Pame! MANOS epthia ;P

On the road again! Yes, this time it's just the Two-pod! My kras Oli and I went on a Saturday get-a-way to Tagaytay. The agenda: EAT HELLENIC CUISINE AT MANOS TAVERN!



We left manila around 10am. It was a hot sunny day....so while in the car, we wished that it was cooler when we reach Tagaytay. Oli had a quizzical thought..."Jen...bakit kaya ginawa ni God na pag gabe tayo tulog? Bakit hindi tayo tulog pag araw at gising at nagtratrabao pag gabe?" I told him.."siguro kase to save energy...kaya dapat work in the morning where there is day light....hindi na kelangan ng electricity...and pag tulog tayo d ba we close our eyes naman...so parang dilim din so tama lang na pag gabe na madilim and sleeping time...d ba?"...hmm..we wonder...

We reached the Petron station at SLEX (don't you just love the PETRON station there...with the McDo, Satrbucks, Treats and Pancake House?---it's like an oasis for southbound travellers noh? The trip is not right if the car doesn't oull over here!!! ;P )...and met up with Chie for a coffee break ...she was on her way to Laguna for a meeting...it was still scorching hot that time. After that we continued on our trip...then upon reaching Laguna....it started to rain!!!! Then the sky got kinda dark...I turned to Oli and tol him ...."ayan...God gave you a taste of darkenss during the day!" hahahaha...."thanl goodness di ikaw si God..kundi kawawa tayong lahat! ;P bwhahahahaha ....

When we got to Manos....it was really raining hard....so we waited it out a bit in the car....


Good thing, a waiter spotted us outside and assisted us with umbrellas so we could get in na! Fabulous!.....

Welcome to Greece!!!!
The interios are simple...with a blue colored theme goin on. The menu tells a lengthy tale of Greece and it's cuisine...that we unfortunately, didn't have any patience of reading through! hahaha Wala kaseng pictures eh! ;P


We odered bread..they make there own whole wheat bread....and NO..it's NOT free eh.

...and an order of Tatziki. We were both looking for hummus on the menu...but as we've learned hummus is an Arabic dish. Most resto that I think are greek like Cyma are mix mediterranean, that's why they have hummus and kebabs.

This was a nice cool and refreshing dip for our bread. I am just used to having it with pita.

The Moussaka

Now this is traditional Greek food! I've tried it at Cyma...but this was a different rendition. It had layers of potatoes, eggplant ang ground meat (maybe beef?) with bechamel sauce. This was good and veryy satiating! This has a dry finish as compared to Cyma's version which has a runnier sauce. Don't get me wrong though...it's not DRY --dry...the bechamel is not runny lang ;P It was good.



And ofcourse, we had the Grilled Lamb Chops

2 chops served with potato wedges, mixed corn and carrots and rice. It was grilled just right...simple and flavorful. I just didn't like the sided though. The potatoes were kinda oily.

We wanted to have baklava but we were so full from the meal! So I just tried the Greek Cafe

The Greek owner himself appraoched our table and gave us a little Greek coffee 101: Kafe with No sugar is called Sketo ...if with a little (1 teaspoon) sugar, Metrio and if you like it sweet, you call for a Gleeko. I had the Metrio =)

It was a good strong and aromatic brew. The downside was this...

....sediments of sediments that can make one choke! hahaha The super finely ground coffee is brewed with the sugar and I presume NO filtration is included inthe process. Oh well, this is the cup of coffee that one cannot have to the LAST DROP!hehehe ;P

Not Craving Anymore =(

I needed to shop for a wedding gift once again, so naturally I called in my shopping buddy Mike to come to my aid! It'a always a good shopping day with him...we are always successful finding whaever it is we have to buy! Siguro ma-tiyaga talaga kame when it comes to hunting for stuff in the mall! =) I was able to pick out a nice gift for my friend Cha-cha, at Rustan's ofcourse =)

We also checked out the Samsung Exhibit at the ground floor. Mike is eyeing the U700 for is SUN phone! Yes, he is sosyal! Extra cell lang ba ang U700???? hahaha As it turns out, the U700 is not released yet in Manila. The models told me that they were only featuring the U600, U300 and the Di series. And NO...I was not tempted by the U300...the flip U-series model;P I LOVE MY V8!!!! hahaha

We wanted to have salad or maybe something vegan for my friend...we chose to eat at Cravings because their entees are accompanied by a salad bar buffet....


I haven't eaten at Cravings for a long time now...so I didn't know how their food was na...

This is the salad bar

..they offered the usual salad mixes of greens, tomatoes, carrort, potato and macaroni salad, croutons...etc....2 kinds of soup and breads...

They offered to kinds og bread...bruschetta and dinner rolls, was it...with a choice of pesto, butter and marina spreads...

..the breads were both sad....dry and stale-lish =(

This is the salad I made from the bar
I really don't know how to create a good salad from a salad bar! I ended up not understanding what I am having!!! hehehe For this reason, I'd rather have a real salad from the menu of a resto than from abar like this. That I would enjoy better (even if it may come out more expensive) =)

I remembered the nice porchops I had from my recent trip to Za's cafe, so I was enticed to order the pork chops with honey glaze...

...now I remember why I dn't normally choose pork-chops! Their chops were small and dry..the glaze---almost tasteless...sad...sad....


Mike had the Fish & Chips

they were overly battered...sad also....

It's kinda odd for the food not to be good in this resto, considering Cravings is run and owned by CCA.

We were not so thrilled with our dinner selection, so we just had something good and reliable for dessert...

I remember liking the carrot cake from dome cafe...so here it is again...

we had it with Amricanos....good thing it was as good as I remembered it =)

Thank you Mikey for a nice shopping day! Next time, either we eat at old and reliable restos or really go an extra mile to have good food!hahaha

Magic Moments!!!

Every morning, on my way to the gym or office, I always tune in to Magic 89.9! I really like Good Times with MO....for their crazy antics, games and spontaneity. Since Monday, I've been meaning to call in and join in the show...maybe win some stuff too hehehe. It's really sooo hard to get through pala! It's really frustrating!

I think it was Tuesday night..on my way home, while stuck in traffic....I was tuned in to the radio once more. I am really not so familiar with DJ's, shows and station names....and I was listening to this show, where they played a game called "Panic Room". The Dj gives you a number and that shall be the number of names/places/things that you enumerate for the category they will give. Example: DJ goes.."your number is 5....name 5 dead rock artists...go..." You are given a certain time do this...if you make it..you win a prize. Cool. So I dial in my cell 02-6310899...busy...dial again...riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!! WOW!! BINGO!!! Then the Dj picks up....I asked "are you still playing the game?"...the Dj goes..."sure..how many tickets would you like?"...I was dumb founded...I go"...errr...4?" Then the DJ goes...."ok you got them" He got my name, cell phone number and instructed me to drop by the office station at Paragon plaza between 9am-5pm. I wasn't aired but I did win movie tickets..for what?...I haven't the slightest clue! hahahaha Then I checked out my radio...I was tuned in to 99.5 pala ;P bwahahahahahhaahhaah

Geeeez...kaya pala it wasn't the Panic Room!!! As I found out, I was on the CJ and Sarah show on Magic! hahahahah Soweeeeee but thanks na din ;P

After my fitting at Rockwell and trip to Power Plant, my shobe and I dropped by Paragon Plaza to claim my winnings.....

..here I am outside teh DJ booth (ang liit lang pala)

..and this is what I got.....TADA....

4 Red Carpet Premiere Tickets to Jet Li and Jason Statham's ROGUE ASSASSIN!!!

Premiere is on September 08, 2007, Saturday, 7:30 pm SM MALL OF ASIA CINEMA 3!

Ang layo!!! hahaha So who wants to go??? (just message me) =)

Thank you Magic 89.9!!!!!!

Let's Have SOM Lunch =)

I'm getting ready for yet another up coming wedding! And yes...I am once again part of the entourage!hehehehe I had my second fitting at Rockwell...my gown was lovely!!!!

I asked my sis Che if she wanted to have lunch at SOMS....might be better this time because it was day time naman....

Here we go....
Parking was good...we were the first few people to arrive for lunch! Yehey!

We had the Spring Rolls

...aaah yes! They were mighty good today! Piping hot and crisp!!!! yummmm

The Chicken Pandan

..served hot and was really good! It's only today I noticed..may corn pala inside?! hehehe

..and our Bagoong Rice!

This time our orders came all together and was served hot, so we appreciated our food much, much better than our last visit here with our brothers! Although, the bagoong rice isn't that good...the pork chunks are big and I like the sweetish kind more..this one was a bit lacking in umph!

Well, it's SOM-uch better here when it's not jammed with patrons...food and service is so much better...and the price..still dirt cheap! =)

I'm a Thong!!!! ;P

Got this from CanDishhh...

You are Thong Sandals

Trendy and modern You're always seen in the latest styles From glam to casual, you always look fantastic!

What Kind of Sandal Are You?

Yoghurt 101

I got this yoghurt tip from joey of 80breakfasts....here goes...

She said open a tub of yoghurt and add some sugar (this is just brown sugar...forgot to use muscovado!)....

..like so...and put back in the ref for a few minutes...

..nu-ni-nu-ninu-ninu....then the sugar is magically dissolved into it...like syrup!


it is yummier this way joey! Thank you for the tip hahaha =)

Love at First Sight!!!

I just couldn't take my mind off the Motorolla Razor V8, after seeing it last Saturday....ahhhh love at first sight! hehehehe Yup this is what I was talking about baby! hahaha Wow, I just love the sleek look and finish of the body!!! It's sooooo pretty and chic!!!

I know, I know, I just changed my phone a couple of months ago...but I am really fond of flip/clam phones!!! I don't know why, I just adore them.

So I said goodbye to my Samsung D900.....and hello to my MOTO V8!!!! =D

It's a pre-birthday gift to myself =) Love it!!!!

I promise to be faithfull to you. I will never look at another cellphone again and promise not to change you for the next 2 years!!!! hahahahaha

Za's Cafe

The book fair was really exhausting ah! Scrimmaging through the entire floor area of World Trade Center and squiggling your way through a throng of book crazed people can really be exhausting!!!

Famished and all, I thought of a nice old place where we could have lunch. Za's Cafe is the resto attached to the original Hizon's bakeshop in J. Bocobo, Malate. Yup, yup! Before the outlet's of Hizon's mushroomed in malls, we used to go all they way to J. Bocobo to purchase their ensaymadas, bankasuys, chicken pies, brownies (I still love their brownies!), raisin breads and ofcourse..the all time favorite mocha and chocolate birthday cakes! hahaha I remember everytime we go there, we hord stuff because we know it would take a while before we can go back! Now the novelty of Hizon's is gone...so when we got there, we headed straight up to the cafe side.


Their dessert specialty are the cherry and apple pies. These items are not to be found on the Hizon's side. They have cheesecakes, pineapple pie, sans rival...etc...

No cherry Pie that day though...

They offer traditional Filipino breakfast and what's great here are the savory entrees..

To start off...we were given these ultra soft, brioche like dinner rolls....

look at that...its almost like an ensaymada, sans the slathering of butter, sugar and cheese!!!!


It's cottony soft...look at this.....

we both had one of that bread basket each!!! Grabe!!! Ang soft kase...that when you bite into the bread..it dessolves agad...so light!!! We felt like we had dessert already! =)


The Creamy Shrimps

Served with rice.....it's really good! It's like a shrimps ala king!!!


the reason we were given 2 bread baskets was because we didn't take the rice that went with the Porkchops with Applesauce

two grilled porkchops served with rice or in our case, a bread basket, green beans, thick cut fries and applesauce....sooooo goood!!!


I am not a huge fan of pork chops...I mean..it's just pork chops right? Believe me these are really juicy and cooked really tender and very flavorful...you'll forget its pork! hahahahah

As if we were not yet full to the brim...we have to try one of them pies!!!hehehe We chose the Apple pie and had it served ala mode....

The waiter forgot my resquest to warm up the pie...kaya pala 'di nag me-melt yun ice cream! hahaha The pie wasn't so great..the pastry crust was similar to that of a savory pie...as opposed to a sweet pastry that should have been used. The apples were crunchy....and ma-apple naman...but it was something you can pass on =)

The menu indicated that they use HILLS BROTHER's for their brewed coffee...so old school...but it was ok =)

It's a real family place...good for Sunday lunch. The place is a bit old already...time has taken it's toll on the interiors, but still, it has this feel of taking you back in time...pati yun mga patrons parang from another time!! bwahahaha ;P---just kidding! An old family favorite...a bit pricey for the ambiance but the food is great =)

Book Fair 2007

I love book browsing! Yes, indeed! Last Sunday Sal and I went to the Book Fair held at World Trade Center, in Roxas Blvd.

It was participated by several bookstores and publishing houses such as Goodwill, Power Books, National Bookstore....Summit Publications...Emerald headway..etc....etc... A READERS PARADISE INDEED!!! Almost all items are 20% off and with different kinds of promos. It was a riot! Nerds, bookworms and book-browsers like me lurked and horded the stuff of their liking. Sally bought arm loads and arm loads of books....and as for me....wala!--hehehe ;P

Nevertheless, I had a great time covering the entire area and reading as we moved from aisle to aisle, hehehe

BALDUCCI Restorante

A rainy Saturday night at Serendra and surprisingly it wasn't crowded. After an afternoon of shopping at Greenhills and Power Plant mall, with my shopping buddy Mike (yes, he is fully recovered from his surgery...and very much up and about for a day of malling! hehehe) to get him a new charger for his Treo and window shop na din altogether. Well we got him his charger...and as for me...oh my...I experienced love at first sight!!!---I shall not delve into that yet ;P hehehehe

We decided to move to Serendra for an early dinner. Mike has just recently turned VEGAN...and so his request was anything that has no meat please! Well, that's easy...let's do Italian!!!

I've always wanted to try Balducci's. The place looks nice and the menu selection is very enticing...plus its easy to avoid meat at Italian retsos....

...this is their trio of butter, pate and salsa to accompany .....

...the free basket of piadina wedges and grissini (singular because they gave us just one stick! hehehehe)
The pate was really good....we really appreciate this because we were quite hungry already!!!! hehehe

The Margherita Pizza

It's vegan, is it not? Your basic mozzarella, basil and tomato pizza! Yummmm!!! The crust is the chewy kind, even the edges is not crunchy. It's a delicious pizza but I wanted a bit of a crunch on my pizza crust hehehe ;)

This is the Spinach Ricotta Ravioli with cream sauce

Delicioso!!!! I've been craving for ravioli the past few days. I compromised with the white sauce because we will share the dish naman. Surprisingly its not nauseatingly rich. It was really good and I love the spinach-ricotta filling (pwede kaya with red sauce?) It still kept with being vegan too =) I noticed though, this dish was served at room temperature! hmmmm why kaya? I wished it was served warmer...but it was really good still =)


As you know me, I have to have my cafe, especially after a very filling meal like this! They serve Lavazza!!! Yey!

Just look at that crema on my Americano!!!! I had this as is!!! A brew like this should be taken with restpect----no cream and sugar ofcourse! =)

Mikey is a guy with a real sweet tooth! He was craving for some Conti's goodies, so he left me with my Lavazza as he went to Conti's to take out the Banana Bravo....

...and an Almond Sansrival

He was able to finish them all!!! Good job man! hahahaha I tried the banana bravo...it reminded me of banana cream pie! It had loads of whipped cream, hence a cake not for moi! I have tried the almond sanrival before and it is really good!

Balducci's is great and the price is not that expensive ah! I will definitely go back here, to try other pizzas and gnocchi!!!! Can you believe I HAVE NEVER HAD GNOCCHI!!!---it's on my things to do before I turn 30 list, so I have to get my hands on it real soon!!! =)

After that we moved along to Bonifacio Highstreet for shopping..again!hahaha Charles & Keith was on SALE!!!!!! I got myself a pair of shoes-----yey!!!! =) Then book browsing ofcourse at fully booked. After that we went back to Serendra for some cocktails =)

The Country Quiz From Ramblings of a Gypsy Soul =)

Got this from Christine of Ramblings of a Gypsy Soul....am I really an Ireland???? hahah Tell me what you think! ;P

Try this quiz for yourself too!!! hehehe

You're Ireland!

Mystical and rain-soaked, you remain mysterious to many people, and this
makes you intriguing. You also like a good night at the pub, though many are just as
worried that you will blow up the pub as drink your beverage of choice. You're good
with words, remarkably lucky, and know and enjoy at least fifteen ways of eating a potato.
You really don't like snakes.


Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELAINEY!!!! =)

Hope you're having a blast in Arizona!!! I miss you!!!!! Mwah!!!!

Starter Crumpets

Sourdough starters are refreshed regularly by discharding 1 cup of the starter then replacing it with water and bread flour. This method is done to sustain the life of the yeast =)

I stumbled upon this Sourdough Starter Crumpets Recipe from bakingsheet, and gave it a go this morning.

You just add baking soda, a little sugar and salt to a cup of the starter and grill it on a non-stick skillet....


hmmm...mine turned more like pancakes than crumpets and the texture is close to a roti! They weren't crispy..more chewy, but they tasted alright. I think it can pose as a faux roti, with its texture and taste!hehehehe



I think they turned out differently from bakingsheet's, because my starter is different from his =)