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Showing posts with the label John Alaban

Abyan Restaurant - Roxas City

Abyan (meaning friend) is the latest restaurant to open in Roxas City. Located just across from the mall, it's easy to drop in after errands and beauty salon appointments. What a balm to find the neat and austere rows of tables and chairs after a harried experience of shopping at the mall. There is a rotating gallery of paintings and photography at Abyan. In the photo above are paintings by local artist, John Alaban. These works are for sale but at the time I visited, most of the canvases were consigned to an art gallery in Boracay which is the famous neighboring island with white sand beaches. For lunch I had the tangigue (shown above) served with rice and atchara (fermented raw green papaya dish).  While the tangigue looks brown, the inside is still a little raw and I prefer my fish well cooked. I previously had boneless bangus for dinner at Abyan and I think that was far more tasty than the tangigue. My friend enjoyed the steak and it costs about P200.00. Only one other re

The Butterflies of John Alaban

Butterfly Series 3 I met John Alaban recently at the Roxas City Museum and was impressed by the Butterfly series of paintings he's currently working on. He's planning on portraying 50 different species of butterflies found in Capiz, which by the way, he is breeding. The painting above is the third of the series and more are on the way. What caught my eye about this painting is the three dimensional head of the "diwata" or goddess. Her hair looks like rice noodles but John explained that the hair and head are made from dental materials and will stand the rigors of exposure to heat and other detrimental elements. John is multi talented. He's also a sculptor and muralist. One of his murals can be viewed at Gaisano City Mall in Roxas City. * * * Photos by TravelswithCharie