The Fall season is here and the Fall colours have arrived. What best way to celebrate this beautiful season than to visit Guildwood Park. The beautiful Guildwood Park at the east end of Toronto Ontario, Canada. The park is famous for its collection of magnificent but sometimes forgotten architecture that defined Toronto as a city in the 19th and 20th Century. Common here are facades of major banks from Downtown Toronto that now reside in this picturesque park. Click here or the image above to see the rest of the collection. Hope you enjoy the photos and stay tuned for some more Fall photos!
 
Hello! I've been away for quite some time photographically speaking due to a busy schedule both in and out of work. Well last week I found some time to take some photos around the beautiful city of Toronto. This time, I decided to visit one of the city's most famous landmarks, the Distillery District. This place is just amazing. There's some form of art in every direction, there's lots of people, there's lots of things going around in this place. Stores, restaurants, and art galleries can be found inside this beautiful place and best of all, it kept its classic appearance all these years. Many movies have been shot here, most notably, is the movie Cinderella Man. Just click on the photo above or click here to see the rest of the photos. Hope you all like them and as always, stay tuned because there's Gello is always working on something cool ;)
 
There's a new photo added in the "Who Said Men Can't Cook?" album! Check it out and hope you don't go hungry :P. Click here to see the new photo and the rest of the album. More delicious photo will make its way here in the coming weeks :) Ciao!
 
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Fried rice with sun-dried tomatoes
After being away for a very long time, I'm back! Now, we have a new photo set in Gello Photography. I realized that I've been cooking quite a lot lately and I decided to take pictures of the food that I cook while it is cooking and/or when it is cooked. I named the photo set "Who Said Men Can't Cook?" because I felt that normal everyday men like me are not really known for being good in the kitchen (except the male chefs of course). Also because amongst my group of friends, I'm currently the only one who can and willing to cook. This photo set is meant to encourage more men to cook not just for themselves but also for the ones they care about. Who knows, being good in the kitchen could be a good source of extra points for your girlfriend ;-) With that said, click on the photo above to see the rest of the collection. There's only a few photos up at the moment but expect this collection to grow in the coming months as I continue to cook more delicious dish! Enjoy and stay hungry!
 
It's been years since the last time I visited the Philippines. Although I usually have Filipino food at home, I have never been to a Filipino restaurant here in Toronto. All that changed today when I, with a few buddies, visited this little spot near the intersection of Don Mills and York Mills called Casa Manila. It felt like "home" the moment I walked in the restaurant. The interior setup was very welcoming with Filipino ornaments displayed all over. The set up was very simple, tables and chairs set up nicely around the restaurant and the dried leaves decor on the wall made it more Filipino. The wait staff was very friendly as well. We were greeted by, I think, the owner of the restaurant who also walked us to our table.
We started off with a glass of Sarsi (Filipino root beer) and man it was good! It reminded me of my days growing up in the Philippines drinking it almost everyday after school. We also had some "Lumpiang Shanghai" (Chicken/Pork spring rolls). I was quick to choose "Daing na Bangus" (panfried boneless milkfish marinated in citrus) as my main since I haven't had this dish in so long. I ordered the dish with a bowl of garlic fried rice. My two other friends, being non-Filipino, took some time deciding and I had to explain to them what the dishes were. Eventually they decided to get "Pancit Palabok" (a Filipino style noodle) and "Kare Kare" (Beef with peanut butter sauce). They pretty much based their decisions on the pictures but I assured them that they made the right choice.
As the food came to our table, we took a few photos before eating and man the taste was awesome! My Daing na Bangus was cooked perfectly and tasted just like it was from home. I ate the fish with the garlic fried rice and it felt like home. My friends ate the Palabok and the Kare Kare and both liked the dishes very much. One of them had trouble figuring out how to eat Kare Kare but with a few suggestions from yours truly, everything went very well. We finished our main completely satisfied and then it was time for desert.
We all decided to get "Halo-Halo." Halo-Halo is a famous Filipino desert which is basically a mix of a little bit of everything desert. It's mostly crushed ice drizzled with sweet milk topped with red beans, bananas, "leche flan" (Filipino custard cake), purple yam, coconut gel, jellybeans, ube ice cream. The word "halo" means mix in Filipino which explains this desert's delicious set up. I haven't had Halo-Halo for at least 5 years and having it after such a long time was the best feeling ever. My friend who had it for the first time said it was like "heaven in a bowl." You can easily eat all the toppings and just be left with the crushed ice but even that was awesome! The sweet milk mixes in well with the melting ice pellets giving it an awesome sweet taste. It was 0 degrees today when we ate this and we froze our faces eating this stuff but it was worth it! Definitely going to be consuming this desert more often when the summer season starts.
Overall, Casa Manila is a cozy little place in the heart of North York giving Filipinos the chance to taste restaurant quality Filipino food and others to try and see what Filipino food is all about. Casa Manila is definitely my little Philippines.
 
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This rose needs a partner :)
To all the people who are in love or looking for love, Happy Valentine's Day :). The best things come when least expected, love is one of them.
 
This may be old news to some, but I recently stumbled upon an article in photographyblog.com showing the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Mark II lens. It is estimated to launch in March (for the Nikon version) and July (for the Canon version). According to Photography Blog's article, the new Tokina lens will have a new quieter focusing motor and a new magnetic AF sensor similar to the one found in Tokina 16-28mm FX. The new lens will also have an improve multi-coating. Looks like the lens is pretty much the same as the first one with a few improvements. I still use the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Mark I lens and I don't think I need to upgrade, but it's very good to know that Tokina is improving there already awesome line-up of lenses. 

Click here to see the article from photogragphyblog.com.
 
Where do you go if you're craving Japanese noodles for lunch? A noodle house of course. Kenzo Noodle house is a famous Japanese Noodle house in Bloor St. just outside UofT. They serve, well, you guessed it, noodles - and darn good ones too.

The restaurant was a little on the small side but it was not so bad and the interior was pretty cozy too, fitting environment for a noodle house. It gets pretty busy during the lunch rush with students and workers alike flocking the small house for some lunch noodles. Despite the chaos, the wait staff was quite calm and welcoming finding everyone seats very fast. Kudos Kenzo!
The menu was not very big which makes choosing easier and faster especially during the peak hours. I got myself the Yakisoba Noodle for this visit. I had yakisoba noodles before in other places but I wasn't expecting what I got. A generous serving of it was served on a sizzling hot plate topped with loads of meat and vegetables. It also had thin onion peels that flapped around due to the heat which added to the presentation. I thought the plate was alive when it arrived on my table. You have to see this in action! The taste just added to the goodness. The noodles were very fresh and the toppings were also fresh. The taste for me was just right and the generous serving makes this a filling lunch item for the price - us uni folks don't have a lot of money to spend you know.
Kenzo Noodle House was a delight. Despite getting there during the lunch rush, the friendly wait staff, and the awesome food made it all worthwhile. Definitely worth a look and I will definitely come back to try out the other items on the menu. Kudos Kenzo!
 
There's a new food place in UofT! I stumbled upon this new establishment as I was walking down College St. to get my usual shawarma dinner. The name of the new spot is "The Saj." Intrigued by this new sight, I walked inside to see what's up. It's just like any typical food place on campus where you go to the counter and order your food. Some cool design on the wall adds a nice touch.What makes this place unique though is the way they serve the food. The Saj offers wraps and pizza. There are different kinds of pizzas like cheese, pepperoni, and their special one, The Saj pizza. All pizzas are served as a whole and for the price, I say they are worth it. I haven't personally tried the wraps since this was my first time there.
So what is unique about this place? When you order an item (pizza or wrap), they bake the bread in front of you. They whip out some dough, put it in a baking machine to bake either the pizza crust or the wrap, and put the ingredients all in front of you. This is a welcome change from the typical pre-made stuff that other places offer. The cook time may be longer but the food is super fresh and tastes better because of its freshness. The staff is also very friendly which is always a great thing especially for a new establishment.
I ordered "The Saj" pizza for $6.99 which was a 12-inch pizza, enough to feed 2-3 people for lunch. For that price, it was a steal! I had to choose which meat goes on the pizza and two types of veggies. I chose chicken, mushrooms, and green peppers (see photo below). It was amazing to see the whole process from ordering to baking to receiving the box of fresh pizza. And the taste? Wonderful! One of the freshest pizzas I've tasted in a while and it's not as greasy as the pizzas of the other major brands. Healthier!
Overall, The Saj is a very cozy place to hang out, get some work done, and of course, eat some fresh healthy food cooked fresh right in front of your eyes. I can totally see myself and my friends coming back for more.
 
The Beautiful Toronto Project is alive and well. I've been absent for a few months because of school but now, it's time to roll out some more photos! This time I'm back in Casa Loma! Visited the castle one more time with a friend and took some more pictures. Had to go back because I just recently bought an ultra-wide angle lens for my camera at that time and Casa Loma was the perfect place to test out its capabilities. Got some very interesting wide angle shots that's for sure. It got even better when we found the entrance to the underground tunnel of the castle. Very creepy pathway but it was very exciting. Click on the images above to see the rest of the collection. Hope you like the photos I have for you! More photos are on their way so stay tuned :)