September 2013: Part 2

In my last post I've been fangirling crush-ing with The Killers (can't find any "cooler" word for it) because it just simply made my September and probably my first to third quarter  or maybe even my whole 2013 (I just love Brandon, I mean The Killers) and totally forgot posting my usual monthly stuff (although I don't know why I'm doing it).  By the way, I suddenly love the song The Way it Was because of the concert (I'm not into the song before but the live version is sooo good that it made me love it).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YerGqatCWIY

Let's start with food (yehey!).  I originally wanted to have a separate post for the foods that I tried and like this September and the first week of October but it'll just take time so why not just squeezed it in this post.

Mochi

I tried mochi ice cream before but not the mochi as in mochi plain so I'm happy that I can now buy them from the grocery.  The Ube flavored one are actually too sweet so it's perfect to pair it with bland or anti-sweet drinks like plain tea and black coffee.  A week after I bought the Ube flavored, the assorted pack came.  Not as good as the Ube one because of lack of filling and softness and the flavor are so artificial but if you just wanted to try different flavors then  go for this assorted pack.

again grocery stuff

Cream puffs are soooo like clouds but like the clouds that are so high, the price of this pastry(?) in specialty stores are so high that I wanted to cry after spending some handsome amount of moolah just to try them so the ones from Monde are good enough for me (even my chef brother likes it).  Tried the L.A. (low acid Coffee from Kopiko because I'm acidic, sadly it didn't satisfy my coffee craving.  Then Cheezy Corn Crunch which is a dupe for Cheetos has a new variant Buffalo Wings which is perfect I guess for Filipinos because it has the combination of sweet, salty and a little spicy to it (almost all the "all time Filipino foods" has this taste combo, right?)

toasted mamon

Next are these toasted mamon recommended by my sister.  I love how light and crunchy it is plus it has an extra sweetness on top because of the condensed milk...Yummy, it just simply satisfy my sweet and crunchy craving everytime I'm stressed.

buko pie and cassava cake for the fist week of October

Just went to Laguna this weekend to unwind with some friends and officemates (gladly, I'm not drunk and I'm never been drunk although sometimes I pretend to be drunk *belat* and I only drink occasionally around once or twice a year sometimes never in a year) and I just have to have some pasalubong for my family and Laguna is known for it's buko pie.  Melgians's Sweet are not that known but the buko pie from them are actually good.  They use young coconut flesh that are so soft and the center of the pie have the natural sweetness of the coconut but as I bite more going to the outer side of the pie, I appreciate the flan like coconut that's getting sweeter and sweeter that will just satisfy my sweet palette at the end of the bite and it's filling too.  I also got a cassava cake which is always a favorite food of mine and I like that it just have the right sweetness and softness unlike the ones that I tasted here in Manila that the only soft and sweet part is the top that makes me want to throw the rest of the cake (but have to mournfully eat it because it's not good to waste food).

I also finally tried Vikings!!!  Can you believe that I walk around the resto taking photos?  Ahahaha but I always get a stare everytime I snap so almost all the photos that I took are from afar and are blurry.  Here's a sample.

don't touch my sushi's hand!!!

I am supposed to receive my order from Bae Lu this October but I ordered another item (it's an eyeliner and I am so excited about it) so I just ask her to not to shipped it to me (para tipid shipping) and wish granted.  I just have so many wishes and conditions that this seller grants that everytime I wanted a sale item from GMarket I always, as in immediately ask her if she could buy it for me and I always makes hirit for discount (well I usually buy in bulk so discount are always welcome.  Sadly her Facebook page with 6000+ likes got hacked so she made a new one so please like it too.  Bae Lu sells korean cosmetics and Forever 21 stuff.  You can check her page in https://www.facebook.com/baeluBFCuisine (there's still not much photos and whatnots in it but you can browse items from GMarket or Forever21 Korea site and just send it to her) and let her know that you knew her page from Arya De Guzman, malay niyo bigyan niya din kayo ng discount or sangkatutak na freebies  (who knows, she might give you discounts and many freebies).

Bae Lu  https://www.facebook.com/baeluBFCuisine

Of course my empties of the month would always be present.  The Missha facial wash and ZenNutrients balm are still on pending review plus hand lotions too grrr...I just can't find time and the right words to post nowadays *sigh* any suggestions on pumping ideas out of the brain?

September empties

For music, aside from The Killers (well, obviously I've been talking about them in my posts...hehehe) I'm also loving the sound of Silversun Pickups (thanks to Jam88.3 again for playing their music).  They are the band behind Panic Switch, The Pit and Lazy Eye.  It's weird hearing them the first time but the more I listen to them, the more I wanted more more more from them!!!!

photo from http://www.last.fm/music/Silversun+Pickups/+images/52702187

Enjoy listening to Lazy Eye

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-mxBDuRaZ8

That's it for my September.

Thanks for reading.  Till then. Bye!

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It Just Happen: Yabu the house of Katsu

I was so busog one Saturday May morning when my sister texted me saying she's hungry and I need to find a resto to satisfy her.  Since my stomach is so full, my brain can't think of any more food to eat but since I'm in Megamall it just suddenly pop the much rave katsu house, Yabu and then we are seated and grinding sesame seeds at 10:30 am.

black and white sesame seeds

Can you believe it?  We took photos, most of them courtesy of my sister because I just hate taking photos of what I eat, it's just that I want to eat as soon as the food is serve so most of the photos that I took are blurry.

So being a first timer, the waiter teach how to grind and introduce to us the many seasonings and dressing that they have.  Below is a photo of my sister enjoying the grinding process (maybe it reminded her of our childhood in province).

stickers for protection

and the seasonings

Not really into the sesame sauce (I just used it when my food turned really cold, my sister and all the people I knew who already ate at Yabu love it) but I love love love the sesame dressing for the cabbage, next favorite is the wasabe.

this are all over the place

Big comic strips are all over one side of the resto while on the other side are sake cup holders if I'm not mistaken, then on the kitchen part are big bottles of sake.  Next to the kitchen is the bathroom which has a quirky design because of all the review boards hanged on the walls (I didn't take any photo because the only reason I went to the bathroom is to pee).

again, stickers to protect the identity of the innocent people in the photos

On the food!  We ordered sets because we think it's more economical plus we get to have unlimited jasmine rice, miso soup, and cabbage.  Even if I'm full, I still have seconds of cabbage because seriously the sesame seasoning is awesome.

the sets looks like this

I originally wanted to order the Menchi Katsu Set but my sister said she wanted to eat it and plead that I try others which is a good idea because the last time that I visited yabu and eat this set plus my friends also ordered other katsu sets and we went "umay" (literal meaning fed-up).

Crispy on the outside yet juicy on the inside plus it has cheese, I love cheese.  But please don't forget to share or you'll get umay.

Menchi Katsu Set

Next is the Chicken Katsudon Set, which is just okay maybe because I'm not a fan of sweet viand.  I recommend to eat it while it's still hot and steaming because it's not so good if it's already a bit cold.

Chicken Katsudon Set

The ambiance is good, the slight dim the place makes me relax.  The food is also good just make sure to drink water or tea and eat those fruit and sip some soup to remove the umay effect of the fried food.  The service...hmmm well at 10:30 am to 11:15 am the service is great and fast but on my second visit I eat there at around 2:00 pm and the service sucks maybe because it's crowded with many demanding eaters.

final photo

Overall, it's a good eating experience but I don't find myself in Yabu every payday :P

For more info you can visit http://yabu.ph/.
For the menu you can ogle in http://www.zomato.com/manila/yabu-ortigas-mandaluyong-city/menu

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Onigiri: A first to ME

Been wondering what Onigiri taste like since I see it as a favorite snack in the Mangas that I read.  So when the FamilyMart in MRT Ayala which is a Japanese convenience store,  I grabbed two.

I think the plastic bag is cute

Tuna Mayo and Furikake at P39 each

I first devour the Furikake, rice triangle with bits of egg (the eggyolk) and laver which is a kind of seaweed and some sesame seeds all over.  It's very light and straightforward meal (no surprises whatsoever), well for me it's a snack which is good for those that is on a hurry and just want to grab a quick on the go meal.

Tuna Mayo which is favorite between the two

Next is the Tuna Mayo which is like a tuna sandwich only it's in rice.  Tuna and mayo inside the rice triangle wrapped in nori (seaweed sheet). This one is also light and I don't know if it's just my taste bud but I think the onigiris that I bought need a little more salt?  And since I like mayo, a teaspoon or two I think would make Tuna Mayo Onigiri more palatable to me.

I also roammed around the small store in Ayala MRT and would also love to try the burgers and sandwiches because they look healthy and hope next time that I drop by there's also some makis and sushis and hope FamilyMart Philippines would bring more Japanese stuff may the different flavors of KitKat?

How to open the plastic of onigiri:

there's no full ingredients or nutritional value listed but an instruction on how to open is included

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Naked No More: Velvety Red Velvet

I couln't resist anymore not to post this because finally, I made a decent cupcake with a FROSTING (pronouncing in high pitch tone) that everybody (promise, I'm not exaggerating)  like!.  Introducing my very own, moist and yummy Red Velvet!

my very own red velvet cupcake

Funny how I panicked when I suddenly realize that my butter in the fridge is not enough so I search for another recipe that calls for a canola oil (thanks goodness we use canola oil in the house).  Also, funny that the main reason why I baked is to not to spoil a cup of sour cream.  I derived my red velvet cupcake recipe from Bake Happy and Yummy.Ph

red and moist

Red Velvet

1 cup sour cream

3/4 bottle red food coloring

1  1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups canola oil

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 large eggs

1.  Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line muffin/cupcake pans with cupcake liners.

2.  Combine sour cream, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla extract.  Set aside

3.  Sift or dry whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.  Set aside

4.  Combine canola oil and sugar until sugar is slightly melted, then with a whisk add in the eggs one at a time

5.  Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients (from step 3) and slightly mix using a spatula.

6.  Add half of the wet ingredient (from step 2) and again slightly mix

7.  Repeat steps 5 and 6 and slightly mix until everything is combined and free of lumps.

8.  Fill liners; 2/3 full, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let it cool before topping these babies with frosting

As you can see in the above picture, I poked a lot of the cupcakes and they are so red.  Now for the frosting, I found a recipe from A Beautiful Mess.  Had a little hard time since I do not have an electric mixer, so my whisk (yup, it's now my whisk and not my brother's anymore bwahahaha) and I had a lot of bonding time with a little help from my sister (thanks for slowly adding the sugar and holding the bowl when I'm so tired to hold it)

this is a hit frosting in the office

Cream Cheese Frosting

250g cream cheese spread (it's the only cream cheese available in the grocery, Magnolia)

1 stick salted butter

2 to 3 cups powdered sugar (I have to use 3 cups in order for the frosting to "pick" a little)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Soften butter and cream cheese then beat together until creamy.

2.  Add vanilla extract then beat again for a minute.

3.  Slowly add the powdered sugar while beating (thank goodness my sister helped me) or add 1 cup at a time then beat for 1 minute (if you do not have a companion).  Repeat until the frosting is smooth and creamy and a little fluffy or if already has the "pick".  I only used a whisk but if you have an electric mixer then congrats, the process will be much easier and faster.

At first I thought the frosting is too sweet but when I already put it in the cupcakes, the sweetness is "tamang tama lang" (just right sweetness).

And here I am practicing to put frosting.  Anyway the cupcakes and frosting is worth the effort.

I need to practice more!!!

Happy weekend everyone!

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Random Wish and Favorites

Last February, I shared about the food, music, wish and things that I like and wanted to continue doing so in the following months.  This month (March actually) it's still all about food, music and wishes come true!  Plus some summer sunset photos.

Let's start with food.  I love spicy noodles and for a quick fix, I sometimes buy ready to cook like what is in the picture below with different characters all over that I ca't understand (and glad that I'm not allergic to it).  One thing that I put in my spicy noodles to make it creamy is CHEESE!!!  Weird for some but it's just so addicting, I can't stop putting more cheese in the soup.  Also got a chocolate with almond inside from Lotte, ~yummy~.

spicy + sweet + cute

I also got myself a big bowl with a cute/naughty cat design.  I thought of Naruto eating ramen when I saw this  bowl in a Japan store.  Took the picture with my new phone.

not the latest but at least I have an android phone

Yes, finally I have an android phone (my friends would not tease me anymore) not the latest and hippest but with the price and simple design and good camera, I'm contented with it and I mentally slash this on my 2013 wish list.

photo from http://puritti.uninsomnia.org/?p=317

Another simple wish do come true, is having a Laneige product.  I chose the Power Essential Skin Refiner because I thought it would refine my skin but looking now into different kinds of reviews (which where confusing at first), I came into a conclusion that it just a toner.  I still have a lot of toners but it's okay at least I have a lot of spare.  It's still on transit though, to be specific it's in customs:  Customs please just deliver it to my friend's house.  It's for personal use and please stop corruption.  I'm begging you!

photo from http://www.pinkspage.com

Music sets my mood/emotions.  I sometimes cry just by listening to a good music (don't judge me).

photo from http://www.rollingstone.com

This month, I've been in love with music from Fun., Pink and Bloc Party.  I also like Sextapes by Deftones and Explosives by Bond.  I'm also a regular listener of Jam88.3 which is a local station playing different kinds of alternative music (they are also in UStream) and I thank them for introducing me to different kinds of bands like Black Keys, Alt J, Bloc Party and many many more.

photo from http://blocparty.ru/files/bloc-party-main-big.jpg

Oh I almost forgot about the sunset photos.  Same spot from my previous photos but the sky is extremely orange and there's a natural bookah on the second photo.

orange + plus clouds

look how big the sun is

Summer is definitely in the Philippine air.

Thanks for reading. Till then. Bye!

Naked Cupcakes in Choco Banana

I love sweets and pastries and what better way to have them thank making them with my own 2 fat hands.  My first bake was a so/so (some are underbake) but this cupcake recipe that I found here is yummy enough to wow my family.  So why Naked Cupcake?  Because it doesn't have any frosting (I don't know how to make one).

Naked Cupcake

Banana Chocolate Cupcake
recipe adopted from yummy.ph

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

2 large eggs    

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour or whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon rock salt

1 cup or 2 cups (depending on your preference) very ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup to 1 cup (depending on your preference) chocolate chips

Procedure:

1  Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter or line with paper cups cupcake molds.

2  Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well. 

3  Sift the dry ingredients together and combine with the butter mixture. Blend well.

4  Add the bananas, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Stir well. Add the chocolate chips and pour into the prepared pan.

5  Bake for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

Serve and enjoy.  Best when freshly bake!

Random Pics and Favorites

First Shopping:  I bought 3 tops from Forever 21 two of which are on sale and Nature Republic (Philippines) masks and aloe stuff since they mark down their prices this February.  And oh it's almost a year since I had my GEX500 camera but it's only now that I discovered that it has a fish eye effect.  Three first picture have the said effect.

I'm still hiding so I can't show you the entirety of the tops

I just love the details of my tops from Forever 21:  the beige one has the perfect combination of femininity and masculinity because of the black circle synthetic leathers that are attached in the shoulders and the blue one has the versatility feature that can be worn in a formal or dress down way.  For those who will shop for sale in Forever 21 in North Edsa ask first for the sale items because not all items that are on the sale area are on sale some are just..lost!  The tags also have codes like mine have 231 scribbles on the tag.  The SAs don't know the meaning so ask in the cashier area.

love the new packaging of the masks

this is the freebie that  I got , I gave it to my niece since she likes it

As for Nature Republic, yep they finally mark down their prices like around 20%.  I hope it's forever since the original mark up is 100% when compared to Korea.  Some items are on 50% sale too.  Ask for the new prices with the SAs since the tag on the shelves are the old ones.

Next Fooooooooooooooood.

Hansel Premium Cheese Sandwich

I love cheese.  Although I don't know the types of cheese I can say that I love cheese.  Some find this cookie sandwich filled with cheese weird but I just can't help munching it especially when paired with tea.

Tetley English Breakfast

Already tried green tea, white tea, black tea, earl gray tea. teas with mint, teas with peppermint, with lemon, ginseng, caramel and with flowery taste and milk teas.  Now it's time for english breakfast.  Love it!

Red Sky and everything else.

And I will be leaving you with red sky, planners and a cute mirror that I will give to someone.

Sunset from my window

planners from coffee shops

cute pocket mirror

  Happy Sunday!

Thanks for reading.  Till then.  Bye!

Cake Pops!

Oh sweets, they make my heart melt and I wanted to create them with my own hands.  I started baking some cupcakes and it's...well okay except for the color since I used brown sugar instead of white.  Anyway, I have a lot leftover butter frosting and so I decide to make cake pops.

White Cake Pops with chocolate drizzle for texture

Here's what I used for the cake pops
1 whole chiffon cake (store bought ~teehee~)
1 cup butter frosting (for binding the cake)
4 cups chocolate chips + 4 tablespoons of canola oil for coating

Using my hands, I crushed the cake into small pieces.  Added the frosting then mixed making sure that every bit of the cake is coated.  Take around 2 tablespoon of the cake then form into balls.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (for better taste, cover the cake balls).

For the coating, I just mixed the chocolate chips and oil then pop it into the microwave for 45 seconds.

Next, assemble:  I can't find any plastic sticks so I used bamboo skewers instead (but I think this is not really necessary).  Dip the stick to the melted chocolate before inserting it to the cake ball then dip the whole cake ball and poof you have a cake pop!  Just remove the excess coating by tilting left and right then let it dry.  It's up to you if you want to add designs and embellishment.

cute or creepy?

The pink particles are chocolate + cheese.  Yep, I experimented a little J

Thanks for reading.  Till then.  Bye!

Holiday Food/Drink Favorites

It's December, it's holiday and it's time to eat a lot!!!  Diet is not an excuse.  Here are some of my favorites that can't get out of my head (and belly!)

Peppermint Attack
I love food with peppermint although many find it weird.  It's just refreshing and minty with just the right sugar (although I know it's made out of lots of sugar!)These candy canes are not just yummy but they look festive too with the colors of Christmas of green and red.

bought it from Candy Corner

Another Limited Edition from Mogu Mogu (why are the products nowadays have limited edition printed on it? great marketing strategy by the way!).  This drink has strawberry flavor with Nata de Coco so it's refreshing and filling at the same time.

Mogu Mogu Strawberry Juice a product of Thailand

And look how cute the cap is.  Kyot kyot talaga!

cute cap with my spare glasses

Any favorite you wanted to share?

Thanks for reading.  Till then.  Bye!

Patience is a Virtue: Happy Lemon + J.CO

Been to the North yesterday and what else to do if one is not interested to buy anything?  EAT! (and drink)

Warning! Crappy pictures and views ahead.  This is totally not a review ( I guess).

HAPPY LEMON
Amazing how Milk Teas are a still a craze in the Philippines.  I myself love Milk Tea and visited some tea shops around the Metro so while at SM the Block, I tried Happy Lemon.

I'm not use to capturing what I eat and drink in public so here's a pic from Happy Lemon Philippines' FB page

 Surprised that almost half of my order was filled with different add-ons (not sure what to call them).  I ordered Royal Milk Tea with pudding so I'm confused as to why it has other contents aside from the pudding.  Added to my confusion are the quick flashing screens of orders.  It's useless I guess because it's hard to read them and also another to complain is that the menu is not adjacent to the counter; you have to take 2 or 3 steps away from from the counter just to take a look at it.  I have other ramblings about the store but I'll just focus on the Milk Tea.  The pudding is great.  It has the right sweetness and softness that blends well with the milk tea but the pearl and the jelly are a bit hard that I got tired of chewing them and swallowed them whole.   The sweetness of the milk tea itself is just right at 100% but I can't appreciate much the taste of the tea because it's a little bland to my taste although it's just okay with my niece taste.  With this order, my 20 minutes of ordering and waiting is a waste of time.  Sorry if you're a fan of Happy Lemon but do suggest your favorite and might order it the next time I visit one of their store.
Website: http://www.happy-lemon.com/en/characteristic.aspx
Facebook Philippines' page:  http://www.facebook.com/HappyLemonPh

J.CO Donuts & Coffee
It's the newest craze of the town and so I'm in the line for almost an hour (whew,  congratulations to my niece and my patience) yesterday just to get ahold of J.CO doughnuts.  By the time I got to the counter their best seller, Alcapone and the Green Tea variant are already temporarily out of stock and will be available after 30 minutes  (this is in Trinoma branch so be early if you want to try them, I ordered at around 5pm).  An hour of waiting is already too much, so I just ordered whatever is available on display.  Messy picture ahead!

funny names:  avocado dicaprion, heaven berry, oreology, why nut, blue berrymore, jacky chunk, caviar chocolate and black jack not in the picture

My niece and I immediately grab donuts as a celebration of our patience.  I tried the Avocado DiCaprio and liked it.  The doughnut is very soft and unlike in other stores, the sweetness is just enough for me not to cough and gulp a pitcher of water.  I can't taste any avocado though. Coffee? yes! I'm tasting coffee in the doughnut.  Better to eat in store (though I can't probably fully enjoy the eating experience because of the huge crowd) the doughnut toughens when already exposed to air and the frosting easily melts (just look at the picture above, except for the three chocolate flavored donuts the rest's frosting where melted.

Additional opinions:  my nephew and my brother was not impressed with these J.CO doughnuts and are sticking with Krispy Kreme.  My niece and I love them though!

Website: http://www.jcodonuts.com/
Facebook Philippines' page: http://www.facebook.com/JCoDonuts.Pilipinas


Thanks for reading.  Enjoy eating!  Till then.  Bye!