Sur la Table - San Francisco Bay Area

HongKong Lounge - San Francisco

Dinnertime is hectic at the HongKong Lounge. We arrived at 5 p.m. when the restaurant was still empty of customers but from then on, diners filled the main hall and private rooms in no time. Those who arrived after 6 p.m. had to wait till the early birds finished their meals. Why would anyone want to wait in line for dinner? I had never heard of this place before but my niece chose this restaurant for her graduation reception. It's not in San Francisco's Chinatown but in the Outer Richmond area which may just as well have worked to the restaurant's advantage. Half of our group were vegetarians so it was a little difficult to please everyone's appetite in our party. There were four dishes I enjoyed from the lot and these were the meaty and juicy lobster tail, the bokchoy, the mu shu chicken and the white buns which were served with the Peking duck. I didn't like the prawns in hastily scrambled eggs. I found the prawns to be half cooked and I didn't like the dripping eggs. Corkage fee is $10.00 per bottle if you decide to bring your own wine. The HongKong Lounge is at 5322 Geary Blvd, San Francisco. Finding a parking space is a challenge in this neighborhood.

Il Fornaio - Palo Alto

At Il Fornaio recently, I discovered my favorite dish on their menu, Cappellacci di Zucca, which is ravioli filled with butternut squash and walnuts with tomato sauce and brown butter, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and crispy sage (I found the sage incredibly tasty). What I did appreciate most was that I could order a primi or small portion which was three large pieces of ravioli, the perfect number for eating light in the evening. And dinner is served with generous slices of bread from the restaurant's own bakery. My friend ordered the Barilotti alle Melanzane (shown above) which is barrel shaped whole wheat pasta with eggplant in tomato sauce, fresh basil and smoked mozzarella. I must try that dish next time. It looked quite inviting. The small portions were $10.79 each. Il Fornaio is at 520 Cowper Street, off University Avenue.

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Images by Charie

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Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of Manila). The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the

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