Missing the Caffeine

its been a long time since ive had good coffee, or any coffee for that matter. the weather is just too hot for morning brewed coffee and im too tamad (lazy) to make the iced version.

today my craving got me thinking of the time hubby and i had afternoon coffee at UCC.

i had started feeling sleepy after a disappointing lunch (a whole different post all together) and i decided to redeem our saddened tummies with dessert and coffee.

hubby got his iced latte which looked absolutely heavenly and tasted equally good.

we paired our coffee with UCC's caramel cheese cake.

this was really yummy!

this cheese cake is not your usual new york cheese cake found in coffee shops. this is more of a soft spongy cheese pastry with caramel sauce drizzled over it. it was really good and light, perfect for an after meal dessert.

i had ordered my usual siphon brewed sumiyaki which is a real pick-me-upper. ive never really paid much attention to how this brewer works and that day, i was curious. unfortunately when i asked permission to take photos of the process, the waitress told me it was not allowed so i just went ahead and took some paparazzi shots. *giggle*

the brewing process is done in a chemistry set like apparatus where freshly ground beans are placed on the top chamber and water in the lower chamber. the glass with the water is directly placed over a fire which then boils the water and sends it moving up to the ground beans. this movement, and a few stirring motion with a bamboo wisk, cools the water and sends it back down saturated with the coffee. here's a demo of the whole process taken in a tokyo bar

my sumiyaki was delicious and as always, made my day...

i miss my caffeine fix!

Set for Life!

A famous sociopolitical author once said, "All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast."

The Holy week has been fruitful for me

i have learned how to slow down, to stop and smell the flowers as others may say, and how important it is to do so in life

and now, im just about raring to go!

we began our day by hearing mass with an excellent homily by Father Concepcion and then, excited after 3 days of abstinence from meat, we headed for M Cafe.

i have heard a lot of good reviews about this place, more so after winning the best brunch category in the Gold Spot and so, without batting and eyelash, i reserved a table a week before easter just to make sure we would be seated.

this proved to be a good idea as majority of the tables were reserved when we got there.

i started my breakfast with yogurt, cheese and bread and then had a tomato, mushroom and cheese omelet made by the chef to pair with sausages.

the omelet was cooked very well! it was fluffy and still moist in the middle and the added mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese complemented each other!

when that was gobbled up, i headed to the spanish cold cut plates for a refill. there were also grilled vegetables beside the platters that looked wonderful!

i cannot name all the slices i got but they were all delicious!

the japanese table was next on my agenda

although i was disappointed that they did not have salmon sashimi, the maguro made up for it! it was so fresh, and the slices thick enough for that melt in your mouth sensation! yum!

oysters are always on our radar when eating at buffets and fortunately, majority of them offer this.

the oyster platter at the M Cafe brunch buffet empties out fast. luckily, we were near the kitchen door so when a waiter came out with a tray, we were right behind him to get the most succulent of the batch! hahaha!

after our fill of our favorite mollusks, we headed to the chinese tables. there were crab cakes, calamari, vegetable tempura, crab cakes (ok i said that already!), shrimp hakao, soimai, sharks fin, and chicken shiitake.

i had just gotten small pieces of each, as at this time, my jeans button was already screaming murder! hehehe!

there were more to taste: waffles, pasta, rib eye, baked salmon, filipino breakfast items like fried rice, tapa, and other chafing dishes i didnt dare to open anymore, less i had to be carried out of the restaurant from sheer fullness!

but i could not leave without dessert and this light taho seemed perfect for the already stuffed. hubby sampled their cakes and was satisfied...next time ill leave more room!

our scrumptious brunch culminated with a perfect cup of illy coffee

and as the easter bunny looked on, we sat and savored the pleasant ambiance, the courteous and efficient staff and delectable dishes we sampled.

and i thought, if all happiness are really determined by a leisurely breakfast, then i must say, we are set for life!

Plans that led to Astralis

ive always been an obsessive planner and most of my close friends know this for a fact. so yesterday morning i was a bit agitated when we had nothing planned for a sunday, the start of a long vacation week for that matter!

to hubby, vacation means come what may, no schedules and get up when you feel like it. i like it with a little more detail because i feel the day could be wasted when not planned right. and so we were playfully tossing the argument this morning as i kept asking what our plans were for the day and he kept saying the plan was for once not to have one. i of course won the mini battle because he had to get his haircut before mass and dinner and hence, we had to have a schedule! mwhahaha!

after a good time spent at the salon and at mass, we had to decide where to eat. as we spend almost every sunday at the same mall, we have practically eaten at all its restaurants, that is, except for one and so we headed to astralis.

...what a great way to end an unplanned sunday!

When great coffee is not enough

The double shot of espresso i ordered seem to be working very slowly today as i had gulped down my coffee for that eye wide open feel but instead find myself drifting into dream land.

Vday Surprises (Part1): Salcedo Saturday Market

this is a long overdue post of the fun we had at the salcedo saturday market last vday. so here goes...

im sure a lot of people reserved tables at various restaurants today but not hubby and i. we wanted to veer away from the cliche, postponed our vday dinner next week and went to the market for valentines day. yes, you read right, we decided to go to the market on hearts day, the saturday salcedo market that is!


















































with coffee and ham in hand and a lot of other treats in the GIT, hubby and i left the market two satisfied customers!