Wishing Everyday Was Sunday

Two Sundays ago, we had brunch with my in-laws 🙂  My sister-in-law Peewee was already going back to Singapore the next day.  So this was my final meal with her before she left 😦  It was not only I who was sad she was leaving… but also my dear little boy who loves his Nana Peews to bits.  There was non-stop crying when they parted the night before.  So he was just so happy to see his Nana Peews again that morning 🙂

We love brunches.  And one of Peewee’s all time favorite places when she comes to Manila is Apartment 1B.  We used to go to their branch in Salcedo Village but we decided to eat here at the Rockwell branch 🙂  My nephew, Caleb, was so excited to see all the Lamborghinis parked side by side in the parking lot!  What a perfect morning for everyone 🙂

Of course, coffee for everyone.

Dante and Papa Dante watching Damien enjoy Nana Peews’ company 🙂

BURGER for brunch!!! 🙂  Why the hell not??? Hehe…

Pancakes with berry jam for the little one 🙂

And my favorite, Eggs Benedict with Canadian Ham 🙂  Goodmorning to you!

Always sad to see you leave, Peews! 😦  Here’s a photo of the beauties… and Mr. Pogi Caleb 🙂

It’s only Wednesday and I’m already wishing it were Sunday 🙂  Hope you’re all having a great week so far! 🙂

A Perfect Post Yoga Brekky at Wildflour

Last Saturday, my sister-in-law, Peewee, was in town for the weekend! And of course, her trip home won’t be complete without attending a yoga class 🙂  After doing a wonderful 10AM 90-minute class of Vinyasa Flow at Urban Ashram in High Street, we were starving!

My husband, Dante, skipped yoga class but definitely not brunch. Hahaha! 🙂

We’ve been hearing a lot about this place called Wildflour Cafe + Bakery 🙂  It was the perfect day to try it out 🙂  We arrived there around 12 noon and it was already packed inside.  We had to stay outside.  But I don’t mind being outdoor 🙂

It reminded me of the cafes we ate in when we were in Singapore 🙂

Some bread and butter for starters 🙂

Dante ordered the Crimson Berry Iced tea on the left in the photo below and I ordered the Green Tea Mojito on the right.

We switched drinks. Haha!  I enjoyed his Crimson Berry Iced Tea more 🙂

And for the main course, we ordered the Wildflour Breakfast!  Only available from 8AM to 2PM 🙂

This Wildflour Breakfast comes with two eggs, crispy potatoes, homemade porkbelly sausage and toast.  Loved every bit of what’s on that plate!

The second dish that we ordered was one of their bestsellers, the Tarte Flambes 🙂  It was similar to a pizza with a really, really thin crispy and flaky crust.  We got the one with caramelized onions, bacon and gruyere 🙂  YUMMY.

We all need fat in our body!  Totally did not regret ordering this Bone Marrow with mango salsa and baguette! 🙂 Haha!

And lastly, we ordered scrambled eggs on toast with bacon gravy!  Love eggs!

Finally, a freshly brewed cup of Cappuccino 🙂

Had to rush to Damien’s school for our first Parent-Teacher Conference, so we had to take out our coffee and miss dessert! 😦  Look at their cool black take-away coffee cups!

Hopefully next time, we get to try the cakes and pastries 🙂

I wish every Saturday would be like this.  Yoga, a wonderful brunch and quality time with family 🙂

Let’s do this again when you come back, Peews! 🙂

Lau Chan Shabu Shabu: Boil, Dip and Dunk!

It’s another one of those nights, another “let’s try something new” night with my favorite eating partner, my husband, Dante.  The destination? Along Mabini Street, Malate, Manila, Ermita, to a place called Lau Chan Shabu Shabu & Fast Foods 🙂

Woot woot! Manila, here we come! 🙂

And here we go again, picking random things in the menu.  Not realizing we’ve probably ordered food for four people again. Haha!

In Lau Chan, the menu is like a checklist.  Just check what you want to order! 🙂  It’s like answering a multiple choice food exam! Can we just check all of the above??? 🙂

And there you have it in the photo below, the hotpot being prepped and the dipping sauces that will magically turn everything into… SATE.

I couldn’t understand the lighting of Lau Chan.  We had white florescent lights above us that turned everything purplish 🙂

And now presenting, the dishes ready to be cooked in the hot pot…

Dumplings.

Squid Balls.

Taro.

Noodles.

Fresh vegetables. These are for Dante.

Lobster balls.

Beef. (Kenchi)

Squid.

Thanks, Dante, for dumping everything in the hotpot. Haha!  You know I’m afraid of boiling water.  You the best!

Food is good for 4pax, again!!! Haha!  We always over order.  Never learn.  But somehow, we always manage to finish everything.  LOL!

We chose the hotpot with two types of soup.  Check out our hotpot below.  The one on the left is sate and the one on the right is plain.  The one on the left was definitely more interesting! 🙂

After boiling all the dumplings, squid balls, etc., the next step would be to to dip the food in the sate sauce.

The sate dipping sauce… will change everything 🙂 Haha!

This beef was my favorite. Kenchi. Slightly chewy. Loved it!

I cannot live without this sate sauce.

Another awesome meal in Manila. I don’t feel guilty for eating that much food.  Anyway, it’s supposedly healthy, right??? Haha!

Happy HotPot Night!!! 🙂

Not Exactly IN the Mind Museum

Dante, Crow and I spent Independence Day at the Mind Museum, Taguig 🙂

But we weren’t exactly IN the Mind Museum, we spent more time outside at the park beside Jollibee. Haha!

It was the most awesome playground ever!  But to enter this park, you still needed to buy tickets from the Mind Museum.

There were huge drums that sounded like what they used in shows like Cirque Du Soleil.  We had a blast playing with these drums 🙂

But Damien’s favorite was these water blaster thingies…

It was the perfect park for Damien.  He stayed here without any complaints for almost an hour!

So many things to see and play with…

And lots of new things to learn…

A great educational park for kids and adults, too 🙂

Now it’s time to check out the Mind Museum.  But we decided to have a snack first before entering the museum.  There is a Jollibee beside the park.  Perfect! 🙂

Damien… so excited and still in a jolly mood until…

…he found out that we were going INSIDE the Mind Museum. I discovered something new about Damien that day… He told me, “Mama, I’m afraid of the dark.”  Poor little boy 😦  But I knew he would enjoy the Mind Museum.  So I begged him to give it a chance.

After our yummy spaghetti and fried chicken meal in Jollibee, Damien gave his parents a chance.  He was ready to enter the Mind Museum.

One of the oldest cars in the Philippines 🙂 Pretty cool!

Damien, still being very brave, beside the giant chocolate bar 🙂

And it just went downhill from here…  Damien couldn’t take the dark areas of the Museum 😦

 So here we are again…

He’s back!!! 🙂

Damien was busy with his water blasters while I tried playing a variety of songs on the drums for my audience 🙂

My co-drummer 🙂

Enjoying the view 🙂

Cool see-saws! 🙂

Dante and Damien, trying out the big bubble maker! 🙂

Soooo cool 🙂

They look like surfer dudes 🙂

That ends this blog entry but there will be a second part to this 🙂  Dante and I didn’t want to waste our tickets so we decided to let Damien go home first 😦  So yes, Dante and I were still able to go inside the Mind Museum but without our little Jedi 😦  Maybe next time when he’s gotten over his fear of the dark 🙂

To be continued… 🙂

A Trip to Korea, Malate

Dante and I love random dinners in random places 🙂  The evening before Independence Day, we decided to head towards Malate, not knowing where to go… and ended up choosing a random Korean restaurant for a late supper 🙂

Found a litte Korean restaurant along Bocobo Street, Manila 🙂  I started getting flashbacks when I was still pregnant with Damien.  We would always visit this Korean restaurant called Success.  They closed already and we haven’t found a substitution for it yet.

The place was called Je Je Bang. Hahahaha! 🙂 Love the name 🙂

A very unusual grill sits in the middle of our table. Dante and I thought that this was a cover for a grill underneath. Haha! Good thing he didn’t hold what we thought was the handle. LOL! 🙂

Tradition in all Korean restaurants… the little plates of all these, well, ummm… veggies and kimchi were served 🙂

The Kimchi here was excellent 🙂 Kept asking for more 🙂  Not a fan of the other little dishes though… Hehe

The guard outside gave us a flyer of the Golden Mango Inn beside Je Je Bang… How perfect! Haha!

The place was empty at this time. Perfect time to go 10:30pm 🙂 They’re open ’til 4am.

Wall decor 🙂 That better not be pirated. Hehe Used to be a fan of Heroes. But stopped watching when it all just became too weird.  Lost would always be my all-time favorite weird, sci-fi series.

Pacman on the placemats 🙂 The chili paste and sesame oil with salt were perfect for dipping sauces!

We ordered the pork belly or Sam Gyep Sal. One strip for P300. It came with all these vegetables, soup and sidings but rice wasn’t included.

Let the cooking begin.

Also ordered Bulgogi Donburi at P250. Do not judge… Two very hungry tummies 🙂

Plus my favorite… Bibimbap (Rice mixed with vegetables). It’s like Korean Paella! Excellent. This dish was P250. Here it is unmixed.

And here it is, mixed. I can’t cook. But I can mix a mean Bibimbap. Haha!

Salad with Asian dressing 🙂

Crab soup. Strange but yummy!

Ok, it seemed like we ordered a ton for just two people.  But we only really ordered three dishes 🙂  The rest just came with everything else! Haha! 🙂  We would definitely come back and visit Je Je Bang.  (Love the name!)  Right now, they don’t really have a signage yet because they just opened.  Just look for this tiny resto along Bocobo Street.  Look out for the flat screen TV inside playing Korean concerts 🙂  Woot woot! 🙂 It was an excellent random dinner, we may have found the replacement for Success here in Je Je Bang!  But the search continues! More random dinners ahead 🙂

Coin Bearer For Hire

Damien Crow has been a ring bearer or coin bearer several times before for our relatives’ weddings 🙂  But it was either Dante or I escorting him down the aisle because he was still too young to walk.  And when he was a little bit older, he just didn’t want to walk alone.  So when I found out that he was going to be a coin bearer for one of Dante’s bestfriend’s wedding, I already started prepping him for his big day! Haha! 🙂

Must put him in a good mood today… Mcdo Spaghetti and french fries are the secret to happiness 🙂 First pit stop.

Second pit stop. Villa Ibarra, Tagaytay 🙂 Magnificent view! 🙂

Pretty shoes! 🙂

Oh no… tears… He just wanted to stay here 😦 Good thing it only lasted about two minutes.

Disaster. We forgot Damien’s black pants! 😦 OMG. Panic only lasted for five minutes. When I saw how cute he looked with his shorts standing next to an equally handsome Best Man, I knew it’ll be okay! 🙂

A little drop of rain for good luck.

The Groom and Best Man 🙂

Time to rock ‘n roll, boys!!! 🙂

Damien, meet the pillow 🙂

Looking very relaxed before the wedding 🙂

Quick rehearsal with Yaya Sandra.

Preparing to walk with the other kids.

And it’s time!!! 🙂

Here’s the link to the video of “The Walk”.  And the exclusive interview with the Coin Bearer himself after “The Walk”.  I know that this walk probably only took about a minute, but I could see in Damien’s face that he was so proud of himself! 🙂  Happy he made his parents so proud.  And of course, he gets a surprise for walking… a new toy.  Haha!

Congratulations to the wonderful couple, Paolo and Maita!!! 🙂 Here they are saying their I Do’s.

The Best Man and Coin Bearer. Good job, boys!!! 🙂

A very rare family picture by the vintage bridal car! 🙂 Yes, yes, I carry a tote bag to weddings, don’t judge me. My evening purse is inside. LOL!

Congrats again to one of Dante’s bestfriends, Paolo and Maita!  It was a beautiful wedding!  Great Best Man speech, Dants!  The Titos on the next table agreed with every word you said. Haha! 🙂 Thank you for making our little Crow your Coin Bearer! 🙂  He still talks about it today!  I know he was very happy to do it that for you guys! 🙂

 ‘Til the next wedding, Crow 🙂

Final Hours in Singapore

Our last afternoon in Singapore was pretty much just chillin’ out 🙂  Took a leisurely walk back to Peewee and Andy’s place after seeing the fantastic Titanic Exhibition at the ArtScience Museum 🙂

But before we head back, we had our last meal in Indochine, also one of the Baumans’ favorite restaurants in Singapore 🙂

They served Asian Cuisine, but more of Vietnamese.  Time for some healthy food! 🙂

Trying to choose my dish 🙂 Let’s go for some beef! 🙂

Beef with rice noodles or Beef Vermicelli. Delicious! 🙂

Beside Indochine was another museum featuring The Tang Shipwreck and Patterns of Trade.  Would love to go here next time!

Another cheap thrill!!! 🙂 While walking home, we spotted this Ice Cream Sandwich cart! 🙂

In fairness, for only a dollar, you get this ice cream sandwich!

Literally an ice cream bar inside a slice of rainbow colored bread! Enjoyed this very much!  And the Dizon siblings as well 🙂

Can you see the birds in the trees??? So cool 🙂 I just don't want to get pooped on. Although they say it's lucky! So... I guess it's okay to get pooped on. Hehe!

One last round of drinks with the Baumans before heading to the airport! 😦

The Baumans planning their meals for the week. And the Dizons, well, just getting ready to go home 🙂

Mr. DJ! Playing the perfect sounds for this lovely Sunday afternoon.

Singapore is made up of tunnels 🙂

And that my friends, ends my series of blog posts about Singapore.  It was such an enjoyable trip and even if it has been almost two months since our Singapore vacation extravaganza, I still look back at these photos and remember how much fun it was.  To be with my husband, brother and Peewee and Andrew for a few days of just pigging out, seeing new things and not thinking of work is something I wish I could do more often in my life 🙂

Stormtrooper ready to fly home 🙂

My dinner in the plane 🙂

Freezing in the plane!!!  But still managed to take one last photo of the end of our mini vacation 🙂  Couldn’t wait to see our little man and give him his presents from Singapore! (Got him a Star Wars Tie Fighter.  He went nuts!)

So until the next trip… When will that be, I wonder??? 🙂

Like Father Like Son

What is it with boys and motorcycles?! 🙂

Here is little Damien adoring his Papa’s bikes.  As promised, these will all be yours someday, son! That’s what your Papa told me 🙂

But for now, all you can do is look.  You’ll be able to ride one of these in eighteen years… or maybe more. We’ll see 🙂 That would be for ME to decide. hehe

Efren & Tessa

Yesterday, two of my friends got married, Efren and Tessa 🙂

Tessa’s gorgeous and unique hand-painted wedding gown by June Samson Pugat.

Tessa just finished with hair and makeup.  Hairstyling by RJ Dela Cruz and makeup by yours truly 🙂 She wanted a soft smokey brown eye makeup look with nude pink lips 🙂  Fresh 🙂

Wedding rings were made by Lucky Monkey 🙂

Just like a celebrity 🙂

View from our hotel room in Sofitel. It was a beautiful day!

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Tessa and Efren Prieto! 🙂

Tessa and her wonderful and funny sister, Gia 🙂

Being photographed by Terry Uy 🙂

The bride and groom at sunset 🙂

The dress code: Fun Formal.

Lovely afternoon in Manila.

Off to CCP for the wedding reception 🙂 First time to attend a wedding reception here in CCP! 🙂 So cool!

Heading up to the fourth floor.

Lots of artwork in the hallways 🙂 I want wings for my makeup chair, too! 🙂

Found our seats.

Little trees as centerpieces. Awesome! 🙂

Peach Iced Tea

The menu for the evening by BIZU. Please forgive me for not taking photos of the food. I was enjoying dinner so much, I forgot about my camera. The food was excellent!!! Just read the menu 🙂

Congrats, Efren and Tessa!!! 🙂

Just one row of tables 🙂

I was able to capture dessert 🙂 Creme Brulee in an eggshell on a bed of marshmallows. So yummy!

That was a wonderful and very memorable wedding, Efren and Tessa! Thank you for making us part of this beautiful day! Wishing you all the happiness in the world! Now, the marriage begins and it’s the best! 🙂 Love you both!

I Heart Ramen :)

Ukokkei Ramen Ron at Pasay Road, Makati

And the addiction begins… 🙂 Was at Ukkokei twice last week for my Tantanmen fix 🙂 I LOVE IT.

Little Tokyo 

But it all started when one evening I told Dante, okay, I think I’d like to have some ramen tonight! 🙂

My dinner date forever.

Shocked and excited, he did not argue with me!  And we were off to Little Tokyo.

Ready to try Ramen 🙂

House Iced Tea

Bottomless

Ordering next door 🙂

Octopus cake from next door. Also known as Okonimiyaki 🙂

Japanese Pizza 🙂

Spicy Ramen: Level 10. You can choose up to Level 20! 🙂

Japanese Spaghetti 🙂

Syouyu Ramen

About to try my ramen! 🙂

After this dinner in Little Tokyo, Ramen has now become something I crave for 🙂

See you again real soon, Little Tokyo 🙂

Ramen again this week, Dants? 🙂