Get-together with My College Friends

It's 2014! Well, yes, it's been three weeks if I may remind myself. It's been really busy. A lot of things are going on in my life and I am just thankful for that. I'd really be dragging posting here if I will go back to the 1st day of January up to today to chronicle what's been happening. I'll get to those as soon as possible. :)

Let me just start my first post for 2014 about my meet-up with my college friends. It was really not on schedule.  As it is often said, unplanned events push through most of the time. This is generally true for me and my friends.

Last Saturday, Jan. 18, my friend and I agreed to meet at McDonald's in Makati because she will be accompanying us to the seamstress who will do my daughter's prom gown. We were on time. My daughter and I were really happy with the way the seamstress entertained us, with her suggestions and comments. I was happy too because the printed design was really clear and the dressmaker readily understood what I want to happen. She is a seasoned clothier.

Our original plan is to go back to the mall and have some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. But my friend told me our balikbayan friend is on the way to the mall to meet us. It was such a perfect timing so I agreed right away.  I was excited to see all my friends as well as the little son of our friend.  They're residents of the Netherlands and will just be staying in the Philippines for a couple of months.

I can't recall anymore the last time we were with our balikbayan friend, about eight or nine years I guess.  The last thing I know she went to Netherlands with our other friend.

Here we are now.  Still looking young and everyone's happily busy with our own lives.  But as we say, friendship surpass distance.  We need not be together all the time but we know in our hearts we are friends in the truest sense, forever.

Well, the balikbayan gave us a treat at Banapple. My daughter and I were there just recently but we only had their banoffee and slow-cooked chicken sandwich. My daughter and I tried their pasta. They're good!

Lasagna roll-ups, P180

The lasagna roll-ups is delicious! My daughter loved it! It's so creamy.

Fettuccine Magnifico, P170

I had the fettuccine magnifico and I like it.  Well, how can one still go wrong with something as basic as this? :)  It's actually aglio olio.

Terrific Tuna Sandwich, P130

Our friend ordered this sandwich to share with her son. He preferred bread than pasta or rice meals. 

Breaded Fillet  of Cream Dory with  Honey Thyme Mustard Sauce, P185

This is cream dory tastes a lot like what I prepare for lunch.  Nothing really special but I must say Banapple is generous with rice.

Baked Fish Gratinee with Scalloped Potatoes, P185

Again, this baked fish tastes just fine. I'd say though I like this better than the one with mustard sauce.

Banoffee Pie, P95/slice, Old-fashioned Chocolate Cake, P100/slice

And for dessert, we had our cakes!  They're okay.  I'm  not into banoffee. My daughter loves it. The chocolate cake lacks the moistness I want in my cake.

And yes, we love the loots our friend gave us. :) 

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Chateau Melk Chocolade

And since I am a certified chocoholic, this is my favorite among all the pasalubongs of our friend. :) 

My friends and I plan to meet again some time in April for the christening of my friend's daughter.  I really hope our schedules are all okay so we can have a get-together again and celebrate with our families.  :)

Rustic Mornings with Friends

Since October 15, Tuesday, was a holiday, it was a perfect time for me and my friends to finally meet-up.  It was a very belated birthday blow-out of iMom.  We agreed to go at Rustic Mornings located in Marikina City.  The place was jampacked when we arrived around 9:30 AM.  It took almost an hour before we were given a table for five.  It was a bit hot but we were all in a pretty good mood so we patiently waited while standing near the counter area. We understood it was a holiday and breakfast seems to be their peakest hours.

What made the waiting more bearable was the friendly staff.  They are genuinely friendly, move swiftly attending to customers, composed, neat, with genuine smiles. For me, I spent my waiting time checking the place, and of course, taking pictures of the place, my friends, and myself. :)

The food was fine, nothing spectacular but presentation is good. The price is almost the same compared to other restaurants, about P150 - P300 per head.

Shared by all, Bread Basket, with fruit jam, and butter, p150

iMom's Sausage Platter (Bratwurst and Cheese Sausage,  Toasted Rye Bread, 2 Sunny Side Up Eggs, P215

CessnaPlane's Frankfurter, Cheese Omelet, Garlic Rice, P220

Teacher Julie's All-Veggie 3-Cheese Omelet (with Tomato, Zucchini, Onion, Green Bell, Mushroom), P195

President Mama's Waffles, Buffalo Chicken Strips, Salad with Marinara Chipotle, P250

Mine, Country 3-Egg Cheese Omelet with Bacon and Potatoes, P185

Everyone had coffee of course. It's good, priced at P65, with one free refill for the Americano.

As the name tells it, rustic, the place makes use of crude materials as their decorations which blended well giving us a countryside ambiance. I like it. Electric fans are provided for each table if I am not mistaken, for the al fresco dining area.

Yes, the place is full of plants but good that I did not see mosquitoes or other insects flying around. :)

This is where the dining area starts. 

This is the counter area, also al fresco. I like the masks hanging on the wall.

One side of the wall in one of the dining sections is peppered with framed paintings, pots, and synthetic crustaceans. 

This is yours truly in one of the interiors of the restaurant, with my OOTD, haha. I blend well, right?

I like the embossed flower in yellow paint finish. It's nice, dainty.

Us Girls: TeacherJulie, iMom, Me :), CessnaPlane, PresidentMana

I want to go back here with  my family. It's a bit far from our place but we can schedule. :)

Rustic Mornings
#11 Isabelo Mendoza St., San Roque,
Marikina City
Business Hours: 8 AM - 4 PM
Contact #s:  5106914, 6812461, 0917-7005810

Hello Kitty, Kitty, Kitty...

I dropped off my daughter yesterday at SM The Block for a film showing required by their school.  A few weeks before there was a letter from the school administration encouraging parents to see the film with the children.  I was having some small talk with a co-parent during our kids' Intramurals Week.  I was able to ask if she will go.  She said no more, she'll just let her daughter go with her classmates.  Come to think of it, yes, I should just let my daughter watch with the whole class. I asked her if the parents of her classmates would come.  Nobody will come.

It's a good movie to watch as it is about bullying, Larong Bata.  But looking at it, there were no parents when I brought my daughter at the cinema.  It's a film showing for the school's students.  It would have been awkward if I was the only parent there.

Anyway, I waited for my daughter at the mall. I treasured this "me time".  I first stayed at Jollibee for breakfast.  I stayed there for an hour.  My gym will not open until 10 in the morning.

I had my pancakes with sausage and coffee.  It was a good pair.  I just wanted my pancakes to be a little more brown.  This reminds me of Pancake's pancake/sausage medley. This is a lot cheaper though at P65.

Jollibee was getting crowded so I transferred to Starbucks.  I was looking forward to this for my sticker (for the planner in case you don't know)! Haha, shallow bliss. I am not even sure if I will complete them all. Since I'll be at Starbucks, let me get my sticker.  I already had coffee so I ordered for a hot caffe mocha which I really love and a banana bread.

Pleasant surprise is the stub for the newly opened Starbucks at The Block.  It's like buy one, get one until the end of December. I will definitely use it.

Finally it's 30 minutes after 10.  My daughter and her friends went to Chatime for their milk tea while I stayed at Starbucks.  My daughter texted me that they would take their lunch.  I told her to just take their lunch at KFC.  I proceeded to Fitness First and kill time there until my daughter finish her lunch.  They went around the mall some more. I let her.  I know she wants to be with her friends and go malling.  I just text her once in a while.

Until finally they were done.  We went around the Hello Kitty exhibit at The Block.  The Hello Kitty houses are really cute. :)

Now I'm thinking if I will be ordering for a Hello Kitty cake for the holidays.  It's so dainty.

This ipad case is so dainty for me but I find it pretty.

We both found the boots and the traveling bag really adorable. Ironically, my daughter isn't too fond of the Hello Kitty Vans.

We ended the day by going to the grocery but of course.

Another Saturday well spent with my daughter by just hanging.  We won't be going anywhere this long weekend because she has to prepare for their mastery examinations this coming week.

Pasta and Beef Recipes

Let me share four simple dishes I did just recently and a few months back- Sweet-style Spaghetti which I did 3 quarters ago, Crab and Shrimp Linguine with White Sauce over a month ago, Shrimp and Bacon Pasta just last weekend and Beef Asado in one of our dinners this week.

It's a holiday today so let me do this wholesale. :)))

I am making every Sunday our pasta day - Sunday Pasta or Pasta Sunday? Anyway, I started last Sunday with this Shrimp and Bacon Pasta.  I bought Yummy Everyday Pasta a few months back.  So far I have done two, the first two pastas I listed above.

The recipe for this Shrimp and Bacon Pasta, however, is not from Yummy.  I was browsing a magazine while I was at the salon having my nails polished when I chanced upon this very easy pasta recipe. I copied it, together with the instructions, using in my cell phone's Notes. :)

Sorry, I forgot the magazine but the recipe is sponsored by Nestle.

1/2 cup chopped bacon
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp minced onion
1/4 kilo shrimp
1 sachet, 8g, Maggi Magic Sarap Mix
1 cup of water
1 cup tomato sauce
1 pack Nestle all-purpose cream, 250 ml
400g spaghetti

Procedures:
1.  Fry bacon and set aside.  Leave bacon fat in pan to use for sauteing.
2.  Saute garlic and onion then add shrimp.
3.  Season with Maggi Magic Sarap and pepper.
4.  Pour water and bring to boil.
5. Add tomato sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add Nestle cream for another minute.
7.  Toss the cooked spaghetti noodles.
8.  Garnish with bacon.

I used wheat pasta and made it 500g so I added a few more grams to the rest of the ingredients.  Yummy it is! :)

Here's the recipe for Sweet-style Spaghetti.

1/2 tbsp corn or vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 tbsp minced garlic
250 g ground pork
250 g ground pork
2 bay leaves
7 pcs Vienna sausage, diced
2 cups sweet-style tomato sauce
1/2 cup water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock
1/2 tsp liquid seasoning or to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
350 grams spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup grated quick melting cheese

Procedures:
1.  Heal oil and melt butter.  Add onions, carrots and celery, cook until veggies are tender.  Add garlic, saute until fragrant.
2.  Add ground pork, ground pork, and bay leaves. Brown the meat for about 10 minutes.  Add the Vienna sausage halfway through cooking.
3. Pour in tomato sauce and water or stock; mix. Let it simmer over low heat for 8 - 10 minutes.  Season with liquid seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Continue to cook for 1 - 2 minutes.
4. Toss pasta with meat sauce until well combined.  Top with grated cheese.

Take a look at Crab and Shrimp Linguine with White Sauce.

2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk, warmed in a pan or in microwave
3/4 cup cooked and chopped shrimp meat
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
juice from 1 lemon
salt, cayenne pepper, and liquid seasoning to taste
160 grams linguine
grated Parmesan cheese

I made 400 - 500 grams of linguine so I had to add portioning of all ingredients.

Procedures:
1.  Melt butter, saute onion until translucent.  Add red bell pepper and cook for 30 seconds.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
2.  Sprinkle flour, mix well; cook for 1 minute.  Whisk in warm milk, stir continuously until smooth and slightly thick, about 5 - 6 minutes.  Add cooked crab, shrimp, green peas.  Mix well.
3.  Add lemon juice and season to taste with salt, cayenne pepper, and liquid seasoning.  Mix well and cook for another minute.
4.  Mix in cooked linguine.  Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with grated cheese.

My beef asado! I learned how to cook this through my husband who is a better cook than I am. Finally, I got it right. :)

1.  3/4 kilo of sirloin
2.  4 medium sized tomatoes
3.  1 medium sized red onion
4.  4 tbsp soy sauce
5.  salt and pepper to taste
6.  water just enough to cover the beef

Procedures:
1.  In a casserole, put in beef and pour in water enough to cover the beef.  Let it boil.  Remove scum then add onion, tomatoes, and soy sauce.
2.  Let it stand in medium heat until the beef is tender.  (It took about 40 minutes when I did this.)
3.  Salt and pepper to taste.
4.  The end.

Beef asado is so easy to cook but I have to check it like every 5 minutes and mix. The end product was good. :)

More food at Food Friday and Food Trip Friday.

Figaro with Friends

This is actually a belated birthday treat by Cess.  Finally we managed to pull off a date last Monday when all of us are available.  The five of us met very early at Figaro for our breakfast date.  As always, I am happy to see the girls.  We usually send each other messages in our Facebook group but of course, face to face conversation is different. It's more animated, it's more active, everybody gets to participate at the moment. No late replies. Haha.

It was a happy morning. Figaro is very conducive to meet-ups like this, at least in this branch at Congressional Avenue.  It's a bit cold because it was only the five of us inside the restaurant but that's fine.  I just like the ambiance of this particular Figaro.  It's so quiet. It's so clean.

With the girls, Chats, Julie, Cess, that's me in blue, and Cookie.  Dont' we all look really fresh very early in the morning? :)

My breakfast for the day, honey-glazed bacon with sunny side up on toasted bread. Just bacon and eggs but the presentation is really nice. The girls said they should have ordered this. It's around P200 with refillable coffee. All our breakfast come with refillable coffee.

Funny because the three girls ordered for this, fresh mushroom omelette. Again it's around P200. Expensive, right? Good thing we are all coffee lovers. The refill compensates for the pricey breakfast.

Julie had her very Pinoy breakfast of bangus belly with garlic rice and egg. It's around P185 I think.

Our dessert consisted of butterscotch and chocolate muffin.  It's funny because it was really early and yet these are just the desserts available.  The staff said their delivery will still be on Wednesday.  Oh, sayang ang sales n'yo.

I have always been a fan of Figaro. I like the ambiance, especially this branch, I love the food. My daughter loves their milk shake, I love their arrabiata.

We spend the whole morning together which is very rare as we are always busy. We savor the time together and we have already planned for our Xmas dinner sometime middle of December. :)

Our Saturday in Pictures

We slept later than usual since it was a Saturday.  We are looking forward to this day because it was our date for a movie, yes, The Twilight Saga:  Breaking Dawn 2.  My daughter and I trooped to a mall near our place and secured tickets for a mid-afternoon showing.  There were still long lines but manageable.

Still got a few minutes to kill so we did what we usually do.  Jeje time for mother and daughter. Strike a pose beside the movie's standee and in front of the huge mirror in one of the walls of the mall's tenant. :)

Taters popcorn and chips are our usual companion inside the theater.  I opt for barbecue flavor while my daughter goes for cheese flavored chips. We prefer iced tea and bottled water for our drinks. All set to see our movie once we have these little perks.

Above, my daughter lining up at Taters and posing at the mall's Xmas picture corner.

After watching the movie, we availed of the cinema's tie-up with Gelatissimo.  This tie-up has been on-going like forever. Haha. But I am not complaining.  I love Gelatissimo especially the belgian chocolate flavor. It's actually "buy one scoop and get one scoop". But come to think of it, that is not quite right. Coz I bought three scoops for my daughter, two scoops of chocolate mint and a scoop of belgian chocolate but the free is only one scoop of my choice of flavor.  But well, that's a hundred bucks I got for free if I am not mistaken. I will definitely clear this up when we get back. 

We dropped by Fully Booked to check if the last book from the Pretty Little Liars series is available.  Lucky daughter, the bookstore has stock.  She is on her 9th book now, Twisted, but one of the books seemed to be misplaced in another shelf, Flawless.

My daughter wanted a smaller bag which she can use on some days when there are only a few things she needs to bring to school. It was a pleasant surprise to know that the department store's bags section is on 50% off! We bought her a new cute bag. Next time I'll buy us both satchel bags. :)

Last stop was Classic Savory.  Since my daughter and I were still full from the day's lunch, popcorn/chips, gelato, I just decided to order pancit bihon guisado to go at Savory.  I wanted pasta but since it will be a Sunday  Pasta for me, I skipped that. I had a sudden craving for pancit bihon. My husband is not fond of pancit from Savory but I am. One order costs P195.00 and it's good for two to three persons already.  :)

Till next bonding time. :)

Happy Birthday, Hubs!

It was the husband's birthday a few days back.  We decided to spend it by going to church first and attend our worship service.  Give thanks to the Almighty for the year that was in my husband's life and another year (bound to be fruitful) He has given to him.  :)

We dropped by the salon before heading out to have our dinner.  It was supposed to be me and daughter that will have our hair regimen but the hubs decided to have a haircut too eventually lured by the salon staff to have his hair dyed. Haha. My husband's hair has always been light brown especially when he was younger.  White hair are all over in different parts of his hair now.  This was his first time to have a hair color.  The result was actually good.  He looks his age, as a matter of fact, even younger.

My daughter and I were finished ahead of the husband's hair dye so while waiting, we did our usual photo opp. 

Since it's halloween, the salon's staff were dressed up and made up to be monsters from the dark. Haha. The fun part was the customers' participation of picking the top 3 scariest.

The salon staff gamely posed as we picked the top three scariest. 

The renovated salon has a frap bar, what do you know.  The husband and the daughter bought theirs but I know we will be eating out so I declined.  I had a sip from my daughter's cookies and cream frappuccino and yes, it tastes good just like how it is in other coffee bars.

We stopped by Tous les Jours to buy the husband his birthday cake.  I've been wanting to buy here and now is the perfect occasion. A few days back my daughter and I have already checked what we will buy. Wow, it's delicious! I like it because it's not too sweet but the icing is so creamy and the belgian chocolate, just divine.

Dark Glaze Chocolate from Tous les Jours, the husband's happy birthday cake. :) 

Eating time finally.  I was starving! We had our dinner buffet at Yakimix.  Good thing there was not much people. There were some vacant tables when we arrived.

We enjoyed the buffet at Yakimix especially the Korean bbq we cooked. :) 

I was not able to get a picture of the buffet table and our food because we were all busy eating. We were full if I must say that after just a plate or two of the different kinds of food we availed.

Just  a few notes about Yakimix, SM North EDSA:
1.  Food:  Good. The buffet for dinner is at P620 without drinks. Additional P75 per head for iced tea.
2.  Customer Service:  Fine. Nothing note worthy but staff were efficient.
3.  Cleanliness:  This is where the restaurant should improve. The wash room's cleanliness can do a lot of improvement considering the restaurant was not full at the time we were there.  There was also no tissue available.  The back area going to the kitchen, where their buss window is located needs a lot of sprucing up.  Makes me wonder how is it inside the kitchen.

*I was searching for the official web page of Yakimix but there seems none so I settled for the link I had above.

Will I go back with my family and friends? Well, this is my second time and there will be a next time and a next and a next....  I just hope they do better in cleanliness.

Anyway, it was a whole afternoon till night time that we spent out.  We were tired but happy, of course. :)

Happy birthday again to the hubs! :)))

Movie, Books and Dining on a Saturday Afternoon

I have not been in this blog for more than two months! Being busy is not an excuse. Well, there is no excuse. But I meant to be back. :)

Yesterday, a Saturday, was bonding day for me and my daughter. I was really looking forward to it because I marked my calendar for the day to be our much awaited movie date. Her mastery examinations at school and the weekend should be relaxing for both of us. We watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower. We both love the book. I bought the book around 2000, maybe early 2000. I checked my book but unfortunately I was not able to jot down the date which I religiously did earlier in my early years of love affair with my books.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower circa 2000 

Anyway, last year or early this year, I handed over the book to my daughter. She learned about it I think because Logan Lerman will star in the movie. I let her read it and she loved it! Her best friend and one of her teachers borrowed it from her.

 A good book, or a good story, spans generations. From my generation, the Gen X to my daughter's generation, Gen Y or the Millenials, The Perks of Being a Wallflower appeals to us. We both love the movie too. Logan Lerman definitely fits the role of Charlie to a T! Emma Watson is beautiful. I really wanted to watch her apart from being Hermione Granger. She did not disappoint. But the best performance goes to Ezra Miller as Patrick, the transexual friend of Charlie and stepbrother to Sam (Emma's character). I now have a new favorite in the league of Cillian Murphy.

After watching the movie my daughter and I did a little shopping. Among other activities, this is one thing we love doing. On a general sense, what mother and daughter are not into shopping together? :) Starving we scouted for a restaurant. We don't have any dining place in mind.

We settled for Yoshinoya. I ordered for Gyudon. I must admit it does not look appetizing unlike how it is presented in Teriyaki Boy but I gave it a try. Hmmm, I didn't like it. It's not terrible. I just did not like it because I was hoping it will be at least somewhat like what we usually order at Teriyaki Boy. How do I describe the taste? It was like it only had a dash of soy sauce, a pinch of salt and it was served. It has nothing like the blend of Gyudon at Teriyaki Boy or Kimono Ken.

Gyudon (Regular), P115

My daughter ordered the Chicken Bento. The sticky Japanese rice was cooked well. The dessert - fruit salad - is also good, just like your normal, home made fruit salad. The mixed vegetables we did not touch. The four pieces of deep fried chicken is good too. I just don't know how it was a Japanese chicken when they tasted just like how I deep fry my chicken. :) It was good trying Yoshinoya but I don't think we will be back soon.

Chicken Bento, P159

Now, our favorite dessert the past weeks - brownies from Brownies Unlimited. We had our dessert there and I must say these brownies always satisfy us. :)

Box full o' brownies

Oh yes, finally, I have the book of Joel Osteen - I Declare. There was still no stock at Fully Booked but I saw it displayed at National Bookstore so we had to go inside and ask for a copy. I haven't started on this but of course, I will. I'm still in Paulo Coelho's Aleph.

I Declare! 

We went back to Fully Booked to check what notebook my daughter can buy. I think she got encouraged again to have a journal because of Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. :) I love this kimmidoll products. It's cute! I really want to buy more kimmidolls but they are pricey.

kimmidoll journal, Fully Booked

Busy writing on the first page of her new kimmidoll journal.

Our Saturday was really well spent. There's nothing in this world I love but being with my daughter. :)

Me and my daughter. :) 

HAPPY WEEKEND! :)