food for thought -ranting about breakfast for dinner

dont you just hate it when you go to a restaurant, ask a waiter about something in the menu just to be told that they will ask because they dont know? or to order and be told that more than 2 things in the menu are not available?

this was what happened when i went out with my HS classmates last saturday to have dinner at heaven & eggs.

the place had a cheery atmosphere, very inviting indeed. we settled in and after looking at the extensive menu, we ordered only to be told that 2 or 3 of our choices were not available.

i had ordered bacon, egg and cheese wrap and i naturally showed discontent that it was not available. the waiter retracted his statement after my frown and came back after a few minutes to tell me that my order was available. that would have been a disaster to a hungry customer early in the morning (as this restaurant does specialize in breakfast).


the dish was pretty good except for minor set backs.

there are two things i like about breakfast. one is over easy eggs and the second is ketchup (where its applicable of course)! i had asked for the eggs to be over easily cooked with the waiter dutifully repeating my request with the run down of the orders but it was not cooked that way. and when i gobbled up the little saucer of ketchup and had asked for a refill, they took more than 5 minutes to give me my condiment! now unless they tell me that they make fresh ketchup in the kitchen, i think that there is no excuse for such a small establishment to delay more than 3 minutes to give a customer her ketchup!

and it does not end there. when dinner was over, we were handed the dessert and drinks menu. my friend was intrigued and asked the waitress what the milo dinosaur was and she replied "milo po", uhmmm, i think that warranted further description...this was of course dismissed. i wanted something hot and asked the waitress what the the heaven and eggs blend was and i was told to hold (?!). a waiter came and asked for my inquiry which i repeated and was surprised to know that it was just the restaurants brewed coffee!

gosh! ok, lets just say the waitress was new, but shouldnt she have undergone training. i definitely was not asking what the herbs in the steak were or what oil they used in frying a dish, i was just asking what a drink was which turned out to be plain coffee! sheesh!

thank heavens for good company which neutralized the unsatisfactory experience!

weekend reunion

my first non solo weekend!

hubby was craving for sisig so saturday evening, he persuaded me to visit a restaurant which is truly a hidden authentic sisig place, aysee.

because i am not fond of non air conditioned restaurants with no exhaust installed, so i was hesitant at first but how could you say no to a request of a balik bayan (hehehe!), i just had to agree.


i was happy to find out when we got to aysee that there were available seats inside. the least i wanted to do was to eat roadside. so we ordered sisig and papaitan (aysee's specialty) and were ultra happy at the sight of our food.



it did not last long and less than an hour after ordering, we were out of there satiated.

sunday was an exciting day for me. i used my new anya hindmarch bag and coach wallet which hubby brought home for me and the new mossimo sandals that came in the box with other loot from my mom.

and, i finally opened my mineral make up and braved my way with the brushes. this was of course after reviewing the instructional CD that it came with.

because im such a cream make up fan, it was weird using powder from start to finish. at first i thought that it was a bit cakey and dry but when i stepped out and looked at my reflection, i thought it looked really flawless. i am now a convert. in fact, im wanting to try to do eye make up. ill see if i can find some locally available mineral liner.

sunday has always been rockwell mass day for us until hubby left, so after 2 months of saturday anticipated mass alone, i was happy to hear service with him.

before heading to mass we went to get our tresses maintained and it was there that we found out that manny won the fight (kwentong barbero! hehehe!).


and after mass, with growling tummies we headed for kuretake to collect my win from our boxing bet. of course i routed for pacman and hubby, the skeptic, routed for the bigger man.

we were both pretty hungry when we got to kuretake.


so we ordered a bento for two

(do you spy my anya on the seat?)

and sukiyaki teyshoku which both came with their entourage of dishes.

sashimi, and rolled cabbage

and shawan mushi

when our orders came and the dishes could not fit on the table, i had to ask the waiter to readily wrap some of the components of our orders so that we would have room for our plates. talk about two hungry people!

tummy filled, we ended the day with bolt the wonder dog. it was a good movie although for a cartoon, the plot seemed pretty grown up to me. i guess gone are the days when mikey rode steam boat willy.

a little teary eyed walking out of the cinema, we headed to the parking lot. i happened to look at cmg going down the esclator and spied a nice pair of shoes. i went in and did not want to leave without it. hubby felt helpless and gave in (after a few upward rolling of eyeballs).

so home i went with a great looking pair of shoes!


you immediately know you have a great buy when you feel that you will not be buying a new item like the one you bought in the near future. this is how i felt after i bought my new soles. dont you think they just look absolutely gorgeous?! i cant wait to wear them!

how did you spend your weekend?

home made kaya breakfast

in a little more than 12 hours my hubby will be coming home!

i cannot wait!

i woke up early this morning to check his flight status and everything is on schedule. lovely news to go with the lovely cool and sunny weather that greeted me today.

i headed downstairs and found that our house help prepared hamburger for breakfast (?!). not wanting to start my day with a burger, i happily realized i had all the ingredients for a kaya breakfast.

2 slices of bread (i used my frozen multigrain)
2 1/3 of an inch slab of butter
2 teaspoons of coco jam
1 bag of earl grey tea (i use trader joe's)
milk
2 eggs

kaya toast:
toast the bread for 5 minutes in medium heat
after the bread has cooled a little, top it with butter and the coco jam
milk tea:
heat water for your tea and steep the bag until desired strength
add milk
soft boiled eggs:
place raw egg in its shell in tap water and put over medium heat
time the cooking process starting when the water starts to boil
after 3 minutes, remove the egg from the boiling water and run under the tap
serve in a bowl (soy sauce optional)

taaaahdaaah...

Sedap!

sorry to disappoint you but im still not interested in cooking unless i really need to (like when you have to eat hamburger for breakfast! hehehe!), so call this a rare moment in time!

kiss of death -how failure breeds success

defeated yet again...

there is this yearly competition that i have been a part of for 4 years now, always coming in 2nd. this year, we thought that we bagged the price but surprisingly, we didnt get first, we didnt even get second, we got third!

too lax when the competition started!

the enemy's coach came up to greet us as we came in for the announcements and gave me a kiss on the cheek. i silently thought this is the kiss of death...they must have won i thought silently, with the feast and the festive mood. i could accept not coming in first, but to come in 3rd?!

the whole team was disappointed obviously, so sad...it would have been a great way to end the year if things went as we expected

so off with the phases of depression
denial, anger, grief, acceptance...

in the end, we either become bitter or better persons...i choose the latter!

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_28/b3992001.htm

we will show them!!! failure breeds success!

a sour tale

once upon a time, there lived a generous little princes who lived in the land of milk and honey. now this little princes was once a chamber maid who had a good heart. because of her wonderful nature and strong aspirations, she met a prince who married her and allowed her to live her dreams.

because this princes was very generous, she helped her poor towns people to experience what she had as royalty. but because of a turbulent past, the princes had unresolved issues which prevented her from fully enjoying her good life. she felt responsible for all her townsmen and wanted to keep them from harm by controlling them and pushing for what she thought was right for them. however, because she helped the towns people become educated, they formed their own aspirations and decided to follow their own dreams. this enraged the little princes. drowning in sorrow for the loss of her towns people's loyalty, she decided to think of them as bad people, ungrateful, and inconsiderate. she had control of the castle and all its wealth but was never truly happy. she chose to let her anger get the best of her, throwing fits and shouting, making her look uncultured in royal banquets and further driving away the last of her friends.

the towns people, although hurt by the little princes' course of action, felt pity for the poor little rich girl. for they were now cultured with the help of their benefactor, and were able to established kingdoms of their own. but try as they may to return the favor that they received, to pull the little princes out of her misery, their efforts were always shun as the poor little royalty decided that these people were no good and were out to cheat her.

lonely and suspicious of anyone who comes close to her, the little princes continues to walk her kingdom in anguish, constantly trying to remind the towns people that they are the reason for her misery. but the towns people chose to listen to the fairy god mother who advised them not to take the path of unhappiness and they lived rational unworried lives.

once in a while, the little princes would throw fits which resonates to neighboring kingdoms. she would send her horsemen to announce and remind her towns people yet again that they are the cause of all her problems. the towns people try to send back messages of peace through the horsemen but they are always saddened with news that the princes chooses to remain in the dark.

and she lived miserably ever after...

are you the little princess in this story, holding your ground that people are out to get you? open the door and smell the flowers. life is good and will stay good unless you choose to believe otherwise.

thank you fairy god mother, we were saved!

best chicken mushroom pie

there is not a better word to describe costa brava's chicken mushroom pie than Y-U-M!

burp!

stress management 101

different people handle stress in various ways. some mope, some deny, and some (like me) splurge!

last friday was judgment day for a subordinate of mine, and because she did not satisfy her jurors, i felt ashamed, more than her i think. such bad attitude!

so today, i went on a food and gift spree.

the morning brought in JM, from the PICU who took me out to breakfast.

in the afternoon SEE, who had worries of her own, took me out to lunch to drown our sorrows in satiety.

although i already had a breakfast meal earlier today, i still ordered rice for lunch in via mare cafe. i had sun dried beef tapa.

it was yummy! the eggs were cooked just right and the tapa brought a unique texture to the dish.



later on that day, i had a snack at lulu belle where i had the unfortunate experience of ordering the calamansi sorbet *tears*. i was totally dissatisfied! not only did it not taste like calamansi, it tasted, well, like water! haaay, should have stuck to their yogurt.

to erase my unfortunate dessert experience, i had my weekly trip to bakers dozen where i bought a chocolate cake and some chicken mushroom pies from costa brava.


the chocolate cake is so affordable at P330 per 8 inch cake.



i was totally blown away when i tasted it. the cake is so soft and moist, the caramel filling not chokingly sweet and the chocolate is ultra smooth! what else could you ask for in a chocolate cake?!

because i had stuffed myself silly the whole day, i didnt have the chance to taste the chicken pie yet but there's always tomorrow...

and lastly i got myself a beautiful pair of shoes at T!

they looked so wonderful i finally pushed myself to adjust the manual settings of my LX3 to take pictures! hehehe!

how do you manage your stress?

bag nut

i cannot have enough bags! and because my loved ones support my addiction, here are a couple of new bags i will be getting in a few weeks time...



and my next hunt will be this beautiful hand painted bag by one of my favorite designers...


would you know where i can buy this bag?!

do i hear sleigh bells ringing?

maybe so...
my xmas stocking has already been filled!

annoyed

one thing that really annoys me is when people are irrespectful of others' personal time.
let me count the ways how this happens:
1. when you're trying to accomplish something and bothered to do trivial things
2. when you're asked to do something NOW -as if you are just sitting pretty waiting for that person to give you orders
3. when you get a phone call at the wee hours of the morning with "no i just called lang because" -obviously not very important
4. when you get a call during the weekends that could wait until the office reopens -and worse, the call is not kept short (where is the respect in that?)
5. when people rant before they give a simple line on what they really want to say as if you were born to do nothing but listen to them
6. when your instructed to do one thing and then corrected after you've done what was wanted -obviously your instructor was the one confused and you wasted your time following the initial instructions

i could probably name a couple of people who are "veteran annoyers" and are so natural at doing the list above. it really makes my blood boil! i can honestly say that i am a patient person but there are just entities who push me off the cliff!

i found this site that helped calm me down. the article is entitled "how not to let annoying people annoy you"

what's the most annoying incident you've ever encountered?

beauty package and purple loot

hubby got a package for me in the mail


click on to Our Daily Blog to view what's inside...

he also got a new case for my LX3

i love the color!

there's even fuzzy fur inside!

and an extra pocket...

i cannot wait to get all my loot!!!
it's the only advantage of being away from each other... but i miss him so!

small talk, big issues

as we were having dinner, my dad asked me if i was done with my training and i declared that ill be done by december. the next question was obviously what i'll be doing next year. i snickered at the question because honestly, im at a loss with a real answer.

as a child i had always knew what i wanted and went after it as if obstacles were crumbs to be trampled on. i was blessed i guess.

in my early education, i was minding my own business when my school announced to my mom that i had qualified as one of the gifted ones (mwahaha! what a statement!). i could still see my mom so proud (and surprised at that!) as she got home and ran the story again and again to me how the registrar pointed it out to her. so i went along with the label and did pretty well, i survived the insignia was more like it! from then on i felt that my life was one chapter of success after another (nothing big but satisfying).

i knew what college and course i wanted to get into and got there just fine. and when college was done, i knew i wanted to go into further training and despite the hurdles, got my wish. after that, i knew i wanted to specialize and knew what field, and got into training just as well.

for the first 2 years of my training, i knew i wanted to take another step into sub specialization and as always knew what field, but then something happened.

im not quite sure what it was, but it was as if a veil was moved from my eyes and together with a clearer view came confusion.

as ive expressed to some of my friends, i have never been as confused about what to do with my life as i am now. i have always looked, puzzled, at people who did not know what they wanted to do because, before now, i was just so sure of myself. now i look at myself, puzzled.

so this is what they mean about being at the cross roads of life. call me a late bloomer...

i am definitely in a better position now than i was then (thank the heavens above!) but the question still looms, what to do, what to do?

food treats & shopping

It was a beautiful saturday afternoon and after a very stressful morning at the office full of drama and complaints, i decided to treat myself to good pasta & wine

so with my panasonic LX3 in tow, i went to santis cafe for lunch.



I had vegetable ravioli & white argentina wine


with full view of the sunny outdoors but the convenience of AC, i ate the creamy tomato based pasta with crispy garlic bread

I topped it off with their brewed coffee which i may say, gives a kick capping my feel good lunch!

after the treat i had enough time to go to the rockwell urban bazaar where i knocked myself out!

the first stall i looked for was obra where i previously got my hand painted blouse. i picked out 2 dresses which unfortunately didnt fit well so i had to forgo my splurge. i did however realize my fashion staple...structured dresses. and can i just brag, im now back to being a size S!!

from be

from wheat
http://wheatbypamvillapando.multiply.com

this dress is just awesome, it was as if it was made for me! the fit was perfect! that's why even when i was down to my last expendable cent, i just had to buy it! i love the color and texture and the details are unique, especially the neckline.

to my delight they packaged their products in reusable bags! whoohoo!

i was also able to find a nice wrap gray silver dress good enough for our good friends LL and RL's wedding in january.



and since im in a jewelry phase, i chanced upon a silver jewelry stall from baguio which had awesome pieces. i chose a more conservative pair of earrings which several other shoppers liked as well.

beautiful!

i then went to get my feet pampered but because salsa salon was too busy i had to buy time while waiting for my turn. i decided to try out the much talked about lulubelle


it was pretty good! i was debating whether to get a sorbet or a frozen yogurt but the strawberry flavored yogurt eventually won.

what do you have to say about yourself mrs delinquent shopper?!

......all's well that ends well!

guess who's in town

i was so surprised when i found out. not that it's impossible, but just that my favorite food critic in manila?! i cannot be more excited. if only i would bump into him during my saturday adventures... *shriek!*
would anyone know where he is staying?!

a singer at heart

i must have been a singer in another lifetime, except that i seem to have just brought my penchant for music to the present day and forgot my singing skills in my past life.

these were the thoughts going through my mind as i listened to the neighbor having a karaoke party and sang along to every song with the absence of the monitor laden lyrics. i do love to sing but unfortunately singing is not entirely fond of me. i had asked a number of times from my hubby a magic sing microphone as a gift but he stood his ground (did not want to be doomed to hear my off key voice for eternity). i had also several times thought of buying one for myself but it just costs too much for a whim.

and as i was doing my daily meanderings last night, i chanced upon this site that promised free karaoke songs. with heart fluttering i clicked on it and scoured through the site's pages. lo and behold, i could download the songs (and there are tons!) and sing to my hearts delight!!! and so the singer stayed up until almost 2am quietly, but contently, singing.

......let me see, what do i want to sing this morning?

a shop-aholic's day out

i had a great day today!

first of all i was able to acquire the limited edition amorsolo shopping bags (with an s, take note!)



then i satisfied my craving from my favorite vegan restaurant


and got to do some kikay shopping on the side...

what else could you ask for?!

Singapore pictures

today is the day....

hubby uploaded pictures of our trip and i just couldnt wait to post them in my previous blog entries!

feast your eyes and enjoy!

click click!

lets support filipino ingeniuty

and save planet earth!

amateur photographer

my hubby has always wanted me to take up his hobby of photography but i always preferred to be at the other end of the camera. however since we needed a handy dandy camera when we go out to eat at our new discoveries, he bought me the new member of our gadgets, the LX3. let me show you the first picture i took with my camera


hubby encouragingly said "nice shot baby!" hehehe!

but in reality i like his shots so much better...
let me show you 2 pictures to compare our shots


guess which shot is mine!!! hehehe!

melancholy

it has been 4 days since we left the merlion and 3 days since hubby left for the land of the free...
i woke up this morning squished between two pillows, snuggled under woolen covers after having a nightmare. it was not scary in any particular way but my dream left me sad, scared, and everything in between. must be the hormones.

our trip to singapore was great. too great that i was so sad to leave. for 6 whole days i felt totally detached from what i am and i loved it. i felt i could stay there forever. and so now, back to what i thought i wanted to do, i am at a loss. 3 more months and im a free man but then what? pursue a more specialized career or be mediocre? ive never felt so undecided in my life!

thank goodness for phone calls and new gadgets......




now, those are reasons to smile!!

what do you do when you get the blues?