What's up Max?

One of our favorite restaurants, Max's Restaurant, is celebrating its 65 years anniversary with a Chicken-All-You-Can promo. The offer is for P165, available only from 6:00pm to 10:00pm daily and will run from 17 June to 17 July 2010.

Anyways, J and I haven't had the chance to participate in this chicken bonanza. I ate there last week during lunch and had the usual:

J also received a box of Max's Bakery chocolate truffles. It's surprisingly delicious.

Movie Night

J and I went to Power Plant to do our groceries. Our initial plan was just to shop for necessities and go home to have dinner, and to sweeten the home-cooked meal, we bought ice cream for dessert. But on the way out of the grocery, J changed his mind and wanted to watch Toy Story. Thus, we had to find a fast food restaurant where we wouldn't be hesitant to eat the ice cream as our dessert.

KFC hot and spicy chicken

KFC original

We love Ben & Jerry's

Then off to infinity and beyond! Another heart-warming Toy Story movie. We left the cinema feeling nostalgic and found ourselves reminiscing about our childhood. J and I didnot have a toy that we were attached too. Come to think about it I did not have lots of toys, hmmm...

Football Night@ La Dolce Vita

J and I found ourselves bored last Saturday night. There was nothing good showing in the TV. I did not want to go to the mall to watch a movie and J was too tired to drive because he drove the whole afternoon til early evening, from Makati to San Pedro Laguna and back.

Our choices were either to have drinks at the nearby bars or go out walking to the park. But since I'm such a lazy gurl, I opted for the unhealthier choice.

J and I ended up at La Dolce Vita Restaurant.

When we were near the restaurant, we could hear the cheers and sounds of a football game. The match was between South Korea and  Uruguay. This made us even more excited to have drinks in La Dolce.

We rooted for South Korea for reasons I can't clealy explain. Maybe because I have the "korean fever"; majority of the patrons at the restaurant at that time were Koreans; or for geographical loyalty and proximity reasons. The SoKor team was really good. They were aggressive and talented. We were genuinely ecstatic when they had a goal. Too bad, the Uruguay team was better.

What we ordered during the match:

Pizza Fontana, P403.93

A bottle of Negro Amaro, P1009.84

Zuni

J and I had a pick-me up dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, ZUNI. As always the food was superb.

Complimentary bread with dip


















Mandarin Steak Salad


















Salmon


















Surf and Turf

SM MOA Marching Band

It may sound cheesy and baduy to others but I truly enjoy the music of the SM MOA's marching band.Whenver they march around the mall, I am magnetized like a rat to the Pied Piper's music. I always have fun watching them and they somehow bring a smile to my face. They also momentarily take away the day's worries and disappointments.

Their music is eclectic ranging from the classic like New York New York to the contemporary like High School Musical. They also have a cute choreography.

Yey! for Charice

I am feeling down and out since last night.

I ate lunch at Max's to have a feel-good meal. But I was still feeling down.

I wandered aimlessly around the mall to get rid of the feeling. I window-shopped but it made me feel worse (not having the budget to splurge)

When I was walking back to the office, I prayed that God will give me a bit of a good news for a change, for this year.

I was surfing the net, and read this:

International Singer Charice Joins "Glee"

Actually, I already read about it early in the morning in some local blogs but reading it in Yahoo made me really feel good and proud. Go Charice!

Ah, finally some great news even if it does not directly concerns me. At least, I have something to look forward to this year.

Sale Alert

1. Mango 50% off sale


















2. Cebu Pacific's Bangkok seat sale Sale Period 19-21 June 2010

3. Philippine Airlines' Freedom Pilinas low fares

Happy Father's Day!

J and I celebrated Father's Day at Shinjuku Ramen House.

If my dad were still alive, he would be definitely happy to celebrate Father's day here. Shinjuku was one of the few restaurants that my dad appreciated in our neighborhood. He loves to eat sashimi too.

Tuna Sashimi, P300. The tuna was fresh and delicious. J and I were enticed to order this because when we watched Iron Chef last night, one of the contestants made a red bell pepper sashimi that looked like a tuna sashimi.

Katsudon, P390. I was not happy with this dish. I found the meat tough thus difficult to chew. Worse, it was a little bit pricey considering that it was not delicious.

I told J that I must wash away the unpleasant memory of the katsudon by having a wonderful dessert. Thus, we walked farther down the road to look for a dessert place. The only restaurant that was open and offered a decent dessert was Pancake House.

Chocolate Milkshake, P114. This was a pleasant surprise. It has a thick, creamlicious, chocolatey goodness and  cheap too. Great way to cool you down.

Mango crepe with ice cream, P140 (more or less). Pwede na dessert. I like the fact that it had a "generous serving of walnuts", and the mango was sweet.

Skim Milk

I bought a lactose-free skim milk out of curiosity. I found the taste weird at first. I was shocked it was not creamy (of course B , because it is skim milk!) , more like drinking flavored water. Likewise, the skim milk's appearance is not that appetizing. It looks less white and more watery.

However, after almost finishing the entire pack, I'm beginning to appreciate it. The taste is an acquired taste. I might shift to skim milk from the full cream milk.

Harvey's Lactose-free Skim Milk, P84.50

I scream for Ice Cream

It's already June, which is supposed to be the start of the rainy season, but the heat in Manila continues to oppress us. Nowadays, my day would not be complete without me complaining of the heat. It is so hot that my mind always screams for ice cream or anything cold like fruit shakes.

McDonald's chocolate sundae, P25
During lunchbreak, I go malling and will always end up with either a shake or ice cream. 6.18.10

Big Scoop Ice cream (part of the Brazil Brazil's buffet). Unlimited Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate and Avocado ice cream, too bad though that J and I were already full from the buffet when we started with our dessert. The Avocado flavor was super delicious! 6.18.10

Ben & Jerry's, P379.75

One of our favorite flavors. I love NY! This was gone in one seating. A piece of heaven in this hellish temperature. 6.19.10

Steel Mates

My new friends in my tiny kitchen:

Sunnex SuperCut Cook's Knife, P609.75, Measuring spoon and cup sets, P119.75 and P279.75, respectively. I forced myself to buy these cooking essentials because I'm finally trying to learn how to cook. Yehey!

Cinema Snacks

Pizza in a Cone, P48.  I have always been curious what this tastes like but never had the chance to eat it until last Friday. I was looking for something filling and cheap to eat while wathcing Emir.

Pwede na, tawid gutom. I'll try the other flavors next time.


















Snacking on buttered popcorn and mango-watermelon shake while watching Shrek

Myron's again

When J and I cannot decide or agree on where to eat in Power Plant, we always end up at Myron's. The food is consistently good and the place is not crowded.  Happy dinner!

Babyback Ribs

Steak Paulo

Johnny Rockets

J and I went to faraway Libis to eat at Johnny Rockets. J was given a Johnny Rockets gift certificate worth P1,000.00. We have been planning this outing for almost 6 months but we always feel lazy to go to Eastwood Mall, Libis because of the distance and traffic.

Johnny Rockets has the old American diner look, complete with a jukebox and American servers. The crew/servers even gave a cute dance number during our stay.

Looking at the menu, J and I thanked God and his friend for the gift certificate - the burgers were ridiculously expensive. I ordered the Smoke House burger. It was delicious but I did not like the bun. J, however, was not happy with his Route 66 burger. The fries and salad were ordinary. In sum, Johnny Rockers failed to impress especially for its price, even the burgers in TGIF and Chili's do not cost an arm and a leg. We also ordered strawberry and chocolate milkshakes. We only liked the chocolate milkshake.

Salad

Honey Mustard Dip

Smoke House Burger, P485

 Route 66, P465

Looks delicious?...not!  

Milkshake, P215

Movie Marathon

I watched a total of 4 movies last weekend.

I had low expectations for all the movies except for Emir. I'm happy to say that i enjoyed watching all of them.

Friday. Emir is a full-length musical movie about the adventures of an OFW. I like the movie even though some parts were a bit boring. The songs and choreography were great and the screenplay realistic and at the same time witty. I'm happy that the Philippine cinema has produced, for once, a happy and positive movie about OFWs.

Saturday. Prince of Persia is based on a playstation game. I used to play this that's why I could relate to the movie, especialll the stunts. It's a typical action adventure movie with a dash of comedic relief. J and I enjoyed this movie, it exceeded our low expectations.

Sunday. Karate Kid is a remake of the 80's classic of the same title. J dragged me to watch this movie even if i was not interested because I did not like the trailer and I did not want it to ruin my memories of the first movie. Thank God, the movie turned out to be entertaining and we totally enjoyed the movie. We were impressed with Jaden Smith's acting. The kid knows how to act, has comedic timing, and can even dance. J was happy because parts of the movie paid tribute to the original like the mosquito scene, the iconic "karate" stance, and the last part during the tournament. 

Monday. Shrek is the last installment of the popular series. The movie was entertaining, not as great as the first and second, but, it is way better than the third.

Reasons Why I'm Proud to be Pinoy

This post is a tribute to the Filipino people, as we celebrate the 112th Anniversary of Philippine Independence.

The items below are random thoughts and may refer to anything related, however remote, to being truly Filipino.

1. The close-knit Filipino family

2. Pagiging maka-Diyos

3. Respect for our elders thru the act of Pagmamano (sa nakakatanda) and saying "po" after a sentence

4. Pala-kaibigan and greeting people with "kamusta" (kahit hindi mo ka-close)

5. Bayanihan at pagiging matulungin sa kapwa

6. Inviting anyone to eat or partake in one's meal "Kain tayo" (kahit kulang pa sayo ang kinakain mo)

7. Pagiging malambing at maaruga tulad ng pagtapik para makatulog

8. Inherently optimistic that's why we still smile even in times of hardship

9. Fiesta culture, we know how to have fun in every situation

10. Ayaw nating may naiiba sa atin, lalo na yung hindi nakakaangat sa buhay (we are fond of using relational titles to near-strangers by calling them manong/manang, ate/kuya, boss/bossing/sir)

11. Year-round and all-natural tan/kayumanngi color of Pinoys, the envy of Caucasians.

12. Singing or/and dancing is in the blood of the Filipino. No wonder we have numerous world-class talents like Lea Salonga, Apl de Ap, Charice, Arnel Pineda, Shaun Evaristo (dance choreographer), Jabbawockeez (dance), Philippine All-stars (dance) and many others
13. Manny Pacquaio, nuff said!
14. Ability to adapt in any culture
15. Intelligent and hard-working
16. Wacky sense of humor

Here at SM

They've got it all for you!

Pantawid gutom
Egg tart, P20


















Turon, P10

Pantulak
Fruit Shake, P35
So many fruits to choose from


















Shake shake shake. I pray that they observe strict hygiene practices.


















Tadaaah!

Hong Kong Chef Seafood Restaurant

J and I ate at Hong Kong Chef Seafood Restaurant before watching the Guangdong Art Troupe performance at the Cuneta Astrodome.

It was both our first time to eat there so expectations were kind of high.

The restaurant is located in the HK Sun Plaza, a mall located along Macapagal Avenue and beside the MMDA pumping station. There is a plus and a minus with this kind of location: there is ample parking space but (from our experience) you can smell the water from the pumping station inside the restaurant for a few seconds.

We ordered the following dishes:

8 Treasure Winter Melon Soup, P230. Before ordering the soup, we specifically ask the waitress on the size, whether it was family size or good for two. The waitress replied that it is good for one only. When the soup arrived, we were surprised that it was good for four or more, oh well. Anyways, I was disappointed with this soup because it was not delicious and the "treasures" were more like "tokens". They were tiny. Worse, it was not delicious. The 8 treasures soup in Savory and Hap Chan tastes way better.

Steam Fish Fillet, P280. The fish fillet had the same delicious taste as that of Luk Foo's. Even the plate for the fish was the same. I like it even if it was a little bit soggy because of the sotanghon.

Hakaw, P90. J and I like the hakaw.

Salty and Spicy Spareribs, P260. J found this delicious and better than North Park's.

But the real winner of the night was the free appetizer, the candied nuts. I went nuts over the nuts, lol. We asked for a second serving and we ate it for dessert.