Food Trip Weekends: Share Tea and Cafe Ysabel

Part One

Saturday breakfast:

I woke up nice and early because I was excited to go on a breakfast date with E.  Sometimes it feels like we don't have time for just the two of us anymore and I really treasure the times we go out on our dates.  I suggested Cafe Ysabel since I wanted to try their breakfast menu.

E had the Kapampangan breakfast set which consisted of lengua, scrambled eggs with chorizo and rice.  I had the Country breakfast set which had country fried steak, scrambled egg, hash brown, bacon and fried apples.

Imagine this place at night with candlelit candles...so romantic.

A little nook to sip your coffee while holding hands with someone special.

Haircut at Shuji Kida

New hair!  Don't worry, I didn't straighten my hair, that's temporary.  I went to my favorite salon (for haircuts) and got bangs!! 

I don't know why, but I'm feeling super adventurous with my hair lately.

Anyway, I really recommend Anthony of Shuji Kida Salon.  He's the only Filipino cutter in the salon so you can really specify and explain how you want your hair to turn out.  A haircut takes about an hour.

 Just to gross you out...This is just some of the hair he cut off my head!  My hair feels so light and bouncy now.  :)

 

Food Trip Weekends: Chinatown Detour

I had a wonderful time bonding with my mom last Saturday.  After my breakfast date with E, my mom and I went downtown to buy some things for November 1st and look around. 

Can I just say that I love Manila?  Manila, as in the city ok?  I especially love Ongpin, Manila's Chinatown.  Yeah, my husband is looking at me weird right now and I know you're probably thinking how dirty, chaotic and unorganized everything is there..  But I grew up in Manila and I love its little nooks and crannies, the vendors on the sidewalk, the smell of food wafting out from little eateries scattered around the area.  I wish I could go more often. 

The Housewife Chronicles: Food Overload

Wow, pig-out week for the family.  We had a couple of guests from out of town and the in-law's family took turns taking them out to eat.  Last night was daddy and mommy's turn and, as usual, it was a fantastic meal.  My mom-in-law is a great cook (discalimer: Ma, your cooking is delicious too!!) and I always forget my diet when she's cooking for a party.

Here are her kitchen assistants.  Yup, there was a lechon and it was delicious.  If ever you're in Tarlac City, pass by Louie's...they have tasty roast chicken and lechon.  You could also get them to roast your own pig. hehe

Things I Love: Goody Spin Pin, Podcasts, Modern Family

Good day guys!


Let me share some of the things I've been obsessing about:


1.  Fixing my hair up with the Goody spin pin. 

I have always been envious of those messy buns Korean girls carry so well.  However, I can't seem to replicate the effect with ordinary hair ties... I still needed some bobby pins to catch the falling hair.  But with the Goody spin pin, I just need to twist my hair up into a bun and secure it with the pins.  It holds up the hair perfectly.. not too tight and not too loose.  And I can run, jump and sleep on it and the bun doesn't get loose! Love it!  I'll show you how it looks below.
 
There are two sizes, small and large.  You get three spin pins for the small and two spin pins for the large.  I bought the large ones.

Gather your hair in a ponytail, you can make it high or low.. It doesn't matter. 

Twist your hair or not.  It doesn't matter. 

Put it up into a bun. 

Place one spin pin on top of your bun and twist it into the bun.

If your hair is thick, get the other spin pin and twist it into the lower part of the bun.

Super sturdy bun!  Just twist in the other direction to take off the pin.  You literally can't take it off your hair if you just attempt to pull it out.

2.  Listening to podcasts on my Ipod. 

The first podcast I ever listened to is the controversial Mo Twister's Good Times With Mo (GTWM) podcast.  Initial impression: incredibly risque and out of line but at the same time extremely funny and insightful.  It is basically a question and answer show where callers from all over the world call Mo and get advice on their problems (these range from the pathetic to the mundane).  A recent episode (GTWM episode 125; Aug. 25,2011)  ended up with a lot of callers whose problem is about cheating, whether they are the cheaters or the "cheatees".  If you are a fan of the show like I am, you know that Mo disapproves of cheaters 100% of the time and berates anyone who tries to rationalize their deeds. 

Another podcast I love is Joy the Baker.  Joy and her friend Tracy from the blog Shutterbean talk about nothing and everything for 45 minutes.  It's just like listening to you and your bestfriend talk and giggle about all the silly stuff you have in common.  My favorite episode is Episode 14, titled "We Are Not the Cool Kids", where they talked about the wrong fashion choices they made when the were young and maybe not-so-young years.

By the way, both podcasts are also available for free on ITunes.  Try downloading some episodes and I'm sure you'll find yourself laughing out loud while in a quiet office with your officemates staring at you.  Yeah, that's awkward. 

3.  New Modern Family episodes. 

Seriously the best show on television.  So funny!  Everyone should be watching this show.  The characters are all stereotypes and exaggerated but in a good way. 

One of the most lovable and funny characters in the show is Phil Dunphy.  He portrays a dad, who's..well, kinda dumb. But in this really lovably nice way. hehe Anyway, my descriptions wouldn't give justice to the show.  Just download it, if you still haven't watched it, and thank me for introducing you to next best thing since sliced bread.

You're welcome!

The Housewife Chronicles: Rose Birthday Cupcakes

I played with fondant again!  I tried my hand on making some sugar roses for my good friend Marie's birthday cupcakes and it turned out quite cute, albeit a little rustic. haha 

I baked lemon cupcakes for the base and decided on creamy, tangy, yummy, rich cream cheese frosting.  I got the chance to use the 1M Wilton tip my sister-in-law got me from Canada.  I love the rose patterned frosting it pipes out. 

Got over-enthusiastic with the frosting! hihihi

Finished product!

Weekend Haul!

The last weekend brought a shower of new things, some gifted and some I bought myself. 

Little J is the first grandson on both E and my family.  Naturally, he is showered with blessings (spoiled rotten) by his doting grandparents, aunts and uncles.  My youngest sister, I, is studying in Taiwan as part of Ateneo's Junior Term Abroad program and sent some goodies over for J and I.  Thank you Shobe!!! 

I am super lucky to have a mom who has nice taste in clothes.  She bought me this blue cardigan because she knows I love cover-ups!   

My mom-in-law also had pasalubong from her vacation.  A big tote bag for all the things I drag around all day and a basic striped shirt in my favorite color.  So thoughtful of her, I started using the bag at once!  I forgot to take a picture of the nice jeans she got for J.  

I am always on the lookout for red (or anything in that palette) clothes.  My closet is filled with neutral colors like black, gray and navy blue, and I really do not have anything to wear when there are birthdays or parties we need to attend.  

I am so happy I found these three dresses this weekend.  What could be easier to wear than dresses, right?  No more struggling to match your tops and bottoms!   Major score! 

No more shopping for myself until next year! :)  Do comment if you have tips on where to buy nice gifts for the inaanak!   Time to start shopping for Christmas! 

Food Trip Weekends: Revisiting Old Classics

While I love trying out new restaurants, there are also days when the tried and tested is what hits the spot.  This is exactly what this weekend was all about.  I had the opportunity to eat (and drink) at four restaurants I love.  Let's start shall we? :) 

Saturday lunch:

Had a girly date with my best friend from high school.  It was a toss-up  between Cibo and Bizu and, naturally, Bizu won.  I love Bizu.  I love their ambience: girly but not so much that men and boys become uncomfortable to eat there.  I love their food: good servings and consistently great taste.  It's not one of those places where you feel bitin after eating.  The complimentary bread basket with garlic butter and jam they give out during breakfast is also yummmmmy!!!

We split an order of French onion soup full of cheesy bready deliciousness...good decision because I couldn't have finished the whole order.  Carb lover that I am, I also ordered my favorite prawn linguine with tomato sauce.  It had the perfect balance of sour and sweet with basil and garlic essence.  Yuuum! 

Saturday dinner:

I stuffed myself with a carb heavy lunch and Serenitea for merienda (I'll get to that later) because my family and I decided to eat dinner late.  How late you ask?  We ate at 9pm!  Why?  I wanted to try Golden Fortune Restaurant's hotpot and dimsum buffet which starts at 9pm.  Yes, my cheap matakaw self cannot resist a deal.  You see, Golden Fortune's buffet costs only P350!  Sulit the late dinnertime. haha They also have another branch where they give a discount of 30% instead of the buffet.  My mom was still full, so we went to the Soler branch for the 30% discount.  

Golden Fortune hotpot menu has all the usual ingredients and has some not-so-usual ingredients too.  There's ostrich meat and crocodile meat for the adventurous eaters!  Everything was so cheap.  Our hotpot feast and dimsum extras cost us P 1,100!!! That's 5 adults and one toddler eating!  

Full dining room at 10pm! 

Sunday lunch:

Mother and sister dear went on their workout and I went with father and baby dearest to the supermarket.  Eat Well! is conviniently located near their gym so we just met up there for a quick lunch before I go home.  

Baby J and I love their fried tofu with asparagus... so silkenly soft and melt in your mouth with a light, slightly salty sauce.  So so good!  You should also order their porkchop and vegetable rice meal.  The rice is fried with some green vegetables and dried shrimps, you could eat the rice by itself! One of the highlights is also their chili sauce... slightly sweet, a little salty and not too hot.  My mom, sister M and I finished the little pot of chili sauce on our table.  

Sunday merienda:

Finally, a post on my favorite milk tea place!!!  

Manila weekends is not complete without grabbing some drinks from Serenitea!  I cannot describe how obsessed I am about this place.  I think that this is the best milk tea place in the metro by far!  (One other milk tea place I like is Gong Cha, but it is still inaccessible to me.  Open one in Greenhills please?)  

Their milk teas are the reason that I keep going back to Serenitea.  I love that you can identify their milk teas by their distinctive tastes.  No need to look at the label.  Serenitea fans, do you agree? :)  Their sinkers are also a big draw for me.  They are included in the drink, so no need to pay extra to make your drink yummier.  Panna cotta and egg pudding makes the milk tea taste richer and milkier, black bricks, bubbles and black diamond for contrast or green tea jelly, crystals and lime jelly to make your fruit teas fruitier.  

So obsessed that I drank a cup on Saturday and brought home 5 more cups  home!  One for my mom-in-law, one for E and three for me!!! hahaha Talk about hoarding!  

Now you know the reason why I'm getting bigger (FAT)!!!  Promise, I will start my diet soon.  Happy eating everyone! 

Wanna try?

Bizu Patisserie and Bistro 

Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center

San Juan, Metro Manila

(02) 7242498, (02) 7262496

Golden Fortune Restaurant

G/F Peace Hotel, 1283 Soler St. 

Binondo, Manila 

Metro Manila

(02) 2442777

Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen 

Greenhills Shopping Center

San Juan, Metro Manila

(02) 7228518

Serenitea 

G/F G&L Bldg., J. Abad Santos St. cor. V. Cruz

Little Baguio, San Juan, Metro Manila

(02) 3794166

Mommy Fashion: Dotty Madness

Manila weekend means dress up day!  I know what I'm wearing doesn't seem remarkable for most people.  But, since moving away from Manila, the shorts and t-shirt combo has been my daily wardrobe.  Slipping into a girly dress and wearing nice heels is a nice break from the usual.  

Of course, it wouldn't me if I didn't discuss how my outfit consists of sale items! hahaha  It really goes against my grain to buy something for full price.  I usually wait for my favorite brands to go on sale before I do my shopping.  Turns out last weekend was the mid-season sale for Topshop, Warehouse and Dorothy Perkins.  One tip, please shop on the first day of the sale for better selections.  I went on Friday and got some great deals.  I returned the following day with my sister and didn't find a single thing.   

Dress:  Dorothy Perkins sale, Shoes: Prima Donna 

I also bought my bag on sale.  I find the whole satchel bag craze to be pretty cute but I don't think I'd be interested in it for a long time.  Thus, some scouring at our local department store and..Taaaada!  A colorful alternative for the more expensive brands at a very good price. 

Bag: Secosana sale

I'll be posting some of my favorite things from this weekend next.  Have a great morning everyone!!!

My Day in Photographs

8:00 am  Good morning world!

9:00 am  Finally got out of the house today.  No thanks to J's yaya who conveniently got sick when she went on her day off.  

11:00 am  Sneaking in some reading after office work.

12:00 pm  My handsome sundo came for me! 

12:30 pm Lunch at Fortune.  Chinese food is the best!

1:30 pm  Played with my little guy.

 3:00 pm  Time for J's afternoon snack.

4:00 pm  Time for mommy's afternoon snack hihihi

5:00 pm  Takeout.  No yaya means no time, actually, no energy to cook!

5:30 pm  I miss you shobe!

8:00 pm  Picking up an old new hobby!  I hope I finish what I started.  

Good night world!

This is what happens when there is no yaya around! 

Gigil!!!

LOVE!!!

Sorry for smothering you baby!  I love you forever and ever!!! 

The Housewife Chronicles: Strawberry Cream Cake

I had a mission.  

I wanted cake.  A cake filled with strawberries and cream, cool from the refrigerator and meltingly light in the mouth. But I was tired and the baby was sick so a compromise had to be made.  I cheated and made a simple sponge cake instead of chiffon.  I had just one box of cream left and decided that the cake could do with just cream in the middle and on top. 

It was wiped out at dinner.  So I guess it's ok? :)

Strawberries for the filling.  I boiled 500 grams of frozen strawberries, some sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel to make homemade jam.  

 

Bake one 8 inch sponge cake and let cool before placing the filling.  

  

Love the afternoon sun.  I wish I could cook in the daylight more often.  (Better pictures hehe)

 

Slice the cake in half and soak thoroughly with the strawberries.  Top with whipped cream and place the other cake half on top.  Spread with cream and top generously with strawberry mixture.  The cake is best assembled a few hours before serving so the cake soaks up all the strawberry juice.  

 

I also made Korean fried chicken.  Sinful but worth the effort of deep frying! 

 

Have a happy, yummy weekend ahead!