new 'rain' shoes for me

**Please disregard my messy room~ hahahaha

for the love of coffee..

after splurging

To welcome Ate and to alleviate her disappointment and jealousy we bought wine and made a short notice mini get together. I had pizza delivered and we had a midnight affair altogether.. endless stories, catching up and more laughs.

Still Happy birthday Daddy! 
Cheers! I'm broke and still happy.. =P

with love,
♥A

Post EOQ.. splurging! ♥♥

Aya and I have been planning for this date weeks ago.

Since Ate is away and Mom and Dad is on a 5-day trip to Palawan (yes! I bought them a trip to Palawan and Aya signed up to share the accommodation and tours expenses but for now I'll have to pay for everything.), we decided to splurge a bit.

Aya loves food and she usually check out blogs and the likes when searching for restaurants. She heard about Lolo Dad's Café (Lolo Dad's facebook) somewhere that made her curious and being a tag-me-along sister she instantly told me about it. We then fantasized dining there and decided to fix our schedules which brought us now here. The restaurant is listed as one of the most romantic dating place here in Manila so we opted to dress for the occasion even if it's just the two of us. Aya and her make up is spectacular, as for me... well, I'm not much into dressing and make ups. =D I wear what I can wear and feel like wearing and try to get away with it the whole time. So far it hasn't failed me yet, heels and stilettos makes wonders and magic!♥

The disaster was we can't find the place.. And we rode with an annoying cab driver so instead of turning around and trying to locate it we got off the cab and tried to walk our way in heels. We did try you know. But after almost an hour of walking and still no success in finding it, we hailed for another cab. Adventure it was! This cab was certainly nice and kind. He didn't even ask for an additional fee on top of our taxi bill. He dropped us exactly in front of the café. Thank heavens for this kind mister.

Sweaty and haggard we came in the restaurant. We were greeted by the Maitre d' and asked if we had reservations. I didn't call?!!! *panic* I thought we're gonna be kicked out. lol (I'm exaggerating! XD) It didn't happen that way, instead he seated us near the bar. No, actually we lead him there and settled there.

Fresh rolls + herb butter

And because we were excited..really really excited about this. We already planned out what we'll be ordering. XD

For Starters...

Seared Duck Liver and Paté de Foie Gras Asian Pear Confit, Mesclun salad and Red Onion Marmalade

Soft Shell Crab Fritters on Gribiche Sauce with Dungeness Crab, Mango and Cucumber Salad

Gourmet Salad of Langoustine and Prawns Mushrooms, Feta Cheese, Kalamata Olives and Sundried Tomato Vinaigarette Tossed Salad Leaves

Double Espresso of Mushroom and Tomato Soup

I can't think of anything. Both of us think it's really great. We love the place, we love the food and we've only been starting! =D

And between the starters and main course they do serve Citrus Sherbet on the house to refresh you palate and prepare you for the next course! This must be love!

For the main course..

US Angus Beef Tenderloin, Eye of Rib eye and Corned Ox-Tongue
Soft Potatoes and Cepes Mushroom Sauce

Herb de Provençe Crusted Rack of Lamb Three Cheese Risotto (Roquefort, Gruyere and Parmesan)
Forty Melted Garlic and Tomato Confit

I'm so preoccupied with eyeing my food and excited to taste it I didn't care what the photos would look like. It looks crappy now, pardon me. Lol

and lastly for Desserts...

Dark Chocolate and Almond layered cake Vanilla and Almond Ice Cream

Mango terrine with Declension of Mascarpone cheese Parmesan Ice cream

"Sampler of Chocolates" : White chocolate brûlée, Dark chocolate terrine,
Chocolate mousseline and Chocolate Praline Ice cream

Espresso shots

The dining experience was superb. Appetizers were nicely put together. I'm not really a fan of salads and certainly not of vegetables but I was able to eat some of it. The meat were neatly cooked and lovely! And the desserts were heavenly I must say. I love it and I really fell for this restaurant. My sweet tooth urged for more and is swooning and moaning to the moon and back. My favorite was the Dark Chocolate and Almond Layered cake, a must try!

It was really a wonderful treat for the palate. Everything is tasty yet not too overpowering and it's a plus that they serve generously! The staffs were really really nice and they do try to explain everything you don't understand. Impressive that the one who wait our table knew the menu so well. oh! I'm singing praises~ and I don't mind spending with this quality of food and service.

Will certainly come back and now I'm done of dreaming of how wonderful this place would be. Expectations were exceeded. We need to head home fast because Ate is coming home today and Mom and Dad is still away and not due back until Monday. By the way, Happy birthday Daddy!  xxoo

Ciao!! happy tummy and happy heart...

with love ~ ♥A

Diversity week

This week was diversity week at work.. Couple of activities and talks here and there and since I vowed I'll try to be active this year I tried to participate as much as I can. With the urge of dear Mossy I attended Hands On Manila orientation in McKinley office with them today. Yesterday, I attended sensitivity workshop on volunteering for special cases. I really wanted to jump start my volunteer activities but it's really a struggle in schedule especially with my work shift. Anyhow, today's talk was enlightening and I did really sign up with Hands On Manila I just don't know where to start and how to start.

"I don't know what your destinies will be, but the one thing I know; the only ones among you who will really be happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." - Albert Schweitzer

"Ignite your passion. Do not wait for someone to light the passion in you.
When there is passion, drive is always there."

"When there is passion, drive is always there." - at the moment I think I'm having a quarter life crisis if there's one like that. It's like I want to do a lot of things but I can only do so much. 24 hrs is too short for a day with what I wanted, this made me think where did I left my passion and what my passion really is. I come in to work to earn then spend to pleasure myself then work again and the cycle goes on. I'm confused! At the end of the talk I really wanted to try being a volunteer I just hope I'll be able to kick my bum to start right away.

After the talk, I stayed a while with Mossy and some new acquaintances, Tess and Kich. We head out and had dinner together in Tokyo Café. Fun and amusing company of people. I like them already!

Daddy's day

Father's day!

Well, Ate is still in Australia and won't be home until the end of the month and we can't do anything about it. It's Father's day today and we opted to have dinner together then just call Ate through Skype. And since it's a last minute family date we opted to just eat nearby. We headed to the closest mall and voila! Burgoo!

Aya and I personally love Burgoo so on a last minute date like this and with what's the nearest thing at home that is a little bit fancy only Burgoo comes to mind. Well Mom thinks differently she prefers Chinese.

Mom making face after we place our orders

We had the usual, supreme platter and pan pizza and while waiting for the food we called Ate from Down Under.She was almost crying because she misses home. And mom was teary eyed as well. Oh I don't know, it's not like she's not coming back and it's only two weeks more before she gets home. Oh well I wouldn't know because we think differently and I value my independence twice as much more than her. Yes I'm more mature than my older sister.

And there really must be something about the walls. *obsessing over walls*

Gastro-tour alone

I woke up early this morning as usual when I am out some place not home. I am a light sleeper and I can function with little or even without sleep for a day. I took a shower and started packing my things then breakfast alone.

I had my coffee by the veranda while looking at these..

And by the looks of it, it's going to be a great day.

I finished my coffee and started getting ready to leave. My agenda for today was try a couple of places to eat, attend mass if possible, find the boasted Strawberry shortcake from Vizco and anything I can come up of doing.

I bid my goodbyes with Ate Belinda and with her is Justine, the kid I played with last night while I waited for my pizza and chicken.

with Ate Belinda and Justine

I walked my way out to find a cab since the area was mostly residential and cabs were pretty uncommon to pass by this area. And when I found one, wow! Mr. Driver was a flirt and I can't wait to get off to my destination. Anyway, my first stop is Café by the Ruins.

 I'm not really hungry and I had my coffee earlier but I am craving for some butter croissant and chocolate and I searched for this café because they have croissant and chocolate in addition to the good reviews I read. Maybe next time I'll head here for a real meal.

my date for today =P

I stayed in here for a couple of hours writing some notes and trying to finish my food and chocolate. The chocolate was really thick and I thought when I ordered it it was made for drinking. By the looks of it now, it's more like a dip to me. And I wish I was able to take the leftover home, such a waste. I'm pretty bad at finishing my food in reality. As Aya always saying I just like ordering things, looking at it, tasting a bit and that's it. I have a bad eating habit. yikes!

Time for lunch now and I'm not yet hungry so instead of heading to another restaurant I hunted for the strawberry shortcake. Hailed another cab and turned my GPS mobile application ON.

I can't help myself I need to post that..! Cab's plate number was similar to my Citrix initials. hihi it's lame I know. =D

It's a success! I was able to point Mr. Cab driver to the right direction and I just walked a bit from the drop off. Now I have my strawberry shortcake to bring home and it's past lunch time. I walked around a little and after a while my backpack is killing me. It's too heavy with all the glass jar containers of ube jam, strawberry jam, strawberry preserves, peanut brittle, etc. I needed a place to stay for a bit and I tried to find Oh My Gulay restaurant.

Mind you this is a vegetarian restaurant and I am not sure what I'm doing in here. I am no vegetarian and I don't even eat any vegetables. My curious brain was just here to see I think. er.. Looking at the menu I was shouting and strangling myself "Why am I here!!!" Yes, I have nothing to eat in here with all the food choices made up of vegetables, so I settled with a safe choice.. MUSHROOMS!

And while I stayed, I looked around the art works mentioned in every reviews I read about the restaurant. The place was not the typical restaurant, it has a kind of mystery in it. It is located in a building and is unnoticeable unless you're really looking for it. It took me a while to realize that I was walking in circles while I'm looking for it. Thanks to Mr. Security guard I was able to locate it. Looking at the interior, it is very arts-y and every nook offers a different kind of seclusion.

So I'm really thinking it wasn't really the food why I came here, it's the place that I've really come to look for. My eyes was satisfied even if I wasn't able to explore the whole place. (It sucks travelling with a huge backpack attached! lesson learned!)

I had my mostly untouched pasta wrapped and now ready to walk around once more. A few meters away was the church so I'm praying I could catch a mass at this hour in the afternoon. Luckily, I did.

Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral

The cathedral was amassed with people attending the church service so I stayed outside standing while listening to it.

After the mass I headed to SM Baguio to find something else to do for the rest of the day since my bus wasn't due until 11 tonight. Walking towards SM, I am starting to regret it. I really dislike huge crowds and I cannot turn back now because I am in line with a lot of people going to the mall. *sigh*

Okay.. nothing else to do and I am not really hungry to eat more instead I checked out the movies. Er.. nothing interesting for me so I settled with After Earth. Another waiting time, I've got an hour or so before the movie. And because I was a bit disappointed with the hot chocolate this morning (disappointed not because it's not tasty but really because it was not a hot chocolate drink) I saw this spot near the cinemas.

Well, it looks cute and I felt intrigued so I tried it. The staffs were urging me to order more, every now and then asking me if I'm okay with everything, do i need anything else, and the likes of those questions. Really sweet people too bad I'm still full and just waiting around for the movie.

The movie wasn't that bad but not my cup of tea as well. I'm speechless I think I went in to rest and cool off from the warm weather outside. Now this ends my walking tour by myself. Calling it a day I searched for a cab to bring me to the bus terminal for the ride home. At this time, traffic was really bad and it's a wise choice to end the day early and head to the bus terminal.

Yay! I survived with my GPS for directions and I was able to walk around by myself, no hurrying up and changes in plans depended solely on me. I didn't look for places to see because I've gone and seen most of it before so I tried to navigate around the eating spots. I wish I could eat as much as I wanted too, guess I am not a foodie after all. It was a fun experience and I'm looking forward to a real trip alone. It was a bit annoying that the parents were texting every minute that by the time I am already in the bus terminal my mobile was almost dead. It was fortunate that I was able to charge my phone on the way home in the bus! Glad I booked on the deluxe bus going home. Hope they can trust my independence and choices. I love them all the same and I know they were just worried about my safety. *sigh*

I wish my next alone trip would be Europe! hihi Nobody says I can only dream small.. =P

happy and exhausted... with lalalalalooove! ♥A