Slice of Life

Hello! Hello! Happy July everyone! I am now part of the labor force. J So, I might have lesser time to blog, but be rest assured that I am still exploring different places and tasting different food to share to you all. J

To start of July, here are some sweet treats to munch on. If you have been following my blogs you would get a hint that I love sweets. Just recently my mom brought home cakes by Heny Sison from Victorino’s. Side info: Victorino’s is a restaurant located at 11th Jamboree St. corner Scout Rallos. It is a restaurant devoted to Ilocano (member of a people inhabiting northwestern Luzon in the Philippines) dishes. Also found there are pastries and cakes from Heny Sison.

So who is Heny Sison you may ask….only one of the best pastry chef and cake designer in the Philippines!!! J So tasting cakes from Heny Sison was such a joy and a treat. My mother brought home five cake slices namely, strawberry shortcake, red velvet cake, apple pie, blueberry cheesecake, and carrot cake. May I just gush that ALL the slices were scrumptious. I loved the strawberry shortcake and the red velvet. I enjoyed the shortcake because of the real strawberry fillings between the yummy chiffon and topped with whip cream (I think that they made their own whip cream because of the light consistency that married well to the whole cake. I also loved the red velvet slice because of the yummy cream filling. It was like eating a very good red velvet cupcake. The apple pie, carrot cake, and blueberry cheesecake were also good! I liked them because they were made with the real deal balanced with the right amount of sweetness. Tasting slices of Heny Sison cakes were so good!  Will definitely try more.  

slice of life :)

strawberry shortcake

apple pie

red velvet cake

blueberry and carrots <3

- Dot-

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

Book Worm

So it’s June already! This means that it’s back to school! I am pleased to inform everyone (this sounds so formal) that I graduated last April from my undergraduate degree and I am now working as a teacher. I haven’t gone for vacation since I was busy applying for work, therefore were no new blog entries the past weeks. BUT now I have one that would surely be exciting to all you sale followers and book lovers out there.

I am a book lover, be it children’s books, chapter books, cook books, and many more! I enjoy reading because it takes you places and it also informs and entertains you. Reading books allow you to travel while spending. The book worm within me definitely came alive when I heard about the book bulk deals that OMF Literature is having. In OMF’s IncediBULk Sale, 10 children’s books (published by Hiyas) = only Php 300, 5 OMF books = Php 450, 10 OMF books = Php 700, 20 OMF books= Php 1200, and 50 OMF books = Php 2900. Bibles and other regular priced item (books not published by OMF) are also discounted. This sale is till June 22 at any OMF branch nationwide.

When I heard about this I immediately went to the Tomas Morato Branch, at Il Terrazo. I bought 10 children’s books and also 10 OMF books with varying titles. This bulk sale is definitely a great venue in expanding your library or maybe starting your library. This sale can also help you find awesome gifts for Father’s day, Birthdays, or even Christmas presents. I believe that books are an investment not just because you have acquired them, but because I believe that books can change you.

Below are some of the books I bought:

 

children's books 10 for 300 pesos

Some OMF books i bought

                Run to the nearest OMF Branch now! Happy Reading! J

-DOT-

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

For more information check out their website: http://omflit.com/

Whozits and Whatzits Galore!

Whozits and Whatzits Galore!

Finally I’ve been to a 10A Alabama's Handmade Arts and Crafts Fair! For months (literally) I’ve been planning to visit it because I have heard and seen a lot of good things about the place and the arts and crafts fair. I love trinkets and small knick-knacks. I also make small quirky things so going there was really a treat for me.

Welcome!

For those who are not familiar with 10A Alabama, it is the address and the name of the place were handmade things are sold by various artists and crafters. I would say that this place and the fair is a celebration of art and creativity. I would describe the fair as warm and cozy because you get to see different the art pieces and you also get to talk to the artist themselves. I believe that there is something for everyone there. From dolls to jewelries to bags to sculptures to furniture, they have all things cute, colorful, creative, and delightful.

During my visit there I gravitated towards jewelries particularly earrings (I have an earring fetish… if there was such a word) J. I saw A LOT of beautiful earrings studs, dangling, and more. I couldn’t buy all that I wanted because I was working on a budget and I had to restrain myself J. So I went over all the booths and found one booth, booth owner was Jaime, that sold these cute food jewelries. No, the jewelries were not made from real food, but they looked like tiny versions of well-loved dishes. There were fruit earrings, burger necklaces, and pasta rings. Well, I have been looking for these types of jewelries for so long and I found them!! So I choose to buy two cake earrings one for me and another for a friend. J Oh! My dad came with me and he too found something to buy. He bought paintings… and he bought me and mom earrings J (sweet).

one of the booths that sold notepads and paper crafts

another booth that sold felt crafts and jewelries

food jewelries from Jamie

yumm!!

<3 

Hopefully 10 A Alabama would have another fair on December because I would surely love to visit again. For those interested, they would also be having a gift wrapping workshop on December (which I won’t be able to attend…BUMMER). For more information about this workshop and more information on 10 A Alabama visit their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/10aAlabama 

-DOT-

Title inspired by the Little Mermaid song. :) Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

Yabu…dabado

Yabu…dabado

When you think of Japanese food, you might immediately think of sushi, sashimi, and tempura. Well, Japanese food is more than those things… and that’s a great thing! J Japanese cuisine can also be composed of rice bowls or donburis. One of my favorite rice bowl dish is katsudon and I’m so glad I found a restaurant fully devoted to katsu… and this place is called Yabu!

Katsudons are one of my favorites because it’s one of the Japanese dishes that don’t require soy sauce to be used. (I am allergic to anything soy). In other words, you can alter the dish without sacrificing the taste.

Ok back to Yabu.

My family and I were able to dine at their Robinsons Magnolia outlet. (Visit the new Robinsons Magnolia Mall it’s so pretty and uncongested there J). The place was full! The ambiance was great. It did not look like your traditional Japanese restaurants. As we were seated, I was intrigued by the food being served to the other tables beside ours. The food all looked the same. When I flipped thru the menu, I found the same thing. I was used to lengthier Japanese menus because of all the different types of sushis, appetizers, and others. BUT it was a good thing because it just shows that this is Yabu’s forte. So I ordered chicken katsudon set, my brother ordered the pork katsudon, and my parents ordered pork katsudons which were either Rosu or Hire. Roso and Hire were variations to the pork katsudon. MAN! The food was YUUUUMMMMYYY!!!!  It was the best Katsudon I have tasted to date. It was crispy, and not oily, on the outside and tender in the inside. It tasted best when drizzled with Yabu’s sesame-mayo or sesame-oil dressing. The set that my brother and I ordered had free miso soup, Japanese pickles, fruits, rice, and cabbage salad. Ohhh… did I mention that rice and cabbage in Yabu is UNLIMITED! J

Dad's food

おいしい

<3 <3

UNLIMITED! :)

Yabu was great! I would definitely return to Yabu soon! J  

-DOT-

Photos are personally owned by writer and some were taken from Yabu’s Facebook page, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J For more information check out: http://www.facebook.com/yabuhouseofkatsu

Yes! mama: nomama

Yes! mama: nomama

      Have you watched the movie “The Ramen Girl”? The star of the movie was Brittany Murphy. I really enjoyed that movie. It was fun and it was about ramen J. But I’m not going to write about the movie [check it for yourself J], what I will be writing is about a relatively new restaurant here in the Tomas Morato Area. The name of the restaurant is Nomama.

      Nomama reminds me of the movie so much because of the restaurants interior the food. Yes! They serve ramen and what’s amazing about it is that they make their own noodles J. They serve really good food… good in a sense that it tastes great and looks great.

      I was able to dine at Nomama last month (think if I’m not mistaken). My family and I had no reservations but thankfully we got a seat and it was perfect. We were seated on the counter table that was facing the kitchen and the chefs. We saw how the food was prepared. It was fascinating because it was like watching Top Chef because of the avant-garde techniques done to the food. At Nomama, we ordered tuna tataki and soba salad, prawn and red curry noodle stir-fry, Japanese steak and fries, and, of course, Nomama ramen [when in a ramen place one must eat ramen J]. The food was delicious and delightful. The flavors and textures were awesome! J Here are some pictures:

*i was not able to get the picture of the ramen because my dad ate it right away :) (it's that good hehehe)

Chef Him Uy de Baron

tuna tataki and soba salad (the tuna was gooood!)

prawn and red curry noodle stir-fry

japanese steak

That’s all for now! ありがとう

-DOT-

For more information on Nomama check out:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nomama/268437836506070?sk=wall#!/pages/Nomama/268437836506070

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J

The Coconut House

The Coconut House

       Here in the Philippines the coconut tree is also called as a tree of life because most, if not all, of the trees parts are useful. The trunks are used as wood materials for furniture and housing. The leaves are used as roofs in small huts and sometimes in houses. It can also be used in weaving. But the part that has the most use is the fruit. From the husk to the milk, the coconut fruit is very useful.

           

One of the, popular, uses of the fruit is for food and drinks. At the Coconut House, located at the Quezon Circle, they serve different dishes that are made from coconuts. This place is certainly for coconut lovers … and foodies too. J

All dishes served at Coconut House contain coconut (duh! J) from coco-butter to coco-wheat crust. I love how they incorporate coconut in all the dishes and how good it tastes even if some of the dishes sound different or odd.

I am blessed to have visited Coconut House more than once and I enjoy my visit there every time J. Some dishes that must be tried (well, actually you should try all since their so coco-tastic J):

Pancit Buko- pancit is like stir-fried noodles and this dish is like pancit but instead of using egg/flour noodles it uses coconut strips

Laing Pizza- Laing is a spicy native dish from Bicol (a region in the Philippines) made from taro leaves… now this dish is good as viand but at Coconut House it’s also good as a pizza

Dishes from their binalot menu- these dishes already some with rice and viand served in banana leaf

Coco Dessert Combo- No meal is complete without yummy desserts. Although Coconut House serve delightful desserts, I highly recommended this one because this is a combo of 3 desserts: suman latik, coconut ice cream, and buko salad [with choice of panda jelly or fruit mix]. With this dessert you would be able to taste coconut served in three sweet ways J.

Simple Buko drinks- what better drink to accompany your delicious dishes than fresh coconut water J

Binalot meals and Panghimagas(desserts)

Tanghap menu [viands]

Almusal [breakfast], Pampagana [light meals]

Laing BBQ (from the binalot menu)

Pancit Buko

Laing Pizza

Suman Latik from the Coco Dessert Combo

I love coming back to Coconut House because the dishes are new, inviting and refreshing… hope you could try them too. J

-DOT-

For more information on Coconut House check out:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/COCONUT-HOUSE/117524054952383?v=info

Photos are personally owned by writer, if you would like to use it kindly inform or at least cite the source thank you! J