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Showing posts from January, 2011

A visit to Lola Maria's

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Lola is a Tagalog word that means Grandmother. Thus the name Lola Maria Restaurant inside The Legend Villas evokes that warm homey feeling that we'd get whenever we visit the home of our grandmother. The smell of wonderful home-cooked meals that she would lovingly prepare as you wait while admiring the beautiful decors that adorns her home. The same home where either your mom or dad grew up in. You memorize every nook and cranny and know where lola's favorite part of the house is..most likely the kitchen. Located just right across where I work, I was surprised that there's actually a hidden gem for me to discover. It is said that people normally tend to search far and wide when a beautiful thing is standing so close by that we fail to take notice of it. I've first visited Lola Maria last year for a business meeting. We were surprised that the buffet lunch was pretty extensive and delicious. Fast forward to a couple of Fridays ago, we were invited to a food tastin...

Seek Tranquility at Neo Day Spa

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Wednesday last week was a very busy day for me. I woke up at exactly 4AM, my heart and mind racing ready to face the day's series of activities. It began with a trip down to Roxas Boulevard for my US Visa Interview then off I went to work as I literally struggled to stay awake and alert. Lunch was short but sweet with half of the Club at Pedeli Gourmet Kitchen followed by a brief seminar back at the office. I finally asked to be allowed to go home early as my head was literally throbbing and my eyes were getting heavy by the minute. Little by little, I knew sleep is catching up and my awake state is fast crashing. I still have dinner to attend that day and a two hour nap would truly help. On the way home, I decided to check out our neighborhood day spa to see if I can possibly get a short full body massage. That would surely put me on a relaxing state...one that I truly needed that day. Entering Neo Day Spa along Wilson street, I was warmly greeted by the receptionist who w...

Pesto Break at Pedeli Gourmet Kitchen

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Whenever I drive myself home from work, once in a while, I'd find myself craving for pasta. As always, my dilemma is where to get good pesto pasta. There used to be a stall at the food court of our office building that sells this..it was pretty oily, not the best quality but I stayed loyal to it for almost a year. At home, this has been my constant request, it used to just be every Monday where Mommy would ask our helper to prepare pesto spaghetti for dinner. However, now we would ask for this almost twice a week or more. Back when I still had Bo (the Basil) , I was planning on making my own pesto sauce. Bo, after all, was very cooperative. He grew to be a very healthy and fragrant basil plant with lots of leaves. However, I became very busy and didn't had the time to source for the other ingredients needed to make my own pesto sauce. Thus, I've resorted to stocking up on bottles of pesto sauces as home. Still, I know nothing beats enjoying a plate of piping hot al dente ...

My Favorite Things : Matahari Indonesian Deli

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Aside from pasta and fried rice, one thing I don't think I can live without are chips ! Not the healthiest food in the planet but they do give us the comfort that we need after a long hard day at work. It surely hits the right spot, I must say. Luckily, my husband Paul loves chips as much as I do. The funny thing is he favors potato chips while I truly adore corn chips. Nonetheless, we share the same passion for finding different types of chips here and abroad. Thus, it's not a surprise that for all of our trips, our hand carry luggage is always filled to the brim with ... chips. Here in Metro Manila, a trip to SM Megamall will not be complete without passing by Matahari . It's an Indonesian kiosk that sells the best tasting Baked BBQ Cassava Chips and Vegetable Crackers. Initially we would share a 100 grams bag but eventually we realized that this was not enough for sharing thus we both would get our own 100 grams bag each! I love the sweet salty taste of this yummy ...

How to apply for a US Non-Immigrant (Tourist) Visa

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I woke up really early today, actually I hardly had a good night sleep as I was so afraid that I might not wake up in time for my US Visa Interview . Yes, dear readers, I am finally heading outward Asia and will soon explore the beauty of the West. :) I learned about the trip last month and given that I am scheduled to travel by next month, I basically have two months preparation time. However, thanks to the power of the internet, applying for your US Visa can be pretty easy and quick. First things first : Check your passport Be sure to have the brown covered Philippine passport and not the green one. If ever you still carry the green passport, have this renewed ASAP. Visit this website to schedule an interview and read this first in case you're wearing contact lens . Step two: DS-160 Next step is to visit the Official website of the US Embassy here in Manila to go through the rules and procedure on how to secure a US Visa. After this, fill up the online DS-160 for...

Grab a Slab at Chuck's Deli

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Most of the time, I would bring lunch to work. This is mainly due to three reasons : #1 I am very lazy to go down and look for food... #2 It doesn't hurt to save a few bucks to give me more reason to splurge during the weekends and... #3 I find bringing my own lunch to work healthier as my mom makes sure we eat well everyday. Once in a while, I would request that I will just have a sandwich for lunch. It's when I want to cut back on my fat and calorie intake and when I know I have a busy day ahead. The only problem I get though is that our new cook is no gourmet chef and her sandwiches pretty much consist of bread + filling. At times, I find myself very hungry and all I got was a piece of tasty with a thin slice of ham. No dressings, no greens, nothing. I almost wanted to cry out of hunger. Oh how I miss our old cook M, who would create superb sandwiches that would truly make my day. No matter how hard my mom would teach her to be more creative, we'd still end up get...

Shopping Finds : Muji 3-layer Bookshelf

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I've always been a fan of MUJI , a Japanese retail store that carries a wide (and I really mean, WIDE) array of items from house wares to apparels, from bathroom accessories to office and school supplies. As a kid, my dad would bring my sister and I to Sogo in Hong Kong and allow us to choose our new set of school supplies from their beautiful brown notebooks to a set of colorful pens. I guess this was where my love for paper and pen began. Muji Central World, Bangkok Since then, we would make it a point to visit a Muji branch whenever we go out of the country. From Bangkok to Singapore, we enjoyed joining through the different trinkets and food products that I love to bring home with me. Last year, Muji finally opened its door in Manila! Located at the Bonifacio High Street , Muji is located at the 2nd level of Gap. Paul and I wasted no time and off we went to check Muji Manila out. It was perfect timing that we were fixing up our new rooms and we surely have a lot o...

Afternoon Merienda at Via Mare

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Today's my dear Mommy's birthday and to celebrate her special day, I shall talk about one of her favorite restaurant -- Via Mare . It's here where she introduced us to real good Pancit Luglug where we would happily share on one order. This is on top of her other must-orders such as the Bibingka , Puto Bumbong and their wide array of AlTangHap . A couple of days ago, wanting to have a slight change in environment for our regular meeting, I invited my colleague ML for an afternoon snack at Via Mare . I was, in fact, craving for a plate of Pancit Luglug and I'm glad that she was game enough to go with my choice. We were quickly ushered to our seats as the restaurant was not that full at that hour of the day. Via Mare has been around for as long as I can remember. We would even frequent their branch in Greenbelt 1 whenever Mommy and Papa would allow us to tag along as they go to the office during our summer break. My favorite was the AlTangHap it stands for the thr...

Kampai! Enjoying a Sake Degustation Menu at Umu

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Ever since our stay last December 2009, I've grown very fond of Dusit Thani Manila due to its beautiful grand lobby, accessibility to two major shopping malls (Ayala Center and SM) , beautiful guest rooms and most of all, the food as dining at any of its restaurants has always been a delightful experience . I was back at the hotel again as I was invited to join a special Japanese dinner at Umu . I immediately confirmed my attendance and made sure I won't be late for my dinner date. At the start of the program, the head chef performed the Kagami-biraki which is the traditional way usually done in celebratory events where the chef used a wooden mallet to signal the start of the party and all guests will be served with a cup of sake. As we await our first dish, we were given a glass of cold Zipang (Sparkling Sake) which was very smooth and light. Sake is to Japan as wine is to France. This can normally be seen in dinner tables as Japanese would have this while enjoying t...

The APPLE of my eye

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Call it impulse buy ..it's actually the best type of purchase ever done when you just instantly fall deeply in love with a particular item the moment you lay your eyes on it. It's the new age way of love at first sight . Thanks to my dear husband who gives in to my occasional impulsive shopping behavior and who sits through my lengthy speeches of justifying "why I needed that particular object of desire"..and mind you, I will not stop still he says YES. I am indeed a lucky girl. Today was a happy day as I came home and was greeted with a small rectangular plastic case that contains my newest baby! It's my new 32GB iPod Touch and it's finally home!! This will be my newest travel buddy as it will not only save me from boredom but will be our guide as we navigate our way around town. Truly, the APPLE of my eye ♥

Bubblegum and everything nice at Krispy Kreme!

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Krispy Kreme brightened up our Tuesday morning by sending over a box of their newest product that's bright green and has a very familiar scent. It was perfect time as Paul and I were actually on our way out for work and he was still feeling a bit hungry from breakfast so this special donut was like heaven's answer to his hunger pleas. He took a quite bite and commented that the icing tastes like Coney Island's Bubblegum Ice Cream. He offered me a bite to which I took and it actually reminded me of my favorite childhood bubblegum brand -- Bazooka. Personally though, I am not a fan of overly sweet nor minty donuts so the Original Glazed Donuts are still my #1 favorite. This is a limited time offering as it is Krispy Kreme 's way of welcoming the launch of the first ever blockbuster movie this year -- The Green Hornet . A show, we're both very familiar with as we grew up catching certain episodes of the TV Series. Paul remembers Britt Reid, a newspaper publisher ...

[PROMO ALERT!] It's time for RENT

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It has been a while since Paul and I went to watch a stage play. The last was the 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee which happened more than a year ago. Oh I can't wait to go and watch another stage play again in order for us to enrich ourselves culturally and musically! Valentine's Day is just around the corner and one good way to spend this red-letter day is by watching one of the multi-awarded theater productions that's coming back to Manila this February! Presenting RENT -- a musical production that is based on Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme . The story revolves around a group of impoverished young artists and musicians living in New York's Lower East Side while dealing with their personal issues and for three of them, as they battle HIV/AIDS. While I have not watched the play myself, but I am familiar with one famous song that I truly love -- Seasons of Love Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments s...

[RANT] Philippine Passport Renewal : Have Contact Lens? Proceed with Caution

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Dear Readers, Allow me to interrupt my regular food blogging to share something that left a really bad taste on the mouth or shall I say a truly traumatizing experience for my sister as she renewed her Philippine Passport yesterday afternoon. A month ago, I personally logged in to the new DFA Passport Appointment System , which I honestly think was pretty cool and modern for our government to have, and took care of scheduling my sister's passport renewal which was set yesterday, January 17 at 130PM. Last night, I repeatedly reminded her to go early as I had a feeling that there might be a line which might cause her some delay for about 30 minutes to an hour. I've read up on the experience of a fellow blogger which made me confident that things over at the DFA has tremendously improved and my sister will be able to have her passport renewed in no time.... ...boy was I WRONG. My sister only took a short break from work to have her passport renewed. She arrived at th...

Uno, Dos, TRES!

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I guess I can say that I am very lucky to be blessed with a handful of great friends. They are the kind of friends whom I can definitely trust and count on in good times and bad. These friends are those whom I've grown up with and have spent countless memories of fun school years together. It's funny though that I find myself part of a number of trios, which clearly shows that Three is NOT a Crowd . Here's one trio that has been together for more than five years -- it all began in our university, UA&P , where we were all active members of the student council. E was the finance officer that school year where I was part of her office that launched the first ever UA&P discount card . C was the one who took over this big project and brought it to new heights the following year. I really couldn't remember the nitty-gritty details of how our trio was born but I can probably say that it was simply because we all got along really well and the rest was history. Ther...