Contis

i've known contis for their chocolate cake. i remember we used to go to their restaurant in bf just to order their famous chocolate cake.

last saturday, i met up with friends and had lunch at contis greenbelt. it was my first time to try their meals. the place was full at that time (even when it was already 2:00 p.m.). we ordered their toasted bread with spinach and liver pate' dips, fish and chips with fries and macaroni salad and italian supreme pasta, which was recommended by the server.

i like their dips although i can't help but compare it with cibo's version of the spinach dip. contis' dip is a bit blunt for my taste unlike cibo's, which is oozing with mozarella cheese :)

italian supreme pasta is good. the taste is just right - not too sour, not too salty. their garlic bread tastes pretty good too - really garlic-y:)

as regards to their fish and chips...hmmmm...what can i say? i didn't like it that much. a bit oily for my taste. we should've ordred their baked salmon instead, which is the restaurant's specialty.

anyway, i still had fun because i was with friends. nothing beats a good company.

Cafe Breton with Friends

a frequent choice for dessert place among friends is cafe breton. it has a very charming ambiance that makes us feel at home. aside from this, it has a wide selection of crepes (both savory and sweet crepes) which are all mouth-watering and affordable :) they also have ice cream in their menu which me and my friend, joy, tried for a change:) while my other friend, haydee, ordered le magnifique.

peach melba - caramel ice cream , graham, peaches, almonds, whipped cream and caramel sauce

strawberry sundae - strawberry ice cream topped with whipped cream (really good) and sweet strawberry fruit and syrup

le magnifique - banana, nutella almonds and whipped cream wrapped in cafe breton's sweet crepe

***sorry no photos of my friends. haha! they don't want their pictures to be taken. camera shy:)

you may visit cafe breton in the following branches: tomas morato, robinson's ermita, trinoma, mall of asia, podium and greenbelt 3.

Gurts Yogurt

it has been a very busy weekend. i attended meetings, lunch out with friends, family bonding, accessory making, tutoring, etc., etc., but i was happy to end my weekend with gurts yogurt.

i've been reading about this in different blog sites. i was happy when i learned that gurts is available already in pancake house, cash and carry (which is a few blocks away from my house:)

i ordered only the smallest cup which is P78 (medium is i think P105 and large is P155 :) anyway, i asked the server to put 3 toppings - mango, white chocolate chip and graham. each topping costs P20.

the verdict? i loved it. yogurt tastes like white hat, tangy but a bit sweet (which is what i like:) then the mango is sweet too, thank god! haha! i'll defnitely try other yogurt combinations next time. yum, yum! :)

Golden Spoon Yogurt

since i was in paseo center already, i decided to taste golden spoon yogurt.


their yogurt is non-fat and it comes in different flavors like simply tart, old-fashioned vanilla, peanut butter and boysenberry. my choice was simply tart but it wasn't available so i opted to try old-fashioned vanilla instead.

all i can say is that it tastes like creamy homemade ice cream. it doesn't taste like yogurt...i chose kitkat and creamy melted mallows for toppings. gosh!!!! wrong choice (mallows) because it was so SWEET! hahaha!!!! the thick texture of the melted mallows is divine but it's really sweet. maybe it will work well with the simply tart flavor since it has a sour taste (unlike vanilla which is sweet too).

anyway, i saw this poster on their wall...so i guess dieters will appreciate that golden spoon has only 25 calories per ounce
although i still want the tangy taste in my yogurt, i wouldn't mind visiting golden spoon again to taste their other flavors:)

Kitaro

after a very busy friday, i had dinner at kitaro, near paseo center. since i don't know how their food taste since this was only my 2nd time to eat there, i decided to be on the safe side and order my usual california maki and ebi tempura.

california maki - 8 pcs P130

i've tried california maki in different japanese restaurants like sugi, teriyaki boy and kimono ken. it's really my favorite but sad to say, kitaro's maki didn't satisfy my taste buds. i'm a fan of japanese mayo that's why i like it on top of my sushi. kitaro's version has no jap mayo and the mango was really sour.

another favorite is the ebi tempura. my friend has allergies in shrimp that's why i ordered only 3 pcs. it was ok...a little bit oily though...

ebi tempura - 3pcs P130

my friend who ordered gyoza noodle soup didn't like it too. kawawa naman because he paid for our dinner and didn't like what he ordered :)

i'm not saying that i will not come back and eat in kitaro, but if there's a choice, i'll probably choose another japanese restaurant.

Photo Mosaic

i have discovered how to create photo mosaic and i have been trying it out using various photos in my collection. so far i made a gift for my two cousins, cherisse and dom.

cherisse

dom

i also made a photo mosaic of our recent family picture...

family

after a few more practice, i will probably make mosaics for other family members and friends. hmmm....maybe i can earn from this too :)

i love learning new things. life is good :)

Street Food

i miss the street food in singapore. that is one of the highlights of my visit there. a friend told us that during weekends, at around 6pm, china town becomes the place for street food seekers.

val and the street :)

yakitori

we decided to check out what each stall is offering before we decide what to order. after some thought, we settled for yakitori, which is .50 cents per stick - yum yum and very cheap. i love the peanut sauce that comes with it.

we also ordered chicken noodles (sort of like a pancit) for only 1.50 dollars. you may choose if you want it spicy or not and it's definitely good for 2 already even if the manong said it's only good for single serving, haha)!!!!

spicy noodles

and since we thought the noodles is for 1 person only, we ordered their seafood fried rice. phew! carbo-loading! :)

fried rice

we loved everything that we ordered. a bit flavorful considering that SG food is a mix of malaysian, indian and chinese flavors :) i wish we have like a street food strip in the philippines where we can eat yummy. cheap but CLEAN street food :)

all these for only 5 SG dollars :)

this last shot is singapore at 7:30 pm. hahaha! amazing! :0

Looking Forward to This....

i am excited this coming week, specifically on thursday, because of this...

i am a "tempura" fan. love, love, love!

have a great sunday everyone!

Dinner at Cibo

i was feeling sick for the past few days but i decided to go out and eat dinner with my friend, val.

since it's a weekend sale at glorietta, we decided to go around and check out our favorite shops for great finds. unfortunately, my body didn't cooperate. was sotired to walk around so after a few stops we decided to eat at cibo so that i can rest for a while.

the food was great (as usual) but again my appetite is still so-so :( wasn't able to eat my share..val had to take home the left-overs. hmmm. sayang eh :)

we ordered spinach dip with toasted bread and it was so good! val and i finished everything in minutes:)

we tried their panini sandwich with three kinds of maushroom, cheese and ham. the taste of the mushrooms is so strong that's why i didn't enjoy it that much - but i heard from the waiter that this is one of their bestsellers.

then we had shrimp and squid pasta. forgive me for i forgot the name of this dish. anyway, i don't remember any from their menu. haha! i just read the description per food then ask the server if it's good or not :)

i would love to go back and try other food in their menu like the squid ink pasta and also their sandwich with eggplant and mozarella cheese. next time....when i'm not sick anymore so that i can enjoy the food more:)

The Best Chicken Nuggets

aside from being a mcdonalds french fries fan, i noticed recently that i love their chicken nuggets too (esp when served hoT!:)

i've been eating this for 3 consecutive days and i realized as well that it 's perfect with gravy rather than the sauce that comes with it - barbecue or sweet and sour :)

From Long and Wavy to Pixie

i was surprised when i saw emma watson's new haircut in yahoo news. it is really short and something that i didn't imagine she'll do to her hair. it reminds me of a mia farrow cut (which i first saw in one of america's next top model makeover session with molly). actually emma looks great with it but i still need to get used to her new look especially since she grew up before my eyes in harry potter :) i guess "hermione granger" is now ready to attack more serious roles - one of hollywood's teens to watch.

emma as hermione granger in harry potter

a very fashionable teen :)

a new pixie look

Mexicali

mexicali has been a favorite eversince i was in college. i love their burrito, soft taco and the garlic sauce that goes with every meal in their menu.

mexicali has scrumptious servings of mexican meat and chicken cooked in californian way.

i was feeling a bit down last week so i decided to eat my all-time favorite chicken burrito and tomato salsa. as usual, it never fails to perk me up. love, love, love mexicali :)

they have branches all over the metro - Megamall, Trinoma, The Link, Robinson's Manila, SM City and many more...

visit mexicali now and see "where burritos rule!" :)

RM's Tumbler

this is my last project before i focus on creating pieces for my shop, bedazzle accessories. opening will be in a month so i (want to) believe that i still have enough time to create pieces for the grand opening :)

this order is for a double celebration - baptism and birthday. it is a swim party so i decided to create a picture poster for the tumbler that shows under water creatures like star fish. i hope the guests will love the giveaway. it's super FUNctional!!! :)

Betsey Johnson

i love, love her accessories. they're modern, fun, quirky, colorful and so girly. these are my recent finds while checking out inspiration for my next collection:)

i am so excited to work again and create fashionable accessories for my own shop :)

DTI Approved!!! :)

i will be opening my own shop in a month (yeah, yeah, i am in my most stressful state to date!) and first stop is in DTI or Department of Trade and Industry. It was such a breeze there. thank god. i was able to get my certificate in about 20 to 30 minutes. sad thing though is that i was not able to use my original "beadazzle by cat" name since using "by" in business names is not allowed. i also changed "beadazzle" since i don't want people to think that my shop will only sell accessories made of beads - since we will have an array of different handcrafted accessories from earthly delights, accessories by clarisse and many more!!!! so my shop's name is plain and simple :)

Bedazzle Accessories will soon open at 3rd floor, University Mall (newly renovated;) beside la salle university in taft avenue.


now it's time for me to get my permit...:)