bubble tea

i was in the office yesterday (yes, despite it being a holiday... oh such joy! :p) when suddenly ate called and asked if i wanted to join them for dinner at bubble tea. i never say no to food so off we went...

i wasn't able to bring piccolo so the pictures below were taken by my ever present and ever reliable mobile phone:

dynamite maki

fish katsudon

(first time i tried such a dish and it's super goood!!!)

takoyaki balls

(so that's how it tastes... nothing fancy but tin says that the one in little tokyo's real good so we have to try that one asap!)

since the photo i took of the actual bubble tea drinks were a bit blurry, i will not post it anymore... hmmm... i guess that's one reason to go back and have some more of bubble tea's yummy bubble teas!

* note to self... try to bring piccolo everywhere i go so that he doesn't miss out on anything!

cafe lidia

dinner for two please :)
beef salpicao for him

chicken kiev for me

i'm so happy that i had my camera (image quality is waaaayyy better!!) this time around... i wasn't able to take shots of the restaurant per se but at least, i was able to do so with their yummy yummy food! mmmmmm! crossing my fingers now that i'll be able to use piccolo more - especially since he has a new and "lighter" friend! hehe!

here's to more adventures before the year comes to an end!!! ;)

lunch at laya

i haven't been spending that much time with the bf as i should so after starting june right with a movie date (satc 2) come the first weekend of the month... we had another round of girl bonding time last saturday at a friend's private kitchen tucked in wonderful antipolo.

since there was two of us and there were two menu sets (laya signatures and laya favorites) available... we decided to get both and just share each dish as it came. perfect decision as we were able to taste and stuff ourselves with the best that laya had to offer ;)

appetizers

Trio of Appetizers: Crabstick & Cream Cheese Dumpling with Spicy Mango Sauce; Shrimp & Chicken Wanton Bag with Thai Sweet Chili; and Stir fried Kaffir Lime Pork in Lettuce Wrap


Nor-crusted Dori Fillet with Wasabi Aioli

soup

Thai-Spiced Pumpkin & Cashew Nut Soup

with Coconut Cream Froth & Wanton Crisps

Cappucino of Thai Tom Kha Gai with Gingered Chicken Skewer

salad

Grilled Chicken with Mixed Greens

in Oriental Soy Dressing

Asian Caesar Salad Sticks

with Ginger Garlic Aioli

intermezzo / palate cleanser

Calamansi & Orange Blossom Honey Granita


Fresh Lime & Mango Sorbet

main course

Thai-Style Grilled Hanging Tender Steak in Red Curry Sauce

with Nasi Goreng Wok-seared Indonesian Fried Rice

Prawn & Mango Curry

with Pumpkin Basmati Rice

dessert

Cashew Mango Kesong Puti & Banana Chocnut Spring Rolls

with Creamy Chocnut Dip

Suman Rolls & Caramelized Mangoes with Mantecado Ice Cream in Latik Sauce

the company was wonderful (as always) and the food was divine! *sigh* what a wonderful way to end a very toxic week and such a sweet way to welcome another (hopefully not as toxic) week ahead :)

lunch at nuvali

ate cat and i went to laguna for a morning meeting a few days back... since we were in the area already, we decided to drop by nuvali. there wasn't much to see yet but we were amazed at the existing structures and overall grand plan that the developers are imagining for this city.

Converging nature, people, and technology in NUVALI, sustainability cultivates the dynamic relationship among the ecological, social, and economic webs of life.

amazing. that's all i can say and well, i'm excited to see just how this city will look like when it's fully developed already! for now though or for the duration of our visit rather, we enjoyed solenad - the recently opened commercial center which boasts of some of the metro's favorite restaurants, a lake where you can enjoy boat rides or feed the koi fish that know when there are people around (PG much!?) and loads of activities if you're there during the weekend.

since we went there on a weekday, the place was pretty quiet and there were only a number of people in the area. after going around the place and looking at all the establishments, we had this urgent rumbling that made us realize it was lunch time already! so after reviewing the various restaurants that we could go to and debating whether we were to go japanese, italian, filipino or chinese, we decided to try pig out.

the food was amazing! we especially loved the chicharon rice! how come no one has ever thought of that before? haha! but what really struck me was how you can gorge yourself with all those fatty and cholesterol building food (it's alright to cheat on your diet every now and then and INDULGE...) then somehow make up for it somehow by flushing all the bad stuff out with natural and pure blended juices and shakes! oh well, you only live once right? might as well make the most out of each day or should i say meal? ;)

summer delight

i woke up late this morning. sleepy from watching too much Avatar - The Last Airbender cartoon... i'm not sorry though as it's really entertaining! not to mention, inspiring as there are a lot of things that one can learn from it (piece meal in size but still very engaging).

groggy and sleepy-eyed, i went down for breakfast. everyone had eaten so i had to eat by myself... lo and behold, just when i was done... i saw a plastic bag filled with duhat (sorry, i have no idea what the english translation for this fruit is though)! i've been meaning to have some of these for a while so i was real ecstatic when we were given a couple! but you know what the best part is? they're freshly picked from the tree! oh what a great summer delight this is :)

how about you? what's your summer delight? :)

sinfully sweet

yesterday was y's birthday. t bought her a cake and gave us some... it was super duper good!! i loved how the icing was real fudgy and had loads of m&m's on it :) yummy!! now i wish that i had taken a photo before we devoured the thing! hehe!

fudge-y chocolate cake from Xocolat. sinfully sweet. like that thing called love (excuse the mushiness but it's valentine's month anyway so there). love love love love love. love is in the air! and it always makes me feel happy and giddy when i see acts of love.

the boys are all grown up now (talking like a mother eh?!) and it makes me happy and proud to see that they've grown into such fine gentlemen. they treat their ladies well and if i may say so, make them feel like real life princesses! who would have thought that these crazy boys of mine, whom i used to play "house" and barbie dolls (hush hush now! hehe!) with will someday morph into these romeos who woo their juliet's with flowers, chocolate delights and more importantly, respect, friendship and love.

oh such a wonderful wonderful wonderful feeling this is - knowing that my loved ones have learned how it is not just to be loved, but to love as well ;)