Mara's Appetite.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-25T19:45:00.003+08:00

Merry Christmas, everyone!

May all of us remember to be thankful and enjoy this day with our loved ones. :)

- Mara

The Perfect Weather for Coffee

2011-12-10T16:15:00.000+08:00

I think this is the second time or so this week that I'll mention how chilly it has been for the past days, weeks even.

This is the perfect weather to grab yourself that hot drink to really savor this rare cold weather we have in this tropical country that we live in. With that being said, I'm debating with myself right now whether I should head out earlier than my 7PM date with friends and have some hot Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks.

Need A New Phone?

2011-12-10T13:09:00.000+08:00

Hello guys!

Just a short commercial from my food-related posts.

Please check out my other blog, I'm selling a spare phone I haven't used.

Let me know if you're interested!

Thanks so much!

Regards,
Mara

Frozen Yogurt Craving

2011-12-08T01:09:00.000+08:00

How much frozen yogurt can one have to satisfy his/her craving for it?

I know the weather these past few days do not call for frozen yogurt, or any cold food or drinks for that matter. It's been quite chilly and rainy the past days but my weird cravings choose no occasion, time, day, and weather. For some reason, my taste buds want froyo for dessert and I haven't given in to the craving for almost a week.

Yoh-Froz (with Kiwi fruit); Golden Spoon (with Mallows & White Chocolate); California Berry (Blueberry plain); and White Hat (Strawberry plain)

Any one of these frozen yogurts will do and I'll have a happy tummy and happy taste buds. I'm actually missing two photos here, one from Red Mango and Lulu Belle. Yes, I love frozen yogurts, desserts, and trying out different and all kinds of food from different places for comparison. If you're wondering, White Hat's on top of my list. I'm open for suggestions of any other frozen yogurt place other than these 6 I've already tried.

I WILL GET MY FROYO FIX...BEFORE CHRISTMAS. ;)

BonChon's Fish Rice

2011-12-06T23:53:00.000+08:00

It has been a year since BonChon has graced Manila with its "no-need-for-gravy" chicken and people still line up every time a new branch opens up. I tried this Korean-based franchise restaurant when it opened up a store in Ayala Triangle, just to see (and taste) for myself what the fuss was all about. Fortunately, it appealed to my taste buds and I loved it! I love how the chicken doesn't need ketchup or gravy or any other sauce other than the flavor itself. You can choose to have soy garlic or spicy.

But even though BonChon is popular for their chicken, they have also added up new food to their menu including their fish tacos, bulgogi and my new favorite: fish rice.

The "combo" meal has 3 strips of fillet fish (with choices of soy garlic or spicy) with rice + drink. I love my food spicy so even when I had my fish spicy already, I still ordered an extra spicy mayo just to add taste. Spicy mayo can also be used for the chicken which I also do because I just can't seem to eat fried chicken without some condiments and BonChon's spicy mayo is just right with the chicken's flavor. Gravy or ketchup would be too eeky.

Next on my list is to try their fish tacos and bulgogi.

Visit BonChon in Shangri-La Plaza, Ayala Triangle, Greenbelt 1, Promenade Greenhills, Taft Avenue, and Eastwood.

Which Hot Drink Do You Prefer?

2011-12-04T21:15:00.000+08:00

To be more specific, which hot drink do you prefer to have on a cold, rainy day? Coffee? Hot chocolate? Milk? Tea?

I woke up today and the first thought I had was that of a song from Maroon 5, Sunday Morning, because it was raining on a Sunday morning. Apparently, it has been raining the whole day and my urge to have Iced Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks ended up being a Hot Green Tea Latte instead.

Because I wasn't able to take a photo of my to-go drink, I got this from: Fabulouslybroke

I don't know if it's just me, but no matter what I want to drink, when it turns out to be raining I always opt for something hot to drink and usually when I'm just at home I'm limited to either coffee or hot chocolate.

Any other hot drink suggestions? What are your favorites?

Adsense problem

2011-11-17T18:08:00.000+08:00

***A break from food related post***

I have been having problems with my blog's Google Adsense for the past couple of months and I have zero idea on how to deal with it and fix it.

Is there anyone here who can help me with it? I'll send you an email or IM. I've tried searching Google's FAQ but I don't have the patience and the time to sift through each of the hundred topics posted and find a specific solution or explanation to my problem.

It would be a huge help and I would really appreciate it.
I can link you back as a thank you. :)

Thanks in advance, guys!

Gelatissimo

2011-11-15T17:21:00.001+08:00

Gelatissimo, a gelato retail chain from Australia has opened several branches here in the Philippines too and it's not just about the gelato as they also offer coffee, sundaes, gelato cakes and mostly dessert products.

Here's my first Gelatissimo flavor:

Gelatissimo: Rum and Raisin

The photo actually made it look big but I had the smallest size and it cost me around P100 or so. It may seem pricey for a small dessert but then again, it's sort of an imported product and it is actually worth it because I had a scoopful, not the usual small scoop ones.

I would love to give the other flavors a try especially Green Tea and Bailey's. Gelatissimo has 6 branches here in the Philippines including 2 in Cebu (Ayala Center and SM City), 2 in Quezon City (SM North and TriNoma), 1 in Taguig (Serendra) and 1 in Makati (Greenbelt 5).

Mr. Jones, Greenbelt 5

2011-11-02T20:02:00.001+08:00

I had the chance to try out Mr. Jones in Greenbelt 5 when a good friend of mine was having her on-the-job training there. I've heard of the place before but haven't really tried it so I was not familiar with the menu. The night before I was to have lunch at Mr. Jones with my friend's girlfriend, I searched for their menu and familiarized myself with the food that they have.

Everything sounds and looks delicious! But the first thing I noticed was the price, I initially thought that it was a little pricey for my budget even for me who enjoys eating out and trying new restaurants. A single order of their soup and salad is somewhere between P195-P375 ($4-9) already and the rest of the menu, including drinks range from P200-P600 ($4-15).

"Good thing I'm with Trish tomorrow!", is what I said to myself. I saw several food that I wanted to order the next day that I don't think a P1,000 ($25) budget would be enough to cover it.

Here's what I had that day:

Mr. Jones' Wicked Truffled Mac 'N Cheese

Priced at P395 ($9) and is good for sharing, Mr. Jones' Mac 'N Cheese is a must-try for everyone who is a first timer at this restaurant. You really can't go wrong with mac 'n cheese and this one just tastes so good you can eat it all by yourself. I love the creaminess of the sauce, not too creamy or sweet, but not bland at all. it has mushrooms, pancetta, and green peas too. This is the first food I ordered while waiting for Trish and I was trying not to eat it all before she arrives.

Mr. Jones' Spicy Drumstick

I'm not sure exactly what the name if this food is but is spicy and they're drumsticks. I love spicy buffalo wings, and this one has made it to my list of favorites. It has fries on the side of the bucket, too. The drumsticks are huge compared to others, the sauce balances out its spiciness but not removing the spicy factor. It actually just makes it more....delicious.

Overall, we've had 4 different food and 1 milkshake. I think our total bill was around P2,000-P2,500 but it was totally worth it. I wasn't able to take pictures because we were already busy eating.

Visit Mr. Jones at Level 1, Greenbelt 5 in Makati.

Crazy for Milk Tea

2011-10-26T16:45:00.001+08:00

Is there anyone who's also wondering why the sudden popularity of milk tea shops in every corner?

I remember having my first taste of "milk tea" in HongKong when I was barely a teenager. It was literally a tea with milk and it was from a restaurant, not from a milk tea cafe or shop. I loved the taste of it that's why every time I feel like having it, I just steep a tea bag and add milk. Homemade style.

But now, there are a lot of milk teas everywhere; Serenitea, Tea Tap, Gong Cha, Happy Lemon, Moonleaf Tea and believe me... a lot, lot, lot more!

I admit that I am an avid drinker but I still have yet to try the other places. So far, I have Happy Lemon and Serenitea crossed out from my list and I love them both that I just crave for these two every time.
Happy Lemon's Green Tea with Rock Salt and Cheese is a favorite of mine, so is Serenitea's Hokkaido.

This is why from now on, I will be making "Crazy for Milk Tea" a series. I will post and share with you my experiences, suggestions, and most importantly my reviews and ratings of the drinks.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for me (I'm sure you have a lot!) and I will be more than willing to give it a try.

Watch out for the future posts about Serenitea!

Pepper Lunch's New Menu

2011-05-10T18:59:00.000+08:00

Has it really been almost 6 months since my last entry post here? My, my, my.
Sorry for that. I know I've been extremely busy with work and social life that my body (and mind) just couldn't take it if I spend even my weekends in front of my laptop. BUT...that doesn't mean I'm not taking food photos. I still do. And every time I do, I still think about putting them up here.
I will do my best to update my blogs at least once a week.

Anyway, my first post for this year is dedicated to my favorite: PEPPER LUNCH. It's actually the reason why I felt the need to update Mara's Appetite. I think it is worth it to spend a few minutes of my self-imposed break to share with you guys that Pepper Lunch has a new menu! I don't know about you, but I am one excited gal when I read about it on Twitter.

Here's their new menu which you can also find on their blog (click Pepper Lunch):

I am looking forward to try their Angus and I read that they now have Yakisoba too. I have been craving for PL for weeks now and this Thursday is my Pepper Lunch day!!! :)

What to try? What to try?
I promise to keep you guys updated when I get to taste one of the new addition to the PL menu. Promise!

Kellogg's Pop Tarts

2010-11-25T22:20:00.000+08:00

I went to a few grocery shopping last week and my eyes popped out when I saw Pop Tarts on the shelf. It's not really a regular product especially in an SM Hypermarket supermarket, I only get to buy Pop Tarts in Rustan's when it's available.

I sent my Mom a message on BBM asking her to send me boxes of Pop Tarts and the reply she gave me? "That's not healthy." It's not like I'm going to eat it 3 times a day everyday. It's just... I really have a sweet tooth.

If only it's a little cheap on the budget, for more than P150 I don't think I can add this on my regular grocery list.

Just sharing.

Spicy Fingers, Greenbelt 2.

2010-11-17T19:27:00.000+08:00

If you are looking for a place that offers alcoholic beverages minus the rave light and entrance fees and good food without having to eat them in a crowded place then Spicy Fingers may be the one you are looking for.

For the past month, my friends and I meet at Spicy Fingers for drinks and some pica-pica.

Here's what we always have:

Rhum Coke, Vodka 7 and Margarita (not in the photo)

Mozzarella Sticks

Oh, did I mention that they have Happy Hour for cocktails and draft beer for only P50? Yes they have! And it's from 12 noon until 8 PM. Talk about HAPPY HOURS. You can get buzzed within 2 hours with their P50 cocktails and they're not at all bad. Regular price ranges from P150-P200 so that's more than 50% off and it tastes the same.

If you are feeling hungry, Spicy Fingers also have good food to choose from from starters to soup, salads, sandwiches, main entrees. One food that doesn't leave our table is the Mozzarella Sticks. They're good with cocktails. Or so we say. Mozza Sticks is a bestseller at Spicy Fingers, that means something. ;)

You can visit and try Spicy Fingers at Greenbelt 2 beside Bizu and My Thai. A P50 drink (before 8 PM) and food not priced above P500 (and you can share with your group) is worth a try!

Anyone feeling thirsty?

2010-10-25T16:54:00.000+08:00

Since September, I feel like I have been attending birthday celebrations every Fridays or Saturdays of the week (or every other week) and these four bottles are ALWAYS present in each one of them:

Johnnie, Jack, Absolut and Jose

I used to love taking tequila shots but I feel like I have reached the age where one shot is more than enough and one or two glasses of any alcoholic drink and I'm already buzzed. So, after last week's (Oct. 15) birthday celebration where I had 3 tequila shots and 5 glasses of Kurant+Sprite in less than 2 hours I told myself no more drinking for at least a month.

~~One week down.~~

Four weeks to go.

Cafe Breton

2010-09-23T17:52:00.049+08:00

I believe I have mentioned somewhere in this blog that my favorite part of the meal is dessert and this is a blog post dedicated to one of my personal favorite dessert, the one I customized and the one I personally call "Mara's Heartbreak Crepe", "This is how a heart breaks crepe" or "Mara's Feel Good Crepe" because I get to crave for crepes when I'm heartbroken or when I feel so down in the dumps that I just want to drown myself with all the sweets I can eat.

Here's the best crepe in town (and by best I mean the for ME) by Cafe Breton:

Mara's Heartbreak/Feel good/This is how a heart breaks Crepe

I can name this crepe whatever name I want because it's "customized". Yes, I get to choose the fruit, the toppings, the sauce, everything and ever since I started eating crepes at Cafe Breton this is what I always order. This is what makes me feel a tad better and a lot guilty afterwards but... what the heck. I'm sad. I deserve to treat myself with a "happy meal".

If you want something else to eat, Cafe Breton also offers sandwiches, salads, cocktails, coffee/tea and their crepes are not just the typical ones that pop into our minds whenever crepe is mentioned, they also have what they call "savoury crepe combination" (e.g. cheese, tomato and egg, cheese, ham and tomato, etc.)

Don't worry about the budget, one crepe can cost you as low as P85 for a banana and condensed milk crepe (Tarzan) and the personalized crepes for P40 for the crepe + P20-P80 for the fruits, P30-P75 for the spreads, P30-P35 for the syrups and for ice cream. You can mix and match whatever combination you like. Budget per meal would be at least P200 per person.

Cafe Breton has branches in The Podium, TriNoma Mall, Tomas Morato, SM Mall of Asia, Westgate Center Muntinlupa, Greenbelt 3 and Robinson's Midtown.

Chili's - Greenbelt 5

2010-09-22T15:47:00.043+08:00

During one our dinner dates, my friends and I decided to splurge a little since it was our first time being together again for months so we had dinner at Chili's in Greenbelt 5 during a cold and rainy night.
There were 4 of us (3 girls and 1 guy) and if you frequent Chili's you know that they have big servings. Imagine 3 skinny girls ordering Bottomless Nachos, Buffalo Wings, Grilled Shrimp Alfredo Pasta, Quesadillas, Calamari and Bottomless Iced Tea all at once. The only man in the house wasn't able to do anything about it.

I wasn't able to take photos of the Nachos, Quesadillas and our gigantic glasses of Bottomless Iced Tea though. There were only 4 of us but our table was so full of plates that we had 2 tables connected good for at least 6 persons.

By the end of the meal, we had our leftovers wrapped to go and asked for the bill. We were making wild guesses as to how much our total bill would be. I guessed something around P2,500 total. The other one guessed P1,500. WRONG. Our bill was P3,600++. Crazy but well worth it. We just said we'll never over-order ever again!

It's just that Chili's has so many scrumptious food to choose from and it's difficult to only choose 1 among 50 choices. What's good though is that their servings are big enough to share as a group, so let's say one order of the pasta is P350+ and there's 4 of you sharing, then you can divide the bill to 4. It's not bad at all.

Chili's is great for get-togethers, family and friends dinner, that's my personal opinion.

Chili's has several branches: Greenhills, Greenbelt 5, Tomas Morato and the newly opened one in Powerplant Mall. The best branch for me would be Greenbelt 5 although I have yet to visit their Morato branch. ;)

Abe - Serendra

2010-09-19T21:52:00.000+08:00

It was my friend's birthday last Wednesday and his girlfriend planned on a little surprise dinner for him. Nothing huge, just dinner and the 4 of us. Everything was planned, Abe at 7PM, I can already taste the food that I'm going to order. Dreamy.

T-B: Something-something Pla-Pla, Gising gising and Crispy Pork Adobo

Gising gising and Crispy Pork Adobo were my personal "suggestions", my friends couldn't do anything about it since I said I already thought about it since the girlfriend said we're having dinner there. ;)

The pla-pla (fish) was good, it actually looks small in the picture but it would be good enough even for 5 people. I ordered gising gising (kangkong/vegetable) to give variety to our dinner. It's made of chopped kangkong stem and coconut milk (gata) plus some red chili for spice. And my favorite... crispy pork adobo, from the traditional pork adobo this one's deep fried and the sauce is separated. You got to try it! We were so full we felt like sleeping on the couch.

It also helped that we came in early for dinner (6PM), we were just supposed to have a table reserved for 7PM but the waiter suggested that we dine in now or we won't be getting any tables at our preferred time because they are already fully booked. Yeah, we forgot it was payday that day. We were the first customers for dinner, there were 3 waiters who served us and we got great service. A few minutes after we left Abe, we passed by it again and saw the place fully packed.

So, I suggest that if you plan on going there for dinner you should make reservations especially if it's on weekends, holidays or when it's payday. You can call them at Tel Number: (02) 856-0526.

Their prices are affordable for fine dining, price ranges from P50(desserts) to P600(main entrees). Rice is unlimited. Our bill only cost a little over P1,500 ($35) for 4 rice, Pla-pla, Gising gising, Crispy Pork Adobo, Squid tactics (not in the photo) and 2 Cokes.

Visit Abe at Serendra, Fort Bonifacio High Street in Taguig (near Market! Market!)

Real Coffee's Calamansi Muffins

2010-09-02T09:08:00.000+08:00

It's the start of the "-Ber" months again and here in the Philippines, it also means start of the Christmas season which is also equivalent to an excuse to feast on whatever food cravings we have and blame it on the Christmas season. Yes, we're sneaky like that.

So, while I was doing my drafting work earlier in the family room, my cousin was watching a movie on the local cable channel -- When Love Begins, that reminded me of these muffins that were so magical they lasted almost a month before I (and I alone) consumed the whole box and I'm not being sarcastic when I say magical because even though I eat at least one muffin a day, the whole box still looks untouched.

Calamansi Muffins @ Real Coffee, Boracay

Some friends of mine say there's nothing really special about these muffins and that they pretty much taste like lemon squares.

I disagree.

Okay, maybe they do taste like lemon squares... a little.

Whatever.

I do believe these Calamansi Muffins rock (plus Jonah's shake).

If you happen to be in Boracay, drop by at Real Coffee for some afternoon "snack" or just buy one muffin for only P35 (less than $1). One muffin is huge, by the way. I don't know how much for the whole box since a close friend of mine just bought it for me for my birthday but it's probably P35 x 12 pcs. Not bad.

Real Coffee is located near Boat Station 1 in Boracay. I also hear they have great coffee thus the name.

Frozen yogurt: CaliforniaBerry

2010-05-19T14:06:00.000+08:00

I could really eat a truckload of frozen yogurt right about now. Seriously. I have been drinking maybe at least 3 liters of water a day and for the past week, I cannot seem to stay outdoors (by outdoors I mean outside of my air-conditioned room) and I have been feeling sick lately; headaches, stomach aches.

The extremely, super burning weather is killing me.

I wish I live somewhere where I just have to walk a block or just cross a street and voila, convenient stores and better yet... a mall. That would help me get my errands done: grocery shopping, paying the bills (Meralco, PLDT, Maynilad, Globe), go to the bank, and eat frozen yogurt.

Here's one from California Berry at Silver City in Ortigas.

CaliforniaBerry: Blueberry-flavored frozen yogurt

If you have been reading this blog, you would probably say that I am a sucker for frozen yogurts. True. This is not the first time I have posted about this. It was however my first time to try out their blueberry-flavored yogurt and it was GOOOOOOOOD! I wish I could've ordered the larger one but I was in a hurry because I was literally the last customer and the girl was already closing up, hence a small order and a blurry photo.

I probably tasted most of the frozen yogurts in the city but I have yet to try one at Tagaytay and those two at Shangri-La Plaza. If you know of any place which sells frozen yogurt other than Red Mango, White Hat, FroYo, Lulu Belle, California Berry and the one I forgot the name at Tagaytay besides Buon Giorno, please let me know and I will be very happy to try them out!

CaliforniaBerry's price range is P85++ depending on your size and topping/s of you choice. Visit them at Silver City (in front of Cafe Mondial), Paseo Center, Philippine Stock Exchange Building and Madison Square in Greenhills.

Japanese food: Sumo Sam

2010-05-17T20:21:00.000+08:00

Summer season is almost over but the summer heat doesn't seem to want to go just yet and as most of us know, summer is equivalent to the beach. Yes, summer season + summer heat = THE BEACH and going to the beach means sporting a perfectly (or almost perfectly) fit body (e.g. flat tummy).

And because of that reason, I am trying my hardest to stir away from eating too much food for every meal. Not that I had any luck with that for the past days but I am able to reduce unnecessary junk food eating and less carbs, though I still eat until I feel stuffed to move.

Such a thing happened when I had lunch with friends at Sumo Sam, I suggested that we just share foods instead of ordering separately since the servings in Sumo Sam was big enough to share but we ended up ordering A LOT of food to share, here's my share:

Bacon wrapped dory

Dynamite maki

I have always loved Japanese food and since Sumo Sam was built, I believe I get most of my Japanese fix there. I wouldn't say the place is cheap but it's not too expensive either, it's more on the reasonably priced side of restaurants and totally worth it. If you're going on a date with your boyfriend or girlfriend or with your friends, a budget of at least P300-P500 is good enough (to share, 3-5 pax). I admit, in times like this, spending P500 each on food can be frustrating but believe me when I say that your P500 can go a long, long way in your stomach. It's healthy, mouth-watering and worth the price. Besides, consider it a treat for yourself.

By the way, you can also try their Spicy Tuna Salad, Teppanyaki, Agedashi Tofu, Happy Birthday Noodles and their Bottomless Iced Tea (especially the Green Iced Tea).

Sumo Sam has branches in Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong and Powerplant Mall in Makati.

Edsa Shangri-La Cafe

2010-05-06T22:32:00.000+08:00

Not to be confused with the hotel's Coffee Shop (HEAT) or The Baksehop, the Cafe is located along the Garden Entrance beside Fully Booked, facing the Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

Iced Tea and Banana Bread

Because it's still burning hot here in Manila, I am still all about refreshments and I give you my word for their banana bread and iced tea.

Price for both is less than P200 ($5): P90 for the iced tea and P50 for the banana bread.

Ya Kun Kaya Toast.

2010-05-01T12:13:00.000+08:00

I know it is too hot to go out and have hot tea or coffee even when we are actually craving for the caffeine. We'd rather have fruit shakes, milk shakes, iced cold juices, ice cream but hey, there's now such thing as iced tea and iced coffee, right?

Ya Kun Kaya Toast: Hot tea and French Kaya toast

If you happen to be along Ortigas-Shaw area, you can drop by at Kaya Toast along Escriva Drive, near Astoria Plaza and Antonio Hairdressing. I promise you, their coffee and tea ROCKS! There is something added to their ingredients, something that made it taste gourmet unlike Starbucks and other commercialized coffee shops (not that I don't enjoy them too).

I had their tea and toast after our Korean dinner, it was too delish to be only P105-125 for both! Ooh, I didn't mention it is not as expensive as other coffee shops too? Well, it isn't. So, if you are looking for a new taste in your coffee and tea drop by Ya Kun Kaya Toast.

p.s.

THEY HAVE FREE WIFI! I know, right!? :)

White Hat Italian Strawberry.

2010-04-26T11:17:00.000+08:00

If anyone of you is from Manila, you would understand how it feels to need ice cream, a cold shower every hour, a 24/7 air-conditioning, anything iced cold to drink, and any place to go to that's way cooler than your homes. That is how sweltering the weather is in the Metro.

My way to beat it:

A Large Tub of Italian Strawberry White Hat frozen yogurt.

I'm stirring away from ice cream that's why for a cold dessert, I go for frozen yogurt. It was my first time to try the flavored one because I always get the plain one and either have it as is or just add toppings with it like fruits or cereals but since I was feeling adventurous that day, I tried the flavored one for the first time and honestly loved it!

There is not much difference with the price, the large plain one is something around P115 (without toppings) and italian strawberry flavored one is P120. Not bad. Not bad at all.

They have branches at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Alabang Town Center, and Mall of Asia. You can also visit their website, The White Hat Philippines, for more details.

Korean Food for Dinner

2010-04-13T09:00:00.001+08:00

Ever since I was introduced to Korean food, I just can't seem to get enough of it. There was even a time when I was craving so much for Rabokki (stir fried noodles and rice cake) that I wanted to go out and go to that Korean place where my friends and I eat 15-20 minutes away, order, have it to go and eat at home while doing some work. I fought the urge. This was about 1 week and 2 days ago. But my sis and I had Korean for dinner 4 days after that craving and needless to say, I had delighted taste buds and full stomach after.

Korean Dinner: Kimbab, Robbuki, Kimchi, and I don't know what those other 3 bowls have.

Robbuki

A very spicy stir fried noodles and rice cake with vegetables and egg and I believe it also has fish cake. This food is very addicting especially if you are into anything spicy. Robukki should be eaten while it's hot because somehow, it just doesn't taste as good and as spicy anymore.

Kimbab

Kimbab is like a Korean version of the Japanese Maki minus the wasabi in the dip. If you like Maki, then you will also enjoy Kimbab.

My friends and I notice how Korean food are mostly that of vegetables, no meat whatsoever and their foods are cooked boiled, broiled, steamed and almost never use cooking oil so we always say: "This is healthy...". If we say that because it's true or just to calm our guilty conscience for being too stuffed, we are not sure. ;)

I will promote the Korean place we eat at but it's Korean and I don't know the name. I can give you some details though, it's located in Escriva Drive in Ortigas, in between Astoria Plaza and Millenia, it's just beside Mini Stop. You'll find it because you will see the outside with Korean writings and you just have to go inside, open the door in front of the Korean "grocery store", and you're there. No worries about the price because for the meal above we paid P140 (less than $3.50) each and the "appetizers" in the 4 bowls are for free and refillable. Totally cheap but the food tastes like gold. Or something like that. :)

Let me know if you have any suggestions!

C2: Classic Cuisine

2010-04-10T10:14:00.004+08:00

Maybe at this point you guys have an idea on how much I love food and how much I enjoy eating (just please don't let me cook), I'm so thankful I have friends who share the same "passion" for food and a sis (yes you, Apple Alvarez) who loves trying out new food and restaurants with me.

This entry is not for a newly tried restaurant, in fact I have eaten lunch and dinner here a lot of times so my sis and I were surprised to find out that C2 offers a "merienda all you can" from 2pm to 6pm Mondays to Sundays for only P150 for 3 treats and P190 for all 7 foods under the merienda menu. Not bad, right?

So even after only finishing with lunch an hour earlier, my friend and I decided to eat merienda (afternoon snack) before our movie starts at 4:50pm. It was only 2:30pm.

Oh, I forgot to mention this is only until May 31, 2010. So don't forget to drop by before then. You will have a "feast" of Filipino merienda for a very cheap price. One order already cost P150+ and with Meriendathon, that P150 can have you 3 foods UNLIMITED. You can order, order, and order as many as you want.

My Sis': Guinataang Halo-halo, Pancit Malabon and Tokwa't Baboy.

Mine: Bam-I, Goto and Suman with Langka dip

I only tried the pancit malabon and the tokwa't baboy and they were good except for the pancit malabon, which was a little salty for my taste so was my Bam-I but the rest was good. I personally loved the Suman with langka dip and had about 3 orders of it.

We were not sure if we can share but we did a few times, besides there was no sign saying it wasn't allowed. ;)

I know some blogging friends of mine would love to try this one.

Please visit C2: Classic Cuisine in Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City, Powerplant Mall in Makati City and Robinson's Place in Manila.

Buon Giorno!

2010-04-06T23:00:00.006+08:00

It was my second time to eat at Buon Giorno in Tagaytay, my first Buon Giorno experience was around April last year and I loved it!

The pasta I had, the green tea, the bread, the ambiance, I loved everything.

So last (Good) Friday, after having visited 2 churches, my friend and I decided to grab some late lunch before continuing with our church visits in Tagaytay City and we chose to have lunch at Buon Giorno just for the salad.

Buon Giorno Special Salad

Then our salad order didn't look enough so we ordered a shrimp and clam pasta and had it split into two.

I forgot the name. Something like "Spaghetti...." Okay, just order for D7. That's it.

As usual, I was more than satisfied with the the salad, pasta and iced tea that I've had and my friend and I also split the bill and paid around P250-P300 each. That's cheap enough for us given that the food tasted great and we were in Tagaytay so the ambiance was cool, cold and beautiful.

For Buon Giorno experience, you can visit them in Cliffhouse Tagaytay and in Liberty Center (Puregold) Shaw Blvd. Mandaluyong City.

Mongkok

2010-04-05T20:40:00.002+08:00

This is how we (my friends, particularly Apple, Abs and Zano, and I) always end up eating at Mongkok:

F1: Saan niyo gusto kumain? (Where do you want to eat?)
F2: Kahit saan, hindi pa nama ako masyadong gutom. (Anywhere, I'm not that hungry anyway.)
F3: Ako din, gusto ko light lang tsaka pwede sa mura lang? (Me too, I just want something light to eat and can we eat at a less-expensive place?)
F1: So, saan yung mura, hindi masyadong mabigat at masarap? (So, where can we eat a "light", less expensive and delicious meal?"

*long pause*

F1, F2, F3: MONGKOK?!

Salt and Pepper Squid, Sweet and Sour Fish and Yang Chow Rice

I guess, based on how we always think of Mongkok, I can say that it is worthy of satisfying your hunger, craving for Chinese food and not robbing your wallet of too high of a bill. The above meal was only for my friend, Apple, and I last (Holy) Tuesday hence the seafood and it only cost us less than P300 ($7) each! We had the rest wrapped for take out because we are already too stuffed to even stand up. No exaggeration! :)

We always order for the squid, the sweet and sour pork or fish, some dumplings and lemon chicken but since there were only 2 of us and we're on "diet" we ordered for less ;)

Give Mongkok a visit if you are in Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Powerplant Mall, Robinson's Galleria, Greenhills Theater Mall, SM Southmall.

Taco Bell.

2010-03-28T12:58:00.003+08:00

After being boring for the past month, I did something spontaneous like going out after planning about it only the night before. Yes, I was that boring and bored. I treated myself with some shopping with my friend, Anna, and then went for a late lunch at Taco Bell.

Beef and Cheese Quesadilla Combo

I had the Beef and Cheese Quesadilla Combo (with Nachos and 16oz. drink). So cheesy and beefy and I don't know if I'm just too hungry or it really tasted so good. I haven't had Taco Bell for almost a year now and I was really craving for it last Tuesday. Too delicious and so worth the price knowing that it is an American franchise and all. The food and my appetite made it worth it.

What's your favorite Taco Bell?

Charlie's Grind & Grill.

2010-03-24T09:14:00.003+08:00

I love trying out new places to eat especially when those places have very good feedback from my friends.

Charlie's is one of those places who made quite an impression with friends who also love to eat out. Charlie's is not a classy, high-end place but it's classy on it's own. What being situated right beside a carwash station, it has clean and air-conditioned area. Clean tables, purified drinking water (which you get on your own), two flat screen cabled televisions, an extremely cold air-conditioner and the very delicious food.

Okay, I have only tried 3 foods out of the many they have on their menu but those 3 are so yummy it makes me want to eat them for a week. Chili cheese fries, Black angus burger and buffalo wing (not in the pictures). Yum. Yum. Yum.

Please, please try out Charlie's located in Kapitolyo, Pasig City if you are looking for mouth-watering burgers, gigantic tasty fries and a lot lot more. Budget will be around P200-P350 for a complete meal (food+drinks), this might be pricey for some but believe me the serving is big for Filipino customers.

Golden Spoon.

2010-03-22T10:28:00.003+08:00

In a super hot season like what we have here in Manila, a very cool, cold and yummy treat would definitely help in more ways than one. If you're a local, you know what I'm talking about; ice cream, halo-halo, iced candies, iced fruit juices, anything "iced cold" we would grab and chew/drink just to feel not-so-hot anymore. If you're a foreigner in a much cooler place than where we are, you're lucky. :)

Here's what I have been thinking of since last night. Golden Spoon frozen yogurt is different from all the other frozen yogurts that I have tried (and I have tried a lot!). Although it's not one of my favorites in the category, I think it's pretty delicious if you're craving for something sweet but low-fat or non-fat. Of course for a frozen yogurt treat, I'd still go for White Hat but last night I was craving for something sweet but guilt-free and of course... COLD.

2 small Boysenberries: the left one is mine w/ small mallows and yogurt chips and the right one is my nephew's w/ buttered pecan and granola

My nephew introduced this to me a few weeks ago, it was yummy but I was thinking of White Hat yogurt that day so I didn't really enjoy it much. Plus it was TOO expensive for me. I didn't even bother looking at the price (my nephew paid for our yogurt) of each, I just saw the total amounting to about P500 ($10-$12) which means each cost approximately P250. That's crazy. Frozen yogurts usually only cost P80-P150 including toppings. I guess I'll go for this one if I have money to spare because in all fairness, it's cheaper than a Haagen-Dazs and it tastes yum yum yum!

If you are in the Philippines, I only know of one branch and that is in Shangri-La Mall. If you're abroad, you can find Golden Spoon in Japan and in the USA (California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah).

Give it a try and let me know!

Choriburger @ The Powerplant Mall.

2010-02-13T17:32:00.004+08:00

A day before Valentine's day, I went out to watch a movie by myself as my planned date with 2 of my girlfriends got cancelled just last night leaving me with a very conditioned mind to go out on a Saturday to watch a movie and grab a choriburger at the tent. After my movie, I headed straight out to the tent for my choriburger craving, had it to go, hailed a cab and went home.

I was thinking of having at least 30 minutes of walk inside the mall but no can do. I cannot stand all the couples and families watching movies, eating, walking together while I am by my lonesome self.

Forget that. That's for my personal blog.

We're here for the food and that food for today is Boracay's famous Choriburger being served at the Powerplant Tent.

The poster

The actual food

Can I just apologize for my photo? I am really saving up for the G10/G11 camera (and this is a call for shameless begging, any amount is greatly appreciated--just click on the donate button at the upper part of my blog). Anyway, I don't know if it's just me but I didn't quite enjoy it. For 70 pesos it was decent enough but not like how the choriburger tastes in Boracay.

I texted my friend and her conclusion was maybe because the choriburger here is too "clean". I joked that maybe it lacked the "beach water and sand" in Boracay that's why it tastes different. Haha!

If you want to grab yourself one, drop by at the Powerplant Tent, the choriburger is just outside the entrance. It's for 70 pesos. They also have bottled drinks, tables and chairs while waiting. Oh, this is only for this weekend February 13-14.

Pepper Lunch: Beef Teriyaki

2010-02-01T12:31:00.002+08:00

Since this new addition to the Pepper Lunch menu has been introduced, I have been dying to give it a try because 1.) I LOVE PEPPER LUNCH and 2.) I LOVE BEEF TERIYAKI and knowing I love each individually it would be logical to say that I MIGHT love both combined.

I DID! I DO!

I had this for lunch about two days before Christmas, I enjoyed every spoonful that I put into my mouth. PLUS, this is the meal that gave me my FREE PEPPER MEAL the next month.

Beef Terriyaki

I got a free pepper meal just by doing what I always do when I eat there... sign the comment card. :) I think I have mentioned about this here or in my other blog but anyway, back to Beef Teriyaki... The terriyaki sauce is separated from the beef, there's still the sizzling plate with the beef slices and sunny side up egg and a separate bowl for the rice. It costs a little less than P400 ($6-$8) and is deliciously worth it! Or am I just being biased because I love PL? Anyway, I am so happy that I get to introduce this establishment to a lot of people already... my cousins, my friends and even fellow bloggers who have read about Pepper Lunch on my blogs. As far as I know, you guys love it too!

As part of my new year's resolution, I promise to give other PL food a try (other than my usual orders of Beef Pepper Rice, Curry Beef Rice, and Beef Terriyaki). Yes, I prefer beef.

Any suggestions? :)

Kimchi.

2010-01-14T10:21:00.003+08:00

Korean food are becoming more and more popular these days and not only here in the Philippines but also in the US and other countries too. But even though a lot of Korean restaurants are popping out in almost every corner, I haven't had a single taste of any Korean dish except for a Kimchi flavored potato chips (which by the way taste good) until my friends and I ate had one at a Chinese restaurant, Kopi Tiam. This was supposed to be an entry about Kopi Tiam's food but I figured, I have 300+ days to talk about Chinese food here anyway and besides, this was my first time to actually have a taste of Kimchi and I must say it's not bad at all. My friends were like "Wow, you liked it? The first time I tasted it I didn't enjoy the taste.".

Kopi Tiam's Kimchi

I cannot wait to try other Korean food! Any suggestions? :)

Starbucks Drinks.

2010-01-11T15:58:00.001+08:00

I love how my friends and I enjoy having coffee (or frapuccino) after a heavy meal together. These are our late night drinks after having dinner:

Coffee Jelly, Toffee Nut Frap, Iced Peppermint Mocha, Toffee Nut Frap, Caramel Affogato and Strawberries and Cream Frap. Toffee Nut and Peppermint are two of the three holiday drinks of Starbucks, oh I did mention these are Starbucks drink, right? ;)

I'll miss having to see these many drinks in one table, hopefully we'll be complete for the 2010 holiday!

What's your favorite Starbucks drink? I heard there's a smoothie in Starbucks in other countries. Hmmm.

Hooray for Crystal Clear!

2010-01-06T17:40:00.002+08:00

I received this package a few days before Christmas. The manager, Ms. Grace personally came to deliver it to me. I wasn't even prepared! :) I got a box of bottled Crystal Clear water, a calendar, a holiday card, a notepad and notebook.

Thank you Crystal Clear!!!

Busy Day @ Starbucks.

2010-01-03T16:02:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year everyone!!!

I hope you all had a fabulous celebration with your family and friends and totally enjoyed the moment.

As for me, I stayed at home which is fun cos I only cozied up in my pajamas, watched Final Destination 4 and Zombieland with a pitcher of Vodka+Iced Tea and a bag of Lay's. But that's not the photo I'm sharing today.

I realized it's been exactly a month since I posted here and I have a lot of food photos all waiting to be published! Seriously! This photo will show you how busy I have been during the past months, especially December, I had to go to a nearby Starbucks cos my internet connection at home was acting up and I was avoiding spending but then again... I spent P300 for the internet card (yes, wi-fi at Starbucks is NOT free!) and of course I have to eat and since it was only before lunch I had Cinnamon Swirl and Basic Black Iced Tea. I spent P600 ($15) more or less. I used to say busy is not an excuse and it's really not but sometimes being busy drains your strength that most of the time you just need to have some quiet, thinking-free moment after a day of brain exercise.

Nonetheless, I resolve that for 2010 I will stick to a schedule and make time for everything else in between! Cheers for the great year ahead and for more food photos! I'm still saving up for that camera though..... ;)

KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).

2009-12-02T10:16:00.004+08:00

Compared to other fast food chains available here in the Philippines which makes fried chicken their "specialty" or their main food to offer, KFC is my number 1 preference followed by McDonald's and then Jollibee. But of course there's also Max's and Kenny Rogers.

KFC's finger lickin' good slogan is so true to its words.

I have to be conscious about my chicken intake for the week, if I exceed 2 I usually get itchy red rough spots on my arms so before our scheduled KFC dinner after watching New Moon, I stirred away from eating chicken just to be safe. It was worth the starvation from eating anything chicken. ;) It was my first time to try their addition to the menu: Krushers. I had the berries and yogurt or something like that and it was really good! I am actually drooling right now just thinking of it.

I'm stopping now. I haven't had breakfast and lunch yet and it's already 2:30PM. This entry is making me more hungry. Yeah, I now understand why I get comments that this blog of mine makes them hungry or crave for something. Sorry about that! :) But I do hope you enjoy reading my entries.

And if this one made you crave again, visit the nearest KFC store near you! :)

Conti's Mango Bravo.

2009-11-29T11:47:00.003+08:00

I always enjoy a good dessert after a hearty meal. And Conti's Mango Bravo cake is one of my favorites to have. After visiting the bookstore with my closest friends last week, we headed to a late afternoon snack slash early dinner in Serendra (literally just a few walks away from High Street where the bookstore is). As usual, we were having a hard time deciding where to eat. Initial choice was just to grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks inside the bookstore but things changed when we suddenly felt a little hungry for just coffee and pastries. We walked and walked and walked until we stopped and said "Okay, where are we going to eat? What do you guys like?" We have no idea what and where to eat so we came up with 3 different choices each and there's three of us. One will choose among the choices given. Conti's won. :)

If you frequent High Street and Serendra, you might want to try out eating there sometime if you haven't yet. The food is more worth it than the price. They have less than P200 ($2-$3) pasta and it's quite serving. And their pastries... love! That photo above is my favorite... Mango Bravo. It's P105 ($1-$1.50) per slice and something around P550 ($12) for the small whole cake and believe me it's BIG enough for the family. The three of us shared this slice since I was the only one who ordered a dessert because I was smart enough to order a Kiddie-sized Cheesy Baked Mac because I really really have to make room for dessert. My 2 friends ordered individual pastas and they were so full to order individual desserts afterwards. We managed to clean the plate though. ;)

Visit Conti's at Serendra in The Fort and in Greenhills. Or THEIR WEBSITE for a list of their menu, branches and operation time.

Eat This, Not That

2009-11-27T20:37:00.003+08:00

My friends and I made a trip to the bookstore a few days ago and while they were looking up cookbooks from famous celebrity chefs, I was browsing this one and fell in love with it. The No-Diet Weight Loss and the Supermarket Survival Guides are my loves. It's just too pricey for my budget these days so I am doing the next best thing... include it in my WISHLIST (or what I jokingly refer to as "my Christmas gifts registry").

This would be helpful.

I made searches and saw it available online in Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Hmmmmm. Santa?

Figaro Coffee.

2009-11-17T20:17:00.000+08:00

This was my last Figaro experience: Iced Cappuccino and Blueberry Muffin, last September. I miss! I have into dessert food/snacks lately which I know is not at all healthy but come on, this is Blueberry Muffin! I believe the one I had was freshly baked that day because I could taste its freshness. Yes, it was too yummy!

And funny, this was the last food and drink that I was able to "purchase" with using my free drink coupon which expired 30th of September. Too bad I was not able to use ALL my coupons, good enough that I used at least half. ;)

Figaro Iced Cappuccino and Blueberry Muffin.

I only paid P55 ($1) for the muffin and it was well worth it, big muffin knowing how these coffee shops "overprice" with small pastries.

Oh food. Coffee. Pastries. I can't wait for Christmas to be over! ;)

Vanilla Coke.

2009-11-09T19:12:00.003+08:00

When I was in my teen years, I always go grocery shopping with my Mom and Dad every other Saturday. My Mom has the list of the things we need which she crosses out once she put it in the cart and there's me and my Dad picking up food and drinks NOT on the list. Mostly, it's my Dad picking up chocolates, cookies and biscuits. Seriously. He especially loved getting me Oreos. I, on the other hand, loved the toiletries aisle, chips and cereals aisle and drinks aisle. Having said that, I love trying different drinks from local brands of juice, sodas to imported ones I even tried drinking different waters. You know, Perrier and some other "flavored" water which I don't think are still available.

Anyway, here's one of the two sodas that became my favorite then:

Have you tried McDonald's Coke Float? Well, that one reminded me of Vanilla Coke. I used to buy this in 1.5 L together with Pepsi Blue (which as far as I know is the only Pepsi soda that I appreciate). Then it wasn't being sold in the market anymore. I only saw Cherry Coke, Diet Coke (now Coke Light), etc.

So... I got too excited when I saw cans of Vanilla Coke in a local supermarket. I bought 5. Mind you, I am not a soda girl. I could barely finish an 8 oz. of Coke no matter how thirsty I am. But with Vanilla Coke, I could consume 2 a day and that's too much for me. ;)

I wonder if Pepsi Blue is still available somewhere. We used to have it here during Christmas season. Hmm.

Look what I got in the mail.

2009-11-08T11:56:00.003+08:00

It's Christmas season again and sales are everywhere. This is the first invite I got for this season:

An invite from TechnoMarine about their special Anniversary Sale from November 6-15,2009. 25%-30% off on regular priced items if you present the invite card. This is what I love about being in the mailing list. Special discounts, special invites, special everything <3

Too bad though that I would not be able to buy myself a new watch anytime soon especially not by next week. I could however, buy a new bracelet for my TechnoMarine watch instead of buying a new TechnoMarine watch... for now. ;)

Oh Christmas season.

What I had for breakfast.

2009-11-07T23:10:00.002+08:00

This is what my usual breakfast consist of: food, drinks and my computer. In this photo, I had instant Mac & Cheese, iced green tea-- although it's NOT color green, and my Facebook FarmVille on screen.

This photo didn't give justice to my food. It doesn't taste anything like what it looks like (and this is why I'm trying to gather donations and save up, to buy a decent camera and I guess I need to learn how to use Photoshop and the like for editing/enhancing photos). It's pretty delicious for an instant Mac & Cheese. I keep saying instant cos it's just one of those like instant noodles where you only have to boil water and cook for about 5 minutes and you're done. This one is from Lucky Me... nothing like Kraft's (which is my favorite ready-to-eat) but it's not bad at all. Plus it's new in the market and it's cheaper too and because I love trying new and different food from time to time, I gave this one a try. ;)

You might want too. Lucky Me instant Mac & Cheese and Baked Mac are available in all local grocery stores and some convenient stores too for about less than P20 and good for one serving.

What did you have for breakfast?

Pepperidge Farm's Cookies.

2009-11-04T15:47:00.000+08:00

Since I haven't been eating out much lately and I only have a spoonful for meals here at home because I would like to think that I am on a diet, excuse my "recycled" food photos and craving posts for the meantime. I love! <3

Today, my Mom sent me an SMS from California asking me what else I want in my "goody box" that she'll be sending me sometime next month. I already told her about my body mist, some DVDs, breakfast cereals, etc. I forgot about my Milano cookies and that's what I replied.

I am so excited! I haven't had Milano for months and the ones available in the local grocery stores are the Original ones and they are like only a few stocks of it. I want! I want!

Yes, I love cookies. I love Oreos, Pepperidge's, Chips Ahoy, and Quaker Oats' Oatmeal Cookies.

Care to share what's yours? ;)

Cafe Via Mare.

2009-10-27T12:10:00.004+08:00

Lunch time at Via Mare Cafe in Shangri-La Plaza with my former bosses at Edsa Shangri-La Manila. We always have "family" lunch at least once a month to catch up on what's new and still the same with our lives. It is nice that we get to that still.

Spicy Tuyo (dried fish) Flakes w/ Scrambled Egg and Garlic Rice.

Now, this sounds like a typical breakfast food for us Filipinos but we (yes, all 3 of us) ordered the same meal, we were craving for it for lunch and thank heavens Via Mare offers "Pinoy Breakfast" meals all day! I remember my Dad loved this food.

Anyhoo, I am all thumbs up for this one and I also love their Bibingka, Goto (Porridge?), Sago't Gulaman and basically all other Filipino food that they offer. All very affordable and delicious and what's even nicer is that the place looks so classy that sometimes people are surprised with how much the foods really are. Needless to say, the ambience is quiet and very cozy. But they are not limited Filipino dishes. They also have a few American and other Asian food. Their prices range from P120-P500.

You can visit their outlets in Powerplant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza, Greenbelt 3, Mall of Asia, Promenade Greenhills, Serendra or you can go over their website for more details: VIA MARE.

Fedhz' Homemade Polvoron.

2009-10-20T22:14:00.003+08:00

Yes, I have a sweet tooth. So I'm thankful to one of my very good friend I have met online, Fedhz for shipping me her homemade Polvoron and by homemade I mean she made all by herself. The first time I was able to taste it was when we had a she-bloggers day a month or two ago and it was so good that I craved for it for days. I told her about it and she was super nice to ship me a pack!

I LOVE! *thumbs up to Fedhz!*

P.S. I'm really thinking about Polvoron right now. It's like I can feel its texture and taste it on my buds. I scream!

Thank you, thank you lots Fedhz!! Hug! Seriously, your Polvoron is good!

Pizza Hut.

2009-10-13T20:19:00.003+08:00

I miss eating Pizza Hut's pizza:

3 boxes of Family-sized Pizza Hut pizza.

My 20th birthday celebration with friends.

We look like we are having a pizza eating contest in the last 2 photos but I love it nonetheless. I miss my college friends and I miss Pizza Hut. I wonder when I will be able to dine out again. Like really eat out. The past month, I have been under "house arrest" (my term for: I don't have money to go out) ergo, no chance on having to indulge on my favorite foods and/or try new ones and I am badly craving for a food adventure.

I actually made a list already of food/restaurants to try out when I get the chance plus another list of old favorites to give in to. Being under house arrest I am only able to eat homemade food (don't get me wrong, they're good too & I will be posting my favorite homemade one of these days) and cookies and chips. ;)

Will update soon!!

Quaker Oats' Oatmeal Cookie.

2009-10-12T11:28:00.004+08:00

Lately, I have been munching on Quaker Oats' Oatmeal Cookies every single day since I ate them all up 2 days ago. This is my way of trying to lessen, if not totally avoid eating chips and other "unhealthy" snacks.

This cookie is not bad. In fact, it tastes so good that it is now included on my top cookie list. ;) I bought a pack of 6 (2 of each flavors) just to try it out. They all taste good and almost the same but my favorite would have to be Apple and Cinnamon then Raisins then Honey Nuts. When I do food shopping, I don't normally check on the Nutritional Facts or the Ingredients but I think these cookies are a better option with 1/3 less fat than Mrs. Fields, Chips Ahoy! or Oreo which by the way are my favorite cookies.

Quaker Oats Oatmeal Cookie: Raisins, Apple and Cinnamon, Honey Nuts.

These cookies are available in individual packs and packs of 6 in grocery stores for P10-P11 and P50-P60. A little pricey compared to the other cookies but it's worth the price. Besides, I noticed "healthy" foods are most of the time pricier.

photo from: PinoyExchange

I would have used my own photo but it's too crappy. (sorry for the term)

I miss Japanese Food.

2009-10-09T13:59:00.000+08:00

I miss Japanese food:

1. Maki

2. Tempura

3. Spicy Tuna Roll

4. Sashimi

5. Gyudon

6. Fried Tofu

My usual maki-eating self at Teriyaki Boy.

from these restaurants:

1. Sumo Sam

2. Sakura

3. Senju

4. Red Kimono

5. Teriyaki Boy

Okay. Enough said.

Am I the only one who enjoys and/or misses Japanese cuisine? I hope not. ;)

Foods to stock up.

2009-10-01T19:06:00.004+08:00

As some of you may have heard, our country has experienced a terrible typhoon last weekend (I posted all about it in my personal blog) and there is another one coming in a few days. We did not expect the worst outcome and we were caught off guard and unprepared with what hit us. Nobody expected non-stop hard rain the whole, nobody expected chest-high flood in less than 6 hours, nobody expected floodwater to enter their homes, nobody expected their cars to "swim", nobody foresaw that they will need to evacuate on their roofs with nothing to eat and be rescued days after and nobody anticipated their last day on Earth drowning.

So now that those victims of the typhoon are in several different evacuation centers and some still stuck in their flooded homes and we are now expecting a typhoon to hit us once again, everybody is preparing well and early. The number one survival guideline: STOCK UP FOOD AND DRINKS GOOD FOR 3 DAYS.

Here are the basic food to stock up in case of calamities like this:

Instant Noodles

Biscuits/Crackers

Spread (peanut butter, mayo, etc.)

Bread

Water

Canned Goods (sardines, tuna, corned beef, etc.)

It is very important for everybody to be prepared all the time. These foods are all ready to eat and easy to eat if I may say so. Other than food and water, it is also advisable to prepare a "survival kit" just in case things got worse and you have to evacuate. It won't be easy packing up or looking for essentials when our brain is on panic mode. It is important that you have some clothes, toiletries and other necessities packed up. Candles, lighter, flashlights, batteries, battery operated radios will also be handy during this situation.

No, I haven't stocked up and prepared yet. Yes, we are going to buy and do all of the above-mentioned.

Pizza Hut's Chicken Wings.

2009-09-25T19:13:00.002+08:00

I, Mara, is allergic to chicken. I am allowed to have a maximum of 2 chicken/poultry intake in a week, more than 2 and red spots and "chicken skin" would start appearing on my legs and my arms. Not a very good sight to see and not comfortable too. After those many times that I had those spots, I learned my lesson and controlled my urge to eat anything with chicken, eggs, soy sauce and too much grease. I would love to post a picture of what my legs look like with those spots but it wouldn't be appropriate in this site. :)

Last night's dinner was Fried Chicken and it was my first chicken for the week. Good, good, good. And not good that I want to eat Pizza Hut's Chicken Wings tonight. Must. Fight. Cravings.

Pizza Hut's 6-PC chicken wings.

I have always loved Pizza Hut's pizza. I actually grew up eating their pizzas. Now, I don't remember if they already have appetizers and pastas on their menu before like they do now, either way I am thankful that these days Chicken Wings, Spaghetti w/ Meatballs, Garlic Bread and Sausage Rolls are now available for me to indulge on. ;) Their pizza is my ultimate comfort food. They even have their crusts evolved from just the regular pan crust to a cheesy pops crust, cheesy volcano crust, etc. etc. Their prices increased but I still think it's reasonable and very worth it! Their Regular-sized pizzas cost P220+, good for 2-4 persons and their Family-sized pizzas cost P420 at most good for 4-6 persons.

Pizza Hut delivers until 12 midnight and some branches until 2 AM. 911-11-11 is the number to dial. You can also visit their website at: Pizza Hut Philippines for more details on their menu and prices.

Shakey's Pizza.

2009-09-21T17:56:00.004+08:00

You know the feeling when you are watching a movie or a TV show where the characters are always shown eating something constantly? Like in several scenes or episodes the characters are seen eating cupcakes, pasta, chocolates, steak, ice cream, etc.? Well, I have been watching Sex and the City reruns for the past weeks and lately, Carrie and Miranda are always eating thin crust pizza slices. I drool. I drool. I drool.

Good thing I was able to eat 2 slices of Pepperoni pizza from Shakey's during my good friend's birthday celebration last Saturday. I am not completely satisfied but I was thankful my taste buds were able to savor its taste. Still, I want a huge slice of pizza like the ones in SATC. That one slice would stuff me for weeks. :)

Shakey's Pizza: Pepperoni (family size).

I am not bragging but I have tasted and savored pizzas from different pizza parlors and restaurants who has pizza in their menus and Shakey's has always been on my list of favorites together with Pizza Hut, Cibo, Sbarro's, Sandy's, Dominos and Yellow Cab. They have their own bestsellers and edge from each other so I can't totally compare them. I love them all for different reasons. :)

Shakey's is everywhere. There are branches in El Pueblo, Greenhills, Glorietta, Alabang Town Center, Robinson's Galleria, Magallanes, Maysilo, Shaw, Tomas Morato, SM malls, etc. Visit ClicktheCity for branches near your place. And like any other pizza parlor, Shakey's also delivers fro their pizzas, pasta, chicken, mojos, etc., you can call their delivery hotline at 77-777.

Red Ribbon Bakeshop.

2009-09-15T21:12:00.002+08:00

Cake! Cake! Cake! I think I should change the name of this blog to something that sounds more "sweeter" cos I don't know if it's just me but I notice I post more about desserts than other foods.

And because I always see Red Ribbon's commercials on TV, I started imagining eating their cakes. Cake! Cake! Cake!

Red Ribbon's Dulce de Leche.

Their cakes don't get the hype but they have always been known enough to have regular visitors plus their cakes may not be hyped but they are yummy. Not too sweet and not too bland. I prefer most of their cakes over Goldilocks but when it comes to breads, other pastries and full meal, Goldilocks has more variations. We'll talk about that some other time.

For now, Red Ribbon has nationwide branches and kiosks. Some branches I know are in Shaw Boulevard, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Escriva Drive, Glorietta 3, Jupiter St. and I think there's also one in Megamall. These are just a few branches that I usually visit or pass by. They have A LOT more.

Homemade Pasta.

2009-09-13T19:35:00.002+08:00

I have a friend who I haven't seen for a year. No seeing each other, no phone, not even text messages. Not because of my lack of trying though, every time our group from high school would go out for coffee, movie, an afternoon snack or just to hang out in one of our friends' place, I always text her but she don't reply. One day, I just got tired and decided that if they (she and two other friends) would want to go out and hang out with us, they would be the one asking us out or at least make an effort to text or reply to our invitation.

It happened sooner than I thought, after a few weeks she texted me and said she'll make up and visit me at home. I was happy but I didn't really hang on to her words because sometimes she tends to cancel at the last minute. When she showed up at my door (my bedroom door that is), I was so glad! And when we went downstairs for lunch and I saw what she bought me, I was more than glad that she came. :)

Here's what she brought me:

JM's homemade tuna and mushroom pasta w/ olive oil.

The photo didn't give it justice at all but believe me, it tasted awesome. I was kind of surprised when she said she was the one who prepared it. So yummy!

Okay, I'll text her now and ask her to visit me again this time with MORE of this pasta. Haha!

Press Cafe's Mac & Cheese.

2009-09-10T19:39:00.003+08:00

It has been a long time since I was able to indulge on eating out and spend Friday afternoons with my friend and watch movies. We used to watch movies every Friday of every week. I miss those days!!

This photo was taken months ago during one of our Friday-movie-after-movie-dinner-days:

Press Cafe's Mac & Cheese and Iced Tea.

I only had a light meal cos I ate nachos and had a huge Coke during the movie. Press offers a variety of food to choose from: from soups, sandwiches, pastas and desserts and in a very cheap price at that. My Mac & Cheese and iced tea only costs P200 ($4) more or less, the food is good and Press is located inside a high end mall. So, okay.

Visit Press at Powerplant Mall in Rockwell Makati City, 4th floor (or whatever floor the Cinema is located).

Commercial

2009-09-10T19:19:00.003+08:00

I would just like everyone to know that I have signed up Mara's Appetite in Link From Blog yesterday. I am hoping and finding ways to earn more and further the opportunities to monetize my blog.

I have seen several blogs already writing about and I would just like to give it a shot. No harm in trying right? I have yet to activate my blog, see how it works and then after I would probably be able to write a review about it.

Check out Link From Blog and if you find it interesting, then join us! :)

Bugsy's Buffalo Tenders Salad.

2009-09-08T22:52:00.004+08:00

I am thinking about comfort foods aside from chips, cookies and other sweet and greasy stuff right now. I thought about the salad my friends and I had last week.

Is this considered comfort food?

Bugsy's Buffalo Tenders Salad w/ Blue Cheese dressing.

It was my first time to try the Buffalo Tenders there and I must say it tastes really delicious and healthy too. It's a salad, right? It's supposed to be healthy. :) The serving is good enough for 2 and the price is reasonable at P175 ($3-$4) and Bugsy's is a very decent place so the price is actually "cheap" if you consider their ambience and reputation.

Bugsy's Bar and Bistro is located at City Gold Plaza, Julia Vargas Ortigas near Home Depot. They also serve alcoholic beverages and cocktails, appetizers, finger foods and main courses.

I need a drink.

2009-09-07T23:04:00.003+08:00

Not water. Not juice. Not soda. In times like this, I need a serious drink. Not to get drunk but to feel something else... to feel numb maybe? I don't know. I just feel like having a drink or two.

Hello, Mojito!

Moksha's Mojito and my love-lovely phone. My two dates on a lonely night.

No, I am not alcoholic. After I got dead drunk 3 Fridays ago, I have never drank a single drop of alcohol. So, I am sober. And it's not like I drink alcoholic beverages everyday. I only drink when I'm out with friends and I still go home normal (except on special occasions).

I have now come up with several reasons why I feel like I need to drink:

It's been 3 weeks since I felt intoxicated.
I have been stuck at home for a week. Literally.
I need to calm down.
I need to think about other things. Other than my financial problems.
I feel so down, depressed, frustrated and upset.
It has been raining for days, it's cold, and I'm ALONE.
I have another job interview tomorrow.
I am bipolar hence the mixed emotions, the regular mood changes, high feeling/low downs.

I know I have given no valid reasons but whatever, I'd do this for myself and it's not like I am going to drink tonight or any day soon. I am just saying that I need one. *sigh*

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

2009-09-04T21:10:00.005+08:00

Who here does not enjoy a donut? I think there are only about 1 out of 50 people who do not eat donuts.

I was inspired to write this entry because our mother (or father) school, De La Salle University Green Archers won against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers yesterday. It was not the championships nor was it the semi-finals but it was worth celebrating over because at least we got up from several straight losing streaks. I think it was about 4 losses straight. This win gives us a tad bit of hope that we could climb up and be included in the Final Four. *cross fingers*

I miss Krispy Kreme. I hope I'll still get to see Green Donut with White Sprinkles this year. :)

Last season's UAAP Final Four Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Green and White: De La Salle University, Blue and White: Ateneo de Manila University, Green and Yellow: Far Eastern University and Red and White: University of the East.

DLSU Green Doughnuts.

There really isn't any difference on the taste and flavor though, it's just for the sake of the school colors and the school spirit that we buy them PLUS the fact that it's Krispy Kreme, it's a doughnut and I love them! :)

correction:

DLSU Green Archers vs. FEU Tamarraws on Saturday (not Sunday like what I have posted earlier). Ooh la la.

Cornyman's One Million Free EC Traffic Contest.

2009-09-04T13:05:00.004+08:00

Just a quick (but long) commercial break. I would like to present to everyone the list of Cornyman's One Million Free EC Traffic Contest's sponsors and prizes as required since I am a sponsor of the said contest.

25 $ cash prize from
Business Sphere - Business Advice, Entrepreneurship, Consulting, Real Estate

20 $ cash prize from
My Financial Corner

15 $ cash prize from
A Little Boy's blog
Too little time to blog

10 $ cash prize from
One World Realty Philippines
PF ♥ Org

5 $ cash prize from
http://insearch4you.blogspot.com/
English Short Story
Make or Break
Thoughts and Obsessions
Just About Anything
MyOnlineContest

25.000 EC
EzGreatLife - Family, Fitness and Finances

20.000 EC
Work At Home
A Little Boy's blog

15.000 EC
lunaticg banknote & coin
The Fitness Diva

10.000 EC
Business Sphere - Business Advice, Entrepreneurship, Consulting, Real Estate
Too little time to blog
Frugality is the new reality
Blogging Tips to promote your blog and make money blogging
Your daily photo depot
Pinay Mom : Smartest Mom in Town
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4.500 EC
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Mara's Personal Bubble

2.500 EC
Walk with me
Blog Godown
The fire in my life
Food Fads

2.000 EC
All about my life
My Life's Adventure
Life's Journey
THE JOY OF LIFE FOREVER
Quintessential Babble
Kutsara at Tinidor
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Communication Exchange
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Mara's Appetite
My Financial Corner

1.500 EC
Make Money Online Make Money Online Malaysia
Fishy Passion
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My Online Journey
As Time Goes By...
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1.001 EC
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Momgen Garage Store
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Shopping
the fledgling blogger - "Only love can work wonders."
Womensselfesteem.com's Blog
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OUR JOURNEY TO FOREVER
THE CERTIFIED FASHIONABLE CHIC

500 EC
elai's haven
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125 x 125 ad space (4 months until 31st December)
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Blog de Manila
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Yashiro
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Text Link ad (3 months)
Better Interpersonal Communication

125 x 125 ad space (2 months)
Blog de Manila
Kaya Mo, Pinoy!
Pinay Mom : Smartest Mom in Town
Yashiro
Tinta at Papel
Just About Anything
Wish Happy Birthday For Free

Text link ad (2 months)
Work At Home (worth $ 50)

Text Link Ad (1 month)
After cancer, now what
Gossip Mom (5 text links!)

468 x 60 ad space (1 month)
The Nexus - Feed your brain

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Kamila the Camel
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twinshappiness.com
Also Mommy
TH's corner
Blogging Tips to promote your blog and make money blogging
http://insearch4you.blogspot.com/
Chizmosa Lounge
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My Life's Adventure
Life's Journey
THE JOY OF LIFE FOREVER
Momgen Garage Store
My Crafts Store Online
Vanillaseven.com
Fida Abbott
Blogging School
elai's haven
Dashing Smiles
EzGreatLife
The fire in my life
iLUVcontest
AnotherContest
nameSherry
heartrandom.com
Shopping
Worth's...Road
Blog Fusion
Nishas world and baby Alisha
the fledgling blogger - "Only love can work wonders."
Make or Break
A Maiden's Testimony
YANORZAH's JOURNEY
vhingsFOTO album
OTHERSIDE of my LIFE
Just About Anything
samantha's own
The Nexus - Feed your brain
LAINY'S MUSINGS
KUERDAS
The Bad Evan

Blogmakeover
Momgen Designs

Blog review (200 - 300 words)
http://insearch4you.blogspot.com/
Make or Break

Bloglayout (Blogger-Platform)
my Web-Blog Designs

DOMAIN (1 year)
LAINY'S MUSINGS

5 GB Hosting space (without domain)
angelic-melody.net

Facetted ruby (value ~115 $) from Stunned by Stone
6 sets of mixed greeting cards fromhttp://hyenacart.com/momgenpaperdesigns
1 surprise box (value 20$) fromhttp://hyenacart.com/agiftwrappingbox
2 pairs of Beaded Earrings from http://darlingrose.etsy.com
Beaded Bracelet & 1 pair of Beaded Earrings fromhttp://momgen.etsy.com

And here's what Cornyman's prizes are. If anyone beats his offer, he'll add up :D
25.000 EC + 1 ad space Cornymans Moneypage
25.000 EC + 1 ad space Cornymans Blogreviews
25.000 EC + 1 ad space All about babies and kids
25.000 EC + 1 ad space The One Minute Guide

This is going to be great especially for the new bloggers who want to introduce and promote their blogs and for the not-so-new bloggers who want to reward their new and regular readers. Guess everybody is a winner here!

If you are interested to be a sponsor or a contestant, check out Cornyman's blog.

The White Hat.

2009-09-01T23:03:00.006+08:00

I had this post about frozen yogurts posted a couple of days back and I mentioned in that post that I want to try out frozen yogurt at The White Hat. Earlier today, I finally did. :)

Plain frozen yogurt with Honey Oats.

My friend was right when she suggested White Hat to me. It tasted better than the others that we have already tried. The White Hat now bumped Fro-Yo from first to second on my list. Yum yum! I can't wait to try other toppings with it and the strawberry flavored one. Just curious.

Okay, no more treating myself on yummy pricey food until I settle my cellphone bill for this month. Food is my ultimate weakness when it comes to spending money, really.

IceBreakers Sours, Lay's Potato Chips and French Onion Dip.

2009-08-31T15:41:00.005+08:00

A commercial from my usual food posts.

My taste buds are screaming for these:

IceBreakers Sours (I like the Berry Sours though).

Baked Lay's Sour Cream & Onion.

Lay's Original.

Frito-Lay's French Onion Dip.

Unlucky for me, only the Lay's Original is available here and I have to go to Duty Free for the rest. :(

Anyone feeling generous today and wouldn't mind shipping me these (or just the dip and/or IceBreakers)? :D Tee hee!

Love you all!

Solomon Guest House: Batch 12 Desserts.

2009-08-30T16:14:00.002+08:00

I mentioned earlier that I used to have my practicum in SGH and that the food depends on the batch so last Monday when I ate there, I missed a lot of things! I miss my friends and batch mates in SGH (Batch 12) AND I miss our desserts.

Batch 12 Desserts: from top left-bottom: Charlotte, Tiramisu and (my ultimate favorite) Chocolate Eminence.

The only main stay there is the Tiramisu, the other 2 is from our kitchen pastry batch mates. Chocolate Eminence is LOVE. Okay, I'll go find a much close-up photo if I have one and I'll upload. :)

Seattle's Best.

2009-08-29T20:57:00.002+08:00

Ham and Cheese Croissant and Iced Tea.

I haven't had lunch and we met up at 5PM. My first meal of the day! :)

When I meet up with my friends, it's either in a coffee shop or in a booze place or yeah, they pick me up at home.

So, when one of our friends who's been working in the island of Boracay came back here in the city for a week's leave 2 weeks ago, we met up at Seattle's Best Coffee in Greenbelt 3.

Solomon Guest House.

2009-08-25T21:33:00.003+08:00

I had my Practicum 1 at Solomon Guest House, an in-house site still owned by the school but is being fully operated by students, from the kitchen staff to service. Every school term, the theme and menu of SGH changes depending on what the batch decides.

I was able to try this term's SGH Batch 18 menu. Here's what I ordered:

Albert's Chop w/ Spanish rice.

SGH food prices range from P50-P95 and drinks for P20-P30. Student-friendly prices for a fine-dining experience. And no, we don't get paid for the service that we do since it's still part of the curriculum.

If you want to try different food that's being prepared (prep and cooked) and served by the Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management students of De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde, please visit the Solomon Guest House at C. Ayala St. Arellano Ave. Manila.

Jack's Loft.

2009-08-24T19:24:00.002+08:00

I love sandwiches and well.. all other foods. Here's another panini I had for dinner when one of my grade school friend and high school friend (both knew each other from college) decided to meet up after years of not seeing each other.

Jack's Loft: Ham and Cheese Panini and Iced Tea.

It's much bigger in actual size though. I was only able to finish one half and the chips and to think that I was starving. :)

Mapecon (Eatery).

2009-08-23T20:44:00.003+08:00

One of our favorite places to eat and hang out during breaks when we were in college was the eatery just beside our campus building. It only got its name because they were beside the Mapecon (pests terminator) "office".

Almost everybody knows Ate Alma, the owner of the eatery. I always order Beef Garlic and once she sees me walking in, she knew what to prepare. One Saturday, my friend and I decided to have late lunch there. I was so excited because I haven't had Beef Garlic for so long, I miss it! I was almost running out of the car to Mapecon (or Mape), I was all smiles and then I saw Ate Alma, I greeted her with my usual jolly tone and then she replied:

"Hi Mara! Uh, sorry wala ng Beef Garlic." (Hi Mara! Uh, sorry we ran out of Beef Garlic.)

My heart broke. I was so hungry and so craving for it already. I have no energy to think. I told her just cook anything beef for me and here's what she prepared:

Sizzling Beef Tenderloin.

YUM! But Beef Garlic is still my all-time Mape favorite.

Mape foods only cost P40-P60. So cheap but the foods are delish! Not bad for an eatery. :)

Can't wait for tomorrow's lunch date there with my friend. I'll take a picture of the place so you'll get to have a look and see what I mean. I hope Beef Garlic is available! :)

Figaro Coffee.

2009-08-21T15:40:00.003+08:00

There's no coffee in this post but I do have BLT panini and iced tea (not photographed). This was from my lunch date last week with my former boss and 2 other friends. I had this coupon where I get to have a few free drinks like brewed coffee, iced blended (frosts), and several coupons with buy one get one for free for the same price or less. It was a huge help for me especially since I'm the only one with no work yet. My boss and I "shared" with the bill but she paid for most of it. I spent only P100 ($2) for my BLT and large iced tea. :) That's good enough since prices in Figaro are at least a hundred for coffee and their food costs more than 100 except for the few pastries they have which costs 50-100. I saved a lot using the coupons.

BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomatoes) Panini with my "un-photographed" Iced Tea.

I was too hungry that I almost forgot to take a picture of it. I like Figaro's sandwiches and pastas. They only have a number of

sandwiches and pastas

available but they're delicious. I was supposed to have my favorite sandwich Chicken Caesar but then I started getting allergies with chicken, eggs and other poultry products so I'm limiting eating them, maximum ONCE a week.

I hope to use up all or at least half of the coupons before they expire on the 30th of September. :) Might go back and use my free coupons and ask some friends to go with me for the remaining "buy one take one" ones.

Starbucks Coffee.

2009-08-20T17:01:00.005+08:00

* Don't forget to check out MY GIVEAWAY!

I have always been a coffee drinker... I think? I love coffee candies when I was still young enough to drink a cup, I enjoyed "flavored" coffee when I was a teenager and then I bloomed into a full time coffee addict during the latter part of my teenage years. Starbucks was my first taste of real adult coffee and I loved it.

My Hungarian Sausage, Egg and Cheese plus Iced Cafe Latte.

Since I am on a mega tight budget especially this month, I think my next Starbucks visit would be on September. I hope. I miss my Double Vanilla Latte and Chicken Asparagus Sandwich, or the Tomato and Mozzarella and Caramel Macchiato. For now, I would settle with my Nescafe coffee. It tastes as good nonetheless. :)

Any of you guys coffee drinkers too?

OFF TOPIC: Giveaway!

2009-08-17T21:23:00.003+08:00

This entry is for the celebration of this new blog and a way of saying thank you to my friends and regular visitors over at Mara's Personal Bubble who followed and supported me here at Mara's Appetite.

I will be having 2 giveaways, 1 until the end of this month and 1 until the end of December 2009.

All you have to do is to drop your ECs and I'll send you EC credits if you make it to my Top 10 Droppers for this month. Another prize is a $2 and $1 PLUS EC credits if you sign up on Adgitize.

For those who don't have Adgitize on their blogs, here's what Adgitize can help you with:

1. Gain a lot of traffic (especially when you advertise).

2. Can earn you a little (or a good enough) amount by doing what you normally do: publish articles/blog posts, visit other blogs, having page views, etc.

3. You can discover other interesting blogs, gain friends.

Advertising in Adgitize is worth it. For only $14/month, you could earn it back with a profit before the month ends, gain at least 1,000 traffic and you can meet new bloggers. There are also other advertising options if you would like to "test-advertise" first.

I have been a member of Adgitize since December of last year and started advertising February of this year if I'm not mistaken and since then I renew my ad each month (except for April/May) and I always get my $14 back WITH profit. :) So I can say that I am a very satisfied member and that's why I am promoting them.

To know more about the details of my giveaway please visit me at MARA'S PERSONAL BUBBLE.

Pepper Lunch's Double Beef Pepper Rice.

2009-08-16T13:05:00.004+08:00

If you are a regular visitor of Mara's Personal Bubble or have been there at least once, you would have seen an entry about one of my favorite places to eat: Pepper Lunch.

Double Beef Pepper Rice.

My favorite (after the Curry Beef).

My friends know I LOVE PL so much that they would tease me every time I say I'm hungry they say "Okay, Pepper Lunch?". Haha!

I am a member of PhilMug (The Philippine Macintosh Group) forum and there I met Jeroen, the owner of PL suggested I try something new. Yes, I eat Beef Pepper and Curry Beef alternately every visit and as much as I want to try other food in the menu, I just keep on craving for either of the two. Whoops. Don't worry about the price because not only would you get your money's worth (and it's not too pricey), you'd get your stomachs full too.

Those who haven't tried Pepper Lunch yet, you can visit them at Powerplant Mall, Shangri-La Plaza and in the newly opened store in Alabang Town Center. Or you can visit their website and blog: Pepper Lunch Philippines and Pepper Lunch Blog.

Regular branches I eat at are Powerplant's and Shangri-La's since it's way nearer my house than in Alabang. I hope they won't open too many branches. It would be like Gonuts Donuts, Krispy Kreme, and we all know what happened to them (especially Gonuts). I think having 3-5 here in Manila is enough. One in South, one in North, and 2 here in between. That's just me and my 2 cents though. :)

Homemade Mango Float.

2009-08-14T21:34:00.005+08:00

Desserts, desserts, desserts. One of my favorite parts of the meal is having desserts after. Ice cream, cakes, chocolates, what have you. So, I was browsing through my photos folders when I stumbled into these:

Mhe and Migby's homemade Mango Float.

The L stands for "Lucas", their son's and our godchild's name. :)

Our friends ate the whole thing. We shared the slices in a plate and we didn't notice how many we already consumed until there was nothing left.

We had this Mango Float (or refrigerated cake, Graham cake, etc.) during my friend, Mhe's baby shower last year. It's so addicting. A lot different than what we normally have here at home when my aunt makes one.

I miss this. And I miss the Torres family. Hopefully, they'll be here in the Philippines on December for Mhe's birthday and the holidays.

Booze Stop's Spicy Spareribs.

2009-08-12T19:51:00.002+08:00

Hello cravings. I hate you. I have been craving for Booze Stop's Spicy Spareribs since yesterday and I cannot, and I mean I cannot wait until Friday when I get to eat 'em again.

Spicy Spareribs.

Around P160-P180 ($2-$4). Really spicy and really addicting. Really! :)

Sorry for the not-so-presentable photo, every time we order this we can't help but munch on them as soon as the plate touches the table. I am almost at Booze Stop every week and every week I order this and the only photos I have are empty plates. Ooooh! Now, I'll make sure to try to take photos first. Hello again spareribs on Friday!

Booze Stop is located at Kamagong St. in Makati City (near Shopwise Vito Cruz). They will be celebrating their first year anniversary on Saturday too, so for all my Filipino readers and followers please please feel free to drop by (and maybe we could meet up?). The celebration would start at 7PM and would go on until 4 in the morning. Bring your friends, your family, every one! :)

Here is their Facebook profile: Booze Stop Bar and Booze Stop 1st Anniversary. You can find their map location and other details there. I'm not sure if you could view the profile if you don't have an account though. Let me know if you're dropping by! :)

Buon Giorno!

2009-08-11T20:48:00.002+08:00

Have I mentioned that I love pasta? Well, I love almost all cuisines and I enjoy trying out new dishes. This one isn't new though. What's new is the restaurant that my friends and I dined in. It's not newly built, but it's out-of-town so it was our first time to try it there.

It's in Tagaytay (just a good 2-3 hours from the busy streets of Manila), the establishment is called Buon Giorno!, they serve Italian dishes.

Seafood Puttanesca (in Penne pasta) and Green Tea Iced Tea.

I spent roughly P500 ($11) for the meal plus the bread (free) before the meal. Yummy! Very worth the money.

Good thing now we don't have to go to Tagaytay for a taste of Buon Giorno!, there is a new branch at Liberty Center, Shaw Blvd. here in Mandaluyong City which is 5-10 minutes away from my house. Yey!

Tender Bob's: Baby back Ribs.

2009-08-10T11:57:00.000+08:00

My brother and I almost have similar taste when it comes to food. We both love pizza, steaks, seafoods, etc. but he's a lot more choosier. :) Last night, we were talking about the food we'll prepare for his birthday which is exactly 2 weeks from now. Almost half of his favorites are a no-no for him (so he says): "NO FAST FOOD ON MY BIRTHDAY." Okay, fine. We were down to Lobster (or not, since it's pricey), birthday cake, and spaghetti. That's how choosy he is. When he eats, even in a buffet, he only sticks to one food. Weird.

Anyway, I was thinking of buying him a baby back ribs from Tender Bob's since it's gonna be his birthday and he has been bugging me about food for months! "Ate (older sister), I want lobster.", "I want pizza Ate.", "Ate, BABY BACK RIBS!!", "Ate, buy me food.". Argh okay okay. I spoil my younger brother... a little.

So, maybe I'd finally give in to his request on his birthday given that I would have some budget for it. Hopefully.

Tender Bob's Baby Back Ribs (half) with Java rice and corn on the side.

I forgot how much this is exactly but I'm sure it's around P350-P470 ($7-$10). It's worth it though. I ate this as a first meal of the day at 4PM, so imagine how starved I was and I still didn't manage to clear my plate and I eat a lot, I'm not the kind of girl who always leave something on her plate. That's how big the ribs is. :)

Of course Tender Bob's has a variety of food to choose from. They also have salads, soup, steaks, pasta, burgers and sandwiches, desserts and platters. Budget for dining here would be P300-P1000 ($7-$22) for 2-3 persons at least since their servings are too big and you could share in 1 meal. Not bad, eh?

Tender Bob's can be located at The 5th in Shangri-La Plaza Mandaluyong and Ground Level in Promenade Greenhills.

Uncle Moe's Shawarma Hub.

2009-08-08T22:26:00.000+08:00

I was never a fan of Mediterranean cuisine and I didn't get the craze over Shawarma and Kebabs before. The first time I had to taste Shawarma was when I was in my last year in college which was 2 years ago. Okay, don't laugh at me. LOL.

After I had my first Shawarma, I got addicted. Really really addicted. I craved for it for weeks. And then my friend suggested I try Uncle Moe's. So one day we planned to have dinner there. But instead of having Shawarma, I tried Beef Kebab with Buttered Rice. Man was it delish!

Now, I'm all for Beef Kebab. :)

Beef Kebab with Buttered Rice and All My Tea bottled iced tea.

I forgot to put on the sauce before taking this photo and when I did, I was just too hungry to take another shot. :)

You can visit Uncle Moe's at Ortigas near Home Depot and they also have another branch at Kapitolyo in Pasig.

*I'm craving for it now!

Frozen Yogurts: Lulu Belle, Red Mango and FroYo.

2009-08-07T20:11:00.003+08:00

Oh no! My taste buds are in need of their dose of frozen yogurts. If you have been with me on my personal blog you would know how much I love 'em!

Fro-Yo (yes, that's the name) frozen yogurt with strawberries.

Red Mango frozen yogurt with Peaches.

Lulu Belle frozen yogurt Combination.

These delightful yogurts cost around P80-P150 ($1-$3) depending on the size and choice of toppings that you like.

They are a healthier (or so I think) alternative for ice cream as desserts. Yummy!

Among these three, I prefer the frozen yogurt of Fro-Yo. Red Mango is too sour, Lulu Belle is too bland, Fro-Yo is just perfect. I still have to try White Hat and taste for myself if it's really good.

Just in case you guys want to try them out:

Fro-Yo is located at Shangri-La Plaza and Bonifacio High Street (Hobbes and Landes).

Lulu Belle is located at Powerplant Mall.

Red Mango is located at Eastwood and Megamall.

White is located at Shangri-La Plaza.

Mara's Appetite.

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KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken).

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Figaro Coffee.

Vanilla Coke.

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Pepperidge Farm's Cookies.

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Fedhz' Homemade Polvoron.

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Foods to stock up.

Pizza Hut's Chicken Wings.

Shakey's Pizza.

Red Ribbon Bakeshop.

Homemade Pasta.

Press Cafe's Mac & Cheese.

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Bugsy's Buffalo Tenders Salad.

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The White Hat.

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Pepper Lunch's Double Beef Pepper Rice.

Homemade Mango Float.

Booze Stop's Spicy Spareribs.

Buon Giorno!

Tender Bob's: Baby back Ribs.

Uncle Moe's Shawarma Hub.

Frozen Yogurts: Lulu Belle, Red Mango and FroYo.

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