Degustation Dinner at Atelier 317 in Makati

Oh I just love discovering secret dining places! This is the reason why I immediately grabbed the chance to try Atelier 317 when an offer worth Php. 995 was posted at Deal Grocer. What initially was planned to be a romantic dinner date for two was happily turned into a fun dinner out with my two favorite eating companions Paul and Richard. We had to make a reservation days in advance as the place has only three table thus it has a very limited seating capacity. I've been hearing about Atelier 317 from friends and fellow food lovers, this restaurant is owned by Chef Stephanie Zubiri and is located at a private home in Makati.

Thankfully, both Paul and Richard have amazing sense of direction so I didn't have to worry on how to get to our 'secret' destination. We entered Palm Village which is very near Rockwell Center. The streets are quite narrow but following the direction given by the guard, we immediately located Atelier 317. It's a two or three storey home with a two car garage.

After handing over our Deal Grocer coupons, out came our first tasting plate that consists of Flamed Kesong Puti Caprese Salad, Spiced Pumpkin Soup Shooter and Gourmet Cheese Pimiento Tartine.When having degustation dinners, I was really expecting a little bit bigger than bite-sized portions. Atelier 317 was very generous as the Caprese Salad for instance had 5 slices of tomatoes covered with crumbled Kesong Puti and basil. It was quite refreshing and was good way to start our dinner with. I also enjoyed the Spiced Pumpkin Soup Shooter which was creamy and flavorful. The only thing that I didn't like was the Gourmet Cheese Pimiento Tartine, the bread was too hard making it difficult to bite into without making a big mess.

Weekend Brunch at Seattle's Best Coffee

It's FINALLY the weekend! It has been extremely busy at work for the past weeks and this will probably go on for the entire month of August too! As I brace myself with the intense thinking and preparation that we have to go through for our annual planning, part of me is also excited to present new ideas that I would like to implement for the year ahead!

Despite how busy my weekdays can be, I keep my weekend sacred. Take today for example, Paul and I have a busy day ahead and to make sure we have the energy, we had a hearty brunch at Seattle's Best Coffee at the Greenhills Town Center, a new commercial complex located along Gilmore street in Ortigas. Every time we visit this place, we get to see more and more restaurants popping up. My goal is to check each and every restaurant out! I've tried Sumo Sam, the Pastry Princess and Ha Yuan to name a few.


It was also upon an invitation to try the new drinks at Seattle's Best Coffee that brought us here. We started with two Breakfast plates -- Ham and Cheese Omelette (Php. 185) and the Big Breakfast Platter #2 (Php. 240). We couldn't agree whether to just get the omelette or to have pancakes and bacon as these were included in the Big Breakfast Platter. Thus, we just got both.

Citibank Surprise Squad strikes at Stella, Bonifacio Highstreet Central

Introducing Project Surprise.

I admit, I was the accomplice. The goal was to bring happiness through the form of a surprise visit. The target? My fellow food blogger friends. I must admit I'm not good at planning surprises. More often than not, my excitement will reveal what I have been cooking up in my mind. Thus, it took me a while to invite The Food Club out for what looked like a simple dinner at Stella. After all, we, members of The Food Club do not say no to the chance of trying a new restaurant out.

Paul and I got to Stella ahead of the others. After a quick hi-hello with the "mastermind", we entered the restaurant with innocent looks on our faces as we waited for the others to arrive.

Stella is one of the many new restaurants that opened at the booming new wing of Bonifacio Highstreet. It's right beside its sister restaurant bar called Rocket Room, Stella has a cozy vibe quite similar to another sister restaurant -- Chelsea Market and Cafe.


While waiting for the others, Paul and I ordered some fruit juices. My choice was the Ripe Mango and Pineapple (Php. 150) while Paul got the Buko and Lychee (Php. 150). Both drinks were refreshing and delicious and we were happy with our choices. My drink, in particular, had a stronger mango flavor that I could hardly taste the pineapple. I don't really mind as I wanted my drink to be more on the sweet side anyway.


We were also given a plate of warm bread and butter. Sadly I forgot to take note of their exact names but all were delicious nonetheless.


To warm our tummies, Paul and I shared a bowl of Roasted Garlic Mushroom Soup (Php. 150). We each took a sip and pushed the bowl aside. The garlic flavor was too mild for us. It was a tad too oily and watered down that we could hardly taste the strong garlic flavor that we were hoping to find. Will probably try other soup next time.

FIC present Vermont Classic Frozen Custards

I took the leap last Monday! For someone who is deadly scared of blood, vaccines and pain in general, I bravely headed to the dentist and had my bothersome wisdom tooth pulled out. To be honest, I was still hoping the pain caused by the irregular alignment of my poking wisdom tooth would go away but after days for not being able to chew on yummy pizza as well having difficulty in munching on chips and a lot more, I knew I HAD to do something. Happily, I survived the procedure and walked out of the dentist clinic alive.

I'm still undergoing a recovery stage now wherein all I can eat are soft and cold food items. For days, I have been eating mashed potato and ice cream every single meal. I love them very much but I think I have seriously went beyond my annual consumption quota for both already.


Call it perfect timing that my friends over at Fruits in Ice Cream (FIC) sent over a bag filled with 3 pint containers of frozen delights. The labels says Vermont Classic Frozen Custard. Peering into the container, the content sure looks like ice cream. Reading up on it, I found out that Frozen Custard is very similar to Ice Cream only it has the addition of eggs in the mixture. It has less air too making it thicker and richer compared to your average Ice Cream.


We didn't waste any time and immediately brought out our ice cream scooper and bowls right after dinner. We had three flavors to test earlier this evening: French Vanilla, Brownie Batter and Cheesecake.

To make things more exciting, we added in some toppings which were also provided by FIC.

A Trip Down Memory Lane at Za’s Cafe and Hizon’s Bakeshop in Manila

As Paul and I followed the week-long news coverage on the wake and funeral ceremony of the late King of Comedy, Dolphy, it has been mentioned a number of times by friends and loved ones that Dolphy loves going to Hizon’s or he would gift someone with a box of Hizon’s ensaymada. At some point, this led to Paul telling me that he has never dined at Hizon’s or more specifically at the coffee shop adjacent to it called Za’s Cafe. I was shocked! Between the two of us, he grew up in Manila and I just can’t believe he has never been there. Whereas for yours truly who was born and raised in Quezon City, I has been frequenting this classic restaurant since I was a toddler. I guess that just goes to show that I would really go the distance for good food.

Anyway, I really love sharing a piece of my childhood with my husband. Be it trying a glass of halo-halo that I grew up enjoying or something like this – taking him to Za’s Cafe one rainy Sunday afternoon. I am pretty proud of myself for still remembering where it exactly was. We easily found a parking slot outside the restaurant and with umbrellas on hand, we quickly made our way in. As you enter the main door, you will see the Bakeshop first. Glass counters filled with their homemade Mamon, famous Ensaymada and a lot more.


There’s the large wooden shelf filled with Raisin Bread, the only thing that I do not buy and eat from this Bakeshop. However, something’s missing... the CAKES! My favorite Mocha Chiffon Cake! I asked the lady in charge and was told that the cakes will be delivered later in the afternoon. :( Sad because I really love their Mocha and Caramel cakes and I was actually planning to order a slice for dessert.

Walking further in, we headed to Za’s Cafe. At 1PM, the restaurant was still filled with families and couples enjoying their Sunday lunch. We were led to our small table by the window. How romantic! ♥

Paul left the ordering on my hands and so I quickly rattled off my favorites which I’m glad are still available. Of course we had the Grilled Pork Chops with Apple Sauce (Php. 350) as well as the Braised Ox Tongue Piquante (Php. 420).


Note though that it may take a while for your main dishes to come out as I think they cook this on a per order basis. While waiting, I highly recommend that you order a Bread Basket (Php. 35) which comes with 4 dinner rolls and a couple of butter slices. I love their bread! It’s so soft, sweet and fluffy! We love their dinner rolls so much that we would buy an entire pack to bring home back then. Paul also enjoyed the bread basket as he happily spread a generous amount of butter on his dinner rolls before taking a big bite.


We also had a glass of Calamansi Juice (Php. 40) each. This is just what we need... more Vitamin C!

Dig in! Clawdaddy's Seafood Boiling Bag

Years ago, I never thought that I'd be able to travel to the United States of America...this soon. Sure, it has been part of our list, even planned to go there for our Honeymoon but after agreeing that we will discover Asia first; we never thought I'll see the amazing West anytime in the next few years after tying the knot. Well, I guess Lady Luck must have been on our side all these time as I got an invite from a business counterpart to meet them in California late 2010 (that was just around 5 months of being married!). The agreed schedule was on February 2011 and we got even luckier that both Paul and I were given US travel visas right away.

It truly was a fun-filled two weeks spent with our relatives and friends based in California, USA. I really enjoyed bonding with my Ahia Jeff whom I haven't seen for a long time. The same goes for Paul who was able to spend some quality time with his aunt and cousin Jun too. It truly was time well-spent as we tried a couple of amazing restaurants and visited a number of theme parks too.


One restaurant that we really enjoyed was Boiling Crab. We have been hearing a lot of raves about this that Jun once told us that he has never dined there because the line was always so long. Thus, we went with a plan. Arriving at the restaurant at 11AM, Jun, my Ahia Jeff, Paul and I went with a big appetite ready for the war...the seafood war. Boy, we had lots of fun! It was a different experience for me and I came home still reliving how fun our lunch at Boiling Crab was. Paul and I, at some point, thought of bringing the concept here to Manila. If we enjoyed it so much, we were very confident that all the foodies and the Filipino market in general will to. We got extremely busy and with lack of resources, we put our idea up on the shelf for a while.


Well, Paul and I headed to Clawdaddy's to celebrate the 4th of July by trying the new Seafood Boiling Bag. We were both so excited! Ready to feast with our yellow bibs up in place. We tried the Seafood Boil in a Bag (Php. 1,495) with my favorite Garlic Butter sauce! There are four different sauces such as the Seafood Boil Spice, Garlic Butter, Creole Cajun and the Clawdaddy Spice. I find the Garlic Butter just right as it brings out the flavor of the freshly boiled seafood in the bag such as the fresh water prawns, South Pacific clams, green mussels, Manila Clams, Crabs, Andouille sausage, potatoes and corn. I enjoyed the prawns the most as I personally find the crabs too thin (not meaty) to my liking. 

Baking with Fran : Maya Hotcake and Cake Mixes

This week, a nasty virus has struck our family. It hit me first..and it did hit it really hard making me unable to report to work for a day and leaving me coughing and sneezing for the entire week. My voice became unrecognizable and I always have to bring a pack of tissue and a bottle of water wherever I go. I really hate getting sick. :(

Sadly, the virus may have left my body but this time it transferred to Paul and to my sister Pan. Poor thing, they're both down -- also missed work for a day and are still under medication leaving them groggy and sleepy most of the time. Needless to say, we avoided eating out most days of this week. Loading up on vitamin C and all things nutritious to keep our immune system up.


Being sick doesn't mean though that I have lost my love for food. In fact, I spent most of my waking hours in the kitchen. True, my sense of smell may have temporarily became unreliable and so goes my sense of taste too. However it was just great timing that the nice people from Maya sent over a couple of hotcake mix and some ready-to-bake cake mixes too.

Back when I was still in grade school, I remember spending my summer baking. I never had any formal baking education thus I would make use of these pre-mixes to create a couple of baked goodies such as my favorite -- the Maya Banana Cake. Humility aside, I became so good that it that my Mom would take orders from relatives and her colleagues and that, my dear readers, was how I was able to earn my summer allowance back then. :)

We ♥ Korea : Kogi Bulgogi at the Eastwood Mall, Quezon City

Ever since I got back from my trip to Seoul, Korea; I now share the same fascination and love for this beautiful country with my colleague ML. From the pretty cherry blossoms to the food...the FOOD! Every meal was truly a delight and every meal that we had from the corner street cart to the more upscale restaurant all left a wonderful memory for Paul and yours truly.

I have yet to share with you my complete Korean adventure. I promise I'll have the out soon...

Paul and I loved Korea so much that we are actually planning to go back again next year. Crossing my fingers on that! Meanwhile, I have to satisfy my sudden Korean food craving with what we have locally. Luckily, more and more Korean establishments and franchise have been coming to Manila making it easier for us to have some good Samgyeopsal or a yummy piece of Pajeon at any given time.

ML and I headed to Kogi Bulgogi for a quick lunch one day. It was a good thing that we were at the Eastwood Mall for an event allowing me to finally be able to try this restaurant. It has been on my list for years! Shameful, I know but there is just so little time and a whole lot more restaurants to try.


We quickly went through the menu and placed our orders. While waiting for our food to arrive, we were given a couple of Banchan (appetizer). It's a mix of salty fish, kimchi, potato salad, beansprouts and a couple other more. I wasn't very impressed with their banchan as I would love to have some spinach and the beansprouts to be more flavorful. 

I guess we were both hungry as we both ordered two dishes each. ML had some Bulgogi rice toppings and a  cold noodle dish. I had the Nude Kimbap (Php. 188) which is one thing that I truly enjoyed having in Korea. This is very similar to a Japanese sushi except that it has strips of beef inside together with some Korean veggies too.

Japanese Western Cuisine at Ma Maison in Greenbelt 2

Stepping inside Ma Maison in Greenbelt 2, I can't help but recall a scene from one of my favorite movies -- Julie and Julia.


I'm not sure why.. Could it be because of the kitchen set-up with copper pans and dainty-looking tea-cups?


The restaurant gives off a very homey vibe that matches the line of European hostel keys that hangs by the cashier's area.

Ma Maison, after all, means My House when translated from French. We truly felt welcomed with the delightful service as well as the yummy food. We actually were able to try a lot of dishes majority of which were pretty good that Paul and I found ourselves back at Ma Maison days after.


For starters, we had the Escargots Baked with Garlic Butter (Php. 385). I have a confession..in my many years of eating..I've..never...ever...ever...had...escagots. However, there will always be a first time and that happened at Ma Maison. I had not one...not two but three delicious escagots swimming in garlic butter on top a fiery hot salted bed. It was delicious! It totally erased the not so appetizing picture of eating snails for me and right now, I see it as a garlicky-buttery goodness.

Chez Karine Bakery at Serendra, Bonifacio Global City

After having lunch at an Italian restaurant within the Bonifacio Global City, Paul together with our regular food buddies Richard and Irene trooped to Serendra simply to give in to my request to try Chez Karine out.

It has been a month since I've heard about this new bakery that recently opened at the Serendra Mall called Chez Karine. Not long after, fellow bloggers have been writing about it making me more and more excited to give it a try myself. It's located beside my go-to cupcake place Sonja's and from the outside I already liked the pretty decors, the clean and bright feel perfectly accented with small cute decors. Inside I was mesmerized with the beautiful pastries! This reminds me of the cute bakeries the Paul and I love visiting in countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan.


First off, I ordered a box of French Macarons (Php. 50/piece). They have a take-away box perfect for 7 pieces which allowed me to order one flavor each as Chez Karine exactly has seven different macaron flavors available -- Strawberry, Lemon, Pistachio, Milk Chocolate Passion Fruit, Earl Grey, Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate. Don't you just love how colorful my box of macarons is? I happily tried each and every flavor out and...

Weekend Getaway at Taal Vista Hotel, Tagaytay City

After my Beijing trip last April, my body and mind have been begging to travel again..”even just a weekend getaway to recharge”, I can feel them saying. Finally, I found the opportunity to head up to Tagaytay for a back-to-back weekend getaway last month.


For years now, Tagaytay continues to charm me with its laid-back vibe, the calming sensation of just looking at the Taal Volcano and the numerous food establishments that have been opening left and right. Needless to say, I love Tagaytay!

The first weekend was spent with my good pal T. It was an all-girls bonding that all we did was to eat, catch up with one another and to eat again. I must admit I really cannot be a backpack traveler as, first and foremost, I always end up packing the entire closet with me and I am pretty finicky when it comes to my travel accommodations.This is also the main reason why I don't mind shelling out extra more in order to have a good comfy bed, a clean bathroom and superb service from the staff.


The second weekend was spent with Paul. Of course, after leaving him in Manila to spend some bonding time with my friend T, I had to make up for this and gave him my utmost attention the week after.

On both weekends, I stayed at the Taal Vista Hotel. It’s funny that despite being a regular visitor of Tagaytay and having stayed at a number of hotels around the area – from boutique hotels to up and coming 3-4 star hotels, I never really had the chance to stay at the Taal Vista Hotel yet. Being the oldest hotel in Tagaytay as it celebrates its 75th anniversary (!) this year, I remember visiting the hotel though to enjoy the view and to have our afternoon snack at the lobby when I was a kid.

The hotel was built last 1937 and it boasts of having one of the best views of the Taal Volcano. You can really say that the hotel has withstand the test of time and recently, it has been acquired by the SM group wherein we now see a number of changes in terms of the hotel’s aesthetics and the presence of a new wing called the East Wing. I love the fact that there’s a well-stocked Kultura Boutique Store inside as well as a BDO ATM Machine. Cool!

Snack Time: Masatami Shave Ice

I guess it's no secret that I love to snack! With my growing list of must-try snacks...maybe I should start a blog dedicated to just that. Watchatink? :)

Anyway, whenever Paul and I go to the mall, what we normally do really is to EAT! Sure, at times I get to buy a pair of shoes or a new outfit, sometimes we catch a movie but more often than not, we're most likely found at the food court area or along the row the restaurants checking every single one out.


Take for example our recent trip to Robinsons Galleria. The initial plan was to pay some bills and to do the grocery. However, we both spotted Masatami, a kiosk outside the supermarket that offers shaved ice desserts. Not the Mais con Yelo type but rather one that looks like a giant snow cone. Paul seemed very interested as he lingered quite long enough checking the menu out. I suddenly remembered receiving a couple of coupons from the owners of Masatami and after checking my bag if I have it, I excitedly waved the two coupons up to Paul.

We proceeded to the counter to hand in our coupons. One coupon allows us to try their Buko Pandan Shave Ice (Php. 60 / Php. 85) while the other was for us to try the Rainbow Shave Ice with Snow Cap (Php. 35 / Php 55).


Initially, both the Buko Pandan and the Rainbow Shave Ice are served with red beans. Sadly, they ran out of stock so we decided to just replace this with rice krispies. I was the first who tried the Buko Pandan and I liked the smooth snow-like ice shavings which really tasted like one of our favorite local desserts -- buko pandan. It wasn't very sweet and the rice krispies made it even more interesting as you get a crunchy bite in every scoop. It was very creamy and the sweetness level was just right. Needless to say, Paul had a few scoops of this but I claimed this shave ice as mine and enjoyed it till the last drop.

Flavors of Asia at the Marriott Cafe

To celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary, Paul and I had a dinner date at the Marriott Cafe. I guess it must have been fate and perfect timing that the Marriott Cafe is currently having their Flavors of Asia promotions wherein a couple of Asian favorites will be featured every dinner for the entire month of July.


As such, it was a perfect chance for us to relive our fun two-weeks honeymoon spent in Singapore and Malaysia, two years ago. We did nothing but to eat, eat and eat. Luckily, our honeymoon coincided with Singapore's annual Food Festival allowing us to sample and enjoy never-tried-before local fares at affordable prices.


Marriott Cafe has prepared a really good spread! I began with some Vietnamese rice rolls that were carefully handmade by the happy looking Chef Phan Tien Hoa of Renaissance Riverside Saigon. Normally, I would have my rice rolls with hoisin sauce or peanut sauce but I was pleasantly surprised by this pesto-tasting green peanut sauce that was handed to me. It was very good and complemented the rice rolls very well. They have an assortment of rice rolls from shrimps to beef, from tofu and even Chinese sausage. All were delicious and were generously filled with cold vermicelli noodles, veggies and your choice of meat.

So Happy Two-gether!

How time flies when you're having fun!


Two years ago, in about 14 hours from now, I walked down the aisle towards Paul and together we made a vow in front of God, our families and our dearest friends that we will stick by one another 'for better, for worse..in sickness and in health..till death do us part'.


It seems like someone has pressed the fast forward button that right after our BIG day where our life officially began as husband and wife, we are now celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary TODAY!


Paul, thank you for always being so supportive. For being my number one fan and for being my toughest critic too. Everyday I thank God for bringing us together. You and me, we will ride this fun roller coaster called LIFE. Through all the ups and downs, the twists and turns, no matter what happens we'll always be on the same coach, holding hands and experiencing it all together.

I will  ♥ you forever!

Snack Time: Angry Puffs

Whenever hungry strikes especially during mid-day its so easy to just grab a bag of chips that's within reach. I got to admit I love munching on chips, rings and puffs. Like a little girl, I tend to be very greedy with my bag as I hug it tightly as to give a silent message that screams: "this is ALL MINE!"


Paul knows better not to mess with my stash of snacks. That's how much I take my snack seriously. Thus, when I was sent a bag of Angry Puffs sampler cups in four assorted flavors, I happily brought this with me when we went to Tagaytay for a fun weekend getaway with The Food Club.

What makes Angry Puffs different from all the puffs out there is that its air-baked not fried. This then gives me more reason to enjoy them in greater quantities. Freshness is their top priority thus they ensure that the puffs that you're enjoying has just been freshly puffed on the spot thereby removing the need for preservatives.

Chow Fun : Modern Chinese Bistro in J. Abad Santos, San Juan

I'm saying Chow Fun's because we're an "us". There's a history and histories don't happen overnight. In Mesopotamia or Ancient Troy or somewhere back there, there were cities built on top of other cities, but I don't want to build another city. I like this city....I mean I guess what I'm trying to say is - I'm saying Chow Fun's because I love you.

- Katie (Michelle Pfeiffer), The Story of Us

I'm so happy that another new restaurant has recently opened in our neighborhood! Really, I'm never leaving this part of town as it's really becoming a foodie mecca! Love love love ♥


Everyday on my way to and from work, I saw how this restaurant has turned from a vacant space into a pretty modern establishment. I love the bright colored assorted chairs, the cute hanging lamps and the fact that it gives a very modern Chinese vibe. No red table clothes, no Chinese music playing in the background, the menu is simple yet every items sounds mouthwatering making it so hard to us to choose which one to get.

Chow Fun opened last Friday and Paul and I dropped by to checked it out last Sunday on our way home from Tagaytay. Since we just had lunch, we ordered a plate of Haw Flakes Pastry (Php. 85) to share. While chatting with the owner, who happens to be my former boss D, he recommended that I try their Designer Tea in a Pot (Php. 120) too! The flavor changes from time to time and on that day that we were there, they had the Apple Crumble flavor.


Paul doesn't drink tea but I was very surprised that he enjoyed it. In fact he had 2 cups of tea! That's a big achievement considering that he wouldn't even take a sip of tea before. I love the light fruity flavor that doesn't have any bitter hint of tea. It went so well with our Haw Flakes Pastry.


Our dessert was delicious. Warm pastry filled with Haw Flakes pieces (yes, exactly the same kind that we would used to snack on as kids) and a generous serving of haw flakes paste. We loved the sweet haw flakes that somehow tasted closely similar to strawberry jam. It was so good and D was right, you should have this together with their Designer Tea. I highly recommend this dessert.

I enjoyed my first Chow Fun visit that I suggested this to my friends Didi and Sab. It has been a while since we got together and we want a place with delicious food and a relaxing ambiance that will allow us to catch up with one another. Chow Fun seemed to be a perfect choice! I'm glad my friends were excited to give it a try too.


My pregnant friend Didi was feeling very hungry so we started with some appetizers. First was the Chinese Fun-due (Php. 155) where we had bite-sized pieces of seafood balls, fried squid and deep-fried radish cake bits on a wooden board. A presentation totally not common in Chinese restaurants. Together with this came a small black pot filled with our choice of dip -- Chinese Curry. D told me that the dip is a mix of cheese and curry. Interesting! Who would have thought that these two would taste good together? The curry was mild and the cheese was very subtle that I could hardly taste it. We enjoyed dipping the bite-sized meat into the sauce. My favorite was the deep-fried squid (calamares) that I would even munch on minus the dipping sauce. Yum!

Snack Time : McDonald's Big N' Tasty and Waffle Time

♫ These are a few of my favorite things...♫

Don't you just love afternoon snacks? This is probably the reason why most diets would require one to eat more frequent but small meals. Nibbling on crackers or munching on a fresh fruit is normally what people on a diet would have. However, there are far more interesting and definitely more mouthwatering snack options out there. In China, they have dimsum which when directly translated means "touch the heart". Bite-sized pieces that the Chinese would enjoy with their afternoon cup of tea. In Europe, they have their Afternoon Teas which normally comes with scones and tiny tea sandwiches.

Of course, we Filipinos have our own line-up of snacks and it ranges from the very savory pancit (noodles) to sticky kakanins (rice cakes), from all sorts of sweetened skewered fruits to my personal favorite, fishballs and kikiam sold in the street. Yum!


Lately, I have two new favorite snacks that I normally would have at least once a week. When McDonald's first launch their Big N' Tasty sandwich, people all over the internet have been talking about it. Celebrities taking photos of themselves and tweeting about it, bloggers writing about it and even people in my office would have them for lunch. It didn't take too long for Paul and I to finally troop over to our neighborhood McDonald's branch to try the much-talked-about Big n' Tasty (Php. 120 a la carte / Php. 145-Php. 165 meal) ourselves.

It came in a big box similar to my favorite Fillet o' Fish. The Big n' Tasty has 100% pure quarter pound beef patty seasoned with only salt and pepper. The simplicity of how the meat has been seasoned is done so to allow the flavor to come out. This is topped with cheese, lettuce, a slice of tomato, onions, pickles and that one ingredient that sets it apart -- a special smokey sauce.

Paul, who loves McDonald's Quarter Pounder, noted that the Big n' Tasty is closely similar to his favorite sandwich only it's made more gourmet with the inclusion of more veggies and the delicious savory sauce.

I love treating myself to a Big n' Tasty once in a while. I love having this with a medium Coke and Fries.

It's Waffle Time!


Aside from McDonald's newest product offering, there are just times when I want to keep it simple and go for that one snack item that I've been having for years -- Waffle Time. Waffle dog is one of the many afternoon snacks that my parents would buy for Pan and I back when we were still in school. I love hotdogs and I love waffles too, put them together and it's really no brainer why I love waffle dogs! In fact, I can eat two waffle dogs in one sitting!

Cheap Eats: Pan de Amerikana in Quezon City

Today, I, together with the YES! Magazine team launched the 100 Most Beautiful Stars 2012 book!


It was my first big event for YES! Magazine and I'm so happy that it was a BIG success! Of course, just like Yummy Eats 2012, I had my dream team who worked so hard to make everything happen. It surely was a celebrity-filled day and I, myself, got star-strucked as I saw them all. Thus, here I am resting before heading to bed as I can now feel the exhaustion pouring in after all the excitement and adrenaline rush that happened today. The book will be out in a couple of days so please do grab a copy! :) I promise it'll be a fun read.

During work days, I live a very busy life. Juggling in between meetings, preparing reports and presentations, it really takes a great amount of good time management to make everything work. This is also the reason why I love going out for lunch once in a while as it works as a good breather where I can refresh my mind and treat myself to a good meal too.


It was during one of those lunch outs with a fellow food loving colleague that I discovered Pan de Amerikana along Katipunan Avenue. A is truly supportive of this blog and has been very helpful in pointing out must-try places to me. I still owe her a visit to her "hometown" in Marikina where she promised to take me around. I seriously have to schedule that in as I'm missing out on a potentially great food trip.


As we entered Pan de Amerikana, it felt like I was transported to a different world away from the modern residential area outside. Inside was a Filipino-looking al fresco garden with colorful decors displayed upside down. I had fun taking photos of the different details found such as the upside down table, the upside down Land Cruiser outside and a lot more.


As we were handed the menu, A and I agreed to order a couple of main dishes and to share this between the two of us. Since it was a warm day, I started by ordering a glass of Red Iced Tea (Php. 15). I initially couldn't believe my eyes! Iced Tea outside normally ranges from Php 45 and up. This is really a steal! I loved the sweet strawberry-flavored Iced Tea that I had two during this visit! It was so affordable you can have 10 cups and it would just cost you Php. 150! This is definitely better than refillable iced teas out there.

...And the WINNERS are... Birthday Giveaway + Starbucks Summer Contest

Hello July!

I can't believe we are officially halfway through 2012 and in 5 months, we will be welcoming 2013 in! Time is flying extra fast!

I hope you all had a great time in June as much as I did! It was my birthday month after all and I spent the month celebrating and catching up with my dear family and closest friends.

The wait is finally over. I'm ready to announce the lucky winners of my back-to-back blog contests : Frannywanny's Birthday Giveaway x Starbucks Summer Treats.


First of: the lucky winner who will be receiving a special gift bag filled with all things JAPANESE

ELAINE CHUA!!!

Elaine, kindly expect an email confirmation from me as I would need to get your details to send you your prize!

Just in case you're curious, here are the answers to my trivia questions:

1. Trivia Question #1 : What country is called The Land of the Rising Sun?
Answer: Japan

2. Trivia Question # 2: Drum Tao is coming to Manila on July 12 to 22, 2012 and will be staged at the ________.
Answer: Newport Performing Arts Theater

3. Trivia Question # 3: In Drum Tao, the performers make use of what kind of drum?
Answer: Wadaiko

4. Trivia Question # 4 : Drum Tao has been to 17 countries and how many cities?
Answer: 400 cities

The next set of winners have submitted the top 5 most creative entries (and under 20 words) for the Starbucks Summer Drink contest. They will receive a 16oz Starbucks Coffee Cold Cup Dome Tumbler + 4 Beverage Coupons each!

The winners are....

Aileen Candice Chua
Camille Quiambao
Patty Balquiedra
Katrina Bulseco
Heidie Jayo

CONGRATULATIONS winners! Once again, I will be emailing you to get your shipping details soon.