they used since the texture and taste of the fish was okay, although not great.  That change in the kilawin process, at least for me, affected the overall taste of the tanigue.  I think Kanin Club, for now, holds the first place status for the Kilawing Tanigue dish.  At least the inihaw na baboy was good.

Our other order was the assorted sinugba or assorted inihaw dishes which comprised of liempo, pusit, pork bbq on a stick and tuna.  A combination of hunger and tasty food, my son finished of the liempo and almost a cup of rice.  I wasn't going to eat the fish since I don't really like them grilled but this one was pretty good.  Between the three of us we finished our orders.

One of the reasons we loved the inihaw was because of the sauce they served with it which is also one of my gripes.  The sauce was yummy because it was full of MSG.  I wish restaurants would find ways of making food tastier without resorting to the use of this magic ingredient.

Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen Edsa Shangri La Mall

So sorry but this post has no accompanying ramen pictures.  For one we had no real breakfast and this was lunch at almost 2 in the afternoon.  When the ramen arrived we literally dug in and remembered too late I had a blog to post to =P In spite of the cons I will list down later, we love their ramen enough to come back for it.

Since I was so hungry I decided to order edamame but the ramen was served before my appetizer.  The picture below is actually of empty shells.  When I first saw the bowl I wondered if I would be able to finish it but as evidenced by the pic, I did, all by myself.  

When we told my son we were eating at Ikkoryu he wasn't happy at all.  His favorite eating place in Shangri La is Cyma and he calls it "wopa" after the word the servers yell when they present their flaming cheese, an order of which the little boy can finish by himself.  The past few time we have eaten at Ikkoryu, he did not like any of the food.  But this time, when he tried the Karaage again, he liked it so much he demanded for some take home.  

Here's a picture of the place when the number of people had dwindled already.

Pros:

1. Great food!

2. Servers, once their attention has been called, are efficient and nice.

Cons:

1. Smoke, which we assumed was from their cooking stoves, enveloped the dining area and made our eyes water.
2. It was so much warmer inside the restaurant than the mall itself.

3. It was a little difficult to get the waiter's attention.

4. Food was a little pricey.

We hope improvements would be made on these points but honestly we would probably return anyway because the food was that yummy.

Yabu: House of Katsu Robinsons Magnolia

Yabu is one our favorite restaurants and we were lucky enough to be treated to lunch by one of hubby's uncles who was celebrating his birthday.  Most of the time we dine at their branch in Megamall while this is only our second time here.  The first time we were in Robinsons Magnolia was courtesy of winning a full course dinner for 2 via one of the restaurant's Facebook promo.  It was their pre-opening treat as well as a survey on the quality of food and service.  The food was excellent as always but the service needed a bit of tweaking since their servers were not well versed on the menu.

Fast forward to today.

When we arrived for lunch at 11am we were already 5th in line for seating since the place was already full.   We were given a paging device to let us know when our table was ready but we opted to stay close anyway.  The wait was not really a problem since there were still members of our party still missing.  After about half an hour we were seated.

The place was still exactly the same as when we first dined there. 

The food was still wonderfully crunchy on the outside while retaining the tenderness of whatever katsu dish we had ordered.  Mine was the Mixed Seafood Katsu 2 and I must admit it was deliciously bursting with flavor in every bite.

One of the reasons I love Yabu is because of their unlimited cabbage.  I happily replace rice with this "healthy" option while my son actually enjoys eating this vegetable as long as it is drenched in sesame dressing.   Another reason would be the unlimited fruits.  I love how, although it's just a side dish, Yabu chooses the finest fruits to serve.  Which brings me to the ultimate reason we all enjoy this restaurant, while the food is wonderful it is really how they give value to total customer satisfaction that draws us in time and time again.  From the food, to the service plus the ambiance.  It is a quality which is still lacking even in some expensive fine dining places.  This is not to say that Yabu is cheap when it is in fact a bit pricey but I believe we are getting our money's worth.

The only con I can think of in this branch would be the lack of a bathroom within the premises but I think that would be more due to mall policy than the restaurant's.


 For more pictures and information:
http://yabu.ph/