Cream Puffs

I have been trying to make the most out of my Christmas vacation by trying out new things. Boyet and I tried making chocolate candies a few days ago and everybody loved the pork siomai that we prepared yesterday.

I woke up early this morning to try making cream puffs for the first time. I got the recipe from the cookbook I received as a birthday gift from Boyet a few years ago. I don’t have any formal trainings in culinary but I have attempted to bake brownies, cookies and simple cakes.

It didn’t look so appealing but I was surprised that my mom really liked it. My mom always has something awful to say no matter how delectable a food is. Things like: “It’s delicious but it’s really oily”, or “It’s fine if you just put a little more salt in it”. So I looked at her reaction when she tasted my cream puffs. She said it was delicious without any catch! Yippee! As a bonus for me, she ate 7 cream puffs in one sitting!

Happy New Year! ^_^

A Breeze of Good Deeds #17: Our Small Christmas Treat

While everybody was busy preparing for Noche Buena and doing last-minute Christmas shopping, Erlie, Boyet and I went out on the streets to share our blessings to the homeless. It was a spontaneous effort and we didn’t even have the chance to plan it out. I just asked Erlie if she would be interested to join us and I was surprised to know that she did the same thing last year. (I have nice friends, you know?! Hihi!) Our plan was simple: buy food and randomly give them.

We met up at LRT Pedro Gil Station yesterday and grabbed packed meals to feed 30 people. Our initial worry was that three people might not be able to handle everything. But Boyet asked one of Jollibee’s staff member for bigger plastic bags which solved our problem.

We saw a man just outside Jollibee and my heart melted as I saw him smile after Boyet handed out the food. We gave food to elders, beggars, children, scavengers and the disabled. We walked for two hours along Pedro Gil, Padre Faura, U.N., Ermita and Roxas Blvd. and only had a five-minute break to stretch our muscles and rehydrate.

My heart was filled with joy each time I hear them say “Merry Christmas” and “Salamat po”. Some were even startled to realize that strangers are stopping by to help. Some just smiled, their eyes spoke of that small ray of hope despite their condition.

I can vividly remember the first time I handed the food to an old woman eating rice from a plastic. I gave her the food and was surprised at her reaction. She shouted “Yehey! May Jollibee na ako! Yehey! Merry Christmas po!” She was ecstatic and couldn't stop clapping her hands like a child who just saw Santa Claus. I am not Santa Claus for I don't think Santa Claus gets misty-eyed. I started choking as I was holding back the tears.

2009 passed by quickly without me realizing it. I was feeling so down days ago as I looked back. I felt worse than a pathetic loser for not being able to do and achieve the things that I have always wanted to do. But this experience changed everything. Now my feet are sore, my whole body is aching and I can feel extra muscles growing in both my legs. But my heart is full of happiness and I can proudly look back and tell myself that I had a wonderful and meaningful Christmas. I thank God for giving me a family and friends who have the same urge to help other people.

Thanks Boyet and Erlie! Let's do this again next year! :)

Merry Christmas! ^_^

Beabi

I recently bought an XOXO bag from my friend Aubrey. I like it because it is big enough for me to stuff all the essentials. But I had this problem of just throwing everything in my bag: wallet, umbrella, keys, camera, powder, IDs, book, crackers, slippers and many more. And when it’s time for me to get something, I end up emptying my entire bag. I know I am not the most organized person in this planet. But that was before I met Beabi.

I paid a visit at their Robinson’s Ermita branch. They have this wide variety of bags and storage.

I got one of their bag organizers for only Php195.


It comes with pockets that serve as dividers. Now, I can easily see my stuffs in one glance. It will also be easy for me to switch bags for I don’t need to get everything out from one bag and transfer them one by one to the other bag. Smart, huh?!


They also have small containers and pouches that suit best for travelers. I’m definitely buying one of those on my next visit.

Beabi
Level 1, Maria Orosa Wing
Robinson's Place Ermita

Purescentsations

Are you running out of Christmas gift ideas? Do you still have the time to battle the holiday rush? Let me share one secret with you. As early as last week, I have already handed out some of my Christmas gifts.

Thanks to Purescentsations! Owned and managed by my friend Kriska and her boyfriend Mark, Purescentsations offer authentic designer perfumes at lower prices!

My recent purchase

Purescentsations

http://purescentsations.multiply.com/
http://purescentsations.kriskamarie.com/

Savory Chicken

I still have vivid memories of my family's visits to Savory in U.N. Avenue right after a stroll at Luneta park. This was long before I have known Jollibee, McDonalds and KFC. I am not sure if this branch is still operating.

Anyway, I have been to their Robinson’s Place branch a couple of times before and I remember bringing home some leftover lomi on my first visit with Boyet. So when he suggested that we go to Savory again, I made him promise that we would finish everything on the table.

I was having dry, scratchy throat and was recuperating from a fever. Not to mention that I got sicker because the hospital charged me of Php800 just by looking at my tonsils and my freaking health card refused to cover my expenses. I really needed something warm so I proposed we get their Nido Soup, bird’s nests with quail eggs and bits of chicharon. They don’t serve soups in small bowls so expect large servings. I think I had four cups of these! ^_^

Nido Soup Php195

Wanting to have the usual “a little bit of everything”, we opted to try out their combo meals. We got their combo meal comprised of half chicken, pansit canton, salt and peppered steak, rice and tropical coolers.

Their chicken is really a must-try. It was really the star of the combo meal. It is not oily and you’ll definitely like the salty taste that the chicken skin leaves in your mouth.

Combo Meal (good for 2) Php385

Savory Chicken Restaurant
Level 1 Adriatico Wing
Robinsons Place Ermita

Second Time at Volare

After enjoying my first visit at Volare last June, I kept on bugging my parents to try it out. My pleas were finally granted two Sundays ago. I chose not to suggest what to get because I didn’t want get the blame just in case they didn’t like it. One of the waiting staff was so accommodating and gave some of her suggestions to my dad.

First on the table was Tutta Carne, thin-crusted pizza topped with ham, sausage, salami, olive oil and mozzarella cheese.

Tutta Carne Php259

I loved Tutta Carne but everybody agreed that Pizza Rustica was more delicious. I am not a big fan of spinach and I am not familiar with parma ham and porcini mushroom. But combined with Pecorino Romano, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, it surely made the pizza a gastronomic treat.

Pizza Rustica Php249

Pasta Montanara is originally served with red sauce. But the waiting staff suggested that we could change it to white sauce. The cute fusilli pasta is mixed with sausage, bell pepper, cheese sauce, pepperoni and salami. Parsley as garnishing added color and flavor to the dish.

Pasta Montanara Php160

I forgot the name of the next pasta dish. But I’m sure that it is red-sauced seafood spaghetti. My mom thought it was too sour but I liked the citrusy taste of the tomatoes.

My dad asked for the menu again to get some desserts but they only had Panna Cotta. He opted to have salads to end the meal! Haha!

Insalata Mediterranea is a mixture of salad greens, bell pepper, cucumber and olives. The salad dressing was superb though I think it was just a simple blend of olive oil with a dash of salt and pepper.

Insalata Mediterranea Php120

My brother and I tried their Gelato for Php50 per scoop. Yummy! ^_^

Volare
Gourmet Pizza and Pasta
Ground Floor, Faura Wing, Robinsons Place Manila

Sunset

I have quite a few backlog posts. I was planning to write two food-related entries but I started sneezing non-stop this morning. My head hurts, my eyes are watery and I can feel that I am about to throw up my intestines any moment. So before I flood my keyboard with my nasal fluids, I’m going to make this post as short as possible.

I don’t know why but I have grown a deep fascination with taking photos of clouds. But with my recent trip to Laiya, sunset has beaten this fascination. I missed the sunset on our first day because we were on the beach and I left my camera in our house. I was lucky enough though to capture the beauty of sunset on our last day while waiting for the resort’s service to take us back to Manila.




So there, I’m off to sleep!

Johnson's Body Care Gift Pack

Last Friday, I received my first Christmas gift delivered right into my doorsteps. Joie referred me to get the limited edition Johnson's Body Care gift pack. In return, I had to sign up and refer five other friends. Johnson’s has been a part of our lives. I remember using Johnson’s shampoo, soap, body bath and lotion. And who can forget their very famous baby colognes? And until now, I have to confess that I still use Johnson’s baby powder!

Share the softness with your friends! :)

Las Paellas Café

We went to Robinson’s Galleria last Saturday after I threw away an opportunity that I was long waiting for. I chickened out on what may have been a good chance for me. Feeling down, I couldn’t count how many sighs I’ve made in an hour. I wasn’t in the mood to go on a food trip so we just went to the first restaurant in sight. We ended up at the Las Paellas Café.

We went through the menu a couple of times but still couldn’t decide what to get. Thank God for making Boyet so patient as he kept on cheering me up each time my face falls to the ground.

They do not give the breakdown of your orders in their issued receipts so I forgot what this soup is called. Anyway, I liked how the soup warmed my empty stomach and my roaring head.


They have three varieties of Paella: Valenciana, Marinera and Negra. We opted to have the Paella Valenciana, saffron rice with a generous amount of pork and chicken chunks, chorizo, string beans, green peas and different kinds of seafood. The dish looked festive. I am not really a big fan of paella but I liked this one. It wasn’t oily and I favored the sticky consistency of the rice.

Just be ready for quite a long waiting time. The waiting staff asked us if we were willing to wait for 20-30 minutes which was fine with us. It could probably feed up to 4 people so we ended up bringing home almost half of it.

Paella Valenciana Php450

We ordered for one viand not realizing that the Paella Valenciana would have been enough for us. Seafood Platter is made up of shrimps, calamares and fish fillet. It comes with two kinds of dips. The calamares was gummy and the breading for both the fish fillet and shrimp was a little deceiving. I squeezed the lime as I usually do for fried seafood but I was surprised that nothing came out of it. Haha!

Seafood Platter Php295

Las Paellas Cafe
Level 2 Robinson's Galleria
EDSA Cor. Ortigas,
Quezon City

Pho Hoa

I remember being so scared in trying out new restaurants. I used to only know three cuisines: Filipino, Chinese and Italian. Yes, there was a time that I dreaded even Japanese food.

As I decided to go out of my comfort zone in food tripping, Pho Hoa was one of the first restaurants I’ve tried. Having a branch at Paseo Center, Pho Hoa has become my quick fix every time flu strikes.

I visited Pho Hoa once again last month. I couldn’t find the time to squeeze in this post because of my PC crashing, getting sick and all of the other things I have been juggling.

I chose Caramelized Chicken Drumettes as starter. I didn’t hesitate to eat it by hand; it is a finger food after all. I liked the sweet and salty combination of the sauce on the side that I didn’t notice the sauce starting to drip from my lips.

Caramelized Chicken Drumettes Php158.50

Boyet had their Grilled Pork Chops. I tried this before and there was really nothing unusual with it. Except that the meat was really tender and the sweet vinegar was a nice combination.

Grilled Pork Chops Php238.50

I got their Marinated Prawns and Pork. I liked it but I didn’t fall head over heels with it. Again, the sweet vinegar made a lot of difference.

Marinated Prawns and Pork Php275

I have to admit that I go to Pho Hoa for their noodles rather than their rice meals. They offer big servings and I loved the idea of putting coriander, bean sprouts and lemon in your soup. Their salads are great too. I personally like their Pomelo Shrimp Salad. ^_^

Pho Hoa
Level 2 Robinsons Place Manila
Ermita, Manila

A Breeze of Good Deeds #16: Project Shoebox

More than the twinkling lights, bazaars and the cold breeze, Christmas is a time of giving. And since Christmas is the birth of Jesus, the best way to celebrate it is by putting a smile on the face of another child.

It is unfortunate that a lot of children suffer from hunger, poverty and lack of education. Some have been victimized by abuse and child labor. Some have no other choice but to be trapped in raging wars and calamities. As I have enjoyed my childhood, some have been robbed of theirs. As some kids take pleasures from playing, others treat even the most basic necessities as luxury.

This is just a simple shoebox.


It’s wonderful how a group managed to transform this into something that would bring joy to a lot of kids. I received an email from my office mate Mei asking if I wanted to take part in giving gifts to children in Rizal. We all know that it was hardly-stricken by Typhoon Ondoy. The request was that the shoebox must contain toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, slippers, multivitamins, milk, Milo and school supplies.

So to with these…



I hope that I would be making 5 kids happy this Christmas! ^_^

As we share, we give a piece of ourselves to other people. You’ll never know how a small deed may mean the world to somebody else.

Kabayan Beach Resort

The entire reservation process with Kabayan Beach Resort was seamless. We just called them to ask if there were still rooms available for an overnight stay for 4 persons. We were planning to reserve Bahay Mustasa. But at that time, we still couldn’t decide whether to go to Kabayan or Sigayan. Upon making up our minds, we called them to reserve Bahay Mustasa only to find out that it was already reserved to somebody else. They initially gave us Bahay Malunggay which would be perfect for 2-4 pax but the inevitable happened. Aubrey’s friend wanted to come so we have to pay an additional Php650 for the extra person on top of the Php5000 room rate. We were hesitant because it only has one queen-sized bed. Bahay Mustasa costing Php6000 and having two double-sized beds would have been perfect for us. To make things more complicated, Aubrey's friend backed out which means that we don't have to pay for the additional person. But the following day, Aubrey informed me that she would be tagging along her sister and another friend making it impossible to fit into Bahay Malunggay. But we had no other choice. I settled the downpayment of Php2500 and sent them a copy of the deposit slip via email. I asked them to let us know if ever Bahay Mustasa frees up. Oh well, we ended up at Bahay Mustasa! They emailed us the contract and the directions on how to go to Laiya.

Assembly time was 7 a.m. at the Cubao Bus Terminal. Boyet and I met up with Aubrey and her sister at McDonald’s Taft and caught a cab to get to Cubao. The driver told us that he could drive us all the way to Laiya for Php3000. We initially declined until he lowered the price to Php2500. We gave in thinking that we had to ride a bus going to Lipa, transfer to a van and a jeepney ride to get to Laiya. But the heavy traffic was excruciatingly painful. We were in Calamba for almost three hours. We could see some restless drivers getting out of their cars to stretch and chat with other drivers. It took us six hours to get to Laiya! So we ended up giving him Php2700 for consideration.

But it was worth the wait. We were welcomed by one of their staff when we arrived at 1:30 p.m. The original check-in time was 3 p.m. but they allowed us for early check-in with no additional charge.

Kitchen and Porch

The house is divided into two: bedroom and porch/kitchen area. I loved the setting! Their kitchen is complete making it possible for us to cook anything we want. They also have a grill which Boyet used to cook barbecue and grilled hotdogs.

Enjoying Erlie's pancake while watching TV

I loved the beach. There were no big waves which makes it perfect for swimming and other water sports. It was my first time to try kayaking! They offer it for Php200 per hour.

Photo courtesy of Aubrey

The resort transforms into a serene place as lights of different colors beam everywhere.

The sights will simply leave you breathless.






And the sand is perfect for the infamous jump shots!




It pains us to go because we would have really wanted to stay for another day. My heart was craving for some peace and quite. But we all needed to go back to the rat race.


We checked-out at 2 p.m. and was about to leave when one of their staff approached us and asked if we wanted to ride with their service van. We paid Php150 for the Laiya to Ayala ride. Nice! We waited for the van giving us 3 more hours to stay by the beach.

With Erlie and Boyet while watching Sydney White and the Seven Dorks

Photos courtesy of Aubrey

KABAYAN BEACH RESORT
Bgy. Laiya Aplaya, San Juan, Batangas

Office Hours:
Weekdays: 8:00AM - 5:00PM
Weekends: 8:00AM - 5:00PM (Cell phone only)

Manila: +63 (2) 709-1470
+63 (2) 709-0115
Mobile: +63 (917) 6279357 Amy
: +63 (917) 8963312 Marlon
Email : kabayanbeachresort@yahoo.com

I Fell In Love with Laiya

We were all stressed out and wanted to get out of the rat race for a while. Erlie was the last one to confirm her attendance so Aubrey and I did most of the planning. I have always wanted to go to Laiya so I suggested this to Aubrey. Though having the same wavelengths, I knew that she already had the same thing in mind.

I did the research while Aubrey made some calls to check out resorts who still accept reservations. It was a long weekend so it was but usual that most resorts were already fully-booked.

Resorts in Laiya usually include buffet packages. But being budget-conscious travelers, one of our requirements was that the place should allow us to bring foods. Kabayan Beach Resort was the perfect choice. I’ll post another entry on how I rate the resort and the bumps and nice deals that we’ve encountered before, during and after our getaway.