Taipei 2011: Day 2

I promised E that our second day will be more relaxing than our first one.  He, of the sore feet and bad temper, was delighted to hear shopping was NOT in the itinerary for the day.  My mom specifically asked if we could go to one of Taiwan's many hot springs for a day trip and we eagerly complied.  We planned to go to the nearby Dan Shui area but opted not to go because of time constraints. 

Taiwan's MRT system is easy to navigate.  We just took the red (Xindian-Danshui/Nanshijiao-Beitou) line to Beitou MRT station. From Beitou station a one-station branch line runs to Xin Beitou station, which is very near the hot springs area.  The Taiwanese are so lucky!  It takes only 45 minutes of relatively pain-free commute and they can enjoy a relaxing day of soaking in hot spring.  

J, are you bored?  We promise not to take too many pictures.  

Things I Love

Good morning!!


1.  It's official.  I am a milk tea addict.

I think I might lose 10 pounds if I abstain from my current level of milk tea consumption!  Serenitea will always be my first love but Gong Cha and Share Tea are fighting for my affection now.  Oh, the perils of a fickle heart!

 

2.  My new Starbucks tumbler. 

I love Starbucks tumblers and I am so excited that it's Christmas time and my favorite Christmas themed tumblers are coming out soon.  If only my klutzy self can keep from dropping and breaking my cups.  Seriously, I dropped a new cup only an hour after I bought it and it broke.  I need a cure for clumsiness!

I love this particular tumbler because it's venti sized!  I tend to dislike the smaller ones because I'm greedy like that. hehehe

 

3. Cute eggs.  

I find it so cute that eggs come in so many different sizes.  The first picture shows a no weight egg leaning against an extra large egg.  If you crack them open, the no weight will have almost no yolks while the extra large will most probably have double yolks.  Fascinating!  

The second picture (left to right):  extra large, large, medium, small, extra small, peewee, no weight.

 

Have a great day everyone!!

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.

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